AaAllowance is a rare thing these days. Let your child match socks for a dime. Maybe he could put away clothes for a nickel. Letting a child earn a little here and there teaches responsibility. Make a list of all the things the child can earn money for. Do not pay your child as a way of getting him to do things though. That defeats the purpose of learning.

BbBanks can be made out of anything. An oatmeal container, a can with a plastic lid, anything that can have a slot cut into the top will make a perfect change bank. Let your child decorate the outside of the container. By saving up money, your child can learn how to make her money add up.

CcCollecting can be fun and very inexpensive. First, talk with your child and discuss what to collect. Get a notebook or an album to keep the collection in. Have relatives in other places send additional items for the collection. Make sure that you write in who sent it and the date. Years from now your child will love going back through the book.

DdDos and Donts is a neat game. You tell your child a do thingLike do brush your teeth before bedtime. Then, let your child tell you a do thing. Next, tell your child a dont thingLike dont talk to strangers. And so on. You can even make this a silly game with a statement like, Dont stand on the roof with peanut butter on your toes. Children love silliness.

EeEgg coloring can be done at any time of the year. A few drops of food coloring in a glass of water with a tablespoon of vinegar will create some beautiful eggs to dress up a lunchtime table. Help your child to mix the colors to come up with new ones. Make sure the eggs have been boiled and are completely cooled before hand.

FfFeet and hands are fun to trace and can be made into a lot of different pictures. Let your child trace your handThen let him turn the hand into a picture of a turkey. See how creative you both can be. A foot tracing can be made into a radical streetcar! Neat, huh?

GgGo for a nature walk with your child. Take along a pencil and a notebook to write down all the amazing things youll see. Squirrels running up a tree or a big butterfly are beautiful sights. When the walk is over, read what youve written down. Then you and your child can draw pictures of what youve seen. Put the pictures in the notebook to look at later.

HhHula-hoops are something that not all of us have a talent for. However, they dont have to be used for spinning around your waist. Lay it on the ground and see how many times you both can jump into the circle and out of the circle. Let your child pretend its a steering wheel in the worlds biggest car. Vroom all around the house! Your child will find a zillion different things to do with a hula-hoop.

IiIllusion games are a blast! Drape a sheet over an open doorway. Set up a lamp behind the sheet so that it creates a shadow onto the sheet. Take turns with your child holding items up behind the sheet and then guess what the item is. Make sure your child knows not to touch the lamp.

JjJungle animals make a variety of sounds and noises. Play a game of Jungle Charades with your child. Take turns acting like an animal, making the appropriate noises. Remember, you are only allowed to do the movements and noises that the animal would make. Parents usually have a hard time because we look so silly doing this but this is a great chance to cut loose and laugh with your child. Just a quick note, children are usually better at guessing and acting out than the parents are.

KkKangaroos hop, crabs walk sideways, and elephants swing their trunks. How many animals can you and your child imitate? Can you come up with an animal for each letter of the alphabet? Its not totally impossible! Let your child make up some animals and what their movements would be. Maybe they will be an eight-legged monkey from the hidden reaches of the world! Nothing is too outrageous when youre imitating animals.

LlLet your child be the teacher and you get to be the student. What will you learn today? Make sure you raise your hand when you have a question. Children love to be in charge. This will also encourage your child to be a leader.

MmMake a picture using your toes to hold the pencil. Can you write your name this way? Can you draw a picture with your toes and a crayon? Children love to try new things and this task is often very comical.

NnNewspaper is a great art medium. Mix a small amount of flour and water to make a thin paste. Tear the newspaper into strips and dip them into the paste. The newspaper will be pliable and can be squished and shaped into any form. Let the creations dry for five days. Then you can paint and color your creations.

OoOvernight parties are a fun treat. Have a special slumber party! Let your child stay up with you and play games, watch a movie and eat popcorn. Your child will love the extra attention. If your child is older, let a friend or two stay over also.

PpPlay a game with your child. When was the last time you played Hide & Seek? How about Tag? Or even Ring-Around-The-Rosie? Try to think of games that you played as a child. Children love to do things we did as children!

QqQuiz Me is a neat game. Have you child put an object into a paper bag. Your child says, Quiz me. You ask yes or no questions until you have properly guessed the item. Switch positions and let your child be the quizzer.

RrRaces have been around forever. Get creative with different kinds of races. Race bubbles in the air. Race pudding on a plate. Almost any item that has movement can be raced.

SsSnakes can be made out of almost anything. Sockie snakes are easy and fun. Take a sock and draw eyes on it. Then put it onto your hand and make it talk. You and your child will have wonderful snakie conversations with your sockie snakes. Make sure you exaggerate the sss sounds.

TtTake a minute each day to tell your child how important he/she is to you. One compliment every day will build a lot of self-esteem in your child.

UuUse an old album or notebook as a memory book. Let your child put pictures, stickers and special items in it. Write a caption next to each item so that you can reflect back with your child. Add to the book often.

VvVarious game pieces from old games can be used to make up a new game. Go through the toy chest and old games to see if there are any stray pieces there. Put the collection on the table and let your child help you create a special game for just the two of you. Each time you play, come up with new rules.

WwWhistling is a very hard thing to learn. So instead of whistling, hum! Make kazoos out of cardboard tubes. Place a square piece of wax paper over one end and secure it with a rubber band. Then hum into the open end. Your child will love making up songs with you.

XxXylophones are so pretty. Make your own with your child by taking cardboard tubes and taping them side by side. Place an assortment of jingle bells into each one. When tapped by a wooden spoon, each tube will make a different ring. Let your child color the tubes to make a colorful creation.

YyYellow is a bright and sunny color. Draw pictures with your child of all the things that are yellow. Then hang the picture in a not so sunny place to brighten it up. Youll both smile sunny smiles every time you pass the picture. Maybe next time can be a Purple day or some other color that your child loves!

ZzZebras are black and white. The best hiding spot for a zebra would be in a newspaper. Where can other animals hide? This is a great creative imagination game! Maybe a green frog could hide in the lettuce and a polar bear could hide in your vanilla ice cream. Let your child have fun with this game.

There are so many things that children love to do. One of their favorites is spending time with a loving parent. Make sure that youre there for your child.

Until next time

Stay fun and hug your precious little one!