Pregnancy and childbirth is a time of immense transformation. For some women it is the most beautiful day of their lives, but for so many more, the process of giving birth is a traumatic memory marked by surgery, violation, and a loss of control. In an act of conscious rebellion against this standard, women are choosing to look to the past and choose to birth the way we were always intended to: unmonitored, unmolested, and free. One such woman I talked to, “Dana,” describes her birth as being, “incredibly straightforward without any drama.”
Posts tagged #children
Conscious Parenting: Navigating Negative Thought Flow
“I don’t really like myself,” my teen blurted out in the middle of a seemingly mundane conversation we were having last week. He tightened his lips to hold back emotion. I paused, as I noticed my jaws clench. Surprised by what he declared, I felt my eyes stinging as salty tears began to trickle into my eyes. My heart felt heavy, longing to simply scoop him up into my lap like I did when he was young, soothing him with kisses on his soft forehead.
Kids in the community: Winter Boredum Busters
When the chill of winter sets in and the days grow shorter, it's easy for kids to feel stuck indoors with nothing to do. But winter doesn't have to be boring! From exploring local spots and discovering wildlife in its winter habitat to cozying up with a good book, trying out hands-on crafts, or creating a snow-themed masterpiece at home, there's plenty to keep young minds busy and curious all season long. All it takes is a little creativity to make this frosty time of year fly by.
Conscious Parenting: Prepping for Baby: Find the Right Doula for You
Imagine knowing all the things, having a supportive partner, and knowing that you don’t have to remember everything. Imagine knowing that someone else has eyes out for your best interests without worrying about ulterior motives. Imagine that someone is watching out for your partner as well! It can feel like such a load off your shoulders to know that there is someone there who is familiar with the process.
Sadist Summer Camp
It’s that time of year again: all the papers are full of ads for summer camps you can send your kids to. There’s Spanish Immersion Camp, Rock and Robot Camp, Filmmaker’s Camp, even something called Brain Monkeys Camp. We didn’t have camps like that when I was a kid. Ours weren’t nearly as specific or smart. We just had plain old summer camp.
Kids in the Community: Science for Kids
Imagine a world where your children are captivated by bubbling potions, erupting volcanoes, and soaring rockets. In this magical realm, adventure awaits. From makeshift kitchen laboratories and hands-on classes to information-packed books, parents can ignite the spark or fuel the burning passion for science with various engaging and immersive activities—some at home, some in person. Unlocking the magic of science begins with nurturing your child’s natural curiosity. Observe what they're interested in and use it to pave the way for exciting career paths in the future.
Leaps of Faith: Empowered Bumps and Boobs
It’s okay. Go ahead and laugh at her company’s name. Emily Stone would be flattered. And to emphasize the play on meaning behind Empowered Bumps and Boobs, she would probably even hand you her favorite promotional product—a pen with a squishy breast at the top of it.
Kids Can Cook, Too! And Why They Should…
Cooking isn’t just about whipping up tasty treats (although that’s definitely a big part of the fun). Empowering and nurturing children’s culinary skills extends far beyond the kitchen. It’s a fantastic adventure where kids explore, create, and learn skills that will stick with them for life. Think of it as a mix of delicious experiments and add a sprinkle of essential life lessons on top. From crafting scrumptious snacks to understanding the fuel that keeps us going, kids learn the importance of nutrition, gain confidence, and feel accomplished. In today’s fast-paced world, introducing kids to the wonders of cooking is an invaluable gift, offering them a foundation for a lifetime of healthy eating habits and a deeper appreciation for the culinary arts.
Quietly Noticing
I stood about twenty feet away from my two-year-old waiting to push her on a swing or do a count down while she hyped herself up to glide down a slide. I had just gotten done with a three-mile run with her in a stroller at the loop at Hudson Mills. The only way we get through these runs is a lot of snacks and the promise of playground time, and I was ready for the playground time. To me, playground time is a time that I don’t have to keep my brain on high alert. Rinoa would play and I would catch my breath and not have to figure out how to run, push, grab, and unwrap a snack all at once as I had been doing for thirty minutes prior.
Elements Preschool
I discovered Elements Preschool a few months ago during my extended early childhood education studies. To my delight, it is not only a place of discovery for children, but also for adults. Soon after being introduced to Elements Preschool, I started working with Kirsten Voiles, the founder and director, with whom I share a passion for education and the arts.
Conscious Parenting: Ele's Place Ann Arbor--A Home for Healing Arts
Ele’s Place Ann Arbor is a healing center that provides peer grief support for children, teens, and their families in Ann Arbor as well as the surrounding southeast Michigan area, free of charge, for as long as a family needs. Ele's Place Ann Arbor is the only nonprofit in our community dedicated solely to helping children and teens work with, and through, grief in a peer-based setting.
