A Stress-Free Holiday Season

The holiday season is one of my favorite times of year! However, as much as I love the holiday season, now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, it is difficult not to feel a little frazzled as well.  I tend to overexert myself while trying to create unforgettable experiences for my loved ones and this of course can cause one to cross over the line between joyful holiday celebrations and obligatory activities. It is not easy to find a balance, but it is important to separate a sense of obligation from our desired experiences for this festive (though hectic) time of year.

With holiday parties, caroling, community events, gift wrapping, shopping, toy drives, family gatherings, special worship services and the like, it is hard not to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season! After all, everything individually is enjoyable. However, when you heap it all together in one month, the joy fades away and you are left with stress.

So, should we boycott the holidays this year? Absolutely not! Instead, embrace the season. Spend time with family and friends and focus on a handful of experiences that bring joy to your holiday season. And when a commitment arises that feels more like an obligation than a celebration of the season, kindly decline. The holidays should be a time for you to focus on what matters most to you.0-

Q-Buddies Give Thanks And Blood!

After a wonderful weekend with family and friends, it is back to the office for another week of “work”. Fortunately, I am one of the lucky ones. I believe in what I do for WQLN, I genuinely enjoy spending time with my colleagues, and I am currently fulfilling a long-time aspiration to work for a PBS station. So as we continue to give thanks for the things in life that bring us joy, today I add to my list WQLN and my Q-buddies.

Where else can you find such an incredible group of people making great strides to improve, change, and save lives every day? And I am not only referring to the work done for WQLN, I am also referring to the volunteer adventures the WQLN staff members embark on occasionally.

For example, today a crew of Q-buddies traveled to the Community Blood Bank to donate blood during the lunch hour. As a community-minded organization we feel our community is stronger when we all work together and that makes it easy and very satisfying to give – time, resources, and even blood! So this week as you continue giving thanks for all of the blessings in your life, why not volunteer for or donate resources to a local organization that is striving to fulfill a mission you believe in? Now more than ever, our community will be stronger with your help!

A Game of Giving Thanks!

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and this is usually everyone’s favorite holiday to gather with family, and of course, eat a delicious Thanksgiving meal.  But sometimes we forget what this holiday is really about. It’s about telling loved ones what you are thankful for in your life.  Here is a little game to play with your family, with a fun little twist to make it fun for the kids!

Here’s what you do. First, arrange the everyone playing in a circle. Pass around a ”thankerchief” (handkerchief)  as everyone recites this rhyme:

Thankerchief, thankerchief, around you go –
Where you’ll stop, nobody knows.
But when you do, someone must say,
What they are thankful for this day.

The player holding the “thankerchief” when the rhyme ends must
say  one thing for which they are thankful. This continues until
everyone has had a turn.

It’s Turkey Time!

Families around the country are looking forward to a wonderful, longtime tradition. That’s right – it’s turkey time! While the turkey has become a popular icon for the upcoming holiday, it’s important to remember that next Thursday is about much more than feasting together. It is a time for giving thanks.

Growing up, Thanksgiving was always a fun time for me. My entire family would come together and, to this day, there is nothing I love more than time with my family. We always start the morning off, bright and early, cooking many, many courses for our meal. In fact, we cook so much food that it seems like we eat all day, every day for a week! Then, most of the day we sit together, talk, and watch football. And, if the weather is nice we head outside for a family game of basketball.

No matter how you celebrate Thanksgiving, be sure to do it with the people who mean the most to you. After all, this day of thanks is about way more than eating turkey. It’s about spending time together.

If you have young children, please consider this hands-on activity. This Thanksgiving you and your children can make adorable, homemade turkey hats! This is a great activity for the entire family to do together. Instructions are located at www.wqln.org.  Be sure to have your child write something that he is thankful for on each feather.

I made a turkey hat this morning for Ready Set Learn and, I have to say, it’s pretty cute! I promise your children will have so much fun doing this, they may not even know they are learning!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fall is the Season for Science

Fall is by far the prettiest of seasons in my opinion. Each year I look forward to watching the leaves change color and then raking them into piles only to jump in them, destroying the piles. Oh come on… every kid loves jumping in the leaves and we are all kids at heart!

With every great life experience, simple or complex, I tend to search for the learning opportunity. This fall take this opportunity to talk with your kids about the science behind the season. Ask them where the brilliant colors of fall come from. Find out what they have already learned in the classroom and then expand on it.

Here is some basic information to give you a head start:

Most leaves appear green. In the fall, leaves turn orange, yellow, and red. Most leaves aren’t changing colors. The pigments are always present in the leaves. The green pigment simply overpowers the other colors during spring and summer. In the Autumn many colors can be seen as the green pigment becomes less prominent.

You can take this discussion a step further by creating your own little leaf friend. You can find instructions for this activity and so many more at www.wqln.org/readysetlearn.

Pictures with Santa!

As a child, I found few things to be more exciting than Christmas. And, I can honestly say that this same level of enthusiasm for the holiday season still exists in my adult life.  I love cutting down our Christmas tree, collecting ornaments, decorating the house, singing carols, baking holiday treats for friends, sending cards, writing our annual letter to friends and family, seeing the hustle and bustle everywhere you look, gathering with family, shopping for gifts, watching children’s faces light up when they see Santa Claus, etc. I have a hunch that this joyful season will always be a highlight in my year.

