Acorn & Rose

2010-12-27T12:37:00.001-08:00

Love Is In the Air

2010-08-07T10:24:00.000-07:00

It's been the busiest time so no time for posting. But had to pass this on:

It says Cat Stevens is singing but I think it's really John Paul Young. No matter, such a great song and great pics too!

Changes

2010-07-02T11:03:00.000-07:00

Among the loveliest of picture books ever:

"Where does the wind go?" When a little boy asks this question at the end of a happy day, his mother explains that the wind does not stop - it blows away to make the trees dance somewhere else. Reassuringly, she tells him that nothing ever ends, it simply begins in another place or in another way. Rain goes back into the clouds to create new storms, waves fold back upon the sea to become new waves, and the day moves on to make way for the night, bringing the darkness and stars for the little boy to dream in.

Says one parent: The prose is so soothing and imaginative it actually lulled my child to sleep.

It's called When the Wind Stops, by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by Stefano Vitale. Find it here: http://astore.amazon.com/httpwwwacorna-20/detail/0064434729

Equally enriching:

This lovely book illuminates all the possibilities a day offers—the opportunities and chances that won’t ever come again . . . timeless but appealing to all ages, from one to one hundred.

Available here: http://astore.amazon.com/httpwwwacorna-20/detail/0810983214

Please feel free to leave your comments, I love hearing from you and appreciate your thoughts and questions. Check back for answers right here. Thank you for taking time to visit!

2010-06-28T23:19:00.000-07:00

This video is profound and moving ~ perhaps the littlest child will understand it best of all, and our old wise ones. Enjoy!

If you have trouble viewing it here, please click on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAVjF_7ensg

One more beautiful gift: if you want simple, quick and enjoyable lessons in astronomy for your kids or yourself, you'll want to add this site to your Favorites: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ Two fun astronomers post daily pictures showing divine marvels and zillions of things to wonder about.

Puppets on Parade!

2010-06-26T21:18:00.000-07:00

Acorn & Rose puppets joined our hometown parade ~ with the help of caring parents and dear, enthusiastic kids. Brought lots of smiles and good cheer.

All Those Kids In Love With Dragons ~ Books and Activities

2010-06-17T07:54:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, out on a sunny, windblown hill with great tall fir trees, a little boy had his fourth birthday celebration - and Acorn&Rose puppets were there to help. The hillside was enriched by a variety of hooting owls, chirping songbirds - and several roaring dragons. It was hard to hold down the little boy's friends. They all wanted to help with dragon roars and flight! And truly, could there be anything quite so tempting as a dragon's offer to come fly with him?

Dragons can breathe fire, fly, talk, and shapeshift. They are known to be gentle as well as fierce and dangerous. They are protectors sometimes, or necromancers. They kill for treasure and horde their finds in lonely caves. Heroes of all kinds have faced dragons to protect innocent peoples. At one time, it is said, the children of China all got together and created the dragon to keep their country from war.

Children - boys and girls, little and big, everywhere - children love dragons. They love to dream about meeting them, confronting or taming them, slaying them or riding on their backs to unknown places.

There are books and books and books filled with dragon legends, stories, and lore. If you have children ages four to twelve or so, the list below offers a variety for the thoughtful contemplation of dragons and their meaningful place in the world - the great world beyond or the world of a child's making. (This list offers a broad spectrum which may serve as a launch for understanding different perspectives - how one subject may be viewed and understood in many different lights.)

The Reluctant Dragon, by Kenneth Graham, abridged and illustrated by Inga Moore

My Father's Dragon (and two excellent sequels), by Ruth Stiles Gannet, illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannet ~ funny and compelling

Magic in the Mist, by Marjorie Kimmel, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, a picture book for all ages

The Secret in the Matchbox, by Val Willis, illustrated by John Shelly ~ set in a classroom

Saint George and the Dragon, by Margaret Hodges, a Caldecott Gold winner, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman ~ the classic dragon legend of the West

City of Dragons, by Laurence Yep ~ a story of the more humane dragons of the East. Yep wrote many fine dragon stories, picture books to novels

Legend of the Chinese Dragon, by Marie Sellier, illustrated by Catherine Louis with calligraphy and chop marks by Wang Fei ~ something very different yet satisfying

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, first told by him to his children and originally published just for children

How to Raise and Keep a Dragon, by John Topsell, a thorough, detailed guidebook, starting with a dragon's egg - too clever and jive for me, but otherwise good

Along with all this reading and imagining, a boy or girl may just need a castle to return to, and here is a great inspiration: http://annwood.net/blog/category/cardboard-castles/ As you can see, Ann makes these by collecting odd shapes of cardboard - and just gets rolling.

Storm the castle! http://www.stormthecastle.com/ has lots of tutorials for making shields, swords, catapults and much more, great for a parent to share with a child.

How to make simple, quick playcapes:
http://thelittleredhen.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/03/play-capes.html

Easy instructions here for sock puppet dragons http://www.buttonbag.co.uk/free-projects.php To cut the mouth look here: http://www.daniellesplace.com/html/puppets.html

A Favorite Poem

2010-06-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

IF
Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with triumph and disaster

And treat those two imposters just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

photo credit: Inga Neilsen, posted here: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060620.html

What Is in The Winds?

2010-06-11T04:20:00.000-07:00

A friend's child's recent questions: Where does the wind come from? Can we call it to us? Can anything stop it when it comes? Powerful questions! What answers do we have?

United States Army records detail several occasions when the great Apache war shaman Geronimo called the wind, creating massive sandstorms that allowed his people to pass unharmed through treacherous days and nights. This is explored in a book NOT for children, but with stories a parent might selectively retell to a child, Watch for Me on the Mountain, by Forrest Carter. Read reviews here: http://astore.amazon.com/httpwwwacorna-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=22

A highly recommended guidebook for making all different types of kites: Kites for Everyone by Margaret Greger, available here http://astore.amazon.com/httpwwwacorna-20?node=10&page=3

And very pleased to introduce a prize-winning online store called Will of the Wind, owned and operated for several years by two steadfast, lovely women, Jan Hazelton and Kathy Joens. They offer a beautiful variety of windy products (chimes, banners, weathervanes and more), all top quality, with superb customer care. Their beautiful kites are already made and ready to fly: http://www.willofthewind.com/categories.asp?cat=2

Of their store, Jan and Kathy say: "Will of the Wind began with the concept of setting sails and lofty thoughts into the freedom of the wind. We have been amazed with the creativity and diversity that flourish in the world of kite design. It really is a wonderland for kids of all ages to explore.

