Logan Family Center-PIRC

Love and Logic Parenting class

2012-01-08T06:15:00.000-08:00

So excited with our free parenting classes starting up this week. It will be held Wednesday nights 7-9 pm Jan 11, 18 and 25. We have a full class! I had a call from a reporter at the Herald Journal newspaper and she wrote a wonderful article about our classes. I also had a call from the radio station about our classes. Hopefully, more people will take advantage of these great classes. What would it mean to you to have less stress in your family? How about better relationships and more joy? We still have a few spots left in February class and March, April etc. are still open. Check out the website www.loveandlogic.com for Webinars and more information. We have Love and Logic, books, audio CDs and DVDs in our center library. You can check them out for free. If you don't have time for a class, maybe you can try learning more about it. Let's make having a happier, more respectful family our New Year's resolution.

Our New Signs

2011-10-15T05:13:00.000-07:00

Hope you've noticed our new signs on the outside of our building. We hope this will help new patrons know who we are and what we do. The Folks at SIgn Pro did a really great job for us! Thanks!

Our deepest thanks to our friends from Century Link who gave the skirt and metal railings a nice coat of fresh new paint. Thanks to Logan School District who provided the paint and equipment. A special thanks to Dan the Custodian and Principal Sundee.

We also want to thank our friends at United Way who arranged the service project. Doug, we really appreciate you!

Ready! Set! School!

2011-10-05T16:21:00.001-07:00

We learn our letters the FUN way. Fishing for letters makes learning letters as much fun as catching fish! Parents help kids spell their names by "catching" letters in their name and laying them out in order. The center has many games, puzzles and toys that teach letters. We recently got the Letter Factory DVDs by Leappad company. Kindergarten here we come! We will be ready.

Our Wish List

2011-09-26T10:33:00.000-07:00

We were asked by our advisory board to create a wish list in case any of our patrons or generous community members wanted to give a gift to the center to be enjoyed by our patron families in the toy/book library.
We do have a wish list on Amazon.com
Please go to http://amzn.com/w/16V7WTU08UUEJ
to see our wish list
We also would like any Melissa and Doug educational toys and puzzles.
More bilingual books, CDs and DVDs.
Gift cards in any amount from Amazon, Michael's, JoAnns, Staples, Hobby Lobby, Walmart, Sam's Club or Booktable and other bookstores to use for Ready! Set! School! and Around the World books and supplies.
Any Love and Logic materials for check out in our parent library.
Bulletin Board paper and materials.
Cases of copy paper in white and reams in variety of colors.
Reams of white and color cardstock.
Sheets of cardboard
Sturdy Plastic boxes with lids for the toy library, all sizes.
That's our list! Thanks!

The Advisory Board Meeting

2011-09-17T07:23:00.000-07:00

Friday we had our quarterly Advisory board meeting of parents and community members interested in the work of our center. We discussed our year ahead and this past year. We honored the community volunteers who helped with Around the World in 80 Days. If you are a parent or community agency who would like to serve on our board, we would love to have you! Write our director at the address on your monthly newsletter.
And if you read this blog please feel free to write a comment. We love input.

Teaching People Skills to Children

2011-09-09T12:19:00.000-07:00

What do you do when your 5 year old has trouble making friends? How do you teach a four year old to share and take turns? What can you do to help your seven year old accept children who are different? The Center Library now has available the Learning To Get Along Book Series to teach social skills to children through stories with pictures. Designed for 4-8 year olds by Cheri Meiners, the books include an activity and teaching guide at the end of the book for parents. The guides include fun activities to go with the book and helpful ideas for adults.
Titles include:
When I Feel Afraid
Understand and Care
Try and Stick With It
Talk and Work it Out
Reach Out and Give
Listen and Learn
Join In and Play
Cool Down and Work Through Anger
Be Polite and Kind
Be Honest and Tell the Truth
Be Careful and Stay Safe
Accept and Value Each Person
Share and Take Turns
The books have a large 9 x 9 inch format. Parents and educators may find these books helpful teaching useful people skills and human values to children.

Final Day of Around the World

2011-08-19T19:09:00.000-07:00

Today was our final day of Around the World.
We had a big party as we went to the Caribbean Islands.
Our friend Reyna came with Aggie Ice Cream for us.
Our friend Gil brought his drums and Latin percussion instruments.
We jammed together and had a great time.
Gil played for us and we tried out Limbo. It's not as easy as some people make it look!
We made pictures of children from all over the world for our craft.
We made lots of friends. Guess how many people came? 80. That's a lot.
It was great.

Canada and the USA

2011-08-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

Canada was amazing. Our friend Aliza lived in Canada for awhile and she shared with us some different words Canadians use that Americans might not understand. Did you know Winnie the Pooh is from Winnepeg? And Anne of Green Gables is from Prince Edward Island? We made some very cool crafts as well. Inukshuk are giant sculptures of stacked stone or wood. We tried making some out of wood scraps. Some of them looked like giants or towers. We sanded and sanded them to make them look very cool and used real wood glue. We made coasters out of cork and pine tree circles and we also painted polar bears and canoes. Painting is always fun.

In the USA we made quilt squares and old fashioned steam railroads. We sang railroad songs and learned about travel across this big country. It was nice to get back to our country. We enjoyed traveling though. This is a really big world and we learned there are lots of kids everywhere and we had a great time learning about all the different countries this summer. We had a great time and hundreds of kids got to come around the World. We have great friends who helped us travel and shared their countries with us. Maybe when we grow up we will do some traveling too!

Central America

2011-08-15T20:00:00.001-07:00

Next we went to Guatemala. We learned about weaving and made worry dolls. Kids in Guatemala say you can tell your worries to your worry dolls and put them under your pillow. The doll will do your worrying for you so you don't have to. We saw some real worry dolls from Guatemala then we made our own. Our weaving turned out really nice and we learned its not as easy as the Guatemalan ladies make it look.
We also went to Costa Rica. There are amazing waterfalls, birds and butterflies in Costa Rica and they decorate their ox carts with beautiful pictures. We made some Blue Morpho butterflies after we saw a real one and we made some parrots with feathers.
Then we went to Panama. We learned how in Panama the Kuna Indian ladies make cloth pictures called Molas. We tried making them out of paper and they were hard to make out of paper. Imagine making them out of cloth! We made rainsticks out of cardboard tubes. They were very cool. We used rice and nails and we had to put on our safety goggles and use hammers.
Then we went to Nicaraqua. The kids there make their own toys like trompos which are wooden tops. We made our own and decorated them. They came out really great and really worked. We also made some Iguanas out of cardstock, watercolors and salt. They looked really neat.

Argentina and Bolivia

2011-08-15T19:31:00.000-07:00

Our friend Adam came to tell us about Argentina. we learned about the gauchos, which are cowboys. They use a weapon called a bolo which can trip up animals so the gaucho can catch them. We heard they learned about bolos from the Moscovi Indians. We made some bolos. Ours were made out of braided yarn and styrofoam balls- but you still have to be careful. We had fun but they still left a mark. We heard a Moscovi Indian story. The Moscovi reminded us of the Maoris of New Zealand who also had bolo like weapons and liked face tatoos.

Headed to South America!

