A few weeks ago on a early Sunday morning I was quickly losing patience with my children as we hurried to get ready for church. No one was listening and instead had their own ideas of how to best use the time. Suddenly - out of nowhere - my son Nate started belting out the chorus to a favorite Primary song - "follow the prophet, follow the prophet, follow the prophet; don't go astray" his little lungs belted out quite loudly. As I tried to hush him - I realized I was being foolish - what a perfect song to sing a we got ready for church & I joined in.
Our home allows for learning to happen in the most suprising ways but most wonderful thing of all is that the usual roles are reversed quite frequently & I become the"student".
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
TV Stands for "The Vampire" - Kill It
by Don Milne, an Editorial found in Deseret News
On Feb. 17, the "Vampire" in your home will be dead. The Vampire has sucked your life away day and night for decades. Years ago, your home maybe had one Vampire, but chances are now there are two or three or more stalking you. No matter where you go — living room, kitchen, even your bedroom — the Vampire is there. And because the Vampire has bitten you, you are a docile servant to his desires. He can say things and show you things that you would not put up with from your family or neighbors.
The Vampire spends more time with your child than your child spends in school. Report after report tells us of the harm he has done to your child. The more time your child spends with the Vampire, the more promiscuous he or she becomes. The Vampire makes your kid fat. The Vampire causes behavior problems.
If you are average, once the Vampire is gone on Feb. 17, you will have restored 28 hours of your life every week. In one year's time that's almost 40 full workweeks. What could you do with this extra 1,500 hours? You could get a lot of exercise. You could increase your job skills. You could spend more time engaged with your family. You could develop a talent like playing a musical instrument. You could get a part-time job and increase your savings. You could even read something more uplifting than the Vampire listings. I know. You mock me. You disparage me. This is an impossible dream. The Vampire is too strong and too alluring. Letting the Vampire die will cause you too much pain. Only outcasts and misfits can live without the Vampire. So you will not let your beloved, foul-mouthed, violent, sex-crazed Vampire die. You will give him new life with a converter box if you haven't done so already. Perhaps your Analog Vampire has already been replaced by an even more dangerous Digital Vampire. He will continue to dominate your life. Perhaps you already have a shrine dedicated to him in your home.
I killed the Vampire in my home in 2003. At first it was hard. The Vampire's poison was in my blood. I was drawn to raise him from the dead, but with time the desire left, and so did the ill effects. Shocked at my actions and shrouded in guilt, people I know would defend the Vampire. The Vampire brings news and even wholesome entertainment.
They don't understand.
The Vampire sucks life — hours, weeks, months, years. I can get news and entertainment without him and not cede away my control.
They say that less than 1 percent of Americans live without the Vampire.
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.
Won't you join us?
In January 2003 Don and Aneladee Milne of Bountiful promised to take their children to Disneyland if they went a whole year without watching television programs. A year later, when they got back from Disneyland, they turned the TV back. They liked things better without it. They've remained "TV free" ever since.
On Feb. 17, the "Vampire" in your home will be dead. The Vampire has sucked your life away day and night for decades. Years ago, your home maybe had one Vampire, but chances are now there are two or three or more stalking you. No matter where you go — living room, kitchen, even your bedroom — the Vampire is there. And because the Vampire has bitten you, you are a docile servant to his desires. He can say things and show you things that you would not put up with from your family or neighbors.
The Vampire spends more time with your child than your child spends in school. Report after report tells us of the harm he has done to your child. The more time your child spends with the Vampire, the more promiscuous he or she becomes. The Vampire makes your kid fat. The Vampire causes behavior problems.
