Category Archives: Skydiving

Sunday Post: Silence…Should Children Be Seen and Not Heard?

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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 SILENCE.

 

I’ve only “heard” true silence twice in my life…twenty-five years ago while parasailing and last year while skydiving.  Silence…the absence of sound or communication…is sometimes helpful when one needs to collect one’s thoughts or ponder an important decision.

But should we apply this to our parenting approach…following the old proverb that says…children should be seen and not heard?

I don’t recommend it.

Why not?

 

Children need opportunities to tell us what they think and feel.

 

Children need time to interact with their peers.

 

Children need to form strong friendships in those early years in order to develop healthy relationships later in life.

These activities don’t call for silence…they call for open and honest communication.

What activities do you have planned for your kids this summer?  Summer is a perfect time to read picture books to young children!  Children who are read to at an early age are more successful in school.  I’ll be posting an A-Z list of some of the best in my next post.

For great story suggestions and quick and easy activities for kids, you might want a copy of Show Me How!

 

Are you wondering if the book really works?  Check out these recent reviews: http://nrhatch.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/show-me-how/

http://creatingcuriouskids.wordpress.com/2012/06/14/summer-fun-shortcut-show-me-how/

 

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://p0nky.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/sunday-post-silence/

http://piecesofstarlight.wordpress.com/2012/07/07/what-does-a-mixed-garden-of-prompts-grow/

http://northernnarratives.wordpress.com/2012/07/07/sunday-post-silence-2/

http://jullianeford.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/sunday-post-silence/

http://francineinretirement.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/sunday-post-silence/

http://tostir.wordpress.com/2012/07/07/sunday-post-silence/

http://jmeyersforeman.wordpress.com/2012/06/30/3307/

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Sunday Post: Landscapes and a February Poetry Contest

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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 LANDSCAPES. 

In addition, Marylin Warner over at Things I Want to Tell My Mother is having a February Poetry Contest 

The Rules:

“Be a rebel with a writing cause; break away from the expected February verses and write a poem about a date or an activity or adventure that WASN’T what you (or your mother) wanted to do…and how it ended.

You choose: rhymed, free verse, a sonnet or a series of Haikus or even non-bawdy limericks, etc.   Just keep your poem to a maximum of 50 words (not counting the words of the title–and please have a title).  JOIN THE FUN!”

I began to wonder how I could combine these two seemingly unrelated ideas into one post.

And then I had an idea!

According to the dictionary, a landscape is a picture representing a view or expanse of scenery that can be seen in a single view.

My poem, Fears of the Inner Child, is really a landscape of my life.  I hope you enjoy reading it.

FEARS OF THE INNER CHILD

Childhood often invades adult life.

Fears laid down early create later strife.

Afraid of adventure and trying new things,

Mom constantly cautioned: Be careful! Life stings!

To conquer that panic is my fervent wish.

I’ve parasailed, skydived and swum with the fish.

 

If you have the time and want to see the sky-dive I did with my son in the summer of 2010, you can go here.

It was an amazing adventure…and a wonderful bonding experience to have with an adult son.   With my book, Show Me How! and my school programs and workshops, I encourage parents to spend time with their young children…reading, crafting and cooking or doing anything positive.   “Raising the Next Steve Jobs”, the cover story in the February issue of Parenting Magazine, offered parents some simple advice: read with your children, talk with your children, participate with your children.  I was quoted in that article…and my book was mentioned.   You know that if want to be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you need to be in their lives today.  The fantastic skydive I did with my son only strengthened the connection we forged over thirty years ago when he was a little boy…believe me, those early years are so very important!

If you’d like more information about Jake’s Sunday Post:

 http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/ 

And here are a few of the posts from other participants in Jake’s Sunday Post:

http://imagesoftheheart.wordpress.com/2012/02/25/sunday-post-landscape/

http://reflectionsinapuddle.wordpress.com/2012/02/25/sunday-post-landscape/

http://truthaboveallreligions.wordpress.com/2012/02/25/sunday-post-landscape/

http://orples.wordpress.com/2012/02/26/sunday-photo-challenge-landscapes/

http://thismansjourney.net/2012/03/04/sunday-post-landscape/#comments

 

Your preschooler needs a bucket list

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Several years ago, Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson starred in a movie called “The Bucket List” which told the tale of two older gentlemen who decided that before they died, there were a number of things they wanted to do.   Many people, as they get older, begin to think about the things they never got around to doing, but wish they had.  In fact, that’s one of the reasons I was thrilled when I visited my son in Chicago and he told me he had arranged for us to go skydiving.  I had an awesome experience and I was able to cross one more item off my bucket list. http://bit.ly/b8By2X If you click on this link, you’ll be able to share that exciting ride with me!

There are many things that young children need to experience as well.  I think there are some basic things that every preschooler should have the opportunity to do, although your family may want to add to the list or subtract from it, based on your individual situation.

So, here is my bucket list for a preschooler:

  • Hear the words, I LOVE YOU, every day!
  • Be shown by parents and other adults that he/she is loved and valued!
  • Be encouraged to master tasks and skills.
  • Be allowed to express his/her feelings, whether positive or negative.
  • Go to a zoo.
  • Jump in puddles after a rainstorm.
  • Play in the mud and get dirty.
  • Use art supplies (paints, crayons, clay, etc.) to express creativity.
  • Get a library card (as soon as your local library allows…go to the library on a regular basis.
  • Feel safe at home and in school, daycare or anywhere.
  • Be read a story (or two or more) on a daily basis.

As Alecia Devantier says in 101 THINGS EVERY KID SHOULD DO GROWING UP, “Childhood is a magical time of newfound joys and enriching experience.  The gifts our children are given today will last a lifetime.”

What’s on your child’s bucket list?