Many of you have heard about my own personal battle with "giblets" mentioned in one or several of my earlier posts. FYI: IF YOU HAVE KIDS...YOU HAVE GIBLETS. They are the little "things" that kids somehow aquire, are attracted to, and have utterly no value. You can't sell them, you can't eat them, you can't seem to ever get rid of them.
My Definition (and I am thinking Wikapedia should define it this way) : Giblets are usually the size of or a little bit bigger than a marble. They float around the house without a home, and they "junk up" drawers, counter tops, and litter the bottom of toy baskets. They are the undefinables...the bat with out a cave, the beach without a wave. The onsie's of toys that somehow lose their other parts and haunt the house with their tiny insignificance!
They come in the form of but are not relegated to: stones, legs, plastic gumball toys, shells, bit's bouables, broken do-dad's, buttons, marbles, and game pieces etc. etc. etc.
If you want to have some fun with the kids and save your sanity too on a rainy day? Here is what you should do!!!!
1. Grab a jar or small container with an opening no larger than the mouth of a jar ( Hint: If it does not fit in the jar...it's not a giblet)
2. Hand the jar to your kids and send them on the hunt for all of the "Pieces of things" like a big treasure hunt.
3. They will run around and busy themselves finding the loot for at least 20 minutes or more: ( They get REALLY into this!)
4. Have them bring their findings BACk to a table and have them take turns showing what they have found. This is the part where you want to aknowledge and reward them for finding the missing game piece for shoots and ladders that has been missing for the last 6 months. Take those pieces that need replaceing and put them back to complete the set or game or whatever and then assess the rest.
5. Now that you have all these pieces left with no home...ask the kids what they think should be done with them? Talk about their memories of certain things. For instance...when I did this with my daughter Manon she found a plastic tiny horse that she got in a gumball machine that was a treasure on the same day that she accompanied her dad to the hardware store and ...blah blah blah.... it will generate conversation, and memories that might be sweet to hear about.
6. Talk to them about creating an art piece or a collage with the pieces. Is there anything that they could make for a special family member for Christmas? Can they use any of the pieces to make up a game? Maybe they just want to keep their jar by their bedside as a visual of things that they can add to as giblets are found. It's also common for the jar to sit for weeks and we find ourselves needing a random object...Lets look in the giblet jar!
7. Use your own imagination or inspire your kids imagination to use the pieces for virtally any creative idea.
8. Have fun and enjoy the rain!
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