Friday Fun: Getting Along with Others Activity
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Giveaways: July 28, 2010
Each week we will feature giveaways, either offered by us or compiled by us from giveaways around the web, that support our parenting philosophy. Today, we feature the following...Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Photo Tuesday: Learning to Get Along
An 8-year-old's report after reading Listen and Learn, from Cheri Meiner's Learning to Get Along book series.
Share
Monday, July 26, 2010
Learning to Get Along Books
In Cheri Meiners' Share and Take Turns, simple words present sharing as a way to get along with others when playing. It provides examples of four simple and concrete ways to share: dividing things (with an illustration of children playing with play dough), using things together (a ball), trading things (a toy for a book), and taking turns (at a water table and on a slide). It also goes into more abstract sharing concepts, such as sharing things you know or sharing time by helping someone. It even offers that it is OK when someone doesn't want to share and acknowledges that sharing can be hard, with suggestions on how to deal with that reality...
Sunday, July 25, 2010
The 4th Sunday of July is National Parents' Day
In 1994 a congressional resolution was unanimously signed into law that sets the 4th Sunday of July each year as Parent's Day, established for "recognizing, uplifting, and supporting the role of parents in the rearing of children." Take a moment on this day to reflect on the roles of your own parents as well as the role you play as a parent to your own child or children.
You don't really understand human nature unless you know why
a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents
every time around - and why his parents will always wave back.
- William D. Tammeus
Friday, July 23, 2010
Friday Fun: Bucket Filling Activities!
Bucket filling, as we covered in an earlier post is the idea that each of us has an invisible bucket, and that we feel good when it is full and bad when it is empty. Our actions towards others and their actions towards us have the ability to fill and empty buckets. When we treat others well, we fill their buckets AND our own.The activities to try with your kids this week expand on this theme. We hope you enjoy them! Let us know how they worked for you in the comments.
- Use a small bucket and place names of family members and friends inside. Have your child draw out names and think of ways to fill that person's bucket. This reinforces perspective-taking as well, since it requires thinking about what would be "bucket-filling" for that particular individual.
- Brainstorm ideas about how we can be bucket fillers vs. bucket dippers. Be sure to talk about not only what your child can do to fill others' buckets, but what they can do to fill their own. Many things will end up in both categories.
- Put a twist on Gem Jars...
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Give and Receive: A VERY short video
Watch this amazing, simple, and profound 1 minute video! Yet another way of understanding and encouraging the concept of giving and receiving, fitting in with our topic this week of filling BUCKETS OF HAPPINESS.Your children will enjoy it too. Share it with friends and family and spread the love!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Giveaways: July 21, 2010
Each week we will feature giveaways, either offered by us or compiled by us from giveaways around the web, that support our parenting philosophy. Today, we feature the following...
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Filling Buckets with Happiness
The question: "How Full is Your Bucket?" is based on a philosophy and book by Donald Clifton, in which he explains that each of us has an invisible bucket that can be filled or emptied based on relationships with others. When we treat others well, we fill their buckets as well as our own, and when our buckets are filled we are happy. When we treat others poorly, or when we are treated poorly by others, our buckets are emptied, leaving us feeling unhappy.Because of its simplicity, the concept of "bucket filling" has been successfully translated into children's books for a range of ages...
Laughter May Actually BE the Best Medicine
Laughter is good for us. It actually triggers positive physical changes in our bodies - such as boosting our immunity, lowering our stress hormones, decreasing pain, relaxing muscles, and even preventing heart disease.
What is truly amazing, though, is that science has shown that just HEARING someone else laugh can trigger these same effects.
So let us share with you this much-viewed video of a laughing baby for your health and happiness...
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Need a great gift to show your gratitude?
We have posted about the importance of gratitude before, but we just came across this wonderful way of expressing your gratitude in a thoughtful, unique, and personalized group gift: SpeakSake.The way it works is you select a group of people who receive an email invitation with a phone number that they can call in to leave a personalized message of thanks, memories, or well wishes for the gift recipient. The messages are then put on an audio CD and shipped to the recipient.
What a wonderful teacher gift, gift for grandparents from all their grandkids, or way to let anyone know how much others appreciate and are grateful for them!
Note: We have received no compensation from SpeakSake; it is just something we wanted to share with you!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Raising Happiness Newsletter: Are you a miserable parent?
The excerpt below is taken from Christine Carter's Raising Happiness Newsletter (July 2010)Are you a miserable parent?
I love my kid.
I hate my life.
That was the headline of a recent New York magazine cover story that has created a media frenzy. No one I know in California gets New York, but I just tested a friend by saying, “Okay, complete this sentence. I love my kid, but…”
That was the headline of a recent New York magazine cover story that has created a media frenzy. No one I know in California gets New York, but I just tested a friend by saying, “Okay, complete this sentence. I love my kid, but…”
“I hate my life,” she said without a moment’s hesitation. Holy cow. Is this a part of our cultural mantra?...
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Discussion Topic: Do Kids Need a Best Friend?
According to a recent New York Times article, there is disagreement as to whether kids really need or even should have, a best friend...Why Be Kind?
Christine Carter, Ph.D. posted some great scientific reasons to be kind when dealing with others in her blog: Half-Full: Science for Raising Happy Kids
"...There are some great reasons to be polite and respectful....
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