Free time?

My three-year-old has never been a great self-entertainer. I've always found it hard to get anything done during the day because he is constantly wanting to play with me. I remember the first time he finally sat through 20 minutes of a movie...I almost cried. So I am always on the look-out for things he can do by himself with me nearby giving him lots of praise and encouragement so he feels like he is not alone. One of my most recent finds, and one that has proven to be pretty much gold, is Crayola's window crayons!

These really are so cool!! They go on any window surface so nicely, including mirrors, and show up brightly. The box says they clean up easy...and they do clean up easy just not necessarily quickly. It takes a little elbow grease and some Windex but eventually you get your shiny glass back again. My son loves to color all over his mirrored closet doors (which we almost replaced, thank goodness we didn't) and while he does I can put laundry away or vacuum or other little chores nearby. It is also a fun activity we can do together...did you know coloring reduces stress...and I can sit there for a long time with my baby on my lap coloring with my Zach. It definitely takes the monster out of him! It also is a great thing to proudly show Daddy when he comes home from work or Grandma and Grandpa when they come over to visit. And he is such a good little artist, who wouldn't be proud! (Please excuse the mess in the mirror, I'm trying to survive, not be perfect!)If you aren't lucky enough to have mirrored closet doors, they work great on bathroom mirrors while you are cleaning the bathroom. Or sliding glass doors while you are trying to get dinner on. It would be fun to let your children decorate the front room windows for each holiday or birthday. Or let them decorate car windows for birthdays or big events, which would help teach them to celebrate and support each other. You could write love notes to your children or spouse in the morning, or reminders. Or you could have the kids write nice notes to each other. You could even write a family goal or motto or positive saying on the mirror each month to help remind everyone what to be thinking about or working on. One of my neighbors, who told me about the crayons, drew a big tree on her window in November. Each day during the month her children would take three leaves (made from paper) and write something they were grateful for on each leaf, then hang it on the tree. If they couldn't write, they could ask someone to write it for them or draw a picture. By the end of the month she had a colorful tree full of thankful things and a family who was a little more aware of their blessings. Honestly, who doesn't want to go out and buy a set of these right now?! Of course, Crayola isn't paying me for this post, but they don't need to. I get all the payment I need from the few minutes of free time the crayons allow me each day we use them.