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Posted Oct. 16, 2024
I Can't Hear You
The power of words is beyond measure. Words can inspire us, tease us, and manipulate us. They are powerful.
Inspiring kids to love reading will change their lives – every day! So how do we do that
“Inspiration?” Read to them – out loud – every day! I am passionate about the power of play
to create happy kids. My second passion has to be reading.
My friend and neighbor, Sarah
Laucks, is also passionate about reading and kids. I asked her to give me a list of great
read-aloud books for kids. She went
way beyond my request..........
Posted Sept. 8, 2024
Touch My Heart
The young man was on his first mission trip and had no idea what to expect.
On his first day, what would happen? He was promptly sent to a field hospital.
The nurse grabbed him as he walked into the door. “We’ve been waiting for you!”
She escorted him to a back tent, stripped his shirt off, and thrust a newborn
into his hands. “Just hold him against your chest.” He didn’t understand but did
as he was told. Later the nurse had a chance to sit next to him and explained.
“You can give a baby perfect medical care and excellent nutrition. It will die
if left in a crib.
It needs the human touch to know that.........
Posted Aug. 25, 2024
I Forgot About That
“I have said that many times when talking about the early days of my kids growing up.”
Life is slipping by, often out of our grasp. We lived it, but have we captured it? Maybe
it wasn’t worth capturing, but that’s another story.
It’s a new school year, a marker in our life. The end of summer run-around and the
beginning of a beautiful fall. How about starting a new passion? Try to capture the
moments of your life before they flee away. Grab a pen and let’s go after them.
As the day winds
down, a quiet time helps.........
Posted July 20, 2024
I Love My Cell
“I love the routine. Every day I am awakened at 6:30. Breakfast is at 7 AM. I visit with my
cellmates over breakfast. We all know the days’ routine. It’s an easy life. You soon learn
who you can talk to and which people are mentally unstable, and you should avoid. There
are no bills to pay and a warm place to sleep at night. Clothes are free and there’s even
an on-site store. I really don’t want to leave.”
“This is much better than living on the street. Those people are crazy. The addictions
they have are all over the place.
Some are already zombies.........
Posted July 3, 2024
Fear Not
This is my first guest editorial. Annie and I were talking at Discovery Park a couple of
weeks ago and she shared an event that her family organized earlier in the year. I wanted
everyone to hear her story. I challenged her to share her story, but Annie said “No way”.
“I went into graphic design because I hated math and writing.” Annie – you knocked it out
of the park! What a great article and idea!
“The world is a more dangerous and a more lonely place – or so I am told. But that has not been my experience.
Am I just lucky? Am I privileged? As they say, “Hard work puts you
where good luck can find you.” My greatest privilege
is to live in the United States........
Posted June 29, 2024
My Accidental Job
It was 1971 and I had a job lined up that summer to work with my uncle. I didn’t happen.
The project he was anticipating fell through. I was now jobless.
So, I went to see my girlfriend who was a waitress in the Silver Dollar Saloon at
Cedar Point. She talked me into stopping at the employment office to see if they needed
help. YES – be here Monday morning at 8am (but I would have to shave my beard and cut
my long hair – hippie stuff). Was this girlfriend worth it? Needless to say my mom and
dad were ecstatic to see all that hair on the floor.
Monday morning, July 4th, the busiest day of the year, I reported to the employment
office. Maybe I’ll spend the summer emptying trash cans or guessing people’s weight or
age. Nope!....
I was to be a.......
Posted June 25, 2024
I’m Guilty
This week’s newsletter is a little different than what I usually write. I have been reading a
book and was very taken with it’s advice. I wanted to share my thoughts about it with you and I
hope you find it of value for your own lives. “I was guilty of trying to grow a new business when
I was raising my little kids.”
It’s so much easier to look back at your life and see the mistakes you have made. Does
anyone teach a class in school about how life should be lived? Or, do we all just need to
stumble through life hoping for the best or following what everyone else is doing.
