Tag Archives: children

Six Green Activities for Kids

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wagon

Turn off the television. Power down the computer. Hand over the Nintendo DS. It’s time to unplug and get our heads thinking, our hands doing, and our bodies moving. Here are a few activities that can help develop a generation of kids that are mindful of their environment, themselves, and others.

1. Take a walk. Take a stroll, a wagon ride, a jog. Play tag, hide-and-go-seek, climb a tree. It really doesn’t matter. Just get your kids together and get outside. What better way to take in mother nature than to be surrounded by it? Point out the sunlight and how it feels on your face. Be conscious of your breath as you inhale the fresh air. Look up at the beautiful blue sky and twirl in circles. Round and round, again and again. Go on, get out there.

2. Read. Read. Read. Set aside the Kindle and Nook and head out to the local library for story time. If you don’t live close to a library pick some children’s books from your own collection. Sit down with the kids and have them turn the pages, point out characters, and pick their favorite parts. Get them involved in the story by letting them act out scenes from the book. Ask them questions about the story and listen closely as their imaginations run wild.

3. Yoga. Yoga gives kids (and adults too!) strength, flexibility, discipline, and balance. Yoga is a joyous way to connect with your mind and body. The challenges presented with each pose help to promote confidence and self-compassion. There are so many fun yoga poses for kids to do as well. Some of these include: Tree Pose (Vrksasana), Butterfly, Fish Pose (Matsyasana), Upward-Facing Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana), Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana), and Child’s Pose (Balasana).

4. Arts & Crafts. There’s nothing like covering the table in paper and pulling out the glue, crayons, paint, and glitter. So many fun memories to be made by drawing and creating original works of art. For added texture and style you can include yarn, buttons, popsicle sticks, aluminum cans, water bottles, and so on. Check out Pinterest for more ideas.

5. Garden. Ready. Set. Garden. Grab an old window box or use a beach pail. Have the kids shovel in some soil and plant some herbs together. If you have the ability to grow your own garden, get the kids involved with planning which fruits and vegetables or flowers to grow, when and where to plant them, and then break ground together. Plan a day to visit the local nursery and have the kids pick out their own gardening gloves and shovels. Gardening projects are a great way to encourage an eco-friendly lifestyle.

6. Prepare food together. Start by shopping at the local farmer’s market or ideally your own backyard garden. Teach your children the importance of supporting local food. Help them connect with their food by explaining how it is grown, packaged, and delivered. After the food is picked or bought, get the kids in the kitchen and show them how to wash it. Then prepare a dish together. Finally, sit down at the table and relish in the beauty of nourishing your body with healthy sustainable foods.

Hello Moon

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Reblogging this one. Originally posted March 2012 by Mommy OM. Have a wonderful night.

Hello moon. It’s great to see you, finally. I’m freaking exhausted. I’ve looked forward to our rendezvous all day. You look beautiful as always. Bright and pure as you light up the night sky. Now excuse me while my head hits the pillow and my body lies still for the next six to eight hours (hopefully, fingers crossed). Hold on. I don’t know why I just said that. I jinxed myself.

Yep. Where’s some wood?

Knock on wood.

Knock on wood!

Knock on wood!

Quick.

Hurry up!

“Whaaaa!!!”

Too late.

There was never a child so lovely but his mother was glad to get him to sleep.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

15 Things Moms Can Agree On (Hopefully) (Well, Maybe?)

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In light of the election that took place last Tuesday and a country divided, I was inspired by a post from treehugger.com which highlighted 26 Things We Can All Agree On. I began contemplating the subject of motherhood with its diverse outlooks, beliefs, and countless ways we’ve amassed to raise our children. Aside from our individualities, are there any fundamental, concrete principles that all mothers can agree on? I hope so! Let’s face it, we all have an opinion, but at the end of the day what binds us is we all answer to that word, “Mom.” Or Mommy or Mama or Mom Mom Mom Mom Mom! or Madre or Mamacita or Ma or…well you catch my drift.

Spit-up, throw-up, early mornings, late nights. Infants, toddlers, teenagers. Just when we think we have it all figured out, motherhood throws us another damn curve ball. Well at least she keeps us on our toes. I for one am up for the challenge. You?

15 Things All Moms Can Agree On (Hopefully) (Well, Maybe?):

1. Motherhood is tough. This ongoing journey of ups and downs and winding roads is ever-changing and ever-challenging. Motherhood is an enormous task which reaps enormous rewards.

2. LOVE is all you need. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. I. LOVE. YOU. Tell them. Show them. Repeatedly. Again and Again and Again.

3. Mistakes are inevitable. They happen. More often than not. Let’s recognize the ones we’ve made and look to a future of not repeating them.

4. Every child is different. But wait a minute, my first baby slept through night no problem. Uh huh. Doesn’t mean a thing. The sooner we realize that not all kids are the same, the better off we’ll be. Agree?

5. Mom Guilt. We all have it. We all recognize it. We all need to get over it and stop putting so much undue stress and pressure on ourselves. What’s the deal with us doing that anyways? Oh right, mom guilt.

6. Children are our teachers. There is so much we can discover about ourselves from our children. We just need to take the time slow down and learn the lessons. Patience, tolerance, spirit, hope, passion, honesty, excitement, acceptance…

7. Time goes by too fast. Days are long, but the years are short. A first-born will soon be taking a first step. Savor every moment. Yes, even that moment when the baby is crying incessantly and the toddler is yanking on your leg telling you that she just flushed your keys down the potty. Okay well not every moment.

