This guest post comes from a good personal friend of mine named Pamela who blogs at The Ripple.

Mom! Dad! Don’t Forget!

Remember what it felt like the first time you were out after dark without your parents? How it exciting it was when you had your first hit in tee-ball? What about how absolutely terrifying your nightmares were? The feeling you had when you first drove the family car all by yourself, legally? The butterflies in your belly on your first date? That crazy bike crash when you broke your arm and that incredible pain? Being so excited for Santa to come that you couldn’t sleep?

No? Not until I just reminded you? You’re not alone.

So many of those firsts, so amazing and alive when we experienced them, are faded and dim. They’re there, for sure, but they’re buried deep under all the stuff we’ve experienced and learned and endured as we’ve done what Peter Pan never wanted to do. Grow up.

As parents, we recognize how very fragile and vulnerable our children are, how absolutely in our care they are. We nurture and guide them, teach them and hope for them. We protect them fiercely, knowing what we do about the dangers of this world. But to some degree we do them a substantial disservice.

We have forgotten. As we have grown and begun our own families, a mild amnesia has set in and we have forgotten those magical, horrible, painful, blissful memories of our own childhoods.

When your child is creating art on his own and wants to show you each and every line and color, do you lose your patience? Or do you remember when you were doing the very same thing, desperate for the approval of the people you revered above all else, your Mom and Dad? When your child is freshly pressed and dressed, ready for the important family occasion, and suddenly notices how completely irresistible the puddle in the driveway is, do you see a delay in the outing or do you remember the countless rainy days you spent puddle-jumping? When your teenager is doing her hair for the fourth time in preparation for her first real date, are you exasperated or are you sitting in your favorite chair with a glass of wine, reliving the exciting nervous promise of your first date? So many examples!

I think, as Moms and Dads, we have such responsibility for our children’s well-being and safety that we no longer allow ourselves the luxury of remembering our firsts. I think too that we remember much more clearly the painful hurts of growing up and we want above all else to shield our children from those experiences. Trouble is, forgetting so much of what we went though takes away a tool that we can use to help our children navigate the tricky waters of growing up.

It takes a lot of faith, strength and love to keep those memories close at hand in order to share them with your kids. And of course, the brain knows what it’s doing when it helps you bury memories. But keeping those events of your youth close at hand, and having the faith to let go a little, is a gift your children will appreciate throughout their entire lives, especially as they become parents themselves someday.

Photo copyright Natalie Harding (www.natalieharding.com)

The next time your son or daughter comes flying into the freshly cleaned house covered in mud, dying to show you the frog in their grimy hands, hit the pause button. Just for a second, think about how you may have done that very thing. Think, just for a split second, about the fact that your child is so excited to show you this treasure and how in the not-too-distant-future that won’t be the case. Maybe spare a few minutes to really check that froggy out while you gently steer your muddy kid back outside. Kiss him or her on the sweaty, stinky head and remember your first slimy treasure.

When your child gets their heart broken in two, whether it’s by their first love or the coach who cut them from the basketball team, spare a few minutes. Sit near them, hug them if they’ll let you, share a snack and your memories with them. Although it means reliving something difficult, the bond you strengthen with them is something they’ll always remember, especially when their children have a similar experience.

When your young adult gets into trouble, as they often do while they’re learning and growing, think back to your wild youth. Just because you are in a position of power or responsibility now doesn’t mean you never stole a street sign or had a beer before you were legally allowed to. Be strong, be firm, but be honest and share the lessons you’ve learned along the way.

Remembering our childhood can be beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time. Having the strength, honesty and faith to share our memories with our kids and help them along the way can be a powerful way of demonstrating just how much we truly love and care for them. It’s a ripple you can begin today, and watch spread through the next generations.

Pamela is the mother of two grown children. She is also a massage therapist and artist. Her new creative ripple, as she says, is designing and creating unique zombie dolls. You can check them out on her Facebook page, Fiddleheads and Chaos. And don’t forget to check out her blog The Ripple.

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As parents, we want to teach these values to our children but are often so busy with daily life that finding time for it remains low on a priority list and often doesn’t happen. We also desire deeper connections, perhaps spiritual connections, with our family and that also can get put on the back burner.

Are you needing a little nudge in the right direction? I was in the same boat as you – until recently.

Soul to Soul Parenting

For awhile I’ve  been wanting to do *something* to create deeper bonds within my family, but I felt overwhelmed and didn’t know how to go about it. Out of the blue, I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of the book Soul to Soul Parenting: A Guide to Raising a Spiritually Conscious Family by Annie Burnside. This was the sign I needed. After reading the book I came away not only motivated to start creating deeper connections with my family, but armed with some solid ideas, tools, and skills.

What is “Soul to Soul” Parenting?

Annie encourages us to interact with everyone (including our children) “soul to soul” instead of “role to role”. For example:

• Instead of “parent to child”, it’s “soul to soul”
• Instead of “teacher to student”, it’s “soul to soul”
• Instead of “doctor to patient”, it’s “soul to soul”

By seeing others as souls first the nature of your interaction changes, becoming more loving, compassionate, and joyful. To me, the concept of “soul to soul” reminds me of namaste: ‘the light in me sees the light in you’.

What is a “Spiritually Conscious” Family?

According to the book, a spiritually conscious family is not a perfect one but rather a wide-awake family; one that is fully aware of each individual’s capacity to shape their reality.

OK, but what does that mean?

