The Importance of Fun Activities With Your Children

Family Fun Activity  

About a year ago I attended a class on fun and interactive activities with your children.  We began the class by playing with playdough, working puzzles, blowing bubbles and building with blocks.  After we had completed the activities the instructor then showed us all how we had just learned a valuable skill through what we had considered to be playing. 

Our instructor challenged us to look for ways that we could all interact with our children and teach them valuable lessons at the same time.  She encouraged us to stimulate their creativity and praise them for their art work and learning through play. 

After this class was over I began to look for a list of activites.  You can find a list of activities at http://www.familyfunshop.com/100funfamilyactivities.htm.  I also decided that I wasn't going to be that mom that had a spotless refrigerator.  I decided to hang the kids artwork up for everyone to see to show them just how proud I was of them.  Since that time, my husband and I have decided to transform our laundry room into a show casing of their fabulous artwork.  When you have three children, there is no refrigeratior large enough to display their creativity on. 

As a result of the fun activites that I have shared with my children over the last year I now have a seven year old daughter that loves to cook and a nine year old daughter that thinks we should have pedicures, manicures, and and get our hair done everyday. I also have a two year old daughter who has recently gotten into enjoying the fun activities by displaying her creativity on the floors and walls of our new home. 

Below are videos of our recent family fun activity.  The girls enjoyed doing their own hair and make up and picking out a special dress to wear for this activity. We made their all time favorite Mickey Mouse Chocolate Chip Pancakes.  The cost was around fifty cents but the memories and videos will be a priceless treasure for years to come.

I challegne each of you to search for your own family fun activities to do with your children or grandchildren and begin teaching them through fun activities that you will both remember for years to come.

Tomorrow we will be painting the kitchen table and chairs!  Pictures to come!

To Be Native

As a child growing up my parents never talked much about our Native American ancestry.  As a young adult I became extremely curious about my ancestry and all Native Americans.  Over the past 9 years I have expanded my knowledge of tribal organizations and what it means to be Native. 

One of the biggest moments of pride of being Native American came during a ceremony in Washington, DC where the Navajo Code Talker’s were awarded for their dedication. The Navajo Code talkers were an asset to this country.  I felt a sense of pride to be Native American during that presentation.  There were so many wonderful Native Americans that have gone on before us that have left a legacy and sense of pride for us to follow. 

Another moment of understanding came to me when I enrolled in a Native American class in college.  I learned how the Chickasaw tribe related to other tribes all over the world.  During this class we were also taught basic Chickasaw language.  It was wonderful to be able to learn the language of our Native people, even though I’m not Chickasaw I was very excited to be able to learn something that I could pass on to my children and other native children.  I don’t have an extensive use of the language but I certainly know colors, animals, numbers and basic commands.  I taught my two youngest children when they were two and four and now that they are seven and nine, they still remember what they were taught.  If you want to tell your child to quit, walk or sit down try telling them in a different language, I promise that they will think it’s neat and will obey! Below is a video of a language program offered by the Chicakasaw Nation.  

I have had the opportunity to travel across the United States and meet with other tribal organizations and Native Americans but I always feel the proudest when I’m here in Oklahoma with our fellow Native Americans.   

The opportunities that have been presented to me because I am Native American have been invaluable.  I hope that I can impact other Native Americans and provide them with opportunities to learn and grow while also sharing their culture with future generations.

I Want Dave Ramsey to Change my Life

During a visit to our accountant in 2009, I was introduced to the book The Total Money Makeover, written by Dave Ramsey.  After my husband and I had given our accountant our tax information, he reached over grabbed this book off his bookshelf and told my husband and I we should consider reading this book.  While most people would have taken that as a hint, especially since it was coming from an accountant, we put the book on a bookshelf where it has stayed ever since. 

Recently our daughter’s daycare offered a free course on Dave Ramsey’s, Total Money Makeover, which we declined again.  I mean we don’t have time to figure out how to save money.  We both have full-time jobs, my husband is a pastor so that consumes a lot of time, I’m going to school full-time, we have three children that all require a lot of time and two of them play a double header softball  game two nights a week in a town 45 minutes away.  We can’t commit to going to a class one night a week for six weeks.  Now, looking back I understand how irrational that statement really was, but it all made good sense in my head at the time. 

I’m recently became very interested in accepting Dave’s challenge and doing The Total Money Makover.  I have several family members and friends who have accepted the challenge and results that they are seeing are unbelievable.  We have a set of friends that has paid off almost $14,000 worth of debt since September. They have changed the way they eat, shop, and spend money and are happier now than ever before. 

I don’t know what the entire book entails but I can’t wait to jump in and beginning reading and working towards a debt free life for my family so that one day we can pay cash for college and those three weddings that I know will eventually come later down the road. 

Anyone that has accepted the challenge or read the book let me know your thoughts and what your struggles were when you began your challenge. 