2011-08-04T05:41:00.000-07:00

It's time to go to South America.
On Tuesday, August 2 our friends Jeanne and Josefina helped us go to Peru. They showed us clothes made out of Alpaca fur and Peruvian jewelry. They did a dance for us to some Peruvian music. We made some really cool wood bead necklaces.
On Wednesday August 3 we met Estele who is from Brazil. We heard a story in Portuguese about a boy who floated away with some balloons, played a circle game with our shoes, and sang a song about a chicken. We heard the beautiful Portuguese language which sounds like singing. They also have cool music in Brazil. We made Carnival masks with feathers and some tambourines.
Thursday, August 4 will go to Argentina and then Bolivia on August 5.

More travels in Europe

2011-08-04T05:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all our wonderful community friends who have helped with Around the World in 80 Days.
Tuesday, July 12 our friend Ewa took us to her country Poland. We played a fun circle game and made some paper cutting crafts.
Wednesday, July 13 two brothers Alex and Alan took us to Serbia and Slovakia. Our favorite part was making a musical instrument Flutas and dancing a great dance with lots of stomping.
Thursday, July 14 We went to Germany with our friend Aliza. We learned all about the Bremen Town Musicians and had a great crafts and games.
Friday, July 15 we had our friend Christina and her friends all dressed up and took us to Switzerland. We got to hear the story of William Tell and learn Swiss jump rope rhymes.
The next week the center closed so our director could take care of a family member who needed surgery. Thanks for everyone's patience.
We continued on in Europe the following week.
Tuesday, July 26 our friends Daniel and Luibov took us to Russia. We heard wonderful Russian fairy tales and one by Tolstoy, made Matroyshka nesting dolls and onion domed towers. We learned a cute Russian birthday song and met a cartoon character whose name means "tip over".
Wednesday, July 27 we went to France. Our friend Ed speaks French. We listened to French Fairy Tales. We painted watercolor paintings and made French castle towers
Thursday, July 28 we went to Ireland. We had two friends Julie and Hannah who showed us pictures of Ireland, told us about leprecauns. We listened and danced to Irish music. Our friends showed us how to dance Irish style.
Friday. July 29 we went to Portugal. We heard famous Portuguese stories about explorers. We learned about a king who planted trees and a queen who gave up her jewels to feed her hungry people. We made Rooster plates and plaques out of Portuguese cork. That finished up Europe for us!

More Around the World

2011-07-01T08:28:00.000-07:00

How many countries are there in the world? Hundreds and hundreds. Africa has many many countries. This week we visited three of them. Our friends Joanne, Ethan and Portia helped us visit Egypt. They came to see us dressed in Egyptian traditional costumes. We listened to some Egyptian music, looked at a kind of Egyptian paper made from reeds called papyrus, made some colored sand pictures of Egyptian things,made some paper pyramids and played a very cool ancient game called knuckle bones which was the first game of jacks. We made some really fun cobra snakes out of ties and hangers. Some of the kids figured out how to make them move like real snakes. That was very cool. Egypt is amazing!
Now where shall we go? How about Mozambique? It's an amazing country with amazing beaches. Lots of fishing and goat raising goes on there. So we made fish and goats. And guess who came to visit? Our friend Missy who lived in Mozambique and our friend Sini brought real live African goats to visit us! They are just weeks old and very very cute.
Then we went to amazing South Africa with our friend Katy. Katy lived there and wore a really interesting orange and black traditional costume. She showed us movies of her feeding a giraffe and visiting an elephant and playing with baby lions. Wow! We made little hand drums and a game called mancala that is popular there.
Africa is amazing.

We continue Around the World

2011-07-01T08:10:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we visited Turkey. We found out the country was called turkey because the Turks lived there. (The bird we call the turkey was first mistaken for a kind of wild bird that is from Turkey the country.) We played a fun game that is popular in Turkey where you turn over 11 cups on a plate and hid a ring under one of them. The one team moves the cups around while the second team tries to guess where the ring is hiding. It was fun. We heard Hodja stories. He's a kind of fun old man with a big turban hat and white beard. Kids try to fool him but he figures out how to fool them. They also like camel wrestling in Turkey. So we painted camels with colored sand. That was fun. Turkey is famous for beautiful designs in the tiles. We made some paper versions of Turkish tiles. They turned out to be very beautiful.

Around the World in 80 days 4th Week

2011-06-23T16:29:00.000-07:00

Here we are in the Middle East. We took a look at Israel, Iraq, Iran and Jordan. Our friend Heather brought us some headgear from Jordan to try on. We learned to count to ten in Arabic and heard a story about a guy who had trouble counting his donkeys.
In Israel we played a really cool game called dreidel. We learned a little of the Hebrew language. We make some real clay tablets from Iraq and Hamsa hands. The other thing we got to do was Arabic tiles. Those designs are amazing. You can get lost in them.
I heard next week we are headed to Africa. I can't wait!

Love and Logic Class

2011-06-21T04:46:00.000-07:00

The new Becoming a Love and Logic Parent class for all ages will be taught Wednesday July 13,20 and 27 from 7-9 pm. You must attend all three nights to get a certificate. You can get the class for free with a free workbook if you sign up ahead of time. Call 435-755-5171. You will learn great skills to keep yourself cool in those hot parenting moments. This really works. Learn about choices, setting limits, and the power of empathy. Diffuse power struggles and teach kids to think before they act. Wow. A great investment in your family's future.

Around the World Report

2011-06-20T08:38:00.000-07:00

In three weeks so far... 128 Passports issued. 381 visitors. 12 volunteers. 12 countries visited, including Hawaii, New Zealand, Marshall Islands, Fiji Islands, Philippines, China, Korea, India, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia and Japan. Now we are headed to the Middle East this week, then Africa for two weeks and then Europe for 3 weeks. Finally in August we will be headed to North, Central and South America. Join us! Drop by summer weekday afternoon from 1pm to 3:30pm

Around the World in 80 days 3rd week

2011-06-18T04:53:00.000-07:00

This week we traveled to Korea, Burma, Cambodia and Japan. In Korea we heard stories about green frogs, a mirror and a great food called Bee Bim Bop made with sticky rice.We made Jaegis, a kind of hacky sack, and played with them. We made Jumoni which are little treat bags and Taeguk fans. We saw the traditional dress of Korea which is called Hanbok.
In Burma, our friend Sarah helped us learn about the country which is also called Myanmar. We heard some stories. One was the Wise Washerman and the other was about a snake prince. We made very cool python snakes and wobble dolls.
In Cambodia we heard some stories about two brothers a temple called Ankgor Wat and we made a temple dancer mask and a little bendable monkey.
In Japan we had a visitor named Hisako and her two boys. We learned about a festival called Tanabata and heard the story of a couple who were separated, but got to meet once a year in the stars. We got to hang wishes on a bamboo tree. We did some origami and heard more stories about a samurai who was only two inches tall and a moon princess.

How fun is the Family Center?

2011-06-11T02:34:00.001-07:00

Just how much fun do families have at the center? We know when children are exploring they are learning. They are learning language and building vocabulary. They are forming learning pathways in their brains. When parents interact with their children at the center they are building healthy relationships. You are teaching them to love learning and enjoy life. You are helping them have experiences that will help them interact with others and solve problems.
Please take time today to get down and play with your child. Enjoy them.

Around the World in 80 days 2nd week

2011-06-11T02:14:00.000-07:00

Guess how many passports we've issued? 105.
How many visits in just two weeks? 192.

Continuing through Asia, this week we visited the Philippines, China, India and Thailand. Every country has great stories to tell their children. Isn't that cool? And kids everywhere love games and songs.

