I have often doubted my parenting abilities and I was once again reminded of this yesterday. The crisp, frosty morning’s temperature was well in to the teens and I was doing my best to keep a cold from completely immobilizing me. My dog, Baxter, came up to me at the time of our daily scheduled …
I love the magic of Christmas. For a decade now, our friends host a wonderful Christmas party complete with impeccable trimmings inside and out, a banquet of food, great conversations topped with the anticipated arrival of Santa. My husband has had the honor of bringing Santa to life each year. He enters with his jovial “HO, …
I’ve become addicted to Pinterest. There… I’ve said it. In theory, admission to the problem is the first step in recovery. But I’m not quite ready to set forth on that path, as I have realized what a valuable resource Pinterest can be for fellow counselors, parents, teachers and children. When I started in the …
Hello everyone! Our illustrator has been in the process of bringing Sparky and Kelly to life. Four sketches of each character have been completed and we have been conducting polls of children to determine which sketches of Sparky and Kelly that they like best. We are targeting November 1 as our new date to place Sparky Tales …
I grew up in a time when people passed strangers on the street and in acknowledgement of one another an exchange of gentle nods would transpire or in some instances the words, “How do you do?” were spoken. Motorcyclists would wave hello to other motorcyclists and truck drivers would acknowledge other truck drivers – as …
Hello Readers! I have goofed!! I deleted most of the comments that have been written in response to our blogs. I apologize. I am new to all of this and believed that the messages were all spam; however, they were not. But I acted on my belief and deleted your comments and for that I apologize. …
As a counselor I’m always looking for good books on feelings. One of my favorites has been Glad Monster, Sad Monster. The kids equally enjoy this book – particularly that the pages tear out and has a mask depicted on the tear-out page (see photo). This allows the children to actually put the mask up …
The grocery store’s parking lot was packed today. Inside the store was just as crowded. My husband and I attributed the crowd to today’s televised football and baseball games. We decided the situation called for extra measures. The firewood, he would get. The sympathy card, I would get. A woman had parked her cart right …
Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend the “You Are My Superhero” exhibit at the Dayton Art Institute. The discoveries found and exhibits seen were interesting. In Mike Benton’s The Comic Book in America: An Illustrated History, he argues that seven superheroes stand out as most historically important: Superman (for being first), Batman (for being …
Two years ago, my mom adopted Baxter – pictured above coming home from the pound http://www.mcohio.org/animalshelter. He was six years old and was being offered as a “senior to senior” special for $20. When Baxter hugged on her legs, as if to say “take me home” mom couldn’t resist – even though he was a …
In developing social competency skills, Saarni suggests that eight skills are necessary with one of them being aware of one’s own emotions and another being able to “read” other people’s emotions. In teaching children these skills, we have found that making a collage of feelings can be very helpful. Items needed: Scissors, Glue, Poster Board …
In developing social competency skills, Saarni suggests that eight skills are needed – with the first one being aware of one’s own emotional state. In counseling young children, we have found feeling balloons very useful. We found the 20″ balloons the best to use because the balloon deflates slowly allowing one to reuse it for multiple …
A brief market study was conducted for this blog at two local grocery stores; Kroger’s a national chain and Dorothy Lane Market, an upscale, locally-owned grocery. Fifteen unsuspecting shoppers at each location were asked how long it takes them to choose their fruits and vegetables and how long it takes them to choose their emotions. …
As I officially begin my blog, I would like to thank Harry Couch, my mentor, for all of his help and connections that have resulted in our first sale of Sparky Tales. And I would like to thank Debbie Sterling, Founder of GoldieBlox, for inspiring and encouraging me to “GO FOR IT!!” which involves me following …
Sparky Tales will be implemented at Edison Elementary in Dayton, Ohio in January, 2013. The program will encourage children to “shine like a star” by teaching them social skills – particularly how to regulate their emotions. Research indicates that social and behavior competencies in young children predict their academic performance above their cognitive skills and family …
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