Interesting Thinks - 5/16/2013

A Million Skies: They Need You! Don't Give Up!

Sixty Second Parent: Help for PArents of Autistic Children: Emphasize, Don't Criticize - has this great gem in it: 

". . . helping people is not about what YOU believe or what YOU think about their situation. It is about who THEY are and how THEY see and feel about their circumstances."

(the author is referring to parents judging other parents, but for me, it's a really critical way to think about my kids)

Intoxicated on Life: 5 Great Bible Verses for Kids to Memorize About Anxiety

Huffington Post: Have American Parents Got It All Backwards

Roscommon Acres: Perseverance and Hope

Additudemag.com Shut Up About Your Perfect Kid - I hesitated about posting this one. I don't want people to be afraid to talk about all the wonderful things their kids are doing. I don't want people looking at my family and thinking we're "perfect" at anything. However, I've had a few moments similar to the ones described in this article. Not long ago I was in conversation with two women who were both expecting - now they both have beautiful babies that I love to see and hear all about - at the time the discussion turned into "all I want is a perfectly healthy baby." As the mom of kids who were not born perfectly healthy - ouch. 

"Though we often feel worlds apart from parents of perfect kids, we do have something in common: We’re all proud of our kids for one reason or another. It’s just that the reasons we’re proud differ. Many parents of special-needs children assume that perfect parents don’t care about our kids. We think that people do care about our kids, but sometimes they forget whom they are speaking to."

I'm planning our next school year - do you think we can read 1000 books? So many books, so little time- sigh. Classical Christian Education Support Loop: 1000 Good Books List