Guest guest Posted November 14, 2001 Report Share Posted November 14, 2001 One... Thank you Tanya for the recipes you shared in your message Healthy Homemade Halloween goodies. I have tried one so far and it was/is a winner!!! ____ Two... A letter to Tanya from my DD Nadia (4 3/4 wise years old)....Dictated to me to be included in my thank you... for the recipes message. I simply asked her if there is anything that she would like to tell you. ************************************************ Dear Tanya, I like the crackers, and, they're really good. Thank you for the recipe. From Nadia ********************************************* (Note: this is her final draft from a letter that simply said " I like it, and it's really good. " I told her you may want to know what the " it " she was talking about. Who she was talking to and who it was from...lol) ___ Three.... In explaination to the two above...( I hope that I don't bore anyone with the lengthy lead up but I feel that it is important get the impact of my heartfelt expressions) Today, was a good day. I was productive in my quest to give my children a more complete education.. and to expand upon the lessons that my daughter is " supposed " to be learning in preschool. Nadia is a bright enthusiastic learner... when you can keep her attention. This is pretty typical for her age, however, she is ...(let me find one of the more compasionate terms ) .... " strong-willed " ( beyond the " norm " I believe). I, with a degree in Early and Elementary Education and several years of experience as a teacher of young children, find it very hard to keep up with her. On top of that, she is very intelligent. She has learned in her short life so many of lifes important lessons... and really challenges me to " play my " A " game " in parenting on a daily basis. I feel that these qualities that she has will really benefit her in life and she can/will/ and already has really made a difference in the world ..... hopefully... I can help her to channel them into positive directions. I fully expect that in the future somebody somewhere is going to recommend that I have her tested for ADD and or ADHD or somthing else of the like... and if I do... I also anticipate a recommendation for medication and/or therapy. Let's just say I am not yet up to that challenge, however I do forsee it being at least brought up to me in our future at some point in time. Daniel, my two year old, is starting to follow ( though in his own ways) and at a much earlier age than Nadia to show many of these same qualities, and other equally challenging traits. I am blessed to have them. And honored to be their mother. That said... I truely am challenged daily... and I really struggle to be positive with and to them as often as possible. ( I fear that I am not as strong as they are... and certainly not as self confident.) Most of all I struggle to keep up with their energy! But I persevere... and so when I say that it was a good day I really mean it! Beyond all of that... today was a good day!!! We completed many educational activities. Nadia finished her " homework " of practicing writing upper and lowercase F's and some extra H's as well. She also finished the last page of one of her " Barbie workbooks " which she loves to do and by my work with her I know that she knows and can easily complete most the activities in all the books ( which vary by book to be geared for children preschool thru first grade)at least her " good days " when she can focus on them. We watched most of a full length movie together. We did puzzles. Everyone napped ( at least a little). We all had fun playing games on the computer using our Elmo's preschool software. Daniel earned five stickers for his chart reinforcing his using the toilet. Tempers did not rise all that often today. And both of them only came out of their rooms a couple of times at bedtime ( that really is a " good day " thing). I know that there is more... But... the highlight of our day was our cooking. Nadia is having a brown day in school tomorrow. She is supposed to bring in a " brown bag snack " . The teacher suggested sending in few cookies and a drink. (I tend to think healthier than that..) And.... she is also studying the letter h this week so I was trying to come up with a good healthy snack that reinforces all of these things. We came up with Tanya's CHEEZY CRACKERS. How does that relate you ask? Well, we used this recipe and cut out H's, horses, and hearts to create what we are calling HEALTHY " H " CRACKERS. ( with the exception of a couple of teddy bears which Daniel had epressed interest in) We were limited to the cookie cutters that we had on hand, but I regret that I have yet to buy the house, hand, and heart in hand cutters I have been eyeing ... now I feel that I must(lol). Nadia was also glad that they were brown. We of course tasted many of them and they are really one of those " can't stop eatin' them " snacks. We have been inspired by them and have brainstormed many other possible occasions for making them in various shapes and adaptations to the recipe. ( Nadia has expressed interest in creating our own recipes for different kinds and flavors of crackers) Oddly enough she suggested we come up with a recipe for peanut butter crackers ( not the sandwich type we are used to) and when we were done I was reading the recipes again and found the PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES which sounds healthy as well and would have also worked well. ( Maybe we will try them thursday... her day off from preschool...so more time). By the