Comments (5)

By Mom Unplugged, October 23, 2007 8:53 pm

Henryk Goldszmit was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1878. He is better known by his pseudonym, Janusz Korczak (pronounced “Yanoosh Kor-chock”)

Not only did Janusz Korczak become a well-known writer (Korczak even wrote quite a few children’s books that were apparently extremely well-known in their day, including King Matt the First) but he also became a pediatrician so as to better be able to help sick and poor children.

In 1912 he decided to go a step further and became the director of a new Jewish orphanage in Warsaw. He lived in the attic of the building and accepted no salary. He cared lovingly for the children and had a profound belief (which was not at all the mainstream view at the time) that children should be respected and listened to.

In 1939, the Nazis invaded Poland. In 1940, they ordered Korczak’s orphanage to relocate to the Jewish ghetto, which was a deplorable slum filled with disease, starvation and corpses on the streets.

Korczak made daily begging expeditions to obtain food and medicine for the children. He attempted to maintain as normal a life for the children as possible: teaching and playing with them. He also took over a hospital for sick and dying children in his belief that children should die with dignity.

Although encouraged by non-Jewish friends to leave Poland and save himself, and despite being offered many opportunites to escape, he always replied:

“You wouldn’t abandon your own child in sickness, misfortune, or danger, would you? So how can I leave two hundred children now!” (Loving Every Child, p. 82)

You can all see where this terrible tale is headed. On August 5, 1942 Janusz Korczak lead his two hundred children on a parade through the streets to the train station. They carried the orphanage flag designed by Korczak, and each child carried one favorite toy or book. Korczak and his children were taken away in freight cars to Treblinka where they were all sent to the gas chambers.

This was not meant to be a biographical post about Janusz Korczak, but I don’t believe that one can discuss this book Loving Every Child: Wisdom for Parents, without knowing a bit about this remarkable man.

I stumbled upon this book after hearing a March 3rd NPR story about it: Parenting Advice From a Polish Holocaust Hero. I read it cover-to-cover right away, think about it often, and knew I would write about it one day after I was able to digest the enormity of Korczak and his wisdom, as well as write a post about him without crying.

Loving Every Child: Wisdom for Parents is actually a compilation of quotations from some of Korczak’s other works, primarily How to Love a Child (1919) and The Child’s Right to Respect (1929). It is divided into chapters that each cover a very general subject. For example: “Communication,” “A Child Will Play,” and my favorite - “Adults Are Not Very Clever.”

Janusz Korczak was so incredibly ahead of his time. The advice in this book could have been written yesterday. To think that he wrote these words in the early 1900′s just amazes me.

As I mentioned previously, the main theme of the book is respect for the child. Korczak’s keen observations about the interaction between children and adults really make it seem that this man was able to get inside a child’s head and see the world as the child sees it. His sense of empathy and compassion is overwhelming.

This book has profoundly touched me. Although Korczak’s story brings tears to my eyes whenever I think of it, I have to agree with Ari L. Goldman in his Foreword:

“But what I particularly like about this volume is that it takes Korczak’s wisdom about children out of the context of martyrdom. Most people learn about him through exhibits at various museums commemorating the Holocaust. Korczak, of course, deserves a place there. But he especially deserves to be remembered for what he taught us about children and about ourselves.” (Loving Every Child, p. viii)

This is a book to keep on your nightstand and pick up again and again. Even nearly one hundred years later, Korczak’s words serve as a reminder to us all, to listen to and respect our children.

Here are some of my favorite passages from Loving Every Child: Wisdom for Parents (actually, they are ALL my favorites, so it was hard to choose just a few):

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“We plunder the mountains, cut down the trees, and exterminate the animals. More and more the forests and marshes are being replaced by buildings. We are planting human beings in ever new territories.

We have subjugated the world and have made use of the iron and the animals; we have enslaved other races, we have organized international relations in a cursory way and appeased the masses. Injustice and ill treatment prevail. We do not really consider childhood worries and apprehensions as very serious matters.

