Soraya Diase Coffelt's Blog, page 6
October 10, 2022
Celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day On Oct. 10 With Your Children
Columbus Day is a national federal holiday that is observed on the second Monday of October and on this year, October 10. Last October, President Joe Biden issued a proclamation for Indigenous Peoples Day, stating that “our Nation celebrates the invaluable contributions and resilience of Indigenous peoples, recognizes their inherent sovereignty, and commits to honoring the Federal Government’s trust and treaty obligations to Tribal Nations.” Although it is not a national federal holiday, Indigenous Peoples Day continues to be celebrated on the same day as Columbus Day.
In my opinion, it is very important for our children to learn more about and to honor indigenous peoples, not just on one day but also throughout the year. Below are some activities for your children with website links listed at the end of my blog:
The Hennepin County Library in Minnesota has a website page filled with ideas and suggestions, including books and movies.
The Smithsonian National Museum has a list of 5 things to do.
Indian Country Today has a listing by state of activities.
To learn more, please visit:
https://www.hclib.org/about/news/2022/October/celebrate-indigenous-peoples-day
https://nationaltoday.com/indigenous-peoples-day/
https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/more-joy-this-october-an-indigenous-peoples-day-event-list
October 3, 2022
Christians in Sports: 12 Christian Football Players in the NFL Your Children Should Know About
It seems that, all too often, we hear or read about the athletes who are involved with drugs or getting arrested on a criminal charge. It’s important to know that there are Christian athletes who can be good role models for your children. Today’s blog post is about 12 Christian football players in the NFL.
In her article on christianleaders.com titled 12 NFL Players Who LOVE Jesus (and Football), writer Stephanie Martin gives us the names of those players and a short description of each athlete’s faith:
Patrick Mahomes – Quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs - “On a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) video, he says, ‘Before every game, I walk the field and I do a prayer at the goalpost. I just thank God for those opportunities, and I thank God for letting me be on a stage where I can glorify him.’”
Dak Prescott – Quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys – “While recovering from surgery, he thanked supporters for their prayers and said he’s ‘excited for God’s purpose and plan.’”
Christian McCaffrey - Carolina Panthers running back – He was sidelined for an injury and said “It’s easy to have faith when everything is going well. But a true soldier has faith in times of adversity.”
Ryan Tannehill – Quarterback for the Tennessee Titans - “Guys are watching and listening to how you walk daily.” That’s why he “always [tries] to be conscious of that and reflect God’s light and shine into the paths of everyone around me.”
Case Keenum - Journeyman quarterback having played for 7 different teams - “I’m a Christian who happens to be a football player. Faith doesn’t leave when I hang up my cleats and put on my street clothes.”
DK Metcalf - Seattle Seahawks wide receiver - “I look at football as a platform to help other people or to spread the word of God.”
Trevor Lawrence - Quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars - “Football’s important to me, but it’s not my life. It’s not the biggest thing in my life. I would say my faith is.”
Justin Simmons - Denver Broncos safety - “My walk with the Lord has been an amazing journey,”
Kirk Cousins – Quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings - “Win or lose today, God is still on the throne, and I take comfort in that.”
Derek Carr - Las Vegas Raiders Quarterback - “The greatest decision I ever made is to give him Lordship over my life.”
Carson Wentz – Quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts - “The Bible talks about having a renewed mind (Romans 12:2). And so for me, that’s a daily thing to have my mind renewed by the Word and just fully surrender to the Lord.”
Nate Solder – Veteran offensive tackle who played with the New York Giants - “As scary and bleak as life can sometimes be, we know that the God of the universe has all things under his control, and his plans are and will always be for our good.”
To read the entire article, please visit:
https://churchleaders.com/news/331424-15-players-of-faith-to-watch-this-year-in-the-nfl.html
September 26, 2022
Helpful Advice and Actionable Steps for Fathers: the Book “Dad on Purpose” by Tim Dunn
When I come across good books or websites, I have shared them with you. This week, I wanted to share about the author Tim Dunn and his book Dad on Purpose. I love the title because being a good dad requires intent and action.
