Disclosure: I am using this blog post to do a bit of "market research."
One of my goals for 2011 was to tackle the craziness that is our meal times. Now we have three children under the age of 5 and I realize that some craziness is just to be expected, but we had fallen into a rut of Jeremy and I trying to "catch up" a bit and our children eating their food w/ lighting speed and requesting more food before we barely had taken a bite (or I had sat down for that matter.) This was not the Norman Rockwellesque picture I had of family dinner time.
So, I came up with a general rhythm for each day's meals.
Breakfast- Review Family Quest Bible Verse/Books of the Bible
Read our morning Bible story & choose a christmas card photo to pray for.
(This meal has had the most success & challenges with Faith's recent aversion to getting dressed in the morning)
Lunch-
Brain Quest Questions/Sight Word Flash Cards
My kids received these for Christmas and love doing "Amanda the Panda" questions. I'm solo on this meal so this gives us something to break up the day.
Dinner-
Family Dinner Question
Each night Jeremy or I throw out a question to answer. We take turns answering the question and then talk about what we think Titus' answer would be. Our kids are LOVING this. They always remind us and make sure we don't forget.
In order to help us I have a basket that we keep our devotional book, Christmas photos, Brain Quest/Flashcards, and our Family Quest Bingo/Bringing it Home activity sheet. That way everything we need is right there.
However, so far we have just been making the diner questions up "on the spot." Which isn't working the greatest so I figured it was time to purchase a set of creative questions.
(This is where the market research comes in... :)
When I had mentioned this in another post my friend Kristina had suggested I make my own set and make it available for purchase. I'm not sure how serious she was, but it got me to thinking. I thought I could totally do that & it would be another great way to earn money for our adoption fund!
So...what do you think?
-Would you purchase a set of creative questions to spur conversation at your dinner table?
-Would you prefer a set of cards in a deck that you could keep in order or strips in a jar that could be drawn out?
-What price point would you be willing to pay knowing the money went to a good cause? (I was thinking $10-15 for 350-500 questions)
-Is this something you would consider purchasing as a gift for another family/couple?
-Would you be interested in a "Date Night" set?
Jeremy and I also have a set of cards we use for our date nights. I purchased them on clearance after Valentine's day. We find them helpful for keeping our dates more romantic and not end up as "team meetings." But, I've always wanted to make our own set as we occasionally have to sift through the inappropriate questions from the set I purchased (don't ask.)
-Would you think, "I could totally do that myself for free" or would you think, "This will help the Humiston's adopt and its way easier than thinking up all those questions myself."
I know these types of sets are readily available on the Internet but I thought that the personalization and assurance that they would be faith friendly might influence someone's decision to purchase one from me. And one of my goals is that the "fundraising" we do for our adoption would not only benefit us, but also have other positive impacts for the kingdom (like getting family's talking & growing closer).
If you have feedback feel free to leave a comment on my blog or over at Facebook. Or you can send me an e-mail at jenniferhumiston@hotmail.com
I'm looking forward to hearing what you think!
6 comments:
I love this idea and I truely think I would purchase the couples date one for sure, sounds like fun!! The other one I am not sure as of right now, my kids talk more than eat and we would perfer them to eat something, lol!! I do think that after this little problem goes away it would be a wonderful way to get things going, especially with older kids!! Also I am not as creative as you are so I know that I could make this but you would do a far better job than I would so I would love to buy it from you, expecially for the cause!! Consider me your first sale!! I want the date ones!! :)
Love it-I would totally buy a set! I think I prefer cards over drawing from a jar... but either way is good :)
I think this is a great idea! I like the card form better than in a jar. I would see that as a reasonable price. You are a few steps ahead of me at organizing family time. I look up to you in that regard. But YES DO IT!
I would definitely buy the kid cards! and probably the date cards too, maybe we would actually go on a date then, haha. I agree with the others that cards would be easier than the jar. For 350-500 questions, I would think 15-20 is totally reasonable.
Have you ever seen Brad & Tara Mowen's blog for adoption? They sort of have a logo, and she has done several little fundraising projects (including a scrapbooking retreat).
I don't have the time, energy, or creativity to make something like that for myself, but I know we would use it at meal times, and have more meaningful conversation as a result!
I would be interested in both sets of cards... I would also be willing to submit questions for you :) I like the cards, maybe on a ring and two-sided to keep them from being too thick. Sounds like you have a good start!!
Yeah! So excited about all the positive responses!
Christi-I just recently found their blog and have been checking out lots of mom's blogs that are doing creative fundraising for their adoptions.
Kristina- YES YES YES I would love if you helped with questions.
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