4 Ways To Teach Our Children About Black History Month

Black History Month isn't over yet folks!  And if you haven't taken the time to at least talk to your children about what Black History Month is and why  it is so important, I encourage you to do so.  And please don't think that this is something that only Black or African American children need to learn about because it isn't.  I truly believe that children of all racial backgrounds need to gain knowledge of struggles and triumphs experienced by African Americans (and non-American Blacks) to help them better relate.  Today, I'm sharing 4 ways that we can teach our children about Black History Month.

Books

For centuries now books have been used to educate our children.  So, why not use that as a starting point to get conversation started about Black History Month?  I think this is an especially great place for non-Black families to start because they may find it difficult to find an angle to introduce the topic their families or simply might not know how a lot about the topic themselves.  After all you can't speak on what it's like to be Black unless you're well...Black.  Thankfully, there are tons of children's books out there about famous African Americans and Black History Month. 

A few of my favorites are: 

I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Coca Cola: Celebrate The Taste of Black History by Chef G Garvin & Brooke Campbell

Child of the Civil Rights Movement by Paula Young Shelton

Rosa by Nikki Giovanni

Music

Now, what child doesn't like music?  From babies to teenagers they all like a catchy tune.  And you'd be amazed at how many songs today sample lyrics and beats from older songs.  So, why not use music as a way to introduce children to Black History Month.  You can talk about how Louis Armstrong was one of the founding fathers of jazz or learn the words to 'Lift Every Voice and Sing'.  

Crafts

I've come to learn that nothing excites younger children more than a trip to playground or candy except crafts.  They absolutely love arts & crafts time.  Therefore, seize that excitement and jubilee as a teachable moment.  Going back to music, you could make instruments like the African harp or fiddle out of items like paper towel rolls, boxes and other household materials.  Or you could keep it really simple and do coloring pages.  Kids love crayons!  Check out this gallery of printable Black History coloring pages: click here.

Museums/Tours

I come from a hometown that is rich with history from slavery and the Civil War to being the home of Dizzy Gillespie.  And every year, we have tons of tourist who come through for our Spring Festival to take tours of our historic district and visit our only museum all in the name of learning more about the past.  And much of that past has to do with Black History, slavery and the Underground Railroad.  As a child, I remember going on several different walks (tours) of my hometown and seeing houses that were used to help hide slaves on their journey to freedom.

It was definitely interesting for me.  And I think that as long as you keep trips to the museums or tours under two hours, kids will be interested too.  Also, it helps if you try to go to places that are kid and family friendly.  They tend to have items that children can touch or interactive displays.

So, there you have it, 4 simple (and inexpensive) ways to teach your children about Black History Month.  And remember that Black History is something that can and should be celebrated 365! 

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5 Truths To Share With Our Children Everyday

Today, I'm sharing 5 truths to share with our children everyday thanks to a little help from my Word Play board on Pinterest.  As a parents, it's very important that we teach our children life lessons and truths on a daily basis.  After all how else will they learn these morals, values and code ethics?  My mission as a mom for 2014 is to make sure that Moo and JJ know the following not just because I tell them, but because I'm living it:

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For some us, we think that just telling our children that we love them everyday is enough.  While I agree that we should verbalize our affection for our children, love in its true form is a verb.  I hit on this point several times in my Bible 365 posts last year.  God defines love as the actions we perform for others.  

Before my dad left, I never questioned whether he loved me or not as a child.  It wasn't because he told me.  I was and never will be big on lip service.  I needed to see to proof.  And for a few years, he did just that.  He showed up to science fairs, taught me about cooking and even brushed my hair on occasions.  There was even one year when my mom was out of town for Halloween, he got creative and made all of costumes out of things around the house.

That for me was him showing love.  And I strive to do the same for my children.  I see a lot of myself in Moo.  Lip service doesn't do it for her either.  I never want her wondering if I love her now or even years down the line when she's, married and has a family of her own.  I want to be conscious to show her and JJ what love and loving others is all about through personal example.  No do as I say and not as I do here.

