Intellectual Stimulation for the Stay at Home Mom

If you are a stay-at-home mother who is tearing her hair out trying to find something intellectual in her day, look no further. This guide shows you how to work different intellectual activities into your day while caring for your child.

Best of all, these ideas are budget-friendly and needn't depend on a napping child nor require extra childcare!

Even if you have not been a creative type in the past, this is a great time to branch out and stimulate the left side of your brain by writing poetry. Keep a pretty notebook wherever you and the kids tend to be most often. At first you may just have one sentence spring to mind in your poem; jot it down and keep the poem at the back of your mind. Add to it over time bit by bit as more inspiration strikes.

If there's a topic about which you'd like to know more, then this is the perfect time to do it! Find a book at your local library about an intellectual topic which intrigues you. Of course, while caring for your kids you'll only be reading just a few minutes at a time and not very often in total in a day, but it adds up and you'll be surprised at what you can learn this way!

For example, there are many books in the genre of popular science which can help explain concepts such quantum theory or cell biology in terms which a layperson can understand. Or if you're thinking of starting your own garden but it's the middle of winter, get a head start on your hobby by reading up on it and making plans. Alternatively, maybe you wish you'd known more about a certain period in history, such as the Middle Ages… the possibilities for intellectual stimulation this way are endless.

If reading a book incrementally can seem daunting, try an intellectual magazine instead. It can be put down for several days without requiring you to remember all that you have read in the preceding pages! There are several magazines which are ideal for the intellectual woman which tackle real-world, nitty-gritty issues in depth. It is suggested you avoid a parenting-style magazine, as these can focus on not-so-intellectual topics.

You are most likely cooking for your family anyway, so why not apply your talents to the endeavor of creating a new dish?

You'll enjoy the satisfaction of inventing something entirely new. Best of all as a mom, you'll be able to use only ingredients you and your family like. However, unless you are especially skilled (or lucky!), be prepared for it to take several rounds of changes to improve your recipe to the point where you and your family are completely satisfied with it. If the notion of a new recipe seems daunting, start instead by applying your talents to altering an existing recipe to make it healthier, quicker to make, or to fit in with a family member's dietary requirements.

Have you ever wanted to know more about a particular genre of music, such as jazz, classical, or swing? Purchase a couple of CDs to begin with and get out a book from the library about the history of that type of music.

For example, with classical music, try a CD containing a selection of well-known pieces from a variety of different composers, and obtain a book with information on those composers. You can have the CD playing in the background as you and the kids go about your day at home. Soon you'll find out which composers you like best, and this knowledge will help guide you toward other composers you might like to try in the future. Music appreciation can be a highly rewarding lifelong hobby.

Logic puzzles, brainteasers, crosswords and Sudoku can be ideal ways for a stay-at-home mother to get intellectual stimulation and keep a sharp brain. As with reading, you'll find that you'll have to do these brain-sharpening hobbies in piecemeal fashion with a few minutes snatched here and there.

Apply your intellect and problem-solving skills to your daily life in the home. For example, instead of saying to yourself, "oh great, it's time to clean the bathroom again", you can bump up the interest factor by saying "I'm going to think up and test out some new ideas for faster bathroom cleaning". You'll reap rewards now from putting an intellectual spin on this task, and also in years to come from saving time with your new and more streamlined cleaning routine.

There are many different intellectual activities you can introduce into your day as a stay-at-home mother. Virtually all of these need to be done bit by bit because of your primary role as care provider for kids. However, you'd be surprised at how just a few minutes of intellectual time grabbed here and there during the day can go a long way to keeping your brain active, making you a happier mom!