A Simple Thing ✨ no. 19
a favorite way to connect with my kids and fill their tank
Welcome to A Simple Thing—a weekly series delivered to your inbox (most)every Monday, offering a small, bite-sized action that can create a meaningful impact.
Today’s Simple Thing is specific for parents of young children— it’s a little “roughhousing” game I like to keep in my back pocket and play with my kids that never fails to get everyone giggling…
A Simple Thing to Do This Week…
🌯 Play the burrito game.
Even as someone who worked in early childhood education for years, I don’t always find it easy to engage in meaningful play with my kids. My adult brain just doesn’t flex those imaginative, playful muscles like it used to. But I’ve found that rough-and-tumble play and games like hide-and-seek and tag are easy for me to jump into and surprisingly fun.
One approach my kids absolutely love (and only takes a few minutes) is turning them into a burrito. It’s always a hilarious, joy-filled interaction, and if you’ve ever read Pete’s a Pizza, it has a similar concept!
Here’s how simple it is—give it a try this week and let me know how it goes:
Spread out a blanket on the floor or a wide couch—this is your tortilla.
Plop your child onto the tortilla and start adding toppings—drizzle the queso, sprinkle chopped veggies, scoop on the guac, beans, and rice. Don’t forget the hot sauce—extra spicy, of course!
Get imaginative with the ingredients—what’s the silliest topping you can think of?
Roll up your burrito and pretend to gobble it down. Mmm, delicious!
My kids love this game so much they actually line up for their turn. They also enjoy coming up with ingredients and helping wrap up their siblings.
Meaningful play doesn’t have to be an elaborate project or a perfectly planned Pinterest activity (a reminder I always benefit from hearing). It can be as simple as a few minutes of silly fun. And safe, thoughtful roughhousing offers a ton of benefits for growing kids and fosters parent-child connections while “filling their tank.”
Try this one out and let me know—what kind of rough-and-tumble play do you enjoy with your little ones?
i love this!! we do something similar with our nugget where we have someone lay in the middle, add all the toppings, and then fold the nugget in half on top of them and give them a good squish! we call it sandwich!
I need to try this! Similarly, my son loves being made into a taco.