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Until Robin pointed it out, I didn’t realize that there was a traveling carnival bopping around the blogosphere called “Fun Monday.” It’s shared by several bloggers, so there isn’t one central location (though Robin decided to set up a clearinghouse of all the previous Fun Mondays here).
Today’s Fun Monday invited participants to post photos or descriptions of their collections–bloggers snap a few shots of their 54 salt & pepper shakers (S., are you still collecting those?), their 87 teapots (Mom, that’s for you!) or their cute shoe collection (might that include 95 percent of female bloggers?), post them at their blog, and link up via those comments.
As I’ve pondered my own Monday FunDay carnival, I’ve concluded that I’d rather support another person’s Monday fun theme than try to compete.
I am, therefore, shutting down the Monday fun theme, effective immediately.
This does not, however, mean that I’m no longer having fun on Mondays! Perhaps I’ll continue to tell a story now and then to prove that there’s fun being had over here.
In fact, here’s a story about our trip to the zoo last week. The Boy kept saying, “I want to see the rhinos!”
While we were at the zebras, I leaned on the rail and admired them. We talked about camouflage and he said, “I want to see the rhinos.”
“We’re getting there,” I said. ”I want to see the zebras first. We sure don’t see these in Indiana unless we’re at the zoo. Otherwise we’d have to go to Africa.”
“Okay. But I want to see the rhinos.”
We moved on from the zebras to the giraffes, where we paused and marveled at their height. We watched them nudge each other as they strolled around the trees. The Boy asked, “Can we go now? I want to see the rhinos.”
“Aren’t you enjoying the giraffes? They’re amazing!”
“Yeah, but I’ve seen them. Now I want to see the rhinos.”
“We’re getting there,” I said. “I’m enjoying watching these two interact.”
He sighed a little and waited. “Can we go now?” he asked after twenty seconds.
“Yes,” I said. “We can go. The rhinos are next.”
“Oh, goody!” he exclaimed. We walked across to a viewing platform and pondered the rhinos. What lumpy beasts! We read on the sign about how they are usually gentle beasts that other animals leave alone because of their imposing size and horn. I figured I’d have to settle in and wait as The Boy spent time with the long-anticipated rhinos.
Within seconds, however, he said, “Well, let’s go. I’ve had enough rhino-ness.”
I guess the rhinos weren’t as fun as he imagined. They stood around a lot, lumbered a few steps; one rubbed his head against a rock. They’re amazing, but not too animated. I guess I’d had enough “rhino-ness,” as well.
As we walked on to see the elephants, I thought about how often I add “-ness” or “-ish” to words, just playing with language, to be cute. I wondered if this would be a bad habit and mar his middle school essay assignments in a few years?
Well, I do hope you have fun today, in some small-ish way. Play around with language. Go to the zoo. Or consider photographing your favorite collection and hopping over to todays’ Fun Monday to share it with the world. In fact, leave a note here in the comments of this post, for one last Monday FunDay hurrah–-that way we can track you down and share in your fun.
Also, if you already prepared something to participate in Monday FunDay, post that in the comments, as well, and we’ll pop over to see what you’re up to!
Have a great, fun day!
Daily life can be such a drag, so blah. The chores can be tedious. The drive to work, dull.
Some days can be reduced to scrub, swipe, fold, wash, rinse, repeat; others, to conquering an overwhelming to-do list or in-box.
One way to approach the daily grind is simply to take a deep breath and dig in, applying self-discipline, determination, willpower, and grit. That’ll get you going…and it’s often what sees us through to the end, to completion. Grit is good. As Winston Churchill might remind us, “Never, never, never give up.”
But along the way, while swishing, sweeping, scrubbing and sorting, why not look for ways to have fun? Why not lighten up our everyday tasks?
The kids can benefit, too.
Now, don’t get me wrong: They need to learn to tap into that, “I don’t want to do this, but I’ll do it anyway” spot to accomplish goals. They need to know that life isn’t all X-Box games and online chats. When they are given a list of things to do, they need to just do it.
But some things can be done…while having a little fun.
On Mondays, I started a carnival called Monday FunDay, inviting people to participate by posting in the comments how they are livening up their Mondays. This time, I’ll offer ideas you can employ right away, as soon as you log off and start working your way through your list. Add to the ideas in the comments, please. We can all use some ways to lighten up.
- Mary Poppins: The Boy had dumped an enormous box of oversized Lego building blocks all over the floor this week. He built tall towers and buildings and smashed trucks through them–they were very fun. But when it came time to pick them up, he stared with despair at so many blocks. How would he ever get them put away? Then I had a Mary Poppins moment when I envisioned some creative cleanup. I went to the garage and pulled out his child-sized plastic snow shovel. “Look! You can shovel them into the storage tub!” Suddenly, it was hilarious to be shoveling toys, and the job was done in no time.
