2. Fly a kite
Go fly a kite—literally! Choose an open field and run around with the kids to try and get their kite up in the air. 

3. Play hide-and-seek
Who doesn’t love this classic game? Springtime means you can head outside for an epic, neighbourhood round of hide-and-seek! 

4. Ride a bike
Spend an afternoon riding the bike trails in your local area. Is your little biker still in training? Use it as an opportunity to teach him how to ride his bike without training wheels.

5. Feed the ducks
It’s migrating season! All of the ducks and other birds are heading back home, so bring a bag of bread to a pond near you and feed them a tasty snack.

6. Learn about dinosaurs
Check out your city’s best dinosaur exhibit at your nearest museum, the kids will love learning about these ancient Earth inhabitants (and the skeletons are pretty awesome, too.)

7. Go camping
Create a weekend adventure by bringing the family to the nearest campground. Pitch a tent, roast some marshmallows, and tell spooky stories by the fire. If you want to keep things close to home, put up a tent in the backyard and enjoy the lovely, spring weather.

8. Visit a farmer’s market
Spend a Sunday at your favourite farmer’s market and pick out some fresh fruits and veggies as a snack for later.

9. Play hopscotch
You might think this game is too simple, but it’s always a great time-killer and super fun to play at any age. 

10. Get gardening
Now is the time to start planting flowers in the yard. Your little ones will love getting messy in the fresh soil and being on garden hose duty.

11. Go for a hike
What better way to explore the fresh outdoors than to go on a hike through a forest or trail? Try to stay quiet as you venture through to see if you can hear (or see) the animals coming out of winter hibernation.

12. Wash your car
Pick a warmer day to get the kids to help you out with cleaning up your family vehicle(s) on the driveway. 

13. Paint rocks
Take those rocks you’ve collected and make a craft day out of it. Paint them with your favourite colours and turn them into rock magnets for the fridge. 

14. Take lots of pictures
Make sure that while living in the moment, you don’t forget to snap photos of the silly and fun times, too. Print the photos and have the kids help you finally put together that scrapbook or album you’ve wanted to make.

15. Dance in the rain
Bundle up in your best rain gear and take advantage of the spring showers. Have a dance party outside in the drizzle (umbrellas optional), then cozy up for a cuddle session by the fire to warm up. 

16. Visit a petting zoo or farm
Take a look online to see when petting zoos or farms open up in your area and spend a day feeding and petting adorable animals.

17. Build a fort
Any time of the year is the perfect time to build a fort. Why not bring your sleeping bags and extra blankets outside and build the best outdoor fort the world has ever seen? Or if your little one is scared of creepy crawlers, keep the fort-building party indoors.

18. Head to the park
What better way to get your kid’s extra energy out than at the park? Climb the monkey bars with them or race down the slides—it’ll be a day they won’t forget!

19. Go to the library
Get your kid to pick out some great bedtime stories for the week at your nearest library. Most libraries offer free story times and other fun activities.

20. Draw with chalk
Sprawl out on the sidewalk with a big bucket of chalk or spruce up your driveway with your wildest creations.

21. Read outside
Not all books have to be saved for bedtime. Pick a few classics, sit outside in the sunshine and immerse yourselves in story time.    

22. Put together a scavenger hunt
Kids love nature, so why not do a treasure hunt outside. Make a list of spring objects (rocks, pine cones, etc.) to look out for, and check them off as you find them outside.

23. Star gaze
Use a telescope or just sit outside on your front porch and look at the beautiful constellations on a clear, Spring night. 

24. Have a picnic
Nothing beats a spring picnic. Pack a basket of goodies and sprawl on a blanket in the park (or your backyard) while enjoying the sun on your faces.

25. Watch the sunset
The best ending to the perfect spring day is watching the sunset with the little ones before calling it a night.

The post 25 Fun Family activities for Spring first appeared on International Talent Academy.

One of the most common reasons parents approach me is to ask for my advice on how to help their child handle a bullying situation at school.  Fear for their child’s well-being combined with a sense of powerlessness at changing peer dynamics often leaves moms, dads, and other caregivers feeling helpless.  The bad news is that conflict and bullying are pervasive among school-aged kids and most students will be impacted by physical or social aggression either directly or indirectly.  The good news is that there are many, many ways that parents can help safeguard their children and positively impact kids’ relationships.  Here are five of the simplest—yet most powerful—do’s and don’ts parents can use to help their kids handle conflict and bullying:

