• The average time it takes for plastic to decompose is 450 years.
• The population of the world is over seven billion now and is estimated to reach eight billion by 2025.
• The meat industry contributes most to the increase in global warming every year. Deforestation is second.
• 97% of water on the planet is salty and not usable. 2% is frozen. That leaves us with just 1% of usable water!
Perhaps think about what changes you can make in your day-to-day life to help our environment.
These stress management tips can help you drastically reduce your stress levels.
There are some ways to improve your child’s communication skills. Check to see how
Resting article recently that I would like to share with you. It is called: ‘A Practical Idea for Teaching The Skill of Flexibility’ by Jim and Lynne Jackson http://connectedfamilies.org.
It outlines a technique a parent found very useful when dealing with her son who had difficulty coping when things didn’t go the way he expected and I thought it linked in nicely with our last newsletter on creativity.
“If I said we were having chicken for tea, my son might think it was chicken nuggets. Then when he came to the table and saw chicken breast, he would scream: “That’s not what I wanted! I wanted chicken nuggets!” and get so upset he’d refuse to eat.”
Sound familiar? We have all experienced a situation similar to this one. Some children engage in rigid thinking because it feels safe; while others haven’t developed flexible-thinking skills yet. The good news is that flexible thinking skills can be taught and practiced. Here is the creative way this mum explained it to her son. You will need an ice-block stick and a pipe cleaner.
ws Talk to your child about how sometimes people just want things to go their way, and if they don’t get their way they explode! “That’s being rigid, like this ice-block stick. When rigid people don’t get what they want or what they expect,” I said, pressing the stick, “they just keep trying to make things go their way, and then BOOM, they explode!” The stick snaps in your hands.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThen pick up the pipe cleaner. “Other people can bend and change when they need to in a situation, like share a toy when they didn’t expect to or be okay with a different kind of cereal in the morning. That’s being flexible like this pipe cleaner – it can bend when it needs to and then it can straighten back out again like it was. A person that can do that is flexible.” Talk about other times when your child had been really flexible. “You were so flexible when…., and that helped everyone have a great time!”
Then later watch for other times when your child is flexible and remind them of how helpful it is when they are. Sometimes giving your child a heads up before an unexpected change or challenge can help them cope better. You might say, “Now this is going to be an opportunity to be flexible. Do you think you can do that?” Their own prediction of success helps them to be flexible – when they say “Yes I can do that.”
When kids develop flexible-thinking skills they are better able to think creatively and solve problems. This story perfectly illustrates that sometimes children misbehave because they lack the skills to behave appropriately. But when we take the time to teach and affirm these important life skills, it can empower kids to make wise choices that will help them thrive in life.
Remember… “Pipe Cleaners” not “Ice-block Sticks””
This issue of our newsletter will focus on Creativity. We know we should foster our children’s imaginations, but our busy lives often don’t seem to have a place for creativity that isn’t tied to productivity. Schools, too, can struggle to find the time to tackle this not-so-tangible subject.
A child with a good imagination is happier as they are able to cope better with life’s twists and turns. Being creative doesn’t mean you’re a painter or sculptor. CEOs and political leaders, too, benefit from being creative, which lets them see things in new ways and find solutions to problems others might miss. That kind of problem-solving and innovative thinking begins with the power of imagination.
So how do we inspire this power in our children? Here are some suggestions
1. Unpuppets: Gather a box of assorted household items — a strainer, a shoe box, paper cups, a torch, whatever you can think of that’s not sharp or fragile — and have your child create a puppet show using these objects as the “puppets.” You’ll be amazed at the characters your child will create.
2. Wacky photos: Use old photographs, the ones where someone had their eyes closed or had a bad hair day, and let your child cut them up. Then with some glue, paper, and markers have fun turning these stray faces and body parts into new people, or create a fantasy picture.
3. Big box: Ask a local appliance store for a large cardboard box. Using scissors and markers your child can transform the box into whatever they can imagine. Don’t give them any suggestions; let them think for themselves.
Keeping kids in touch with objects from nature inherently inspires their imagination; as does play with open-ended toys, such as blocks or sand, which have endless possibilities.
Try these out yourself. Have some fun and share some of your pictures on our Facebook page.
This month’s focus is CONFIDENCE. Being confident means developing and using a ‘CAN DO’ attitude. Children who believe they can get better at things, it turns out, normally can with practice and determination. A big part of our success with children at Kip McGrath is a result of helping them restore their confidence. In fact, most of our parents say improved confidence is one of the biggest benefits their child gains from attending tutoring.
Here are a few suggestions for you to try at home.
1. Give really specific feedback to your child when he/she does things well (I really liked the way you spent extra time clearing up, Ruby. It’ll be much easier to bake our cakes now). Ruby in this example is hearing that her effort paid off and, over time, will see how valuable it is to go the extra mile.
2. Choose something for each member of the family, that each of you finds difficult. Make a list and pin it to the fridge door (Dad’s going to try not to lose his temper when Jim spills his cereal; Jim’s going to try and eat his breakfast without leaving a mess on the table etc). Share your experiences with each other; remember to encourage everyone to talk about any struggles they have and how they deal with them. Children learn that struggling and making mistakes are normal and healthy aspects of learning.
3. Set goals and then plan how you will achieve them. Homework provides a good opportunity to help your child break a task down into its smaller components, think through how long each part might take, make a plan, do it and then, whenever possible, talk about how it went.
4. Listen out for anyone who sounds as if they are being negative about their achievements and help them to rephrase it (‘I just can’t do Twitter’
‘Dad, what you mean is that you haven’t yet worked out how to tweet!’)
Remember: Confidence grows best in situations where we feel supported and encouraged. It is the result of setting and achieving goals.
