Parenting Tip - Do I Have FAITH?

I was recently talking with a family member about faith.  We were questioning the amount of faith we had, because when compared with the faith the pioneers exhibited, we found our faith to be lacking. 

When reading about the sacrifice and faith of past ancestors and stories from the scriptures, I wonder if I could have made the same choices these faithful saints had made.  My great grandmother in Sweden was given the choice of continuing her allegiance to her new found Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) or remain a member of the Lutheran Church- the state Church. This was the ultimatum given by the Lutheran priest in her town.  If she would not denounce her new faith she would be forced to give up her two foster daughters, ages 7 and 5 (which she had reared since birth).  She chose to remain faithful to her new religion, but suffered deeply over the loss of her two foster daughters.  My grandmother, who was a child (5) at this time, did not even know her sisters were not her real sisters. Eventually my great grandmother and her family emigrated to Utah to be with the Saints (when my grandmother was a teenager). 

Many times in my life I have thanked this great grandmother for her example of faith.  But could I have made that same choice?  As a young mother, and now an older mother and grandmother, I wonder if I would have enough faith to give up someone I loved so much?

When reading the scriptures, I often ponder over the martyrdom of the prophets and think, "Well, of course they had enough faith in God to die for His name, they were prophets."  But then I read about the men, women and children who would not deny their faith in Christ and were burned while Alma and Amulek had to watch. (Alma 14 : 8-10, Book of Mormon) Would I have enough faith to endure this horror?

I wonder about the Bible story when Daniel was told not to pray openly to his God but did anyway.  He was thrown in the lion's den but preserved by the hand of God. (Daniel 6) Yet when Alma, the younger, and his people were told not to pray, they obeyed and did not pray openly, but poured out their hearts to God in secret prayer.  They too, were eventually delivered by the hand of God, (Book of Mormon, Mosiah 24).  So it seems to me that the Lord accepts different ways of showing faith, depending on the circumstances.

How deep is MY faith?  Can I sacrifice really hard things if I am asked to?  As I have pondered these two questions over the years, I think I have finally come to this conclusion:

**I’m not asked to show the kind of faith shown by the pioneers or people in the scriptures.  

**I can’t compare my life situation to theirs.  We live in totally difference circumstances that require different living conditions and commitments.  

**I don’t understand the world they lived in with the attitudes and conditions of their times, or the historical context of their living situations.  And that is not a lame excuse, saying, "I don’t understand their times."  It is a fact.  It is a fact that life was different.  People thought differently, did different things to survive and thrive, and so they reacted differently and made choices differently compared to how we live today.

I decided to make a list of how I was showing faith, right now in my life.  Sorry--it's kind of personal so feel free to quit reading.......

How I am exercising FAITH right now:

**I am striving to endure to the end by giving SERVICE, and have faith this will make a difference in my eternal progression.  Currently I am a service missionary teaching ESL at the Somali Center in Phoenix two mornings a week and additionally creating tutoring lessons.

**I have faith that Ed is serving a mission (for the rest of my lifetime), and still helping our family and me.  Hey, I'm like the pioneers in some ways for this is the same sacrifice some of the women had to make when their husbands died or served missions for an extended period of time.

**I have faith my piano and ukulele teaching will help children and families by giving them the gift of music

**I have faith that my performing at retirement homes through music will help enrich a senior’s life

**I have faith that going to the temple every week will help my relatives make covenants so they can progress in the next life

**I have faith that exercising and eating nutritional food will help me to be healthy as I grow older

**I have faith that getting out of my comfort zone by flying to my out-of-state children's homes to babysit grandchildren will build a strong relationship with them in the future

**I have faith that reading my scriptures, conference talks, Come Follow Me, listening to BYU speeches, and other uplifting reading daily, will increase my spirituality and help me stay virtuous

**I have faith that learning to play the banjo and mandolin, knitting, and making art will help my creative abilities and be an advantage in the next life

**I have faith that I was inspired to start a blog and write my thoughts down so I could help someone else who is reading them

So that is how I am showing faith right now in my life.  I'm not walking across a prairie or freezing in the mountains with no food or help in sight.  But the pioneers did not walk their whole entire lives--which sometimes I find myself thinking they did.  No, that was but a short period of time in their lives.  Then they settled in towns, building homes, raising children, living their faith through their daily commitments.  

And that is what I am trying to do!

Thanks for reading,

Cathy

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Music Tip- Influence Your Small Circle

Saturday night I went to the MCO concert (Millennial Choir and Orchestra) at the Mesa Arts Center with a friend. 

This choir is composed of hundreds of singers from age 4-adults and is led by two brothers who came from California where they initially started a choir like this one.  Now 11 years later they have choirs/orchestra in California, Arizona, Texas, Utah and Idaho.