If you are average, once the Vampire is gone on Feb. 17, you will have restored 28 hours of your life every week. In one year's time that's almost 40 full workweeks. What could you do with this extra 1,500 hours? You could get a lot of exercise. You could increase your job skills. You could spend more time engaged with your family. You could develop a talent like playing a musical instrument. You could get a part-time job and increase your savings. You could even read something more uplifting than the Vampire listings. I know. You mock me. You disparage me. This is an impossible dream. The Vampire is too strong and too alluring. Letting the Vampire die will cause you too much pain. Only outcasts and misfits can live without the Vampire. So you will not let your beloved, foul-mouthed, violent, sex-crazed Vampire die. You will give him new life with a converter box if you haven't done so already. Perhaps your Analog Vampire has already been replaced by an even more dangerous Digital Vampire. He will continue to dominate your life. Perhaps you already have a shrine dedicated to him in your home.
I killed the Vampire in my home in 2003. At first it was hard. The Vampire's poison was in my blood. I was drawn to raise him from the dead, but with time the desire left, and so did the ill effects. Shocked at my actions and shrouded in guilt, people I know would defend the Vampire. The Vampire brings news and even wholesome entertainment.
They don't understand.
The Vampire sucks life — hours, weeks, months, years. I can get news and entertainment without him and not cede away my control.
They say that less than 1 percent of Americans live without the Vampire.
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.
Won't you join us?
In January 2003 Don and Aneladee Milne of Bountiful promised to take their children to Disneyland if they went a whole year without watching television programs. A year later, when they got back from Disneyland, they turned the TV back. They liked things better without it. They've remained "TV free" ever since.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Help Fight Freedom of Choice Act
As most of you know, last night Obama made a public announcement that he is going to sign the Freedom Of Choice Act, which will allow all types of abortions including partial birth abortions, also allowing babies who are born alive due to botched up late term abortions, to be set aside without any medical care or nourishment and left to die (most of these babies have no medical problems and most of the ones that do, have things like cleft palates, club feet, things that are correctable, still they are murdered in the most cruel and inhuman way. They feel everything that is happening to them. There is more mercy for dogs that are put to sleep) This Bill also will make it mandatory for doctors and nurses to perform this murderous act even if they do not want to do so. This act also allows under age teens to have an abortion, even partial birth abortions, without parental consent.
Catholic Bishops have pleaded with Obama not to go ahead with this horrible murder of innocent babies. They have also told Obama that if he persists in signing this Bill which would require even Catholic Hospitals to perform these acts of murder, they will have no choice but to close all Catholic Hospitals. Please let us join with these courageous Bishops who will go to any length to change Obama's mind. Please take a minute to sign this statement and let our voices be heard.
This is a great, informative website. You can click on the video of Obama's speech to the Planned Parenthood group where he promised that the first thing he would do if elected President would be to sign the Freedom Of Choice Act. He isn't even in the White House yet and he made a statement last night that he will go forward with his plans to sign this outrageous bill. He still can change his mind because the Bill cannot be signed until he is actually the President.
Please let your family and friends know about this Bill and ask them to also sign this petition. Even those who voted for Obama would not want him to sign this Bill. May God have mercy on our country for the sake of the millions who would never agree with this Bill if they fully understood all that it encompasses. Please click on the web site below. It will take less than a minute of your time, doesn't cost anything and God will bless you for standing up for Him and His teachings.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing"
http://www.fightfoca.com/
For more information on what a partial-birth abortion click on NPR Partial-birth Abortion
Catholic Bishops have pleaded with Obama not to go ahead with this horrible murder of innocent babies. They have also told Obama that if he persists in signing this Bill which would require even Catholic Hospitals to perform these acts of murder, they will have no choice but to close all Catholic Hospitals. Please let us join with these courageous Bishops who will go to any length to change Obama's mind. Please take a minute to sign this statement and let our voices be heard.
This is a great, informative website. You can click on the video of Obama's speech to the Planned Parenthood group where he promised that the first thing he would do if elected President would be to sign the Freedom Of Choice Act. He isn't even in the White House yet and he made a statement last night that he will go forward with his plans to sign this outrageous bill. He still can change his mind because the Bill cannot be signed until he is actually the President.
