PPBF: Quiet As Mud

Hey hey, dear reader, happy November!

1

PPBF: The Flower Thief

Happy May Day! Today I'm grateful to have been invited to write a guest post for my friend, the incredible Dr. Jean. Click {here} to go there.

0

PPBF: Ripples

It's almost April, dear reader, and that means Earth Day is approaching.

1

PPBF: The Leaf Thief

Today I'm excited about having nothing on my calendar, which means I've got time to write, time to relax, time for a long, refreshing walk. 

0

PPBF: Animal Architects

Today I'm still thinking about my baby brother Mark;

isn't this such a cute picture of him?

Missing him so very much.

2

Nature's Springtime Splendor

I just gave the wheel a spin; congrats to Just Aubrey!

Send us your postal address and we'll ship you a copy of Earth Squad.

0

You Are Never Alone

Happy Friday; how are things going for you today?

I got back late last night from a Character Strong training in CA;

check out this serene sight from my airplane window.
Isn't the shadow of my plane encircled by a rainbow glorious?

9

Nature-Inspired Parenting Guest Post

After reading this inspiring post, I decided to invite Joanna to share her parenting wisdom with us. Please join me in welcoming her to the Corner.

**********************************

How Nature Becomes Your Co-Parent In Raising Healthy Children

In times like this, our children have a lot of stuff that captures their attention—TV, Smartphones, internet, and video games. Because of this, children don’t necessarily go out too much these days, making them less active and more susceptible to lifestyle diseases like obesity.

This phenomenon has caught the eye of Richard Louv, a journalist who wrote Last Child in the Woods - Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder about the decreased exposure of children to nature in American society and how this "nature-deficit disorder" harms children and society.

What is Nature Deficit Disorder?

Nature deficit disorder refers to the phrase coined by Louv in his 2005 book. He indicated that human beings, especially children, are spending less time outdoors, resulting in a wide range of behavioral problems. According to Louv, however, this was never meant to be a diagnosis, but a description of the human costs of alienation from the natural world.

Louv claims that causes for the phenomenon include parental fears, restricted access to natural areas, and the lure of the screen. Recent research has drawn a further contrast between the declining number of National Park visits in the United States and increasing consumption of electronic media by children.

What can we do about this?

In this modern world, it’s becoming increasingly hard to keep in touch with nature, with our roots. Nevertheless, there are still many ways to do this. The first activity that may come up is camping. Begin with planning a camping trip together with your children. Let everyone pitch in an idea or two on deciding where to go, what to do, and what to bring. They can be the photographers, navigators, food preparers, bonfire stokers. Just make sure they’re properly instructed and, of course, supervised.

After this, you can plan a hike on the next trip, and maybe have a picnic at the stops along the way. Do fun outdoor activities like scavenger hunts. And when the night settles in, tell stories with the family while cuddling up on the bonfire you made.

Another nature-inspired activity you can do with the family is fishing. Your children will surely love this. Take them to an angler’s workshop and guide them in choosing their own fishing rod and lures. If your children are older, try to consider kayaking.

Like kayaking, there are other water sports that will up the ante of coolness. Try windsurfing, tubing, water skiing, scuba diving, surfing, and paddle boarding. Or you can just tow them on a boat and lug around the lagoon for some rest and relaxation. Do these, and they’ll look forward to every outdoor adventure to come.

On the safer and more domestic side, planting in your garden is also a simple outdoor activity that’ll teach your children about the beauty of nature and why everyone must protect it. If you and your children are not too squeamish, you can go bug hunting.

Lastly, air up those tires and enjoy a family bike ride. Take your wheels to the nearest park and kick it!

Outdoor activities shouldn’t be a tough sell to the children because the world is filled so many amazing things. You just have to go out and start looking for them. It’s a win-win situation for your family. You get to bond, enjoy, and be active with your children. These are lessons that they’ll bring with them as they grow up.

About Joanna:

Blessed with 3 lovely children, Joanna’s love for her children gives her inspiration in sharing her parenting experiences with Afterschool.ae - the leading after school children activities planning platform for parents in UAE.

0

PPBF: Out Of The Ocean

Today I'm excited that the teaser post for my keynote - Kindness is the real global warming! - is now posted at the Character Education Partnership's site {here}. I'm also delighted to share this beautiful PPBF with you.