The brothers, Brandon and Brett Stewart are exceptional musicians with conducting, piano performing, choral and arranging talents that are inspirational. Their focus is on religious and patriotic music. They arrange music that starts with one group singing, and then they add the other choral groups to the mix to build to a gigantic choral and orchestral masterpiece.  It truly is amazing, sometimes overwhelming and very inspirational.

As I sat listening to one magnificent song after another and pondering on the huge undertaking it was to bring all these singers and instrument players together—the composing of the music, the rehearsals, the mechanics of organizing the singers along the balconies, when to walk in, where to go when they’re not singing, getting them quickly on stage, organizing a trip to New York during the summer with all singers in the 5 states performing at Carnegie Hall, etc, etc, I began to feel very small and unimportant.  I began to feel like I am not worth anything as far as music is concerned.  All my little efforts at teaching piano, ukulele and music classes with the moms/tots were so unprofessional and puny and inconsequential, that it was almost laughable to think of myself as a fellow musician.  Sure I can play the piano, but never on the level one of the brothers who went to Julliard can.  Sure I have learned to play the ukulele, banjo, dulcimer and mandolin, but only on a very amateurish, beginner level.  Sure I have organized small groups to perform, but only for retired people who don’t care or understand how unprofessional we sound.

I started thinking that I was worthless.  These brothers have touched thousands of lives with their musical talents.  They have influenced a circle of thousands in several states—thousands of people who both perform as well as listen in the audience.  My circle of influence is tiny.

But as I listened to the last song, Nearer, My God to Thee, and heard the beautiful, inspirational music, I felt God’s love for me as He gave me these thoughts:

"You are not worthless.  I need you to bring music to others who would never come in contact with the music you’re listening to or be influenced by it.  Who would bring music and happiness to Grandpa Tom when you bring the children to his care home for music classes?  I love him just as much as everyone else sitting in this concert hall.  And Grandpa Mike, whose smile and excitement to see the children make his whole body jump with joy, even though he can’t say a word to express his delight.  I need you to bring music, joy and happiness to him as well as Grandpa Reuben and Grandpa Gene, for I love them too and in their later years, they deserve to be happy and to find joy and feel love from others.
 And remember how thrilled Danielle was to see her husband and children sing and play the ukulele?  She said she hoped they would continue to play together.  What about Chloe’s mother who said Chloe doesn’t like to be in front of people, yet there she was playing her ukulele and smiling and enjoying herself.  I have billions of children living on earth. I need you to help me.  Even though you think your circle of influence is small, I need you to touch their lives and care for them.  I have placed you where you are and count on you to share my love with others.  You are important to me and I value your contribution. I love you.”

I sat weeping, feeling God's love for me.  So now I don’t feel worthless.  I feel like I am needed and though my musical abilities are small and may not be professional on a grand scale, I feel I am talented and gifted with musical ideas and teaching abilities that I need to continue to share.  I’m excited to share music with those around me!  What a privilege and blessing!!!!!!

What about you?  You, too, have a circle of influence.  Look around you at your husband, your children, your grandchildren, your neighbors, your friends.  Be the person they need in their lives right now.  Can you cook and take them something?  Can you listen to them?  Can you just love them?  

You can, and so can I!  Let's go do a small and amazing thing!

Thank you for reading,

Cathy

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Music Tip - Ukulele Chords for It's Gonna be Okay

Hi Ukulele Fans,

Here are the chords that go with the Piano Guys latest hit, It's Gonna be Okay.  My current ukulele group is loving it!  Hope you enjoy it.  Here is a link to the group performing it on You tube.  This version is in the same key, so you can play along with the group.  So fun!!

At the bottom of this version is instructions for playing a little harmonic pattern on the ukulele with the chorus.  If you don't understand how to do it, let me know.

Thanks for reading,

Cathy
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Music Tip - Ukulele group class and service opportunity

UKULELE MUSIC CLASSES & SERVICE OPPORTUNITY: 8 week class -7 weeks learning new songs and 1 week performing at a Retirement Center, plus possible ukulele flashmob experience!! (I’m working on the details.)
DATES: Classes begin week of August 14 thru week of Oct 2, 2017
TIME: one hour classes.
LOCATION: west Mesa, Main St/Alma School (tell your friends so you can carpool!)
COST: $65 per student or $110 for a family with 2+ children (pay cash/check on 1st day of class)
AGES: age 8 and up
CONTACT: Email me: Cathy Shepherd - playsmusic@hotmail.com 480-332-8379
FAQ: Don't own a ukulele? Borrow one of mine (register early to reserve one)
Five different classes offered—choose one. Register for the day and time that works for your children: Monday 1 pm , Monday 4 pm, Wed 1 pm, Fri 1 pm, Fri 4 pm (performances will be scheduled during your class time. *All classes begin week of Aug 14 (no Monday classes on Labor Day.)