In the Philippines we wove bracelets and decorated Parol stars. But the favorite was learning to play Tinikling. Two helpers touch long bamboo poles to the floor and we learned to jump in and out to the rhythm. This is not easy but we got good at it. Thanks to our helpers Laura, Julie and Hannah!

In China we learned to count in Chinese and made Lion Dancers and lanterns. Our good friend Ed showed us his amazing collection of Chinese chops and we saw clever things made by Chinese people.

In India we heard some amazing stories and watched a some videos of kids living in India. We made elephant pendants and jingle anklets. We learned a great custom of Rahki bracelets when brothers and sisters promise to protect each other.

Our special visitor Holly helped us learn to say hello and thank you in Thai. She told us Thailand is called the land of smiles because people are so friendly there. We made elephant masks and floating lamps for the lotus festival. Wow! Thailand looks so green and beautiful. Wouldn't it be cool to see Elephants working and fruits carved to look like flowers? And wouldn't you love to see thousands of floating candle lamps floating on the river?
.

Ready, Set, School

2011-06-10T05:11:00.000-07:00

People asked if we still have kindergarten preparation classes for the 3,4 and 5 year olds during the summer. The answer is YES! Wednesday and Thursday mornings at 10:30 we have English RSS and on Friday mornings we have bilingual side by side Spanish and English at 10 am. These classes last one hour and have songs, rhymes, stories and activities. We teach the 20 lessons in the Ready! Set! School! program. Free kits are available. We encourage parents to make their home language rich by reading every day and prepare their child for school success by making sure they have their pre-kindergarten skills. We make it easy and fun.

Teach Languages to Your Children

2011-06-10T04:51:00.000-07:00

This summer you might want to have many good books at your house to read aloud to your children. Choosing themes like "Around the World" or "Animals" is lots of fun. Summer is a great time to make your home "language rich". Have you considered trying a new language? We have all 30 of Rachel Coleman's Signing Time DVDs and we have just started carrying the Little Pim foreign language DVDs. We have ESL/English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Hebrew, Spanish, French, Italian, and Russian.

We Have Great Friends All over the World

2011-06-10T04:48:00.000-07:00

Our friend Berta has a grandma from Fiji and she helped us visit these awesome Islands.

Marshall Islands

2011-06-10T04:42:00.000-07:00

Our friends from the Marshall Islands shared their amazing and beautiful culture with us this past week.

Families having Fun

2011-06-10T04:35:00.000-07:00

Families are having fun virtually traveling Around the World at our center on summer afternoons!

Around the World in 80 days 1st week

2011-06-04T09:44:00.000-07:00

We went to Hawaii, New Zealand, the Marshall Islands and Fiji.
Did you know that New Zealand has more sheep than people?
Did you know the people in the Marshall Islands eat a kind of tree fruit callled Bread fruit? Did you know that the people on Fiji speak English, Fijian and Hindi?
We made leis, fans, tapa cloth, sea stars, poi balls and Maori masks?
Check out our Pokana faces. Did we scare you?

Around the World in 80 Days has begun!

2011-05-31T12:41:00.000-07:00

We are off this afternoon to Hawaii. We are making Leis and learning Hawaiian songs and dances. We have some very beautiful shells for the children to see and hold. Do you want to hold some lava? It cooled off now and turned into a rock, but it is very interesting.
Tomorrow we are headed to New Zealand and will be learning how to make our own and use poi balls. Thursday we will be headed to Marshall Islands and then Fiji on Friday. Hope you can come with us!

Parenting Class

2011-04-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

Brush up your skills and get ready for summer. There is still time to sign up for a free Love and Logic parenting class for May. May 11,18 and 25th on Wednesdays from 7pm to 9pm, You can learn how to parent school age children and teenagers in a more effective way and keep your cool. Call 755-5171 to sign up and save your space. Class size is limited to 18. The class is free.
You will learn how to
How to set limits in a loving way
How to diffuse power struggles
How to offer choices and turn your words into gold
How to stay cool when kids try your patience

Parents and caregivers tell us they love this class. "Changed my parenting." "Now I know what to do when my child pushes my buttons." Are some of the comments we have gotten. Six hours of Love and Logic class will save you hundreds of hours of family drama. You can make an investment in raising more responsible kids.
In June we will offer the Love and Logic for Early Childhood for those who are working with children under 6 years.

Congrats to Ed our great volunteer

2011-04-05T12:45:00.000-07:00

It's been three years now and over 900 hours that Ed has devoted to our center. Here's to you Ed! He loves to greet parents and kids who come to the center.

Yes, we are open in the winter

2011-01-11T10:38:00.000-08:00

This is the view this week from our front porch. Yes, it is cold, but it's warm inside. Our lending library is open Monday through Friday from 9am to 4pm. Parents who are looking for someplace to go with pre-schoolers, come on down and read our books, play with our toys and talk to other moms. We have great resources on household management, child discipline and wonderful picture books. You are always welcome.

What's new at the center? January, 2011

2011-01-11T10:31:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year to all our friends and patrons! We have had so many requests from patrons who teach "letter of the week" for good materials they can use in their playgroup pre-schools. We now have "Alphabet Soup". Sturdy "cans" contain durable picture cards of words that begin with each letter of the alphabet. We also have little books that contain stories that use many words that begin with each letter. These are all available for check out.

Farewell to our fall interns

2010-11-30T15:13:00.000-08:00

Those of you familiar with our center know of the fine work of our USU interns who teach Ready! Set! School! and run our library. We recently said farewell to Dani, Kenzie and Laura. They have been wonderful interns. Many of our interns are parents or expectant parents. They learn first hand the importance of parents in their child's development. They learn how to help parents like you gain valuable skills and information to help their children.

What's new in the center library

2010-11-30T14:58:00.000-08:00

We are proud to announce that our free parent resource library is now carrying the rainbow readers from Academic Success for all Learners. Patrons can check out the decodable little book readers from the red book Set 1 "I see Sam" all the way to set 8. These sets are used in many elementary schools and correspond with reading levels from readiness to middle of 3rd grade. Making these available will assist parents and tutors to help students gain extra practice during time when the children don't have access to school readers like vacations. Also available for check out are the training DVDs that show parents how to use the little reader books.
We also have more great floor puzzles added to our collection. Floor puzzle are very popular and a fun way for children to learn while enjoying interactive play.

What's Going On

2010-10-30T09:57:00.000-07:00

The Family Center is pleased to announce continuing free Love and Logic Classes and materials offered to the community.
For at least a dozen years our center has offered these classes. Due the support of our Parent Resource Center grant, our USU partnership, our school districts, the Health Department and other community agencies, we are able to offer these classes for free.
Our next class is Love and Logic Parenting for Early Childhood series scheduled for November 3, 10 and 17th from 7-9pm at the Center 50 South 400 East in Logan.

We will teach a one hour introductory class at the Parents As Teachers group meeting on Thursday November 18 at 6:30pm at the Wilson School called 10 Quick Tips from Love and Logic Parenting.

Love and Logic is great parenting method developed by Love and Logic Institute of Golden, Colorado. These methods help you put the fun back into parenting. You learn easy to remember ways to keep your cool and parent in a more effective manner.

We have received a large donation of new Love and Logic DVDs, books, Audio CDs for our free parent check out library from Bear River Health Department. You can take Love and Logic home and learn at your leisure.
Also try www.LoveandLogic.com for free podcasts.

In January we will offer Love and Logic All Ages which will be especially useful for parents of school age children and teenagers.
You must call the center and sign up for the class 435-755-5171 because space is limited.

