Glitter & Razz Blog

This morning in circle, we asked the kids “Name one thing that you can’t do now that you hope to learn one day.”  Not everyone chose to share, but those who did offered up great goals:

Sheridan , Mia, Evie- ride a 2 wheeler bike

Luke & Natalie- learn to write

Annalise & Hannah- learn to snap

Cate & Phoebe- learn to whistle

Eliana- do the monkey bars

Zach S.-speak Spanish

Alyssa- learn to speak French

Ben- learn my lines in the play

Maybe one day, I will learn to hula hoop like these kids are…

In groups, we made dances celebrating learning to do these things. The kids said that learning something new takes practice, paying attention, bravery and hard work!  We talked about how imagining yourself doing something is a good way to practice it.  Dancing it or acting it out is another way to build confidence!  After our “Yes we can dances”, we moved into 3 big groups to create dance tricks using props. 

Kids chose to create a dance using hula hoops, scarves or a parachute to share at Friday’s show.  They also made special awards for themselves in art class and painted their clay projects.

In drama, each group finished their play!  All actors are practicing remembering lines and cues- a good challenge for the week.  In our last couple of days together, we’ll explore all ways to move through stage fright and how to help one another if we forget what to do.  The kids are thrilled to see their story ideas come to life and chat about the play during snack time and after care.  Friday will be an exciting event and a perfect way to end the summer!

Alyssa Milano is also 37. I met her once. She was quite nice. One of my only meaningful celebrity encounters.

I turn 37 years old on Wednesday.  37 is not that exciting.  I guess the only milestone is that I have now moved from my mid-30’s into my late 30’s (or do I get one more year?).

The other day Allison was telling me about how Berkeley Montessori School celebrates its 100th day of school with a project where the students have to bring in 100 of something.  She saw all kinds of projects with 100 jelly beans or 100 Q-tips or what have you.

I always look at my birthday as a time to reflect, express gratitude, and set new goals for myself.  So, I decided to celebrate my not-so-exciting 37th birthday with 37 blog posts in 7 days.  Having to post what will be approximately 5 posts a day for the next week will:
1) Allow me to really notice what is going on in my life and my business;
2) Give me a challenge that is difficult but not impossible to achieve;
3) Help bring focused attention to my blogging and my marketing activities in general as I work to build my community around my work.

I hope you will join me.  I brainstormed a list of topics that I can blog about this week and I think it’s going to be some interesting stuff.  I invite you to take the challenge with me if you would also like this kind of challenge for yourself.

And, in celebration of 37, I honor some of these cool celebs who were also born in 1972.

I loved Anika Noni Rose in Dreamgirls and she is going to be the voice of Disney's first African American princess.

Who didn't love Muriel's Wedding and congrats on the Emmy!

Okay, I will admit...I love The Rock.

Jill Scott is a Goddess!

If you saw the Dave Chappelle episode with Wayne Brady you know why I am honoring him here. Brilliant. If you haven't watched it, you must. Just make sure your kids aren't anywhere around you.

Generation Z – I just heard this term for the first time today while drinking my morning black tea and reading Penelope Trunk’s blog.  It’s not the biggest shock or anything.  It’s just that I hadn’t really thought of our kids* as another generation onto their own yet.

I did some searching around the internet on what folks are saying about our kids.  Here are some quotes that stood out to me:

They are exposed to technology very early in their lives and most already have an online identity.  They are considered the most stressful generation for their involvement in too many extra-curricular activities…more

Viewed by many as a postmodern generation, Generation Z have grown up in a world with relatively widespread gender equality at work and in the home, and in which single-parent (and, to a lesser extent, same-sex parent) families are commonplace, as well as two-income families…more

American parents are giving their children increasingly unique and unusual names…researchers caution that, while this trend indicates the increasing value parents are putting on uniqueness, it could lead to narcissistic behavior that will isolate children from the crowd their parents hope they will stand out from…more

Now what?  As we know, with change comes opportunity.  Sure, we can look at these trends and nostalgically bemoan the loss of innocence.  We can ask, “what’s happening to childhood?” and worry that our kids are going to be disconnected, isolated, narcissistic individuals without the capacity to carry out real human-to-human communication.

But, that doesn’t sound like any fun.

I’d prefer to look at the experiences of our kids as an opportunity for what’s possible in our country, in our world.  How will we support them to use their quick ability to access all kinds of information to help solve our biggest problems?  How will their understanding of family structures broaden and deepen their levels of love and compassion and respect for difference?  How will they be encouraged to express their uniqueness in the context of peaceful communities?  These are the types of questions I spend my time meditating on.

I mean, hey, Sasha and Maleah Obama are part of this Generation Z.  That’s got to mean something.

*Please note: when I say “our kids,” I am not referring to my kids.  I don’t have kids.  I am referring to all of our kids collectively.  The kids we all care about.  The kids of our global village that we are doing our part to raise, teach, mentor, support, love, and inspire.  Although I am not officially a mom, I am proud to be part of the lives of “our kids.”

I just got  into John Jantsch’s Duct Tape Marketing Podcast.  I like it.  It’s intelligent and accessible at the same time.  I would recommend it to those of you, like me, who are working really hard to educate yourselves about the ins and outs of marketing without having a marketing background.

Anyway, I just listened to an episode from way back in December 2008 with Chris Brogan, a social media expert, about using Twitter for business that really opened my eyes.  Chris, who posts hundreds of tweets a day, talks about Twitter as a “human tool.”  He likes it because it is a simple way to actually meet and have real conversations with real people.  He likes it best when people are authentically themselves, share useful information, and build real connections.