Any child is an unequivocal democrat and does not recognize any hierarchies. Whether it is another child’s hunger or the agony of a tormented animal, it causes him pain. Dogs, birds, butterflies, and flowers are equally close to his heart, and he feels kinship with each pebble and shell. He does not believe that only humans have souls.” (p.45)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“The child is small, lightweight, and there is just less of him. We ought to stoop and come down to his level.” (p.20)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“When is the proper time for a child to start walking? When she does. When should her teeth start cutting? When they do. How many hours should a baby sleep? As long as she needs to.” (p.8)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“The child never begrudges the time spent reading a story, having a conversation with the dog, playing catch, carefully scrutinizing a picture or retracing a letter.” (p.34)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

You can also read an excerpt from the book at the NPR website.

Photo is of Janusz Korczak circa 1930, courtesy of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. (USHMM - Photograph #65010, courtesy of Międzynarodowe Stowarzyszenie im. Janusza Korczaka)

Comments (7)

By Mom Unplugged, October 23, 2007 12:21 pm

Thank you to everyone who joined the first “Unplugged Project,” it was a huge success! We had six bloggers who put their links in Mr. Linky and wrote about their project. I kind of thought I might be doing this alone, so I was really thrilled to have you six join me!

Reading the posts was very interesting for me. I noticed that nearly everyone talked about how other lessons came out of the project. For example Becky of Boys Rule My Life wrote this:

“We even had a little learning time when Will asked what was inside the leaves. We talked about how leaves and people both have ‘veins’. I think next time we do this, we’ll have another ‘learning time’ about mixing colors. I’ll only get out the red, yellow, and blue; we’ll come up with the rest.”

Tamara of Mama Tamara said:

“The pictures don’t really capture the whole ‘picture’ though. The kids enjoyed collecting items on their walk outside, and learned several new and interesting things about the items they collected. And they really liked experimenting with painting/stamping with the different items.”

It really does seem that the “best” learning often comes at unexpected moments, doesn’t it? I guess that is one of the reasons why it feels so good to get together with your kids from time to time and just do something fun.

This thought leads me to revelation number two: Many of you thanked me for coming up with this idea because you needed a “little nudge” to sit down and do a project. Well so do I! That is one of my more selfish reasons for deciding to give this a try in the first place!

I find it very easy to get stuck in my rut of laundry, chores, cooking, etc. Plus, with a very busy 21 month-old at home, all too often I find myself saying “I’m too busy with the baby” or “I’m too tired” when my older two children ask me to do something with them. This weekly “Unplugged Project” forces me to sit down at least once a week and really try and do something fun with them all.

This morning my oldest daughter asked me what the next project was going to be. My son overheard and said: “You mean we get to do a project together every week? Yahoo!!!” I felt happiness at his excitement, but also a pang of Mom Guilt at the number of times I am “too busy.” This will be a good thing for us too.

I also want to thank all the people who didn’t participate, but who stopped by to check out our project yesterday. Judging by my “stats,” it was probably the biggest day ever for Unplug Your Kids in terms of numbers of visits. It is so nice to know that I am writing for an interested audience and not just a vacant void!

If you haven’t yet done so, feel free to take a quick look at everyone’s work and leave a comment. You can find links to the other Unplugged Project bloggers in Mr. Linky on Sunday night’s post. Mr. Linky is the little list at the bottom of the post, just click on the names and you will be miraculously transported to to their blog.

Thanks again! I enjoyed myself and hope you did too!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Again, here is next week’s project:

Decorate a Small Pumpkin

Supplies:
- a small pumpkin (or big if you want!)
- paint and brushes

Have your child decorate a small pumpkin with paint. Leave it up to them. Younger children will want to just dab on paint. Older children might have a plan for a face, animal, design…whatever! If you don’t have a pumpkin, how about drawing one on a piece of paper and letting your child decorate that?

Hope to see you next Monday!