SHARE THIS CLASS INFORMATION WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!

Homeschoolers, check out this link for other resources: https://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/

Music Tip - Mom/tot classes starting up

To all of you who live in Mesa, AZ, I'm starting up my Mom/tot music classes for this semester.  They will be on Tuesday mornings and will alternate between two different retirement/nursing homes.  You can choose which weeks you want to come (1st/3rd or 2nd/4th or all).  Here's the scoop:

Music classes held on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the following months at Symphony Rehabilitation (Broadway between Lindsay/Val Vista).  Classes are 10:45-11:30

Feb 7 and 21

March 7 and 21

April 4 and 18

Classes on the 2nd and 4th Tues of the following months will be held at The Courtyard Towers 22 N Robson, across from The Idea Museum .  Classes are 10:00-10:45

Jan 24, 2017

Feb 14 and 28

March 28

April 11 and 25

All music classes are Free!!  This is my service to the community.  However, this semester I am asking for a $20 donation per family that I will give to a children's charity.  If you want to come to all the classes every week, it is still just a $20 donation. Grandmas, use this as a play date with your grandchildren!!

There is something magical about combining 2 different generations with music.  Your heart will swell with love and pure joy as you watch your children wave scarves to music with the "grandmas and grandpas" or play the jingles or egg shakers with them.

Space is limited, so please email me early to register:  playsmusic@hotmail.com
I'm a past Kindermusik teacher for ASU's community ed classes.

Music Tip - Learn to play the ukulele!

Come learn to play the ukulele--adults and children---lots of fun!!

Plus, a service opportunity as we perform for the "older generation" at nursing homes/retirement centers.

UKULELE MUSIC CLASS & SERVICE OPPORTUNITY: 12 week class (10 weeks learning and 2 weeks performing at Retirement Centers).  Returning students will learn more advanced songs. 

DATES: 4th week in Jan for next 12 weeks *see info below

TIME: one hour classes. 

LOCATION: west Mesa, Main St/Alma School  (tell your friends so you can carpool!)

COST: $65 per student or $100 for a family with 2+ children
AGES: age 8 and up
CONTACT:  Text or email me:  Cathy Shepherd - playsmusic@hotmail.com     480-332-8379

FAQ:  Don't own a ukulele?  Borrow one of mine (register early to reserve one)Four different classes offered, register for the day and time that works for your children:  Monday 1pm , Monday 4pm, Wed 1 pm or Fri 1pm   (performances will be scheduled during your class time.  Ex. If you register for Wed at 1 pm, you come Wed, Jan 25 at 1 pm and every Wed until April 19.) 

*All classes begin week of Jan 23nd -  no classes March 13-17.

Parenting Tip - Will They Remember?

For the past 3 months I have been teaching home schooled children how to play the ukulele.  They have been coming to my home once a week to learn songs, and now for the past month we have been performing them at retirement centers.

Yesterday I took my ukulele group to a private home to sing and play for the residents living there.  The husband and wife of this home care for 6 elderly women plus the wife's mother.  You immediately felt love and peace upon walking into their home.

The husband introduced all the women and told us their names and a little about their backgrounds.  All were wonderful women who had accomplished much in their lives.  One had taught school for 40 years, a couple of the women were musicians, one had something to do with the opera, and one had served with her husband when he was a mission president for the LDS Church and when he was temple president of the Snowflake LDS Temple.  Then the man said, "but they won't remember anything after you leave, so don't worry about making any mistakes!  In fact you could come back tomorrow and they wouldn't remember you."

We had a wonderful time playing for them, and I am always energized after these performances and visits with the elderly.  They are so sweet and appreciative of everything you do and they LOVE the children.  We were invited to come back often.  But as I drove home I kept thinking, "So what's the use.  Why did I spend time going there and why should I go back again if they won't even remember that we have been there."

I know deep inside that we should show kindnesses to everyone, but what if they forget our kindnesses?????  Then I thought  if my mother or father were suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's, I certainly would want people coming and visiting them to bring them joy and happiness, even if it only lasted a half hour.

I was thinking about all these things while driving, and was almost home and sitting at a green light, waiting to turn left, when I saw a little tiny dog running on the street between two oncoming cars.  It suddenly veered into one of the cars and was hit and immediately killed.  I thought about how important one moment was to him--life and death.  Then I thought about how important moments are to those who won't remember with their physical minds, but will remember with their spiritual minds.

