So after our morning of chores and light play we gathered 4 books and caught David up. Today was actually one of my favorite reading time days. The kids did a really good job being attentive and answering questions. We have a little rule that whoever is reading the book gets to sit in the middle. So David grabbed his four books: I love my Papi, David and Goliah, Big Bug Dug and Rudolph and sat in between Moriah and I. I noticed so much growth from the first week we started. Now he's beginning to read with speed and I was surprised at some words that he knew that I don't recall teaching him. One of my favorite memories of him during this project is when he read by himself . The first two times we read the book, (a few books we read more than once if they really liked it.) he repeated each word after me and by the third time we read it, he had it on his own. He was so excited! His favorite thing to do while reading was pointing out compound words. I had taught them about compound words earlier during the project and he got really into it. If the word was football, he'd say "Look Mommy!" He would take his finger and cover up ball and say "foot!" and then cover up foot and say "ball!" But then he would try to the same thing with playing...so yeah we have to work on word endings a little bit more:) Moriah helped him to record his books on the chart. Once he was done we all jumped up and down and I squeezed him and gave high fives. Then as soon as Daddy came home from work, that was the first he told him. They hugged and little David was so excited. His favorite book When I asked him what his favorite book was he said Rudolph. He said that's his favorite because it had little words:) My all time favorite book was No David! by David Shannon. All throughout the book David is doing things that get him in trouble. The pictures are hilarious because these are things my David has done. At the end, his mother hugs him and says "Come here Davey. I love you" Which pretty much sums up our days here at the house.:) I'm so proud of him. Being a boy and with all that super energy that God has created him with, I know sometimes he would rather be jumping on the bed or playing cars but he was diligent and patient. I think he's off to a good start for preschool! His reward He would like to go to the zoo and to the beach. Since Daddy is the super fun one and Mommy is just little bit of fun one, (my kids' exact words:)) Daddy is going to plan their reward day. Will keep you posted!
To ensure that the kids made an educational advancement during the summer, I created a book chart for them. It allowed them to document each book they read and the goal was 100 books. I mentioned the details in a previous post, Activities with kids. I encouraged them to choose their own books. David usually chose a book about trucks and Moriah chose Barbie, princess and color themes. I would have David read his book to me (the library has a section called EZ level 1 books) and Moriah would read me hers which would be more challenging, either level 2 or 3. Or I would have David read one page and Moriah read the other. Books I read to them also counted. It was great to see Moriah finish a book and close it with excitement and run to record it on her chart. Every time she reached a number she was impressed with, smiling from ear to ear, she would tell Daddy as soon as she saw him after he arrived from work. Today was a good day at the library. We read several books there and then she came home and ran in her room to record them on her chart. When she was done, she ran back into the kitchen and exclaimed "Mommy I made it! I read 100 books!" I hugged her like she just graduated from college:) I told her I was so proud of her and she said she was proud of herself. Her favorite book: A Day With No Crayons by Elizabeth Rusch. When I asked her why this was her favorite, she said that like the character in the book, she too was able to still play without crayons. One day while she was playing outside, she made herself out of mulch and made a flower from a rock and grass. She's definitely an artist! Her reward: We have a collection of ideas. I'm not sure how we are going to execute it all. Whether if it's all going to be designated for one day or a series of treats spread out over a period of time. We started off with Sea World. But then I thought about the heat and I was like "uh....no." My poor Autumn and her curly fro sweats at the drop of a dime. She suggested 'Mommy and girls time' (we have 'dates' with the kids when each parent spends one on one time with each child) where we just mix colors. She also wants to go to the beach, and I also suggested the zoo. So we will see! After she was done, she came and hung out with me in the kitchen and just talked about colors. She told me about primary colors and what is formed when certain colors are mixed, and about creating names for colors. I thank God for noticing that her accomplishment was inspiring her passion(colors!). Now I'm looking forward to working on another project for the school year! David somehow fell a few books (like 10!) behind Moriah. I'm pretty sure it was because he would record a book on his chart and then play with his trucks and cars and forget about the others to document. But it's all good. Tomorrow is another library day and as of now he only has 4 more to go. So I will update his stats when he completes his!
