“Thank you for what I am about to learn,” or “Arigato gozaimasu” (ah-ree-gah-toe go-zah-ee-mass) my son along with ten of his teammates respectfully utter with a bow and prayer hands as they begin a lesson in Aikido. As a Star Wars’ fan and appreciator of “the force,” Aikido seemed to align well with my eleven-year-old’s desire …
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What is it… why you want it… and how to get it! “I had no idea it was so late!” my ten-year-old exclaimed lifting his head up after a few hours of finely-crafting origami Star Wars figures with his cousin, Grandma and myself who were equally entranced in our crafting projects. Clearly, we were experiencing …
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Category: Building a Positive Family Environment Tags: children and flow, children and focus, Creative Problem Solving, Creativity, Executive function, family flow, Focused attention, Mindfulness, play and flow, Self control, sense of flow
I grew up with six brothers. That’s how I learned to dance – waiting for the bathroom. – Bob Hope “Are we there yet?” This is the common refrain from the backseat on the long road trip to Grammy’s house. We “moo” at the cows. We examine the red barns. We talk about the funny …
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Category: Practicing Social and Emotional Skills Tags: Children, Creative thinking, Focus, Focused attention, Higher level thinking skills, Improved listening skills, Logic, Patience, Practicing waiting, Self control, Skills of waiting, Wait challenge, Waiting
This fire that we call loving is too strong for human minds. But just right for human souls. – Aberjhani, Elemental: The Power of Illuminated Love In honor of Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d write about our love for our children and their need for attention. Of course, all children have a need for us …
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Category: Building a Positive Family Environment Tags: Approval, Attention, Attention-seeking behavior, Children, Cooperative discipline, Developmental discipline, Difference between love and behavior, Focused attention, misbehavior, Misbehaviors, Positive Discipline, Teaching acceptable attention-getting, Unconditional love, Valentine's Day
Your focus is your reality. – Yoda, Star Wars I, The Phantom Menace As I entered the final stretch before Christmas, I paused, amidst my color coded lists of menu planning, decorating, present wrapping, gift creating, house cleaning and broken toy mending. I could feel my anxiety mounting to frenzy status and needed to quiet …
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Category: Building a Positive Family Environment Tags: Anxiety, Attention, Christmas, Christmas and holiday season, Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence, Focus, Focus; The Hidden Driver of Excellence, Focused attention, Holidays, Presence, Self-management, Social awareness, Stress management