Martin Luther King Day and Black History Month

by Mary Ann on January 4, 2013

martin luther king day

In January we celebrate Martin Luther King Day. Then in February we have Black History Month. These two months give us an opportunity to explore a number of themes with our families and to put some fun, interesting and worthwhile activities into our Spark Station.

During the months of January and February you can introduce your family to Dr. Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights movement. You could also introduce them to many other famous African Americans. Some possibilities are Rosa Parks, George Washington Carver, Sara Breedlove Walker, Joseph Winters, Dr. Mae Jemison and Sidney Poitier. You can find many color pages and short biographies here.

This is also a good time to talk about dreams and how people turn dreams into reality. Your children each have dreams and this is a great opportunity for them to explore what some of their dreams are. You can also talk about your dreams for your family as a whole.

Another theme that would work well during these two months is peace. How does your family view war and peace? What does your religion teach or what are your personal core values concerning peace in a family, your neighborhood or the world.

Activities to celebrate Martin Luther King Day

1. Learn about Martin Luther King Day and read a few good books about Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1986 the third Monday in January was set aside as a national holiday to celebrate his birthday. The holiday is observed as a time to remember Dr. King’s good works and to celebrate his dream of people being judged by their character and not their skin color. His most famous speech repeated the line, “I have a dream!”

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and one of the most influential leaders in the American civil rights movement in the 1960s.. Dr. King’s message of racial equality was not always well accepted by all Americans. Even so, he preached to his followers to embrace nonviolence and to use peaceful demonstration as a way to make positive change.

2. Have a Multicultural Banquet on Martin Luther King Day
One of Martin Luther King’s achievements was to help Americans like each other even if they had differences in skin color, religion or background. Celebrate his birthday with an eclectic holiday dinner featuring cuisine from other countries or geographical regions. Serve Puerto Rican rice-and-beans, Boston clam chowder, a Chinese stir-fry, and a peach pie from Dr. King’s native Atlanta. The variations on this theme are endless, and the dinner doesn’t need to be time-consuming. You can achieve almost the same effect by stopping for takeout from Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, and your local pizza parlor (Italian or Greek).

3. Do something good as a family to celebrate Martin Luther King Day
Plan a walk to raise money for a local charity or nonprofit organization that your children care about. Ask relatives and neighbors to sponsor your family for a certain amount of money per mile (or block). Although the cause may be different than those Dr. King fought for, the message to children will be the same: “When we all march together, we can change things.”

You can chart your trek on a local map. Make sure the distance you choose is realistic for younger children, but also long enough so they appreciate that old saying of the Civil Rights era: “My feets is tired but my soul is rested.” Finally, when it’s time to send in your donation, make sure you note that it is made in honor of King’s memory.

4. Make a multicolor hand print wreath to hang on your door on Martin Luther King Day. crafts for Martin Luther King Day

5. Make and play a Martin Luther King Day Game
Use the facts you learn about Dr. King to make and play Martin’s Match Game on Martin Luther King Day.

What You Need:
• 32 index cards
• Markers
• Research books

Find out facts about Dr. King to use in this concentration-type game. Divide 32 index cards into 4 groups. Mark the backs of one group “Open Doors.” Mark the backs of the second group “Closed Doors.” Mark the backs of the third group with positive situations, including “Peaceful march on Selma.” Mark the backs of the fourth group with obstacles, including “Must pay poll tax to vote.”

Turn all the cards face down and try to match “Open Door” cards with positive situations and “Closed Door” cards with obstacles. If no match is made, the cards are turned face down again. The player with the most matches wins. By the time you are through playing this game, you will be an expert on the extraordinary life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr!

6. Make a jig saw puzzle of a picture of Martin Luther King and have someone in your family try to put it together.

Activities about Peace for Martin Luther King Day

1. Make an origami peace dove. You can watch a how to video here.

2. Make a felt and paper dove to hang in your room or use as a table placemat
What you need:
• Tracing paper
• Pencil
• Pins
• Heavy white felt
• Scissors
• craft knife
• 4 X 6 inch piece of heavy green paper or card stock.

Draw or print off a dove.
Trace pattern onto felt and cut out; cut a slit with a craft knife through center where marked on pattern. Fold paper lengthwise into accordion folds about 3/4 inch deep. Insert folded paper through slit so paper extends evenly on both sides.

3. Make a Mosaic dove. Just draw a dove and fill it in using craft glue and colored broken egg shells or beads. If you want your dove to be in a frame ask the butcher in your local grocery for a foam try. Draw your dove on the foam tray and use your glue and shells or beads to fill it in. You can add a hanger by punching two small holes at the top of the tray and stringing a piece of yarn through.