"Our kites come in a variety of shapes, sizes and themes, so if you are looking to discover a kite for yourself, a child, a friend or an event, we welcome you to visit Will of the Wind at http://www.willofthewind.com/

"Thank you, Acorn and Rose, for mentioning us on your wonderful blog."

You are welcome, Will of the Wind!

What More Wonderful?

2010-06-08T06:21:00.000-07:00

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1189 This is a delightful site to explore, and what more wonderful than birds to share with children?

For the last few days in my garden a flock of cedar waxwings has been flurrying in and out of the Indian plum bushes, eating the unripe fruits, whistling and trilling their sweet calls. I learned more about them on the All About Birds site (you can listen to their recordings of birdsongs), and am so pleased to pass on their program for kids:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/birdsleuth/about/what-is-birdsleuth?utm_source=aab&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=CrossPromoteAAB_BS_20100201

To add to the meaning and fun of all this learning, you and your kids may fall in love with two great ones - both individuals who didn't "fit in" at school - John James Audubon and Charles Darwin.

Each of these books offers surprises and insights that make exploring nature all the more meaningful. Besides, One Beetle Too Many is very funny.

These books are easy to find at your local library ~ or purchase them here: http://astore.amazon.com/httpwwwacorna-20?node=21&page=2

Happy birdsong days to you!

Learning Reading and Writing

2010-06-07T08:15:00.000-07:00

It occurred to me, after sharing the experiment done in the 1920's, that I could share a few of my own stories about reading and writing with kids.

For some years I've traveled the Northwest presenting inspirational one-day "Young Author Programs." A day-long program starts with a slide show for all the children, kindergarten to sixth grade. It is quite a challenge to hold an audience consisting of unformed little ones, bright and eager learners, and jaded older students busy being cool for one another. But the slide show works well because everyone feels included. I show the kids books and stories of my own, and show them things from my life that I love - my animals and trees and gardens, and most of all my son, things he and I have done together. They love that we had gone sledding in the moonlight, they love that we slept out with our dog and cat and goats and chickens. The older kids love that Jesse was a baggy-pants, shaggy-haired skateboarder who convinced our whole town to build a skatepark by writing letters and making his own newspaper . . . colorful stuff that lifted their schoolkid hearts. The Young Authors day also includes handson workshops by grade level. On the day of the visit, always there are kids all the way to sixth grade who suddenly write pages and pages about their own cares, interests and passions. Kids who had never written anything at all, and who had shown no interest in reading. One autistic boy who had never spoken asked questions from the back of the room and walked right up with more questions about everything.

It is obvious that reading and writing are gifts kids will greatly treasure for many reasons of their own. One of my first insights of this came from a friend who taught reading in the deep south of Georgia. She had high school teenagers who had driven tractors and plowed fields since they were children, who had seen crazy drunks and lynchings. They were not drawn to Dick and Jane readers or anything else offered up in schoolrooms. She brought in stacks and stacks of Life magazines and asked them what they thought. They approved, and most of them became proficient readers while simply relating to the up and down dramas of American life.

With my son: read-aloud in front of the fire, read-aloud in my lap, read-aloud at bedtime . . . he said much later that reading aloud was one of the best parts of his childhood. But he himself was not ready to read until he was about seven, at which time he simply decided he would do it because he loved books already. He chose the moment he was ready and accepted the help he needed to decipher all the symbols on his own.

Once I was asked to give a talk to a group of eighty seasoned reading teachers. I was reckless and said sure! Before me at their round breakfast tables they all sat, drinking coffee and expectant. And you know, I just said, I am an artist and a single mother and here are some things that have worked. One thing they loved: how you can make up a story, any story, with a stick drawing in the middle of a blank page. A big rock is good, or a tree with gnarly roots, or a little campfire. Then you can ask your children what comes next - a stream, some trees, some hills or a cabin or castle or tent - some people and animals, a storyteller, a flute-player - something in the skies - maybe there is a little rock with a symbol carved into it by someone long ago. Now someone picks up the rock; a doorway opens up that goes into another world - pretty exciting stuff! Of course then you have to work together to write down sentences to go with the picture, maybe draw some more, and then more words come . . . and reading is a happening thing, naturally, through having fun. After this and other homespun ideas, these old timers said they were refreshed and inspired.

Where else can inspiring ideas come from? Children love learning how to interview, they love interviewing old people or teenagers who come to your classroom, and they write their questions and answers with such great care . . . They love shelves and cupboards stuffed with books and magazines everywhere, making collages, crafting handmade books with captions and pictures of their own. Esme Raji Codell, in Educating Esme tells how she crafted a time machine - a cardboard appliance box with a revolving red light and other gadgets, crammed with books. Her fifth-graders loved reading in that space!

A puppet post office takes up less space than a time machine. If you use puppets to introduce subjects, to teach tricky concepts, to perk up your kids, or for conflict resolution- you can have a decorated cardboard box with a slot where they can drop letters to the puppets. (I did once with a fairy post office in a multi-age classroom, they all got into it.) This can develop into a subculture in your room where your kids are reading and writing just for the fun of it. You might get so many letters that you'll need parent volunteers to help answer all of them.

Last one for the moment ~ while volunteering in a local third grade classroom, I met a little girl who was still completely illiterate, and asked if we could do some things together. We sat at a table outside her class, just talking, swapping stories to get to know one another, no biggie. I asked her to share her life story with me, everything she could remember, and offered to be her "scribe." She liked the idea, and I wrote quickly to get every word down. At home I neatly hand-printed it all out for her. The story was filled with her parents' and brother's intense and harsh moments - lashings-out and screaming, sad things for a little girl that would put anyone into an anxious fog. Next time we met, we looked at her four pages together, and started to read her story. We met two or three more times, and she read without help. Her reading difficulties were over. She told me she had posted her story near her bed, and her teacher told me after those few days she participated successfully in academic work.

Educating Esme is a fantastic read for teachers and parents, very funny with lots of insights. Available for seventy-five cents right here: http://astore.amazon.com/httpwwwacorna-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=4

Loving to Learn

2010-06-02T08:43:00.000-07:00

IN FACT it is nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instructions have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry. ~ Albert Einstein

Individuals have their own ways of perceiving and learning, and while public schooling is now all about standardized drilling and testing, other educators and parents are realizing more and more that there are as many ways to learn as there are individuals, even when it comes to the basics of reading and writing.

