Whole Child Development
Pumpkins are one of my favorite symbols of fall. From their color to their shape, it all just makes me happy! Perhaps most of all, I love that they are just as functional as they are festive. Of course there are jack-o-lanterns and pumpkin pie, but you can also use those hollow pumpkins to serve up a fun and memorable meal. Cleaned out pumpkins are ideal for holding pre-made food, such as soups or a casserole, or you can actually cook in the pumpkin shell as well!
As I’ve mentioned many times before, just because I teach and write about guiding behavior, doesn’t mean we don’t have our fair share of emotional upheavals in our own home. My boys cry, fight, and throw fits. In a word, they’re “normal”.
As I’m watching the leaves turn bright red on the mountain near my home, I thought I should share some of my favorite fall activities. I listed study themes for fall, and accompanying activities over here. Just to highlight a few of my personal favorites that I can’t wait to get into our activity line up:
Children are natural scientists. “What is that?” “What’s this do?” “Why does that happen?”
In the last post, I wrote about the difference between discipline and punishment, an important distinction for positive parenting.
(Update: I now have FOUR boys, but my feelings about this remain the same.)
I have three boys. My husband likes to say we’re specializing. So of course I often find myself tripping over light sabers, stepping on Lego’s, and dodging Nerf darts. But the toy that sometimes surprises visitors to our home is a couple of baby dolls. Why would dolls have a place in a “testosterhome” like ours? [Read more…]
One of the things that makes young artists so great, is that they are concerned more with the whole experience than with the product alone. Expand your next painting experience by trying out these tips that encourage children to use more than just their eyes to experience art. (Originally posted January 2010.)
If you’d like to incorporate a few more senses into your painting projects, add some regular salt generously to your tempera paint and use as fingerpaint or with a brush. The resulting project will have a bit more texture and grit that becomes even more visible as it dries. [Read more…]
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