Baby Nile Lechwe antelope at the Budapest Zoo

Baby Gizmo, a Nile Lechwe antelope, was born Feb. 15 at the Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden.

Nile Lechwe are native to Sudan and Ethiopia and are part of a family of African antelope called Reduncines. According to the San Diego Zoo, the "Nile" part of their name is self-explanatory (think geography), and "Lechwe" is the Bantu word for "antelope." (You can say either "LEECH-wee" or "LETCH-way" and be correct.)

Their numbers were considered "near threatened" when the last wild population data was collected in 1983. Today, their status in the wild is unknown.

Hope for Children US Event at the Embassy of Ethiopia

Additional information regarding the event that
will be held at the Embassy of Ethiopia this Friday.

First, the event is FREE.

Sidamo Coffee and Tea will be there, and they will be doing a coffee
ceremony. (www.sidamocoffeeandtea.com)

There will be Ethiopian food as well as Ferengi/Continental/American
food.

The event is kid-friendly, there will be a table for children to
color or play during the evening.

There will be a silent auction and there are A LOT of Ethiopian items
in the auction -- great, fun things including some wonderful art work
from an emerging Ethiopian artist.

If you are looking for ways to help and become involved in the
Ethiopian/Ethiopian-American community a number of other non-profits
will have representatives in attendance.


Please Join Us For

"A Night in Ethiopia"

To Support Hope for Children's

Youth Learning Center

Friday, September 26, 7 PM

The Ethiopian Embassy, 3506 International Drive, NW, Washington, DC

Hosted by Carol Rhees, Bonnie Harkness, Freda and Gary Temple,

Ruthann Bates, Catie Dupont


Please bring your friends and family!

RSVP carhees@... / 301.229.9591

For more information, go to www.hopeforchildrenus.org

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We hope that you can join us on September 26 for a fun-filled and
informative evening. If you are unable to attend but wish to make a
tax-deductible contribution, checks should be made payable to Hope
for Children US and should be mailed to 5801 Searl Terrace, Bethesda,
MD 20816. You can also donate on-line at our website,
www.hopeforchildrenus.org.

Parking: Parking in the evening is available in any of the reserved
Embassy spots along International Drive. There is also a parking
garage on Van Ness where you turn onto International Drive.

We hope to see you on the 26th!

Hope for Children US - Event September 26, 2008

Please Join Us For
"A Night in Ethiopia"
To Support Hope for Children's
Youth Learning Center

Friday, September 26, 7 PM
The Ethiopian Embassy, 3506 International Drive, NW, Washington, DC

Hosted by Carol Rhees, Bonnie Harkness, Freda and Gary Temple,
Ruthann Bates, Catie Dupont

Please bring your friends and family!

RSVP carhees@aol.com / 301.229.9591
For more information, go to www.hopeforchildrenus.org


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We hope that you can join us on September 26 for a fun-filled and informative evening. If you are unable to attend but wish to make a tax-deductible contribution, checks should be made payable to Hope for Children US and should be mailed to 5801 Searl Terrace, Bethesda, MD 20816. You can also donate on-line at our website, www.hopeforchildrenus.org.


Parking: Parking in the evening is available in any of the reserved Embassy spots along International Drive. There is also a parking garage on Van Ness where you turn onto International Drive.

We hope to see you on the 26th!

Have you gotten your tickets to the 2008 Mesgana Dancer Tour yet?

September 7, Ethiopian New Yearʼs Festival @ Lake Merritt Park, Oakland, CA
September 13 @ Rose Wagner Theatre, Salt Lake City, UT
September 20 @ GW Lisner Auditorium, Washington, DC
September 27 @ South Orange Performing Arts Center, South Orange, NJ

For more information visit www.coeef.org

Jihur School Project - News from 2008 and goals for 2009

Dear Friends,

This if to inform you that Grade Nine Classrooms and the Administration building of our Jihur School Project will be completed this summer. The Government has promised to furnish the classrooms and has already assigned five teachers.

The project has achieved a 25%completionon rate with Grade ten classrooms, laboratory facilities, library building and a football court remaining. You will agree with us that this is a major milestone.

On behalf of the Executive Committee and the 2000 boys and girls of the Jihur Elementary School we express our gratitude to you for making this possible. So far the project has attracted US60,000 donations but a lot more is expected from us. Our target is to raise an additional US60,000 in the next academic year. We have opened a PayPal account for donations. We have started accepting small monthly donations of $25. 50, 100 or 200 to ensure a continuous cash flow. All donations are tax deductible.

