OK, so you are staying home with your kid(s). Good for you! It was a little crazy making for me, and harder to get stuff done than I expected (hey, I was going to write a book!) but it was a fantastic experience being with my daughter for the first 3 1/2 years of her life and one I wouldn't trade for anything.
Here are some of the things I did to try to stay sane, and keep myself in budget.
I still cooked like a parent with a out of the home job - meaning I cooked in batches. By cooking up a storm a few times a week we would have lots of things that were ready to eat all week long - like beans, rice, prepped veggies for stir fry's, a big pot of soup, a roast chicken, a veggie casserole - and I would have free time in the week for outings.
I also tried to cook in the mornings, or at nap time, but not the evenings when everyone is cranky and hungry.
On top of chores - cooking, cleaning - each day my goals were:
- Something social for the child
- Something social for me
- Exercise for the child
- Exercise for me
I
found that going to the same place at the same time on the same day of
the week meant I would develop friendships with other moms, dads, or
nannies. (Social!) And trust me, other adults you can talk to are a very good thing as a stay at home parent!!
A. Very. Good. Thing.
My Weekly Rotation
YMCA San Francisco gave us a discounted membership and the childwatch was very low cost. Bean loved being with other kids and teachers an hour or so a day - socializing for her. This also meant I could assess her readiness for preschool when the time came, and I knew she had the skills to be able to manage school on her own. We started with just 1/2 an hour and I could check on her whenever I wanted. By the time she was 3 I knew she was ready for preschool - it was really wonderful to be able to ease her into a situation slowly. And typically the same kids were there every day at the time we were there - socializing for her! I worked out - exercise for me! I also love the YMCA pool and child swim lessons.
San Francisco Park and Rec has Toddler play times at gyms throughout the city. Cost and times vary, check their website. Our local Rec center had two weekly, drop in was 6$, if you bought a booklet or registered for the class it was less. Under 1 years old free. We went weekly to the Rec center near our house during the rainy season. You can also take lots of wonderful low cost toddler art, cooking, and movement classes through the Park and Rec - we particularly liked the Art class at the Hamilton Center.
The library is free, and in a city like San Francisco there are Rhyme Times multiple times a week. I have made some fast friends at Library Rhyme times. You know who you are! Thank you!
We went weekly to the same Rhyme Time and I biked, getting some exercise in for me, and tons of socializing for my child. We would also check out lots of books and DVDs each week - more free and wonderful entertainment!
In our city, San Francisco, I found that a membership to the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gare Park totally worth it and in the winter regularly went twice a week or more. I got the individual membership as my under 4 year old child was free. With that membership I could also take a guest - which is awesome! I could bring my husband as my guest! Or a friend! One of the hard parts of being frugal for me is that I love to treat people - to lunch, to a snack, whatever - so being able to bring a friend to the Academy meant I could feel like I was treating, even if I wasn't spending any money. And treating that friend meant they saved $29.95, the cost of an adult ticket. Individual membership is $99 a year. As you can see, going twice a week and taking friends - this quickly pays for itself. Note: there is a super cool toddler room in the Academy, special member only hours an hour early twice a week, and cool members only evening events that are family friendly and stood in for date nights for my husband and I. Those events and special members only hours: no additional cost. If you don't live in San Francisco look for a similar museum near you!
A. Very. Good. Thing.
My Weekly Rotation
- YMCA gym with child watch (low cost)
- Park and Rec center toddler play time (low cost, and prior to my child being 1, free)
- Library toddler rhyme time (free)
- California Academy of Science (worth every penny)
YMCA San Francisco gave us a discounted membership and the childwatch was very low cost. Bean loved being with other kids and teachers an hour or so a day - socializing for her. This also meant I could assess her readiness for preschool when the time came, and I knew she had the skills to be able to manage school on her own. We started with just 1/2 an hour and I could check on her whenever I wanted. By the time she was 3 I knew she was ready for preschool - it was really wonderful to be able to ease her into a situation slowly. And typically the same kids were there every day at the time we were there - socializing for her! I worked out - exercise for me! I also love the YMCA pool and child swim lessons.
San Francisco Park and Rec has Toddler play times at gyms throughout the city. Cost and times vary, check their website. Our local Rec center had two weekly, drop in was 6$, if you bought a booklet or registered for the class it was less. Under 1 years old free. We went weekly to the Rec center near our house during the rainy season. You can also take lots of wonderful low cost toddler art, cooking, and movement classes through the Park and Rec - we particularly liked the Art class at the Hamilton Center.
The library is free, and in a city like San Francisco there are Rhyme Times multiple times a week. I have made some fast friends at Library Rhyme times. You know who you are! Thank you!
We went weekly to the same Rhyme Time and I biked, getting some exercise in for me, and tons of socializing for my child. We would also check out lots of books and DVDs each week - more free and wonderful entertainment!
In our city, San Francisco, I found that a membership to the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gare Park totally worth it and in the winter regularly went twice a week or more. I got the individual membership as my under 4 year old child was free. With that membership I could also take a guest - which is awesome! I could bring my husband as my guest! Or a friend! One of the hard parts of being frugal for me is that I love to treat people - to lunch, to a snack, whatever - so being able to bring a friend to the Academy meant I could feel like I was treating, even if I wasn't spending any money. And treating that friend meant they saved $29.95, the cost of an adult ticket. Individual membership is $99 a year. As you can see, going twice a week and taking friends - this quickly pays for itself. Note: there is a super cool toddler room in the Academy, special member only hours an hour early twice a week, and cool members only evening events that are family friendly and stood in for date nights for my husband and I. Those events and special members only hours: no additional cost. If you don't live in San Francisco look for a similar museum near you!
Less Frequently Than Weekly
Other places I went less frequently, so not every single week, included exploring playgrounds in San Francisco as well as all of our cool wild ares!
- Beaches (free)
- Hike in one of our cool rugged parks(free)
- Playgrounds (free)
- Park and Rec center art class (low cost)
- Ride the Cable Car (low cost)
A lot of my friends went to the Randal Junior Museum (free!) a lot. It was a bit more difficult for us to get to as we were typically on our bicycle but I did go probably once or twice a year and really loved it. You can pet bunnies, play with trains, and build with LEGOs - all free. A solid place to keep on your list of activities. There are Junior Museums all over California, find the closest one to you!
San Francisco Park and Rec has a great tool to locate playgrounds and parks in San Francisco. We have a ton - it's pretty awesome!I would head toward the sun on foggy days and just get off at the first playground where it was sunny!
I always
had a morning plan because getting out of
the house was key to having a great day! So a week of mornings looked like this:
Afternoons were open for plans to meet folks or just adventure. Or stay home and make things. Pinterest became my toddler craft time reference library. I will say: lots of fails but it was fun to try to make play dough and oven bake pottery beads. I'd also meet friends at the beach, have people over, try to go on a hike, or go to a different library.
- Monday:YMCA
- Tuesday: YMCA Child Swim Lessons
- Wednesday: YMCA
- Thursday: Library Rhyme Time
- Friday: YMCA followed by Rec Center
- Saturday: Academy of Science
Afternoons were open for plans to meet folks or just adventure. Or stay home and make things. Pinterest became my toddler craft time reference library. I will say: lots of fails but it was fun to try to make play dough and oven bake pottery beads. I'd also meet friends at the beach, have people over, try to go on a hike, or go to a different library.
I feel truly blessed to have
been able to spend that time with my child and actually miss being home.
If I won the lottery I'd work part time or not at all and just
volunteer for the causes I care about.
Have a great time at home with your child(ren)!
- daslael
- daslael
No comments:
Post a Comment