Tag - Elijah

6 Fun Ways to Entertain Your Kids with Nothing But Their Imaginations

March 24, 2018

6 Fun Ways to Entertain Your Kids with Only Their Imaginations - Sometimes you need to keep your kids occupied, and these simple games & activities are perfect for engaging their creativity and getting them interacting with every one in the family.

Throughout the course of your parenting, there will be innumerable times that your kids are “bored.” Even though they are still fairly young, our boys claim boredom on a regular basis.

For the most part, I just answer, “That’s okay,” because there really isn’t anything wrong with them not being totally entertained all the time. They need “bored” time. It encourages them to be creative, to go find something to do – draw a picture, read a book, day dream, take a nap (they NEVER pick that one!).

However, there are also times when my boys being genuinely bored can lead to trouble, such as when we’re waiting in a doctor’s office for an appointment that was an hour ago. Or if we’re sitting at a restaurant, ready to eat but it’s taking a while for our food to come (this is especially dangerous when one of your children is notorious for getting hangry…yeah, that’s not pretty.)

Basically anytime they are trying to be good but are in a situation that kids just don’t function well in – that’s when I need some surefire engaging activities to keep my boys entertained and distracted so their “boredom” doesn’t become restless craziness or frustrated fighting.

I know that a simple answer is to just hand over a device – my smart phone, their tablet – but honestly, that’s not what I want my kids turning to constantly. With as addictive as electronic devices can be (and you know it’s true…chances are that you are reading this on your mobile…), I don’t want to encourage them as my children’s (or my own) first option when there is some down time.

So, what do I do then when we have to wait patiently in the car for Daddy as he runs in to pick up something at the store, or when we’re on a two-hour road trip?

Here’s a peek into my arsenal of simple ways that I entertain my boys with nothing other than our imaginations. These no-prep games and activities encourage creativity, thought, and communication, as well as ensuring that we’re interacting with each other as a family rather than isolating ourselves in screen time.

(This post contains affiliate links which means that, at no additional cost to you, I may receive a small commission when you use the links. See my full disclosure for details.)

1. “I Spy”/”Bee, Bee, Bumblebee” – This one is a classic. My parents and grandparents played it with me when I was little, and now it’s one of the boys’ go-to time-killing games. You simply have the person who is “it” describe something they can see from where they are, just using the colors that it’s made up of (or you can describe it other ways, too, if your rules allow). Depending on which one you grew up with, the rhymes either go, “I spy with my little eye something that is…” or “Bee, bee, bumblebee. I see something you don’t see, and it is…” Everyone takes turns guessing what is seen. Whoever guesses it first, gets to be the next “seer.”

This game also gets kids to look for details in their often-times mundane surroundings, teaching them that the everyday world probably isn’t as boring as they might think.

2. “Would You Rather” – I’m sure you’ve heard of this conversation starter before (there is even a board game based on it). It has become one of our boys’ favorites, and we often play it during dinner. They love the idea of coming up with unique choices to offer us, such as “Would you rather have no furniture in your house or no bathroom?” or “Would you rather eat only green food or only red food for the rest of your life?” Of course, with boys, their questions can veer into the absurd or disgusting, but as long as they avoid potty humor and excessive grossness or anything inappropriate, we give them creative license.

Not only does this activity make us think as we answer the questions and help us get to know each other a bit better, it also challenges the person asking the question because sometimes coming up with a really good question can be tricky.

Here are some question ideas to get you started.

3. “Charades” – This pantomiming game always makes me think of times when the power went out when we were younger. That, or large gatherings, either with my family at my grandparents’, with friends in youth group, or my dad’s days as a clown and leading a clown ministry (Charades is great for improving improvisational skills).

While this boredom-buster requires a bit more space (since you have to act out what you want the others to guess) and tends to creates more noise (as others call out guesses), it usually produces lots of laughter and silliness, too. For our boys, we keep what their acting out simple for now (animals, everyday activities, etc). As they get older, though, we’ll test their talents with harder words and phrases.

Need some help coming up with ideas? Here’s a list of kid-appropriate charade clues.