This is from a summer reading program they are also participating in at our local library.
It's so interesting how many people remind me of how many children I said that I wanted when David and I first got engaged. It's even more interesting that for some reason I barely remember quoting that amount. ("Really?! 5 or 6?! Did I say that?!!" I blame it on pregnancy brain. Even while I'm not pregnant:) ) I guess that's why some weren't that surprised when we announced that we were pregnant with another while Moriah was only 6 months. We were surprised... but pleasantly. I remember when were at church one day when Moriah was 3 months old. The pastor mentioned a passage (1 Chronicles 4:10) that stated "enlarging our territory" and David was elbowing me, jokingly saying, "Yeah. Enlarge our territory." Well a few months passed and there I was at home with two in diapers. I vividly remember some mornings when they were crying at the same time. It was challenging sometimes. We were managing two that were so dependent and yet didn't know how to verbally express their needs, but if I had a chance, I wouldn't change it for anything! Now that they are a little bit older, 5 and 3 (David will be 4 in about 6 weeks), they are great at keeping themselves occupied together. They play cars, dolls, ride bikes, pretend cook, paint/color. They make up several different games and they are pretty good at taking turns. When they can't decide who gets to choose what to play, they play rock, paper, scissors or they flip a coin. (Prov 18:18) Now there are times when they argue. It gets out of hand and there is no telling who started it. Thanks to Daddy who came up with a genius and an often used discipline strategy. We have both Moriah and David hug each other and say "I love you" for about 2-3 min straight. Note: This method is used when the matter is trivial. We do have different forms of discipline depending on the matter:) It works great and after this, they usually play better than when they started. I was looking forward to putting Moriah in all these different camps this summer since she is now old enough to participate. She did dance camp and VBS, but David is not enough and missed her like crazy when she was gone. So we decided to have her miss a couple of other programs for the remainder of the summer and just find and create activities for the both of them to do together. She wasn't bummed out at all. I'm thankful for their relationship and pray that it will grow even stronger! Nugget: Jesus says that the kingdom of God belongs to children such as these. I believe this means that we are to not be childish, but childlike. God desires for us to love each other like how children love. They love affectionately, fearlessly and abundantly in forgiveness. Sometimes it seems as we get older, we leaves these virtues behind. Join me in prayer to love with a childlike heart:) ~Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. ~Hebrews 13:1 ~ Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.~ Romans 12:10 ~ Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. ~1 John 4:20
As the summer is drawing to a close, with only about little over a month left until school starts. I'm wondering if I did everything I wanted to do as a family, spend enough time together, rested enough and prepare enough for the inevitably busy upcoming school year. So here is my bucket list for the rest of the summer with more of an emphasis on goals to do with the kids. Spiritual
Memorize 10 scriptures with kids (5 for each child. 1 per week)
Physical
Walk/jog to the end of my block with kids (Autumn is the only one in stroller. They jog also. appx. 4 miles)
Walk a few nature trails
Educational
Read 100 books
Go to a museum
Recreational
Take Autumn to see her first sunrise @ the beach
Take the kids to City Walk in Orlando
Go to the zoo
Have a picnic at a park we've never visited
Get caught up on scrapbooks and Autumn's baby book
Play dates with Moriah's best friends ...well we actually had one with just 1 friend, since the other was sick:(
In preparation for the school year
Tighten up morning routine using chore chart
Tighten up bedtime routine
I'm looking forward to seeing how these go and will keep you updated!!
Thanks to many months of Fresh Beat Band, our family is crazy over smoothies. Tropical Smoothie is a unanimous hot spot for our family but can be kinda pricey. So for a mid-morning snack or a beverage to go with dinner, this is one of our favorite blends. It includes:
2 cups of spinach leaves
2 cups of mixed fruit
1 kiwi (the skin gives it a tangy taste)
2 cups of Greek yogurt vanilla bean flavor( I can eat a case of this in a day!)