What's your shoe?

My daughter recently convinced me to purchase her a new pair of TOMS shoes.  Since there is not a store near us that sale TOMS shoes for children, I turned to the internet to make my purchase.  While browsing the TOMS website I came across the history of TOMS shoes was started, their purpose, and what countries they currently donate shoes to.  For those of you that might be unaware, TOMS shoes started in 2006 and they promise to donate one pair of shoes to a child in need of shoes for every pair of shoes purchased.See the interview with the founder, Blake Mycoskie, below.  Sounds like a great way to give to those in need while also getting a pair for yourself, your child or someone else.  TOMS shoes have become very popular over the last 5 years and other companies are trying/have tried to mirror the TOMS project and shoes.

Once I read the history of TOMS shoes, it spiked my curiosity to find out about the history of the BOBS shoes that Skechers has out.  During my research I found that BOBS shoes were almost identical to the TOMS and Skechers also promised to donate a pair of shoes to a child in need with each purchase.  There were numerous articles on the internet that accused Skechers of mocking TOMS by creating the BOBS.  Many people seemed to have an issue with Skechers trying to “rip” off TOMS by creating the BOBS to sale at a cheaper price.  The argument seemed to deal more with the issue that TOMS was trying to do a charitable deed and Skechers tried to steal TOMS idea.  Although I couldn’t find a specific statement verifying that Skechers has pulled BOBS from internet sales, the BOBS website is no longer available and I couldn’t locate BOBS on the Skecher website. 

Have you ever heard of Paez? Paez is another company that I ran across during my research.  Paez shoes have the same basic design as both TOMS and BOBS.  Paez are cheaper than TOMS and since I couldn’t locate the BOBS site, I’m unsure of how they relate in price.  Paez does not promise to give a pair to child in need for every pair purchased, but guarantees that their shoes are 100% from Argentina products and made by the Argentine people.

There you have it, three very similar pairs of shoes from three different companies.  What is your choice of shoes?  Do you choose a more expensive pair of shoes simply because they are the brand TOMS or because they donate a pair of shoes to a child in need?  Do you choose the brand BOBS that so many blame for trying to steal the TOMS idea because they might be cheaper? Do you chose a brand that is cheaper and made by the Argentine people from Argentina products even though they don’t donate a pair of shoes to a child in need.  I want to hear from you!

After contemplating which brand I would prefer, I decided that TOMS is still the brand that I would purchase.  I was most impressed with the large number of shoes they sale each year and turn around and donate to children in need. 

To read more about TOMS shoes visit  www.toms.com and to read more about Paez shoes visit www.paezshoes.com.

Blog 3

In Robert Bringhurst’s article “Why There Are Pages and Why They Must Turn,” he describes how books have advanced in the way they are published throughout the years.  At the time the article was written electronic books were just beginning to appear.  Bringhurst believed, “[t]he forms in which books have thrived [included] oral poetry, the manuscript, letterpress and the lithographic illustrated book.” Being three years since Bringhurst wrote this article and the technology advancements that took place during that time we can safely add electronic books to the list of those that have thrived.  But is there a difference in the way these different forms of books have transitioned over the years?

I feel that the transition from storytelling to print was equally a detrimental step as well as an advancement for books. With the transition from storytelling to print, the writer’s emotions can be lost even though with the print the reader is encouraged to use their own imagination while reading.

  Storytelling is a gift that is placed upon an individual to share a story by bringing it to life for the audience.  The audience is allowed to paint a picture of the story in their mind; however, the expressions and emotions are set by the story teller.  The storyteller can exaggerate certain areas diminish others according to their audience.  With the transition from storytelling to print, the tone in which the writer wanted to present the book can be lost. 

As much as I enjoy hearing stories, I like to read them for myself as well.  The advancement from storytelling to print was a milestone in literacy and education.  Having a book in print was an encouragement too many to learn to read and having a printed copy would allow them to read over and over again.  It also gave individuals a chance to be creative in their reading by allowing them to choose which parts they wanted to emphasis and what tone they would read in. 

In my opinion, the transition from paper to electronic is much different than the transition from storytelling to print.  The transition from paper to electronic offers a variety of benefits to the reader while also being able to add back some previous benefits that were taken away by the print.

The electronic reading makes it easier for an individual to store books and have them more readily available.  Being able to read the electronic books repetitively and reading from your own perspective are also benefits to the electronic form.  For me the best part about the electronic books is that they can “be threaded with sound files” (Bringhurst 25).  Having an elderly grandfather who has almost lost complete eyesight has helped me to appreciate the new electronic books that have sound as well.  It allows individuals that cannot see a chance to listen and enjoy books. 

The changes in book forms over the years have offered advantages and disadvantages, but overall I believe that each form is still very appropriate in society today depending upon the situation and setting. 

