The Art in Learning

Gabe is becoming quite the little artist. Well in between trying to bite the tips off every crayon in the box and not caring to differentiate between the tile and paper, he is quite accomplished...lol

As we are inching through this new phase of parenting, "toddler hood" It's fascinating how many things we have to actually be introduced to and for now we are starting with color.

Watching his genuine fascination with every color that touches the page, ever so gently he presses the crayon to the paper creating a big smile across his face. It's so awesome to be able to see what true learning actually looks like. Not the "programming" that so often we see in today's school, but the true excitement of a child discovering something new instead of being force fed.

Seeing alot of older children and their attitudes towards school and the homework/classwork that they must do, it makes you wonder, when was the spark lost? In my opinion I think once learning became an obligation and not a mode of exploration we have doomed our children to look at education as a nuisance that HAS to be done.

As parents it's our jobs to bring the curiosity and exploration back into learning and not depend solely on the education system to connect to our children. Bring yourself down to their world and discover what they find interesting; it can certainly make for a interesting playtime for both of you.

I want Gabe to love learning about the world around him to the point that he challenges himself in various areas as he grows into a young man. I would love to foster that type of behavior starting right here at home, instead of waiting for the first day of school.

Let help these amazing teachers that we have left in this country by pitching in at home; by helping our kids see that the art of learning is a skill that is exciting not a chore.

RoxieLuv

Here are a few great places right here in Saint Louis to take kiddos for exploration!

Magic House
Grants Farm
World Aquarium
Laumeier Sculpture Park
Saint Louis Zoo
 Missouri Botanical Garden
Saint Louis City Museum

Cozy Coup : Gabe's New Caddy

Just about everyone i talk to around my age can remember the infamous red car, the Little Tikes Cozy Coup. Ahh the days when driving around like the Flintstones was the "thing" to do, or for some, my husband included, tying it off to a friends bike was a sure way to get some extra speed. Hard to believe almost 30 years later it is still one of the top selling kids cars on the market.

For Gabe's first birthday we thought long and hard what we wanted to get him to symbolize his "big boy" status. So while walking around in Walmart we came across the car and knew immediately that it was going to be a hit.

After the party, Jerard my hubby, put the car together and needless to say Gabe fell in love with it. SO much so, that he began taking all of his snacks inside the car while watching his afternoon show. So in essence our living room has now become his drive in theater, complete with snacks and a cute waitress that brings him water down juice. Sitting back and watching him enjoy his new car Jerard caught a glance at the box, and in big bold letters " 30th Anniversary edition!", complete with pictures of all the cars that had been made prior to.  We started analyzing to see which one could we remember us having as little kids; there at the END of the timeline was our memory and quickly perspective was gained.

We both had enjoyed the 1st one that was made back in 79', now our son was enjoying the latest and greatest and boy for the first time, we felt old..lol. As we sat back and reflected over our fondest memories in our car, we sat in awe and bear witness to Gabe creating his own in his red car.

So often as adults getting so caught up in the hoopla, that we forget the simple pleasures that we had as children.  Being a parent is such a blessing to be able to relive these memories by helping them create their own unique ones. I love that little things like this make me feel like a kid again, even if that means revealing to yourself how long ago childhood really was.

RoxieLuv

Gabe enjoying his snacks in his "Caddy"

Which one did you have?

1 year Down, 6 decades to go

After the hoopla of the birthday party, we started to get back into the groove of things around the house. Cleaning up the kitchen, i needed to make space on Gabe's "shelf" in the cabinet, so i commenced to bagging up the bottles and the beginners sippy cups and then it hit me : 1 year, this is only the beginning!

Now i know to most my ah ha moment should be a duh moment but i'm sure there are many parents that can relate to this feeling. To know there will be many more birthdays, first day of school, first girlfriend, first kiss, first tackle..lol ok, first of many tackles if my husband has anything to do with it. But it puts into perspective the responsibility you have to your children and just how long the commitment really is.

I made a joke to my husband, that when a woman tells her man " I want a baby!" his first response should be "OK, do you also want the 60 years after?". So many people get so caught up on the first year novelty of having children that they seem to forget that the baby will grow in to a toddler, to a child, to a Tween, to a teenager, to a young adult, to adult.  I have been witness to parents objectifying their child, grandparents doing all the raising as they party, even in horrible circumstances parents cursing at their children. It always leads back to the question, why bring them to this world if all you plan on doing is neglecting and introducing them to a hell that they can't understand?

Me and my husband sat down and had many conversations about having children; how we wanted to raise, discipline, educate and relate to our children. One thing is for certain, we fully embraced the fact that our lives as we knew it would change forever. We took it on as a new adventure except this one would last for a lifetime and finally we had someone other than each other to experience it with. So we don't go out and drink and party but we do have family night boxing with the wii while Gabe is cheering mommy on ;0)

Children are a lifetime commitment and from what i can see from our own experience thus far they can change your life if your willing to change. I'll leave you with an ideal that i picked up from a Unschooling mom named Sandra Dodd, Woman are more unhappy as mothers when they try to divided themselves, part of them as mom, part for themselves..in the end one or the other will be unhappy either her or the children. Embrace your role and give yourself to your children; their happiness should always be all that matters now and 6 decades away.


RoxieLuv

If you would like to check out her blog and her take on Unschooling her site is below!

http://www.sandradodd.com/

Gabe with Mommy at lunch 1 year old :0)

Gabe only a few hours old :0)

1st birthday Party : Lesson Learned

March 7th, Gabriel turned 1! As excited as i was for the event, while planning i couldn't help but to become overwhelmed with emotion. My baby, was now moving to "toddlerhood" and no more was it depend on mommy for every little thing, now Gabe was become an individual.His party was a celebration for him and us for making it through our first year as parents.

We threw him a Superhero training camp 1st birthday party and despite the fact that we had so many no call no shows, the party was a huge success! A week before I believe God tried to prepare me for a possible upset if i didn't gain some much needed perspective. 

 I had a dream that we set up for Gabe's party and no one showed. I woke up and was so upset i woke my husband to share my experience. At that moment i realized that as freaked as i was about his party, i knew deep down that just mom and dad or a whole slew of friends, Gabe wouldn't care either way. So i went on planning, sending out invites and reminders and rested in the fact that no matter what happened the only thing that matter was Gabe's happiness and my husband being able to enjoy the party since he missed the baby shower (extenuating family circumstances).

The day of the party, only 4 out of the 16 invited came but Gabe, like i thought, cared less and it became a big baby play date with some of my husbands college football buddies and their little ones. Sitting back and watching them play and interact, made me scold myself for stressing myself out and not following Gabe's lead and keeping it simple. Honestly, i don't think i would have had the party go any other way; Family and a small group of friends.

So many times as parents because of what the media tells us we should be, we stress out about things that our kids wouldn't pay a passing glance. We lose focus of what really matters and the true reason why we are celebrating; that day it was shown and reinforced as the small people walked/crawled across the floor for hours forgetting about nap times. We even had beer and PLENTY of food for the parents, and you could see the faces across the room of everyone enjoying the same thing; their child having a blast and promise of a good nap..lol

I was asked was i upset at the turn out, and definitely not because i learned a big lesson in acceptance, flexibility, and focus on things that matter. Only thing i regret is this 5 gal BUCKET of untouched ice cream in the freezer, to bad i can't save it for next year..lol

Gabe's Bulldog Buddies