Meagan Rose Wilson Gr

Meagan Rose Wilson Gr

Meagan Rose Wilson Gr

Striving to create a family life that nourishes body, mind and spirit and honours our infinite interconnectedness.

Journal

Divorce and Separation

Resources for Children and Families Experiencing Separation and/or Divorce

Sometimes parents decide to stop living with one another and one of the biggest challenges they face is ...

Modelling Critical Consciousness in Early Childhood

"Modelling Critical Consciousness in Early Childhood" was first published online in mid 2019. Within these pages, a number ...

Caregiver’s Balancing Head, Heart and Hands

In Waldorf Schools you will hear the expression “head, heart and hands” used to explain the faculties of ...

Instagram

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Declaring a long weekend for myself with this attitude.

Friends, I know it’s easier said than done (take it from a perpetual do-er), but this weekend, take some time to stop and smell the roses (or the lilacs, or whatever is in bloom where you live). 🌷

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🌱 Have a peek in my stories from today to see planting from seed in action.

🌱 You can find more info in my highlight “GARDEN” above 👆🏼

🌱 @fruition_seeds has a FREE seed starting course that is really informative!!

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There are so many ways children can help in the garden!

🥕 A common question that has come up: how do I keep little well-meaning feet from treading on the actual bed?

Try putting up short stakes in the corner of each bed (about 1 foot high) and wrapping red yarn around the perimeter as a visual cue. Explain to your child that we don’t put our feet inside of the red square/rectangle. And of course above all else- be sure to model the same careful@behaviour yourself! 😉

🐌 Typo on graphic: What child doesn’t love....

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No matter where you live- a small apartment, a house in the city or the country there is always a place to grow a small family garden.

When my oldest was a baby we lived in a small split unit with a tiny wooden porch in the back. There we grew our very first container garden including zucchini, tomatoes, onion, cucumber and lettuce.

Gardening with Children:
🌱 teaches patience & delayed gratification
🌱 provides a sense of purpose, responsibility and empowerment
🌱 offers hands-on and experiential botany
🌱 boosts their mood and reduces anxiety
🌱 provides a source of physical movement and gets them outside
🌱 encourages picky eaters to try new homegrown fruits & veggies
🌱 teaches them about where their food comes from
🌱 helps children develop a strong immune system via working with the soil

Do you garden with your kids? What’s their favourite part of the process? What’s the most challenging part?

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Our Favourite Family Movie Night Films for Mixed Ages 6+

1. Finding Nemo
2. Madagascar
3. Frozen 2
4. Moana
5. Winnie the Pooh

Runner’s Up:
A Beautiful Planet
Inside Out

And For Extra Sensitive Little Ones:

🕊 The Little Bear Movie
🕊 Dancing in the Light
🕊 Wing’s of Life

Drop yours below!!! 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

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@commonsenseorg is a non-negotiable part of developing healthy media habits and choices in your family. I cannot recommend their website highly enough. You can look up movies, TV episodes, video games and other media on the site and get comprehensive reviews and ratings from professionals, parents and children.

If your friend recommended Moana but you’re not sure if your highly sensitive five-year-old can handle it, look it up on @commonsenseorg and you will be able to read in detail about each of the “scary” or “questionable” scenes.

We talked about creating setting the time and day in stone earlier this week.

Finally, @commonsenseorg also often has a section at the bottom of a review called “talk to your kids about” where they share discussion points to go with the film. Read through these if you’re not sure where to begin family discussions surrounding the film’s themes.

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There were a lot of questions yesterday about mixed ages, appropriate title choices and when to start a movie night.

I recommend that the youngest child in the family be at least 5/6 years old when you start a family movie night tradition. Alternatively, you could organize it so that the youngest is asleep or out with grandparents when the rest of the family sits down to watch together.

The reason I suggest the 5 year cut off is because it is very difficult to find media that is engaging enough for older siblings and parents but gentle (and short) enough for small children. If you want to try a movie night with younger children I’d be prepared to watch and be satisfied with episode of Mr.Rogers or a short nature documentary episode as an alternative to a movie.

For those who have a movie night tradition in their home, at what age did you start? What movies worked well for a range of ages in your home?

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This week I’ll be sharing ideas and tips about creating a family movie night ritual. What do you want to know? Ask away in the comments below!

Six Benefits of a Family Movie Night Ritual

🎥 allows practice of delayed gratification
🍿 carves out a scheduled time together on a regular basis
⚡️ sparks family discussions on a wide range of subjects from stereotypes to global warming
📖 provides an opportunity to teach elements of a story (characters, plot, conflict, climax and resolution)
🌎 teaches children (and adults) about experiences outside of their own perspectives
❤️ provides opportunities to share emotional experiences & name feelings

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Happy Easter to those who celebrate!

May the day be filled with gratitude for fresh beginnings and the miracle of life.

May your Spring season bless you with new possibilities, renewed hope & activation and a sense of grace and purpose to carry you through the months ahead.

