BY Nancy

Copyright 2008, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED!

THIS IS OUR TRUE STORY!!! It is a fairly long story, but well worth reading if your child or teen has any reading or learning difficulties, or if you know someone that does. Irlen is also for adults! Information about Irlen and a link to their website is listed below our story.

I remember watching one of my daughters struggle with her short homework assignments as she reached third and fourth grades. What should have taken her twenty minutes or so took her over an hour to complete. One of my nightly tasks from that time on was to sit and listen to her questions and help her find ways to locate the information she needed in her schoolbooks. Did I ever do her homework for her or even consider doing it? It never even entered my mind. I felt my task as her mother was to help her learn to find the information she needed so she could complete her homework assignments herself.

I began expressing my concerns to her fourth and fifth grade teachers. I only received assurances that since she was doing average work in school that she was doing just fine. She wasn’t falling behind and she wasn’t failing, so of course nothing was wrong with her. It was very difficult for me to figure out what her problem was because I had never run into anything like that before. So ….. I continued to help her develop methods to find the information she needed. Fortunately, my daughter was always very good at puzzle solving and problem solving.

Sixth grade was a bit better because her teacher that year seemed to really understand what I confided to her about my daughter. When we met for a parent-teacher conference that teacher said she knew that she didn’t need to explain to me what the students had been working on because she knew I was right there helping my daughter try to get everything completed. That sixth grade teacher requested that the school put my daughter through some tests to see if they could figure out what the difficulty was. When the test results came back I was told that my daughter did average work on all of the tests so of course there was nothing wrong with her. Because she didn’t do poorly and didn’t fail any of those tests they couldn’t believe she had any kind of a problem. Of course I knew their interpretation was wrong because I watched my daughter struggle with her homework for hours every day.

Fast forward to the end of sixth grade. A young woman I worked with and I would chat at lunch or breaktime every once in a while. And of course I would share some of my daughter’s difficulties. Difficulties such as: frequent headaches, frequent stomachaches, difficulty putting reports together, a strange way of learning spelling – she would pronounce the words exactly the way they were spelled. Every time I shared something with her about my daughter she would say: Me Too!

Finally after so many stories and hearing her say that to me so many times, I turned and looked at her and asked her “What did you do about it?” That is when she shared her story with me. When she was in college, one of her professors had the students in his class take all of the tests that they would be giving to their future students. She said that when she finished taking one of the tests she went up to her professor and said that she thought she had found herself in that test. He gave her a book to read “Reading By The Colors” by Helen Irlen. She had the full test done and ended up with some colored filters to put over the books she was reading.

That co-worker let me borrow her book and that is when I felt that I might have actually found a solution for my daughter. At that point she didn’t want to be different than any of the other kids in her class, and I couldn’t afford the tests at that time.

Our solution waited until eighth grade, after a move to a new location and a new life. We located an Irlen diagnostician and set up an appointment for my daughter’s pretest (to see if she should have the complete Irlen test). My then husband took my daughter to the Irlen pretest since it was some distance away and I really needed to work. I was really anxious to find out what happened during that pretest. When they got back I got the confirmation that my daughter really needed to have the full Irlen test done. My husband recommended that I go to the full test and sit in on it because he felt I really needed to see it for myself.

My daughter had the full Irlen test done when she was in the eighth grade. I sat in the room while she went through the test. The first thing that impressed me was that the person doing the testing did not ask one leading question. Every question was worded in a way so that my daughter told her exactly what she was seeing on the paper. My daughter was asked to look at a word, or to look at a sentence, or to look at a paragraph etc. What really shocked me was my daughter’s answers to those questions. She described words moving back and forth. She described individual letters popping in and out. She described rivers through the words. She described things moving around on that piece of paper. I became really amazed that she had been reading anything at all, and I wondered how she had been doing average work if reading was so terribly difficult! (An added note here: this problem can also affect math computation. How? Well, one time my daughter was working on a math problem and as she looked at the problem she saw the math symbol disappear as she was looking at it. This was while we were waiting for her new glasses to arrive and she now had some idea of what to watch for.)

The next part of the test was to pick out colored lenses for her new Irlen glasses. My daughter would look through the various colored lenses at the printed page and pick colors that made reading the words on the page easier. She ended up with three layers of colors for inside and four layers of colors for outside. (Later, in college she switched to using the outside lenses for everyday, including inside.)

We waited impatiently for her new glasses to arrive. My daughter’s first comment when she put on her new glasses and looked around was “Wow, my legs are so long!” Apparently, the ground had suddenly appeared to be 2 or more feet farther down than she had previously seen without her glasses. She saw the world and everything in it, including herself, in a new way with those colored lenses. And yes, those first glasses were just layers of colors. I say just because I mean they were not prescription lenses through an eye doctor. And those Irlen glasses completely changed my daughter’s life! In one semester her grades jumped from a 2.6 to a 3.8. Which proved that she never had been an average student.

Go to the Irlen website Now: IRLEN
While you are there, sign the petition to help prevent the ban on incandescent light bulbs.

My daughter went on to college and obtained her Bachelor’s Degree Magna Cum Laude. She also went on to graduate school and obtained her Master’s Degree. She tells me that she never would have been able to do college, and especially would not have been able to do Graduate School if she did not have her Irlen glasses.

ABOUT IRLEN

What is Irlen and what are symptoms of Irlen Syndrome? It is NOT about giving reading instructions or methods of how to read.

This color-based method, which uses colored overlays and filters, is patented and was discovered by Helen Irlen, MA, LMFT. She is the nation’s leading expert in perceptually-based reading and learning difficulties. Helen Irlen is the author of “Reading By The Colors,” a book that describes the variety of ways this problem affects an individual. It also explains the changes that can take place with the appropriate use of color.

The Irlen website tells us that Irlen Syndrome does not really have anything to do with the eyes. Apparently it is not an optical problem. Irlen Syndrome has to do with the way the brain processes information that is fed to it through the eyes. This problem is not currently identified in standardized educational and medical tests.

The Irlen website lists a long list of symptoms. Many of my daughter’s difficulties are listed on that website.

One symptom is LIGHT SENSITIVITY: Bothered by glare, fluorescent lights, bright lights, sunlight, and sometimes lights at night. Fluorescent lights bother my daughter because she has a strong light sensitivity problem. When she was young she used to sit and read in a fairly dark room with the lights off and I would always tell her to turn the light on! And then I later found out that she could actually read better with that light OFF! I received quite an education in this whole process.

It is very troublesome that some states are attempting to pass laws outlawing or banning incandescent lights. There are some people in this country that are physically affected in a very negative way by fluorescent lights. Fluorescent lights, as they are right now, are not healthy for many people. Yes, I believe in environmentally friendly products, but not by making some people sick because of poorly researched laws. It would be much better to encourage the manufacturers of light bulbs and fluorescent lights to come up with lighting that is healthy for ALL people and also healthy for the environment.

The Irlen website gives more detailed information about light sensitivity, including other possible medical reasons for a light sensitivity problem.

Other symptoms of Irlen Syndrome are:

• Reading Problems
• Discomfort
• Attention and Concentration Problems
• Writing Problems
• Depth Perception
• Distortions
• Other Characteristics

The Irlen website also demonstrates a few sample distortions so you can get some idea what some children and adults see when they look at a printed page. There is a self-test section so you can see if the Irlen method might help you, your child or teen, or someone else you know. (An added note: my daughter actually has a combination of several types of visual distortions.)

DYSLEXIA

Many children and adults are misdiagnosed with dyslexia. When words jiggle, move, or disappear, reading is very difficult, and therefore these children get labeled “dyslexic.” If the problem is actually Irlen Syndrome, or a combination of Irlen Syndrome and dyslexia, then the Irlen method might be able to help.

Check Out The
IRLEN Website
For More Detailed
Information!

Check out Irlen’s webpage that talks about Who They Can Help! You might be surprised at the extensive list and amount of information available!

Also, I suggest that you read some of the testimonials at their website. These are all true stories, just as our story is completely true. We live it, we have experienced it, and are experiencing it.

While you are there, sign the petition to help prevent the ban on incandescent light bulbs.

Helen Irlen’s book, Reading By The Colors

Trackback URI |

WELCOME TO PARENTINGGOLDENRULE.COM’S PARENTING STORE!

This storefront page is the door to our new Parenting Store. This link will take you to the ebook purchasing and more. In the future I will be adding additional ebooks; I have many ideas and am working on the decisions about which books to include first.

Be sure to remember to BOOKMARK the Parenting Store main page for easy return.

PRIVACY NOTICE:

I use SSL for my shopping cart; you can create an account in the Parenting Store prior to going to Paypal, or you can click on the “checkout with PayPal” button to go directly to PayPal. You can be assured that your shopping experience is protected with SSL. I only use your account information as a way to contact you in case you have any questions or in case any issues come up. I do not sell or give away your account information to anyone. Also, the payment processing is done through PayPal. PayPal is one of the most frequently used methods of processing payments on the internet. They maintain a very secure site and are a very reliable company.

PRINT THIS PAGE FOR YOUR FUTURE REFERENCE AFTER YOU PURCHASE YOUR EBOOK

Ebook Information:

When you purchase an ebook from parentinggoldenrule.com, they are in PDF format and are either zipped or stuffed. Once you download the book and decompress it to it’s full version, you will see an Adobe Acrobat message on the top of the first page. I have created a self-signed Certificate in the ebook to add some security features to the book. The Adobe Acrobat message will read something like this: “The validity of the document certification is UNKNOWN. The author could not be verified.” Adobe Acrobat software only recognizes certificates from a limited number of sources and those certificates are expensive. Since you are purchasing this ebook directly from the parentinggoldenrule.com website, you can be assured that the Certificate is valid. Click on the link at the top of the page that says “Signature Properties.” The screen that appears should have a button on it that reads “Validate signature.” Click on that button to validate the Certificate that I have attached to the book. At some point in the future I will go back to Adobe and check the prices of those Certificates again, but for now the self-signed Certificate is the method I am using.

Enjoy browsing the Parenting Store! My ebook “Parenting Today With Respect and Responsibility, How to Teach Your Children To Live By the Golden Rule, is there, along with a digital photo of a wildlife preserve. I will be adding a few more digital photos for your enjoyment, and have plans for additional books.

The entire Parenting Store is copyrighted, as is this website. I retain all rights. Do not destroy the hard work I have put into this website.

Trackback URI |

This is a book that has a variety of tips, techniques, stories, and other parenting resources.

Could you use a few more parenting ideas to help you successfully teach your children and teens and guide them through life’s challenges?

There are solutions to the many difficult issues that parents have to deal with in today’s world. These are very important steps in helping to teach your children.
     1. Focus on the positive.
     2. Do the very best you can.
     3. Work at creating a good line of communication between you and the children and teens around you.

But exactly how are these tasks successfully accomplished? Even the very best parents need helpful ideas and support from friends or relatives or co-workers sometimes.

Parenting has been the focus of my life since my first child was born, and as an oldest child I spent a lot of time as a youth watching over my brother and sister. I come from a long line of teachers and caregivers. When I was searching for an idea for my ebook, I remembered a request from one of my daughters. She asked me to write down the parenting methods that I used when they were young so that she would have the book to use when she has her own children. I also wanted to pass along some of this information to my other daughter so she can use the ideas with her children, my grandchildren.

Not only am I a parent, but I am a grandparent as well. My children (now adults) and I have been through some tough times together. We have witnessed quite a lot, and worked our way through it each time. My daughters have completely different personalities, and energies, and experienced different problems while growing up. Because they were so different I learned to use completely different techniques for each of them. What worked for one child did not work for the other. I learned to adapt because of their differences.

_______________________________________________________________

Book Excerpt! (yes, this is copyrighted – copying it or using it any way without my permission is illegal and violates the copyright laws):

My friends early on were from a wide range of backgrounds.
     I had friends that came from a financially prosperous family.
     I had friends that came from families that were not rich at all.
     I had friends that lived on farms.
     I had friends that were children of migrant workers.
     I had friends that were Caucasian.
     I had friends that were Mexican.
One year I had a party and invited all of them to the party, and most of them came.

Well, you can imagine what happened. I learned all about the way some people allowed their kids to behave – to look down on anyone that wasn’t the same as they were because being different to them meant being inferior.

I was really disappointed at the way some of my friends were behaving. At Mom’s urging, Dad came to my rescue and took us all to the park where we played softball. Dad was the pitcher. Everyone played ball together and finally started talking to each other a little bit. The evening seemed to go okay after that.

Years later some of those same girls told me they still remembered that day at my house and how much fun they had.

_______________________________________________________________

Parenting children today is a very difficult task. Adults and children are bombarded daily with negative examples of living. Teens are acting out more violently in much larger numbers than in the past. Parents worry about how they can help guide their children through the maze of obstacles that continually pop up in front of them. Teens want more independence at an earlier age and are often more vocal and disrespectful towards others. Some parents want to find a way to force their children to be who they want them to be. Other parents just want to get their children through all this in one piece.

  

LENGTH: 177 Pages
FORMAT: PDF     DOWNLOAD in either ZIP or SITX (STUFFIT) formats (About 5 MB)
Windows software can unzip documents.
Get a free copy of Stuffit Expander for MAC to unzip or unstuff documents.
Go to:   Stuffit Expander
You will need Acrobat Reader 7.0 or 8.0 to view this ebook.

 

(regular price $19.00)
INTRODUCTORY PRICE: $15.00

GO TO Parenting Store TO PURCHASE EBOOK

My experience as a parent and a grandparent has taught me that what works best for families today is a mixture of old-fashioned parenting methods and modern parenting methods. This combination of parenting styles and techniques is what this book is all about. It mixes a bit of old-fashioned parenting from years ago with some of today’s modern parenting methods and contains a few short stories from the past, both from my past as a child and more recently from my children’s past.

How helpful would a book that has a variety of tips, techniques, stories, and other parenting resources be?

How valuable would it be to find a few more parenting ideas to help you successfully teach your children and teens and guide them through life’s challenges?

Parenting Today With Respect and Responsibility, How to Teach Your Children to Live by the Golden Rule has a variety of resources including tips and examples of how to teach children to live by the Golden Rule. Communication, talking with your children, is extremely important in helping your children grow into respectful responsible people. The book includes ideas to help you talk with your children and strengthen that parent/child bond. It also shows you how to be an example for others to follow simply by the way you act every day. This book is written for parents and children of all ages. Some of the resources you will find in this book are:

Parenting Tips; True Stories; Parenting Exercises; Conversation Starters; Safety Tips; How to Be an Example; Stories from Long Ago including Aesop’s Fables, Lincoln’s Stories, and the Little Red Hen

Check out the book’s Table of Contents!

Table of Contents

Dedication
Legal Statement
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1, Your Child as An Individual With Unique Likes and Dislikes
     Stories From the Past and What We Can Learn From Them
     What Does All This Mean to You?
     Some Basic Tips
Chapter 2, 10 Ways to Help Your Children Feel Better About Themselves
Chapter 3, Rules, Respect, Responsibility
     Stories From the Past and What We Can Learn From Them
     What Does All This Mean to You?
     Some Basic Tips
Chapter 4, Communicate / Listen, Listen, Listen
     Stories From The Past and What We Can Learn From Them
     What It Means Today
     What Does All This Mean to You?
     Some Basic Tips
Chapter 5, Guidance / Lessons
     Stories From The Past and What We Can Learn From Them
     What It Means Today
     What Does All This Mean to You?
     Some Basic Tips
Chapter 6, About Public Schools / About Learning
     Stories From The Past and What We Can Learn From Them
     What It Means Today
     What Does All This Mean to You?
     Some Basic Tips
Chapter 7, Youth/Teens/Young Adults
     Some Basic Tips for Dealing With Difficult Situations
Chapter 8, Being Balanced – What Is It?
     Some Basic Tips
Chapter 9, How to Be An Example
Chapter 10, Safety Tips for Children and Teens
Chapter 11, Survival Tips for Parents
     Some Basic Tips
Chapter 12, Summary of the Basics
Chapter 13, Eight Exercises To Do Together As a Family
Chapter 14, Conversation Starters for Talks With Your Children and Young Adults
Chapter 15, Internet Resources
Chapter 16, Aesop’s Fables
Chapter 17, The Little Red Hen
Chapter 18, Some Poems / Lincoln’s Stories
Chapter 19, Creativity (Spool Knitters, Games, Riddles, Math)
Chapter 20, The Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution
Chapter 21, Blank Pages for You to Write Your Own Notes
References

Trackback URI |

Observe the Golden Rule in Business
By Jo Ann Joy
Article Word Count: 304

If two parties are on opposite sides of a contract and they want to reach a win-win resolution, that means that they must observe the Golden Rule during negotiations. Specifically, both parties must treat each other fairly and be completely honest. They also need to communicate openly and not withhold relevant information. There should be full disclosure of any facts relevant to the transaction.

Respect is one of the most important elements of treating people well. Both parties must respect each other’s time, needs, finances, family situation, and any other circumstance that may affect the negotiations. As part of showing respect, each party should treat the other party professionally and conduct themselves professionally. There should never be anger or raised voices.

Both parties should be committed to a resolution that will be agreeable to both of them. Neither party should ever look for ways to take advantage of the other party. Before the negotiations start, they should both agree to a method of resolving an impasse on an important issue. To avoid the expense and delay of litigation, they should agree to have the issue decided by a mediator. They should also agree to abide by the mediator’s decision.

Both parties should greet other with courtesy, and they should be on time for meetings. They should also abide by any time limits set for the meetings, but agree to schedule a follow-up meeting if they still have issues to resolve. They should keep confident any information that either party wants to keep confident. Once they reach an agreement, they should reduce the agreement with complete accuracy.

At the end of the meeting, they should shake hands and thank the other person for their time and courtesy. The Golden Rule is so simple. It is also appropriate in any situation, even in business.

About the author

Jo Ann Joy, Esq., MBA, CEO
Copyright 2006 Indigo Business Solutions. All rights reserved.
The future of your business starts here.