A favorite example of this is an experiment done all the way back in the 1920's in Winnetka, Illinois. First graders of similar mental and chronological age, as well as similar home environments, were divided into two groups - one group was taught to read using traditional methods that had gotten fairly good results but still ended in some kids not getting it. The second group was treated very differently. Children were given books and reading materials to peruse as they wished. They were read to, individually and in groups. They were helped and instructed when and if they asked. Their teachers modeled enjoyment of books and reading.

Each of the two groups was tracked for the next seven years. In the first year, the kids instructed with the traditional method were clearly better readers. Every year after that, the second group excelled progressively more in reading, academic and people skills. By the final year, the second group was found by outside teachers and psychologists to show enthusiasm and eagerness to learn, cooperation, and spontaneity, far more than the kids who had been taught by right/wrong, success/failure, reward/punishment methods.

How simple can it be?

A few helpful guides to finding the way are posted here: http://acornandrose.com/Shop.aspx

And this is an absolutely fantastic book whether your child is homeschooled, unschooled, or goes to a public or private school,

available here: http://astore.amazon.com/httpwwwacorna-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=11

Note: the creator of the brain illustration is unknown to me, but I would like to give proper credit if the person is found. Any clues, please let me know.

Secrets From the Earth

2010-05-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

Teaching children stressed by caustic media and standardized testing, I find that a ball of earthen clay in their hands has very soothing effects - they actually become peaceful and harmonious while working with their clay, and often ask to take some home. Anything to do with nature makes kids happier. Not surprisingly, science backs this up - read this article from Time Colonist, May 25, Victoria, BC (the books pictured here were not mentioned in the article):

Parents, here’s another reason for your kids to play outdoors in the dirt: It may make them smarter. And, as a side benefit, dirt appears to be a natural anti-anxiety drug, but without the sideeffects. Mice exposed to a bacterium found in soil navigated a maze twice as fast, and with less anxiety, as control mice, in studies presented yesterday at the 110th general meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in San Diego.

The researchers say we’ve become so urbanized we risk losing a connection with an organism in nature that may actually be beneficial to humans.

Dr. Dorothy Matthews became intrigued by mycobacterium vaccae — a natural soil microbe — in 2007, when British scientists published a study showing that when mice were injected with a heatkilled version of the organism, it stimulated neurons in the brainstem to start producing serotonin.

“Serotonin is a molecule that has a number of different effects, but one of them is modulating mood and decreasing anxiety,” says Matthews, an associate professor of biology at The Sage Colleges in Troy, N.Y.

Serotonin also plays a role in learning. “If you’re nervous, if you’re frightened, you just can’t think straight,” Matthews said. She wondered, could M. vaccae have an effect on learning in mice? She and her colleague, Dr. Susan Jenks, also a professor of biology, dabbed the bacteria onto tiny peanut butter sandwich squares made with Wonder bread.

In one experiment, they tested how long the mice took to navigate a maze, which illustrates how quickly the rodents were learning whether they needed to turn right or left. The bacteria-exposed mice consistently ran the maze twice as fast as the non-exposed mice. They also showed fewer anxiety behaviours — less freezing, wallclimbing, stopping and grooming, returning to the start, or defecation.In other words, they were not scared poop-less.

Next, the researchers removed the bacteria from the peanut butter treats. About one week out, the experimental mice started running the mazes slower than they did when they were ingesting the bacteria. “They experienced a kind of serotonin withdrawal,” Matthews said. They were still faster than the controls, on average, an effect that lasted for another month of testing.

After a three-week rest, the bacteria-exposed mice still ran the maze faster than the control mice, but the difference was no longer statistically significant.

Matthews says people are exposed to M. vaccae just by virtue of being outdoors. “If you think about it, when we look at our evolutionary history, we spent a lot of time as hunter-gatherers, or even more recently in agriculture, where we had lots of contact with the soil. It’s only been the last 100 years or so that we’ve become more urbanized.” We no longer eat foods that we grow or gather ourselves, she says — foods that haven’t been “washed multiple times, and dunked in hot water, or processed or grown with pesticides.”

Matthews doesn’t know how well the bacterium aerosolizes, “but certainly if you’re vigorously working in the soil, there are probably some particles that are becoming airborne, so we may very well be inhaling it, as well as eating it by inhaling it and having it get into our GI [gastrointestinal] tract.”

We’re also exposed via contact with food, especially foods grown directly in the soil, such as carrots and lettuce “and other things that are close to the soil.”

Making time in school curriculums for children to learn outdoors may decrease their anxiety and improve their ability to learn new tasks, she says. “There’s a movement now in some schools to actually have gardens that are part of the school experience.”

There are many wonderful books about gardening and sharing nature with children. The books shown here are available in most libraries, or they may be purchased in the activities section of the Acorn and Rose Bookshop: http://astore.amazon.com/httpwwwacorna-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=10

ADHD and Pesticides

2010-05-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

Studies linking environmental substances to disease are coming fast and furious. Chemicals in plastics and common household goods have been associated with serious developmental problems, while a long inventory of other hazards are contributing to rising rates of modern ills: heart disease, obesity, diabetes, autism.
Add attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to the list. A new study in the journal Pediatrics associates exposure to pesticides with cases of ADHD in the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S. alone, an estimated 4.5 million children ages 5 to 17 have been diagnosed with ADHD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and rates of diagnosis have risen 3% a year between 1997 and 2006. Increasingly, research suggests that chemical influences, perhaps in combination with other environmental factors — like video games, hyperkinetically edited TV shows and flashing images in educational DVDs aimed at infants — may be contributing to the increase in attention problems.

Read the whole article: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1989564,00.html

Snippets from Schools

2010-05-22T03:00:00.000-07:00

Over the last months I've been fortunate - privileged and honored, actually - to work in a number of schools and libraries - and fell in love with a lot of young beings. Their eagerness and excitement to learn something special is very poignant to see and be a part of. The pictures in this slide show give you the idea (if you click on the lower left you can hear music):

Acorn&Rose - Slideshow

Many teachers and parents celebrated the precious moments of handson learning in their classrooms . . . there is much to say about all of that . . . coming soon.

Where Do Chickens Come From?