2 tablespoons of organic chia seed
4 cups of juice, coconut milk, or 1% milk
2 cups of ice
~ I prefer the mixed berries rather than the tropical fruit, but the package of mixed berries is significantly more expensive.~ I love the fact that the kids drink their spinach and I don't have to keep on bribing them to:)~ Chia seed is an old but newly crazed over superfood. It is rich in Omega-3s and antioxidants and TONS of other minerals. Here's to a healthy and tasty summer!
These are the type of lessons that are valuable but no fun while learning them. Little David is in a sports class which we look forward to going to every week. He does so well in all of the sports and really enjoys being with all the other kids. One of the moms has a son who is a little younger than David. He is going through a stage where it's challenging for him to cooperate socially. As I was encouraging her, explaining that David had just about finished that stage not too long ago, her son hit my son. We both immediately went over to them. She scolded her boy and I was comforting mine. I honestly praise God that day for the ability to effectively put aside my emotions of defensiveness and hypersensitivity, which I am sometimes accustomed to. I almost innately tried to conjure up forgiveness in little David. With Autumn in tote, I got down to his level and wiped away his tears, asking him if he was alright. I explained to him that the other little boy had not yet learned how to keep his hands to himself and that his Mommy and Daddy were teaching him. I asked him if he remembered when he used to throw temper tantrums because he had not yet learned how to express his feelings through verbal expression (or as we say, "using your words"). I asked him if he could forgive the other little boy. I repeated everything to him just to make sure he understood. The little boy came and said sorry. They gave each other hugs and David went back to playing tee ball. The boy's mother, who by the way is the sweetest mother there, apologized profusely and I reassured her that David was okay and we're teaching him about forgiveness and this is a practical experience to apply it. Well last week, we ran into their family at the library. I could tell by the look on David's face that those feelings he experienced that day at tee ball came back. This time the little boy tried to take a book away that David sat down on the table. His parents did a good job in making him give the book back and say sorry. Later, I can tell that David was a little bummed out. He was playing with the toys but a bit aggressively. When I asked him what was the matter he had brought up the incident at tee ball. So I was very grateful when I found this book moments later at the library today entitled Forgiveness. It was just for my kids age group and gave plenty of scenarios that gave opportunities to extend forgiveness and questions that made it interactive. My favorite part is when I got to tell them how Jesus knows exactly how they feel when their feelings are hurt because His feelings were hurt also. I reminded them of the love in his heart that He had for people and some people still hated him. I went on to remind them that they pierced his hands with nails and his side was pierced with a sword. Then Moriah added, "They even spit on Him" and I agreed. Then I concluded by asking, "But what did He day after they did that to Him? 'Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.' "Then Moriah added once more, "Then He said, 'It is finished.' " ~For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:14-15 ~A person's wisdom yields patience; it is to one's glory to overlook an offense. ~Prov 19:11
It was a Friday afternoon. The end of a busy week of Moriah's dance camp. That's why when she was kind of moseying along through the class, I just attributed it to fatigue. As all of the parents had all of our gadgets to record our beautiful ballerinas, David and I quietly joked that the dazed stare that our little girl had that day would be forever on video. We went back and forth, wondering why she seemed so out of it. David asked "What did she have for breakfast?" I added, "Well she is getting sick. I mean I know she likes ballet. She was ecstatic on the first day and really stuck out with her amazing posture." Well later she would point out something else that made her stick out. As we loaded into our car, discussing which class we were going to sign her up for the fall. I asked her why she seemed so sad. "Is everything okay Riah?" She nodded her head yes. She took a while and said, "Mommy, I am the only brown skin girl in my class at school and the only brown skin girl in my class at ballet." I agreed with her and asked her how that made her feel, wanting to encourage dialogue and wanted to buy extra time to carefully respond. She stated that it made her feel sad sometimes. In my mind I was like, No problem. Let's go home, pack and move to Atlanta. But I thought about it and encouraged her by telling her my story and how I went through the same thing but now I have a rainbow(she loves colors) variety of friends and someday soon, she will too. Dissatisfied with my answer, as soon as I went home I researched on how to raise black children in a predominately white environment. I did some recollection of my own experience, asked some of my closest friends for some input, watched about 6 documentaries and prayed. So in a nutshell this is what God led me to so far.