You may contact Jo Ann by phone at (602) 663-7007, by fax at (602) 324-7582, by email at joannjoy@Indigo Business Solutions.net, and by mail at 2313 East Ocotillo Road, Phoenix, AZ 85016

Jo Ann Joy is the CEO and owner of Indigo Business Solutions, a legal and business consulting firm. Indigo Business Solutions is a “one stop shop” for small businesses. We differ from other business consulting firms, because we offer comprehensive legal and business counseling. We can offer most of the professional services that a business requires. We work with our clients to develop strategies that create value and competitive advantage.

Jo Ann has a law degree, an MBA, and a degree in Economics, but she is not a traditional attorney. Rather, she is a strategic business attorney who works closely with clients to create and implement strategies that will greatly improve their performance and chance of success. Her background includes commercial and real estate law, accounting, financial planning, mortgages, marketing, product development, banking, and business strategies. She ran a successful business for 10 years, and she has written and given presentations on many different legal and business subjects.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jo_Ann_Joy

Trackback URI |

Martian Child

starring John Cusack, Bobby Coleman, Amanda Peet, and Joan Cusack

Rated PG
Now available on DVD

Martian Child is a must-see movie for anyone who has gone through a difficult time with a child. Martian Child is one of the rare movies with a positive view of life and how to help a child grow. This movie presents a different perspective, another way of dealing with a troubled child.

A male science-fiction writer visits the grave of his deceased wife. Very lonely, he considers adopting a child. After some time he ends up taking a young boy home with him and starts the adoption process. This young boy thinks he is a Martian.

At one point the boy demonstrates a couple of abilities that makes the science-fiction writer stop and pause. The writer begins to wonder whether the boy might actually be different in some way.

The major portion of the movie is all about the interaction between the writer and the young boy. Watching the writer try to communicate with and help the young boy, and watching the young boy try to fit into the world while thinking he is from Mars, draws the viewer into the movie. We experience the movie as well as sit and watch it.

Another aspect of the movie is that it presents two totally different types of mental health professionals. The first type consists of a majority of mental health workers, those who are stuck in a box and can’t see what is outside of that box. The second type is harder to find, but very good at what they do. They know and understand what is in the box, but they also see and understand what is outside of the box. This movie shows you the unique method that the writer uses to help this young child and the growth that the writer himself goes through.

I have read some very positive reviews of this movie and also have read some reviews that dismiss it as boring and unimportant. If you have had any difficulties in your life, of any kind, then this movie will inspire you and leave you feeling very good at the end. This movie is very heart-warming and uplifting.

Nancy
www.parentinggoldenrule.com

Additional movie reviews:

August Rush

Copyright © February 2008, All Rights Reserved, www.parentinggoldenrule.com. You cannot use or edit or alter this article in any way. You cannot insert your own links into the article.

Trackback URI |

August Rush

starring Freddie Highmore (as August), Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Terrence Howard, and Robin Williams

Rated PG
Now available on DVD

August Rush is a movie about miracles. A miracle happens when August Rush (or Evan Taylor as he was named when he was born) listens to the music everywhere around him and follows it.

He has been in an orphanage for boys since he was born, but is convinced his parents really want him; he is determined to find them somehow through the music he hears in the wind and everywhere around him. Evan hears and feels a connection to his parents, but everyone around him tries to convince him it isn’t real. He starts his adventure by running away from the orphanage and following the music in the air. The music Evan hears around him leads him to New York City where he discovers his talent for creating his own music. Evan goes through some difficult times but miraculously finds his way.

August Rush is a positive, uplifting movie that has more to it than the obvious story plot. There is a spiritual message here too. I leave it to you to find it. The message may be different for you than it was for me, but it is there. Miracles such as the one written into this story really do happen. Miracles are real, just look around and you may find a few. This movie also demonstrates the inner communication that frequently happens between parents and children.

I have read some reviews for this movie to see what others had to say. I found the good reviews, but I also found the very negative reviews. This movie is not an Action Movie full of fighting. It is basically a Romantic Movie. If you are looking for an uplifting family type movie, then I highly recommend August Rush. Sit back, relax, breathe away the daily stress, and enjoy the movie.

Nancy
www.parentinggoldenrule.com

Additional Movie Reviews:

Martian Child

Copyright © February 2008, All Rights Reserved, , www.parentinggoldenrule.com. You cannot use or edit or alter this article in any way. You cannot insert your own links into the article.

Trackback URI |

One of the positive influences a parent can have on their children and teens is to make sure they view movies with a positive message at least once in a while. Children and teens today are being pulled further and further into negative and violent scenes until it becomes commonplace. Some of those children and teens begin thinking that the violent behavior that they see so often is acceptable; those same kids don’t react to much of the violence in movies or in life around them and begin acting out violently themselves.

It is important that parents limit the amount of violence their children are exposed to. It is important that parents expose their children and teens to the other end of life, to the positive messages, to the uplifting messages, to spiritual messages.

I decided to include Book Reviews and Movie Reviews on this website. I will occasionally add reviews of books and movies that seem to be positive and family oriented.

Click on the movie title below to be taken to the movie review webpage.

August Rush

Martian Child

Trackback URI |

How I came to write my first book on Parenting:

By Nancy

I have enjoyed putting this website and book together. Looking back has helped me take a look at everything we went through and how we came through it in one piece. I have two great daughters who are both working hard at creating their own paths through life.

I come from a long line of caregivers. My Grandmother was a teacher until she married and had children. Her sister was also a teacher. Two of Mom’s cousins were teachers. My mother was an RN most of her life. She worked in hospitals and in doctor’s clinics. When any of our neighbors got hurt, they always called on Mom to help. She was the unofficial neighborhood nurse. I grew up around doctor’s offices and spent lots of time in the back rooms waiting for Mom to get off of work. I was the chauffeur, babysitter, and general protector for my sister and brother when I was a teen.


I was a single parent for much of my daughter’s young lives. I have learned that single parenting is very tough. Not only that, life has been rough for me and my two girls. But we have managed to work our way through life’s experiences and learned many lessons in the process. Some families have been through tougher times than we have experienced and some families have had a much easier life than we have had.

My two girls and I have been through some tough times, and have learned a lot in the process. My girls have completely different personalities, different energies, and experienced different problems while growing up. I learned to use completely different techniques for each of them because they were so different. What worked for one child not work for the other child.

The three of us could probably write several long books about everything we have experienced. In trying to come up with an idea for my first book, I fell back on a request from a daughter to write down the things I did as a parent and how I taught them when they were little. I also felt the need to pass along some tips to another daughter to use with my grandchildren. My first book, Parenting Today With Respect and Responsibility, How to Teach Your Children to Live By the Golden Rule, is the beginning of fulfilling those needs.

I hope you enjoy exploring this website. I also hope you get some benefit from putting into action a few of the lessons, the communication exercises to do together as a family, the safety tips, the communication starters, reading some of the stories, and exploring the creative section from my parenting book.

This entire article is copyrighted. You do not have permission to copy it or reuse it or resell it. Those activities are illegal and violate the copyright laws.

Trackback URI |

How I came to write my first book on Parenting:

I have enjoyed putting this website and book together. Looking back has helped me take a look at everything we went through and how we came through it in one piece. I have two great daughters who are both working hard at creating their own paths through life.

I come from a long line of caregivers. My Grandmother was a teacher until she married and had children. Her sister was also a teacher. Two of Mom’s cousins were teachers. My mother was an RN most of her life. She worked in hospitals and in doctor’s clinics. When any of our neighbors got hurt, they always called on Mom to help. She was the unofficial neighborhood nurse. I grew up around doctor’s offices and spent lots of time in the back rooms waiting for Mom to get off of work. I was the chauffeur, babysitter, and general protector for my sister and brother when I was a teen.


I was a single parent for much of my daughter’s young lives. I have learned that single parenting is very tough. Not only that, life has been rough for me and my two girls. But we have managed to work our way through life’s experiences and learned many lessons in the process. Some families have been through tougher times than we have experienced and some families have had a much easier life than we have had.

My two girls and I have been through some tough times, and have learned a lot in the process. My girls have completely different personalities, different energies, and experienced different problems while growing up. I learned to use completely different techniques for each of them because they were so different. What worked for one child not work for the other child.

The three of us could probably write several long books about everything we have experienced. In trying to come up with an idea for my first book, I fell back on a request from a daughter to write down the things I did as a parent and how I taught them when they were little. I also felt the need to pass along some tips to another daughter to use with my grandchildren. My first book, Parenting Today With Respect and Responsibility, How to Teach Your Children to Live By the Golden Rule, is the beginning of fulfilling those needs.

I hope you enjoy exploring this website. I also hope you get some benefit from putting into action a few of the lessons, the communication exercises to do together as a family, the safety tips, the communication starters, reading some of the stories, and exploring the creative section from my parenting book.

Nancy Eastman

This entire article is copyrighted. You do not have permission to copy it or reuse it or resell it. Those activities are illegal and violate the copyright laws.

Trackback URI |

“The Daring Book for Girls”

by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz

After browsing through “The Dangerous Book for Boys” I began exploring possible book selections for my Granddaughter. That is when I came upon “The Daring Book For Girls.”

“The Daring Book for Girls” also contains a wide variety of subjects and is formatted very similar to “The Dangerous Book for Boys.” Some examples from this book for girls are: Knots and Stitches, Pressing Flowers, How to Tie a Sari, Basketball, Netball, Softball, Friendship Bracelets, How to Make a Willow Whistle, Five Karate Moves, Building a Campfire, Hand Clap Games, Making a Pegboard Game, How to Change a Tire, Modern Women Leaders, Queens of the Ancient World, and a Short History of Women Olympic Firsts. These are just a few examples of the many different subjects that are explained in this book.

As I mentioned in my review of “The Dangerous Book for Boys,” girls enjoy all kinds of things. Some girls enjoy being physically active and taking part in many of the same things that boys usually spend their time doing. On the reverse side of this, some boys enjoy pursuing activities such as sewing, knitting, and crocheting, which are activities that girls usually pursue. So I would not limit this ‘Daring Book for Girls’ to just the females. I would advise parents to check out the table of contents and decide whether the activities in the book would be enjoyable for their child. If you feel boys might be uncomfortable receiving a book labeled for girls, perhaps purchasing both books and adding them to your family library might be a solution. Then simply sit down sometime and read off some of the subjects found in the book. For example this book also has a section on “Making Your Own Quill Pen,” a section on “Marco Polo and Water Polo,” and a section titled “Tree Swing.”

My website, www.parentinggoldenrule.com, assists parents in the task of teaching their children respect, responsibility, and The Golden Rule. Part of teaching children includes listening to them, and also includes giving children creative tools and positive outlets for their energy. This book is a good example of how to encourage children to pursue a variety of activities and have fun while they are doing it. The more children spend their time in positive creative activities, the less time they will have to pursue more negative activities. If your kids don’t know what activities to do with their friends, this book will give them all kinds of ideas. Your children will never be bored if they have this book in their library.

I would like to congratulate the authors on putting together a very good compilation of various activities for children to pursue away from the television set and the computer. This book “Daring Book for Girls” is a good addition to everyone’s library. If you are interested in this book, go to the Powell’s Books search box at the bottom of this page and enter the words “The Daring Book for Girls” and then click on the search button.

Nancy
www.parentinggoldenrule.com

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

Trackback URI |

“The Dangerous Book for Boys”

by Conn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden

My youngest daughter pointed this book out to me on one of our shopping excursions and explained to me that she had seen it on TV and that it had been written as a way to get boys away from their video games. After a quick review of the book, I purchased a copy for my grandson.

“The Dangerous Book for Boys” contains a wide variety of subjects, and gives instructions on how to complete different types of projects. Just a few examples from the book are: Building a Treehouse, Making a Battery out of quarters, How to Play Stickball, Table Hockey, Rules for Soccer, Paper Airplanes, Making a Bow and Arrow, Codes and Ciphers, Astronomy, Knots, Stories of Courage such as the story about the Wright Brothers, Growing Sunflowers, and Questions About the World. There is even a short section with advice to boys about Girls, and the first item listed mentions the importance of listening. These are just a few examples of the many different subjects that are explained in this book.

One thing possibly being overlooked by the authors and by parents is well, is that this book can also be an excellent gift to give to some girls, depending on their personalities. One of my daughters would have loved this book when she was younger. She was always very active, played with balls and cars and everything that moved. Actually, my other daughter would have really enjoyed some of the subjects in this book also.

My website, www.parentinggoldenrule.com, assists parents in the task of teaching their children respect, responsibility, and The Golden Rule. Part of teaching children includes listening to them, and also includes giving children creative tools and positive outlets for their energy. The more children spend their time in positive creative activities, the less time they will have to pursue more negative activities. This book is a good example of how to encourage children to pursue a variety of activities and have fun while they are doing it. If your kids don’t know what activities to do with their friends, this book will give them all kinds of ideas. Your children will never be bored if they have this book in their library.

I would like to congratulate the authors on putting together a very good compilation of various activities for children to pursue away from the television set and the computer. This book “The Dangerous Book for Boys” is a very good addition for everyone’s library. If you are interested in this book, go to the Powell’s Books search box at the bottom of this page and enter the words “Dangerous Book for Boys” and then click on the search button.

Nancy
www.parentinggoldenrule.com

Go To More Book Reviews

The Daring Book For Girls

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

Trackback URI |

One of the positive influences a parent can have on their children and teens is to make sure they have positive reading material in a variety of subjects. Children and teens today are being pulled further and further away from books and into everything electronic. Part of reading books involves using the imagination to picture what the author has put into words.

I come from a long line of teachers. My grandmother used to give us gifts of a book at special times each year. I always looked forward to it because Grandmother always seemed to know exactly which books to give each one of us. My cousin told me that one year Grandmother sent her a chalkboard when she was little, and she was disappointed until she found the book in with it. It was the book that she really wanted!

That is why I decided to include Book Reviews and Movie Reviews on this website. I will ocassionally add reviews of books and movies that seem to be positive and family oriented.

Click on the book title below to be taken to the book review webpage.

BOOKS FOR PARENTS

Watch for new editions to this page soon!

BOOKS FOR CHILDREN

The Dangerous Book for Boys

The Daring Book for Girls

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

STORIES

THE LITTLE PEOPLE

An excerpt from: “Stories the Iroquois Tell Their Children”

By Mabel Powers (YEH SEN NOH WEHS)
American Book Company 1917
(Now in the Public Domain)

All children who live close to Mother Earth come to know and to see the fairies of the flowers, the woods, the rocks, and the waters.

These fairies the Iroquois call the Jo gah oh, or “Little People,” because they are so small. The Little People can do wonderful things. Whatever they wish, they can do. They can fly through the air. They can dart under or through the water, into the earth and through the rocks, as they please, for they wear invisible moccasins and travel in winged canoes.

Their wee babies are carried on the little mothers’ backs,—just like the Indian’s papoose. The little fathers have wonderful winged bows and arrows, that can shoot any distance they wish.

The Little People bring good luck to the Indians. Whatever Indian boys and girls wish for,—if they wish hard enough, the Jo gah oh will bring to them.

It is said that there are three tribes of these Little People,—those that live in the rocks beside streams and lakes, those that hover near the flowers and plants, and those that guard the dark places under the earth.

The rock Little People are very strong. They can uproot large trees and can hurl great rocks. Sometimes they dare the Indians to a test of strength with them. They also like to play ball with stones.

The Red Children fear the Stone Throwers, as they call them. But they love the little folk that help the flowers to blossom, and the fruit and grains to grow and ripen.

They remember these Little People in their Feasts of Thanksgiving, for do the Jo gah oh not help the sweet waters of the maple to flow? Do they not whisper to the growing seeds and show the way to the light? Do they not guide the runners of the strawberries, turn the blossoms to the sun, and paint the berries red? They also tint the grains, and give to the corn its good taste.

A third tribe of Little People dwell under the earth. They guard the sacred white buffaloes, and keep the serpent monsters that live in the darkness below from coming to the surface to the Red Children.

There are trails that lead out to the sunlight, but the Little People guard them close, although sometimes a great serpent will find the trail of a spring, and will follow it and poison the waters.

Often, at night, these elves of the dark come to the upper world to dance with the other Little People.

Wherever you find a tree in a deep, dark part of the wood, around which no grass will grow, there you may be sure a dance ring has been formed. There the Little People have danced till the moon dropped out of the sky.

BACK TO MAIN STORIES PAGE

Trackback URI |

Drawing a Spiral

If you hold the page horizontally and give it a quick rotary motion while looking at the centre of the spiral, it will appear to revolve. Perhaps a good many readers are acquainted with this little optical illusion. But the puzzle is to show how I was able to draw this spiral with so much exactitude without using anything but a pair of compasses and the sheet of paper on which the diagram was made. How would you proceed in such circumstances?

Amusements in Mathematics
by Henry Ernest Dudeney, 1917
Now in the Public Domain

For the solution to this puzzle, go to the Puzzle Solutions page.

Trackback URI |

Brief Article Summary
By Nancy

Parents sometimes ask how they can survive through the latest behavior problems they see emanating from their kids. In the middle busy schedules, parents find it difficult to deal with kids’ attitude and behavior extremes. When this reaches a crisis point is when parents frequently wonder how they are going to survive or if they will survive.

Here are some simple tips for parents to keep in mind so they can survive through their children’s and teen’s difficult years. I am making the assumption that you are average or above average as a parent, and you care deeply about your kids.

Survival Tips

• Realize that you are not perfect and you always do the very best that you can.

• Congratulate yourself for all your hard work and for everything you have taught your children and teens.

• Give yourself a bit of time to unwind. Don’t forget you need to be kind to yourself too.

• Make time for your own space; give yourself some relaxation time and some breathing room. You will go back to your family much happier.

• If you are a single parent and can’t afford or can’t find someone to help you spend some time to yourself, there are still alternatives you can explore. Find a location that is soothing and calming and take your family there to unwind on a regular basis. I used to take my kids to the beach since it was free and within driving distance. They could play and I could unwind and relax. There are always options.