Tim is a father of 4 and had good role models for fatherhood yet struggled to be a better dad. During the Covid 19 pandemic, he founded a community for dads and established a website www.dadathlon.com. He also wrote the book Dad on Purpose: The Busy Dad’s Playbook for Loving Better, Doing More and Breathing Easier.
His goal is to help fathers build their strengths in three areas, similar to a triathlon:
Connecting: helping fathers to develop bonds with the people who matter most – their children and their mothers;
Providing: setting and achieving financial goals; and
Living: living a lifestyle that is healthy, happy, and long-lasting.
I interviewed Tim on my podcast Be Convinced! Sharing Lifechanging Stories of Hope. Please listen to it as I know that you will certainly enjoy our talk and be filled with hope!
Tim provides many suggestions and actionable steps in his book and is always open to more recommendations that help fathers. His website is filled with interesting articles and words of encouragement to help build a community of “like-minded, well-balanced dads”.
September 19, 2022
6-Year-Old Nora Donates $8.15 for Clean Water and Sparks a Fundraising Drive to Bring Clean Water to Communities All Over the World
Children can have a heart for service and impacting others from a very young age. Meet 6-year-old Nora who is the inspiration for today’s blog post.
Nora’s dad showed her a video about the nonprofit organization charity: water and the tremendous impact that it is making all over the world by providing clean water to communities. In many communities, it is the women and girls who must walk long distances carrying heaving containers to find and bring back water. Often this water is dirty, causing much sickness. Nora was so touched by what she heard and saw that she committed to donating her own money - $8.15 – to the organization so that children could have clean water.
To watch the video about Nora and learn more about charity: water and the film that inspired her, please visit https://archive.charitywater.org/nora/.
September 12, 2022
Stories to Inspire Your Children: Wilma Rudolph Overcame Polio To Become an Olympic Sprint Champion
Growing up, I loved to read biographies and autobiographies of people who had overcome many challenges. Their stories of determination to accomplish their goals truly inspired me! Today, I would like to share the story of Wilma Rudolph, an amazing woman who overcame polio to become an Olympic champion. Her story is one of many struggles and ultimate successes achieved by faith.
She was born in 1940 Tennessee and was the 20th of 22 children. By the age of 5, she had been sick with scarlet fever, pneumonia, and polio. As a result, she lost the strength in her left leg, and had to wear a brace until she was 12 years old. Because there was very little medical care for African Americans in her town, her family sought medical treatment for her at a historically Black hospital, Meharry Medical College, which was about 50 miles from where she lived. For two years, Wilma and her mother took a bus each week for treatment for her leg. Because of the medical treatment and frequent at home massages on her leg performed by family members, she was able to walk by age 12 without the leg brace or wearing an orthopedic shoe.
Wilma later said: "My doctors told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother."
It was during her high school years that she began to excel in sports, especially track. She attended a summer camp for track and then by her junior year, she participated in 1956 U. S. Olympic track and field trials and qualified for the 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics. Although she lost in the preliminary rounds, she gained experience that was critical to her future career. During her senior year in high school, she became pregnant and gave birth to her daughter Yolanda. She went on to attend college at Tennessee State University (TSU) where she continued to be coached in track and excelled.
She competed in 3 events in the 1960 Rome Summer Olympics and won a gold medal in each: the 100- and 200-meter sprints, as well as the 4 × 100-meter relay. She was the first American woman to win 3 gold medals in a single Olympiad. Wilma became very popular and known as “The Tornado – the fastest woman on earth.” The Italians called her “The Black gazelle”. In addition to winning the gold medals during her career, Wilma also won a bronze medal and broke 3 world records.
In the mid-1960s, Wilma left sports and returned to TSU to earn a degree in education. Wilma said: "When I was going through my transition of being famous, I tried to ask God why was I here? What was my purpose? Surely, it wasn't just to win three gold medals. There has to be more to this life than that." And, for Wilma, there was! She became a teacher and then actively participated in the Civil Rights Movement. She received many accolades and awards during her lifetime and was inducted to numerous Halls of Fame.