- Music: You probably do this already, don’t you? Put on music that makes you smile, laugh, sing, or dance. It makes everyday chores more enjoyable. Let the kids turn on something fun for themselves as they sift through the clothes in their room.
- Blog Fodder: Imagine creative ways to spin your boring, tedious task-of-the-day on the blog when you’re done. Amuse us all with your creative phrasing. Amuse yourself as you compose it in your head.
- Fartlek: I promise you this doesn’t mean what you think it means. The term “fartlek” is a Swedish term that means “speed play,” and runners use it to describe a training run when they insert some random bursts of speed into an otherwise steady pace. They may decide to sprint hard from a mailbox to a stop sign and then return to a jog. It’s a way to vary pace and insert a little game into a run. Why not transfer this principle to our chores or tasks? See if you can pick up the pace while mopping one area of a big room–from the stove to the cabinets, mop with more energy and speed. Then feel free to drop back to a steady pace. Pick it up on one of the bathrooms and then ease up when you get to the landing. You get the idea. Play a speed game. Fartlek. [Insert offensive sound effects and junior high giggles.]
- Work for the Carrot: Come up with small pleasures to enjoy upon completion of various tasks–after cleaning the fridge, have a healthy snack. When you finish straightening the closet, read a chapter in whatever novel you’re reading. Not only will the reward itself be fun, but the thought of the reward will bring some fun to your work.
- Before & After Photos: Document your work–take digital photos of the messy desk before you sort, file and straighten, and after you finish. Compare. Smile. Be proud. Sometimes I forget how far I’ve come and what a difference my work has made. That’s fun to look back on.
- Many Hands Make Light–and fun–Work: Involve more people. While you’re at it, combine these ideas, too. Ask the kids to join you in some speed games or have them select the music, and when you’re done with a task, offer a simple reward–a freezer pop for everyone, or a marshmallow if they’re easy-to-please. For a huge task, invite friends to help you out…and offer to assist them with a task of similar magnitude. Document it with fun photos posing next to the project before and after. You know, now that I mentioned it, does anyone want to come over and help sling mulch next week? Paint the bathroom?
Our world seems obsessed with fun, but in our pursuit of big fun like a beach vacation, we could risk resenting the everyday obligations. Instead of looking only to the big fun, the expensive and involved fun, try injecting a little everyday fun into your life. Your kids will see that life doesn’t have to be dull and boring–that X-Box isn’t the only fun to be had.
If nothing else, teach your kids the word “fartlek” and use it a lot today in conversations.
I’d almost guarantee it’s good for a few fun moments.
Oh, boy.
I’m really running late.
On Mondays, I host Monday FunDay, a carnival dedicated to swapping simple, amusing–maybe even silly–everyday ways you enjoy good, clean fun. I have generally tried to publish at midnight so that’s it’s up and running first thing in the morning for interested folks to join in.
Not today. Here it is getting well into the afternoon Indiana time, and I’m only just writing it.
Sorry. Please accept my apologies.
On a practical note, I’m sick of the anemic WordPress Mr. Linky option. I wish I could use the more robust one that Typepad users can integrate.
So I’m done with that. Unless you report back that you loved it, let’s just have you jump in and post your idea in the comments. When I get several, I’ll update this post with the links in the post itself, one after another, so you’ll get linkage.
Be sure to link back to this post on your site, too, so your readers can see all of the ideas and start having fun!
Here’s my own little Monday FunDay idea for today…along with the train of thought leading up to it.
I was thinking about the Flat Stanley project. Here’s an article that explains how it came about and includes some related links, but the Wikipedia explanation is nice because it provides some photos, as well.
Then I thought about that Travelocity gnome photographed at famous landmarks around the world. And that AT&T commercial where the dad takes off on a business trip and leaves his sad little girl behind with Mom. She secretly packs a little stuffed monkey along in his briefcase, which he then photographs in front of a skyscraper, a long table in a board room, and then finally back home again.
And I thought about shoes. You may recall that when I was at the Festival, I met L.L. Barkat, who photographed our shoes side-by-side. Here’s the same shot from my angle:
This idea inspired her to photograph her shoes alongside those of several people she met on the weekend, and the result was unpredictable, creative, fun and quirky. I loved it, even though I wished I’d had cuter shoes on that day.
And then I thought about how often female bloggers write about shoes. Cute shoes. It seems to be a top theme.
To illustrate, you could pop over to Scribbit’s May Write-Away contest and see that the theme is Shoes. Scroll down toward the bottom of her post, and she highlights a pair as “adorable,” with “cute little dotties across the toe.” If you are a cute-shoe-girl yourself, you should consider entering. She’s giving away those adorable shoes with the cute little dotties.
