Silhouette Whale picture sound cards

The Silhouette blog has a weekly challenge where people can use the popular shape they chose or the free shape of the week. I used the free shape of the week to create picture sound cards for speech therapy use. I only created two for examples as I don't have a client at the moment so don't need all 20. I used the "w" sound and "l" sound because whale has both sounds in the word. I would laminate them to make them endure the repetitive handling by preschoolers (and me).

I'm late on posting for the giveaway but I wanted to show a different way that can make speech interesting for the child.

Mother's Day and Gardening--Both can be rewarding

Mother's Day is this Sunday...a short video about us mothers.

I know that not all mothers are always like the ones depicted in this video, some just never figured out what they need to do to nurture their children. Some never even tried to figure it out, which is sad because they sure missed out on some great times.

We don't rake or remove dead plants in the fall so that our earth can be protected during the freeze/melt cycles we have as our winter so there is a lot of work to prepare our yards for planting and the 'not snowy winter' season we are entering. I was weeding/cleaning up yesterday, and as I was pulling the green grass (nice to see green again) out of the veggie garden I thought how it was like parenting.

If a lot of effort is put in from the start the rewards are great later on. For the most part because even the most diligent gardener cannot predict accurately how the environment will impact the seeds and plants. You just do the best you can with the skills you have. If your skills are lacking, you seek out those who have those skills and learn from them.

As it is with parenting, if a parent so chooses, they can spend a lot of time with their child(ren), teaching them the values and concepts that the parent believe are important.

Some parents believe that the child should decide for themselves about religion, values and other core concepts so they don't bias their child with their own beliefs and values. I don't understand how that is advantageous because how is the child to decide if they don't have anything to compare to? And how is teaching your child indoctrinating them when it YOUR belief?  I do understand why some parents don't want to "indoctrinate" their child about values and beliefs, as there are some very damaging philosophies being taught. But be assured that the "my way or the highway" philosophy of child raising is not compatible with teaching and guiding.

 Like a garden, a child needs to be nurtured, to be guided in learning about themselves and the world in which she/he lives. And to be taught to think. If they can do the 5 W's and How they will have a firm foundation to decide things. But to decide is to have a knowledge from which to compare new information. Pass onto your child your values and beliefs! If you don't, who will? Do you really want to leave it up to chance?

Most children are really forgiving of parental mistakes, if there have been some positive interactions and efforts of some type of love towards the child. And children love their parents, even severely abusive parents (that bond is deep!).

It's a balancing act, but with practice (& lots of trial and error!) and love there are rewards to parenting and gardening.

Soooo, Happy Mother's Day...let's celebrate our good practices and forgive ourselves for our missteps & the "oops, I hope nobody saw/heard that" moments.

It's Red So It's Fast

I picked up my new road bike on Tuesday and toodled around the block before I froze.

I look forward to riding it every day without winter woolies on. I took this photo yesterday when some strange orb in the sky was glowing. I rode for about 9km in my community before I had to hustle off to my last university classes for the year.

Thanks to Ryan at Bow Cycle for fitting me on my Specialized Roubaix. It isn't a women's specific bike (that one is a Ruby), they just didn't feel right. I sat on this and it was like going home to my 10-speed BRC (which as my husband pointed out...was red also). I can't feel the bike when I'm on it. Hopefully after 3 hours in the seat I'll feel the same way!

Due to the weather (it snowed/slushed today), tonight I'll cycle indoors on my Trek hybrid and watch American Idol or something that is set in a warm part of the world.

I've just read a wonderful recounting of an event about chivalry occurring "along the flat, head windy, hot, highway of West Maui". Picture this, a moped being pushed by a sprite of a girl being rescued by a road biker. No, not the biker clad in black leather with a skull-cap helmet but one dressed in white lycra with a bike helmet. Read the story here (she tells it so well):

http://womenincycling.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/a-knights-tale/#more-1019

I'm going to be riding the GranFondo Niagara Falls (Ontario) this September. GranFondo means "big ride" in Italian, and it is a big ride. For me anyways. Maybe not for those Tour de Francers or Milan to San Remo types. It's about 122km or 76 miles. Kilometers sounds longer! 
I've started training...wheeze wheeze. For my birthday DH gave me a Kinetic Flow rider (fluid? I could go down to check it out but that takes energy. Yes I see the contradiction). It is really boring to cycle in my basement and I hope that the snow that is melting will continue and stay melted! I wanna ride outside! 

2013 so far

2013...it is surreal that I am writing that date as though it is normal. I suppose it is, but waaayy back when I was in elementary school we had to build a city from stuff we had in the classroom and at home (now we call it recycling, repurposing & reusing). The city was to be our vision of what life would look like in the year 2000. I don't remember any city that was made that looked like what our cities actually look like now. Most were variations of "The Jetsons" city...spaceish and robots, nothing remotely realistic!

