Tips for Teens – 10 Ways to Start Loving Your Body!
September 2, 2010 by Writing for Children
Filed under Blog
Tips for Teens is a monthly column from Debra Beck, Author of
My Feet Aren’t Ugly, A Girl’s Guide to Loving Herself from the Inside Out
Oh, For the Love of Our Bodies!
I can’t remember ever liking my body. My poor body, the judgment it must feel. “You’re not skinny enough, you’re not tone enough, not tall enough, not shapely enough, you’re stomach is poochy”. Hearing these words every time I walk by a mirror, trying on cloths, looking at the models in magazines, it’s enough to make my body want to run and hide. Run and hide away from me, because I am the one with all of the judgments. It appears as if the judgments are coming from the outside, but I am the one letting them in and confirming them.
Picture a young child with someone she really loves, and now picture this person saying these harsh words “You’re not skinny enough, you’re not tone enough, not tall enough, not shapely enough”. OUCH! These thoughts and words hurt. Imagine how this child would feel. The feelings she might feel could be unimportance, worthlessness, loneliness, shame, and embarrassment. Can you imagine having a child and making her feel this way? Of course not, so why is okay to make yourself feel this way. We need to treat ourselves like our own little girl. Handle her with care.
Loving my body is something I work on everyday. I do this by first realizing that my body is a gift, a beautiful gift to get me around for my stay on this earth. I have to have an understanding that it needs to be healthy and strong for this stay, not be prettier then other girls to do this job. I also need to realize that judging my body does not make my body prettier or make me feel better about myself, it only damages my self-esteem.
So, what is it that we need to do to love our bodies and not judge them? Here are a few tips to help you create or maintain a healthy body image:
1. Know that real beauty comes from the inside. What makes you shine comes from who you are, not what you look like.
2. Appreciate your body for carrying you through this journey on earth, praise your body for what it can do- walk, run, sing, laugh, play sports. I could go on and on.
3. Embrace those parts of your body that you don’t like, tell them everyday you love them. Like you would if you had a daughter with something she disliked about herself. You would try to strengthen the parts she disliked.
4. Focus on what you love about yourself, not what you don’t like.
5. Don’t bad talk yourself; keep your thoughts about yourself positive.
6. Take care of yourself, eat healthy, exercise do nice things for yourself, read a book, relax, take a bath, pamper yourself.
7. Be around people that treat you well, and like you for who you are.
8. Don’t feel like you have to follow the fads, dress the way you want to make you feel good about your body.
9. Don’t buy into the media telling you your body has to look a certain way to be attractive.
10. Every time someone, or something (TV) says something negative about your body or someone else’s, repeat this mantra “I love myself just the way I am, and I am perfect!”
SIMON SAYS – Tips for Teachers: Author Visits Part Ten – Scheduling and Equipment
September 1, 2010 by Writing for Children
Filed under Blog, Simon Says
The author will normally have planned his workshops and presentations before his arrival at the school, but make sure you discuss a schedule for the visit with the author as well. Ask them how long his sessions usually run for, the audience sizes the author prefers, if there will be time for questions, any dietary needs the author may have if you are providing any meals and if he has any audio-visual requirements. The author may be uncomfortable being photographed or filmed, so make sure you ask about that, too.
At a school familiar with author visits, everything is usually well handled. However, it is not unknown for a school to have arranged too many sessions, allowing no time for students to get in and out of the library, gymnasium or wherever the author is presenting. The author may also be unpleasantly surprised at the size of an audience. Let’s say his presentation is very interactive and requires participation from the students. This may be ideal with up to a hundred children or even with a single class, but could be less than perfect if the author is unexpectedly faced with a group of three hundred or more. The author may have specific presentations for different age ranges, or ones for which he uses different props, so make sure you let the author know if your school prefers those particular sessions, so he doesn’t show up without the right materials.
Journaling Nature
August 31, 2010 by Writing for Children
Filed under Blog, teaching tips
Charlotte Mason’s Ideas
I have written before about Charlotte Mason, a nineteenth-century educator, and her views on the importance of giving children a well-rounded education. Therefore, in addition to presenting the regular core academic subjects, she also advocated exposing children to living books, poetry, classical music, fine art, Shakespeare, nature study, etc. In a (very simplified) nutshell, Miss Mason’s vision was to foster a ‘love of learning’ in all children and give them a liberal (broad) education, regardless of their economic background or social class. Today, I’d like to explore her suggestion that students spend as much time out of doors discovering the nature around them, and that they record their findings in a nature diary or journal—basing their entries on what they see, hear, touch and smell, rather than what they read about in textbooks.
Why Nature Study?
Many teachers and parents think that nature study is a great idea, but they also feel it is just too impractical and difficult to work it into the learning schedule. I agree that while it takes time to prepare the children for an outing, decide on a place to go, and actually keep up with everyone as they explore, the result is worth the effort. And in fact, nature study forms the basis of more extensive nature and science studies later on; the students have a knowledge base to build upon. Plus, most children have a great curiosity about the world around them—they just need to have this innate interest encouraged.
