Enriching childhood!

Ah, that we could enrich their childhoods so that, in effect, they take wonderful memories with them into adulthood, to be recalled and treasured for a lifetime.

I've been at it this summer, trying to do more with my kids, to be in the moment more with them. I've scoured the internet in search of games and activities. And I've found a few gems too. Check out FunMom, for example. Leslie's site is filled with wonderful ideas. We've implemented a few this summer. I'll share a bit more about those in a future post.

One of my the big hits has been backyard games. Now, back in the day, these would of course be Kick-the-Can, Hide and seek, Red Rover, S.P.U.D., and such. Just you try and find enough children playing outside in the neighborhood these days to put those games in motion (Don't even get me started; it's one of those "change happens" things that breaks my heart, seriously!)

But just because I can't round up a big enough team for Red Rover doesn't mean my kids can't play backyard games like we did as kids.
I just have to reinvent the experience for them.
And I believe I have.
And they LOVE it.
So, what do we play? Lessee...

• Front or Back?
  There are 6 people in our family, but it could be played with as few as 4. We gather two beach towels, one for each team (boys vs. girls in our case). The other team turns away as I hold up the beach towel and one of the girls crouches down behind it, choosing to place either her front or back toward the towel. We call, "Ready!", whereby the boys turn to face us from across the yard and make a group guess. Front or back? We drop the towel to reveal our teammate's position. If it matches their guess, point. First team to 5 points wins.
  
• Blind Ball.
  Again, we are in two teams, boys vs. girls. One member of each team is "it." We flip a coin to see who goes for the ball first. Both "it" members are then taken to opposite corners of the yard and blindfolded. The team who is NOT going after the ball, throws it somewhere in the yard, then calls, "Go!" The team going after the ball has to call out the directions to their blindfolded member, guiding him in the direction of the ball. Meanwhile, the other team is calling out directions to their team member, guiding them to the blindfolded ball seeker from the opposing team. If the ball seeker finds the ball first, he gets 3 points for his team. If the opposing team member finds and touches the blindfolded ball seeker first, they score 1 point for their team. A round is over when a score occurs. New team members are blindfolded, and the other team is now the ball seeking team. First team to 7 points or more, wins.
  
• Whose Shoes?
  Oh, how they love this simple and silly game. The kids take off their shoes and sit down in a circle in the middle of the yard. Staying in a legs crossed seated position, they must then lay forward, heads together, eyes covered, as mom and dad take one of each participant's shoes (so for each person, mom has one of their shoes, dad has the other). We quickly run around the yard, hiding each shoe (up in the swingset fort, under the squash plant in the garden, under a frisbee in the yard, etc.) When all shoes are hidden, we count to three and the kids spring up and yell, "Whose shoes?" and away they go. If they find someone else's shoe, they do not tell them. The goal is to find one's own shoes, put them on, and be the first back to the circle. We don't stop when the winner returns, though. We let them vie for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place too.
  

Another thing I've done, though something I have regularly done with my kids for a very long time, is to read to them. There are so many terrific read alouds to be considered. We've done many of the classics already. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Little House on the Prairie. Anne of Green Gables. A Christmas Carol. Little Women. We've read incredible stories too, of missionaries and noble heroes. Currently, I'm reading Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan. Set in WWII, it's believed to be the true story of children in a small Norwegian town who must sneak the town's wealth of gold bullion past the German occupation by hiding it under their bellies as they sled past the Germans. My children can't get enough of this story, which I myself read as a 4th grade student. Truly, there is something so very special about gathering the children around for a good book.

Speaking of enrichment, we took our children to see The Music Man today, performed by our county's civic theater. I absolutely love live theater, having gotten hooked after seeing my one and only Broadway performance (on Broadway, that is), A Chorus Line. We want our children to learn to appreciate the theater as well, but taking them into the city to see a live show is very taxing on our single income budget. If you find this to be true of your family as well, don't despair. Local highschools usually give live performances twice a year (late fall and again in the spring). You might need to scrutinize the content to determine how appropriate it will be for little ones, but we've always been able to find a show or two that is acceptable. And the price of a highschool stage performance can't be beat.

If you're lucky, you might also have summer theater or civic theater in your town our county as well, as we do. These performances are also quite affordable, and they provide opportunity to expose your children to live theater where this might not otherwise be reasonably possible. Several members of our church family were performing in The Music Man, so we were excited to see them on stage. They all did such a fabulous job. As we sat there, enjoying one of the acts, I thought, "Isn't this wonderful? Our bunch is engaged and enjoying a live theater performance. Oh, how I want them to learn to appreciate and enjoy the arts in this manner." I was basking in the lovliness of the moment, when suddenly, my 8 year old broke out in a loud and silly giggle. Wanting to know what had tickled him so, I inquired.
Apparently, it was related to the lyrics being sung up on the stage. Never mind classic numbers like Seventy-Six Trombones. No, nothing meaty there (roll eyes for full effect). No, which lyrics grabbed my son's attention and milked it to the point of all out laughter?
Why, Shi-poo-pi, of course.
"Bahahaha! Poop. He said she pooOOped!"
"SHHH! No, he did not say she POOPED."

(Then, floating in from the background of our conversation, from up on stage, a melodic "Shi-poo-pi.")

"BAHAHAHAHA!
Did you hear it, Mommy?
They said it again. She-poopy.
BAHAHAHAHA!"

Whaaat? He had a point. ;)

Toni