I have noticed that when I start pushing past my self subscribed limits, I can get messed up really fast. The reason I put these self limits up in the first place is because there are scary things roaming around in my mind just waiting to pounce. I spent hours blowing up little jewels in a game to bring some overly rambunctious thoughts into order. I also ran across an interesting thought in my reading about depression. Did you know that creativity helps alleviate depression? The problem being when severely depressed creativity seems to be the last thing on my mind. I tried an experiment. I enjoy creating things for my grandkids. (I would have done it for my kids to but no energy and no money. ) Today for Early Childhood Education I wandered out on the internet looking for easy inexpensive projects for preschool kids. There are a lot of creative people out there. I found my troubles slipping to the back of my mind as I thought of, found, and created ideas to share. One of the interesting things was a time out bottle. A bottle filled with water, gel, and glitter. Shake up the bottle and the child has 2-3 minutes of watching the glitter settle back to the bottom. Watching the glitter helps to calm the child while sitting quietly in time out. I thought this was a cool idea since the reason the child was in time out in the first place is they were functioning in hyper-gear and not thinking before acting. I think I want to make one for myself. I need time out, too. Of course, now I can't find the same page at home. I will add the correct page when I get to school. I liked the one at school because it had the brilliant idea of super gluing the lid shut so the child can not open the bottle. Hurray for super glue.
Go it....
http://crazyblessedlife.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/relax-bottletime-out-timer/
The links show the general concept of sensory bottles.
http://pre-schoolplay.blogspot.com/2011/09/discovery-bottles.html
http://www.childcarelounge.com/activity/sensory-bottles.php
4 comments:
Reminds me of something Buddha said, "If you let cloudy water settle, it will become clear. If you let your upset mind settle, your course will also become clear."
Mulderfan, I need a love it button for this quote. Thank you for sharing it.
I love this concept. So many times parents go back and argue with the child in time out trying to keep them there focusing on the punishment, rather than the result they are looking for!
Hi Ruth,
I'm usually against pushing ourselves - though if we need to get out of a life threatening situation I think it is probably the right thing to do.
I think it is best to go in small and easy steps.
I love that time out bottle. I think I want one too.
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