To me, being ‘conscious’ in daily life means not going about our lives on auto pilot. When situations occur, if you are conscious/present/mindful you will react with some thought and purpose, keeping the concept of “soul to soul” in the forefront and choosing your actions accordingly – instead going with an automatic reaction without thought.

Conscious parenting involves bringing your children to a deeper understanding of large universal concepts such as self-love, true joy, authenticity, free will, and compassion.

No matter your family’s current religious affiliation, Soul to Soul Parenting hopes to model what it means to live mindfully and consciously in a hectic world. Annie provides many ways to incorporate spirituality into family life, so that we can start to see beyond appearances and words and truly acknowledge another’s validity. What a great way to see our children – and how great to start teaching them at a young age to see others this way as well.

What’s Inside the Book?

Soul to Soul Parenting encourages us, as parents, to take ownership and become the spiritual leaders of our family. Using principles learned from her own journey of self discovery, her family, and her professional experience providing spiritual insight and support, Annie provides the following techniques in her book:

• Soul to Soul Parenting Vehicles: Used to integrate spirituality into daily family life, there are 22 Parenting Vehicles listed for you to reshape and use how you choose in order to invite a new awareness into your family’s life. A few of the vehicles are: family discussions, visual cues, family rituals, intuitive-gratitude journal, meditation, exploring music, art, books, showing your spirit, and utilizing nature.

• Soul to Soul Parenting Spiritual Themes: There are 15 Spiritual Themes which are meant to broaden perspectives so that life can be viewed from multiple angles, allowing the interconnectedness of all things to be felt and observed. A few of the themes are: connectedness and boundaries, presence and openness, authenticity and joy, forgiveness, self-love, truth and perception, gratitude and appreciation, and trust and faith.

After each Spiritual Theme there are some tools for integrating it into your family, such as:

• parent contemplation questions
• specific activities
• a list of related books for all ages (picture books, chapter books, and adult books)
• a list of related movies
• a list of related songs

To get a greater sense of the book, watch this short two minute trailer featuring author Annie Burnside discussing what the book is about:

If you can’t view the video, click here.

I also encourage you to visit her website www.annieburnside.com where you will find some great information such as another description of the book, family discussion topics, and many of her published articles.

My Thoughts

This book came into my life at the right time. Its messages were just what I wanted to hear and were written in my kind of language. While initially expecting it to be strictly geared towards how to impart this wisdom to children, I was pleasantly surprised to realize that a lot of the book was teaching me these concepts. After all, I will need to know about these ideas if I want to share them with my family. She explains each concept in depth, and then shares ways to teach it to your children.

I really loved the reminders to live with authenticity and joy. I think that’s what I need most in my life right now – to crank up the JOY! And not that I needed it, but I feel Annie gave me permission to do just that. What a great new way to see my life!

As a Unitarian Universalist, I was thrilled with how much this book spoke my language of the interconnectedness of all things and acceptance of everyone’s own spiritual journey. And I know that other Unitarian Universalist parents out there would feel the same way.

What Age to Start?

After reading the book and getting fired up to start this new spiritual journey, I became confused about how to start with my own family. My son is only 4 years old and I didn’t really know how to even begin to talk about some of the themes mentioned in the book. I asked Annie for some advice and she was kind enough to share even more pearls of wisdom – and I want to share some of that with you as well.

Any age is fine to start. With young children, Annie suggests using picture books and kid’s songs a lot by sharing together during family discussion and choosing one theme. Keep in mind that at this age discussions might be only three minutes long. Also, visual cues can be started very early; for example a cute note that says “I Love Myself” on a closet door.

Annie reminded me that in the beginning a big part of this journey is simply making time together for this purpose a priority. Eventually you just begin infusing a little bit here and there as the whole family becomes comfortable with the language. The biggest step is the parents making a conscious choice to engage in personal growth and spiritual development and then it evolves rather naturally for the whole family in tandem.

Non-Denominational

Soul to Soul Parenting is not designed for one specific religious group. While the spiritual themes are non-denominational, some of them might not resonate with certain religious groups. With all the themes, Annie encourages you to explore the ones that fit your family’s evolving spirituality. I think the themes and the overall message of the book can be applied in any family of any faith tradition, adapting them to your specific beliefs if necessary.

Who Would Most Benefit From Soul to Soul Parenting?

• Parents wanting to create deeper family bonds
• Parents who want ideas for teaching these themes to their children
• Parents with a world view who want guidance as they create spiritual connections with their family

Where to Buy the Book?

You can find Soul to Soul Parenting on Amazon.com. I’ve also added it to my Amazon.com store in the ‘Books for Parents’ category.

Annie Burnside, M.Ed., is a soul nurturer, author, public speaker, and teacher specializing in conscious relationships and spiritual development. She also writes a family consciousness column for Evolving Your Spirit Magazine and blogs for the Chicago Tribune Media Company under Soul to Soul Perspective: A Little Bit of Soul Goes a Long Way. Annie also hosts a radio show for the “I’m Thankful Network.” She received her Masters degree in Education from DePaul University and lives in Chicago, Illinois with her husband and three children. www.annieburnside.com

[Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from the author. With that being said, the comments and opinions above are purely my own.]

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“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”

- James Baldwin

Most of us know that kids will repeat things we say, which is why many people try to watch their language when kids are around. But kids learn more from us than just a few choice words; they learn how to behave in certain situations, as well as learning positive (and negative) attributes and skills. Every day you are teaching your children by example how to react to situations, and if you are not conscious of what you are doing you may be teaching them something you don’t want them to learn.

