Please welcome my guest today, Susie Beaty Green! She is an exciting up and coming author and I am happy to have her stop by today.
Susie Beaty Green holds a degree in English from the University of San Diego. She lives with her husband, their two daughters and their pets in a small beach community in California. Her first novel, Circle The Date is now available at Amazon.com
While having coffee/reading the paper with my husband, I stumbled
upon a sentence written by James Herbert that has been rolling around on my
tongue all day.
"We live in a coldly rational age, where every task is tallied,
every last hour is accounted for............."
Although Mr. Hubert writes this in prelude to a theatre review in
the San Diego Union Tribune, I haven't been able to shake the notion of how much
this concept applies to how we raise our children today. Every last minute is
accounted for whether it be with sports commitments, academic study (every
moment from day one of kindergarten leading up to the mother of all
standardized tests, the all important SAT), or a wide variety of other
valuable, yet time consuming, activities. I have to wonder where the “care free
days of summer” have gone and if this generation will ever connect with that
Americana version of summertime.
My challenge to both myself and to you, Cheryl’s readers, is this:
Schedule some days to schedule nothing. Sometimes I literally have to put a red
X on my calendar as a visual reminder to myself that specific days are off
limits for any lessons, tutoring, or appointments. If I'm really feeling
parentally bold, I even declare the day a "no screen day" which
speaks to screens both big and small -- the television to the iPad to the iPhone,
etc.
Provide a few props like paint and canvases, classical music,
plastic wear that can be used to make mud pies in the garden, ingredients for
making pizza or cookies, a new Frisbee, bottles of bubbles or even some 'old
fashioned' game they have never heard of like Jacks or Pick up Sticks and
simply see what happens. In my house I find that these days usually result in
the production of dozens of cookies and often a self choreographed dance or
self-written play that is preformed for us, complete with home made tickets and
popcorn or elaborate 'forts' engineered via moving every piece of furniture in
the house and using every bed sheet too. I will admit, my imperfections do
sometimes flare when I realize the loads of laundry I am facing but I try to
swallow the inconvenience factor and relish the knowledge that imagination is
at work in my home and these moments are fleeting and memorable.
Give it a try and report back. I am anxious to know what fun,
creative, even genius, non-structured activities come out of your non-scheduled,
carefree days of summer.
Susie Beaty Green
