The Pink Refrigerator

The Pink Refrigerator. I made a special trip to the library to get this book. I really hoped they had it. I rarely make special trips to the library but this one was motivated by an email I received from a mom and a student of mine.

“You may have seen this. It is a picture book called The Pink Refrigerator by Tim Egan. This illustrates the secret of the “Closet” in an inspiring way. A junk dealer who likes to do–not much–finds a pink refrigerator that holds something new for him every day and he gets excited about life and learning, closes up shop, and sets off to explore the world.”

I thought you might enjoy this if you hadn’t seen it.

Happy reading,
Cathy D.

Well, I was intrigued and so I made a trip to the library. While I was there I picked up four other random books and said “Good. This will be grandma school. Reading books and eating pop corn.” (I am always looking for an excuse to eat pop corn.)

WOW!! Cathy’s description of the book was spot on. The Pink Refrigerator is the Closet. It is a beautiful story about how we can inspire a child to explore something that might not have occurred to them before. You absolutely never know what greatness is hiding inside a child if they have the opportunity to explore options.

When I was a girl one of my favorite summer activities was to cover large rocks with thick mud. These were my “cakes” and I took great pains to decorate them with flowers, leaves and grass. I spent considerable time doing this activity and I was inordinately proud of the results. To the casual onlooker it may have seemed as if I was really wasting time. (Yes you could put a large rock and a bucket of mud in the Closet!)

When I was in 9th grade I saw a project that the seniors were doing, Panorama Sugar Eggs. Man, I wanted to do that but it was reserved for seniors. I knew that I wouldn’t be there when I was senior. We moved a lot! So I bravely asked the Home Economics teacher if I could have the directions. I must have seemed really sincere or desperate because she gave them to me.

I had none of the required tools. I had no help, no experience. But I knew without doubt that I could do this project because I had made so many fabulous “cakes” in the past. Don’t ask me how I could think that real frosting and sugar was anything like rocks and mud but frankly, I did. I had learned that I could make stuff! For the next 45+ years I made beautiful “stuff”.

It doesn’t matter what you put into the Closet. The very act of opening it each day, anticipating some small new thing is all it takes to generate some serious excitement and enthusiasm.

If you haven’t read the Pink Refrigerator make a special trip to the library. You will be glad you did and I believe you will be inspired!

After reading the story, have each child write their own note about something they would like to learn more about or learn how to do. Post it on your Closet door.  It will be  incredible to see how excited your children are about the activity! One group of children who had the opportunity to read the book and do the activity had ideas like these:

  • learn to jump better
  • play the flute
  • skydive
  • learn how to care for animals
  • run a profitable business
  • go to Brazil
  • be a librarian!

Now  respond!

Can’t you just imagine where you could go with these ideas. Closet here we come!!!

 

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Last week I sent a message out to everyone in my email base. My daughter and I have created a fabulous new CD all about family time. It is called the Family Chunk Clock and it is amazing! I have been using this concept myself for a year and Jodie has been using it for a couple of years. I have been sharing it in my Parenting workshops and the response is always WOW!!!

This is one of the keys I used to get over my feeling of daily overwhem and to go to bed feeling like I had done what I should with the day.

The CD is called The Family Chunk Clock. It is a FREE gift to you. If you have not see the email check your spam folder. This is something you do not want to miss!!

“We love this product! We listened to your mp3 today and we dedicated our entire Saturday to making this change in our family.
Thank you so much for all you do!”  Kym and Bill P.

PS There was a second amazing gift your children will love. So check your email. : )

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picture of Amy Walker body language expert

Amy Walker

Welcome back to Body Lanuage and Education Part 2. My name is Amy Walker and I am a Certified Body Language Expert, teacher, trainer and mother. I am excited to teach you three more eye movements to help you better understand your children and students. If you missed the first two movements, please refer to Body Language and Education Part 1.

side to side eye movementMovement 3: When you see someone look side to side (right or left) they are looking towards their ears. They are listening to outside influences.

Outside influences could include:
• Parents
• Teachers
• Friends
• TV/media references
• Church or Civic Leaders
• Negative thoughts they hear inside their head

This is an EXTEMELY powerful indicator to watch for. If you want to help your child to be happier and more successful, watch for how often they are listening to others inside their mind. As a culture, we struggle with negative thoughts. Helping your child (and yourself) clear out the other people inside their head, will help them to feel better about themselves and have more focus in moving towards what they want. I once read that they average person has between 25-50,000 thoughts in a day. Highly successful athletes are closer to 15,000 thoughts a day. Their ability to focus and clear out the mind chatter helps them to be more successful.

upward eye movement
Movement 4: Looking up towards the sky.

