Sunday Post: Road: Which One Will You Follow?

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Jake at Time after Time has a Sunday Post Challenge and every week he provides a theme…this week’s theme is ROAD.

 

  The Road Not Taken  (1916) 
by Robert Frost		  
 

“The Road Not Taken Robert Frost

1916

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

Children need a parent’s guidance as they embark on the road of life.

As parents, we also need to make a choice as to which road or parenting approach we will take as we raise our children.  Here are five simple tips:

  • Be consistent with your children…set guidelines and stick to them.
  • Be compassionate with your children…show them love and respect.
  • Teach consequences…children need to learn that for every action there is a reaction.
  • Communicate with your children…a two-way street of talking AND listening.
  • Connect with your children…participate together in all types of activities.

Speaking about participating in activities, have you ever tried creative writing with your children?  It’s lots of fun and will help strengthen their literacy skills and exercise their creativity.  I’m taking part in a little creative writing over at Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog.  It’s called Summer Short and Sweets.

This is week four of Susanna’s challenge…if you click on the link above, you’ll see that this challenge was to take a letter of the alphabet, possibly the first letter of your name, and think of as many words (nouns, adjectives, adverbs, etc.) that begin with that letter and then write a 50 – 100 word story.  You are not supposed to peek at the detailed instructions until you choose your letter.  I picked “V” since that is the first letter of my name (had I peeked, I might have chosen an easier letter)…and here is my submission:

Viscountess Vanessa Versailles, a virginal Venezuelan virtuoso with varicose veins, vigilantly clutched the valuable Venetian violin in the velvet valise and vaulted over vipers and violent voles, her out-of-gas veneered van parked in the valley behind her. Her view blurred by a veil of venomous vapors, Vanessa valiantly raced onward, vowing to validate her promise to the vacationers who were even now vacating their seats for the violinist’s Valentine’s Day performance. Is she racing in vain?

Why not give it a try…just visit Susanna’s blog and hop aboard the Summer Short and Sweets train…it will be a fun ride.  Then you can adjust the challenges for your children, depending on their ages.  Young kids can draw pictures to tell their story and have a parent or older sibling write the words.

What else can you do with your kids this summer?  For the price of a large pizza, some breadsticks and a liter of soda (that will only last a few minutes), you can have quick and easy activities that will keep kids busy and happy and learning till school starts…and beyond!  Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking is the book I wish I had when my kids were growing up.  Suzanne Williams, author of over 27 children’s books says, “I wish Show Me How! had existed when my own children were young.”  Clinical psychologist, Jodi Harap adds, “Ms. Kirkfield presents concrete examples and helpful recommendations that are sure to give parents a newfound sense of competence and confidence in their own abilities as well.”

I want to remind everyone that the book is now available for shipment to Canadian residents…please visit my website and click on the special PayPal buttons for Canadian shipment!  I’ve already mailed out two copies of the book to Canada last week…one to Bowmanville, Ontario and one to Regina, Saskatchewan.

Want more information about Jake’s Sunday Post?

 http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/ 

And here are some other bloggers who are doing Jake’s Sunday Post:

http://cyclingrandma.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/gps-or-maps-depends-on-the-trip/

http://imexcited.wordpress.com/2012/07/28/sunday-post-road/

http://inspirationimport.wordpress.com/2012/07/28/sunday-post-road-wisdom/

http://shaanthz.wordpress.com/2012/07/28/sunday-post-road/

http://p0nky.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/sunday-post-road/

http://carolloethen.wordpress.com/2012/07/28/sunday-post-road/

http://northernnarratives.wordpress.com/2012/07/28/sunday-post-road/

http://tacts21.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/sunday-post-road/

http://francineinretirement.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/sunday-post-road/

http://jullianeford.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/sunday-post-road/

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33 thoughts on “Sunday Post: Road: Which One Will You Follow?”

    • Thank you for the kind words, Marilou! I hope the 5 simple tips will help parents…and the letter V story was lots of fun! Glad to do the pingback…helps others find out about you, I think. 🙂

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  3. Fantastic interpretation of the theme, road. I too thought of that wonderful poem when I saw the challenge. Glad you incorporated it into your post, great photos. Love your “V” story. That’s an exercise I a lot with students and they always loved it.

