Think of how many different ways we use time. Time is concrete – Seconds, minutes, hours , our days are divided into units of time. Time is an  abstract idea a way of categorizing – Past, present, future.

Time is wasted like a resource, time is cherished like a loved one. Whenever you reminisce about the past or plan for the future you are influencing and being influenced by time.

From a young age we teach children how to tell time. But we don’t usually explore what “time” is. It can lead to some very interesting conversations. Having a good concept of time is very important when setting Goals and Resolutions.

The best thing about time is you can choose what to do with it. We can’t get our time back, once it is gone, it is gone. How we spend our time determines the kind of life we live and we all have 24 hours in a day.

I believe there are two keys to making the most of every moment. The first is to have a concrete understanding of time and where it goes, and the second is once you know where it goes to actively choose to enjoy the time you have. Here are some strategies you can use.

Visualizing time: This can be done as a family activity and it is very beneficial for children to see where their parents time goes too. It makes it that much more important to really make the most of the time that you have.

Here is a great way to visualize time and how you can easily see the old adage, “Time is Money” is so true. Use quarters or loonies for this demonstration. If there is a risk of choking, you can use paper play money. Give every member of the family 24 pieces of money, one for each hour of the day. If you are doing this activity as a group activity with teenagers, you can have them look at how they spend each 1/2 hour so that would be 48 pieces of money.

Step 1 – Dividing your day. While we all have 24 hours in a day, we don’t get to spend 24 hours however we want. We must sleep, eat, tend to hygiene, keep our houses clean, go to school. There are some things that aren’t very negotiable ( but this doesn’t mean you can’t have fun doing them!)

This is the time to discuss what everyone in the family does with their day. It is a great way for kids to see visually what it means in time for parents to work – both inside and outside the home. They are trading their time for money to support the family. Going to school is trading time to be educated so you can support yourself later. Have two pieces of paper in the middle of the table one labeled “Things we need to spend time on” and one labelled “Things we choose to spend time on”

Start with things you need to spend time on. This includes how much time you spend each day sleeping, eating, working, going to school, cleaning up etc. Take how many hours you usually spend on each activity each day and take the coins from your pile and place in stacks on the “Things we need to spend time on”  sheet and label them with the activity.  For example if you usually spend 8 hours each day sleeping, count out 8 coins and put them on the “Things we need to spend time on” paper under “Sleep” Go through this process for each person in the family and discuss how everyone spends their time. Kids might be very surprised to realize that after all the tasks of living are accounted for, they might not have very much time/money left.

There will be grey areas and cross over. Physical activity is a need to be healthy. Perhaps you would like to spend at least 1 hour outside or in a physical activity every day. That would go in the need category, if there are extra sports you do, that could go into the “Things you choose to spend time on category” I’m a firm believer that “Family time” should be a need.

Once you are finished with your needs it is time to allocate your “things we choose to spend time on” time. What else do you spend time on during the day? Do you have hobbies?Are you involved in sports or clubs? do you have a favorite TV program you watch, or are you allowed to spend a certain amount if time each day on the computer? Have each person talk about how they like to spend the time that they have left.  Start putting your coins on the “Things we choose to spend time on” category.

It will soon become apparent that sometimes we waste time, or sometimes we spend time doing one thing when we really want to be doing something else. Doing this exercise will start some interesting conversations and give your child a more concrete understanding that time is a commodity, just like money and at the end of the day it will be gone, but you have power over how you spend it.

Step 2 – Make the most of every moment. Once you have completed the above exercise, look at where you spend your time. Regardless of it is where you need to spend time on, or where you choose to spend time on, you can make make the most of the time you have.  This could include involving your family in more activities you need to do each day – such as making meals as a family. You have to do the dishes every day, make doing dishes fun. Memories can be made and fun can be had even while doing your regular chores. Or you can turn them into a game and track progress using tools like Chore Wars.

