I have been known to not let my kids do something because of the mess....but I usually regret it. After all, isn't part of being a kid about getting messy? I mean, you're a kid, you're just learning! Jumping into puddles, sticking faces into the ice cream bowl because they are being a dog, painting a picture (and also their arms, and face, and shirt...). How about getting dressed into 40 different costumes in one day, and leaving each costume in a different spot when finished, or jumping on the trampoline with all the cut grass they collected off the lawn? Children learn by doing, touching, tasting, smelling, hearing, and sometimes (most times!), by making a jumbo mess! I feel that giving your child the chance to be a child does 2 things: One, it fosters creativity. A child thinks, lives, and breaths creativity. They are not bogged down with "it might not work", or "it will be too hard", they just go for it! If parents (or caregivers) are forever shushing, and shutting down a child when they try to explore, that child will ultimately learn not be able to think creatively. Secondly, it presents opportunities for the child to learn about cause and effect. If they destroy the house by leaving costumes everywhere (in case you haven't figured it out, this happens regularily in our house!), then let them gather those costumes back up, and put them away. That's a big job for a little kid. If they jump in puddles, but forgot to ask if it was o.k. first, and ruin their favourite pants, that's o.k. They learn that fun can be fun, but it also (often) includes some work. That is a life lesson. As a stay at home Mom, one my "jobs" is to keep our house livable, so I can get up-tight about the mess. But what keeps me in check is knowing that when I was a child, I was forever making a crafty mess, or dressing up, or getting filthy outside, and it was wonderful! I grew up, and stopped doing those things (well, I still do them, but in a grown-up way), and my kids will stop too. I would rather them explore every inch of our property, jump in every puddle, climb every tree, and try on every costume, because sooner than I want, it will be over. Being a child is beautiful, and doesn't last forever, so nourish the experience, and ignore the mess!
0 Comments
I am generally a purger, and don't keep things unless I know for sure that it will be used/worn/eaten, etc. I do not keep things "just in case we might need it sometime"-because most times, that "sometime" never comes! So, when we were given 3 boxes of "Fuzzy Felt" kits ('60's era) from my husbands' Mom, I pondered whether keeping them was worth the space they took up. Well, let me tell you, "old school" fun can sometimes be better than "new school" fun! I save the playing with these for the weekends (or during power outages), so that they stay exciting. Whenever I take them out for the kids to play with, they stay playing at them for about 2 hours because they each work away at one, then switch, then switch again so that they've each done every set. With Christmas coming, and the stress of "having" to buy so many things, consider something second hand, or homemade for the child in your life. Or maybe just arrange to spend some extra time with them doing something fun (old school, or new school). Or consider this post my sister at The Good Kind of Crazy wrote about Christmas and gifts: http://onlyfitinjustenough.blogspot.ca In this age of noisy, flashy, battery powered toys, kids are still full of imagination, and sometimes you will be surprised by what grabs their attention. They might not be expensive, or noisy, or current, but these "old" Fuzzy Felt kits still manage to steal the show!
So, I turned 30 last month (yikes....). I told my hubby that I wanted a surprise party. No, seriously I did. I'm not sure why I wanted one, maybe I thought it was distract me from turning 30..... On the day of my birthday, my sister and her family were visiting, so we bought a cake, and I had a party....with all of our children (9 of them between us). My husband was working on the day of my actual birthday, and he acted all sorry, and promised we could go on a date later in the week for my birthday. I was sad about no party, but my sweet husband isn't always the best planner, so I wasn't too shocked. But, he did it. Not only did he plan a surprise party, but I was genuinely (seriously!) surprised! I cried a little! The morning of the surprise party, he even acted like he was upset that my sister and I were going antiquing, and whined about how long we would be away....all the while wanting me out the door so he could clean the house and get the party set up! Sneaky..... My husband delegated jobs out (aka-made other people do stuff so that I wasn't wondering why he bought things like 8 bags of chips....), and invited some friends and family. He even planned out breakfast for the next morning because my family was going to stay over (because they live far away). All of this to say: I love planning a party; picking the colour scheme, the theme, the food, prepping it all, etc. But, a party doesn't have to have those things. The theme of this party was to surprise me, and it worked!
I felt so blessed, and loved, and forgot for a while that I was worried about being "old". |
Hi, I'm Amy-Lyn! I am the lady behind this here blog! I live in the sticks with my animals, my super handsome husband, and my
3 amazing kids! Here you'll find things from recipes (gluten-free, paleo, and strait up junk food!), DIY ideas, thoughts on raising a son with autism, and whatever else pops into my brain! : ) Read more about me by clicking here! Want to Stay Connected?
Find What
|