Frugal and Fun

FRUGAL AND FUN, connecting with your family, connecting with yourself. We can all benefit from participating in some of our favorite childhood activities like flying a kite, blowing bubbles and yes, even coloring.





Ask yourself this, when was the last time you colored with your children? Did you know coloring is beneficial not just for children but for adults as well? 
De-stress- Coloring a bit of time each week is a great way to slow down and spend time chatting with your children. I find that my children and I have the most quirky chats during this quiet activity,  Even taking that half hour or so to not worry about money, work, or the stressors in life will give your mind quite a boost from all that clouds it. It can also give your body a boost in that coloring and losing yourself has been compared to Meditation. One of the benefits of meditation is a natural way to lower blood pressure. I see this happen whenever my husband sits down with our children and colors with them. He normally has high blood pressure but I can see the shift in his posture after just a few minutes.  Co-ordination, Grip and strength all of which are great benefits for children who are working on their fine motor skills. But for adults with Arthritis or related issues working on coloring a few times a week can help improve your grip and strength , it also strengthens your mind, and sparks creativity. Team work-Yes I know what does teamwork have to do with coloring? Well if you have ever shared a coloring page with a child you will understand it takes teamwork. We as adults are programmed,  an elephant is gray not red. We have a hard time even though it may just be a picture letting children color a picture the way they see the world, especially if we have a stake in it because it will be "wrong". Children are much more creative then we are , and their imaginations are not limited to seeing anything in one way, they might make that elephant blue, or purple. The challenge for us as adults is too just stand back and let them but still be an active participant in the team. A great lesson on letting go of control.

I recycle lots of goodies for our craft bins, sometimes its a free for all , at times its organized with a specific goal.  We love crafts in our home, and not just the kids, me as well. Its one of the things that I don't need to force participation in, especially with the age span of our children it's getting more challenging to do things as a family , and that won't break the bank.  

I'll be linking tons of pages that I've come across ,some of which We've tried, but all are inexpensive and fun ideas to help you interact with your children and learn from them.  

Easy Easter Craft for preschoolers
Crayola website

The Joy of freedom

Something amazing happened today. 

 

I spontaneously decided after breakfast I would take my girls and walk around our new town. I didn’t have a particular place to go, and I didn’t have a time schedule. Imagine that? Of course there is always something to do, I just chose this path that will lead us to anything. As I packed up some snacks, and water. The usual questions from my girls about where we were headed, My response as genuine as ever “nowhere” I said with a smile.  Grace looked at me with skepticism and demandingly asked again “where we were going?”

I explained we were just going to walk into town and see where we end up. Her next question, as expected. For what? Tricky to explain to a 5 year old that were just going, not for anything, no real destination, no schedule. Simply just to see where we would end up.

 There seems to be a reason for everything in life, so this really took her for a loop. In fact several times along the way, I was asked are we there yet, what are we doing?

Having no plan for a child like Grace , who likes everything to be just right, is like putting your shoes on the wrong feet. Sure you can walk, it just doesn't feel right. Sophia and Victoria being younger and having more of a free spirited personality didn’t seem to mind that we had no plan. A clear symbol of their innocence, they were just as they have always been, right by my side without question.

We simply strolled.

It was Glorious.

It gave us a chance to chat and giggle and be silly, with no distractions. I had given them choices along the way, turn this way or that. Do you want to stop here or keep going, They seemed to enjoy being “in charge” . We weren’t looking for anything specific just getting to know what our new town has to offer. Quite a difference from the subdivion life close to big cities, we left no so long ago. We spent at least 5 hours, in and out of the small shops along Main Street. Stopped at a restaurant for lunch. I just enjoyed their chatter rather than telling them exhaustingly as I usually would to hurry up and eat.

It was probably just as we left the restaurant that it occurred to me, that in all the time we were out , they were not bickering or being mean to one another. They were smiles. True genuine smiles that came from just being happy.

I know that it is not realistic to do this every day, or even every week but . I would like to challenge myself, to let go of time more often, To take more of these strolls. Even if we don’t end up anyone spectacular.

Rather than finding a reason why we can’t, Experiencing the Joy of freedom will be the reason why we can.