Uncomplicated parenting in a complex world.
Did you enjoy Kathy Stowell‘s guest post yesterday on ways to communicate with your kids using less talking? I know that I really appreciated her perspective and her advice gave me some good takeaways to apply to my daily life with the kids.
{This giveaway is now closed. Thanks!}
I’m excited to share some neat news: Kathy is going to be giving one Simple Kids reader a space in her upcoming Simplicity Parenting Filtering Module ecourse!
The following is a guest post from Kathy Stowell of Bliss Beyond Naptime.
My name is Kathy and I married a non-talker.
The man can go for days without saying a word but when he does everyone’s all ears and laps up each and every single, quiet, mono-toned, but potency-packed, syllable.
Over the years his borderline mute ways have shone a light on my latent desire to fill every empty airwave with ongoing commentary, idle questions and ramblings that can sometimes lead us down the rabbit hole of too much information. Especially for little ears that, unfortunately, make up the bulk of my listening audience.
Of all the ways to simplify tossing out the excess in the form of spoken words is often an overlooked way remove excess from our lives. Since shining a simplicity seeking searchlight on this realm I found a refreshing contrast between wading in an eddy of tranquil silence and floundering against the tide full of chit chat flotsam and jetsam.
Please note we were given a screener of Curious George Swings into Spring to review and some of the materials for the Earth Day crafts from PBS Kids. I was not paid for this post and all opinions expressed are my own. Thanks!
To celebrate Earth Day, which is today, April 22, PBS Kids is premiering Curious George Swings into Spring. You can watch a preview here on the PBS Kids YouTube channel. We were given a screener to review in advance and my kids loved it. Check your local listings for air times.
PBS Kids also has some fun activities to go along with the special and help put you and your kids in an Earth Day frame of mind. At our house we’ve been crafting up a week long celebration of Earth Day fun, starting this bird house we made yesterday using chopsticks and a 2 liter bottle we snagged from the recycling bin.
This was an easy craft to do, with a bit of adult supervision and help, and the kids have been eagerly stalking the window hoping to catch sight of our first feathered visitors.
The following originally appeared in July of 2011. It seems fitting during this busy season of life to post it again as a reminder to take downtime where we can get it. Best wishes, Kara.
The importance of downtime has been on my mind quite a bit lately. I am currently having about four medical appointments a week (don’t worry, the baby and I are doing fine, this is just a precaution) and those busy days are making the “off” days a real treasure.
A recent conversation with a stressed-out friend, the emails in my in-box from exhausted parents wondering how to disconnect, and my own desire to turn inward during this third trimester of pregnancy have all served to remind me of the value of taking time to recharge – the genuine need for a mental and physical break.
As I’m entering my 38th week of pregnancy, I find myself experiencing bursts of energy. My first instinct is to use this extra energy to take care of things around the house, but experience has taught me that this is not the time to re-arrange the closets, weed the garden, or strip and wax the kitchen floor. No, this is the time to rest and save my energy for the work that lies ahead of me – the work of birth and the early days of life with a newborn.
However, the late days of pregnancy are not the only season of life when rest is important and women in the third trimester aren’t the one people who need downtime. Many of us need to give ourselves permission to “time out.”