The book I am currently reading is called “The Men We Need” by Brant Hansen. I
met Brant at a Home school conference this spring in Lansing Michigan. He’s different – quirky
and funny. But mostly, he’s real! I would encourage you to buy his book or the audio version.
I believe it will change your family’s life. Women – buy it for your husband and gift wrap
it – no special occasion.
Because I feel so affected by this book, I have decided to make this week’s newsletter
an
edited chapter from his book.......
Posted June 16, 2024
Beat the Heat
The weather people (who are often just guessing) are saying it’s going to be a scorching
HOT week. We love you but we don’t want fried kids lying around the park. So this week
only.... Discovery Park is both free and open anytime, any day. You can come early at 6
in the morning or 7 in the evening to beat the daytime heat. Please still register!
This will be an exciting week, a week to really spend time with your kids (probably
a lot of it inside where it’s cool). This newsletter will be longer than normal, but it
will be packed with ideas and some suggestions for “inside play” to
make this week memorable.......
Posted June 4, 2024
Jump
How high a platform would you jump off of? What kind of surface would you like
to land on? Would you land on your feet or go into a roll?
As an adult, you just don’t wake up one day and decide to jump out a second
story window onto the concrete driveway – unless the house is on fire.
But the truth is, you have been jumping off stuff since you were little. Maybe
it was your bed or the couch onto a carpeted floor. You learned to
flex your
knees to absorb......
Posted May 24, 2024
The Summer Slide
As a former teacher, one of the recurring conversations in the teacher lounge
was “How much the kids would forget over the summer”. In the fall, they would
spend weeks getting their kids back on track. Some felt that year-round schooling
was the answer. Why do kids need time off when we are no longer an agricultural
society that needed kids on the farm? That’s a valid question if you believe the
classroom is the primary place where learning happens. After years of college,
training to be a teacher, it’s
hard not to see life that way.......
Posted May 20, 2024
Did You Ask Your Kids?
Memorial Day weekend is a big family time with lots of get togethers and cookouts.
There are parades to watch and plenty of special events. But did you ask your kids
what they would like to do?
They might say, “Let’s go to Discovery Park!” Who am I to argue with such a
great idea? Pack a meal or just some snacks. Spread an old blanket on the grass and
have an old-fashioned picnic. If we have a light rain, that’s even more fun because
warm summer rains can be exhilarating to run and play in.
The goats and chickens are ready to be petted and fed, and there’s a new Play
Barn
for the toddlers.......
Posted Apr. 19, 2024
The Portal is Opening
You’re invited to enter the realm of play – a magical kingdom where even adults
are inspired to be kids again. Join us for another season of immersive fun where
clocks stand still and cell phones are forgotten. Bring a lunch and listen to the
birds singing as you sit under a parachute canopy.
We officially start the 2024
season on Sunday, April 21st.
The airplane is airborne and older kids will be given a special key to “FLY” the plane.
The big blue building has been rebuilt into a PLAY BARN
for the youngest kids......
Posted Apr. 14, 2024
I never use sunscreen and I rarely get sunburned.
But I’m outdoors almost every day. There’s a trick to it!
Sunscreen contains toxic chemicals and your skin will absorb those toxins
into your body. Not good. If you are particularly sensitive to sunburn, I
would suggest wide brimmed straw hats. There are also UPF 50 shirts and clothes
(UPF is the fabric equivalent of SPF). You’ve probably never heard of them,
but they will provide......
Posted Apr. 7, 2024
I’m Expecting...
I know, I just sent you a newsletter. Why send a second one on the same day?
And you can’t be pregnant! You’re so right.
I just returned from “The Great Homeschool Convention” in Cincinnati.
Hundreds of seminars and vendors and thousands of parents and kids. It was
exhilarating to be in the midst of such a positive and inspiring crowd. I
talked with dozens of vendors, people next to me in seminars and even the
author of the “Tuttle Twins.”