Brazil and Mexico

2010-07-23T04:35:00.000-07:00

This week we had so much fun in Brazil on Tuesday and Mexico on Wednesday and Thursday.
Our patron Melissa came and told us about Brazil and she read us a story about a little boy who had some balloons in Portuguese and showed us some pictures of that amazing land. She lived in Sao Paolo for a while. What a beautiful, soft language. It sounds like music. We made our own little samba band and made some craft feathered parrots and some decorated tambourines. We heard a story about a Kulina Indian girl named Miri and how she rescued a talking turtle. It was a good story.

Then we went to Mexico with our friend Ruby. We had so much fun and did so many crafts! We heard the story of Adelita which is a version of the Cinderella story. We made beautiful butterflies, feathered headdresses, ribbon rosettes, luminarias, tissue paper flowers, paper decorations and ojos de Dios out of yarn and sticks. It was incredible. Everyone was so creative and each creation was unique. We heard some really fun music and played the ancient Aztec game Patolli. Our game pieces were colored rocks and dried pieces of corn. We made some games to take home.
Next week we are headed to more countries in Central and South America, then in August off to Europe. We are having so much fun. Who knew kids around the world love stories, songs and games and making their own fun just like us?

More Around the World

2010-07-17T03:57:00.000-07:00

We are halfway through the summer and having a great time going around the world.
Last week we visited USA with stories and crafts including creating quilt patterns and a bald eagle craft. Then it was off to the islands of the Carribean Sea with lots of sand, sea and dancing to Limbo. On Friday we went to Canada.
This past week we went to the Middle East for most of the week. We made date palm trees and listened to the fabulous Arabian Nights tales as we visited Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Thursday we visited Israel and heard about the courage of Esther and the bravery of little David. Friday we had two special guests from Kathmandu, Nepal who brought some pictures of that beautiful land and we made moon masks and marigold garlands.
Next week we are off to Brazil on Tuesday and Mexico on Wednesday and Thursday. We will be closed on Friday July 23 and Monday July 26 for the Pioneer Day celebrations.

Future travels

2010-06-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

This week we are going to Africa and
then its off to North America June 7,8 and 9.
July 14-16 we are headed to the Middle East
July 27-30 to South America
August 3 to the 20th we will be in Europe.
Come join us for free fun. Stories, games, songs and crafts from different countries from 1:00 pm to 3:30. Tuesday-Fridays.
The center library is open from 9am to 4pm each day Monday through Friday, but remember we will be closed for the holiday from July 2-6.
You can stop by with an adult and check out books, tapes, DVD's and educational toys.
What a great free summer place for families!

More Around the World

2010-06-28T12:08:00.000-07:00

Since our last post we went to the Philipine Islands. We had a great time learning to dance to the rhythmic bamboo poles traditional tinikling. We made woven bracelets too.
We went to China and heard stories and made beautiful crafts. Then it was off to Korea where we learned so many awesome things and had fun playing jaegi, a type of Korean Hackensack game and painted artificial flowers.
We also went to India and explored the crafts of that amazing nation. And learned some hindi
We finished up the week with Burma and Samoa. We had two guests. Chapter from Burma and Berta from Samoa.
Chapter taught us how to play Burmese Cane ball. Think of soccer where the ball is never allowed to touch the ground. Watch Chapter show his moves here.

The children joined in to try it

It is not that easy and takes lots and lots of practice to get good at it.

Everyone made traditional Burmese wobble dolls and awesome jewelry out of beads and shells. Don't we look great?
Our friend Berta told us all about Samoa and the great island culture there. She taught us how to make windmill helicopters out of paper strips. They really worked!

Family Conference

2010-06-16T03:30:00.000-07:00

Our big conference took place on Saturday June 12, 2010. Our thanks go out to many, many people who made the conference amazing.
Conferences can not happen without sponsors. Sponsors are people who believe in your dream and help it happen. The Utah State Baby Watch program sponsored Carol Stock Kranowitz to come and teach us about sensory integration and how to help kids who struggle with it. Carol was amazing and spent the whole day teaching and sharing her knowledge with many educators, caregivers and parents. Carol wrote "The Out-of-Sync Child", "The Out-of-Sync-Child Has Fun" and other great books. We are so grateful to state Baby Watch and Carol.
Next is the Child Care Resource and Referral and Aggie Care. Our good friends Cari and Leah supported the project with time and treasure. They organized the incredible free family expo, gave away hundreds of children's book and arranged all those details. We owe them because they stepped up when things seemed impossible.
The University Inn and Conference Center provided beautiful meeting space and overnight accomodations for out-of-town presenters. Kendra was especially wonderful handling details and Joanne was wonderful handling money and paperwork. And the food was delicious.
USU Charter Credit Union provided some scholarships for deserving families. That meant so much to those families!
Dr Michael Visick supported the project from the beginning because he really believes that parents can make all the difference and we need to support them. His presentations on childhood obesity and nutrition opened our eyes.
Dr. Clint Field, clinical psychologist, gave parents ideas to help parents with problem behaviors and Rebecca Turley of the Utah Parent Center came all the way from SLC to give insights into parent stress.
Up to Three early Intervention and the Utah State center for Persons with Disabilities provided support for our project and expertise. We love Marla and the staff over there who do so much to help families.
And then there is Rachel Coleman. What can you say about Rachel? She was inspiring in her keynote address and she absolutely lit up the stage in her concert. We saw little tiny kids who watch her every day on DVD or TV have this look on their faces as if to say "Hey, what are you doing standing there- you live in my TV!". To watch whole families singing and signing their way through her concert was a thrilling moment. After the concert, she and Aaron her husband generously took pictures with everyone who stayed. She was seriously more fun than Santa Claus!
All my interns, former interns and volunteers who believed in the dream and so many came and helped with the conference. You are all incredible for your enthusiasm and hard work! You made it happen! Paul and Ruth, graduate students who picked up the rope when Claudia was exhausted, stand proud and tall. It's done. It happened. The evaluations are telling us we made a difference. Please add your comments below.

Around the World in 80 Days in the Pacific

2010-06-16T03:09:00.000-07:00

Our Around the World trip has begun. Tuesday June 8 we arrived in Hawaii. We made leis and tried out hula dancing and stick patterns. Then we spent Wednesday and Thursday in Japan helped by Aiko and Stacey. Japan has great children's stories like Peach Boy and Inch-High Samurari Issun Boshi. We learned to make amazing Samurai hats out of folded paper. We made oni masks and princess spoon dolls and acted out the story. We learned the rain song "Ame, Ame" We learned how to say the names of our face parts in Japanese and heard another great story Hide and Seek. We made a really amazing "stretchy fish" out of Origami paper.
Friday we headed to the Islands of the South Pacific with our friends Asma and Jonnie. They taught us children's songs and games. Our favorite was a game that uses little cowrey shells. We enjoyed that and making our own stomping stick musical instrument and we learned how to make grass skirts.
Tuesday June 15. We are now in the Philipine Islands and we heard a story about a boy who fools a crocodile with the help of a monkey. We made Parol stars and wove bracelets. We heard another story about a brother and sister that reminded us of the story Hansel and Gretel. We heard a song about a Nipa Nut and learned some words in Tagalog.
Where will we go next? Let's wait and see!

Around the World in 80 Days

2010-05-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

Attention parents and children! Are you ready to take a trip around the world this summer? Come explore different countries around the world through stories, languages, crafts, music and games! Drop by the Family and Information Resource Center between 1:00 and 3:30 Tuesdays through Fridays. The adventure begins June 8, 2010 and ends August 20, 2010. We'll see you there!

