New Endeavors: Please Pardon Our Mess!
The Artful Life: 10 Crafty Tips to Boost a Child’s Self-Confidence and Improve Academic Performance
The Artful Life: 10 Crafty Tips to Boost a Child’s Self-Confidence and Improve Academic Performance: #10
As parents, we strive to help our children grow up to be healthy, productive adults. Times are changing faster than ever, and parents are working harder to make ends meet. With constant introduction to new technology, as individuals and as a family, we have more choices than we’ve ever had before. So how do we stay focused and ensure we give our children the best upbringing possible? In this series we will share some tips we have found that help children develop a positive self image, and encourage success in the classroom.
#10: Hire Them
There’s no better way to learn how to manage money than when you actually have some, and the best way to get money is to earn it. Though their primary needs should be taken care of by the family, how can kids earn some extra cash for those bonus treats they tend to pine for? Hire them. Chores are fine employ: “feeding pets”, “cleaning room,” “taking out trash,” “dishes,” etc. We also think it is great to pay them for a skill they have developed on their own. For example: one of our sons loves to draw comic books. We enjoy reading them and have agreed to purchase newly created comics (though it has to pass a certain level of standards).
Our younger son loves to color. I needed help coloring designs for an Elysian Studios project, and I agreed to pay him to help me develop color schemes. It actually worked out quite well! We also currently have a standing order for a new video to add to the blog, like the one in Tip #9.
If you own your own business, is there something your children could do to be a part of that success? Is there something your kids are extremely talented in which you would be willing to pay them a little to produce a new “product”?
Nothing makes you feel better than when you have been rewarded for your talent. Being able to save up for your own purchase with your own money creates a wonderful feeling of self-sufficiency. Learning how money works is an exercise in mathematics your children will use for the rest of their lives. This is also an excellent way to prepare them for having a career, where pay is a result of a service or product you have provided to your employer/customer.
What are some creative ways your children have earned extra money?
We’ve reached Tip #10! We hope this has provided a few interesting ways to encourage your children to believe in themselves and succeed in school.
Missed earlier tips? Start here
The Artful Life: 10 Crafty Tips to Boost a Child’s Self-Confidence and Improve Academic Performance: #9
As parents, we strive to help our children grow up to be healthy, productive adults. Times are changing faster than ever, and parents are working harder to make ends meet. With constant introduction to new technology, as individuals and as a family, we have more choices than we’ve ever had before. So how do we stay focused and ensure we give our children the best upbringing possible? In this series we will share some tips we have found that help children develop a positive self image, and encourage success in the classroom.
#9: Teach Them How to Create(& fund) Their Own Projects
It’s in the developing stages, but we are teaching our kids how to make movies (this was a clip made by our six year old). We decided to harness all the love of video games and cartoons and channel it into something related, but a bit more productive!
Whether it’s sports, music, school, art, or even TV… figure out your child’s interests (you know, the activities that they keep doing in their free time despite all of your nagging) and build on them. Let’s face it, soon enough they are going to grow up and spend a lot of time away from you. What if you could “get them hooked” on a positive activity now?
For this to work, it has to be something that you guide them to, teach them initially, and then counsel/critique along the way. It may require a bit of research (we had to rely on websites via Google) and it may require going out on a limb (buying materials from a new source or signing up for a new class), but when your child starts creating something unique, the pride you feel will make the trouble worthwhile!
Projects like this are perfect to show off to grandparents, family and friends, but are also perfect for school reports and talent shows! When your kids start to need additional materials for their project, make them save up their own money(we are currently working towards a new cast of Mario plush toys)!
What unique activities has your family participated in? We’d love to share them!
Stay tuned for our final tip, #10, tomorrow!
Missed earlier tips? Start here
The Artful Life: 10 Crafty Tips to Boost a Child’s Self-Confidence and Improve Academic Performance: #8
The Artful Life: 10 Crafty Tips to Boost a Child’s Self-Confidence and Improve Academic Performance: #7
As parents, we strive to help our children grow up to be healthy, productive adults. Times are changing faster than ever, and parents are working harder to make ends meet. With constant introduction to new technology, as individuals and as a family, we have more choices than we’ve ever had before. So how do we stay focused and ensure we give our children the best upbringing possible? In this series we will share some tips we have found that help children develop a positive self image, and encourage success in the classroom.
#7: Give ‘Em a Little Rock ‘n’ Roll
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| Image by Melanie Lauren, via Flickr |
What music are your kids listening to these days? We’re music junkies around here, and always love hearing about new artists! Can your children identify different genres of music (i.e. Classical, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Rap, Country)? Can they sing the words to a few popular songs, or comment on the instruments being played in a particular piece? Do they know the names of different iconic artists, like “The Beatles” “Led Zeppelin” “U2” (or insert your favorite artist here!) My point is, though they are amazingly talented, “The Jonas Brothers”, “Justin Bieber” and “Hannah Montana” don’t really count as a musical education for kids.
