Whimsy Park: A Reading with Papa Green Bean: 2 pm PT Saturday October 24th

 

Whimsy Park: A Reading and Conversation 

with Papa Green Bean and Christen Mattix

Sponsored by Village Books

2 pm PT Saturday October 24th 

This will be an online Zoom event. Click on the link below for details, then hit the, CLICK HERE TO ATTEND to register. 

Whimsy Park:A Reading and Conversation

Whimsy Park is my first book! It is a book of children's poems for ages 5-12 officially, but in reality ages birth to 100+! 

This is Rubber Band!

Whimsy Park: Poems for the Whole Family is Published!

 Whimsy Park

Poems for the Whole Family 

Well, my first book is published. It is a beautiful book of 40 poems written by yours truly, Papa Green Bean.  The illustrator is Christen Mattix, and she created 40 matching watercolor illustrations. Here is the cover. Pretty cool, huh? This is a rubber band, and she is a philosopher! The white cat has her own poem also. But the birds just make a few cameos.

 

 

I hope you will let me know if you'd like a copy. Right now, I only have the paperback version, but it turned out so well. I am perfectly pleased. When the hardcover version comes out it will be available on Amazon. 

Best to everyone during this most peculiar of summers.  One of the benefits of believing in play-based learning is that missing classroom time is not nearly as big a deal as many so called experts would lead you to believe. If a child has free-time to play at their own pace in a non restrictive environment, then great imagination is produced. It's not necessary for the adults/parents to step in. They can do their own thing while simply maintaining an eye on the child from afar. The best learning takes place when the children let their elders be!

 I'll keep you all up to date on Whimsy Park.

Cheers,

Papa Green Bean

Data, Not Destiny

It's Just Data, Not Destiny

Here is my summary of Teaching with Poverty in Mind by Eric Jensen—Chapter 2: How Poverty Affects Behavior and Academic Performance.

Introduction

• There is no shortage of theories explaining behavior differences among children. The prevailing theory among psychologists and child development specialists is that behavior stems from a combination of genes and environment. 

• Genes begin the process: behavioral geneticists commonly claim that DNA accounts for 30–50 percent of our behaviors, an estimate that leaves 50–70 percent explained by environment.

• This tidy division of influencing factors may be somewhat misleading, however. First, the effects of the nine months a child spends in utero are far from negligible. 

Neurons That Fire Together—Wire Together

Developing Young Minds: From Conception To Kindergarten

Preface

Dr. Rebecca Shore’s landmark book, Developing Young Minds: From Conception to Kindergarten, introduces an essential paradigm shift in perspective that is needed on educating children. 

Introduction: The Scientist In The Crib  

Everything we do with and say to babies alters their brain biologically and neurologically—ultimately changing their lives. Cognitive stimulation is occurring naturally around babies because, literally, everything is new to them. In educational terms, the baby is born a student ready to learn. Their very existence is focused around learning to adapt to their new world. This is an enormous responsibility, not just for parents but also for society as a whole.

Developing Young Minds From Conception to Kindergarten

Conception–K Schooling: Rich Rewards and Returns

My schooling begins at birth, people!

Huge sums of federal and foundation funds have been injected into the education system—school reform efforts— over the last half-century in an attempt to bridge the learning gap. No silver bullet has surfaced. How can so much hard work, so much money, and the best intentions fail to produce some kind of “best practices” that work for educating our children?

Perhaps the critical question is not “How do children learn best” but “When do children learn best?” 

Parenting Styles: Authoritarian vs Egalitarian

Raising Children with Anxiety versus Trust 

A libertarian egalitarian is surely 

a utilitarian humanitarian and quite possibly 

a fun-loving person—

maybe even a librarian with plenty of free books

A strict disciplinarian may be 

an unyielding totalitarian, a rigid authoritarian

and perhaps a bit dogmatic—

maybe even giving unsolicited harsh looks

This is going to taste so yummy!

Now Let’s Peak Into An Authoritarian Household:

Dad (while watching TV): Son … SON! Come here when I call for you!

