Culture Awareness

I try to be a well-rounded Mom. I try to have a little diversity in my house. We do art projects, we dance to music, we donate money to an Animal Shelter and to a Children's Foundation...

I try to recycle, and once I tried to explain this act to my oldest child. I showed him the difference between throwing cans and milk jugs into a big blue recycle bin versus the big grey one for trash, explaining that the jugs and cans and other bottles and cardboards we use everyday can be manufactured together to make a different box or bottle, etc., in the future. Then the next day I found some rocks and some dirt and a couple of (old) toys in the blue recycle bin. "What exactly is going on here?" I asked him. His reply was: "I want to see what else they can make!" The lesson on recycling was a lost cause.

In my urge to be the well-rounded individual I hope to be, I drag my kids to the local Farmers Market just about every Saturday. I go with the attitude that my kids will see first hand the "art" of fresh vegetables and fruits. I show them the different types of squash, and cherries, and herbs, and tomatoes... and then they see the sign for "fresh baked donuts". And suddenly the Farmers Market came alive! This was the best place ever! That's my kids; they'd happily go to a vaccination clinic if they knew donuts would be there. Nevermind the other fresh fruits and such in my stroller, the fact that someone was "cool" enough to sell "fresh baked donuts" was over-the-moon exciting. I think the Farmers Market was a lost cause, too.

My last hope for my children to find some culture is in the Library. I used to love going to the Library, and the joy of it has continued into my adulthood. I borrow the latest books that have been released-- free of charge-- or borrow the newest movies that hit the DVD shelves. I'm happy to say my children also share my enthusiasm for the Library! They love to go and look at the rows and rows of children's books, all their pages begging to be touched and turned. We don't usually leave the children's section without reading a few books first to "try them out" as my oldest would say.

The Library is probably the only place in the world that my kids have learned to be quiet. They use their softest whispering voices, they don't run or act wildly, they stay obediently by my side clutching in their arms the new treasures they've discovered. They help me scan them out at the desk, and as soon as we reach the car their noses are devored into page after page of animated bliss. I love to read and have tried to instill the value of books within my kids. I think it's safe to say they love it too!