We count on your continued support and please let us know your monthly pledge for planning purposes.Remember this is a project very well managed with no overhead cost.

Members of the support group here in the US, the Executive Committee in Addis and the district committee in Ethiopia are all volunteers. The contractor is supervised by a supervising engineer provided by the Government.

You can get additional information on the project management structure from the project website.Visit our website www.jihurschool.com for on line donations through our PayPal account.

Sincerely,
Getinet W Giorgis
For the Diaspora Support Group

Selam Negussie publishes "Fire on the Mountain" in Ethiopia

"Fire on the Mountain"

Selam Negussie found the book "Fire on the Mountain" in the library where she works and read it. She liked it, specially because it was an Ethiopian folk tale, though it was retold in English by an American writer, Jane Krutz. She believed that if this story were written in Amharic, Ethiopian children would enjoy it. That was why she translated it.


"Fire on the Mountain", as Selam herself admitted, is an old folk tale. But writing and presenting it for reading has a fresh appeal to what used to be told only orally, she says. Moreover, documenting an oral story preserves its content though not in its originality.

Folk tales are passed down generations orally as fathers and mothers tell their children and grandchildren. In the process, the stories are added to or reduced from and modified in different ways. In some cases, characters and settings undergo minor changes to give them local flavor as the same story is retold in another country.

Selam has read "Fire on the Mountain" written by two other foreigners besides Jane Krutz. The stories were basically the same, but featured different styles. [The late Wolf Leslaw had written "Fire on the Mountain and Other Ethiopian Folk stories" in the 1940s.]

"If children in other countries can read our stories why not our own children in whose country the stories originated?" asked Selam. This presentation in Amharic does not only entertain children, but also helps them develop taste for reading.

"Fire on the Mountain" tells the story of Alemayehu, an opphan boy who is hired by a wealthy, arrogant country man. When the man declares that he has once spent a night on the freezing top of the mountain all by himself and says no one else can perform such feat, Alemayehu, dares to take the challenge. The man bets a sum of money and cows that Alemayehu will not make it. But Alemayehu returns from the mount alive early the following morning. How did he not freeze to death? the rich man asks. Alemayehu says he has seen fire flickering on top of a distant mountain. "So I imagined myself sitting by the fire and enjoying its warmth", he answered. "That was how I survived".

Looking at fire is as good as lighting one, the man argues, and refuses to give Alemayehu the reward he has promised. The rest of the book tells how Alemayehu's wise sister traps the rich man by the same cunning tactic in which the man will be forced to admit his fault and give the boy his just reward.

Selam had not planned to have the translation of "Fire on the Mountain" printed. There was recently a "Book Week" at the Children's Library during which all children were encouraged to read and listen to stories. Since most of the books in the library were in English, Selam had to sit in the midst of the children and translate the stories for them to Amharic orally. She had read for the children "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Hen and the Woman", and "The Ugly Duckling" and two other stories by Christian Anderson when she stumbled upon "Fire on the Mountain" by Jane Krutz.

The children enjoyed hearing the Anderson stories but even more "Fire on the Mountain" because it was about Ethiopian boys and girls with whom they could identify.

The illustrated book was printed bilingual by the permission of the English edition's publisher, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and donations from the people of Tippery, Ireland, coordinated by Piers Elrington who also did the designing.

Over 40 percent of the 5,000 copies of the book will be distributed to children in rural areas around Addis Ababa for free. It has been a week since the book was published and Selam says the free distribution has already started in Dukem and Sululta.

By Yelibenwork Ayele

Zethiopia Distribution Services

Zethiopia Distribution Services

Does your organization have flyers or brochures that need to be distributed?

For more information or a copy of the distribution contract, please contact Dereje at dereje@zethiopia.com.

Ze Ethiopia Corporation
Zethiopia Newspaper & Radio
P.O. Box 2049
Fairfax, Virginia
22031

Subscribe to Zethiopia - Radio, Newspaper and Club

Do you want to subscribe to Zethiopia? Click HERE to be taken to an on-line checkout system that you can use to place your subscription order.

Adoption rate in free fall

Australia- Ethiopian children accounted for 12 per cent of all adoptions.

February 21, 2008


Thirty-five years ago there were almost 10,000 adoptions in Australia. Last year there were just 568.

A new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) suggests various medical, social and policy factors are the cause for the drop in adoptions.
"The availability of more effective birth control together with the emergence of family planning centres and sex education classes has had a substantial impact in reducing the number of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies," the Adoptions Australia report says.