Also, we are looking for volunteers to help present different countries during this time. If you or someone you know would like to help, please contact us at 435-755-5171.

May Books and Buddies

2010-04-19T10:14:00.001-07:00

Books and Buddies in May will be held at

American West Heritage Center
4025 South Highway 89-91
Wellsville, Utah

on

Wednesday, May 19, 2010
10:30am- 12:30pm

A free book will be given to every child while supplies last!

April Books and Buddies

2010-03-26T13:05:00.000-07:00

Books and Buddies in April will be

Tuesday, April 13
5:00- 7:00pm

at the

Nutrition and Food Sciences Building- Room 202

Utah State University
700 North 1200 East
Logan, UT

A free book will be given to every child while supplies last!

Save the Date

2010-03-09T06:06:00.001-08:00

It's happening. Get ready!
On Saturday June 12, 2010 we will all meet up at Utah State University for a day of information and celebration "Unlocking Your Child's Potential". The morning will be a conference for adults. Rachel Coleman, Emmy nominated performer and mother of two challenged children will be our keynote speaker, followed by your choice of sessions on Child nutrition, sleep disturbance, learning and development problems, health, allergies, etc. Featured presenter will be Carol Stock Kranowitz, author of "The Out-of Sync Child" who will offer hours of classes on sensory integration problems in children and how to help them. Sensory processing disorder is common in children with autism, cerebral palsy and premature birth.
The afternoon will be a free expo for parents and children to come together and gather information and have fun in the Taggart Sunburst Lounge. There will be many, many interactive activities and book giveaways. Our conference will close with an interactive Signing Time concert by Rachel Coleman in the Taggart ballroom. Come prepared to sing and have a great time.
Educators, child professionals and families will want to come to this event. Together we will explore ways for all children to reach their potential. Be sure and save the date and plan to be in Logan. There will be so much information, you may want to bring a team with you to the morning sessions to get to all the information and share with each other later.

March: Books and Buddies

2010-03-03T10:09:00.000-08:00

This month Books and Buddies will be held at the Logan Regional Hospital in the Education Center. If you go in the main entrance, signs will lead you to the right place.

The hospital is on

500 East 1400 North
Logan, UT

It will be held on:

Tuesday, March 23, 2010
3:00- 5:00 pm

Come and get a FREE book while supplies last!

Books and Buddies- February

2010-02-08T11:46:00.000-08:00

Books and Buddies for February has been announced. It will be at

The Home Depot
130 Cache Valley Blvd
Logan, UT

It is on:

Thursday, February 25
10 am - noon

Get a FREE book for every child until supplies run out!

Hope you can make it!

February Fun

2010-02-02T09:44:00.000-08:00

We are offering Love and Logic Parenting for all ages during the month of February. The class will be held three evenings from 7-9 pm. February 10, 17 and 24th. This class is free, but if you want the optional workbook, that is $10. Please call the center and sign up to reserve your spot and if you will need childcare.

Also we are continuing Ready! Set! School! which is held every Wednesday and Thursday from 10:30 to 11:30am. This month's lessons include: I'm a VIP, Let's Read, Everybody Counts, and My Big Muscles. We are excited to help your children get ready for Kindergarten!

New Love and Logic class coming

2009-12-14T18:32:00.000-08:00

Is one of your new years resolutions to improve your parenting? Good news. We are offering Love and Logic Parenting for Early Childhood (ages 1-6 years) during the month of January. The class will be held three evenings from 7-9 pm. January 13, 21 and 27th. This class is free, but if you want the optional workbook, that is $10. Space is limited. Please call the center and sign up to reserve your spot. If we are closed for the holiday, just leave a message with your name and phone number and we will call you to confirm your place. 435-755-5171.
We have heard parents rave about this class. It puts the fun back into parenting and gives you skills to use on those difficult days. We will be offering Love and Logic all ages in February. The February class will also teach you how to deal with teenagers.

Book Recommendation

2009-10-08T16:06:00.001-07:00

A wise professional recommended to me the book "Protecting the Gift: Keeping children and teens safe" by Gavin De Becker. This a unique book. After reading the borrowed copy cover to cover I got a copy for our parent library. You can come in and check it out. The author teaches adults the strategies that a predator might use to gain your trust and how to use your intuition (not worry) to warn you. He discusses ways to help children learn how to protect themselves by using their inborn talents. This is not the usual personal safety class. De Becker advises celebrities, companies,and governments on how to assess risks and stay safe. He gives real life stories from his own experience and cases to illustrate his ideas. You cannot forget these stories. They will pop into your head the next time your intuition is activated. He teaches adults how chose good babysitters and nannies, the best school and trustworthy playmates for your child. He teaches you how to recognize the signs that a child is vulnerable or has suffered abuse. He also deals with the issue of child on child violence and domestic violence. One of my favorite chapters was "Protecting Ophelia" on meeting the challenges faced by teenage girls. He ends his book with some especially helpful appendixes on how to help kids with autism be safe, as well as helpful books and resources for further study. I was amazed that a book this comprehensive exists. It is not an easy read, but it is an important book for anyone interested in protecting children and teens.

Bilingual Ready! Set! School!

2009-10-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

On Fridays at 10 am our center has Kindergarten preparation in Spanish and English.

Free Love and Logic class

2009-09-03T20:39:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! A new Love and Logic Parenting class is starting on Wednesday September 9 at 7pm. The series will go for 3 Wednesdays so Sept 16 and 23 also. Class will end by 9pm. The class is free, but if you want the workbook it costs $10. Please call the center to sign up 755-5171
Topics covered:

How to parent even when you are sleep deprived
How to stay cool when parenting heats up
What to do if you child won't listen to you
How to get kids to do chores
How to stop yelling and get more compliance

Amazing South America

2009-08-30T07:41:00.000-07:00

BRAZIL
There is whole huge continent south of us and most of us know little about it! The week of August 18-21 we got a taste of it.
Tuesday we went to Brazil with our friend Ben. Ben taught us about the Capuada dancers, a combination of martial arts and dancing. We saw Brazilian money and played a fun circle game in Portuguese. We made bark paintings, decorated our arms for carnival and made our own Samba band. We heard a children's story about a monster named Kibungo who was tricked by a clever turtle. One of the kids made a picture of the Kibungo out of his imagination. Brazil is a very interesting place. Sometimes people sleep in hammocks. How fun is that? You are never to young to Samba. Baby Allie got the Samba shaker thing going really well. Go girl!

Next Stop ECUADOR
Ecuador on the west coast of South America has everything, mountains, beaches and wonderful fruits and animals. The famous Gallapagos Islands are a part of Ecuador. We had a visit from a wonderful family from Ecuador who shared the culture of their beautiful country. We made turtles and parrots and the daughters read stories to us in English and Spanish. Their dad explained all about the art and culture of his country. We played games and learned so much!

And then PERU
We had four special visitors from Peru and we learned so much. We learned about the traditional clothing, animals and the Inca, the ancient Peruvians and their culture. Wow! Peru is amazing. See for yourself. We made Quipus, an ancient form of record keeping and parrots. Love those llamas and alpacas! We saw and touched some amazing ponchos and blankets made from their wool. It's so soft! They also have very cool pan pipes made from reeds. They have a breathey sound that is very soothing.