way, Nadia liked the crackers so much that she wanted to share them with all of her classmates. She later decided not to when she realized that the others were only going to bring in a snack for thenselves..not the whole class... but she still wants to bring some for her teachers too.. and who knows by tomorrow she may change her mind and give some to everyone...I am prepared my just in case... Soo.....TANYA, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! For giving us the icing to our good day! And to anyone who has managed to read through to the end of this... thank you for giving us your time and definately DO TRY THOSE RECIPES! THEY ARE GREAT! Sincerally, Debbie ^A^ ^A^ ^A^ ( for any one not familiar ^A^ are angels flying over) Find the one for you at Personals http://personals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 14, 2001 Report Share Posted November 14, 2001 I highly recommend the book, Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurchinka (sp?). It is excellent for kids who are " more " . My daughter was definately in that category. It not only helped me see her traits as positive and how to shape them in a positive way but it also explained my reactions to the traits. Jacqueline - Abitof Mystique veg Wednesday, November 14, 2001 2:01 AM Threefold message..... sorry so long.... One... Thank you Tanya for the recipes you shared in your message Healthy Homemade Halloween goodies. I have tried one so far and it was/is a winner!!! ____ Two... A letter to Tanya from my DD Nadia (4 3/4 wise years old)....Dictated to me to be included in my thank you... for the recipes message. I simply asked her if there is anything that she would like to tell you. ************************************************ Dear Tanya, I like the crackers, and, they're really good. Thank you for the recipe. From Nadia ********************************************* (Note: this is her final draft from a letter that simply said " I like it, and it's really good. " I told her you may want to know what the " it " she was talking about. Who she was talking to and who it was from...lol) ___ Three.... In explaination to the two above...( I hope that I don't bore anyone with the lengthy lead up but I feel that it is important get the impact of my heartfelt expressions) Today, was a good day. I was productive in my quest to give my children a more complete education.. and to expand upon the lessons that my daughter is " supposed " to be learning in preschool. Nadia is a bright enthusiastic learner... when you can keep her attention. This is pretty typical for her age, however, she is ...(let me find one of the more compasionate terms ) .... " strong-willed " ( beyond the " norm " I believe). I, with a degree in Early and Elementary Education and several years of experience as a teacher of young children, find it very hard to keep up with her. On top of that, she is very intelligent. She has learned in her short life so many of lifes important lessons... and really challenges me to " play my " A " game " in parenting on a daily basis. I feel that these qualities that she has will really benefit her in life and she can/will/ and already has really made a difference in the world ..... hopefully... I can help her to channel them into positive directions. I fully expect that in the future somebody somewhere is going to recommend that I have her tested for ADD and or ADHD or somthing else of the like... and if I do... I also anticipate a recommendation for medication and/or therapy. Let's just say I am not yet up to that challenge, however I do forsee it being at least brought up to me in our future at some point in time. Daniel, my two year old, is starting to follow ( though in his own ways) and at a much earlier age than Nadia to show many of these same qualities, and other equally challenging traits. I am blessed to have them. And honored to be their mother. That said... I truely am challenged daily... and I really struggle to be positive with and to them as often as possible. ( I fear that I am not as strong as they are... and certainly not as self confident.) Most of all I struggle to keep up with their energy! But I persevere... and so when I say that it was a good day I really mean it! Beyond all of that... today was a good day!!! We completed many educational activities. Nadia finished her " homework " of practicing writing upper and lowercase F's and some extra H's as well. She also finished the last page of one of her " Barbie workbooks " which she loves to do and by my work with her I know that she knows and can easily complete most the activities in all the books ( which vary by book to be geared for children preschool thru first grade)at least her " good days " when she can focus on them. We watched most of a full length movie together. We did puzzles. Everyone napped ( at least a little). We all had fun playing games on the computer using our Elmo's preschool software. Daniel earned five stickers for his chart reinforcing his using the toilet. Tempers did not rise all that often today. And both of them only came out of their rooms a couple of times at bedtime ( that really is a " good day " thing). I know that there is more... But... the highlight of our day was our cooking. Nadia is having a brown day in school tomorrow. She is supposed to bring in a " brown bag snack " . The teacher suggested sending in few cookies and a drink. (I tend to think healthier than that..) And.... she is also studying the letter h this week so I was trying to come up with a good healthy snack that reinforces all of