Learning to value good music at an early age is important to a child’s development. Plato once said that music “is a more potent instrument than any other for education”. Music uses both sides of the brain, and affects the growth of a child’s brain academically, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Encouraging a child to begin playing an instrument is a wonderful opportunity to provide for them. It teaches self-discipline, perseverance, dexterity, literacy, and develops their auditory skills. Listening to a wide variety of music is also very important. Jam out to some Beatles tunes, get funky with “Beat It” by Michael Jackson, groove to some Herbie Hancock jazz, or relax with a little Chopin…. the possibilities are endless!
What’s your family’s favorite song? Do you have any great stories about your children playing instruments?
Stay tuned for tip #8 tomorrow!
Miss earlier tips? Start here
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The Artful Life: 10 Crafty Tips to Boost a Child’s Self-Confidence and Improve Academic Performance: #6
The Artful Life: 10 Crafty Tips to Boost a Child’s Self-Confidence and Improve Academic Performance: #5
As parents, we strive to help our children grow up to be healthy, productive adults. Times are changing faster than ever, and parents are working harder to make ends meet. With constant introduction to new technology, as individuals and as a family, we have more choices than we’ve ever had before. So how do we stay focused and ensure we give our children the best upbringing possible? In this series we will share some tips we have found that help children develop a positive self image, and encourage success in the classroom.
#5: Volunteer in the Classroom
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| Image by missyxlovesxyou via Flickr |
I am not going to lie to you, this could be one of the most difficult tasks on the list (for us, it’s harder than giving up the cable!) If you have school-age children, one of the most important things you can do is to get yourself into that classroom! Why is this hard? Because when you are dual-income family, there is always work to be done! Even if one of you stays home, there is always work to be done!
However, if you don’t spend time in class, three things don’t happen:
1) Your children don’t see you valuing the time in the classroom. When they see you take time out of your day to assist in their class, they get the message that this is an important place to be!
2) You don’t get to know the teacher and the methods of teaching in the class. Support your teacher, and she/he will support you! This is a very important relationship to have. You will also get a chance to understand the curriculum and the schedule in class.
3) You don’t get to know the other kids in your child’s class. These days, it is getting impossibly hard to have consistent social interaction with classmates outside of school. Kids are busy with all kinds of different activities, and it’s hard to match up schedules. So how do you know how to encourage your child to build relationships if you don’t know who the other kids are? Most kids are great; I love getting to know different children and having the opportunity to work with them. However, some children are a discipline problem in class, and since I know that, I can encourage my child to make different choices. (And when it’s my child acting out-of-line, I can be on top of it!)
How do you get involved with your child’s academic time?
Stay-tuned for tip #6 tomorrow! Did you miss the first tips? Start here
The Artful Life: 10 Crafty Tips to Boost a Child’s Self-Confidence and Improve Academic Performance: #4
The Artful Life: 10 Crafty Tips to Boost a Child’s Self-Confidence and Improve Academic Performance: #3
As parents, we strive to help our children grow up to be healthy, productive adults. Times are changing faster than ever, and parents are working harder to make ends meet. With constant introduction to new technology, as individuals and as a family, we have more choices than we’ve ever had before. So how do we stay focused and ensure we give our children the best upbringing possible? In this series we will share some tips we have found that help children develop a positive self image, and encourage success in the classroom.
#3: Craft with Them
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| Image by bumblesweet via Flickr |
Teaching our kids how to create is one of the most important things we can share with them. Learning how to transfer an idea from the imagination into a finished form using different materials, is a life skill that will always have value! You can read an earlier post here about why Arts Education in schools is so important, but art/crafting is just as important outside of the classroom.
Making things creates a feeling of accomplishment and pride in one’s work. This contributes to a child’s work ethic. Having the patience to see a project to the end, and overcoming different setbacks, develops skills in problem solving and perseverance. Crafting as a family builds relationships as we often encourage each other during the process. It teaches children the value of time, and to appreciate the time that goes into making things. Crafting also fosters a sensibility for gift-giving, as many crafts are perfect for sharing with family and friends! Try homemade salt dough, Shrinky-Dinks, Perler-Beads, or spend an afternoon at your local Paint-It-Yourself pottery studio. See what treasures you can make together!
More crafty sites for kids:
Adorable Crafts by “Lets Go Fly a Kite”
Crafts for boys Share your favorite family crafts (or crafty sites you love to visit)!
Stay tuned for tip #4 tomorrow!
