The Glorious Human Spirit

Amazing Video by the ad agency Whirled. Done for Google's Zeitgeist 2012.

Awesome and awe inspiring. A testament to the human spirit. Makes you remember what a wonderful and awesome world we're living in.

Kids and Character

If you read my post about Sneakers and Stick-to-it-iveness you know the challenges I’m having with irrational behavior from my 3 year old son. He’s such a lovey at times. Super sweet and gentle petting our Border Collie “Gracie,” or holding the hand of his 18 month old girl cousin or running to the aid of his little daycare friend Madison when her tricycle got stuck on the path.  He gives great big hugs and always asks for a second treat for his big brother. He can just melt your heart. 

I just found this book review for the book “The Way I Act” by Steve Metzger. I bought it and cannot wait to read it with my boys. The blog “Books That Heal Kids” where I found the book review, is a good resource for kids books with purpose.

I recently completed an action research proposal about the power of incorporating music in teaching. Though the proposal was specifically aimed at the benefits of music when teaching Kindergarten sight words, I found much scholarly research supporting the benefits of music on self-regulation in children. 


Music taps into our multiple intelligences. Educational Theorist Howard Gardner defined the multiple intelligences that we all have, but each of us possess in a unique arrangement or combination. Think of it like you would if you were differentiating a lesson for a diverse group of learners. You know that some kids are better aural learners, some are better visual or tactile learners, etc. Here’s a great snippet of an article to help you better understand Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences.

Sneakers and Stick-to-it-iveness

My youngest is 3 now and a few months ago he started exhibiting some pretty irrational behavior characteristics.  I know he’s testing the boundaries of his environment and the adults in his life, but it’s driving the whole family nuts at times.  For example:

My little guy's "daily drivers."

Situation: 3 year old desperately needs new shoes. He’s got one pair of sandals that he wears EVERY day and his feet are growing faster than cucumbers in the garden! He only has one pair of shoes because, since turning 3, he fights and screams if he has to try on shoes. His big brother (6) on the other hand has his eye on a new pair of Nikes and would be happy as a pig in poop to have 15 pairs in his shoe bin! 

Now, other moms of boys can relate, one pair of shoes for a rough and tumble, three year old boy just isn’t practical. Not to mention, what summertime does to the freshness (NOT!) of shoes.

Scene: Stride Rite children’s shoe store on a Saturday afternoon, full of customers

On the way into the store he spots a sports car kiddie ride and wants a ride. I tell him that if he cooperates and let’s mommy try  new shoes on him without screaming and crying, then we’ll run right out to the ride and put him on! He happily agrees and bounds toward the shoe store with enthusiasm.

   How it went down:  At first he gets his feet measured with no problem, happy even. Then, seemingly full of optimism and enthusiasm, he starts pulling shoeboxes off the shelves, opening each one, and leaving them on the floor, while I hunt for sneaks in his size. I let it go, since he’s being quiet and there isn’t too big a pile for me to re-stack. I think, “things are going pretty good.”  I find three pair that have potential. I should note that he has a Wide to Extra Wide foot, so there isn’t a plethora of options.

When I ask him to sit on the bench to try them on, this is when it all went downhill. He resorted to screaming and stiff-body, back-arching with crocodile tears. If I didn’t know better (I have a background in special education) I’d think something was wrong. 

  

Do they fit or not?

 As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t give in to him  and walk out of the store without shoes. He NEEDED them.  After about 20 minutes of embarrassment, and reminding him that all he had to do was try on a pair calmly until we found one that fit so he could ride the ride, I picked a pair of “Slingshots”  that were the same as he’d had in the past but in his current size. As soon as I put his sandals back on (yes, he was wearing socks) the                 screaming stopped and calmness reigned. 

I know what you’re thinking. The shoes must have been uncomfortable in some way. Well, I hadn’t ruled that out, but in similar situations he’s done a 180 degree change of attitude. So, the next night we went to the local playground to burn off some energy.  I told him he HAD to wear the sneakers if he wanted to play.  He screamed in the car all the way there and stood still next to me on the playground complaining about the shoes and threatening to take them off for a half-hour! Now I’m really thinking that they must hurt in some way. Honestly, I’m thinking “crap, was this the explanation of his irrational shoe store behavior? And, am I an idiot for not giving that option more consideration?”

