Teach Your Kids How To Celebrate You This Parent's Day With This Fun Schedule Of Activities
Teach Your Kids How To Celebrate You This Parent's Day With This Fun Schedule Of Activities
Show this to your children... guide them to celebrating YOU!
Kids: Put your heart into it!
Parents’ Day celebrates and recognizes the important role of responsible parenting in every day family life. Families are a fundamental human institution; they are bonded by unconditional love and commitment.
Ok parents... If you want your kids to just wake up on the 3rd Sunday of July this year and recognize that all-important role of responsible parenting that you’ve been playing and acknowledge the sacrifices you have been making... If you want to receive all kinds of positive reinforcement from your beloved children and tokens of their esteem... You’d better be feelin’ lucky.
It is written that luck is the intersection of preparedness and opportunity.
You’re gonna make this work for you this year with your new and improved Schedule for the Week Before Parents’ Day. Prepare your children for this once a year, government supported (36 U.S.C. § 135) opportunity to celebrate YOU!!!
Did you say: Breakfast made for you with no (or little) batting clean-up? A heartfelt gift perhaps? A family morning together that will be remembered?
Starting today...
Print 4 copies of this schedule; put one on the bathroom mirror, then the refrigerator, the inside of the front door and finally, the backpacks.
Once your children have had a chance to read the schedule, offer to help with the preparations, shopping and transportation... it’ll increase the odds of you getting what you want.
FOR MY MOTHER, FATHER, GRANDPARENTS AND THOSE WHO LOVE AND CARE FOR ME:
I am going to show my love for my parents and this is how I will do it.
The WEDNESDAY before:
Think scones. They’re easy to make, all in one bowl with a big spoon. Too young to use the oven? Make up the dough and stick it in the refrigerator until someone is able to help you.
Here’s a good recipe:
Breakfast Scones... You will need:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut up into cubes
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup milk
- Put flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl, mix well
- Add butter and rub in with your clean fingers, until the mixture looks like fine crumbs
- Add sugar; toss to mix
- Add milk and stir with wooden spoon until all dry dough forms
- Place dough on floured counter and knead gently until the dough comes together in a ball.
- Pat or roll into a circle about 1 1/2 inches thick
- Cut each circle into 6 or 8 wedges
- Place wedges on a buttered cookie sheet
- Bake in a 425 degree oven for about 12 minutes or until medium brown on top
Not a bad idea to eat something else healthy along with your scones for breakfast. Check to see which scone ingredients you already have before putting them on your shopping list and add fresh bananas, oranges or berries. Work out a time to get to a grocery store on Friday or Saturday of this week.
THURSDAY:
Plan a gift: something home made, something using found objects. Objects you purposefully gathered ‘cause you knew they would please your parents. Flower petals and leaves, feathers and cut out shapes of colored paper can become an original work of art. Your hand print and a poem on a sheet of paper, don’t forget to sign and date it... start now... gather your craft materials together, brainstorm with your brothers and sisters, helping the littler ones. Put any craft materials that you might need on the shopping list.
FRIDAY - SATURDAY:
Make it special: You have 2 days to get this together. Concentrate on something meaningful, something that makes you happy when you think about it. That means you’ve put your heart into it. Trust me, that is what your parents want. Set your gift aside in a safe and secret place. Don’t forget... These are your shopping days too...
SUNDAY - PARENTS' DAY:
You are ready for this... you have your scone ingredients ready for the making, you have your special gift ready for presenting and you are so very pleased to be able to do these simple, sweet things for those you love and those who love you.
Get assembling, get measuring, get mixing. This should take 30-45 minutes from start to finish. While your scones are baking, peel and cut the bananas into bite-sized slices, separate orange sections and/or rinse the berries under running water in a strainer and leave to drain. Clean as you go, wiping up after each step is super important and will make make the final clean up so much easier. Trust me on this one too.
OK, now that your scones are cooling, you can set the table for your family breakfast. This is a family morning, with a hand-made breakfast and gift, that you planned, you shopped for and you prepared as todays’ way of showing appreciation for your parents. They will be smiling...
Put Your Heart Into It!
P.S. I asked some friends what they would wish for from their children on Parents’ Day:
Sarah M. - Empty the litter box.
Elayne W. - Now that he's old enough, take me out to dinner and pick up the check himself. --Show me that I raised an independent adult, which, to me, was always the point of children.
Peter G. - Just get *out*! Off the couch. Out of the garage.
Naomi H. - As an adult, share a good memory or lesson.
Paula Zindler
RN IBCLC