2010-05-13T08:27:00.000-07:00

The worst and best things all happened yesterday it seemed (not really), but my wonderful adorable sweet precious chicken Mama, Miss Chicken, got all torn up by a "bad and horrible" raccoon, and so did one of her little babies. Aurgh! Miss Chicken was so much fun to be around, the way her tiny children would poke their curious heads out from under her wings, the way she pecked up the best morsels of food and gave them to her beloveds, and the way she protected them from every possible danger. Can you believe I let my dog sleep at the foot of the bed, all comfortable and lazy, while my own dear hen was being murdered right in front of her family? I felt such sorrow all day. In the evening I thought the four little babies still running around the yard would go to bed in their mother's nest. Instead they flew up and roosted in the akebia vine, and ate some of the little purple flowers while they were getting settled in. Like they were big chickens now and had to take care of themselves. However, when it got dark I snatched them all up, gently of course, and tucked them into a cage. Just for the time being until I catch the coon.

The wonderful stone lithograph is by the d'Aulaires, Don't Count Your Chicks, available here: http://astore.amazon.com/httpwwwacorna-20?node=19&page=2 Any books by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire are treasures - classics by the first husband and wife team to bring ancient myths and other magic to life for children.

Celebrating Spring - Books for Young Naturalists

2010-04-12T20:16:00.000-07:00

One of the most delightful characters in the history of natural sciences was a Frenchman, Henri Fabre, who explored the riches of the universe all in his own untamed backyard. As an elderly man he fathered three children. They called him Pere and helped with his many experiments. Fabre loved to observe insects and designed intriguing tests to see how they would behave, and if they could think for themselves. His youngest child Paul especially shared his passion for learning about cicadas, caterpillers, and the other "children of summer." The book Children of Summer is lots of fun for boys and girls and adults to read, with stories of Fabre's shooting a cannon to test cicadas' hearing and the family's eating a meal of - oooooohhh - grubs (nicely cooked, of course).

The season of spring is all about new life everywhere, a single walk in the woods reveals dozens of treasures. There are endless wonderful books to share with kids that add to the meaning and joy of sounds, smells, creatures and new green growth. Some of my favorites are the One Small Square books for children ages four to eight. This is a great description of the Woods volume: The woods are full of puzzles to be solved, clues to be found. Inspired by this book's hints and fun-filled experiments and activities, and using only simple equipment, young readers unlock the closely guarded secrets of the woodsfrom the strange meetings of lazy butterflies, to the miraculous "walking" of a twig, to the riddle of why the leaves turn color and fall. One small square at a time, these "detectives" plunge deeper and deeper into ancient mysterieswithout ever getting lost. Beautifully illustrated, Woods offers a picture field guide, a glossary-index, and a resource list.

A great reference book and guide for the family is The Amateur Naturalist, by Gerald Durrell, one of the most charismatic and enthusiastic nature writers ever. In this book, rich with gorgeous artwork and photographs, Durrell takes you on nature walks. You learn much about many different habitats and how to explore, what to look for, how to interpret what you see, and how to set up all sorts of exciting experiments. I've heard of people waking up at night just to read this and other books by Durrell because he had such love for animals and wildlife -everyone gets swept up in his enthusiasm.

One of my other favorite treasures is A Guide to Night Sounds, by Lang Elliott, a cassette tape with a small book, out of print but available second-hand. Elliott's soothing voice takes you into a beaver's den where you can listen to the tender cooings of baby beavers. You also get to hear raccoons arguing, porcupines munching, frogs and owls of course, the lovely calls of loons, and much more. An unlikely and enriching hour of things that hoot and hiss and thump in the night.

Last treasure of the moment is not a book but a lovely website all about wildflowers: http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/ Look up any single flower and be prepared for fine photos and precise information. It has a kid's section, and some great teacher/parent resources - beautiful pages for classrooms and homeschoolers. Enjoy, and happy spring!

These books and audio are available through libraries, or you may purchase them new or used right here: http://astore.amazon.com/httpwwwacorna-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=21

TV, Read-Aloud and Recorded Books

2010-03-26T19:04:00.000-07:00

I've often wondered about the effects of blast and splash kid TV, and decided to check it out. What I found: in an article published in Pediatrics magazine, researchers at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle concluded that even educational TV can be damaging - not necessarily because content is the culprit, but because of "the unrealistically fast-paced visual images that alter normal brain development." They found that watching an hour of TV a day increases a child's chance of developing attention problems by a whopping ten percent. Is it wise to use TV to distract or babysit a child? A study done by the Kaiser Family Foundation of Menlo Park, California showed that young children learning to read have problems if they watch TV. The Canadian Pediatrics Society recommends children under two years old not watch TV -- at all. They said older children's time in front of TV and computer screens should be kept to a minimum.

Heartening news: more and more, researchers are proving that listening has beneficial affects to brain development. While many older people longingly recall the good old days of gathering around the radio to hear tales and adventures, read-aloud and story telling are still among the true treasures that can be offered to kids of all ages. Unlike passive TV watching, these are activities that help with communication, play, and family bonding, to say nothing of language skills - vocabulary, sequencing, comprehension, story structure and recall. (This is true for little ones, and for people of all ages including the elderly. Everyone loves a good story.)

Neuroscience research shows that being read to actually stimulates brain growth. To quote the University of Chicago study, Rethinking the Brain: "A child care provider reads to a toddler. And in a matter of seconds, thousands of cells in these children's growing brains respond. Some brain cells are 'turned on,' triggered by this particular experience. Many existing connections among brain cells are strengthened. At the same time, new brain cells are formed, adding a bit more definition and complexity to the intricate circuitry that will remain largely in place for the rest of these children's lives."

Children who are read to from an early age are more successful at learning to read.

What about those moments in a busy day when you need help to keep your child busy? Recorded books offer some of the benefits of an in-house storyteller, and they are easy to come by - check the Acorn & Rose bookstore for Audio Books, or visit your local library - the treasures are boundless.

Living Beyond Tyrant/Victim Control, Part Two

2010-02-09T08:05:00.000-08:00

This is the continuation of An Interview with Sherrie Loertscher.

Part One is posted here:
http://acornandrose.blogspot.com/2010/01/interview-with-sherrie-loertscher.html

The book Sherrie is talking about - the guidebook she used in raising her children - is Children, the Challenge, by Rudolf Driekurs, M.D. and Vicki Stoltz, R.N., available for purchase here: http://acornandrose.com/Shop.aspx

Sherrie: I thought it was a disservice if I didn’t show my children what was waiting in the real world.

