Our own Jennifer Selby was just highlighted in an article in the South River Source for her Visual Arts project, Art in Mind. Read the article and then think about joining her in this creative thinking project.
Davidsonville Black Belt Candidate Takes Her Art to a Higher Level
“The question, ‘Why does she stay?’ is code for some people for, ‘It’s her fault for staying,’ as if [domestic violence] victims intentionally choose to fall in love with men intent upon destroying us.”
What should you do if your child is being bullied in school? Will you even know? If the the child is not talking about it, are there other signs that may help you know that they need help and some skills to deal with those kind of behaviors?
The Bullying Prevention Class for Parents will be held on February 5, 2013 at 9:15 AM at Balanced Life Skills. The class led by bully prevention expert, Joe Van Deuren, will answer these questions along with why children do not tell and how to help your child even if they are not the target of bully at this time.
All parents in the community are invited no matter how old your child is and please feel free to invite your friends and neighbors. In our last class one of the participants said, “Every parent should take this class, I learned so much.”
Watch for our Focus on Friendship class for students too. The next one is on February 8th at 5 PM for Kindergarten and First Graders, both boys and girls. Call for more details.
One way that empathy is built in a person is by more awareness of oneself. The better you understand yourself and your emotions, the better you will be able to appreciate and relate to the feelings of others. An important step in developing empathy is learning to listen with empathy. Listening is not just hearing. Rather listening with empathy requires that the way we filter the message may need to be ‘turned off’ while we work on understanding how others feel.
There are five ways that we filter messages that influence what we hear.
A Storm to Remember from Rob Grieb on Vimeo.
This film created by a community member who has family on the Jersey Shore. We must not forget. Can we find a way to help a family or community there this spring?
I am once again excited to offer a winter Qigong seminar at Balanced Life Skills while I am home in Maryland. I like to teach Qigong while I am home because I feel that it is a health practice that I can offer a student in a fairly short time, and if that student sticks to the practice they will find growth and improvement even without close supervision from a teacher.
What is Qigong? As I said describing it last year, imagine the practice of martial arts as a line. One one end is fighting, and on the other end is purely health oriented exercise. Qigong would fall near one end of the line, and it might look like this:
Literally “Chi Work,” Qigong is a kind of moving meditation. In a series of dynamic poses combining breathing, flexibility, strength, and mental focus, it seeks to nourish the internal health of the body. It is adaptable to the level of the student; a sedentary newcomer and a conditioned athlete will both find challenge and growth.
The goal of this seminar is to provide parents and students in the Balanced Life Skills community and anyone else a balanced and self-contained health practice. Is your kid in Taikwondo class? Come do something for your own health while you wait. All are welcome.
The seminar will be held January 21st through March 5th, on:
Monday 5:15 pm
Tuesday 11:00 am and 5:25 pm
Students should plan to attend at least one hour-long session a week, but are welcome and encouraged to attend additional classes for more guided repetition. Those interested are welcome to try a class in the first week for free. Seminar fee= $20/week. Come try the first week free.