Comments (4)

By Mom Unplugged, October 16, 2007 9:13 pm

It’s not easy being the Tooth Fairy. Especially when the 7 year-old who is shedding teeth like the cats shed fur is a light, light sleeper. Always has been. Ever since she was a baby.

My mother and I used to tiptoe into her room before going to bed ourselves, “just to peep.” We would be oh so quiet, but somehow she always knew we were there and the eyelids would suddenly pop open like the vampire’s did in the 1979 miniseries version of Steven King’s Salem’s Lot (back when I lived with a TV).

We would run screaming from the room (well, figuratively screaming) knowing that she would be awake for hours. It was truly the stuff of nightmares.

Now, it is worse. It is so stressful realizing that the Tooth Fairy must collect the teeny tiny tooth that inevitably ends up buried somewhere deep under the pillow and leave something…all without causing those eyes to pop open.

I always oversee the placement of the tooth in an easily reachable position, but by the time the Tooth Fairy arrives, it is always pushed way under the pillow which is somehow covered with her entire body at that particular moment in time.

While we were away on vacation this summer, the kids slept together on an air mattress on my Dad’s living room floor. His house is small, so we also used that room to store our suitcases and ever-expanding collection of “stuff.”

My daughter decided to lose two teeth while we were away and each time, the Tooth Fairy failed to ensure that a path was cleared between the door and the pillow. There is nothing like tripping and stumbling through a minefield of invisible objects in the dark when one is trying to be discreet.

Oh, and then there was that time that THE TOOTH FAIRY FORGOT TO COME. This scenario figures prominently in parental nightmares and is one of my best Mom of the Year Award moments (ranking right up there with the time I turned my back and found the baby sucking the toilet brush).

It was about 6 AM and my sweet dream was rudely interrupted by my daughter flying into the room wailing: “She didn’t come!!!” My eyes suddenly popped open like my daughter’s (or the vampire’s) and I sat bolt upright in bed. “Oh s__t!!!” was my first thought of the day, and I am really not a person who is easily given to uttering profanities.

Well, I quickly explained that:

“The tooth must not have been properly placed under the pillow and since the Tooth Fairy is small, you know, it is very difficult for her to reach a tooth that is not properly placed, of course the Tooth Fairy can come in the daytime under such extreme circumstances, in fact she is probably flitting about the house in great distress as we speak simply waiting for us to move the tooth to an easier location.” Blah blah blah….

I surely do not need to tell you that the Tooth Fairy made an immediate pick-up and drop-off as soon as my daughter’s back was turned.

And then there was the time that my daughter wrote this note to the Tooth Fairy and left it under her pillow with a tooth (all her own precious idea):

Translation:

“Dear Tooth Fairy,
Thank you for leaving a little treat for children when they “loose” a tooth.
Love,
(name) ”

I guess that makes it all worthwhile.

Comments (8)

By Mom Unplugged, October 15, 2007 12:01 am

I truly believe that the way to raise environmentally aware children is to instill a love and appreciation of nature at an early age.

Here are some ideas and resources to help parents encourage a love of nature in their children. Just one of these ideas alone may not make much of a difference, but a combination of several should begin to have an impact on the way children perceive the world we live in. I hope so anyhow! Please give some of these a try:

1) Get your kids outside! Go for a hike, or even a walk around the neighborhood. The National Wildlife Federation has a website for parents and kids called The Green Hour which is filled with ideas for what to do outside. Also check out Backyard Nature with Jim Conrad for 101 nature-oriented activities that change seasonally.

2) Have your kids plant a small garden. If you live in the city, have them plant a pot or two on the deck or even in a sunny window. Here are some of my tips for gardening with children: The Children’s Garden.

3) Subscribe to nature magazines for children such as Zoobooks (ages 4-12), Zootles (ages 2-5), National Geographic Kids (6-14), National Geographic Little Kids (ages 3-6), Ranger Rick (ages 7 and up), Your Big Backyard (ages 3-7) or for really little ones (ages 1-4) - try the National Wildlife Federation’s Wild Animal Baby. Not only do these magazines teach kids about nature, but they encourage reading too!

