Ask A DFW Expert: Entertaining Kids In Winter
Jennifer Kindert is an illustrator of award-winning children's books and conducts school and library visits in the DFW area. Her vivid illustrations have brought life to the pages of children's books like the award-winning, "Three Years and Eight Months," "The Christmas Puppy," "Hurry Up!" and "Katie and the Magic Umbrella." She attended State University of New York's Fashion Institute of Technology from which she holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with a major in Illustration. She has since made her home in Dallas with her husband and cats.
Artist and Children's Book Illustrator
vrizomorales@gmail.com
Dallas, TX
(469) 930-1692
www.jenniferkindert.com
Jennifer's multi-cultural background brings a global perspective to her work and what she seeks to inspire in students in the DFW area. Jennifer Kindert was born in Bangkok, Thailand, adopted by Swedish parents; she spent her childhood and teen years in Stockholm, Sweden. Growing up in Sweden, snowy days are part of childhood. The Swedish believe there is no such thing as a bad weather day, only a day where the fun is indoors. Jennifer Kindert sheds some light on snow day options to keep the kids entertained.
"In reality, here in Texas, we do not have a lot of snow days. When we do, we tend to stay indoors just because we're not sure what else to do. Take advantage of the few opportunities we have to interact with the snow and wintery bliss by heading outside with a mission you can handle right in your own yard. Snowy downhill driveways can make for great sledding by using a cardboard box or baby bathtub. Build a snowman, or get worldly and practice making snow lanterns. All you need is a snowball and tea light to create snow lanterns. The warmth and beauty they create when night begins to fall will be well worth getting your fingers cold."
"So the weather outside is frightful, but inside can still be delightful. These are great opportunities to get the hands and the minds moving through games like Yahtzee and pick-up sticks, or even dice games to keep the action going indoors and take advantage of this bonding time without TV and computers. Playing together as a family makes for meaningful multi-generational memories."
"When the weather is warm, our days are spent outside. Yet snowy days are the perfect opportunity to get back in touch with the lost art of cooking from scratch and instilling memories of hands-on cooking experiences with kids. Kids might not want to cook you dinner, but they'll want to make homemade cinnamon rolls, donuts or chess square cookies (Schack rutor - a Swedish classic). Once they've sampled the yummy goodness made by their own hands, they'll be more likely to ask to help cook more."
"Take a good look around your house. Chances are you have plenty of materials for crafts just lying around waiting to be used. Scraps of cloth, felt, paper and cups can be just what you need to create something exciting and new. Swedish children make felt gnomes on days like these. Cutting paper and weaving it into heart baskets is a great problem-solving practice and takes thought as well as imagination and attention to detail."
"Although it sounds simple, drawing from real life can include many facets of activity and can easily fill a warm day indoors. Just as an illustrator would do, children and parents can use books and the Internet to find real photos of their subject. Then they can map out what it should look like, and begin drawing, then adding color and even painting. Parent and child painting sessions can produce some surprisingly beautiful results. If there's still time left, create a story around that illustration as inspiration for the next work of art."