Exercise is necessary for health but it can also be a lot of fun. There are plenty of ways you can incorporate fun into walks   and you can even combine physical activity and doing homework! Your family can make a creativity to go  tool kit so you will be prepared to make the most of every creative adventure that comers up.

You can use the Creative Kids 30 day challenge outline to get into the habit of being conscious with your time and making the most of every moment.

Whether you are practising a skill or hobby deliberately  or breaking the rules one of the most important things we can learn to get the most out of life is to simply be in the moment and embrace it, no matter what we are doing.

I would love to hear how your family makes the most of every moment. Please leave a comment and share with us! 

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Here is how you can incorporate new foods into stories and plays that you can create with your child:

When introducing food to children choose one food to focus on at a time. Learn a few key facts about the food – what type of food it is, where it comes from, how it is cooked or prepared, what types of vitamins and minerals are in it, what other foods taste good with it. You can do this on your own for very young kids or have kids help if they are a bit older.

Next give the food to your child. Allow them to feel it, smell it, taste it. Ask them to describe to you what they notice about the food. What color is it? What is it’s texture? Does it have a smell?

Talk with your child about all the neat facts you learned about this food, be enthusiastic and get them excited! Help kids see all the great benefits these foods can give them and how they do great things for their growing bodies.

Once your child is excited about the food and it is familiar to them, work on a project together. This might be a picture book for young children, or a storybook with words for those are slightly older. You could write a song together, or even a play that you can act out for family members. If you have several children you could even do a “Dinner Theater” by putting on the play shortly before a supper that features your star ingredient.

Use your imagination – your setting could be a fairytale or outer space or whatever your child’s favorite place is. It could be the story told from the food’s perspective. Or try telling familiar stories from new perspectives – like telling “Jack and the Beanstalk” from the Beans point of view. Try to incorporate the facts you have learned about the food into whatever art form you choose.

Introducing new and unfamiliar foods to kids when they have a chance to explore and play greatly increases the chance that they will get eaten, it usually takes several introductions to a new food before a child will embrace it. This is a great way to start!

How do you introduce new foods to your children? What challenges do you have trying to get your kids eating a variety of healthy foods? Please share below!

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• Saving Money – Joining a group from your town or city is a great way to find out about free and low-cost events you can attend.
• Multiple Heads are better then one – Groups and forums are a great place to get many different perspectives on an issue you have.
• A Sense of Community – for shared interest or support the internet allows you to make connections you would never otherwise make.

Here are a few different ways to use the internet to connect.

Groups – You can find an online group for any interest or stage in your life. Weather you are a home schooling parent, dealing with a dietary restriction or just interested in playing RPG games with your kids, there is a group out there for you. You can find groups on Yahoo or Google or even on Facebook. They can be open or closed and you can easily create your own group for free. Groups bring people from a wide variety of backgrounds together in a common interest.

When looking for a group you want to look for one that you feel comfortable in. if the group is very active you will have more quality interactions. It’s a good idea to always have your first post be an introduction to the group.

Forums - Forums are another great place to get inspired and share information. a Forum will have different topics in which people can create threads. A Thread is an ongoing conversation online. Forums are usually more open then groups, some require you to register but what you post can usually be viewed by anyone, even those conducting a google search. It is a good place for very general discussions and to gain general information.

Blogs - Communities can form around blogs, this is usually done in the comment section. Blogs can also spin-off into forums and groups. If you find a blog or article that speaks to you, why not leave a comment? Active comments can contain lots of great info and suggestions if people are willing to share. Want to start right now? Why not leave a comment on this article and share with us your favorite way to Network on the Internet?

Email - Email notifications are a great way to keep in contact with your community, whether it is your favorite blog, a forum thread you are really excited about or what is happening in your group. All of these have options that allow you to receive email updates. While sometimes it is easy to get bogged down in emails,  it can be a great reminder to get back involved or will provide a seed of inspiration.

