101 Ways to Praise Your Child

Yesterday I gave you 101 ways to be a child. Now, today, I give you 101 ways to praise your child:

Wow, Way to go, Super, You’re Special, Outstanding, Excellent, Great, Good, Neat, Well Done, Remarkable, I knew you could do it, I’m proud of you, Fantastic, Super Star, Nice work, Looking good, You’re on top of it, Beautiful, Now you’re flying, You’re catching on, Now You’ve got it, You’re incredible, Bravo, You’re fantastic, Hurray for you, You’re on target, You’re on your way, How nice, How smart, Good job, That’s incredible, Hot dog, Dynamite, You’re beautiful, You’re unique, Nothing can stop you now, Good for you, I like you, You’re a winner, Remarkable job, Beautiful work, Spectacular, You’re spectacular, You’re darling, You’re precious, Great discovery, You’ve discovered the secret, You figured it out, Fantastic job, Hip, hip, hurray, Bingo, Magnificent, Marvelous, Terrific, You’re important, Phenomenal, You’re sensational, Super work, Creative job, super job, Out of this world, Exceptional performance, You’re a real trooper, You are responsible, You are exciting, You learned it right, What an imagination, What a good listener, You are fun, You’re growing up, You tried hard, You care, Beautiful sharing, Outstanding performance, You’re a good friend, I trust you, You’re important, You mean a lot to me, You make me happy, you belong, You’ve got a friend, You make me laugh, You brighten my day, Good listening, I respect you, You mean the world to me, That’s correct, You’re a joy, You’re a treasure, You’re wonderful, You’re perfect, Awesome, A+ job, You’re A-O-K my buddy, You made my day, That’s the best, A big hug, A big kiss, “I love you.”

PS: Remember, a smile is worth 1000 words!

A Zest For Life

I am writing this to women but it could be adapted to a man with the use of a little imagination on his part.

We all know women who have that “special glow.” They can walk in a room and people feel better. People are drawn to these women like bees to a flower; attracted by their joyous attitudes and loving smiles. These women are not party girls nor are they necessarily beautiful. Such women are often quiet and you would not look twice at them in a crowd. But there is something that draws you to these kind of women. They warm your heart—make you feel better about life. These women embrace life with their whole hearts—with passion!

Ask yourself: Am I a woman of passion? Do I embrace life with my whole heart? Do I love God with all of my being? Or, do I hang back, lukewarm and afraid to fully commit myself to the adventure of living? Here are some ways you can embrace life and cultivate passion:

1) Appreciate life itself. Enjoy the details of God’s Creation. Rejoice in the small things as well as the large. Look around you and see how amazing and wondrous life is.
2) Seek out new experiences. Live your life as an adventure—never let it become a routine chore. Always be open to learning something new.
3) Be active, not passive. Don’t sit around and let life pass you by. Join in. Don’t sit back and complain. Get up out of your chair and play. Try an experiment. See if you can go 24 hours without complaining. Then, make a gratitude list with the title “I Am Thankful For…”on a sheet of paper with three headings underneath the title and across the top: “Things,” “People,” “Other.” List what you are thankful for as they apply to each heading. After you have made your list, read it four times in a twenty-four hour period. Really try to sense the gratitude you should feel for all that you have.
4) Cultivate beauty. Plant a garden. Put flowers on your kitchen table. Buy something you consider lovely and wear it proudly. Go to a museum or and art gallery. Take up a new hobby such as painting or quilting. Create beauty as well as enjoying it.
5) Reach out to others. Smile often. Get to know people who are different from you . Appreciate and enjoy their differences. Really listen when you are in a conversation. Give each person your full attention—including your children and your husband. Show affection. Be encouraging.
6) Add spice and color to your days. Try new foods, new recipes from exotic places. Learn new forms of exercise. Get in touch with your body. Stretch your body. Break up your routine. Surprise your husband by planning a date. Give him a gift for no occasion— “just because….” Be spontaneous and do something fun on the spur of the moment.
7) Lighten up. In other words cultivate your sense of humor. Laugh more. Take to heart the biblical command to “Rejoice in the Lord always.”
8) Share your blessings with others.
9) Never be afraid to be passionate about your faith. Love God with your whole heart, mind, body, and spirit. He will be your never-failing source of passion and zest for life.

Here are just a few things you might consider doing: 1) Sign up for a class in a subject that intrigues you. 2) Create a new recipe. 3) Try a new restaurant or order a new dish the next time you go out to eat. 4) Throw a party for all your friends—just to celebrate life. 5) Read a travel book or adventure story. 6) Plan a trip to an exotic locale that you would love to see.

How will doing any or all of the above apply to strengthening your family? Well, let me just say, “If mamma ain’t happy there ain’t nobody goin’ to be happy.” Or as my husband says, “Happy wife, happy life.” Or, “When your cup is full, you can better share with others.” (Please note that some of my thoughts come from inspiration from a little book entitled, “Checklist for Life For Women, pp. 158-160)

A Project With Each of Your Children or Grandchildren

Yesterday, I had a delightful time in an effort to complete a five-generation pedigree chart on a few of my family lines. The time spent was so pleasurable that I was amazed that five hours had passed without even an urge to eat or sleep or move around. Now, this morning, the thought struck me for a wonderful activity with your children.

