Fall, Beautiful Fall!

The trees are changing color, the sky clouding up and the temperature is fluctuating.  Fall has risen and it's a perfect time to discuss seasons with your kids.  Collect beautiful leaves, make things with them, draw them with your kids, welcome the abundant harvests, go to a local Farmer's Market and talk to your kids about the hard work that goes into producing food.  Ask the farmer's to explain what they have to do to get food from the earth to the market.  Make pumpkin, zuchinni, and other "breads".  Let them "stir" the batters, pour them, and eat them!  The melons are ripe and delicious ritht now, acorn squash can be almost as sweet and soft, and tree-ripened apples are just around the corner.  It's also a good time to talk about the importance of corn, cultivated by the Native Americans, in our world and give thanks to the Native cultures for sharing it with us.  That gift saved many lives and continues to be an important part of our world.  Let your kids know about the many contributions of Native cultures like corn, archery, basketry, pottery, games, and respect for the land and all of the critters who live amongst us, among other things.  Take the next few weeks to enjoy feeling the "chill" in the morning air, to watch the world transisition into winter and teach your children how important the seasonal changes are, the harvest is, and the pleasures of being alive!

Mistakes We all Make

One of the most difficult things to do, as a parent, care provider, or teacher, is admit to a child that you've made a mistake.  Most people hide their mistakes from their children, which is, ironically, a mistake.  Much of what children do "wrong" in the eyes of a parent are simply "mistakes" through the eyes of the child.  It's important to recognize that teaching will have more of an impact than punishing in situations where a child "mistakenly" pours milk onto her plate because she wants to see what will happen and isn't yet aware of what "wasting food" is or what a "mess" it will make.  She's simply curious.  Our response should be not to "yell over spilled milk."  Instead, explain the natural consequences.  "Now you're food is ruined.  How will you drink your milk if it's on your plate?  The milk needs to stay in your cup, honey."  Get it?  Now, when a parent makes a mistake, such as yelling over the spilled milk, then later realizes the mistake, the parent must be brave enough to apologize.  We expect it from our children when they mess up, don't we?  A parent needs to learn to say "I'm sorry, honey, I didn't need to yell at you for that.  I wanted you to be able to eat your dinner and we don't like to waste food, so I got upset.  I'll try to remember next time to choose my words better, okay?"  Parents who do this with their children give their children the gift of reality.  Children can then see their parents as normal, imperfect people and will, therefore, be willing to admit their own mistakes more readily, accept the mistakes of their parents and forgive themselves and others.  It sets up a cycle of acceptance, forgiveness, sharing, and learning from our mistakes.  What more could a child want from those who love her?

For the Love of Reading...

A new and exciting job awaits me next week.  Beginning Monday Oct. 12th I'll be an Even Start Director.  Even Start is a family literacy program.  We help people to get their G.E.D.'s, basic adult education, and spend time reading alone and to their kids.  So, today, I want to encourage everybody to read more.  Read your children to sleep at least 5 nights per week.  15 - 30 minutes of reading each day will greatly increase the number of neurons that your child's brain grows, give them problem solving and social skills and teach them that books are fun and important.  Take a moment to think about all of the books, manuals, etc. that people use everyday, everywhere.  Cookbooks, textbooks, instruction manuals, pamphlets, and flyers.  Every movie, T.V. show, or play is first written.  Writing is as critical as speaking.  Imagine a world with no words, then be thankful that you can read this.  Some people can't.  You can read to children from womb to whenever they get tired of it!  They can read to you at some point.  What books would you like to share with your children?

The Art of Childhood

Today I want to talk about art, but first I'd like to thank all of you who read my blog.  We all want to be heard and I get that support from you, so THANK YOU!  Hopefully, you hear your children - especially what they don't have the words to say.  Today, however, I'm wondering if anybody ever scrolls down to look at the bottom of the blog.  I have an "astronomy pic of the day" and fine art images by Miro, Dali, and Picasso to, hopefully, inspire people to keep art alive and to share it with their kids.  Where would the world be without art?  It's the language of the heart.  We painted on rocks before we built houses.  We wrote novels and poems before we wrote scientific volumes.  Art is part of our human heritage, across cultures and throughout time.  I came home the other night to find my daughter Sarah, who will be 3 in November, painting with watercolors at the table.  "Wanna come paint with me, Daddy?"  She said.  I could hear the excitement and sense the euphoric feeling of painting that she wanted to share with me.  How could I resist?  I sat down and, rather than painting like an adult, I copied her style of painting.  This painting happened to be composed of long, straight lines of different colors running vertically up and down the page.  We sat and painted, which also led to communication skills being developed.  "What color next, Daddy?"  "I don't know, honey.  Which color do you want?"  "Um, green!"  Then she'd dip her brush and I could see her trying to decide where to place the line, where to put the color.  Her mind was seeking balance in the image, a sense of placement, space, and color coordination.  We talked and painted.  I learned more about my daughter and she learned more about painting, color arrangement and composition.  Remember to paint, color, sculpt, etc. in the way that the child does.  The simple gesture of taking a few minutes to do art with your child, and mirror her skill level, shows her that what she does is important to you.  You can introduce one new concept each time, but be careful not to "outdo" your child.  As I sat and painted with my daughter I thought to myself, "This is what it's all about."  What do you think?