Note: Ranger Rick must have been around for eons, because even I remember getting it, and loving it, as a child.

4) Subscribe to a nature club such as the Arbor Day Foundation’s Nature Explore Club.

5) Put out a bird feeder, or better yet, a variety of bird feeders (hummingbird, thistle seed, suet feeders, platform feeders, peanuts in shells, as well as the traditional sunflower and millet varieties). Even in the city it should usually be possible to hang a small feeder outside a window. If you can put out a bird bath, especially a heated one for climates with cold winters, you will notice an even greater number of bird visitors.

6) Get a kit for raising butterflies, frogs, ladybugs, or hermit crabs for example.

Or how about an ant farm?

Or my personal favorite…sea monkeys!

7) Set an example. Whether we like it or not, kids model parents’ behaviors. Show your own interest in nature, and point out interesting animals, insects, plants etc. on a daily basis. To inspire yourself, I suggest reading Rachel Carson’s book The Sense of Wonder. Read my review of it here. Also, you can check out the adult resources here, at the Hooked on Nature website.

8) Come up with some nature-themed art projects for your children, or recycled art. Good resources for ideas are: Nature’s Art Box, Recycled Crafts Box, and Earthways: Simple Environmental Activities for Young Children

If you are interested, I reviewed Earthways here.

9) Involve children in your recycling. Let them help sort. Take them with you when you drop it off. Older children might benefit from a book like Down-to-Earth Guide To Global Warming. Read my review here for more information.

10) Read nature-themed stories to your children. Here are some suggested reading lists by age from the Hooked on Nature website:

Ages 3-8
Ages 6-14

11) Set up a seasonal nature table in your home where children can display their outdoor finds. A fall table for example might have fall leaves, acorns, and pine cones, whereas a spring table might have spring flowers, feathers and grasses. Change the table seasonally and see what wonders your children come home with.

12) Start solstice celebrations in your home. Explain about the movement of the Earth, what causes the seasons, and what the solstice means. Last year we had our first annual solstice celebration on the winter solstice. We lit candles and had a special meal. The children gathered whatever they could find outside to create the centerpiece (pine branches, pine cones, rocks, and twigs). They still talk about that evening more than any other holiday celebration that we have had! I believe that being more aware of the natural rhythms of life, helps build an awareness of the importance of nature and the planet.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I really wish I had begun this post three weeks ago instead of last night, because I know that there are many more great ideas for getting kids excited about nature and the environment. This will definitely have to be an ongoing project for me.

I hope you have enjoyed my ideas, and will find them useful. The main point is that children are the future of out planet. Get them outdoors and teach them just how wonderful our planet is…PLEASE!!!!

Comments (3)

By Mom Unplugged, October 3, 2007 11:00 pm

Thank you all so much for the comments on Monday’s post (The Great Candy Dilemma). Your interest truly warmed my heart and I was so pleased to see a few new commenters. Thank you!

It is funny how something so small as a comment from a reader can really make a blogger’s day, and I am sure all bloggers would agree. In cyberspace, a comment can be like a handshake, a pat on the back, even a hug. It makes me happy to know that I have reached someone and they have reached back.

Before I get all mushy and sentimental here, I’d better get to my point. A comment makes me happy. When I am happy, I make my kids happy. They then make their teachers and class mates happy, etc. etc. etc. Pay it forward. Good karma. What goes around, comes around. Whatever you call it, it is a fact of life, and one that I would like my children to learn.

My pleasure from all your virtual hugs and handshakes reminded me of a few books that we have that help kids understand the whole “pay it forward” idea.

Love and Kisses (Author: Sarah Wilson, Illustrator: Melissa Sweet):

First is a book for little ones called Love and Kisses. I read this to the baby tonight, it is one of her favorites although she is probably too young to “get” the deeper meaning. I bought it in board book format when my now seven year-old was a baby, and it has held up really well even after being loved by three children.