Do you think children respect themselves when they pitch fits to get what they want?

Sherrie: I think you can have a child who is into power and loves to control, but again it’s all in what kind of attention he gets – being criticized and reacted to or being heard and encouraged. A child knows when he is being disruptive.

What about a child who is constantly driving for attention? No matter what? How do you negotiate something like that?

Sherrie: I’m a firm believer that children love boundaries but they take great pride in being consulted and listened to. If they have an issue you don’t understand, there’s nothing wrong with asking them if they’re of an age where they can tell you. Offer alternatives.

You could look at your children and see them as individuals who really knew what they were doing, even though they had a very undeveloped frontal lobe, they could manipulate you if they wanted?

Sherrie: Oh, you bet! You bet!

Is there a leader in this group? Are the parents the actual leaders?

Sherrie: There are times when the child is the leader, for example when you know they need a nap every day at two. Then the child leads, he’s leading you because it is healthy for the child to get a nap when the child deserves to have a nap.

What would you say to a parent who has a four or five year old who is well potty trained who poops his pants. What’s going on?

Sherrie: A child who is definitely potty trained but on purpose would poop his pants, it can be a couple of things in my way of thinking. He can be really excited and happy with what he’s doing and not want to take the time to go potty. The other one of course is it’s his way of controlling the parents. And I didn’t get this until I read this book. Negative attention – they love it. You think, oh, don’t be silly, how could they want somebody who looked at them in disapproval or didn’t like what they were doing. But negative attention is better than no attention. He explains that in the book. So they’re wanting attention, and there’s ways to get attention. But if you see what they’re doing you don’t have to let it totally disrupt you. It's clear when a kid is really calling for help or when they want your attention – there are behaviors when they should get no attention.

Your boys really did learn to respect you and in doing that they learned self-respect?

Sherrie: I would say – you know it’s cute because you’re saying did they respect you. They definitely saw me clearly – they did! I might have looked at them through veiled eyes but they saw me real clear!!! But I tell you – I don’t want to say that the book helped me enjoy them more but it definitely helped me appreciate them more. But I did later on – there are certain times, raising your children, when they go through phases and you can’t claim to enjoy that part of it. But I had tools to understand the necessity of letting them learn their way with the consequences to an action.

They can understand that principle?

Sherrie: They really can.

And they can understand cooperation and respect for everyone in their group?

Sherrie: Yes. That is what the book teaches. And another thing: it’s very important for a child to enjoy alone time with himself.

Why is that important?

Sherrie: Because in the end it’s his opinion of himself that really matters. If he doesn’t think much of himself what’s he going to offer the world at large?

Did you have moments or times when you didn’t love your children and you didn’t want them around?

Sherrie: Yes – I would just take time and go off – it’s easy on both sides to be resentful – I had devoted myself to my children so that whatever they wanted was the most important, to the point that I didn’t know my own food preferences! You know you’re doing them a disservice if you’re picking them up every second if you are totally losing yourself to the point you don’t even know who you are, how you think about things, what kind of food you like. All you do is create a little Napoleon.

A mother as an individual in a group where everyone has wants and needs – it is important for children to see what you enjoy as a person, share with them what you are doing and encourage them to do the same. Everyone gets to be out of the cage.

This book offers a way out of our war-torn ways by recognizing that we all have some of that, and lets us know how to handle controlling, warring qualities without turning our back on the being. These victim/tyrant things need to be expressed.

Children vie for control, parents vie for control, and everybody is frustrated. You are saying this book offers a way to be truthful, with a light heart, and move to a centered place.

Sherrie: Yes! It just gives you a framework to do that, explaining to you and cautioning along the way, if the kid is reacting in defiance, if you are angry – take another look, there is always more to learn. I learned that discipline is not a negative thing, they really are looking for it. They don’t like an open-ended-ness, they want assurance. They are so curious and so enthusiastic and so wanting to learn about everything, and it is wonderful to appreciate and enjoy that. Yet at the same time they have to have something to bounce off of, and if they don’t have it they are just scattered.

You are saying that being too lenient - or too strict - creates a controlling yet insecure tyrant? Or may create a withdrawn and victimized kid?

Sherrie: Some people will define that differently. But kids need to know what’s expected so they have a balanced place to start. If they don’t have an expected place to start from, they are all over the place and they are unhappy. They need guidance – then they can branch out from there. You have to have a known place to start from to expand into the unknown. And how that known place is presented, you may change the structure as you go, but that’s something the child calls . . . it has to be able to express but not in a way that won’t allow them to enjoy life. They have to learn certain ways of expression that do no harm to the environment, other people, themselves – it’s about life and having a respect for life and how you teach them, especially in these times where life is held really cheap.

One of the greatest helps is to get them out in nature and let them watch something grow. You teach them to listen to the frogs, birds, listen to the wind in the grass.

The other thing about this book: it let me know I was up to the task. It gave me confidence because the things I applied worked. It brought peace to my household.

Children are incredible in their understanding if you can just listen to them, when they’re talking to you and what they’re really telling you. And sometimes it’s just, stay as simple as you can and listen as best you can. I often said, “What can we do about this? What would be your idea?" You can often get an “I don’t know,” but the more you work that way the more they do start being willing to trust you enough to tell you what they are thinking and a way they’d like to do it. And it wasn’t always something I was real crazy about doing but it made sense to them and I would do it!

I always was a working mother. So it wasn’t that I was getting time for myself but I would have to go to work. So they always were used to sitters, and I used to feel guilty about that at first. But again, in that case, they taught me, because they would say things to me – like if I would find out their babysitter said something that I didn’t necessarily care for – I don’t even remember a subject but I remember being distressed and I would say, “Now did Linda say this to you?” and they would go, “Well yeah Mom but you know that’s just Linda.”

What would you say to parents now who live in a really different world, there are so many challenges, it is a loud world with so much light and noise, so much stimulation that is harsh to the senses . . .

Sherrie: I always thought a family should be about love – not just a feeling but daily moments of working things out – it is a beautiful balancing act, being present, but the allowing part comes when you can be at peace even when they are in distress, knowing that they are working their way. Allowing is not just letting them have their way, allowing can be holding your tongue, pulling back from giving your opinion on everything. If you learn that it is not for you to control them, you are miles ahead – because there can be so many different ways of playing the game where you think you are in control. Control is not logical, how can they learn or grow or change.