These tips don’t directly give you guidance for dealing with kids behaviour problems, but it does show you how to survive through it all. This will help your kids too, because happier parents find it easier to come up with solutions to problems they are dealing with. There are many resources available to help parents survive through today’s modern life and modern problems.

Copyright © August 2007, All Rights Reserved, Nancy
www.parentinggoldenrule.com

_____________________________________________________________

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

Trackback URI |

Puzzle - GIVING CHANGE

Everyone is familiar with the difficulties that frequently arise over the giving of change, and how the assistance of a third person with a few coins in his pocket will sometimes help us to set the matter right. Here is an example. An Englishman went into a shop in New York and bought goods at a cost of thirty-four cents. The only money he had was a dollar, a three-cent piece, and a two-cent piece. The tradesman had only a half-dollar and a quarter-dollar. But another customer happened to be present, and when asked to help produced two dimes, a five-cent piece, a two-cent piece, and a one-cent piece.

How did the tradesman manage to give change? For the benefit of those readers who are not familiar with the American coinage, it is only necessary to say that a dollar is a hundred cents and a dime ten cents. A puzzle of this kind should rarely cause any difficulty if attacked in a proper manner.

Amusements in Mathematics, by Henry Ernest Dudeney, 1917
Now in the Public Domain

For the solution to this puzzle, go to the Puzzle Solutions page.

Trackback URI |

Puzzle - BAG OF NUTS

Three boys were given a bag of nuts as a Christmas present, and it was agreed that they should be divided in proportion to their ages, which together amounted to 171/2 years.

Now the bag contained 770 nuts, and as often as Herbert took four Robert took three, and as often as Herbert took six Christopher took seven. The puzzle is to find out how many nuts each had, and what were the boys’ respective ages.

Amusements in Mathematics, by Henry Ernest Dudeney, 1917
Now in the Public Domain

For the solution to this puzzle, go to the Puzzle Solutions page.

Trackback URI |

Puzzle - WILSON’S POSER

“Speaking of perplexities——” said Mr. Wilson, throwing down a magazine on the table in the commercial room of the Railway Hotel.

“Who was speaking of perplexities?” inquired Mr. Stubbs.

“Well, then, reading about them, if you want to be exact—it just occurred to me that perhaps you three men may be interested in a little matter connected with myself.”

It was Christmas Eve, and the four commercial travellers were spending the holiday at Grassminster. Probably each suspected that the others had no homes, and perhaps each was conscious of the fact that he was in that predicament himself. In any case they seemed to be perfectly comfortable, and as they drew round the cheerful fire the conversation became general.

“What is the difficulty?” asked Mr. Packhurst.

“There’s no difficulty in the matter, when you rightly understand it. It is like this. A man named Parker had a flying-machine that would carry two. He was a venturesome sort of chap—reckless, I should call him—and he had some bother in finding a man willing to risk his life in making an ascent with him. However, an uncle of mine thought he would chance it, and one fine morning he took his seat in the machine and she started off well.

When they were up about a thousand feet, my nephew suddenly——”

“Here, stop, Wilson! What was your nephew doing there? You said your uncle,” interrupted Mr. Stubbs.

“Did I? Well, it does not matter. My nephew suddenly turned to Parker and said that the engine wasn’t running well, so Parker called out to my uncle——” “Look here,” broke in Mr. Waterson, “we are getting mixed. Was it your uncle or your nephew? Let’s have it one way or the other.”

“What I said is quite right. Parker called out to my uncle to do something or other, when my nephew——”

“There you are again, Wilson,” cried Mr. Stubbs; “once for all, are we to understand that both your uncle and your nephew were on the machine?”

“Certainly. I thought I made that clear. Where was I? Well, my nephew shouted back to Parker——”

“Phew! I’m sorry to interrupt you again, Wilson, but we can’t get on like this. Is it true that the machine would only carry two?”

“Of course. I said at the start that it only carried two.”

“Then what in the name of aerostation do you mean by saying that there were three persons on board?” shouted Mr. Stubbs.

“Who said there were three?”

“You have told us that Parker, your uncle, and your nephew went up on this blessed flying-machine.”

“That’s right.”

“And the thing would only carry two!”

“Right again.”

“Wilson, I have known you for some time as a truthful man and a temperate man,” said Mr. Stubbs, solemnly. “But I am afraid since you took up that new line of goods you have overworked yourself.”

“Half a minute, Stubbs,” interposed Mr. Waterson. “I see clearly where we all slipped a cog. Of course, Wilson, you meant us to understand that Parker is either your uncle or your nephew. Now we shall be all right if you will just tell us whether Parker is your uncle or nephew.”

“He is no relation to me whatever.”

The three men sighed and looked anxiously at one another. Mr. Stubbs got up from his chair to reach the matches, Mr. Packhurst proceeded to wind up his watch, and Mr. Waterson took up the poker to attend to the fire. It was an awkward moment, for at the season of goodwill nobody wished to tell Mr. Wilson exactly what was in his mind.

“It’s curious,” said Mr. Wilson, very deliberately, “and it’s rather sad, how thick-headed some people are. You don’t seem to grip the facts. It never seems to have occurred to either of you that my uncle and my nephew are one and the same man.”

“What!” exclaimed all three together.

“Yes; David George Linklater is my uncle, and he is also my nephew. Consequently, I am both his uncle and nephew. Queer, isn’t it? I’ll explain how it comes about.”

Mr. Wilson put the case so very simply that the three men saw how it might happen without any marriage within the prohibited degrees. Perhaps the reader can work it out for himself.

Amusements in Mathematics, by Henry Ernest Dudeney, 1917
Now in the Public Domain

For the solution to this puzzle, go to the Puzzle Solutions page.

Trackback URI |

Puzzle - AVERAGE SPEED

In a recent motor ride it was found that we had gone at the rate of ten miles an hour, but we did the return journey over the same route, owing to the roads being more clear of traffic, at fifteen miles an hour.

What was our average speed?

Do not be too hasty in your answer to this simple little question, or it is pretty certain that you will be wrong.

Amusements in Mathematics, by Henry Ernest Dudeney, 1917
Now in the Public Domain

For the solution to this puzzle, go to the Puzzle Solutions page.

Trackback URI |

Puzzle - WHAT WAS THE TIME

“I say, Rackbrane, what is the time?” an acquaintance asked our friend the professor the other day.

The answer was certainly curious.

“If you add one quarter of the time from noon till now to half the time from now till noon to-morrow, you will get the time exactly.”

What was the time of day when the professor spoke?

Amusements in Mathematics, by Henry Ernest Dudeney, 1917
Now in the Public Domain

For the solution to this puzzle, go to the Puzzle Solutions page.

Trackback URI |

Puzzle - MAMMA’S AGE

Tommy: “How old are you, mamma?”

Mamma: “Let me think, Tommy. Well, our three ages add up to exactly seventy years.”

Tommy: “That’s a lot, isn’t it? And how old are you, papa?”

Papa: “Just six times as old as you, my son.”

Tommy: “Shall I ever be half as old as you, papa?”

Papa: “Yes, Tommy; and when that happens our three ages will add up to exactly twice as much as to-day.”

Tommy: “And supposing I was born before you, papa; and supposing mamma had forgot all about it, and hadn’t been at home when I came; and supposing——”

Mamma: “Supposing, Tommy, we talk about bed. Come along, darling. You’ll have a headache.”

Now, if Tommy had been some years older he might have calculated the exact ages of his parents from the information they had given him. Can you find out the exact age of mamma?

Amusements in Mathematics, by Henry Ernest Dudeney, 1917
Now in the Public Domain

For the solution to this puzzle, go to the Puzzle Solutions page.

Trackback URI |

NEW MATCH PUZZLE

This puzzle uses matches. It might be a good idea to find rounded toothpicks and cut them to the proper size, or find small twigs or sticks to use instead of matches. Matches are not playthings and it is not a good idea to give children the impression that they are toys etc.

In the illustration eighteen matches are shown arranged so that they enclose two spaces, one just twice as large as the other.

Can you rearrange them (1) so as to enclose two four-sided spaces, one exactly three times as large as the other, and (2) so as to enclose two five-sided spaces, one exactly three times as large as the other?

All the eighteen matches must be fairly used in each case; the two spaces must be quite detached, and there must be no loose ends or duplicated matches.

Amusements in Mathematics, by Henry Ernest Dudeney, 1917
Now in the Public Domain

For the solution to this puzzle, go to the Puzzle Solutions page.

Trackback URI |

AN EASY DISSECTION PUZZLE

• First, cut out a piece of paper or cardboard of the shape shown in the illustration.

• It will be seen at once that the proportions are simply those of a square attached to half of another similar square, divided diagonally.

• The puzzle is to cut it into four pieces all of precisely the same size and shape.

Amusements in Mathematics, by Henry Ernest Dudeney, 1917
Now in the Public Domain

For the solution to this puzzle, go to the Puzzle Solutions page.

Trackback URI |

PUZZLES

Copyright 2007 parentinggoldenrule.com: Legal Notice

This is a collection of a variety of puzzles to challenge the minds and creativity of children, youth, and adults. I will not be categorizing these puzzles (or anything else on this website) by age. Even the simpliest puzzle, game, craft, or story can be beneficial for teens and adults of any age. Also, the complicated, difficult puzzles, games, crafts, or stories can be beneficial for the youngest children - depending on the children and their abilities.

These puzzles are taken from Public Domain works (not copyrighted in the United States). Perhaps some of these puzzles will be familiar to you. Others perhaps will be new.

Creative activity and mental challenges help all of us to grow and expand ourselves into stronger more content people.

This category is a recent addition. I am searching for additional items to add to the website that might be appropriate.

LINKS TO PUZZLES ON THIS WEBSITE

An Easy Dissection Puzzle

Average Speed

Bag of Nuts

Drawing a Spiral

Giving Change

Mamma’s Age

New Match Puzzle

What Was the Time

Wilson’s Poser

LINK TO SOLUTIONS

Puzzle Solutions

Trackback URI |

PUZZLE SOLUTIONS

This page contains solutions to the puzzles on this website. So if you don’t want to read or view these solutions, stop reading here and go back to the main puzzle page. These puzzles are taken from Public Domain works, so some of the language is written and spoken differently than modern day english. Also, some of the solutions are detailed, and some of the solutions leave it up to you to figure out how they arrived at that particular answer.

BACK TO MAIN PUZZLES PAGE

_____________________________________________________________

AN EASY DISSECTION PUZZLE

The solution to this puzzle is shown in the illustration.

Divide the figure up into twelve equal triangles, and it is easy to discover the directions of the cuts, as indicated by the dark lines.

Amusements in Mathematics, by Henry Ernest Dudeney, 1917
Now in the Public Domain

_____________________________________________________________

AVERAGE SPEED

The average speed is twelve miles an hour, not twelve and a half, as most people will hastily declare. Take any distance you like, say sixty miles. This would have taken six hours going and four hours returning. The double journey of 120 miles would thus take ten hours, and the average speed is clearly twelve miles an hour.

Amusements in Mathematics, by Henry Ernest Dudeney, 1917
Now in the Public Domain

_____________________________________________________________

BAG OF NUTS

It will be found that when Herbert takes twelve, Robert and Christopher will take nine and fourteen respectively, and that they will have together taken thirty-five nuts. As 35 is contained in 770 twenty-two times, we have merely to multiply 12, 9, and 14 by 22 to discover that Herbert’s share was 264, Robert’s 198, and Christopher’s 308. Then, as the total of their ages is 171/2 years or half the sum of 12, 9, and 14, their respective ages must be 6, 41/2, and 7 years.

Amusements in Mathematics, by Henry Ernest Dudeney, 1917
Now in the Public Domain

_____________________________________________________________

DRAWING A SPIRAL

Make a fold in the paper, as shown by the dotted line in the illustration. Then, taking any two points, as A and B, describe semicircles on the line alternately from the centres B and A, being careful to make the ends join, and the thing is done. Of course this is not a true spiral, but the puzzle was to produce the particular spiral that was shown, and that was drawn in this simple manner.

Amusements in Mathematics, by Henry Ernest Dudeney, 1917
Now in the Public Domain

_____________________________________________________________

GIVING CHANGE

The way to help the American tradesman out of his dilemma is this. Describing the coins by the number of cents that they represent, the tradesman puts on the counter 50 and 25; the buyer puts down 100, 3, and 2; the stranger adds his 10, 10, 5, 2, and 1.

Now, considering that the cost of the purchase amounted to 34 cents, it is clear that out of this pooled money the tradesman has to receive 109, the buyer 71, and the stranger his 28 cents. Therefore it is obvious at a glance that the 100-piece must go to the tradesman, and it then follows that the 50-piece must go to the buyer, and then the 25- piece can only go to the stranger. Another glance will now make it clear that the two 10-cent pieces must go to the buyer, because the tradesman now only wants 9 and the stranger 3. Then it becomes obvious that the buyer must take the 1 cent, that the stranger must take the 3 cents, and the tradesman the 5, 2, and 2. To sum up, the tradesman takes 100, 5, 2, and 2; the buyer, 50, 10, 10, and 1; the stranger, 25 and 3. It will be seen that not one of the three persons retains any one of his own coins.

Amusements in Mathematics, by Henry Ernest Dudeney, 1917
Now in the Public Domain

_____________________________________________________________

MAMMA’S AGE

The age of Mamma must have been 29 years 2 months; that of Papa, 35 years; and that of the child, Tommy, 5 years 10 months. Added together, these make seventy years. The father is six times the age of the son, and, after 23 years 4 months have elapsed, their united ages will amount to 140 years, and Tommy will be just half the age of his father.

Amusements in Mathematics, by Henry Ernest Dudeney, 1917
Now in the Public Domain

_____________________________________________________________

NEW MATCH PUZZLE

(First solution) The easiest way is to arrange the eighteen matches as in Diagrams 1 and 2, making the length of the perpendicular AB equal to a match and a half. Then, if the matches are an inch in length, Fig. 1 contains two square inches and Fig. 2 contains six square inches — 4 x 1 1/2.

(Second solution) The second case (2) is a little more difficult to solve. The solution is given in Figs. 3 and 4. For the purpose of construction, place matches temporarily on the dotted lines. Then it will be seen that as 3 contains five equal equilateral triangles and 4 contains fifteen similar triangles, one figure is three times as large as the other, and exactly eighteen matches are used.

Amusements in Mathematics, by Henry Ernest Dudeney, 1917
Now in the Public Domain

_____________________________________________________________

WHAT WAS THE TIME

The time must have been 9:36 p.m. A quarter of the time since noon is 2 hours 24 minutes, and a half of the time till noon next day is 7 hours 12 minutes. These added together make 9 hours 36 minutes.

Amusements in Mathematics, by Henry Ernest Dudeney, 1917
Now in the Public Domain

_____________________________________________________________

WILSON’S POSER

If there are two men, each of whom marries the mother of the other, and there is a son of each marriage, then each of such sons will be at the same time uncle and nephew of the other. There are other ways in which the relationship may be brought about, but this is the simplest.

Amusements in Mathematics, by Henry Ernest Dudeney, 1917
Now in the Public Domain

_____________________________________________________________

Trackback URI |

The Golden Rule – How to Teach It to Kids
Brief Article Summary

What is It?

Do you and your children know what the Golden Rule is? I am talking about the Golden Rule in its positive interpretation and its relationship to respect and responsibility. “Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You.” The interpretation I am promoting teaches and practices tolerance and respect for others, while some people use the Golden Rule as an excuse to justify racism and violence. Teaching tolerance and respect fits into most parenting techniques and styles. Many religions today teach the Golden Rule in very similar forms and is an important basic principal to live by.

How is the Golden Rule taught? Many years ago when my children and I were outside a retail store one of my daughters spotted a child inside the window that somehow looked different than everyone else. I don’t remember what the issue was, but her comment caught my attention. I had a way of handling issues like this, so I just automatically did what I always did. I asked her to put herself in that child’s shoes and imagine what it would be like it if other children talked about her like that? After a very quick conversation, she saw the other child very. Her change in attitude happened because we talked about it at the time it was happening. I didn’t wait until later; I dealt with it right away.

• Children need to be taught tolerance and respect towards others. When parents are consistent in their attitudes and behavior towards others children learn what tolerance looks like and feels like.

• The Golden Rule should not be used to justify discrimination and violent behavior towards others. This interpretation is very destructive and should be avoided at all costs.

Teaching Tolerance

A good starting point for teaching tolerance and the Golden Rule would be to try the ideas listed below.

• Be an example in everything you do and say, and talk to your children when you see things happening around you. Don’t just remain silent if you see intolerance.

• There are good times to talk with your children about what you see happening. Share real life stories with your kids and slide a lesson in the middle of it.

Copyright © June 2007, All Rights Reserved, www.parentinggoldenrule.com

Some of my articles have been featured on EzineArticles.com.

Trackback URI |

Respectful Kids
Brief Article Summary
By Nancy

One job parents need to do is to teach their children to respect themselves and to respect the rights of other people. It is also vital that we understand and practice tolerance towards others.

PARENTING STYLES AND RESPECT

It is vital that parents teach their children about respect and practice and demonstrate respect towards other people.

The well-behaved respectful youth really stands out today.

BEING AN EXAMPLE FOR YOUR KIDS

Teaching respect to your kids involves you being an example for them.

Many other techniques and steps can be used to help your kids grow into successful adults who are content with what and who they are.

Copyright © June 2007, All Rights Reserved
Nancy, www.parentinggoldenrule.com

Several of my articles have been featured on EzineArticles.com.

Trackback URI |

Are There Alternatives to Traditional Methods of Parenting?
Brief Summary of Longer Article
By Nancy

Today’s parents don’t have all the answers, just as parents in the past didn’t have all the answers. Perhaps successful parenting alternatives today are the parenting styles that mix a bit of the old with a bit of the new.