Modeling

The process of teaching by example is called modeling and it affects behavior far more than telling your children what to do (and far more than punishing them, too).

Modeling can teach a child how to:

• handle conflict
• react to stress or fear
• interact with others

There is a fabulous article on Teaching Children Respect by Pam Leo on the Natural Child Project website. Here are a couple of powerful messages from that article:

• 95% of everything children learn, they learn from what is modeled for them. Only 5% of all they learn is from direct instruction.
• The language children grow up hearing is the language they will speak.

If we expect children to have manners, to share, to apologize, to be honest, kind, respectful, and loving, we must do and be those things so they will have that model to imitate. For example:

• If we expect children to always say please and thank you, we must always say please and thank you to them and to each other, otherwise we are modeling that sometimes you say it and sometimes you don’t.
• If we want to teach them gratitude, we need to practice gratitude every day in many situations.

It may sound silly, but in our house we say thank you to everyone all the time.

• Thank you daddy for making breakfast.
• Thanks for doing the dishes, hon.
• Thanks for helping me with ____.
• Thanks for picking up your toys.
• Thanks for watching him so I could go for a run.

And on and on and on. We try to live gratitude for everything so that it becomes a normal part of life.

Kids are Kids

Modeling does not always dictate a child’s behavior; your kids won’t inevitably do everything you do. But it is an important and underappreciated way to transmit information, experiences, skills, beliefs, values, and large segments of behavior.

My Story

This finally clicked for me when I started hearing my 3-year-old son say things and seeing him do things that I know I have done (yes, both positive and negative). I am immensely proud of the positive things he has said and done and I inwardly cringe at the negative things he did. It was both a great reward and another reminder to think before I react.

I’d like to share a couple of the positive things I’ve seen him say and do, ones that actually kind of shocked me:

• When I showed him a card I made he said, “Oh wow. It’s neat. I like it. Good job.” He was naturally supportive because he has heard the same thing from me in the same type of situation.
• When I get hurt he says, “Are you OK mama? Don’t worry. It will feel better in a few minutes.” And gives me kisses. He responds with genuine concern because he’s seen it many times from us.
• We have taught him to express his feelings and one time when we were having issues he said, “Are you mad at me? I still love you.” This comes from other times he knows I am upset with him, but I always make it a point to say that I love him.
• Whenever I pick him up from pre-school he always asks me, “So what did you do today? Did you have fun at home? How was your coffee?” He has picked up this habit from me always asking him about his day when we’ve been apart.
• When we came home after an evening out, he was in our bed sleeping. He stirred when we came in and said, “I’m so glad you’re back. Did you have fun?” He has heard us say this to him whenever we have been apart.
• After having a discussion about him yelling at me he said (completely without prompting), “I’m sorry for yelling at you.” He has learned this from me. I am not a perfect parent; I’m also not afraid of apologizing to my son when I have been wrong. Since he has watched me apologize to him, he knows how and when to do it also.

Why Practice Positive Modeling? It’s About Respecting Children

The old saying “Do as I say, don’t do as I do” not only doesn’t work, it also brings mistrust into the relationship.

Children have all the same feelings we do. The same kind of treatment that would embarrass, humiliate or hurt us, embarrasses, humiliates, and hurts children. When adults try to “teach” children by criticizing, lecturing, shaming, ridiculing, giving orders, screaming, threatening, and hitting, it shuts down their thinking so they can’t learn what the adult intended to teach them to do or not to do; they can only record what is being modeled.

Learning to treat children with respect will require a change of heart that can come only from a major shift in consciousness of how we view children and how we define respect. But once we start treating children with respect, they will learn how to treat others with respect.

However we treat the child, the child will treat the world. -Pam Leo

Treat Friends, Kids the Same

There is a neat article written by Erma Bombeck titled “Treat Friends, Kids the Same” in which she imagines having friends over for dinner and saying to them all those things that most of us heard growing up and therefore, say to children:

• “Shut the door. Were you born in a barn?”
• “I didn’t work over a hot stove all day to have you nibble like some bird.”
• “Sit up straight or your spine will grow that way.”

(In case you want to read it, I found the entire article here.) We all would probably get a good chuckle at the thought of speaking to our friends that way, but it’s just as disrespectful to say those things to children. Let’s stop and think about it the next time we talk to our children. Are we talking to our children as we should?

Think about it. We don’t say, “What do you say?” or “What’s the magic word?” to our friends but children hear it all the time. But what should we say in those situations? That’s where some thought must come into play.

Many Models in Child’s Life

You are not the only model in your child’s life. Children imitate parents, family members, friends, caregivers, teachers, and television characters. In two-parent households, the two adults will model different behaviors and ways of being in the world. Sometimes the discrepancies are large, but this is a normal level of inconsistency for family life. Children have to cope, and they usually do.

Art of Apologizing

Modeling is unforgiving in that it teaches your best and worst behaviors, the ones you’re most careful to practice and others you’re barely conscious of. Kids may be resilient but that doesn’t mean we can take them for granted. If we have modeled disrespect to them, we must then model apologizing. Thankfully kids are very forgiving, also.

Whenever I mess up as a parent, I apologize to my son. I have probably been doing this since he was too little to completely understand. Most of my apologizing is around the theme of me not being patient enough with him.

