Mommy and Daddy Centers

I had light bulb moment a couple weeks back.  It occurred to me that all three of my girls work in centers during their school day.  Since they all obviously understand the concept, I figured there must be a good way to use a center format on the home front.  And it was in that moment that Mommy and Daddy Centers were born.

Each weekend, Alex and I have a 30 minute center which each of our three girls.  We meet with the girls individually; without phones, sisters, or any other distraction that has helped to develop the great multi-taskers that we are. 

It works like this - one girl is with Mommy while one girl is with Daddy.  The third girl is in the alone time center.  In one and a half hours, each child gets a solid 30 uninterrupted minutes of uninterrupted with each parent as well as quiet play time.

They LOVE it.  When we tell them to start thinking about what they want to do for their center, their eyes widen, smiles brighten and often we see some jumping up and down with the clapping of hands.  These centers could possibly be the most productive 1.5 hours in my week.  There is no stress, no confrontation, and no rush.  Just pure one on one enjoyment.  There is no doubt in my mind that my girls walk away from the centers with full buckets - tanked up with love!  It also is a time that fosters great conversations.  Whether we talk about Adeline's make believe world of Play-Doh sandwiches that talk (that was today for me) or I am encouraging Lila to try and create something that she is afraid will not turn out right, we are talking!  Please God, let the talking continue for years to come.

Today's centers looked like this. 


Savannah and I painted silhouette trees and she and Daddy enjoyed some Lego time.

Lila Grace and I played with Play-Doh (clearly, having your hair done before you start centers in not a requirement.) and after, Lila made Rice Crispy Treats with Daddy.

Finally, Adeline and I played Play-Doh (originally, it was going to be drawing together but after seeing Lila's creations spread across the table, Play-Doh became much more enticing.)  During her time with Daddy, she worked on perfecting her miles of track she laid in the basement during last week's Daddy Center.

After completing our centers, Alex and I are always in awe of how simple and EASY  it is to fill our kids with love and make them feel important.   In the past we have always hired a babysitter and taken a child out for some one on one time.  This involves money and a time window.  After doing centers at home, it is more than clear that the girls prefer one on one time in our house.  How often have I promised 30 minutes of uninterrupted play time with Barbies?  Uh, never - until last weekend rolled around.  These centers take 30 minutes a child, cost nothing and are so rewarding.

I hope that I don't look back on this post and ask myself, "Whatever happened to Mommy and Daddy Centers?"  I hope that my kids look back on their childhood and remember these times together.

Money for Hawa

We sponsor three children in Senegal.  Each child was born during the same month and year as our three girls.  The child we sponsor under Savannah's name is Hawa.

Hawa is an eight year old girl living with her mother, father, and younger brother.  She doesn't get to go to school.  We sent her markers, she sent us back and tiny round dot that she drew on the page, smaller than a dime.  Clearly, she never draws or colors.  Hawa doesn't own any shoes.  She sweeps, helps her mother cook or carries water.  These chores fill up a typical day.  We hope that our sponsorship affords her the opportunity to attend school in the near future.

Savannah thinks about Hawa often.  Recently, she wrote a very long letter explaining Christmas.  She tried to help Hawa make sense of bringing trees in houses and putting lights on them.  Savannah shared the birth of Christ and drew a detailed nativity scene.   She made sure to think of appropriate questions to ask Hawa that would give her meaningful insight to her life.  This is hard when you are second grader living a life where all needs are met.

Savannah's bank account totaled just over $100 dollars before Christmas.  She kept nagging me about giving her money to Africa.  I kept stalling because I didn't want to send her money to an organization and not be able to tell Savannah the specific outcome of her donation.  I didn't want to just send a $100 check to a charity.  I wanted Savannah to see the fruit of her donation.  World Vision gave us me this opportunity in late November.  When I was racking my brain for a way to make Savannah's donation real and tangible, I got an email asking if I wanted to donate to our "family" in Africa.  The money would go directly toward their greatest need.  In fact, World Vision sent a worker out to see Hawa and her family in order to personally assess their greatest needs.  This donation was specific to Hawa, not Africa.  Savannah was thrilled.

Savannah, gladly drained her bank account and eagerly waited to hear what $100 buys a little girl in Senegal.  We finally heard back. We were given a detailed list and a couple photographs of the family with their donated goods.  Savannah's money provided simple items like tooth brushes.  It also is giving the family an opportunity to create income.  They are proud owners of goat which they hope to breed.  If this is successful, Savannah's money will continue to multiply.

I am very proud of my girl.  She is amazing, absolutely amazing.  She is selfless and joyful.  If we all had her compassion, imagine what this world would be like.