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Thursday, September 6, 2007

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Creative Valentine's Day Activities
I have never met a person whose greatest need was anything other than real, unconditional love. You can find it in a simple act of kindness toward someone who needs help. There is no mistaking love. You feel it in your heart. It is the common fiber of life, the flame of that heats our soul, energizes our spirit and supplies passion to our lives. It is our connection to God and to each other.
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

You know the routine, parents shill out millions of dollars each year on Valentine's Card for kids to pass out in their classrooms with the usual mass marketed cartoon figures printed on them. This article will explore some other fun activities that kids and families can do at home and school to celebrate the day of love.
"We never know the love of a parent till we become parents ourselves."
Henry Ward Beecher
One activity that I enjoy in my classroom is making lady lovebug rocks. This is a great activity using supplies that many families and classrooms already have. Many people have small river rocks sitting around their yards. Some yards, like my own are landscaped with small, round river rocks, sometimes referred to as drain field rock. These rocks average from 2 to 5 inches and are generally an oval shape. The school that I teach at has an abundance of these rocks. We go out as a classroom and the kids are able to pick out their favorite rock that they want to turn into a ladybug love rock. The rocks are washed off and allowed to thoroughly dry. The supplies that you will need for this project includes: red, white and black paint (I just use red tempura), brushes, hot glue gun, wiggly eyes (if you don't have wiggly eyes you can just paint the eyes on), pipe cleaners, appliqués of all types (this includes lace, raffia, ribbon, buttons etc.) Put a base coat of red or orange paint on the entire rock and allow to thoroughly dry. You then use black paint to brush on stripes and spots on your ladybugs. Pick out a black pipe cleaner and glue it to the top of the head for the antenna (a hot glue gun works the best here). You can also glue on legs, but I have found this unnecessary. Glue on any other appliqués to make your lady lovebug an expression of your own artistic expression. Allow the project to thoroughly dry. These lady lovebugs make great gifts for Valentines Day and great paperweights!
The great thing about this project is using the project as a catalyst to teach thematically in other subject areas. For music the kids could learn song called the Ladybug Song. It is easy to sing since it is a piggyback song. Piggyback songs are songs that have been keyed to familiar melodies. This makes the song easy to teach and learn.
Ladybug Song
(Sung to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star")
Ladybug, Ladybug
She landed on my nose
I went "kerchoo!" and
Off she flew!
Her body is round with
Big black dots,
My mommy told me
They're called spots.
Ladybug, Ladybug
She looks really neat
With her bright red wings,
And tiny black feet!
For science, I recommend your kids could learn some of these fascinating facts about ladybugs. Read over these fascinating facts with you children and discuss them.
• When the temperature is about 59 degrees Fahrenheit, ladybugs become active.
• Ladybugs hibernate in cold weather.
• Ladybugs are cold blooded.
• The ladybug uses its front legs to clean its head and its antennae.
• Ladybugs lay there eggs where aphids are present.
• There are 350 species of ladybugs in our country.
• Ladybugs go through complete metamorphosis.
• Ladybugs are a beetle.
• All species of ladybugs have short legs. This separates them from other beetles.
• Not all ladybugs are female.
• A ladybug lets out a yellowish liquid when it is mad. The liquid has a bad smell to its predators.
• A ladybug's top flying speed is about fifteen miles per hour.
• The eggs of a ladybug are not visible to the naked eye.
For reading, a couple of books I recommend are The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle and Are You a Ladybug by Judy Allen.
The spiritual meaning of love is measured by what it can do. Love is meant to heal. Love is meant to renew. Love is meant to bring us closer to God.
Deepak Chopra, The Path to Love
For writing you could ask your child to write an expository paper about the steps that they went through to create their ladybugs and to include some facts they learned about ladybugs that they found fascinating. You could even cover math by counting out equations on the six legs of the ladybugs. Use the legs as a math manipulative. You can even create story problems such as this one.
Mary, Heather, Marqueta and Joelle all made one ladybug in class for Valentines Day. How many legs are there if each ladybug has six legs?
The possibilities with story problem math problems are unlimited. Problems can be created to cover all math operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division!
So, there you have it. There is an alternative to the everyday mass-produced cartoon cards that pervade Valentines Day. You certainly can still pass out cards, but adding a creative craft project such as the lady lovebugs to you Valentine's Day festivities will create rewarding, educational and fun activities that you and your children will never forget.
We can only learn to love by loving.
Iris Murdoch

Richard Flowers, AA, BS, MS, AS, CT, is an award winning first grade teacher, author, consultant, artist and musician at Fort Vannoy School in Grants Pass. Richard's avocation is helping others. He is happy to answer all questions and correspondence.
His contact is:
Questions@MultipleIntelligences.citymax.com
His website is at:
www.MultipleIntelligences.citymax.com.


