Earlier this week, Jackson was having a hard time dealing with his day. Somebody else got a present for no reason and he didn’t. Somebody else ate the last granola bar that he wanted to eat for breakfast. His baby sister was being mean to him and his other sister didn’t want to play with him. Mean old mom wouldn’t let him play wii even though he so desperately wanted to do so at 8 a.m. Definitely, a horrible, terrible, no good very bad day from his perspective.
So not wanting to take what a frustrated, grumpy 6-year-old can dish out (and in large quantities, this one) I gave him big hugs and cuddles, and then I got creative, artistic, and improvised.
We found a cardboard box and turned it into a gnome house (I was wise that day and refrained from ever insinuating that it was a dollhouse, thank goodness!) We glued on green construction paper to give the gnomes a yard. Jackson and Izzy made playground equipment and gardens, a garage and a card, boats and a huge lake… all from cardboard and popsicle sticks.
I got into it too and put some furniture together.
All day long we worked on our gnome house and played with our creation.
The day may have had a bumpy start, but I tucked in a very happy little boy (who got along with his little sister all day long!)
This sounds like a GREAT rainy day activity for us. I am going to keep this one in my back pocket. Thanks.
Lovely!
Very good use of resources and mama-cuddles!
Mary