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How To Tell That You're Getting Old
This week I celebrate another birthday, which brings me to that auspicious milestone where I am right between 52 and 54. A person only comes to this stage of life once, so I am going to make the most of it.
This year I plan celebrating my...
Lamb Stew Pet Food
Combine 1/2 pound chunks of lamb, 1 cup canned tomatoes, 1 cup water, 1 chicken bouillon cube, 1/2 onion (chopped), parsley and a dash of garlic powder in a pot and simmer. When meat is tender, remove all the bones. For dogs, cut the meat in...
Make Your Own Gourmet Gift Baskets
Everyone loves to receive a gift basket. Corporate gift baskets are often given by businesses to their customers as a token of their appreciation. However, most gift baskets are person to person expressions of love and friendship. You can find a...
Preventing child abductions
Child molesters and abductors usually look like everyday people. They can be anybody, the teacher, next door neighbor, mailman and they come in all ages, old and young. Tell your kids not to talk to adults they do not know. Anytime they are...
Unique Ideas for Girlfriend Get Togethers
Women create friendship opportunities. We suggest get togethers, shopping excursions, road trips, and coffee dates. We remember birthdays and anniversaries and make sure to stay connected. We call each other on the phone for no reason and meet...
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Raising Creative Grandchildren
“Where did he come up with that?” Kids often amaze us with their imaginative ideas, and we should give ourselves a pat on the back for playing a role in this development. Innovative thinking is essential for success in school and in life, and it’s our job as parents and grandparents to nurture our kids’ innate desire to be creative. Inventive play fosters original thinking, an asset when children are confronted with new situations. By providing activities that use their creativity and imaginations, we are giving our young ones an important tool to deal with life down the road.
Give them ideas.
Children come up with things to do on their own, but we also need to provide them with new ideas of interesting activities. Think back to what you did as a kid. Did you write a diary, create elaborate puppet shows, or sing and dance for relatives? Share ideas from your own childhood experiences. Offer creative writing ideas like writing an episode for a favorite television show or writing a new ending to a favorite story. Craft projects offer another outlet for inspiring imaginations. Craft kits, especially those from Curiosity Kits and ALEX, offer a wide variety of unusual and fun projects. They’ve brought us a long way from the sock puppets of our youth. These manufacturers offer ideas and supplies to make such things as scrapbooks, powerballs, soaps, candy, sun catchers, dolls, planes, dinosaurs, jewelry treasures, and lots of decorative items. Kids can gather ideas from the instructions, and then give the projects their own unique touches.
Keep ideas fresh.
Pick up any parenting magazine and you’ll find lots of ideas to get those
creative juices flowing in your kids. Search the web and check out craft stores. Keep a journal or file for magazine clippings and ideas as you find them. Stockpile so that you’ll know how to answer the whiny “I’m bored” call from the kids.
Give them freedom.
Once you’ve given the kids some suggestions and supplies, step back and see which they choose and where they go with them. This unstructured play time gives kids an opportunity to stretch their creative muscles. Watch as they incorporate your ideas and branch out on their own.
Set an example.
Chances are, if you are a creative person, your grandchild will be too. You display creativity in your everyday activities like when you reason with a disgruntled child, change lyrics to songs, and maybe even do some interpretive dancing to entertain a toddler. The children see your silliness and it rubs off on them. It’s a great idea to point out to your kids how you use creativity in your daily life.
As parents and grandparents, we always try to do the very best for our kids and provide opportunities that will help them mature into intelligent, capable adults. Nurturing their creative spirits helps them along this road. With their well-developed imaginations, maybe they’ll turn it into a yellow brick, pink polka-dotted road with sparkles!
About the Author
Susan Stump is the mother of two children and the owner of ChildCrafter, Co. - Craft Kits and Subscriptions that Inspire a Child’s Imagination. This work-at-home-mom offers a great selection of creative craft kits from ALEX, Quincrafts, and Curiosity Kits from her catalog and website http://www.childcrafter.com.
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