It doesn’t mean there’s disrespect for things like the law – not that I think the law is perfect, but you agree to certain things and to abide by the law. There’s an intent there, again, of respect – you respect where you live enough to want to follow its laws, and you may not understand them at the time, but then the more you have your own experiences the more you can see the reason for certain things.

Did you ever have to encourage your children to take risks?

Sherrie: Yes. Sometimes they would get frustrated because I would pull myself away from a situation and they would have to make their own decision. This was later in their lives – high school, college age. They learned to make decisions they would have to live with, their father and I couldn’t make decisions for them. I just felt it lightened my load as a parent to know that they could ask questions about anything.

Being a working parent gave them room to move a little more because they dealt with other people and children who had parents who stayed home. But it was funny because I did respect the decisions they were making, even in grade school. They really did raise me. It surprised me how I approved of what they were wanting to do.

But to teach them that they have a right to their own space to develop what they had to learn, and if you can help them just a little bit going toward finding their way – they sense this – I was rewarded every time with that. Simple choices like going to a movie or spending time with me. And if I could stay quiet long enough they actually asked me a question, without me wanting to give them all the answers, I was rewarded. There’s nothing like it when somebody wants to share a good conversation with you. And when it’s your own child, it’s such a wonderful experience and it helps you know it’s all been worthwhile.

In a nutshell, Sherrie, what in all these many years have you learned from your children?

Sherrie: I love seeing them interact in the world, I feel like I’ve given something when I watch their compassion for others.

2010-02-03T09:31:00.000-08:00

Our local newspaper, The Nisqually Valley News,

published this rockin' article this week:

PUPPET MASTER

Program offers hands-on fun

by Susan Louis

Puppetry is an ancient art form that has meaning and purpose in today’s world.

“Our children respond with enthusiasm and big hearts to the hands-on, living experience that making and using puppets offers them,” said Jeannie Isaacs, owner of Acorn & Rose Puppet Theater.

In her Young Author Programs, Isaacs (sometimes known as Molly Piper, author, designer and illustrator of several books) has worked with more than 75,000 students, parents and teachers across Washington. Last year, she was offered a grant to teach creative writing to fifth- and sixth-graders at Lackamas Elementary in Yelm. But her students declared they were burned-out at the end of long days preparing for standardized testing.

“They were hungry for hands-on, interactive activities,” Isaacs said. “They needed to do something beyond pencil and paper, to bring something to life.”

That’s when she got another grant from the iCreate Program, this time for puppetry. Isaacs had worked as an artist and teacher most of her life, but taking the step into puppetry expanded her and the students beyond her wildest expectations.

“I believed I had done it all — drawing, painting, sculpting, design, carpentry, writing. Then I had this chance to teach puppetry, and every skill I ever developed took on new use and meaning,” Isaacs said. “It was a fabulous unfolding with the kids.”

Instead of pen and paper, Isaacs put a clump of clay into each student’s hand, and that’s where the magic started.

“It calmed them down and excited them at the same time,” Isaacs said.

Students were shown how to mold the clay into heads. They worked diligently with papier mâche, paint and cloth to make their puppets walk out of their imaginations into reality.

“My students made puppets that were used in a wonderful little production. They could also use them as learning partners, reading companions, fun and communication,” Isaacs said. “Suddenly we were all involved with a living experience that was filled with vibrant interaction and meaningful change.”

The so-called more difficult students were so absorbed in the design and creation of their puppets, they became true participants in their work.

“It was really joyful,” Isaacs said. “The puppets were brought to life through these children, and they experienced themselves in a way that no other art form could have offered them. I saw that puppetry offers a way for a kid to reinvent himself — in a moment!”

“They see a puppet, or they have a puppet in their hands and express something totally new and different. I’ve seen it happen with well-adjusted kids, autistic kids, with unruly, difficult ones and with the shy ones. All of them feel free to have their puppets say things they would not say themselves,” she said.

After that experience, Acorn & Rose was born.

“I decided to take a leap and open my own puppet theater,” Isaacs said. She built a stage, wrote scripts to perform, made a Web site and blog, and, of course, spent a lot of time dreaming and making puppets for the plays.

Acorn & Rose’s first performance was at Yelm’s Blue Bottle Cafe.

“She’s awesome. The kids love her,” said owner Michelle Jones. “The kids really respond, and the parents are into it, too. She pulls them out of their shell and gets them into it.”

Isaacs has performed in old people’s homes, restaurants and schools. She put together an evening class at Evergreen State College for parents, starting this week.

“Children ten and under may attend for free with a parent. We’ll work four hours a week through March 4,” she said.

She will be teaching through the iCreate Program at some schools in Yelm, and the Yelm Timberland Library.

One of Isaacs’ specialties has become birthday parties, complete with a giant puppet, a show and puppet-making activities.

“There’s nothing like having a puppeteer come in with giant puppets,” Isaacs said. Rose Petal and the Green Man are seven feet tall, and draw attention wherever they go.

Her mentor across the country is amazed at what she has done in so short a time. Normally a puppet company does one show a year, yet Isaacs has created four shows in only seven months.

“I feel passionate about getting this out in the Thurston County community, because puppetry has it all: it is hands-on, it is communication, it involves teamwork, and it brings together all different kinds of people.”

Here is the link to the NVN online article: http://www.yelmonline.com/articles/2010/01/29/business/doc4b63786c7218e195675250.txt

Living Beyond Tyrant/Victim Control: An Interview with Sherrie Loertscher

2010-01-19T22:10:00.000-08:00

This is part one of an interview with Sherrie Loertscher, a woman who is known in my community as one of the fairest and kindest people on the planet. She, her husband and their two grown sons may fairly be described with old-fashioned words - righteous, impeccable, sovereign and noble. My interview with Sherrie is about a book called Children, the Challenge, by Rudolf Driekurs, M.D. and Vicki Stoltz, R.N. available here: http://acornandrose.com/Shop.aspx

Sherrie: When I had my babies in the late sixties, I felt that a family should be all about love, and was very fortunate because I loved the entities who came to me. But in those days the old maxim, “The child should be seen and not heard,” was changing to the other extreme, where kids were in total control, with the parents not knowing what to do.

I had been taught that the way to raise children was either to yell or spank them, which of course I did not like; and often, I didn’t have a clue how to understand things they would do. One day, when my older boy was three or four, I brought him to the post office. Our usual routine of his putting letters into the mail slot suddenly changed, so he laid down and threw a screaming fit. I didn’t know what to do!