This March post from fashion-go-to-blogger BigMama included a cute shoe theme. In a February post, Boomama wrote about the difficulting resisting the urge to buy up a pair of cute shoes on sale at Old Navy.
Cute shoe posts pop up all over the place.
Except here. Here, at my blog, I just don’t think about shoes. Or, I didn’t until it kept emerging as a prominent blogosphere theme.
And them something happened. All those things were flopping around in my head, and I ended up merging them.
Shoes + Gnome + AT&T stuffed monkey + Flat Stanley = Ann Kroeker’s Cute Shoe Tour of the Yard
It only took a few minutes to slip on a pair of fairly cute slipper-style shoes I picked up at Goodwill–Target rejects that nobody wanted–and in Flat Stanley fashion, feature them in a front yard photo shoot.
For the first time ever, I present a Cute Shoe Post.
I suppose they’re a couple of seasons “off” in cuteness, but it certainly was fun to position them next to all the blooming things in my yard.
It’s a few minutes of Monday fun.
What about you? Are you having or planning any fun?
[Check out previous Monday FunDays]
Monday FunDay
Last week’s Monday FunDay was hard to sift through.
This time, let me try to make it clear and simple.
On Mondays, I host Monday FunDay, a carnival dedicated to swapping simple, amusing–maybe even silly–everyday ways you enjoy good, clean fun. I do this so that we don’t all wallow in that “rainy days and Mondays” quagmire. I do it to encourage creativity and laughter.
To participate in Monday FunDay, simply post a story, idea, or explanation at your blog of how you and/or your family have livened up Mondays (or any day).
Then link up via Mr. Linky below (if you don’t have a blog, simply explain your idea in the comments) and we’ll collect all the ideas in one place.
Again, please: ideas must be squeaky-clean, family-friendly fun.
Last week, I encouraged everyone to “Do something creative every day.”
Did you?
Did you write a poem or a letter or a blog?
Did you sketch, paint, or grab some clay and mold a sculpture?
Did you tap at the piano or strum a guitar?
Did you sing a song?
Dance?
Did you plan a garden or arrange some cut flowers in a vase for a centerpiece?
Did you cook a colorful meal or try a new recipe?
Did you pour pancakes in the shape of your child’s initials?
What did you do that was creative? What did you do that was fun?
Instructions for the WordPress Mr. Linky (which is different than the ones you’ll see on WFMW and other Typepad or Blogspot blogs):
1. Write your post. Type up your Monday FunDay edition and post it at your blog.
2. Come back to this post and click on Mr. Linky. A window will pop up.
3. Type in your name (or blog name) and if you like, you can include a short “teaser” for your idea in parenthesis. Something like this:
Ann K (do something creative)
3. Paste in your url. Below the spot for your name, there’s another for the url of your own post. Copy the url for your own Monday FunDay and paste it in (including the http:// part of it).
4. Press Enter. That’s it! It should be saved by Mr. Linky.
5. Link back. Please link back to my blog here. It’s nice for people to find their way to home base and see all the fun.
To see what others have posted, click on Mr. Linky and pay a visit to the fun bloggers who have joined in!
It’s fun to have fun, but you have to know how!
[Check out previous Monday FunDays]
No one was around when my friend dropped me off at home yesterday after the long drive from Grand Rapids. My family was at a soccer match. The house was empty.
I dropped my suitcase not far from the back door.
Got a drink of water.
Climbed up the stairs to my bedroom.
Flipped back the covers (The Belgian Wonder had made the bed, people–am I not blessed?) and flopped onto the bed.
I slept.
When I awoke an hour later, I wondered, Was the Festival of Faith & Writing just a dream?
As I threw a load of laundry in the washer and scrubbed the bathroom sinks, I thought about the people I met.
Except for my actual acquaintances and friends–Brent Bill, L., and Jim Poole, for example–I doubt if the people in the photos that I posted yesterday will remember me personally. They were simply gracious enough to pose for a snapshot with an admiring fan. Elizabeth Berg probably didn’t even realize I was leaning next to her. She was appropriately focused on the person whose book she was signing. She may have been trying to ignore me!
The festival high is fading even more this morning, as I was jolted into reentry by a clogged toilet. Nothing as raw and humbling as a clogged toilet to yank a person back to real life. Plunging will ground you.
Real life. Where macaroni-and-cheese is dished up, pans are rinsed, and outside, pops of yellow dot the spring-greening yard–I came home to spot the first dandelions of the season.
Here, in real life, is where The Boy leaped out of the car, rushed to me, threw out his arms and squeezed me, leaning firmly against my legs for a full minute-and-a-half.
Real life is where stories of soccer matches won…and lost…are told and retold. It’s where birthday parties are planned. Where little boys sing bedtime songs with their mothers, and say, “It’s good to be with you again.”