"In addition, decreasing fertility rates may reflect a general change in individual preferences and social trends with regards to having children."
The increasing success of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) also has negated the need for many adoptions as has an increasing social acceptance of raising children outside marriage, the report says.

In 1971-72, there were 9,798 children legally adopted in Australia.
Three and a half decades later, in 2006-07, 568 children were adopted.
The vast majority of children adopted last financial year - 71 per cent - came from overseas.

Most were Asian - 31 per cent came from China, 20 per cent from South Korea and 11 per cent from the Philippines.

Ethiopian children accounted for 12 per cent of all adoptions.

The increase in intercountry adoptions corresponds with a fall in the number of Australian children seeking adoption.

There were just 59 local adoptions in 2006-07 and 105 "known" adoptions - in which the child is adopted by a step-parent, other relatives or carers.

"A range of factors have contributed to this fall in adoptions of Australian children including more effective birth control, family planning centres, and sex education classes, as well as changing views on parenthood and child rearing," Nicole Hunter from the AIHW said.

Over the same 25-year period, intercountry adoptions have increased from six per cent of adoptions to 71 per cent.

The proportion of South and Central American children being adopted into Australia has steadily declined as Chinese and African children gain popularity.

The report also shows that 92 per cent of adopted children were younger than five years old, while 59 per cent of local adoptions were infants.

It was more common for girls to be adopted than boys - 58 per cent compared to 42 per cent.

Birth mothers had an average age of 26.5 years - older than previous years.
About half of the children were adopted into families with no other children and three-in-five had adoptive parents aged 40 years and over.

Ninety-five per cent of the adoptive parents were in a registered marriage.

Indigenous children made up just six adoptions during 2006-07 - four were adopted by indigenous parents and two by other Australians.

The report also briefly mentions information services offered to adopted people and their birth parents once they are over the age of 18.

There were 2,851 requests for information in 2006-07.

That is the least number of requests made over the past decade and is a drop of 6 per cent over a year.

The majority - 73 per cent - of information applications were made by the adopted person and the vast majority were over the age of 25.

Birth parents made 15 per cent of inquiries and other birth relatives 7 per cent.

3,500 Ethiopian children have been adopted by American families since 1990

Broadneck teacher adopts Ethiopian sisters


By ELISABETH HULETTE, Staff Writer
www.hometownannapolis.com/
Published February 18, 2008

For the past few months, the Stimely family's four daughters have been throwing nightly dance parties in their living room to the tunes of Disney's wildly popular "High School Musical."
It'd be a nightly scene like any other, except that two of the girls are brand new to both American people and pop culture. The Stimelys adopted Masene, 5, and Safiya, 3, from Ethiopia in November. Their mother, Carol Bittner, said the dance parties have brought the girls closer to their new American sisters, Ruth, 7, and Lillian, 3.
"It feels good to have two new people in the family," Ruth said. "We just play and have fun."
The Stimelys are among a growing number of people adopting from Ethiopia. China and Russia have been the major hubs for adoption, but Ethiopia's star is rising, Ms. Bittner said.
A combination of the country's relatively easy adoption paperwork and large number of children orphaned by the AIDS epidemic has drawn an increasing number of adoption agencies over the past few years, said Merrily Ripley, director of Adoption Advocates International, the agency that helped the Stimelys adopt Masene and Safiya.
About 3,500 Ethiopian children have been adopted by American families since 1990, and of those, about 1,250 children were adopted in 2007 alone, said Hermela Kebede, director of the Ethiopian Community Center in Washington. Government officials have estimated that 4,000 will be adopted in 2008, she said.
"That's how much it's growing," Ms. Kebede said.
Wait times for adopting Ethiopian children are longer than they've ever been, said Ms. Ripley, as agencies realize that Ethiopia's clear adoption procedures make it a good country for international adoption.
Also, because of new drugs that reduce the risk of spreading HIV, American families can now adopt HIV-positive children, Ms. Ripley said. Adoption Advocates placed about 30 HIV-positive children from Ethiopia last year, she said.
"That's something we never thought we'd be able to do 5 to 10 years ago," she said.
American families are aware that HIV, malaria, yellow fever and poverty have left many children orphaned.
"I think because they're aware of the need there, the orphans, a lot of folks are motivated by wanting to adopt a child," Ms. Ripley said.
That was one reason why the Stimelys decided to adopt from Ethiopia.
Ross Stimely, a teacher at Broadneck High School, and Ms. Bittner, who is an attorney for the federal court in Baltimore, had talked about adopting for years. It would be a way to make a difference and also grow their family, Mr. Stimely said.
They decided to work through Adoption Advocates because unlike agencies that focus on babies, Adoption Advocates works with older children and tries to keep siblings together, Ms. Bittner said. The agency has placed as many as five siblings together, Ms. Ripley said.
They applied and in May were told the agency had found two little girls who needed a family. But summer is the rainy season in east Africa, and the Stimelys had to wait until November to make the trip.
They passed the months by writing to Masene and Safiya, sending them photos of their new house, their new sisters. The trip they finally took in November with Ruth and Lillian was the furthest they had ever traveled, Mr. Stimely said.
He and Ms. Bittner met their new daughters on Nov. 19 - a date that also happened to be their 13th wedding anniversary.
Masene and Safiya are from a rural part of southern Ethiopia, where people raise sheep and goats and have neither electricity nor running water, Ms. Bittner said. The girls were apprehensive when they first arrived in the United States.
To help them adjust, the Stimelys have been cooking traditional Ethiopian food, like potato stew and injera, a sort of pancake that's a staple of the Ethiopian diet, Mr. Stimely said. Ruth and Lillian have been taking Ethiopian food to school in their packed lunches. And they're trying to learn Amharic, the regional Ethiopian language.
Lillian and Ruth have already picked up some Amharic, he said, just as Masene and Safiya have picked up the words to High School Musical. Lillian, at 3 years old, has already forgotten what it's like not to have adopted sisters, Ms. Bittner said.
"For her, it's completely normal," Ms. Bittner said. "Like, doesn't everyone have a sister from Ethiopia?"
The Stimelys hope their story will inspire more people to adopt one of the many Ethiopian children who need families. If their family can do it, anyone can, Ms. Bittner said.
"We are completely normal, regular people, except we saw a problem and acted on it," she said. "We're just raising our kids. It's just life, and you can do it and it can be great."