these things. We came up with Tanya's CHEEZY CRACKERS. How does that relate you ask? Well, we used this recipe and cut out H's, horses, and hearts to create what we are calling HEALTHY " H " CRACKERS. ( with the exception of a couple of teddy bears which Daniel had epressed interest in) We were limited to the cookie cutters that we had on hand, but I regret that I have yet to buy the house, hand, and heart in hand cutters I have been eyeing ... now I feel that I must(lol). Nadia was also glad that they were brown. We of course tasted many of them and they are really one of those " can't stop eatin' them " snacks. We have been inspired by them and have brainstormed many other possible occasions for making them in various shapes and adaptations to the recipe. ( Nadia has expressed interest in creating our own recipes for different kinds and flavors of crackers) Oddly enough she suggested we come up with a recipe for peanut butter crackers ( not the sandwich type we are used to) and when we were done I was reading the recipes again and found the PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES which sounds healthy as well and would have also worked well. ( Maybe we will try them thursday... her day off from preschool...so more time). By the way, Nadia liked the crackers so much that she wanted to share them with all of her classmates. She later decided not to when she realized that the others were only going to bring in a snack for thenselves..not the whole class... but she still wants to bring some for her teachers too.. and who knows by tomorrow she may change her mind and give some to everyone...I am prepared my just in case... Soo.....TANYA, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! For giving us the icing to our good day! And to anyone who has managed to read through to the end of this... thank you for giving us your time and definately DO TRY THOSE RECIPES! THEY ARE GREAT! Sincerally, Debbie ^A^ ^A^ ^A^ ( for any one not familiar ^A^ are angels flying over) Find the one for you at Personals http://personals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 14, 2001 Report Share Posted November 14, 2001 Debbie, Loved your long message, especially the message from Nadia...very cute! I just had a couple thoughts and please realize this is coming from someone who is going to 'unschool' at home and not send her son to any formal schooling until he asks...I just mention this because it seems we may come from different angles and I think you should know my bias. That said there are a couple books that might help out with your day-to-day trying to keep up with your wonderful children. 'Raising Your Spirited Child' by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka. I'm sure you are familiar with John Holt since you have an education background, but I always like to reread 'How Children Learn' by John Holt when I feel the need to direct my son's learning. Also, I want to add...what makes you feel like you have to keep up with your children? It is natural for them to have more energy so don't be too hard on yourself. I find my best days are when I do my thing and my son does his and we come together when we need to, but I don't expect him to put his energy into my work and he doesn't expect me to put all my time into his pursuits. We are together 24 hours a day 7 days a week, but we still have our own lives. The days I try to keep up with him just end up making me feel tired and old (I just turned 30). Just reading your post made me tired! :-) Thanks again for sharing your experiences! Linda 30 ds Parker 21 mo. dh Rob 39 Savoy, IL vegan, AP/CC, unschoolers, organic gardeners, AR activists Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 15, 2001 Report Share Posted November 15, 2001 I second that recommendation. About a year and a half ago I ordered that book from Amazon when my then just 5 year old son was more than I could bear. It helped me so much... Carmen US citizen living outside of Zurich, Switzerland SAHM of Sam 6 1/2 and Aleksander 2 1/2 Jacqueline wrote: > I highly recommend the book, Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary > Sheedy Kurchinka (sp?). It is excellent for kids who are " more " . My > daughter was definately in that category. It not only helped me see > her traits as positive and how to shape them in a positive way but it > also explained my reactions to the traits. > > Jacqueline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 16, 2001 Report Share Posted November 16, 2001 In a message dated 11/15/2001 9:24:33 AM Eastern Standard Time, jacq writes: > I highly recommend the book, Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy > Kurchinka (sp?). It is excellent for kids who are " more " . I totally agree. I love this book. My son fits in with this book as well. I still refer to it as he just turned 6 yrs. on the 6th! Peace, Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 16, 2001 Report Share Posted November 16, 2001 My daughter is 9yrs old and it is still relevant. Jacqueline - VAP79 Friday, November 16, 2001 1:32 AM Re: Threefold message..... sorry so long.... In a message dated 11/15/2001 9:24:33 AM Eastern Standard Time, jacq writes: > I highly recommend the book, Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy > Kurchinka (sp?). It is excellent for kids who are " more " . I totally agree. I love this book. My son fits in with this book as well. I still refer to it as he just turned 6 yrs. on the 6th! Peace, Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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