In Our Backyard: Summer 2012

It's Clean-Up Time!

How do you handle clean-up times in your house?

I have three children.  My oldest, age 9, has always been very conscientious of her decisions and actions.  There were never any issues when it came time to putting away her toys when she was through playing with them.  She seemed to understand the importance of taking care of her belongings and knew that everything had it's place.

My next child, age 7, is also fairly good at clean up times.  He values his belongings and wants to keep them in good shape.  There's usually some verbal resistance and stalling tactics when asked to put his things away, but he does follow through in a timely manner (most of the time).

My youngest, however... She has just turned 4 and until the last six months or so, was also cooperative with clean up.  Now, not so much.  And there are many different reasons for this:

• Sometimes I can tell that she is genuinely tired.  More kids means more toys and more action and play things don't usually get put away until the end of the day.  When this happens, we set her things to the side and explain that they will need to be taken care of in the morning. 
• Other times she is emulating her brother and puts on a show of resistance.  We remind her why we take care of our things: we don't want them to get lost or broken and we want to be able to find them the next time we want to use them.  This is brief and expressed once.  She's heard it enough times.  This is usually enough to get her going.  
• Sometimes she is overwhelmed with the amount of "stuff" left in the wake of their day's worth of evolving play.  In this case, one of us makes a smaller pile for her or a few piles each with items that go in the same place.  

Then there are times when it's a battle of wills.  She is a stubborn one and I'm afraid it's an inherited trait.  These are the times when I need to put aside my agenda of wanting an organized, tripping hazard-free house.  So how do I handle it?  There's a range.  I always take a deep breath (or 3 or 4) and do my best to approach her calmly and with understanding, then:

• I try to turn it into a game.  For example, I might say to her, "Hey, have I ever showed you my special talent?  I can hold things with my toes!  I can even pick them off the floor.  I wonder if you can do it too?" This is really a fun way to clean up and has served me well with many children.  I might also try clean up by color ("Let's find all the blue things") or letter sound or by seeing how much we can stuff into our pockets or shirts or balance on our heads.  Games are a great distraction and diffuser.
•  I try to verbalize how she might be feeling, empathize, and offer to help and do it with her.
• Sometimes I make up a goofy clean up song to relax the mood.  But beware, this can backfire if not timed right or if the child is in an arms-crossed, legs-planted-firmly-statue-like stance.
• I remind her of the consequences (broken or lost toys, hurt bare feet, etc.)
• I have her take a break (read book; lay on her bed and listen to music; etc.) until she is calm and ready to help.  I let her know that I will check in after 5-10 minutes to see how she's doing and will give a time limit if need be.

One of these tactics usually works.  If she's really pushing and escalating and out to prove she can be the boss, my husband and I stand our ground and let her know that if we end up cleaning up her toys, she will loose her privilege to have them for a specified period of time and that if the behavior continues they may be taken away permanently.  Drastic, I know, but it's only been used a couple of times and is always a last resort.

As a rule, we do not offer rewards and punishments.  We may remind them that they can move on to something they have been waiting to do when their clean up is done, but we want the motivation to take of their belongings to be intrinsic.  Our children should learn through experience the natural consequences of their actions, or lack of.

If clean up time poses occasional challenges at your house, you may find these links helpful:

Parent"s Toolshop: Clean Rooms

Modern Mom

Lucy Daniels Center

What skills have you learned for encouraging your child to clean up?

Introducing Yoga to Children

I am SSOOOO exited to have another guest post over at Mariah's Playful Learning blog!  Do you practice Yoga with your children?  I'd love to hear about it...


Playful Learning: Introducing Children to Yoga Through Storytelling

Nature Activity Guide: Leaves

This is an activity guide that I created for our local library.  It is the first installment of a "Nature Detectives" series to encourage children to get outside and explore nature.  This packet is an investigation of leaves.

I am offering it here for a limited time.  I would love for you to view it, or better yet...try it with your children, and let me know your feedback (you can also leave comments on Scribd or rate the document).

Thank you!  I hope you enjoy!


This download offer is now closed.  My sincere thanks to everyone who took the time to read and, hopefully use, the activity guide!  You are welcome to leave comments here at any time...

Summer Reading Club: Week One

My oldest daughter, Em, and a neighborhood friend have started their own summer reading club.  Just the two of them.  My daughter loves to read and does so daily but I thought I'd like to make it a little more fun for her by encouraging her to share a book with a friend and get together for some discussions and fun follow-up activities.   We are also hoping to help inspire her friend to develop a love of reading.  Her friend chose the book:  Warriors: Into the Wild

Here's how we kicked of their summer reading club...
Each girl received a hand-made sewn journal, a reader's response bookmark, and a note with her warrior name and the clan she belongs to (determined by answering some kid-friendly questions on the Warriors website).  Inside the journal is suggestions on how to utilize it.

