Take Your Children Hiking This Fall

Doing activities outdoors as a family is enjoyable, especially around the Fall season.  The weather is cool and brisk - comfortable for outdoor fun!  Hiking is a one of those activities that is known for appreciating and respecting nature as well as building companionship.

            If you are not a regular hiker with children, it is important to plan your hike ahead of time.  Here are some recommendations for you from an online article on The Wilderness Society’s website titled Take Your Kids Hiking: Ten Tips to Make the Adventure Fun for the Whole Family:

1. In the beginning, keep your hike easy and friendly. Select a trail that has features – such as a stream – to keep children occupied until they get there.  Remember this: “It’s about the journey not the destination.”

2. Include a lot of time on the hike.  Children love to explore, so give them the opportunities to do so.  Don’t rush them as it is an adventure.

3. Prepare for anything that could happen.  The article provides a link to essential items to carry with you.

4. Dress appropriately.  Make sure that your children wear adequate clothing, coats and shoes.  Bring a change of clothes.

5. Plan frequent stops for water and snacks.  Children expend a lot of energy and will need to get their tanks replenished.  Having water and plenty of healthy snacks ready for them is essential to a good hiking adventure.

6. Select a leader for the hike and rotate leadership during the hike.  This will give each child an opportunity to lead.

7. Make the hike fun.  Plan ahead of time what children can search for.  Have games for them to play. 

8. Give positive feedback.  Children loved to be praised so think of things that you can say to praise their efforts.  This will encourage them to keep on hiking!

9. Be role models for your children and leave no trace of your presence behind.  Pick up your trash and throw it away responsibly. 

10. Continue to hike as often as possible.  A hike can last a couple of hours or a day or a weekend.  It is up to you.  Remember that national and state parks have a variety of trails for hiking and welcome families.

            We live in such a beautiful world so let us be mindful of all the beauties of nature.   We should enjoy them as much as we can and include our children, so they learn to appreciate and respect nature too.

To read the entire article, visit: https://www.wilderness.org/articles/article/take-your-kids-hiking-10-tips-make-adventure-fun-whole-family

What Are You Depositing?

              I think this quote from Pastor Charles Swindoll is so true!  As parents, we must remember that we are constantly making memories with our children.  What are you depositing in their memory banks?

            How often do you spend time with your children? Whether it is eating a meal with them, driving them to school or an activity, or reading bedtime stories to them, we spend quite a bit of time with them so we should be cognizant of the fact that we are depositing into their lives each and every moment that we are together.  And, being together includes not only physical presence, but also via the phone or internet.  

What are we depositing into their memories?  What will they remember of us?  What will they learn from us?  These are all very important questions that we should ask ourselves on a regular basis. 

If we think that we only deposit into their memories on special occasions, we are wrong.  Of course, special occasions are important, but it is our everyday deposits that will last the longest in their memories. 

I have adult children now and I still try diligently to continue to make good deposits into their memory banks.   And, I will continue to do that as long as I have breath!  Let’s continue to give our children, young or old, precious memories to remember!

Teaching Your Children about a Gentle Answer

A gentle answer turns away wrath but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1 NIV

As parents, we often struggle when our children are arguing among each other.  When angry words are said, the typical reaction of a child is to lash back, and then the argument escalates.  Proverbs 15:1 is an important verse for children to learn and understand. 

          In an online article, author Felicia Mollohan discusses this verse and how she has been successful in teaching children about it.  She actively asked questions, to encourage children to think for themselves and come up with answers and then they discussed the answers.  Here are the questions she posed:

• What does it mean to have a gentle answer?

• Give me an example of a gentle answer?

• What does wrath mean? Are there other words that are synonyms (mean the same) with “wrath”?

• What are some things that make you really angry? How do you respond to those things?

• Do you respond with a gentle answer?

• What does it mean to have a harsh word?

• What does it mean to “stir up anger”? Do I need a spoon for that?

• How does this all work together?

With young children, you can use stuffed animals to illustrate the discussion.  That way, they can get a better understanding.  With older children, you can have them play roles – one is angry and says something that is hurtful and the other one responds with a gentle answer. 

