How to Play Sardines and Quick Tips and Ideas for Stronger, Happier Families [Friday’s Fast Five 19th Edition]

Building a stronger, happier family is at the top of most parents’ list. However, we are busy! These weekly Fast Five ideas and tips are a quick way to brainstorm, check-in, and create the family relationships you really want. This week’s Fast Five includes how to play Sardines, ideas for how to set goals with kids, a farewell to 2020, and more. Happy Friday, and Happy New Year!

* These ideas are NOT meant to be a checklist or guilt trip of things we “should do.” Rather, they are intended to inspire you to find what works for YOUR family to learn, laugh, and love together. Remember to stick to the Simple Side of Parenting.

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What is Friday’s Fast Five?

Each Friday, we share five quick and simple ideas for families under the following categories:

• Something fun
• A Little Lesson
• A Service Idea
• Something Random
• A Quick Tip

As I try to simplify my own parenting journey and help others do the same, these help us think about what I feel is a simple version of good parenting…learn, laugh, love.

Subscribers also receive exclusive tips and downloads to simplify parenting life.

With that, here is the nineteenth edition of Friday’s Fast Five. (You can find other editions HERE.)

1. Something Fun: How to Play Sardines

Hide and Seek and its cousin Sardines are easy go-to games for kids or families.

Hide and Seek is played by having everyone hide, while one person counts. Sardines is the opposite.

So here’s how to play Sardines: one person hides, while everyone else counts and then looks for the hidden person. As seekers find the hidden person, they join the hiding spot. One by one and very quietly, everyone crams in like sardines in a can!

The last person to find the hiding spot is the next hider.

Both Hide and Seek and Sardines are easy games to suggest with a crowd or when you just want something simple and fun.

Do you know another way how to play Sardines? Is this a game you already play a lot? If not, give it a try!

2. A Little Lesson: Setting Goals with Kids

As we make learning a family focus, we’re helping our kids develop important lifelong skills. Setting and working towards goals is a helpful part of that learning focus.

We can encourage our kids to set goals that are important to them. I’ve found it’s helpful to think about various aspects of life, like physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual and think about related goals.

Another approach is to think about goals related to the different relationships we have, for example our relationships with ourselves, family members, friends, and the Divine.

Maybe after brainstorming different goals, choose one goal to focus on at a time. Talk about how you can each work toward your goals. Write the goals in a notebook or draw pictures to display as a reminder of the goals.

Related: 3 Ways We Make It Harder for Our Kids to Achieve their Goals

Wondering how to fit Little Lessons (Like this Lesson about Not Judging for Kids) into your busy family schedule?

The two main ways to fit important lessons into your busy family schedule are to find spontaneous teaching moments throughout the day and to schedule family learning time each week. These two posts go into detail about these two ways and tips for making it happen with your family.

How Busy Parents Can Teach Important Life Lessons

6 Tips for Family Time that Teaches Life’s Most Important Lessons

3. A Service Idea: Just Listen

It’s so simple that sometimes we don’t even think of it as service.

We can help our kids recognize how much they appreciate it when other people listen to them. Then we can encourage each family member to consciously listen to someone else this week, without needing to share their own input or having to be right.

Just listen.

Service is a great way to build a stronger, happier family. If you want more service ideas, request Raising Compassionate Children in a Conceited World, which includes 101 Service Ideas for Families.

4. Something Random: Happy New Year!

Wise words…

Welcome 2021!

5. A Quick Tip: A Fresh Start

Whether it’s the New Year, every Monday, or every morning, let’s embrace the opportunity for a fresh start.

It is such a joy knowing that we can try again, that a good day can follow a bad one and a great year can follow a hard one.

I hope you feel this fresh start and are able to help your kids recognize the chances we all have to keep learning, laugh more, and love a little bit better.

Happy New Year from us and our Littles to you and yours!

And that is Friday’s Fast Five!

You can also see Friday’s Fast Five on Instagram or other editions HERE.

Building a Stronger, Happier Family

It takes time and intention to build a stronger, happier family. I hope Friday’s Fast Five helps you find the ways that work for YOUR family to learn, laugh, and love together.

We will never regret the time we devote to our families and relationships with our kids.

Have a great weekend with your family, know that you’re loved, and keep on lovin’!

Do you have a great idea for a future Friday’s Fast Five? Have a question or parenting struggle you want help with? Share in the comments, shoot me an Email, or schedule a call.

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