I will continue to write blogs about people whom I believe will inspire your children. Please be sure to share my blog posts with your children and discuss them.
To learn more about Wilma, please visit:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilma_Rudolph
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/wilma-rudolph
September 5, 2022
Labor Day – Teach Your Children About the Working Person’s Holiday
What do you know about the history of Labor Day, a national holiday that falls on the first Monday of September each year? It is known as the working person’s holiday.
In June 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed into law the creation of a national holiday known as Labor Day, seen as a way to appease workers. There had been unrest and dissatisfaction among American workers all over the United States who believed that they were underpaid and forced to work too many long hours, often in dangerous conditions. For almost a decade, there were strikes, boycotts, and riots.
The event that prompted action by Congress and the president was known as the Pullman Car Company strike in Chicago in 1894 when workers went on strike to protest cuts in their wages and the firing of union representatives. The strike shut down railroads all over the country. In response, the federal government sent in troops, resulting in mass riots with 13 workers killed and 60 injured.
Labor Day is often celebrated as the last day of summer. It is a time to plan many fun-filled family activities. Before you do so, please teach your children about this working person’s holiday and how it came to be established.
Below is a link for Labor Day ideas for children. Labor Day can be celebrated throughout the year, as many of these activities can be done at any time, not just on this holiday.
To learn more, please visit:
https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/labor-day-1
https://www.countryliving.com/life/g28648945/things-to-do-on-labor-day-near-me/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBMxtn7GnzE
https://www.teachingexpertise.com/classroom-ideas/labor-day-activities/
August 29, 2022
Inspiring Your Children: 11 year-old Hero Davyon Johnson Saves an Elderly Woman from a House Fire and a Classmate from Choking
What an amazing true story this is! Davyon Johnson is just 11 years old and attends 6th grade in Muskogee, Oklahoma. December 9, 2021 proved to be a very exciting and memorable day for him and others.
While in school, one of his friends tried to open a bottle of water with his teeth. The cap came off and went down his throat. The boy said, in a whispering voice, “I’m choking, I’m choking.” Davyon had seen the Heimlich maneuver on YouTube videos and went into action, squeezing the boy’s abdomen. He saved the boy’s life! His principal said: "He's just a very humble and old spirit. He's responsible, reliable, friendly, just a kind soul."
Then, later that day, he and his mother were in a car on their way to church. As they drove down a street, she saw what she described as smoke coming from a house. Davyon asked his mother to turn around and as he ran toward the house, he observed that it was on fire. Everyone had escaped except an elderly woman who was struggling with a walker. He ran to help her and guided her across the street, far from the fire.
What did Davyon have to say at the end of his day? "It makes me feel incredible that I saved two people's lives in one day." When asked why he did what he did that day, Davyon said that he knew that was what his father would do. A few years previously, his father had entered a burning apartment complex to make sure everyone was safe, and he was not a fireman. Sadly, his father had passed away that August due to Covid.
To read more about this hero, visit:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/26/us/davyon-johnson-student-saves-classmate-fire.html
August 22, 2022
Educating Your Children About Litter Prevention and Recycling
According to a 2021 study by Keep America Beautiful (KAB), a leading nonprofit that seeks to improve our community environment, littering continues to be a major problem in the United States. Who is littering? There is no one profile of a litterer as adults and children litter as well as peoples of all races and cultures. Why do people litter? Generally, it is because they expect someone else to cleanup for or after them. One of the main keys to solving the littering problem is through education, especially with our children.
What can we do? Here are some suggestions:
Research to find out if your local government has a litter prevention program and what type of information it provides. It will have a lot of written information that you can review with your children and even have them take to their classes.
Join a litter prevention group. KAB has many programs and initiatives on its website.
Ensure that your trash containers that are placed outside are sealed tightly so trash does not escape, or animals get into it.
Keep a litter bag in your vehicle and use it.
Join with your children in community cleanup days. They will see for themselves all the trash and truly appreciate the beauty of the environment once the area is cleaned up.
