When my first foster son lived with us for a year, he was my constant shadow. That sweet boy followed close behind me wherever I went, especially when it was time to prep dinner. He was never interested in watching a show while I cooked; he’d rather be with me — as close as physically possible — as I moved from the dining room to the kitchen, from the refrigerator to the sink, from the sink to the stove.
It was endearing but also stressful when things like pots of boiling pasta were involved. He and I both would have loved this idea from Susie Allison at Busy Toddler:
Her idea is to write letters with dry erase markers on a sliding glass door or large window, hand the kid a towel and call out, “Erase the K! Erase the first letter in the word ‘cow!’ Erase the last letter in your name!” When they run out of letters, write them again, rinse and repeat.
You’re connecting with them without being physically attached and they’re practicing their letters. This is an activity that can grow with the child, too. The ABC Erase game would be great for kids ages 2-4(ish). For older kids, use it to practice sight words or simple maths equations. Or let siblings play a few rounds of Tic-Tac-Toe on a rainy day.
Once they’re old enough (trustworthy enough), you can hand over the markers and walk away. I recently gave my stash of dry erase markers to my nine-year-old and asked him to decorate our dining room windows for Halloween. I came back later to a haunted house scene that included this jaunty little devil:
So no need for holiday window clings over here anymore.
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