1. Teach them their heritage. We read I have A Dream, which is beautifully illustrated by Kadir Nelson. It also came with a cd of the original speech given by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I gave a quick play using Moriah's dolls and the book to summarize the story of slavery to freedom emphasizing that God made everyone different colors and He wants us to hold hands and not to treat others badly because of the color of their skin. I made it sure was age appropriate. Though I was reluctant, I believe it is key to teach this discussion early instead of waiting for our kids to learn at school. Their knowledge helps their confidence and hopefully prevents that awful and shameful feeling of discussing it during African American month while being the only black child in the class.
2. Encourage them to view positive Black people in media. Two things that you pretty much will never catch on our tv screen: 5 o'clock news and BET. Contrary to popular belief, I actually started my ban on BET not while residing in a predominate white environment but while I was attending a HBCU. Anywho, whenever we go to the library we try to get at least one book by an African American author. Though we watch a few cartoons, Little Bill is one of our favorites. We like movies like Akeelah and the Bee and Daddy Day Care and watched them multiple times. The kids go to sleep to Jamie Grace every night and have watched her testimony and her other videos on youtube. Whenever I see Gabby Douglas on a book or a magazine, I point her out. I'm considering doing a mini book report on her with the kids at the end of the summer since her story proves that color or size is not an obstacle if you have God and and the passion He created you with as drive. 3. Teach them that God made them for a specific reason and plan. This reassures them that someone else doesn't have greater value than them because of age, gender, looks, intelligence, race, etc. God created them for a purpose, for Him to love them. Also with a specific work to do that only they can do and they will complete if they trust God. Confidence should come from this and not appearance. 4. Self affirmation. I tell them that I love their skin because it reminds me of chocolate and cocoa. I also tell them that they're beautiful (then my son corrects me and says,"I'm not beautiful. I am handsome!:)) smart, intelligent and brilliant. Then I make them repeat it and and yell it. This morning I got so caught up in the yelling, I ran out of adjectives to yell. I glanced at the I have a dream book and it said "Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last!" So we yelled that.:) 5. Do the doll test. I actually started out with this tip. I first saw this test done in the trailer for The Dark Girls Documentary more than a year ago. It made my heart drop and I knew I had to do it on my kids. But I stalled partly due to fear of the response. Basically the premise of the test is a white doll or (light skin doll) and a dark skin doll is given to an African American child and the child is asked which one is prettier. The child points to the light skin doll. The child is then asked which doll is smarter and the child points to the light skin doll and gives the reason that its because the doll is lighter. I have seen this test done so many times on children in many documentaries and its unbelievable. One little black girl went as far as to say that black is ugly and evil. This in not even taught one on one. It's subconsciously embedded. Sooooo...I did the test on my kids. Well I lined up five different shades of barbies. I asked David first. When I asked "Who is prettier?" He pointed to the darkest one. I asked him why did he think she was the prettiest and he said, "Because I did her hair." (Yes, I allow him to play with Moriah's dolls with her, but I refuse to allow him to play with her purses:)). I asked Moriah which one was the prettiest and she pointed to two. A bi-racial doll and one slightly darker. When I asked her why are they the prettiest she said because she liked one doll's eyes and the other one could fly.
Ok so I gave those answers passing grades. But I will continue to pray that they will never feel inferior because of the color of their skin, they will love others with Christ's love and that they will appreciate and learn from all cultures.
What negative experiences did you have growing up dealing with race and how do you plan on changing it for the positive for your children? ~For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