Learning how to respond gently when someone is angry or how to not respond with harshness takes a lot self-discipline.  It is best to develop these abilities within the family, as there will be a lot of opportunities to practice.  When your children face the outside world, they will be better equipped to handle anger from others.

To read the entire article and for more references for games to play to help children learn, visit:

https://ministry-to-children.com/a-gentle-answer-proverbs-151-for-kids-and-adults/

https://catsinthecradle.blog/2017/05/08/a-soft-answer-activity-proverbs-151/

As Christians, We are Called to Pray for our Leaders

As the day for our major political elections draws near, Christians, more than ever, are encouraged to pray for all those in authority over us.  In 1 Tim. 2:1-2, the Apostle Paul makes it clear that praying for those in leadership enables us to live a quiet and peaceable life.  Moreover, verse 3 provides that it is good and pleasing to God for us to do this.

            As most people, I am so displeased with the constant criticism and personal attacks made against those in governmental leadership positions.  It really saddens me to hear and see this happening! 

            Christians must rise up and do what we are called to do – pray!  There is no doubt that prayer can and does change things.  Let us pray individually and collectively for our country and leaders. 

The Ability to Read Brings True Freedom!

As parents, we should be constantly searching for good role models for our children - those in modern times and those in our history.  I would like to dedicate this blog post to the great African American statesman Frederick Douglass who taught himself to read and write.  He went from being a slave to being a newspaper publisher and revered leader for the abolitionists and rights of women because he could read, write, and speak well. 

Douglass is quoted as saying “What is possible for me is possible for you.” It is so important that we teach our children this! Despite some of the worst adversities possible, he overcame them and so can they. 

Never underestimate the power of reading!

To read more about the amazing life of Douglass, please visit:

http://www.frederickdouglass.org/douglass_bio.html

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1539.html

Making America’s Parks More Welcoming to Diverse Groups

The National Park Service (NPS) has embarked on a major push to make our beautiful national parks more welcoming to diverse groups of people.  According to the NPS’s statistics, in 2019, over 327 million people visited the national parks. Statistics also establish that the majority of visitors are not “people of color” and NPS seeks ways to improve this.

            In conjunction with the National Park Foundation (NPF), a nonprofit organization chartered by Congress that generates private support, the NPS has established a number of programs as an outreach to our communities.  These include:

• The National Park Service Mellon Humanity Fellowships

• Junior Ranger Angler program to encourage children to learn about all the recreational activities involving fishing

• American Latino Heritage Fund to preserve and protect the history and culture of Latino Americans

• NPF’s Kids program introducing children to our parks through a variety of activities online

• The National Park as Classroom education program which provides teachers with free curriculum, field trip ideas, and workshops for students

• The Strong Parks, Strong Communities initiative supporting local programs all over the country

            In a thought provoking online article titled Here’s How We Make The National Parks More Diverse, author Ted Alvarez gathered a number of recommendations from a variety of knowledgeable people as to what more the NPS can do.  Some of the recommendations included the NPS partnering with local city parks and having NPS rangers be more visible around communities; teaching about the history and contributions of African Americans with our national parks; and having children and families come out and experience the parks, if just for a day’s outing.

I have traveled and visited many parks over the years with my family and can say that we absolutely loved the beauty and adventures that our parks have. Especially during the pandemic, I recommend that all families, no matter what race or national origin, make plans to visit some of them.

To read the entire online article and obtain more information on this topic, please visit:

https://www.backpacker.com/news-and-events/national-parks-diversity

https://www.nationalparks.org/our-work/programs/programs-connect

https://www.nationalparks.org/our-work/programs/all-programs

https://www.nationalparks.org/connect/blog/celebrating-black-history-and-culture-through-national-parks

International Day of Peace Focuses on All of Us Shaping Peace Together

In 1981, the United Nations declared September 21 each year as the international day of peace “devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.”  The challenge this year has not been hostile conflicts but fighting the “common enemy” of the Covid-19 pandemic.  “While the message is intended for armed parties, solidarity and cooperation across borders, sectors and generations are also needed to win this new fight against the worst public health crisis of our time.”