Title: Out of the Ocean

Author/Illustrator: Debra Frasier

Publisher: Harcourt Brace & Company

 Date: 1998

Suitable for: ages 4-8

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Themes: nature, hidden treasures, gratitude

Brief synopsis: This beautiful tribute to the gift of the water challenges its reader to discover things to treasure, both tangible and much more abstract. Journey along the shore as mother and child help each other look.

Opening page: My mother says you can ask the ocean to bring you something. If you look, she says, you might find it.

Resources:  Visit the author's page {here}.

Find an Inspiring Ideas lesson plan from Loving2Learn {here}.

Read a review at Connecting Family & Seoul {here}.

After a read-aloud, discuss with your readers what they think

the author means by this:

What natural treasure is so big that they might forget to see it?

Why I like this book: For me, there's a personal connection that's so very close to my heart. My mentor and friend, Sally, used to savor her time at the shore, and, as a result, I have these amazing treasures and the notes that she'd leave when she'd sneak by with her surprise. Ms. Frasier's book brings Sally back, 

if only for a bit.

"It's not the asking. It's the remembering to look."

Sally knew what to look for, on the beach, and in people.

She saw the gift in everybody and everything.

And she was grateful. Always grateful.

This gem has become a personal favorite, 

because of that connection to Sally and her heartbeat.

It's also filled with possibilities for extension. Three ideas:

Sometimes what the ocean has to offer isn't worth treasuring. My daughter helped with a creek clean-up last year and they got 1427 pounds of trash, including 62 pounds of recycling from Waller Creek. Yuck! If you're near a body of water, this book could easily springboard a clean-up effort.

This story pairs a mom and her child on a special daily outing to the beach. Have your students talk about, write about, or draw a special outing that they've had with one of their parents or caregivers. Where are they? What are they doing? How does it smell? What temperature is it outside? What season are they in?  What are they wearing? What colors do they see? What is so special about the memories they making?

You could also use it to show how kindness and/or peace ripple out. Ask students to bring in a river rock, maybe something they've found at the shore. Clean the rocks up and let students write a character value on one side (kindness, gratitude, generosity, charity, love) and draw a peace symbol on the other. Bring a big bowl or a bucket and fill it with water. One by one, students can drop their character rocks into the water and watch how their messages of kindness and peace make a splash and ripple out.

Click {here} for some of my other ideas for Character Rocks. Then head to Susanna's blog to read today's other PPBF picks.

12

PPBF: Max's Magic Seeds

Today's PPBF struck a chord with me because it's about planting seeds. And since the National School Counseling Week theme this week has been Building Magical Futures, I thought this seed story the 

perfect complement.

Title: Max's Magic Seeds

Author: Geraldine Elschner

Illustrator: Jean-Pierre Corderoch

Publisher: Minedition

Date:  June 21, 2007

Suitable for ages: K through 3rd grade

Themes: kindness, happiness, nature

Fiction

Brief synopsis:  Max's uncle Bill, a renown botanist, gives him a bag of seeds to scatter beauty on his route to school and beyond, then urges him to keep it a secret. As the flowers grew, people seemed happier, more cheerful. They went out more and took walks to enjoy the foliage. When the Mayor of the town announces that the town had won the Power of Flowers contest, how did they figure out that Max was their flower magician?

Opening Page:  My name is Max, and today is my birthday. That's me sitting by the window, waiting. All the guests have arrived, except one is still missing - my favorite uncle, Uncle Bill. "He's never on time!" complained Aunt Betty. "Yeah, maybe so," I said. "But he always shows up." She knew I was right ... "And he brings the funniest gifts of anybody!" I added.

Resources:  

Read a Kid Review {here} and a review at Favorable Food {here}.

Play the song Today I'm Gonna Try To Change The World by Canadian artist Johnny Reid. Ask kids how Max's seeds changed his world. Find out what they could do to change their world for the better!

Show students the front inside cover and ask them to describe Max's town. Mine said things like damp, dull, sad, boring, empty, unhappy, not welcoming, uncolorful, depressing, closed. Ask them to predict what might happen to this town in a story called Max's Magic Seeds. Do they think that seeds can really be magic? Why or why not?