Works Cited

Bringhurst, Robert and Heriot Bay.  “Why There Are Pages and Why They Must Turn.”  World

Literature Today.  Sep/Oct 2008, Vol. 82 Issue 5. pp 20-26. 23 February 2011.  <http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/eds/detail?hid=23&sid=0894d0eb-6d8b-4d1c>.

Blogging Response

In response to David Hudson’s articles on blogging he poses a very persuasive point and counterpoint.  In “School Officials Don’t Have Authority to Regulate Students’ Off-Campus Blogging,” Hudson’s main point is, students have a right to express themselves under the protection of the First Amendment without consequences from school officials.  In “School Officials Should Have Broad Leeway to Regulate Student Blogs and Student Online Speech,” Hudson counterpoints that if school officials aren’t allowed to regulate student blogs we will continue to see an increase in cyber bullying, violence and teen suicide.

I agree that we are all entitled to our right of freedom of speech as United States citizens.  I also agree and recognize that children are citizens and are entitled to these rights as well; however, I do not feel that children are mature enough to understand the complexity of this amendment and therefore should be monitored.  Most students understand that they have the right of freedom of speech, but I bet if you ask a student who has lost a law suit due to a threat they placed online, many of them will say they weren’t aware they were breaking a law.  If school officials aren’t allowed to monitor and punish students for inappropriate blogging relating to the school, think about the problems schools will start encountering as a result.  Schools will no longer be run by school administration or a school board; instead the students will be the one running the school.  If students are allowed to blog disrespectfully about peers and school administration without consequences, we will see a rise in the number of students that begin blogging this way.  After time it will turn into school administration fearing students and therefore a decrease in public educators. 

Parents and school officials have an obligation to teach children appropriate blogging for the safety of everyone.  Hudson provides Arapahoe High School’s blogging policy in his counterpoint to show schools are already stepping up to the challenge of addressing blogging before an issue arises.  To read the policy, visit the school’s website at http://arapahoe.littletonpublicschools.net.  Listed under curriculum is the school’s blogging guideline.  Each school should have a blogging policy that has been approved by the State Board of Education.  The policy should be specific about what instances are not tolerated and the punishment that will be received for such offenders. If states and schools will become proactive in addressing such instances, then most offenses will never reach a court. 

Hudson’s counterpoint that “School Officials Should Have Broad Leeway to Regulate Student Blogs and Student Online Speech” was more persuasive in my opinion.  Hudson provided more evidence that by not allowing school officials to regulate student blogging a larger threat was occurring to a majority of people.

In conclusion to my thoughts and response to Hudson’s articles, I would like to point out one final observation.  Students and parents who argue that schools shouldn’t be allowed to regulate blogs are merely thinking about themselves and their rights; however, those arguing that schools should be able to regulate blogging are thinking of a larger percentage of the population. These individuals are trying to prevent bullying, violence and suicide from affecting their community.

Works Cited

Hudson, David. “Blogging.” New York: Chelsea House: 2008. 8 Feb. 2011 <http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/lib/sooner/docDetail.action?docID=10284452>.

First Blog Assignment

In George Orwell’s essay on “Politics and the English Language,” he explains how Modern English has developed bad writing habits that continue to spread.  He urges writers to take the necessary steps in preventing those bad habits from reflecting in their own writings; allowing a more accurate understanding.   Orwell argues that the English language has evolved into writings that leave the reader unclear of what is being said through the use of similes, metaphors and long “ready-made phrases.” 

I agree with Orwell’s argument about the overuse of metaphors, similes, “ready-made phrases” and long drawn out sentences with alternate meanings.  I do not recall a particular example, however, I remember times when I have read information and by the end of the sentence I was so confused I couldn’t remember the beginning.  I would always blame my lack of understanding on my lack of college education.  Thinking back about those times it makes me wonder if my lack of understanding was simply my lack of education or the writer’s use of the bad habits Orwell mentioned. 

Though I agree that politics has played an important role in the evolvement of the English language, I would like to present another possibility as well.  What if writers aren’t simply imitating the bad habits they view in other writer’s papers, but actually taught to write this way?  Although I was always taught to express my thoughts clearly in high school, I was also taught that the use of a good simile could be very effective.  Maybe the bad habits that Orwell wrote about in his essay began in politics, but suppose now this is simply the way we are teaching and being taught to write.  I understand that the writings we complete in high school are far less intellectual than the papers we complete in college, but doesn’t the way we learn to write in high school lay the foundation for college?  The bad habits of writing that Orwell wrote about may have been taught without an understanding that they teaching a bad habit. We see from Orwell’s examples that many profound authors include these bad habits in their writings and we can assume that if they were aware they were writing using bad habits that they would change their wording.

Perhaps if we want to see the English language restored, then we should make sure that our educators are aware that the bad habits Orwell wrote about are bad habits and should not be taught as a way of writing.