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Taking the easy way out is for cowards.  No ifs, ands or buts about it.  When it comes to doing the right things, we should be teaching our kids to not even question it.  The best example, I can give is that we see all of these videos on the internet and tv of how crowds of young kids and teenagers will gather around to record fights and other nonsense, but nobody ever does the right thing by going to get an adult or calling the police.

I don't want that to be my children.  One day they may be in the position where they are getting bullied and I hope that their peers doesn't just there and watch or worst cheer on the bully.  At the end of the day, aren't we, the parents, responsible for instilling good values and morals into children?  Aren't we suppose to be teaching them right from wrong starting at day one?  Don't wait until Bobby is 15 to teach him that using his fists to solve problems is wrong.  Show kids the right way by your example. 

I tell you right now, if I see something wrong going down, I call the proper authorities.  At the end of the day, not only do I have my kids watching my reaction, but I have a conscience that I have to answer to when all is said and done.  Hopefully, with enough a practice doing what is right will become easier instead of doing what easy becoming more right in their minds.

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Kindness sometimes seems like a foreign language in today's society.  And that is sad.  Actually this is beyond sad.  So many of us are like the strangers from the story of Good Samaritan who passed the beaten and dehydrated man left to die by the road side.

Kindness doesn't take much or a situation that drastic.  Just the act of smiling at those you pass or speaking a friendly hello when you enter a room filled with people is showing kindness.  There are numerous ways that we can teach our kids about being kind to others.   Need a few ideas?  Check out the Random Acts of Kindness website: www.randomactsofkindness.org.

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Whether good or bad, every moment in life is meant to be enjoyed.  Every moment we have in our lives will show us just how blessed we are.  And that we should enjoy and take pride in.  Enjoying every moment also means taking the to enjoy the people and/or places that are a part of those moments. 

This year I am definitely striving more to be in the moment with my family and enjoying the memories we're making.  There will be times when memories of those moments will be all that have.

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Besides the Bible, the second most powerful set of words are the the words we tell ourselves.  Not only can our words have power over others, but they have power over us for sure.  Negative affirmations reap negative rewards.  Start telling yourself and reminding your children to tell themselves 5 positives traits they like about themselves everyday for a month.  The transformation will be awesome.

When we tell ourselves that we can, we do it!  Let your children see  you speaking your positives into existence.  (Don't forget to back that speech up with a little action too!)

What is one truth or life lesson that you share with your child?

P.S.- Don't forget to link up for Motherhood Monday over on the FB page.

Lessons of Motherhood

I'm sure that when many of us think of Mother's Day thoughts of personalized gifts for mom and Mother's Day cards fill our heads.  And some of us are even thinking of all the party invitations to Mother's Day related events and dinners that we've received. Yes, believe it or not Mother's Day is a huge deal!!

Honestly, I never knew how truly big Mother's Day was until I became a mom myself.  And no it wasn't because of the gifts, the cards or all the kind words I received from husband, family and friends.  I tell anyone who'll listen that motherhood has really changed and impacted my life in a way that nothing else has or could have.  As this Mother's Day 2011 approaches I'm taking the time to reflect on some of the valuable lessons that I've learned thus far like:

~Any woman can be a mother but it takes truly responsible, capable, loving and willing individual to be a mom

~Creating life is the greatest magic trick God has enable us to have

~Patience, happiness and sanity go hand in hand

~The journey to a strong spiritual foundation and personal relationship with God is learned by the example we set

~Save every Mother's Day card because children grow so fast and this way we'll have reminders of how much they love us once they fly the nest

~Even children like know they appreciated no matter how small, big, young or old they are

~Teaching children about their roots is the key to establishing self acceptance, self love and appreciation for where they are now

~Listen to what your children are saying instead of telling them what you think they're saying

~Encourage them to dream

~Saying 'I love you' is a big deal

~Allow children to make mistakes because life is about learning lessons

~Starting your own family traditions helps to make great memories

~Be yourself and your children will love you more for it

I'm sure that as I continue on this motherhood journey, I will learn new lessons.  How has being a mom impacted your life?  What lessons have you learned?

