It’s Sunday. Sunny and mild March foothills weather. Sunday is traditionally family day at our house. Today we are all here but doing our own thing. Mu husband is fixing a squeak on his mountain bike (specifically, rear-disc brakes, he just informed me.) My son is building his Lego MindStorms ping pong catapult for Science class. Before I sat down to write this post I
With much enthusiasm and a pull on my heart, I highly recommend Ginger Parish’s CD of Lullabies, Twilight Comes Tiptoeing. The poignant songs remind me of those precious moments when I sang to my small boy as I helped him fall asleep. I also remember my mother playing simple songs on her old guitar, soothing me when I was sick or couldn’t sleep. These are
Not too long ago, I wrote a post about praising kids called The Harm in Praising Kids. A discussion followed on ways to show encouragement and be motivating without promoting the need for validation. Six simple words solve this dilemma beautifully. This concept comes from a blog post you should read by Rachel Macy Stafford who is the Hands Free Mama. I highly recommend her
My son was born with a stick in his hand. Not literally, of course. That would have been painful. Truly though, as soon as he could grasp, he wanted to hold a stick. As he grew, it wasn’t enough to hold one. He needed to see what his stick could do. A drummer in the making, he banged on everything in site, including other
Sometimes noise can build so slowly that you don’t even know why you are tense, unable to concentrate, and ready to scream louder than the noise you are hearing! The other day before my parent/child music class started, four good friends were holding hands, whipping up a circle, and whooping up their voices. They got louder and louder until it was uncomfortable. The nearby
Almost summer! Here you go.You’re headed out on the road with the kids. Sure, you can put a movie into a player and that’s an easy two hours. But what about creating memories? I feel disconnected from my child if the whole trip is spent staring into our portable devices. When I was a kid (ha! there’s that line!), boredom brought about invention. We
When have you felt such overwhelming love for your child, even amidst anger, disappointment, or frustration? How much do we have to grow ourselves up to rise to this amazing feat of parenting? ~~~~~ School Morning near the End of Kindergarten by Beth Kelley Gillogly I just feel so thankful this morning, she said. I want to thank you and daddy for being my parents. I
Parenting is a job thrust upon untrained workers. Parents often look to other parents for tools. I call it Over-the-Fence Parenting as I am reminded of my mother leaning over the fence to talk with her neighbor about the latest recipes, mothering issues, and neighborhood news. Later, when I saw films of tribal women talking together as they worked, I would think of my
You’ve heard about all the research. Media kills brain cells. Children who play video games do worse in school. Creativity is thwarted by media. So you limit. You restrict. You answer with a no more often than a yes. There is tension and raised voices. You BATTLE. A common outcome is for the parent to impose a limit or a punishment onto the child.
Check out my guest post on Music Teaching and Parenting’s site. It’s all about Rhythm and what it can do for you and your child: Click HERE to see more.