Isn’t that cool?  Isn’t that what we teacher/artists types are really going for?  Isn’t that why we are on this planet?   To help people put down the pretentious, self-serving, ego-starved behaviors and be present and real with each other?  So, we should start looking at Twitter as a way to help us do that.  Yes, there are a lot of pretentious, self-serving, ego-starved folks on Twitter who use it for those means.  But, that doesn’t mean that we have to let them win.

Here is my call to artists, teachers, youth workers, social workers, therapists, activists, facilitators, and all around changemakers…use Twitter as a human tool for good…

…oh, and follow me at twitter.com/lynnjohnson

I had a stroke of genius on the final day of our Go Girls! Camp last week and I want to share it with you.  Fridays are the days that we go to the park.  When the girls come back from the park,  we usually give them a “special snack”  Not the regular Cheddar Bunnies or Animal Crackers we always give them.  The week before it had been Otter Pops.

So this, having been the final Friday right before show day, it seemed only natural that they get another “special snack.”  However, just 2 days earlier, it was our music teacher (Brendan’s) birthday and everyone got cupcakes.  They even got to choose whether they wanted chocolate or vanilla.  Because of this Allison explained on Friday morning at our opening community circle that we would be having a normal afternoon snack that day.

Not long after came the “aawws” and “boos” and whines of “I want a special snack.”  Now, we never condone this behavior.  Since we are teaching and reinforcing effective social/emotional behavior, our job is to call that stuff out right away.  So, like the creative genius I am, I said, “I understand that this is a disappointment but whining is not okay.  Whenever I feel disappointed that something didn’t turn out like I wanted it to, I will immediately turn it into a gratitude.  So, instead of ‘we can’t have a special snack today” I will think ‘I am so grateful for the special snack we had the other day.’”

And they totally got it.  They sincerely listened and I could see them take it in.  One girl even said, “oh, it’s like ‘Fortunately/Unfortunately.”  The genius of this comparison is that Fortunately/Unfortunately is a great improv/word game that we had played earlier in camp to help us develop the conflict of our play.  This is always my goal, to have the girls learn important life lessons through the theatrical process.  And it worked!

Stay tuned for more wisdom from the Go Girls! Camp.

In case you were wondering what marriage really is, Grover and his friend Jesse break it down for you.

I can’t believe it really happened.  The “voice of the people” won out even though that voice is unfair and discriminatory.  The argument is “but the people voted.  It must be right.”

I would like to appeal to all of the teachers out there to consider the following scenario.  You have a class of 12 kids.  There is one little boy whom 7 of the kids have decided that they don’t like and want to leave out of their group.  This little boy is friends with the other 4 kids.  You notice what is happening and ask what is going on.  “You can’t treat him like that,” you say in your best teacher voice.

“But Teacher,” the 7 say, “we took a vote.  7 of us want to exclude him and only 5 of us want to include him.  This is a democracy so we win.”

Now teachers, what happens now?  I know you know.  I know you would negate that vote for reasons related to “because I say so” because you are teacher and you are the leader of this classroom and you have a strong sense of the way your students should treat each other.

I am not saying that the majority of California voters are behaving immature or childish.  I could say that but, believe me, I am not.  What I am saying is that leaders (politicians, judges, etc) need to step up and insist on what is right and what is wrong behavior in a society just like a teacher does in her classroom.  We teachers are very clear on the fact that every student on our watch needs to feel safe, valued, and respected.  We understand that, above anything else, this is the most important rule in our classes.  And we enforce this rule at all times.  The California Supreme Court perhaps needs to take a lesson.

And now what?  The fight continues.  As a we move foward to get this back on the ballot in 2010, we should all find ways to do our part to make sure that fairness and respect wins out.  For those of you wondering how to engage your kids in this conversation, Family Equality Council has some excellent resources for kids and families on this subject.  Here is something that I am particularly interested in:

Become a Host of Play Dates with a Purpose™
Play dates provide a great opportunity to spread the word to other parents about Prop 8 and how it hurts families, as well as to tell them how they can Get Engaged in defeating Prop 8. Join other families who are transforming their regular weekend play dates for their children into Play Dates with a Purpose™.

I would love Glitter & Razz to become an host of these Play Dates.  Let me know if you would come.  And let me know what else we can do to help this cause.

I just have to take this space to brag. Due to the overwhelming popularity of our Itty Bitty Arts Camps this summer, we are actually adding an extra week!

Itty Bitty Arts Camps are week-long camps for boys & girls ages 4-6 where they move & groove, share stories, and magic messes towards the creation of a low-pressure performance they share with their friends and families.

Interested? Registration is now open!

I have been teaching kids for almost 20 years.   And never have I heard kids talk so favorably about a president.  He is pretty much a superhero.

Yesterday, we had a Play in a Day Camp at Glitter & Razz and the theme was “Love ‘Em & Lead ‘Em.”  We have had a few leadership theme camps this year and I am getting really into them.  Leadership is such an elusive idea to so many of us, no matter what our age.  So, it’s really fascinating to sit down with young children and see what they think.

When the kids (ages 4-8 were represented) were asked what they knew about President Obama, here is what they said:

• “He is saving the environment.”
• “He stopped the war.” (Interesting.)
• “He is a nice man.”
• “I love him!” (said by a 7 year old, white, boy…isn’t that cool?)

Please continue this exploration of leadership with me.  Tell me what your kids are saying about our president. And I’d love to chat with you about how we can talk to our very young about leadership.

My dad can be really cool sometimes.  Yesterday, he left me a voice mail message that went something like this:

My Dad with my niece at our wedding

Hi Lynn.  This is your father.  Just wanted to call and acknowledge you today.  Even though you and Allison don’t have biological kids of your own…yet…the work that you do at Glitter & Razz is supportive and nurturing to so many children.  You deserve to share in a piece of this day too.  My love to both you and Allison.

Cool, right?