Preschooler Being Asked to Change His Sign Language Name?!?!

Ok, I've taught children for quite some time and as you all know I have a son of my own. I just came across this video last night and had to share it!




S.E.E. - Signing Exact English

What is Signing Exact English?

Signing Exact English is a sign language system that represents literal English. To make visible everything that is not heard, S.E.E. supplements what a child can get from hearing and speechreading. Since American Sign Language (ASL) has different vocabulary, idioms and syntax from English, SEE modifies and supplements the vocabulary of ASL so children can see clearly what is said in English. This system was first made available in 1972. (From the site below)

Check out http://seecenter.org/ to learn more about S.E.E. I know that policies have gotten a lot stricter when it comes to weapons in school, but a child's name in sign language resembling a weapon! This child is signing his name!

I have to say, if I were an educator in that district, I would be on the family's side in this one!

Are we going to start pulling letters out of the alphabet because they "resemble" a weapon or a religious symbol? Let's get real people!

This is the way the child says his name and should be allowed to sign it! It's his right!

I may be one person, but I do not agree with this one! Be strong Hunter and Family!

Give this post a 'like' and a share if you agree with me!

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Talk to you soon!

Anxiety Will Not Get ME Down!

Definition of PANIC ATTACK

 

 

: an episode of intense fear or apprehension that is of sudden onset and may occur for no apparent reason or as a reaction to an identifiable triggering stimulus (as a stressful event); specifically : one that is accompanied by usually four or more bodily or cognitive symptoms (as heart palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath, or feelings of unreality) and that typically peaks within 10 minutes of onset 

From Merriam-webster.com

I wrote the following post in my journal while sitting at the dr's office on a Saturday night! I am a real person! I fight real battles! Sometimes I feel like this:

I thought I would create a post about anxiety and panic attacks. This is something that happens to a lot of society, but it's a matter of will you let it get you down?

I have posted before about my amazing grandmother who passed away back in 2008 and my mom who survived a widow maker heart attack on the way to burying my grandmother. This was a very traumatic day in my life! I understood everything with my gram because I had helped take care of her and had her live with us during the last 4 months of her life. So yes, understood, but still missing her!

Mom's heart attack on the other hand was a complete shock to our family and the entire funeral procession for my gram! Mom had suffered a widow maker heart attack while in the limousine of the procession! The entire procession stopped in the middle of the street! My aunt performed CPR on my mom and a sergeant in the local police department "made a wrong turn and came upon our funeral procession!"

Being a sergeant in the local department, he had a defibrillator in his vehicle. He used the defibrillator on mom right before the ambulance showed up, they raced mom ( breathing at that point ) to the nearest hospital where they performed surgery immediately! Mom is at 100% and doing amazingly! God definitely watches over all of us!

Anyway, why did I tell you this story? Well, because as I said earlier it was a very traumatic day for me! I was very strong that day and trying to help figure out things for the situation at hand, but as time went on, my anxiety got me down! I ended up at the doctor in the middle of a panic attack and crying my eyes out! He tells me that I am not alone! Other people get like this too! Panic attacks are one of the scariest things for me to endure! They make me feel completely out of control of myself and sometimes even feel like I could die!

I can't stand it anymore! As I write this, I am sitting at the doctor's office in the middle of a panic attack! It absolutely sucks! What horrible feelings! I am writing this to help calm down, because I love blogging, and to say out loud that I am tired of letting anxiety get the best of me!

I AM STRONG! I AM IN CONTROL! I AM ME!

This is important! If you feel this way, you are not alone! Remember that and take the steps necessary to feel better! Visit your doctor and discuss it with them! I couldn't battle the feelings on my own! I tried for a long time! I finally came to the realization that i need a little extra help sometimes!

Hope this post has helped someone today! I know writing it has helped me as I wait for the doctor to come in.

I refuse to let anxiety and panic attacks get me down! I push right through the best that I can and keep going as Mommy, wife and business owner!

Talk to you soon! Comment and give a share so I know I'm not alone! ;)

A Favorite Song of Jackson's and Mine! Enjoy!

This is from Camp Rock 2! Nick Jonas is not good at expressing himself unless it's through a song!

We love it! Jackson and I could listen to this song over and over again; singing and dancing along with it!

Yes, I'm a little cheesy! LOL! But

I like checks with lots of zeros on em!

Enjoy this one and do do do do do do do heeheehee!

:) Make life fun! Enjoy and cherish every moment!<3

Enjoying Your Little One! #1 Art with Shaving Cream

Hi everybody! I've never mentioned this but... I used to be a teacher before I became a Work-At-Home Mom! (Bet you'd never guess with my adventure days and crafts I do with my little one... LOL) I had my son Jackson in September of 2006 and have enjoyed every milestone and teachable moment with him possible. I was thinking that maybe you might like to hear about some of the things that Jackson and I do throughout our days together on the blog. This was my reason to start working from home!!! Years 1 - 5 are the most developmental! :)

Art is very important in Early Childhood development. It encourages your child to explore different mediums and artists, as well as, getting hands-on into the MESSY! This is one thing I absolutely love about Art. I have spent time encouraging Jackson to get down and dirty while teaching him about sensory things through playing with shaving cream and creating goop out of cornstarch and water to name a couple!
Children love to assist adults, so this is a great way to encourage learning through creating a special art project together! It will also incorporate math skills through measuring! ;)

Shaving Cream - I recommend using the sensitive kind, as you might see a reaction using others...if you see any allergic reaction or you are concerned about one, consult your child's pediatrician. Jackson was pretending to shave with Daddy one day using Daddy's shaving cream and ended up with a slight rash that went away quickly. This is why I point out any concerns you might have about allergic reactions. We use baking pans or the kitchen table to play with shaving cream. ;)

Mix the shaving cream with white school glue and create some "sundaes with whipped cream" or "ice cream sodas" or "snowy pictures."

