December 23, 2025 • 53 mins
It's winter break and your kids are already saying "I'm bored" on day two. You're trying to get holiday stuff done relax, but also prevent them from bouncing off the walls for the next week and a half. How do you keep everyone entertained without becoming a full-time cruise director? We're sharing 32 indoor and outdoor activities organized by age group—from preschoolers to teenagers—so you can actually enjoy the break instead of just surviving it.
No need to scramble for winter break activities—hit subscribe and get 32 ideas for every age that'll keep your kids entertained (and give you some breathing room).
- Click here for this episode’s blog post with links to sources and even more content.
- Stay connected: Subscribe to our newsletter!
—
Who Should Listen
This episode is for parents facing a long winter break who need activities that don't require a Pinterest degree or going broke, and anyone who's already heard "I'm bored" more times than they can count. ****—
What You Get In This Episode
- Indoor + outdoor activities by age
- Community service ideas for teens that count toward college applications
- Permission to build in breaks for yourself (PBS is a great babysitter, we said it)
- Why you need novelty and a routine even during break (including TV time and screen time—we're not monsters)
- Plus! Holiday party games that work for the whole family: balloon cup battle, candy cane fishing, whipped cream challenges, and more!
—
Bios
Caitlin and Jenny are two friends navigating the hilarious and sometimes chaotic world of parenthood—from figuring out what to do with kids over long breaks to actually enjoying family time instead of just surviving it.
—
Sources & Mentions
- Family game videos mentioned in this episode (links on the blog)
- The Art of Noticing by Rob Walker
Note: This is a re-aired episode from Season 3 with timeless activity ideas. Whether it's winter break, spring break, or summer—these activities work year-round (but maybe rename those holiday games in June!).
The best support is a rating and a share.
Love,
CK & GK
View our website at ckandgkpodcast.com. Find us on social media @ckandgkpodcast on
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Thanks, y'all!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jenny GK (00:27):
It's Tuesday.
Caitlin K (00:29):
Yeah, it is.
And uh, we're so glad you'rehere.
And you can tell that we'rerecording in the morning early
before my coffee because I soundlike this.
Like I have a frog in my throat.
Okay, well, today we are givingyou ideas for what you're gonna
do with them kids during a longbreak, such as a holiday break.
You're like, I got we're herefor a week and a half, and I
(00:51):
gotta do something with thesekids besides just sit in the
house and play with grandma andgrandpa, whatever it is, what
you're gonna do with those kids.
So stick around because we havea bunch of ideas for inside and
outside activities that will bereally helpful.
Jenny GK (01:04):
Yay! But before that, just like my treetopper,
Caitlin's an angel.
Caitlin K (01:11):
Oh my gosh, I have like little happy.
Okay, um, and that's Jenny, myspectacular cloud of brilliance.
Jenny GK (01:22):
Ooh.
Caitlin K (01:22):
Who's probably gonna add some of that brilliance to
this episode today because shehas so many good ideas for stuff
to do with kids.
You guys, she's so good at this.
Maybe.
We'll see.
Good ideas.
Jenny GK (01:32):
I don't know.
Ideas, yes.
Caitlin K (01:33):
Good, but uh I guess it maybe depends on your kid,
but they're good for her kids,but they work really well.
So we're gonna we're gonna getto it.
Okay, so I need to say a coupleof things about this.
One, you need to plan a routine.
Okay.
Try to set a routine foryourself during a long break.
(01:54):
We talked about this withsummer.
You need to do it here too,okay?
Like, they help everyone.
You're gonna plan parts of theday where you get to sleep,
where you get to have yourcoffee.
You're gonna plan parts of theday where your kids are gonna
watch TV because PBS is a greatbabysitter as long as you're in
the house with your kids.
SPEAKER_02 (02:15):
Sure.
Caitlin K (02:15):
Uh-huh.
You're gonna plan parts of theday.
Jenny GK (02:17):
I love that you say PBS.
Caitlin K (02:19):
Yep, because uh it's usually Netflix, but I'm putting
PBS educational content.
Jenny GK (02:25):
My 12-year-old would definitely be watching
educational content.
However, it's all about TaylorSwift on YouTube.
Caitlin K (02:31):
Right, yeah.
Different, yep.
There's also gonna be parts ofyour day where you allow for
technology like screen devices,things like that.
Gonna be a little bit ofscreens, and then there's gonna
be a little bit of somethingelse that y'all do either
together or you plan orsomething, okay?
I'm not advocating for anyone tobe go, go, go over a break.
(02:52):
It's a break, especially overthe holidays.
You're supposed to be able torelax.
It's not easy to do, especiallypre-Christmas, if you're a
Christmas family.
However, you need to be able tofind a way to relax a little
bit.
So that's why I'm saying buildin those breaks for TV time.
Okay.
(03:13):
Um, this is just to keepeveryone from being bored.
I already did that.
I write there's no more TaylorSmith videos to watch, whatever
it is.
Like, okay.
The other thing I'm gonna say isfeel free to adapt these
activities based on your kids'interests and any resources that
you have available.
These are very general ideas,and I'm giving you a little bit
(03:33):
of extra detail to support it.
This list is not exhaustive,okay?
If you have other good ideas, Iwant to hear them, please share
them with us or go comment onthe blog post for this episode
because um there's tons of ideasthat I I probably missed, okay?
Also, I have to say this.
We live in Texas.
So when I'm talking aboutoutside activities, I am aware
(03:55):
that some of you may live in aclimate that does not support
outside activity time at allover a holiday break in
particular.
Jenny GK (04:03):
Right.
So here's the deal Texans areout in December, but in in July,
unless we're on the water.
So if you live in a place whereyour summer is gorgeous, our
winter is.
Caitlin K (04:20):
Right.
It's like 65 here most of thetime.
We can get cold, we get colddays sometimes.
But cold for us is like, youknow, 47 as opposed to cold for
me when I was a kid, which waslike negative 12.
So like I get it.
Jenny GK (04:36):
It's yeah, you might not the entire state shut down
and ran out of energy when itwas in the 20s.
Caitlin K (04:42):
Right.
Jenny GK (04:42):
Like we we were not like below zero here, guys.
Caitlin K (04:45):
No, no, it was ridiculous.
Okay, so I'm gonna start withthe outside activities, okay?
I've broken them up by kind ofage groups.
So preschooler outsideactivities.
Ready?
SPEAKER_02 (04:57):
Yes.
Caitlin K (04:58):
Nature scavenger hunt in your backyard.
Don't even have to go anywhere.
You can still be in your jammiesand just be in the backyard.
Now, if you're not sure how todo this, go on to your searching
machine, whatever that might be,your Google machine, your Bing
machine, ass Jeeves.
I don't care.
Search for kids scavenger hunt.
(05:21):
When you do that, about onemillion different ones will pop
up and there'll be all thesecutesy stories behind them, but
you don't care, change it toimages.
Okay, change the search toimages and then look for
printables that you can juststeal.
All right.
Yeah, they're on the internetand you can click on the image
in a new tab, go print thatsucker out and make it be the
(05:42):
thing.
No big deal.
And then after that, you canfind the most beautiful leaf
that your child created and turnit into a craft, and we'll get
to that in just a minute, okay?
So, nature scavenger hunt in thebackyard.
Jenny GK (05:53):
We used to do this on our COVID walks.
Caitlin K (05:55):
Yes, we did it too.
And we did it by color somedays.
Jenny GK (05:59):
Yes.
Caitlin K (05:59):
Yep.
So yesterday we found a brownleaf.
Today we need to find a greenone.
Right.
Jenny GK (06:04):
Yep.
Caitlin K (06:04):
Now, granted.
Jenny GK (06:05):
And it would be okay, we're gonna find all the numbers
zero through nine in order.
Caitlin K (06:10):
In order, yep.
This is a motorcycle and a car,and a you have to find all the
different kinds of vehicles.
Let's go.
All right, next one sidewalkchalk art.
We also did this a lot duringCOVID.
And one thing that I thought wassuper cute was a woman used um
painter's tape or like maskingtape, and she made a frame on
(06:33):
the driveway, and then she usedthe painter's tape to like
outline designs.
So one of them was just like astained glass window, and she
made them kind of random, andthen another one was like an
actual like outline ofsomething.
It could be an outline of asnowman, and you can use all the
leftover white chalk that youhave from your teaching days.
Also, you can use chalk to getstains out of clothes, but we'll
(06:55):
talk about that another time.
So, um, that came out supercool.
Sidewalk chalk art.
Okay, another one playtime atthe local park.
Now, I have to say this (07:03):
if you do this all the time, you can
make this fun.
Go to a different park, go toone that the kids don't usually
go to, make it outside yourthree mile radius of places that
you drive to and and go to onethat's completely different.
Um and that way it it's a newfun playground, and the kids
(07:24):
will want to stay there longer,it won't be so boring for them,
right?
We've already done this.
Okay, well, go play anyway.
It's a new playground.
Have fun.
Do a scavenger hunt at the newplayground, watch what happens.
Ah, here you go.
Jenny GK (07:36):
Two birds, one stone.
Caitlin K (07:38):
Bubble blowing.
Now, if you're going to do thebubble thing for the love of all
that is holy, buy yourself abubble blowing machine and put
it on the holiday gift list.
And it can be a gift to parentsor to the kids, and that way you
are not the one blowing thebubbles all the time because
that's it gets old really fast.
(07:59):
Yeah.
Oh gosh, does it ever?
And if you're if you're yourchild can blow their own
bubbles, I recommend taping thebubble bottle to like a part of
your fence or something so thatit stands upright.
And then they can just stick thewand in the bottle and blow the
bubbles, and you don't have tohold it or worry about them
(08:21):
holding it and spilling iteverywhere.
The bubble blowing is all right.
Yeah, thanks.
All right, moving on to someelementary school kids.
We're talking about like six toten-ish, right?
Bike riding or scooter fun.
Again, I recommend doing this ina novel place, a place that your
family doesn't usually go to.
(08:42):
It's a break.
You're you all have the time.
Instead of driving for sixminutes to get to the
playground, you can drive for 12and see what happens.
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (08:49):
Yes.
Caitlin K (08:51):
DIY mini garden planting.
Uh oh.
This is one that I thought wouldbe cute to like start your seeds
so that when it's springtime,you can transfer the plants
outside.
That's so smart.
So, like if you need to do thisinside because of the weather,
(09:12):
just you know, prepare a spacethat won't make it too messy.
But then it could be an insidething, and then you're saying,
okay, but now in the springwe'll have tomatoes or whatever
you're gonna Yeah.
Yeah.
I like it.
Outdoor sports like soccer orbasketball.
Um, if this is something that'swithin your resources, look for
like half day clinics that Abbyjust did one for football.
(09:35):
Yeah.
Jenny GK (09:35):
And people wrote down her name.
Caitlin K (09:38):
Ooh, yeah, exciting and also scary appearance.
Jenny GK (09:44):
No, they were it was the people running the clinic.
Oh wanted to know who she was.
Caitlin K (09:49):
That's awesome.
That's so good.
Jenny GK (09:51):
Yeah.
Yeah, it's like this thosecoaches, they're taking your
name down because they'reinterested in having you play
for them.
And John speaks up.
He's like, um, she's gonna beplaying for me.
Remember, I'm coaching.
Oh, jeez.
Caitlin K (10:07):
He's coached every season.
I don't know why everyonethought of that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Also, if she's good, he's gonnawant to keep her on his team
because he's just that level ofcompetitive, right?
Like he's not gonna let her goanywhere else.
Yeah.
Okay.
There are half-day clinics inour area that they spend all
(10:27):
their time focusing on a fewsports.
There's some that are like allsports, so they'll do like, you
know, one sport every day for afew days.
This is a great time to see whatyour child is interested in in
terms of sports, and that wayyou get at least half a day.
But then again, you still havethat time for relaxing TV
screens, etc.
Jenny GK (10:48):
Also, your child does not need to be an athlete to
participate in the city.
Clinics.
Caitlin K (10:54):
And I'm speaking from experience.
You do not have to be able to dothat.
This is a chance to be anathlete.
Jenny GK (10:58):
Right.
This is a chance for them toeither grow skills in athletics
or grow skills socially becausethere's teamwork involved.
Caitlin K (11:07):
Right.
And leading new kids and thingslike that.
Jenny GK (11:10):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So this is valuable even ifthey're not into the sport.
Caitlin K (11:14):
Right.
Another one for this age groupwould be picnic in the park.
Again, make it a novel park, butI feel like this could be a good
time to make it be somethingthat's fun to eat, that's a
clear treat, right?
Like if your kid never getsMcDonald's, go grab McDonald's
and go sit in a new park andhave a picnic.
(11:34):
Just make it be somethingdifferent because that's what
makes it fun and exciting.
Right.
Jenny GK (11:40):
And we have done this where we've made like a special
grocery list too.
Yeah.
Caitlin K (11:47):
Right.
Exactly.
Love it.
Jenny GK (11:49):
That's not to say that my kids don't eat fast food.
Oh.
That was not what the messagethat I was trying to send.