I’m home.
And it feels like this is all I have left from three days of literary bliss:
This stack represents the tiniest fraction of authors who were there. These are only the books that I own or happen to have checked out of the library before I left.
Working my way from the bottom of this stack up, I have to assume that Francine Rivers has flown home to California to keep working on whatever book she’s on. Kathleen Norris, whom I couldn’t bring myself to do anything silly around, has likely returned to South Dakota or maybe to New York, to work out the final details on the galleys of her forthcoming book or speak somewhere. Elizabeth Berg is on a mind-boggling book tour, with almost nonstop appearances across the nation. Deb Rienstra, a Calvin professor, may be teaching writing students this morning with renewed enthusiasm for pouring vision into them of writing as art. Phyllis Tickle, according to her website, is at this very moment–even as I type–speaking at The Associated Press Annual Meeting, giving the Keynote Address during their luncheon in Dallas, Texas. Claudia, though she wasn’t a speaker at the Festival (but I had her book to place on the stack) is probably working on the novel she described to us when we were sitting in the comfy chairs. L.L. Barkat (also not a speaker, but I have her book) appears to be back home, processing her experiences and posting them on her blog. And finally, Cindy Crosby, I would assume, is back home being contemplative, finishing up a book she mentioned she was working on.
And I’m plunging the toilet.
On Mondays, I host Monday FunDay, a carnival dedicated to swapping simple, amusing–maybe even silly–everyday ways you enjoy good, clean fun. I do this so that we don’t all wallow in that “rainy days and Mondays” quagmire.
To participate in Monday FunDay, just post a story, idea, or explanation at your blog of how you and/or your family has livened up Mondays (or any day).
Monday FunDay
Then link up via Mr. Linky below (if you don’t have a blog, simply explain your idea in the comments) and we’ll collect all the ideas in one place. Again, please remember: ideas must be squeaky-clean, family-friendly fun.
First, here’s Ann’s Family-Friendly, Post-Festival Monday Fun idea this week:
Do Something Creative Every Day
Shauna Niequist, the perky young author I met on the first day, read an essay from her book Cold Tangerines. In it, she said, “Do something creative every day.”
Sometimes it’s good to have someone say this to us. We can say it to ourselves, “I am going to wake up and do something creative today.” But sometimes it’s more effective to hear it from an outside source. It seems more urgent, more important and valuable. When someone else insists, “Do something creative every day,” the investment of time and energy seems worth it. We can take the risk. We can act on it. We can make a list of things we love to do–dance, sing, paint, write–and go do it.
A while ago, I posted about digging up and dusting off long-lost creative interests. Perhaps that post, “How the Cuckoo Found Its Voice,” will inspire you to pull out some old cross-stitch kit or tap out a little tune on the dusty piano keys.
Or perhaps some words from Shauna will inspire you. I found this lengthy passage typed out on someone else’s blog (thanks, Ashley, whoever you are, for sharing this excerpt):
Art slips past our brains straight into our bellies. It weaves itself into our thoughts and feelings and the open spaces in our souls, and it allows us to live more and say more and feel more. Great art says the things we wished someone would say out loud, the things we wish we could say out loud.
It matters, art does, so deeply. It’s one of the noblest things, because it can make us better, and one of the scariest things, because it comes from such a deep place inside of us. There’s nothing scarier than that moment when you sing the song for the very first time, for your roommate or your wife, or when you let someone see the painting, and there are a few very long silent moments when they haven’t yet said what they think of it, and in those few moments, time stops and you quit painting, you quit singing forever, in your head, because it’s so fearful and vulnerable, and then someone says, essentially, thank you and keep going, and your breath releases, and you take back everything you said in your head about never painting again, about never singing again, and at least for that moment, you feel like you did what you came to do, in a cosmic, very big sense.
I know that life is busy and hard, and that there’s crushing pressure to just settle down and get a real job and khaki pants and a haircut. But don’t. Please don’t. Please keep believing that life can be better, brighter, broader, because of the art that you make. Please keep demonstrating the courage that it takes to swim upstream in a world that prefers putting away for retirement to putting pen to paper, that chooses practicality over poetry, that values you more for going to the gym than going to the deepest places in your soul. Please keep making art for people like me, people who need the magic and imagination and honesty of great art to make the day-to-day world a little more bearable.
And if, for whatever reason, you’ve stopped — stopped believing in your voice, stopped fighting to find the time — start today. Do that. Do something creative every day, even if you work in a cubicle, even if you have a newborn, even if someone told you a long time ago that you’re not an artist, or you can’t sing, or you have nothing to say. Those people are bad people, and liars, and we hope they develop adult-onset acne really bad. Everyone has something to say. Everyone. Because everyone, every person was made by God, in the image of God. If he is a creator, and in fact he is, then we are creators, and no one, not a bad seventh grade English teacher or a harsh critic or jealous competitor, can take that away from you.
