The Joy Of Learning

Equestrian therapy for the disabled

Equestrian Therapy is horseback riding for the disabled children and adults with cerebral palsy, mental retardation, autism, learning disability, stroke and accident victims.The riding exercises aim to build muscle strength, balance and coordination, thus increase joint mobility and perceptual skills.

By combining equestrian techniques with concepts of physical therapy,  this creates therapeutic riding for mentally and physically disabled people. Rather than the routine of other therapies, equestrian therapy is practiced in an atmosphere of fun and sport.

The rider learns traditional horsemanship skills to control the horse, thus increasing his or her self-esteem as well as improving their physical abilities. Equestrian Therapy also challenges students in a way they have seldom been challenged before.

The opportunity to lead a horse, to groom and help saddle it, are very real sources of excitement and accomplishment. The natural affinity between people and horses is a powerful way of encouraging the disabled to achieve their full potential.

Almost every disabled person can benefit from therapeutic riding. In less than fifteen minutes a walking horse takes a thousand steps. Each one requires the rider to use their muscles to maintain balance and their mind to control the horse.

Most of the non-profit organizations dedicated to teaching horseback riding to children and adults with physical and mental disabilities are in need of volunteers and cash donations to buy saddles, bridles, horse supplements and other tack items.

Applying Montessori philosophy in home environment part 2-safety

As a child develops along mentally, emotionally, and physically, he is eager to move and explore the ever enlarging environment. But in order to give the child this wonderful freedom to explore, the home environment needs to be prepared with a fine-tooth comb.

Montessori encourages using a floor bed instead of a crib so that the child is free to leave his floor bed to move about the room, and later the other rooms. This is possible only if the environment is child proof i.e. plugs are covered, wires are taped to the wall or floor, no poisonous plants or chemical within reach, any sharp objects that could harm the child are removed.

As the child begins to crawl quickly and to walk, the adults must continue to childproof the house. A 2-foot high gate which can be stepped over by the adult, creates a safe and interesting spaces for the child through the house. At first the gate can be kept at the door of the bedroom. Later, when the child is exploring outside his room, it can be used to protect the child from unsafe rooms i.e. home office, the kitchen, or any other place that is not yet childproofed. The glassware, knives and your favorite paella pan all need to be kept out from the reach of young children.

Teaching grace and courtesy

It’s important to guide our children to proper etiquettes, as how children behave mostly reflect on the parents. How do you teach grace and courtesy to your children?

Here are some basic grace and courtesy lessons we need to teach our children, the earlier we get them familiar will be the better.

Do not let your children hold the car keys

Do you still remember the news of a van driver who accidentally left a six year old girl in a van parked in the heat and the girl died of dehydration? The girl apparently fell asleep at the back seat of the van and the driver didn’t notice she was still there because he was in a hurry to rush off. He came back to the van about an hour later to find the girl dead.

Despite of all this news, I saw a mother who left her toddler alone in a locked car with engine running while she went into the bank for about 5 minutes! Her toddler was climbing back and forth from the front seat to the back seat while her mother was away! It was so dangerous!!

You should never leave your child alone in the car unattended nor let your child holds the car keys. Have you heard about the story of a mother who had her child accidentally locked in a car parked in the heat? What happened was : she put her child with the keys at the back seat, between the time of shutting the back door and opening the front door, the little child pushed the “lock” button!

So, always make sure that you have everything ready before putting your children into the car. You should keep the car keys out of reach from your child and keep spare keys of your car and your house as well!!

Books are best gifts for children

As a little girl, whenever I am asked what present I would like for my birthday, my answer has always been “Books!”. Books were all I need to immerse and drown in the beautiful world of the story, or to allow myself to think hard trying to understand what’s being read.

I enjoy reading so much that it influences my younger siblings, they grew up reading all my book collections and inherited my habit of splurging big portion of salary on books. The best gifts I have ever received are books. In fact, the gifts I would buy for children are books.

What about you? Have you bought a book for yourself or your beloved kids this week? The next time when your children receive birthday invitations from their friends, get them some of their favorite books !

Montessori 101-basic information every Montessori parent should know

Not all Montessori schools are created the same, especially not all Montessori that called themselves Montessori are true to the philosophy of Montessori education.

As parents who are going to pay good money for a Montessori education, it’s important that you educate yourself on what is Montessori, so that you get what you pay for and your child gets what he deserves.

You may find this “Montessori 101” helpful in giving you some basic information that you should know so that you can differentiate the pearls from fish eyes. :-)

Wean your child off thumb sucking or pacifier

Thumb-sucking pushes the top jaw forward and the bottom jaw backward, which can cause jaw misalignment and malformation over time. Also, a baby’s thumb can be dirty, which introduces bacteria into the mouth that could cause illness. It can also be a tough habit to break since a baby’s thumb is always handy.

Some people might discourage thumb sucking by giving the baby a pacifier. But then you need to wean your baby off a pacifier too as prolonged use of a pacifier can change the shape of your baby’s growing jaw, and also increase the chance of ear infections.

Instead of using the conventional pacifier, the Michael Olaf Montessori Company sells a product called the “Perfect Pacifier”. It has various nubs all over it for holding/sucking. When the infant needs non-nutritive sucking, the parent needs to hold it in place until the child can hold it on his own. This way, it is used only when the child’s needs are to be met. Don’t you think it’s a better idea than a typical pacifier that is constantly in the child’s mouth?

Children and chores

When it comes to kids and chores, many parents have low expectations. They would say:

“My children are too young to do chores,”

or

“I don’t want to rob them of their childhood by making them work.”

Others would rather avoid conflict:

“They protest and resist when I do assign chores, and it’s easier to just do the job myself.”

Can you relate?

It’s important to teach children responsibility, self-discipline and character through work. In fact, when children start to show interest to help and want to do things on their own when they are about 2 1/2 years old, we should bank on the eagerness to start the training instead of discouraging him.