8. Self-confidence – We need it, desperately. It’s right there inside you. Find it. NOW.

9. Mother’s change the world. We are raising future generations. This requires no further explanation. 

10. We are all in this together. Although we are highly diverse in appearance and culture, our instincts at the core virtually remain the same. To teach, to nurture, to bring up compassionate, hard-working, intelligent, healthy, responsible human beings that contribute something positive to society. Not too much to ask for, right? If you’re doubt, please refer to #8.

11. A Step-by-Step Guide to Motherhood DOES NOT exist. In motherhood we learn from that thing called EXPERIENCE.

12. We CAN NOT please everyone. Not even going to try to.

13. Sleep is a necessity. For mom. For dad. For kids. For sanity.

14. Taking a [hot/cold] shower may equate to a week-long vacation. I was going to attribute this one to new moms especially, but I think all mothers can agree that five minutes in the shower has the ability to renew and recharge us – even if we have ‘mommy brain’ and think we can hear someone calling our name the entire time.

15. Balance is something we all strive for. On the outside. On the inside. Within our family, within our friendships, within our careers, within ourselves.

“Motherhood brings as much joy as ever…Nothing else ever will make you as happy or as sad, as proud or as tired, for nothing is quite as hard as helping a person develop her (his) own individuality especially while you struggle to keep your own.” – Marguerite Kelly and Elia Parsons

Have more to add? Please do so below! ♥

raising a child

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Children are messy and noisy and loud and whiney.

Children cry and fight and annoy and bother.

Children stumble and fall and break things and scream.

We all know this going in.  Or at least we should.  From infancy through the teenage years (and beyond!) we are challenged.  Every.  Single.  Day.  Forever.  No joke.  How we react is key.  Is it helpful to share our frustrations with others?  Absolutely!  It makes the process of child-rearing real.  Is it healthy to bitch and moan about your kids ALL the TIME?  The answer is simple – no.

Let’s face it, raising children is a difficult task.  Adjusting to a newborn is probably one of the hardest challenges I ever had to go through.  It’s definitely one of the most grounding, mind-altering, loving events in my life.  Sleepless nights, endless laundry and diaper changes, 24/7 breast-feeding.  Coming to the realization that life is no longer solely about me.  The pressure of knowing that the choices I make in these early years will shape my child.  Dealing with inconveniences is inevitable, but it’s part of the story.  An essential part.  A part that teaches and tests.  A part that helps me dig deep within myself to see what I’m really made of.  The sooner I focused in on this, the sooner my vision and plan for my family came together.  As a mother, I fall on my face…a lot.  But I get up – again and again and again.

When will we realize that parenting our children is a privilege and a responsibility – not a hindrance?  Our kids need us to provide for them and support them and make important decisions for them.  They need us to be their teachers and their playmates and their boo-boo kissers.  Every day, we are molding them physically, emotionally, and spiritually through our actions or inactions.  Raising a child should be a wonderful journey, not a bitch-fest.  It requires an educated mind, a loving soul, and inexplicable acts of kindness.  All in all, being a mother is a thankless job, but it helps to remember that:

Children are wonderful and funny and pure.

Children are full of love and light and strength.

Children are inspiring and adventurous and beautiful.

Children . . . they string our joys, like jewels bright, upon the thread of years. ~Edward A. Guest

junk food junkies

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Have you ever heard of The Fast food Song?  Apparently this song used to be taught to kids in school.  Yikes!  Clever?  Yes.  Catchy?  Yes.  Horrible for teaching our children about health and nutrition?  Absolutely.  Thank goodness schools have since abandoned this mind-numbing song, but marketing unhealthy foods to children remains a stronghold in advertising today.  Catchy commercials  and ‘superhero’ product endorsements are widely and greedily used tactics by big corporations to target our children.  These companies spend millions upon millions of dollars in advertising.  They pay BIG money to bait our children with popular cartoon characters and bright colors.  They pay BIG money hiring scientists to manipulate and chemically alter foods to get our kids wanting more and more and more.  I get it.  It’s not a conspiracy.  These companies have an agenda and their agenda is to sell their product.  Bottom line.  Children are the perfect target.  They are gullible, easy to manipulate, and have the potential to become customers for life.  Cha’ching!

Are these companies to blame for intentionally creating habits that will condemn our children to a lifetime of ill health, including but not limited to obesity, diabetes, and mood disorders?  Or should our focus be put solely on us as parents?  Have we become a nation of brainwashed fools who aren’t educated enough to understand the difference between whole foods full of nutrition and over-processed junk?

Are we being outsmarted by these big corporations?  Are we raising an entire generation of junk food junkies?  Shrek sells.  Spongebob sells.  Scooby-doo sells.  But who’s buying????

Over-processed foods make-up eighty to ninety percent of our supermarket shelves.  The odds are stacked against us, but it is the consumer who dictates the market.  It’s as simple as supply and demand.  Every time a product you purchase is scanned at the check-out, you become an advocate for that particular food or beverage.  Think about it.  What have you been advocating lately?

Our children still have a chance at a healthy life, but it’s up to us as their parents to give them that chance.  If five year-olds are incapable of making proper food choices without the guidance of an adult, how is it that these corporations are WINNING over our kids?  It is in fact the adult that is purchasing this crap, correct?

We need to STOP being a victim of the food industry.

And honestly, the Shrek Twinkies make me want to gag just looking at them.