Black Men Read: Expanding Possibilities Through Storytelling
“This has to change, on my watch,” Yodit Mesfin Johhson realized. The need for change became urgent when her own son was in second grade. Her life’s work in racial justice organizing took a big pivot toward the education sector with one call. It was Black History month and there were no Black men on the Mitchell Elementary School’s faculty. Her son’s teacher called to ask if she knew any Black men that would read to his classes. Of course, Mesfin Johnson arranged a roster of volunteers that rotated through the school's reading hours all throughout February. The realization that her son had no Black male role models at school collided with her own awakening to spur a deep dive of research into the educational system. “It turns out that less than 2% of U.S. teachers are Black men.”
Unschooling — Child-Led-Learning
Unschooling is a term coined in the 1970s by John Holt whose books Learning All the Time and Teach Your Own (among others), have empowered parents for decades to homeschool their children in a liberating way. Rethinking the definition of education, schooling “outside the box,” is as unique as every parent and child. It is apparent to those who observe young children that learning does indeed happen in every moment, thus children are naturally their own best teachers. Unschoolers see the community as their school.
Unsiiciyapi, Wawoohola, Cantognake: Humility, Respect, Love-- Healing through Service
What do you get when you merge a life called to support adolescents, spiritual awakening that all are one, and an ongoing relationship with the Lakota people? Omega Commons and a staff that lives to serve in higher truth and humility.
Kids in the Community: The Seelie Court of Ann Arbor’s Faery Artists and Events
What have our fairy friends and their artists been up to during the pandemic? To brighten everyone’s spirits, I wanted to track down some fairy fun this spring for the young ones. Might we see more fairy doors pop up around Ann Arbor? Maybe you’ve seen glimmers of whimsical fun around Ann Arbor in the chalk drawings of the ephemeral and adorable characters dreamed up by Ann Arbor’s David Zinn. It’s almost time for the return of Shakespeare in the Arb, and we’re celebrating with a production of the fairy-packed fun of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Ann Arbor is one of the best places around to find events and artists who work on a fairy theme, but like the fae they can be hiding in plain sight. I went searching under every rock and leaf, even a few book jackets, to find you the best fairy-themed events, artists, and authors in Ann Arbor to find while we’re still in need of a little fun.
Crazy Wisdom Kids in the Community: Kid-Friendly Animal Rescues of Ann Arbor
I know I’m not the only one who has had to learn how to care for animals and who deeply enjoys their company. A natural affinity with animals since childhood is what led me to become a trained animal whisperer and animal Reiki specialist in addition to being a journalist. It’s often hard to tell where a love of animals will take a child, but these days there are some amazing programs out there to test the waters, whether a kid is interested in learning the basics of animal encounters, adopting a new family member, or becoming a veterinarian, animal trainer, or therapist.
Now or Later? The Daily Dilemma of Childhood and Beyond
For children, as with adults, life is a series of choices. Do I clean my room now or keep playing this fun video game? Do I eat this chocolate cake now or keep working on losing those 10 pounds? Finding a balance between enjoying your now self and investing in your future self can be a constant challenge.
Happy, Healthy, Wealthy, Wise: Kabbalah for Kids
By Karen Greenberg
"This [Kabbalah for Children and Kabbalah Pathworking and Soul's Purpose Kabbalah] is the most valuable investment that we have ever made in our son."
— Judy Sauer, Literacy Specialist, Novi Community School District
How could a Kabbalistic approach be the most valuable investment parents have ever made in their child? And why would it be important for a child to have Kabbalah in his or her awareness?
Kabbalah is an ancient system of creation and how creation works. No one is entirely certain about where Kabbalah came from, partly because it was passed down as an oral tradition for thousands of years. Kabbalah is a Hebrew word that translates into “receiving.” We are receiving the secrets hidden in the Torah, or Old Testament, that teach us how to have a H2W2 (Happy, Healthy, Wealthy, Wise) life. The Kabbalistic system is actually the Unity energy of what is called the Tree of Life (from the Bible, as opposed to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Duality energy: pain and pleasure, sorrow and joy, war and peace). The energetic Tree of Life is laid out on our bodies. It has ten different spheres, each representing a different quality of God (G-D).
A Kabbalistic approach is such a valuable investment in children because it helps them reside in a more empowered version of themselves, rather than in disempowered parts. Today, bullying is off the charts—nearly one-third of all children are bullying others or being bullied, according to ABC News. Suicides are the third leading cause of death among young people, with upward of half of those as a result of cyber, emotional, verbal, physical, sexual, or social bullying (as reported by the CDC). Therefore, it is crucial that children learn to take their power back, for their own happiness and health. As the children learn about the ten qualities of G-D (like love, compassion, severity, understanding, and wisdom) in the Tree of Life, make them a part of themselves, and strive to display these qualities in as many of their interactions as possible, they become more G-D-like, and therefore much more powerful in materializing what they are attempting to create. Teaching children to live in the Tree of Life reality trains them to approach life as proactive co-creators of their dreams, goals, and purpose.