Well, well. After that half hour of threats and whining, he ran off climbing and jumping like an Olympian and never once complained about the sneaks hurting. He even asked to wear them to daycare the next morning!  Thank goodness I hadn’t given in to his tantrums. The painful hour spent buying the shoes and the frustrating experience of explaining and reasoning with him to try to make him understand, had yielded a positive result!

I think I’m on the right track, but...

                                                            dang I’m tired.  
(Originally posted Aug. 14, 2012)

Natural, Kids Health Tips for Winter

I am trying like the dickens to keep my kids healthy this winter. (Ambitious or crazy?) I met a very cool doctor at a regional kids emergency walk-in center. (Express Pediatrics) . This doctor was completely in support of my natural health practices with my children and gave me some great advice to help boost their immunity during the cold and flu season.

Children's Echinacea drops, Vitamin C and Vitamin D drops, were the top of her list of immune boosters. You should consult with your own health professional on age/how/when/how much.

I use Herb Pharm Children's Echinacea. It has a sweet orange flavor and the kids don't seem to mind taking it. For Vitamin C, I'm trying the Yummi Bears brand. At first my oldest was a little skeptical since he's had gummy bears candy. After a few days, he now looks forward to taking them. I am very cautious about using the Vitamin D drops. Our family natural health provider has informed us about the new, reduced, recommended levels so this is definitely something you should talk to your health professional about for a recommendation. Too much Vitamin D has been reported as unsafe or toxic. You can read more about recommended levels from the University of Michigan Health System. The Vitamin D council addresses some of the opinions and relays some facts. Be sure to do your homework if you choose to use Vitamin D. Natural sunshine exposure is best, but let's face it, not all of us live in the land of sunshine.

Biters in daycare

With my older child I never had to deal with biting, giving or receiving. He was home with Grammy and protected from biters. Now my 1 year old is in daycare and has been bitten by the same child more than a dozen times in four months, or so it seems. I have to count the incident reports.

Two months ago the daycare told me they were addressing the situation with the biter's parents. Well, it hasn't stopped and it has recently gotten worse. Now instead of my little one coming home with a little red mark that lasts a day or two, he's coming home with a mark that lasts a week or more. The biter is really getting a mouthful and he's only going to get bigger!

I'm standing on them with two feet to remedy the situation, quick! They have been very accomodating with my children's special dietary restrictions and many of the staff are outwardly mothering and lovely to my children. So, I don't want to start a war, but this has to stop. If you've dealt with any biters, I'd love to hear about your experience. Hurry, before my kid starts biting back!

Here's an interesting article on babycenter about a biter and some other mom comments on dealing with biting or biters in their childs lives.

Nalgene Sippy Cups - I love these things!

A cousin came to Thanksgiving dinner at my house with her almost-two-year-old. She had a Nalgene Grip n' Gulp kids' water bottle. It looked cool and the baby carried it with her all around the house. So, of course, the neat freak in me, wondered if it was like most other sippy cups that leak. Nope.  

On black Friday I came across these bottles for sale at a sporting goods store and bought a couple for my boys. They love them!  It's a great way to get them to stay hydrated. They even ask to use them!  They come in a handful of colors including green, blue, pink and purple, and they're BPA-free. 

The best feature of the Nalgene Grip 'n Gulp is that they are super easy to clean. You pull out the silicone valve from under the lid and a nipple bottle brush fits into the sipper spout to get thoroughly clean. Unfortunately the silicone valve stains easily...I put carrot/apple juice in one and the silicone valve is forever stained orange.  

Back to the looking cool comment I made above...they are translucent so you can see how much liquid is in them and the lid is color-coordinated. The lid feels like rubber and the sipper spout seems to be resistant to teeth marks, so it remains clean looking.  (Don't 'cha just cringe at a gnarly-looking chewed sipper cup?!? ) It looks like something an adult wouldn't be embarrassed to carry. Again, I love these bottles and am on the verge of recycling every other one we own.   Here are a couple retailers where you can find these: 

Dick's Sporting Goods 

Amazon