Children's Books about Ethiopia

Here is a great link to a list of Children's books about Ethiopia. Click HERE!

Jane Kurtz and Christopher Kurtz to speak at Naval Academy Primary School

You are cordially invited to spend the evening with children’s authors Jane Kurtz and Christopher Kurtz.

Date- Saturday, 17 November 2007
4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Naval Academy Primary School,
74 Greenbury Point Road, Annapolis, MD 21402

Light refreshments will be served.

Jane Kurtz, renowned children’s book author and Board president of Ethiopia Reads, a non-profit organization that was established for the purpose of promoting children's book publishing, reading, literacy and the development of education in Ethiopia will present a slide show and speak about Ethiopia, literacy, and her life experiences. Her presentation will be complemented by her brother, Chris Kurtz, also an author, board member of Ethiopia Reads, and accomplished speaker telling his story and doing a reading. Jane and Chris grew up in Ethiopia, children of missionaries, and have fascinating stories to share.

For more information about Ethiopia Reads, please visit their website at www.ethiopiareads.org. The organization was featured in the October issue of Good Housekeeping magazine: you can download the very informative article, written by Melissa Fay Greene, about their projects from their website.

For more information about Jane Kurtz, please visit www.JaneKurtz.com.

Books will be available for purchase – all proceeds will benefit EthiopiaReads.org and its projects.

An RSVP is not required, but would be appreciated to EthiopiaReads@aol.com – or leave a voice mail for Catie Dupont at 571-243-1411.

Let's Read about Africa - The BeeKeeper of Lalibela

Let's Read about Africa
at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C.
Ages: 5--10
Introduces young audiences to current and classical children's literature about Africa. Each reading is followed by an art activity. Suitable for ages 5 to 10.

The Best Beekeeper in Lalibela
Sat., Nov. 3, 10:30 a.m.
By Cristine Kessler, illus. by Leonard Jenkins, 2006

The Best Beekeeper in Lalibela tells the story of a determined young girl who defies tradition and becomes the first girl beekeeper. Read by Yohannes Gebregeorgis, an Ethiopian children's author and Director of Ethiopian operations of the non-profit EthiopiaReads.org.

(You can purchase copies of The BeeKeeper of Lalibela by visiting www.silverchicks.com or contact Catie Dupont at catie@ethiopiareads.org. For more information about titles published by Ethiopia Reads in Amharic and English, please visit www.ethiopiareads.org.)

Do You Enjoy Your Kids?