Although, typically, the season is rather short for me because I tend to fall behind in getting into the spirit of the season. Well this year I am moving full speed ahead and have already kicked it into holiday gear!

So, for a change, I am actually ready for the annual Holiday Craft Show hosted by WQLN. It is happening this weekend – Friday, Saturday, and Sunday – at Rainbow Gardens. There are going to be tons of crafters selling unique items, which of course make excellent holiday gifts. But, more excitingly for our kids, Santa Claus will be there for photos. Last year my hubby and I even posed for a picture as we pretended to be kids again!

Needless to say, many local children will enjoy photos with Santa this year as they get into the holiday spirit. Here’s wishing you the same holiday joy!

A Beautiful Day in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood of Make Believe

Nurturing, caring and comforting, Fred Rogers is the kind of legend that children, young and old, can relate to. For more than 40 years children and parents have welcomed this television neighbor into their homes for learning experiences, music, conversation and friendship.

Children of all ages have a fondness for Fred Rogers. This was evident as we explored the original set of his Neighborhood of Make Believe one final time at WQED, the PBS station in Pittsburgh, Pa where Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was originally produced.

On Saturday, a bus load of educators traveled to Pittsburgh for a beautiful day in the neighborhood. With radiant sunshine, pleasant company and an itinerary jam-packed with educational fun, this day could not get any better.

Educators on the trip took a hands-on approach to learning Saturday morning as they danced to classic children’s songs, partook in lessons appropriate for the early childhood classroom, and explored the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum. For some, this experience truly tugged at heartstrings as these educators relived their childhood memories of Mister Rogers in the Neighborhood of Make Believe exhibit at the Children’s Museum.

We sat together on the swing on Mister Rogers’ front porch and then walked inside only to find his sneakers and sweaters in the front closet. A quick picture by the traffic light and Mister Rogers’ fish tank brought back so many memories. Then it was off to his piano for a bit of singing, “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood…”

This was just the beginning of our adventure through Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. We also climbed into X the Owl’s tree and stood outside Daniel Striped Tiger’s clock for a quick photo opportunity. And, of course we will not soon forget our visit to King Friday’s castle.

When we could finally tear ourselves away from the Children’s Museum, we headed to WQED to see the original set. We walked down the colorful stone sidewalk and visited many of our favorite characters from the Neighborhood of Make Believe. And, at the end of our walk through the studio we met Mr. McFeely for a hug, an autograph, and a quick photo.

These experiences helped us to remember that our childhood memories and the values that Fred Rogers instilled upon us as young children are timeless. Though many of us started off strangers at the beginning of our journey to Pittsburgh, by the end of the trip we all felt like neighbors and friends. And, we are looking forward to our next adventure together through WQLN’s Road Trips.

KaleidAScope Celebrates Halloween at WQLN

KaleidAScope clients enjoy a Halloween Bash at WQLN.

If you have children, Halloween is undoubtedly an important landmark in your calendar each year. Costumes, crafts, decorations, trick-or-treating, and parties make Halloween a holiday that kids everywhere look forward to! So this year KaleidAScope, a non-profit service agency for teens and adults on the Autism Spectrum, hosted a Halloween Bash at WQLN.

Vampires, cheerleaders, ghosts, Freddy Krueger, Jason, chefs, and skeletons invaded the Learning Center at WQLN on Saturday. Hey, even Tom Cruise was there! In fact the boy dressed as Tom Cruise in Top Gun ended up winning the costume contest at the end of the night. With dozens of excited attendees, the Halloween Bash was an absolute hit. Everyone in attendance enjoyed the foods, games, magician, and good company.

Life is About Learning

Every day life presents a new learning experience. And as a colleague of mine likes to say, “That’s what makes life worth living!” I, of course, agree whole-heartedly with this statement. This week my learning experience was in the radio control room here at WQLN. I learned to run the control board. For me some of this behind the scenes work is the most exciting. After all, there is no program if you do not have someone running the boards! So, a coworker taught me to prepare the music, control the microphones, and cue the talent at the beginning of each pledge break.

Of course this was late in the day and I had been ready to head home for the day. However, the opportunity presented to learn a new skill provided a wave of excitement and consequent new burst of energy! On my way home that evening I thought, “Boy, I love my job!” There is always something new and exciting to experience. Plus, the opportunities for learning and growth, both personally and professionally, are abundant.

So today, take the opportunity to learn something new. After all, that is what makes life worth living!

Airplane Wyatt Learns to Sign

Recently I have been fortunate to spend more and more time with two of the most adorable little boys in the world. Wyatt is two and a half years old and he has personality oozing out of him! And, at just a year and a half, his younger brother Wade is the bravest little boy in the world. There is no question that spending time with these two keeps you on your toes. We sure do have a lot of fun together! But in the midst of all of the fun, I like to squeeze in some learning too. And, as we often say on Ready Set Learn, learning doesn’t have to happen just in the classroom, it can happen right in your very own home!

And like all children, Wyatt and Wade learn best through play. In fact, through play children learn about themselves, their environment, people and the world around them. So we made a game of flying “Airplane Wyatt” into the couch pillows a learning experience too! Every time “Airplane Wyatt” crashed he did the sign for more in American Sign Language and got ready for another take-off. This led to hours of fun and reinforcement of a sign he recently learned.

If you are looking for simple and fun learning activities for your toddler, take a look at the Ready Set Learn website and you’ll find a new one each month thanks to a partnership with Success By Six. Until next time, get ready – get set – and learn!