How do you apologize to a child? The same way you would apologize to anyone else. For me, it usually takes the form of me apologizing for my action, then guessing how that made him feel, saying how I should have acted, and then offering that I will work on being better (at whatever issue is at hand), and of course lots of hugs and kisses. (I also don’t offer excuses for my behavior.) For example:

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t very patient with you this morning before school. I bet that hurt your feelings. Did you feel sad? Mama should have let you take your time putting your shoes on. Mama will work on being more patient with you.”

What Can We Do?

Has anyone else noticed that when trying to figure out how to best parent your child, it often comes down to learning how to change your own thoughts and behavior? When certain stressful situations happen, we all have automatic responses that we learned as a child. In order to be the best parent we can be, we need to deprogram all our negative automatic responses, relearn new positive responses, and practice them until they become our new automatic responses. Here are a few thoughts on how to do this:

• Train yourself to stop and think before you speak or react, remembering that everything you say will be recorded and imitated. We can then intentionally model the kind of behavior we expect and will accept from our children.

• Follow Erma Bombeck’s advice and treat your kids the same way you would treat your friends. Ask yourself, “Would I say those words, in that tone of voice, to my good friend?” If not, it was probably disrespectful.

• Read a few good books. Some of my all-time favorite parenting books are Respectful Parents, Respectful Kids: 7 Keys to Turn Family Conflict into Cooperation and How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk, both of which offer practical alternatives to yelling, nagging, threatening, and criticizing.

Closing Thoughts

What things have you been trying to “teach” your child lately? Have you been trying to “teach” gratitude by just talking about it? Have you been trying to “teach” cooperation by yelling when it doesn’t happen?

Take this time to think about the past few days with your children, what you want them to learn, and how a different approach might be useful.

I’ll leave you with this popular poem that hung on the wall in my sister’s room when we were children. It’s called Children Learn What They Live by Dorothy Law Nolte.

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[Photo credits: Vivek Chugh (parent/child), Andrew C. (girl), Nara Vieira da Silva Osga (boy)]

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Activity Books

Here are a list of some books that contain several different types of activities, from mini-mysteries, mazes, and crossword puzzles to coloring pages, connect-the-dot, jokes, and car bingo:

• Miles of Smiles: 101 Great Car Games and Activities
• Best Travel Activity Book Ever
• Are We There Yet?
• The Everything Kids’ Travel Activity Book

Free Games

Here are some common car games that don’t require anything but players!

• License plate game: See how many states’ license plates from you can find on your trip.
• ABC game, take 1: Starting with the letter “A”, look around and find a letter on a sign, truck, building, or license plate, say the letter (and where you saw it) and then move on to the next letter. The first one to get to the letter “Z” is the winner!
• ABC game, take 2: My family still plays this game in the car! Someone thinks of a topic (like names of cities, countries, types of fruit, animals, movies, TV shows, celebrities, etc). The first person to start has to name something corresponding to the topic starting with ‘A’, the next person gets the next letter of the alphabet, and so on around and around the car. If it’s your turn and you can’t think of anything for your letter, you are out. If you get to ‘Z’ and play is still going, go back to ‘A’ and keep going – but no repeats are allowed. Play continues until there is one person left – the winner! (My sisters and I are huge fans of the TV show Friends and so one time our topic was “anything related to Friends”!)
• I Spy: One person picks an object they can see either in the car or along the road. They give others a clue such as, “I spy with my little eye… something blue.” The person keeps giving more clues until they can guess what it is.
• 20 Questions: One person thinks of something and the other person gets to ask 20 yes/no questions to try to figure it out.
• Fortunately-Unfortunately: Neat game described in full on Momsminivan.com. (Scroll down 2/3 of the page.)

Travel Games

Here are some of your favorite games that come in a travel size:

• Memory
• Hangman
• Bingo
• I Spy Memory Game
• Connect Four
• Battleship
• Perfection
• Sorry
• Candy Land
• Trouble
• Guess Who?
• Bingo

Card Games

Here are various card games:

• Scavenger Hunt For Kids – Travel Game
• Rubberneckers: Everyone’s Favorite Travel Game
• Rubberneckers Jr: Fun for Backseat Travelers
• For the Car Brain Quest Card Deck
• Zobmondo!! Would You Rather…?
• Namits Travel Game
• Regular deck of cards
• Card games (such as Uno, Go Fish, Old Maid, Crazy Eights, Slap Jack)
• Wiz Kidz (from Discovery Toys): I had this game when I was younger. It features two stacks of cards, letter cards and answer cards. You draw one card from each pile and find a corresponding answer. For example, if you draw a “P” and “Something cold” you need to think of something cold that starts with a ‘p’ (maybe popsicle).