Please let your family and friends know about this Bill and ask them to also sign this petition. Even those who voted for Obama would not want him to sign this Bill. May God have mercy on our country for the sake of the millions who would never agree with this Bill if they fully understood all that it encompasses. Please click on the web site below. It will take less than a minute of your time, doesn't cost anything and God will bless you for standing up for Him and His teachings.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing"
http://www.fightfoca.com/
For more information on what a partial-birth abortion click on NPR Partial-birth Abortion
Thursday, January 8, 2009
TJEd Annual Form for 2009
Mark your Calendars, it's time for the TJEd Annual Forum for 2009. It will be held on March 7th, in Salt Lake City.
If you are interested, the web site is found on http://www.tjedmarketplace.com/.
Early birds must register by Feb 7th, 2009.
Prices at a glance:
Early Bird Adult $52.00
Early Bird Couple: $72.00
Regular Price Adult: $72.00
Regular Price Couple: $92.00
There are special events the day before that cost more if you would like to go earlier. I am personally only attending, on March 7th myself. I think that you can order lunch through the conference or leave to get lunch. What a wonderful time to have a get-away!
If you are interested, the web site is found on http://www.tjedmarketplace.com/.
Early birds must register by Feb 7th, 2009.
Prices at a glance:
Early Bird Adult $52.00
Early Bird Couple: $72.00
Regular Price Adult: $72.00
Regular Price Couple: $92.00
There are special events the day before that cost more if you would like to go earlier. I am personally only attending, on March 7th myself. I think that you can order lunch through the conference or leave to get lunch. What a wonderful time to have a get-away!
Monday, January 5, 2009
Beaker's "Ode To Joy"
We are having a blast studying classical musicians with our kids. Whoever said classical music couldn't be fun? Ode To Joy is my 13-month-old's favorite song. She dances around to it every time I play it on the piano. Enjoy!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
My greatest blessings call me Mom
For Christmas, I received from my sister-in-law a decorative tile embossed beautifully with the words, "My greatest blessings call me Mom." I was so touched by the message that it was hard for me to read it to my children for the frog in my throat. My oldest asked me, "Mom, are we really your greatest blessings?" From experience, I figured I was safe to assume that her question would be sarcastic. That is one of my traits I unfortunatly passed on. But as she asked, I listened to the tone of her voice. The sarcasm was lacking. I looked at her face, and the sneering smile was missing. All I heard was the voice of a child who hadn't been assured enough of my love for her. And all I saw was the yearning in her eyes--the need to know that I treasured her more than all worldly treasures.
I realized that I had taken for granted my children's knowledge that I love them (and their father) more than anyone else on this earth. I just assumed that they knew. Sadly enough, it is not for lack of me saying it that they question my love. I tell them all the time. But my actions--my inability to control my temper, my wiggling out of commitments I hoped they would forget, my demand for perfection--all told a different story.
None of us is perfect. We all make mistakes. I could as easily have listed the good things I do as the things I mess up. I am so grateful that we have a Savior that allows us to repent and change. I am equally as grateful that a loving Heavenly Father sent children to earth with forgiving hearts. I don't know when my heart changed from that childlike love to a judgemental cynical one, but I am working to recapture that love. And with five wonderful gifts from God here to show me how, I'll get there.
I realized that I had taken for granted my children's knowledge that I love them (and their father) more than anyone else on this earth. I just assumed that they knew. Sadly enough, it is not for lack of me saying it that they question my love. I tell them all the time. But my actions--my inability to control my temper, my wiggling out of commitments I hoped they would forget, my demand for perfection--all told a different story.