But one conversation
really caught me off guard......
Posted Apr. 7, 2024
It’s Almost Time
It’s Sunday morning, the day before the eclipse passes over DiscoveryParkOhio.
We’ll be hosting about a dozen families in Tipi Village, many with kids. As they sat
around the campfire last night, waiting for the twinkling stars to reveal their
brilliance in a clear sky, I kept wondering about the impact this eclipse will have
on their life. Will they someday tell their children and even grandchildren “I saw
the eclipse of 2024. I remember it vividly!”
There are events that are seared into our minds forever.
I still remember my first ........
Posted Mar. 16, 2024
Where is Yoda when you need him?
“Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm.
And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is.
Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us.
Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force
around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes.
Even between the land and the ship.”
–
Yoda, to Luke Skywalker
The fictional little green alien in Star Wars had a monumental task – to train brash,
cocky young Luke Skywalker in the ways of “The Force”. The Force is never defined
because it is undefinable. It just is. The challenge for Yoda was to take this smart
and talented man and
help him discover his inner........
Posted Mar. 10, 2024
Just Around the Corner
Everyone was talking about him. Everywhere he went, crowds followed. His speeches
were mesmerizing. On one occasion he was walking along the edge of a lake when he
came to a hillside. He motioned to the crowd to go sit on the hillside.
He spotted an old rowboat and had one of his crew row him out in the lake a bit.
He spoke. He projected his voice so well that the thousands on the hillside could
hear every word. All morning
he spoke of how the world.......
Posted Mar. 2, 2024
My Feet Wanna Dance
I was terrified! It was a Sadie Hawkins dance where the girls get to invite a guy
to the Junior High School dance. Of course my girlfriend invited me (the nerd) to
go. I sat in a chair along the edge of the gym. Music playing, girls dancing (with
a few guys). I sat with a long line of nerd feet along the wall. She was kind and
only
dragged me out for the slow dances........
Posted Feb. 24, 2024
I Have a Dream
Dr. Martin Luther King wasn’t referring to a nighttime event. He was
talking about his vision of what the future could be. He obviously had thought
deeply about the world he was living in and what he believed it should be.
Do you have a dream?
Perhaps you’ve been down this road, but most college bound kids have no idea what
they want their life to become. College is just the next
step everyone is supposed
to do.......
Posted Feb. 17, 2024
Cracked Eggs
Can an egg be cracked open from the inside?
Garrison Keillor from the radio show “A Prairie Home Companion” always had a weekly story
that started with “it’s been a busy week here at Lake Wobegon...” He was a master storyteller.
We’ve also had a busy week here at Earth Song Farm. We had 6 baby goats (kids) born last week and
watching them play and prance around as they discover their new world is absolutely hilarious.
They love running on our deck because the sounds their hooves make on the wood. They jump
straight up and prance sideways. They tumble over each other, get a quick snack from mom
and then race up the hill. What joyfulness!
So back to the question of “can an egg be cracked
open from the inside?”.......
Posted Jan. 14, 2024
Treasure Maps
If you found a treasure map, how would you react?
Disbelief – it’s a joke – throw it away.
Curious – let’s do some research.
Looky, Looky! – let’s go find some treasure!
This week’s weather is calling for bitter cold. Hey – it’s NE Ohio and
January, of course it’s cold. We’re all cooped up (chicken term). Let’s have some indoor fun!
Print out a picture of your house or an aerial view from Google Maps.
Write in some
raggedy handwriting on the back.......
Posted Jan. 5, 2024
Following trends may lead to blindness. I know that’s a crazy statement, but I’m
not referring to social or political trends. Eye doctors are reporting that the number of
kids suffering from severe myopia or near-sightedness (blurriness at a distance) is
skyrocketing. Even though they could see the trend over the last 15 years, the “why”
was elusive. After extensive testing, they found that it wasn’t genetics. Finally the
head of optometry research at OSU figured it out. Too much
extended close looking and
poor lighting.......
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