It's The Time to Disco!

This craft loving mumma gets super excited whenever there’s a chance to get creative Our little monkeys have their school disco this evening and the theme is super fun - NEON! 

But let me begin by being very honest here. Only yesterday after school, I was made aware of the event by my Little Miss who had a very frantic expression on her face that I’d not known earlier, but heaps of excitement in her voice as she declared I could still buy tickets on the morning of the disco, phew!
Now, what would they wear to the disco? They didn’t have anything in bright, neon colours. And the only thing that kept flashing (pun? ) in my head was high-vis clothing  Obviously, there wouldn’t be any that’s kids’ size easily available at the shops. Nevertheless, I was confident that a trip to Kmart would certainly be fruitful. And it was! 

In the beginning, I scoured the party section in the hope that I’d find some bright, funky accessories that would be an easy, quick fix. I picked up a pack of glow-in-the-dark bracelets. The kiddos seemed happy enough with wearing half a dozen of them each. I, however, wasn’t content. You see, I’m a crafty mumma and I have an obsessive need to do more! I wandered around looking for something more when I found a pack of neon shoelaces. The bright neon pink, green and orange colours were just screaming for me to pick them up! Then somewhere through the maze of aisles, little miss found a hot pink vest that she was certain met the criteria for her school disco this year. That it was workout gear didn’t seem to bother her! I wasn’t too keen on spending $8 on 
A. a workout vest that was probably way too big for her anyway and 
B. something that I couldn’t squeeze into either (and I won’t say much about my workout scene right now, ermm) 

So after convincing her that her crafty mumma would magic something really cool, I walked on, musing over my options until I hit the art/craft/scrapbooking section...paints! Of course!! My mind was instantly picturing something cool, as promised  
I knew I had plain white tees that I had got for them when they had a colour-run event at school, washed but with some faint traces of colour still on them, their verdicts declared to be home wearing clothes. So, I didn’t need to spend more loose change, awesome! I grabbed a pack of ‘Neon Pump Paints’ and after a $100-ish at the checkout, walked out very excited about my craft project! What? Oh, yes...the shopping for the disco was only $12.50, (for both, with supplies still left over for another project, and little miss needed new shoelaces anyway, so...score!) but hey!, it’s Kmart! You don’t just walk out with ‘only what you need’! 

Anyway, at home after the school run this morning, I set out to work. Located the said white tees, phew! Lined the insides with some paper towels and went to town with the pump paints! So easy, so fun, so quick! Trust me, anyone can do this! Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy!! The paints were already in pump/spray containers which was super convenient! They’re water based and do come off easily with a wet kitchen towel, but best to protect your work surface with a splat mat or some newspaper. 

While I let them dry, I made a quick, fun accessory for little miss to wear - a braided necklace with the neon shoelaces. Super easy, but would make a funky statement! 

With the leftover shoelaces, I added some more oomph to little man’s already cool light-up shoes, yo! They're being charged, as I type 😄

And with a couple of those glow bracelets, my kids will be neon disco ready this evening! I’m sure their smiles will be brighter than the neon colours themselves!! Right, so this crafty mumma signs off here! 

Until my next creative/crafty venture...stay happy and keep crafting! I’ll be sure to insert some pictures of them all dressed up later this evening!

List of supplies I used: (I live in Australia and Kmart is a popular store here. But I’m sure these products would be easily available anywhere/everywhere.)
Glow bracelets ($2 pack of 20 from Kmart)
Fashion Shoelaces ($5.50 pack of 3 pairs from Kmart)
7 Pump Paints ($5 pack of 7 from Kmart)

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"Amma, I'm bored!"

It's that sentence all mums dread. "I'm bored!" Here are a few of my usual reactions to combat those two deadly words -
'Find something to do then'
'Don't keep saying that'
*grinding my teeth in frustration*
*hiding in the toilet*
Quite possibly in that order!

Well actually, I'm not a bad mum you know! I do muster all the patience and energy I possibly can and do come up with fun things to do with my kids, every once in a while. And one such activity is what we like to call 'the catalogue game'. It's easy, it's fun, it's educational and it's free!

So, the supermarket catalogues stay a bit longer than other recyclables at our home (much to hubby darling's annoyance). They're great for a quick and fun interactive activity with my kids, who are now 7 & 5. My 5-year old still enjoys it, my older one might just have grown out of it. Anyway, so what we do is simply flip through the catalogue, looking at all the pictures of the products. And as we do so, I point out to things and ask them to identify/attempt to read them. This facilitates simple learning, in a fun and interactive manner. Here are some things we talk about -

1.'What is this?' - They identify the product. This creates awareness of common, everyday items and they visually memorise the colours, packaging, etc. This helps connect them to the memory of having seen them on the shelves at the supermarket or at home while we're putting stuff away from the shopping bags. Here, we also talk about something new that they spot, that they haven't seen or noticed before. For example, my younger one pointed at a can of deodorant and asked me what it was. We spent some time talking about it, nothing too complicated, just a lighthearted conversation about how sometimes grownups need a quick spray of it on hot, sweaty days.

2. 'Have you eaten this before?' - While looking at pictures of veggies, fruits or other snacks, they try and recollect if they've eaten them before. If yes, when or what was the dish? If not, then why haven't they tried it before? Is it because it isn't very healthy? Does it fall under the 'sometimes only' food category? There's a whole lot of potential here to engage them in an educational conversation and teaching them the importance of healthy, fresh, wholesome produce.

3. 'Remember when...?' - My son finds it very amusing to talk about the time when he was a toddler and used to have nappies on. He almost always giggles sheepishly as he points out to the pack of diapers and then it leads to some recollection, memories from when they were little and such.

4. 'Can we get this?' - They show interest in a particular product they see. This also helps trigger memory as they remember  a friend who brought it for lunch at school, perhaps, or if they had seen it in an advertisement on TV. We then proceed to discussing if we should buy it or not. When we could buy it, for example, for a special occasion, as a treat, or for dinner tonight, etc.

5. Testing quick response and reflexes - As a bonus fun element, which is what gets them excited in the first place, I ask them to shout out 'chocolate!' in a funny voice whenever they spot something with chocolate in it. I know, I know...kids are kids! The silliest of things make them laugh and they enjoy every minute of it with all their heart! We probably need to take a few notes from our kids sometimes! And when they laugh and squeal in delight, it's so easy to laugh out loud with them!

This whole activity generally lasts about 20-30 minutes. But hey, we did something together and no one was fighting, whining or screaming (or pulling their hair out!). And in the process, we all spent some time together having a meaningful conversation with each other. That's a big win for this mumma!

Try it with your kids! I'd say this activity would suit kids in the age range of about 2-6 years. Just a glossy, colourful catalogue and heaps of questions and answers. I guarantee 20 minutes (at least) of giggles, laughter, learning and a big warm feeling deep within your heart :)