Books

Here are many types of books to keep kids entertained:

• Puzzle, Sudoku, or maze books
• New paperback books to read
• Magnet books (like this Tree Fort one or this Fire Station one)
• Hidden picture books
• Picture puzzle book or Picture Puzzles
• Sticker books
• Mad Libs
• Kumon workbooks
• Kids Travel: A Backseat Survival Kit

Creative Activities

Here are a few creative activities suitable for travel:

• Pipe cleaners (how to make pipe cleaner creatures)
• Play Doh, silly putty, or Crayola Model Magic (bring cookie cutters for added fun)
• Wikki Stix (similar to pipe cleaners but are made of wax so they stick to surfaces)
• Sticky mosaics
• Peel and stick by number
• Lacing cards (while the wooden ones are sturdier, it might be a good idea to bring the cardboard ones on a trip as they are lighter)
• Origami book and paper
• Rub on transfers (and something to rub them onto)
• Fashion Designer plates
• Twirled Paper
• Make a Cootie catcher

Small Toys

Here is a list of small toys your kids might have that would be easy to bring along:

• Cars
• Rubik’s Cube
• I spy bags (found on etsy)
• Finger puppets
• Colorforms (I wonder if they stick to airplane or car windows?)
• Magnetic paper dolls
• Magnetic puzzles

Drawing and Coloring

Here are some travel-friendly items for drawing and coloring:

• Crayola Color Wonder markers and paper
• Crayola Color Wonder fingerpaint
• New coloring books
• New crayons
• Crayola Dry Erase Activity Center
• Travel Etch-A-Sketch
• Magna Doodle
• SpinDoodles
• Scratch and Sketch books

Educational Activities

Here are a few educational activities:

• Kumon workbooks
• Brain Quest Cards
• Learning wrap ups

Personal Comforts

Don’t forget your child’s personal comforts:

• Favorite stuffed animal or blankie
• Music player (MP3 player or iPOD type device with headphones) Disney Mix Sticks is one brand

Accessories

Here are a few other things you might want to consider bringing:

• Travel Tray
• Travel Pal
• SippiGrip

Tips

• Use pencil bag or box to store crayons and markers to keep them from going everywhere.
• Bring triangular crayons as they can lay flat on a tray and not roll around like regular crayons.
• Give each child their own suitcase (on wheels) that they are responsible for packing and carrying.
• Check their toys and veto anything that may annoy yourself or other passengers.
• Find inexpensive items at the dollor store or Target’s dollar spot (post it notes, calculators, etc. can be great fun).
• Bring out a “new” item every half hour or so to keep things interesting.

Other Sources

Here are some other places for you to find travel tips and information:

• Mom’s Minivan: Neat site filled with printable car games, ideas for toddlers and babies, and articles.
• Family Fun
• Activities for Kids

Wendy – Parenting Tips 365

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Last year I shared some recipes for homemade popsicles. I’ve done some more searching for healthy recipes, as I’ve yet to create any of my own. Enjoy these recipes!

Fruit and Vegetable Smoothies

I really like the idea of making regular smoothies and putting them into popsicle molds. At NatureMoms.com, the author found a way to put kale and spinach into popsicles – and her kids ask for them that way! Here are a few recipes from her blog:

Almond-Banana Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 cup raw almonds

3 just ripe bananas

2 tsp raw honey

3 cups water

Blend up the almonds and the water to make almond milk. Strain the milk through a nut milk bag. Blend the almond milk together with the rest of the ingredients and either drink or pour into popsicle molds. Enjoy!

Green Pineapple Paradise

Ingredients:

1/4 fresh pineapple, chopped

3 large Kale leaves

1 ripe banana

3 fresh mint leaves

2 to 4 cups water

Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth and either drink or pour into popsicle molds. Enjoy!

Spinach Recipes

For her spinach smoothie, she mixed strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries with 1-2 tablespoons of raw agave nectar, and then added a cup of freshly juiced orange juice and a big handful of baby spinach.

Here is another spinach popsicle recipe, found on Eco Child’s Play.

With Yogurt: 1/4 cup cooked organic frozen spinach (to make the spinach texture smoother), half a cup each of organic frozen mangoes, organic frozen strawberries, and 1/4 cup organic frozen blueberries with 1/4 c vanilla nonfat yogurt, 1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt and an organic banana. If you need more liquid, add some orange or apple juice.

Green Pop: One orange, one banana, one fresh pineapple spear, a handful or two of fresh spinach, one cup of ice, two or three cups of water, and one measure of stevia.

Red Pop: One pineapple spear, one apple, three carrots, three celery stalks, one beet peeled and topped,  one cup of ice, two or three cups of water, and one measure of stevia.

From Carrot Juice to Rootbeer Tea to Fudge Pops

I found a great list of 32 popsicle recipes and ideas from one of my favorite sites, TreeHuggingFamily.com. So many of them look good to me, but the ones I may try first are the ones with pineapple, or carrot juice, or apricots, or honeydew. The rootbeer green tea one is interesting to me, too.

Other Additions

There are other nutritious items that can be added to the popsicles:

• Spoonful of spirulina, or other blue-green algae
• Shot of heat grass juice
• Protein powder
• Alfalfa or other sprouts
• Mint, cinnamon, anise, or other herbs/spices (we try to use turmeric; I wonder how that would be)

When considering the distance food travels to you (bananas, pineapple, etc.) many people want to eat local. Here are some thoughts to keep in mind if your goal is to eat locally grown food as much as possible:

• Use yogurt instead of banana
• Honey (rather than agave), unless agave is local for you
• Apples, peaches, pears, nectarines, or any other local fruit instead of pineapple, unless pineapple is local for you

Other sweeteners, if needed:

• Honey
• Stevia

Don’t forget these foods:

• Grapes
• Peas or other legumes
• Celery

Non Toxic, BPA Free Popsicle Molds

It is also important to make your popsicles in a BPA free popsicle mold. I have found a few these by Tovolo: Yellow Groovy, Green Shooting Star, and Blue Rocket.

What healthy recipes do you enjoy? If you try any of these, let us know! Stay cool!