If you are not concerned about your child's "art" clothing for the day, then add some food coloring to the shaving cream for some more fun!

Goop -
food coloring
1 cup cornstarch
1 cup water

This is a great recipe! It feels wonderful in your hands and your children can close the Goop into their fist and then open their hand to watch it transform and slip through their fingers!

Expand this experience more by adding the classic book Bartholomew and The Oobleck by Dr. Seuss to the fun for the day! Go visit the library and borrow it to read with your child!

Recipes from Creative Resources for the Early Childhood Classroom - Judy Herr and Yvonne Libby Larson

Six Degrees of Separation to Deepak Chopra

I'm feeling very zen today. LOL.

Just in case you don't know... there's this idea that everyone, on average is about six degrees of separation to anyone else on earth. Here's the Wikipedia link. They say it better than I do:

Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that everyone is on average approximately six steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person on Earth, so that a chain of "a friend of a friend" statements can be made, on average, to connect any two people in six steps or fewer. It was originally set out by Frigyes Karinthy and popularized by a play written by John Guare.

That being said... I found out today that I am one to two degrees separated from Deepak Chopra! He is actually one of my friend's great uncles! Way cool! If you don't know who he is... well here ya go. Wikipedia Link and Deepak's site. His videos are really interesting. He's an amazingly accomplished man in both academic and spiritual endeavors. Whether one agrees with his views or not, one has to agree with the fact that he has managed to make an impact on this world. It would be a distinct privilege and honor to meet him if I ever did. I happen to like his thoughts and ideas. I'll have to keep you updated if I get the chance! *fingers crossed,* hoping my aura is good and our paths cross one day... :)

“Together we can help create a peaceful, just, sustainable and healthy world.”
Deepak Chopra

Quote:

"First they ignore you... then they laugh at you... then they attack you... then you win." - Ghandi

Quote:

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.

 - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Quote:

"The most effective way to transform into higher consciousness is to pay attention in the present moment." - Deepak Chopra

Quote:

Funnies!

Mental Health Awareness Week 2012 - Oct 7-13

Mental Illness Awareness Week 2012: Oct. 7-13, 2012

Just like riding a bike!!!

Had to share this video with you all! Jackson has learned to ride his bike without training wheels! There is one thing about children...They have no fear, they are always willing to learn something new! We, as adults, need to remember this and let go of the fears that inhibit our lives! Remember this and you will go far! Fear can be a dangerous thing. (I believe Yoda said "Fear is the path to the darkside.") Will you join the darkside? LOL!


I am so blessed to be able to see each and every milestone that my child reaches! I am able to do this with the help of my loving husband and also the Empower Network!
Click on a banner on this page for more information about Empower or click here to watch Lawrence Tam and Dave Wood in his video that describes the business!
You can also jump right in by clicking on the CAB below! Love that pic!!!

Saving A Squirrel

To save a squirrel or not? That is the question! We believe that every living creature is valuable! That is why we always choose to save an animal...no matter what it may be! We have quite the wildlife reserve (we like to call it) here in Pennsylvania! Animals all over the place. ;) We love animals! Well, it's been pretty busy around here lately with baby animals being born in our yard! We had a mother rabbit choose to build her nest right under the carrots in our garden, everybody was safe and sound! Smart thinking Mama Rabbit LOL! Although lately we have had to help out a few of the creatures in our yard. We had a pretty nasty storm last week that knocked a couple of newborn squirrels out of their nest in our oak tree. :(

They looked similar to the picture above. We found one that had already passed away and tried very hard to help the second one, but he eventually passed as well.

Tonight I let the dogs out and Daisy, our lovey cocker spaniel, was sniffing at something. I asked her what she found, she wagged her tail at me and looked back down at it. I went over to discover another baby squirrel under a our magnolia tree this time. I called for my husband, thinking it was already gone; he came to check it out and discovered that even though he was injured, he was quite lively!

 

He looked a little more like the picture above with his eyes still closed but starting to get his grey! ;)

We automatically jump into action, trying to save this little guy! While trying to keep him warm with towels heated in the toaster oven, my husband calls a woman from the Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center that he has connections with at work. She tells us to put some heated dry rice in a sock and place it next to the blanketed little guy in a shoebox. We put him in a critter container with one of Jackson's old receiving blankets, rice and a washcloth. We told her to keep everything and consider it a donation to the organization! She took the little guy with her and has already reported back to us that she thinks a cat may have gotten to him, but he is quite a fighter! So we are looking forward to the next report! ;)

This picture displays the squirrel life cycle...I found it interesting. ;)

All of the pictures in this post can be found on Google Images! There are so many! It was hard to choose! LOL!

If you find an injured animal in your area, be sure to contact your local wildlife rehabilitation center!

Let me know in the comments if you have ever saved an animal! Would you save a wild animal or not?

Also, if you like this post ;) make sure to give it a like and a share! Thanks so much!

Appreciate you all! Talk to you soon!!!! ;)