It does take a bit of time to find an online community you may want to engage with, but with this  investment comes the opportunity for a great support network and a wealth of new ideas.

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A great way to make exercise more interesting, choose a sense before setting out for your next walk. You could go for a general senses – such as a “smell” walk or you can specialize such as listening for bird sounds. Here is a list of possible walks:

Hearing Walks

Traffic Sounds

Bird Calls

Animal Sounds

Sounds Created by People

Sounds in Nature

Unexpected Sounds

Happy Sounds

Sad Sounds

Smelling Walks

Flower Smells

Smells of Nature

Smells Created by Humans

Good Smells

Bad Smells

Touch Walks

Hard Objects

Soft Objects

Textured Objects

Metal Objects

Natural Objects

Man Made Objects

Visual Walks

Choose a specific color or shape to look for

Look for natural objects that spell your name or initials

Look for unexpected things

Look for ordinary things you usually pay no attention to

Look through the eye of a camera – digital or disposable

These are all great ideas to occupy imaginations on walks to and from school and very easy for babysitters and care takers to involve children in. Safety first – always say “There is a …” before touching or examining anything so the adult can make sure it is safe. Tasting can be added to walks by carrying snacks with you or making the walks destination into a special treat for your child.

This is an easy way to have fun, get active and train your senses. Do you have any ideas for a “Sense Walk”? Please leave a comment and share with us!

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Seeds of creativity can only sprout and bloom if they are planted in a safe garden of acceptance and support.

Creative ideas can be fragile. They are easily damaged and dismissed because of a careless word. Creative ideas deserve protection and respect.

Creativity is often a group effort. The best creative ideas come from a spirit of collaboration and unity.

You can not create if you are afraid to fail. Some of the best creative ideas where born from the ashes of failure.

Creativity has many companions. Explorations, day dreams, trial and error, asking what if? And why? Are just a few of them.

We are all creative. Inside every single one of us is creative potential waiting to be nourished and unleashed.

Creativity isn’t just about creating, it is about combining. Taking in information about the world around us and combing it in new and exciting ways.

Creativity needs feedback. Feedback should always be offered in the spirit of support and celebrate strengths while identifying areas to get better at.

Creativity is addictive and contagious. The thrill and excitement of using your creativity and making something that comes from inside you is very, very powerful. Having the courage to use your own creativity also inspires others to do the same.

Creativity makes you feel powerful. Some only get creative when life around them gets overwhelming. Creativity gives you support and is an outlet that you control, allowing you to take power back.

Creativity comes from deep within. When you criticize another’s creativity you are attacking them on a base, fundamental level. Even the slightest comment or criticism can wound deeply.

Creativity comes from stillness. That second between the blinks of an eye, or that brief moment when you mind is quiet is the best time for creative inspiration to shine through. In order to encourage creativity in others and yourself you must look and listen with your heart and sometimes just be still.

What are some of your core beliefs about creativity? I would be honored if you share them with us.

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Envelopes:

There are many different types of paper you can re-purpose into your own custom handmade envelopes. Consider using: Old maps, magazines, wall paper samples, newspaper, your kid’s artwork (with their permission/help) packaging material, tissue paper, used wrapping paper, cardboard, and paper bags. You can also use all of these materials as a base for you own custom recycled Art Cards.

Find an envelope template on the Internet by searching for “ Printable Envelope Templates” onto the recycled paper of your choice. Cut out and glue or tape together.

Please keep in mind that if you are going to send homemade envelops through the mail the front must be easy to read. You can glue light colored paper onto the front or use blank mailing labels in the to/from area.

Here are some ways you can decorate your art cards using recycled/found objects:

Painting/Stamp tools – With a bit of paint many old and/or broken objects can become tools to decorate your cards. Old combs drawn through paint create great texture. old make-up sponges can be reused to paint cards. A potato that has turned green or started to sprout can be cut and turned into a simple stamp.