None of us is perfect. We all make mistakes. I could as easily have listed the good things I do as the things I mess up. I am so grateful that we have a Savior that allows us to repent and change. I am equally as grateful that a loving Heavenly Father sent children to earth with forgiving hearts. I don't know when my heart changed from that childlike love to a judgemental cynical one, but I am working to recapture that love. And with five wonderful gifts from God here to show me how, I'll get there.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Storytelling Helps Children Bond with Parents
A bedtime story is every child's birthright. Ending the day with a parent reading to them or telling them a tale is an integral part of normal growth and development. Storytelling is as old as language itself. The first yarn was probably told about a day and a half after the spoken word was invented. Others have contended that storytelling is a natural consequence of trying to understand our own dreams, and fables and myths are the attempt to explain the unexplainable.
For the child and parent, reading together has great mutual advantages. Probably the most important is that a parent is there. Having the child intimately close is one of the real reasons to read to children. It is not a race for them to shut their eyes and the parent to close the book and turn out the light. Love is taught by physical presence.
At bedtime, heroes are introduced to a child. The verbal modeling of greatness or goodness from stories can plant similar seeds in the fertile mind of a child. From the ancients the heroics of Odysseus or Hercules or the wonders of Krishna fill the early nights. Religious history also has its mighty righteous warriors who fight for truth and justice and the gentle heroines who gain victories without the sword. Today it is Spider-Man or Batman but their job is still to vanquish evil. Fear is conquered along with the bad guy.
One of the soothing powers of talking to children is simply the soft sound of the parent's gentle speech. Recognition of the maternal voice is already established at birth since the fetus has been eavesdropping on her conversations for the past while.
The calming voice of a parent is what can still the storm of children and bandage their wounds. It is not a coincident that traditional mental health treatment is called talk therapy or that divine reassurance can come from the sounds of a still small voice.
Stories from the nursery also have an interesting power for the child to experience distress and learn to overcome it. Hansel and Gretel is one of the most famous yet scary stories of childhood.
The worse fear of any child is the thought of losing a parent. The next is the fear of an abusing parent and the last is the rejection of a parent. Hansel and Gretel had all three. Their mother dies, the stepmother is cruel, and they are abandoned by their father. Yet in spite of all these crises, and not counting the creepy culinary habits of the witch, brother and sister triumph with resourcefulness.
With listening, not seeing a TV or movie, children are able to self-edit the creepy parts. They can determine how deep and dark are the woods. In modern media, adults, not children, decide how spooky is the forest and how ugly is the witch.
It is not just the telling of their ultimate reunion with a repentant father that gives the folk tale a happy ending. Instead it is the act of reading the scary parts that a parent becomes the antidote. By being present the parent metabolizes the toxicity of the poisonous fear.
Interestingly, one of the more successful treatment modalities in adults for post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, is to have the patient re-experience the memories and emotions with someone who is trusted in a safe and secure setting. It is like an adult bedtime story on steroids. This reconstruction attaches new emotions to the old fears, facilitating the brain to heal. They learn they can handle the panic. This facing of fear with trust is similar to what a child encounters with storytelling by a sensitive parent.
It is like bedtime storytelling is a mini-psychological session to prevent or treat childhood PTSD with the parent as the therapist. All of a sudden, "And they lived happily ever after" has a whole new meaning.
Joe Cramer, M.D., is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, practicing pediatrician for more than 25 years and an adjunct professor of pediatrics at the University of Utah. He can be reached at jgcramermd@yahoo.com.
For the child and parent, reading together has great mutual advantages. Probably the most important is that a parent is there. Having the child intimately close is one of the real reasons to read to children. It is not a race for them to shut their eyes and the parent to close the book and turn out the light. Love is taught by physical presence.
At bedtime, heroes are introduced to a child. The verbal modeling of greatness or goodness from stories can plant similar seeds in the fertile mind of a child. From the ancients the heroics of Odysseus or Hercules or the wonders of Krishna fill the early nights. Religious history also has its mighty righteous warriors who fight for truth and justice and the gentle heroines who gain victories without the sword. Today it is Spider-Man or Batman but their job is still to vanquish evil. Fear is conquered along with the bad guy.
