The ART of Living Life
Sharon's Blog (newest!)
AUGUST 8, 2023
​
THE ART OF LISTENING TO INFANTS
AND YOUNG CHILDREN
​
Did you realize that infants and young children can actually
"talk" to you!
They "talk" using their
* hand movements
* body movements
* babbling
* eye glances
* facial expressions
* their voice
​
As you listen to "listen" with your mind, heart and soul
you will be able to feel into what they are saying.
I talk about these ideas in my new book!
I'm SO excited to share with you that my book is now on
Kindle at Amazon.com
​
"The Art of Listening to Infants & Young Children"
by Sharon Ann Wikoff
​
I'd love to hear how you enjoy it.
Sharon
​
​
​
​
​
​
June 15, 2023
​
CHILDREN OF ALL AGES!
​
As I continue to reflect on "What is a Child?", I wanted to explore the various age categories and the various characteristics of each.
​
Below, I'm mainly using the Webster's Dictionary as well as the age categories Deepak Chopra mentions in his book, "The Seven Spiritual Laws for Parents."
In addition, I recently did some research on the stages of development from Piaget and Erickson and will refer to those in future blog postings.
I do believe it's important for all of us to understand the characteristics that have been observed about children and adolescents over the past 50 + years so that we can truly understand the stages they go through on the way to adulthood and thus provide them save "Fields" in which to live and play and experiment making sure they do not make serious errors during their changeable times.
So, let's begin with the youngest.
INFANTS: Birth to 1 year
TODDLER: The dictionary says a small child. Other references say 1-2 years of age
PRESCHOOLER: 2 - 5 years of age
KINDERGARTEN OR EARLY PRIMARY SCHOOL: 5-8 years
OLDER CHILDREN: 8 - 12 years of age
EARLY TEENS: 12 - 15 years of age
OLDER TEENS: 16 - 19 years of age
ADOLESCENT: a person who is no longer a child but not yet an adult
ADULT: a fully grown person; fully developed and mature
TOGETHER WE LEARN...TOGETHER WE GROW!
In Joy,
sharon
June 13, 2023
THE JOY OF BEING A CHILD!
All of my life I've just delighted in being around children and seeing how fun-loving, spontaneous and loving they are!
I began babysitting early in my life, then became an elementary teacher, pre-school teacher and a facilitator of the "Mommy and Me" classes. And then have gone on to teach the art of playing the piano to children and adults.
In every setting I'm always delighted to work with children. We laugh together, learn together, work through challenges together...and enjoy the process of learning together.
So, I ask....
"What is A Child"?
I'm going to create a list below of adjectives that I've experienced describe children at various stages of their development.
If you have more ways to describe a child, I'd love to hear from YOU!
happy
sad
joy-filled
creative
free to feel
spontaneous
affectionate
beautiful
handsome
expressive
caring
kind
fun-loving
filled with laughter
explorative
free
changeable
forgiving
experimental
vulnerable
sensitive
curious
When a child is allowed to be raised in a "passive" environment, one where the environment is neutral, they can bring to it, there own uniqueness. This approach was introduced to me in the 1980's when I studied with Magda Gerber, creator of RIE, Resources for Infant Educarers. She taught that the best environment for children to play in was where children could interact with simple balls, bowls and pieces of cloth. All were easy for infants and young children to move about. In such a world, the children learn about themselves without the outside world's input.
Creating a passive environment for children, allows a child to discover what their inner thoughts are, their preferences and their unique way of being in the world. They see what works and what doesn't work. And when they try to do something that doesn't work at first, they learn patience and perseverance.
How do YOU create a passive environment for the children in YOUR world? I'd love to hear.
TOGETHER WE LEARN...TOGETHER WE GROW!
In Joy,
sharon
May 28, 2023
OUR WORLD, OUR LIFE...TODAY!
In this blog, I want to bring the focus back to
Our World...Our Life...TODAY!!!
This morning I just had the JOY of listening to Andre Rieu, a Dutch violinist and conductor. He created a waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra.
My son and I often exchange links to great music and he sent me one that was just extra ordinary. As the orchestra played a magnificent waltz, the audience sang along and moved to the music. Then down the two main isles, another well trained group danced the waltz.
The music, the dancers, the orchestra and the Conductor all were having such JOY in the moment! Andre has a way of conducting that brings such a playfulness into the entire performance.
As I listened, I felt the JOY within my body... it was wonder-filled!! Here is the link to this magnificent performance of Lara's Theme with Light Cavalry with 150 dancers adding to the occasion!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X4JlDC_WOo
And with all this I was reminded of a talk I heard recently, from Master Chunyi Lin, creator of www.SpringForestQiGong.com In this talk he passionately spoke about the negative effects of allowing our bodies to experience drastic lows and highs in our emotional body.
He was saying how difficult it is on the body... draining one's life-force.
It is so important to stabilize ourselves in the positive
emotions of life so that when a negative emotion does arise, we can be present with it, feel into it and then let it flow
through us, instead of living in such a "Field" for hours, days, months and or even years!
So, I invite you to make a decision here TODAY, not to dwell in the field of negative emotions. Master Lin also went on to say that
the body of a happy person is more alkaline and the body
of a person dwelling in negative emotions is more
acidic. And of course, the alkaline body is much healthier than one that is acidic.
SO, I invite you to find a way to bring more positive emotions into your life.
What makes YOU feel...
JOYFUL
HAPPY
PEACEFUL
CONTENTED
GRATIFUL
HARMONIOUS
And bring those experiences to yourself on a daily basis!
TOGETHER WE LEARN...TOGETHER WE GROW!
In Joy,
sharon
May 15, 2023
OUR PLANET, OUR SOLAR SYSTEM, OUR GALAXY!
As you look up into the sky and see the stars, do you ever wonder about being part of something much larger?
Do you ever ponder what is the TRUTH about our planet?
What is TRUE about our Solar System?
What is really TRUE about our Galaxy?
As I write this, I recall learning about the solar system and galaxy as a child. And at the time, I just felt it was "another world" and it didn't interest me much. However, today, I hear so much about even other galaxies!
What is TRUE?
Are we part of an entire Galactic system?
Is there a Plan for all of the systems in the world?
And WHY all the chaos on Planet Earth now?
Is this part of the bigger Plan? Is there a Divine Plan underway?
Are there Ascended Masters over-seeing all that is taking place?
Is there a reason behind all the shifting going on?
Are there other factors involved?
NOTE: If you've followed my blogging over the last couple of years, you know that I've spoken about this a little, sharing that as the planet moves it comes in closer contact with various constellations, and the energy from the constellation it's nearest to, does affect Planet Earth.
However, I think it's important to even look at a larger picture now and allow our focus to become even larger.
To be continued...
TOGETHER WE LEARN...TOGETHER WE GROW!
In Joy,
sharon
April 8, 2023
BECOMING THE CCEO OF YOUR LIFE!
The acronym, CCEO, stands for
Creative Chief Executive Officer!
Have YOU designed YOUR life?
Do you drive YOUR life?
Or do you sit back and just allow life to happen to you....and then claim, "It just happened"!
I didn't cause all this to happen!
Although we can't control what comes our way, we can control how we respond to anything that comes our way. We can either ignore whatever is happening, or take steps to handle it, until we have succeeded in creating our positive way forward.
Join me on April 15th, Saturday, at 3 PM PT at
BBSRadio.com/lifechangingmoments
for my program on
BECOMING THE CCEO OF YOUR LIFE!
TOGETHER WE LEARN...TOGETHER WE GROW!
In Joy,
sharon