Modern family life is a busy enterprise. There is school and work, of course, but then there is tee ball practice, ballet class, and gymnastics along with countless other childhood endeavors to contend with and schedule family time around. Next time you are feeling strapped for quality family time, consider squeezing something quirky, quick and fun into an unexpected timeslot. For example, our mornings are, like most American families, pretty hectic – and we only have one child right now! We need to somehow peel back the comfortable sheet and comforter and rise for yet another jam-packed day and then we need to convince our little one to forgo the warmth of her big kid bed in favor of shoes, socks, teeth-brushing and the remainder of the A.M. rituals. It can be a daunting task and it happens every single weekday morning. Late one night last week, I was feeling particularly inspired and cut out the first letter of her name from a piece of felt craft paper and laid it out on a sheet of newspaper with the Elmer’s glue, some little pom-poms, googly eyes and a few other trinkets from her arts and crafts collection. The next morning I was going to let her, providing she got up and dressed quickly (and with the promise of a fun surprise, I didn’t expect much resistance on that point), do a quickie art project with Daddy in a timeslot usually reserved for hustle and bustle – and not much fun, which is exactly what made it work so well!
It took only a couple minutes of my time the night before and only about 5 minutes together the next morning for her to glue the craft pieces on the big purple letter J. I controlled the volume of choices and materials so that it would not turn into a long affair, but she was still giddy at the chance to do some artwork before we left the house for the day. I realized that giving children something small, a little token of fun, totally unexpectedly and at an odd and unusual time might just make their whole day brighter. Plus, it also allows you to spend an extra special moment or two with your kids and the impact of that is immeasurable.
Play Date and Group Activities
Finding Time for Craft Projects
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