In this age of computers and smart phones, reading to your child is more important than ever. Studies show that technology has made people lonelier than ever.
After scanning a recent grocery flyer, I was surprised to see an ad for boxed lunches for kids. Are parents that busy? Making lunch for your child is Parenting 101.
I guess I shouldn’t have been so surprised in an age when 4 year olds hold Apple ipads instead of parents’ hands because parents are too busy to spend time with them.
Sadly we have gone from latchkey children to surrogate parenting. There has got to be a better way.
We’ve forgotten the lesson of Covid. Relationships matter. Our time with our children matters.
One of the truest predictors of future success is the amount of reading that children do at a young age. The amount of time children read and are read to predicts whether they will be successful.
I was surprised to get an email from Etsy asking if I wanted to “opt out of Father’s Day” emails. According to the Census Bureau 18.4 million children live without a father in the United States. Seems that some men have opted out being involved in their children’s lives. But opting out seems like a “cop out” and doesn’t address the bigger problem.
Fathers who do not live with their children have an impact by their absence. Their children have higher rates of homelessness, incarceration and drug addiction.
Every time I visit Hillsboro Lighthouse and see the statue of the “Barefoot Mailman” I think about my father who faithfully served the Postal Service.
Men don’t have to be perfect but involved. Children need positive male role models who are actively involved in their lives. Building time with your child builds self confidence.
The pandemic has been especially hard on children. They need help navigating the challenges they face. Peers are a poor substitute. Because of social media, most children spend more time with their peers than with either of their parents. Kids are not the only ones addicted to social media. Parents are often distracted as well. It takes a conscious and consistent effort.
My art is shaped by my childhood trips to Fort George Island with my father. My passion for history and the ocean began early. While my father fished, I played on the jetties and splashed on the beach with my siblings.
Look for everyday opportunities to spend time with your child. Try to see the world from your child’s perspective. Try sharing activities like going to the store, shopping, preparing food, playing games and discussing their interests.
Summer is a great time to spend with your child. They may be more open to spending time with you.
Have breakfast outside with your children minus the phones.
Play family board games.
Take a nature walk together.
Create a family playlist.
Plan a road trip together.
Time with your child creates lifetime memories that will help anchor them throughout their lives and remind them just how important they are to you.
Improved Academic Performance: Studies show that there is a correlation between art and other achievement.
“Dear Jackson,
I hear you’re having trouble in school. Forget about that place. Why don’t you join me in New York? If you’re serious about becoming an artist, this is the place to be anyway. You can study at the Art Students League….”
Jackson Pollock is the most challenging and influential American artist of the 20th century. He was the “first action” painter, meaning he would drip, pour, throw, and splash his paint onto very large canvases which he laid flat on the floor. He is nicknamed “Jack the Dripper.”
He was born in Cody, Wyoming and grew up in Arizona and California. He studied painting at Manual Arts High School, Los Angeles. He dropped out after being encouraged to move to New York by his older brother. He studied under Thomas Hart at the Art Students League.
Native Americans have lived in Maine for thousands of years. Today the four Maine Tribes are the Maliseet, Micmac, Penobscot, and Passamaquoddy known as the Wabanaki.
The State of Maine has a great kids website complete with games, coloring sheets and interesting programs and fun facts about Maine’s wildlife.
While Maine is famous for lobster, Maine has a variety of black bears, moose, puffin, etc. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has compiled a list of fun animal tracks for bobcats, mountain lions, coyotes and more for children to explore.
There are a variety of cool programs for youth. During IndigenousHeritage Month, Maine offers a Native American Essay Program for Maine’s student residents. Essays are reviewed by a panel of judges, who will select top entries for middle and high schoolers.Deadline for submission is November 12.
On my first visit to Paris, I stayed at the Hotel de la Tulipe, a wonderful inn located near the Eiffel Tower. I traveled with a group of artists headed to Monet ‘s Garden in Giverny, France.
Grab, your flip flops and imagination. Explore Miami Beach’s Art Deco District through the eyes of a child in this delightful coloring book.
During my stay at the hotel, I befriended the Inn Keeper who told me about his creative and compassionate 5 year old. It seems his son wanted to make signs so tourists would not get lost in Paris. He showed me photos of the drawings.
The next day, I gave the Inn Keeper a copy of my Art Deco coloring book, “Splash and Color,” for his son. The following day much to my surprise, he told me his son had almost finished the coloring book and was researching the Internet to see what the actual buildings looked like.
Children have an insatiable curiosity. I’m glad my coloring book inspired this young Parisian.
Explore my a new website to see this coloring book, creative lesson plans and art.
According to an article in the New York’s Times “Remote school may be attend to dropping out… “ The article lists a lot of data to discourage Black and Latino parents from homeschooling without addressing obvious reasons besides Covid that these parents are opting to home school.
After years of being ignored by school systems, these parents are tired of discriminatory tactics by the educational system. It’s a system that often degrades students of color and ignores parental concerns about racial insensitivity of teachers. School books and curriculum reinforce this narrative by routinely overlooking the contributions of non-whites.
All the data in the world will not convince parents whose children have faced bias treatment. This article in the New York Times proves that the educational experts are “tone death.”
Studies consistently show that parental involvement in education is critical to a child’s success.
I’m delighted to read about the recent trend in Black Home Schooling. I’m for anything that empowers parents to take charge of their children’s education.
As a certified Scholastic teacher, I was taught that parents are their children’s first teacher. I really didn’t need a certificate to tell me that. It’s common sense.
Children learn how to talk and other early skills from their parents. If the pandemic has taught us anything, most parents are up to the challenge of educating their children.
The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character- that is the goal of true education. Martin Luther King, Jr.
While schools traditionally played a key role in literacy, parents are a child’s first teacher and can inspire a love of reading.
Modern jobs demand a high level of literacy. I’m not talking about scanning or skimming an article on the internet.
According to the National Institute for Literacy, the ability to read, write and speak in English, compute and solve problems are the what literacy is about.
Literacy is the foundation of a democratic society and strong families are the foundation of any successful society. Without both we are in peril.
Multicultural Art 4 Kids 