The Courage to Let Go
Albert Einstein once said I am not necessarily smarter, I just stick with the problem longer than anyone else. It can be difficult to watch your child muddle through a problem on her own, particularly when we, as the adult, have the know-how and resources to solve it quickly. We believe we are saving her pain and frustration, and that this in turn will foster esteem. The reality is if we step in with our solutions each time our child faces a bump, we are sabotaging resiliency and reinforcing the feeling that she is not capable of solving it on her own. Instead of fostering esteem, it fosters passivity: someone else can do it better, faster, smarter than me. Feeling left out socially, problem solving at school, or learning a new activity, asks us to let of certainties, of things we are good at, and stretch for answers over and over again when they elude us. The only way to develop lifelong tools for success and creative problem solving is with practice.
The Way From Here
- Nancy
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The Way From Here: Essays from the Mudpies Files:
These essays and journal entries reflect the lurching, joyous process of raising four children. It is a place where terrible birthday parties are thrown, tempers are lost and found, and the ways of a child bring the whole world into perspective.
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10 Ways to Let Go
Speeches
- Why is resiliency a critical life skill?
- How can we raise creative kids in a hurried world?
- What can families do to reclaim time for joy and connection?
- Why does too much choice diminish a child's life?
- How does spending time outdoors make healthier, smarter children?
Workshops
- Recycled Art
- Earthquake Exploration
- If the World Were a Cookie
- Things That Fly
- Discovering the Pop and Fizz in Science
Lotions, Potions, and Slime Mudpies and More
Lotions Potions and Slime is filled with the kind of projects kids love: slippery science, potions to paint with, recipes for bath time. We don't have fond childhood memories of the sparkling clean house, we remember the handmade volcanoes and butterfly mudpies!
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Go Outside!
The outdoors is one of the finest places for making childhood memories. Time spent out the back door is better than TV, better than computer games, and Go Outside! is filled with over 130 activities for outdoor adventures.
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