The first seven years of a child's life are magical. Children under the age of seven live in the protective cloak of their imagination, and if sheltered from television, media and what can sometimes be termed as "burdensome" information, they can genuinely engage in the most elaborate of play where limitless ideas and images color the interior and exterior of their existence.



Parents of children this age should not underestimate the power and importance of this precious time, and keep in mind that children will have their whole lives to interface with the "real" world. This phase of life is critical for grounding the child in their own sense of self, and in allowing them the opportunity to build and grow and create an idea from scratch. Through imagination is the power to problem solve, the ability to design elaborate playscape's and encourage story telling. Images, colors, and fantasy will take root in their cognitive minds and they will be able to retrieve it and exercise this muscle for the rest of their lives.

It's often difficult as parents to resist the urge to occupy your children in front of the TV. Just like sleep training, helping them build their ability to entertain themselves is one that takes a little bit of time, and patience.

Here are my suggestions for unplugging and getting imaginative juices flowing with your children:

1. Use an open area like your living room and set up baskets or use shelving to display "a few" toys at a time. Essentials for fostering their imagination are toys such as blocks, building bricks, play silks, crayons, paper, and small pieces of furniture that can be moved, and used by them.

2. While you are in the kitchen preparing dinner or doing some household tasks just "hang around" without getting too involved. Put some classical or light music in the CD player or on the itunes and see what happens.

3. You can always start them off by telling them an imaginative story and then suggesting that they continue it. My daughter is very intrigued with Little House on the Prairie, and I read her a chapter at a time. She loves pretending she is like Laura Ingalls and loves to pretend she is going to school etc. Her brother just follows her lead.

4. I often notice that they want to build forts and caverns, and as I watch the pillows from the couch and the play silks and sheets get used for all kinds of interesting uses. Ships, birds nests, caves, houses, and invisible towns take shape in their play. Stones turn into money, and empty baskets turn into sailing vessels for stuffed animals.

As a parent your role is to simply observe and step in obviously if it looks like someone is getting hurt, but if left alone, you would be surprised at how quickly a squabble will be resolved on their own, as they genuinely love this experience and want to work through the dynamics of this type of play with each other. They will easily find their ryhthms with each other and get better at working things out.

Imagination is a beautiful thing, and will make your children have a more rich and engaging mind for problem solving in the future if encouraged!

For more on kid friendly tips, visit EarthSavers.Typepad.com

Many of you have heard about my own personal battle with "giblets" mentioned in one or several of my earlier posts. FYI: IF YOU HAVE KIDS...YOU HAVE GIBLETS. They are the little "things" that kids somehow aquire, are attracted to, and have utterly no value. You can't sell them, you can't eat them, you can't seem to ever get rid of them.


Photo by: Dusty 73

My Definition (and I am thinking Wikapedia should define it this way) : Giblets are usually the size of or a little bit bigger than a marble. They float around the house without a home, and they "junk up" drawers, counter tops, and litter the bottom of toy baskets. They are the undefinables...the bat with out a cave, the beach without a wave. The onsie's of toys that somehow lose their other parts and haunt the house with their tiny insignificance!
They come in the form of but are not relegated to: stones, legs, plastic gumball toys, shells, bit's bouables, broken do-dad's, buttons, marbles, and game pieces etc. etc. etc.

If you want to have some fun with the kids and save your sanity too on a rainy day? Here is what you should do!!!! More...

The economic climate is grim for so many of us, and I personally can't bear to see the cover of the daily news each morning. The year 2008 has made history on so many levels, both elating and sobering, and "change" is in the air.




Change has a humbling effect on us. It makes us vulnerable, thoughtful, hopeful, and sometimes fearful of what the future brings. To stay "present" is the golden key to unlocking consciousness; NOW is all we have and although keeping an eye toward the future is sometimes necessary, it's a challenge to remain in a head space that allows for balance between the two. More...

I’m happy to have the opportunity to learn from and share with all of you - and I’m honored to be the first guy blogger on The Green Girls.tv! One of the great things about blogging is that you get to write about whatever excites you. Most of my passions are simple, including the one I’m writing about today: beverages.

Yep, whether it’s a cold beer at the end of a long day, refreshing gulp of water, or wine paired with an exquisite (or not) meal – there’s nothing quite like a nice beverage.

So what makes a beverage green? Organic options are becoming more common. These are easier on the environment because they don’t use chemical fertilizers and pesticides. But what about distribution; are there greener options to shipping your favorite beverage?

Enter Fair Wind Wine. These winemakers from the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France have chosen to chip their wines the old fashioned way – by sail. Sure, it takes a week or so longer to reach the UK, but doesn’t wine improve with age, anyway? Not to mention the renaissance-era romanticism that comes from knowing your fine French wine arrived by the grace of the wind gods.

 Arrival in Dublin, Ireland.

A tasting room with a view that can't be beat.

It’s a sailor’s life for me.

Beer drinks need not worry – there are environmentally conscious choices in that isle, too! A growing number of breweries are opting for a more sustainable method of production – renewable energy. Anderson Valley Brewery (makers of the oh-so-delicious Boont Amber Ale and Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout) installed 768 solar panels on their roof which cut their energy bill in half. Sierra Nevada, another Californian favorite, also has a solar system and is a leader in water conservation and energy efficiency – even going so far as to use brewery waste to generate methane! But all the green action isn’t confined to California. Oregon’s Lucky Labrador Brewing Company uses the sun’s heat to warm their hot water tanks, and two-year-old Twin Lakes Brewery in Delaware is starting sustainably with photovoltaic panels that provide almost a third of their power.

Packaging is another important avenue for reducing impact. Despite the stigma of boxed wine in the U.S. (thank you, Franzia), these easy to carry cardboard packages are making a comeback. One of my personal favorites, Green Path, can be found at Whole Foods. One added bonus: boxes are 1L instead of the standard 750 ml in a bottle – so you get an extra 33% of wine as a reward for thinking green.

As for non-alcoholic beverages, it’s best to steer clear of carbonated soft drinks. This is for several reasons: carbonated beverages need thicker containers, and to produce them it takes lots of chemicals, dyes, water, and – you guessed it – lots of high fructose corn syrup. Not only is this not a good choice for your body, but corn farming uses fertilizers, pesticides, and again – lots of water. In fact, so many fertilizers are used that the runoff has created an 8,000 square mile ‘dead zone’ in the Gulf of Mexico where nothing can survive. Water and milk are better options, a recent WSJ article found that about 7.2 lbs of carbon are emitted for a half gallon of cow juice. Better yet, blend your own fruit juice at home using the bounty from your last trip to the farmer’s market.

Whatever beverage you choose, next time you relax and enjoy it, take a moment to imagine everything that’s happened behind the scenes to get it to your fridge – a sustainable beverage provides refreshment and food for thought!

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A surprising burst of flavor & kick, Pace introduces the Roasted Sugar Pumpkin Crescents with Minted Coconut Sauce recipe.


 

Ingredients:

 
Method:

Wine Tip:

The crispness and slightly fruity notes of the Red Truck Sauvignon Blanc 2007 is a welcome refresher to the bite of the cayenne pepper in this recipe.

Tidbits:

Pumpkins are a great source of digestive enzymes.


Delicious enough to share?   For more recipes by Pace, visit http://tasteofpace.blogspot.com/