Use Your Family Coffee Table as an Inspiration Station to Minimize Screen Time and Promote Creative Family Fun!
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Placing your drink on the coffee table and watching tv, or using other devices is what we all do, but then we end up feeling guilty about all the screen time we have spent as we have sipped our coffee, tea, or milk.
We are told to cut back on screens, but screens are so…
convenient,
mesmerizing,
and well…addictive!
I pondered this modern age dilemma, as I crossed my feet on my coffee table.
Hmmm… what if the coffee table was given more responsibility than just for decor? What if we could use it to entice…
creativity?
collaboration?
invention?
entertainment?
learning?
conversation?
What if the coffee table had the POWER to steal attention away from…
TV
Laptops
tablets and
smartphones
…even for just a short time here and there?
Simply replace the knick-knacks and flowers with…
supplies
books
games
puzzles
This could start a reduced screen revolution in family rooms across America!!!
Imagine the headlines! Coffee table inspiration cuts screen time…
household by household…
neighborhood by neighborhood…
city by city!
Seriously, while taking photos for this piece, my 19-year-old son sat down to draw. He had forgotten how much he loves drawing! Then, my 26-year-old dropped by, sat down, and drew the fonts from one of the books I had out!
By the end of the day, the activities at the table had a bunch of attention!
Let’s get started…
Ideas for creating a Coffee Table Inspiration Station…
Supplies:
Paper, or notebooks
pencils, pens
crayons, colored pencils
Any tools or supplies you will need for the activities you choose
A bin to store supplies in if you don’t have drawers
Tabletop activities/book Ideas (keep in mind the ages and safety of younger kids)…
Layout “How to Draw” books like, I Can Draw People and I Can Draw Animals by authors Ray Gibson and Amanda Barlow and illustrated by Howard Allman.
Display unique books like Newspaper Blackout by Austin Kleon. Add a tray of newspapers, old magazines, and some black crayons, pens, or markers so people can create their own blackout poems. Keep a folder of completed poems, so everyone can enjoy them.
Stack some creative journals, and let your guest pick pages to complete and sign their name too! A few great journals to check out are… Steal Like an Artist Journal: A Notebook for Creative Kleptomaniacs by Austin Kleon, Wreck This Journal by Keri Smith or How to Be an Explorer of the World: Portable Life Museum by Keri Smith.
Lego kits. Leave the instructions and a bin for the pieces, people can work on it as they have time until it’s finished.
Coloring books for kids and adults with a big box or bin of crayons. I put out The Art of Zentangle: 50 inspiring drawings designs and & ideas for the meditative artist by Margaret Bremner, Norma J Burnell, Penny Raile, and Lara Williams.
Puzzles, brainteasers,s, and trivia books are good ideas for coffee tables.
Lettering and font books like these, Letter Art: Based on Alphabet Designs by Becky Higgins, by Becky Higgins, The Kids Book of Creative Lettering by Lindsey Ostrom and Vicky Lynn Breslin, and Zenspirations Letters and Patterning by Joanne Fink.
Old Magazines, scissors, and glue sticks to make collages.
Learn a new way to take notes at school or in meetings by practicing Sketch-noting! Check out The Sketchnote Handbook: the illustrated guide to visual note taking by Mike Rohde and The Doodle Revolution: Unlock the Power to Think Differently by Sunni Brown.
Put out blank sheet music for songwriting.
Place poetry books, and a notebook out for visitors to the coffee table to write their own poetry! Here are a few fun poetry books to use… A Light in the Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein, The Random House Book of Poems for Children by Jack Prelutsky and Arnold Lobel.
Set out a variety of stencils for tracing letters or pictures.
Inspire story writing or telling by leaving these Rory’s Storytelling Cube Sets.
Try origami or paper airplane books! My First Origami Kit by Joel Stern or Klutz Book of Paper Airplanes Craft Kit by Klutz. Use old newspapers or tear sheets from magazines for paper. Very earth-friendly and avant-garde at the same time!
One coffee table at a time we CAN unplug and recharge our human creativity, conversations, and just the overall joy of the family room!
Here are some photos of what I will be putting at my coffee table…
DISCLAIMER…
My coffee table is an old thrift shop find. It is beaten up, and well, I am one of those messy, creative types. I’m OK with it looking “well-loved”. If however, you have a beautiful table that you would rather not get scratched up that’s ok! You can…
modify the ideas
use a bin and clipboards or lapboards
locate your creations station in another attention-getting zone of the house
If you would like more ideas and inspiration, check out these other posts…
Parenting is not about perfection!
It’s about the POWER in your PLAN!
Think it! Note it! Parent it!
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