So to all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or your dancing shoes. Pull out your camera or your computer or your pottery wheel. Today, tonight, after the kids are in bed or when your homework is done, or instead of one more video game or magazine, create something, anything.
Pick up a needle and thread, and stitch together something particular and honest and beautiful, because we need it. I need it.
Thank you, and keep going.
Do something creative today. Not only might it be fun, but your efforts make the world, as Shauna says, a little “better, brighter, broader.”
Do something creative today, this Monday, and all week.
Every day.
Instructions for the WordPress Mr. Linky (which is different than the ones you’ll see on WFMW and other Typepad or Blogspot blogs):
1. Write your post. Type up your Monday FunDay edition and post it at your blog.
2. Come back to this post and click on Mr. Linky. A window will pop up.
3. Type in your name (or blog name) and if you like, you can include a short “teaser” for your idea in parenthesis. Something like this:
Ann K (do something creative)
3. Paste in your url. Below the spot for your name, there’s another for the url of your own post. Copy the url for your own Monday FunDay and paste it in (including the http:// part of it).
4. Press Enter. That’s it! It should be saved by Mr. Linky.
5. Link back. Please link back to my blog here. It’s nice for people to find their way to home base and see all the fun.
To see what others have posted, click on Mr. Linky and pay a visit to the fun bloggers who have joined in!
It’s fun to have fun, but you have to know how!
[Check out previous Monday FunDays]
Welcome!
You’ve arrived at home base for Monday FunDay, a carnival dedicated to swapping simple, amusing–maybe even silly–everyday ways you enjoy good, clean fun.
To participate in Monday FunDay, just post a story, idea, or explanation at your blog of how you and/or your family has livened up Mondays (or any day).
Monday FunDay
Then link up via Mr. Linky below (if you don’t have a blog, simply explain your idea in the comments) and we’ll collect all the ideas in one place. Again, please remember: ideas must be squeaky-clean, family-friendly fun.
First, here’s Ann’s Family-Friendly, Post-Vacation Monday Fun idea this week:
Slide shows!
Create digital slide shows. With music. Any theme.
Could be “Our Pets” or “The Many Faces of Dad.”
Having just returned from our econo-camping, Desperate-for-Beach-and-Sun vacation, we have a gob of photos to sort through. Our theme will definitely be “Spring Break 2008.”
If my kids were younger, I’d put together the slide show myself; but because my three older kids are technologically adept, I think I’m going to give them the assignment and see what they come up with. Unless an alert reader has a better idea, I think I’ll recommend they use PowerPoint so that they get some experience working with that program.
I might even suggest that they create some brief narration. Eventually, with or without narration, when they’ve got it timed with music, we can pop some popcorn and set it in motion for a fun evening.
I hope it’s fun, because we could use a little levity. We’re facing that post-vacation shock, having reluctantly left behind the glorious (though rainy) beach and returned to our land-loacked state of gloomy gray skies and an expected high tomorrow only in the 40s.
So please tell me what you’re doing for fun–I have the feeling we’re going to need some bonus ideas to perk ourselves up!
Instructions for the WordPress Mr. Linky (which is different than the ones you’ll see on WFMW and other Typepad or Blogspot blogs):
1. Write your post. Type up your Monday FunDay edition and post it at your blog.
2. Come back to this post and click on Mr. Linky. A window will pop up.
3. Type in your name (or blog name) and if you like, you can include a short “teaser” for your idea in parenthesis. Something like this:
Ann K (slide shows)
3. Paste in your url. Below the spot for your name, there’s another for the url of your own post. Copy the url for your own Monday FunDay and paste it in (including the http:// part of it).
4. Press Enter. That’s it! It should be saved by Mr. Linky.
5. Link back. Please link back to my blog here. It’s nice for people to find their way to home base and see all the fun.
To see what others have posted, click on Mr. Linky and pay a visit to the fun bloggers who have joined in!
It’s fun to have fun, but you have to know how!
[Check out previous Monday FunDays]
Welcome!
You’ve arrived at home base for Monday FunDay, a carnival dedicated to swapping simple, amusing–maybe even silly–everyday ways you enjoy good, clean fun.
Monday FunDay
To participate in Monday FunDay, just post a story, idea, or explanation at your blog of how you and/or your family has livened up Mondays (or any day).
Then link up via Mr. Linky below (if you don’t have a blog, simply explain your idea in the comments) and we’ll collect all the ideas in one place. Again, please remember: ideas must be squeaky-clean, family-friendly fun.