Caitlin K (11:55):
My child had his first bacon eater yesterday.
Do you I spent so much.
Jenny GK (12:00):
Did you like bark it on your calendar?
I shouldn't have.
First bacon acre.
Caitlin K (12:05):
Baby's first baconator.
He had it on the pretzel button,and let me tell you, I wanted to
eat that so bad.
I left it for him.
So like preteenish, 11 to 13,somewhere in there.
Um, okay, hiking or naturetrails if they're into outdoor
stuff.
This is a really good time toput those how to talk to your
kids strategies we gave youearlier in the season to use.
(12:27):
Um, and just see what you knowwhat kinds of conversations
happen, and a really good timefor them to take selfies and you
to be a part of those selfiesand enjoy each other's company
in a way that that they like.
Okay.
Rollerblading or skateboarding,but you go too and you try it.
Ooh.
Just, you know, make sure youbring the helmet and the knee
(12:50):
pads and the elbow pads, andthen of course the Tylenol for
after you're done.
Yeah.
Um, organizing a neighborhoodsports competition.
Now, this is work.
I understand that, but it couldbe really worth it.
You could meet some new people.
If you find that a sportscompetition is not your thing, I
just kick your kid out and makethem go play basketball in the
(13:12):
front yard and see what otherkids show up.
When they're old enough tohandle that, you know, that's
right.
It's a good one.
Jenny GK (13:18):
I have a friend uh who used to do happy hour in her
front yard.
SPEAKER_02 (13:25):
Yes.
Jenny GK (13:25):
And she would pick the day and put flyers on all of her
neighbors' doorsteps, and itthere was a snack for the kids
and cocktails for the adults.
Caitlin K (13:35):
Love.
Love this idea.
This is genius.
I love it.
Okay, camping in the backyard.
Again, climate dependent, butyou could totally turn this into
a camping in the living roomsituation.
And if they're 11 to 13 and it'sthey're gonna stay up all night
as long as they don't keep youawake, whatever, they can sleep
(13:56):
the whole next day becausethey're on a break, and so are
you.
Okay.
What about teenagers?
Yeah, they're gonna want to sitand do stuff on their phones all
day long.
Again, we're allowing for thattime.
Okay.
However, we gotta get them outof the house, right?
And interact with the, you know,3D people.
(14:17):
My first one is communityservice projects.
Now, especially for kids who arein their teenage years in high
school, this is really good fortwo things.
One, reality check, right?
Like this is when we're like,hey, there are people outside of
you and our family who needsupport and animals or whatever.
(14:38):
Also, if you're someone who'splanning to send your child to
college, this is a good time torack up some community service
hours that could look really,really good on those college
applications.
So I will say most places youcan't just like show up and say,
I'm gonna volunteer today.
You need to like fill out someforms and look at their
(14:59):
availability.
So do some pre-planning here.
But this could be a really goodway to squeeze in some of those
community service hours thatwill make your child look extra
good.
And who knows, they might findsomething that they really love
and really, really, reallybecome enamored with the idea of
serving other people, which issuch a cool, cool thing.
Jenny GK (15:19):
And don't overlook the opportunities that you can
create for community service.
For example, instead of sendingyour uh younger kids to a
clinic, have your older childrenrun one.
Caitlin K (15:36):
Love that idea.
Jenny GK (15:38):
Okay, this is something that they can include
neighborhood kids in, but allthe hours that they spend
planning as well as runningcommunity service hours.
And think about uh drives orcollections that you can do in
your neighborhood.
Again, all the time spent onplanning.
(15:58):
You walk around and pass outflyers and then say you're gonna
come back two days later.
All of that counts towards theproject.
Caitlin K (16:06):
And the idea of your child starting a community
service project in theneighborhood, it probably looks
even better than someone whosigns up for volunteer hours at
an organization.
You know what I mean?
Like there's there's value inthat too.
So just putting that out there.
This is a really good time to dothat.
All right, another one outdooryoga or fitness challenges.
(16:28):
Anyone?
Anyone?
I love this, but again, you haveto participate too as the
parent, right?
It's also a really good way toget a head start on your New
Year's resolution if that'ssomething that you're looking
into.
SPEAKER_02 (16:38):
Hmm.
Caitlin K (16:38):
Um, I'm channeling my inner bluey here with some beach
day or water activities.
If you live in Michigan, youprobably can't go to the beach,
just saying.
Jenny GK (16:46):
But if you're one of our listeners in New Zealand,
hey, yes.
Caitlin K (16:52):
However, I I'm gonna say if there's an indoor pool
nearby, tell your kids to grab acouple friends and take them all
to the indoor pool.
Like, you would be amazed atwhat happens when you get a
bunch of 15-year-olds in thepool.
Like they, it's like they'reseven all over again.
It's really, really fun towatch.
Um, just find a place that hasopen swim and take a, you know,
(17:12):
tell your friend or tell yourkid to grab a few friends and
go.
It's fun.
Okay, photography scavengerhunt.
Now, this is where you, as theparent, create a hashtag.
Love this.
They have to be a part of thisInstagram family photo
challenge, and the whole familyparticipates, and you all find
things that are on thisscavenger hunt.
Now, you and I did this.
This is where my idea came from.
(17:34):
Yes.
You and I did this when we tookour seventh graders to the
Alamo.
Shout out to the Alamo and allthe people there.
Um, but they did you shout outthe Alamo?
Yeah, because we brought in 85kids to the Alamo and then we
just let them loose at theAlamo.
So yeah, I'm shouting out theAlamo because then there were
kids who were like picking upold like cannonballs and stuff
(17:56):
when they weren't supposed tobe.
So yeah.
Yeah.
Anyway, I'm moving on.
You and I did this because wewanted our kids to learn about
specific things at the Alamo andgo find things and make it fun
for them, but also keep themengaged.
So we let them have we created ahashtag and then we told them
they had to take pictures ofthemselves doing all these
things, and some of them had tobe like moving pictures, and
(18:18):
some of them had to be specificto like putting a certain person
in a certain place, and they hadto be pointing.
It was like so random andridiculous, but it was really
fun to look at the pictureslater.
And if you get the whole familyto participate, then big fun,
right?
Everyone's gonna have a goodtime with it.
Okay, so those are all of myoutside activities.
Ah okay.
(18:39):
Now we gotta do the insideactivities.
I'm gonna go back to thepreschoolers and I'm gonna talk
about that.
Remember that scavenger hunt wetalked about where I said you
could take that leaf?
Yes.
Arts and crafts time.
Ready?
Here we go.
Arts and crafts time with thosematerials you got from the
scavenger hunt.
One thing I like to do with Samis I would like draw a random
(19:01):
shape, like some sort ofsquiggle on a piece of paper,
and tell him, turn this intosomething.
Jenny GK (19:07):
Oh fine.
Caitlin K (19:07):
Right?
Or like you draw what looks likea fluffy cloud and you say, This
is not a cloud.
What is it?
And they have to draw somethingthat's not a cloud, so he'll
turn it into a sheep orsomething, right?
Like something like that.
And it's cute and it keeps thementertained.
Also, fun fact um, Home Depotdoes free in-store kids
workshops on the first Saturdayof every month.
(19:30):
And you can take your kid toHome Depot on a Saturday, the
first Saturday of every month,and they'll do a craft with your
kid.
So you just have to contact yourlocal store for details or look
them up or whatever.
Fun one.
Jenny GK (19:42):
And if you cannot attend the workshop, a lot of
times they will give you the kitto take home and do at your
house.
Caitlin K (19:48):
Very, very awesome.
Love it.
And probably instructions foryeah, it'll be.
Oh, yes, no, no, no.
Jenny GK (19:54):
Everything it comes in a little bag.
Caitlin K (19:57):
Oh, brilliant.
Love it.
Jenny GK (19:58):
Yep.
Caitlin K (19:59):
Again, preschooler age, story time or puppet shows,
right?
Check out your local library forfree story time and puppet show
events.
Sometimes they do these at yogastudios too, where like it's
like mommy and baby yoga orparent, you know, kid and parent
yoga, and they'll do a story andyou do some yoga with your baby,
(20:19):
and it's a it's a good time.
I've done it before, it's reallycute and fun.
Um, and a lot of the times,museums like your local museums.
Museum, maybe a state historymuseum, will have free days and
free events that you can go toas well.
Like we actually just went tothe Bullock Museum last Sunday
because it's the free day, firstSunday of the month, and took
(20:40):
our child there and he had ablast at the Bullock Museum.
It was great.
Jenny GK (20:43):
I used to take Abby to the art museum because it's free
on Thursdays.
And we would act out the art.
Caitlin K (20:51):
Oh, cute.
See, good idea.
Jenny GK (20:53):
So when we were seeing uh sculptures, like we oppose
like the sculpture, or if uhit's an abstract piece, what do
you think is happening in it?
And it was a chance to kind ofmove your body and honor the
art.
Caitlin K (21:05):
Yeah, I love it.
Building forts with blankets andcushions.
This is a classic.
No kid doesn't want to do this.
This is big fun.
And then you uh clean uptogether, right?
You sing the tidy up song.
Tidy up tidy up, put your thingsaway.
That that song.
Jenny GK (21:26):
Oh, that's a good one.
Much like the skateboarding orthe rollerblading.
Get in there.
Yeah, do it.
Have a good time.
It's so fun.
Help, help build, help design,and then get in the fort.
Caitlin K (21:40):
This is one that I put towards the end of the
preschool age because it couldalso go into your elementary
school kids.
Simple baking or cookingtogether, right?
Um this is a great time to teachkids how to do little cooking
tasks, right?
Things like breaking eggs,chopping with a safe knife,
measuring ingredients, stufflike that.
(22:03):
Also a good time to teach ovensafety, right?
Like we don't touch because it'shot.
This is what we let mommy touch,stuff like that.
So really fun to do um and uhgood for teaching life skills as
well.
Elementary school kids, again,six to ten-ish, board games or
puzzles.
(22:23):
Now, you can usually find theselike small like card games and
stuff that are fun familyparticipating games, probably
less than 10 bucks for a lot ofthem, and I'm using them as
stocking stuffers.
Jenny GK (22:34):
We love a card game called Ratatat Cat.
Okay, okay, it is a memory game.
Okay, you're trying to have thelowest score, okay, and you
cannot look at your cards whileyou're doing it.
So you have to remember what youhave underneath.
Caitlin K (22:52):
Oh, that's hard.
Jenny GK (22:53):
It's great for like eight and up.
We've been playing it for yearswith Abby.
Kit's not ready for it yet.
He's five.
He's not ready to have to holdfour numbers in his head.
Caitlin K (23:05):
Yeah.
Jenny GK (23:06):
But Abby, she loves it.
That's it.
And it's a quick game, right?
Like you can play it in aboutfive minutes, or you can play
many, many rounds in half anhour.
Caitlin K (23:17):
Yeah.
This is also a good time toteach like card games, like
classic card games to your kids.
Like when they're eight, nine,ten.
These are these are fun times toteach things like, you know,
speed or rummy or whatever it isthat what's there's a one that
is a Midwest game that all myfriends from the Midwest would
talk about all the time.
Um, Euchre, that's the one.
(23:37):
They they all talk about thesegames all the time.
So this is a good time to dothat.
You can also do puzzlestogether.
You know, we've talked aboutthis.
I love to put a puzzle just out,like just have it out and just
let people sit and congregate.
And for whatever reason, theyattract a lot of attention and
people just sit there.
And for me, it's like a Zenmoment where I'm just like
chilling and yes do it.
It's great.
So those are another good thingto add to.
Jenny GK (23:59):
And the idea that you're not trying to do the
whole puzzle in one sitting overthe break is kind of fun.
It does, it doesn't have anystress.
Like, oh, well, I'm kind ofbored of this.
I'm gonna walk away from it.
Right, exactly because it's justgonna stay out all break.
Caitlin K (24:12):
Right.
You just leave it out.
Start, put it out the day thatbreak begins, just roll it out
and let people have it be there.
It's fine.
Okay, another one movie night orgame night with friends,
especially for um kids who arein elementary school when
they're over a long break andthey want to see their friends
and they haven't in a littlewhile.
It's harder for these kids toget to see their friends, right?
(24:33):
Because they don't havetransportation and all that
stuff.
So um, I forget the word thatyou use, but I'm not gonna, it's
not a sleepover.
Jenny GK (24:41):
Oh, a sleep under.
Caitlin K (24:43):
Thank you.
So a sleep under, unless you'recool with a sleepover, but think
of it like a parents' night out,right?
Like you invite a few families'kids over, let them go and have
a date or whatever it is, theycome back, they get their kid,
and then everything's all done,right?
And I bet if you put onetogether, someone else will
(25:06):
return that favor.
So hopefully.
Yeah.
Jenny GK (25:09):
When we did this for Abby's birthday, we did a sleep
under, and so it was like six toten.
We had um all the girls in thesecond grade at our house.
And in the invitation, Iactually listed restaurants in
the area.
Caitlin K (25:24):
Oh my gosh, that's so smart.
