Sometimes, important messages from my children are communicated through art and symbolic gestures rather than words. My darling daughter Pippi made this inuit inspired, soap stone bear sculpture last year in grade one as a present for her dad on … Read More
Chickie Wow-Wow Raising a sensitive child is always joyful and sometimes challenging. Often, sensitive children develop anxiety at school in an attempt to adjust to the rigourous and overwhelming social demands. My daughter Pip is a sensitive child. She notices … Read More
Cleaning the house seems anything but mindful. The word drudgery makes more sense. But what I’ve discovered, is that by making house cleaning a weekly family event, the drudgery is transformed into team building. On a deeper level, each family … Read More
An activity that you can do with your children (from about age 3 up) is take a walk through nature with a sketch pad in hand, looking for signs of spring. Give each child her/his own sketching pencil and small … Read More
If you’re looking for a quiet, enjoyable time to connect with your children, take a walk through a graveyard. Graveyards are often in beautiful park like settings–quiet, with no traffic and provide interesting historical information to activate your imaginations. Children, … Read More
On some Monday’s I’m going to share a little tip on how to bring mindfulness into the lives of you and your child. For my first Monday’s MIndful Tip I am suggesting the game of chess. Don’t panic, I’m not suggesting … Read More
Children as young as age six practice and use meditation techniques–on their own–to deal with everyday life situations. At a recent parent teacher interview, I was taken by surprise (and thrilled) that Pip’s grade one teacher said Pip is very … Read More
Pippi was apprehensive about going to school on Monday morning. No reason. She’s had a few bad school days (friends not acting like friends and refusing to let her join in a game). But most often, she has great school … Read More
Inviting the Bell I piloted a Dharma class for children this weekend: CLUB ZEN. It was called Dharma Kids, but we’ve decided to rename it as many people don’t know what Dharma means. The class is now called: Club Zen: … Read More
The city I live in has very little Buddhism for children. Zero to be precise. So, this is my attempt to bring a little Dharma to the children of Kelowna. I’m not a nun or a monk, just a lay … Read More