Penny Stones Blog
Posts Tagged ‘kids’
Sunday, June 20th, 2010
I’ve been keeping a little journal of quotes. Whenever one of our kids (one girl and two boys) gives us their version of the English language, I write it down so we can remember it. Here are some of my favorites:
“No comments from the popcorn gallery, please.” ~ 10-year old daughter
“You wanna piece of me?” ~ five-year old son as he’s playing a video game
“”I was really starving for my blanket last night.” ~ five-year old son
When our five-year old son was complimented for reading a hard word he said “Oh, I just rememberized it.”
“I’m just like a dinosaur oncologist! I have five books on dinosaurs!” ~ six-year old son
“What’s a time frame? I’ve never seen one before.” (thinking it’s like a picture frame…) ~ six-year old son
When asked how God made a woman, our six-year old son said “He pulled a ribbon out of his pocket.”
“I want to play ‘Corn in the Cobs’” (instead of Corn Hole) ~ six-year old son
“I’m full. Can I have some ice cream?” ~ six-year old son
“We only learn stuff so teachers have somethin’ to do.” ~10-year old daughter
Out to lunch with Papa, Mommy asked her sons to share their sundaes. The older brother replied, “You can have one bite of mine, but you can have as many as you want from my brother!”
Tags: communication, conversation, family, kids, parenting
Posted in Uncategorized, children, communication, family, family relationships, favorites, kids, parenting | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
“Anybody can sympathize with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathize with a friend’s success.”- Oscar Wilde
Tags: communication, conversation, family, friendship, friendship quotes, kids, listening, listening skills, moms, parenting, Quotes, relationships, success
Posted in Conversations, Quotes, friendship, kids, parenting, relationships | 8 Comments »
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
My family was just highlighted on NPR in a segment focusing on how families are dealing with the economy. You can listen to it here. My husband works in Washington D.C during the week and comes home to a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio on the weekends. It’s a one-year contract with the VA.
We’re thankful he has a job and we’ve created different ways to stay connected while we’re apart. Here are some:
- “Look What I Did This Week” bag – filled with pictures and papers that come home from school
- Tuck-in Routine – Every night, I would sing them their song and Daddy would say prayers. This hasn’t changed. Each child talks to Daddy on the phone and lets him know the happenings of their day, and then they pray.
- Texts – Daddy sends texts and the kids have become comfortable sending Daddy messages.
- Pictures – We send photo messages as well as videos when speical occasions come up that Daddy has to miss.
It’s not easy and there have been a few times when I REALLY wished he was home, but overall, his job is a blessing. It has allowed us to stay in our home and not have to change our lifestyle too much. But we’re all looking forward to February, 2010, when his contract is up and he’ll (hopefully) find a job in Cleveland. If you know of anyone looking for a great Senior Project Manager in the Cleveland market, please let me know!
Tags: commuting, conversation, family, kids, moms, parenting, relationships, talk, tips
Posted in family, interviews, kids, parenting, press, relationships | 1 Comment »
Monday, October 5th, 2009
As parents, we want to prepare our kids for the challenges they will face. But it’s not always easy to know just what to say. Some topics are more difficult to discuss than others. The website Talk with Your Kids is dedicated to helping parents talk to their kids”…before everyone else does”.
Here are 10 tips for talking with kids about tough issues. Click here for the whole article.
1. Start Early
2. Initiate Conversations With Your Child
3. …Even about Sex and Relationships
4. Create an Open Environment
5. Communicate your values
6. Listen to Your Child
7. Try to be Honest
8. Be Patient
9. Use Everyday Opportunities to Talk
10. Talk About it Again. And Again.
Tags: conversation, conversation starters, family, kids, parenting, talk, tips, topics
Posted in Conversations, Small Talk, conversation starters, family, kids, parenting, relationships | No Comments »
Thursday, October 1st, 2009
I was clicking around the blog world and happened upon this neat little list of conversation starters in the Dream Dinner Blog
“If your family is like ours, you may work hard to create a family dinner time routine, or other family activity (”forced family fun” as our oldest calls it), and then realize that you are not sure what to talk about. There are many resources in print and on the internet that have conversation starters for families.
Here are few:
- What is one thing you couldn’t live without?
- What cartoon character would you most like to be? Why?
- What is the hardest/best thing about being ___ years old?
- Describe your all-time best day ever.
- What would be the worst job/profession to have?
- What should a parent do when a child doesn’t listen?
- Where would be the best place in the whole world to take a family vacation?
- Would you rather dive off a huge cliff, or give a book report in front of the whole school?
Even if these don’t spark a lengthy conversation, they will at least get the group started. It is important that each family gets a turn to talk without fear of interruption. Don’t worry if every child isn’t old enough to participate. The language stimulation for the little ones will be wonderful! Don’t forget to have the adults answer also! It may be necessary to start a rule that no one is allow to make fun of someone else’s answer. That way there is a feeling of safety for everyone to speak, whether they are two or fifty two. You may be surprised by some of the things you hear your children say!” Post from Dream Dinners blog
Tags: children, communication, communication skills, conversation, conversation starters, family, family relationships, ice breakers, icebreakers, interpersonal skills, kids, listening, listening skills, parenting, relationships, talk
Posted in Conversations, children, communication skills, conversation starters, family, family relationships, ice breakers, icebreakers, interpersonal skills, kids, parenting | 12 Comments »
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
“Good communication skills and techniques are mostly the result of learned behavior. The examples we are given as children at home, at school and with our friends has a great deal to do with how we develop in this area. Generally, and in simplest terms, the better those around us communicate as we are growing up, the better the skills we develop. Because we have very little control over that when we’re young, we are not all on equal footing starting out. Luckily, it’s never too late to make improvements (nor is it too late to forward this blog to your parents, who might benefit from it as well!).” – from Stephanie Silverman’s Blog, click here to see the whole article.
Tags: communication, communication skills, conversation, family, family relationships, interpersonal skills, kids, listening skills, parenting, relationships
Posted in Conversations, Quotes, communication skills, conversation starters, family, family relationships, ice breakers, icebreakers, interpersonal skills, kids, parenting, relationships | 6 Comments »
Monday, September 28th, 2009
Today is a relatively new holiday: Family Day – A Day to Eat Dinner with Your ChildrenTM. It is a national movement to inform parents that the parental engagement fostered during frequent family dinners is an effective tool to help keep America’s kids substance free. Family Day reminds parents that Dinner Makes A Difference!
It started in 2001 as a grass roots movement and has grown to become a nationwide celebration. In fact, in 2008 President Bush, all 50 Governors and more than 800 Mayors and County Executives proclaimed and supported Family Day!
Plan to spend tonight with your family, eating, talking and connecting around the dinner table.
Tags: communication, family, family relationships, kids, listening skills, parenting
Posted in Conversations, family, kids, parenting, relationships | No Comments »
