A Long Line of Sub-par Theatrical Productions

Yes, that’s my children’s legacy! As my cousin once said, this is one in “a long line of sub-par theatrical productions”. We did plays, my mother’s family did in-home musical concerts, and I’m sure way back, there were theatrical productions by the pioneer players!

Just like the March girls putting on productions in Little Women my children seem to put on plays when they’re with their cousins. It’s wonderful!

Here are some shots at my in-law’s house of their last play –

 

The players at the magic wishing well

 

At the curtain call

 

What do you need to get all of this fun in your life?

• Dress-ups – (old prom dresses, go to thrift stores for costumes, old Halloween costumes, old dance costumes – just keep a box handy and throw in any old outfits)
• Props – (again, just use what you have – toys, old games, boxes, etc. Let the kids be creative, you’ll be impressed what they do!)
• Space – (Any where – garage, carport, backyard, living room, any place can be a stage!)
• Imagination – (quite honestly, the key here is to have belief in your children. Tell them that they can do it. Maybe they’ll need a story prompt to begin with, but my experience has been to just encourage them to put on a play (a dance, or a show, or a concert) and they will do it. No further prompting needed. Watch them go!)
• Be an audience – (it is quite critical that you and the grandparents and the aunts and uncles watch the show when it’s ready. Film it, set up chairs, have them make tickets and programs, whatever! Just be there. Now, it’s okay to say to them in the middle of the performance, “one more scene” or “one more minute”, because sometimes these things can go on rather long, but MAKE sure to give lots of clapping during curtain call and positive reinforcement (“wow, who knew that you were so creative!?!”, or “I loved the part when …”, or  “What happened after …”,  the more you talk with your children about what they did, the more they will do.) 

Finally, my favorite part is to see all of the cute creative touches. Check out my favorite one from this last performance –

This is a microphone that they made out of paper clips and tape. Cute huh!!

What’s the point of all of this?

• Helps your children become creative problem solvers
• Helps exercise their imaginations
• Great childhood memories
• Builds social skills
• Helps them practice performing
• They become creators, not just consumers

and at the very least –

• Gives you time away from hearing, “I’m bored!” 😉

What shows do your kids do? Let me know in the comments.

 

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Don’t Wait Too Long

So, two weeks ago, I wrote a post about summer creativity. Read it here. My girls went crazy after I showed it to them and they created an arcade of their own. They were busy for days. They created a bottle ring toss, a claw game in which you could win jewelry, an egg-carton game, and a few others (5 or 6 total).  They found prizes from our thrift store pile, made tokens, and wrote out rules.  Everyday, they asked me to put it up on Facebook so that they could have a “grand opening”.  But, I kept putting it off.

One of my daughters, who is a total organizational/neat freak, decided that now (two weeks later) it was old news and has disassembled everything. (The other daughter didn’t mind, because her attention span is short).

The Arcade did have one day of fun though.  My sister’s kids came and played with it for an afternoon and they all seemed to have an AMAZING time.

A word of caution, don’t wait too long. Kids grow. Kids loose interest.

But kids are also inventive, loving, and very forgiving. It is not too late to enjoy their childhood. Remember Stephen R. Covey’s metaphor of Emotional Bank Accounts (or EBAs)? He writes –

Remember the emotional bank account—similar to a bank account, you can make deposits or withdrawals from each of your family relationships. Make a conscious effort to make meaningful deposits in your relationships. When you make a withdrawal, apologize and correct the mistake.

See more on his blog here.

It reminds me of the 1957 song, Turn Around

Where are you going, my little one, little one,
Where are you going, my baby, my own?
Turn around and you’re two,
Turn around and you’re four,
Turn around and you’re a young girl going out of my door.
Turn around, turn around,
Turn around and you’re a young girl going out of my door.

So, I am sorry that I didn’t get pictures of the creativity. I am sorry that I didn’t follow through, but we will have more fun.  Right now, I’m making this post is short so that we can hatch up new schemes of summer creativity.  What are you doing with your children this summer?

Summer Creativity – Cardboard

A while ago, I wrote a post on a book that had captured my imagination when I was a kid about a girl with a cardboard box and all of the things that she did with it. I imagined all of the things that I could do with a cardboard box – if only my mom would get one large enough for me!  Through the years, I used boxes for dollhouses and furniture and sets for carport plays.

Recently, I found this video about a little boy’s imagination, and I was ASTOUNDED!!

(I know, I know, I am late on the trend, but after showing the videos to my girls, they ran out to make something. What a great change from the “I’m bored” I’m already getting this summer!)

What a kid! What a great dad to allow him to build it all!  I also want to shout out to the filmmaker for seeing such amazing potential in the creativity!

If your kids are bored this summer, what could they do with some cardboard, tape, and a little imagination?