I love when my children say, "I'm bored." I can't help smiling with anticipation of what they'll come up with to entertain themselves. I firmly believe boredom is the mother of creativity.
It's summer-time! The season where I am eager for boredom cause that is when my kids and I sit still long enough to watch the clouds floating by, the trees sway in the breeze, and insects crawling in an endless forest of grass and weeds. Boredom inspires pirates and forts, poems and art, riddles and "Calvin-Ball" games, short-stories and day-dreams.
But, when my crew has lost all inspiration and originality, it's time to be inspired by the classics.
This is a time for READING!
As I read Little House On the Prairie with my own Half-Pint, we started to brainstorm how we could better "experience" what it was like to travel to a new frontier in a covered wagon. This is what we came up with...
Here's a glimpse of how we made our own covered wagon with picnic benches and a few things we found in my husband's shop: an extra strip of molding and a couple bendable seams left over from joining white boards for a wall in the basement, and a ball of twine.
Creativity inspires more creativity!
When they talked about cooking salt-pork and pancakes on a spider over an open fire, we got hungry. It was almost dinner time, and time to include the boys in our adventure...
Maybe it would have been "easier" to eat inside, but we definitely had more fun eating by our wagon. We all agreed it tasted better outside, too!
Just remember, memories take TIME to make. And, your children are so worth the investment.
Here is one of our funny memories... My son took this picture of our puppy just as the scoundrel stole a piece of bacon.
Note to self: “There is a time to write and a time to read.” (Not exactly Solomon, but these are wise words none the less.) For much of the summer, I have put away my writing because I know this "season of children" will too soon pass, and I don't want to be preoccupied with a lesser priority. As fall returns, with homeschool routines with creative writing time for all, I want to remember balance and moderation as I seek to be more intentional and disciplined in developing my writing habit/addiction.
Application: Is something distracting you from being "ALL THERE" for your family? If you are too busy, what needs to change. Find a good book, snuggle up with your husband or child and take turns reading chapters. Our family has gone through so many adventures together this way. Don't miss out on the fun! How will you be more intentional about making creative memories with your kids?
-----
We've all heard how important it is to read to our children... (Are you feeling more "mommy-guilt"?)
If you doing the
bare minimum, I've so been there!!! -- Check out this post: "I Have Time". It was written
after I was convicted about rushing through bed times. Everything about
our "tuck-in-time" communicated, "I don't have time for you." A God
given change of perspective turns a burden in to a blessing and a chore
into a privileged.
It's summer-time! The season where I am eager for boredom cause that is when my kids and I sit still long enough to watch the clouds floating by, the trees sway in the breeze, and insects crawling in an endless forest of grass and weeds. Boredom inspires pirates and forts, poems and art, riddles and "Calvin-Ball" games, short-stories and day-dreams.
But, when my crew has lost all inspiration and originality, it's time to be inspired by the classics.
This is a time for READING!
As I read Little House On the Prairie with my own Half-Pint, we started to brainstorm how we could better "experience" what it was like to travel to a new frontier in a covered wagon. This is what we came up with...
Here's a glimpse of how we made our own covered wagon with picnic benches and a few things we found in my husband's shop: an extra strip of molding and a couple bendable seams left over from joining white boards for a wall in the basement, and a ball of twine.
Creativity inspires more creativity!
When they talked about cooking salt-pork and pancakes on a spider over an open fire, we got hungry. It was almost dinner time, and time to include the boys in our adventure...
Maybe it would have been "easier" to eat inside, but we definitely had more fun eating by our wagon. We all agreed it tasted better outside, too!
Just remember, memories take TIME to make. And, your children are so worth the investment.
Here is one of our funny memories... My son took this picture of our puppy just as the scoundrel stole a piece of bacon.
Note to self: “There is a time to write and a time to read.” (Not exactly Solomon, but these are wise words none the less.) For much of the summer, I have put away my writing because I know this "season of children" will too soon pass, and I don't want to be preoccupied with a lesser priority. As fall returns, with homeschool routines with creative writing time for all, I want to remember balance and moderation as I seek to be more intentional and disciplined in developing my writing habit/addiction.
Application: Is something distracting you from being "ALL THERE" for your family? If you are too busy, what needs to change. Find a good book, snuggle up with your husband or child and take turns reading chapters. Our family has gone through so many adventures together this way. Don't miss out on the fun! How will you be more intentional about making creative memories with your kids?
-----
We've all heard how important it is to read to our children... (Are you feeling more "mommy-guilt"?)
Deborah, you are such a fun, creative mother! You inspire me. By the way, what is the book you have pictured at the very bottom of this post. It looks like a book I've been searching for, I used to read it at my Grandmom's house. Is it "Childcraft" or something like that?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rebecca. What precious memories you and I have! My grandma held me in her lap and read "Winken, Blynken, and Nod" and the other stories from that wonderful "Child-Craft" set. (This story is in the first volume of 12, "Poems of Early Childhood". Copyright 1949. The first 2 books are our favorites! The second is called "Storytelling and Other Poems".) My grandma gave me her entire set; I feel so loved! (I found another copy of vol 1 for a dollar at the local Blueberry Festival's used book sale, but I know they sell for so much more online.)
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