Realistically, nature study doesn’t have to be difficult or too orchestrated. It can be as simple as watching birds build a nest, identifying leaves that have fallen to the ground, or watching as a butterfly emerges from a cocoon. As Catherine Levison, a ‘Charlotte Mason method’ proponent and writer states, “…Charlotte Mason strongly insists on children being outside daily and that makes nature observation become unavoidable. Even without deliberate effort children will learn about the natural world if they are provided ample time to experience it first hand.”
Observe and Explore
Once the children find something that ‘strikes their fancy,’ let them use their senses to become familiar with the specimen, object, or topic. A good field journal might also provide more information if the parent/teacher needs identification assistance, but in my opinion, very young children are simply content with discovery, observation, and very basic knowledge. However, if a group/family prefers a more structured form of nature study, there are many books that provide a scope and sequence or outline of suitable topics for all ages. One of the most popular books on the subject is The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock, a huge tome of information and nature lessons, which was first released in 1911.
Other choices include:
The Kid’s Nature Book: 365 Indoor/Outdoor Activities and Experiences by Susan Milord
Nature For the Very Young: A Handbook of Indoor and Outdoor Activities by Marcia Bowden
Small Wonders: Nature Education for Young Children by Linda Garrett
Journaling Nature
After the exploration phase, a great way to preserve knowledge (and the memory) is to record the findings in a nature notebook or journal. Once again, this can be as simple as using notebook paper in a three-ring binder or a composition book, or as ornate as creating a handmade journal and using high quality watercolors and page protectors. The possibilities are endless, and the process is just as vast. It truly depends on the child, the age level, artistic capabilities, or how much time the parent/educator wants to allow for the project.
The child might make a simple drawing or sketch of what he has seen, then perhaps color it with crayons, markers, colored pencils or paint to make it more realistic. He can label the drawing/parts with both the common and scientific (Latin names), genus and species. The location, date and weather or temperature might be included as reference. Other ideas are leaf rubbings, or gluing down flowers, twigs, bark, feathers, or photos taken on the outing. Descriptions, measurements, and impressions are all good to record as well, if applicable. It is also a wonderful idea to revisit and rethink the topic or specimen at different seasons in order to make comparisons. There is no one right way to create a natural journal, and each child’s journal will be as unique and special as he is!
Resources
Here are some sites/blogs that explain in great detail or give ideas on how to create a nature journal:
http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/p/nature-journals.html
http://www.squidoo.com/cmnaturestudy
http://www.art-made-easy.com/nature-journal.html
http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/environmental/matsumoto.htm
http://www.helium.com/items/924142-making-a-nature-journal
http://www.highlightskids.com/magazine/August08/h10808natureJournal.asp
Ready-Made Nature Journals or Books About Nature Journals
Ready-made journals or scrapbooks are also available to those who want the convenience. In addition, there are many choices and samples of individual nature journals that are sure to inspire and give you lots of ideas. Below are a few suggestions:
My Nature Journal by Adrienne Olmstead
Nature Log Kids: A Kid’s Journal to Record Their Nature Experiences by DeAnna Brandt
A Backyard Nature Drawing Guide by Douglas S. Farnham
The Country Diary of An Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden
Nature Journal by Clare Walker Leslie
Drawn to Nature Through the Journals of Clare Walker Leslie
Exploring nature and creating journals to record what they find is an excellent way for children to process the world around them. Charlotte Mason wrote in her book, Home Education (Vol. 1), “Consider, too, what an unequalled mental training the child-naturalist is getting for any study or calling under the sun — the powers of attention, of discrimination, of patient pursuit, growing with his growth, what will they not fit him for?” (p. 61).
Yes, nature study and creating nature journals or notebooks does take time and require a bit of effort on the part of the parent/educator. But young children who are given this gift will benefit greatly in so many ways. Appreciating the beauty of nature and learning about the world around them should ideally be an important, and enjoyable, part of every child’s education!
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Amy M. O’Quinn is a pastor’s wife and former schoolteacher-turned-homeschool mom of six. She is also a contributing editor for the National Writing for Children Center. Find out more about Amy on our staff page or visit her website at amyoquinn.com.
Enter To Win FREE Books in This Week’s Book Giveaway!
August 30, 2010 by Writing for Children
Filed under Blog
All this week you can enter the drawing for this week’s Book Giveway just by leaving a comment here at our blog. Each time you leave a comment, your name will be entered into the drawing.
Next Sunday, we’ll draw from all the names and give away some delightful picture books from children’s author Margot Finke. We’ll be giving away 2 copies of Ruthie and the Hippo’s Fat Behind and 1 copy of Rattlesnake Jam.
Winners of Our Book Giveaway – The Father’s Are Coming Home!
August 29, 2010 by Writing for Children
Filed under Blog
Congratulations to the following winners of last week’s Book Giveway. Each of these winners will receive a copy of The Father’s Are Coming Home. The books will be mailed this week!
The winners are:
Kathleen Moulton
Tracy Heyer
Cathy C. Hall
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We have a new Book Giveway this week. To enter the giveway, just leave a comment here at our blog any day this week. Each time you leave a comment, your name is entered into the drawing! Check the right sidebar of our homepage for information about the books we’ll be giving away this week.
