Nurturing Passion

I've been trying to gather my thoughts for a post of ideas for this Mother's Day.  It has left me reflecting quite a bit these last couple of days.  Today I was thinking about my role as a mother, and how I want my children to always feel loved and supported by me.

Today my sister shared this video montage of my amazing little niece, Bridgette.  Bridgette just turned 7 years old.  From the time she was little bitty, it was obvious this child had a passion for gymnastics.  I remember telling my sister three years ago, knowing Bridgette's natural talent, that she needed to do whatever it took to provide the opportunities she needed to pursue this passion.  

And here she is... still loving it!

I have so much respect for my sister for offering her children a chance to do what they love.  Bridgette is a gymnast, McKenzie is an amazing artist, Sydney loves to dance... and Scarlet is still just a baby... so we're waiting for her to shine in her own unique way.  Those are my sister's children.  My children have their own passions.  Charlotte loves nature, animals, science and creation.  Tatum loves role-playing and fashion.  Wesley is constantly trying to figure out how he can build a robot, a time machine, or create invisibility potion.  No two kids will be the same in your home.  I can almost guarantee it!

The amazing thing about passion is that it is internally driven.  There is a desire to learn, understand, practice, perfect, and experience!  It is the difference between the child that teaches themselves to play the piano, and the child that is forced to sit in lessons each week.  The child that craves the opportunities versus the child that is made to practice.

Charlotte, on one of the best days of her life, as she describes it.
A Dolphin Encounter program where she was actually in the water with a dolphin.

Sometimes it is hard for us to recognize passion.  Sometimes passions are sparked through experiences or encounters.  Some children may appear to have several (as some adults), and other children may seem not to have any.  When we notice our child is naturally good at something, or thirsty for opportunities, it is our role as parents to make sure those doors open for them.  We can nurture their learning and understandings, or we can hold them back.  Even I admit that in my crazy schedule it isn't always easy to say, "Yes, let's go outside on a nature hunt!  The chores can wait until later."  I am encouraging you (ok... myself too) to make room in your lives for your child's passions.

Wesley made sure to get a turn at each of the interactive energy tables at the science museum.

So how do you open those doors?  When you have recognized passions within your child, you might need to start out by learning more about it yourself.  My sister isn't a gymnast, so she started looking into schools and what they offered.  You may search the internet, talk to others who might be able to provide information, find books at the library, and so on.  Talk to your child!  They will let you know where they want to start.  What are they most curious about?  What do they enjoy the most?  Learn from them, and you will know how to guide them along.

Tatum has been swimming like a mermaid since she was 3.  She loves to swim!

Why is this important?  I feel a life lived through passion is a life lived on purpose.  We all have wonderful gifts to share, and the natural desire to learn and create is an amazing energy to ride.  I can guarantee that any person who nurtures their passions in life will be a happy individual, living a fulfilling life.

And who wouldn't want that for their children?!

So... If you have spent the time to read me rambling on, which I don't do too often here at Sun Scholars, I would LOVE to hear what your passions are, and how your parents helped nurture them as you were growing!  How do you nurture passion in your own children?  Please share!

Promoting Good Behavior - Reward Store

Don't call me mother of the year.  I think like most mothers out there, I am always feeling like I could be doing a better job at one thing or another.  Recently, I had both my Chinese driver and my Chinese housekeeper tell me that they thought my children were so well behaved, and always listen to me.  THIS, coming from people that spend a LOT of time with me and the kids.  I about FELL OFF MY CHAIR.  I for one, feel like my children NEVER listen to me.  Please tell me I'm not alone here.... PLEASE!!

Ok... so another attempt on my part to bring some "lets work together" harmony into our home.  A while back I had seen THIS idea which I shared on a collection of Parenting Tips, Tricks & Inspirations.  I think this will be the perfect motivator for my kids, the perfect thing for me to implement, and a great way offer positive reinforcement in place of the nagging I've resorted to.  I have made some changes to make it more appropriate for our home.  And of course... after using it for a few weeks, I've learned a thing or two.  I'll share...

Our living room now proudly displays the Reward Store.

Rather than offering an allowance, or using a chore chart, my children earn Mommy Money that they can use to buy things from the Reward Store.

First...

We went shopping together!  I told the children that we were buying things that they wanted to go into our store.  We had a nice variety of items, some inexpensive, and some more.  Some toys, games, treats, books, and so on.  The kids were great about helping select the items.  And no... I didn't buy EVERYTHING they brought to the cart.  ;)

Next...

I had the children put prices on each item.  I tried to keep it in "real" terms.  If it was a $5 book, then they put a $5 sticker on that item.  If it was a $20 basketball, it got a $20 sticker.  However, I thought it was likely smarter to put a higher ticket price on the candy we tossed in.  Instead of a $.50 package of M&Ms, we marked them at $3.  

