SAHMs -- HELP What activities do you have planned for your toddler?

I'm sorry I haven't been on LIF in awhile, its hard to get on the computer at home---I thought it would be easy.

Anyway,...
I've always wanted to be a SAHM, but now that I've been laid-off from my job since April---I miss working (when I came back from maternity leave I asked to go part-time, so I worked 3 days---it was great! I felt I had the best of both worlds ) and now I don't know what to do with my son (15 months) other than grocery shopping and the park.

Does anyone just stay home and read, and play? Or do you have activities planned, and which ones?

Any one form Middle Village, Queens? I have no friends that have children and everyone works and/or leaves far from me.

Some days I just feel sad, especially the rainy/verry hot days

Re: SAHMs -- HELP What activities do you have planned for your toddler?

I know how you feel, I'm a SAHM and i miss working TERRIBLY!!

But i have a 2 and 3 year old..on these hot days-we goto story time a Barnes and Noble, I let them run around the mall or go on the carousel..we sit outside in the baby blow up pool-yes i do too :)

On rainy days we do tons of crafts, play tag, hide and go seek, and i even make them help me dust and clean :)

I'm pretty isolated here, all my friends work and the ones that don't are a good 45 mins away.

I hired a highschool senior-now starting college, to come here for mommy mental health time...she comes 4-6 hours a week so i can get out ALONE and do whatever I want for ME and she plays with them. I totally rec'd that!!
I called my highschool and asked if they have child devolpement class and they posted my classified..and went from there..i'm sure if you call local colleges/highschools you can do the same..

I'm actually looking forward to G starting preschool so i can meet more moms with kids their age.

Re: SAHMs -- HELP What activities do you have planned for your toddler?

we have been going to free summer movies.

I bring him to his art classes.

we spent a lot of mornings exploring.
he brings his magnifying glass and looks for bugs.

library class start up here again in Sept. We found a really great one.

I am in 2 moms groups...its great for fire dept field trips.

I had a zoo membership...a lot of bang for my buck, same with children's museum.

we go to chuck e cheese, don't eat and go in with a token coupon.

my kid is a train fanatic. So I hang out on a train bridge and do puzzles when we have nothing else to do.
eta: we are very active, and I am proud to say that these art classes are the first class I have ever paid for.

Message edited 8/11/2009 10:39:56 AM.

Re: SAHMs -- HELP What activities do you have planned for your toddler?

My DS is 13 months.

For the summer I refused to pay for any classes.

We spend some time in the backyard. Water table, pool, roll the ball around on grass.

I bought a town pass for $35 dollars. It gets us into all the town parks (which has boardwalk, picnic tables, playground, sprinkler park)

I also bought the state empire pass which I probably won't buy next year. But it gets us into all the state parks (Hecksher, Belmont, Jones Beach, Robert Moses, Sunken Meadow and more)

We have a lot of playdates.

Re: SAHMs -- HELP What activities do you have planned for your toddler?

I Would lose my mind staying home all the time. We stay "in" about 1x a week, we go out every other day...we go to the Park, beach, movies, shopping, walks around mall, stores, grocery stores, target etc...Playdates, Library, Bookstores, storytimes, Childrens musuem, aquarium, open play places, free trials at places like gymboree, backyard play....etc

Re: SAHMs -- HELP What activities do you have planned for your toddler?

It varies, but over the summer, this has been my 20 month olds' week:

Mommy and Me Class (once a week)
Playdate (once a week, occasionally twice)

After that, we go to the park some days, the library others, and the town pool others, plus some day trips here and there. he's also pretty happy to stay home, and we spend a lot of time outdoors. With these things and the grocery shopping, errands, the week flys by.

Re: SAHMs -- HELP What activities do you have planned for your toddler?

On days DS doesn't have school we are outside in the yard...A Lot.
Water Table, Kiddie Pool, Playdough, Puzzles, Books..
We go for drives, just for the heck of it. We drive to a local farm and look at the animals.
Playdates (love these).
I recently (like 2 nights ago) joined meetup.com and there were 3 different playdates already set up.

DS LOVES school and after this Friday he's off until after Labor Day..Im thinking lots of play dates, open plays and seeing what the meet up group has to offer

Re: SAHMs -- HELP What activities do you have planned for your toddler?

We are always playing with friends...at their house, the beach, the pool....we go to the aquarium...but not in the summer (it tends to be too busy for us)..we have a great nature wildlife trail/refuge in our town we go to...lots of running around and playing outside. The park....etc etc.

Re: SAHMs -- HELP What activities do you have planned for your toddler?

I also refuse to pay for expensive class memberships.
We belong to few playgroups so that usually keeps us very busy. We go to the Holstville zoo, Hoyt farm, LI Game Farm, Riverhead Aquarium, Town pool, town beaches and sprinkler parks, open play at lay places, parks, playgrounds, and many many playdates at peoples houses. One of my playgroups has a lot of "trial" classes for Music together, dance, my gym, etc so I take advantage of those. We also have a backyard full of awesome toys! So if we ever have no plans - which is rare - he has an awesome backyard to play in.
We just got home from a big playdate at someones house. When Landon wakes from his nap we'll probably go to the mall, to walk around in the AC since it is soooo hot!

Re: SAHMs -- HELP What activities do you have planned for your toddler?

I am not a SAHM but I live in Middle Village 2 blocks away from Juniper Valley Park.

Re: SAHMs -- HELP What activities do you have planned for your toddler?

We have lots of playdate- I'm very lucky that I have a lot of friends with kids around the same age. We have a zoo membership and love going there, especially just the two of us. We go to the children's museum, indoor play places, out for lunch a lot, the park, lots of backyard fun. When we're trapped indoors I admit that I'm not the best. I try to do art projects with him, but he's just not that into it- unless its paint and that makes a mess so I try not to do it too often. So we mostly play with his little men and he makes up stories and adventures. We have lots of sword fights too. DS is convinced he's a knight.

Re: SAHMs -- HELP What activities do you have planned for your toddler?

DS is 15 months old.
We try to get out as much as possible. This summer we have done Gymboree classes, the pool, beach, Long Island Children's Museum, the park, the carousel at the mall, anything really. We do stay home some days, and on those days we lay low. I'll fill up our blow up pool, or the water table. We'll have my friend come over with her kids for a playdate or if it's really hot, we'll stay in the air conditioning and relax, watch TV, play, read, etc.