The Bored Box
I have memories of whining to my Mom, "Mooooomm, I don't have anything to do," to which she invariably responded "Take off your sock and spit in your shoe" (yeah, I never got it either). Sure, good for a giggle, but a pretty frustrating dead-end to a bored five-year-old.
Well, what goes around comes around, and recently Arlo has started complaining "I'm BORED!" with all the attitude of a sullen teenager. I had never heard him complain of boredom before, and I suddenly had more sympathy for my mother (and believe me, this is just one of the countless ways). Of course I delighted in responding with my mom's old line, but I also wanted to help him find something fun to do that would unearth some of those begged-for-then-forgotten toys filling his closet and, yes, to get him off my back for 15 minutes. Unfortunately, he kicked most of my suggestions to the curb, so instead of having my bright ideas poo-poo'd in rapid fire, I decided to turn them into a game of chance, with rules for play. Thus was born the BORED BOX.
How It's Made
I started by looking around his room and the house and writing activity suggestions on slips of paper. Good activities are those he can do alone (other than a little help with setup) and will keep him busy for 10-15 minutes. It was amazing how many suggestions I came up with once I got started (I'm at 40 and counting!). To keep the game interesting, I threw in a few easy, age-appropriate chores (weed the garden, organize the tupperware), but I also have a small supply of new books and craft kits that he's never seen before, so there's always the chance of getting a new toy. The box itself is just a tissue box covered in wrapping paper and some press-on vinyl letters I've been hoarding since 7th grade (but that's another story).
The Rules
I've come up with a set of basic rules for using the Bored Box, although, they may need to be tweaked as we become more experienced with the system. For starters, they are:
- You have to do the thing you choose for at least 15 minutes (I'll set a timer.)
- If you do not want to do the thing you chose, you have to find your own thing to do for 15 minutes.
- Mom and Dad have the right to veto a choice for any reason.
Most slips (with the exception of ones tied to new toys) will get put back in the box and reused. I'm considering putting a limit on how many slips you can pull in a day (3 or 4?), and I may end up allowing one "do-over" allowing him to return a slip and draw again in a day. We'll see how it goes.
The Contents
Here's my initial list of activity suggestions. Because my son is really into drawing and making things, ours is a bit arts-n-crafts heavy, but the suggestions could be customized to any kid's interests and back-of-the-cabinet toys.
- Make a BIG drawing
- Play with PLAYDOUGH
- Play with the EYE-CLOPS
- Play with PLAY FOAM
- Sing a little KARAOKE
- Make some ALIENS
- Write a STORY & make a BOOK
- Draw with OIL PASTELS
- Draw with KID PIX
- Draw with KALEIDODRAW
- Look at ONE MORE STORY.com
- Go to PBSkids.com
- Make a paper-bag PUPPET
- Organize the TUPPERWARE
- Play with PIXEL BLOCKS
- Make a SKULL out of something
- Make a COLLAGE
- Look thru the LITTLE TOY box (get rid of 5 things)
- Weed the GARDEN
- Play with NEW FLARP!
- Make a NEW CRAFT!
- Make a CARD & mail it to DONALD
- Make a CARD & mail it to GRAMMA & PAP-PAP
- Make a CARD & mail it to NANA & PAPASAN
- Make a CARD & mail it to GRAND-DAD & ZAIDA
- Do pages in an ACTIVITY BOOK
- Take a BATH!
- Look at an ANATOMY BOOK (pick something and draw it or sculpt it as well as you can)
- Listen to MUSIC in HEADPHONES
- Play with Crayola GLOW BOARD
- Make something with PIXOS
- Make a BRACELET (or 2)
- Play with LEGO blocks (any size)
- Play with FACE PAINT
- Play PERFECTION
- Make ROCKIN' ROBOTS
- Paint the SOCCER BALL (craft kit)
- Draw with your NEW Ed Emberley BOOK
No more taking off socks and spitting in shoes in this house. Now I can't wait for him to get bored!
SXSW '09 in Five Minutes
SXSW Music 09 in 5 Minutes from Jennifer Robbins on Vimeo.
I'm just back from another great SXSW. This year, I didn't schedule any interviews, I just enjoyed myself. I did, however, use our little Flip camera to film two minutes of every band I saw (planned and unplanned). I've assembled clips from each show—in order—to condense my three days of music down to five minutes.
The quality of this movie is pretty raw. The mic in the Flip was no match for the bludgeoning volume of some of the shows, and my Final Cut Pro skill level is slightly above "Chimp." But to borrow a useful from my mother-in-law, "Done Is Beautiful", so I'm pasting this little montage of my musical adventures for my friends to enjoy
ARLOWEAR! (for a good cause)
Arlo's been cranking out some awesome pixel art (using Pixl Pinchr, created by our friend Ben Brown), so I decided to turn a few of his designs into t-shirts for Christmas. They were such a hit, that now I'm making them available for everyone to buy via a Zazzle store.