One Way to Do It Differently

I was told after my first child was born that her first word would be “No.” I decided to make sure that her first word was something different, her first word was “Yes.”

This child was extremely active and did everything early, and got into everything, and tested my patience every day. Saying “No” constantly would have been an easy thing to do. I decided to do something very different when she was very little. If she grabbed something she wasn’t supposed to, I would take the item out of her hand and then I would immediately put something different in her other hand. For example, if she grabbed something off of the bookshelf, I picked up a small toy car or a small rubber ball. Next I would take the book out of her hand and hand her the ball or toy car telling her “Yes, you can play with the ball (or car).”

This Method Altered for Older Kids

Older children need a bit more added to this method.

Old and New Styles of Parenting

Life seems to go very fast today, and children are growing up faster than at any time in the past. Be sure to let your kids know that you will always be there for them.

Copyright © June 2007, All Rights Reserved, Nancy,
www.parentinggoldenrule.com

Several of my articles have been featured on EzineArticles.com.

Trackback URI |

Behavior Problems of Youth - Teens
By Nancy

Teen years - what a rough experience it can be for both teens and parents. Teens want to be independent, even when they are not really ready for it. Parents sometimes feel that once their children reach the teen years it is too late to make any changes or teach their kids anything else. It is never too late to guide them through difficult situations. Many methods are available to do this. One way is through effective two-way communication.

Two-Way Communication and Love

Rules and Love

Respect and Love

Many kids today do not understand or practice respect for others. As adults these teens will not be able to get or keep jobs if they do not know how to respect other people.

Content Adults from Once Troubled Youth

Communication is one of the ways to help your teens get past their behavior problems and grow into happy, contented adults. This is a day-to-day learning and teaching experience. Communication is the place to start.

Copyright © June 2007, All Rights Reserved, Nancy,
www.parentinggoldernrule.com

Several of my articles have been featured on EzineArticles.com.

Trackback URI |

CRAFTS - IDEAS

Copyright 2007 parentinggoldenrule.com: Legal Notice

Teach creativity to your kids. Some of the best toys/playthings you can give your children are: empty cardboard boxes; crayons; colored pencils; paper to draw on; a cardboard table with a sheet draped over it; modeling clay; building blocks – or small boxes, containers, carboard tubes they can turn into their own building blocks; etc. Look around at the things you throw away and see what can be washed/cleaned and given to your kids to make something out of.

There are many craft books with ideas for all types of creativity to appeal to children’s imagination. This builds an ability in them to be able to deal with anything in their future because they are learning to be creative and make something out of very little.

Motif Wall Stickers
Buy at AllPosters.com

When my oldest daughter was young, I remember some phone calls she would get from her friends. After a few of the conversations sounded a little strange, I asked her about them. Her reply was that her friends were bored and they knew she would be able to think of something they could do so they always called her and asked her for suggestions. Her answer was a surprise to me because at that time I hadn’t realized that other children got bored and couldn’t find activities to pursue. My children and I always had more than enough things to do. I don’t remember them ever being bored!

Be selective in the material things you buy for your children. Moderation is the key. What are they interested in? Encourage creative thinking by giving your kids tools to use that will expand their ability to create their own activities and projects. Of course as a parent you will need to monitor their activities to be sure they follow any safety rules etc. Explore crafts, arts, music sites, etc.

The Resources page on this website lists some links for you to check out in your search for creative activities for your children. There are a number of sites on the internet that can give you more creative ideas to use for your children. The more ideas you have to use, the better off your children will be. This Crafts for Kids page lists a few ideas for you to start with. I encourage you to explore this website and create fun times for your children.

Much of the free Crafts for Kids ideas on this website are taken from published works that are now in the Public Domain. If something is listed as being in the Public Domain that means it does not have a current copyright in the United States connected to that published work. Every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of the Public Domain inforrmation.

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

WEBSITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Trackback URI |

ESPECIALLY FOR YOUTH/TEENS

Copyright 2007 parentinggoldenrule.com: Legal Notice

Welcome to parentinggoldenrule.com. I am currently working on issues/ideas to include on this page targeted specifically for issues/difficulties parents may be having with the teens in their family. Meanwhile, there is a parenting article posted on this website titled “Behavior Problems of Youth - Teens” See the sidebar on the right side of this webpage.

As I briefly mentioned on the home page of this website, my children are now adults. When they were young they were complete opposites. So I had to learn and practice two totally different styles of parenting because what worked with one child did not work at all for the other child. I have experienced a very wide range of difficulties because my children each needed different things.

I personally believe that it is much more difficult for children, teens, and adults today than it was in the past because of the constant bombardment of information we all receive from so many different sources. We all need help learning to deal with it. And our children and teens especially need all the help we can give them. The internet can be a good source or a bad source depending on how it is used. It can be a source of parenting ideas and helpful tips for dealing with all kinds of issues and teen behavior problems.

One internet site that contains a large variety of helpful articles is EzineArticles.com. Several of my articles have been featured on EzineArticles.com.

WEBSITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Trackback URI |

What’s the best children’s music?
by: Dr Christobel Llewellyn

It’s sometimes confusing for parents to know what’s the best choice for children’s music. As both a music educator and parent, I found myself browsing through record stores eagerly looking for something both my husband and I, and my children could enjoy. Unfortunately, I didn’t find it. Most of the chidlren’s music was corporate ie. attached to a tv show. It seemed to be all copies of the same thing. Lots of vocalists singing nursery rhymes, mostly in G or C Major with little variety. Hardly any instrumentation.

Children are magnificent. Any parent knows this. Children’s music should play to this magnificence, not down to the common denominator.

I started KINDERJAZZ The Big Swing Band For Little Kids for this reason. You can check it out against the list below on http://www.kinderjazz.com. I wanted children to be exposed to the cream, not the residue. Childhood is when a human’s hearing is most acute. It is when we learn our language and this informs much future success in our lives. The best children’s music has the following ingredients:

a) melody
b) rhythm
c) interesting key signatures
d) variety of styles
e) clarity
f) be performed by professionals
g) harmony - simple or complex
h) safe, intelligent and fun lyrics
i) educational

Don’t just walk into a store and buy what you’ve seen on tv. Music is powerful. Ask any advertising agency. Children’s music needs to be the highest quality. What your children listen to will form a memory bank in their brains for the rest of their lives. PLATO said, “To become the right kind of person, you must listen to the right kind of music.”

About The Author

Dr Christobel Llewellyn is a music educator and leader of leading kid’s music Big Band, KINDERJAZZ - http://www.kinderjazz.com. She lives in Sydney, Australia with her composer husband and three children. She has produced six albums for KINDERJAZZ all offering music tuition for children from birth.

Copyright July 2007

Article Source: www.ArticleCity.com

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

POEMS AND RHYMES FOR KIDS

RAIN

The rain is falling all around,
   It falls on field and tree,
It rains on the umbrellas here,
   And on the ships at sea.

A Child’s Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson
(Now in the Public Domain:
not copyrighted in the United States)

BACK TO MAIN POEMS FOR KIDS PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

POEMS AND RHYMES FOR KIDS

SINGING

Of speckled eggs the birdie sings
   And nests among the trees;
The sailor sings of ropes and things
   In ships upon the seas.

The children sing in far Japan,
   The children sing in Spain;
The organ with the organ man
   Is singing in the rain.

A Child’s Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson
(Now in the Public Domain:
not copyrighted in the United States)

BACK TO MAIN POEMS FOR KIDS PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

POEMS AND RHYMES FOR KIDS

MY SHADOW

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow–
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,
And he sometimes goes so little that there’s none of him at all.

He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close behind me, he’s a coward you can see;
I’d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

A Child’s Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson
(Now in the Public Domain:
not copyrighted in the United States)

BACK TO MAIN POEMS FOR KIDS PAGE

Trackback URI |

Brief Article Summary

Teaching the Golden Rule: What is the Most Effective Method?
By Nancy
Word Count: 660

What is the Golden Rule?

“Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You.” Have your children ever heard of the Golden Rule? Do they know what it is? I am talking about the Golden Rule in its positive interpretation and its relationship to respect and responsibility. (Note: some people use the Golden Rule as an excuse to justify racism and violence.) The interpretation of the Golden Rule that I am promoting teaches and practices tolerance and respect for others. It doesn’t matter what your parenting style is. The Golden Rule fits into most parenting techniques and styles. Many Religions today teach the Golden Rule in very similar forms. This is an important basic principal to live by and to pass along to our children.

How do we teach the Golden Rule to our kids? I remember one particular incident when my children and I were outside a retail store and were walking towards the main door. One of my daughters spotted a child inside the window that somehow looked different than everyone else. I don’t remember now if it was clothing or what the issue was. But the fact that she commented about the other child in a negative way caught my attention right away. I handled it the way I always handled issues like this. I asked her to imagine herself as that child, to put herself in that child’s shoes. How would she like it if other children gave her a bad time the way she was doing right now? We had a very quick conversation about it as we walked into the store. By the time we got in the door she saw the other child very differently and had completely reversed herself. That would not have happened if I had just let it go and hadn’t initiated a discussion about it right when it happened. I didn’t yell at her or jump on her about it. I just asked her to put herself in the other child’s shoes for a minute and see what it felt like to be there.

One Key to Teaching Tolerance

There are several methods for teaching tolerance and the Golden Rule to your children. A good starting point would be to try the ideas listed below.

Copyright © June 2007, All Rights Reserved, Nancy, www.parentinggoldenrule.com

Trackback URI |

Resources for Parents

Copyright 2007 parentinggoldenrule.com: Legal Notice

I will be adding resources/websites related to parenting/children/youth issues as I locate appropriate sites. Parenting children today involves many issues, so I have tried to include several categories of resources on this page to help you in the task of teaching tolerance, respect, and responsibility. If there is a category that you would like to see added to this page, please go to the Comments page at this site and send me a note explaining your request.

BOOKS

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

CRAFTS AND TOYS FOR ALL AGES

I am working on some additions to this category right now. Hopefully I will be able to add links very soon.

ARTS RELATED SITES

I am working on some additions to this category right now. Hopefully I will be able to add links very soon.

MUSIC

I am working on some additions to this category right now. Hopefully I will be able to add links very soon.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

I am working on some additions to this category right now. Hopefully I will be able to add links very soon.

PARENTS - DO YOU WANT TO CREATE A BUSINESS AND WORK FROM HOME?

I added this category to this website because I remember how difficult it was for me as a single working parent many years ago to find a way to work at home. I tried several ideas but never could get anything to work out. I ended up being a typical working parent trying to do everything. Of course, back then I couldn’t afford a computer, and the internet was not as well used as it is today. Today, the internet offers many opportunities to create an online business; yes it can be done honestly and ethically. Below are some resources for you to check out. My first choice for you would be Holly Mann’s Honest Riches.

HONEST RICHES 2, BY HOLLY MANN

I highly recommend Holly Mann’s ebook. It is exactly what it is titled. Holly shows how to create an income using the internet honestly and ethically. She explains several different methods of internet income, which is why I enjoy her book so much. She explains step-by-step how to set up your own business. There are steps in her book that I would not have been able to think of on my own.

I have purchased several ebooks on the subject of internet businesses, but Holly’s is definitely the best as far as I am concerned. I use her book as my ‘blueprint.’ And then I use a video e-course as a reference manual for further ideas (Mike Filsame). The ebooks by other authors did not help me as much so I am not going to list them here. If you purchase Holly Mann’s ebook first, and then Mike Filsame’s e-course, you should have enough information to create your own internet business.

It does take some work and planning to get a website going. By following Holly’s guidance you will be able to create a website that will last a long time and be very productive.

Holly is a mother and a disabled veteran. She shows you how to make an honest income from the internet. Holly gives very good step-by-step instructions detailing how she set up her own business. If it is overwhelming to you, as it was to me, just take one step at a time. That is what I did. When I completed one step, then I went back to Honest Riches and completed the next step. I discovered that every step was explained, so I just had to follow what Holly Mann suggested and go from there. She shows you how to come up with your own ideas for a website focus. And she also suggests where to get your own website.

Check out Honest Riches
by Holly Mann, click here:
Honest Riches

CARBON COPY MARKETING

Carbon Copy Marketing, by Mike Filsame, is a good internet marketing video e-course to use as a reference manual. There are many ideas in Mike’s package that can help you make your website more successful. Mike is another person that comes across as an Honest Salesman. He doesn’t tell you that he can help you make a fortune overnight. However, he does show you how to make your website successfull, and gives you many honest marketing techniques to use on the internet. It will help you filter out all the scams that are so rampant on the intenet today.

When Mike Filsame began his website he worked full time as a manager of a large auto dealership and worked part time at home on his internet business. He is so successful now with his Internet Marketing business that he has quit his full time job. You will see his name in numerous places on the internet today, because he has been so successful in his approach to internet marketing and in helping others to achieve success.

Check out Carbon Copy Marketing
by Mike Filsame, click here:
Carbon Copy Marketing

WEBSITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Trackback URI |

Copyright 2007 parentinggoldenrule.com: Legal Notice

Welcome to parentinggoldenrule.com. I hope these pages have been helpful in your search for additional parenting tools to use with your children. If you have suggestions of other things you might like to see added to this website, please send a comment in the box below.

WEBSITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Trackback URI | Comments RSS

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

STORIES

THE DONKEY AND THE LAP DOG

Taken from “The Æsop for Children”
Author: Æsop
Illustrator: Milo Winter
(Now in the Public Domain:
Not copyrighted in the United States.)

There was once a Donkey whose Master also owned a Lap Dog. This Dog was a favorite and received many a pat and kind word from his Master, as well as choice bits from his plate. Every day the Dog would run to meet the Master, frisking playfully about and leaping up to lick his hands and face.

All this the Donkey saw with much discontent. Though he was well fed, he had much work to do; besides, the Master hardly ever took any notice of him.

Now the jealous Donkey got it into his silly head that all he had to do to win his Master’s favor was to act like the Dog. So one day he left his stable and clattered eagerly into the house.

Finding his Master seated at the dinner table, he kicked up his heels and, with a loud bray, pranced giddily around the table, upsetting it as he did so. Then he planted his forefeet on his Master’s knees and rolled out his tongue to lick the Master’s face, as he had seen the Dog do. But his weight upset the chair, and [Donkey] and man rolled over together in the pile of broken dishes from the table.

The Master was much alarmed at the strange behavior of the Donkey, and calling for help, soon attracted the attention of the servants. When they saw the danger the Master was in from the clumsy beast, they set upon the Donkey and drove him with kicks and blows back to the stable. There they left him to mourn the foolishness that had brought him nothing but a sound beating.

Behavior that is regarded as agreeable in one is very rude and impertinent in another.
Do not try to gain favor by acting in a way that is contrary to your own nature and character.

BACK TO MAIN STORIES PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

STORIES

MERCURY AND THE WOODMAN

Taken from “The Æsop for Children”
Author: Æsop
Illustrator: Milo Winter
(Now in the Public Domain:
Not copyrighted in the United States.)

A poor Woodman was cutting down a tree near the edge of a deep pool in the forest. It was late in the day and the Woodman was tired. He had been working since sunrise and his strokes were not so sure as they had been early that morning. Thus it happened that the axe slipped and flew out of his hands into the pool.

The Woodman was in despair. The axe was all he possessed with which to make a living, and he had not money enough to buy a new one. As he stood wringing his hands and weeping, the god Mercury suddenly appeared and asked what the trouble was. The Woodman told what had happened, and straightway the kind Mercury dived into the pool. When he came up again he held a wonderful golden axe.

“Is this your axe?” Mercury asked the Woodman.

“No,” answered the honest Woodman, “that is not my axe.”

Mercury laid the golden axe on the bank and sprang back into the pool. This time he brought up an axe of silver, but the Woodman declared again that his axe was just an ordinary one with a wooden handle.

Mercury dived down for the third time, and when he came up again he had the very axe that had been lost.

The poor Woodman was very glad that his axe had been found and could not thank the kind god enough. Mercury was greatly pleased with the Woodman’s honesty.

“I admire your honesty,” he said, “and as a reward you may have all three axes, the gold and the silver as well as your own.”

The happy Woodman returned to his home with his treasures, and soon the story of his good fortune was known to everybody in the village. Now there were several Woodmen in the village who believed that they could easily win the same good fortune. They hurried out into the woods, one here, one there, and hiding their axes in the bushes, pretended they had lost them. Then they wept and wailed and called on Mercury to help them.

And indeed, Mercury did appear, first to this one, then to that. To each one he showed an axe of gold, and each one eagerly claimed it to be the one he had lost. But Mercury did not give them the golden axe. Oh no! Instead he gave them each a hard whack over the head with it and sent them home. And when they returned next day to look for their own axes, they were nowhere to be found.

Honesty is the best policy.

BACK TO MAIN STORIES PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

STORIES

THE FOX AND THE GOAT

Taken from “The Æsop for Children”
Author: Æsop
Illustrator: Milo Winter
(Now in the Public Domain:
Not copyrighted in the United States.)

A Fox fell into a well, and though it was not very deep, he found that he could not get out again. After he had been in the well a long time, a thirsty Goat came by. The Goat thought the Fox had gone down to drink, and so he asked if the water was good.

“The finest in the whole country,” said the crafty Fox, “jump in and try it. There is more than enough for both of us.”

The thirsty Goat immediately jumped in and began to drink. The Fox just as quickly jumped on the Goat’s back and leaped from the tip of the Goat’s horns out of the well.

The foolish Goat now saw what a plight he had got into, and begged the Fox to help him out. But the Fox was already on his way to the woods.

“If you had as much sense as you have beard, old fellow,” he said as he ran, “you would have been more cautious about finding a way to get out again before you jumped in.”

Look before you leap.

BACK TO MAIN STORIES PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

STORIES

THE ANTS AND THE GRASSHOPPER

Taken from “The Æsop for Children”
Author: Æsop
Illustrator: Milo Winter
(Now in the Public Domain:
Not copyrighted in the United States.)

One bright day in late autumn a family of Ants were bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.