            Why have days dedicated to international ideals?  According to the UN’s  website, these days are “occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity.” 

            Peace is a very important initiative for children to learn from an early age.  Visit the UN’s website for more information on this and other international days.  https://www.un.org/en/observances/international-day-peace

Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

Many Christians understand that celebrating Halloween is against biblical teachings but they do not truly know the history of the holiday and how it has evolved over the years. To learn more, please read my prior blog post with the same title Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

My book It’s Not About You Mr. Pumpkin – A Love Letter About The True Meaning of Halloween is available for purchase and we are offering a free gift of coloring pages from the book! Please visit https://asthestarsofthesky.org/its-not-about-you-mr-pumpkin

International Literacy Day Emphasizes Literacy During the Pandemic & After

What is International Literacy Day and why set aside a day to celebrate literacy?  The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) established this special day in 1966 to be celebrated on September 8 every year.  It strongly believes that “literacy can’t wait” and dedicating this day serves “to remind the public of the importance of literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights.”  

            There are at least 5 reasons why literacy is important to everyone:

1.     It promotes our understanding and advancement of health, including brain health.

2.     It allows adults and children to participate actively for the betterment of their communities.

3.     It enables effective communication.

4.     It allows for employment advancement.

5.     It is the key to empowerment as it builds knowledge and self-worth. 

During the Covid19 pandemic, UNESCO has been growingly concerned about what it has found to be the “unpreparedness of infrastructure, education systems, programs, and people for ensuring the continuity of teaching and learning in such a situation.”  Shedding a bright light on this will enable countries all over the world to address the importance of helping teachers to be better educators and to work diligently on improving technology so that education does not lag behind.

To learn more, visit:

https://worldliteracyfoundation.org/international-literacy-day/

https://nationaltoday.com/international-literacy-day/

Why Does As the Stars of the Sky Foundation Promote Literacy?

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Why does As the Stars of the Sky Foundation promote literacy? I found this quote by Kofi Annan, the former Secretary General of the United Nations, that expresses in a nutshell the answer to that question.  Of all the Secretary Generals, I believe that his work to promote literacy throughout the world was the most impressive.

Literacy is key to the successful life of every human being.  Without the ability to read, and read well, a child will not progress and reach his/her highest possibilities.  To be effective, reading should start from an early age, when the child is very young.  This gives the child the ability to learn language and cognitive skills that become of primary importance when starting school.  

Literacy fights poverty because a literate person has the tools to improve his/her life and earn a good living. A person who cannot read or read well is often left to do the low paying jobs and then struggles to support a family.  Poor healthcare unfortunately results as well.

            Literacy is the key to development of our towns and cities. Without a literate population, government services cannot be performed properly and as needed. 

            From a Christian perspective, literacy enables a child to reach his/her divine destiny.  I strongly believe that God has given each of us a divine destiny which He wants us to achieve.  Literacy is the means by which we will be able to do the work that we are called to do. 

            Yes, it is ultimately a bridge from misery to hope, as Kofi Annan states!

There is no Such Thing as a Humanly Perfect Child

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        Do you find yourself saying such things as “I wish my son had a more outgoing personality” or “I want my daughter to be the smartest student in her class” or “My son should be the best soccer player on his team”?  I believe our desires can be misplaced as we look for human perfection in our children.  Let us strive to raise children who love God and whose core fundamental beliefs are centered on God’s view of them rather than our own.

            In Matthew 22:37-38, Jesus instructs us on the “greatest” or most important commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.”

 We are misplacing the emphasis if we stress exceptional outward behavior or physical attributes as God wants us to love Him.  Moreover, God does not look at our outward appearance, but above all else, He always looks at our hearts. 1 Samuel 16:7. Our hearts are the core of who we are and what we believe.  Proverbs 4:23 states: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (NIV).

The Bible is filled with verses that tell us how much God loves us and how we are special, precious and unique to Him.  These verses apply equally to adults and children.  Here are a few to discuss with your children and help them to memorize:

1.     Our children are God’s workmanship who have been created in Christ Jesus for good works. Ephesians 2:10.

2.     They are fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139. 

3.     They are the salt of the world. Matthew 5:13.

4.     They are the light of the world. Matthew 5:14.

God is looking for people who love Him and know how much He loves them.  Help your children to understand this from young!