4. “Story Tellers” – By far, this is Josiah’s favorite game to play at dinnertime or in the car or any other time. The rules are simple. We make up a story together, with each person taking turns contributing one sentence as a time. This always leads to a…unique… story, as each family members’ personality, preferences, and story-telling style becomes apparent pretty quickly. 🙂

Josiah has a tendency to tell stories with animal characters, Elijah likes to add drama and action, and Brad has an affinity for goofiness and puns, while my job seems to be to keep the story moving along to some kind of happy ending.

The only issue we’ve had with this game is when the initial storyteller starts the tale with a definite plot or idea he wants to stick to, but others can’t read his mind or purposely take it in a different direction. (Brothers…)

5. “Narrating Real Life” –This diversion takes “people watching” to a new level because you either make up their stories about what they are doing or why or provide the “voice-over” to their conversations.

This is a little safer to play when you aren’t really near the people, so preferably when you’re sitting in a car or maybe from far across the park because you don’t want to encourage your kids to point and stare or be seen as the creepers just watching a person. Hahaha.

6. “It Could Be” – Another activity borrowed from my dad’s improv training, this exercise encourages brainstorming and creatively looking at random, ordinary objects. Just grab anything, and start thinking of what else it could be used for (even if just pretend).

For example, a baseball cap can be a cup, a pot, a butterfly net, a catcher’s mask, and more. (Just think of how many things kids can see when you give them big empty cardboard box!)

So, there you go – Six simple ways to interact with your kids and entertain them with only your imaginations.

WHAT ARE SOME GAMES OR ACTIVITIES YOU DO WITH YOUR KIDS WHEN THEY NEED ENTERTAINED?

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How We Changed Our Family Atmosphere with One Question

February 23, 2018

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How We Changed Our Family Atmosphere With One Question - Life in Lape Haven. The worst part of our special family evening became the best, most memorable part with just one simple question that changed the atmosphere in our family.

This year for Valentine’s Day, my husband and I had originally planned to do something together during the day since he was off. However, since our regular babysitters were booked (meaning both sets of grandparents were not available), we decided instead to do something as a family once Elijah was out of school.

From the moment we picked him up, our oldest had a bad attitude. He was all for going out to eat, but he did NOT want to go anywhere else (like, say, Hobby Lobby, which was going to be a treat for Mommy).

And the complaining started.

After being rather excited to surprise him with a special afternoon, I was frustrated and irritated with his lack of gratitude.

So, I tried explaining to him that Mommy and Daddy were trying to do something nice as a family, that we wanted to have a fun night all together, and that by complaining and whining about what we might do, he was not exactly showing his appreciation.

I reminded Elijah of the sweet way he had started my Valentine’s Day by creating a cute scavenger hunt for me through the downstairs, leading to some “flowers” he had made. I asked him how he would have felt had I not wanted to follow his clues or just took them down.

To his credit, Elijah realized how he was making us feel, and he apologized.

I thought everything was going to be good after that.

But then…he started pestering Josiah, who rarely backs down from a fight. And suddenly they were arguing and being nasty to each other, and I just wanted to turn around and go home.

So much for a special Valentine’s Day together as a family.

My husband, however, pulled out a question for the boys that had an immediate effect on the entire atmosphere in the car, giving hope to this discouraged Mommy.

He got them quieted long enough to ask Elijah, “What is something you love about Josiah?”

Of course, being a big brother, Elijah was tempted to take the teasing route, but Daddy headed him off, and answered the question himself.

Brad gave examples of why he loved not only Josiah, but Elijah, Isaiah, and Mommy, too.

“I love Josiah because he can be very sweet. I love Elijah because he is creative. I love Isaiah because he likes to cuddle. I love Mommy because she’s intelligent.”

Then I added my “what I loves” to the conversation.

“I love Elijah because he is curious. I love Josiah because he is compassionate. I love Isaiah because he has a funny sense of humor. I love Daddy because he works hard to take care of us.”

Josiah eagerly jumped in to share his.

“I love Elijah because he is nice. (Josiah is forgiving and quick to forget…Haha) I love Isaiah because he is cute. I love Mommy because she helps me. I love Daddy because he plays games with me.”

Finally Elijah was ready to prove that he could come up with his own answers to the question as well.

“I love Josiah because he is good at SurvivalCraft (a video game they play). I love Daddy because he’s silly. I love Isaiah because he’s fun. I love Mommy because she cooks good food.”

And suddenly, the boys weren’t fighting, but rather happily telling each other and us all the different things they could think of that they loved about everyone. We didn’t just stop after we each took a turn, but let them continue as long as they would.