“What!” cried the Ants in surprise, “haven’t you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?”

“I didn’t have time to store up any food,” whined the Grasshopper; “I was so busy making music that before I knew it the summer was gone.”

The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust.

“Making music, were you?” they cried. “Very well; now dance!” And they turned their backs on the Grasshopper and went on with their work.

There’s a time for work and a time for play.

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

STORIES

THE CROW AND THE PITCHER

Taken from “The Æsop for Children”
Author: Æsop
Illustrator: Milo Winter
(Now in the Public Domain:
Not copyrighted in the United States.)

In a spell of dry weather, when the Birds could find very little to drink, a thirsty Crow found a pitcher with a little water in it. But the pitcher was high and had a narrow neck, and no matter how he tried, the Crow could not reach the water. The poor thing felt as if he must die of thirst.

Then an idea came to him. Picking up some small pebbles, he dropped them into the pitcher one by one. With each pebble the water rose a little higher until at last it was near enough so he could drink.

In a pinch a good use of our wits may help us out.

BACK TO MAIN STORIES PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

STORIES

THE BOYS AND THE FROGS

Taken from “The Æsop for Children”
Author: Æsop
Illustrator: Milo Winter
(Now in the Public Domain:
Not copyrighted in the United States.)

Some Boys were playing one day at the edge of a pond in which lived a family of Frogs. The Boys amused themselves by throwing stones into the pond so as to make them skip on top of the water.

The stones were flying thick and fast and the Boys were enjoying themselves very much; but the poor Frogs in the pond were trembling with fear.

At last one of the Frogs, the oldest and bravest, put his head out of the water, and said, “Oh, please, dear children, stop your cruel play! Though it may be fun for you, it means death to us!”

Always stop to think whether your fun may not be the cause of another’s unhappiness.

BACK TO MAIN STORIES PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

STORIES

THE LION AND THE DONKEY

Taken from “The Æsop for Children”
Author: Æsop
Illustrator: Milo Winter
(Now in the Public Domain:
Not copyrighted in the United States.)

One day as the Lion walked proudly down a forest aisle, and the animals respectfully made way for him, a [donkey] brayed a scornful remark as he passed.

The Lion felt a flash of anger. But when he turned his head and saw who had spoken, he walked quietly on. He would not honor the fool with even so much as a stroke of his claws.

Do not resent the remarks of a fool. Ignore them.

BACK TO MAIN STORIES PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

STORIES

THE FARMER AND THE STORK

Taken from “The Æsop for Children”
Author: Æsop
Illustrator: Milo Winter
(Now in the Public Domain:
Not copyrighted in the United States.)

A Stork of a very simple and trusting nature had been asked by a gay party of Cranes to visit a field that had been newly planted. But the party ended dismally with all the birds entangled in the meshes of the Farmer’s net.

The Stork begged the Farmer to spare him.

“Please let me go,” he pleaded. “I belong to the Stork family who you know are honest and birds of good character. Besides, I did not know the Cranes were going to steal.”

“You may be a very good bird,” answered the Farmer, “but I caught you with the thieving Cranes and you will have to share the same punishment with them.”

You are judged by the company you keep.

THE FARMER AND THE STORK

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

STORIES

THE SWALLOW AND THE CROW

Taken from “The Æsop for Children”
Author: Æsop
Illustrator: Milo Winter
(Now in the Public Domain:
Not copyrighted in the United States.)

The Swallow and the Crow had an argument one day about their plumage.

Said the Swallow: “Just look at my bright and downy feathers. Your black stiff quills are not worth having. Why don’t you dress better? Show a little pride!”

“Your feathers may do very well in spring,” replied the Crow, “but—I don’t remember ever having seen you around in winter, and that’s when I enjoy myself most.”

Friends in fine weather only, are not worth much.

BACK TO MAIN STORIES PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

STORIES

THE YOUNG CRAB AND HIS MOTHER

Taken from “The Æsop for Children”
Author: Æsop
Illustrator: Milo Winter
(Now in the Public Domain:
Not copyrighted in the United States.)

“Why in the world do you walk sideways like that?” said a Mother Crab to her son. “You should always walk straight forward with your toes turned out.”

“Show me how to walk, mother dear,” answered the little Crab obediently, “I want to learn.” So the old Crab tried and tried to walk straight forward. But she could walk sideways only, like her son. And when she wanted to turn her toes out she tripped and fell on her nose.

Do not tell others how to act unless you can set a good example.

BACK TO MAIN STORIES PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

STORIES

HERCULES AND THE WAGONER

Taken from “The Æsop for Children”
Author: Æsop
Illustrator: Milo Winter
(Now in the Public Domain:
Not copyrighted in the United States.)

A Farmer was driving his wagon along a miry country road after a heavy rain. The horses could hardly drag the load through the deep mud, and at last came to a standstill when one of the wheels sank to the hub in a rut.

The farmer climbed down from his seat and stood beside the wagon looking at it but without making the least effort to get it out of the rut. All he did was to curse his bad luck and call loudly on Hercules to come to his aid. Then, it is said, Hercules really did appear, saying:

“Put your shoulder to the wheel, man, and urge on your horses. Do you think you can move the wagon by simply looking at it and whining about it? Hercules will not help unless you make some effort to help yourself.”

And when the farmer put his shoulder to the wheel and urged on the horses, the wagon moved very readily, and soon the Farmer was riding along in great content and with a good lesson learned.

Self help is the best help.
Heaven helps those who help themselves.

BACK TO MAIN STORIES PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

STORIES

THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE

Taken from “The Æsop for Children”
Author: Æsop
Illustrator: Milo Winter
(Now in the Public Domain:
Not copyrighted in the United States.)

A Hare was making fun of the Tortoise one day for being so slow.

“Do you ever get anywhere?” he asked with a mocking laugh.

“Yes,” replied the Tortoise, “and I get there sooner than you think. I’ll run you a race and prove it.”

The Hare was much amused at the idea of running a race with the Tortoise, but for the fun of the thing he agreed. So the Fox, who had consented to act as judge, marked the distance and started the runners off.

The Hare was soon far out of sight, and to make the Tortoise feel very deeply how ridiculous it was for him to try a race with a Hare, he lay down beside the course to take a nap until the Tortoise should catch up.

The Tortoise meanwhile kept going slowly but steadily, and, after a time, passed the place where the Hare was sleeping. But the Hare slept on very peacefully; and when at last he did wake up, the Tortoise was near the goal. The Hare now ran his swiftest, but he could not overtake the Tortoise in time.

The race is not always to the swift.

BACK TO MAIN STORIES PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

STORIES

THE BUNDLE OF STICKS

Taken from “The Æsop for Children”
Author: Æsop
Illustrator: Milo Winter
(Now in the Public Domain:
Not copyrighted in the United States)

A certain Father had a family of Sons, who were forever quarreling among themselves. No words he could say did the least good, so he cast about in his mind for some very striking example that should make them see that discord would lead them to misfortune.

One day when the quarreling had been much more violent than usual and each of the Sons was moping in a surly manner, he asked one of them to bring him a bundle of sticks. Then handing the bundle to each of his Sons in turn he told them to try to break it. But although each one tried his best, none was able to do so.

The Father then untied the bundle and gave the sticks to his Sons to break one by one. This they did very easily.

“My Sons,” said the Father, “do you not see how certain it is that if you agree with each other and help each other, it will be impossible for your enemies to injure you? But if you are divided among yourselves, you will be no stronger than a single stick in that bundle.”

In unity is strength.

BACK TO MAIN STORIES PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

STORIES

THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN

Taken from “The Æsop for Children”
Author: Æsop; Illustrator: Milo Winter
(Now in the Public Domain:
Not copyrighted in the United States)

The North Wind and the Sun had a quarrel about which of them was the stronger. While they were disputing with much heat and bluster, a Traveler passed along the road wrapped in a cloak.

“Let us agree,” said the Sun, “that he is the stronger who can strip that Traveler of his cloak.”

“Very well,” growled the North Wind, and at once sent a cold, howling blast against the Traveler.

With the first gust of wind the ends of the cloak whipped about the Traveler’s body. But he immediately wrapped it closely around him, and the harder the Wind blew, the tighter he held it to him. The North Wind tore angrily at the cloak, but all his efforts were in vain.

Then the Sun began to shine. At first his beams were gentle, and in the pleasant warmth after the bitter cold of the North Wind, the Traveler unfastened his cloak and let it hang loosely from his shoulders. The Sun’s rays grew warmer and warmer. The man took off his cap and mopped his brow. At last he became so heated that he pulled off his cloak, and, to escape the blazing sunshine, threw himself down in the welcome shade of a tree by the roadside.

Gentleness and kind persuasion win where force and bluster fail.

BACK TO MAIN STORIES PAGE

Trackback URI |

CHILDREN’S STORIES AS TOOLS FOR PARENTS:

Copyright 2007 parentinggoldenrule.com: Legal Notice

Sometimes these old stories can be good parenting tools for us to use. Many of the old stories that included morals are especially good at teaching respect, responsibility, and the Golden Rule. They can be used as a starting point to help open up communication with our children. It gives kids a place to start talking without having to directly discuss what has happened to them or what they might have done. Then, as parents, we can gently ease them into a more open direct discussion of their own experiences.

An example is when your child is getting teased and mocked at school. It happens much more frequently than we sometimes realize. And sometimes we don’t find out until our children have been putting up with bad behavior on the part of other students (and sometimes teachers) for quite some time. So, frequently, we are in the position of trying to hurry and fix a situation that has been going on for weeks or months. A story is a good place to start. And if we are dealing with behavior problems in our own children, these stories can also help us with those issues.

Inspirational Sayings
Wall Stickers
Buy at AllPosters.com

Here are just a few short stories for your use. These are taken from books that are now in the “Public Domain”, which means there is no longer a copyright in the United States associated with the publication.

LINKS TO STORIES ON THIS WEBSITE

Hercules and the Wagoner

Little People

Mercury and the Woodman

The Ants and the Grasshopper

The Boys and the Frogs

The Bundle of Sticks

The Crow and the Pitcher

The Farmer and the Stork

The Fox and the Goat

The Hare and the Tortoise

The Lion and the Donkey

The North Wind and the Sun

The Swallow and the Crow

The Young Crab and His Mother

The Donkey and the Lap Dog

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

POEMS AND RHYMES FOR KIDS

ST. IVES

As I was going to St. Ives,
I met a man with seven wives;
Each wife had seven sacks,
Each sack had seven cats,
Each sack had seven kits,–
Kits, cats, sacks, and wives,
How many were going to St. Ives?

From: The Real Mother Goose, 1916
(Now in the Public Domain:
not copyrighted in the United States)

BACK TO MAIN POEMS FOR KIDS PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

POEMS AND RHYMES FOR KIDS

THIRTY DAYS HATH SEPTEMBER

Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November;
All the rest have thirty-one,
Excepting February alone,
Which has twenty-eight in line,
Till leap-year gives it twenty-nine.

From: The Real Mother Goose, 1916
(Now in the Public Domain:
not copyrighted in the United States)

BACK TO MAIN POEMS FOR KIDS PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

POEMS AND RHYMES FOR KIDS

PEASE PORRIDGE

Pease porridge hot,
Pease porridge cold,
Pease porridge in the pot,
Nine days old.

Some like it hot,
Some like it cold,
Some like it in the pot,
Nine days old.

From: The Real Mother Goose, 1916
(Now in the Public Domain:
not copyrighted in the United States)

BACK TO MAIN POEMS FOR KIDS PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

POEMS AND RHYMES FOR KIDS

LULLABY

Lullaby, oh, lullaby!
Flowers are closed and lambs are sleeping;
Lullaby, oh, lullaby!
Stars are up, the moon is peeping;
Lullaby, oh, lullaby!
While the birds are silence keeping,
Lullaby, oh, lullaby!
Sleep, my baby, fall a-sleeping,
Lullaby, oh, lullaby!

William Cox Bennett

From: The Home Book of Verse, Volume 1, Burton Egbert Stevenson (Now in the Public Domain:
not copyrighted in the United States)

BACK TO MAIN POEMS FOR KIDS PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

POEMS AND RHYMES FOR KIDS

THE STAR

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are,
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.

When the blazing sun is set,
And the grass with dew is wet,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.

Then the traveler in the dark
Thanks you for your tiny spark,
He could not see where to go
If you did not twinkle so.

In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often through my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye
Till the sun is in the sky.

As your bright and tiny spark
Lights the traveler in the dark,
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

Jane Taylor [1783-1824)

From: The Home Book of Verse, Volume 1, Burton Egbert Stevenson
(Now in the Public Domain:
not copyrighted in the United States)

BACK TO MAIN POEMS FOR KIDS PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

POEMS AND RHYMES FOR KIDS

A GOOD PLAY

We built a ship upon the stairs
All made of the back-bedroom chairs,
And filled it full of sofa pillows
To go a-sailing on the billows.

We took a saw and several nails,
And water in the nursery pails;
And Tom said, “Let us also take
An apple and a slice of cake;”–
Which was enough for Tom and me
To go a-sailing on, till tea.

We sailed along for days and days,
And had the very best of plays;
But Tom fell out and hurt his knee,
So there was no one left but me.

A Child’s Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson
(Now in the Public Domain:
not copyrighted in the United States)

BACK TO MAIN POEMS FOR KIDS PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

POEMS AND RHYMES FOR KIDS

WHERE GO THE BOATS?

Dark brown is the river,
   Golden is the sand.
It flows along for ever,
   With trees on either hand.

Green leaves a-floating,
   Castles of the foam,
Boats of mine a-boating–
   Where will all come home?

On goes the river
   And out past the mill,
Away down the valley,
   Away down the hill.

Away down the river,
   A hundred miles or more,
Other little children
   Shall bring my boats ashore.

A Child’s Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson
(Now in the Public Domain:
not copyrighted in the United States)

BACK TO MAIN POEMS FOR KIDS PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

POEMS AND RHYMES FOR KIDS

HAPPY THOUGHT

The world is so full of a number of things,
   I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.

A Child’s Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson
(Now in the Public Domain:
not copyrighted in the United States)

BACK TO MAIN POEMS FOR KIDS PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

POEMS AND RHYMES FOR KIDS

THE SWING

How do you like to go up in a swing,
   Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
   Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,
   Till I can see so wide,
River and trees and cattle and all
   Over the countryside–

Till I look down on the garden green,
   Down on the roof so brown–
Up in the air I go flying again,
   Up in the air and down!

A Child’s Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson
(Now in the Public Domain:
not copyrighted in the United States)

BACK TO MAIN POEMS FOR KIDS PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

POEMS AND RHYMES FOR KIDS

THE UNSEEN PLAYMATE

When children are playing alone on the green,
In comes the playmate that never was seen.
When children are happy and lonely and good,
The Friend of the Children comes out of the wood.

Nobody heard him, and nobody saw,
His is a picture you never could draw,
But he’s sure to be present, abroad or at home,
When children are happy and playing alone.

He lies in the laurels, he runs on the grass,
He sings when you tinkle the musical glass;
Whene’er you are happy and cannot tell why,
The Friend of the Children is sure to be by!

He loves to be little, he hates to be big,
‘Tis he that inhabits the caves that you dig;
‘Tis he when you play with your soldiers of tin
That sides with the Frenchmen and never can win.

‘Tis he, when at night you go off to your bed,
Bids you go to sleep and not trouble your head;
For wherever they’re lying, in cupboard or shelf,
‘Tis he will take care of your playthings himself!

A Child’s Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson
(Now in the Public Domain:
not copyrighted in the United States)

BACK TO MAIN POEMS FOR KIDS PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

POEMS AND RHYMES FOR KIDS

BLOCK CITY

What are you able to build with your blocks?
Castles and palaces, temples and docks.
Rain may keep raining, and others go roam,
But I can be happy and building at home.

Let the sofa be mountains, the carpet be sea,
There I’ll establish a city for me:
A kirk and a mill and a palace beside,
And a harbour as well where my vessels may ride.

Great is the palace with pillar and wall,
A sort of a tower on the top of it all,
And steps coming down in an orderly way
To where my toy vessels lie safe in the bay.

This one is sailing and that one is moored:
Hark to the song of the sailors aboard!
And see, on the steps of my palace, the kings
Coming and going with presents and things!

Now I have done with it, down let it go!
All in a moment the town is laid low.
Block upon block lying scattered and free,
What is there left of my town by the sea?

Yet as I saw it, I see it again,
The kirk and the palace, the ships and the men,
And as long as I live and where’er I may be,
I’ll always remember my town by the sea.

A Child’s Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson
(Now in the Public Domain:
not copyrighted in the United States)

BACK TO MAIN POEMS FOR KIDS PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

POEMS AND RHYMES FOR KIDS

THE LITTLE LAND

When at home alone I sit
And am very tired of it,
I have just to shut my eyes
To go sailing through the skies–
To go sailing far away
To the pleasant Land of Play;
To the fairy land afar
Where the Little People are;
Where the clover-tops are trees,
And the rain-pools are the seas,
And the leaves, like little ships,
Sail about on tiny trips;
And above the Daisy tree
   Through the grasses,
High o’erhead the Bumble Bee
   Hums and passes.

In that forest to and fro
I can wander, I can go;
See the spider and the fly,
And the ants go marching by,
Carrying parcels with their feet
Down the green and grassy street.
I can in the sorrel sit
Where the ladybird alit.
I can climb the jointed grass
   And on high
See the greater swallows pass
   In the sky,
And the round sun rolling by
Heeding no such things as I.

Through that forest I can pass
Till, as in a looking-glass,
Humming fly and daisy tree
And my tiny self I see,
Painted very clear and neat
On the rain-pool at my feet.
Should a leaflet come to land
Drifting near to where I stand,
Straight I’ll board that tiny boat
Round the rain-pool sea to float.

Little thoughtful creatures sit
On the grassy coasts of it;
Little things with lovely eyes
See me sailing with surprise.
Some are clad in armour green–
(These have sure to battle been!)–
Some are pied with ev’ry hue,
Black and crimson, gold and blue;
Some have wings and swift are gone;–
But they all look kindly on.

