Growing up/Growing apart
Growing up doesn’t have to mean growing apart. It can mean growing stronger and more connected, together.
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Category: Learning Within Community
Reading to your Teenager: For the love of books
Reading aloud is a pleasurable activity for both reader and listener. So why stop? As one mom shares, even teens can enjoy the read-aloud experience, and “the connections you make, as you read aloud, last a lifetime, for both of you.”
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Becoming the story: Reading aloud with Shakespeare
One of the best, and most fun, ways to get kids actively engaged in reading is through drama. For older readers, reading stories and plays aloud– and acting them out– helps master the finer skills needed for true literacy. It also encourages a love for the sound and rhythm of the words. We see this firsthand at Sunflower in our We Love Shakespeare! class.
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Sunflower and Neapolitan Ice Cream: Trinities of Bliss
What do Neapolitan ice cream and Sunflower Creative Arts have in common? They both offer a trinity of bliss for parents. Sunflower mom Sophie Evans cracks open a tub of Sunflowery goodness and tells the story of what drew her to our programs in the first place – and what keeps her coming back.
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Things we take and things we leave behind
“Are we gonna take this tree with us to the new Sunflower house, Susan?”
A three-year-old in our Seedlings program puts his finger on a tall Florida live oak as he waits for my reply.
The next half hour is spent with a very serious crew of three- to six-year-olds, pointing and talking about all the things we will take and which things we will leave behind when Sunflower moves to our new home in Delray this fall.
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The song my heart had been singing…
I sat and listened to these women, all with the same concerns I had as a parent. Then I listened to the thoughtful words Susan used to encourage and uplift these women, and I thought, “Wow, they really get me.” It was as if they’d torn a page from my book. From the moment I stepped foot into Sunflower that first day, I knew I belonged here, and I would do anything I had to do to be here, as long and as often as possible.
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Finding Your Mom Friends
If a mother-to-be asked me for parenting advice, one of things at the top of my list would be “find good mom friends.”
I lucked out in this department. When my older son was born, I was a stay-at-home mom, so I was able to devote a lot of time to nurturing my friendships, as well as nurturing my baby. I met friends at La Leche League, at swim lessons, through a moms’ group and at Sunflower. Eight years later, I still count those moms among my closest friends.
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How do we find our “people?” Our place, our community?
We originally published this post by Susan on Sunflower Blog back in 2012. As we look forward to moving to our new home in Delray Beach, Fla., at the end of this summer, we thought it would be fun to look back again at our roots. This is the story of how and why Sunflower Creative Arts came to exist over 22 years ago. Not surprisingly – especially for those of us who’ve found family and best friends and kindred spirits at Sunflower – it all began with a personal search for community…
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The Truth About “Ouch!”
Talking with children about physical pain can be especially difficult – but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, teaching children to understand and cope with common pain experiences (like skinned knees, unexpected tumbles or vaccination shots) can truly enhance their development. Here are some direct and simple ways to explore this topic with the children in your life.
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The Trust Tree
We allow our children to feel their emotions, but do we do that with ourselves? Do we parents respect ourselves enough to accept and acknowledge our own feelings of sadness, anger, guilt and loneliness?
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