I thought about babies who won't remember the love and singing and hugs and kisses we lavish on them as infants.  I thought about the toddlers and preschoolers who won't remember the picnics and toys and games we played with them for countless hours. 

But though they may not remember the exact moments we shared, they will remember the feeling of love they received from us and the special ties they have as they continue growing and begin to remember fun times. 

It's those drops of water, adding one at a time that makes an ocean.  It's the love and strength of that love that ties them to us forever.  And when they are parents, and hugging and kissing their babies, they'll know. In the eternities they will remember.  It is so worth it to make the memories now!

Thanks for reading,

Cathy

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Parenting Tip - Chords for Your Family Song

I wrote a Music Tip blog post a few months ago about chord progressions and how popular music is so full of them.  Lots of rock songs use a 4 chord progression that is repeated over and over again. The chord progressions use root chords as well as 1st and 2nd inversions.  You don't really need to know what those kind of chords are to get the idea of this blog post, but I'll explain briefly.

A root chord is built on the 1st note of the scale (let's say C) then skips a note and uses the next note (E), then skips a note and uses the next note (G).  So C,E,G are the notes played in the root chord.  BUT, you can move their positions around.  If you "invert" the C and put it on top, you have a 1st inversion: EGC.  If you again invert the bottom note to the top, you have a 2nd inversion: GCE.  And if you do it once more, you're back to the root position CEG.  So you can tweak the chord and make it sound a little different, but you're still using the 3 basic notes.

Interesting, huh?

As I have been analyzing music, I have found the root chord plus the inversions EVERYWHERE!  In popular songs, in classical songs, in hymns, in folk songs.......and the reason is because those chords are the building blocks, the basics, the foundation which the music is built on.

I've been trying to get my students to internalize and understand and identify these chords inversions.  Why?  Because they can learn their songs so much easier.  They already know the chords, they know the notes, they know the fingering, and they can get right on to learning the right hand notes.  It makes learning to play the piano so much more enjoyable and easier when you already know the basics.

There are 73 different songs that all use the same chord progression.  The melodies are completely different, but the basic chord structure is exactly the same ( I would give you the you tube link to a funny group who demonstrates and sings these songs, but there's a lot of raunchy stuff there too, so I won't).

Which brings me to what I was thinking about this morning.  Those basic chords are like the basic things we are told to do in Church. Have family scripture reading.  Say family prayers.  Have Family Home Evening. Each family is different, so we sing a different melody according to our individual and family's needs, but we are still playing the same chords in the same progression.

Families with small children will read the scriptures in a different way than families with teenagers will. Empty nesters will read their scriptures different from the way a person living alone will.  But we will ALL read our scriptures.  The same holds true for how we hold Family Home Evening.  Get your family together, learn together, enjoy time together, but do it how it works best for your family, right now in your present circumstances. Raising a family is so much more enjoyable and easier when you know what foundation you should base it on. Your children will learn to sing their song so much easier when the basic "chords" are embedded in their routine. 

What does your family song sound like? Is it bouncy and lively?  Is it loud, or has it begun to slow down and get softer with age?  You are creating your own beautiful melody that is perfect for the chords in your song. Sing your song with the particular singers you have in your family right now, and if you sing it with the correct chord progression, you'll have a hit song on your hands.

Sing your song strong, and well and often.

                                      
Thanks for reading,

Cathy

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Music Tip - Teach Your Baby Sign Language

It's so frustrating not to be able to communicate--whether you're in a different country where they speak a different language, or on the computer with it's different language.  How about if you're trying to communicate with your teenager (who speaks a different language at times!) or even your baby/toddler!

If you're visiting a different country, a dictionary helps somewhat, and if you're on the computer, your younger children can help you (ha, ha!).  Communicating with teenagers can be challenging and  rewarding, BUT talking with your baby is an unbelievable thrill!

You can communicate with your baby through sign language!
From age 8 months to 2 years your baby begins to know what he wants and needs, but does not have the skills to express his needs to you, his mother.  How frustrating for your baby and you.  By knowing a few basic signs such as milk, play, eat, sleepy, water and so on, you can ask your baby what he wants, and he can tell you what he needs.

Plus, it's so fun!! Involve your whole family in signing basic words.  Repetition is the key to success.  After several weeks of signing words (while saying them, of course) your 8-10 month old baby may start attempting to sign the words as well.  Her signs may be just approximate gestures to the ones that you are using, since her fine motor skills have not developed fully, but she'll definitely be signing a word and you'll know what it is.

There are several websites that give basic signs to begin your signing adventure.

Just choose a couple of signs like mommy and daddy, or eat and play, then incorporate the signs with your words throughout the coming days and weeks.  Don't get discouraged if your baby doesn't immediately respond and sign back.  It takes TIME to learn, digest information and be able to respond and perform it back.