Let’s not confuse this with the infamous eye roll. They mean very different things! When a person looks up towards the sky, they are looking to their Higher Power. They are looking for new answers, inspiration, and connecting with whatever they believe in that is bigger than them.

Tip for Parents: If you see your child look up and then give you their answer, please be cautious how you respond. They will feel a strong connection to this answer; it will intuitively feel right to them. All of us have experienced a “Dream Crusher” at some point in our lives. I never want to be that dream crusher for my children. It might not be an answer that I love and am completely excited about. It also does not mean that is their answer for the rest of their lives. But for right now, they are likely to feel very strongly about their thoughts, dreams or ideas and as they follow them they will progress and grow.

Example 2: I was teaching at a school in front of teachers, parents and students. I had a volunteer come up on stage. She was 16 and I was helping her to adjust her body language so she could be more effective in delivering her message. I asked her what her message was and she looked to the sides then said “I don’t know.” So I asked again. This time she said a message, but she looked to the sides again. It still wasn’t her real message. After a few tries, she looked up. When she came down she spoke of kindness to others, knowing who you really are and not hiding to make others feel comfortable. It was powerful and everyone in the room felt its authenticity. Every part of her body language was stronger. Her tone was stronger because this time she spoke a message that rang true in her heart. I could see from the very first answer that she was worried about what other people would think. Because I saw the signs, I was more effective in helping her get to her real message.

downward eye movement
Movement 5: Looking down

When you see someone look down, they are looking into their emotions. They are soul searching. This answer may take longer to find. It also takes more trust to share. If you see your child look down, it is essential to stop what you are doing and adjust your focus to your child. When they find their answer, they will check in with you. If you are not paying attention, they are not likely to share their thoughts. They will swallow them down and decide that how they feel is not important enough for your time.

Example 3: My 6 year old was having a very naughty day. He kept pestering his brothers and seemed bent on a course of destruction! I asked him, “What’s going on buddy?” He immediately looked down. So I changed my question to “How are you feeling today?” He took a long time to answer. To the untrained eye it would probably have looked like he was being defiant. But I knew to be patient. I waited and after what felt like 5 minutes, he gave a quick peek at me. When he saw I was still listening, he looked up again and said, “I feel like I’m invisible.” An experience that could have ended in a time out with lots of frustration on both sides, instead ended in a hug.

I LOVE working with teens and kids! They are truly amazing. They are wild and crazy, challenging, inspiring, and powerful all at the same time. As parents and teachers if we can increase understanding and figure out what makes each of our kiddos tick, we are so much more effective at guiding them.

I invite each one of you to study your children! If you live in Utah, please join me for a free Body Language training. I will teach you how to see your children more clearly and more importantly, how to recognize what signals you are unconsciously sending them!

Friday, Jan 20th, 6-8:00 pm
1160 S. State St. Suite 270
Orem, UT.

Or

Saturday, Jan 21st, 6-8:00 pm
405 E 12450 S, Suite L
Draper, UT. 84020

To reserve your place please email amy@3keyelements.com

Amy Walker is a Wife, Mother, Trainer and Mentor.  Amy has been married to her husband Stephen for 11 years.  Stephen and Amy met at Brigham Young University and after a year and a half of dating; they were married in Portland Oregon.  They have four sons ages 9, 6, 4 and 7 months.   As a family they love to play together.  They enjoy movies, playing tennis, going to parks, the Nicklecade (Amy hates it, but everyone else thinks it’s great!), and having picnics.  They are also all book worms and LOVE to read!  Amy has to be judicious about starting a new book because she is so obsessive she will go without sleep until the book is done!  She also loves music and has played the cello since childhood.

Amy graduated from BYU with a degree in Linguistics and a minor in Teaching English as a Second Language.  During College she lived and taught English in Russia.  She also taught ESL in the public schools.  She has a love of foreign languages and cultures

Amy is the Executive Program Director for 3 Key Elements.  She does body language trainings for corporate and private groups.  One of Amy’s favorite parts of her career is working with her personal mentoring clients.  She loves watching people transform their lives and move forward towards their dreams.

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