Miss the first tip? Start here
The Artful Life: 10 Crafty Tips to Boost a Child’s Self-Confidence and Improve Academic Performance: #2
The Artful Life: 10 Crafty Tips to Boost a Child’s Self-Confidence and Improve Academic Performance: #1
New Endeavors: Writing an Ebook
This week I started a brand new project, writing my first Ebook. An Ebook, or electronic book, is a book that exists as a file on your computer (often a PDF). The advantage of this is that it allows books to be published more quickly than traditional print books, and it encourages new authors to share their expertise without waiting to be picked up by a publisher. Information in Ebooks can be more up to date, and address a smaller niche market than traditional print books. They also have the benefit of being easily portable, not using paper or shelf space, until the reader decides to print any portion of the book! New to this medium, I have signed up to take a class from the ever-inspiring Diane Gilleland, author of CraftyPod. Having just revamped our computer systems here at Elysian Studios, I am in the process of installing, syncing and learning new programs that will help our studio communicate ideas more efficiently and effectively. I have always dreamed of writing books, so I hope this first publishing adventure won’t be my last!
I am in the research stage at this point, and feel my knowledge base is steeped most in Art and Art History. Though my subject is fairly set, I would like to ask a few questions of my audience, and appreciate any opinions you may have that might be beyond the scope of the questions I provided! If you leave a comment, you will be entered in a chance to win a $10 Starbucks gift card! I will select a winner at random on Mon. January 17. Nothing goes better with a book than a cozy beverage!
Have you ever purchased or downloaded an Ebook? Were you happy with it, and why/why not?
If you haven’t bought an Ebook, do you think you could see yourself buying one, as opposed to a print book? What would be the deciding factor?
Based on the topics you have seen Elysian Studios cover, is there anything you would like to learn more about?
Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a $10 Starbucks gift card….yum!
And the winner is: MY LIFE UNDER THE BUS
Thank you all so much for participating!
Art Tour: Henry Moore at Denver Botanical Gardens
Elysian Studios Welcomes 2011
2010 was the year we decided to take the plunge and get our studio started. Despite feeling the effects of the economic downturn and having no assurance that our hard work would pay off, we committed to forging ahead with our dream of building a design business that focused on many aspects of creative life. Elysian Studios has begun its journey.
“Elysian” (pronounced i-‘li-zhen) means “blissful, delightful” and is “of or relating to Elysium”. In Greek mythology, Elysium was a section of the Underworld, and the Elysian Fields, or the Elysian Plains, were the final resting places of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous. The Avenue des Champs-Élysées, the most prestigious avenue in Paris and one of the most famous streets in the world, is French for “Elysian Fields.” The goal of our studio is to share that blissful, delightful experience of creativity with our audience. From contemporary fine art and art history, to current textile, jewelry and craft trends, we want to facilitate exposure for artists, art communities, creative techniques and aesthetics.
2010 Looking Back…
We now have a social media platform! We are very active in the Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Etsy and LinkedIn communities, and have made some wonderful connections.
We have an inventory! Keeping up with production along with promotion is challenging, but this year we were able to get our painting, textile and jewelry lines started.
We had some sales! It was so exciting to see some of our items included in Treasuries on Etsy, or in tweets by our friends, and we have sent some lovely artwork off to new homes for the New Year!
2011 Looking Ahead…
Social Media: the Blogosphere, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Etsy communities are not only fun, but an amazing resource. We will grow our base and use these tools to help connect artists to each other, and also to share art with other communities. Look for more contests and promotions, as we try to build audience interactivity this year. In addition we will invite more “Featured Artists” to share their inspiring work and stories with us!
Inventory: We are so excited about our “Irreverent Couture” line. We will be producing more jewelry and accessories that push the boundaries between jewelry and textiles! There will also be several new series of paintings. White is going to be a big theme this year. Paintings of Snow/Mountain Sports and Apilco porcelain are in preparation stages.
Involvement: We are members of the Denver Art Museum and DenverEtsy, but will also be joining the Parker Artist’s Guild this year. Volunteering and participating in art events with these local communities will be a big part of our schedule. Our perspective will always be from Colorado, and we want to maintain involvement and share all the great things happening in the art world here!
Family: First and foremost, we are a family-owned business, and will always promote family values. Though we won’t share every cute milestone and goofy photo, we want to encourage creative activities that families can do together. Recipes, crafts, and unique activities will add a little variety to our topics!
HAPPY NEW YEAR, and Welcome 2011!! May you all have a very blessed year, and we look so forward to sharing it with you!
I wrote about thread-painting awhile ago, and am finally back working with the same technique. I am referring to it as “thread sketching” here, because I am only using black and focusing solely on line. These are experimental collage pieces, so nothing was planned in advance.
Adorable Amigurumi, patterns available from Lucy Ravenscar 