If you live in the Mesa area, join my baby signing music class!

Music + sign language =  a whole lot of fun!

Thanks for reading,
Cathy

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Music Tip - Simplified Children's Song

I love the song the children are singing in my Church this year for Primary.  The melody is inspiring and the words ring so true.  It's called, I Know My Savior Lives.  It was composed by Tami Jeppson Creamer and Derena Bell.

I arranged a simplified version of it for my piano students and grandchildren to play.

Enjoy it!
Thanks for reading,
Cathy
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Music Tip - Hand bells and Chimes

I was in a hand bell choir for a couple of years and loved it!  Did I mention that I loved it?  It was so fun and fulfilling to be part of a group who made  music together.  We used hand bells as well as chimes.

A few years ago I had the opportunity to buy a set of chimes.  These are much cheaper than buying hand bells, but they are still quite expensive.  They make a beautiful, soft sound.   I used them at school in my music classes before I retired, and I have also used them at Church.  Children and adults both love to play them.

I have several tips for making it an easy, enjoyable way to play music with children and/or adults who don't read music well or even, at all.  The most important tip I learned from my brother 20 years ago when he was teaching a group of boy scouts to play those homemade pipes which used to be popular.

Tip 1: Each boy had his own pipe/chime and lyrics sheet.  The words to the song were all that was written on the paper (no music--since the scouts couldn't read music).  My brother circled the words to the song that the scout was to play on his chime.  Then the group would all sing/read along with the lyrics and ding their bell only when they came to a circled word on their own individual page.  Ingenious!  It works!  

To prepare a song this way, type up the lyrics with liberal spacing between words and lines.  Print as many copies as you have notes.  Say a song uses middle C, plus all the notes up to the next C.  Print out 8 copies of the lyrics.  On the first paper write Middle C, then look at the music and find which words are sung when middle C is played.  Circle those words on the lyrics page.

Next, get another lyrics page, write D at the top and again, look at the music, find the Ds and circle those words on the paper.  Continue so each note of the song has its own lyrics page.  Then hand out the lyrics, hand out the bells and sing, play and make music!

Tip 2:  You can either play the melody on the chimes/bells/pipes or play chords.  I find that if part of the group is singing the words, it sounds better to have the chimes play chords along with the piano accompaniment.  If there is no singing, the chimes can play the melody.

You can do both ways when performing a song.  You can start with the bells playing the simple melody (with or without piano accompaniment), then have the singers begin singing and the bells switch to playing the chords.

It's also beautiful to play harmony on the chimes.  Play the melody first time around, then play harmony the second time around. You would type the lyrics two times on the same paper.  The first time, circle only the melody words.  On the second set of lyrics, circle both melody and harmony words (see example above).  You can even use different colors to show which notes are the melody or harmony.

Tip 3: Sometimes a child/adult can play two or 3 different chimes.  This happens when a note is not played very often in the song.  Maybe their note is only sung once or twice (this happens with the highest note in the song). 

 It's not fun getting stuck with that chime--rather boring.  So find another note that is only played a few times, and circle the lyric page with two different colors, one for each chime.  That player thinks they are really cool because they get two chimes!

Tip 4: There are always one or two notes that get played a lot in a song.  It's usually the note the key is in. 

 Assign these notes to players who may have a little more musical training than others in the group.  These notes can be critical to the rhythm and overall success of  the performance of the song.

  Tip 5: Practice, practice correct technique when playing the chimes or hand bells.  Check out you tube videos to watch the correct way to play and dampen the chimes/bells.  I find that children younger than 4th grade don't have the physical dexterity to play chimes.  Wearing gloves is a must when playing expensive hand bells.  They are optional when playing chimes.

 To have your group look really polished and professional, teach your players the "get ready" position. Bells/chimes up to shoulders, looking at conductor, ready to begin.  The bells/chimes are always touched at the shoulders to dampen the sound after playing.  They are also held upright at the shoulders when not in play (as opposed to laying on the table).

 

Obviously these kids know how to read music!   

Okay, there you have it.  Go find some bells, play some music and have fun!

Thanks for reading,

Cathy

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Music Tip - Free Christmas Music

Do you want to listen to beautiful Christmas music this season?  Here are some FREE sources that may interest you.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir offers free downloads of 5 of their Christmas songs.  I LOVE the beautiful renditions they have.

The choir also has free 24/7 streaming.

Want to watch and listen to past or current episodes of Music and the Spoken Word?  Go here for their archives.

Want to watch and listen to past Christmas concerts?  Go here for archives.

Enjoy the wondrous, marvelous music of Christmas!

