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Keep things simple for a stress free life

by Mary Ann on July 8, 2011

Adjusting to a simpler life!

When is it time to simplify? That is such a difficult question to answer whether we are talking about our personal and family schedules, our Closet contents, curriculum which sometimes runneth over or our hobbies.

I find myself faced with that very question. I have a few mentors for different areas of my life. Right now I have a wonderful business mentor. I needed one because I found myself working twelve hour days and not getting things done. Hours spent does not equal results!

I have been tracking how I spend my time for the last two days just to see what in the world I am doing in those hours. I am finding a few surprises.

I am tracking my time because my mentor suggested that I cut back my writing to three times a week instead of five. YIKES!!!!! I love writing and frankly, this is my baby. I hadn’t really realized that until the suggestion was made.

You would think it would be an easy decision. After all I teach five very important rules which make life work better. One of them is to “keep it simple”. However, it hasn’t been an easy decision for me. I have pondered on it my whole vacation. I worry how it will feel to free up some time. I worry that you will be disappointed. I worry that maybe I’ll be disappointed.

And there it is. That is what we all face when it comes to simplifying. We have to deal with the emotions that come with cutting something loose.

I have made great strides in the last few years in the simplifying department. I have less furniture, less clothes, no unfinished crafts hiding in boxes and no sewing that I plan to do someday. No mending is hanging around and no extra recipes that I might cook or at least not too many. I have only missed one thing that I have jettisoned from my life, my gallon jar of buttons!

So I think I’ll take my mentors advice and write a bit less and open up some space for creation. It is going to feel scary at first but I’ll adjust. I hope that you all stay with me and read on because the quality won’t change, just the quantity. : )

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How to remember names of people better

by Mary Ann on July 7, 2011

Austin my new friend

Week One – “Where do you live? Do you have kids? How many kids? How do you know my mom? Are you coming back?”

The questions came rapid fire from the six year old at my side. We had just met.

“Hi, I’m Mary Ann. What’s your name?”

“Austin.”

“Well it’s good to meet you Austin.” Then the questions began and then he was shooed away by adults who felt he was bothering me.

Week Two – “Hi there. Now what was your name again?”

“Austin.”

“Oh yes, Austin. I remember now?” But I didn’t remember.

Week Three – “So tell me your name again, one more time.”

“Austin.”

“That’s right. I’m going to remember that Austin.” Then I thought to myself how in the world I was going to remember his name, this new friend of mine. Let’s see Austin, the capital of Texas. Great! Now I’ll never forget.

We teach children best by having "familiar conversations" with them

Week Four – “Hi Austin”.

“Hey how did you remember my name”.

“Well I used a name remembering trick. Do you know what Texas is?”

“No”.

“Well, it is a big piece of land in the United States and it has a big town in it called Austin. So when I see you, I think about Texas and then I remember your name is Austin.”

“Cool.”

“Austin, do you know my name?”

“No”.

“Well, its Mary Ann. Lets see how you could use the name trick to remember my name. Can you think of a poem about a Mary?”

“Oh yeah, Mary had a little lamb.”

“Good job. Now you will never forget my name. Cool trick huh!”

We teach children best by having "familiar conversations" with them

Week Five –Austin was sitting on a stool in the kitchen. His face lit up when I walked in. “Hi Austin how are you?” He gave me a very satisfied smile and said deliberately with emphasis on the word Mary, “Hi Mary”. I can tell he is very happy with himself.

“Good job Austin, I can see you used the name remembering trick.”

“Well now I know your name and so I don’t need the trick.”

“That’s right Austin, we only have to use it when we first meet someone, until we really know their name. Then we don’t need the trick any more.”

“Hey Austin what is your brothers name?”

“Jason”.

“Man, I have a hard time remembering his name. Let’s see, how can I use the trick to remember his name.” Think, Think.

“Austin do you know the story of Jason and the Argonauts?”

“ No”.

“Well Jason was a big and powerful man. He led other men called the Argonauts. They were looking for a Golden Fleece. Whenever I look at your brother I am going to remember that he has the same name as Jason and the Argonauts”. Big smile on Austin’s face.