You know your kids better than anyone.  I know, that if I have a Reward Store full of candy, then my kids will be buying nothing but!!!  So after a few weeks of using our store, I'm debating as to whether or not I keep the candy in the store.  If I do keep it, I will be increasing the price, I am sure.

A great thing to add...

Years ago my sister gave me this AWESOME Kids Coupon Book.

It was the PERFECT addition to our Reward Store.  

 

 I added this book to our store, but added a price tag to the back of each.  That way the kids can choose an item from the coupon book as well.  It is your choice if you allow the children to reuse coupons, which I decided to do.  Of course, who needs a book!  You can create your own coupons for your Reward Store!

Some of my favorite coupons in the book are...
* Stay up one hour past your bedtime
* Your choice of one item at the grocery store
* You don't have to clean your room for a week
* Your own batch of cookies, to share or keep for yourself
* A birthday cake, and it doesn't have to be your birthday

Ready, Set, Display!

Find a place that is up and away, but visible to display your Reward Store.  I found a great plastic tub that I was able to fit most of our stuff in.  My daughter was excited to make a sign for the store, which we hung on front, then we placed our "store" on top of the bookshelf in our living room.

So what about the Mommy Money?

You can download the template that I used to create my Mommy Money HERE (it is a Word 2007 Document).

I found a photo of myself and my husband, and cropped the image to the shape of an oval.  If you see below, I am using Word to do so with a photo of my husband.

1.  Add the photo you would like to use

2.  Right mouse click on the photo and select "Format Picture", click the "Layout" tab, and select "In front of text"

3. Select from the "Format" tab on the Word menu then "Picture Shape" as seen in the image above.

There, you will see the oval shape option (circled in red).  Select that.

4.  Resize your photo to the appropriate size, and place it in the middle of your bill.

5.  Copy and past your cropped photo into each of the other bills.

Earning Mommy Money

At our house, it is WAY harder to earn a Daddy Dollar than it is Mommy Money!  You need to decide what things you want to encourage in your children.  It may be different for each kid in your house too.  For me, having the kids pick up after themselves, get ready for school and bed without my nagging, doing homework without being told, and being kind to each other, are my BIG things.  So these are all things they earn money for.

I reward my children with $1 for each morning we get off to school on time without me having to tell them more than once.. "Finish your breakfast!"... "Get dressed!"... "Put on your coat!"... and so on.  If they are going out of their way to be helpful, they can earn a dollar or two.  If they, on their own accord, are exceptionally kind to another sibling, I may be willing to offer up even more.

The key is, decide what you want to encourage in your children!

It is up to you if you think confiscating Mommy Money is a route you want to go.  I have told my children that being unkind to each other will result in them having to "pay" the other child from their own Mommy Money stash.

Also keep in mind how quickly you'd like your children to be able to redeem prizes from the Reward Store. If you are forking out enough cash for your child to be buying items from the store each day, you may need to rethink your strategy!  Give out less money, or raise the prices in the store!

Adding to the Store

How many times do your kids come up to you at the store BEGGING to have this or that??  I think the Reward Store is a great solution to that.  Now you might be more inclined to buy that item, only to stick a price on it and toss it into the store.  Your kids are still selecting the items.. and are more motivated because these are things that they really want, right?  So keep adding the store.  Make it fun and mix it up!

If you give it a try, I'd LOVE to hear how it goes for you!

What things do you have in your Reward Store?

Happy Kids... Happy Mommy!!!

Ballet Shoe Advice For Parents of Little Ballerinas

Your child is now a budding dancer – complete with bun, leotard, chiffon skirt and pink ballet shoes. In 15 years, she’s going to take the stage and be the next Anna Pavlova!

That, of course, will take years of hard work and training. But you can make a significant contribution to your child’s dance career early on by ensuring you buy proper-fitting ballet shoes.

When ballet shoes fit, they should fit like a snug sock and move with the feet. If they are too tight, the toes will curl inside and the back will cut into the achille’s heel – a painful way to dance. If the shoes are too loose, the shoes will look “floppy” and the child will struggle through jumps and turns.

Proper-fitting ballet slippers don’t have to cost a lot. The typical pair runs anywhere from $15-20 and with the internet, you can buy them online if you know your child’s size. For the first pair, it is recommended that you get your child fitted at a store that specializes in dancewear.

Inevitably, as your child grows, you’ll need to invest in new shoes to maintain the proper fit. But don’t despair, as you can buy shoes that are a ½ size larger in some cases so they can grow into the shoe. Be careful to ensure the fit is not too loose for the child.

Ballet shoes often run a few sizes smaller than street size, so if you noticed your child’s street size increasing, it might be time for new ballet shoes.