📷: Cupcakes made by my eldest daughter and photo taken by my youngest. 🥚 🐰 🐣 🌱

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Happy Easter weekend to those who celebrate! 🥚 🐰 🌼

I am going to take the rest of the weekend off with my family and we might enjoy a few of these traditions of ours too.

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What are your thoughts on meal planning?

Give me a 😍 for Yes, love it!
Or a 😬 for No, just can’t get on board.

And for those somewhere in the middle, how do you balance spontaneity, creativity and diversity with routine, organization and planning?

Tomorrow I’ll share lots of ideas on how we Meal Plan in our family- stay tuned!

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Dinnertime Reset Challenge : Swipe Left for Inspiration.

For one week stop bribing, stop threatening- stop the power struggles and simply accept what your young children choose to eat and not eat without comment or judgement. Don’t make extra meals and offer minimal before bedtime snacks.

Plan ahead- try to have 5+ different foods available at any given meal & stick to basics for the week. This is not the time for casseroles, extravagant risottos or stews.

Write observations down in private after the meal: what did your child take, what did they leave, did something surprise you? Do they have aversions fo certain foods only some of the time or all the time?

The goal is to completely take the pressure off of yourself and the child for one week.

At the end of the week take stock: What worked for you & your child? What didn’t? What will be your approach going forward?

Swipe left to see an example of a plate I recently offered one of my more picky children. Lots of colour, everything separate & variety to choose from.

Let me know how it goes! If you’re looking for more inspiration from a professional & a more structured plan, I highly recommend Jenn from @kids.eat.in.color

Please note: this is not meant to replace any medical advice. This advice is primarily for young (somewhat developmentally appropriate) picky eaters who do not have any medical or psychological diagnoses or concerns. It is important to work with your paediatrician and other health care providers if your child is underweight or you believe they are not thriving in anyway.

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This week is going to be all about Feeding your Family! We’ll cover

🍠 Dinner Rituals
🥦 Meal Planning
🥕 Picky Eaters and
🥑 Mealtime Battles

BUT FIRST! Let me share some of our favourite cookbooks and authors above! We do not prescribe to any particular diet but we do try to eat mostly organic, whole foods, we eat grass-fed dairy and meat and aim to have the majority of our meals be plant-based (not vegan, just mostly plants). We also tend to minimize gluten and need to pack allergen-free lunches. These cookbooks offer lots of inspiration and options for our needs.

All these chefs have amazing IG accounts (click on the tag in the photo) with loads of beautiful, nutritious and FREE recipes.

What are some of your favourite family cookbooks? Do you have cookbooks that come out seasonally? (We do!) 📚

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You can find a much more detailed article in the Journal on this topic and even more inspiration and wisdom from Susan Perrow’s book “Healing Stories for Challening Behaviour”. (Go to my stories and Swipe Up)

But storytelling doesn’t have to saved for challenging times, it can become a part of your weekly rhythm. My husband often tells our younger daughters stories and once in a while a certain storyline will stick and become a family favourite. Currently, there are daily requests for his “Mouse Stories” about a family of mice who live in an old grandfather clock. Daddy Mouse was so proud of himself for finding such a spacious, warm and safe home.... until it struck midnight and they realized it was so gosh darn loud in there! They’ve learned to live with it though. 🐭🧀

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We had the most joyful Christmas I can remember this year and it was because my children had worked for weeks preparing homemade presents for each other, their parents and grandparents.

My heart melted on Christmas morning when I observed their pure excitement not because of what they might receive but because they were so thrilled that they were finally able to offer what they had worked so hard on.

There have been less opportunities to give in person since the pandemic began (bake sales, in-person volunteer work with children involved... even birthday parties!) but there are still many ways we can model and practice giving:

🎁 Reach out to a local retirement home and see if they are taking cards or baked goods for residents
🎁 Learn origami and make little boxes or hearts for each of the members of a classroom
🎁 Offer homemade cookies to teachers or neighbours
🎁 Start preparing little gifts for your next cultural festival Nowruz, Passover, Easter, and Ramadan are close to each other this year
🎁 Make cards for friend’s birthdays
🎁 Suggest making little gifts and drawings for siblings who need a mood lifter
🎁 Make food for busy and/or new parents
🎁 Give a child a special chore such as serving Mom of Dad their coffee in the morning or turning down their sibling’s sheets and spraying them with a lavender solution (witch hazel with lavender essential oil)
🎁 Bring a bouquet of flowers to school for the entire class to enjoy

Make sure to have lots of crafting supplies available for creative gifts and presents. My older children tend to use their allowance for more complicated crafting supplies like Paris of Plaster, glitter glue or beads, but I supply everyone with all the basics including access to some scrap fabric, needles and thread, glueguns, acrylic paint, scissors and quality yarn. If you like to cook your way to people’s hearts you’ll want a full pantry with lots of baking basics or if you like to pamper others you could help your children learn how to make simple DIY beauty recipes to keep on hand as gifts.

The ways to give are endless and as Robert Ingersoll once said, “We rise by lifting others”. 🕊

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Final post to help you get prepped for the time change!!

Swipe left for some ideas on how to make Monday run smoothly.

Good luck and happy weekend to you all! 🌞

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