It was part game – the challenge to see what new reason they could come up with – and part fun curiosity – they were delighted to hear what everyone else loved about them.

My Valentine “flowers” from Elijah. His thoughtfulness is just another reason I love him!

In the busyness of every day family life, it can be easy to forget to speak out those things to our children and spouse. We’re quick to correct faults and criticize, especially when things get stressful or overwhelming.

However, taking the time to not just say, “I love you,” but to list the wonderful qualities and traits in our loved ones, is edifying both to them and us. I definitely felt more loved and appreciated when my boys spoke specific things that they cherished in their mommy. Then as I thought about what I wanted to say about my husband and for each of my boys, I was reminded anew of what precious, unique, and wonderful little people our children are and how blessed I am with my husband.

Did our boys fight again that night? Of course. They’re kids. However, it wasn’t in the same nasty tones as before.

We were able to spend our evening together knowing that each person in our family was loved very much by everyone else. Of all the special things we did together for our Valentine’s night that was the most special part of all.

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Why We Love Baby Sign Language & 6 Tips for Teaching It to Your Little One

January 27, 2018

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Why We Love Baby Sign Language & 6 Tips for Teaching It to Your Little One - Life in Lape Haven. Baby sign language is an easy, fun, and helpful way to teach your baby to communicate before they can even talk. All three of our children have learned signs and used them before they were one year old. Here's how you can teach your child signing, too.

When I was pregnant with Elijah, my paternal grandmother gave me two books about how to teach your baby to communicate using sign language. (One even came with flash cards.)

I’ll be honest. At first, I just looked at her. I’d never heard of such a thing.

But Grandma Charlotte was a pretty smart, well-read lady. She’d also taken classes in sign language a few years earlier so that she could communicate with a couple of family members who were hearing impaired, including my cousin’s little girl who is deaf. She knew how easily children could pick it up and how helpful it would be.

So, I read the books, learned some of the basic signs, and taught them to my husband and our parents.

When Elijah was a few months old, I started using the signs as we went through the day, whenever it applied to what we were doing. I’d say the word as I signed it, and soon it became a habit for me.

As Elijah got a little older, we could tell he understood what the signs meant, and, somewhere around 8-9 months, I think, he began signing back.

If you’ve never seen a baby use sign language, it’s kind of amazing – and super cute!

Suddenly, he could ask for a “drink” or let us know when he was “done” or wanted “more.”

We didn’t have to struggle as much with figuring out what he wanted or needed, and Elijah wasn’t whiny or frustrated…unless he was told that he couldn’t have something he wanted. 🙂 Learning “no” is never fun, whether it’s verbal or in sign.

As my family saw how easily Elijah used his signs and how helpful it was, they started using them with his younger cousins.

My grandma was especially proud of our success, and of course, she enjoyed signing to him and seeing him respond happily.

When Josiah came along, there was no question that we would teach him those basic signs as well, this time with Elijah’s help. Sadly, my Grandma Charlotte passed away when Josiah was only 5 months old, so she never really got to see how he benefitted from the communication tool that was her idea.

Now four years later, here we are, teaching a third little boy to use his hands to talk to Mommy, Daddy, and the rest of his family.

Isaiah’s response to sign language was almost immediate because the first one he learned was “milk.” If I wasn’t completely ready to nurse him, but showed him the sign for it, he would get upset pretty quickly! And there were times when I’m pretty sure he signed “milk,” even though he seemed too young to be able to.

Now that he’s at the age where he can mimic our signs easily, it’s been so fun to watch his understanding blossom. He’s been very quick to let us know when he’s “all done” eating, and he loves to tell you when something is “hot,” like the heater or his toy stove with the light-up burner. Haha.

But he picked up a new sign even more quickly last week. After only a couple of demonstrations and connecting the sign with what it meant, he was ready to use “cookie” as often as possible. 🙂

When others see us using signs with our boys, I’ve had them ask me if signing discouraged my children from talking when they were little. Since they could get their message across pretty clearly with just some gestures, after all, why would they need to use words?

Our experience, though, has been that both of our older boys started talking fairly early and easily. While this may be in part because I talked to them ALL THE TIME and prompted them to use words once they were able to, I think that teaching them sign language actually encouraged them to try different kinds of communication because they knew we were paying attention to what they “said.”

