Spending time with your Children

(Here is something fun and free you can create with your child/grandchild. A preschooler would want to actually play with what has been created where older children might want to see what they could actually make with cardboard. Give them a theme like fall, or a bible story to create and watch them have hours of enjoyment without the television on. What you have is a great time to play and listen to each other. Older kids could display their creations on a foyer table for everyone to see when they walk through the door. It would make an interesting conversation piece.)

So how did this box become a barn? Well, we had a box, an idea and some markers. We were set. My son wanted to play with a barn and I drew it out to look like a barn. I hope you'll be encouraged to take something simple like this and play with your child. I found I enjoyed this as much as my son did.

                                                                      The Barn Door

The other side of the Barn was a window for chicken to come out of!

                                                                  HELLO CHICKEN!

Had to make a bed and pillows of course for sheep and chicken. Farmer Goat's wife is heading back to the farmhouse after she dropped off sheep and chicken and tucked them into bed.

And of course we had to make the storm clouds and the sunshine. When the storm clouds came, all the animals  had to be put inside the barn. When morningtime came, the sunshine had to be held up over the barn. Two hours later, it was time for bed. (Our real bed time around our house!) From dinner time til bedtime we played with a cardboard box that I intended to initially throw away. Not a toy from Toys R Us or a computer game. A cardboard box! So the next time you see a cardboard box and think you will throw it out, THINK AGAIN!

There's no better time to embrace a moment with your children than when they are with you. For one day, they will be out of your home building their own life. What will they remember about the time they spent with you? Ecclesiastes 3:5 says," a time to embrace and a time to refrain,..."  Embrace each moment you have with your child. They will remember you for it.


If you try this at home, please send me your pictures. I would LOVE to see what you and your family can come up with and post it on my blog!