Introducing today's Take the Time To guest....Hannah.
Another one of my college girlfriends.
Hannah and her husband have three children.
Abbey (almost four), Elizabeth (2), and Jonathan (4 months).
They are raising their family in a farmhouse in Ohio.
Hannah was a missionary kid living in Russia, so she has a special love for missionaries.
Her husband Bobby Mix grew up as a bus kid. They knew a lot of the same people, but never met until after they had both graduated from different Bible colleges.
She has a lot of hobbies --sewing, gardening, small woodworking, and various other crafts. She also plays several instruments and arranges songs for specials and competitions. Hannah is one of the most amazing pianist I know. The kind of person that makes you stand still and say, "Wow." I wasn't surprised at all to see that her T' Time idea had to do with music.
Hannah struggles with balance...(don't we all?). She says she spends too much time on a project and leaves something more important....like cooking supper....undone. (Been there...done that). Proverbs talks about a false balance. She is striving to correct this area in her life.
Hannah's T' Time Challenge is ...
Sing a Silly Song!
" Hold their hands and sing "London Bridge is Falling Down".
Yep, ya gotta do the motions. We could all use some extra exercise!
Sing the alphabet song, but put a letter in the wrong place,
to see what they will say.
Make up songs...just to see them laugh.
This is something that can grow with your children.
Sing "Itsy, Bitsy Spider" with your two-year old now,
and when she is five you can sing, "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain"
...and we all know there's a ton of verses to that!
A silly song can remove tension.
It can turn a stressful morning into a happy one.
There is just something special that happens when a mommy gets silly.
It also helps establish a routine for young children.
Having a specific silly song for daily activities
such as cleaning up, naptime, or brushing teeth
helps children transition from one activity to another
and lessens whining (always a plus).
For example, every day at lunch time I start singing,
"Who Wants a Peanut Butter Sandwich?" (a made-up song).
The girls hear me and come running.
They finish the song with me, eat their lunch, and go take a nap.
The song is a fun way of telling them what to expect. "
Love it, Hannah!
Thanks so much for participating!
4 comments:
Another great idea! My kids love it when I am silly and laugh when I make up funny songs. In fact, just the other night it was daddy making up a funny song and they all ran in to sing it to me. So many times I get too busy to do little things that my kids enjoy.
I have never met Hannah, but I do know her parents and several siblings. We were missionaries in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, when the Prangers moved there. After awhile, God put our families together to start a ministry. I heard lots about Hannah and her great musical talents.
Singing silly songs works for grandparents too. I do this all the time with my grandkids. We do a lot of different ones, but a couple that stand out are "Swing Low Sweet Chariot", which I taught two of my grandsons (who were 2, almost 3 yrs old at the time), and then the all time favorite, "You Are My Sunshine". I end it in my own made up words, "please come and stay at Granna's house"!
Maria, I love what you are doing here! Every time a see a picture of someone else I know, I get really excited because it means a time to catch up.
Hannah, your children are adorable! They look so sweet. And the song idea is a good one. I sing silly songs with Seth sometimes, but I have realized that I need to be more musical with him. It is not really my forte, although I can sing and carry a tune. I just don't think about it much. It is not my passion, but it is BJ's, so maybe it will rub off from BJ! I need to sing with him more. Thanks for the reminder.
Aaliyah LOVES music!!! We sing "Goodmorning to you" when she wakes up, we sing the "clean-up song" when it's time to clean, we sing several songs at bedtime...you get the picture. Often when we are driving Ally will say, "Daddy, sing a song". and when she gets to her favorite part she wants everyone else to be quiet so she can sing it. Good idea for the a "T" time.
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