Another benefit I’ve found it being able to tell my little ones something without having to say a word, which is especially nice in church when you’re trying to be quiet, or in a noisy place, where your kids might have trouble hearing you. (Being able to sign “no” to even an older child across the room is awesome, especially when you couple it with “the look.”)

If you’d like to begin teaching your child sign language, here are a few tips from our signing experience with our three boys.

6 Tips For Teaching Baby Sign to Your Little One:

1. Start Early

Begin signing even before your baby can physically and developmentally copy them, maybe around 3-4 months old. You’ll get into the habit, & they’ll be learning. (Even if your child is older, you can introduce signing at any age!)

2. Don’t Use Too Many

Pick a few basic signs that you’ll use most often and most effectively and start there. We did ones like Milk, Eat, More, Done, Bath, and Change. You can add others later (Mom, Dad, Please, Thank You, Potty, Dog, Cat, and tons more), just like you build your baby’s verbal vocabulary a little at a time. Here are 21 words you can sign easily.

3. Be Consistent

Use the same sign and word each time and teach your spouse and other family or caretakers to use them, too. (Using standard ASL signs is the best for consistency with others who sign.) We all learn better with repetition. (Our kids can even use their signs in the nursery at church. Several families have taught their children signs, so most of the regular nursery volunteers are pretty fluent in baby sign as well. How cool is that?)

4. Sign in Context

Use the sign when you’re doing the action. Signing “change” makes more sense when you’ve got your little one down and ready to change their diaper, rather than when you’re in the living room and think they might have a dirty diaper. 🙂

5. Don’t Expect Perfection

When your baby starts to sign back, it’s most likely not going to be perfectly executed. Keep in mind your little one is still developing those fine motor skills, so pay attention to anything that even closely resembles a specific sign and respond to it.

6. Keep Signing

Once your child starts talking, there’s no rule that says you have to stop using and teaching them signs. Not only is knowing another language fun and beneficial for challenging their minds (and ours), it will create an instant connection for them with anyone they know/meet who also signs, some who may use sign language as their main form of communication.

Need more help getting started? Here are some fun resources for learning and teaching Baby Sign Language.

(Some of these links are affiliate links, which means that I may receive a small commission if you use the links. You can see my full disclosure for details.)

VIDEOS

One of our favorite sign instructors is Rachel Coleman of Two Little Hands and Signing Time. (We even used her “Potty Time” app when we were potty training Josiah.) Here are just a few of the video available on YouTube.

Baby Signs:

The Potty Time Song:

Best of Two Little Hands TV, featuring signs for foods, clothing, ABCs, colors, and more:

BOOKS

HAVE YOU TAUGHT YOUR CHILD BABY SIGN LANGUAGE? WHAT OTHER TIPS WOULD YOU GIVE?

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7 Simple Dishes Your Child Can Make for Thanksgiving

November 16, 2017

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7 Simple Dishes Your Child Can Make for Thanksgiving - Life in Lape Haven. Our kids like to be a part of everything we do, so it shouldn't have surprised me when my oldest really enjoyed making something "on his own" to take to our family Thanksgiving gathering. Here are 7 easy recipe ideas that your children can help make for your holiday meal or other celebration.

When Elijah was still a little-little guy, about 3 years old, we added a new tradition to our family Thanksgivings that he has faithfully continued every year since. In fact, it only became a tradition because he asked to do it the following year. I might forget it, but he always remembers!

Every year, Elijah gets to make a “special” dish to take to our families’ Thanksgiving meals.

It all started because I was trying to keep him busy while I was prepping my contributions: sweet potato casserole and apple pies.

He wanted to help, but he wasn’t quite old enough to peel potatoes or roll out pie crust. So, I reached back into my childhood and came up with a super easy side dish/dessert he could make: fruit cocktail with marshmallows. 🙂

I know, not exactly your normal Thanksgiving fare, but it was a dish my grandma often served with our meals when we visited when I was little, so I knew our family would be familiar with it.

Plus, all it requires is emptying a can of fruit cocktail into a bowl and stirring in miniature marshmallows. Elijah could totally do that. I opened the cans for him, let him dump it into a bowl, and had him stir as I poured in the marshmallows. Then he put it into the refrigerator until it was time to leave.

