AND THE PULLMAN FAMILY GRADUATION
While Jake was soaring and ready to fly solo, his parents had not yet come through with the family dinner plan. And I wasn’t dismissing them until all our goals were met. Today I share with you my family dinner plan that led to the Pullman graduation.
When my children were young and school age, we used to dine out once a week, someplace inexpensive, but not fast food, where everyone could find something to meet their culinary tastes. But, to attend our family dinner, a ticket was needed – a written news article to be read in advance and ready to be shared with the rest of the family as we dined. The idea satisfied my need to encourage reading, and my husband’s desire for the children to develop confident speaking skills.
Each week the younger ones scrambled through kid-friendly magazines (It was the 80’s), while the older ones scoured the Washington Post for news that interested them. There were no restrictions. While there was some grumbling during the week, and last minute rummaging for news, the plan worked better than either my husband or I imagined.
Not only did we enjoy the dinner together, but the children actually listened to each other, responded, asked questions and sometimes even went home inspired to write letters to appropriate sources in response to what they had learned. I remember one very animated discussion about the killing of animals for the fur coats industry.
TEACHERS, PARENTS, GET INSPIRED!
Bring a news ticket (internet search is now quite acceptable for the new generation of children) and share a meal. Build children’s speaking and listening skills while enjoying a favorite cuisine. And best of all enjoy one another.
