Girl in a Swirl

When we first moved into our townhouse- I went about unpacking pictures and placing them against the walls where I wanted them hung.

My baby would crawl around and look at all the pictures. It reminded me of a Montessori philosophy of establishing a kid-friendly or empowering environment .

If you've ever been in a Montessori school pictures are hung knee high- for kids to enjoy. Tables and chairs are all kid sized, brooms and dust pans are kid accessible and kid size so they can use and clean up after themselves, etc...



Since Heath enjoyed this photo so much- I hung it at his level. But I think it's a good thing. When most the household is that size- why not put things at their height?


(You'll notice - our FHE chart isn't at their level- somethings are better hung up and out of reach. :0)





Speaking of Family Home Evening.


Last night- I prepared the lesson. One of my finer lessons.

I've been reading the 7 Habits of Effective People by Stephen Covey. (Actually- the book is hard for me to wade through- I bought the workbook which breaks each principle and chapter down into working steps. ) Anyway- I wanted to talk about our ability to choose our attitude. We might not be able to choose our circumstances, our family, the weather, etc... but we can choose our actions, our thoughts and our words. (This comes from the True to the Faith book the LDS publish.) And that we can't use situations as excuses for our mistakes or unhappiness. WE have the ability to choose.


So I cut out two pictures of boys- one happy I called "Proactive Pete" and a sad looking one I called, "Reactive Robbie".






Then I wrote some situations and possible responses. I passed out the responses and everyone got to read with expression their response. Then we decided if that was something Reactive Robbie would say or Proactive Pete.






Some of the situations were:

1. You wake up late for school and have to run out the door with just toast for breakfast.
2. You want to wear your favorite shirt for school pictures.
3. Every time your family drives to town there is traffic.
4. At P.E the teacher announces you are going to play baseball and you've never played before.

Then the responses had the same number as the situation they related to. Responses were:
1. "Oh Man! I'm late! I better hurry so I'm not late for school. This seems to happen a lot- I should set my own alarm so I can wake up on time!"

1. "MOM! WHY didn't you wake me up earlier! Now I'm late! I'm going to have the worst day ever!"

2. "Mom, where is my favorite shirt? In the Laundry!!?! Why don't you ever wash my clothes! Now I have nothing to wear! I always look like a freak for school pictures."

2. "I wonder where my favorite shirt is... oh Man! It's still dirty. I should have washed it yesterday. I guess I'll wear this shirt- it will have to do."

2. (A few days before picture day) "Mom, could you wash this shirt for me? I want to wear it for picture day. Thanks mom- you're the best!"

3. "I hate traffic. It's so boring. I hate driving. I hate our car, I hate going to town.. What a waste of time!"

3. " ugh- we're stuck in traffic again. What can I do while we sit here? Hey brother you want to play rock-paper-scissors?"

3. "Yuck! Traffic. I'm bored. What can I do while we sit here? Hey mom? Could you quiz me on my times tables? While we are in town- can we stop at the Library and pick up a book on tape so we can listen to it in the car on the way home?"

4. "My parents are the meanest! They never sign me up for any sports. I am going to be so clumsy because I've never played baseball before. I know I'm going to be last picked."

4. "Yikes! I've never played baseball before- I better listen carefully to the rules of the game. It's okay if I'm not the best at baseball. This is my first time playing. I'm just going to try my best and have fun. "

Anyway- we really hammed it up. It was funny.
I ended with a quote from Gordon B Hinkley,
" You can be excellent in every way. You can be first class. There is no need for you to be a scrub. Respect yourself. Do not dwell on unkind things others may say about you. Polish and refine whatever talents the Lord has given you. Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, with great and strong purpose in your heart. Love life and look for it's opportunities, and forever and always be loyal to the church."

I was wanting to put up the lesson as a reminder for the week. I challenged us all to try and be more Proactive. Take responsibility for our choices and choose to be happy.

I pointed out that the situation was the same for each boy- but they each chose how they were going to act. (RE-act or Pro-act.) I taped the lesson up where they can see- but I was thinking it would be nice to place a bulletin board or magnetic board there and always display the lesson. I'll post a picture later with what I do... Something- anything is better than just taping the lesson to the wall.. but I want a place where we can post what goals we are working on.

Laura