Our family has a three day marathon of fun each week. We start after school/work on Friday’s with “Friday Family Fun Night,” then move on to “Super Saturday,” and finally, ending it with “Sunday Funday.” I had a boss tell me that he views his family as a team, and that is why they stayed so close, even as his boys were maturing into the teen years. I decided that we would become “Team Ahrens” as soon as my children could speak. So, getting ready to go on a fun outing, we would put our hands together and yell “GO TEAM AHRENS!” Or, when someone says, “I can’t,” I respond with “Repeat after me… “I’m an Ahrens, yes I am, I’m an Ahrens, yes I can!”
The kids play for fun. I play to learn. To learn how they are coming along with turn taking, sharing, sportsmanship, and sometimes, the games might be therapeutic or educational. Our favorite games are usually games that require no batteries, or ones that I have home made. Recently I grabbed our dry erase board, found a site online to give me random lists of objects to write on colored pieces of construction paper, and there you have it, our home made drawing game. It was thrown into our repertoire for Friday Family Fun Night this past week, and I learned that A) my bus stop mommy friend has never seen a poodle, or B) she can laugh at herself while doing something out of her comfort zone. All I can say is, I laughed ’til I cried… down my leg.
We often invite friends or family to join us with our events. It allows our children to learn to adjust to different people, and how to begin reading body language in a basic and comfortable social setting. I see it as social training for all of us really. While our six year old son is on the autism spectrum, he is incredibly high functioning. He struggles with social appropriate behaviors, and autistic or not, lots of people struggle with social awkwardness. If not taught something often, and early, how else would a teenage Olympian get to that level?
Laughter is the best medicine? Maybe. It helped me to forget the hurt I felt when on the start to our families’ traditional three day marathon time together, my six year old son expressed displeasure with me and his desire to live with another family. Lucky for him, because I invited his family of choice to our home that night.
A three day family fun event may be too much to start with, but maybe you could take Family Fun Friday Night, Super Saturday, or Sunday Funday and add one family focused day into your weekend!
For frugal Weekend Family Fun activities be sure to check out our post to see how you can get out of the house as a family for free (or cheap).
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Leandrea is a married mom of two girls, ages 13 and 12, living in Atlanta, GA. She is passionate about helping people save money one coupon at a time. Read more