If you’d like to learn more about how to buy ballet shoes, visit Best Ballet Shoes.

5 Fun Manners Games - Teaching Kids the Fun Way

My favorite scene in the movie cheaper by the dozen is the crazy breakfast scene where the missing frog reappears and creates complete mayhem.

This scene reminds me of the continued need for table manner training in my home. And I have some fun simple ideas and games to help you teach manners to your kids

Oink Oink - This s a fun table manner reminder game. You will need some sort of pig either stuffed, plastic or a picture you have printed off the computer of a pig.

To Play -
If someone breaks a table manner rule that is on the list 2 or 3 of the ones you are working on and another family member squeals on him by saying "Oink, Oink " the pig is then placed in front of the table manner breakers plate and they are informed as to what manner rule was broken.

Through out the meal the pig will travel to person to person as rules are broken. The last person with the little pig during the diner meal is the Oink , Oink helper of the night and given a kitchen duty such as clearing the table, sweeping the floor etc.

* A variation of the game would be to keep score and wait till the end of the week and decide who is the Oink, Oink helper.

Manners B-I-N-G-O - Using manners bingo cards with various table manners written in each square to play Bingo. You can download FREE manners bingo cards .

To Play:
If one of the table guest ( family members) is seen doing a great job on one or more of their table manners they get to put a "X" on that square. The first one to get a bingo wins.

* From moreofamom.com


Table Manner QUIZ - Give a pop quiz to your family members (and Mom and Dad too!) on what kinds of things you should and shouldn't do at the dinner table. The winner gets to pick who washes the dishes that evening. Click here to get your FREE pop quiz.


Mrs. Manners Says - a Manner variation of Simon says. During dinner or family time Mrs. Manners calls out good or bad manner actions to those playing the game. If it is a good manner the players are to act it out, if it is a bad manner players are to remain still. For example Mr.s Manners calls out "chew with your mouth closed" players all chew with their mouths closed. If Mrs. Manners calls out use your shirt sleeve to wipe your mouth, players are to remain still. If a player makes a mistake and does a bad manner action you can choose to have them sit our the next round of play.

Blunders Game -The game Blunders board game, teaches children table manners, introductions, guest and host skills, not to gossip, to show respect and telephone manners. Designed for ages 5 to 10, it can be played by two or more players. Blunders is available at http://www.blundersmania.com/

Five Manners Essential to Your Child’s Success

Arden Clise shared these tips with us on Kids and Manners during this week Live Webcast.

Five Manners Essential to Your Child’s Success

by: Arden Clise

1. Good table manners.

· Chew with their mouths closed and chew quietly.

· Wait to eat until everyone has been served.

· Put their napkin on their lap and to use it to wipe their mouth but never to blow their nose.

· Don’t eat with their fingers unless they are too young to use utensils.

· Teach them how to use their utensils properly.

2. Introduce themselves and others.

· Introduce themselves if not introduced

· When introducing two people say the name of the older person or person with a title first and say the name of the younger person or person without a title second. Example: “Coach Ball this is my friend Mary Smith.”

3. Conversation skills.

· Listen, don’t interrupt

· Not a monologue.

· Don’t just wait to talk.

· As parent, reinforce listening skills. Put Blackberry down. Be a good role model.

4. Write thank you notes.

· Kids need to be reminded and prompted.

A few TY note pointers to help:

1. Have a supply of note cards on hand.

2. Send the card within 48 hours so that feelings are still fresh

3. Follow this format for thank you notes:

a. Say thank you for the gift or whatever it is you received.

b. Let the giver know what you plan to do with it or have done with it.

c. Tell the person how much you like the gift or why you are so happy with it

d. If your child didn’t like the gift or received a duplicate have them say something about how thoughtful it was of the giver to give them a gift.

5. Be nice and courteous to others.

· Respect differences

· Be kind to others and don’t intentionally hurt people.

· Say please and thank you.

· Help others – hold doors, help coach put equipment away, visit friend in hospital

· Look for the positive – give sincere compliment

Modern Manners for Modern Children class, March 5, 11am to 1pm, Bothell, WA. For more information go to http://www.cliseetiquette.com/events/

Free Monster Spray Label

Have the monsters arrived in your home? you know the ones that only appear at night just about the time your children are headed off to bed. Your children promise you that these monsters are living under their beds and playing in their closets while they sleep. Today we found a new solution to rid your home of the bed time monsters. Kim from Seven Thirty Three blog created a FREE label to create your own Monster be gone spray for your kids to use before they head off to bed each night.

For complete how to create your own Monster spry bottle click here.


Click here to get your free Boy Monster spray label.




Click here to get your free Girl Monster spray label.