Printable Yoga Activity for Kids!

I wanted to put together this fun, printable activity for anyone who practices Yoga and wants to introduce kids to it. Teachers, parents, aunts & uncles, this can keep your child occupied while you spend some time destressing in your favorite practice. Click on the PDF file to download the activity. Page 2 includes the answers to the word games. Ready, set, Ommmmm.......

Download your PDF file here!

Illustration Friday - FEARLESS

I fell behind on my Illustration Friday sketches, so I wanted to at least whip up something from the previous prompt, which was "Fearless". Dorothy came to mind. And Toto too.

Children's Book Review- Miltons Secret by Eckhart Tolle

After seeing this book on the shelves for a couple of years, I finally decided to give it a read today. Having read The Power of Now and A New Earth, I'm familiar with and very much appreciate Eckhart Tolle's teachings. But I was disappointed by how the message of living in the Now was delivered in this picture book.

First let me start by saying I'm not sure what age group this is book is intended for. The word count is too high for a picture book and it has too many illustrations for a storybook, so I'm slightly confused on how to categorize this one. And whereas picture books are intended for the 4-8 age group, this message might be a hard to grasp by children of that age (though perhaps I'm not giving today's Indigo children enough credit).

I was a bit surprised that Tolle chose the subject of bullying as a way to introduce the concept of living in the Now. The main character, Milton, is bullied by a 'mean-looking' kid named Carter because Carter thinks Milton is a weird name. As a result, Milton goes from a happy, loving kid to a pretty stressed out kid. That same day, his cat Snuggles (really?) gets attacked by a Doberman Pincer. Here's where I was shocked. The illustrator gives us the depiction of a bloodied cat and a disturbingly menacing dog. Was it necessary to depict the cat visually as a bloody mess? In a picture book?? We didn't need it. And why a Doberman Pincer specifically? A different choice of breed could have been just as effective, without contributing to the reputation of Doberman Pincers (I digress). It just seemed a bit cliched and unnecessary. But why am I fixating on the cat and dog scenario really? Because we already have one violent scenario (bullying - Carter is shown pushing Milton off a swing) and then a second (a violent attack upon a cat by a dog). I think bullying (from Carter and from Brutus -yes, Brutus) may only pertain to small percentage of children. How will kids NOT being bullied relate? I know it's a relevant subject, but I think a broader concern for kids such as teasing or worrying about tests would have would have better served the authors purpose, without the violence.

But I can see the point, strangely. Milton observes how Snuggles isn't really effected by the attack, other than physically, and asks Grandpa why that is. Grandpa goes on to explain it's because Snuggles lives in the Now and isn't concerned about what happened yesterday or what will happen tomorrow. Grandpa explains it simply and beautifully, and Milton understands. But this doesn't alleviate his fear of still having to see Carter the bully at school. Milton falls into a restless sleep and we are given a dream sequence wherein Milton is about to relive his bullying until he darts into an icecream shop to escape a giant Doberman. He encounters a mystic behind the counter who offers him a dish that contains not ice cream, but a ball of light. So on top of living in the Now (a heavy enough topic for a picture book), we are given a second heavy concept to dissect. She explains how the light is within all of us, and that even if we can't see it, we can still sense it in our alive-ness. Could this not have been the subject of book two? The dream sequence felt a bit contrived, a tool with which to reiterate a page from Tolle's books, and it didn't have to be that way. George Lucas approached a similar subject years ago with the help of a certain green Jedi Master who liked to speak of something called the Force. As a 10 year old kid, I GOT that message, and it was the first time my young self was awakened to the concept that there exists something bigger out there to which I'm connected (thank you, George Lucas!). My young brain grasped the concept without being spoon fed heavy concepts. Why? Because the information was delivered in an abstract, imaginative, and fun way. I wish Tolle, who at times seems a bit like Yoda himself, had not been so linear and literal in his teaching. Come on! Give kids something to chew on!

The story concluded rather anti-climactically with Milton encountering (finally, almost in an afterthought to everything else) Carter the bully in the school bathroom. I say 'anti-climactically' because there's isn't as much as an exchange of words between the boys. They make eye contact in the mirror, Milton (empowered with his new-found sense aliveness) feels compassion for Carter because he looks 'unhappy' at which point Carter just turns and walks out. I thought it was a bit of an unrealistic encounter. Carter senses Milton's compassion and simply walks away. Possible...maybe. Likely? Probably not. Not that I want a violent conflict, but just something more true to life, something that would give a kid an example of how to behave when approached by their bully. Hate to say it, but realistically, a compassionate glance might earn a kid a sock in the eye. Even a stare-down would give our main character an opportunity to assert himself (non-violently, of course.) and an opportunity for kids to root him on and learn by example. After all, it's realistic to expect that, until we are all fully awakened, we will have to do that at some point or another. Or, maybe children need to know what Carter experienced in that moment to understand why he chose to just walk away. A missed opportunity for Tolle? Perhaps. But maybe it would have been too much on top of everything else the story is trying to teach.

I think if the story was written and illustrated in a fantastical way with a broader theme (sans scary dogs and bloodied cats) the message would appeal to wider audiences of children and parents, and engage children's imaginations much more so in the process. That being said, I really do appreciate Mr. Tolle's wanting to introduce children to the concept of living in the Now. Not an easy topic, especially for picture books. I would still recommend that parents buy the book, because the message is important, but perhaps for children in the 9-12 age group.

Milton's Secret

By Echkart Tolle and Robert S. Friedman

Illustrated by Frank Riccio

Order the book on Amazon.com.

My Artsy Fartsy Weekend

I thought it would be a weekend without much time for art but thankfully, I was wrong. This lovely little sketch evolved out of who-knows-where when I wasn't really looking. I plan to paint it with watercolor and colored pencils. I also continued writing a new story for an exciting collaborative project which I can't reveal yet. Very happily I critiqued/edited a couple of short stories from friends (I love editing, especially stories written in rhyme). I also made progress on a private commission (another of my 'kids name art' illustrations like this - go peek, you know you want to) as well as a logo design I've been working on for a while. In the midst of it all this creative merriment, yoga was practiced, dishes were done, cats were fed, groceries bought, walks were taken, and I realized again, yes, life is good.