The Importance of Fun Activities With Your Children

Family Fun Activity  

About a year ago I attended a class on fun and interactive activities with your children.  We began the class by playing with playdough, working puzzles, blowing bubbles and building with blocks.  After we had completed the activities the instructor then showed us all how we had just learned a valuable skill through what we had considered to be playing. 

Our instructor challenged us to look for ways that we could all interact with our children and teach them valuable lessons at the same time.  She encouraged us to stimulate their creativity and praise them for their art work and learning through play. 

After this class was over I began to look for a list of activites.  You can find a list of activities at http://www.familyfunshop.com/100funfamilyactivities.htm.  I also decided that I wasn't going to be that mom that had a spotless refrigerator.  I decided to hang the kids artwork up for everyone to see to show them just how proud I was of them.  Since that time, my husband and I have decided to transform our laundry room into a show casing of their fabulous artwork.  When you have three children, there is no refrigeratior large enough to display their creativity on. 

As a result of the fun activites that I have shared with my children over the last year I now have a seven year old daughter that loves to cook and a nine year old daughter that thinks we should have pedicures, manicures, and and get our hair done everyday. I also have a two year old daughter who has recently gotten into enjoying the fun activities by displaying her creativity on the floors and walls of our new home. 

Below are videos of our recent family fun activity.  The girls enjoyed doing their own hair and make up and picking out a special dress to wear for this activity. We made their all time favorite Mickey Mouse Chocolate Chip Pancakes.  The cost was around fifty cents but the memories and videos will be a priceless treasure for years to come.

I challegne each of you to search for your own family fun activities to do with your children or grandchildren and begin teaching them through fun activities that you will both remember for years to come.

Tomorrow we will be painting the kitchen table and chairs!  Pictures to come!

To Be Native

As a child growing up my parents never talked much about our Native American ancestry.  As a young adult I became extremely curious about my ancestry and all Native Americans.  Over the past 9 years I have expanded my knowledge of tribal organizations and what it means to be Native. 

One of the biggest moments of pride of being Native American came during a ceremony in Washington, DC where the Navajo Code Talker’s were awarded for their dedication. The Navajo Code talkers were an asset to this country.  I felt a sense of pride to be Native American during that presentation.  There were so many wonderful Native Americans that have gone on before us that have left a legacy and sense of pride for us to follow. 

Another moment of understanding came to me when I enrolled in a Native American class in college.  I learned how the Chickasaw tribe related to other tribes all over the world.  During this class we were also taught basic Chickasaw language.  It was wonderful to be able to learn the language of our Native people, even though I’m not Chickasaw I was very excited to be able to learn something that I could pass on to my children and other native children.  I don’t have an extensive use of the language but I certainly know colors, animals, numbers and basic commands.  I taught my two youngest children when they were two and four and now that they are seven and nine, they still remember what they were taught.  If you want to tell your child to quit, walk or sit down try telling them in a different language, I promise that they will think it’s neat and will obey! Below is a video of a language program offered by the Chicakasaw Nation.  

I have had the opportunity to travel across the United States and meet with other tribal organizations and Native Americans but I always feel the proudest when I’m here in Oklahoma with our fellow Native Americans.   

The opportunities that have been presented to me because I am Native American have been invaluable.  I hope that I can impact other Native Americans and provide them with opportunities to learn and grow while also sharing their culture with future generations.