Dare to Achieve and Discover a Daring New You
Forget Christmas, the New Year is fast approaching and with it comes another 12 months of doing what you've always done. Now I'm not sure about you but I know that next year will be different for me.
For a start, I'm not going to undertake a million and one things with deadlines impossible to keep (though I suspect my interest in new projects will get the better of me). Many amazing and interesting things in this world grab my attention, making it easy for me to get sidetracked.
My intention for the New Year is to transcend all previous successes and achieve things previously not considered. I'm curious to know where it will lead me (there's that sidetracking issue again). It's a scary thought but exciting all at once.
Yes, next year sure will be different and amazing.
If you've come through a year filled with boredom, sameness, heartache, yearning, and wish life to be different then consider whether it's now time for you to give yourself a stern talking to about creating change for your highest good.
Some questions you could ask are:
**Are you willing to repeat this year, next year?
**Has the past year provided you with contentment, happiness, success and new friendships?
If yes to the last statement, congratulations! Some years are like that, absolutely fabulous years where you wouldn't change for the world for anything – if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
If the statement is not true, ask:
**How are you going to change things?
**Do you have strategies in place that will ensure you become successful in your endeavors?
**Are you thinking this is another ho hum time of the year when arbitrary New Year's resolutions are made?
Maybe all you want is to go with the flow, and that's okay if deep down that's what you truly want.
What if you motivated challenged or dared you, not by others, by you only?
There have been many times when I've dared myself to do things I wouldn't normally do and have never looked back. That's when I become comfortable with the uncomfortable, for a short while anyway.
Anyone can dare themselves to achieve greatness and it might just be what's needed to kick start the New Year. You never know where it can lead you.
I've listed 7 Dares to choose from should you motivate and dare yourself into initiating an action designed to change your next 12 months in the most amazing way. They are:
1. Dare to be different.
2. Dare to discover who you really are.
3. Dare to let go of the past.
4. Dare to step out of your comfort zone.
5. Dare to ask more questions on how YOU do business.
6. For those on the dating scene - date only those that respect all parts of who you are and accept nothing less.
7. Dare to achieve more.
It's possible one or more points above will resonate with you, in which case write down your preferred challenge in a journal or diary and keep note of how your dare is going. Include who, what, where and when you needed a little external guidance. This will enable you to reflect on your journey as you prepare for the New Year next year.
The road toward contentment, happiness, and success is often challenging, which makes it all the more scary yet exciting – you'll really know you're alive then! The upshot is that you achieve what you set out to do, and you can tell the world you did it your way!
Michaela Scherr Transformational Coach


Easy and Useful Conversation Starters for Couples in a Ru
Easy and Useful Conversation Starters for Couples in a Rut.

Do you feel like the magic in your relationship has just
gone up and went? Do you want to bring the spark back in
your love life? Do you long for the times when you just met
and the stories seem to just come, time just flies by and
you just can't have enough of each other? The problem is
your communication. You already know each other too well and
things seem routinary. Here we have some helpful couples
conversation starters that may just jump start your love
life to turbo mode.
Try a couple or all of these couples conversation starter
tips and see how your relationship goes back to life like
the proverbial phoenix from the ashes:
1) Listen to your mates every word. After the usual "How's
your day?", it's normal to just drone of to your own world
after doing that seemingly obligatory statement. If you
really care about your partner, try to listen for a couple
of nuggets of information that you may expound on later on.
An easy trick that will help you stay totally in focus at
that crucial moment would be to repeat your partner's
account as a question. "The sale didn't push through??"
Saying the words out loud forces you to record their
meaning, and lobbing a question back at your partner
virtually guarantees he'll elaborate on the story. This are
couples conversation starters that helps to focus on your
mate's day and shows you are concerned.
2) Start the banter by telling your partner about your
dreams and tell your partner how he/she is a part of it. Ask
your mate about their dreams too. Then combine your dreams
together. Talk about the good things you want to happen to
you guys and how you think it could be realized. Dream
chasing together is really like making plans about your
future together. It will look like to your partner that
saying you're happy that he/she is in your life and you
plant on keeping the status quo.
3) Play a fantasy like What if game with your partner. This
is like dreaming together but it is more focused on your
partner. Questions like "What if there was only one type of
dish left which one would you want it to be?" or "What if
you won a prize and it's a trip, where would you want to
go?". There is no right or wrong answers to this game. Use
this as a vessel to knowing more about your partners
desires, wants and wishes. Couples conversation starters
like these may help you understand your partner more.
4) Talk about a juicy gossip you guys know. Secrets can be
shared; it is between only the two of you. Contrary to
popular belief, a recent study from the Society for
Personality and Social Psychology shows that men do like to
hear stories about other people as much as women do. These
are special moments because it shows that you trust the
other person in the relationship with a secret. Couples
conversation starters like these crosses the borderline
between sexuality and unites the couple as human beings.
5) Problems are very effective couples conversation
starters. When you share your dilemmas you show that you
trust your partner and you see him/her as a shoulder to cry
on. Your partner will feel respected and needed. As for the
other partner, when a problem is poured unto you, try to
focus on a solution though it is not needed right away since
a solution should be thought over very well. Little
compliments would be effective as a morale booster.
Using these couples conversation starters is not a miracle
drug that would guarantee a lived happily ever after ending,
but they are the first few steps in rehabilitating your
relationship. With dedication and perseverance this will
work, the first step is usually the biggest one.