He was so excited and proud of himself for “making” something for the day. He carefully carried his creation to and from the car and into my parents’ house.

When it was time to eat, he made sure that everyone knew that he had made the fruit cocktail. 🙂

And they made sure to compliment him on his tasty dish, especially my grandma, who knew exactly where the “recipe” came from.

The following year, I completely forgot about it, but as we got closer to Thanksgiving, Elijah asked me if he could make “his” fruit cocktail again.

And so, it’s now “his” fruit cocktail.

And for him, it’s a special concoction for special occasions. His memories of it are predominantly found in our holiday meals, so to him, it IS Thanksgiving fare.

In talking about Turkey Day this year, he was listing all the things he loves about the day, and he put making fruit cocktail right up there with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (one of our other big traditions here) and ALL. THE. PIES.

I had no idea that it was that important to him.

But it makes sense.

: Teaching Josiah how to make “his” fruit cocktail.

: Josiah, doing some quality control.

In a day where everyone is bringing something for the feast, what better way to be a big part of the day than to contribute to the table, too?

While for me it was simply a way to keep him busy, that small offering gave Elijah a deeper sense of belonging, allowing him to be an active part of the day, contributing to the celebration, and making something special for his family.

It’s no wonder he never forgets to make it every year. 🙂

With that in mind, if you’d like to give your younger ones a chance to bring something to your family’s festivities this Thanksgiving, I’ve scoured my recipes and those online for a few simple dish ideas your children can create for the holiday table.

(This post contains affiliate links, which means at no additional cost to you, I may receive a small commission when you purchase through the link.)

7 Simple Dishes Your Child Can Make for Thanksgiving

1. Fruit Cocktail: A can or two of fruit cocktail in 100% juice. (If using 2 or more cans, you can drain the liquid from all but one). Stir in at least a cup of miniature marshmallows. It’s really just to your preference. Chill in lidded bowl until ready to serve. It’s best if made a couple hours ahead so that the marshmallows soften just a touch. Too long, though (like a couple days), and they will start to dissolve.

2. 5 Cup Fruit Salad: If you want to be more adventurous than just one can of fruit with marshmallows, you can try this tasty dish here. Made of just a cup of each ingredient, it’s easy to put together!

3. Cranberry Sauce: If you’re using the stuff in a can, let the kids take charge of that one. 🙂

If you’re using fresh cranberries, kids like to mash stuff. 🙂 Or you could make it quickly and make Cranberry Sauce in the Instant Pot, but I doubt the kids can help too much beyond stirring there. (But I love my Instant Pot, and might try this recipe myself!)

4. Compound Butter: Most Thanksgiving menus include rolls, bread, or biscuits of some kind. Make it extra festive with some “fancy” butter.

You could take it even further and let your kids make the actual butter, too! Here are instructions for two different methods: In a Stand Mixer or in a Jar

5. Rice Krispie Treats: Cereal, butter, marshmallows. This one’s easy. And if you’re worried about the stove, melt the marshmallows in the microwave.

Want to make it more festive? Try these adorable Turkey Rice Krispie Treats or make it chocolatey (never a bad thing!) with this Oreo-based recipe.

6. Cheeseball: While there are lots of variations for this classic appetizer, they all tend to be simple to put together. Here’s a tasty looking Bacon Ranch Cheeseball that your kids could assemble with only a *little* mess 😉

7. Turkey Veggie Tray: With a little help or supervision with the cutting part, I know my boys would have fun assembling a fun veggie tray for the day.

BONUS RECIPE IDEA: Sweet Corn Spoonbread (also known as Corn Bake): Yes, this involves the oven. But hear me out. This is a simple dump-it-all-in-and-mix-it-up recipe. Kids are good at pouring stuff into the bowl (and many are good at missing…I know). With a little adult help with melting the butter, opening cans, and using the oven, your slightly-older kids can handle this one and have the joy of taking one of the “big dishes.”

Of course, you can include your children in numerous areas of the meal prep, even if they can’t make an entire dish all by themselves. Letting them have a part in creating the meal, which is kind of the centerpiece of Thanksgiving Day, will give them a sense of accomplishment, purpose, and pride, while creating new family traditions and memories to last a lifetime.

That’s something to always be thankful for, right? 😉

WHAT DISH DOES YOUR CHILD LIKE TO MAKE or HELP MAKE?