Once you drop your kids off,here are some great date night
places.
I love that idea.
Oh, so so good.
Amazing.
Okay, so a sleep under, movienight, game night, whatever it
is.
You could even do both.
You could do games for the firstpart and then you throw together
a bunch of.
Chill out with the movie.
(25:45):
Exactly.
Love it.
Okay, science experiments athome.
There are tons and tons and tonsof books and websites, websites,
excuse me, that have lots ofgreat um experiments that you
can do at home with with likeingredients you already have in
your house.
So you don't have to go buystuff, right?
Like kitchen chemistry.
(26:06):
Right, exactly.
You could even search kitchenchemistry, and I bet a bunch of
stuff would come up for you.
Jenny GK (26:11):
A lot.
Caitlin K (26:12):
Yep.
We're going back to scavengerhunts, treasure hunt or
scavenger hunt, indoors.
You can do it.
There's tons of printablesonline.
And maybe, maybe it's maybe oneof the things they have to find
is like, you know, the socksthat are stinking up the room,
but you don't know where theyare.
Something like that.
I don't know.
Jenny GK (26:31):
Well, and depending on the age of the kid, they might
also need to find the list,right?
Like, I have a nine or a10-year-old, I'm gonna say to
them, okay, make a scavengerhunt list and you and I will do
it together.
Caitlin K (26:41):
Ooh, I like that.
That's fun.
Again, moving into preteens, wecan we can still put DIY crafts
and/or art projects here withpreteens because they're not
quite jaded yet.
However, this is a tough onebecause they might not be into
it.
So you might have to do somedigging and some web searching
to kind of figure out what'sgonna make them excited to try.
(27:05):
I've seen a lot of um preteengirls who are very into this
diamond painting thing.
Yes, it is a thing.
Um I don't know.
Jenny GK (27:14):
It's arranging rhinestones in a color by number
situation, exactly.
Caitlin K (27:18):
And and you might have to buy a few materials, but
a lot of them are coming in akit, and you can just buy the
kit.
This is a good activity for,especially for preteen girls.
Um, I'm seeing I haven't seen somuch with the boys, but that's
been one that I've seen a lot oflately.
And and just do some digging andsee if there's something they're
into.
Like my son is very artistic andloves to draw, and right now
(27:39):
he's obsessed with drawingGodzilla.
So one of the things we do iswe'll put on a I can't, I just
can't.
We'll put on a Godzilla, how todraw Godzilla YouTube video and
let him draw.
And he follows along.
And it's actually really good.
I'm very impressed.
I should show some of his art.
I'll put it on the website.
You guys will see it.
Jenny GK (27:56):
Okay, yeah, it's amazing.
Um Abby loves to collage.
Really?
And I think it's because we doit together a lot, and so I'm
not sure that it's the collagingas much as it is collaborating
on something, sure, and theattention, but I have a stack of
old magazines.
(28:18):
Anytime there's free magazinesat the grocery store, I grab
them and we just tear them toshreds and make art.
Caitlin K (28:25):
I love that.
That's so fun.
You guys are really craftytogether, it's cute.
Okay, video game or tabletopgame tournaments.
Nice good time to teach your kidhow to play ping pong.
Um, also, we all know that um Iwould I love to play Mario Kart
against my son.
Why?
Because I'm better at it than heis, and so think you versus your
(28:48):
kid at Mario Kart, just see whathappens.
Yesterday, he had the audacityto say he would dominate me in a
snowball fight.
Are you kidding me?
Jenny GK (28:57):
Oh, so maybe it's time for a snowball fight.
Caitlin K (29:01):
Well, we live in Texas, so it's a little bit
tougher to do.
Jenny GK (29:03):
You can actually order snowballs from the snow cone
place, Bahama Bucks.
No, they wes, they sell likebuckets of snowballs.
Caitlin K (29:15):
That's amazing.
Well, what he doesn't know isthat I like basically grew up
playing dodgeball every day.
And when I was teaching, I didColorado and lived in Colorado,
right?
So, like when I was teaching umat my previous school, I had we
had a dodgeball tournament, andmy teammate and I signed up with
(29:36):
a few kids, which is how it wassupposed to go, teachers and
kids together.
And I apparently surprised a lotof people by dominating this
bracket that we were in.
Jenny GK (29:48):
Like Adam Sandler of Dodgeball, where he's just like
throwing it right at the kidsand having them work.
Yes, that's what was No, nothave uh Billy Madison.
Caitlin K (29:56):
Billy Madison, yeah.
Yes, but yes, uh, but yes, Ilike I'm there's a few things
I'm like shockingly good at, anddodgeball is one of them, and
the other one is foosball.
I'm really, really good at thesethings, and it's just because I
played a lot when I was a kid.
So um, another one, a cooking orbaking challenge.
You versus them, who makes abetter cookie?
You put the recipe out for bothof you to follow and go.
(30:20):
Oh, that's fun.
Right?
It could be anything, right?
Jenny GK (30:24):
We we did the chop challenge.
Oh, you did?
Um, this is how John and I met,you know.
Caitlin K (30:30):
Yes, I do know.
Jenny GK (30:31):
I love that you guys.
So every once in a while we'lldo it and we'll go and pick
wacky ingredients and then cookagainst each other.
Um, most recently it was meversus Abby, and she won.
Caitlin K (30:45):
Oh no, what did you guys make?
Jenny GK (30:47):
I made a fish dish.
The the fish was good, but it itwas not as good as what Abby
made with like avocado andchicken, and hers was much
better.
Caitlin K (30:58):
Got it.
Yeah.
Um, the other thing that youcould do here is do like a
gingerbread house challenge ifif you guys are a Christmas
family and you like doing that.
But my pro tip for you when youare doing a gingerbread house
challenge, decorate the pieceslying down and then assemble.
You're welcome.
Oh my gosh.
Jenny GK (31:19):
So game changer.
I have two gingerbread housekits that I'm holding on to
until the right moment, but Icannot wait to try this method.
It's gonna work.
I've never done that, and it isgonna so work because the icing
is not gonna run down the frontdoor.
Caitlin K (31:39):
Exactly.
Everything will stay up.
You're not fighting gravity,like you're working with it.
Also, did you know that Oreomakes You are brilliant?
Thank you.
I have my moments.
It's because I just took myfirst couple of sips of coffee
and now all the ideas are.
Um, did you know that Oreo makesa gingerbread house kit?
Jenny GK (31:59):
No?
Caitlin K (32:01):
Yes, I have done it.
It is worth it.
Just putting that out there.
Okay.
Uh, movie marathon with homemadesnacks.
Go on to Instagram or TikTok andlook up like dips, right?
And they'll give you likeholiday dip ideas.
And it's like cool whip and likevanilla pudding, and you mix it
together and it it's delicious,and you get some gingerbread
(32:24):
cookies and you start dippingand you put some green and red
sprinkles on top.
Done.
Look at that.
Ooh, fancy.
Get some stuff like that, dohomemade snacks.
I also love the idea.
This I've done this before as adate night kind of thing.
We did like a little stay-indate, and um we did one of those
trends where you like say, Okay,this is someone's favorite
(32:44):
color, and you have to get asnack, a drink, a present for
them, and something they canwear.
I don't know, whatever it is.
That's fun.
Yeah, it was super fun, and youjust turn that into movie night,
right?
So it's like, yeah, you or youbuy a movie that you think they
might like, right?
Jenny GK (33:04):
That sounds really fun.
I like that.
Um, we like to theme our food tothe movie.
unknown (33:10):
Yes.
Jenny GK (33:10):
And by we, I mean me, and John just kind of tolerates
it.
One year for his birthday, no,Father's Day, because it was in
the summer.
Um, we watched all the Star Warsmovies in the recommended
chronological order.
So like what happens in thethemed food, and I was so proud
(33:37):
of my Seven Leia dip.
Nice.
See?
Caitlin K (33:42):
See?
This is fun, this is ridiculous,and then you could come up with
ridiculous names that go alongwith it.
This is perfect for preteens.
I love it.
Jenny GK (33:51):
Also, um, a really great movie just released a
couple days ago.
It does cost$19.89 to stream it,but there's plenty of people out
there who might want to watch itand maybe have some themed
snacks to go with it.
Caitlin K (34:10):
1989.
I wonder if that's a clue.
I think it probably is.
Okay.
Teenagers.
Virtual escape room challenge ora regular escape room.
How fun would that be to do withtheir friends?
Um, also included in the onlinegaming session, right?
Like virtual escape room.
(34:30):
Yeah, like but like how funwould that be?
You can either have them invitefriends or a whole family goes
together and you do an escaperoom together.
Right?
Love it.
This one I really love.
A DIY home decor or roommakeover, especially for your
younger teenagers.
They kind of, you know, theythey transition out of that like
(34:50):
sixth, seventh grade mode, andthey get once they hit,
especially you and I have talkedabout this, there's a feeling
right around February, March ofthe seventh grade year, where
you're like, oh, you're notseventh graders anymore, you're
eighth graders by like you'reready to, you're ready to let
them go, right?
There's a real and and as aparent, you'll notice it too.
Like all of a sudden they don'tfeel like a preteen, they feel
(35:13):
like a snarky teenager, andyou're like, what the heck?
That is a great time to figureout what they want in their
room, right?
Like they're growing up.
This is a great time to feellike what they need in their
room as their interests change,as their needs change.
You can get some of these thingsfor your child for the holidays
if it's a holiday break.
(35:35):
And then, and then you justblock off time during the break
to make those changes happen fortheir room.
Jenny GK (35:42):
This is actually what we're giving Abby for Christmas
this year.
Caitlin K (35:45):
I love that.
Jenny GK (35:46):
Yeah, so she has gone and picked colors, and she's
actually consulted with aninterior decorator.
Oh, hey, who also happens to bea teacher at our schools.
Caitlin K (35:56):
Nice.
Jenny GK (35:57):
Oh, that's cool.
Um, so they they worked togetheron a vision, and um, she's
picked out paint colors, andshe's in the process right now
of cleaning and organizing, andwith the understanding that all
the furniture has to be able tomove to the center, and we have
to be able to reach all thewalls.
Caitlin K (36:16):
All the walls, right?
Jenny GK (36:17):
But um, we're doing new paint, new bedding, um,
switching up some of thefurniture.
It'll be fun.
Caitlin K (36:24):
That's so great.
She's gonna love that.
And just think about like thesatisfaction that will come from
that.
Like, you'll work together onit.
They'll probably spend a lotmore time in their room after
it's done, which it might besad, but you worked together to
make it happen for them, andthat that's a really special
thing.
Jenny GK (36:37):
Yeah.
And we painted her room when wemoved into this house five years
ago.
Caitlin K (36:42):
Right.
Jenny GK (36:42):
And she is a different person now, different person
than she was five years ago.
So she's excited to change thecolors.
Like right now, it's likebubblegum pink and bright
purple, and she's going for thislike sophisticated grown-up uh
rose gold and dusty pink andgray.
Like it's it's very grown up.
Caitlin K (37:03):
Oh, also, like my millennial heart is so happy to
hear gray in there.
Okay.
Um a music jam session orkaraoke.
Now, karaoke, when I was a kid,we would go and rent one of
those private rooms for karaokeand do it that way.
I'm not saying go to a karaokebar and make your kids sing in
(37:24):
front of all these people.
I'm saying let them get a fewfriends.
You go to, make if you have abig family, go as a family,
whatever it is.
Get a karaoke room and just haveat it in this private room.
So much fun.
When I again, when I was ateenager, me and my friends used
to do this all the time.
We had a blast.
Jenny GK (37:42):
No, it's really fun.
Caitlin K (37:43):
It's really fun, and it's so much less than that.
Jenny GK (37:46):
Most of them you rent the room by the hour.
Caitlin K (37:49):
Right.
Jenny GK (37:49):
So you can say, I'm going for two hours and say,
okay, it whatever the cost is,we're gonna split it with our
friends.
And um, you can a lot of themlet you bring in your own
snacks.
Right, exactly.
That's cool.
Caitlin K (38:02):
Yep, yeah.
Okay, this last one, holidaygames.
Now, these are things thatpretty much everyone can
participate in, but it gets alittle bit more fun as the kids
get older just because they canlike you're not having to assist
so much, right?
Right.
So I don't know about you, butrecently my TikTok and Instagram
has been flooded with familygames in my Reels and For You
(38:26):
page.
So you could just search forfamily games on either one of
those.
And I don't recommend doing iton like a regular search engine.
I recommend doing it in a socialmedia platform, in particular,
Instagram or TikTok, because itwill show you how to play, like
how it actually works, asopposed to you trying to read it
or see pictures.
So um, some of these games, Iwill say, when you search, they
(38:50):
look like they are for somereally rich people.
Like we're talking rich AF,right?
Okay, like these are people whoare giving away things like
phones as a prize, iPhones as aprize for these games.
Excuse me.
I'm dial it back, right?
This is extra.
Like, unless you're alreadyplanning to give your kids
iPhones for Christmas, dial itback.
