Smile Collage and Books

Together we made a giant smile collage. We used yellow construction paper left over from past projects and any kind of yellow wrappers we could dig out of our clean trash bag. The little man had some nice cutting practice and then indulged his creative side while deciding where to put each piece of paper. Eventually he grew tired of it and I had to fill in a few of the blanks at the end. After a few hours drying we added torn black construction paper for eyes, nose, and smile. He was quite pleased with the end result, and I think hanging it on the wall will be a great reminder for everyone to smile more often.

I also sat down with my son this week and asked him, "What makes you smile?" Immediately he started a surprisingly accurate list and only needed some prompting after a good seven or eight items he thought of on his own. I then took those answers and made it into a personalized book. I plan on continue this activity on a daily basis in hopes of instilling an attitude of gratitude. During his bedtime routine I'll ask, "what made you smile today?" Whatever he shares gets recoded in a small notebook next to his bed. Down the line somewhere I think he'll enjoy reading from this early journal.

I had another book-making brainstorm and intend to create one titled When I Smile.... which emphasizes the positive consequences of smiling. (ie: When I smile I feel happier. When I smile I remind other people to smile. When I smile it's easier to be nice to my friends. When I smile it makes other people happy. etc.)

Smile Collage and Books

http://laugh-learn-love.blogspot.com/2008/05/smile-collage-and-books.html

Smile!

Okay, I have to admit this theme was a bit of a toughie. I didn't know quite what to do, and I had a little too much fun finding cute Mommyfest blogs to do much searching online. Thankfully, something spontaneous happened that really taught my kids about smiling and feeling happy.

First of all, I explained how smiling requires fewer muscles than frowning, so technically it is easier to smile. We also sang the "If you chance to meet a frown" song. But it's what happened yesterday afternoon that took the cake.

My boys and I were going to meet their dad for lunch at his office on campus. The parking lot is a 10 minute walk away from his office; we always enjoy the walk. Today, my 5 year old wanted to wear his Batman costume to show it off to his dad. You see, he got a cape for his birthday. Then yesterday morning at Super Wal-Mart we found a Batman mask that, in itself, put a giant smile on his face. So he wanted to show it off to his dad. Who am I to tell him he can't wear it to see his dad? So we walked the 10 minute walk on a college campus with E. looking like this:
Every person who walked by smiled. Some laughed. One woman said, "Hey Batman!" He was so proud. We talked about how his costume made so many people smile, and how he helped make their day. He felt happy when he made people smile, and we feel good inside when we feel happy. So he understood a little better about emotions, and how what he does affects others. It was a good lesson!

Smile!

http://laugh-learn-love.blogspot.com/2008/05/smile.html

Theme of the Week Challenge

I'm taking a different approach to the theme of the week; no stories, no suggestions, no links, no hints as to my later posts. I'm giving it to you raw in anticipation of what you are going to share with us. This week's theme: Smile.

Theme of the Week Challenge

http://laugh-learn-love.blogspot.com/2008/05/theme-of-week-challenge_12.html