Then read the story aloud.

Once the story is over and you arrive inside the back cover, show students what happened because of Max. Ask them to compare and contrast the two pictures with a double bubble graphic organizer. What do think they that the flowers might represent? Mine answered that inquiry with words like peace, happiness, joy, love, character, kindness, cheerfulness, attitude, respect, a counselor. That was perfect, because my final question for them was, 

"How are counselors like magic?"

They were pretty clear that counselors, like magic, could help fix feelings and friendship, prevent problems and promote peace-making, foster desired behaviors and fill buckets. It was fun to listen to them making that text-to-self connection about the role school counselors play in their lives. Like Max's seeds, one of them explained, we add color to their school. What a fun job that is, to beautify the world, child by child, seed by seed.

Hold a Power of Flowers essay & drawing contest to see what your students might say about the power of flowers to make a difference. Get some seeds and start planting. Find out which areas of your campus or community students think need beautifying. Write persuasive letters and get the permission you need.

Just like the necklace that I received from my school family says, I'm so blessed to work as a school counselor. 

Thank you for celebrating with my colleagues and me this week!

Want to add more fun titles to your list? 

Head on over to Susanna Leonard Hill's blog next.

11

Grateful For It All

Tonight I'm in awe.

Of the world around us.

Of birds.

And of Joshua, 

who makes friends so easily.

Of nature's eye candy 

and of heart-shaped cacti.

Of breathtaking blue skies.

Of my daughter and her positivity

and of my husband and his pioneer spirit.

Of the Texas Hill Country 

and of the handiwork of this German piece.

Of the big bass that took John's purple plastic worm 

and almost got away with it. 

Of the neighborhood deer who are almost like pets

and of my son Jacob, who loves to 

 forge ahead and blaze trails.

And I'm grateful for it all.

2

The Halo

Today I'm wondering: What's something that you take for granted?

I'm going to have to answer Mother Nature.

Because I've spent a lot of my life too busy to notice.

Too busy to stop and savor.

Too busy to enjoy.

That might be why I can't remember seeing a halo, until now.

Look at the beauty that surrounded the sun in the sky over school.

Isn't that majestic?

Turns out it's ice crystals refracting sunlight like a prism.

So much to be grateful for when you just look around.

Or up.

So I'm adding the halo to my gratitude journal.

What are you thankful for today?

6

Nobody Gets Forgotten

Happy last day of October.

And Happy Halloween. 

And feliz día de los muertos.

I just love it when I arrive at school to this scenic welcome:

I got to experience that beauty, then I also got a new shirt yesterday, from my friend Melissa, who doubles as our PALs teacher. What a blessing she is.

 Isn't it awesome?

Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.

And not just family by blood, but by proximity.

What does that mean to you?

How could that sentiment make a difference?

Today we're treating the friends in our global family who are homeless to some warmth; do you know about the SOCKtober campaign?

Here's the Kid President's explanation in all of his adorableness, 

in case you missed it ...

How will you make sure that everybody's family today?

1

Squirrels and Owls and Snakes, Oh My!

The pleasant drop in temperature has allowed for more time outside in nature's backyard recently, and that makes my heart happy. Many days after my after-school power nap, I sit on our porch swing or by the pool, doing nothing but watching the sun set while the bats and other flying friends glide effortlessly through the air. I especially like the yellow-crested night herons; 
they're majestic, in an awkward sort of way. 
I love the sound of the bird calls, 
of the cicadas' song, 
and of silence.
Here now, a picture walk from the last few weeks 
at our home in Friendswood, Texas.

After taking a rest on our okra plants, this Monarch lady evidently laid her eggs on our butterfly weed;

I was shocked to see these very hungry caterpillars in September.

These adorable little lizards always come 

to my breakfast nook window to watch me blog.

They are so much fun to watch.

This squirrel came a knockin' last Saturday,

because guess whooooo was hunting in the tree nearby?

Yep, a Barred Owl had its eye on one of that squirrel's furry friends.

And while I'm pretty sure this slippery snake got away ...

... it left something valuable behind.

{And I'm still not sure why John felt the need to bring it inside}.

Talk about falling to pieces ...

Happy Fall y'all!

1