Rubbings - old coins, buttons and small objects can be placed underneath your paper and  colored over with crayon or pencil to create unique rubbings.

Collages – Old scraps of paper and foil – even candy wrappers – can add pop and color to art cards. Use a light layer of glue or mod podge to get them to stick.

Wax Resist – Use up those candle stubs and broken white crayon by drawing a picture on your card. Paint over top of the whole card with water color paint and allow to dry. Wherever you drew with wax will be colorless, allowing the original paper to show through. This is an easy project to do with kids too!

Do you have any ideas for making your own Recycled/found art cards and envelopes? Please share!

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Ideas for Homemade/Meaningful Gifts:

Game Boards to Go offers step-by step instructions to create your own board games that can lead to hours of fun over the holidays, both in the creating and playing of your own travel game boards.

Mod-podge – Creative Kids Crafts is a post about our adventure creating a mod-podged picture frame for some friends for Christmas last year. This is a creative and fun family project that can result in some fantastic, low-cost Christmas gifts.

Creative Things to do with Photos has several gift-worthy ideas for using old family photos in a new way. Ideas include making family board games and altered artwork.

Furoshiki For Creative Kids offers an environmentally friendly way of wrapping presents that can be reused year after year. Include some folding instructions with your gift and the cloth wrapping can serve as a gift itself!

Gifts That Give Back – Women for Women International and a Creative Christmas  Introduces you to a world-changing organization and gives you options for Christmas gifts that can change someones life.

Celebrating:

Christmas Creativity Exchange - With the kids out of school for winter vacation, hosting a Christmas Creativity Exchange is a great way to socialize and come away with several craft/art projects you can do together at home and create even more memories with your kids.

Getting together with friends and family and hosting a Stone Soup Potluck would be a great way to spend a winter afternoon.

“Presence” Vs. “Presents” – How to Have a Creative Holiday Season offers different perspective on what is truly important during the holidays.

I hope your family has a wonderful, creative holiday season!

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Does the school system have the answer?

Somewhere amongst the strict rules, literal analysis, and themes? Composition?

Shape poems?

Prior to my senior years of high school, I disliked poetry. Zero inspiration, and zero interest. This changed when a renegade teacher, a student teacher,  showed us poetry as song and lyrics. We examined, poked, prodded, and admired the lyrics to some of our favorite songs and, audaciously, called it “studying poetry” With this brief, sweet taste of freedom, there was no going back – I had actually learned to enjoy poetry (much to my surprise and delight).

My step-by-step guide for building an appreciation for poetry:

1. Write down everything you remember about poetry from school
2. (write it down on a piece of paper)
3. Look at the paper
4. Admire the paper
5. (isn’t it nice?)
6. Crumple up the paper
7. Place in recycle
8. Start fresh, with a clean slate unhampered by previous encounters

When you write poems, write them your way. Be inspired by writing. When you read poems, read them your way. And if you must interpret poems, interpret them your way. There isn’t one “right answer”. There is the poet’s original theme, interpretation, and meaning, and they are right. But yours are right too, just a different kind of right. Your right. Poetry will mean something different to different people, which is why it’s so awesome.

Just as a potter shapes clay, a poem is shaped by life experiences and views of the world, and the meaning you may find is unique to you. Unique, but not permanent – with time, there may be changes, which is why I love to go back and reread my favorite poems to look at them in a new light.

Like all art, there are rules of composition and methods to forming poetry. Despite my previous assertions, these are not without use! To continue with the clay analogy, there are definite “good ways” to try if you want a specific result. But also like clay, there’s nothing stopping you from doing whatever you want! Use the rules as guidelines, and leave the rest up to inspiration. Think of an idea, and hold it in your head. Mentally sculpt it and examine it. Is there a specific set of poetry that would suit it? If so, excellent! Go with it! If not though, don’t cram your balloon of an idea into a porcupine of a form!

