Hackschooling

I LOVE this video. In fact, I loved it so much I just had to share it with you guys. Even if you don't homeschool your children you could easily implement these ideas into the lives of your children.


Watch the whole video- it's only 11 minutes long- and take notes :)

Here is a list of my notes on how I can incorporate these ideas into my children's lives:

*Nature days- My children BEG for nature days- We need to do it more often.
*Focusing on maintaining childhood happiness and joy instead of focusing on "what do you want to DO when you grow up"
*Took notes on the 7 areas of happiness and how we as a family can find better balance by increasing/decreasing those specific areas.
*And of course because I homeschool my children: Using the community as a resource for classes and subjects to help them find their passions in life. Because there's only so much a home and a library can teach:)

Teaching Children about Sex and Their Personal Worth

I recently read an Article about Abstinence-Only sex education highlighting Elizabeth Smart's feelings on the matter. I'm sure you all remember Elizabeth Smart's story- abducted from her bedroom in 2002 at the tender age of 14 and held in captivity for 9 long months mostly in the mountains behind her home in Salt Lake City Utah.
I lived in Utah at the time and when she was found and I, along with much of the world I imagine, wondered- "why didn't she just run away from her captures? She had so many opportunities and she was so close to home."
Utah has a high Conservative Christian population and I believe still teaches Abstinence-only sex education in schools. I myself am Christian... however, I, like Elizabeth Smart, have developed strong feelings about abstinence-only education due to the unfortunate fact that I myself am proof of the statistics listed below and personally know the dangers abstinence only education can put a young woman in. And it is even more important to me now that I have children of my own.

Elizabeth Smart says it best:
"“I remember in school one time, I had a teacher who was talking about abstinence and she said, ‘Imagine you’re a stick of gum. When you engage in sex, that’s like getting chewed. And if you do that lots of times, you’re going to become an old piece of gum, and who is going to want you after that?’ Well, that’s terrible. No one should ever say that. But for me, I thought,

My beef with this analogy is that this message usually falls harder on girls: 

If one person is the gum, the other person chews. This is a VICTIM based analogy. The same goes for all of the other “tips” that put the pressure on the victim to prevent rape. "When we teach teenagers to dress modestly, abstain from alcohol and certainly never engage in sex, we’re not actually helping them prevent rape—but we are telling them that when they are victimized, they are partially to blame." - Amanda Hess, Slate.com

Current statistics on sexual abuse and rape are staggering and these statistics should emphasize the importance of proper sex education to children and teenagers:

SOURCE: RAINN.ORG

In my opinion proper sex education should teach:

You are ALWAYS of worth no matter what happens, and no matter what you decide. Teaching this is essential to protecting not only their bodies- but their sense of worth and their self esteem. I've personally witnessed and gone through the horrible depression you can experience once you lose your self worth and self esteem. 

Sex is not "one person chewing and one person being chewed". It is and always should be mutual and equal.

-Your body is YOURS and YOURS ALONE. Children need to learn that they have permission to fight back, and that requires them to know that they are of worth and that they have value EVEN AFTER the attack. NO MATTER WHAT. 

And most importantly- Sex education should start as young as possible and should go hand in hand with teachings of empowerment, value, worth, and respect. Children need to learn that sex is not a bad thing. It is not worth shaming. It is a topic that needs to be discussed and they need to feel comfortable enough to talk to you about it. 

So, I'd like to know... what are your feelings on the matter? Do you believe in abstinence-only education? Do you believe that it is a topic that should be taught at home and/or in school? Personally, I have mixed feelings on the matter that are rather complicated- to lengthy to discuss here. But I'm curious as to what you think and how you all teach it to your children.

CLICK HERE TO READ MY ARTICLE ON TEACHING AND PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM PORNOGRAPHY

Bedtime Yoga for Kids

My kids recently began doing Yoga via Cosmic Kids  and it has become such a hit in my family that we've added Bedtime Yoga on certain nights when we need to get a few more wiggles out of our systems before bed.