2000 was only 29 years ahead of us and we thought the world would look very different from what it actually is.

In many ways is it very different...but not visually. It is different in the way we see people and the way we treat them. It is both good and bad...which isn't different at all. A lot of lip service is done, but so is a lot of positive work done. Ahead two feet back one is how us Earthlings progress. At least it is forward.

May we keep moving forward in helping our mentally ill so there are less tragic outcomes than what we see world wide.

May we all try to treat others kindly--even when they aren't so kind to us. Encourage higher standards for our children's behaviour...by being examples of how to do it. It isn't easy, but it is worth the effort.

Attachment Parenting

In the past couple of years I've learned a little about attachment parenting theory and apparently unknowingly raised my four with aspects of it.

A bedtime ritual is a part of attachment parenting and I can attest that by fostering a connection with the child you actually make them truly independent. It seems counter productive to actively encourage being attached to you yet it creates a sense of security in them that they can leave you and know you will always be available for them to go back to.

Resiliency is what enables a child who is told or expected to do things by themselves to carry on and grow up. I wonder if that sense of insecurity that so many have stems from not being truly attached to someone significant in their lives when they were young.

Attachment theory and helicopter parenting are very different. One is encouraging an emotional connection and the other is to do with controlling the activity of the child. Example, a child (lets say is 4, old enough to use the equipment on their own) who is running all over a playground, climbing, sliding, swinging while the parent is sitting on a bench reading or chatting with someone else. The child looks towards or runs up to the parent every so often before continuing on with their play. The child is secure as long as their parent is within view and can be easily reached.

The helicopter parent is right there at the swing, slide, monkey bars ensuring the child doesn't slip or run too fast or use the equipment in a different manner than they think it should be used for. Or is worried that their child will be abducted (stranger abductions are extremely rare in well lit, well supervised & occupied playgrounds). Heliparent is telling their child HOW to climb, HOW to slide, HOW to interact with other children.

In case you think I'm exaggerating, I've been at a park with those parents and being generous I figure their child has never been outside their own yard before and has never used playground equipment. In that case the parent is teaching their 4 year old about something that is foreign to them. I think that for most children that is being a little TOO generous! By 4 a child has or should have experience and ability to use most playground equipment by themselves. In the western world that is. Developing countries are different. Unfortunately.

Attachment parenting is creating a strong bond with your child that enables them to be independent without any insecurity baggage. Who would you rather marry, someone who loves their parent(s) and can live a part from them, enjoys being with them, or to someone who does family obligations as though it is a form of torture or in order to solicit acknowledgement or praise from the parent(s)?  The former is the one who has a deep attachment and has no need to continually seek praise or acknowledgment because they already received it in their early childhood and it has been maintained throughout their life!

Over the next few weeks I'll post ideas on how to foster that deep relationship.

I am early interventionist and hear me roar

I should be getting ready for the formal event tonight, you know, making sure the clothes I want to wear are, well, wearable. I know or am pretty sure they're clean, I know the skirt fits-tried it on last week, so I don't have to find or make one this morning before class.

I went back to school, again. This time for a degree in Social Work. I am like a fish out of water there. A turnip in among squashes, enough in common to know I can make a new type of serving but still different. I can't imagine how the business major or math major feels! I think that the department accepted us because we ARE different, we see the world differently, we see the possibilities that social work can offer us career-wise. I am a transfer student, meaning that I either have a degree already or at least 2 years of another one. Some of my classes have the post-diploma students, they have a diploma in Social Work and are now finishing up the last bit to earn their bachelor's degree. Makes for a nice balance in those classes-we are to learn from each other. Might've been nice to be mixed with the 'regular' degree people. If they take these classes.

A lot of classes use homelessness, addictions, poverty (that goes hand-in-hand with the first two) as the basis for a lot of the theories and practical stuff. I see the need to address why we don't take early developmental concerns seriously. Why is "they'll grow out of it" still prevalent? If these concerns were addressed before preschool when they first show up then a lot of the poverty causes/issues would be addressed and only later developing issues would need to be causes. Some issues from preschool and that era are lifelong and will impact future coping abilities, but a lot of people will be given skills that will lessen the impact.  Sigh. Uphill road it is. I am early interventionist and hear me roar.

If you suspect your child isn't acquiring the motor skills/language or whatever you think they should be able to do by now, insist on seeing a professional who can determine if they are progressing in the general time frame or do in fact need assistance. It is easier to straighten a tree when it is a sapling than when it has a bigger trunk.