Build a Blanket Fort
Every blanket in the house, one afternoon, one secret headquarters.
Do one good thing for someone in the house without being caught.
Twenty minutes, needs nothing, and it changes the atmosphere of a difficult day.
Nothing at all.
Doing something helpful without receiving credit for it separates kindness from praise-seeking, which is a distinction young children find genuinely difficult. Working out what a specific person would actually appreciate is also real perspective-taking.
Agree that nobody enters anyone elses room without permission.
The house is tidier than it was.
Every blanket in the house, one afternoon, one secret headquarters.
Teach them a game adults actually play.
A real job, done properly, by someone who is four.
Darks here, lights there, and a two year old who takes it very seriously.
A big box, some tape, and no instructions whatsoever.
Throw a soft ball around the room. Anyone who makes a sound is out.