Austin asks, “How do you know my mom’s name. Did you use the trick?”

“No, her name was pretty easy for me. I just said it a lot of times. Did you know that there is another name remembering trick you can use that I used to remember your mom’s name?

“No.”

“Well there is. When you meet someone and you find out their name you look at them and say Hi Kim, so happy to meet you. Then when you are ready to leave you look at them again and say, Bye Kim. I’ll see you later. If you look at a person and say their name a number of times it is easier to remember their name. Cool Huh.”

“Yeah, cool”.

A familiar conversation is more powerful than any book or lecture

This is a perfect example of a familiar conversation that teaches more than any lecture can. Austin is six but I have just taught him how to remember names of people. I have saved him lots of money on books designed to help you remember names and faces. I have saved him hours of reading time. He has many years to practice the name remembering tricks and because he is six he will practice. He will never forget.

When Austin asked me how I remembered his name I could have given him a “this is how adults talk to kids” answer. “Well, I’m just smart” or “I’m big and I can remember well”. What I gave him instead was a conversation about something I have learned that he will be interested in and will want to learn also. I gave him respect, time, and presence.

This is how we teach children, by talking with them, by listening to them and by sharing our information with them, by being present with them.

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Kids learn about Fairies – The traveling Closet

by Mary Ann on July 6, 2011

My favorite Fairy painting - Midsummer Eve by E.R Hughes

Grandma, grandma! They came! They came, yelled three small girls early on a Saturday morning.

The day before all the excitement I had discovered an absolutely perfect fairy ring in our front yard, in a hidden spot by a bush. I called my three granddaughters to come and see, ages 5, 7, and 9. They asked me what a fairy ring is and I told them that a fairy ring shows where fairies have danced in the night. I read them a kids fairy poem “There are Fairies in the Bottom of our Garden”, a poem that my mother had read to me and my sisters when we were children.

A mushroom fairy ring

They were entranced with the story and poem. We all knew that fairies aren’t real but we all wanted to pretend that they were. It was fun to make believe.

My nineteen year old daughter suggested that we set out a tea party for the fairies and see if they would come and dance again. Aubrey, Lizzy and Ashley wanted to know how we would be able to tell if they came. “Oh, you will see the fairy dust”, Kate answered.

For the next hour the girls ages 5 to 19 were busy getting a small table from the play house and looking through the china hutch for just the right tea set. (I collect miniature tea sets.) What they found and decided to use were some small tea cups which I had made from acorn tops. They seemed just perfect.

Later that afternoon Kate made a trip to the store for some “fairy dust”. She found a glitter so fine that a child wouldn’t recognize it as glitter, not the kind you use in kids crafts anyway.

It was fun to watch Kate sneaking out in the dark late that night to sprinkle fairy dust on the table and around the fairy ring. She was getting real joy out of the whole game.

This is a memory that the girls still talk about. It is a fond memory for them all, a shared and special experience.

A forest fairy house

This last week I went to Yellowstone Park with another set of grandchildren and the Traveling Closet went

A beach fairy house

with us. I felt that the park was a perfect setting to talk about and learn about fairies. We read three wonderful books about fairies. Jack who is three wasn’t all that impressed but Maggie loved the stories and in fact we had to read them twice.

I had seen some terrific pictures of fairy houses that had been created in the woods and that was going to be our project, to make a fairy house with the kids. The pictures were tied to a sweet and endearing movie called “Kristen’s Fairy House” which I had watched with the children the week before. Again 3 year old Jack was not all that interested but watched it with us. Maggie who is five loved it and 18 month old Mary lasted only a few minutes.

Building a fairy house in Yellowstone Park turned out to be more of a challenge than I had anticipated. The park has thousands of visitors a year and in a campground it is hard to find building materials, even twigs are rare. However, Maggie and I found what we could and we did make a fairy house. Again Jack was not interested. : )

Maggie's Yellowstone Park fairy house

Maggie and I missed Ashley, Aubrey and Lizzy. They would have loved the whole thing, video, fairy house building and all. If they had been with us we would have read the story of Thumbelina also.