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The Most Important Thing My Child Learned from His 1st Grade Teacher

August 17, 2017

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Life in Lape Haven: The Most Important Thing My Child Learned from His 1st Grade Teacher & How It Challenged Me as a Mom. Some lessons are more valuable than reading, writing, and arithematic. My son's teacher definitely had the right priority when it came to what she wanted her class to remember most.

And How It Challenged Me As A Mom

It was Elijah’s last day of first grade. He came home, excited for summer and with creative plans for using up all his leftover school supplies (no way, kid – those glue sticks are unopened! You can take them to second grade!).

He also had a letter for us from his teacher.

While it was mostly a summary of the year and appreciation to parents for working with her to help their child excel, one of the paragraphs near the end absolutely gripped my heart.

“On my board at school I have a sentence written. It’s simple, only a few words, and reads, “She loved me.” I’ve kept this on my board for years as a reminder to myself of my top priority – that they would know how much I loved them.”

Maybe it was because I was already emotional thanks to life with a young infant and all the sleepless nights and hormonal fun that brings.

Maybe it was realizing that my first baby was growing so quickly and already preparing to head into the second grade.

Or maybe, and most likely, I was blinking back tears because not only did Elijah know that his teacher loved him, I KNEW that she did as well.

(We mamas know when someone loves our children. And it blesses us.)

Even if I gave you a play-by-play of the year, I don’t think I could list all the times and ways this teacher went above and beyond just teaching my child reading, writing, and arithmetic; all the times she helped him through a tough morning (he had some anxious moments as we got closer to Isaiah’s due date and those days when Mommy was at the hospital); all the special smiley faces she put on his schoolwork when he referenced God, Jesus, a Bible verse, or church, encouraging him in his bold faith; and all the extra hugs and prayers she sent our entire family as we all adjusted to our new normal after Isaiah was born.

And I know that Elijah wasn’t an exception. She poured her heart out for all her students (or as she calls them, “her little buddies”).

Often. And joyfully.

As I looked at that note from his teacher, I was challenged.

Because my top priority as a mother is pretty much the same, and then some – that beyond everything else that my children know about me, they’ll know without a doubt that I love them.

That they are the most important people in my life (along with God and Daddy ;)).

That I will pour my heart out for them always. And joyfully.

But some days that message may not be as clear, when I’m frustrated, or exhausted, or overwhelmed. Those moments when my patience is wearing thin from answering yet another question, or refereeing yet another argument, or having to repeat myself and threaten punishment when they just aren’t listening. Those can be hard days for a mommy.

So, I let those three little words from his teacher’s board – “she loved me”- be not only a challenge to make sure that they KNOW my love, but also to inspire a prayer to the One Who is Love.

A prayer that God would help my words, actions, responses, and body language to continually remind my boys of how much I love them.

A prayer that my energy, time, and focus would be spent where it has the most eternal impact (on my family & others) and not be so easily diverted to distractions (social media, television, random projects).

A prayer that, even when they are being disciplined, my children would always know that it is out of love (and that it would never be out of irritation or for my convenience).

A prayer that they realize that they are treasured by Mommy for exactly who they are – unique, precious gifts from God.

And that in those moments when it’s hard to find the joy or hard to continue to pour myself out, a prayer that I would rely on God alone as my source of strength and let His love flow through me even more.

A prayer that my love would, most importantly, point them to His love and be the reason that they can easily understand what it means when the Bible says that nothing can separate us from His love.

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8: 38 & 39

Why Our Child Goes to Public School

Trusting God Through Kindergarten

Elijah and the Bully

How We Made Our Family Vacation About A Little More

June 28, 2017

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Life in Lape Haven: How We Made Our Family Vacation About A Little More. A simple idea on the day we began our trip gave our vacation an extra focus on kindness toward others.

Last week our family went on a little getaway, the first with all three of our boys. Since we weren’t sure how well 6-month-old Isaiah would travel (he won’t take a bottle or pacifier at all, which has been fun), we knew we might have to make more frequent stops. That’s why we decided to vacation a little closer to home, picking an area within a 5- to 6-hour drive from us. We also decided to go for only 4 days.

In preparation for this grand adventure, I made an extensive packing list, stocked up on car-friendly snacks, printed out some drive-time scavenger hunt sheets and other traveling activities for kids, and created an on-my-visor behavior clip chart to help our older two boys stay on track.