Son (Roy): Yes, dad?

Dad: Did you finish all your homework?

Son: I couldn’t because …

Dad: What? No excuses. I guess you’ll have to skip dinner and do it.

Son: But dad, I have a good excuse.

Dad: I’ll give you the back of my hand as an excuse. Now, I’m missing the news so get out of here.

Mom: Honey, why don’t we have TV dinners since Roy won’t be joining us.

Roy: Mom, can I tell you why my homework isn’t done.

Dad: Son, don’t make me get up!

Mom: Not now, Roy. I’ve got to call Betty about my card game tomorrow. I do wish you’d behave yourself and listen to us better.

The Same Scenario In An Egalitarian Household:

Son (Roy): Excuse me dad. I’ve got something to tell you.

Dad (putting his newspaper down): Yes, Roy. What is it?

Roy: Well, I couldn’t do my homework today.

Dad: Okay, why not?

Roy: I was playing with Kevin in the playground and he cut his hand on a nail. So, I went home with him and rode into the doctor with his mom to get it cleaned out and wrapped up.

Dad: Oh, that was nice of you to stay with your friend.

Mom: How is Kevin doing now, Roy? Did he have stitches?

Roy: No. He’s doing okay, but he may miss school tomorrow.

Mom: Maybe you can call him after dinner.

Roy: That’s a good idea, mom. And then I’ll stay up a little late and get my homework done.

Dad: Sure, Roy. Whatever you think is best.

      

Youth Library Cards

Common Sense is the New Wisdom 

Hop on down to the local library

with toddler in tow

Scoot on over to the librarian

with toddler on toe

Order a library card in toddler's name

Then dance and hoot 

until you get the boot!

PGB

Papa, please put my library card on our refrigerator with a really good magnet

It came as rather a surprise when I read an article in The University of Washington's Columns magazine about "The New Mindset, Turning Research Into Better Living." The first example of UW's "innovation imperative" was a nursing professor who "discovered" that premature babies gained weight and developed faster if they were rocked and could hear the sound of a heartbeat.

Hands Free Life

After reading Hands Free Life: 9 Habits for overcoming Distraction, Living Better, and Loving More by Rachel Macy Stafford, I began to understand myself better. Her poetic, philosophical, spiritual, and above all, inspirational writing reminds me of Kahil Gibran's masterpiece, The Prophet. But Stafford is also a contemporary Maria Montessori. Perhaps, a beautiful blend of the two.

Compassion is contagious!

Lighthearted Fathering

Playfulness with Purpose 

The approach I took with my daughter, Anna, when she was a baby, toddler, infant, K12, college... has always been playful with purpose. I consider myself a happy person so it was natural for me to transfer this to everything I did with my daughter from the first zurburt on her baby belly 28 years ago, to the rhyming silliness I shout during a rousing game of Bannagrams today.

Anna and her pops

Here are five areas that were a part of Anna's daily life with her Papa:

The Magic of "I Don't Know"

Using "I DON'T KNOW" As A Parenting Tool

Recently I read and responded to one of Teacher Tom's thoughtful blog posts on his Facebook page. It was entitled, I Don't Know.  Tom personally answered, and we ended up having a good exchange. A week later, Teacher Tom's blog post "More About I Don't Know"  kindly mentioned me and our discussion.

Shhhh... and don't forget them

Let's look at some reasons why 'I don't know' is so effective

All Are Significant

Elevating Community

Everyone in any given community is important. That might be a neighborhood community, a work community, a school community.  Recognizing custodians in the community has been in the news lately. This post celebrates the often overlooked role of custodians, including the fact that they have private lives with family. In fact, I have a custodian in my immediate family to honor. 