When my eyes I once again
Open, and see all things plain:
High bare walls, great bare floor;
Great big knobs on drawer and door;
Great big people perched on chairs,
Stitching tucks and mending tears,
Each a hill that I could climb,
And talking nonsense all the time–
   O dear me,
   That I could be
A sailor on a the rain-pool sea,
A climber in the clover tree,
And just come back a sleepy-head,
Late at night to go to bed.

A Child’s Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson
(Now in the Public Domain:
not copyrighted in the United States)

BACK TO MAIN POEMS FOR KIDS PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

POEMS AND RHYMES FOR KIDS

SHORT GRAMMAR

Three little words you often see
Are Articles, a, an, and the.
A Noun’s the name of any thing,
As school, or garden, hoop, or swing.
Adjectives tell the kind of noun,
As great, small, pretty, white, or brown.
Instead of Nouns the Pronouns stand–
His head, her face, your arm, my hand.
Verbs tell something to be done–
To read, count, laugh, sing, jump or run.
How things are done the Adverbs tell–
As slowly, quickly, ill or well.
Conjunctions join the words together–
As men and women, wind or weather.
The Preposition stands before
The noun, as in or through the door.
The Interjection shows surprise–
As Oh! how pretty, Ah! how wise.
The whole are called nine parts of speech,
Which reading, writing, speaking teach.

“The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain: not copyrighted in the United States)

BACK TO MAIN POEMS FOR KIDS PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

POEMS AND RHYMES FOR KIDS

PETER PIPER

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers;
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

From: The Real Mother Goose, 1916
(Now in the Public Domain:
not copyrighted in the United States)

SWAN SWAM OVER THE SEA

Swan swam over the sea,
Swim, swan, swim;
Swan swam back again,
Well swum, swan.

From: The Real Mother Goose, 1916
(Now in the Public Domain:
not copyrighted in the United States)

BACK TO MAIN POEMS FOR KIDS PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

POEMS AND RHYMES FOR KIDS

LAUGHING SONG

When the green wood laughs with the voice of joy,
And the dimpling stream runs laughing by;
When the air does laugh with our merry wit,
And the green hill laughs with the noise of it;

When the meadows laugh with lively green,
And the grasshopper laughs in the merry scene;
When Mary, and Susan, and Emily
With their sweet round mouths sing, “Ha ha he!”

When the painted birds laugh in the shade,
When our table with cherries and nuts is spread;
Come live, and be merry, and join with me,
To sing the sweet chorus of “Ha ha he!”

From: The Real Mother Goose, 1916
(Now in the Public Domain:
not copyrighted in the United States)

BACK TO MAIN POEMS FOR KIDS PAGE

Trackback URI |

Poems and Rhymes for Kids

Copyright 2007 parentinggoldenrule.com: Legal Notice

This is a collection of some long forgotten, and some other not forgotten old time poems and rhymes for kids.

These are taken from Public Domain works (Not copyrighted in the United States) and show some poems that were read to children long ago. Some of these poems and rhymes will be familiar to you. Others perhaps will be new.

Expanding our children’s natural creativity through reading and listening is our goal.

LINKS TO POEMS FOR KIDS ON THIS WEBSITE

A Good Play

Block City

Happy Thought

Laughing Song

Lullaby

My Shadow

Pease Porridge

Rain

Short Grammar

Singing

St. Ives

The Little Land

The Star

The Swing

The Unseen Playmate

Thirty Days Hath September

Tongue Twisters!

Where Go the Boats

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

Trackback URI |

Parents As Role Models
by: Kadence Buchanan

While television and other media have made it a practice to anoint well-known celebrities as positive role models for kids, the great majority of people still believe that parents should be the foremost role models of their children. The following is a compilation of various ways that can help parents become better role models for their kids.

In terms of nurturing children, the most common comment is to show your love and concern. Tell them you love them every day and show affection daily through hugs, kisses and touches. In spite of busy schedules, make time for special family fun activities. Also make the effort to meet your child’s friends to build stronger rapport with them and to gauge the influence they exert on your kids.

Understanding is another key in becoming an effective role model for your child.

As the saying goes, “Understand - don’t take a stand.” Communication is vital and should always be a two-way street. Listen to your kids and find out what’s going on in their lives and if anything is bothering them. Let them know that they can talk to you about anything under the sun. It is important to remember that children who have good communication with their parents are more likely to ask for their advice than turn to their peers.

Parents constantly demand respect from their children, but remember that is it is not something that can be taken for granted. Like most things of real value, respect has to be earned. And oftentimes, the best way to earn respect is to give respect. This also means that you have to learn to empathize, to put yourself in your kid’s shoes and understand what it means to be him. And always try to avoid putting your children in situations where they feel disregarded, disrespected, humiliated or embarrassed. Such situations can sometimes leave deep emotional scars.

Remember that you have to teach your children to respect themselves as well. Teach them to stand up for themselves without putting their safety at risk. Discuss ways to solve problems without fighting. Make them aware that fighting never solves a problem. Most importantly, advise them that physical force or intimidation does not win respect, rather, it is the quality of one’s character that wins respect.

About The Author
Kadence Buchanan writes articles for http://foracloserfamily.com/ - In addition, Kadence also writes articles for http://letsdosomeyardwork.com/ and http://forsocietiessake.com/.

http://www.ArticleCity.com/

Trackback URI |

Three Magic Parenting Words: I Love You
by Solomon Brenner

In good parenting there are three magic words to live by: I love you. Saying these words over and over again is very important to get you through the hard times and to get your children over the hurdles in life. Many times parents do not realize the strong influence of these words. Children who grow up never hearing them can end up bitter and may have very difficult relationship problems, including but not limited to an inability to say the words themselves. Even if you know that your children know you love them, continue to remind them, even when your children become teenagers. They may not respond to it or even seem to care that you are saying it, but the words are sticking. Saying “I love you” is only half the battle. You also have to show “I love you.” A kiss, a hug, a small sacrifice or a small favor may be all that it takes to show that you mean these words. It may seem simple, but there are times in life when this will take incredible patience, time and unfaltering dedication and sacrifice to follow through. Sometimes love means saying no. You feel an obligation to protect your child from harm, and if that means preventing your child from doing some of the things he or she wants to do, then so be it. Life can be dangerous and unpredictable. Saying no is a sign that you will accept your children’s anger in exchange for your comfort that they are safe and for the knowledge that they are likely to be healthier in the long run. Their anger will not last for long but the good that comes from saying no will impact the kind of people they turn out to be. When your children misbehave, they need to experience consequences, but they also always need to know that you still love them. This does not belittle the impact of the lesson, but rather cements the message that you are not punishing them out of anger, hate or impatience. Though your children may not want to hear it, you are doing it for their own good to teach them the difference between right and wrong. It may feel unrewarding to hear your child’s anger at something you did out of love, but rest easy knowing that one day they will thank you for it, even if it is not until they have children of their own. Even when your children are doing things you don’t like, respect them and love them. When your daughter wears too much makeup or your son gets his nose pierced, continue to show them that you love who they are, even if you do not always approve of their fashion choices. It is important to be supportive of your children as they try to discover who they are and who they will become. It is not worth arguing over things that hold little significance, because you will need that strength later to fight over real issues that affect your child’s well-being. There are a lot of disappointments that your children will have to bear throughout their lifetimes; do not let your love be one of them. Letting your children know that you love them could end up being their one ray of hope during the dark times in their lives. No matter what goes wrong or how bad things seem they will always know that they have the love and support of their family to fall back on. Let this love guide them through the best and worst of times.

About the Author
Solomon Brenner is an Author, speaker and columnist on success and parenting he can be reached at Actionkarate@comcast.net or 267-939-0424.

Copyright 2007.

Article Source: GoArticles.com

Trackback URI |

Getting Kids to Respect You
By Robyn Whyte
Article Word Count: 795
Article Submitted On: June 05, 2007

I remember seeing a friend correct and tell her kids constantly to sit down or to stand up or hey, whatever was required at the moment. The eldest one (about six) at the time didn’t show respect nor speak to her mother respectfully. My friend was going through all the motions. Cooking dinner. Providing. Clothing them but certainly not reflecting. At some point, she had lost the respect of her daughter.

When I brought this to her attention, she was surprised. But she agreed that her daughter wasn’t showing respect and that this was in fact the problem, not the forty odd things that she had to put up with and deal with in a day. It was baseline respect that was missing. From this lack of respect and lack of demand for respect, her daughter had begun to behave in a certain way. It certainly wasn’t good.

Upon reflection, we came up with several ways to approach the system but certainly the first step was to just think about it and let the thought of the problem just hang in the air for awhile until she came up with an approach.

Here are some positive ways to reassert authority and of course bridge the gap between missing respect and the respect needed to carry out our duties as parents.

Technique number one:

Set aside some quiet time for this child to interact with you. It can be as simple as coloring beside them. This quiet time (where you are not nagging or telling them to clean their room) can yield tonnes of positive outcomes for a very minor amount of time. You may often find that the child will reveal why she is not listening and being disrespectful. Maybe she resents you for the time spent with another child?

Set this time aside permanently. Write it on the calendar. There shouldn’t be any interruptions from anyone. Seriously, a minor five to twenty minutes set in stone is the way to go to start the process.

Technique number two:

Trackback URI |

Get your Children Talking - An Easy Way to Open the Door

By Elle McGugan
Article Word Count: 453
Article Submitted On: June 01, 2007

It is common knowledge that the ability to communicate develops throughout one’s life. Therefore, it could easily be concluded that younger children may have a great level of difficulty coming to their parents with complicated issues or problems that may be bothering them.

When my children were younger, I would sometimes notice that they seemed to be having an off day. Whether it was because of the look on their faces, their interaction with their sibling or simply wanting to stay in their rooms rather than join the family for the evening, it was clear that something was amiss.

When I would ask them about it, I most often got the same exact answer…..”nothing’s wrong.” Knowing that this statement wasn’t true, I came up with a solution that worked for us not only while they were young children, but we continue to exercise a version of it to this day.

My idea was based on the possibility that they simply did not have the awareness or vocabulary to initiate the conversation. I believed that my children indeed wanted to discuss their issues with me, but that the idea of doing so was somehow overwhelming.

To conquer this problem, the three of us sat down together and created a “Worry Box” for each of them that they could keep tucked away somewhere in their rooms. Their job was to write me a note giving me as much information as they comfortably could. My job was to check the boxes each day and approach them to initiate the conversation.

Somehow, the safety of beginning these conversations with me without worrying about how to word it or how I might initially react enabled them to unload their struggles onto that little piece of paper time and time again. At times, I read nothing more than, “Ask me about math class.” At other times, I would find pages and pages filled with angst and worry.

However, each and every time without fail, when I came to them, they were ready to talk about what was bothering them. We started doing this when they were in primary school and the boxes remained in their rooms until the day they each left for college. I can’t imagine all of the wonderful discussions and opportunities for guiding them I may have missed over the years without our little system. We all learned to trust and respect each other and neither of my children ever felt alone or unable to come to me.

Now that they are in college, I still get the occasional message from them letting me know that we need to talk. Only now, instead of calling it the “Worry Box,” we call it my “In Box.”

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elle_McGugan,
Copyright June 2007

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

Trackback URI |

Brief Article Summary
By Nancy

A Parenting Tip:

Children should learn that they have to earn things. In other words, don’t treat children like princesses or princes who are allowed to rule the household and are entitled to anything they want whenever they want it. If life ever presents difficulties to them in the future and they have been raised to believe they are entitled to an easy life even if they haven’t earned it, then they will have a very hard time getting through the rough patches in their future.

Creativity:

Teach creativity. Don’t give children so many ‘things.’ Some of the best toys/playthings you can give your children are: empty cardboard boxes, crayons, colored pencils, paper to draw on, a cardboard table with a sheet draped over it, modeling clay, building blocks – or small boxes they can turn into their own building blocks, etc. There are many craft books with ideas for all types of creativity to appeal to children’s imagination. And some websites now include instructions for simple craft ideas. Focusing on simple creativity builds an ability in children to be able to deal with anything in their future because they are learning to be creative and make something out of very little. Showering your children with massive amounts of ‘things’ is not necessarily showing them that you love them. Use moderation. Perhaps give your children more gifts that they can use in a creative way.

School:

Discuss with your children what they are being taught in school. Don’t expect the public school system to teach according to your personal beliefs. Public schools must teach children from a wide variety of backgrounds and lifestyles. Use these discussions as an opportunity to explain your understanding/beliefs on subjects and then discuss the differences with your children. This will open up a whole new world for them because then they will see a very large picture of the subjects you are discussing.

Do you know what your children are NOT being taught in school? We can all learn from the past, but if it is not taught then the mistakes of the past will be repeated in the future.

Parenting in Modern Times:

Modern times can be positive or negative. It all depends on what we do with the time we have and what we pass on to our children. Parent with love and respect and you and your children will go far.

Copyright © June 2007, All Rights Reserved, Nancy, www.parentinggoldenrule.com

Trackback URI |

PARENTING HOW-TO TIPS

Copyright 2007 parentinggoldenrule.com: Legal Notice

The goal of this website is to offer parents alternatives, additional parenting tools, and descriptions of parenting styles that can be used to teach children respect, responsibility, and the Golden Rule.

As a mother and a grandmother, one thing that my children and I have noticed is that many children (and adults) today seem to have missed any lessons in the subject of respect. To truly grow up to be a content adult, I feel that children need to be taught at a young age about respect, responsibility, and how to treat others the way they would want to be treated.

Today Is The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Life- American Proverb Magnet
Buy at AllPosters.com

No two children are exactly alike, so we parents need to have several methods and parenting styles in our parenting toolbox. This helps us to more successfully help our children through whatever situations might arise. My children were complete opposites, so I had to learn this lesson very early as a young mother. The rules and methods I used with one child did not work and had no effect at all on the other child. So I am speaking from many years of experience.

You will find articles about Parenting Styles and Parenting Tips on this website. Please explore and hopefully you will find some tips that will help you in your own life. I will be adding new articles on a regular basis.

All of these parenting articles are copyrighted by the author of each article.

Several of my articles have been featured on EzineArticles.com.

_____________________________________________________________

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

_____________________________________________________________

A good teaching tool to use with your children would be to have your kids check this information and see if it is correct; or do we now have a different understanding of these things.

_____________________________________________________________

RIDDLES OLD AND NEW
Feet have they, but they walk not: stoves.
Eyes have they, but they see not: potatoes.
Noses have they, but they smell not: tea-pots.
Mouths have they, but they taste not: rivers.
Hands have they, but they handle not: clocks.
Ears have they, but they hear not: corn stalks.
Tongues have they, but they talk not: wagons.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

THE NAME OF GOD IN FIFTY LANGUAGES.
Hebrew, Eleah, Jehovah; Chaldaic, Eiliah; Assyrian, Eleah; Syrian and Turkish, Alah; Malay, Alla; Arabic, Allah; languages of the Magi, Orsi; old Egyptian, Teut; modern Egyptian, Teun; Armenian, Teuti; Greek, Theos; Cretan, Thios; Aedian and Dorian, Ilos; Latin, Deus; Low Latin, Diex; Celtic Gaelic, Diu; French, Dieu; Spanish, Dios; Portuguese, Deos; Old German, Diet; Provencal, Diou; Low Breton, Done; Italian, Dio; Irish, Dia; Olotu, Deu; German and Swiss, Gott; Flemish, God; Dutch, God; English, God; Teutonic, Goth; Danish and Swedish, Gud; Norwegian, Gud; Slav, Buch; Polish, Bog; Polacca, Bung; Lapp, Jubinal; Finnish, Jumala; Runic, As; Zembilian, As; Pannanlian, Istu; Tartar, Magatai; Coromandel, Brama; Persian, Sire; Chinese, Prussa; Japanese, Goezer; Madagascar, Zannar; Peruvian, Puchecammae.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

BACK TO MAIN DID YOU KNOW PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

_____________________________________________________________

A good teaching tool to use with your children would be to have your kids check this information and see if it is correct; or do we now have a different understanding of these things.

_____________________________________________________________

The first newspaper advertisement appeared in 1652.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

Glass windows (colored) were used in the 8th century.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

The grade of titles in Great Britain stands in the following order from the highest: A Prince, Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron, Baronet, Knight.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

The term “Almighty Dollar” originated with Washington Irving, as a satire on the American love for gain.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

A span is ten and seven-eighths inches.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

A hawk flies 150 miles per hour; an eider duck 90 miles; a pigeon, 40 miles.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

The great wall of China, built 200 B. C. is 1,250 miles in length, 20 feet high, and 25 feet thick at the base.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

The “Seven Wonders of the World” are seven most remarkable objects of the ancient world. They are: The Pyramids of Egypt, Pharos of Alexandria, Walls and Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Temple of Diana at Ephesus, the Statue of the Olympian Jupiter, Mausoleum of Artemisia, and Colossus of Rhodes.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

BACK TO MAIN DID YOU KNOW PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

_____________________________________________________________

A good teaching tool to use with your children would be to have your kids check this information and see if it is correct; or do we now have a different understanding of these things.

_____________________________________________________________

Sealing wax is not wax at all nor does it contain wax. It is made of shellac, Venice turpentine and cinnabar.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

Storm clouds move 36 miles an hour.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

The first balloon ascended from Lyons, France, 1783.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

Harvard, the oldest college in the United States, was founded, 1638.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

The first steam engine on this continent was brought from England, 1753.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

Jamestown, Va., founded, 1607; first permanent English settlement in America.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

The Latin tongue became obsolete about 580.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

The first newspaper advertisement appeared in 1652.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

BACK TO MAIN DID YOU KNOW PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

_____________________________________________________________

A good teaching tool to use with your children would be to have your kids check this information and see if it is correct; or do we now have a different understanding of these things.