First, here’s Ann’s Family Friendly Monday Fun:
Obviously, being on vacation is exceptional fun that should get even more fun if it gets sunnier. The kids have already been to the beach and dug giant holes. They’ve jumped in the water. They’ve been to a swimming pool. And all of this was on a cool, rainy, cloudy, gray day. If the sun comes out, who knows what fun will be had?
However, in the spirit of everyday fun that drives Monday FunDays, I want to offer you a link I first found at The Flourishing Mother.
It’s called Faces in Places, and ever since I browsed the pictures, the kids and I have been looking for naturally occurring faces I could photograph and include for this Monday FunDay post.
It’s a lesson in “seeing.”
My mom pointed out that wall sockets have always looked like faces to her:
Are they wide-eyed and gasping, “Oh!”?
Faces are everywhere. I’ve seen some, but failed to have my camera on hand. So be sure to visit the site for fun in and of itself. But be inspired. Have fun hunting for faces with the kids. You could see one anywhere, so you can carry on with your regularly scheduled errands and outings. The fun is built in.
Be sure to bring your camera, and post your faces for us to admire.
Instructions for the WordPress Mr. Linky (which is different than the ones you’ll see on WFMW and other Typepad or Blogspot blogs):
1. Write your post. Type up your Monday FunDay edition and post it at your blog.
2. Come back to this post and click on Mr. Linky. A window will pop up.
3. Type in your name (or blog name) and if you like, you can include a short “teaser” for your idea in parenthesis. Something like this:
Ann K (faces in places)
3. Paste in your url. Below the spot for your name, there’s another for the url of your own post. Copy the url for your own Monday FunDay and paste it in (including the http:// part of it).
4. Press Enter. That’s it! It should be saved by Mr. Linky.
To see what others have posted, click on Mr. Linky and pay a visit to the fun bloggers who have joined in!
It’s fun to have fun, but you have to know how!
[Check out previous Monday FunDays]
Welcome!
You’ve arrived at home base for Monday FunDay, a carnival dedicated to swapping simple, amusing–maybe even silly–everyday ways you enjoy good, clean fun.
Monday FunDay
To participate in Monday FunDay, just post a story, idea, or explanation at your blog of how you and/or your family has livened up Mondays (or any day).
Then link up via Mr. Linky below (if you don’t have a blog, simply explain your idea in the comments) and we’ll collect all the ideas in one place. Again, please remember: ideas must be squeaky-clean, family-friendly fun.
First, here’s Ann’s Family Friendly Monday Fun:
The other day I saw this cute public service TV ad encouraging kids (and adults) to get up and play (with three LPGA spokeswomen introducing “Be a player”). It’s a campaign to address childhood obesity.
Here are all the videos in one place.
The LPGA video shows kids playing kickball and leap frog, spinning in circles, and jumping rope. It looks and sounds like so much fun, I plan to take their advice and go outside with the kids to “get up and play” for at least an hour. They can do whatever they want, of course, but I might suggest jumping rope (and try it myself).
The Smallstep Kids website offered a link to a site that had ideas to get started with jumping rope. The site uses some animated line drawings to explain some ”stunts” to jazz up the jumping, and include a page with rhymes to chant while jumping. Click on a rhyme and a play button pops up. Click on it to hear kids chanting it. I think that musical element adds a layer of fun to the activity.
The main point of the campaign is to just get up on one’s feet and move around, play, and have fun. That’s exactly what we’ll do on Monday FunDay.
What about you?
Instructions for the WordPress Mr. Linky (which is different than the ones you’ll see on WFMW and other Typepad or Blogspot blogs):
1. Write your post. Type up your Monday FunDay edition and post it at your blog.
2. Come back to this post and click on Mr. Linky. A window will pop up.
3. Type in your name (or blog name) and if you like, you can include a short “teaser” for your idea in parenthesis. Something like this:
Ann K (get up and play)
3. Paste in your url. Below the spot for your name, there’s another for the url of your own post. Copy the url for your own Monday FunDay and paste it in (including the http:// part of it).
4. Press Enter. That’s it! It should be saved by Mr. Linky.
To see what others have posted, click on Mr. Linky and pay a visit to the fun bloggers who have joined in!
It’s fun to have fun, but you have to know how!
[Check out previous Monday FunDays]
Happy Easter Monday to you!
And welcome to home base for Monday FunDay, a carnival dedicated to swapping simple, amusing–maybe even silly–everyday ways you enjoy good, clean fun.
Monday FunDay
To participate in Monday FunDay, just post a story, idea, or explanation at your blog of how you and/or your family has livened up Mondays (or any day).
Then link up via Mr. Linky below (if you don’t have a blog, simply explain your idea in the comments) and we’ll collect all the ideas in one place. Again, please remember: ideas must be squeaky-clean, family-friendly fun.