Thanks for reading,
Cathy
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Parenting Tip - Teach Gratitude

My son and his family sent me a Thanksgiving round they recorded of themselves.  It wasn't perfect, but it was awesome, anyway.  I couldn't figure out how to embed the song on my blog, so here are some other Thanksgiving songs for you to enjoy instead. 

                                          Here's a funny Thanksgiving song for you to enjoy.

Oh Gag!  I did this chant and movement (but in a circle) with my K-2nd graders at school for several years.  I hope no one took a video of me!

                                        The pictures that accompany this song are gorgeous!

                                                One more funny one......

                                Beautiful pictures of America and the things we are thankful for.

And my favorite...The true meaning of Thanksgiving with beautiful music and wonderful quotes from the Bible and our Founding Fathers.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and remember to ....... give thanks!

"Thanks" for reading,
Cathy

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Music Tip - Smart Phones and Piano

Here's a clever idea to motivate your children to practice.

I received a musical text of my granddaughter playing The Entertainer on the piano.  It was really well done.  I texted her back, of course, and told her what a great job she had done.  I found out she had learned the piece in two hours!  That was a lot of concentrated practicing she did. 

How about using this idea to encourage your child to practice--then record him/her and send it to grandma, or cousins or Dad at work.  It would be fun to record the way he played it on the first day, then record it again after it is polished and compare the results.  A great object lesson on the value of perseverance, working consistently, breaking down a hard thing, etc. 

My, what a wonderful mother you are to teach your child such values!

 

Thanks for reading, 

Cathy

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Music Tip - Music from Frozen

Here are my simplified versions of music from the movie Frozen.  There are several editions out on the internet, but none of them matched the level of some of my beginning reading students, so I decided to make my own simplified versions.  I hope your children will enjoy playing them.

Thanks for reading,

Cathy

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Parenting Tip - More Summer Ideas

Do you know about Audacity? It is a free recording and editing program you can download to your computer and it will give your children tons of fun this summer.  It is easy to use (if I can use it, any kid can do it), and simple, but has the capacity to do editing, splicing and complicated things (that I can't do!).

Here are some ideas for your children to do with Audacity this summer:
1. Record funny goofy sounds and laugh (they have to do this first to get their sillies out before they can get down to some serious recording ideas)
2.  Record themselves singing a song.
3.  Record a story or book and send to someone (my grandchildren have done this each year at Christmas for me and it's fun to listen to them read.  They didn't record it all in one day, but I could not tell where and when they stopped or started)
4.  Record them playing a song they have learned on the piano or some other instrument (this is a great motivating factor to get them to practice).
5.  Record your toddler's first words, sentences and song (a treasure you will cherish).
6.  Record jokes 

7.  Record their talks they give in Primary or Church
8.  Record original songs they play or improvise on the piano (this encourages their creativity)
9.  Record interviews of grandparents
10. Record stories, poems, jokes, experiences, then burn to a CD and send to missionaries or grandparents.
11. Just let your children play around and learn the technology of recording, editing and  burning.

I'm sure you and your children will come up with a lot of other
fun ideas.

Oh yeah, one last fun thing I've done with recordings--not with Audacity but on my cell phone.  I

recorded my 4 year old grandson saying, "Grandma, you've got a text, Grandma, you've got a text, Grandma, you've got a text!"
I put that as my text alert and I love listening to him tell me I have a text several times a day.  Other people get a  kick out of it, too.

So if you don't want to download Audacity, record songs, poems, etc on your smart phone--tons of fun times for kids and adults!

Thanks for reading,
Cathy


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Parenting Ideas - Summer Time!

Summer time, oh, it's summer time......

I've been asked to teach a class at church on ideas for summer fun.  I decided to post some of the ideas here.

Free/Cheap kid play activities:

Super bubbles!

6 cups water
1 cup light corn syrup
2 cups Joy dishwashing soap (If using an ultra concentrated dishwashing liquid, use only 1 1/3 cups) 

In a large bowl (at least 3 quarts) stir water and corn syrup until combined.  Add dishwashing liquid and stir very gently until well mixed.

(Try not to make any bubbles.) Dip (don't stir) bubble wands into bubble liquid and blow bubbles.

Snake bubbles

Cut bottom off a water bottle. Duct tape old sock to cover bottom opening.  Dip sock in solution of dish soap mixed with a little bit of water.  Blow through mouth end of bottle and see the long snake bubbles that appear!