_____________________________________________________________

(1911) The average of human life is 33 years. One child out of every four dies before the age of 7 years, and only one-half of the world’s population reach the age of 17. One out of 10,000 reaches 100 years. The average number of births per day is about 120,000, exceeding the deaths by about 15 per minute. There have been many alleged cases of longevity in all ages, but only a few are authentic.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)
     NOTE: Remember, this book was published in 1911.

Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time; for that is the stuff that life is made of.
     “Maxims and Morals from Dr. Franklin: Being Incitements to Industry, Frugality, and Prudence.” Darton and Harvey, 1807. (Now in the Public Domain)

Arabic figures were invented by the Indians.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

Turkeys do not come from Turkey, but North America.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

Dutch clocks are of German (Deutsch), not Dutch manufacture.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

Fire, air, earth, and water, called the four elements, are not elements at all.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

BACK TO MAIN DID YOU KNOW PAGE

Trackback URI |

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

_____________________________________________________________

The following excerpts are taken from published works that are now in the Public Domain, which means there is not a current copyright associated with that particular publication. Every effort has been made to confirm the accuracy of the Public Domain information.

I am printing the information exactly as I find it in these old books. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT ALL OF THIS INFORMATION? IS ANY OF THIS TRUE TODAY? WERE THESE FACTS TRUE LONG AGO? A good teaching tool to use with your children would be to have your kids check this information and see if it is correct; or do we now have a different understanding of these things. For example, listed on “Did You Know, page 3″ is the following statement: Storm clouds move 36 miles an hour. This reference was printed in 1911. Is that fact still true today, or has the climate and weather patterns changed since that time?

_____________________________________________________________

First telegraph in operation in America was between Washington and Baltimore, May 27, 1844.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

Benjamin Franklin used the first lightning rods, 1752.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

Spectacles were invented by an Italian in the 13th century.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

In 1775 there were only twenty-seven newspapers published in the United States. Ten years later, in 1785, there were seven published in the English language in Philadelphia alone, of which one was a daily. The oldest newspaper published in Philadelphia at the time of the Federal convention was the Pennsylvania Gazette, established by Samuel Keimer, in 1728. The second newspaper in point of age was the Pennsylvania Journal, established in 1742 by William Bradford, whose uncle, Andrew Bradford, established the first newspaper in Pennsylvania, the American Weekly Mercury, in 1719. Next in age, but the first in importance, was the Pennsylvania Packet, established by John Dunlap, in 1771. In 1784 it became a daily, being the first daily newspaper printed on this continent.
     “The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)

LINKS TO DID YOU KNOW PAGES ON THIS WEBSITE

Did You Know, page 2

Did You Know, page 3

Did You Know, page 4

Did You Know, page 5

Trackback URI |

KIDS GAMES

In this game the contestants run a race carrying a glass or tin cup full of water on top of the head, which must not be touched by the hands.

The one finishing first with a minimum loss of water from his cup is the winner.

Trackback URI |

KIDS GAMES

This game is played with smooth stones about the size of a butter dish. A target is marked on the sand or on any smooth piece of ground, or if played on the grass the target must be marked with lime similar to marks on a tennis court. The outside circle of the target should be six feet in diameter, and every six inches another circle described with a piece of string and two pegs for a compass.

The object of the game is to stand at a stated distance from the target and to toss the stones as in the game of quoits. The player getting the best score counting from the inside ring or bull’s-eye wins the game.

Trackback URI |

KIDS GAMES

All the players sit in a circle and one who is bright and witty is chosen as leader. He stands in the center of the circle and asks the most ridiculous questions he can think of.

The players when asked any question, must always answer “Simon’s silly smile.” No other answer will do and whoever laughs or fails to say it correctly, must pay a forfeit.

     Games for Everybody, Author: May C. Hofmann (Now in the Public Domain: not copyrighted in the United States)

Trackback URI |

KIDS GAMES

One child is selected to be Simon. The rest of the children sit around in a circle. Simon stands in the middle and gives all sorts of orders for the children to follow. Every order which begins with “Simon says” must be obeyed, whether Simon performs it or not, but if Simon should give some order, such as “Thumbs down,” whether he puts his thumbs down or not, it must not be obeyed by the others because it was not preceded by “Simon says.”

All sorts of orders such as “Thumbs up,” “Thumbs down,” “Thumbs wiggle-waggle,” “Thumbs pull left ear,” etc., are given. The faster the orders are given, the more confusing it is. A forfeit must be paid by those who fail to obey the orders.

     Games for Everybody, Author: May C. Hofmann (Now in the Public Domain: not copyrighted in the United States)

Trackback URI |

KIDS GAMES

A form of sport where the contestants are fastened in sacks with the hands and feet confined and where they race for a goal by jumping or hopping along at the greatest possible speed under this handicap.

A sack race should not be considered one of the scientific branches of sport, but is rather to afford amusement for the spectators.

Trackback URI |

KIDS GAMES

The “potato” in this game is a knotted handkerchief. One player is chosen for the center, and the others sit around in a circle. The one in the center throws the “potato” to anyone in the circle. This one must throw it to another player and so on, tossing it, from one to another, and never allowing it to rest.

The player in the center tries to catch it. If he succeeds, the one who last tossed it exchanges places with him, and the game goes on as before.

Trackback URI |

KIDS GAMES

In this game as many rows of potatoes are laid as there are players. They should be placed about five feet apart.

The race consists in picking up all of the potatoes, one at a time, and carrying them to the starting point, making a separate trip for each potato.

At the end of the line there should be a basket or butter tub to drop them into.

The game is sometimes made more difficult by forcing the contestants to carry the potatoes on a teaspoon.

Trackback URI |

KIDS GAMES

This game may be played on a lawn. Four clothes baskets are required as well as a variety of objects of various sizes and kinds, such as spools of thread, pillows, books, matches, balls, pencils, umbrellas, pins, and so on.

Two captains are chosen and each selects a team, which stands in line facing each other.

Two of the baskets are filled with the various articles and these two baskets are placed at the right hand of the two captains. The empty baskets are on the opposite ends of the line.

At a signal the captains select an object and pass it to the next in line. He in turn passes it to his left and finally it is dropped into the empty basket. If the object should be dropped in transit it must go back to the captain and be passed down the line again.

Two umpires are desirable, who can report the progress of the game to their own side as well as keep an eye on their opponents.

Trackback URI |

KIDS GAMES

Cut five holes of different sizes in the lid of a pasteboard box. Number the largest hole 5; the next largest 10; the next, 20; the next, 50; and the smallest, 100.

Place the box on the floor and give each child an equal number of marbles. The object of the game is to see which child can count the most by dropping the marbles into the box through the holes.

Each player in turn stands over the box, holds his arm out straight, even with the shoulder, and drops the marbles one by one into the box. If one goes through the largest hole it counts 5, if through the smallest, 100, and so on, count being kept for each player. The one scoring the greatest number of points is the winner.

     Games for Everybody, Author: May C. Hofmann (Now in the Public Domain: not copyrighted in the United States)

Trackback URI |

KIDS GAMES

One child begins by saying: “I have a basket.” The one to his left says: “What is in it?” The first one replies with the name of some article beginning with “a,” as “apples.”

No. 2 says: “I have a basket,” and the next one to him says: “What is in it?” No. 2 replies: “Apples and bananas,” (or some other word beginning with “b”).

No. 3 says: “I have a basket.” No. 4 asks the same question as before and No. 3 responds with “Apples, bananas, and cats,” and so on, each in turn repeating what the others have said, and adding another article, which commences with the next letter of the alphabet. Whoever forgets what the other articles were must pay a forfeit. Thus it continues until the last one has named all the articles in order, and ended with “z”.

     Games for Everybody, Author: May C. Hofmann (Now in the Public Domain: not copyrighted in the United States)

Trackback URI |

KIDS GAMES

All the players but one, leave the room. This one hides a thimble in a place not too conspicuous, but yet in plain sight.

Then the others come in, and hunt for the thimble; the first one seeing it, sits down and remains perfectly quiet until all the others have found it.

The first one who saw it, takes his turn to hide it.

     Games for Everybody, Author: May C. Hofmann (Now in the Public Domain: not copyrighted in the United States)

Trackback URI |

KIDS GAMES

The children are seated on the floor, around a sheet or tablecloth. This is held tight by the players about 1 1/2 ft. from the floor, and a feather is placed in the middle.

One is chosen to be out, and at a given signal from the leader, the feather is blown from one to the other, high and low, never allowed to rest once.

The player outside runs back and forth, trying to catch the feather. When he does succeed, the person on whom it rested or was nearest to, must take his place.

     Games for Everybody, Author: May C. Hofmann (Now in the Public Domain: not copyrighted in the United States)

Trackback URI |

KIDS GAMES

The contestants endeavour to blow a feather over a certain course in the shortest time.

The rule is that the feather must not be touched with the hands.

Out of doors this game is only possible on a very still day.

Trackback URI |

KIDS GAMES

All the children sit in a circle with hands placed palm to palm in their laps. One child is given a button and she goes to each in turn, slipping her hands between the palms of the children. As she goes around the circle she drops the button into some child’s hands, but continues going around as long after as she pleases, so the rest will not know who has it.

Then she stands in the middle of the circle and says: “Button, button, who has the button?” All the children guess who has it, the one calling out the correct name first is out and it is his turn to go around with the button.

     Games for Everybody, Author: May C. Hofmann (Now in the Public Domain: not copyrighted in the United States)

Trackback URI |

KIDS GAMES

The one who is chosen for the “blind man” does not have his eyes bandaged as in the old game.

Stretch a sheet between two doors and place a light, candle or lamp, on a table some distance from the sheet. The “blind man” sits on the floor or low chair in front of the light facing the sheet, but he must be so low down that his shadow will not appear on the sheet.

The children form a line and march single file between the light and the “blind man,” who is not allowed to turn around. Thus their shadows are thrown on the sheet and as they pass, the “blind man” must guess who they are. The children may disguise their walk and height, so as to puzzle him.

As soon as the “blind man” guesses one correctly, that one takes his place and becomes “blind man,” while the former takes his place in the procession, and the game proceeds as before, but the children had better change places, so the new “blind man” won’t know their positions.

     Games for Everybody, Author: May C. Hofmann (Now in the Public Domain: not copyrighted in the United States)

Trackback URI |

KIDS GAMES

This game is played in two ways.

In each case one player is blindfolded and attempts to catch one of the others and to identify him by feeling.

In regular blind man’s buff, the players are allowed to run about at will and sometimes the game is dangerous to the one blindfolded, …..

but in the game of “Still Pon” the one who is “it” is turned several times and then announces, “Still Pon no more moving,” and awards a certain number of steps, which may be taken when in danger of capture. After this number is exhausted the player must stand perfectly still even though he is caught.

     NOTE: The word “buff” is not a typo on my part. That is the way it was typed in the public domain document.

Trackback URI |

KIDS GAMES

Copyright 2007 parentinggoldenrule.com: Legal Notice

This is a collection of some long forgotten, and some other not forgotten old time games.

These are taken from Public Domain works (not copyrighted in the United States) and detail games that were played by children long ago. Some of these games will be familiar to you. Others perhaps will be new.

Helping our children have fun while learning to play together is our goal.

Check out the “Simon’s Silly Smile” game. It looks like a lot of fun to me!

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

Trackback URI |

KIDS GAMES

Version 1: This game is known to every one by name and yet its simple rules are often forgotten. A couple of dozen bean bags are made in two colours of muslin. The players stand in two lines opposite each other and evenly divided. At the end of the line is a clothes basket. The bags are placed on two chairs at the opposite end of the line and next to the two captains. At a signal the captains select a bag and pass it to the next player, who passes it along until finally it is dropped into the basket. When all the bags are passed they are then taken out and passed rapidly back to the starting point. The side whose bags have gone up and down the line first scores a point. If a bag is dropped in transit it must be passed back to the captain, who starts it again. Five points usually constitute a game.

Version 2: Usually, there are four bags to a set, but any number of persons from two to eight can play at bean-bags. Each player holds two, flinging to his opponent the one in his right hand, and rapidly shifting the one in his left to the right, so as to leave the left hand free to catch the bag which is thrown at him.

Version 3: Prepare an even number of bean bags of moderate size, half of one color and half of another. Appoint leaders, who choose the children for their respective sides. There should be an even number on each side. The opponents face each other, with the leader at the head, who has the bag of one color at his side. The bags are to be passed, 1st, with right hand, 2d, with left hand, 3d, with both hands, 4th, with right hand over left shoulder, 5th, with left hand over right shoulder. Before the contest begins, it is best to have a trial game, so all understand how to pass the bags. At a given signal, the leaders begin, and pass the bags as rapidly as possible down the line, observing all the directions. The last one places them on a chair, until all have been passed, and then he sends them back, observing the same rules, until all have reached the leader. The side who has passed them back to the leader first, and has done so successfully, is the winning side.

     (From several public domain works)

Bean-Bag Cases
(See the Crafts For Kids page of this website for complete details.)

There are various ways of ornamenting the bags. The real bags must first be made of stout cloth, over-handed strongly all round, and filled (not too full) with white baking-beans. Over these are drawn covers of flannel, blue or scarlet, and you can work an initial in white letters or braid on each, or make each of the four bags of a different color—yellow, blue, red, green; anything but black, which is hard to follow with the eye, or white, which soils too soon to be desirable.

Trackback URI |

KIDS GAMES

An amusing game for children is one in which each child is to make some sort of animal out of vegetables or fruit, and toothpicks.

When all the children have arrived, pass around slips of paper containing a number and the name of some animal. Each one must keep secret what his animal is to be.

Let the hostess prepare a basket of vegetables, potatoes, beets, carrots, and fruits, lemons, bananas, etc., suitable for the occasion, from which the children can take their choice to make their animals. Plenty of toothpicks must be provided for the legs, ears and tails.

Allow five minutes for constructing the creatures.

Then collect the specimens, pinning a number corresponding to the one on the slip, to its back, and arrange the “show” on a table. Many queer sights will be seen.

The children, having received pencil and paper, should be told to write down the number of each animal, and opposite it what the animal is intended to represent.

A prize can be given to the one who has guessed the greatest number correctly.

     Games for Everybody
Author: May C. Hofmann
(Now in the Public Domain:
Not copyrighted in the United States)

Trackback URI |

CRAFTS

Above is a picture of the hair-pin holder when finished; and below you will find a diagram of it when cut out and not yet put in shape.

It is cut, as you will observe, in one piece. The material is perforated card-board, either white or “silver.” The dotted lines show where to fold it.

A, A and B, B are lapped outside the end pieces, D, D, and held in place by stitches of worsted, long below and very short above, where the sides join. A little border is worked in worsted at top and bottom before the sides are joined.

The inside is stuffed with curled hair [note - that is what they used in 1877 - you can be creative and use something else], and topped with a little cover crocheted or knit in worsted—plain ribbing or the tufted crochet, just as you prefer. A cord and a small worsted tassel at either end complete it, and it is a convenient little thing to hang or stand on mamma’s or sister’s toilet-table. It will be an easy matter to enlarge the pattern, if this hair-pin holder would be too small.

     St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5,
Nov 1877-Nov 1878; No 1, Nov 1877
(Now in the Public Domain: not copyrighted in the United States)

Trackback URI |

CRAFTS

We like to be able to tell you about these mats, for they cost almost nothing at all, and are so simple that any little boy or girl can make them.

All the material needed for them is three sheets of tissue-paper,—a light shade, a medium shade, and a dark shade, or, if you like, they can also be made of one solid color, but are not quite so pretty then.

Cut a piece of each color nine inches square, fold it across, and then across again, so as to form a small square, and then fold from point to point.

Lay on it a pattern, like the first diagram on next page (below), and cut the tissue paper according to the lines of the pattern. Opening the paper, you will find it a circle, with the edge pointed in scallops.

Now take a common hair-pin, bend its points over that they may not tear the paper, slip it in turn over each point, as shown in the diagram, and draw it down, crinkling the paper into a sort of double scallop. (The second diagram on next page [below] will explain this process.)

Treat your three rounds in this way, lay them over each other like a pile of plates, stick a small pin in the middle to hold them, set a goblet upon them, and gently arrange the crinkled edges about its base, so as to give a full ruffled effect, like the petals of a dahlia, although less stiff and regular. These mats are exceedingly pretty.

     St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5,
Nov 1877-Nov 1878; No 1, Nov 1877
(Now in the Public Domain: not copyrighted in the United States)

     NOTE: You might need to experiment with the paper folding and hairpin so that you can assist your children with this project if they need help. I haven’t tried this project yet, but it looks fascinating, although the crinkling process might take some experimenting.

Trackback URI |

CRAFTS

For this, you must buy a straw basket, flat in shape, and without a handle. It can be round, square, oval, or eight-sided, just as you prefer.

You must also buy a yard of silk or cashmere in some pretty color.

Line the whole basket, first of all cutting the shape of the bottom exactly, and fastening the lining down with deft stitches, which shall show neither inside nor out.

Make four little pockets of the stuff (six if the basket is large), draw their tops up with elastic cord, and fasten them round the sides at equal distances. These are to hold spools of silk, tapes, hooks-and-eyes, and such small wares, which are always getting into disorder in a pocketless basket.

Between two of the pockets on one side, suspend a small square pincushion, and on the other a flat needle-book hung by a loop of ribbon. At the opposite ends, between the pockets, fasten an emery bag and a sheath of morocco bound with ribbon to hold a pair of scissors.

Finish the top last of all with a quilling of ribbon, and you have as dainty and complete a gift as any younger sister can wish to make, or any older one receive. It will cost time and pains, but is pretty and useful enough to repay both.

     St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5,
Nov 1877-Nov 1878; No 1, Nov 1877
(Now in the Public Domain: not copyrighted in the United States)

Trackback URI |

CRAFTS

A pair of thin summer blankets, of the kind which are scarcely heavier than flannel, can be made very pretty by button-holing them all round loosely with double zephyr wool in large scallops, and working three large initials in the middle of the top end.