In addition to bullying, another reason why today’s children may have low self-esteem is because they feel that something is inherently wrong with them. In part, this may be because they have received diagnoses that end in the word “disability” or “disorder” (Learning Disability, Reading Disability, Attention Deficit Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Executive Functioning Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Intermittent Explosive Disorder). But, what if they are not disabled, disordered, or dysfunctional? What if they are just different? What if their differences have been divinely coded to bring about a change of age that is now underway?
Clair-Ascension®’s approach to Kabbalah recognizes the Divinity in each child. Every child is created and equipped with exactly what that child needs to carry out his or her soul’s purpose. For example, if that child’s purpose includes revamping the entire educational system so that it will better meet the younger generation’s needs, then personally experiencing difficulty focusing or organizing or processing might prove to be essential to reconfiguring the entire educational system. Perhaps this is similar to someone who is born with Spina Bifida who grows up to become the chief pediatric surgeon operating from a seated position on children with Spina Bifida.
The younger generation is wired to reveal problems, and eventually help create solutions, not only in their school system, but in government, the judicial and political system, the economic system, organized religion, their parent’s marriage, their partner, and their siblings. In H2W2 - K4K (Kabbalah for Kids), we help the children find, then we encourage, support, and nurture, their soul’s purpose.
If the younger generation receives homework assignments that they think are irrelevant to their life, one cannot just tell them that they have to do it anyway in order to get good grades, to get into a good college, to procure a good job, to earn a decent living, and to live in a safe neighborhood. They do not care. If they consider a homework assignment a waste of their time, they refuse to do it. However, once their soul’s purpose is identified, parents and teachers do not need to motivate them at all. Their motivation is intrinsic.
Even though it is good to question, sometimes some young people can cross the line and behave inappropriately, perhaps swearing at their parents or speaking very disrespectfully to authority figures. In Kabbalah for Kids, we develop a respectful, healthy one-on-one bond with each child, modeling in class and out, respectful behavior in all their relationships.
Happy, Healthy, Wealthy, Wise - Kabbalah for Kids is also a multi-sensory approach that allows them to move, to integrate the energy of the different qualities of the Tree of Life into their bodies. We use color, quizzes, questionnaires (before and after their experience), and an ascension journey to help these children organize themselves, and their time, their papers, their room, to help them create balance in their life, to acquire healthy eating, sleeping, and exercise habits, to navigate comfortably through their low-vibrational emotions (including forgiving), to repattern their limiting beliefs, to discover their genius so that they are eager to do their work, rather than parents needing to nag. We help them with relationships and friendships, and how to have enough self-respect to set healthy boundaries and use discernment with others who may be disrespecting them, making fun of them, teasing them, and even bullying them. We assist them in connecting with the Spiritual Realm, G-D, their Higher Selves, Archangels, and Angels. We aid them in being aware that they are a spirit in a body, and as such, have a spiritual calling, a purpose, a mission, a destiny. We help them in their Divine Original Vibration Embodiment (the purity of who they were originally, before any wounding), so that they not only connect to, but embrace their authentic self, who G-D created them to be, and what G-D created them to do. We foster their living in the flow of life, at a place of inner peace, joy, and love.
Traditionally, Kabbalah was taught only to scholars of the Torah—Old Testament, and other holy books, who were married males over forty. How exciting to bring an introduction to Kabbalah geared toward fifth graders and up!
Karen Greenberg, the owner of Clair-Ascension®, offers classes and private sessions in H2W2 - K4K (Happy, Healthy, Wealthy, Wise - Kabbalah for Kids). Please visit the website clair-ascension.com or contact Karen at krngrnbg@gmail.com with questions or for further information.
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Mindfulness for Little Ones
Imagine a group of four-year-olds sitting cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed, listening intently to the sound of a chime. As the ringing stops, the children’s hands rise from their laps and settle on their bellies. They breathe in… and then out. When their eyes open, they share how they’re feeling. “Calm.” “Tired.” “Hungry!” This is how my preschool mindfulness classes begin. While it may be hard to imagine, kids as young as three can become mindfulness practitioners! Basic mindfulness skills taught at an early age can help young children to stay healthy and balanced as they grow.
CONNECTING CHILDREN WITH THE NATURAL WORLD: THE ANN ARBOR FOREST SCHOOL
The concept of forest schools originated in Denmark in 1950. Children who attended Forest Kindergartens emerged with stronger social skills, higher self-esteem, and worked more effectively in group activities. The children were confident and behavioral problems were fewer. It soon became a permanent addition to Denmark’s early childhood curriculum. Not long after Denmark discovered the value of educating children outdoors, Sweden’s “Skogsmulle” concept was developed, a similar educational model that taught children about nature, water, mountains, and ecology. The outcomes were measurable and overwhelmingly positive, making nature and forest schools popular with teachers, children, and parents. The idea soon spread to other areas of Europe.