Paint:

rocks 

with water and brushes outside 

water color

Stores with free activities:

Bass Pro Stores Outdoor Kids Night! Tuesdays 5-8pm free kid activities

Home Depot, Lowes - Saturday free craft - check local stores for details
Fiesta Mall Thursdays 1-2pm at Center Court

Reading Programs to earn free books or prizes:

Barnes &Nobles

Pottery Barn

Pizza Hut

Local Library

Scholastic and Sylvan online activities 

Discount Movie passes:

Cinemark and Harkins Theaters

Children's Museum of Phoenix

Target Free First Friday

Things to do with food:

Mini marshmallows and pretzels (or toothpicks) - build geometric 3 D shapes
playdough - look up on pinterest

Assign older children to make breakfast/lunch or dinners

Lots of healthy snacks=happy children

Water Activities:

Splash pads at theaters, malls

Homemade slip n slides/sprinklers

Duck, duck squeeze (like duck duck goose, but squeeze sponge full of water over head)
Water in buckets/bins.  Add soap, give kids egg beaters (find at thrift stores) and watch the fun!

Summer Focus - Help children make goals to:

learn something new (sew, crochet, use drill, hammer)

practice something (cooking, musical instrument, art)

read certain number of books

create/invent something

work on scouting 

family service project

Organize your summer

Weekly focus (reading week, learn something new week, craft week, watch Disney movies week)

Daily centers (chores, reading, free play, sibling/friend play, practice time, crafts, snack time, quiet time)

Pair up older children with younger children to help with chores, playing, learning

Collect "junk" and let children create, create, create.  Play background music.
Make marble runs with toilet paper tubes

Teach children to entertain themselves or play with siblings.  Have a rule "If you're bored, you get an extra chore!"

 Go on pinterest and find some fun activities. Type in these ideas to find hundreds of ideas:
*playdough
*light boxes
*marble runs
*children's books
*children's art activities
*water play
*children and food
*children's crafts

Emphasize something your child is good at or interested in.  If your child likes dinosaurs, do lots of reading, writing, looking at and playing with dinosaurs...or rocks.....or American dolls.....or whatever!  Encourage your child to explore his interest and learn as much as there is to know.

Last idea:  do what someone on facebook posted:    Make a goal to simply 

survive summer!

 

But what a waste of 2 good months.

 

Thanks for reading,

Cathy

 Check out this website for free things to do in AZ 

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Parenting Tip - Use the Internet for Good in Your Family

 Have you noticed that anything good in the world has it's opposite?  Think of the contrasts you see in music, movies and books--so much good, but also so much bad.  My mission in life is to find the good, the uplifting, the educational and share it!

I just found some wonderful uplifting videos on lds.org that would be a great addition to your Sunday-after-Church-time for your children to watch or extensions to lessons and Family Home Evenings.

Go to this site more tips on using media to teach your family through videos, pictures, music and even creating your own videos or photographs to share with others.

 Want to share or use quotations with art to go with it?  Check out this section of lds.org for countless illustrated uplifting quotations.

Or how about making your own illustrated quotations?  Photograph your children and add a quote.  I did this years ago in the old fashion homemade way by taking a photograph of my children on my camera, taking the film to the store to get developed, gluing the photo to cardstock, adding the quotation, then taking it to the copy store to be  laminated. 

But now look at the easy, professional results you can get by taking the picture with your smart phone, adding the quotation on the computer and sending it to Walgreens or Costco for a glossy print or poster and getting it back in one hour!!

 Want to find out other ways to use media to uplift your family?  Look here for many more ways.

What else is out there?  Please share with us other sites and ideas on using computers, media and the internet to enhance our families lives.

Thanks for reading,

Cathy
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Parenting Tip - Dress the Dress to Walk the Walk

"If you’re going to talk the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk."

"Dress makes the man (woman)."

I've been thinking about how I dress and how I walk the walk; that is, how to dress according to what I'm doing for the day. 

Have you noticed how you feel different by what clothes you are wearing.  If you are dressed up to go shopping, you certainly don't feel like cleaning the house. On the other hand, if you're dressed in tennis shoes and work clothes, you don't mind getting more dirty by sweeping or mopping the floor .

Since I don't like cleaning very much, I have to psych myself up to do it.  I have to wear tennis shoes and clothes that aren't spic and span clean (meaning I already wore them yesterday!)  My hair still needs to be curled and combed and I don't have any make up on.  In other words, I look rather grungie, ready to work and maybe get sweaty in the process.

Then I have to turn up some music nice and loud (my favorite is "Happy Working Song" from the movie Enchanted) or listen to an interesting podcast, and I'm ready to clean.

If I'm gardening or working outside, I wear the same sort of clothing--a little soiled and definitely tennis shoes--I can't work outside in flip flops, I don't want to get my feet dirty.