1. Words Matter
   Do help kids understand the difference between unintentionally rude behavior (such as butting ahead in the lunch line), mean comments said in a moment of anger between friends (e.g. “You’re not my best friend anymore”), and bullying behavior that is characteristically marked by purposeful cruelty that is repeated over time and involves an abuse of power (whether that power be size and strength or social rank at school.)
   Don’t allow kids to over-label rude and mean behaviors as ‘bullying.’  In recent years, gratuitous references to bullying in schools and communities have created a “little boy who cried wolf” phenomena, resulting in jaded adults failing to take action when needed and vulnerable children missing out on the adult support they desperately need. 
2. Conflict is OK
   Do teach your child that it is perfectly normal to disagree with a friend.  Differences of opinion are perfectly acceptable and learning how to communicate them respectfully is a critical social skill.
   Don’t worry that you’re too much of a helicopter parent if you intervene in your child’s friendship conflict.  Kids are not born knowing how to resolve conflict (goodness knows too many people make it to adulthood without this knowledge!).  Young people need supportive adults to coach them in how to disagree without arguing and how to apologize after they’ve behaved badly.
3. Bullying is Not OK
   Do talk to your child about the qualities of a good friendship and help them to set healthy boundaries on how they are treated by others.  Having a fight with a friend is one thing—being on the receiving end of persistent cruelty is quite another.  All young people should be empowered to know the difference.
   Don’t second-guess your child if he or she tells you that they are being bullied.  Listen to them, convey that you believe them, tell them you ae sorry for what they are going through, and help them problem-solve when they are ready for this step.  The experience of feeling heard and understood is invaluable for a young person.
4. BFF’s Do Not Have to Be Together 24/7/365
   Do let kids know that it’s totally natural for friends to get on each other’s nerves from time to time and that these feelings of irritation and annoyance are very different from actually “not liking each other anymore.”  Help your child understand that time away from a BFF can be a healthy thing and that spending time with other friends (or alone!) is not a sign that a friendship is over, but rather a wise choice.
   Don’t let kids get caught up in all-or-nothing thinking patterns that cause them to think that a period of annoyance with a BFF must result in the end of the friendship altogether.  Bullying too often begins where friendships end; besties become frenemies when a slight snowballs into a fight.  Adults play a key role in teaching young people that time apart can actually bring friends closer together.

5. Stronger at the Broken Places
   Do believe that your child is strong enough to cope with the emotions associated with conflict and bullying, including anger, sadness, embarrassment, confusion, and even humiliation. Empower the young person in your life to work through difficult situations and negative emotions and provide them with unconditional love and support all along the way.
   Don’t rescue your child from every problem situation and challenging emotional state.   While it can be incredibly difficult to watch a young person struggle with painful feelings, not allowing them to cope is far worse!  You are raising your child to become an adult and as such, he or she needs to know how to handle whatever life throws at them. 

Signe Whitson L.S.W., C-SSWS

The post 5 Do’s and Don’ts of Helping Kids Handle Bullying first appeared on International Talent Academy.

Part 1: What is Procrastination and why do People Procrastinate?

To understand the procrastinator’s psychology, it’s necessary to understand the two key figures at play in this dynamic: The Instant Gratification Monkey (the part of your brain that makes you procrastinate) and his dominion over the Rational Decision Maker.  

The procrastinator is in the bad habit, bordering on addiction, of letting the monkey win. He intends to control the monkey, but puts forth a hapless effort, using the same proven-not-to-work methods he’s used for years, and deep down, knows the monkey will win. He vows to change, but the patterns just stay the same. 

Let’s call this self-fulfilling prophecy his Storyline. The procrastinator’s Storyline goes something like this:

For the Have-To-Dos in my life, I’ll end up waiting until the last minute, panicking, and then either doing less than my best work or shutting down and not doing anything at all. For the Want-To-Dos in my life, let’s be honest—I’ll either start one and quit or more likely, I just won’t ever get around to it.

WHY DO WE PROCRASTINATE?

The root of the procrastinator’s problem is embedded in his Storyline, and his Storyline is what must change.

What do the right habits even look like, and where exactly will the procrastinator run into trouble? There are two components of being able to achieve things in a healthy and effective manner—planning and doing. Let’s start with the easy one:

PLANNING

Procrastinators love planning, quite simply because planning does not involve doing, and doing is the procrastinator’s Kryptonite. But when procrastinators plan, they like to do it in a vague way that doesn’t consider details or reality too closely, and their planning leaves them perfectly set up to not actually accomplish anything.

A BIG LIST OF ICKY, DAUNTING TASKS AND UNDERTAKINGS.

A big list of vague and daunting things makes the Instant Gratification Monkey laugh. Even if your gullible conscious mind believes it intends to accomplish the items on that list in an efficient manner, the monkey knows that in your subconscious, you have no intention of doing so.

EFFECTIVE PLANNING TAKES A BIG LIST AND SELECTS A WINNER

Planning must end with rigorous prioritizing and one item that emerges as the winner—the item you’re going to make your first priority. And the item that wins should be the one that’s most important for your happiness. 

EFFECTIVE PLANNING TURNS A DAUNTING ITEM INTO A SERIES OF SMALL, CLEAR, MANAGEABLE TASKS

No one “builds a house.” They lay one brick again and again and again and the end result is a house. Procrastinators are great visionaries—they love to fantasize about the beautiful mansion they will one day have built—but what they need to be are gritty construction workers, who methodically lay one brick after the other, day after day, without giving up, until a house is built.

Check back on Wednesday for part 2 of this blog – Why do People Procrastinate, a deeper look.

The post HOW TO BEAT PROCRASTINATION_Part 1 of 3 first appeared on International Talent Academy.