I am not someone who can sit still easily... while the kids can sit for hours watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Phineas and Ferb, or our latest discovery (Sid the Science Kid), I have to be moving. I need to do something, anything, to keep me busy.
It's one of the reasons I started to run longer distances last fall. As things were winding down with my job, when there were no more projects that required my attention, I needed to get up and away from my desk. There was no better way to do that than to run through the streets of Bellefonte or along Spring Creek with the guys. With their encouragement and support, I ran the Nittany Valley Half Marathon last fall and the Broad Street Run this spring.
It's also one of the reasons I created the Jar of Fun. I want the summer to be memorable for the kids, in part because I imagine this is the only opportunity we will ever have to spend an entire summer together. But more than that... I just need to get them out of the house!
If you knew me before I was blessed with Matt and Cathy or before I went to graduate school, you know that there was a time when I was freakishly neat. That's just not the case any more. Now don't get me wrong, you can generally sit at the kitchen table or walk across the floor without sticking to it, but you are much more likely to encounter dust or clutter now than you were 10 years ago. Unfortunately, what I am finding already this summer is that the kids can pass through a room in 10 minutes and undo hours worth of cleaning. But, if I get them out of the house, there's less opportunity for that 10 minute tornado and the three of us will have much, much happier days together... at least that's the theory I am working with.
Now, we can't run to the Jar of Fun everyday to get out of the house, mostly because we'll run out of both places to go and cash to go there with long before the summer is over. So, we've been busy looking for other ways to fill the time.
Last week, Michaels Arts and Crafts started a great summer craft series: Passport to Fun each Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday through July 30. The schedule is the same for each of their stores across the country so if you have kids and a Michaels store in your area, you should really check it out. From 11:00am to 2:00pm, the kids can drop in and make different crafts based on traditional items for 18 different countries. The projects generally take a half-hour or less.
We started last week making a Swedish doll and flag pin, followed by a German Loden hat and cow bell pin, and finished with Egyptian heiroglyphics and a mummy pin. Each activity this past week was free, as are most of the international-themed crafts. Please note that a few do require a small purchase. For example, this week (Tuesday) we'll need to purchase a can hug, or coozie, in order to do their Bahamas themed tropical can hug.
It's a brilliant marketing move for Michael's to offer these craft opportunities to the kids because I suddenly seem to be spending lots of money in their store. The kids love to do crafts (even though I am pretty sure I hate them) and so we've purchased some things we can do at home - painting, sun catchers, and puzzles to name just a few. Some I've given to the kids already, but most I am now saving as weekly rewards for the responsibility charts I've recently added to each of their rooms (that's a story for another day).
For now, we are happy to have someplace to go and be crafty a few times each week and know we'll inevitably find ourselves having snacks at Target afterwards or be playing at the Park Forest or Welsh pools for a few hours before we head home (maybe even both).
But before we can go crafting again on Tuesday, we'll need to get through tomorrow first... and that means it's time to reach back into the Jar. Stay tuned to see where we go!
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