Wendy – Parenting Tips 365

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Over the past few years, we’ve done lots of learning about real health and wellness and have changed our diet accordingly. The important thing to note is that we made gradual changes over the years. The information you are about to see in these healthy food guides may seem drastic and require a complete food overhaul and way of life change for you and your family. But it’s important to not get frustrated and to try to change one thing at a time until you are truly eating healthy.

I’ve come across several guides and guidelines for healthy eating from my favorite sources on natural health and wellness. I would say that all of these are better than the USDA’s food guide pyramid, although there are probably a few items in each list that I might change. I’m not an expert, mind you. I just like to do research and know more about the food I eat – since I know that the food I eat is one of the most important things to my health and wellness.

Honest Food Guide

The Honest Food Guide provides the truth about which foods to consume and which foods to avoid and includes information like:

* Which common food ingredients promote diabetes
* Which foods promote mental disorders and depression
* How to avoid hydrogenated oils
* Which grocery products and foods promote outstanding health
* Why high-sodium snacks are harmful to your health
* Where to find healthy protein
* Mineral-rich supplements to add to your diet
* How MSG interferes with body function and appetite control
* What foods to add to your diet for a strong immune system
* Why breakfast cereals are often health saboteurs
* How to ensure you’re getting enough healthy oils
* Why sunlight is vital for good health
* Key nutrients for good health
* How to select vegetables with a variety of nutrients
* Healing superfoods
* How to achieve clear, smooth skin
* Which carbs to eat and which to avoid

You can download a free copy (PDF) from the website HonestFoodGuide.org.

Dr. Weil’s Food Pyramid

Dr. Andrew Weil is the founder of the Foundation for Integrative Medicine in Tuscon Arizona and has authored many books about health and wellness. He created an anti-inflammatory food pyramid to help people select food for optimum health. From his website:

Following an anti-inflammatory diet can help counteract the chronic inflammation that is a root cause of many serious diseases, including those that become more frequent as people age.

Weston A. Price Dietary Guidelines

The Weston A. Price website provides a list of dietary guidelines that starts with “Eat whole, natural foods” and ends with “Practice forgiveness” – with a lot of other great information in between. They also have a list of Dietary Dangers that’s important to read as well.

If you want more interesting information, they also have an article on Characteristics of Traditional Diets and What’s Wrong with “Politically Correct” Nutrition? and an entire section on Children’s Health.

Dr. Mercola and Nutritional Typing

Dr. Mercola recommends the Metabolic Typing Diet, by one of the pioneers of metabolic typing, William Wolcott. Nutritional Typing is eating right for YOUR unique nutritional type and that everyone’s needs are different. From his website:

Remember that you should feel terrific one hour after you eat. If you are still having food cravings or your energy level is lower, these are giant clues that you are likely not eating appropriately for your Nutritional Type™.

I hope these healthy food guidelines have provided some information to you about truly healthy foods. Remember to make your changes slowly so you don’t get overwhelmed. Let me know what you think!

Wendy - Parenting Tips 365

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I’ve done some searching and have heard from teachers themselves regarding which gifts have been their favorite and most useful. The vast majority say gift cards, especially if to a store or restaurant they frequent, are the most useful (and probably most preferred) gift. While teachers appreciate the thought behind any gift, most agree that little trinkets that sit on their desk aren’t very practical or useful. (That means you might want to re-think that “World’s Best Teacher” coffee mug.)

With those thoughts out of the way, here are a few more gift ideas I came across. Maybe something on this list will help you decide on a gift for your child’s teachers:

• Basket of baked goods, especially if the child helped make them (cookies, pumpkin bread, etc.)
• Cute terra cotta pot and some seeds to plant, or perhaps this “forget-me-not pot” idea. You could also choose a flowering plant that can be planted in the ground, such as an impatiens or begonia (easy to grow) and just wrap the pot from the nursery in paper with a ribbon around it and some handwritten gardening instructions on a snazzy tag. You could also put a handprint of your child on it for personalization.
• Cookie mix in a decorated jar
• Make a fabric book cover, and put it on a classic novel and include a gift card to Barnes and Noble or Half Price Books (or buy one on Etsy).
  
• Photo album of all the kids in class, as a group gift (this would require advance planning to take pictures of the teacher interacting with all the kids during some of the moms’ visits to the classroom)

Ideas for Special Area Teachers

I know it may seem overwhelming but if you can, it’s nice to remember the special area teachers (PE coach, PE assistant, librarian, library assistant, music, art, computer teachers) as well with a token of your appreciation. These ideas can be smaller variations of the ideas above.

• $5 gift cards to Starbucks (or other store)
• Mini loaves of pumpkin bread
• Some home-made cookies in a decorative bag

Group Gifts

I have heard the idea to organize a donation to get the teacher one big gift card from the entire class. You can contact the other parents, or maybe the ‘room mom’ could send a letter home with the kids, and everyone who wants to participate can pool their money.

This idea also works for the special area teachers. Parents could donate a couple dollars for each special area teacher or teacher‘s assistant. Pooled together, it can be a nice gift card.

Taking the idea for the flower pot above, in addition to a group gift card you could get a nice plant and have all the kids’ hand prints and/or names on the pot along with the school year.

Gift Card or Cash?

