Family, Time and Crafts: They Can Work Together

Summer is coming, this means running to baseball practice, swimming lesson, soccer practice, and camps; plus getting the laundry done, supper on the table and yes your job. How are you going to make time for any kind of craft projects your kids have lined up?

Stop; take a look at everything you are doing. Is something really necessary? You need to weigh these things against the value of doing things together as a family.

Yes, the basic household chores need to be done. But you're not the only one who has to do them. The whole family can chip in and make it a routine, like one day a week the kids can make supper. It can be as simple as sandwiches or if they are old enough to follow a recipe, you might be served a gourmet meal.

Organization is the key. The more organized the family is the more time the family has to play.

Here are some suggestions:

Hold a family meeting to decide which family member will do what.
Kids have to pitch in with the household chores. Make chores fit their age.
Decide on one evening a week for family time, this could be for outside activities, crafts, or playing a game.

Make a monthly schedule of activities; everyone has to agree to try something they wouldn't have picked to do.

There are ways of becoming more organized and having fun with crafts at the same time.

Here are several ideas that you can use for an activity for that family evening time.

Using crafts to decorate all kinds of storage containers everything from glass jars to shoe boxes. This will encourage kids to put things away and to stay organized.

Have every family member make a napkin ring with his or her name on it and buy cloth napkins. This will cut down on your laundry. With each person having their own napkin with their name on the napkin ring, the napkin can be used for more than one meal.

How about making your own table linens and accessories. Children like to see things they have made, like place mats. Flower arrangements, and seasonal displays. The plate mates can be made from outside canvas so you can just wipe them off.

Breakfast is a good time to set up the day, any plans that need to be made, thing that need to be taken care of before activities can start. Give words of encouragement, this goes a long way with children.

If you can schedule several evening meals together as a family, do it. This is the time to find out what is new, what is going on and what did you learn today. Make family meals fun. If you have younger children you can have a riddle or puzzle question for everyone to try to solve. Make evening mealtime a no TV time until after the meal is finished and the dishes are done.

If you would like to make one whole day a family day, Sundays are great for this. You have to make a rule that all homework has to be done before Sunday and all chores have to be done also. Make a schedule of what activities the family will be doing. Crafts can be one of these. Remember, children like to use their hand and enjoy seeing their finished products.

Another great activity for crafts is to make items that you use in your everyday life more enjoyable. Children can decorate their toothbrushes, brush and combs, cups. Add decorated trims and buttons to linens by letting children glue them on with fabric glue. Give each person his or her own laundry basket. Children love thing with there names on them and they can do this themselves.

You can even make bath time a craft time by making your own bubble bath and potions. Make bedtime a special time by telling stories to your kids and the next day they can draw the story out on poster board.

Just use your imagination and let kids be involved in the everyday chores and activities. Make crafts a part of your families life and you will be surprised how much time you will have for the family to be together.