And then top it off with ARGENTINA
We had friends who loaned us some amazing things from Argentina. The gaucho (cowboy) culture is big in Argentina. You have to see our young friend doing the gaucho thing. Does he look like Indiana Jones? We made pictures out of wood and listened to a legend of the ancient natives of Argentina. We also learned a song called Mi Chacra, a Argentine version of MacDonald's farm song with animal noises. I had some people report they got that song stuck in their head!
We got to see a little mandolin made out of an armadillo shell. That's something you don't see everyday.

Ready Set School Graduation

2009-08-07T06:36:00.001-07:00

Our teachers Valene and Kristianne are proud to celebrate with the graduation class of Spring 2009 from Ready! Set! School! a 20 lesson program of kindergarten preparation. Congratulations to the children and their parents.

Around the World in 80 days

2009-08-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

Around the World in 80 Days still traveling
At the end of June, we finished up our trip to Asia with a visit to India. We made ankle jingles for dancing, We made a jeweled Elephant pendant, Rahki bracelets and Diwali lamps. We enjoyed a visit from our new friend Bushra who told us all about what a farm in India would be like and showed us how to make a little model village.

Then we headed to Africa. We heard wonderful African stories and music. We got to play on a real drum from Kenya and play other musical instruments. We made Akua-Ba dolls from Ghana, Adinkra Banners, Galimoto toys, egg shakers and Mancala games.

We made amazing thumb pianos out of a wood block, some spring steel and screws.

Then in July we headed off to the Middle East. We began with a trip Turkey with our friend Nick. Nick lived in Turkey when he was a boy and has gone back to visit. We saw amazing Turkish folk dancers in beautiful costumes. We made little prayer rugs and learned about the religous groups there. We made small necklaces with a hand of blessing and a protective eye symbol. We visited Jordan with our friend Heather. She showed us pictures with her riding a camel and all the interesting things she learned about the people and the land. She had a beautiful ladies costume and let us try on men's headress from Jordan. We learned that the tie that holds the headress is actually a camel whip. We also leanred there is plant that grows there whose stem can be used as toothbrush.
We went next to Egypt and made a cool game in the shape of a coiled snake.
Then we went to Israel, made four sided tops called dredels. We played a fun game, learned some songs and dances.
The next week we headed off to Europe. First we went to Serbia with our friend Alexander.
We painted castle towers.
Alex showed wrote our names in Serbian with unusal letters and he played some of the music he learned.

Our next trip was to Russia and Ukraine. We learned all about Russian matrushka dolls and we made a little one ourselves. We learned to count in Russian and we learned about a little cartoon friend who was lonely, but then he made friends with a Crododile and a little girl.

Our friend Steve came and showed us lots about how Russia looks and his visit there.
The week of july 21 we got to go to Great Britain and Ireland. We got to make Crackers which are a little popping gift that you open on holidays. A little paper hat and a toy are inside. We made some to surprise our families. Our friend Laura came and told us funny Irish stories about leprecauns and we made Bridget's cross out of straw, leaping leprecauns and learned Irish dancing.
Then we got to go to Denmark, Sweden and Norway. We made these cool Danish woven hearts and heard great stories like ones told by Hans Cristian Andersen. We learned the girls in Sweden get to wear a crown of candles and we made one.

Next we got to go to Spain with a nice lady Aurora and her two sons. They speak English, Spanish and Basque. We learned how to sing the happy birthday song in Spanish and Basque. We made some castanets and we played a fun Basque circle game.

Then it was off to France. We made beautiful Mardi Gras Masks and made a great game called Bilboquet out of a cup, some string and a cork. Laura taught us to sing a song in French about the parts of the body. Did you know alot of our fairy tales are from France?
Then we went to Italy and Greece.
We made a cool mosaic out of Pasta and listened to really pretty music. We learned how to count in Italian and learn about art.
We made some really interesting Greek Theater masks and crowns made out of leaves. The Greeks have great stories too. We get a lot of good stories from Greece like Aesop's fables and Greek myths. The Greeks have tons of imagination.

Grandparenting with Love and Logic

2009-07-22T03:31:00.000-07:00

We've started a new class. Grandparenting with Love and Logic. This is a special adaptation of the Love and Logic training we normally offer to parents to grandparents and other relatives. I taught the first one Friday July 17th at the Logan Senior Center. I will teach the same one hour class tonight at the Logan Family Center at 7pm. Based on the book "Grandparenting with Love and Logic" by Jim Fay here are some highlights:

Grandparents are very important in a family. They can provide emotional support through listening, a safety valve for parents, inclusion and acceptance, and most of all affection. But relationships between grandparents and their adult children are sometimes strained. And grandchildren's behavior can sometimes put a strain on grandparents. What can be done?
Grandparenting the Love and Logic way gives you a new way to solve sticky problems.
Grandparents can serve as consultants in a way that shares ideas and wisdom without interference. Here is how:

You observe a nasty conflict between your daughter and her child. You want to be helpful but don't want to interfere. The next time you are alone with your daughter you might

1. Ask a question. "I noticed Sally was giving you a hard time when you asked her to do her chores. How are things going with that?"

2. Listen with empathy, eye contact, nodding and holding your tongue. Your daughter might say "Sally is getting so nasty since the divorce. Everytime I ask her to do something she gives me backtalk. I have enough to worry about with the finances, working and just holding it together emotionally. "

3. Respond with understanding the parent's feelings. "Sounds like Sally is becoming less and less cooperative and more defiant. That's got to be frustrating for you."

4. Ask permission to suggest possible solutions. "If you like, I could do some thinking and come up with some ideas that might help. Would you be comfortable with that?"
If your daughter says "No way, I'll handle this myself!" Back off immediately with something like " That's allright. I understand she is your daughter and your responsibility."

If she says " I might like some ideas," you can come back a little later with some ideas based on Love and Logic principles like choices, consequences and enforcebale statements.

Say, I found some ideas you might be interested in
Some parents use enforceable statements like " I made some cookies. Feel free to have a snack after your clothes are hung up."
Some parents offer choices, they say, "Would you like to put your things away before you snack or would you like to snack now and clean the baking dishes for me afterward?"
Some parents use consequences like telling their kids they are too tired to drive them to soccer practice when they have to pick up after them. They say things like 'I'll be happy to drive you there when the chores are done.'

Rules for grandparents
1. Acknowledge feelings and use empathy when parent or child complain about each other.
2. Always ask permission to give suggestions.
3. Support house rules and ask parents for a signal if you are overstepping.

Remember parents are in charge. No one likes the steering wheel grabbed out of their hands when they are learning to drive.

How to handle common situations with grandchildren.
Watch your tone of voice and volume. Keep it calm and sweet. People remember how you make them feel. Keep it light and they will want to be around you.
A. 2 year old grandchild is hitting your dog with a toy plastic hammer. Take child's hand and sing "Uh-oh, no hitting Fido. Stand right here by me. "
B. 4 yr old drops food all over the floor during the meal. say "I see food on the floor. Can't leave that there." ( hand kid a wet rag with a pleasant voice) "Hey, Timmy, you know how to use this to get up that sticky food? Grandpa will watch you. Go get 'em."
C. 5yr old won't pick up the toys he left out. "Whoa, I see toys on the floor. Grandma might trip on those. Grandpa will ( tell you a story about your dad, get out his guitar, etc, pick something the child likes) as soon as those toys are back in the box. Ready, set, go...!"
D. Kids are bickering. "That arguing hurts Grandpa's ears. Take it outside, boys."
"But, Grandpa, its raining."
"Your choice, argue in the rain or quiet inside. Which one works for you?"
E. 10 yr old lies to you. "Kevin when you lie to me, it drains the energy out of me. I'm going to need to rest up and not go to the fun park like we planned."
F. Kid is begging for a toy in the store. "I can see why a kid would love a toy like that. Do you have the money to buy that? No? Some kids put toys like that on a wish list for birthdays and Christmas. How would that work for you? No? Some kids do extra chores to earn the money. How would that work for you?"
G. Kid won't eat what you cooked. "Dinner is on the table for ten more minutes, get what you need to hold you over until breakfast."