Ann’s Family Friendly Monday Fun:
Leading up to Easter Sunday, we use a set of plastic Easter eggs put out by Focus on the Family called “Resurrection Eggs.” Each egg contains a simple symbol representing one of the events leading up to the Resurrection.
For example, the first one has a little metal donkey in it, to symbolize the Triumphal Entry. There’s a cup for the Last Supper, a die for when they divided up Jesus’ clothes, and so on until you open an egg with a little piece of linen, another with a stone, and finally an empty egg.
Two years ago, the kids were taking turns opening the eggs and reading the little devotional with related Bible verses. Our youngest, The Boy, couldn’t read yet, so he could only open the eggs. An argument broke out over who would open the next-to-last and final eggs. The next-to-last was the stone, which was not only weighty when held, but also produced a satisfying thumpity-thump sound when shaken. The last one, being so lightweight and void of thumps when shaken, was not an option for our youngest. He threw a minor fit, and in the name of peace and Christian love, also prompted by some “looks” from Mom and Dad, the other person gave in.
The Boy would open the egg with the stone, and then she would open the last egg, the empty egg.
We read about the stone, and he opened it happily, turning the stone over and over in his hand.
Then it was time. We opened the final egg.
“Awwww, it’s empty!” the youngest complained. What a let-down. All the others had a little toy inside. He made a face and shook his head.
“That’s right,” we said, “it’s empty. Just like the tomb!”
“What?”
Everyone jumped in and exclaimed things like, “The egg is empty because the tomb was empty.”
“The tomb was empty because Jesus wasn’t there.”
“He wasn’t there because He’s risen! He’s not dead; He’s alive!”
His eyes grew wide as saucers and he gasped. Then he smiled and squealed, hopped off his chair and ran three times around the circular pattern through the kitchen, dining room and living room. As he ran, he shouted, “He’s alive, He’s alive, He’s aliiiiiiive!”
We were so surprised, we actually laughed–not at him, but at how wonderful to see someone respond with such childlike wonder and amazement to the Good News. We had just read about Mary, running to tell the disciples the good news, and then here was this spontaneous and related response from our own four-year-old.
Jesus said we had to become as little children in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. Seeing The Boy run with breathless excitement at the thought of Jesus being alive left the rest of us laughing and shaking our heads.
This year was more subdued. Two years wiser, The Boy knew that the last egg would be empty; that the tomb was empty and our Savior is alive. When I said, “He is risen,” The Boy didn’t get up and run, but he did laugh and say, ”He’s risen! He’s alive!”
That’s a really long story to lead up to my Monday FunDay idea. Thank you for humoring me.
We decided there were some critical scenes or moments left out of the Resurrection Eggs.
With gratitude to Playmobil for making very small, detailed items–small enough to fit inside an Easter egg–we have expanded the elements so that we can open more eggs.
More eggs = more fun!
What’s more, the fun doesn’t end on Easter morning!
It is the climax of the story, so we aren’t attempting to “top” Easter morning and the empty egg–I mean, tomb–but we thought it might be interesting to carry it on through to the Ascension.
For what it’s worth, here’s what we added to the collection:
- The pre-fab kit came with a metal donkey for the Triumphal Entry.
- We added a little brown table, for the cleansing of the temple.
- We added a teeny, tiny little coin and some bars of gold to represent the widow’s mite and the rich people’s offerings.
- We found a pretty little pitcher from the Playmobil collection to represent the jar that held the perfume with which Jesus was anointed. Matthew recorded the Lord saying that wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her. He made it pretty clear, so we thought we’d best add her.
- The pre-fab kit came with three metal coins to represent the 30 pieces of silver Judas took to betray Jesus.
- The kit came with a cup for the Last Supper.
- We added a little slice of Playmobil bread.
- We added a sandal for the washing of the disciples’ feet. For next year, I think I’ll try to find a tiny piece of terry cloth to look kind of like a towel.
- The kit came with praying hands for Gethsemane.
- We added a sword for when Peter cut off Malchus’ ear.
- The kit came with a leather rope, to represent the flogging.
- It came with a metal crown of thorns.
- It also came with a metal cross made out of nails.
- It came with one die to represent casting lots for Jesus’ clothes.
- For next year, we want to add the sign, “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
- We added a cloth to be the curtain of the temple that was torn in two.
- EDITED: The kit came with a spear, for when Jesus’ side was pierced.
- The kit came with white cloth, to be the linen Jesus’ body was wrapped in.
- It came with the stone.
- And the empty egg.
- We’re adding a door–we think we can use either a LEGO door or a Playmobil door–for when Jesus’ appeared to the disciples, when they were afraid and hiding behind locked doors.
- A fish, for the miraculous catch as well as the fish that the resurrected but not yet ascended Jesus was cooking on coals on the beach.