To put it another way, a poem could inspire a form, but the form rarely inspires a poem. Any child who has stared at a blank piece of paper with the instructions to “Write a Haiku” or a “Rhyming Couplet”  knows this discouragement – and it’s even worse for those not predisposed to writing.

You don’t have to wait for poetry to be taught in school; it can be enjoyed by your whole family! Poetry is a great place for new readers to explore: a book is daunting but a poem is fun!

There’s a lot of potential enjoyment in poems! Your child may be too young to know what the word onomatopoeia means (a word that sound like what it represents), but they will have a great time hearing and saying these words! Tongue twisters introduce alliteration, rhymes help to build vocabulary, and similes & metaphors give them descriptive tools. You can introduce these concepts at a young age, well before poetry pops up in school.

Poetry suffers from an image problem: it looks stiff, formal and old-fashioned – basically, everything kids today DON’T want to be. Sometimes it takes finding a connection, such as my teacher bringing in music and lyrics for kids to embrace poetry. Does your child love listening to music? Encourage them to create new lyrics to their favorite songs. Perhaps they are more into comics and graphic novels? Have them retell their favorite poem visually, or flip it around and create a poem to match the visuals. Poems can also inspire painting, sculptures, photography, dance and other art forms.

You can also introduce different types of poetry to your family through family outings. Go to a reading or a poetry slam, a theater presentation, or other poetry focused community event.

Poetry is a tool for self-expression. It allows you to explore who you are and gives you a way of processing your thoughts and feelings. It can be public or private, structured or free, the most important thing is it allows you to be creative. Creativity is what true poetry is all about!

What are your feelings on poetry? How do you explore poetry in your family? Please share your ideas below!

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Aviation History Month:
If you have the opportunity to go to an aviation or flight museum, or take in an air-show these are great  educational family activities that build memories. You can learn about all of the different types of flying machines that have been built over the years, or have your children invent their own flying machine. What would it look like? How would it work? Sketch it out to follow in the footsteps of Leonardo Da Vinci, or even better, build a model and try it out, just like the Wright brothers!

Most kids know the basic paper airplane model, but there’s a wide variety of designs out there. Why not have a neighborhood paper or model  airplane making party? Each family could make their own model of a historic aircraft or invent their own. Set up a paper airplane course with colored tape and see who can fly their plane the farthest! Offer little prizes for the most creatively decorated and the most accurate or any other category you like.

National Model Railroad Month:

From the old west to the Orient Express, trains have captured the imaginations of young and old for centuries. See if there are any Model train hobby groups operating in your area. Some may even have public displays.If anyone from home is reading Growing Creative Kids, the Golden City Railway Modellers has an AMAZING Model of what Rossland use to look like. They are celebrating Model railroad month by having model Railway Days on Nov. 18 and 19 at the Waneta Mall in Trail, BC. They have kindly agreed to let me share some pictures with you.

"Mining Modules" - Golden City Railway Modellers

"The Rossland Courthouse" - Golden City Railway Modellers

National Novel Writing Month:
Have you ever had your children come to you and say “I want to write a book” or have you ever wanted to write a book yourself? There’s a saying that there’s is a book within all of us waiting to come out. The folks at http://www.nanowrimo.org/ have created a challenge, write a novel in a month. This is an ambitious challenge that many people take up each year and the movement is growing. Their website has some amazing resources for getting kids and teens involved.

These workbooks http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/workbooks are incredible tools. There was over 42,000 children and teens who participated in National Novel writing month in 2010!

Writing has always been seen as a rather solitary pursuit, but it doesn’t have to be! Besides having the option of joining an online community you can turn this into a fun family activity. You can support each other, share ideas and inspirations while you each work on your own projects. Going through the workbooks be fore starting to write and while you are writing is a great way for everyone to learn about the craft of writing!