(39:13):
It is okay to give away a bag ofthe Grinch Hershey kisses.
Do not stress about it, right?
Don't worry about it.
So, some of the contests I'veseen, which are super fun and
cute.
And I'm gonna have um, if youwant to look at the games, I'm
gonna have them all on our blogpost for the episode so you can
watch the videos of the blogpost.
One of them is a balloon cupbattle.
(39:34):
It kind of looks like um a beerpong, but it's not beer pong.
You have the um Dixie cup turnedupside down and you blow a
balloon up, and then you use theballoon's air.
You let the air out of theballoon to push the cup across
the table back and forth, andwhoever knocks the cup off is
the winner.
It's like air hockey.
Yes, with balloons and Dixiecups.
(39:54):
Yeah, so fun, right?
Um, it's totally air hockey,really fun.
There's a um a medley of videosthat I found that one of them is
like you put the whipped creamon your hand and then you slap
your wrist and you try to catchthe whipped cream in your mouth.
Um, candy cane fishing, whereyou tie a string around your
waist and you have the candycane dangle from your backside,
(40:15):
and you have to like squat overand like hook the candy cane
crook around another candy caneand try and pull one out of a
bucket.
Oh my gosh, that's hilarious.
You pull a string on a cup andsee what it's attached to.
And if there's a prize attached,then you get a prize.
Yes.
Another one was a muffin trayand cup.
(40:35):
So like you, it's again kind oflike beer pong.
You bounce a ping pong ball intoa muffin tray.
The muffin tray has numbersinside.
The numbers correspond to anumbered prize, like under a cup
or on a plate or whatever it is.
And then you get whatever isattached.
And then if you don't get itinto the muffin tray, you don't
get a prize.
But you can keep going becausemuffin trays have like what 24
slots or whatever.
(40:56):
Right, right, right, right.
Right.
So just really fun games thatyou can do together as a family,
enjoy each other's company andlaugh.
So they sound great.
It's really fun.
They're super cute.
And again, just go to thewebsite for this episode and
you'll be able to it's linked inthere and you'll be able to
watch the videos and see howthey how they play.
Jenny GK (41:16):
Great way to entertain your children over a long break.
And yourself speaking of break,let's take one.
Caitlin K (41:21):
Yep.
Jenny GK (41:22):
All right, welcome back.
Caitlin K (41:23):
Okay, let's talk about our circle time fun.
Yes?
It's time to catch up.
Do it.
Jenny GK (41:29):
Okay, let me tell you what I'm obsessed with right
now.
Caitlin K (41:31):
Yes.
Jenny GK (41:32):
The story of blueberry on Reddit.
Caitlin K (41:34):
I don't know what this is.
Jenny GK (41:36):
No, most people don't.
Okay.
Unless you happen to be in thereef tank subreddit.
unknown (41:42):
Oh.
Jenny GK (41:42):
And this is blueberry.
She is a blue tang, like a doryfish.
Yes.
And this guy saw her at a verylarge pet store and realized
that she had some injuries.
Caitlin K (41:58):
Oh no.
Jenny GK (41:59):
And so he got her from this very large pet store and
has brought her home.
And this thing is a sore, aninjury that like makes her face
look like skeletor.
It's like white and bony.
And uh so he's been postingupdates on how she's recovering
(42:20):
and doing really well.
Good.
Um, but she just got ick.
Caitlin K (42:26):
Oh no.
Jenny GK (42:26):
And remember when we got ick in our fish tank, it was
like a big deal.
Yes.
So um she's recovering from herinjuries to her face, but she's
getting ick.
So it's like a soap opera forfish.
Caitlin K (42:39):
The fish obsession.
I'm glad to see it's still therebecause for me it's it would
have been a hyperfixation andthen I would have lost interest.
But I love that it's still therefor you guys.
It's great.
Yes.
And it's actually growingbecause now you're reading
subreddits about fish.
So this is good.
Yes.
So um mine is Sudoku.
(43:00):
I don't know what's happeningwith my brain, but you know, I
like puzzles, and I don't knowwhat it is, but like I so I am a
psycho who pays for um the NewYork Times uh crossword app.
Jenny GK (43:14):
Okay.
Caitlin K (43:14):
Because when I spent too much time on social media
and I still feel like I need tozen out or or disassociate, I
use that.
And it also I feel like it helpsmy brain.
Jenny GK (43:26):
So um they have Oh, there's all kinds of studies
that it does.
Caitlin K (43:29):
Oh yeah.
Well, you know, New York Timesalso purchased Wordle.
Yes.
So I go there to play my Wordle.
Then they have a couple of othergames like this one called
Connections, and then there'sone that's um called Spelling
Bee, and I've gotten into all ofthose recently, but um Remember
J Sco told us about Oct Turtle.
(43:50):
Yeah, no, I can't.
That's too hard.
That's too much work.
It's already hard enough to dolike Wordle half the time.
Like, what?
No.
I ran out of games while I wasdoing while I was getting my
nails done.
P.S.
look at my nails.
Oh my gosh.
Very nice, so fun.
Um, and I was like, all right,I'm gonna try Sudoku.
Like, I'm just gonna try it.
(44:11):
And you remember when you were akid and you would play Minecraft
and or not what Minesweeper?
Minesweeper.
Minesweeper, not Minecraft, thatdid not exist.
Minesweeper, and you justrandomly click because but then
as I got older, I was like, oh,there's a strategy.
There's a reason.
This me this number meanssomething.
Oh, okay.
That's how I felt about Sudokuuntil I actually like paid
(44:33):
attention to what's happening.
I was like, oh, you just putnumbers.
No, no, no.
There's a strategy.
And now that I know thestrategy, I'm really into it.
And I'm like, I really like it.
And I've only been playing forlike three days, but I've played
far too many games.
Like far too many games.
And I was playing while I wasgetting my nails done, like just
(44:55):
you know, switching my hand backand forth, and my nail tech was
like, You play Sudoku?
And I was like, Yeah, and shegoes, I play on paper.
And I was like, Oh, that's toohard.
How do you play on paper?
Like, I could I don't think Icould do that.
But I hadn't need a pencil, butwith a pen.
Right uh uh, no, no, you gottause a pencil, and you gotta use
the app because it'll tell youif it's wrong.
(45:15):
But it's it's been fun, I likeit.
Very good for my brain, yeah.
Okay, what about your gem?
Jenny GK (45:23):
My gem.
Caitlin K (45:23):
Yes.
Jenny GK (45:24):
I got an email from Rob Walker.
Caitlin K (45:26):
Okay, right.
Jenny GK (45:28):
Aren't you excited?
Caitlin K (45:29):
Kind of.
Tell me more about this.
Jenny GK (45:32):
Okay, so um every day in math, we start with what we
call a community conversation,and this is kind of a chance to
like center ourselves and likeset intentions for the block,
whatever.
Um, kind of like at thebeginning of your yoga, you're
like, okay, what are you gonnabe working on today?
Um, and so we try and do somemetacognitive work here, right?
Like we're maybe we'll talkabout growth versus fixed
(45:54):
mindset, or maybe we'll talkabout um the questions that
you're gonna be asking yourselfas you're moving through the
block.
But we have started workingthrough a book that I found
called The Art of Noticing.
And it's 131 little activitiesthat you can do to help like
tune in and be creative andnotice things around you.
Caitlin K (46:17):
Oh, I love that.
Jenny GK (46:18):
And the author is Rob Walker.
So I emailed him and said, Hey,we're reading your book with my
kids.
This is uh how we use it.
And he emailed me back and he'sreally interested in learning
how they're doing and likegetting pictures and stuff.
So we're gonna start a wholecommunication train with the
author of this book we'rereading.
Caitlin K (46:36):
That's so great! How exciting! Congratulations.
This is so cool.
I mean, this just goes to showyou that like the worst he can
say is no, right?
Jenny GK (46:44):
Like the worst he can like or just like not respond,
which respond, right?
Which has happened to me before.
Yeah, but it was pretty cool.
He was like, Oh yeah, um, nopressure, no obligation, but I'd
love to learn what they'redoing.
It's like that's so cool.
Caitlin K (46:57):
I kind of had this feeling that you were gonna tell
me that like remember I I sentyou a video a while back of like
how these kids get excited formath every day, and it's that
they pick up their books andthey turn it into the Lion King
like circle of life, like holdthe hold the book up like
babysitter.
Yeah.
Okay.
Um, my gem has to be.
I have two, first of all.
Um yesterday you and I did arecording with Mike and Tabby of
(47:21):
Gray's Taproom Podcast.
So fun.
So much fun.
They're doing they were doing a24, no, more than 24 hours.
It was more than that.
Um, 24 hour plus uh marathonfundraiser for the Kentucky
Humane Society, and they had awhole bunch of podcasts on to
help them do a live stream formore than 24 hours.
(47:43):
Wild.
I couldn't believe they weredoing it again because they've
done this before.
Four, yeah.
And they were so cute, they theydedicated that entire series to
us, to you and I on that show,which was so sweet.
But this was them um doing thisas a fundraiser, and we had the
best time talking to them.
And it's so funny because theirshow is not for children.
(48:03):
This is not this is an earbudsin show, and then you and I get
on there and it's like obviouslyPG hour because that's just how
we are.
But they but they're so fun andthey had the best time with us.
It was so great, they werereally kind about it.
And our conversation went fromDisney movies to movies that
make us cry.
And then Jenning just goes, Iknow this is not related to
(48:24):
anything, but um, have you guysever thought about how like
toast and refried beans are likejust cook it again?
All of us were like, what?
Like it was just it was ahysterical moment of like you
could tell that she had jumpedfrom one thing to another in her
head.
Like she leaped frogged likethree different topics and then
(48:44):
came back to toast and re-friedbeans.
And I knew, like, I knew thatthere was a connection, but I I
obviously didn't know what itwas, but it just made me laugh
so hard.
Like, and I'm still thinkingabout it because we were
literally talking about oldyeller and like where the red
fern grows, and then she's like,and toast and re-fried beans.
I was just like, What?
Jenny GK (49:02):
So we um do this thought exercise in math class
called analyzing algorithms, andI'll put another mathematician's
work up and we have to talkthrough it and see what
mathematical properties justifytheir thinking, do they have any
uh bugs in their algorithm,things like that.
Okay, and one of the things Ilove to do is skip the middle
(49:23):
thinking.
Caitlin K (49:24):
Clearly, because that's exactly what happened.
Jenny GK (49:27):
So then the learners in my group have to go through
and figure out okay, how didthey get from here to here?
Caitlin K (49:35):
Yeah.
Jenny GK (49:35):
And they have to go through and say, okay, well,
there's three lines of thinkinghere that aren't written down.
Caitlin K (49:40):
Yeah.
Jenny GK (49:41):
So I just skipped the middle thinking.
Caitlin K (49:43):
You cle yes, you definitely did do that, and it
made me laugh so hard.
I thought it was great.
But my other, my real gem alsohas to do with you.
unknown (49:50):
Oh.
Caitlin K (49:51):
The other day, you sent me a picture of your
beautiful daughter getting readyfor her first cotillion, and she
looked so freaking grown up, andI kind of had a little panic
moment where I was just like,uh, I've known this little girl
since she was four, and I waslike really kind of like heart
palpitating.
And I'm looking at this picturewhile I'm trying to get Sam to
settle down, which was a badidea.
(50:12):
The lights were off in his room,and then I opened up my phone
and had this like phone lightblaring.
And obviously it's a picture ofa person, and he had to look.
Well, she took a picture, wetook this picture in front of
the fish tank.
Yes.
And my son looks at the picture,sees the fish tank in the
background, and immediatelygoes, Wait, zoom in on the fish
tank.
I'm like, No.
The picture is of Abby.
(50:34):
Look how beautiful she looks.
She's getting ready for herfirst cotillion.
He's like, Yeah, but what's thatfish in the background?
And he like zooms in on like theblue tang you have in the
background.
And then he's all mad.
He's like, There's no other fishin this tank.
And I was like, Are you kiddingme?
And I'm starting to point outlike, you know, 15 different
fish.
And then I, of course, get lostin what the message was, which
was look at your beautifuldaughter, not count the fish in
(50:55):
the background.
So I just Oh my god.
Jenny GK (50:58):
I am about to go make you a video of the tank.
Caitlin K (51:01):
And you guys can count all the fish and you also
know I do like to watch fishtank videos while I'm like
working and relaxing.
It that would be good for me, Ithink.
Jenny GK (51:11):
Their sun has not risen yet.
So it'll have to be a little bitlater today.
Caitlin K (51:17):
Their sun has not risen?
Jenny GK (51:19):
Do you have a light that like simulates?
Yes, we have we have lights thatlike change their spectrum
throughout the day so that it islike what time their sun rise
normally around like 11.
Oh, okay, so that we can enjoythem in the evening.
Caitlin K (51:34):
Ah, okay.
Jenny GK (51:35):
Yeah.
Um, we reset the lights whenJohn is not home so that I can
feed them before I go to school.
Yes.
And their son kind of mirrorsour son.
Caitlin K (51:45):
Okay.