Finding Awe In Children

The Fear in Awe

When we become parents for the first time we experince awe in all its glory. The reverence of something greater than ourselves. The admiration of a living miracle. Also, the fear about everything connected to becoming a parent... fear that we won't know how to handle the baby, fear that we aren't

Real Neat Blog Award

This Award is Recognition for Trying to Make a Difference 

I would like to thank The Peaceful Papa for his nomination of Papa Green Bean for the Real Neat Blog Award. The Peaceful Papa's Facebook page is full of positive tips on raising children. In fact, his wife just delivered a little baby girl less than a week ago. He is blogging in real neat daddy time!

Free to LEARN

The Human Nature of Education

Note: This post is my take on the book, Free to LEARN by Peter Gray. He is a research professor in the Department of Psychology at Boston College,  a brilliant individual and loving father. 

The cover of the book has a subtitle which is a good summary:  

"Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life"

Playfulness forever!

Peter Gray makes the case that playfulness serves educational purposes that enhance creativity. Gray states, "While curiosity motivates children to seek new knowledge and understanding, playfulness motivates them to practice new skills and use those skills creatively."

Build Trust - Be Honest

Children Deserve Our Truth

Teacher Tom's Demanding Truth post is a powerful testament to building a relationship with your child based on honesty. Children want sincerity. They want a mom and dad who they can trust.

It doesn't mean they require you to be right about everything. It does mean they don't want you to pretend to know when you don't, or even more importantly for young children, to pretend to not know when you do. 

Hold Me Like You'll Never Let Me Go

 The Babywearing Mindset 

Introduction - The "In-Arms"stage of a child

Hey pops, I've heard about you!

The child passes through successive phases of development in which her surroundings have an important part to play. In none have they more importance than the "in-arms" phase, the period from birth to when the child begins sitting and then crawling by herself—generally this is at six to nine months of age.

(Major Papa Green Bean point) - The in-arms phase as part of a continuum can be descibed as a second nine month gestation period, giving the human baby an eighteen month period of full gestation, with the actual birth being the half way point. This is a remarkably insightful concept and, if understood for its implications, leads us as parents and childcare providers to a much more respectful and nurturing welcome for the newborn child onto our living world. 

Let's Spend the Night Together

Cosleeping and Independence 

"Let's spend the night together", the title of this post, has a very appropriate second line... "now I need you more than ever". This is a classic Rolling Stones song but those two lines apply to every newborn baby's plea to their parents upon being brought out of the safety of the womb.


It's time parents get the correct message about cosleeping with their children. Dire warnings against infant bed sharing backfired. Many young parents have obeyed the unfounded warnings of infant bed sharing for much too long. Untrusting of their innate ability, and of their child's "motives" in giving perfectly clear signals (crying), parents have been misguided into forcing their newborns and infants to sleep alone.

Time To Rhyme

Using Poetry with your Children

Poetry is as simple as saying to your two year old, "I don't suppose you can touch your nose with your toes?" or, "Before you put on your pants, shake out any ants!"

 I dream of ice cream

This kind of rhyming catches a young child's attention and forces them to smile, but also to think. One of the reasons I did these fun exchanges with my daughter was because it kept me engaged in some of the daily activities like getting dressed... always an advocate for living life with a smile...

What Is Your ACE Score?

The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study

My ACE score is two. The ACE questionaire is a simple list of ten questions, but it's ramifications are deep and wide (yes, just like the Jordan river).

One with the world!

Robbyn Peters Bennett, founder of StopSpanking.org (see Tedx Talk), has worked heart and soul on stopping the generational cycle of corporal punishment. I, Papa Green Bean will para-phrase much of her information throughout the rest of this post.

International Day of Peace

Peace In – Peace Out

Who has read The Absorbent Mind by Dr. Maria Montessori?

I credit some of my words here to that book, which I first read in 1986. 

These next 4 lines I wrote for my daughter:

The heart and soul—the strongest—most beautiful of creations

Are inside you—the future is within.

So grin as you listen to its din.

When my daughter, Anna, was born I began to study the work of Dr. Maria Montessori, even taking off a year to obtain a degree from the Association Montessori Internationale in Atlanta. 

Dr. Montessori: Peace Advocate Superb