Teach your children about how important it is to recycle. This link has some activities that you can do with your children to help them learn more. https://www.naturespath.com/en-us/blog/19-activities-kids-learn-recycling/
Also, have your children help you with separating your family’s trash into what is recyclable and not.
There is so much that we can do to educate our children and get them involved in anti-littering initiatives and programs.
To learn more, please visit:
https://cvwma.com/cvwma-education/litter-prevention/
https://www.naturespath.com/en-us/blog/19-activities-kids-learn-recycling/
August 15, 2022
Preparing Our Children for and Helping Them Through Hurricanes and Other Storms
I’m from the Caribbean and know all too well the anxieties associated with the hurricane season, which runs generally from June through October each year. In other parts of the United States, there are different seasons for storms, such as tornadoes and ice. As adults, we know that we need to take appropriate measures to be prepared so that we can keep ourselves and our families safe. How can we prepare and help our children who are also experiencing these severe storms?
On a blog on the website for Nemour’s Children’s Health, which is one of the top children’s hospitals in the United States, there are 5 recommendations for parents. These recommendations can apply to any severe weather that your family may experience. Importantly, children learn how to respond based on what they hear and see happening around them, so it is important to communicate with them and keep them involved.
Here are the 5 recommendations:
Talk with your children. Use simple words to describe the nature of the storm. Assure them that you will do all that is necessary to keep them safe.
Try to remain calm and rational yourself. If your children see or hear that you are anxious, they are likely to become anxious too. Remember that they learn from you how to react in and to situations.
Involve your children in preparations. There are many hurricane and other severe weather kits and instructions to help you plan and prepare. Encourage your children to read and help you with what needs to be done. Discuss whether you will stay in your home or seek shelter elsewhere. There are many decisions that must be made, and children can be involved in making some of them.
During the storm, be sure to have your children’s comfort items close by, such as favorite stuffed animals, blankets, and toys. Also, have a variety of materials to keep them engaged such as board games, coloring books, puzzles, and books. If the electricity goes out or the internet goes down, you will need to have activities for them that do not rely on electricity or the internet.
After the storm, ask your children to participate in cleaning up. Also, try to avoid too much media coverage as the news may make them anxious and scared. Importantly, closely monitor them for signs of excessive stress, such as sleep problems.
In addition to these recommendations, please consider not telling your children “don’t be scared”. Instead, say “it’s ok to be worried, but we will do everything we can to ….” It is best not to downplay their fears, but show compassion and understanding.
To learn more, please visit:
https://blog.nemours.org/2016/06/preparing-kids-for-hurricanes-without-freaking-them-out/
August 8, 2022
Inspire Your Children to Participate in a Spelling Bee This Year!
Spelling bees are an important activity for your children to learn new words, better grammar, and make lots of friends. Here is the inspiring story of 14-year-old Zaila Avant-Garde from Harvey, Louisiana, the national spelling bee champion who, in July, 2021, made history. She was the first African American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee in its 70-year history. Along with the beautiful trophy and accolades came a prize of $50,000!
Zaila was home-schooled and blocked out 7 hours a day to study words. Her parents invested in her through spelling tutors and computer programs to help her learn words and spell better. But, that is not all she did. She also holds 3 Guinness Book of World Records: the most bounce juggles in one minute with 4 basketballs and the most basketball bounces in 30 seconds with 4 basketballs; and she ties the record for most basketballs dribbled at once.
When asked what the “coolest” part of the competition and her celebrity status was, Zaila said: “I became visible to a lot of young girls who are minorities, and they just saw me.” Yes, she has become a role model for many young minority boys and girls.
I have written before about the wonderful learning experience spelling bees are for children. In my blog post titled In Spelling Bees, All Children Are Winners! , I list 5 ways that children can benefit from learning new words. Please take a few minutes and read it. Your child may not be the next Zaila Avant-Garde but participating in a spelling bee will build a lot of memories and help them with their education.
To learn more, please visit:
https://time.com/6080654/zaila-avant-garde-spelling-bee-equality/