Jenny GK (51:45):
But um most of the time when John's at home, he can
feed them midday.
So Okay.
Caitlin K (51:52):
That's a random thing.
But that's that's all that wasmy other job.
Okay.
Jenny GK (51:55):
I love it.
Okay, so you're about to go onbreak, or maybe you already are
on break and you are lovinghaving the extra time with your
kids, and you are hating havingall this extra time with your
kids.
Go through the list, try some ofthese things, watch some of
those videos with family games.
Maybe just watching the videowith your kids is enough.
Caitlin K (52:15):
Oh, I better be funny.
Yeah, it might be.
It might be enough.
Jenny GK (52:20):
So, um, as we go into the holidays, make a choices and
uh try to enjoy it.
Caitlin K (52:26):
But just remember like there's a song about this,
right?
And mom and dad can hardly waitfor school to school to start
again.
So try to enjoy it as well asmuch as you can.
Okay, bye.
Bye.
It's Tuesday.
Caitlin K (00:29):
Yeah, it is.
And uh, we're so glad you'rehere.
And you can tell that we'rerecording in the morning early
before my coffee because I soundlike this.
Like I have a frog in my throat.
Okay, well, today we are givingyou ideas for what you're gonna
do with them kids during a longbreak, such as a holiday break.
You're like, I got we're herefor a week and a half, and I
(00:51):
gotta do something with thesekids besides just sit in the
house and play with grandma andgrandpa, whatever it is, what
you're gonna do with those kids.
So stick around because we havea bunch of ideas for inside and
outside activities that will bereally helpful.
Jenny GK (01:04):
Yay! But before that, just like my treetopper,
Caitlin's an angel.
Caitlin K (01:11):
Oh my gosh, I have like little happy.
Okay, um, and that's Jenny, myspectacular cloud of brilliance.
Jenny GK (01:22):
Ooh.
Caitlin K (01:22):
Who's probably gonna add some of that brilliance to
this episode today because shehas so many good ideas for stuff
to do with kids.
You guys, she's so good at this.
Maybe.
We'll see.
Good ideas.
Jenny GK (01:32):
I don't know.
Ideas, yes.
Caitlin K (01:33):
Good, but uh I guess it maybe depends on your kid,
but they're good for her kids,but they work really well.
So we're gonna we're gonna getto it.
Okay, so I need to say a coupleof things about this.
One, you need to plan a routine.
Okay.
Try to set a routine foryourself during a long break.
(01:54):
We talked about this withsummer.
You need to do it here too,okay?
Like, they help everyone.
You're gonna plan parts of theday where you get to sleep,
where you get to have yourcoffee.
You're gonna plan parts of theday where your kids are gonna
watch TV because PBS is a greatbabysitter as long as you're in
the house with your kids.
SPEAKER_02 (02:15):
Sure.
Caitlin K (02:15):
Uh-huh.
You're gonna plan parts of theday.
Jenny GK (02:17):
I love that you say PBS.
Caitlin K (02:19):
Yep, because uh it's usually Netflix, but I'm putting
PBS educational content.
Jenny GK (02:25):
My 12-year-old would definitely be watching
educational content.
However, it's all about TaylorSwift on YouTube.
Caitlin K (02:31):
Right, yeah.
Different, yep.
There's also gonna be parts ofyour day where you allow for
technology like screen devices,things like that.
Gonna be a little bit ofscreens, and then there's gonna
be a little bit of somethingelse that y'all do either
together or you plan orsomething, okay?
I'm not advocating for anyone tobe go, go, go over a break.
(02:52):
It's a break, especially overthe holidays.
You're supposed to be able torelax.
It's not easy to do, especiallypre-Christmas, if you're a
Christmas family.
However, you need to be able tofind a way to relax a little
bit.
So that's why I'm saying buildin those breaks for TV time.
Okay.
(03:13):
Um, this is just to keepeveryone from being bored.
I already did that.
I write there's no more TaylorSmith videos to watch, whatever
it is.
Like, okay.
The other thing I'm gonna say isfeel free to adapt these
activities based on your kids'interests and any resources that
you have available.
These are very general ideas,and I'm giving you a little bit
(03:33):
of extra detail to support it.
This list is not exhaustive,okay?
If you have other good ideas, Iwant to hear them, please share
them with us or go comment onthe blog post for this episode
because um there's tons of ideasthat I I probably missed, okay?
Also, I have to say this.
We live in Texas.
So when I'm talking aboutoutside activities, I am aware
(03:55):
that some of you may live in aclimate that does not support
outside activity time at allover a holiday break in
particular.
Jenny GK (04:03):
Right.
So here's the deal Texans areout in December, but in in July,
unless we're on the water.
So if you live in a place whereyour summer is gorgeous, our
winter is.
Caitlin K (04:20):
Right.
It's like 65 here most of thetime.
We can get cold, we get colddays sometimes.
But cold for us is like, youknow, 47 as opposed to cold for
me when I was a kid, which waslike negative 12.
So like I get it.
Jenny GK (04:36):
It's yeah, you might not the entire state shut down
and ran out of energy when itwas in the 20s.
Caitlin K (04:42):
Right.
Jenny GK (04:42):
Like we we were not like below zero here, guys.
Caitlin K (04:45):
No, no, it was ridiculous.
Okay, so I'm gonna start withthe outside activities, okay?
I've broken them up by kind ofage groups.
So preschooler outsideactivities.
Ready?
SPEAKER_02 (04:57):
Yes.
Caitlin K (04:58):
Nature scavenger hunt in your backyard.
Don't even have to go anywhere.
You can still be in your jammiesand just be in the backyard.
Now, if you're not sure how todo this, go on to your searching
machine, whatever that might be,your Google machine, your Bing
machine, ass Jeeves.
I don't care.
Search for kids scavenger hunt.
(05:21):
When you do that, about onemillion different ones will pop
up and there'll be all thesecutesy stories behind them, but
you don't care, change it toimages.
Okay, change the search toimages and then look for
printables that you can juststeal.
All right.
Yeah, they're on the internetand you can click on the image
in a new tab, go print thatsucker out and make it be the
(05:42):
thing.
No big deal.
And then after that, you canfind the most beautiful leaf
that your child created and turnit into a craft, and we'll get
to that in just a minute, okay?
So, nature scavenger hunt in thebackyard.
Jenny GK (05:53):
We used to do this on our COVID walks.
Caitlin K (05:55):
Yes, we did it too.
And we did it by color somedays.
Jenny GK (05:59):
Yes.
Caitlin K (05:59):
Yep.
So yesterday we found a brownleaf.
Today we need to find a greenone.
Right.
Jenny GK (06:04):
Yep.
Caitlin K (06:04):
Now, granted.
Jenny GK (06:05):
And it would be okay, we're gonna find all the numbers
zero through nine in order.
Caitlin K (06:10):
In order, yep.
This is a motorcycle and a car,and a you have to find all the
different kinds of vehicles.
Let's go.
All right, next one sidewalkchalk art.
We also did this a lot duringCOVID.
And one thing that I thought wassuper cute was a woman used um
painter's tape or like maskingtape, and she made a frame on
(06:33):
the driveway, and then she usedthe painter's tape to like
outline designs.
So one of them was just like astained glass window, and she
made them kind of random, andthen another one was like an
actual like outline ofsomething.
It could be an outline of asnowman, and you can use all the
leftover white chalk that youhave from your teaching days.
Also, you can use chalk to getstains out of clothes, but we'll
(06:55):
talk about that another time.
So, um, that came out supercool.
Sidewalk chalk art.
Okay, another one playtime atthe local park.
Now, I have to say this (07:03):
if you do this all the time, you can
make this fun.
Go to a different park, go toone that the kids don't usually
go to, make it outside yourthree mile radius of places that
you drive to and and go to onethat's completely different.
Um and that way it it's a newfun playground, and the kids
(07:24):
will want to stay there longer,it won't be so boring for them,
right?
We've already done this.
Okay, well, go play anyway.
It's a new playground.
Have fun.
Do a scavenger hunt at the newplayground, watch what happens.
Ah, here you go.
Jenny GK (07:36):
Two birds, one stone.
Caitlin K (07:38):
Bubble blowing.
Now, if you're going to do thebubble thing for the love of all
that is holy, buy yourself abubble blowing machine and put
it on the holiday gift list.
And it can be a gift to parentsor to the kids, and that way you
are not the one blowing thebubbles all the time because
that's it gets old really fast.
(07:59):
Yeah.
Oh gosh, does it ever?
And if you're if you're yourchild can blow their own
bubbles, I recommend taping thebubble bottle to like a part of
your fence or something so thatit stands upright.
And then they can just stick thewand in the bottle and blow the
bubbles, and you don't have tohold it or worry about them
(08:21):
holding it and spilling iteverywhere.
The bubble blowing is all right.
Yeah, thanks.
All right, moving on to someelementary school kids.
We're talking about like six toten-ish, right?
Bike riding or scooter fun.
Again, I recommend doing this ina novel place, a place that your
family doesn't usually go to.
(08:42):
It's a break.
You're you all have the time.
Instead of driving for sixminutes to get to the
playground, you can drive for 12and see what happens.
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (08:49):
Yes.
Caitlin K (08:51):
DIY mini garden planting.
Uh oh.
This is one that I thought wouldbe cute to like start your seeds
so that when it's springtime,you can transfer the plants
outside.
That's so smart.
So, like if you need to do thisinside because of the weather,
(09:12):
just you know, prepare a spacethat won't make it too messy.
But then it could be an insidething, and then you're saying,
okay, but now in the springwe'll have tomatoes or whatever
you're gonna Yeah.
Yeah.
I like it.
Outdoor sports like soccer orbasketball.
Um, if this is something that'swithin your resources, look for
like half day clinics that Abbyjust did one for football.
(09:35):
Yeah.
Jenny GK (09:35):
And people wrote down her name.
Caitlin K (09:38):
Ooh, yeah, exciting and also scary appearance.
Jenny GK (09:44):
No, they were it was the people running the clinic.
Oh wanted to know who she was.
Caitlin K (09:49):
That's awesome.
That's so good.
Jenny GK (09:51):
Yeah.
Yeah, it's like this thosecoaches, they're taking your
name down because they'reinterested in having you play
for them.
And John speaks up.
He's like, um, she's gonna beplaying for me.
Remember, I'm coaching.
Oh, jeez.
Caitlin K (10:07):
He's coached every season.
I don't know why everyonethought of that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Also, if she's good, he's gonnawant to keep her on his team
because he's just that level ofcompetitive, right?
Like he's not gonna let her goanywhere else.
Yeah.
Okay.
There are half-day clinics inour area that they spend all
(10:27):
their time focusing on a fewsports.
There's some that are like allsports, so they'll do like, you
know, one sport every day for afew days.
This is a great time to see whatyour child is interested in in
terms of sports, and that wayyou get at least half a day.
But then again, you still havethat time for relaxing TV
screens, etc.
Jenny GK (10:48):
Also, your child does not need to be an athlete to
participate in the city.
Clinics.
Caitlin K (10:54):
And I'm speaking from experience.
You do not have to be able to dothat.
This is a chance to be anathlete.
Jenny GK (10:58):
Right.
This is a chance for them toeither grow skills in athletics
or grow skills socially becausethere's teamwork involved.
Caitlin K (11:07):
Right.
And leading new kids and thingslike that.
Jenny GK (11:10):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So this is valuable even ifthey're not into the sport.
Caitlin K (11:14):
Right.
Another one for this age groupwould be picnic in the park.
Again, make it a novel park, butI feel like this could be a good
time to make it be somethingthat's fun to eat, that's a
clear treat, right?
Like if your kid never getsMcDonald's, go grab McDonald's
and go sit in a new park andhave a picnic.
(11:34):
Just make it be somethingdifferent because that's what
makes it fun and exciting.
Right.
Jenny GK (11:40):
And we have done this where we've made like a special
grocery list too.
Yeah.
Caitlin K (11:47):
Right.
Exactly.
Love it.
Jenny GK (11:49):
That's not to say that my kids don't eat fast food.
Oh.
That was not what the messagethat I was trying to send.
Caitlin K (11:55):
My child had his first bacon eater yesterday.
Do you I spent so much.
Jenny GK (12:00):
Did you like bark it on your calendar?
I shouldn't have.
First bacon acre.
Caitlin K (12:05):
Baby's first baconator.
He had it on the pretzel button,and let me tell you, I wanted to
eat that so bad.
I left it for him.
So like preteenish, 11 to 13,somewhere in there.
Um, okay, hiking or naturetrails if they're into outdoor
stuff.
This is a really good time toput those how to talk to your
kids strategies we gave youearlier in the season to use.
(12:27):
Um, and just see what you knowwhat kinds of conversations
happen, and a really good timefor them to take selfies and you
to be a part of those selfiesand enjoy each other's company
in a way that that they like.
Okay.
Rollerblading or skateboarding,but you go too and you try it.
Ooh.
Just, you know, make sure youbring the helmet and the knee
(12:50):
pads and the elbow pads, andthen of course the Tylenol for
after you're done.