*This post was sponsored by Shutterfly.com.  However, all opinions expressed are original and solely my own.  Are you a blogger? Click here to sign up for a chance to receive 50 FREE cards from Shutterfly.*

Promising Youth, Inc

Mission

Promising Youth's mission is to "support healthy growth in children and adolescents, reduce homeless and institutional living for children, educate and train parents to properly and effectively care for children in need of families and homes, help put a stop to child abuse, neglect and exploitation, as well as to protect children from cruelty and inhumane living and encourage unity and trust" by "offering stability and commitment."

Why You Should Support Them

I don't know how many times I can say it, but children are our future.  They're going to be our future presidents, congress leaders, teachers, and even caregivers.  So, it is imperative that we as parents make sure we are raising our children correctly and treating them like human beings instead of nuances.  After all they didn't ask to be here. That was a choice that we as the parents made to create them.

However, let's be real.  Some parents do not and are not going to treat their children well.  They are too busy being mad at the world for a deed they willing participated in.  Thus, the children in those homes often times act in school, their community, etc in search of attention and as a cry for help and real affection.  Thankfully, we have organizations like Promising Youth who steps in to place these children with foster families that will take the time to show them that they too are important and aren't a bother but a gift of life.

Promising Youth uses various methods of therapeutic treatment to help improve these children's self-esteem, self-love, self-respect and more.  They strive to make sure that each child is treated with dignity and the respect they deserve.  Most importantly they give these children, who are often labeled as troublemakers, hope and a second chance to prove the naysayers wrong about who they are.

For more information on Promising Youth visit their website here.

How You Can Help

Promising Youth is always accepting monetary donations to help them with operation costs and more.  I encourage you please donate to this wonderful organization.  They are working so hard to save and change the lives so many children!

For more information on how you can make a donation click here.

More 411

Website

Facebook

Twitter 

Or Write:

Promising Youth, Inc

2750 E. WT Harris Blvd Ste 105

Charlotte, NC 28213

Or Call:

(704) 509-0009

Don't forget to donate $1 to help raise funds for one of the highlighted charities and be entered to win one of our amazing prizes.  The more you donate, the more chances you have to win!

Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation

Mission

The mission of the Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation is "to educate children and adults worldwide about water safety through the utilization of drowning prevention campaigns and early childhood water safety training."

Why You Should Support Them

Many of us have probably considered putting in a swimming pool in our backyards or wished we could afford to do so.  And even more of us probably have fond memories of summer involving water-the pool, the beach, etc.  Well, did you know that the most common cause of death for children and toddlers between the ages of 1 to 4 is drowning?  I surely didn't.

Sadly, Blake and Kathy Collingsworth suffered the loss of their son Joshua  in June 2008 when he accidentally fell into their swimming pool and drowned during a family get together.  Their story is a reminder of how quickly toddlers can get into things that they're not suppose to.  One minute they're playing quietly on the rug and you turn your head for a brief second and they've wandered off. 

Thus, the Collingsworths decided to help spread the word about water safety with the start of the Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation.  They hope to emphasize the importance of practicing proper water safety procedures by telling their story at benefits, children's events and more.  Blake Collingsworth even wrote a book, Josh the Baby Otter, for young children that teaches them to never go never water without an adult and to practice safe water habits.  The Collingsworths hope to help eliminate and reduce the number of children dying from drowning accidents with their efforts.

For more information on the Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation visit their website here.

How You Can Help

You can help the Blake and Kathy Collingsworth continue to spread their message to children and adults by making a monetary donation, attending the annual Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Benefit, purchasing a copy of Josh the Baby Otter and more.  

Click here to find out more ways you can get involved with this organization.