The story begins with a little girl blowing a kiss to her cat, “Blow a kiss and let it go. You never know how love will grow!” On the next page, we see the little girl kissing her cat again. On the following page the cat kisses a cow, who kisses a “giggling goose,” who kisses a fish, etc. etc. You get the idea. The kiss passes through a variety of very sweetly illustrated animals and ultimately ends up where?? Yes of course! Back to the cat, then to the girl. The last two pages say: “Kisses! Kisses! Smooch and smack! You’ll have your love and kisses back!”

This is such a happy little book. Even though the message is profound, it still makes for a happy, uplifting bedtime read that toddlers can enjoy. The text is a melodic rhyme and the illustrations are really cute and funny.

The book comes new in a board book or paperback format (both are eligible for Amazon’s 4-for-3 promotion), or you can find used hardcovers. I personally recommend the board book version since mine has lasted forever, and toddlers really like this book!

Because Brian Hugged His Mother (Author: David L. Rice, Illustrator: K. Dyble Thompson):

This book tells the story of little boy Brian who woke up one day and decided to run into the kitchen and give his Mom a big hug and kiss, and tell her he loved her. Of course, “Brian’s mother felt loved and appreciated” and made Brain and his sister Joanna their favorite breakfast. So, at school, Joanna helps her teacher, who then does something nice for the new principal, who was so happy, that she was lenient with a misbehaving student and so on, and so on.

Of course, after passing through many different people in Brian’s town, the kindness eventually ends up with a police officer who catches Brian’s Dad speeding, but because she is feeling “supported and honored,” she gives him a warning instead of a ticket. Brian’s Dad, feeling “grateful and relieved” reads an extra long time with Brain before bed. That made Brain feel “loved and treasured” so he had pleasant dreams, slept well, and awoke feeling great. He then ran to the kitchen to give his mother a hug!!

As you can glean from my summary, not only does the book teach the concept of karma very simply and plainly, but it is also provides a wonderful opportunity to discuss feelings. Each character feels differently (in a positive way) after being the recipient of a thoughtful deed. A discussion of words like “valued,” “accepted,” “respected,” or “honored” can really enhance a child’s understanding of the many nuances of positive emotions.

The illustrations consist of quite life-like watercolors that nicely depict the scenes of daily life that accompany the text.

Because Brian Hugged His Mother is available new in a paperback (another 4-for-3 book at Amazon!), or used as a hardcover.

Karma Cards - Kids Set

OK, I promised books, but this is not a book. It is a set of cards. “Santa” left these cool cards in my oldest daughter’s stocking last Christmas. For a long time we were doing one of these every morning and a Sweet Dreams Card every night before bed. While the Sweet Dreams Cards are still a “must” before bed, the Karma Cards have fallen a bit by the wayside lately, perhaps due to our hectic morning schedule (ie. Mom isn’t a Morning Person). Well, we rediscovered them during a room cleaning and my daughter is “into them” again!

I am not a baby flashcard sort of mom, but for the right child, these cards seem to be a fun way to teach the pleasures of positive actions. Since my daughter is so hooked on the Sweet Dreams Cards, these work for her.

The idea is that a child chooses one of the 25 cards and does what the card says at some point during the day. Some examples are: “Choose one of your toys to donate to a charity,” and: “Find a penny dated the year of your birth and give it away to someone special.” Most of the cards spread kindness to others, or help you feel better about yourself. Several are merely useful in a more practical sense, such as practicing a family fire drill, or learning the words to your national anthem.

In case you feel like you could use a little karmic nudge yourself, there are also Karma Cards for adults with a variety of themes (including Karma Cards for the Environment - that is my personal area of deficiency and guilt). I have not looked at any of these adult sets, but stop by the Karma Coaching Cards website to see what else they offer. These cards are recommended for children ages 5 and up - with adult supervision.