Yeah.
Um, organizing a neighborhoodsports competition.
Now, this is work.
I understand that, but it couldbe really worth it.
You could meet some new people.
If you find that a sportscompetition is not your thing, I
just kick your kid out and makethem go play basketball in the
(13:12):
front yard and see what otherkids show up.
When they're old enough tohandle that, you know, that's
right.
It's a good one.
Jenny GK (13:18):
I have a friend uh who used to do happy hour in her
front yard.
SPEAKER_02 (13:25):
Yes.
Jenny GK (13:25):
And she would pick the day and put flyers on all of her
neighbors' doorsteps, and itthere was a snack for the kids
and cocktails for the adults.
Caitlin K (13:35):
Love.
Love this idea.
This is genius.
I love it.
Okay, camping in the backyard.
Again, climate dependent, butyou could totally turn this into
a camping in the living roomsituation.
And if they're 11 to 13 and it'sthey're gonna stay up all night
as long as they don't keep youawake, whatever, they can sleep
(13:56):
the whole next day becausethey're on a break, and so are
you.
Okay.
What about teenagers?
Yeah, they're gonna want to sitand do stuff on their phones all
day long.
Again, we're allowing for thattime.
Okay.
However, we gotta get them outof the house, right?
And interact with the, you know,3D people.
(14:17):
My first one is communityservice projects.
Now, especially for kids who arein their teenage years in high
school, this is really good fortwo things.
One, reality check, right?
Like this is when we're like,hey, there are people outside of
you and our family who needsupport and animals or whatever.
(14:38):
Also, if you're someone who'splanning to send your child to
college, this is a good time torack up some community service
hours that could look really,really good on those college
applications.
So I will say most places youcan't just like show up and say,
I'm gonna volunteer today.
You need to like fill out someforms and look at their
(14:59):
availability.
So do some pre-planning here.
But this could be a really goodway to squeeze in some of those
community service hours thatwill make your child look extra
good.
And who knows, they might findsomething that they really love
and really, really, reallybecome enamored with the idea of
serving other people, which issuch a cool, cool thing.
Jenny GK (15:19):
And don't overlook the opportunities that you can
create for community service.
For example, instead of sendingyour uh younger kids to a
clinic, have your older childrenrun one.
Caitlin K (15:36):
Love that idea.
Jenny GK (15:38):
Okay, this is something that they can include
neighborhood kids in, but allthe hours that they spend
planning as well as runningcommunity service hours.
And think about uh drives orcollections that you can do in
your neighborhood.
Again, all the time spent onplanning.
(15:58):
You walk around and pass outflyers and then say you're gonna
come back two days later.
All of that counts towards theproject.
Caitlin K (16:06):
And the idea of your child starting a community
service project in theneighborhood, it probably looks
even better than someone whosigns up for volunteer hours at
an organization.
You know what I mean?
Like there's there's value inthat too.
So just putting that out there.
This is a really good time to dothat.
All right, another one outdooryoga or fitness challenges.
(16:28):
Anyone?
Anyone?
I love this, but again, you haveto participate too as the
parent, right?
It's also a really good way toget a head start on your New
Year's resolution if that'ssomething that you're looking
into.
SPEAKER_02 (16:38):
Hmm.
Caitlin K (16:38):
Um, I'm channeling my inner bluey here with some beach
day or water activities.
If you live in Michigan, youprobably can't go to the beach,
just saying.
Jenny GK (16:46):
But if you're one of our listeners in New Zealand,
hey, yes.
Caitlin K (16:52):
However, I I'm gonna say if there's an indoor pool
nearby, tell your kids to grab acouple friends and take them all
to the indoor pool.
Like, you would be amazed atwhat happens when you get a
bunch of 15-year-olds in thepool.
Like they, it's like they'reseven all over again.
It's really, really fun towatch.
Um, just find a place that hasopen swim and take a, you know,
(17:12):
tell your friend or tell yourkid to grab a few friends and
go.
It's fun.
Okay, photography scavengerhunt.
Now, this is where you, as theparent, create a hashtag.
Love this.
They have to be a part of thisInstagram family photo
challenge, and the whole familyparticipates, and you all find
things that are on thisscavenger hunt.
Now, you and I did this.
This is where my idea came from.
(17:34):
Yes.
You and I did this when we tookour seventh graders to the
Alamo.
Shout out to the Alamo and allthe people there.
Um, but they did you shout outthe Alamo?
Yeah, because we brought in 85kids to the Alamo and then we
just let them loose at theAlamo.
So yeah, I'm shouting out theAlamo because then there were
kids who were like picking upold like cannonballs and stuff
(17:56):
when they weren't supposed tobe.
So yeah.
Yeah.
Anyway, I'm moving on.
You and I did this because wewanted our kids to learn about
specific things at the Alamo andgo find things and make it fun
for them, but also keep themengaged.
So we let them have we created ahashtag and then we told them
they had to take pictures ofthemselves doing all these
things, and some of them had tobe like moving pictures, and
(18:18):
some of them had to be specificto like putting a certain person
in a certain place, and they hadto be pointing.
It was like so random andridiculous, but it was really
fun to look at the pictureslater.
And if you get the whole familyto participate, then big fun,
right?
Everyone's gonna have a goodtime with it.
Okay, so those are all of myoutside activities.
Ah okay.
(18:39):
Now we gotta do the insideactivities.
I'm gonna go back to thepreschoolers and I'm gonna talk
about that.
Remember that scavenger hunt wetalked about where I said you
could take that leaf?
Yes.
Arts and crafts time.
Ready?
Here we go.
Arts and crafts time with thosematerials you got from the
scavenger hunt.
One thing I like to do with Samis I would like draw a random
(19:01):
shape, like some sort ofsquiggle on a piece of paper,
and tell him, turn this intosomething.
Jenny GK (19:07):
Oh fine.
Caitlin K (19:07):
Right?
Or like you draw what looks likea fluffy cloud and you say, This
is not a cloud.
What is it?
And they have to draw somethingthat's not a cloud, so he'll
turn it into a sheep orsomething, right?
Like something like that.
And it's cute and it keeps thementertained.
Also, fun fact um, Home Depotdoes free in-store kids
workshops on the first Saturdayof every month.
(19:30):
And you can take your kid toHome Depot on a Saturday, the
first Saturday of every month,and they'll do a craft with your
kid.
So you just have to contact yourlocal store for details or look
them up or whatever.
Fun one.
Jenny GK (19:42):
And if you cannot attend the workshop, a lot of
times they will give you the kitto take home and do at your
house.
Caitlin K (19:48):
Very, very awesome.
Love it.
And probably instructions foryeah, it'll be.
Oh, yes, no, no, no.
Jenny GK (19:54):
Everything it comes in a little bag.
Caitlin K (19:57):
Oh, brilliant.
Love it.
Jenny GK (19:58):
Yep.
Caitlin K (19:59):
Again, preschooler age, story time or puppet shows,
right?
Check out your local library forfree story time and puppet show
events.
Sometimes they do these at yogastudios too, where like it's
like mommy and baby yoga orparent, you know, kid and parent
yoga, and they'll do a story andyou do some yoga with your baby,
(20:19):
and it's a it's a good time.
I've done it before, it's reallycute and fun.
Um, and a lot of the times,museums like your local museums.
Museum, maybe a state historymuseum, will have free days and
free events that you can go toas well.
Like we actually just went tothe Bullock Museum last Sunday
because it's the free day, firstSunday of the month, and took
(20:40):
our child there and he had ablast at the Bullock Museum.
It was great.
Jenny GK (20:43):
I used to take Abby to the art museum because it's free
on Thursdays.
And we would act out the art.
Caitlin K (20:51):
Oh, cute.
See, good idea.
Jenny GK (20:53):
So when we were seeing uh sculptures, like we oppose
like the sculpture, or if uhit's an abstract piece, what do
you think is happening in it?
And it was a chance to kind ofmove your body and honor the
art.
Caitlin K (21:05):
Yeah, I love it.
Building forts with blankets andcushions.
This is a classic.
No kid doesn't want to do this.
This is big fun.
And then you uh clean uptogether, right?
You sing the tidy up song.
Tidy up tidy up, put your thingsaway.
That that song.
Jenny GK (21:26):
Oh, that's a good one.
Much like the skateboarding orthe rollerblading.
Get in there.
Yeah, do it.
Have a good time.
It's so fun.
Help, help build, help design,and then get in the fort.
Caitlin K (21:40):
This is one that I put towards the end of the
preschool age because it couldalso go into your elementary
school kids.
Simple baking or cookingtogether, right?
Um this is a great time to teachkids how to do little cooking
tasks, right?
Things like breaking eggs,chopping with a safe knife,
measuring ingredients, stufflike that.
(22:03):
Also a good time to teach ovensafety, right?
Like we don't touch because it'shot.
This is what we let mommy touch,stuff like that.
So really fun to do um and uhgood for teaching life skills as
well.
Elementary school kids, again,six to ten-ish, board games or
puzzles.
(22:23):
Now, you can usually find theselike small like card games and
stuff that are fun familyparticipating games, probably
less than 10 bucks for a lot ofthem, and I'm using them as
stocking stuffers.
Jenny GK (22:34):
We love a card game called Ratatat Cat.
Okay, okay, it is a memory game.
Okay, you're trying to have thelowest score, okay, and you
cannot look at your cards whileyou're doing it.
So you have to remember what youhave underneath.
Caitlin K (22:52):
Oh, that's hard.
Jenny GK (22:53):
It's great for like eight and up.
We've been playing it for yearswith Abby.
Kit's not ready for it yet.
He's five.
He's not ready to have to holdfour numbers in his head.
Caitlin K (23:05):
Yeah.
Jenny GK (23:06):
But Abby, she loves it.
That's it.
And it's a quick game, right?
Like you can play it in aboutfive minutes, or you can play
many, many rounds in half anhour.
Caitlin K (23:17):
Yeah.
This is also a good time toteach like card games, like
classic card games to your kids.
Like when they're eight, nine,ten.
These are these are fun times toteach things like, you know,
speed or rummy or whatever it isthat what's there's a one that
is a Midwest game that all myfriends from the Midwest would
talk about all the time.
Um, Euchre, that's the one.
(23:37):
They they all talk about thesegames all the time.
So this is a good time to dothat.
You can also do puzzlestogether.
You know, we've talked aboutthis.
I love to put a puzzle just out,like just have it out and just
let people sit and congregate.
And for whatever reason, theyattract a lot of attention and
people just sit there.
And for me, it's like a Zenmoment where I'm just like
chilling and yes do it.
It's great.
So those are another good thingto add to.
Jenny GK (23:59):
And the idea that you're not trying to do the
whole puzzle in one sitting overthe break is kind of fun.
It does, it doesn't have anystress.
Like, oh, well, I'm kind ofbored of this.
I'm gonna walk away from it.
Right, exactly because it's justgonna stay out all break.
Caitlin K (24:12):
Right.
You just leave it out.
Start, put it out the day thatbreak begins, just roll it out
and let people have it be there.
It's fine.
Okay, another one movie night orgame night with friends,
especially for um kids who arein elementary school when
they're over a long break andthey want to see their friends
and they haven't in a littlewhile.
It's harder for these kids toget to see their friends, right?
(24:33):
Because they don't havetransportation and all that
stuff.
So um, I forget the word thatyou use, but I'm not gonna, it's
not a sleepover.
Jenny GK (24:41):
Oh, a sleep under.
Caitlin K (24:43):
Thank you.
So a sleep under, unless you'recool with a sleepover, but think
of it like a parents' night out,right?
Like you invite a few families'kids over, let them go and have
a date or whatever it is, theycome back, they get their kid,
and then everything's all done,right?
And I bet if you put onetogether, someone else will
(25:06):
return that favor.
So hopefully.
Yeah.
Jenny GK (25:09):
When we did this for Abby's birthday, we did a sleep
under, and so it was like six toten.
We had um all the girls in thesecond grade at our house.
And in the invitation, Iactually listed restaurants in
the area.
Caitlin K (25:24):
Oh my gosh, that's so smart.
Once you drop your kids off,here are some great date night
places.
I love that idea.
Oh, so so good.
Amazing.
Okay, so a sleep under, movienight, game night, whatever it
is.
You could even do both.
You could do games for the firstpart and then you throw together
a bunch of.
Chill out with the movie.
(25:45):
Exactly.
Love it.
Okay, science experiments athome.
There are tons and tons and tonsof books and websites, websites,
excuse me, that have lots ofgreat um experiments that you
can do at home with with likeingredients you already have in
your house.
So you don't have to go buystuff, right?
Like kitchen chemistry.
(26:06):
Right, exactly.
You could even search kitchenchemistry, and I bet a bunch of
stuff would come up for you.
Jenny GK (26:11):
A lot.
Caitlin K (26:12):
Yep.
We're going back to scavengerhunts, treasure hunt or
scavenger hunt, indoors.
You can do it.
There's tons of printablesonline.