Are Too Many Rewards Hurting Rather Than Helping Your Children?

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Illustration by Natalie Matthews-Ramo

        As a parent raising two sons, I used rewards to help motivate them to do I what I believe needed to be done.    I reasoned at the time that rewards were proper means to an end.  The “rewards” system did not always work and in some instances, turned out to be more of problem than an effective solution or inducement.  As I have matured as a parent and seen parents give, in my opinion, too many rewards, I wonder whether we have misused and abused the “rewards” system.  I would like to share with you what John Rosemond, the “Parent Guru”, and author, psychologist and parent educator Robin Grille have to say on this subject, which I find to be very enlightening.

         Mr. Rosemond responded to a question posed to him about giving a child “prizes” or rewards just to have the child obey a parent’s request, in this case, to dress nicely to attend church and stop whining and moping about it.  He stated:

It should go without saying (but it seems that when it comes to child rearing, nothing goes without saying these days) that children should be taught do the right thing — in this case, obedience to parental instructions — simply because it is the right thing to do. Another way of saying the same thing: Children need to learn that good behavior is its own reward.

          He further talks about the short-term achievements that rewards give and get, and that researchers are finding that rewards are not good for the long-term.  In the online article Rewards and Praise – The Poisoned Carrot, Ms. Grille reached a similar conclusion:

Rewards work well for getting children to do something that they don't naturally want to do, for the short-term only. This immediate behavior change rewards us, and keeps us addicted to rewarding. The negative consequences of rewards and praise don't materialize until later, so we fail to recognize rewards and praise as the culprit.

          Another important point made by Ms. Grille is that many children learn how to manipulate and become “superficially compliant”, doing just what it takes to get the reward and often honesty suffers.  With my sons, I learned that I could not just ask them “to clean their rooms” for their rewards but had to be specific about what needed to be done.  Exactly what is meant by “clean”? Often, they would do minimal work and then expect a reward.  If none was forthcoming, complaints and arguments ensued. 

I agree with many of Mr. Rosemond’s and Ms. Grille’s conclusions and if I had to do it over again, would not give rewards as often as I did for certain things.  But, as a parent, it is up to you to decide what is best. 

To read the entire articles and more on the subject, please visit the following:

https://lacrossetribune.com/lifestyles/relationships-and-special-occasions/john-rosemond-children-need-to-learn-that-good-behavior-is-its-own-reward/article_b456455c-6921-50d1-ac43-1dc2e066f67d.html

https://www.naturalchild.org/articles/robin_grille/rewards_praise.html

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-trust/201604/heres-how-rewarding-good-behavior-leads-bad-behavior

What Does the Bible Mean By “Train a Child”?

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As Christian parents, we seek to raise our children according to biblical principles.   There are numerous Bible verses that give us direction.  Many times, though, we need to study the scripture verse to get a better understanding of what it means and what God would like us to do.  In this blog post, I would like to give some insight into Proverbs 22:6 - what does it mean to “train a child in the way he should go”?

King Solomon, who was known for his profound wisdom, gave us this proverb.  We know that God loves children, as everywhere Jesus went when there were children around, He asked for them to be brought to Him: "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (NIV).  In fact, the Bible calls them a “reward”.  Psalm 127:3.

As parents, we are given a special, yet tremendous responsibility to raise them as God wants them to be raised and with the priority of teaching them God’s Word.  I love this statement from the website gotquestions.org which gives answers to Bible questions:

Teaching children the truths of Scripture will make them wise for salvation (2 Timothy 3:15); thoroughly equip them to do good works (2 Timothy 3:17); prepare them to give an answer to everyone who asks them the reason for their hope (1 Peter 3:15); and prepare them to withstand the onslaught of cultures bent on indoctrinating young people with secular values.