Using choices, enforceable statements and consequences in a loving way, grandparents can enjoy time with grandkids and build good relationships. Don't forget to plan projects together. "Hey, I've got some leaves to rake on Saturday. What do you say to helping me, then we will get some ice cream afterward? "
Long distance grandparents can share memories, stories and support through phone calls, electronic media and packages. I don't know anyone who doesn't like to get packages. Note inside: "I found this book when I was cleaning up. It was your mother's favorite when she was your age. I thought you might like to have it. Enjoy. Love, Grandma."

You can borrow Love and Logic books, tapes and DVD's from our parenting library. You can take classes at our center. You can learn more about Love and Logic, purchase your own materials and download podcasts at www.loveandlogic.com

Around the World - Thailand

2009-06-28T07:22:00.000-07:00

We met four new friends. Four kind Thai students came to share the language, culture and art of Thailand. We played Thai jump rope, made lotus flowers and modeled Thai floral tributes out of clay. We learned about floating markets and beautiful temples. They also brought us some very cool Thai candy! My personal favorite: the Thai elephant song performed by our guests. 43 people came to the Thailand presentation.

Around the World - Korea

2009-06-28T06:16:00.000-07:00

We had wonderful friends from Korea come and share with us June 17 and 18th. A visiting Scientist brought her two daughters in traditional dress along with truly beautiful video of Korea art, culture and traditions. A lady and her son who had lived in Korea had wonderful Korean bilingual picture books and lovely objects to share. One of our friends showed us how the traditional Korean dress is worn and just how the bow is tied. We made Taeguk fans which show the origin of the universe. We made little jaegi ( a sort of Korean Hackie-sack) and played jaegi chagi. We painted Korean theater masks and kids always love to paint. How do we look? We listened to our guests sing the beautiful Arirang, the famous Korean folk song. My favorite story was Bee Bim Bop, a rhyming story that teaches how to make a favorite traditional food of Korea. 35 people came.

Around the World- Japan

2009-06-28T05:55:00.000-07:00

Next we went to Japan. We learned a little Japanese. Listened to favorite folk stories and sang folk songs and created some of the most beautiful crafts. We dressed up in Japanese traditional costumes. We made little kimono dolls made from wooden ice cream spoons and wallpaper samples. We made the most lovely origami pinwheels I have ever seen out of double sided scrapbook paper. And we did lots of origami. 28 people came to Japan presentations.

My favorite were the beautiful carp kites we made from paper with open mouths twirling from a stick with string. They were magical.

Around the World-Phillipines

2009-06-28T05:39:00.000-07:00

On Friday June 12, we went to the Phillipines. We had the help of two people who had lived there and spoke Tagalog and one lady who had beautiful collection of clothes from there. Some folks generously loaned some beautiful woven items including a museum quality backpack made waterproof with smoked pine needles. The two highlights from that day were probably five strand weaving craft, which the kids were wild about and learning to dance the challenging Tinikling, the rhythmic bamboo stick dance.
31 people came to this presentation.

It is not as easy as this young lady made it look!

More China

2009-06-26T04:22:00.000-07:00

We made paper dragon boats, Chinese lions, played Eagle and Chicken Game, and learned to count to ten in Madarin. We listened to stories that are the favorite of children in China. And we heard some classic Chinese music. Twirling and making patterns with the ribbon sticks with Chinese festival music was so much fun, we did it all three days we visited China. Learning to count to ten in Mandarin was fun!

Around the World in 80 Days

2009-06-26T04:03:00.000-07:00

Summer fun has begun at the center! We have started our free program for families. We are headed on a trip around the world with games, stories, music, songs, language and crafts. The interns and I carefully planned each activity and we open the center from 1pm to 3:30 to anyone who would like to come Tuesday through Friday. We asked students at the Utah State University and other community members to help us. The result has been amazing. Around 250 people have come so far.
We began our trip with China the first week in June. Six Chinese students volunteered to share their culture. Here are the results.
The children learned to write Chinese characters and made paper lanterns. 53 persons came to presentations on China.

Ready, Set, School Bags are a big hit

2009-01-12T14:19:00.001-08:00

Most of our patrons know that we help parents of pre-school children get their kids ready for kindergarten entrance. We use a do-it-yourself pre-school program called Ready! Set! School! designed by the Utah PTA and the Family Centers using the Utah State Office of Education Kindergarten readiness guidelines.
The program is so parent friendly! It has twenty easy lessons any parent can do with their child. There is even a DVD to show you how. Thanks to the generosity of sponsors we are able to offer a wonderful kit to families using the program. The spiral books are donated by a federal PIRC grant. The kit contains a spiral bound flip book with the lessons, a folder with a personalized name practice writing papers, an extra thick pre-K pencil and sharpener, box of eight washable crayons, a glue stick, blunt tipped scissors and an eraser. All in a beautiful cloth bag with handles. We are giving this kit free to those who sign up for the program. You can do the lessons at our center or at home, it doesn't matter. They have been going like hotcakes. Since August we have had around 120 children sign up.
LDS humanitarian donated 100 bags and filled fifty plus of them. They also donated the fabric and we have had community members sew more. Smith's marketplace donated scissors and pencils and we still need more.
If your group or business would like to help us with bags or supplies, we really need them! We have estimated we will need 300 more bags in 2009.

Home Organization

2008-10-17T06:02:00.000-07:00

Our director had a great time at the American Mothers International of Cache Valley annual mini-conference held last Saturday October 12 in River Heights. It looks like a lot of you did too as she counted over 250 moms there! AMI is a national non-denominational organization of dedicated mothers and fathers who help each other with mutual support and share problem solving ideas. Check their utah website at www.amiutah.org
At this mini-conference which ran from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm, three of the daughters of musical Ceceila Benson performed songs from "Up! Kind of Day" a CD to help families get their chores and routines down with music. This was not only effective but tons of fun. This led to checking out the CD producer the Fly Lady who has a fabulous website and great ideas for getting things done with fun. If you are looking for home organization and family cooperation ideas, this is your website! Check out : www.flylady.net

Mother Stress

2008-10-16T10:42:00.000-07:00

Mother's stress is different than job stress. Job stress you can leave at the office, mother stress can be 24-7 with sleep deprivation besides! Today Christine Blackham gave us a quick lesson on stress management for moms.
What is stress?
It's a feeling of emotional or physical tension.

How do you recognize warning signs of stress?
There are many types and its different for each person. Some common signs are irritabilty, neck or back tension, headaches or stomaches, trouble sleeping, eating when not hungry, digestive troubles, noises irritate you, nervous habits, etc.

When mom notices stress warning signs in herself, it's good to have some stress relieving techniques ready to help before it gets too bad.

What are the ten top stress relievers?