Activities about dreams for Martin Luther King Day

1. Make a dream catcher from a paper plate.

2. A dream catcher for older children
What you need:
• wood embroidery hoop
• leather lace
• scissors
• 3 to 4 feathers
• Beads

You will use the inside of the hoop, the one without the metal. Take the lace and tie one end to the hoop. Start winding the lace around the hoop. Create the pattern as you go. Put one bead on the lace when you are about half way done. This will be the center that catches the bad dreams.

Finish looping and weaving the lace until you get the look you want. To create a pattern around the center of your dream catcher weave the lace in a circular pattern through the middle of your dream catcher.

3. Have each family member write a poem about dreams. Then have a special night to share them and have treats. For children who can’t write have them tell you their thoughts and write them down for them or have them draw and color a picture about dreams.

4. Talk about your dreams as a family and then make an “I have a dream scroll”. It would be fun to make a family scroll and then hang it in your home to remind you about your goals as a family as well as individual scrolls.

What You Need:
• Drawing paper
• Markers or colored pencils
• Two 9-inch wooden dowels
• Transparent tape
Use markers or colored pencils to write your dreams on a piece of drawing paper. Some of your dreams may be serious and some may be silly. Draw a picture to illustrate each dream you write down. For example, if one of your dreams is for clean air, water, and earth, then draw the world. After you have written down your dreams, display them on a scroll by taping a wooden dowel to the top and bottom edge of the paper.

BOOKS for Martin Luther King Day

• Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Ready-to-Read. Level 1) by Margaret McNamara
• I Have A Dream: A child’s view of Martin Luther King Day
• I Have a Dream: The Story of Martin Luther King (Scholastic Biography) by Margaret
• My Dream of Martin Luther King byFaith Ringgold
• If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King by Ellen Levine, Beth Peck
• Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr.? by Bonnie Bader
• A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr. by David A. Adler
• King’s Courage by Stacia Deutsch, Rhody Cohon
• Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King Jr. by Jean Marzollo
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by Dianne M. MacMillan
• The Day Martin Luther King Jr. Was Shot by Jim Haskins
• Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport
• The Story of Martin Luther King Jr. by Johnny Ray Moore (Board book)

BOOKS about Peace for Martin Luther King Day

• One Thousand Paper Cranes: The Story of Sadako and the Children’s Peace Statue by By Takayuki Ishii
• The Big book for peace by Ann Durell, Marilyn Sachs, Lloyd Alexander
• The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
• Stone Soup by Jon J Muth
• What Does Peace Feel Like? By Vladimir Radunsky
• Clancy the Courageous Cow by Lachie Hume
• The Unfinished Angel by Sharon Creech
• Hana’s Suitcase: A True Story by Karen Levine

Books about having a Dream for Martin Luther King Day

• Salt in His Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream by Roslyn Jordan
• Ruby’s Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges
• The Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco
• Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
• The Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting
• Hunter’s Best Friend at School by Laura Elliott
• Hank Aaron: Brave in Every Way by Peter Golenbock
• Sixteen Years In Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story by Paula Yoo
• The Royal Bee by Frances Park
• Jackie Robinson: Young Sports Trailblazer by Herb Dunn

BOOKS about Famous African Americans for Martin Luther King Day

• A Picture Book of Rosa Parks by David A. Adler
• I Am Rosa Parksby Rosa Parks
• Famous African Americans: Eight People Who Made a Difference by Patsy Ford Simms
• Famous African-American Women by Cal Massey
• Famous Firsts of Black Americans by Sibyl Hancock
• The ABCs of Black History by Thompson, Craig
• Words Set Me Free By Cline-Ransome, Lesa

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Tools to Make 2013 Better – Say NO to New Years Resolutions!!

by Mary Ann on December 26, 2012

Merry Christmas and happy New Year! You have been with me for some time now. We are friends in learning. We are seekers together. I want to thank you for the past year of association by giving you some real tools to make 2013 better. Say NO to ineffective New Years Resolutions!!

2012 is almost gone! I have been thinking about the last year and I am satisfied. No, I didn’t get everything done I wanted to do. No, my life isn’t always peaceful and put together. But, I have learned a great many things. I have made some significant changes in my own way of being this year. I have done some work that matters. I am content.

My One Action Step to Make 2013 Better!

Now I am facing 2013 and I have determined that I want to flow into the New Year gracefully and flow through the year making needed changes, learning and again ending 2013 with a sense of satisfaction. So for the past few months I have been taking that desire to the Lord and asking him for some guidance. I have phrased it this way, “What is the one action step I could take this year that would make the most significant change for good in my life?

You will notice I asked for an “action” step and only one of them. I have learned from 62 years of New Years Resolutions that there is a tendency at the end of the year to take note of all the weakness, imperfection and losses and then create a huge list of “to dos” for the next year, to fix all that stuff. I have also learned that that is a recipe for failure.