By Jeffrey D. Murrah

Do you enjoy your kids? Do others enjoy your kids? Hopefully, as a parent you are able to answer each of these questions in the affirmative. Parenting, like so many areas of life requires us to get our hands dirty. In order to enjoy our children, it is necessary for parents to extend themselves beyond their "comfort zone." Leaving the comfort zone means trying something new, novel and creative with your children.

Some parents attempt raising children without leaving their comfort zone. This type of parenting emphasizes parental convenience at the expense of experiencing childhood. Like window shopping or watching squirrels, children can be admired from a distance. Admiring from a distance is a cheap substitute for enjoying who your children are.

Admiration is important to children, yet doing things with them means more. Children generally crave attention, with calls of "Mommy! Daddy! Look at me!" A way to enjoy them, and them to enjoy you is to join them. This means that instead of just giving them a movie to watch, view it with them. When your children are swimming, join them in the pool. I have seen my own children overjoyed when their grandparents join them in the swimming pool, rather than just observing. After jumping in the pool, try really enjoying your children by splashing and playing instead of floating like an iceberg.

Be creative in finding ways to enjoy your children. Making cookies for them is nice, yet making cookies with them means more. Instead of just watching them play ball, try joining them at times. Playing games with them and reading to them are also ways to enjoy your children. Since the holidays are quickly approaching, look for opportunities to join your children in doing things together.

The word 'enjoy' literally means to enter into a joyous state. To enjoy children involves reaching out and joining them in having fun. As parents join their children, a new reciprocity often develops. Children then start showing an interest in the parents' hobbies or activities. Another benefit is that parents and children know who each other helps to strengthen bonds. Knowing and enjoying who your child is as a person is preferred to what your child does. Enjoying your children also builds their self-confidence and sense of security.

Enjoying children requires effort. It is easier to voyeuristically watch them, snickering at their antics than it is to join them. Watching them can send the message to the child that they are objects for the parent's enjoyment or that they are being made fun of. Joining them sends the message to them, "you are important" and "you have value." Our children look to us for affirmation. It is up to the parents to choose if children are to be put on display or enjoyed.

Jeffrey D. Murrah is a licensed marriage and family therapist with offices in Pasadena and La Porte. He can be reached at (713) 944-4335 or his website, restorethefamily.com.

Zethiopia 5th year Anniversary Gala Dinner

Zethiopia 5th year Anniversary Gala Dinner

You DO NOT want to miss this event!

Saturday, November 10, 2007

From 5:00 PM to Midnight

at the Holiday Inn Eisenhower Metro
2460 Eisenhower Avenue
Alexandria, Virginia 22314

for more information call - Zethiopia
202 518 0245

or e-mail dereje@zethiopia.com

Why Exercise Is Cool

Kids exercise all the time without even thinking of it. Just being active, like when you run around outside or play kickball at school, is a kind of exercise. What else counts as exercise? Playing sports, dancing, doing push-ups, and even reaching down to touch your toes.

When you exercise, you're helping build a strong body that will be able to move around and do all the stuff you need it to do. Try to be active every day and your body will thank you later!

Exercise Makes Your Heart Happy
You may know that your heart is a muscle. It works hard, pumping blood every day of your life. You can help this important muscle get stronger by doing aerobic (say: air-o-bik) exercise.

Aerobic means "with air," so aerobic exercise is a kind of activity that requires oxygen. When you breathe, you take in oxygen, and, if you're doing aerobic exercise, you may notice you're breathing faster than normal. Aerobic activity can get your heart pumping, make you sweaty, and quicken your breathing.

When your give your heart this kind of workout on a regular basis, your heart will get even better at its main job - delivering oxygen (in the form of oxygen-carrying blood cells) to all parts of your body.

So you want to do some aerobic exercise right now? Try swimming, basketball, ice or roller hockey, jogging (or walking quickly), in-line skating, soccer, cross-country skiing, biking, or rowing. And don't forget that skipping, jumping rope, and playing hopscotch are aerobic activities, too!

Exercise Strengthens Muscles
Another kind of exercise can help make your muscles stronger. Did you ever do a push-up or swing across the monkey bars at the playground? Those are exercises that can build strength. By using your muscles to do powerful things, you can make them stronger. For older teens and adults, this kind of workout can make muscles bigger, too.