But, I've noticed that I can't do other things with that particular "outfit" on--like teach piano lessons or do emailing business work or create music lesson plans.  For these type of activities, I do much better when I'm dressed in nicer clothes, my hair is done, my make up is on and I feel "presentable". 
Then I'm ready and motivated to work with my brain.

The way we dress DOES effect our behavior.  Haven't you told that to your children before?  Why do we have to dress up for Church?  Because you act more respectful and reverent; you feel more dignified. Why can't I wear shorts and flip flops to school? Because you'll feel like playing instead of listening and learning.

My husband had a beard and mustache for probably more than half of our married life.  He admitted that when he had a beard, he felt more sloppy and unkempt and behaved that way.  Oh yeah, funny story that I just remembered about my husband. 

My husband had NO sense of dress.  He would go for a walk in the morning dressed in a holy old t shirt with suspenders holding up a grubby pair of sweat pants and wearing an old, old pair of tennis shoes.  One morning while walking in the parking lot of a grocery store, a man in a car drove up to him and asked him if he needed some breakfast;  he was willing to give him some food.  The man thought he was homeless!!  I died laughing when my husband came home and told me what had happened.  It was close to Christmas so guess what my husband got for a present?  Yep, new exercise clothes.

So what do we do with this knowledge of dressing?  Dress for what you're doing that day.  If it's laundry, cleaning and scrubbing day, then you better get your tennies on.  If you need to get some cooking done, wear your apron (my daughters do) and get to cooking.  If you're running to the store, and school most of the day and will be seen by people--dress nicer.

What about if you want to parent better, hmmmmm, what to wear?  Are you more patient with your children, do you take advantage of teaching moments, and are you more loving to them when you're dressed in nicer clothes?

That would be an interesting experiment to try:  "Does what I'm wearing really affect my attitude and effectiveness as a mom?"  I know dressing appropriately certainly affects how many things I get done on my "To Do" list.

Here's some quotes I found by unknown sources:

I think that when you get dressed in the morning, sometimes you're really making a decision about your behavior for the day. Like if you put on flipflops, you're saying: 'Hope I don't get chased today.' 'Be nice to people in sneakers.'

Demetri Martin

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/dressed.html#BuivXAykBUOpjFGG.99

Every girl should know to dress for success. No one will take you seriously if you show up in leggings and Uggs
 
 
  Thanks for reading,

Cathy

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Parenting Tip - Get Outside

This is a blog post for anyone who is a little down in the dumps.  Or sad.  Or worried.  Or stressed. Or mad.             

That's my advice.  I know it helps because I've been there before; mad, sad, stressed and worried, and every time, I'll come home from a walk feeling lighter, happier and more hopeful.


A few years ago when I turned 40, I became worried about all the candy bars I had--and was still--eating.  I decided I needed to take charge of my life, if I wanted to have a healthy old age.  So I started walking in the mornings, and I haven't quit.  I love walking!



Then when I turned 50, I started hiking once a week with a friend.  I love hiking!  You're out in nature, you see God's handiwork and you talk and talk with a friend.  It's even better than eating a candy bar!


 When I'm walking or hiking my outlook changes.  My perspective broadens and I'm not microscoping in on my problems. 


 In fact, my problems shrink in size when I look at mountain tops and gaze down into valleys.  When I walk by cacti, flowers and trees, I see God's love for me in a wide lens. I feel stronger, able to handle my situation.  I feel gratitude for God and see His tender mercies in my life.  I start to see analogies in nature and relate them to my life.  I'm energized!

But sometimes it's impossible to go for a walk either because of health issues, kid issues or time constraints.  So here are some good, better, best options when the outdoors are just not available.

Good:  Sit by the window and look outside at the sky, the clouds, the birds and the trees and flowers.
Better:  Pull up the blinds and really look outside, up and down, back and forth.
Best:  Put on some music and admire the great outdoors, thoroughly enjoying the sky, flowers and trees.

If you are able to go for a walk, here are some good, better, best options as well.

Good: Walk slow to begin with, then increase your pace.
Better:  As you walk, notice nature.  Look up and enjoy the sky and clouds. Notice the birds.  Look at the architecture of the houses and buildings you pass by.
Best:  Find a beautiful park to walk in and listen to  music or a podcast as you walk.  Jog for a few seconds, here and there during your walk.  Enjoy nature.

And finally, if you can go for a hike:

Good:  Go with a friend.  Talk about cooking, problems, frustrations.  
Better:  Notice the birds and rabbits and lizards.  Draw strength and serenity from the open sky, the mountains, the trees. Gaze down from your trail and see how small everything looks below.  Notice how far you have come.  
Best:  Suddenly your problems and cares become miniscule and your heart enlarges and expands with love and optimism. 

Thanks for reading.....
Now go walking,
Cathy

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