Wishing You Peace and Hope!

Dear Friends,

     Jane Addams wrote in her book, Peace and Bread in Time of War (1922),  "... From the time we were little children we have, all of us, at moments at least, cherished overwhelming desires to be of use in the great world, to play a conscious part in its progress."
     We all have hope that we can achieve our goals and in the process, make the world a better place.  In her book, Jane Addams talked about how people could help bring about world peace by doing simple things, like making, baking, and serving bread in thoughtful, caring, and loving ways.
     She believed that if everyone made bread with tenderness and care that this bread would nourish everyone, not only physically but emotionally too.  She believed that small, humble actions had the potential to create a ripple effect and in turn, bring peace to many people throughout the world.  That is a lot to think about!
     We know that all of our actions matter.  Even the small things we do like smiling, breathing, playing, eating mindfully, and setting goals can make a positive difference in the world.  Trust that in this New Year, you will continue to bring peace to others, just by being yourself and doing small things with care.  Know that you matter, you are important, and you make a positive difference!  Thank you for being you!

Wishing you every peace and hope in the New Year.  Happy 2013!
Sincerely,
Kimberly Borin

Mural by Kimberly Ann Borin, Photo by Kimberly Ann Borin

Resources for You

Dear Friends,

     In the coming days, you may feel overwhelmed with what is happening in the news about the incident in Connecticut.  Your children may also have many questions about what is happening and why - and how their lives are affected by what they are seeing or hearing.

     These tragedies are incomprehensible - leaving us with more questions than answers - and often in shock.  Below are some resources on helping children learn to deal with and process this situation.  Please know that everyone is here for you as we move forward to understand and process what has happened.

Wishing you every comfort,
Kimberly Borin

• The Holland Sentinal, "Helping Children Deal With and Understand Crisis": http://www.hollandsentinel.com/news/x1665849680/Help-children-deal-with-understand-crisis
• Kids in Crisis Organization: http://www.kidsincrisis.org
• American Academy of Pediatrics: http://www.healthychildren.org/English/news/Pages/AAP-Offers-Resources-to-Help-Parents,-Children-and-Others-Cope-in-the-Aftermath-of-School-Shootings.aspx
• American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, "Talking to Children About Community Violence": http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/resources_for_families/talking_to_children_about_community_violence
• Public Broadcasting System, "Talking with Kids about the News": http://www.pbs.org/parents/talkingwithkids/news/
• American School Counselor Association - "Helping Kids During Crisis": http://www.schoolcounselor.org/content.asp?contentid=672
• National PTA – "Discussing Hate and Violence with Your Children": http://www.pta.org/programs/content.cfm?ItemNumber=985
• The National Traumatic Stress Network: http://www.nctsn.org/trauma-types/natural-disasters
• Celebrate Life-Long Learning Blog Post about "Helping Children Deal with Crisis": http://celebratelifelonglearning.blogspot.com/2011/08/helping-children-deal-with-crisis-and.html

5 Techniques to Strengthen Memory

5 Techniques to Strengthen Memory

1.   Repetition: Look at it, say it aloud and write it – many times.

2.   Association: Connect something you already know into groupings or relate unknown ideas to something you already know.

3.   Application: Apply the new information in a way that makes sense (to self, the world, etc.)

4.   Visualization: Create a mental image

5.   Mnemonics – tricks to recall (rhymes, songs, acronyms, abbreviations, silly sentences, etc)