Grow with Your Girl (part1)

Dolls and Lovies may still grace her bedroom floor in minesweeper quantities. But your little girl is beginning to curve in conspicuous places and all of a sudden she wants more involvement in grown-up things. Don’t fight the process but join in.  Grow alongside your girl.

Craft together

My girl loves messy, sparkly crafts.  She loves scraps and glue and scissors.  Though at times she wants to accomplish her project unaided, often she wants to try her hand at more complicated and mature crafts.

Sprout and I worked together and learned how to make candles. Armed with a 40% off coupon we charged into Hobby Lobby and chose a soy candle kit. (Other kinds of wax give me a headache or hayfever… weird, I know.) We also selected some of our favorite essential oils to scent our creations.

Work Out Together

I am not an exercise enthusiast.  I’ve been praying over it for years but exercise never makes my top ten.  When it does sneak onto my to-do list it often gets forgotten and trodded over by more urgent needs.

However, my little girl loves to use her body in strengthening ways.  At the moment she loves swimming and yoga best.  (Actually, she loves running and jumping best, but I can’t keep up with her so we compromise) These are things we can do together.

We only have a pool during the summer. (Think seasonal inflatable pool.) So, yoga is most often our go to.  The session doesn’t have to be long or exhaustive.  Just enough for us to get the blood flowing and stretch ourselves.  We don’t, normally, talk during this time.  Mom’s too winded for conversation.  But we do chat afterward, sprawled out in a relaxation pose.   It doesn’t have to happen daily, but working out together makes both self-care and relationship a priority.

Our Yoga Lady:

Cook Together

Can you handle a deep dark secret? Come closer and I’ll whisper it to you. Closer… there. I am a horrible cook.  No seriously. I’m not making fun of myself or putting myself down.  I’m just not very good at the domestic arts, especially at mealtime. I try my best but my best is often burnt or underseasoned.

That doesn’t stop me from cooking with my girl.  Again, we keep it simple.  Every once in a great while we’ll try some ambitious treat. You’re more likely to find us peeling gluten-free cookie dough out of a package and sticking it on parchment lined cookie sheets.  Sometimes we make pancakes or cinnamon toast together.

Whenever we’re in the kitchen, this is when my girls start chattering.  She talks and dreams and talks about her dreams.  It’s wonderful.  It also makes her feel a bit more adult and more valued.  The act is still messy and creative, just as she likes it, but her efforts are more eagerly enjoyed by everyone. She was proud to contribute and happy to love on her family in this way.  So, I nurture this process whenever possible.

Fights come and tempers flare. Hormones hijack sanity and crazy becomes normal.  It may be a part of life but it’s not a part anyone should tackle alone.  Refuse to stagnate. Chose to grow with your girl. Look for part two coming at you in two weeks.  

How do you and your girl(s) grow together? Leave some tips in the comments.  🙂

For now, check out my new ebook Grow with Your Girl!  It holds 10 projects to do with your girl complete with a Bible verse focus.  For a limited time, you can score your printable book for only $2.