Show Time With Kids

Show Time! Movie time with kids…

Episode 229

Movies are so much fun, they are a form of adventure, escape and experience we might otherwise not have in life – in this podcast we’ll discuss encourage creativity in your children and making movie time special.

Kids love to put on shows, puppet show or even made up plays. I know my two oldest put on more puppet shows than any other kids I know! They loved it. They had a captive audience, mom, and dad – as well as extended family.

Many kids love to watch movies, and the nice thing about watching them at home is you preview the movies before your kids see them, or at least fast-forward scenes you may not want them to view. I’ll share some fun ways to make movie night special with your family.

We will discuss both in this podcast.

I’d like to thank our sponsor, Sony Pictures –Sony Animation along with Affirms Films brings the Christmas story to life through the eyes of the animals in The Star Movie.

Special Thanks to our Network Sponsor!

We’d like to thank our Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network sponsor Sony and their new movie, The Star, the Story of the First Christmas – Coming in Theaters November 17th!

Visit TheStarMovie.com to learn more.

Today it is difficult to watch movies or approve of movies that we as parents feel are acceptable to US and our children. Years ago my husband decided when we had young teens – around 13-15 that if a movie was not acceptable for them, we wouldn’t watch it – he felt it was garbage in and garbage out, let’s face it, some of the images and graphics in graphics whether online or in motion pictures makes a permanent impression in our minds.

In looking at lists of favorite movies I have to say on one list of the top 20 or top 50 I had to go to about #12 on one list and #8 on another before I found one I agreed upon.

Movies reflect a taste of what we like, whether it is romance, adventure, or action. So, how do we cultivate creativity with our children and make movie night fun?

I don’t get the toy and game magazines any longer, I guess the demographics in my family have caught up to the junk-mail people and they realize I no longer have little ones to buy for (well I do – grandkids – but you know what I mean!)

I saw so many great things to buy, especially if it was a catalog that had “throwback” toys – wooden puzzles, etc. However, the one thing that always caught my eye, and my pocketbook was anything that sparked creative play. I could do an entire podcast on creative play, it comes from my background in pre-school education. Young children learn so much through play, but so do older children.

Encouraging creativity in your children through play acting can also teach them practical skills in reading, writing and even math (timing).

I purchased several things for my children that they kept for many, many years. One of them was a tri-fold, stand-up puppet theatre set. It had a marker board on the outside where they could put the time of the show and the name, beforehand, they’d sell “tickets,” write the screenplay and act it out. In later years, they used it more for a set – they would create backgrounds of whatever play they were staging. It was super fun, and in big families, you always have a built-in audience.

Never letting anything pass without some type of documentation – I’m such a homeschool mom, I’d videotape these occurrences and document it for school! After all, writing a screenplay with parts should count, right? It was a great experience for the children.

What if your children are not creative? How do you spark creativity in your kids?

Encouragement
Take your children to plays. There are lower budget dinner theatres with pricing for kids or look for a matinee time.
Give them story starters… for example, “One day, as I walked out in the yard I was surprised to see…” They can be as easy or complex as age appropriate.
Have dress up clothes handy.
Have the children attend a “speech” class – toastmasters when they are older.
Give them time! Time to think!
Count it for school. Acting and theatre can be part of your school curriculum. The children can use this as part of their creative writing, research skills, composition, acting, art for backgrounds, costume making, etc.
Sign up for a local theatre try out.

When my kids were young teens we purchased a conversion van with a TV – and VCR my kids were delighted. Not only were the chairs super comfy they came with stereo headphones. We took many day trips and longer vacations in that van and my kids loved it! The one thing I insisted upon were good wholesome kids movies.

Now, I’ll share some of my favorites with you, however, you may not consider any of these on your most watched list: We loved the Swiss Family Robinson, Snowball Express, The Apple Dumpling Gang, The Sound of Music, and many more.

Look for the podcast of my TOP recommended movies – coming soon.

You can stream on websites such as Pureflix – here.

Use caution while looking at these site recommendations. Many good ones, but others we won’t watch.

Movies various sites (many I did not agree with)

Movies to watch with kids – use caution

More Recommended Movies – Use Caution

50 Kids Movies – Use Caution

Sensory friendly films for autistic kids