Now that our trek families have been announced each family will have the chance to get to know each other and spend some time together before trek. We hope that every trek participant will pray daily for his or her trek family and will do everything possible to help the group become a happy family.
Below are some "bonding" activites that are pioneercentric and might be fun for families to indulge in.
* Tie a quilt to donate to someone in need of extra love (and a cudly blanket)
* Build your own edible handcarts out of grahm crackers and marshmallows.
* Come up with a family cheer that you can all shout together (complete with actions if you like) when things get tough or things get fabulous while on trek.
*Make homemade applesauce, homemade jam or can some fruit together as a family. Deliver some to leaders, loved ones or children nearby.
* Get a bale of hay or straw. Cut the twine around it and let it fall into a heap. Hide several coins or trinkets in the hay. Divide your group into teams and take turns one at a time racing to the hay to find one of the hidden objects. The losing group has to clean up the mess (and everyone should get a treat afterward...maybe peach cobler that you can make in a dutch oven before hand as a family).
*Carve bars of soap into handcarts, wagons, horses, oxen or other pioneer images using a pocket knife.
*Make candles together. One way to do this is to get a carboard cream container for each family member (you know, the size of school lunch milk boxes). Fill the cointainer with crushed ice then insert your wick into the center (you can buy lengths of wick at most craft stores). Pour melted parafan wax into the container and set it in the fridge to harden (it takes about 20 minutes). You can even add a drop or two of food coloring or perfume to spice things up. These candles turn out looking pretty cool or you can make candles another way.
*Allow each family member to make their own stick horse (a cardboard head on a wooden dowel with yarn for hair) and have a rodeo.
*Create a scavenger hunt that looks for items the pioneers might have had with them (a spoonful of flour, a piece of fabric, a bit of wood, straw, a holey sock, etc). Have your family dress in pioneer garb and split into teams to fill the list.
* Challenge another trek family to some friendly pioneer competitions like a tug of war, a stick pull, marbles, hop scotch or a three legged race.
* Have a family taffy pull (be prepared for sore hands, that stuff is HOT!)
*Arrange to visit a local farm and milk a cow. Then head home and have a barbeque (eat hamburgers).
If none of these ideas tickle your fancy, take a look at this previous post with some other ideas to consider. Good luck; we know you'll be a great family.
No comments:
Post a Comment