- The girls suggested a cotton ball to represent the cloud into which Jesus disappeared when he ascended.
Clearly, we need two egg containers!
Anyway, that’s how we’ll be having fun this Monday–by extending the Easter story.
How about you?
Instructions for the WordPress Mr. Linky (which is different than the ones you’ll see on WFMW and other Typepad or Blogspot blogs):
1. Write your post. Type up your Monday FunDay edition and post it at your blog.
2. Come back to this post and click on Mr. Linky. A window will pop up.
3. Type in your name (or blog name) and if you like, you can include a short “teaser” for your idea in parenthesis. Something like this:
Ann K (adding post-Resurrection eggs)
3. Paste in your url. Below the spot for your name, there’s another for the url of your own post. Copy the url for your own Monday FunDay and paste it in (including the http:// part of it).
4. Press Enter. That’s it! It should be saved by Mr. Linky.
To see what others have posted, click on Mr. Linky and pay a visit to the fun bloggers who have joined in!
It’s fun to have fun, but you have to know how!
[Check out previous Monday FunDays]
I’m a little late with my Monday FunDay post. I’m still in the post-retreat Slow Zone (sigh). Please accept my apologies.
Welcome to:
Monday FunDay
What? You didn’t know about Monday FunDay? Why, it’s a carnival dedicated to swapping simple, amusing–maybe even silly–everyday ways you enjoy good, clean fun.
Just post a story, idea, or explanation at your blog of how you and/or your family has livened up Mondays (or any day).
Then link up via Mr. Linky below (if you don’t have a blog, simply explain your idea in the comments) and we’ll collect all the ideas in one place. Again, please remember: ideas must be squeaky-clean, family-friendly fun.
Today’s Monday Fun at the Kroekers’:
The weekend of slowing down, relaxing, and retreating included lots of tea. All that sipping and chatting felt like an extended tea party.
My Monday FunDay suggestion is just that:
Host a tea party!
With friends…
or family…
or both!
A few months ago, I posted about slowing down my fast-paced world, including a YouTube video.
Then, clever Jenni of One Thing, took off on that idea and threw together a spontaneous tea party–she cut flowers from her garden, baked some goodies, pulled out the good china, spread a lovely tablecloth on the dining room table, and her kids and she had a great time laughing and nibbling and telling stories. Scroll down that post of hers to see their pictures. Clearly, they were having some great fun.
Be sure to visit Monday FunDay participant Toni at This Simple Life, as well, to see the Happy Un-Birthday party her kids threw together all on their own. Inspired by that scene from the Disney version of “Alice in Wonderland,” they set aside muffins for the event, made paper hats, played games, and sang ”Have a Very Merry Un-Birthday” with gusto.
Tea–with or without the Mad Hatter–sounds like a perfect Monday FunDay activity for us this afternoon, so that’s my plan: A tea party in the dining room.
My party preparations will be pretty humble. I’ll have to use a fake flower arrangement, but I’ve got plenty of real teacups (coincidentally, I own the exact same “April” teacup that Jenni photographed–it’s the last one with all the used teabags piled up on the saucer). And I’ll probably just pull out Girl Scout cookies. Homemade options are great, and if I have time, I might throw together some muffins. And anything with Nutella slathered all over it will taste like a party–perhaps we’ll slice a banana and use some toothpicks with those colorful party fluffs on the end to spear them and dip them in a bowl of that yummy hazelnut-chocolate spread.
(pause with me if you will for a Nutella moment)
At any rate, the fun is not only in the tea and snacks and Nutella, but also in the conversation as we laugh, practice decent table manners and “catch” each other when we’re a little less civilized.
We might even read about the Mad Tea party in Alice in Wonderland and try a riddle or two.
What will you do for fun today?
Instructions for the WordPress Mr. Linky (which is different than the ones you’ll see on WFMW and other Typepad or Blogspot blogs):
1. Write your post. Type up your Monday FunDay edition and post it at your blog.
2. Come back to this post and click on Mr. Linky. A window will pop up.
3. Type in your name (or blog name) and if you like, you can include a short “teaser” for your idea in parenthesis. Something like this:
Ann K (Tea Party)
3. Paste in your url. Below the spot for your name, there’s another for the url of your own post. Copy the url for your own Monday FunDay and paste it in (including the http:// part of it).
4. Press Enter. That’s it! It should be saved by Mr. Linky.
To see what others have posted, click on Mr. Linky and pay a visit to the fun bloggers who have joined in!
It’s fun to have fun, but you have to know
Check out previous Monday FunDay posts and be sure to click on Mr. Linky and visit other people’s blogs to read their own fun ideas (last week, everybody was having fun with the Ultimate Blog Party, so there are no offerings, but be sure to check out previous weeks).
** UPDATED: I’m off a week–it’s actually week 8. **
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