Last week, we shared some ways that both your child and you can clear up your "monkey minds," and cultivate calm. Here are a few more resources to help in the battle for a calmer mind.

For more information on practicing mindfulness with children, check out Mindful Kids and Inner Kids (FYI - Inner Kids requires registration).


The following books are also good resources.
The Mindful Child by Susan Kaiser Greenland
Teaching Mediation to Children by David Fontana and Ingrid Slack
Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness: A Guide for Anyone Who Teaches Anything by Deborah Schoeberlein with Suki Sheth, PhD
Take the Time: Mindfulness for Kids by Maude Roegiers

And, of course, please check out Monkey Mind Pirates!

Springtime -- when the world wakes up from her winter slumber and becomes fresh and new again!  Spring is also a great time to set new family goals.  You might want to focus on:

Healthy Food

• Eat your homegrown veggies this summer!  Now's the time to plant vegetables -- depending on the weather, either seeds in small containers in the house, or small plants outside in containers or in the yard.  It's a fun learning adventure to nurture seeds and watch them grow! 
• Cook up a storm!  Plan the menu, shop for the ingredients (or pick them from your garden), cook the meal and eat together as a family.  Children often eat better when they help create the meal and then share it with their family. 

Outdoor Exercise

• Go for frequent family walks.  Count the number of flowers poking their heads out of the dirt.  How many different colors do you see? 
• Turn off the TV, go outside, and kick around a soccer ball.  Studies show that obesity in children increases the more hours they watch TV (Crespo, 2001). 
• Spring winds help warm the Earth and make great kite-flying adventures.  Pack a picnic lunch, grab your kite and head to the park for an afternoon of family fun!

• The best way to wind down after a fun day (or even a not-so-fun day) is to climb into bed and read books before falling asleep.  This routine calms everyone down and creates a positive, loving way to end each day.

• Recommended Books
• Spring Has Sprung -- Bear in the Big Blue House by Kiki Thorpe
• Henry and Mudge in Puddle Trouble by Cynthia Rylant
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

What kinds of things are you working on in your family this spring? Do you have more great spring reads to suggest?

Judy Schumacher
Director of Education, Minnesota Children's Museum

More and more research shows that family meals have numerous benefits. According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, children and teens whose families have frequent family dinners are:

• At lower risk for substance abuse
• Less likely to try cigarettes
• Less likely to try marijuana
• Less likely to try alcohol or get drunk monthly
• Likely to get better grades in school

Project EAT (Eating Among Teens) at the University of Minnesota found that family meals were associated with better intakes of fruits, vegetables, grains, calcium-rich foods and many other nutrients. They found that family meals were also associated with a lower intake of soft drinks and snack foods, and that girls who ate more frequent family meals exhibited less disordered eating such as extreme dieting behaviors and binge eating.

Start your family tradition of eating together when your children are young. Most families come together over a meal at dinnertime, but some find that breakfast works better for them. Turn off the television and other distractions (no cell phone conversations!) and focus on talking with each other. Children will learn a larger vocabulary, learn how to take turns, and hone other social skills. They will also learn about how the world works and how their parents feel about various issues.

You'll want to serve a variety of good foods, but there's no need to make the meal too elaborate. Involve your children in the meal preparation -- they may be more willing to eat something new when they help. Develop your own rituals and routines -- maybe pizza every Sunday evening, or a "breakfast" menu (such as pancakes fruit and sausage) served as dinner once a month. Kids will look forward to these special events (and remind you if you forget!).

Esther Schak,
Parent Educator, Saint Paul ECFE

Spring break is a great opportunity to focus on family time and take a real "break" from the normal busy schedule. Some families are able to travel, which is ideal for special activities. In our present economy, however, fewer people are traveling away from home. This is when fun, creative ideas for activities at home come in handy!

Depending on the weather, outdoor activities are fun -- and family exercise is good for everyone!

• Walk to the park and scavenger hunt for winter nature items; look for animal tracks in the snow.
• Take water bottles with a squirt top, add water and some food coloring, and head outside for some artwork in the snow!
• Build a snow castle or snow turle -- a mound of snow with legs, head and shell pattern -- and then go inside and have some hot chocolate while you read books.

Bad weather can present indoor opportunities to play board games together or to create simple, inexpensive artwork.

• Use recyclables to create a mobile and hang it in your child's room. Talk about the importance of recycling.
• Curl up and read a chapter book gradually over several days.
• Make homemade play dough and create exciting pieces of art; display them in your home.

As the weather takes a colder turn, Minnesotans might like to hunker down for a long hibernation. Resist the temptation! Keep your family active, no matter the weather, by making a family fitness promise.

Make a list of physical activities your family likes to do together. All family members who agree to participate can sign the promise together and be a member of your Fitness Team. Come up with a team name!

• Go for a family walk around the block. Make the walk into a game where each team member takes turns deciding what kinds of steps, hops, or skips you’ll take.


• Do active household chores together that require steps like raking leaves.


• Draw a crazy path on the sidewalk with chalk where you need to jump, hop, skip and walk at different points, or have a hopscotch marathon.


• Step like a hurrying ant, a lumbering elephant, a prowling tiger or a scared rabbit. Can you think of more fun animal movements?


• March to your favorite music.

Family Fitness Book List
Children’s Book of Yoga, Games and Exercise: Mimic Plants, Animals and Objects, Thia Luby

Five Kids and a Monkey Solve the Great Cupcake Caper, A Learning Adventure About Nutrition and Exercise, Nina Riccio

Minnesotans earn their long summer days after all those winter months. Warm weather means outdoor play for your kids and there are plenty of chances to maximize your children’s outdoor experiences!

-Ask children to compare shapes of leaves, observe the shades of green outside and try matching crayons to them, make a nature collage, or draw animals.

-Dance and movement spark creativity too. dance in the sun and watch the shadows.

-Watch and copy how squirrels and pigeons move.

-Throw leaves in the air and watch them float back down. Drama and role-play inspire imagination.

-Music is often found in the rhythms and sounds of nature. At home, children can listen and imitate sounds like wind, insects, and birds. They can even make musical instruments with natural materials like seeds, pebbles, and sticks.

In Minnesota, we really EARN our summers. Once the weather warms up, everyone's in a better mood and everyone is thinking and living more actively. It's a great time to pick up healthy habits.

There are growing concerns about children’s health today. Reports say nutrition and diets are crumbling, children don’t play outside anymore, and screen time at the computer or television has increased to more than four hours per day. However, you can help your children stay healthy and develop good habits they’ll carry with them into the future by trying a few simple things. Start by helping them participate in fun physical activity for 60 minutes a day. Encourage trying a variety of activities until children find the right activity they love to do. Remember to have fun exercising together. It’s more likely children will increase their activity level and build lifelong healthy habits if everyone is involved and having fun.

Minnesota Children's Museum offers lots of opportunities in all the exhibits for getting the activity children need. Wiggle, jump and hop to music in Our World. Climb, crawl and walk through different surfaces in Habitot. Keep the conveyor-belt moving at World Works. Or crawl around the Ant Hill in Earth World. Being active can be fun anywhere!

How do you encourage your child to keep active? What kinds of things do you as a family to keep health top of mind?