As a lay children’s minister for many years in a non-denominational Christian church and as a Christian mother raising two sons, I know how critical it is to teach children from a young age God’s Word.  They must know how much He loves them and what He expects them to do – they will not know this unless they are taught. So when the Bible mentions “train a child”, it means to teach, direct, counsel, and nurture.

How do we “train a child”?  Here are a few practical ways: by reading the Bible with them, helping them to memorize scripture, speaking to them God’s Word, disciplining them, and having them attend church services with you.

To learn more, please visit:

https://www.gotquestions.org/train-up-a-child.html

https://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/kids/what-does-it-mean-to-train-up-a-child-in-the-way-he-should-go.html

https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/how-to-train-up-your-child.html

Share with Your Children Inspiration from America’s First African American Female Astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison

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Children need good role models.  Who are better than those persons who are living today and have made exceptional strides and achieved great accomplishments.  One of those persons is Dr. Mae Jemison, the first female African American astronaut, who is also a medical doctor and an engineer.

Dr. Jemison came from humble beginnings, with her mother working as a teacher and her father employed as a maintenance supervisor.  As a child, she was inspired by the Apollo space missions and the Star Trek show on television that had an African American actress who played a role as a lieutenant.  From an early age, she was interested in astronomy, anthropology and archeology.  She earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Stanford University and a medical degree from Cornell University.  She is fluent in Russian, Japanese, and Swahili. She joined the Peace Corps, where she served as a doctor for two years in Africa.

She was inspired to become an astronaut after seeing Sally Ride become the first female astronaut.  She applied and was accepted by NASA.  After significant training, she was selected to join the crew of the space shuttle Endeavor as a mission specialist.  Her team orbited the Earth 127 times in 1992.

She later retired from NASA and has been involved in many different pursuits, including serving as a professor at Cornell University.  

She wrote a children’s book in 2001 titled Find Where the Wind Goes which is about her life.  Parents, please consider buying it for your children.

In addition to her quote on the picture on my blog post, some of my favorite quotes from Dr. Jemison are the following:

“Greatness can be captured in one word: lifestyle. Life is God's gift to you, style is what you make of it.”

“Don't let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It's your place in the world; it's your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live.”

“What we find is that if you have a goal that is very, very far out, and you approach it in little steps, you start to get there faster. Your mind opens up to the possibilities.”

To learn more about her, please visit :

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mae-jemison

https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/whos_who_level2/jemison.html

Reading Books in a Series is Good for Your Children

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As the Stars of the Sky Foundation is dedicated to promoting literacy as we believe that reading is essential to a child’s development and ultimate success in life.  Not only is reading individual books impactful, but also reading books in a series. 

A study entitled Series Books and Their Effect on Reader Development that was conducted at St. John Fisher College established that there is indeed a positive correlation between reading a book series and child development.  It also found that book series nurture the love of reading. “Research has shown that students who read book series, particularly reluctant readers, become more engaged and enthusiastic about reading, and are encouraged to continue reading once they begin a series.”

The study found many positive impacts including:

• The child becomes invested in the lives and relationships of the characters;

• Because the child is familiar with the story structure, he becomes better equipped to handle more complex readings; and

• The child develops high cognitive skills of “reading, rule following, decoding, and pattern recognition” as well as inference and deduction skills.

In the online article 5 Great Advantages of Book Series for Kids, another advantage is highlighted: developing activities from the series.  If the series centers on characters going camping, for example, get together with friends and family and do similar activity.  This will bring to life what the characters experienced.

I can personally tell you what a joy it was to read many book series with my two sons as they were growing up and how they benefitted from the experiences.  One series Hank the Cowdog by John Erickson truly brought us a lot of laughs!  The main characters are Hank, a cow dog, his sidekick Drover, who was another dog, and Pete the barn cat.  They have a lot of hilarious and quirky adventures.  We would read these together, either by my husband and I reading a chapter or one of our sons reading a chapter a day. My sons enthusiastically looked forward to the next book in the series.  We ultimately purchased the entire series for the library at our sons’ elementary school.

Please visit the homepage of our website to find out more about my books and what we promote.

