Poetry in motion
Are you like me and love spending time with your kids, doing activities, crafts, taking them out in all weathers, playing and generally having fun?
I feel like I spend most of my energy on the children doing all these wonderful things. I do this with my kids for two reasons:
1. Because I believe it is important to spend quality time together and provide opportunities for the children.
2. Because I LOVE IT and they LOVE IT!!!
These to me are two invaluable reasons that make the effort all worthwhile. However, do you ever wonder if all the effort you go to actually makes a difference to your child? Do you ever wonder if they really appreciate the effort you make?
For example, last weekend we made our gingerbread house together. This took the whole family an entire day to complete and believe me, it took some effort on my part! I know my children loved it, they had a fantastic time making it, as did I, but did it actually make an impression on them?
I am sure a lot of the time the children just enjoy the activity you are doing, then forget about it, but I do believe it does leave a lasting impression on them without anyone realising it. It is only when things happen, they say things at school or they copy/repeat things you do, that you see how you have inspired them or given them a wonderful memory to cherish forever.
A few weeks ago Boo came home from school and emptied her bag out…..yes, there was an enormous pile of leaves she had collected and she was so proud of them! She was inspired by me, we had frequently been collecting leaves and other pieces of nature prior to this. She then got down to making things with her leaves. This really made me smile.
At school last week the teacher stopped me and said “I don’t know if this is true, but your girls have been saying you were wrapped in toilet paper!” Well clearly I made an impression on my children doing the mummify your mummy game. Apparently my girls kept repeating it and the teachers were wondering what it was all about! Yes, being a parent you have no secrets, but it makes me feel I have given my children a lasting memory of a fun bonfire night to remember forever!
This year we have been incredibly luck to have had two lovely holidays due to me becoming a Centre Parcs ambassador earlier in the year. We had an absolutely amazing time on both holidays and I do know my kids genuinely appreciated it, but when I read BB’s little note book he has started writing random stuff in, it made me realise just how much it made an impression on him. He was inspired to write a poem and coming from a boy who doesn’t do much writing of proper things, this to me spoke volumes!
BB’s holiday poem….
Bucket and spade
everyone having fun
at the beach we play
cats can come too
holiday at the beach
sea, ice cream, seaside
it’s time to go dig for shells
everyone having fun!
Pure poetry in motion!
I absolutely love his poem, though goodness knows where the cats came from? I love it even more because I know where it was inspired from, our wonderful holidays together!
So when I am making an effort, I will always remember, everything we do leaves a small impression!
My word of the week is impressions.
How lovely. I agree, it’s often when you stumble across something that you realise how much of an impression things are leaving
It is really lovely when you notice these things
What a lovely post Karen and a gorgeous little poem at the end. It’s great when you find things the whole family like to do together, and it does sound like you guys have a LOT of fun along the way xx #PoCoLo
Oh, we definitely have loads of fun together (maybe a little too much sometimes)!
I agree that all the little things we do and all the extra efforts we put in with our children when they are younger leave a lasting impression. My two youngest are teens now but all of their friends love coming over here and often we will all do crafts together or bake cookies. I love that they love being here and contribute it to putting in the extra time and effort when they were young. Stopping by via #WotW glad you linked up!
Wishing you a relaxing weekend!
xx
Lysa
It is a big effort, but I do believe it is worth it. It’s lovely how your kids bring friends round now and all do things together.
What a lovely post! A great poem by your son x #WotW
Thank you x
Oh, Karen, I do love this post. Like you, I wonder whether things actually stay with my kids and make an impression, but clearly in your case they really do. I love how happy the girls look in that photo and BB’s poem is lovely. Thanks very much for sharing it with #WotW x
Thank you of for the lovely comment. It is so rewarding to see how much of an impression you make x
Impressions is such a lovely word for the week and your post really made me smile. Those moments with our children doing things together are just the best and it is so lovely when you know they’ve made an impression on them too. I love your son’s poem – especially the line about the cats
#WotW
Thank you, I have no idea where the cats came from!
That’s a lovely #wotw. I agree with you. Like you, I love spending time with my little one too, even if there are days when all we do is cuddle just cuddle and talk and I absolutely love every single minute of it. I know the time will come when she will prefer spending her time talking and laughing with her friends than doing it with me. So I’m reminded how we should definitely treasure the time spent with them
Definitely good to treasure the time we spend with our kids
What a lovely poem, your holiday and activities clearly do make an impression!
Thank you
A beautiful word. I often wonder if the time we spend together is thought of afterwards. Reading your post has made me realise that this is the case. Yay. Have a lovely weekend #wotw
Thank you, yes, I think the kids take on board a lot more than we (or they) realise
Sometimes we dont know how much influence and mark we made to people & family but when we do it feels good. #wotw
Very true
This is so lovely and what wonderful poetry…..It sounds like you make a fantastic impression on a lot of people x
Thank you x
A lovely post and your creating wonderful childhood memorys for your children by spending quality time with them.
I’m proud that my daughter has happy stories to share with her class on a Monday morning about our fun packed weekends, its how it should be. Fun times as a family.
Thank you, creating great memories for everyone is wonderful for all involved
Lovely. I agree that putting time into your kids is so important (although I’m guilty of not enjoying them as much as I should at the moment). I love the time we all do something together – I also love the excuse to “grow-down” a bit and behave like a kid.
Ah, definitely ‘growing down’ is a must!! (Love that idea)
That’s an interesting thought about the impression we leave on our kids with the time we spend together. I love the poem, it’s so cute!
Thank you
I think that making memories with your children is worth far more than anything. Your children will remember you dressing up as a Mummy in years to come and you can’t put a price on that
It definitely is and you are right, it is all priceless!
I love it when you realise the impression things are having. Love the Mummy photo. #letkidsbekids
Thank you
This is lovely! Everything we do makes an impression, however small
#letkidsbekids
It is amazing how much of an impression we leave
wow! so great that he felt compelled to write about his experiences in a poem
It’s wonderful when you can see that you have influenced your child’s life a positive way. It’s easier to create a life than to mean something in it…
It is lovely watching the impressions we make
That is a really lovely poem. I truly believe our children got a lot out of their experiences and family environment even if they do not show it at the time, like the mummifying game, they obviously thought about and talked about it a lot to others, you are doing such a fab job. #letkidsbekids
Thank you very much, giving our children these experiences and sharing time together really does give them something priceless!
Aww what a lovely post. It’s super clear from your posts that you are making amazing, lasting memories with your kids
I love the mummify your mummy idea 
Thank you, I hope so
Karen this is fabulous! What a lovely post and I particularly love the poem from your boy – I reckon Grace would say exactly the same about the cats. It is fab to see you on Prose for Thought, thank you for linking xx
Thank you x
Reason two is all the reason any parent should need. It’s great to give the kids such a variety of creative outlets with which to express themselves.
Definitely, that’s the only reason I need to do these things, but it is nice to see it actually makes an impact too.