For the first week they were to read the first 3 chapters.  Em's friend read half of chapter one, so... I tossed out my prepared follow-up questions and activity and we set up a "reading den" in the yard.  They had so much fun setting it up and creating little spaces within (a writing area, reading nook, etc.) that they looked forward to settling in for some reading.  After summarizing what they had read and looking up the unfamiliar words that they came across and had written in their journals, it was time for some movement.   Each of the girls, and my 2 younger children, donned a pair of socks on their hands - instant paws - and had cat races on all fours.  The first of their Warrior apprentice training.  They had a blast, which was good because we want Em's friend to want to come back for more fun after reading the next chapters!

When they had enough with the races, we returned to the reading den.  I remembered some things from my Alphabet Glue e-magazine downloads that would work great for the girls and ran in to print them off.  From Volume Three, I borrowed the story bunting idea and made paw-print bunting.  On each paw print the girls are writing a brief summary of a chapter.  From Volume One, I used the story element cards.  The girls glued the blank versions into their journals and will continue to fill them out as they read.

Overall, it was a successful start and we all look forward to next week when we meet again!


I'd love to hear how your children are involved in summer reading...

The Art of Observation

I just had the privilege of conducting a nature journaling workshop for children at our local public library.  We discussed the benefits of keeping a nature journal as well as things that should and could be included and some tips for drawing what they see.  Our most important conversation, however, was about how to see.  About taking the time to really notice details before putting pencil to paper.  The children sat briefly with eyes closed and were asked to notice the different sounds around them, the feel of the sun on their skin, the direction of the breeze, the temperature of the air, and any smells they noticed.  They then opened their eyes and were asked to notice colors, motion, sizes, contrasts, similarities.  They made observations using many of their senses.  Once the children were off to look more closely at whatever had caught their attention, I approached each one and asked questions to help them notice more details and further their exploration.  I encouraged them to continue using a combination of senses.

After the children had some time to sketch and make notes, they began approaching me to share what they had done.  I was so impressed.  It seems that I was meant for a lesson that day as well... a lesson about the art of observation.

I learned that day that there is a difference between the art of observation and scientific observation.  What do I mean by this?  When my children and I go outside with the intent of studying something found in nature to learn more about it, we make scientific observations.  Is this maple leaf the same as one from that other tree?  Is it 3-lobed or 5?  Does it have jagged teeth, fine teeth, or none?  Is the underside the same color as the top side?  Does it have larger veins or many finer veins?  We really want to get to know our subject.  Our nature journal entry would include things like color, fragrance, size, distinguishing marks, where it was found, what it felt like, what it sounded like, and so on.  We ask more questions.  Maybe we form some hypothesis, further our research and try some experiments.

The art of observing may not look all that different on the surface but it produces much different results.  We still ask lots of questions, look at what we’re observing from different angles and get up close with our magnifying glasses.  We still touch (if appropriate), smell, compare, contrast, and explore.  But what many of the children at the workshop had recorded that day were their perceptions.  Their feelings.  Their amazement.  Their connection.  Their love of the natural world.  The children found joy in their observations and communicated that in their journals.  It was truly art in the making and an inspiration I am thankful for.  When my children and I look back at our nature journals, it would be much more meaningful to see a bit of their personalities and to know the impact that their nature experiences had on them.

Do you have a nature journaling experience that you would like to share?  I would love to read about it!

Summer Solstice Activities

My children are always so thrilled when the first day of summer is upon us.  We usually note the day and they know about it being the one day of the year with the most amount of daylight time.  Not until this year, though, have we decided to celebrate it.

We'll be reading some books about the summer solstice, learning why so many people and cultures have celebrated it throughout the ages, having fun with some sun crafts, and enjoying a meal with friends consisting of fresh produce from our local farmer's market.

A somewhat unrelated photo I know, but for our family, strawberry picking means summer is here!

How do you and your children like to acknowledge the summer solstice?

Crafts:
Pierced Sun Catcher
Watercolor Lanterns
Sundial
Sunprints

Books:
The Longest Day: Celebrating the Summer Solstice, by Wendy Pfeffer
The Summer Solstice, by Ellen Jackson
Mermaid Dance, by Marjorie Hakala