Elbert Hubbard

Conversation. Momversation?
Based on an article written by Loretta Casteen

If conversation is a lost art, it just may be that children are the cause. Ever try to talk to a friend with half dozen or so little ones underfoot? If so, then you know what I mean. Personally, I’ve started calling these visits “Momversations”. You see, with Momversations you have to fill in the blanks yourself, since with kids around, a complete sentence is a pretty rare occurrence.

See if you can figure out the answers to the questions below with just the snippet of information provided:
“So, did you get that raise you asked for?”
“Oh! It was so great. I just marched in and told my boss...David! Don’t take another step towards that mud puddle!”
“Is the hardware store going to help sponsor the team this year?”
“Well, they want us to change the team colors. They asked…Who’s crying? I’d better go check.”

Did you figure out the answers? If you could tell that she got the raise and that the hardware store is indeed going to sponsor the team, then you are already well versed in the art of Momversation. It’s easy once you get the hang of it. Sometimes, though in a Momversation you only get a vague idea of what someone is trying to tell you:

“Then Ilse said…Yes, honey, it’s perfectly OK to dip your Cheese Curls in your Juice as long as you eat them. Uh…Where was I? Oh, yes. Ilse just refused to…Eat the rest of the cupcake! Not just the icing! So, then Jolene left the meeting in…Your shoes? Well, where did you take them off?”

Sound familiar? It’s Momversation. Oh, and Dads speak it too.

THE 'ART ' OF BONDING

Arts and Crafts are a great way to bond with kids, especially when the whole family get involved. These days kids (and parents too) are so consumed with technology that they often don’t even know what making crafts means. Crafts can be a great idea for family time, especially in the winter when we don’t go out so much. The added benefit of hands on messy play such as painting, sticking or sand/water play are important ways for a child to develop their physical, cognitive and social skills. By playing with tools such as glue spreaders and paint brushes and positioning materials such as collage or paint, children develop strong muscle control and good hand/eye co-ordination.

Here are some of the benefits and some ideas for your family ‘craft’ time
Make a connection - Crafting together is an easy way to get one-on-one time with your kids and find out what’s going on in their minds.

Give emotional support - As you craft together, your child will probably be more willing to open up and talk to you about things that are on his mind.

Keep it light and fun - Try not to obsess about how perfect she’s painting or getting the bead glued on just right. Keep your craft time relaxed.

Encourage and stay interested - Be encouraging and pay positive comments to your kid about their crafts.  Show them that you are interested in them.

Allow yourself to have childlike fun - If you've forgotten how, you have the perfect teacher in your child.

Plan for fun times together - Put it on the schedule and enjoy the planning and anticipation of a fun family activity.

Craft ideas for younger kids
Kids of all ages love to craft. If you have younger kids, here are some really fun craft ideas to try with them:
NOODLE ART
Give your kids a sheet of construction paper and a mound of dry macaroni noodles (any fun-shaped dry noodle will work for this craft). Let them draw a picture on their paper with a pencil or crayon first. Then glue around the outline of their picture with white school glue. Let them place their noodles on top of the glue to create a fun noodle art picture.
FINGER PAINTING
All kids love the messy feeling of finger painting. Put an old shirt or paper apron on your kid before giving them the paints. For an even less-messy clean-up, take your kids outside and sit them under a tree in the cool shade to paint.
PLAYDOUGH ART
Another favourite of kids is play dough and clay. Lay newspaper on the floor and give your kids small tubs of their favorite-colored play dough. Encourage them to create sculptures with their fun dough.
SOCK PUPPET SHOW
Sock puppets are easy to make. Just glue on a pair of wiggle eyes and make a nose and mouth from felt. Then add a sprout of hair, made with colorful yarn. Make several of these sock puppets out of different sizes of socks and let your kids put on a sock puppet show for you.
PIPE CLEANER FUN
Buy a couple of packs of colorful pipe cleaners and let your kids create art with them. You will be amazed at what they can make from something this simple!

If you don’t know where to start, Stimix Educrafts provide educational educrafts in sets for parents to do with the child @ home.  More details

"Now, young man," asked the dentist, "what kind of filling would you like for that tooth?"

"Chocolate, please," replied the youngster.