Peanut Butter Lovers Month:

Peanut butter seems to be one of those foods you either love or hate. If you happen to love peanut butter as much as I do, head over to our “Peanut butter” post.

National Sleep Comfort Month:
Having a comfortable sleep is vitally important for everyone in your family. Numerous studies have shown that an uncomfortable sleep has a big impact on our health, cognitive abilities and emotions. When considering sleep comfort, environment, habits, diet and exercise all play a roll.

One of the biggest “sleep thieves” is having a television in the bedroom. According to a National Post article, “Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who analyzed data for 2,707 children found 5 year olds are more likely to have behavior problems, disturbed sleep and ‘less emotional reactivity’ if they have a television in their bedroom than those with TV-free rooms.”

If you would like to create a more functional and restful bedroom there are some ideas in our Creative Kids Bedrooms post.

This is an opportunity to look at all of your bedrooms and habits like a detective and see what might be disrupting sleep. Some people cannot stand having lights on, even the glow from a digital clock can disrupt sleep. Some people need a specific temperature range in their bedroom. You might find that eating a heavy meal before bed disrupts your sleep, or you might find you get thirsty at night and having to get up to get a glass of water will wake  you more than having a glass easily accessible. Having a discussion with your kids is important in helping identify things that might be keeping them from getting a good night sleep. It might also be an idea to try a sleep journal. Sleeping is something we do pretty much every day of our lives, but you really need to stop and look at the how’s and why’s to understand what works best for you.

How will your family be Celebrating November? Please share your ideas and comments below!

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Image via Wikipedia

Create a family challenge to have the best Halloween ever with the least environmental impact. This will take some creative planning and brainstorming but it is something every member in the family can get involved in. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Costumes

If you want a totally original and one-of-a-kind costume you don’t have to look any further then the attic or possibly your local thrift store. One creative mom I know made her son’s monster costume by gluing dryer lint to an old pair of jeans and sweatshirt. Once your child decided what they want to be it is easy to look for unique ways to make it happen.

You can also make your candy bag match your costume without having to go buy one of those plastic, disposable bags. All you have to do is ask yourself what would your chosen character be holding? In the case of the lint monster, maybe a large, colorful laundry detergent box that has been reinforced with tape, or a pillowcase also covered with lint.

Treats

The individually wrapped candy of Halloween has a huge impact on the environment. For friends and family why not make your own Halloween treats? Make sure you include the recipes for anything you give out. To hand out to trick-or-treaters, brainstorm treats you can give away that are multi-use such as pencils, tooth-brushes, chalk, crayons, and little soaps. You can make your own crayons by recycling and re-melting old crayons stubs. You can even get candy molds in the shapes of pumpkins and ghosts to pour them into. Heat and pour soap kits are available from craft stores and online too.

If you do get lots of candy, save those wrappers and turn them into art projects. There are lots of instructions on the internet for making candy wrapper necklaces, bracelets, earrings and beads. Foil can be used to accent pictures and homemade cards. You can also collage or decoupage with paper candy wrappers. Why not make a frame out of card stock, cover it with candy wrappers and put in a picture of your child in their Halloween costume?

Outdoor decorations

Look for things to decorate your yard that you can use again, re-purpose, or recycle. Have Tiki torches in storage from the summer? They would be great to line your walkway with! Scraps of wood or tree branches can be tied together with twine to make crosses and grave stones. If you are going to buy Halloween decorations choose ones you will want to put out year after year. Use features you already have. Our large garden beds are turned into fresh grave sites, the trellises used to hang spider webs (which we reuse every year).

Throwing a Party

Avoid using disposable paper plates, napkins, cutlery, and decorations. Send invitations out electronically and encourage people to walk if possible. You could collect canned food donations for the local food bank and offer prizes for the most creative costume, the costume that uses the most re-purposed or recycled items, and the most “Green” costume.

There are plenty of ways to “green” your Halloween. Do you have any unique ideas to share?

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