Inspiring Quote

"And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye."

Another favourite from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry:

When we know better... we do better

Inspiring Quote

"What you cannot enforce, do not command." Sophocles

When we know better... we do better

Inspirational Quote

As parents we are facing a time in history where the role of the parent is being downplayed by the advent of technology to make your life easier. You can buy a machine to make and freeze baby food, a chair that rocks your baby for you, a weighted pillow in the shape of a hand that mimics your hand on your baby's sleeping body, books where you can record your voice reading to your child...

These products all have one thing in common - but by promising to make the parent's life easier by 'taking the parent's place' what they are actually saying is that a parent's role is so unimportant that a clever design and set of batteries can replace it.

This, thankfully, is not true. Nothing can take your place. Nothing can be invented or designed to offer what a real, and loving, parent can.

With this in mind is today's inspirational quote - because you really matter to your children!

Image: Loren Stow http://www.lorenstow.co.za/

"No one has more potential to influence your child than you. We need to remember that our influence has more to do with our relationships with our children than it does our skills as parents."

- Reggie Joinuer & Carey Nieuwof

The Practica Team

parents who know better... do better

Inspirational Quote

Today's inspiring quotation is about fighting - but in the good sense. Fighting for what you believe in, standing up after being knocked down and instilling in your child the will to persevere through thick and thin as they learn to trust, from watching you and living with you from day to day, that you are fighting for them and not with them.

"There is a world of difference between when you fight with someone and when you fight for someone. When you fight with someone, you want to win. When you fight for someone, you want that person to win. When you fight with people, walls are built up. When you fight for people, walls come down. When you fight with people, relationships are jeopardised. When you fight for people, relationships are prioritised."

- Reggie Joiner & Carey Nieuwhof, Parenting Beyond Your Capacity.

The Practica Team
parents who know better... do better.

Inspirational Quote

Just in case you needed some inspiration to keep you motivated to discover how you could fill your child's learning experiences with as much emotion and fun as possible - here is a quote on the importance of the 'learning environment'. And from who else than the most famous genius of them all...

Enjoy!

"I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn."

- Albert Einstein

The Practica Team
Parents who know better... do better.

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Work is Child's Play

Life, and its meaning and enjoyment, is based purely on your perception of it. If you tell yourself a horrible story, it will be so. If you tell yourself a beautiful story, it will be so.

One of the surest paths to happiness is to love what you do, and inspired by this notion, we bring you this inspirational quote:

“But what is work and what is not work? Is it work to dig, to carpenter, to plant trees, to fell trees, to ride, to fish, to hunt, to feed chickens, to play the piano, to take photographs, to build a house, to cook, to sew, to trim hats, to mend motor bicycles? All of these things are work to somebody, and all of them are play to somebody.” - George Orwell


Now have a look at this quote:

"Play is the work of the child" - Maria Montesorri

The lesson?

As adults our perceptions and life experiences often serve us well. However, they can also at times become a hindrance in our lives. Children learn through play, but because they don't know it, it doesn't weigh the experience down for them. Adults on the other hand often perceive spending time with their children and playing with them as "an act of self-sacrifice". And let's face it, sometimes it really can be just that! 

The lesson we learn here is that adults who don't deliberately and consiously make the decision to view playtime through the eyes of a child, can very easily turn the whole experience into 'work'.

And we all know the saying 'all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy'!


The Practically Speaking Team
parents who know better... do better

Change is as good as a holiday!

Firstly, we would like to thank each and every parent for their loyalty to this blog - the response we have received since it's inception in August last year has been phenomenal.

We have however come to understand from parents that we are perhaps going a bit OTT (Over The Top) with the amount of information we're sharing, and many parents just cannot keep up. Now, we'd hate for any of our articles to be overlooked and not practically applied because of time restraints, so we've made the decision to go from 2 articles per week to 2 articles per month.

Being parents ourselves, we appreciate that the theory is sometimes overwhelming, and parents occassionaly just need something really practical, inspiring or downright funny to brighten their day. So, we'll be focussing on bringing you many more really interesting (and very short) quotes, links, studies and tips on how to best utilize your Practica Program at home.

We hope you enjoy the new blog schedule and find it less time consuming to follow and apply.

So, without further ado, here is our first quote, which we absolutely love!

“Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that will never be again. And what do we teach our children? We teach them that two and two make four, and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also teach them what they are? We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the years that have passed, there has never been another child like you. Your legs, your arms, your clever fingers, the way you move. You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel. And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a marvel? You must work, we must all work, to make the world worthy of its children.” - Pablo Picasso

The Practically Speaking Team

when we know better... we do better

Comments? Please email lizette@practicaprogram.co.za

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