The search was on for fairy house supplies

Here are some additional ideas for inspiring your children to learn a bit more about fairies.

Fairy picture books

Good Night Fairies by Kathleen Hague
The Story of the Tooth Fairy by Tom Paxton
Midsummer Knight by Gregory Rogers
Alice the Fairy by David Shannon
The Dreamtime Fairies by Jane Simmons
Come to the Fairies’ Ball by Jane Yolen
A Book of Fairies by Patricia Saxton

Early Chapter books

The Charm Bracelet by Emily Rodda
The Flower Fairies by Emily Rodda
Buttercup and Fairy Gold by Cicely Mary Barker
Poppy’s Perfect Home by Pippa Le Quesne

Books for older children and youth:

Lord of the Ring series by J.R. Tolkien
A Midsummer’s Night Dream by Shakespeare
Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie

Books for an adult to share with children and youth:

The Book of Fairies by Michael Hague
Fairy Houses…Everywhere by Barry & Tracy Kane

Fairy Artwork for Children:

Cicely Mary Barker has a series of beautiful fairy pictures with flowers.

Fairy crafts ideas for kids

Make a Fairy House for Your Child’s Room http://childparenting.about.com/od/artscraftsprojects/a/fairyhouse_2.htm
How to Make Fairy Wings http://childparenting.about.com/od/artscraftsprojects/a/fairyhouse_3.htm

If you want some fabulous free coloring pages from “A Midsummer Nights Dream” and others, leave your mail Id and name in the comments box. I have saved them from the FREE Dover sampler and would love to share them with you.

There Are Fairies at the Bottom of Our Garden by Rose Fyleman

There are fairies at the bottom of our garden!

It’s not so very, very far away;

You pass the gardener’s shed and you just keep straight ahead,

I do so hope they’ve come to stay.

There’s a little wood with moss in it and beetles,

And a little stream that quietly runs through;

You wouldn’t think they’d dare to come merrymaking there, Well, they do!

There are fairies at the bottom of our garden!

They often have a dance on summer nights;

The butterflies and bees Make a lovely little breeze,

And the rabbits stand about and hold the lights.

Did you know that they could sit upon the moonbeams

And pick a little star to make a fan,

And dance away up there In the middle of the air Well, they can!

There are fairies at the bottom of our garden!

You cannot think how beautiful they are;

They all stand up and sing When the fairy queen and king Come gently floating down upon their car.

The king is very proud and handsome;

The queen, now can you guess who that would be?

She’s a little girl all day But at night she steals away. Well, it’s me!

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Let children learn science the fun way

by Bonita Sutton on June 29, 2011

James with his gak in 2008.

Let children learn science the fun way, the Sutton way.

Sometimes you have to be careful what you grab in my house. For instance, the following occurred a few weeks ago.

The mom/me: Wow, I sure am thirsty. I think I will get me a nice glass of water. I open cupboard and reach into the cupboard expecting to find a glass for my well anticipated glass of water.

Reaching in I find a large sign that reads: Science Experiment, DO NOT TOUCH!

“James! What is this?!?!”

James: “Mom!! Did you touch it?! Don’t touch it! It won’t be ready for a few days!”

The mom/me: “What is this??” I was referring to the jar of questionable liquid sitting in the cupboard. I knew it wasn’t Kool-Aid and I definitely wasn’t going to drink it since I have already learned THAT lesson.

James: “I’m testing my liquid sandwich. Its three liquids. First, I put honey in the bottom. Then I put colored water in it-it’s red cause I love red. Then it’s cooking oil on top. I think next time I want to try syrup and mix up the oil more so I can see it separate more. If you touch it, the little kids will think it’s a fun drink and then I’ll have to start over!”

A note from James…it is self explanatory. 2010

Needless to say, I did not touch the glass of strange liquid in the cupboard. Or the one that was on my refrigerator with a string and pencil attached to it—in that experiment the liquid became a solid brick, but the results are a different story.