Here are some exercises and activities to build strong muscles:

push-ups
pull-ups
tug-of-war
rowing
running
in-line skating
bike riding
Exercise Makes You Flexible
Can you touch your toes easily without yelling ouch? Most kids are pretty flexible, which means that they can bend and stretch their bodies without much trouble. This kind of exercise often feels really good, like when you take a big stretch in the morning after waking up. Being flexible is having "full range of motion," which means you can move your arms and legs freely without feeling tightness or pain. It's easy to find things to do for good flexibility:

tumbling and gymnastics
yoga
dancing, especially ballet
martial arts
simple stretches, such as touching your toes or side stretches
Exercise Keeps the Balance
Food gives your body fuel in the form of calories, which are a kind of energy. Your body needs a certain amount of calories every day just to function, breathe, walk around, and do all the basic stuff. But if you're active, your body needs an extra measure of calories or energy. If you're not very active, your body won't need as many calories. Whatever your calorie need is, if you eat enough to meet that need, your body weight will stay about the same. If you eat more calories than your body needs, it may be stored as excess fat.

Exercise Makes You Feel Good
It feels good to have a strong, flexible body that can do all the activities you enjoy - like running, jumping, and playing with your friends. It's also fun to be good at something, like scoring a basket, hitting a home run, or perfecting a dive. But you may not know that exercising can actually put you in a better mood.

When you exercise, your brain releases a chemical called endorphins (say: en-dor-funz), which may make you feel happier. It's just another reason why exercise is cool!

Updated and reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: March 2007

For more information visit www.kidshealth.org

Spooky Spider Craft for Halloween - Super Easy Project!

You will need:

Black paper
Wiggle eyes
Black wool
Glue

Instructions:

Draw around both hands with fingers spread out and thumbs tight against index fingers.

Cut out the hands and glue them together so that the palms form the spider’s body and the fingers it’s legs.

Glue on the wiggle eyes. Make a small hole through the centre of the body. Thread the wool through the hole and tie into a knot.

Hang these spooky spiders from doorways to scare people as they come through!

Parenting Expert Advice by Dr. Sally Goldberg

Help Your Child Succeed in School

by
Sally Goldberg, Ph.D.


Question: If you had to pick one strategy for helping your child to succeed in school, what would that be?


Answer: Self-esteem building. That holds the key.


A new school year is synonymous with a new beginning. "Get off to a good start" is what every parent says to every
child. "Set up good study habits; make good friends; get good grades." These are all dreams of both parent and child.
They sound good, and they are good; but they are only as good as your child feels about him/herself. Feelings of self-esteem, self-worth, and self-confidence are the foundation for making these kinds of successes happen. Here's how you can help.


1. Show your child respect and appreciation. Respect your
child as you say "Please" and appreciate your child as you say "Thank you." It turns out that the way to teach your child to say "please" and "thank you" is to say "please" and "thank you" to your child.


2. Help your child uncover his own uniqueness. Take as much time as you can to delight in your child's individuality. Your child is the one and only person like he/she is. No one else has been born into the world like your child. Have fun helping your child discover his/her own personal passion, potential, and place in the world.
3. Change the word "misbehavior" to "mistaken behavior." What do we know about mistakes? We learn from them. Teach your child as much as possible how not to make the same mistakes again.
4. Help your child to learn, to do, and to be all he/she can. Reserve praise for major accomplishments, but encourage your child by noticing and reflecting back to him/her small occurrences. You can show your awareness by using reinforcements like: "You finished your homework.", "You ate all your spinach." and "You put all your toys away."
Every good try is worthy of recognition as a major step
toward further success.


Being the best at something is a respectable goal. However, doing the best you can comes first. Focus on your
child's capability and strength. Notice his/her individuality. Help your child learn better behavior. Encourage him/her to succeed. What you think of your child is what your child will think of him/herself. Believe in your child; think positive; think strong. Self-esteem on the inside manifests itself in school success on the outside. Enjoy your partnership.

Sally Goldberg, Ph.D., is a professor of education at the
University of Phoenix and parenting specialist. Through her
books, articles, presentations, and one-on-one coaching she
empowers parents to solve problems. She gives weekly
parenting classes in different locations in Scottsdale, AZ.
If you would like to contact Dr. Sally, you can reach her at
480-766-6323 or drsally@drsallyparenting.com. Find out more
at www.drsallyparenting.com.

For more information from Dr. Sally, please visit HERE.

Future Oceanographer in your Family?

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has a wonderful, kid friendly interactive website full of educational activities for your future underwater explorer. Great fun and kid safe web experience. The coloring pages are particularly well done, there is a small sample below.


To visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium website, click HERE.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art - PLAYTIME pages

Click HERE to visit the National Museum of African Art's page of activities for children, including great coloring pages.