I have come to believe in and act upon the 1% principle; that when you make the correct 1% change it exponentially expands that change for good in your life – it affects not only the 1% you were focusing on but all the rest of your life as well. I have also come to understand, through experience, that focusing on my strengths and successes and then seeking divine guidance helps me clearly see the correct 1%. No more New Years Resolutions for me based on what hasn’t gone well.

Well, here is my 1% for 2013 – Stop complaining! YIKES!!!! Yes, I was a bit stunned and embarrassed to think that I still have work to do in this area of negative thought. But I do.

Sunday I messed up twice. I clearly saw the mess ups and then said in my mind, “Opps, that was me complaining again”. Then I recommitted to doing it differently next time. Good for me.

Three Steps to Make 2013 Better

There are some steps to success in change that are helpful to know in order to really make change stick and not feel discouraged in the process.

1. Awareness of what to change. Now that I am aware of what my work is for 2013 I can see when I mess up. Wahoo, progress. It looks like this. You mess up, recognize the mess up after the fact and then decide how to do it differently next time.
2. The second step looks like this. You mess up and in the middle of the mess up you recognize it and stop and redo right then.
3. The third step is that you think about messing up and you don’t!

Because I know the steps I can see that I am already making progress and it isn’t even 2013 yet. I am on my way to success!!

Tools to Make 2013 Better in a Nutshell!

Here is a summary of the tools for a better 2013 in a nut shell;
• Stop focusing on what you didn’t get done in 2012. Stop looking at all the problems that still need to be resolved. STOP!
• Look at all the successes you have had this year no matter how small. Make a list of at least 10.
• Ask your Higher Power for ONE action step for 2013, a step that can make a big difference in your personal life.
• Hold that thought no matter how insignificant it feels to you.
• Make a commitment to do that one thing all year long.
• Understand that the first step in change is awareness. When you mess up and then recognize the mess up, rejoice. You are in the first step!
• Know that when you can stop in the middle of a mess up and redo, you are in the second step.
• Change has happened when you can stop the impulse to do the thing you have been working on!
• Repeat the process at the end of 2013

May each of you have a remarkable 2013 filled with movement toward personal happiness.

Your friend and mentor,
Mary Ann Johnson

[email protected]
Read my blog here http://home-school-coach.com
Join me on Facebook here http://www.facebook.com/HomeSchoolCoach
Join me on Twitter here http://twitter.com/maryhomeschool

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A Special Gift for Your Family – “The Week Before Christmas” packet

by Mary Ann on December 15, 2012

A Gift for You – “The Week before Christmas” packet

An activity from “The Week before Christmas” packet

Last week I sent a Christmas Gift to all my past students, mentees and those who have called, emailed or touched my life in some way, the “The Week before Christmas” packet. I wanted to stay connected and thank them for being part of my life. I realize that many of you who visit my blog may not be in my personal data base and I don’t want you to miss out. So at the end of this blog you will find a copy of the letter, an invitation to stay connected and a Christmas gift from me to you. Have a very Merry Holiday season.

Our reindeer antlers looked like ears. Silly!

Last night I had my grandkids over for the evening. There are four things that they REALLY like and expect to do at my house.

• Eat dinner
• Take a bath
• Read
• Make something fun

So we ate right away and then I introduced them to one of the super simple activities from “The Week before Christmas packet”. We made donut snowmen and donut reindeer. We learned that frosting and candies do not stick on powdered donuts very easily! We learned that if you don’t keep an eye on them the noses will disappear from off the snowmen’s faces. (Jack was that you?)

We learned that working on the floor is just right, as the mess is right where you can sit in it easily! We learned that cutting pretzels for antlers is not as easy as it looks and that if you don’t do it right you have ears. Reindeer look very funny with ear shaped antlers. We learned that we love working together and that the whole project only took about 20 minutes. Then we ate!

Cutting pretzels id NOT easy!

As many of you know my granddaughter Maggie has cerebral palsy. We learned that this project takes a lot of finger and thumb movements. That is something that is pretty tough for Maggie. So she watched while Jack and Mary made their snowmen and reindeer and then I helped Maggie so she could grasp each little M&M and put it on herself.

Helping Maggie use her thumb and forefinger to hold M&M’s

We had a lot of FUN! Then we took the baths that are always on the list when visiting grandmas.

I want to invite you to download “The Week before Christmas”packet

and spend a bit of time each evening the seven days before Christmas having some fun with your family.

You can find the information on how to get “The Week before Christmas” packet below:

Are you in the holiday mood yet? I have the tree up
and have already made gingerbread houses with lots
of kids. Always a fun time of year!

Before I get so busy I forget to tell you, and before
you’re so enthralled in the holidays that your head is
in a whirl I want to tell you –

I’m making a change and sending a gift!