More 411

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Josh the Baby Otter

Or Write:

Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation

PO Box 21712

Lincoln, NE 68542

Or Call:

(402) 730-3232

Or Email:

blake@joshuamemorial.org

Blake Collingsworth

kathy@joshuamemorial.org

Kathy Collingsworth

Don't forget to donate $1 to help raise funds for one of the highlighted charities and be entered to win one of our amazing prizes.  The more you donate, the more chances you have to win!

NASCAR Friday

Let me just start off by saying that I am not a fan of NASCAR.  I've just never seen the interest in watching a bunch of cars do a million laps around a track at the speed of lighting.  Now the need for speed I do get because I have somewhat of a baby lead foot. LOL.  But still it alludes me why so millions of people invest so much money and time in NASCAR. To each his own, I guess.

But somehow, I got hustled into volunteering to be a chaperon for a field trip to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, NC.  Let me just say that I learned a lot and enjoyed the exhibits more than I thought I would.  The cars actually looked so much cooler up close and in person.  And the older cars from the very first races had all the scratches and even some of the dust still on the tires.  Although, I enjoyed looking at the cars and learning more about the sport, you won't catch me watching a race any time soon.

What I didn't enjoy was the fact that the group of kids we were with totally embarrassed the hell out me and the other 20 something odd chaperons that were with us.  Let's start with the bus ride. Our site shared a bus with another neighboring site and we all knew the first rule of riding on a tour bus, train or plane is no number 2 in the bathroom. So, why did one of the teenage kids from the other site take a number 2 before we were even half way down the road? Can you say stank bus ride all the way to Charlotte!!!

We get there and they serve the kids lunch.  The table behind us was loud and rowdy the entire time.  The kids were picking fights, picking on each other, crawling on the floor like babies, etc.  We were in a room with the major of Charlotte (Anthony Foxx) and representatives from Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Duke Energy and other big name corporations with headquarters in Charlotte.  It was highly embarrassing to have kids behaving in such a manner.  Not to mention we had other schools and locations there as well and their kids were much more well behaved.

Finally, we split our large 300 and something odd group into two smaller groups of 150 or more and head off in different directions to tour the museum.  Our first stop was to look at all the cars and learn a bit of the history behind them and the different race tracks across the country.  The first rule was not to touch any of the displays and number two was not to climb up onto any of the car displays.  Well, I found myself pushing down more than one hand from touching a display.  Thankfully nobody decided to climb up onto one.

One of the other major problems we incurred were the kids wanting to stop and play every interactive game we passed.  It just wasn't feasible and I got a lot of rolled eyes, neck yoking and mumbling.  It took everything in me to remember that those kids were not my own and that I could not pull out a belt on them.  Lord knows I wanted to.  (Spare the rod, spoil the child.)

The most embarrassing part came when our very nice tour guide had to call security on our 150 group.  I could not believe that those kids would not get quiet and keep their hands off the stuff they weren't suppose to touch. Seriously, they were causing a very dangerous situation.  We had kids from other sites climbing trashcans, beating beats out on the wall and yelling to their friends across the landing.  Totally humiliating to appear so helpless in public like that.

And even with the security guards present some of the kids still decided to be loud and race down the stairwell to the theater.  To sum this up:  I will never volunteer to go with such a large and unruly group of children ever again!!  While I understood that the program they were in wanted to expose them to a great opportunity, I feel like many of them missed the point.  They were so caught up in trying to prove they were BAD, the SHIT or whatever that they failed to learn anything from this experience.

Instead they made us look like the stereotypes that we are portrayed as in the media.  They are in a program that is suppose to be motivating them to not become products of their environments and they are doing just that and acting like they are proud of it.  Watching those children today, I had to wonder if there will be a future for them and if so what will it look like?  It scares me to think that they will be our future leaders when I am graying and old in my rocker.  I pray that God has mercy on us and opens their eyes to big beautiful world out there.

I pray that more parents will take the time to teach their children the importance of respecting others.  Heck, I want more parents to start volunteering to go on these trips.  It was 100% FREE and half those parents weren't working anyway.  We have to take an interest in our children and making them the future we need them to be. So, let's wake up please.  I can't have another experience like the one I had today.