All proceeds from the shop will go to Rhode Island Community Food Bank that runs some excellent programs that help feed hungry children and is desperate for donations in these bad times. Arlo is learning that you can use art to make a difference.
A cool thing about the Zazzle store is that the shirts are completely customizable, so if you don't like the shirt shown in the sample, you can choose a different style and even resize and shift the artwork if you choose. It's fine with me... go nuts!
Please spread the word and help make the Arlowear store a success.
Our Favorite Kids' Books
Arlo and I have done some serious reading over the years... I'd say 30 to 60 minutes per day on average for just about every day of his life. With all the hundreds of books we've enjoyed, there are some that stand out as true favorites. Some are make the list (like the books of Maira Kalman and Calef Brown) because the artwork and words are just as engaging for me as they are for Arlo. A few are classics. Others are just perfect for settling down at the end of the day. For whatever the reason, these are the books that we never seem to get tired of reading.
Maira Kalman Is a Superstar
Next Stop Grand Central
What Pete Ate from A to Z
Smartypants (Pete In School)
Max Makes a Million
Ooh-la-la (Max in Love)
I was a fan of Maira Kalman's books even before I was a Mom, but now I have a legitimate reason to read them all the time. I credit Ms. Kalman with the fact that I have a four-year-old who uses the words "ergo" and "frantic fervor". She doesn't spare the vocabulary, but her books have such a wonderful rhythm and the names are so silly that they are fun even for little ones. Plus, the artwork is fantastic, and there are all sorts of crazy details tucked into corners, so you find something new each time you read them.
Calef Brown Is the New Dr. Seuss
Dutch Sneakers and Flea Keepers: 14 More Stories
Polkabats and Octopus Slacks: 14 Stories
Flamingos on the Roof
Tippintown: A Guided Tour
Calef's rhymes are masterful and genuinely funny, with just enough grown-up humor, and his artwork is colorful and offbeat. In fact, I liked his drawings so much, I bought some! We have the original painting for "Grandma's Electric Guitar". Calef also has a fun blog at polkabats.com where he shares new work and behind-the-scenes stories. Sadly, you rarely see Calef's books in the chain bookstores, but they are easy to get online. Join me in making him as popular as he deserves to be.
Dr. Seuss, Of Course
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
Dr. Seuss's A B C
Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book
The Sneetches and Other Stories
Who doesn't love Dr. Seuss... we have a large collection, but these are the titles that have floated to the top of our most-read list. I remember reading "One Fish Two Fish" as a little girl.
Books About Making Art
Micawber (Lithgow/Payne)
Who knew John Lithgow was a children's book writer?! This book is about an art-loving squirrel in New York City who learns to paint. The illustrations are gorgeous and the story is fun with some fancy words like "peregrination" thrown in for good measure.
The Dot (Reynolds)
An empowering little book about making art... you shouldn't be afraid to try!
Good Quiet-time Books
Sleepytime Tales (Little Golden Book Collection)
We keep going back to this collection of Golden Books stories that are just right for bedtime. I especially like the stories by Margaret Wise Brown (best known for Good Night Moon) and the great 50s- and 60s- style illustrations in "Wonderful House" and "The Color Kittens" (which, by the way, is a great band name).
The Salamander Room (Mazer/Johnson & Fancher)
This book was a gift to Arlo when he was first born from my friend Patricia. It's a sweet tale of a boy who transforms his bedroom into a forest to make it comfortable for a salamander he brought home. Both the words and pictures are very soothing. I especially like the phrase "and moss like little stars."
Snow Bear (Moss/Kneen)
This was also a gift almost 5 years ago, but it stays in heavy rotation because the story is sweet and the verse is full of rhyme and alliteration that make it fun to read. The pages are also embossed with textures, so you can feel the animal's fur and feathers. A nice little book.
Bus Stops and My Friends by Taro Gami
These are sweet and simple little books with lovely drawings. Taro Gomi is probably best known as the author of "Everyone Poops" and the "Scribbles" drawing books. The book Bus Stops asks the question "Can you find...something?" on every page, which has started a nightly "Can You Find?" game in other books too. Thank you, Ellie Lee, for these fine books.
Fun and Funny
Is Your Mama a Llama? (Guarino/Kellogg)
Lively rhymes keep this story of a llama looking for his mother going. I'm not as keen on the illustrations, but for some reason, this book never gets tiresome. Another gift from my friend Patricia, who raised 3 kids and know about books!
Where's Spot? (Eric Hill)
The Spot books by Eric Hill are wildly popular and not especially thought-provoking, but I if you have a little baby or even a young toddler, I guarantee they'll love this book for its little lift-up flaps revealing animals tucked in surprising places. Arlo still likes to visit this book from time to time.
What are your favorites?
