To Punish or Not to Punish?

Yesterday, for the first time I spanked my daughter! Horror!  I still get goose bumps thinking about the incident. At the same time, I was calming my mother down, offering her my calmness even though I was boiling inside. 

Let me start from the beginning:

"My daughter, Kate went for a walk yesterday with her grandmother (my mother).  It was summer; flowers were in bloom, there were no children in the park, so Kate and Grandma decided to take a small bike ride. They walked with the bike and observed fish ponds. Kate would pedal a bit and stop, waiting for Grandma to catch up.

This was a pedestrian safe zone: playgrounds, soccer fields, baseball fields, and bike paths. It was hot, so Kate and Grandma felt tired and turned back towards home. Suddenly my daughter changed course, she left Grandma, and pedaled away as fast as she could without stopping or turning around. Grandma ran after her. She cried, 'Stop! Stop!' No response. The pedestrian zone ended and the busy road was just around the corner! My mother could not see her granddaughter. She ran, but could not catch up with her. Grandma finally reached Kate at the entrance to our home.

When I opened the door, I saw two crying people: Grandma with trembling hands and Kate complaining that Grandma had scolded her. When I realized what had happened, I was already ill! How Kate crossed the busy street - nobody knows. She said that she waited until there were no cars. Then I could only hope that she traveled on the sidewalk along the road to our house. We have heavy traffic around our place.  

Out of fear, I spanked Kate and put her in a corner. Soon of course I gave Kate a drink of water and a hug. She cried and promised she would not do that anymore.  My daughter is only 3 1/2 years old!

In the evening when Grandma called, Kate answered the phone.  Kate immediately said, 'I will not do that again!' It was great stress for all of us; at night we slept poorly.

What would you do if you were in my shoes? Would you punish your children or remain calm?

 Do you punish your children?"

  

Photo: My friend's daughter role playing for the story.

 A mother once wrote this to me feeling confused , sad, looking for advice...  

How would you reply to her? 

 
Wishing you all the best in the difficult yet exciting journey of parenting!

Cheers,

Teacher Kira

To learn more about Parenting Classes and Exploration classes, visit our website: http://www.ourparentingplace.com

Ideas for a Science Experiment 1

This is simple and fun experiment to do with children in classroom or at home.

#1 Experiment: Pinecone Protection

We will observe the pinecones open and close all by themselves!

Materials: Pinecone
Water
Tweezers
Large bowl
Shallow dish

Procedures :
1. Examine the pinecone closely for nuts. Pine nuts can be found between the scales of the pinecone. From the outside, the nuts appear thin and papery. Remove a nut by gently pulling on it with the tweezers.

2. Pour 3” of water into the large bowl. Leave one pinecone on the table. Have the children wash the others in water for several minutes.

 3. Every few minutes, compare the wet pinecones to the dry one until the wet pinecones are completely closed. This usually takes from 10-20 minutes.

4. Place the wet pinecones in the shallow dish and leave them on table with the dry pinecone for two or three days. Observe them periodically.


What Happened:
The pine nuts inside the pinecone are actually seeds which can grow into new trees. When the pine cone becomes wet, it closes up to protect its seeds. As the pine cone dries out, it gradually opens up again.
Suggestions and Variations:

• Observe pine trees after a rainstorm to see if the pinecones are closed on their own.
• Try planting some of the pine seeds you found to see if they sprout. (They may not if they are too old or have been partially eaten by insects.)

*This was not my idea, but I tried it and I loved it.


Enjoy !

Cheers,

Teacher Kira

 Save the Date – Friday Nov 30    Christmas Drive sponsored by San Marino Chamber of Commerce. 
On Huntington Drive from 5:00pm --8:00pm.

Join us for this annual tradition as businesses open up their doors and greet residents and non, many activities for kids and families as well as art project, cider, petting zoo etc.

Open-ended Ideas for an Art Project 3

# 3 Project: Golf Ball Painting

Goals: Fine and gross motor skills development; enjoyment of the process; no right or wrong result, unique outcome; generation of new possibilities and ideas; flexibility of thought; experimentation and drawing conclusions; cause and effect; and language development.

Materials: Lid of large paper box, paper, golf balls, tempera paint, tongs to pick up balls, sorting try for the paint, place to dry art project (clothes dryer is ideal).

Procedures:

1. Choose the colors and squeeze a little bit to sorting trays.

*You could choose to separate cool colors and warm colors it will help you to keep them clean for longer time and also gives you opportunity to talk with children about cool and warm colors.

*You can get great effect if you add white, silver or gold paint into the tray.





2. Place one or two balls in each section.


3. Place blank paper in box lid.


4. Children choose the colors. They place ball into the tray and roll. You can put only one ball or you can choose to put few. You can roll it slow or fast. Try different ways of rolling.

Enjoy !

Cheers,

Teacher Kira 

• Join us for Golf Ball Painting Project on Wednesday, November 28^th 4:00 pm -  for 3-10 yrs old

at Stylish Child Store 317 North San Marino Ave. San Gabriel, CA 91775