My boys LOVE doing science experiments. They will flip through our various science books for hours looking for the perfect cool science experiment to do at home that has the right balance of explosion and minimal clean up.

However, I have a confession. I did terrible in my science classes when I was younger. I have always felt a huge gap in that area of my studies. When I thought about teaching science to my kids, I felt completely overwhelmed and underprepared. I believed that since I didn’t already have the knowledge of “all science” things, that I wasn’t qualified to teach my children science. This is a typical result of the conveyor belt as described in Dr. Demille’s book “A Thomas Jefferson Education.” I felt that I couldn’t teach what I didn’t know-which is true-however, what I didn’t realize is that I could still learn science.

Making a parachute with Dad in 2007

I have four boys and I know that science is going to be an important part of their education. It was a conscience effort to surround them with science. And I started learning science with them by doing easy science experiments at home.

I started with a large bottle of vinegar and a large bag of baking soda. The first time my boys saw a chemical reaction, it was love at first sight. They found themselves putting vinegar in some object and then they would come up with creative ways to add the baking soda. (These experiments were soon encouraged outside. ) It has ended up with my oldest (14 next month) attending a club where they talk about chemistry and biology and my second (11) begging to do science related anything.

My husband and I also discovered the power of curiosity. We ask “I WONDER….” ALL the time. This question gets them thinking about how things work and why things do things the way they do. We say things like “I wonder why dinner burned..” or “I wonder how fast you can get your shoes on.” Or “ I wonder why those clouds are so puffy?” This automatically gets their brain trying to find the answer.

James' latest experiment. The sign in it says "Electric Potatoes."

I found some fun science experiment books with great pictures and left them where my kids find them.—just like you do with anything else that you want them to learn about. Some of the books that we love are “This book made me do it” (ISBN: 9780756668815), “Blast Lab: Super Science Lab” (ISBN:075665341X), “730 Easy! Science Experiments with Everyday Material “ (ISBN: 1579124992). Books with great visuals are a favorite with my kids. They love to see what will happen.

We also look up fun science experiments to do at home on you tube. One of our favorite science website is Steve Spangler’s. This led the kids to making their own cool science videos full of costumes and crazy experiments. Watch what happens when you microwave soap.

These have been great since teaching what they learn really embeds it into their mind.

We also love visiting children’s science museums.

Most importantly, we DO.

And we Do. DO. DO!

Instead of just looking at the pictures and the videos we DO. My boys, especially when they were young, prefered learning with their hands and their eyes.

Luke showing his huge bubbles in 2008.

We drop the Mentos into the soda. We dump the dry ice into the water. We make bubbles big enough to stand in. We stab the balloons with the skewers and we play with cornstarch and water.

Luke is getting ready to stab the skewer through the balloon at the library 2011

We shoot off rockets. And of course, we place the soap in the microwave. Thankfully their dad helps every step of the way!

So we do it! I placed my awkward non-science self aside and I have discovered that I LOVE science. I read the experiment ahead of time to make sure I know what I’m doing and then I go for it! I give it my all! My hands get dirty right next to theirs. I act as if I love it even if I am grossed out! If I love it, then they will love it.

James is showing the difference between hot air and cold air molecules at the library 2011.

After doing we discuss what we did, what went wrong, why things happened the way they did, what should we do differently next time. Currently I am working on inspiring them to write down their results.

I have discovered that inspiring kids to love science is just like inspiring them to love reading or anything else.

Expose them to it, show by example, and LOVE it and DO it!

Don’t worry about if you don’t feel you are the “science type.” Just because you don’t see it in yourself now, doesn’t mean you can’t find it!

Now DO it!

Bonita Sutton

Bonita Sutton is the mom of four awesome boys! She has home-schooled them with the principles of TJed for the past 6 years. Besides doing crazy things with her boys, she loves spending time with her hubby. Bonita loves to read, write,follow politics, analyze handwriting, speak out against sexual violence, and laugh. Find some of her crazy adventures at www.suttonsunnysideup.blogspot.com .

Now that we have you feeling good abut science, why not try some math! how to teach children maths in a fun way?

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