My Weekend WrapUp

Well, the weekend is officially coming to close. I hope that everyone had an enjoyable weekend like I did. Saturday, I finally went to the eye doctor and got my eyes checked for some new glasses. And I must say that I am still blind as a bat almost. My eyesight is 20/70.

That's almost bad enough to qualify for bifocals!!! I have certainly learned that I need to keep my prescription up to date. Anybody who knows me personally will tell you that I believe in wearing and using my stuff until it falls apart.  You can call it cheap but I call it my way of being green and getting my money's worth.  However, somethings like eyeglasses and shoes and cars shouldn't be placed into that category.  So, I will be scheduled for yearly eye exams in May for the next couple of years at least.

On a good note, I did get these totally amazing pair of CoverGirl specs.  Can't wait for them to come in this upcoming week.  I am going to look so chic and fashionable in my new glasses. Not to mention, I'll be able to see. I've been kind of sticking to only going places I know really well because I don't have to strain to read street signs or anything.  And I haven't been driving at night. My night vision is awful without my glasses.

So, I'm glad that I will be driving legally again since it states on my license that I shouldn't operate a vehicle without my glasses.  Shhh....that will be our little secret.  After my visit with the eye doctor, me, Moo and her father journeyed to my local park.  He commutes every other weekend to spend time with her.  And this just happened to be one of his weekends.

Now, Jay (as I will call him) and I have quite the relationship history.  We were together four years before I finally got preggers with our first child together (he has one daughter from a previous relationship) and had been engaged for 3.  Yes, long engagement I know.  Then at the beginning our our fifth year everything just seemed to fall apart. I'm not exactly sure why.

I think it was the stress of being a new parent all over again, trying to put together the perfect wedding still and change in careers that did us in.  Plus, while it might not seem like it, I'm not exactly an open book when it comes to talking with him. I tend to get defensive or shut down completely.  What can I say, I learned it from my father.  And I'm not a fan of confrontation within my immediate circle.

I have yet to master the art of expressing my feelings and emotions without starting a shouting match in which I end up the only one shouting. Then I fall into a heap of tears on the floor, couch or bed.  It's horrible really.  However, I'm trying to work on my communication skills with Jay. It's been a year since we split and our relationship has been wonderful except for those few bumps in the road last October.

But now that we have ironed those out, it's been smooth sailing. I love him still dearly and honestly can't see myself being with anybody else. I've tried and failed miserably at it.  So, Saturday we talked about how much we still loved each other and how we both let outside things and people and our stubbornness break up our family. We would love to try to work things out again and I honestly I hope that we can.

Jay and I both know what it feels like to grow up without our father being in our lives on a daily basis.  And I don't want that for Moo. If the problem with our relationship is fixable then why shouldn't we fix it? Now the hard part is breaking the news to my family.  They're not exactly a fan of his anymore. However, I hope they will respect my decision and support me on it.

Today was just as great because I was still on my love high from yesterday with Jay. I had a great time at the House of the Lord aka church.  Our pastor is retiring and we're in the transition of getting a new one. Not sure how we are going to like him, but I'll give him a chance.  It's always hard being in the United Methodist Church because you have to switch pastors every so often. By the time, you get used to one they're charge is up and they're office to a different parish.

I have to say though that we have been blessed to have had some awesome leaders.  They have all come in and loved us like family and kept it real. Our church is in a much better position than I ever remember us being.  So, in a way I'm looking forward to meeting the pastor and his family.  I hear he's on the younger side, quite tall and has kids.

I take my religion and faith very seriously. So, if this pastor does not come correct, trust I will have no problem going elsewhere. I can't have my daughter raised up in a dead church. Her spiritual growth is very important. These are the crucial years for her and I am responsible for shaping her.

Well, it's off to bed. Tomorrow is another day and I have to get busy job hunting as I will no longer be manning my current post at my current job after the 31st of this month.  It's proving to be a tough process, but God will make a way and open up the right doors.