To read the study and for more information, please visit:

• Fisher Pub - Education

• Five Great Advantages of Book Series for Kids

• Hank the Cowdog

Create Special Bonding Time While Reading About Sports

As I was doing research for blog ideas, I came across this photo and editorial online Get Your Child Reading and Thinking About Sports at www.atlantaparent.com.  I just love this photo of a child, laughing and holding a book he is reading, while he is sitting next to his father, who is also laughing and reading.  It’s tender, happy, and shows the importance of reading, which is the key focus of As the Stars of the Sky Foundation. Spreading the love of reading in every way that is possible – that is our goal and mission.

One of the best ways to get your children to read is to select a subject that they are interested in.  If your children are interested in sports, or if you would like to introduce your children to various sports, consider having them read books about sports.  There are a plethora of children’s books on sports in general, on specific sports and about famous athletes – from picture books for young children to novels, biographies and autobiographies for older children.  The online editorial gives some suggestions of books to read and I provide some website links as well at the end of this blog.

Be sure to set aside time to read the book with your children.  If it is a long book, break it up into chapters.  Talk with them about each book they read.  What did they learn?  What was the most interesting part to them? What sport do they like and why?  By asking these and other questions, you will help them develop their memory, analytical and word processing brain functions.

Visit the following websites for more recommendations for books on sports:

• Kids Books for Sports Lovers

• Scholastic - Children's Books About Sports

Helping Your Children Understand Disabilities

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Picture from friendshipcircle.org

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 1 Peter 3:8 ESV

It is of utmost importance that we raise children who are compassionate, empathetic, and loving to others.  One of the ways to do that is teaching them at a young age about persons with disabilities and how to treat them. Many of us have persons with disabilities in our families and there may be children with disabilities at your children’s school.  As Christians, we are especially called to show our love and be tenderhearted. 1 Peter 3:8.

Children are naturally inquisitive and will ask questions.  Here are some suggestions to assist your children:

• It is acceptable to notice a person who has a disability.  Do not ignore the situation but offer an explanation that is not emotional.  Author Lindsay Hutton in her online article Six Tips to Talk to Your Children About Disabilities, suggests the following:

A short and matter-of-fact description will answer your child's questions while showing her that the person has nothing to be ashamed of.

For example, if you see a child with muscular dystrophy in a wheelchair, you can say to your child, ‘I see you looking at that little girl in the wheelchair, and you might be wondering why she needs it. Some people's muscles work a little differently, and her wheelchair helps her move around, just like your legs help you.’

• Words are important, so be respectful and not hurtful.  Ms. Hutton recommends the appropriate words to use: “Avoid using derogatory terms like ‘cripple’, ‘retarded’, or ‘midget’, and instead, use terms and phrases like ‘wheelchair user,’ ‘little person’, and ‘he has a learning disability’.’’

• Point out similarities between all children and adults.  Persons with disabilities are human beings who have feelings, love their families, and enjoy music as well as playing sports.  By emphasizing the similarities, you will help your children to understand that persons with disabilities are people too.

• Children love to ask questions.  If you do not know the answers and the child’s parent is present, consider asking the parent.  Many parents of children with disabilities welcome questions and spend time answering them.

• Ask your children to think about a scenario where they have a particular disability.  How would they like to be treated? For example, if there is a child in your children’s school who has a hearing disability and wears a hearing device, ask your children how they would feel if they could not hear well.  How would they want to be treated? 

There are many children’s books to familiarize your children with disabilities.  Visit the links below for some suggestions. 

For more helpful information, please visit the following:

• Explaining Disability to Children

• 6 Tips to Talk to Your Kids About Disabilities

• Disability Awareness for Kids

Keeping Your Children Active during the Summer COVID-19 Shutdowns

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It’s the middle of the summer and most places do not have summer camps or other activities available for children.  Many areas have closed parks, playgrounds and sports fields.  Despite all these restrictions, it is very important to keep your children active as shutdowns have already led to the exacerbation of childhood obesity rates.

Scientists were concerned from the beginning of the lockdowns that children would be negatively affected.   Their reasons included children not being able to participate in organized school activities or eat subsidized school lunches as well as being exposed to more snack food at home all day long.