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    • That’s great, Lisa…glad to hear that teachers use that creative writing exercise with their kids…I don’t remember doing it in school, but I think it would work even with young kids…really stretches the brain. 🙂 Happy you liked the poem and the post. 🙂

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  5. Hi Vivian:
    Robert Frost’s poem ties in beautifully with your tips.
    As I mentioned on Susanna’s blog, if I had chosen the letter “V” I’d be ?? (couldn’t think of anything to add with the letter “V”). See what I mean?
    Your character Vanessa sure has stamina. Her varicose veins must have been throbbing.though. The poor dear.
    Tying in Week’s 4 challenge and applying it to an activity for children was brilliant.
    I wonder what Susanna has up her sleeve for Week 5. Each week is more difficult than the next. Yikes!
    Have an awesome week
    Tracy

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    • Teehee…yes, poor Vanessa Versailles and her varicose veins. 🙂 I really appreciate your sweet words…I’m all about putting things together and making connections. 🙂 If you check my past Sunday Posts, you’ll see I ALWAYS put a parenting slant on the theme…sometimes it is a stretch…but I am determined because I’m always hoping to give parents a fresh perspective and new ideas that will make their difficult job a little easier. 🙂
      I’m looking forward to next week’s writing challenge also…it is exercising a part of my brain that has been dormant too long!
      Enjoy your week as well!

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      • I’ll be sure to check out your other Sunday Posts as what I’m up to (well, I can’t spill the beans just yet) is along those lines. And here I thought I was brilliant. Hee, hee.
        I knew I was meant to meet you.
        I’ll be back soon.

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  6. Enjoyed the poem, excellent advice regarding parenting, which goes for raising them from toddlers to respecting the individuals they become as adults, and the Summer Short and Sweets sounds interesting.

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    • Hope you will give Summer Short and Sweets a look-see, Lynne. Thank you for the kind words about the parenting advice…and your comment about respecting the individuals they become as adults is oh so true! For some parents, that is very difficult and they find it hard to “relinquish” their role. By the way, I am following your blog now…your art is amazing!!!! You are quite gifted!

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  7. Thanks so much for the mention, Vivian! I loved your entry! And we’ve had a number of kids try out the activities and they seem to have enjoyed them! I love The Road Not Taken – one of my most favorite poems!

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    • It is my pleasure to let others know about your blog, Susanna! Seriously, you offer so much of value for writers, parents, teachers…if everyone who should be following you was, you’d run out of hours in the day responding to their comments…how you manage all of the posts and comments already is a mystery to me. 🙂
      I love that poem as well…it really speaks to the choices we have to make in life.

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    • Love the poem. It is true that there different roads in choosing the kind of parenting we do for our children. I am realizing now that the one we have chosen is not easy but we are determined to stick to it as we believe it’s the best for our child. The 5 tips you gave is something really worthwhile. I especially believe in the second and the last.

      Love the story you made with V. I chuckled on the varicose veins. You are brilliant! I am pretty sure that this is going to be a fun activity with children. I just wish that I’ll be as creative as you when it comes to words 🙂

      Spanish Pinay

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      • So happy you liked the post, Marilou! We always have choices…and this is something we need to teach our children…that they always have choices as well…how to react (or not react) when someone does something or something happens to them. Thank you for the kind words about the V story…it just got invented as I tried to think of as many V words as I could. And you are a VERY creative lady…your LSP is a lucky little girl. 🙂

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  9. Ah, but this brings back so many memories. “The Road Not Taken” is one of my favorites. While teaching high school English, I often used the poem after we’d finished reading a novel or short story, and the discussion centered around the “roads” chosen by the characters, and how the story (and the characters’ lives) would have been different if they’d chosen a different road. Thank you for this wonderful blog.

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    • Thanks, Marylin…glad you enjoyed the post, the poem and my blog. 🙂  I think sometimes people forget that they do have choices, all along the way.  Perhaps we get stuck in a “rut” and think we have to stay there…but there are always options…it just depends on what is important to a person and what they feel is right…and those two “whats” are not always in sync. 🙂   

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    • Hi Jarm…thanks for stopping by.:)  I always try to connect my posts to something of value to parents…glad you liked the tips…sometimes easier said than done, I know. 🙂  I need to hop over to the Summer Short and Sweets to read all of the others…I did read quite a few…it’s amazing how creative some people are…I don’t remember if I read yours. 😦  I should, since J is not a common letter either…I’m excited to see what you came up with.   

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    • Yup…you know it, Milka! It’s sad when I see parents who don’t take the initiative, but allow their little ones to tell them how things should be…I see it all the time. 😦 Of course parents should listen to their children…but parents are the ones who have the responsibility to direct and guide.

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      • I think most little kids think they rule the world so it’s nice to set the record straight. Otherwise they become obnoxious teenagers! I always tell my kids they rule their “own” world. That gives them one thing they have control over!

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