This awesome Yoga bedtime story by Jeff Maier via Youtube does just the trick! 

The story is read out loud by a woman with a very soft and kind voice so your kids can follow along as she explains Yoga principals and suggests relaxing poses to prepare their bodies for sleep.

Perfect way to unwind from a busy day and a great way to teach your children self-calming techniques.

Bedtime Passes

Bedtime. It's the bane of my existence. 

I love my children. I LOVE parenting. But come 8pm I am SO ready to "clock out" for the day! And I don't think it's too much to ask that my offspring not only go to bed, but STAY in bed! This became a huge problem as of late in our household- so I came up with this:

Bedtime passes.

Now when my kiddos go to bed they each get 2 Bedtime Passes that they can use to address their post-bedtime concerns. In our family they are non-transferable (meaning they can't save them to rack up extra Bedtime Passes the next night) and once they are gone- that's it- no more out-of-bed trips. If they come out of bed after their passes are up, they lose their Bedtime Baskets (a post about those is coming later this week)

So far this little system is working great. In fact, after about a week of this system they stopped using them "for fun" and even stopped coming out all together.... which is nothing short of a miracle for this mama! I normally don't use behavioral tricks like this to train my children but desperate times call for desperate measures! Mama needs her alone time! :)

To print, click the link above. There are 4 passes per page. Print, laminate, enjoy.

Happy Parenting!

p.s. As always, if you have trouble downloading these, email me (contact information is at the top of the page under the "contact tab") and I will email them to you directly. 

Aspiring Children's Artist- My Art- Final Day!

Today concludes my week long  art exhibit. I've shown you 4 of some of my more recent works,

--->"Little Man"
--->"I Love You to the Moon and Back"
--->"Little Blue Bird"
--->"Like Whoa"

 all of which will eventually be for sale when I open my Etsy shop.. and all of which have never been seen publicly. Today I will conclude with my very favorite piece:
Drum roll please.................................

"Whaley High"

Acrylic on Canvas

by Stephanie Lindhardt

Notice the nod to Denmark? I am Danish/American and LOVE my heritage (and miss my homeland, family, and friends that reside there like crazy since it's a VERY expensive flight from my neck-of-the-woods!)

I hope you've enjoyed my art this week!- I certainly enjoyed creating it.
Thanks for popping by!

xoxo

Steph

Aspiring Children's Artist- My Art Day 4

Welcome to Day 4 of my online exhibit featuring my never-before-seen art.
Today I'm featuring a piece I call:

"Like Whoa"

Acrylic on Canvas

By Stephanie Lindhardt

Unfortunately this piece is in storage at my sister's house...1200 miles away. And the only picture I have of it as of right now was on my phone- so the picture quality is lacking. It is much clearer, much brighter, and much better in person- I promise:)  But- you get the gist of it... right?

If you missed my art that I've showcased so far this week ... please take a gander!

Monday- "Little Man"
Tuesday- "I Love You to the Moon and Back"
Wednesday- "Little Blue Bird"

Thanks for visiting! Tomorrow I'm showcasing my very favorite piece of all! I'll give you a hint- it's called, "Whaley High" :)

xoxo

-Stephanie

Aspiring Children's Illustrator- My Art Day 3

I am an aspiring artist- particularly, an aspiring Children's Illustrator. And all week long I'm showcasing a few of my pieces to the world publicly for the very first time! Before I open my Etsy shop- before I send out my portfolio- I am showing all of you my art first. Because I love you :) Kind of like an online Art Exhibit perhaps?

Monday I showed you "Little Man"- a cute little Native American boy in the snow
Tuesday I showcased "I Love You to the Moon and Back" - which features 2 bears embracing on the moon overlooking the night sky. (This piece features a lot of symbolism as it was painted for a dear friend of mine)

Today I am showing you a piece that isn't really "Children's" art per-say. It's entitled:

"Blue Bird" -creatively enough :) 

 watercolor on paper

By Stephanie Lindhardt

Thanks again for visiting! Stay tuned for my final 2 pieces tomorrow and the next day

xoxo-

Steph