Why give a gift card; why not just a nice fat check? One teacher I came across explained the best gift she received as a teacher. At the end of the year, all the parents contributed some cash and a couple of the moms came to school and presented her with flowers, a card, a check, and a speech about how great the year was and how much they appreciated her efforts. The public speech of thanks was very meaningful to her and the cash was a nice way to start summer. That does take some cooperation and organization, but it’s a wonderfully thoughtful idea.

Another caution about giving gift cards; if you give gift cards that are not useful for the teacher, they may sit around for years – unused. That’s why many people suggest giving gift cards for Target, or another common store. Visa gift cards are another option, as well. If you can find out which stores your child’s teacher likes shopping at, that would be perfect! (And yet another vote for cash.)

Crafty Ideas

Even though I warned about getting the teacher “stuff” that may or may not be useful, I couldn’t resist including these links to some pretty amazing teacher gifts ideas. If you are the crafty type, maybe something at Tip Junkie will be just the thing:

• Teacher gifts
• Gift ideas

What NOT to Give

Gift cards to teacher stores might seem fitting, but it’s not really a gift for the teacher if it can only go back into the classroom. Also, teachers probably have enough bath beads, perfume, cologne, bubble bath, wallets, handkerchiefs, notepads, desk calendars, coffee mugs, and salt and pepper shakers. And you can forget the APPLE items, too.

The Most Simple Gift

Don’t forget the most important part of the gift – the thank you note. Even if you can’t give a gift, a heartfelt thank you note would be very much appreciated. The note can be from the parent or the child. (Since my son is only two, I plan to write the thank you notes from his viewpoint.) If you can include a specific example in the thank you note, it makes it more meaningful.

The key to gift giving for teachers at the end of the year is to make it personal. The gift doesn’t need to big and flashy or expensive; just something that comes from your heart.

Wendy - Parenting Tips 365

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Enjoy my big list of books that love the earth!

Earth Is Our Home

• Our Big Home celebrates the interconnectedness of all living things; it shares the important environmental message that we not only share this planet with all the people but also with the plants and animals.
• I Love Our Earth features a poem that celebrates nature and complements photographs of people and places around the world, which reflects our shared connection with the planet.
• The Whole Green World is the story of a little girl who goes off into the world to plant seeds. She spreads happiness as she goes and is surrounded by the flowers and trees that make the “whole round world”.
• The Earth and I is the simple story of a boy and his interactions with his special “friend”, the Earth. One example is: “I help her to grow. She helps me to grow”, which accompanies pictures of the boy tilling soil, then eating food.

Earth Day Books

Here are a few books with an Earth day theme:

• It’s Earth Day! (Little Critter) is about Little Critter learning about climate changes and then wanting to do something to slow down global warming; he learns to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
• Earth Day-Hooray! combines math ideas with Earth Day and recycling as the students try to collect 5,000 aluminum cans to raise money to buy flowers for their park.
• Earth Day Birthday is written to the tune of “The Twelve Days of Christmas”; it celebrates Earth Day and 12 different creatures that inhabit the planet (e.g., eleven seals a-swimming). It also provides a brief history of Earth Day, ideas for gifts that children could give the Earth (e.g., plant a tree), and the lyrics and music.

Little Green Books

Little Green Books are produced by Simon and Schuster. Their slogan is “Green books for Green readers”. Not only do the books have green themes and stories, the manufacturing of these books is environmentally friendly. The books are printed on recycled materials with vegetable or soy inks and most books are Forest Stewardship Council certified (responsible use of forest resources). The SimonLittleGreen.com website has great “green” tips as well. Here are some of the books in the “Little Green Books line:

• The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle: A Story About Recycling is the diary of a plastic bottle as it goes on a journey from the refinery plant, to the manufacturing line, to the store shelf, to a garbage can, and finally to a recycling plant where it emerges into it’s new life…as a fleece jacket!
• Easy to Be Green: Simple Activities You Can Do to Save the Earth is filled with cool coloring pages, Earth-saving tips, fun facts, and easy activities kids can do to help the environment.
• My First Garden follows a mother and daughter as they dig up soil, plant a flower bed, and water the seeds to make their very first garden. Together they watch the colorful vegetables grow!
• I Can Save the Earth tells the story of Max the Monster, who is an environmental nightmare. His excessive ways finally cause the power to go out, which forces him to go outside where he discovers the big world and all the ways he can help the environment. I found an interview with the author, Alison Inches.
• Little Monkey and his friend Little Panda spend their day eating their favorite foods and playing together! It is a supersoft fleece cloth book that’s made out of cotton and recycled Polartec® fleece.
• Little Panda his friend Little Monkey spend their day eating their favorite foods and playing together. It is also made out of cotton and recycled Polartec® fleece.
• The Polar Bears’ Home: A Story About Global Warming is an 8 x 8 storybook that shows how global warming affects two baby polar bear cubs and their family. It includes tips for kids on what they can do to help slow down global warming.

Why Should I Books

Why Should I books present brief, entertaining stories that answer children’s questions and feature amusing color illustrations on every page. A note at the back of each book is for parents and teachers, suggesting ways to use these books most effectively. Books in the series are:

• Why Should I Recycle?
• Why Should I Protect Nature?
• Why Should I Save Energy?
• Why Should I Save Water?

Kids’ Involvement Books

Here are a few books that have activities kids can do to help save the earth.