     St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5,
Nov 1877-Nov 1878; No 1, Nov 1877
(Now in the Public Domain: not copyrighted in the United States)

     NOTE: The reference to button-holing means to use a button-hole stitch around the edges of the blanket.

Trackback URI |

CRAFTS

If you have any old-fashioned lavender growing in your garden, you can easily make a delightful sachet for mamma to lay among her sheets and pillow-cases in the linen-closet, by cutting a square bag of tarletane or Swiss muslin, made as tastefully as you please, and stuffing it full of the flowers.

Another delightful scent is the mellilotte, or sweet clover, which grows wild in many parts of the country, and has, when dried, a fragrance like that of the tonquin-bean, only more delicate.

     St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5,
Nov 1877-Nov 1878; No 1, Nov 1877
(Now in the Public Domain: not copyrighted in the United States)

     NOTE: What other scented flowers or herbs do you have available that your children might use?

Trackback URI |

CRAFTS

These are capital presents for grandmammas whose windows rattle in winter weather and let cold air in between the sashes.

You must measure the window, and cut in stout cotton cloth a bag just as long as the sash is wide, and about four inches across.

Stitch this all round, leaving one end open, and stuff it firmly with fine, dry sand. Sew up the open end, and slip the bag into an outer case of bright scarlet flannel, made just a trifle larger than the inner one, so that it may go in easily.

Lay the sand-bag over the crack between the two sashes, and on cold nights, when you are asleep, grandmamma will rejoice in the little giver of such a comfortable bulwark against the wind.

     St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5,
Nov 1877-Nov 1878; No 1, Nov 1877
(Now in the Public Domain: not copyrighted in the United States)

     NOTE: This would also be good to lay on the floor at the bottom of outside doors. I know in the winter where I live these would come in really handy to help keep out the cold air that seems to find a way in the house! The instructions would be the same for doors, you just need to make the correct larger measurements across the door.

Trackback URI |

CRAFTS

Children who have learned to use their pocket-knives skillfully may make a very pretty set of hanging-shelves by taking three bits of thin wood (the sides of a cigar-box, for instance), well smoothed and oiled, boring a hole in each corner, and suspending them with cords, run in, and knotted underneath each shelf as in the picture. The wood should be about eight inches long by three wide, and the shelves, small as they are, will be found convenient for holding many little articles.

     St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5,
Nov 1877-Nov 1878; No 1, Nov 1877
(Now in the Public Domain: not copyrighted in the United States)

Trackback URI |

CRAFTS

To study the animal life under the surface of a clear and shallow lake, a water telescope is a great aid. It is simply a wooden box a foot or so long and open at both ends.

The inside should be painted black to prevent cross reflection of light.

A square of clear glass should be fitted into one end and puttied tight to keep out the water.

To use the water telescope, we simply shove the glass end under water and look into the box. A cloth hood or eye piece to keep out the outside light will make it more effective.

The best way to use a water telescope is to lie in the bottom of a boat which is drifting about, and to look through the telescope over the side. As you study the marvelous animal and plant life that passes along under you like a panorama, see to it that in your excitement you do not fall overboard as a boy friend of mine once did.

     The Library of Work and Play, OUTDOOR SPORTS AND GAMES
BY CLAUDE H. MILLER, PH.B., 1911
(Now in the Public Domain: not copyrighted in the United States)

     NOTE: Parents, be sure to supervise your children well when they are on the water and use this Water Telescope. Take all necessary safety precautions.

Trackback URI |

CRAFTS

Are there any of you who do not know the game of bean-bags? It is capital exercise for rainy days, besides being very good fun, and we would advise all of you who are not familiar with it to make a set at once.

Usually, there are four bags to a set, but any number of persons from two to eight can play at bean-bags. Each player holds two, flinging to his opponent the one in his right hand, and rapidly shifting the one in his left to the right, so as to leave the left hand free to catch the bag which is thrown at him.

A set of these bags would be a nice present for some of you to make for your brothers and sisters; and there are various ways of ornamenting the bags gayly and prettily.

The real bags must first be made of stout ticking, over-handed strongly all round, and filled (not too full) with white baking-beans.

Over these are drawn covers of flannel, blue or scarlet, and you can work an initial in white letters or braid on each, or make each of the four bags of a different color—yellow, blue, red, green; anything but black, which is hard to follow with the eye, or white, which soils too soon to be desirable.

     St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5,
Nov 1877-Nov 1878; No 1, Nov 1877
(Now in the Public Domain: not copyrighted in the Unites States)

     NOTE: see the Games For Kids page on this website for Bean Bag game descriptions. Also, a description of “ticking” mentioned above is: a strong cotton fabric, often twilled, that is used to cover mattresses and pillows.

Trackback URI |

CRAFTS

An effective rug can be made in this way: Cut long inch-wide strips of cloths, flannels, and various kinds of material (widening the strip, however, in proportion as the fabric is thinner).

Sew the ends together so as to make one very long strip, which, for convenience’ sake, can be loosely wound up in a ball.

Then, with a very large wooden crochet-needle, you crochet a circle, a square, or oblong mat of this rag-strip, just as with cotton or worsted.

It makes a strong, durable, and, with bright and tasteful colors, a very pretty rug.

     St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5,
Nov 1877-Nov 1878; No 1, Nov 1877
(Now in the Public Domain: not copyrighted in the United States)

Trackback URI |

CRAFTS

This is more a game than a present, but will answer well for either; and young folks can get much fun out of an evening spent in “taking” each other.

Each in turn must stand so as to cast a sharp profile shadow on the wall, to which is previously pinned, white side out, a large sheet of paper, known as silhouette paper, black on one side and white on the other.

Somebody draws the outline of this shadow exactly with a pencil; it is then cut out and pasted neatly, black side up, on a sheet of white paper.

Good and expressive likenesses are often secured, and droll ones very often. Try it, some of you, in the long evenings ahead.

     St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5,
Nov 1877-Nov 1878; No 1, Nov 1877
(Now in the Public Domain: not copyrighted in the United States)

Trackback URI |

CRAFTS

It is very easy to get the material out of which this vase is made. You need only go to your wood-pile, or, if you have none, to the wood-pile of a neighbor.

Choose a round stick four inches in diameter and eight or ten inches long, with a smooth bark. If you find the stick, and it is too long, you can easily saw off an end.

Now comes the difficult part of the work: The inside of the stick must be scooped out to within four inches of the bottom. The easiest way of accomplishing this will be to send it to a turning-mill if there is one at hand; if not, patience and a jack-knife will in the end prevail.

Next, with a little oil-color, paint a pretty design on the bark, if you can,—trailing-arbutus, partridge berry, sprays of linnea,—any wood thing which can be supposed to cluster naturally round a stump.

Set the stump in a flower-pot saucer, filled with earth, and planted with mosses and tiny ferns; fit a footless wine or champagne glass, or a plain cup, into the hollow end, and, with a bunch of grasses and wild flowers, or autumn leaves, you have a really exquisite vase, prettier than any formal article bought in a shop, and costing little more than time and patience, with a touch of that rare thing—taste! which, after all, is not so very rare as some people imagine.

Any friend will prize such a vase of your own making.

     St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5,
Nov 1877-Nov 1878; No 1, Nov 1877
(Now in the Public Domain: not copyrighted in the United States)

Trackback URI |

CRAFTS

Young folks who are fortunate enough to have a pair of good-sized scallop-shells (picked up, perhaps, at the sea-side during the last summer vacation), can make a very pretty little autograph album in this way:

Take a pair of well-mated scallop-shells. Clean them with brush and soap.

When dry, paint them with the white of egg to bring out the colors, and let them dry again.

Now insert between the shells a dozen or more pages of writing-paper, cut of the same shape and size as the shells, and very neatly scalloped around the edges.

Then secure the whole loosely by means of a narrow ribbon passed through two holes previously bored in the shells. Of course, holes also must be pierced in the sheets of paper to correspond with those in the shells.

     St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5,
Nov 1877-Nov 1878; No 1, Nov 1877
(Now in the Public Domain: Not copyrighted in the United States)

Trackback URI |

This is a book that has a variety of tips, techniques, stories, and other parenting resources.

Could you use a few more parenting ideas to help you successfully teach your children and teens and guide them through life’s challenges?

There are solutions to the many difficult issues that parents have to deal with in today’s world. These are very important steps in helping to teach your children.
     1. Focus on the positive.
     2. Do the very best you can.
     3. Work at creating a good line of communication between you and the children and teens around you.

But exactly how are these tasks successfully accomplished? Even the very best parents need helpful ideas and support from friends or relatives or co-workers sometimes.

Parenting has been the focus of my life since my first child was born, and as an oldest child I spent a lot of time as a youth watching over my brother and sister. I come from a long line of teachers and caregivers. When I was searching for an idea for my ebook, I remembered a request from one of my daughters. She asked me to write down the parenting methods that I used when they were young so that she would have the book to use when she has her own children. I also wanted to pass along some of this information to my other daughter so she can use the ideas with her children, my grandchildren.

Not only am I a parent, but I am a grandparent as well. My children (now adults) and I have been through some tough times together. We have witnessed quite a lot, and worked our way through it each time. My daughters have completely different personalities, and energies, and experienced different problems while growing up. Because they were so different I learned to use completely different techniques for each of them. What worked for one child did not work for the other. I learned to adapt because of their differences.

_______________________________________________________________

Book Excerpt! (yes, this is copyrighted – copying it or using it any way without my permission is illegal and violates the copyright laws):

My friends early on were from a wide range of backgrounds.
     I had friends that came from a financially prosperous family.
     I had friends that came from families that were not rich at all.
     I had friends that lived on farms.
     I had friends that were children of migrant workers.
     I had friends that were Caucasian.
     I had friends that were Mexican.
One year I had a party and invited all of them to the party, and most of them came.

Well, you can imagine what happened. I learned all about the way some people allowed their kids to behave – to look down on anyone that wasn’t the same as they were because being different to them meant being inferior.

I was really disappointed at the way some of my friends were behaving. At Mom’s urging, Dad came to my rescue and took us all to the park where we played softball. Dad was the pitcher. Everyone played ball together and finally started talking to each other a little bit. The evening seemed to go okay after that.

Years later some of those same girls told me they still remembered that day at my house and how much fun they had.

_______________________________________________________________

Parenting children today is a very difficult task. Adults and children are bombarded daily with negative examples of living. Teens are acting out more violently in much larger numbers than in the past. Parents worry about how they can help guide their children through the maze of obstacles that continually pop up in front of them. Teens want more independence at an earlier age and are often more vocal and disrespectful towards others. Some parents want to find a way to force their children to be who they want them to be. Other parents just want to get their children through all this in one piece.

  

LENGTH: 177 Pages
FORMAT: PDF     DOWNLOAD in either ZIP or SITX (STUFFIT) formats (About 5 MB)
Windows software can unzip documents.
Get a free copy of Stuffit Expander for MAC to unzip or unstuff documents.
Go to:   Stuffit Expander
You will need Acrobat Reader 7.0 or 8.0 to view this ebook.

 

(regular price $19.00)
INTRODUCTORY PRICE: $15.00

GO TO Parenting Store TO PURCHASE EBOOK

My experience as a parent and a grandparent has taught me that what works best for families today is a mixture of old-fashioned parenting methods and modern parenting methods. This combination of parenting styles and techniques is what this book is all about. It mixes a bit of old-fashioned parenting from years ago with some of today’s modern parenting methods and contains a few short stories from the past, both from my past as a child and more recently from my children’s past.

How helpful would a book that has a variety of tips, techniques, stories, and other parenting resources be?

How valuable would it be to find a few more parenting ideas to help you successfully teach your children and teens and guide them through life’s challenges?

Parenting Today With Respect and Responsibility, How to Teach Your Children to Live by the Golden Rule has a variety of resources including tips and examples of how to teach children to live by the Golden Rule. Communication, talking with your children, is extremely important in helping your children grow into respectful responsible people. The book includes ideas to help you talk with your children and strengthen that parent/child bond. It also shows you how to be an example for others to follow simply by the way you act every day. This book is written for parents and children of all ages. Some of the resources you will find in this book are:

Parenting Tips; True Stories; Parenting Exercises; Conversation Starters; Safety Tips; How to Be an Example; Stories from Long Ago including Aesop’s Fables, Lincoln’s Stories, and the Little Red Hen

Check out the book’s Table of Contents!

Table of Contents

Dedication
Legal Statement
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1, Your Child as An Individual With Unique Likes and Dislikes
     Stories From the Past and What We Can Learn From Them
     What Does All This Mean to You?
     Some Basic Tips
Chapter 2, 10 Ways to Help Your Children Feel Better About Themselves
Chapter 3, Rules, Respect, Responsibility
     Stories From the Past and What We Can Learn From Them
     What Does All This Mean to You?
     Some Basic Tips
Chapter 4, Communicate / Listen, Listen, Listen
     Stories From The Past and What We Can Learn From Them
     What It Means Today
     What Does All This Mean to You?
     Some Basic Tips
Chapter 5, Guidance / Lessons
     Stories From The Past and What We Can Learn From Them
     What It Means Today
     What Does All This Mean to You?
     Some Basic Tips
Chapter 6, About Public Schools / About Learning
     Stories From The Past and What We Can Learn From Them
     What It Means Today
     What Does All This Mean to You?
     Some Basic Tips
Chapter 7, Youth/Teens/Young Adults
     Some Basic Tips for Dealing With Difficult Situations
Chapter 8, Being Balanced – What Is It?
     Some Basic Tips
Chapter 9, How to Be An Example
Chapter 10, Safety Tips for Children and Teens
Chapter 11, Survival Tips for Parents
     Some Basic Tips
Chapter 12, Summary of the Basics
Chapter 13, Eight Exercises To Do Together As a Family
Chapter 14, Conversation Starters for Talks With Your Children and Young Adults
Chapter 15, Internet Resources
Chapter 16, Aesop’s Fables
Chapter 17, The Little Red Hen
Chapter 18, Some Poems / Lincoln’s Stories
Chapter 19, Creativity (Spool Knitters, Games, Riddles, Math)
Chapter 20, The Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution
Chapter 21, Blank Pages for You to Write Your Own Notes
References

Trackback URI |

ABOUT THE PICTURE

To reach a new place, new goals, a new parenting style, it is necessary to identify the goal, and then plan out the path and the steps to take.

Next, walk your new path towards the goal.

What is the bridge? The bridge is what you cross from where you are now to where you want to be. It is the steps you take to reach the goal that is on the other side of the bridge.

Use positive thinking to see yourself already across the bridge with your goals achieved.

Which side of the bridge are you on?

ABOUT THE WEBSITE

This website was created with the goal of presenting the idea to parents that children today should be taught about the value of respect, responsibility, and the Golden Rule. It was also created as a way to answer a daughter’s request that I write about the parenting techniques I used when my children were young.

My children are adults now and I am a grandmother. I have many, many stories to tell about the many lessons I learned about being a parent, and about how I learned those lessons. I have a daughter in Graduate School right now and another daughter attending Community College as a working parent. My children work hard and value respectful behavior. We have come far. Hopefully our stories can help you plot your parenting steps in your own family.

ABOUT MY COPYRIGHT; LEGAL NOTICE

This website is fully copyrighted and ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. You have permission to print out a paper copy of any of these website pages for your own personal use.You do not have the right to republish or resell anything you find on this website. The free Public Domain information on this website is available for you to print out for your own use. If something is listed as being in the Public Domain, that means it does not have a current copyright in the United States. Every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of the Public Domain information found here. All other information, Parenting Articles, etc. are copyrighted. Some of the Parenting Articles are taken from Article websites that allow their articles to be republished. In those cases the article is published here in its full entirety, listing the author, and the article website where it was originally published. I am the author of everything else on this website and have a copyright to all of my work.

DISCLAIMER

It is the responsibility of parents to fully supervise their children/teens while doing all crafts and games. All articles, suggestions, ideas, etc. posted on this website are to be used at the parents discretion. Not all methods or ideas are suitable for all children. Each child is unique. It is the responsibility of each parent to decide whether anything posted on this website might be of benefit to their children. Parentinggoldenrule.com does not take any responsibility for any outcome of the use of anything posted on this website. Parents are encouraged to browse anything posted on this site for ideas that may be of benefit to themselves and their children. If parents are in doubt whether to pursue any ideas posted here, they are encouraged to consult professional counselors or psychologists for advice. If parents are not sure whether something may be of benefit, or may be harmful, then those parents have the responsibility of disregarding those items or ideas. Get to know your children and who they are, and then you will know better what might help them.

PRIVACY NOTICE

I do not collect, give out, or save information from the users of this website. I am an Affiliate of several businesses, so cookies are enabled in order that I can receive payment for any referrals from my website. When my ebook becomes available for sale, the shopping cart will be through PayPal and I will use PayPal’s guidelines for customer’s payments.

COMMENTS

Commercial advertisements of any type are not accepted at this website.

ARTICLES

All articles on this website are copyrighted by the author of the article. The authors retain all rights to their articles. You do not have permission to alter any article in any way. You may not change any of the wording, and you may not insert your own links into the articles.

I am in the process of tracking down the owners of several websites who have altered my copyrighted articles. This is a notice to anyone, that altering copyrighted material is illegal. If you see one of my articles and question any wording, or any links in the article, please send me a comment at this website letting me know what website the article is posted at so I can take steps to get the articles removed. I have not given anyone permission to alter my articles or insert any links into the articles. My original articles do not contain any links, and definitely do not contain any objectionable material.

I AM AN AFFILIATE OF THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES

_____________________________________________________________

Click here to buy posters!

Allposters.com has a huge variety of posters, magnets, and wall stickers from inexpensive to expensive, framed and unframed, in many different categories.

_____________________________________________________________

Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.

_____________________________________________________________

Trackback URI |

Trackback URI |

Trackback URI |

The Columbia Pictures 1996 Academy Award Nominated Film based on the novel
Starring Jeff Daniels, Anna Paquin, and __________________

Now on DVD

13 year old

Trackback URI |