Everyday? Really?

I've enjoyed reading feedback I've received from readers.  When I started this, I truly wasn't sure anyone out there would read it and so I've been writing thinking of myself as the audience - duh!  It's a public blog, not a journal!

One reader has asked me if I really meant I wanted her to do something creative with her kids every day.  Like most families, they are commited to a number of activities, friends, family and so on.  There often isn't time in their day to do something creative.


Okay, I completely understand that.  After all, I'm a self-proclaimed over-programmer!

So here's the deal:  I encourage you to look for ways to INSPIRE your kids every day.  Inspiration comes in many forms and places.  Some of the places are expected - you expect your kids to be inspired in some way, shape or form at an art gallery (otherwise, why go?).  You expect your kids to become inspired when Robert Munsch himself does story time.

But what about when you're driving to your next activity or event - what is inspiring your kids?

What about while you do the grocery shopping - what is inspring you there?

According to Merriam Webster dictionary, INSPIRE means: to influence, move, or guide by divine or supernatural inspiration b : to exert an animating, enlivening, or exalting influence on inspired by the Romanticists> c : to spur on : impel, motivate.

Okay, so in real words, INSPIRATION is anything that makes a lightbulb go off in your head and want to act on the IDEA that gives you an urge to act or ponder.   If being creative as an activity isn't possible because you've got too much on the go...try adding it while you're on the go!

When we were kids, we played all kinds of car games that forced us to look all around us.  We bored easily in the car, so I have great memories of many, many games.  One game we would play was to change the first letter of all the signs we could read to a new letter or sound like "sh"....just don't drive past Food City.....

Another was to point out all the things we saw of a certain colour and whoever had the most at the end of the ride won - most of our games had a winner; we were pretty competitive...but wait, we fought a lot about making different shades of the colour count....hmmmm....

Well, even more so, when you've only got one parent in the car, some of these are tough to "police" or score.  With younger kids, they might need a higher level of interaction - so, I guess we've got to get creative here!  Any thoughts?  Anything you can share with the class?  Leave a comment and your idea could be chosen to be featured!

Until next time:  Inspire... imagine... invent!