The WWW feels smaller than ever these days. I keep "bumping into" people I know online, or people are bumping into me.
My cousin lives in Rhode Island and couldn't sleep one night so she was dinking around looking at craft blogs. She somehow landed on Buttercuppity, which is written by a Ari, a gal here in town that I've gotten to know over the last few months through crafting and blogging. My cousin didn't realize Ari lived in Spokane, so imagine her surprise when she scrolled down and saw a picture of me and my girls at Ari's fabric store opening party.
And then today I was on Sew Mama Sew checking out a post they'd kindly written Sunday about my Julie & Julia heart badges. Well, it was my turn to be surprised to see a post there today about the duffel bag patterns by Spokane sewing guru Cherie Killilea, who I wrote about just last week on Dwell Well--and whose duffel bag pattern I bought a few days ago.
I can't wait to sew this baby up:
So either the Internet is getting smaller or Spokane is the center of the crafting universe. Hmm ...
On a separate note, here's an activity for your kiddles and bits.
This might be especially helpful to the snowbound among you on the East Coast. 2008 and 2009 were rough winters here, so I know all about being stuck at home with little kids and nothing to do.
Like any parent/child, we're pretty much constantly coming up with goofy things to do. Ninety percent of it never makes the blog because I either think it will bore everyone to tears or because my idea for the day fails miserably and we end up watching Sesame Street.
This one--STORY STARTERS--is a keeper, though. The girls can't get enough of this new little game we've been playing.
The concept is old and simple. Tell the kids the start of a story and then have them make up the rest. Of course, since my kids aren't old enough to write their own stories, they have to act them out.
I have to admit, playing pretend is not one of my favorite things to do as a parent. There are only so many times I can be the bad witch or the evil queen.
These story starters have somehow freed me from my pretend responsibilities. The girls still want me to watch their show, but they don't need me to be a part of it anymore. The two or so sentences I provide are enough to get the game going.
The instructions here are simple:
1. Download the story starters and print--or create your own.
2. Cut them out.
3. Place each story starter inside an envelope (I used tiny coin envelopes from Office Depot).
4. Stamp a number on the front of each envelope.
(Those last two steps are optional, but I think they make it more fun for the kids.)
5. Place all the envelopes in a bowl. Have the kids draw one, read it aloud and tell them to start pretending.
6. Let them carry on for as long as they like or set an egg timer for five minutes and have them draw a new story starter after the buzzer rings.
Here are the girls pretending they're ballerinas about to go on stage and perform in The Nutcracker. What you don't see is me getting a load of dishes washed during the "ballet."
Halfway through they retrieved their Nutcracker book so Bo could imitate the Sugar Plum Fairy's exact pose with the help of Magpie, the director.
What a great post! Love the idea and know that my girls will eat it up. Thanks for posting.
Posted by: Tammy Monson | February 19, 2010 at 01:29 AM
This is SO FUN! I want to play!! :)
Posted by: Ariadne Rooney | February 19, 2010 at 12:52 PM
Thanks, guys! Ari, I can only imagine what direction those stories would take if you played. God help us.
;)
Posted by: Megan | February 19, 2010 at 01:16 PM
i love this idea! i really like the envelope idea. i'm thinking it would be a fun way to spend some time with some of my grownup friends that love storytelling as well....thanks!
Posted by: linda | February 19, 2010 at 09:11 PM
Adorable! I love this idea and am bookmarking it (I think it might be hard for my 13 month old to grasp!) for later.
Posted by: Amberlee | February 19, 2010 at 11:13 PM
Thanks so much! Linda, that would be fun! Can I come?
Yeah, Amber, 13 months might be a wee bit early, but check back later. My 2 1/2 year old is having fun with it, but she's depending on her 4 1/2-year-old sister to tell her what to do.
Posted by: Megan | February 19, 2010 at 11:37 PM
I think I'm going to try story starters this week...super fun idea!
Posted by: emily | February 21, 2010 at 11:11 PM
What fun! My daughters will love this :)
Posted by: Mariah | February 22, 2010 at 06:53 AM
I love this idea - downloaded and will definitely get this ready for a playdate party!!
Posted by: katie vieceli | February 22, 2010 at 02:06 PM
This is a wonderful idea. Your prompts are all very fun and seem to encourage cooperative play (unlike 'you are enemy combatants staring at each other from your foxholes,' although my brothers would have loved that). And I love that they were trying to replicate the pose so exactly!
Thanks for the idea and prompts,
Nicole
Posted by: Nicole | February 22, 2010 at 06:10 PM
Thanks again, everyone. I'm so flattered that you're planning on doing this with your own kids. Let me know how it goes and feel free to contribute more story prompts. I can add them to the PDF.
I know, Nicole, isn't that hilarious? I wish you could see the picture from the book better--she has the pose down perfectly. She took the whole thing quite seriously.
Posted by: Megan | February 22, 2010 at 11:36 PM
Just saw this on ohdeedoh and I'm so excited to have found your blog! What a great activity! It's not often that I wish my little guy would grow up faster, but when I see fun things like this, I definitely look forward to when he's old enough to enjoy them! And I love, love, love how intently your girls are studying their book - such a sweet shot.
Posted by: Lauren | February 23, 2010 at 04:12 PM
I am going to try this with my Kindergarten Class as a way to get them brainstorming before writing. Thanks for the idea!
Posted by: Erica | March 12, 2010 at 02:15 PM
Oh my goodness, Erica, I'm so flattered. Let me know how it goes!
Thanks to you, too, Lauren. I know what you mean about not wanting them to grow up fast, but kind of being impatient about some of those fun things we have to look forward to down the road.
Posted by: Megan | March 12, 2010 at 02:27 PM
This is beautiful because those two children below are so sweet, they reminded me my little child, she also want to become an excellent ballet woman.
Posted by: pharmacy | August 26, 2011 at 11:51 AM
This is beautiful because those two children below are so sweet, they reminded me my little child, she also want to become an excellent ballet woman.
Posted by: pharmacy | August 26, 2011 at 11:52 AM
Nice post thanks for sharing this article..it help a lot in increasing my knowledge about this
Posted by: Lingerie | September 22, 2011 at 06:25 AM
I wonder how you got so good. This is really a fascinating blog, lots of stuff that I can get into. One thing I just want to say is that your Blog is so perfect!
Posted by: Kamagra | October 18, 2011 at 03:05 AM
I like to admit that the game seems not one of my favorite things to do as a parent. There are times that as long as I can be the bad witch or the wicked queen.
Posted by: gloriaabro | November 28, 2011 at 02:50 PM
Adorable! with a few more lessons she will be awesome ballet dancer for her age!
Posted by: kamagra | February 27, 2012 at 07:51 AM