I’m expanding my reach to share my message of more
joyous parenting and I have some wonderful information
for this next year concerning families, parenting and
personal growth. I am excited to share it with you.
In the past I have sent things like this to you via my
personal email. That is how this letter is coming to
you now. : )

However, I want to make a change. I want to send
this valuable and exciting information using an
email service to prevent spam and give you the
option to unsubscribe. It is just safe and efficient
for both of us.

While you have attended a class, signed up for a
drawing, listened in on a webinar and in some cases
even emailed me, your email address hasn’t been
confirmed in my email service.

I would like to stay connected with you.

I hope you are interested in staying connected with
me. If that is the case please click on the link below
and let’s make it happen.

Yes, let’s stay connected!

A Special Gift for Your Family

This is the season for giving thanks and I am thankful for you.
I have appreciated all the wonderful
parents and grandparents that have sat in my classes,
joined me on webinars and conference calls and have spent
whole days with me at workshops. I appreciate you because
I know you are a seeker, one of those rare people who isn’t
satisfied with the status quo but wants to be better, do
better and live better.

It has been a privilege during the past three years to
meet you and teach you. It has been a privilege to share
ways to grow personally and in doing so become a better
parent. I have enjoyed watching you make changes.

I want to send you a gift

An activity packet titled “The Week before Christmas”.
This packet is a compilation of wonderfully simple ideas
that can make the week before Christmas an amazing
experience for your family.

This packet is designed to give you some simple ideas for
family activities you can do without too much muss or fuss
each evening before everyone heads off to bed. I have chosen
only games, activities, crafts and recipes that will require a
minimum amount of time to put together with very inexpensive
materials. I want this to be easy! There are 23 pages of ideas
that can take 15 minutes to 1 hour.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to spend a week of quiet evenings with
just you and your family celebrating this remarkably joyous
season and creating lasting memories? I am with you, it would be
wonderful!

It is really important to bond with our family and remember
what really makes a memory for a child. It isn’t where they went,
who they saw, what they ate or even what they got. It is the
feeling they had when they were with their family. You can actually
make that happen by cleaning out our calendar a bit and then using
this great time saving packet to create a feeling of oneness, peace,
joy and laughter with just you and your children.

When you confirm your email you’ll receive access to
“The Week before Christmas” packet. Just click the link below.

Yes, let’s stay connected!

If you have any questions about this free gift you’re welcome to email
me or give me a call at 801-259-3174.

Here’s to spending time with your family, celebrating together and
gearing up for a fabulous 2013.

Warmly,
Mary Ann Johnson

Personal Mentor & Family Support

Enjoy your “Week before Christmas” packet

Here is our finished product. Delicious!

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Thanksgiving at Sixty Two and Counting

by Mary Ann on November 22, 2012

Family at Thanksgiving

In two months I will be sixty three years old. I contemplate that and I am amazed and astonished. It makes me smile with pure joy. Can you even imagine such a thing; to live for over sixty years? What an amazing thing to accomplish!

Today is Thanksgiving. It is a stellar day! My sweet husband is hovering around me like a moth, giving me little kisses, hugs and small touches as I make the traditional 10 pies. Yes 10. There must be 3 pumpkin, 2 cherry, 2 apple and 1 lemon meringue. And with the addition of Doug and Brady to the family we have added 1 chocolate cream and 1 pecan.

Jenny

Kash and Marie

As I bake I think about all the past Thanksgiving days raising seven children and realize that this year is decidedly different. Past days were about family being together, having enough food, laughing and feeding pie to the neighbor kids and those brought home from college. This year there is a new feel. That is why my husband is kissing me and hovering around. We are both feeling the magnitude of what we have created in our combined sixty plus years.

When we married we were 21 and 22 years old; fresh, innocent, foolish, full of wonder at each other and the possibilities of life. At sixty we are no longer fresh, innocent and hopefully not as foolish, but I think we are still full of wonder at each other and the possibilities of our life together.

Forty one years and counting!

Can you imagine how it will feel for us this year as we sit down with our family? We will look over our seven children and see wonderful, well adjusted, kind, loyal and intelligent adults. Sitting by them will be a bevy of spouses, sons and daughters added to our quiver of children, happy is the man who has his quiver full of children!

Doug and Jodie

Seth

Then sitting a midst those beautiful people will be ten of our twelve grandchildren. They are all still fresh, innocent and full of the wonder at the possibilities of their lives. They are young, only one has passed eighteen.

Andrew and Kendra

Barry and Abi

When Don and I are seventy plus, just a mere six years from now some great grandchildren will most assuredly have been added. Can’t you just imagine how that feels? We are filling the world with beauty and loyalty and kindness, it is our greatest achievement and this year we are seeing it clearly, through older eyes and we can barely contain the joy of it all.

Kate and Brady

Kane

Family, it is the height of what we create in this world, the only truly enduring thing. That which should consume our most treasured hours. As I eat these pies this year they will be sweeter than ever before. I am content!, and I thank Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that I have been so richly blessed in all my days.