One of the soothing powers of talking to children is simply the soft sound of the parent's gentle speech. Recognition of the maternal voice is already established at birth since the fetus has been eavesdropping on her conversations for the past while.
The calming voice of a parent is what can still the storm of children and bandage their wounds. It is not a coincident that traditional mental health treatment is called talk therapy or that divine reassurance can come from the sounds of a still small voice.
Stories from the nursery also have an interesting power for the child to experience distress and learn to overcome it. Hansel and Gretel is one of the most famous yet scary stories of childhood.
The worse fear of any child is the thought of losing a parent. The next is the fear of an abusing parent and the last is the rejection of a parent. Hansel and Gretel had all three. Their mother dies, the stepmother is cruel, and they are abandoned by their father. Yet in spite of all these crises, and not counting the creepy culinary habits of the witch, brother and sister triumph with resourcefulness.
With listening, not seeing a TV or movie, children are able to self-edit the creepy parts. They can determine how deep and dark are the woods. In modern media, adults, not children, decide how spooky is the forest and how ugly is the witch.
It is not just the telling of their ultimate reunion with a repentant father that gives the folk tale a happy ending. Instead it is the act of reading the scary parts that a parent becomes the antidote. By being present the parent metabolizes the toxicity of the poisonous fear.
Interestingly, one of the more successful treatment modalities in adults for post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, is to have the patient re-experience the memories and emotions with someone who is trusted in a safe and secure setting. It is like an adult bedtime story on steroids. This reconstruction attaches new emotions to the old fears, facilitating the brain to heal. They learn they can handle the panic. This facing of fear with trust is similar to what a child encounters with storytelling by a sensitive parent.
It is like bedtime storytelling is a mini-psychological session to prevent or treat childhood PTSD with the parent as the therapist. All of a sudden, "And they lived happily ever after" has a whole new meaning.
Joe Cramer, M.D., is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, practicing pediatrician for more than 25 years and an adjunct professor of pediatrics at the University of Utah. He can be reached at jgcramermd@yahoo.com.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
We No Longer Own a TV
Well, it's official. Our family no longer owns a TV. We sold our large TV and entertainment center to my sister and they came to pick it up today. We took our small one to the thrift store. It honestly feels a little strange... like an old friend has moved out of our house.
My husband and I decided to do this two nights ago when my five-year-old son had a melt down about us watching TV when he went to bed. He has only watched educational DVDs for the last two months. We realized that we were not being consistent, even hypocritical in stating that the children were not allowed to watch TV, but my son could hear us watch it every time he went to bed. Our example is the most powerful thing we can offer our children, and we need to live what we preach.
My son has been thrilled about the TVs absence. He knows that we are going to do family time instead of "turn off your brain time."
We took most of our DVDs to Hastings and got in-store credit to by some books we have wanted. I tried to save only the DVD we felt were classics (that we can watch on the computer.) I did also save some fun children DVDs for long car trips (like the 8 hours to Grandma's for Christmas.)
We bought a book shelf and put it in the entertainment center's place for more books. I feel like we now have a room dedicated to learning, instead of entertaining. It is so Liberating!
My husband and I decided to do this two nights ago when my five-year-old son had a melt down about us watching TV when he went to bed. He has only watched educational DVDs for the last two months. We realized that we were not being consistent, even hypocritical in stating that the children were not allowed to watch TV, but my son could hear us watch it every time he went to bed. Our example is the most powerful thing we can offer our children, and we need to live what we preach.
My son has been thrilled about the TVs absence. He knows that we are going to do family time instead of "turn off your brain time."
We took most of our DVDs to Hastings and got in-store credit to by some books we have wanted. I tried to save only the DVD we felt were classics (that we can watch on the computer.) I did also save some fun children DVDs for long car trips (like the 8 hours to Grandma's for Christmas.)
We bought a book shelf and put it in the entertainment center's place for more books. I feel like we now have a room dedicated to learning, instead of entertaining. It is so Liberating!
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