Although the storm went through rapidly, it left destruction behind. And as I write this, it continues over in the East. Our prayers are with you.
We were woke up at about 1:20 this morning. Gypsy, our vanilla lab mix, barked a few times, which she never does. In came my daughter and 3 grandchildren. The alert came over her cell phone to get out of trailers and into a shelter or a better constructed house. Things got a little windy, we had some hail, lots of rain, lightning/thunder, but around our home, no damage. Not so for people north and west of us. Listening to the radio until after 2 o'clock, people were driving through the damaged areas, reporting on what they could see in the dark. Not a pretty sight. We'll continue to pray for those who were hit by the tornadoes.
On another note...
I read a blog yesterday that really hit home. I knew I was on the right track. You see, when I was growing up, there was never a dull, boring moment in my life. "That's because you lived near the beach" my children would tell me when I would give them that line. That may be so, but there are plenty of things to do around here that no one should be bored. And yet, I hear that word nearly every day.
The title of this blog over at Mommy Perks is: Boredom is beneficial to brain development
"I'm bored," one of my children would say.
"There's windows to wash or the floors need to be mopped," I would counter, Of course nothing of what I'd mention would get done, and I could name off at least 101 things that they could do so they wouldn't be bored.
I don't believe in giving my children everything on the market so they won't be bored. First, we can't afford it, and second, children need to learn to use their imagination! The children today either don't believe us, or they can't imagine what we did without computers, iPads, cell phones, and everything else that has come along in the last 30 or so years. Even today, if I'm not on my computer, I'm doing something that is not powered by electric current.
I tried to teach my children some of the crafts I learned, but they are less and less interested in knitting, crocheting, cross-stitch, even baking. My own children learned a lot of that, but they don't seem to be teaching their children. These things are becoming lost arts. It's a shame.
My suggestion to parents today is: if you don't know how to do something, learn it. Then turn around and don't just teach it to your children, do it with them. If your children are bored, give them suggestions of what to do, or get them busy doing something they hate to do! Yes, that's what I said. They aren't going to do it, or do a sloppy job of it, but they might find a way to make a game of a chore, if you can teach them that. I remember we did that as kids. Send them to their room, as is written in the blog, and let them use their imagination.
They are not going to get into trouble as much as you think they might if you don't hand them everything they want. You will be doing them a favor by encouraging them to use their brain. Just like the muscles in their body, if they aren't used they atrophy and won't be usable for anything. Is that why America is getting so overweight? Don't use the brain, and it'll become useless. Have you tried to do math without a calculator?
I can't say a lot on the overweight part, and depending on calculators, but I do know, if you let a child sit around playing games, they aren't going to have much of a life, or knowledge to fall back on when they are adults. I see that with a lot of people my children's age. If they have a job, as soon as they are home, out comes the gaming systems. I see parents that don't have time for their little children because it interrupts their game. How sad to teach that to the new generation.
http://earlychildhoodnews.net/brain-development/442-kids-and-boredom
We were woke up at about 1:20 this morning. Gypsy, our vanilla lab mix, barked a few times, which she never does. In came my daughter and 3 grandchildren. The alert came over her cell phone to get out of trailers and into a shelter or a better constructed house. Things got a little windy, we had some hail, lots of rain, lightning/thunder, but around our home, no damage. Not so for people north and west of us. Listening to the radio until after 2 o'clock, people were driving through the damaged areas, reporting on what they could see in the dark. Not a pretty sight. We'll continue to pray for those who were hit by the tornadoes.
On another note...
I read a blog yesterday that really hit home. I knew I was on the right track. You see, when I was growing up, there was never a dull, boring moment in my life. "That's because you lived near the beach" my children would tell me when I would give them that line. That may be so, but there are plenty of things to do around here that no one should be bored. And yet, I hear that word nearly every day.
The title of this blog over at Mommy Perks is: Boredom is beneficial to brain development
"I'm bored," one of my children would say.
"There's windows to wash or the floors need to be mopped," I would counter, Of course nothing of what I'd mention would get done, and I could name off at least 101 things that they could do so they wouldn't be bored.
I don't believe in giving my children everything on the market so they won't be bored. First, we can't afford it, and second, children need to learn to use their imagination! The children today either don't believe us, or they can't imagine what we did without computers, iPads, cell phones, and everything else that has come along in the last 30 or so years. Even today, if I'm not on my computer, I'm doing something that is not powered by electric current.
I tried to teach my children some of the crafts I learned, but they are less and less interested in knitting, crocheting, cross-stitch, even baking. My own children learned a lot of that, but they don't seem to be teaching their children. These things are becoming lost arts. It's a shame.
My suggestion to parents today is: if you don't know how to do something, learn it. Then turn around and don't just teach it to your children, do it with them. If your children are bored, give them suggestions of what to do, or get them busy doing something they hate to do! Yes, that's what I said. They aren't going to do it, or do a sloppy job of it, but they might find a way to make a game of a chore, if you can teach them that. I remember we did that as kids. Send them to their room, as is written in the blog, and let them use their imagination.
They are not going to get into trouble as much as you think they might if you don't hand them everything they want. You will be doing them a favor by encouraging them to use their brain. Just like the muscles in their body, if they aren't used they atrophy and won't be usable for anything. Is that why America is getting so overweight? Don't use the brain, and it'll become useless. Have you tried to do math without a calculator?
I can't say a lot on the overweight part, and depending on calculators, but I do know, if you let a child sit around playing games, they aren't going to have much of a life, or knowledge to fall back on when they are adults. I see that with a lot of people my children's age. If they have a job, as soon as they are home, out comes the gaming systems. I see parents that don't have time for their little children because it interrupts their game. How sad to teach that to the new generation.
http://earlychildhoodnews.net/brain-development/442-kids-and-boredom
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