• Recycle!: A Handbook for Kids discusses how to recycle to cut down on the need for landfills. The author talks about paper, plastic, glass, cans, and polystyrene as well as mentioning the ozone layer and facts about garbage.
• 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth shows children how specific elements of their environment-like a light switch or a toilet-are connected to the rest of the world. Practical tips show kids how they can conserve energy, recycle waste, and take on important environmental projects.
• Earth Book for Kids: Activities to Help Heal the Environment is filled with ideas for arts and crafts projects, experiments, and experiences that encourage children to enjoy and heal the environment. Topics discussed include acid rain, endangered wildlife, pesticides, energy, recycling, pollution, landfills, rain forests, water conservation, and related topics.

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Theme Baskets

Instead of traditional Easter baskets, use something else that can hold goodies and build a theme around it:

• Fill a big plastic bucket with fun sand box toys such as sand molds, shovels, and sifters.
• Fill a bucket with swimming items such as new swim suits, water shoes, floaties, pool toys, or goggles.
• Fill a flower pot with packets of seeds, gardening tools, gloves, etc.
• Fill new backpacks with fun things like a flashlight, bug jar, magnifying glass, etc.

Non-Food Ideas

Here are a few non-food goodies and toys, especially for younger kids:

• Bubbles
• Bubble blowers
• Coloring books, crayons, markers
• Books (Happy Easter Little Critter, The Berenstain Bears and the Real Easter Eggs, Peter Rabbit’s Easter)
• Card games (such as Uno, Go Fish, Old Maid, Crazy Eights, Slap Jack)
• Fun flashlight
• Homemade play dough
• Yo-yos
• Natural finger paint
• Egg & Chick-Shaped Chalk
• Stuffed animals
• Travel games
• Homemade silly putty
• Bug collecting kit
• Flash cards
• Disposable cameras
• Egg shakers

Here are a few ideas for older kids:

• Age appropriate reading books
• Sketchpads and pencils (for older kids)
• Origami paper and instructions
• Cross-stitch kits
• Model car kits
• Movies

Oriental Trading is a great place to find some goodies for their Easter basket.

Healthier Food Ideas

Here are a few ideas for some healthier treats:

• Pretzels
• Granola bars
• Small box of raisins or other dried fruit (my son *loves* dried cranberries so those would indeed be a treat for him!)
• Trail mix (raisins, pineapple, banana chips, almonds, papaya, walnuts, etc)
• Fruit leathers (such as FruitaBu Organic Smooshed Fruit)
• Yogurt-covered pretzels and crunchy sesame snacks (check out the bulk bins at natural food stores)
• YummyEarth Organic Lollipops

I found a place to buy all natural candy, but their Easter deadline has passed. You should check out The Squirrel’s Nest and see what they have!

What to Put In Plastic Eggs

Here are a few small things that you can put in plastic eggs:

• Small cars
• Stickers
• Small toys
• Money
• Coupons (for things like an hour of TV time or video games, stay up an hour later, etc)
• Puzzle pieces (regular for older and wooden ones for younger kids)

For the puzzle piece idea, assign each child (if you have more than one) one egg color. Buy a small puzzle for each child and place a few puzzle pieces inside their plastic eggs. Instruct them to only pick up that color egg. Once they find all their eggs, they open them up and start putting their puzzle together (with the help of the puzzle box).

I hope I’ve given you a few ideas for alternatives to candy in Easter baskets. What are you putting in your kids’ baskets this year?

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The book is designed to be a step-by-step guide to help parents learn the new communication skills. The information is presented in seven chapters:

1. Helping Children Deal With Their Feelings
2. Engaging Cooperation
3. Alternatives to Punishment
4. Encouraging Autonomy
5. Praise
6. Freeing Children from Playing Roles
7. Putting It All Together

Each chapter is divided into two parts:

• Part 1 discusses the new topic, provides short exercises to help learn and understand the topic, shows cartoons that illustrate “ineffective” and “effective”methods, and ends with a quick reminder page that is perfect for reference.
• Part 2 is filled with common questions, comments, and parents’ stories to help understand the topic further and hear about real situations.

The book starts by addressing how important it is to respect and accept your child’s feelings. Empathy towards another person, especially a child, might be difficult for many people. The authors suggest reading the book slowly so you can practice one aspect at a time.

The book has a great section on problem solving and it focuses on involving your child in the process.

I was surprised to learn how they don’t agree with the common use of time-outs as punishment. Once they explained their reasoning, I agree with them completely.

What I Thought

The book was easy to read and I loved the cartoons they used to help illustrate ideas; the visual aspect really helped me learn the ideas. I did do all the exercises, as they suggest, and it really helped me understand why these ideas work so well. I was also surprised to learn the correct way to give praise; it will definitely take some practice!

This is easily the best parenting book I’ve read! It falls in line exactly with how I wish to parent my child. It will take some time for these new ideas and methods to become more natural, but I’m so glad I have this book to help me.

When Should You Read This Book?

As the authors say, it’s never too early or too late to read this book. I read this book now and my child just turned two. Even if he’s too young for some of the situations discussed, he’s never too young to have a mom that talks to him with respect. I’m glad I read it now; it gives me time to start changing the way I talk – and think.

The book is also great for improving relationships with anyone; it can help improve how you communicate with adult family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc.

Other Books by the Authors

The authors have also written several other books that may be of interest to you:

• Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too
• How To Talk So Kids Can Learn
• How to Talk So Teens Will Listen and Listen So Teens Will Talk
• Liberated Parents, Liberated Children: Your Guide to a Happier Family

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