Don't Stifle the Creative Spirit

I had forgotten just how creative my children could be.  They are each given a chore or two to do each day before they can have any screen time.  Although they've chosen to go without screen time for most of the week, they have been "working" today.  They chose to work together and there has been an awful lot of giggling coming from their rooms.  They have been inventing games to make cleaning more fun.  Sure wish I could learn some of those games.  :)

There have also been some other creative activities taking place.  Every few minutes this afternoon our daughter ran to record a new verse of her song.  She was inspired suddenly this afternoon and every little bit she was inspired even more.  The day ended with a complete song, recorded on a cell phone.  When she played it for her dad this afternoon, even I knew most of the song.  We have a song writer on our hands.

May I never stifle this creativity  I know part of the inspiration was cleaning their rooms and finding precious treasures that had been missing for weeks/months (like a microphone).  I've always said, if something is lost, spend some time cleaning and you'll be amazed what you can find.  ;)  May I never let cleanliness and order take priority over creativity.  How do you balance order and creativity?  How do you make sure kids have the freedom to express themselves and maintain a sense of family responsibility?  How do I make sure the kiddos have a fun summer and the ability to express their creativity while not turning the house into a junk yard?   Maybe, they just have too much STUFF and not enough "blank space" to really encourage creativity.  Maybe our garage sale this weekend will help them find more "blank space." 

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Memorial Day

Summer Vacation

And so it begins . . .

Summer vacation is here.  No more getting up to get ready for school bright and early in the morning.  No more homework.  No more Spelling City.  No more daily routine we've had for the past nine months.  You might think that would lead to more relaxation, more freedom, and more rest.  You might think that, but I'm not sure it is going to be true.  I sat down this week to make our summer schedule.  It is CRAZY!!!  For the month of June, there was one day on the calendar with nothing on it.  Now, granted some of those activities are vacations, time with grandparents, and other fun stuff.  STILL--CRAZY!!!

The CRAZINESS started today with picking them up after school ended at noon and heading straight to the Kick Off Party for the Summer Reading Program and the Hays Public Library.  That may be the activity I'm most excited about for the summer.  They have all kinds of fun things planned--too bad we won't make it to everything we want.  Once a week will be enough for us when we're around.  I'm just excited our daughter will get to participate in a special program just for the In-Be-Tweens.  Check it out at www.hayspublib.org.  What could be better for my readers than fishing for books?!?  They had a great time today.  Our daughter brought home the gold seal award, a rally towel, and bookmark from the KU Reading Program.  She also won the award for the most AR points in her class--she had 305.6  points this year.  Our son has really started reading and only wants to read chapter books right now.  It was hard for me to watch him get ready for our garage sale and get rid of his "baby" books.  I'm so proud of their reading skills.  They've both had an excellent year.  Let's keep it up!!

Red Ninjago Ninja

Fortunately, the swimming pool doesn't open until Memorial Day--after our garage sale.  That also plans to be a big part of our summer and we're ALL excited--especially since I have a water chair and can get in the water too.  :)  Much to the kids chagrin, I have also worked up a schedule of chores, cooking lunches, and keeping their rooms clean.  They are not a bit excited about that and how it could negatively impact their pool time or time with electronics.

What do you have planned for your summer?  How do you keep a balance between fun and responsibility?  I'm planning to use the summer fun calendar out of Thriving Family Magazine.  We already plan to spend time enjoying the Summer Olympics and the kiddos plan to do their very own Clubhouse Olympic Challenge.  Hopefully we'll keep a good balance and keep everyones physical, mental, and spiritual fitness in shape this summer.  Any great ideas out there on how to do that?

Our summer also includes some exciting adventures, including a birthday.  Keep checking back with my blog to see what all we get to do this summer.

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"At the end of life . . ."

"At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.  We will be judged by 'I was hungry and you gave me to eat, I was naked and you clothed me, I was homeless and you took me in.'   Hungry not only for bread--but hungry for love.  Naked not only for clothing--but naked for human dignity and respect.  Homeless not only for want of a room of bricks--but homeless because of rejection."--Mother Teresa