(You can read more about how that worked and get additional tips and tricks for traveling with kids from me and other moms in this post on The Merry Momma.)

The on-visor behavior clip chart…on a string.

The night before our road trip started, Brad was praying with our boys at bedtime. Toward the end of the prayer, he asked that God would use our trip to bless not only us but others.

And God gave me an idea immediately of a very easy way to accomplish that and make our family vacation about more than just us.

The morning of our trip, we loaded the car, got the boys settled, and I hung the clip chart string on my visor. Then I put 3 large wire clothespins on the left corner of my visor. Even Brad looked at me in confusion.

“What are those for?” Elijah asked.

So I explained.

“These three clips are for the three big days of our vacation. Last night Daddy prayed that our trip would bless others, right? Well, each day our family will do a random act of kindness or find someone we can help. When we’ve completed our task for the day, we’ll take a clip down. Until we do, though, these clips will remind us to be on the lookout for ways to be kind, encouraging, or helpful to other people.”

My boys, especially Elijah, were excited about the plan, and they began coming up with ways we could bless someone.

Over the next few days, amid the excitement of hotel stays, daily adventures, and eating out, I was surprised by how often my boys (or my husband or I) would mention an idea for a random act of kindness. Their suggestions weren’t always feasible, but at least I knew they were busy thinking of others.

So what DID we do?

Enjoying our treats at Dairy Queen (note my surprised look as Isaiah tried to steal my shake)

Our first fun act of kindness was passing out ice cream bars to a group of construction workers staying at our hotel. They had been sitting outside when we took the boys out to the pool early in the evening, and they were still there later when we were headed out to get a treat at the nearby Dairy Queen. Before we left the restaurant, we grabbed a pack of ice cream bars, just in case they were still outside when we returned.

When they questioned us about the gift, we just told them that we wanted to do something nice for others as a family and show God’s love. I’m not sure who enjoyed the surprise more – our boys, who were very excited to share, or the men and ladies who were delighted with not only the ice cream, but seeing our boys’ excitement to share with them.

Dinner at the diner.

We earned our next day’s clip in a more subtle way. Since much of our day had been spent exploring a state park (and on a weekday), we didn’t interact with many other people until we went to dinner. Throughout our meal, I noticed that our waitress seemed a bit stressed, and while our boys weren’t behaving badly, they were energetic enough to add a little more chaos to the atmosphere.

We didn’t try to initiate much of a conversation with her or find out how her day had been going because, honestly, when you’re wrangling three little boys during mealtime, it’s much kinder sometimes to focus on keeping your children’s mess and noise to a minimum and just let people work. But I knew that she should be on the receiving end of a little kindness before we left. Even though I didn’t mention my observations to Brad, halfway through the meal, he quietly suggested to me that we leave her a substantial tip (far more than just 20%) as our kindness for the day. So we made sure to express our appreciation for her attentiveness and excellent service both verbally and monetarily.

Family selfie, blocking most of the view of the beautiful mountains behind us.

Our third clip…well, we actually didn’t get to do anything for our last clip, which really bothered our boys. The last day of our trip was spent mostly traveling home, and we didn’t even go through a drive-through, so the easy idea of paying for the person behind us couldn’t even be used. When we did stop for dinner, there weren’t any other people in the restaurant until we were leaving.

However, I don’t feel as though it was a failure because, again, my boys were looking hard for opportunities to help others (whenever we were around other people. Haha). And I know that the two clips that we used were definitely ones that God directed us to do.

So despite only accomplishing two out of the three things, getting my boys to think of others often during our family vacation and knowing that we were obedient in doing what God asked us to when the opportunities were there, to me means that we were successful in making our vacation about much more than ourselves.

And those three clips will be staying in the car so that we can continually be reminded to think of others and look for ways to be kind, helpful, and encouraging every day.

(Next vacation I plan to be much better prepared to continue this tradition, so check out the links and resources below that I’ve found with ideas we can use.)

Random Acts of Kindness

101 of the Best Random Acts of Kindness Ideas

30 Random Acts of Kindness to Do with Your Kids

Super Easy Act of Kindness for Kids (We are TOTALLY doing this soon!)

67 Awesome Random Acts of Kindness for Kids

HOW DOES YOUR FAMILY SPREAD KINDNESS?

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