'Tis a Gift To Be Simple

Sometimes, I tend to get a little too into things. When I plan an activity, I want the children to have everything. I just want to give them the best. So, I go overboard. That isn't necessarily a bad thing... because it isn't bad to want the kids to be happy and have fun at the rec program! But it can turn into a lot of work, which results in me being exhausted, and also leaves me more disappointed and discouraged if things don't work out exactly the way I hoped.

Here is a great example. Last year, we had a Bubble Day at the rec program. I wanted it to be the best Bubble Day ever! So I scoured the Internet and found every single Bubble Day idea I could find.

And then I tried to do them all. Inside, I had playdough that was made out of bath soap, a craft where kids could make their own bubble wands, and another craft where kids could make a "bubble trumpet" out of a wash cloth, an empty bottle, and a rubberband. Outside, we had lots of different stations where kids could blow bubbles using different household objects, try standing inside a giant bubble made with a hula hoop and a swimming pool full of bubble solution, and an area where they could test different types of bubble solutions. It was a lot of fun, and everyone enjoyed it... especially the little boy who jumped into the pool full of bubble solution with all his clothes on and used it as a giant bubble bath. He had bubbles in his hair and on his cheeks and chin,, and a big smile on his face!

This year, one of my co-leaders was in charge of Bubble Day. She kept it simple. She picked up a new bubble machine (ours didn't work so well last year) and a bunch of those long, thin tubes of bubbles with the giant bubble wands inside. I brought out my iPod and speakers. The kids played for an hour! They ran around with the bubble wands, they danced in front of the bubble machine, and they all laughed and had fun. Even the kids who rarely participate in activities came and enjoyed it. One boy, who spends most of his time at the rec program either crying or staring into space, was dancing and laughing and jumping up and down!

Nobody complained that there weren't lots of different stations for them to move through, or that there wasn't bubble dough inside, In fact, I think they had a better time than they did for last year's Bubble Day!

As the summer comes to an end, I want to do so much for the kids. I want them to have scrapbooks commemorating every single moment they spent at the program, every single smile and touching moment and silly antic. I want to give them a last week that they will never forget. I want it to be perfect. And I have to try and remind myself that sometimes, "just enough" turns out to be perfect after all! '