A Little Thanks-Giving

Posted on November 17, 2006 by moonbridgebooks

This year we will have a small Thanksgiving celebration. We will not be traveling. No relatives will be visiting us, other than my mother. That’s the way it can go when you’ve moved away from all immediate family. Even our high school daughter will be an unpredictable guest due to a “must attend” school football game. Being a vegetarian, the traditional dinner is more than a little appalling to her anyway.

Oh, well. We will gather, probably during a pro-football halftime, and give thanks for all the blessings in our lives. And there are many. So many that we usually take them for granted. It’s good to actually stop and give name to some of them. Yes, we in America are spoiled – rotten, I think – compared to a great many people in other countries.

This Thanksgiving we’ll go around the table and each say one thing we are thankful for, and say a prayer for the multitudes who have so much less. Although the company will be sparse, we will not really be “alone,” but all together. Family, small as it might be (or imperfect as it might be), is a blessing.

May your Thanksgiving be filled with blessings.

Linda Austin
“Cherry Blossoms in Twilight”
http://www.moonbridgebooks.com
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Politics and Children

Posted on November 10, 2006 by moonbridgebooks

With the elections over we can all relax and answer the phone again. The Democrats have come on strong and we now face an interesting prospect watching them (especially Nancy Pelosi!) work with President Bush. Just prior to the election I had interesting discussions with my kids about some of the candidates and the many amendments that would be on my ballot. I tend to be a middle-of-the-road person so I thought I did a pretty good job explaining the pros and cons. With my fourth grader and her friend I had to explain what it meant to be a Republican or Democrat. They decided there were good points about each side. With the amendments I had to play the devil’s advocate to get the kids thinking beyond what their first instincts were.

If you can explain evenhandedly the pros and cons of issues or candidates, you do a valuable service to your kids by teaching them to think things through thoroughly. I think it is also important to explain to them that they ought to take everything they read or hear with a grain of salt. This certainly holds true for political ads!

Linda Austin
“Cherry Blossoms in Twilight”
http://www.moonbridgebooks.com
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Writing Skills for Children

Posted on November 3, 2006 by moonbridgebooks

At the St. Louis Big Read celebration earlier this month, I discovered a unique book that encourages parents and children to write together. Family Writes: Parenting with Pens, Pencils, and PCs is written by clinical psychologist Joel Epstein and his educator mother Peggy Epstein. They provide 77 activities that parents and children can do together that will encourage writing for fun as well as help discover the value of writing. These activities for elementary and middle-school age children include writing shopping lists and menus, creating sports journals and family newsletters, journaling together, special activities for some of the holidays, plus a section on the lost art of thank-you notes.

The familywrites.com website states “Through writing, everyone in the family learns how to express their feelings to one another, resolve conflicts more easily, grow closer as a family, and get to know each other better. Better yet, families share time together and create lasting memories.”

If you think about it, writing is one of those life skills that is incredibly valuable, from writing letters and thank-you notes to resumes and presentations. The Orlando Sentinel recently stated that according to a recent nationwide survey of human-resource officers, nearly three-quarters said that recently hired high-school grads were deficient in basic writing skills. Like it or not, your writing skills tell others about you as a person – suggesting how educated you might be, how organized you are in your thinking, your attention to detail, how thoughtful you are. What better way to grow your children than to prepare them in a fun way to be better equipped to communicate and also to learn about themselves, their parents, and life. You may even learn a thing or two!

Linda Austin
“Cherry Blossoms in Twilight”
http://www.moonbridgebooks.com
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