Soon after that, a friend told me to read Children, the Challenge.

This book helped me to raise my two sons. Whenever I felt lost I opened it up, because it guided me to my own answers - solutions that brought understanding and peace to my household. I’m just so grateful to this doctor and nurse for their observations of children - and for figuring out simple techniques. Their idea is that each child is an individual with individual things to learn – but as a family member also needs to learn how to function as part of a whole unit.

Children, the Challenge is filled with timeless stories and examples that help you identify what your children are thinking and doing, and how to guide them in making choices that work for themselves as members of a group. It was published in 1963, but you don’t read it and think, “This is old-fashioned, this would never work.” It makes eternal good sense (and it also teaches you how to recognize a truly troubled child). The book is not something to get rigid with, but it shows a way to have a group come together with tiny individuals that will grow and later go out and make their group.

It is a parent’s job to give children boundaries and give them the tools they will need to go out into the world. You have a responsibility to your children to not lose yourself in their lives – each age of their lives brings a different shift.

How early can they start to manipulate the parent?
Sherrie: From birth – I really think so! An example that shows this is that babies born to deaf parents learn right away that sound doesn’t have an impact.

So when you give your child boundaries, you also give them options? “It’s bedtime, do you want these pajamas or this . . . ?”

Sherrie: That’s right, “Do you want to walk up to your room yourself, or do you want me to carry you?” It’s still giving them some kind of choice but the result is they are going to go to bed.

I learned from the book about a wonderful concept called logical consequences – simple example: your child isn’t potty trained, so you set up a little gate and you explain to them, “Here’s the potty; if you don’t want to be potty trained that’s fine. But then there’s parts of the house you can’t go into. Like you can’t go into the front room where there’s carpeting on the floor and nice furniture. You stay here because if you wet on the floor, it’s easy to clean up in the kitchen. Not so in the other room.” That kind of thing – let it make sense to them.

Are you saying you created a forum in your family where everyone is accountable for his behavior?

Sherrie: Yes.

So we have communication, accountability, and responsibility?

Sherrie: Yes. And if we’re very fortunate, all three of those will build respect. A perfect example – I walked into a room and Freddie had this broom in his hand and he was standing over Kurt just scowling. Kurt was crumpled up on the floor, crying his heart out. I had just read a section in the book on something similar. And so I stopped myself from doing what I normally would have done.

Your knee-jerk reaction?

Sherrie: My knee-jerk. I went over to Freddie and put my arms around him and said, “Freddie, I know you didn’t mean to hurt your brother.” And it was so cute, he dissolved, his anger disappeared. He just wrinkled up and said, “Oh Mama, I didn’t, I was trying to sweep the floor to help you! He came up behind me and I didn’t see him and I turned and I bonked him.”

You are talking about understanding your children’s actions rather than criticizing their behavior?

Sherrie: Yes. The important thing, part of the learning, is not to react to your children in anger . . . they know in a split second when you are frustrated or angry, and they will react to that in turn. The book is very skillful in giving you the tools, and learning that children respond quickly to praise, to being encouraged, and to being listened to. I realized that if I could stay quiet long enough and listen to them, I would discover a whole new thought process I hadn’t even given them credit for.

They understand English in a different way than we do, as well as emotions and responsibility – so you learned to put yourself in their little shoes?

Sherrie: Exactly. And there’s the genetic connection that the mother and child have, so there’s a tendency to think you know what they’re thinking, but the child can go beyond that way of thinking.

Which brings us back to "logical consequences?"

Sherrie: Yes. A situation has to make sense to a child. To just suddenly take away privileges – if a parent didn’t like what the kid was doing, “Okay you don’t get TV for a week, you don’t get video games,” whatever – to withhold something without its making sense to the child does no good.

Then it is just control without understanding? Which undermines self-confidence?

Sherrie: Exactly. Self-confidence is so important, and that’s what you are giving your children when you teach them logical consequences. Then it doesn’t look like the world’s out to get them.

And people controlling each other is a form of war?

Sherrie: Yes, control is not love, control is warring.

Then we are reacting and feeding off one another, rather than learning to be self-determined?

Sherrie: That’s right. Another teaching in Children, the Challenge that I absolutely loved was about going out with your children. I understood that people without children didn’t like raucous behavior in a public place. So the book explains how to train your children so that you can take them to nice places. You start by knowing you can’t expect them to do in public what you don’t expect them to do in your own home. If you let them run roughshod, sit on the table, yell, run around, stand up with food in their hands and walk around, don’t expect them to be able to go into a restaurant, sit down, and behave!

You may have to arrange a trip to a restaurant knowing you may not get a bite to eat. You tell them you’re going to take them to lunch, and have everything paid for ahead of time and let the restaurant know you are there to teach your kids and you may just get up and leave. If they start acting up you explain to them, there are other people here, we’re not alone, they don’t like it loud and if you keep being loud we’re going to have to leave. Well of course, they’re going to be loud, of course they’re going to be rambunctious. Again, not being angry or mad about it because you’re not getting your lunch out. You just say, “Fine. If you don’t want to sit quietly and have a nice lunch, we’ll go home.” You pick them up, put them in the car, again without anger. That’s a consequence that they can understand.

The book was just so helpful, it showed me how to consider the needs of everyone in a group. I was from a large family, five kids in my family, so there was a lot of chaos in how I grew up too. But still, the group finds its own way of acting. It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best way once you get out in the world.

I thought it was a disservice if I didn’t show my children what was waiting in the real world.

Part two of this talk with Sherrie will be posted in a few days. If you want to receive it by email or RSS feed, please sign in one of the forms at the upper left part of this page.

Winter Days

2010-01-11T08:07:00.000-08:00

This picture links to a time-lapse video http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap071204.html showing the position of the sun throughout a year, an analemma, which is Greek for the surface of a sundial. I have looked at numbers of pictures of this formation and it always takes my breath away . . .

And an early morning walk outside my front door:

Thoreau pointed out that people look to other people to find love in their lives, but there is meaning and purpose in nature everywhere you look and breathe. It is where you can find the greatest peace.

Yes! It Was a Happening!

2009-12-20T21:44:00.000-08:00

Scenes from today . . . wish I could show you all the beautiful families with their dear little kids who crowded the audience at Traditions today, to see No Need for Dragons. But there wasn't time to ask if photos would be allowed. Here are Hazelnut, his sister Oregano, and Mrs. Toad (pictures kindly taken by my friend Kristin Blalack).