And maybe, maybe it's maybe oneof the things they have to find
is like, you know, the socksthat are stinking up the room,
but you don't know where theyare.
Something like that.
I don't know.
Jenny GK (26:31):
Well, and depending on the age of the kid, they might
also need to find the list,right?
Like, I have a nine or a10-year-old, I'm gonna say to
them, okay, make a scavengerhunt list and you and I will do
it together.
Caitlin K (26:41):
Ooh, I like that.
That's fun.
Again, moving into preteens, wecan we can still put DIY crafts
and/or art projects here withpreteens because they're not
quite jaded yet.
However, this is a tough onebecause they might not be into
it.
So you might have to do somedigging and some web searching
to kind of figure out what'sgonna make them excited to try.
(27:05):
I've seen a lot of um preteengirls who are very into this
diamond painting thing.
Yes, it is a thing.
Um I don't know.
Jenny GK (27:14):
It's arranging rhinestones in a color by number
situation, exactly.
Caitlin K (27:18):
And and you might have to buy a few materials, but
a lot of them are coming in akit, and you can just buy the
kit.
This is a good activity for,especially for preteen girls.
Um, I'm seeing I haven't seen somuch with the boys, but that's
been one that I've seen a lot oflately.
And and just do some digging andsee if there's something they're
into.
Like my son is very artistic andloves to draw, and right now
(27:39):
he's obsessed with drawingGodzilla.
So one of the things we do iswe'll put on a I can't, I just
can't.
We'll put on a Godzilla, how todraw Godzilla YouTube video and
let him draw.
And he follows along.
And it's actually really good.
I'm very impressed.
I should show some of his art.
I'll put it on the website.
You guys will see it.
Jenny GK (27:56):
Okay, yeah, it's amazing.
Um Abby loves to collage.
Really?
And I think it's because we doit together a lot, and so I'm
not sure that it's the collagingas much as it is collaborating
on something, sure, and theattention, but I have a stack of
old magazines.
(28:18):
Anytime there's free magazinesat the grocery store, I grab
them and we just tear them toshreds and make art.
Caitlin K (28:25):
I love that.
That's so fun.
You guys are really craftytogether, it's cute.
Okay, video game or tabletopgame tournaments.
Nice good time to teach your kidhow to play ping pong.
Um, also, we all know that um Iwould I love to play Mario Kart
against my son.
Why?
Because I'm better at it than heis, and so think you versus your
(28:48):
kid at Mario Kart, just see whathappens.
Yesterday, he had the audacityto say he would dominate me in a
snowball fight.
Are you kidding me?
Jenny GK (28:57):
Oh, so maybe it's time for a snowball fight.
Caitlin K (29:01):
Well, we live in Texas, so it's a little bit
tougher to do.
Jenny GK (29:03):
You can actually order snowballs from the snow cone
place, Bahama Bucks.
No, they wes, they sell likebuckets of snowballs.
Caitlin K (29:15):
That's amazing.
Well, what he doesn't know isthat I like basically grew up
playing dodgeball every day.
And when I was teaching, I didColorado and lived in Colorado,
right?
So, like when I was teaching umat my previous school, I had we
had a dodgeball tournament, andmy teammate and I signed up with
(29:36):
a few kids, which is how it wassupposed to go, teachers and
kids together.
And I apparently surprised a lotof people by dominating this
bracket that we were in.
Jenny GK (29:48):
Like Adam Sandler of Dodgeball, where he's just like
throwing it right at the kidsand having them work.
Yes, that's what was No, nothave uh Billy Madison.
Caitlin K (29:56):
Billy Madison, yeah.
Yes, but yes, uh, but yes, Ilike I'm there's a few things
I'm like shockingly good at, anddodgeball is one of them, and
the other one is foosball.
I'm really, really good at thesethings, and it's just because I
played a lot when I was a kid.
So um, another one, a cooking orbaking challenge.
You versus them, who makes abetter cookie?
You put the recipe out for bothof you to follow and go.
(30:20):
Oh, that's fun.
Right?
It could be anything, right?
Jenny GK (30:24):
We we did the chop challenge.
Oh, you did?
Um, this is how John and I met,you know.
Caitlin K (30:30):
Yes, I do know.
Jenny GK (30:31):
I love that you guys.
So every once in a while we'lldo it and we'll go and pick
wacky ingredients and then cookagainst each other.
Um, most recently it was meversus Abby, and she won.
Caitlin K (30:45):
Oh no, what did you guys make?
Jenny GK (30:47):
I made a fish dish.
The the fish was good, but it itwas not as good as what Abby
made with like avocado andchicken, and hers was much
better.
Caitlin K (30:58):
Got it.
Yeah.
Um, the other thing that youcould do here is do like a
gingerbread house challenge ifif you guys are a Christmas
family and you like doing that.
But my pro tip for you when youare doing a gingerbread house
challenge, decorate the pieceslying down and then assemble.
You're welcome.
Oh my gosh.
Jenny GK (31:19):
So game changer.
I have two gingerbread housekits that I'm holding on to
until the right moment, but Icannot wait to try this method.
It's gonna work.
I've never done that, and it isgonna so work because the icing
is not gonna run down the frontdoor.
Caitlin K (31:39):
Exactly.
Everything will stay up.
You're not fighting gravity,like you're working with it.
Also, did you know that Oreomakes You are brilliant?
Thank you.
I have my moments.
It's because I just took myfirst couple of sips of coffee
and now all the ideas are.
Um, did you know that Oreo makesa gingerbread house kit?
Jenny GK (31:59):
No?
Caitlin K (32:01):
Yes, I have done it.
It is worth it.
Just putting that out there.
Okay.
Uh, movie marathon with homemadesnacks.
Go on to Instagram or TikTok andlook up like dips, right?
And they'll give you likeholiday dip ideas.
And it's like cool whip and likevanilla pudding, and you mix it
together and it it's delicious,and you get some gingerbread
(32:24):
cookies and you start dippingand you put some green and red
sprinkles on top.
Done.
Look at that.
Ooh, fancy.
Get some stuff like that, dohomemade snacks.
I also love the idea.
This I've done this before as adate night kind of thing.
We did like a little stay-indate, and um we did one of those
trends where you like say, Okay,this is someone's favorite
(32:44):
color, and you have to get asnack, a drink, a present for
them, and something they canwear.
I don't know, whatever it is.
That's fun.
Yeah, it was super fun, and youjust turn that into movie night,
right?
So it's like, yeah, you or youbuy a movie that you think they
might like, right?
Jenny GK (33:04):
That sounds really fun.
I like that.
Um, we like to theme our food tothe movie.
unknown (33:10):
Yes.
Jenny GK (33:10):
And by we, I mean me, and John just kind of tolerates
it.
One year for his birthday, no,Father's Day, because it was in
the summer.
Um, we watched all the Star Warsmovies in the recommended
chronological order.
So like what happens in thethemed food, and I was so proud
(33:37):
of my Seven Leia dip.
Nice.
See?
Caitlin K (33:42):
See?
This is fun, this is ridiculous,and then you could come up with
ridiculous names that go alongwith it.
This is perfect for preteens.
I love it.
Jenny GK (33:51):
Also, um, a really great movie just released a
couple days ago.
It does cost$19.89 to stream it,but there's plenty of people out
there who might want to watch itand maybe have some themed
snacks to go with it.
Caitlin K (34:10):
1989.
I wonder if that's a clue.
I think it probably is.
Okay.
Teenagers.
Virtual escape room challenge ora regular escape room.
How fun would that be to do withtheir friends?
Um, also included in the onlinegaming session, right?
Like virtual escape room.
(34:30):
Yeah, like but like how funwould that be?
You can either have them invitefriends or a whole family goes
together and you do an escaperoom together.
Right?
Love it.
This one I really love.
A DIY home decor or roommakeover, especially for your
younger teenagers.
They kind of, you know, theythey transition out of that like
(34:50):
sixth, seventh grade mode, andthey get once they hit,
especially you and I have talkedabout this, there's a feeling
right around February, March ofthe seventh grade year, where
you're like, oh, you're notseventh graders anymore, you're
eighth graders by like you'reready to, you're ready to let
them go, right?
There's a real and and as aparent, you'll notice it too.
Like all of a sudden they don'tfeel like a preteen, they feel
(35:13):
like a snarky teenager, andyou're like, what the heck?
That is a great time to figureout what they want in their
room, right?
Like they're growing up.
This is a great time to feellike what they need in their
room as their interests change,as their needs change.
You can get some of these thingsfor your child for the holidays
if it's a holiday break.
(35:35):
And then, and then you justblock off time during the break
to make those changes happen fortheir room.
Jenny GK (35:42):
This is actually what we're giving Abby for Christmas
this year.
Caitlin K (35:45):
I love that.
Jenny GK (35:46):
Yeah, so she has gone and picked colors, and she's
actually consulted with aninterior decorator.
Oh, hey, who also happens to bea teacher at our schools.
Caitlin K (35:56):
Nice.
Jenny GK (35:57):
Oh, that's cool.
Um, so they they worked togetheron a vision, and um, she's
picked out paint colors, andshe's in the process right now
of cleaning and organizing, andwith the understanding that all
the furniture has to be able tomove to the center, and we have
to be able to reach all thewalls.
Caitlin K (36:16):
All the walls, right?
Jenny GK (36:17):
But um, we're doing new paint, new bedding, um,
switching up some of thefurniture.
It'll be fun.
Caitlin K (36:24):
That's so great.
She's gonna love that.
And just think about like thesatisfaction that will come from
that.
Like, you'll work together onit.
They'll probably spend a lotmore time in their room after
it's done, which it might besad, but you worked together to
make it happen for them, andthat that's a really special
thing.
Jenny GK (36:37):
Yeah.
And we painted her room when wemoved into this house five years
ago.
Caitlin K (36:42):
Right.
Jenny GK (36:42):
And she is a different person now, different person
than she was five years ago.
So she's excited to change thecolors.
Like right now, it's likebubblegum pink and bright
purple, and she's going for thislike sophisticated grown-up uh
rose gold and dusty pink andgray.
Like it's it's very grown up.
Caitlin K (37:03):
Oh, also, like my millennial heart is so happy to
hear gray in there.
Okay.
Um a music jam session orkaraoke.
Now, karaoke, when I was a kid,we would go and rent one of
those private rooms for karaokeand do it that way.
I'm not saying go to a karaokebar and make your kids sing in
(37:24):
front of all these people.
I'm saying let them get a fewfriends.
You go to, make if you have abig family, go as a family,
whatever it is.
Get a karaoke room and just haveat it in this private room.
So much fun.
When I again, when I was ateenager, me and my friends used
to do this all the time.
We had a blast.
Jenny GK (37:42):
No, it's really fun.
Caitlin K (37:43):
It's really fun, and it's so much less than that.
Jenny GK (37:46):
Most of them you rent the room by the hour.
Caitlin K (37:49):
Right.
Jenny GK (37:49):
So you can say, I'm going for two hours and say,
okay, it whatever the cost is,we're gonna split it with our
friends.
And um, you can a lot of themlet you bring in your own
snacks.
Right, exactly.
That's cool.
Caitlin K (38:02):
Yep, yeah.
Okay, this last one, holidaygames.
Now, these are things thatpretty much everyone can
participate in, but it gets alittle bit more fun as the kids
get older just because they canlike you're not having to assist
so much, right?
Right.
So I don't know about you, butrecently my TikTok and Instagram
has been flooded with familygames in my Reels and For You
(38:26):
page.
So you could just search forfamily games on either one of
those.
And I don't recommend doing iton like a regular search engine.
I recommend doing it in a socialmedia platform, in particular,
Instagram or TikTok, because itwill show you how to play, like
how it actually works, asopposed to you trying to read it
or see pictures.
So um, some of these games, Iwill say, when you search, they
(38:50):
look like they are for somereally rich people.
Like we're talking rich AF,right?
Okay, like these are people whoare giving away things like
phones as a prize, iPhones as aprize for these games.
Excuse me.
I'm dial it back, right?
This is extra.
Like, unless you're alreadyplanning to give your kids
iPhones for Christmas, dial itback.
(39:13):
It is okay to give away a bag ofthe Grinch Hershey kisses.
Do not stress about it, right?
Don't worry about it.
So, some of the contests I'veseen, which are super fun and
cute.
And I'm gonna have um, if youwant to look at the games, I'm
gonna have them all on our blogpost for the episode so you can
watch the videos of the blogpost.
One of them is a balloon cupbattle.
(39:34):
It kind of looks like um a beerpong, but it's not beer pong.
You have the um Dixie cup turnedupside down and you blow a
balloon up, and then you use theballoon's air.
You let the air out of theballoon to push the cup across
the table back and forth, andwhoever knocks the cup off is
the winner.
It's like air hockey.
Yes, with balloons and Dixiecups.
(39:54):
Yeah, so fun, right?
Um, it's totally air hockey,really fun.
There's a um a medley of videosthat I found that one of them is
like you put the whipped creamon your hand and then you slap
your wrist and you try to catchthe whipped cream in your mouth.
