Brian took the girls and went the Christmas outreach at the Bridge; a place our church helps serve food to the needy. I did not get to go because I was working. So, when I saw the pictures of the Christmas outreach at the Bridge, I immediately started looking through them to see if I could spot my family. I found one picture of Katy my youngest with her back turned. But, what I did see were all the happy and smiling faces of the people being served. It got me to thinking how can I re-enforce this lesson to my children. Brian said he had some conversations with the girls afterwards about what it means to be homeless or hungry. These were good conversations Brian had but, I wanted it to go further. I did not want this to be a good memory of us “helping once at Christmas.” Realistically I know that these opportunities do not happen for us often. The kids are in school, I work full time and have a part time job at the church, Brian has a fulltime (plus some) job at the church and part time job in the summer. That does not leave much time for our kids to help and most of the time this event is during school hours. So how do I get the most out of this learning experience? Well I thought they need to re-live it through pictures, I mean we don’t get to do this very often. (Yes I know we should make time in our 36 hour days but that is another blog)
Which brings me to my point, Why is scrapbooking so important? Well Dr. Kenneth Condrell www.drcondrell.com, nationally known child psychologist, family counselor and author says, “In my experience, when parents spend fun and loving time with their children, the children feel valued, desired and special. These feelings pump up a child’s self-esteem. And sharing family photos of special times together is one of the best ways I know to do that.”
A geeky stat from my college days:
Statistics show the retention percentage through sensory perceptions:
11% is retained by hearing only
30% is retained by seeing only
50% is retained by seeing and hearing
70% is retained by seeing, hearing and doing
90% is retained by seeing, hearing, verbalizing and doing.
So, when we get to experience (doing) these life lessons document them in pictures! Then go back and look (seeing) at the pictures talk (hearing) about them to your children. Let your children tell (verbalizing) you what is happening in the pictures. This does not even take into account the benefits of touch, time and bonding. Your child sitting in your lap your, arms around them talking and sharing how you both feel about what they/you did. Just think how much more you and your children will learn from a couple hours serving food.
Which brings me to my point, Why is scrapbooking so important? Well Dr. Kenneth Condrell www.drcondrell.com, nationally known child psychologist, family counselor and author says, “In my experience, when parents spend fun and loving time with their children, the children feel valued, desired and special. These feelings pump up a child’s self-esteem. And sharing family photos of special times together is one of the best ways I know to do that.”
A geeky stat from my college days:
Statistics show the retention percentage through sensory perceptions:
11% is retained by hearing only
30% is retained by seeing only
50% is retained by seeing and hearing
70% is retained by seeing, hearing and doing
90% is retained by seeing, hearing, verbalizing and doing.
So, when we get to experience (doing) these life lessons document them in pictures! Then go back and look (seeing) at the pictures talk (hearing) about them to your children. Let your children tell (verbalizing) you what is happening in the pictures. This does not even take into account the benefits of touch, time and bonding. Your child sitting in your lap your, arms around them talking and sharing how you both feel about what they/you did. Just think how much more you and your children will learn from a couple hours serving food.