Why not prepare a pedigree chart for each of them to display in their bedroom. One could make it as simple or as eloquent (with pictures, etc.) as desired. The fun of doing it together is what I am envisioning. There are so many internet sites that would enable you to find records and pictures of ancestors. I found success by Googling names that I knew and wallaaaa… there was the name. Of course, not every name was easy to find, but I did have lots of success. In fact, just for fun, I followed one name through and it carried me almost exactly to 1000 AD! (Of course I had to write them all down on the back of my poster-size pedigree chart for future reference.)

I am confident your children will be amazed with the names, dates and places of birth and deaths that you will find about your ancestors. I can’t wait to tell my Rachael Ann about an ancestor with the name of Rachel Ann Canarda. She was born in Tennessee in 1813. I didn’t even know we had ancestors from Tennessee!

Anyway, you get the idea I hope. Spend some pleasurable time making these pedigree charts with your children or grandchildren and I know you’ll never have any regrets.

Another Activity for Summertime Fun

We’ll call this “Library Book Hunt.” This activity will help keep your child’s reading skills up to par for the return to school in the fall. Here’s what you do. On a 3 x 5 card make a form that says “In the library, I want to find a book about: (Then list the following) an animal, an athlete, a detective, a monster, a mystery, an outer space adventure, United States History, a scientist, a famous person, a family, a holiday, a place I would like to travel, an ocean adventure, and other (child’s choice). Now, make as many cards as there are children and give one to each of them. Have them put their names on their cards. Then, by the subject they wish to borrow a book about, have them put a check mark. It’s now time to go to the library.

Ask the librarian to explain the basic layout of the room, then let your children inspect the shelves until they each find the type of book they indicated they wanted on their 3 x 5 card.

This would be a really nice one-on-one activity for mom or dad to go on with just one child at a time. Repeat visits during the summer would help your child complete the project I described on May 7, 2010.

We’ll make good readers out of them yet!

Penelope Leach, Ph.D. (Psychologist and author of Your Baby and Child) said, “If you’ve been around kids, particularly young kids, for any length of time, [you know] it’s absolutely true that all the most important things in life are learned through play.”

Now, my question is, is there enough play going on when a child sits in front of a television or a video game? Kids are mesmerized by television and video games. Thus, stuck to the “Boob tube,” they make less demands on their parents time and this gives parents the freedom to play the things they want to play. Ahhh! Could this be true? Yes, I’ve been there and done that. Perhaps not consciously, but the T.V. can be a great babysitter. Is that really what you want for your child--your grandchild? If so, then read no further. If you want a list of things you and your child can do to minimize time spent in front of the screen, here’s some things your child and you can do together:
1) As my mother-in-law used to call it, “water your toes.” Turn on the hose, fill a bucket, paint the sidewalk with water, make handprints with water, splash water. Use a cup and count how many cups of water are in the bucket 2) As you kick a ball, feel the wind in your face or the warm sun on your face, neck, head. 3) Chase each other. Include friends in a game of tag. 4) Have a tea party—even with your son(s). Dress up and let children pretend they’re adults. 5) Learn how to bounce and dribble a ball. 6) Wear each other out learning how to jump rope again. 7) Lift up rocks and boards and find creatures under them. Look at them through a magnifier. 8) Catch grasshoppers, frogs, lady bugs, ants. What do their bodies feel like—smooth, slimy, rough? 9) Make some mud and squish your hands and toes in it. Make mud pies. Let the mud dry on your skin. How does it feel. (I was just thinking the children are such a wonderful excuse to play and be a kid again.) 10) Find caterpillars and learn about them as you touch them. 11) Pull up grass by its roots and eat the white end of the root and pretend that you’ll never run out of food as long as there’s “grass-root soup” to be made. (Make sure no chemicals or fertilizers have put on the lawn recently.) 12) Blow up balloons and then let the air out slowly. Be animated by the sounds they make. Let them fly. 13) Fill balloons with water and...you know the rest. Does your child? 14) Roll and tumble on the ground. This will lead to acrobatics. 15) Play in sand—make sandcastles, sift sand, bury each other in the sand. 16) Play on swings and gliders. Talk about what going high does to the tummy. 17) Have jumping time and hopping time and skipping time. 18) Find a hill (not too big) and roll down it. 19) Take turns being pulled in a wagon. Carry treasures in a wagon. 20) Find a little stream or ditch and let different things float down it. What things float or sink? 21) Practice taking turns drinking water from a hose, crossing tricky bars, going down slides, putting pieces to a puzzle together. 22) Get large boxes and have fun pretending you’re in a spaceship, a car, a jail, a boat, etc. 23) In winter, make snowmen, angels in the snow, catch snowflakes on your tongue but never stick your tongue on frozen metal. 24) In Spring, take a close look at blossoms from a tree. 25) In summer, enjoy fresh produce from a garden you work together on. 26) In Fall, study leaves and critters that are preparing for winter.

In conclusion, Just play for the joy of it all. Oh, and check out www.intermountainlive.org for some humorous reminders about our lifestyles.