Um, candy cane fishing, whereyou tie a string around your
waist and you have the candycane dangle from your backside,
(40:15):
and you have to like squat overand like hook the candy cane
crook around another candy caneand try and pull one out of a
bucket.
Oh my gosh, that's hilarious.
You pull a string on a cup andsee what it's attached to.
And if there's a prize attached,then you get a prize.
Yes.
Another one was a muffin trayand cup.
(40:35):
So like you, it's again kind oflike beer pong.
You bounce a ping pong ball intoa muffin tray.
The muffin tray has numbersinside.
The numbers correspond to anumbered prize, like under a cup
or on a plate or whatever it is.
And then you get whatever isattached.
And then if you don't get itinto the muffin tray, you don't
get a prize.
But you can keep going becausemuffin trays have like what 24
slots or whatever.
(40:56):
Right, right, right, right.
Right.
So just really fun games thatyou can do together as a family,
enjoy each other's company andlaugh.
So they sound great.
It's really fun.
They're super cute.
And again, just go to thewebsite for this episode and
you'll be able to it's linked inthere and you'll be able to
watch the videos and see howthey how they play.
Jenny GK (41:16):
Great way to entertain your children over a long break.
And yourself speaking of break,let's take one.
Caitlin K (41:21):
Yep.
Jenny GK (41:22):
All right, welcome back.
Caitlin K (41:23):
Okay, let's talk about our circle time fun.
Yes?
It's time to catch up.
Do it.
Jenny GK (41:29):
Okay, let me tell you what I'm obsessed with right
now.
Caitlin K (41:31):
Yes.
Jenny GK (41:32):
The story of blueberry on Reddit.
Caitlin K (41:34):
I don't know what this is.
Jenny GK (41:36):
No, most people don't.
Okay.
Unless you happen to be in thereef tank subreddit.
unknown (41:42):
Oh.
Jenny GK (41:42):
And this is blueberry.
She is a blue tang, like a doryfish.
Yes.
And this guy saw her at a verylarge pet store and realized
that she had some injuries.
Caitlin K (41:58):
Oh no.
Jenny GK (41:59):
And so he got her from this very large pet store and
has brought her home.
And this thing is a sore, aninjury that like makes her face
look like skeletor.
It's like white and bony.
And uh so he's been postingupdates on how she's recovering
(42:20):
and doing really well.
Good.
Um, but she just got ick.
Caitlin K (42:26):
Oh no.
Jenny GK (42:26):
And remember when we got ick in our fish tank, it was
like a big deal.
Yes.
So um she's recovering from herinjuries to her face, but she's
getting ick.
So it's like a soap opera forfish.
Caitlin K (42:39):
The fish obsession.
I'm glad to see it's still therebecause for me it's it would
have been a hyperfixation andthen I would have lost interest.
But I love that it's still therefor you guys.
It's great.
Yes.
And it's actually growingbecause now you're reading
subreddits about fish.
So this is good.
Yes.
So um mine is Sudoku.
(43:00):
I don't know what's happeningwith my brain, but you know, I
like puzzles, and I don't knowwhat it is, but like I so I am a
psycho who pays for um the NewYork Times uh crossword app.
Jenny GK (43:14):
Okay.
Caitlin K (43:14):
Because when I spent too much time on social media
and I still feel like I need tozen out or or disassociate, I
use that.
And it also I feel like it helpsmy brain.
Jenny GK (43:26):
So um they have Oh, there's all kinds of studies
that it does.
Caitlin K (43:29):
Oh yeah.
Well, you know, New York Timesalso purchased Wordle.
Yes.
So I go there to play my Wordle.
Then they have a couple of othergames like this one called
Connections, and then there'sone that's um called Spelling
Bee, and I've gotten into all ofthose recently, but um Remember
J Sco told us about Oct Turtle.
(43:50):
Yeah, no, I can't.
That's too hard.
That's too much work.
It's already hard enough to dolike Wordle half the time.
Like, what?
No.
I ran out of games while I wasdoing while I was getting my
nails done.
P.S.
look at my nails.
Oh my gosh.
Very nice, so fun.
Um, and I was like, all right,I'm gonna try Sudoku.
Like, I'm just gonna try it.
(44:11):
And you remember when you were akid and you would play Minecraft
and or not what Minesweeper?
Minesweeper.
Minesweeper, not Minecraft, thatdid not exist.
Minesweeper, and you justrandomly click because but then
as I got older, I was like, oh,there's a strategy.
There's a reason.
This me this number meanssomething.
Oh, okay.
That's how I felt about Sudokuuntil I actually like paid
(44:33):
attention to what's happening.
I was like, oh, you just putnumbers.
No, no, no.
There's a strategy.
And now that I know thestrategy, I'm really into it.
And I'm like, I really like it.
And I've only been playing forlike three days, but I've played
far too many games.
Like far too many games.
And I was playing while I wasgetting my nails done, like just
(44:55):
you know, switching my hand backand forth, and my nail tech was
like, You play Sudoku?
And I was like, Yeah, and shegoes, I play on paper.
And I was like, Oh, that's toohard.
How do you play on paper?
Like, I could I don't think Icould do that.
But I hadn't need a pencil, butwith a pen.
Right uh uh, no, no, you gottause a pencil, and you gotta use
the app because it'll tell youif it's wrong.
(45:15):
But it's it's been fun, I likeit.
Very good for my brain, yeah.
Okay, what about your gem?
Jenny GK (45:23):
My gem.
Caitlin K (45:23):
Yes.
Jenny GK (45:24):
I got an email from Rob Walker.
Caitlin K (45:26):
Okay, right.
Jenny GK (45:28):
Aren't you excited?
Caitlin K (45:29):
Kind of.
Tell me more about this.
Jenny GK (45:32):
Okay, so um every day in math, we start with what we
call a community conversation,and this is kind of a chance to
like center ourselves and likeset intentions for the block,
whatever.
Um, kind of like at thebeginning of your yoga, you're
like, okay, what are you gonnabe working on today?
Um, and so we try and do somemetacognitive work here, right?
Like we're maybe we'll talkabout growth versus fixed
(45:54):
mindset, or maybe we'll talkabout um the questions that
you're gonna be asking yourselfas you're moving through the
block.
But we have started workingthrough a book that I found
called The Art of Noticing.
And it's 131 little activitiesthat you can do to help like
tune in and be creative andnotice things around you.
Caitlin K (46:17):
Oh, I love that.
Jenny GK (46:18):
And the author is Rob Walker.
So I emailed him and said, Hey,we're reading your book with my
kids.
This is uh how we use it.
And he emailed me back and he'sreally interested in learning
how they're doing and likegetting pictures and stuff.
So we're gonna start a wholecommunication train with the
author of this book we'rereading.
Caitlin K (46:36):
That's so great! How exciting! Congratulations.
This is so cool.
I mean, this just goes to showyou that like the worst he can
say is no, right?
Jenny GK (46:44):
Like the worst he can like or just like not respond,
which respond, right?
Which has happened to me before.
Yeah, but it was pretty cool.
He was like, Oh yeah, um, nopressure, no obligation, but I'd
love to learn what they'redoing.
It's like that's so cool.
Caitlin K (46:57):
I kind of had this feeling that you were gonna tell
me that like remember I I sentyou a video a while back of like
how these kids get excited formath every day, and it's that
they pick up their books andthey turn it into the Lion King
like circle of life, like holdthe hold the book up like
babysitter.
Yeah.
Okay.
Um, my gem has to be.
I have two, first of all.
Um yesterday you and I did arecording with Mike and Tabby of
(47:21):
Gray's Taproom Podcast.
So fun.
So much fun.
They're doing they were doing a24, no, more than 24 hours.
It was more than that.
Um, 24 hour plus uh marathonfundraiser for the Kentucky
Humane Society, and they had awhole bunch of podcasts on to
help them do a live stream formore than 24 hours.
(47:43):
Wild.
I couldn't believe they weredoing it again because they've
done this before.
Four, yeah.
And they were so cute, they theydedicated that entire series to
us, to you and I on that show,which was so sweet.
But this was them um doing thisas a fundraiser, and we had the
best time talking to them.
And it's so funny because theirshow is not for children.
(48:03):
This is not this is an earbudsin show, and then you and I get
on there and it's like obviouslyPG hour because that's just how
we are.
But they but they're so fun andthey had the best time with us.
It was so great, they werereally kind about it.
And our conversation went fromDisney movies to movies that
make us cry.
And then Jenning just goes, Iknow this is not related to
(48:24):
anything, but um, have you guysever thought about how like
toast and refried beans are likejust cook it again?
All of us were like, what?
Like it was just it was ahysterical moment of like you
could tell that she had jumpedfrom one thing to another in her
head.
Like she leaped frogged likethree different topics and then
(48:44):
came back to toast and re-friedbeans.
And I knew, like, I knew thatthere was a connection, but I I
obviously didn't know what itwas, but it just made me laugh
so hard.
Like, and I'm still thinkingabout it because we were
literally talking about oldyeller and like where the red
fern grows, and then she's like,and toast and re-fried beans.
I was just like, What?
Jenny GK (49:02):
So we um do this thought exercise in math class
called analyzing algorithms, andI'll put another mathematician's
work up and we have to talkthrough it and see what
mathematical properties justifytheir thinking, do they have any
uh bugs in their algorithm,things like that.
Okay, and one of the things Ilove to do is skip the middle
(49:23):
thinking.
Caitlin K (49:24):
Clearly, because that's exactly what happened.
Jenny GK (49:27):
So then the learners in my group have to go through
and figure out okay, how didthey get from here to here?
Caitlin K (49:35):
Yeah.
Jenny GK (49:35):
And they have to go through and say, okay, well,
there's three lines of thinkinghere that aren't written down.
Caitlin K (49:40):
Yeah.
Jenny GK (49:41):
So I just skipped the middle thinking.
Caitlin K (49:43):
You cle yes, you definitely did do that, and it
made me laugh so hard.
I thought it was great.
But my other, my real gem alsohas to do with you.
unknown (49:50):
Oh.
Caitlin K (49:51):
The other day, you sent me a picture of your
beautiful daughter getting readyfor her first cotillion, and she
looked so freaking grown up, andI kind of had a little panic
moment where I was just like,uh, I've known this little girl
since she was four, and I waslike really kind of like heart
palpitating.
And I'm looking at this picturewhile I'm trying to get Sam to
settle down, which was a badidea.
(50:12):
The lights were off in his room,and then I opened up my phone
and had this like phone lightblaring.
And obviously it's a picture ofa person, and he had to look.
Well, she took a picture, wetook this picture in front of
the fish tank.
Yes.
And my son looks at the picture,sees the fish tank in the
background, and immediatelygoes, Wait, zoom in on the fish
tank.
I'm like, No.
The picture is of Abby.
(50:34):
Look how beautiful she looks.
She's getting ready for herfirst cotillion.
He's like, Yeah, but what's thatfish in the background?
And he like zooms in on like theblue tang you have in the
background.
And then he's all mad.
He's like, There's no other fishin this tank.
And I was like, Are you kiddingme?
And I'm starting to point outlike, you know, 15 different
fish.
And then I, of course, get lostin what the message was, which
was look at your beautifuldaughter, not count the fish in
(50:55):
the background.
So I just Oh my god.
Jenny GK (50:58):
I am about to go make you a video of the tank.
Caitlin K (51:01):
And you guys can count all the fish and you also
know I do like to watch fishtank videos while I'm like
working and relaxing.
It that would be good for me, Ithink.
Jenny GK (51:11):
Their sun has not risen yet.
So it'll have to be a little bitlater today.
Caitlin K (51:17):
Their sun has not risen?
Jenny GK (51:19):
Do you have a light that like simulates?
Yes, we have we have lights thatlike change their spectrum
throughout the day so that it islike what time their sun rise
normally around like 11.
Oh, okay, so that we can enjoythem in the evening.
Caitlin K (51:34):
Ah, okay.
Jenny GK (51:35):
Yeah.
Um, we reset the lights whenJohn is not home so that I can
feed them before I go to school.
Yes.
And their son kind of mirrorsour son.
Caitlin K (51:45):
Okay.
Jenny GK (51:45):
But um most of the time when John's at home, he can
feed them midday.
So Okay.
Caitlin K (51:52):
That's a random thing.
But that's that's all that wasmy other job.
Okay.
Jenny GK (51:55):
I love it.
Okay, so you're about to go onbreak, or maybe you already are
on break and you are lovinghaving the extra time with your
kids, and you are hating havingall this extra time with your
kids.
Go through the list, try some ofthese things, watch some of
those videos with family games.
Maybe just watching the videowith your kids is enough.
Caitlin K (52:15):
Oh, I better be funny.
Yeah, it might be.
It might be enough.
Jenny GK (52:20):
So, um, as we go into the holidays, make a choices and
uh try to enjoy it.
Caitlin K (52:26):
But just remember like there's a song about this,
right?
And mom and dad can hardly waitfor school to school to start
again.
So try to enjoy it as well asmuch as you can.
Okay, bye.
Bye.
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