1. Breathing exercises
2. Meditation
3. Guided Imagery
4. Visualizations
5. Self-Hypnosis
6. Exercise
7. Progressive-muscle relaxation
8. Massage
9. Music
10. Yoga

Chose three things you will try to manage stress.

More ideas on http://stress.about.com/od/generaltechniques/tp/toptensionacts.htm

Other practical things moms can do:

Make an effort to stop negative thoughts
Plan some fun
Refocus the negative into the positive
Take a break
Think positively

For other ways to manage stress check out:
http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/parenting/stress.shtml

Emotion Coaching

2008-10-15T09:34:00.000-07:00

This morning we had a class in Emotion Coaching. Janae Bedke was our teacher.
Emotion Coaching is helping children understand different feelings they experience and why they feel them and how to handle them. Parents who become skilled at emotion coaching help build strong bonds with their children. Kids who have emotion coaching have fewer behavioral problems, are more aware of others and get along better in social and family situations.
Janae taught us five steps:

1. Emotional Awareness

Parent looks for clues in make believe play and child's dreams.
Parent is aware of child's emotions through watching the child.
Parent is aware of own emotions

2. Using emotion as a chance for bonding and teaching

Parent has a good attitude- emotional moments are chance to bond with child
Parent shows patience, interest, and willingness to join a child in feeling.

3. Parent listens with empathy and acknowledges the child's feelings

Children are looking for empathy
Instead of telling him how he should be feeling ask him how he is feeling

4. Labeling Emotions

Identify emotions together at a young age, even before children can talk
Name the emotion

5. Setting limits while helping the child problem solve.

Setting limits is the first part of problem solving
Child's feelings aren't problems, reaction can be. Like hitting when angry.
Help the child find a solution.

We broke into groups to work on typical problem scenarios. We looked at wrong parent responses, identified parent's agenda, child feelings and worked on creating better responses. Janae challenged us to chose a step of emotion coaching that we would like to become strong in and work on it. She showed us a great website with interactive videos on emotion coaching and other parent tips. If you would like more information, check out http://www.talaris.org
At our center you can check out John Gottman's book "Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child" or the DVD of Dr Gottman explaining the book and his research. Kim won a free copy of the book in the drawing. Congratulations, Kim!

Ready! Set! School!

2008-10-12T19:34:00.000-07:00

Preschool children ages 3-5 and their parents can come to the center on Wednesday or Thursday mornings to work on important Kindergarten readiness skills. This past week we worked on learning how to use scissors and glue. We made collages about our favorite things.
Our teacher Tia and friendly parents help children learn. Tia read us a story about being brave and getting ready for school. "The Kissing Hand"

Love and Logic Parenting

2008-10-10T15:33:00.000-07:00

We offer free Parenting classes at the center. People ask me "I keep hearing about Love and Logic parenting, but what is it?" Parents wonder if it will work for their families.
This is what I tell them.
Love and Logic parenting is a way of parenting that assumes children will learn from making decisions and having the natural consequences of those decisions. It says that it is important for children to learn the importance of choices young, when the consequences are not so bad, but enough to make kids think about what they are doing.
Love and Logic teaches parents that there are three kinds of parents:

Drill Sergeants, who are in charge of everything and do a lot of yelling, as a result children either obey or rebel, but they seldom learn to think for themselves.
Helicopter Parents, who hover over children keeping them from suffering the consequences of their choices. Their kids expect to be rescued even as adults.
Consultant Parents, who help kids grow up to be thinking and responsible adults. Their job is to provide love and empathy and let the consequences do the teaching.

Way back in time when most families had near non-stop responsibilities just to stay alive, children learned about natural consequences almost from birth. Unfed animals got sick, things left out in the cold froze, un-watered crops died and unharvested food was unavailable to eat. Modern life and abundance has shielded our kids from much of these learning opportunities. Modern parents need to find a way to help kids take responsibility for choices. This skill will help them have happier and more productive lives.
A side benefit of Love and Logic Parenting is that it is easy to learn and apply and keeps parents from falling into the parent traps of yelling, sarcasm, criticism, comparing, anger, lecturing, demeaning, etc directed at our children which make the child focus on parent emotions instead of his own poor decisions.
When you finish a Love and Logic course you will have some important skills that will keep you calm in hot situations and guide your children to make good choices.
During October we have a class going on Wednesday evenings from 7-9pm. We have two more sessions scheduled for October 15 and 22. You are welcome to join us!

Talk to your Teens

2008-10-07T19:11:00.000-07:00

This evening we had a great class by Natalie Woodbury on Communicating with Teenagers. She offered these ten great tips:
1. Teens naturally communicate less with their parents than they did when they did when they were children, don't overreact.
2. Listen
3. Stop what you are doing, look at them, and pay attention.
4. Most of your communication should be positive , not negative.
5. Talk to them about their interests. Talk to them when you're not trying to make a point or teach them something. Talk to them just to talk to them.
6. Avoid talking too much.
7. Try to understand their feelings.
8. Don't overreact to what is said. Don't say "no" too fast.
9. Create situations where communication can occur. Be physically close to them. Do things with them.
10. Try to avoid power struggles, confrontation and arguing matches.

Communication is a two way street. Often, the reason teenagers cite for not talking with their parents is that we just don't listen. Distracted parents, please stop and listen.

The participants listed things parents do well and things they could improve.

Some things parents do well:
Supportive of teen's activities
Stayed up late and waited for teens.
Never held grudges even if teen was out of line.
Were a good example to teen,they led good lives.
Open communicators, even teen's friends liked to talk to them.
Let the teens make some descisions

Things they could have improved:
Overreacted to teen's behavior
Want to know too much
Told others what teen told them
Didn't listen, parents were too busy
Not giving themselves enough credit.
Did not trust teen

Natalie gave us some helpful hints how parents can overcome these barriers.
Say "Do you want to talk?" If the answer is 'no', you need to respect that. Say "OK, but I'm here when you need me to listen",
Fight fair. Don't bring up the past or embarrass them in front of their peers. Discuss problems when you are calm.
It's OK to say "I don't know" and "let's find out together".
Be encouraging and positive. If they are upset you can say "Are you OK?"
Give your whole attention.
Check out this website http://life.familyeducation.com for more info
Thanks, Natalie for a great class!

Fun at the Family Center

2008-10-01T19:15:00.000-07:00

Ready! Set! School! class today learned about "My Little Muscles" and parents learned about how to help kids develop fine muscle coordination. We're going to need that for writing some day! We did some very fun finger painting and made paper plate pumpkins. It was fun.

Parents from Bear River Head Start came to learn about our center and how to sign up for classes and check out books and toys.

Let's Begin

2008-09-25T15:32:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to begin this blog of the Logan Family Center in beautiful Cache Valley, Utah. The Logan Family Center, also called the Cache Valley Family Center, is an affiliate of the Utah Family Partnership Network and one of nine centers in the state of Utah dedicated to helping families succeed. We are a non-profit organization first funded by a federal PIRC (Parent Information Resource Center) grant . Each center in the state is different because each center is defined by the needs of its community. We are here in Cache Valley, an alpine valley not far from the Idaho border and home to Utah State University.
On this blog I will be sharing information and addressing the needs of families in our area. I will be reporting on our activities and programs.
We have enjoyed great support from our school districts (Cache County and Logan City) and Logan City and other community organizations and agencies. So many who care about children know that for children to succeed, families must succeed. Parents are the child's first and most influential teachers. Our object is to strengthen families so they can do that job.
We welcome all families in Cache, Box Elder and Rich Counties to come and enjoy our center and services.