Creative Kids

Creative Boundaries

Some of you may have perfect angels who do everything you ask and take care of everything you own. I, however, do not. I have the kind of angels who color on everything when your back is turned and blame it on each other when confronted. Now, I know that there are some who think that absolute punishment is the best route in this situation. But, with so many other things to worry about, isn’t there a better way? I am sharing some of my solutions to make a happy, creative household for everyone. Have fun and paint the town red (or at least the bedroom)! You can have a paint party. Get paint, stencils, sponges, or any other creative ideas to let the kids paint and decorate their own bedroom. Just keep in mind that it may take some work to paint over later. Another great idea is blackboard or whiteboard paint. You can go to nearly any home improvement store and buy paint for the kids to write on an entire wall. You can buy dry erase markers for the whiteboard paint or chalk for the blackboard paint. For the vehicle, options are limited. I had to make my kids stop bringing crayons and markers in the car because I would find marks where a crayon melted or someone dropped a marker on the interior. Electronics are a quick solution. Many games offer painting where kids can draw pictures on the game. Other options are markers that only color on the accompanying paper. These are great ideas for keeping kids busy and creative without hurting your home and car. Share if you have more ideas!

Ready Mornings!

If your kids are anything like mine, they are difficult to get motivated in the morning. My youngest daughter is a very indecisive person. Not to mention she is hard to get going anyway, any time of day. She is easily distracted and caught off guard. The other girls are just slow in the morning. They’re usually half awake while they’re getting dressed. One thing that has helped our mornings so much is getting their clothes out the night before. It’s part of their bedtime routine and saves so much time in the morning. However, this is not always an easy fix. I have found that some mornings someone has misplaced a shoe, a shirt, a sock, or anything else that holds up the morning for everyone. Here is a quick, inexpensive idea: make a spot to hang tomorrow’s outfit. Just a couple of hooks on the wall in the corner of the room can hold the clothes your child has picked for tomorrow. Place the shoes under the hooks where the outfit hangs and put a sock in each shoe. I even make sure the shoes are untied and ready to go just to eliminate one more thing to hold them up in the mornings.