The kids sang along with Oregano (all about eating wriggly things), and their singing was delightful! Lots of kids came backstage after the show to try out the puppets themselves, and one young guy did really well learning to play my Native American flute. I loved getting to talk with the parents and kids who stayed while I was packing up. A few: the sweet young dads with their rambunctious little boys running out to drink some rain; the wise and pretty mom with her little ice cream eaters (big sis can spell so well).
I'm very pleased because everyone wants more shows. And I'm invited to perform at the Timberland Libraries! Hooray!
The next thing will be to offer classes and workshops so lots of kids and families can enjoy the many types of handson work/play of puppetry.

No Need for Dragons

2009-12-14T01:01:00.001-08:00

This is Rose Petal - ever so proudly introducing Hazelnut, Oregano, and Mrs. Toad. These three questionable (but endearing) characters are none other than the all-time stars of No Need for Dragons - showing at Traditions on the corner of Fifth and Water in Olympia, 3:00 PM Sunday December 20. It's a free show, a darling story by Molly Piper, and maybe ya gotta be there!

Tasha Tudor's Puppets

2009-12-07T19:14:00.000-08:00

Tasha Tudor lived into her nineties and still has a following of adoring fans. And it should be that way. She brought a lot of love into the world with more than eighty books for children and families, filled with the activities and doings of her own four children, her farm, gardens and animals. She stands next to Beatrix Potter as a giant in the history and development of children's books. With her wry humor, brilliant wit and rich, hard-working way of life in the country, Tasha inspired and led her adult fans to see the importance of being present with your children and encouraging them to use their imaginations and do their lives hands-on.
She taught her own children to do marionette puppetry. I don't have to say much here. These illustrations from her book A Time to Keep tell the story:

Tasha and her children were invited to perform with their puppets at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. But as you can see, performing out in the big world is not what is really important. The happiness and satisfaction of creating puppet shows from scratch linger after untold hours of responsible work mixed with creative passion.

If for some reason Tasha Tudor has passed you by, many of her books are still available at libraries, bookstores and the internet. Learn more about her here: http://www.tashatudorandfamily.com/ and in this book by the lady herself, with photographer Richard Brown:

2009-11-28T20:02:00.000-08:00

I have been splitting wood a lot these days. Last spring my brother Steven came across the country to help me by taking down eighteen fir trees, most about a hundred feet high. When he went back home, I wondered how I was going to deal with all those trees on the ground, and eventually started hauling, stacking and splitting all on my own! I like doing it - didn't really think I could - and love that strong women stay young and live longer.

It had taken me years and years to be willing to cut down even one tree, but with my garden in too much shade I finally asked my brother to help. How generous of a bro is that, to leave his family and work and travel all the way across the country, then work so hard while here? I love my brother!
     He was so respectful, he LOVES trees as do I. Once when we were kids he transplanted a willow tree about twenty feet high, and every day he stood there talking to it, watering and watering, just willing it to live.
     Back to my place this past spring. Steve was up every morning early and was a delight to watch - he walked straight up each tree using just his ankle spurs and hands. Then he would loop a rope from his waist around the crown and let go, floating sort of like Tinkerbell up there in the branches with his saw. He showed me how to do knots and pull on the rope from the bottom, saying, "Make sure you walk away so the tree doesn't come down on you."
     Once a tree was down, Steve cut it into rounds, the ones I am now splitting for firewood. We both worked to get every piece and branch and twig in order before going to the next. Nothing wasted, all in order, zen beautiful. And he would study each tree carefully, plan his moves, before he went to work, because he would have to fell a 100-foot giant into a 30-foot space. He could fell a tree to within an inch of where he wanted it to go. Always a pleasure to watch a master in any field.

Working side by side with my brother was a privilege and wonderful pleasure. I took good care to feed him like a king, made sure he drank lots of water and soaked his sore muscles, got him to the chiropractor and masseuse, gave him warm milk with honey at bedtime. We laughed a lot - he and I were born on the same day, though not twins, and always close.
     I had been afraid that taking down my beautiful trees would seem a great loss, but because my tree-loving brother worked with such care and respect, it all felt like a healthy change. I can never thank Steve enough for all the sunshine in my garden this summer, the good harvest, and the cozy warmth in my house now that the weather is cold and rough. And there are still at least three hundred or so trees left, in fact my place is called Little Woodland Farm.

Thanks again, Steve!

Raising Children?

2009-11-25T09:58:00.000-08:00

We are born intelligent beings, intuitive from our first moments and able to respond to simple understandings - understandings that are in the best interest of the little developing self as well as the bigger people who are responsible for shelter, warmth, nourishment and guidance. Supporting just that, this article about using some of Cesar Milan's dog-training techniques to raise children has some surprisingly valuable and useful suggestions:  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/fashion/22dog.html?_r=1
     But you don't have to take it from the Dog Whisperer. There is a fabulous book with similar ideas just for raising children, by Rudolf Dreikurs, M.D. and Vicki Soltz, R.N. It is called Children: The Challenge. Looking back, I would have saved my son and myself a lot of grief if I had been ready to know about and use this book when he was a little boy. The book, rich with day-to-day examples, offers many insights into the concept of "logical consequences" - meaning that a child is given to understand and assess options in any given situation. He is loved and cared for without over-indulgence, without harsh strictness, and offered the opportunity for constructive behavior. Self-respect and respect of others are both part of the picture.
     If this seems like an impossibility, consider the simple fact that in primitive societies where there are no Pampers or babywipes, the tiniest of infants learn when and where to pee and poop. And never any diaper rash.
     Get a copy of Children: The Challenge and see for yourself.

2009-11-24T10:41:00.000-08:00

I have worked with kids all my life and taught a lot of art and writing. Last year I was teaching a creative writing class at a school in my neighborhood and found the kids to be restless for handson activities. I luckily got another teaching grant but this time it was for puppetry. What a difference! The kids were excited and their excitement spread to their peers, teachers and families. We did two really great shows even though they had hardly any time to practice. When summer came I decided to learn everything possible about this magical and multi-faceted artform and opened up my own little roaming puppet theater. Kids and families were thrilled with the activities and shows. I've learned that all personality types respond happily to puppets. One mom with a little autistic boy who had screaming fits (and nothing but) finally started talking to him with a puppet. He was enchanted, and she was able to build a bridge of communication and enormous healing for her son.