Develop Your Child's EQ

IT'S NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

Be an angel and read to your child. The literacy rate in this country has been increasing at the basic level, but things like the SAT scores have not. It's not just being able to read a road sign or catalogue, but being able to express oneself deeply and accurately with words, and the ability to appreciate beautiful words, lyrical prose, "the well-turned phrase," the rhythm of speech, and tone. The conversation of our youth is punctuated with "doh," and "like" and "dude," and while we can read, it doesn't appear that being able to write has kept up with the pace.

We learn to write by reading. We learn volcabulary by hearing good speech, reading and being read to.


"The Reading Mother"

I had a mother who read to me
Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea,
Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth,
"Blackbirds" stowed in the hold beneath.
I had a Mother who read me lays
Of ancient and gallant and golden days;
Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,
Which every boy has a right to know.
I had a Mother who read me tales
Of Gelert the hound of the hills of Wales,
True to his trust till his tragic death,
Faithfulness blent with his final breath.
I had a Mother who read me the things
That wholesome life to the boy heart brings —
Stories that stir with an upward touch,
Oh, that each mother of boys were such!
You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be —
I had a Mother who read to me.

- Strickland Gillilan

Part of emotional intelligence is the ability to express your emotions in words. This is one of the ways we contain and manage our feelings. Paucity of speech limits us. Use big words and correct grammar with your children; that's how they'll learn it best. It will stretch you, too, and bring you up as well.

EXERCISE FOR THE KIDS: Make some flash cards of words for emotion, and get beyond "angry," "sad," "happy." Put in some nuances, like "dejected" or "pensive." All words are new to kids, so feed them some gourmet language, not junk food. Just listen to what this little doll can do with words:
http://www.smithappens.com/video_girlmemory.php .

Watch those SAT scores go up. And that is said half in jest. We don't learn in order to pass a test, or to impress, we do it for the enrichment it gives us.

Most of all pass on THE JOY OF LEARNING to your kids.

Click HERE to buy my ebook,
Developing Your Child's EQ: Simple How-to Tips.

WHAT'S NEW?

My website is back up - - thank heavens, and I continue to do internal repairs. Bear with me.
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There will be a full moon in Libra tomorrow. Someone may be reading your mind tonight, and get ready for big, long-lasting, life-changing things to happen in May. Get a reading from Semiramis, just $25 for an email reading. Email her at semiramis.appiamo@hotmail.com. You can pay via PayPal. She'll tell you how. It's a great time for a relationship reading.
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Overheard today from a client: "I was talking to a co-worker today who was really upset. I kept thinking, 'What would Susan say,' and how to hook it in to emotional intelligence. I mean it worked for me."
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Nobody seems ready for Easter this year ... maybe because it's so late. It's one time of year when I feel like a real transplant. In South Texas, the tradition is to have a barbecue, a cookout, at someone's house, or at a park. Growing up in the MidWest, it was usually still cold. I don't feel like standing around a grill for my Easter dinner. That's the way it is with "culture." It's in our bones and we feel it. Intellectually I know it isn't right I should object and there's no good reason for it except habit. I know there's nothing 'wrong' with standing around a barbecue grill at Easter ... but it doesn't FEEL right ... like a man in love with the wrong woman, my head isn't very good at correcting my heart.
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My son died a couple of years ago on Good Friday. It was April 1 that year. This year I seem to have made another hurtle in the recovery. I found out April 1 is Rachmaninov's birthday, and I think I'll celebrate April 1st that way henceforth. Whatever 'mind tricks' it takes to move forward

John would approve, though I do it for myself. Dr. John Alifano is the honorary head of our CLUB VIVO PER LEI/I LIVE FOR MUSIC, and a great fan of Rachmaninov -- to listen to, and to play. Why don't you join us at Club Vivo? We appreciate music and enjoy learning more about it. It's free and there's a signup place on the website. And tune it at work, via computer, at www.allclassical.org. I especially like the noon hour, when Garrison Keillor tells us what happened this day in history, and then reads us a poem.
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What happened to day in history? Galileo Galilei went on trial. He died in 1650, blind and under house arrest. In 1835, the Roman Catholic Church removed his book from the banned list. In 1992, The Church joined the rest of the world in agreeing that Galileo was right.
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We have a special on ARBONNE through the end of this month. The entire NutriMin RE9 system (anti-aging skincare) for just $250 mailed to your home. This is a significant savings to you, just this month. Check out the NutriMin system HERE but email me at sdunn@susandunn.cc to take advantage of this special.
Susan Dunn is an Independent Arbonne Consultat. You can be too. Sign up HERE.