Recap of Meeting-10/8/2013

 

Oh, how I love October!  The craziness of September with changing schedules and back-to-school madness gives way to a new routine and the rhythm of fall settles in.  I couldn't help but smile a bit while scanning the MOPS room on Tuesday seeing how quickly it appears our group is settling in to the MOPS year.  The breakfast table was full of delicious dishes, the coffee table had no less than five varieties of creamer to choose from, the kiddos were hard at work playing in the nursery and MOPPETS classrooms, and of course the boisterous chatter of Moms enjoying adult conversations are all beautiful rhythms of our MOPS meetings.

This week we heard from Anne Marie Canlis, member of MOPS and SELAH at University Presbyterian Church, and whose family owns the restaurant, Canlis. Anne Marie’s presentation, Making Mealtime Meaningful, shared her desire and passion for feeding people in every way through rituals and traditions along with insights from a theology food course and her personal research about the food industry. Her spiritual and poetic presentation highlighted not only eating real foods over processed, but also creative ways families can interact at the dinner table in order to build relationships and share in fellowship, even with small children. Citing her research, Anne Marie said that family dinners are a greater influence over children’s behavior than church attendance, school performance, and even the highly touted initiative of reading 20 minutes a day with your child. Isn't that a ray of hope for some of us harried moms?

It is not just the physical dinner itself, but what happens at the table that makes the magic happen. Using this special time to create family unity through conversations, shared stories, and celebrating gratitude are paramount for strengthening these family bonds. Anne Marie shared ideas to start conversations and rituals for families with small children to try.  A few that really struck a chord with me were:

*At dinner, make a master list of activities the family could do together for the season.  Allow the kids to draw pictures of activities, then hang them up to use for planning your schedule.

*What’s the Difference - What is the difference between New York or California? A door or a window?  A tree or a bush? Allow everyone to answer.

*Good/Bad or High/Low - Allow everyone to share the best part of their day and then the low part of their day.  This sometimes can provoke important conversations by providing insight to your child’s day and also promotes empathy between siblings.

Anne Marie also provided a long list of resources and suggested books to read if you want to learn more for yourself.  We should have a few copies of these handouts available at our next meeting if you missed out.  I know I was motivated when I got home to rethink some of our habits and thoughts about family meal time. I hope you were also inspired by Anne Marie’s idea of “feeding people in every way,” and  that you will be able to apply some of this in your own home to make meal times more meaningful.  

--Kristine Manz