Researchers recently found that compared to one year ago, “children ate an additional meal a day; slept an additional half hour per day; and spent more than 5 hours per day in front of a phone, computer or television screen” during the lockdown.  Those are shocking findings indeed!

The World Health Organization recommends that children be physically active at least 60 minutes a day.  In confined spaces, there are many activities in which children can participate.  Consider online videos with activities. So much is available on YouTube that it just takes a bit of your time to search them out and select the ones your children will enjoy.  Your children can even assist you in choosing those videos.  Also, try old tried-but-true fun such as building indoor forts, playing hide and seek, dancing to music and jumping rope. 

Experts recommend keeping a journal of activities and even rewarding children afterwards.  The key is to reinforce positive behavior and build good habits.

For more information, please visit the following:

• Coronavirus Lockdown Found to Worsen Childhood Obesity

• Coronavirus Child Obesity Exercise          

• How to Keep Your Children Active and Healthy While in Isolation

Be Sure to Schedule Time for Free Play for Your Children

Just what is free play for children?  We adults often think that children regularly play, so what is the significance of free play?  Free play is unstructured play that children direct on their own.  It is play that helps develop a child’s creativity and well-being and is essential to a child’s growth.   

There is an excellent online article at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education’s website about free play Summertime, Playtime by Leah Shaffer.  Ms. Shaffer lists 3 types of play: social play, when children play with others; independent play, when children play by themselves, such as with stuffed animals and building blocks; and guided play, when children play according to what adults have set up.   

Playing has many benefits such as:

• Intellectual development – “Play builds executive function skills, content knowledge, and creative thinking. When children build with blocks or draw, they are counting, classifying, and creating and examining patterns. When children engage in dramatic play, they are practicing telling stories in a sensible order, using rich vocabulary, and writing.”

• Social development – Children learn how to interact with others and listen.

• Emotional development – Children learn about their emotions and how to regulate them.

• Physical development – Children play using their bodies, often through sports or other physical activity, and try new things, such as swimming underwater. 

How can you help your children have free play?  First, have plenty of the right kinds of “toys” available. Some recommendations are building blocks, Lego, crayons and paper, stuffed animals, and stickers.  Keep a few empty cardboard boxes around too.  Second, plan ahead and set aside the time.  For example, take your children to a park to just run around and play.  Invite some of their friends over to play.  And, make sure that there are no devices with screens involved! Third, don’t give in to your children’s cries of “I’m bored!”  Encourage them to create ways to play and have fun. 

To read the entire article and another helpful article, please visit:

• Harvard - Summertime Playtime

• Very Well Family - Unstructured Play

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Start a Family Movie Night as a Regular Family Activity

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What is a special family activity that can become a regular event?  Try a family movie night!  Since it is a night for movies for kids of all ages, be sure to find appropriate ones for all tastes.  Here are some helpful tips.

1. Research what movies would be good for all age groups.  There are many websites that list family friendly movies so review the selections.  I have links to some of those websites below.

2. Negotiate with your family members what movie will be seen on a specific day.  Since sibling rivalries are almost certain to happen, prepare a method of selecting a movie that will be fair to all.  Also, because children are watching, adults erroneously believe that only kiddy or cartoon type movies would be appropriate (and often boring).  However, there are many types of movies that would be acceptable to both adults and children.  Take the time to read up about them. 

3. Be sensitive about the themes of the movies and the impact on a child.  For example, I never enjoyed “scary” movies as a child (and still don’t).

4. Make it feel more authentic by having some theater-type snacks for movie night.  Popcorn, of course, is a ubiquitous treat, but there are many others such as nachos and hot dogs.  Perhaps add candy bars.  The selections are up to you.

5. Talk with your children about the movie after it ends.  What were their favorite characters and why? What did they think about the way the movie ended? There are many questions that you can ask to stir their imagination and help them express their thoughts.

For more information, please visit:

• Beliefnet - 6 Must-Watch Christian Family Films

• Keith Ferrin - Top 41 Christian Movies for Families

• Mommy Poppins - 50 Best Kids Movies for Family Movie Night