Orange Parents

So you’ve stuffed yourself full of black-eyed peas, cabbage, and fish. You’re bound and determined to solve all the world’s problems this year… or at least lose five pounds. You promise your family and friends to be around more. You have a detailed plan to get out of debt in the next twelve months. You’re making grand plans to volunteer more, get organized, maybe learn a new language.

But what happens when someone brings fresh doughnuts to the office? When you find an incredible deal for that flat screen you’ve had your eye on? When you get hooked on a new reality TV show?

At Studio252 this month, we are going to talk about the very thing that can make your New Year’s resolutions more than just a great idea—self-control. We define self-control as simply choosing to do what you should do not what you want to do. So what’s fun about that?? Well, get your family together for some of these activities and find out just how fun learning about self-control can be!

• Watch as the studio252 team learns a very important lesson about just how important self-control can be!
• Practice self-control by playing a classic game of Simon Says.
• Bake a batch of cookies together—without eating all the dough!
• Let your kids show off their self-control skills by pushing the cart next time you’re at the store!

Practicing self-control can be a lot more fun than it sounds, but the best part of self-control comes when it’s all said and done–when you avoid the break room or TV room all day and you get to see the fruits of those New Year’s resolutions. So for more tips, games, and ideas for you and your family, visit studio252.tv and download this month’s CueBox!

The last Thursday of the month is sneaking closer and closer. Maybe you’re desperately trying to organize last-minute travel plans or pulling out trundles, air mattresses, egg crates, anything to somehow sleep sixteen people in your three bedroom house. Maybe you are putting the finishing touches on your perfect Thanksgiving meal plan or more likely trying to figure out how to make chicken nuggets festive since that’s the only food item your nine-year-old will eat.

So in the midst of all the stressful yet wonderful holiday madness how will you find time to plan your deep and profound answer to the age-old Thanksgiving-dinner-table question: So what are you grateful for this Thanksgiving? Good news! We may not be able to deliver a perfect home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner to your doorstep or remodel your home in time for the holidays but Studio252 is here to help you get in the Thanksgiving spirit by talking about the virtue of Gratitude all month long!

We believe that having a grateful heart starts with letting others know you see how they’ve helped you. That’s how we define gratitude. And when you and your children learn to adopt an attitude of gratitude, you see the world in a new light! You begin to realize that you always have something to be grateful for—whether it’s Thanksgiving Day or a Tuesday in the middle of May.

So find time in the next few weeks to practice showing gratitude with your kids. Here are just a few suggestions to get you started. And if you want a lot more fun ideas, videos, games, and endless hours of entertainment for your and your family, visit studio252.tv to download this month’s CueBox materials!

• Watch as the Studio252 team launches the Operation Christmas Child campaign.
• Bake Cookie Pops with your family to give to someone in your community as a token of appreciation.
• Play a game of charades with the words being people, places, or things you are grateful for.
• Throw an Appreciation Celebration for family and friends to show your gratitude.

Thank you for following what’s happening at studio252.tv. We hope your family is stuffed with gratitude this Thanksgiving season!

For more on ways to talk about Gratitude with your kids, watch this virtue preview video:

Preview: Pit Stop (November 2011) from Orange on Vimeo.

Are you looking for a way for you and your family to make a difference this Christmas? What about putting Christmas in a box to have it delivered to someone who has never received a Christmas present?

You can do that! Just pack a shoebox full of Christmas and deliver it to Operation Christmas Child.

The Operation Christmas Child website walks you through how to pack a shoe box including what are great items to include as well as where and when you need to deliver it. You can even track your shoe box and know where in the world it is delivered.

Plan a night this week to spend with your family to make a difference in a child’s life this Christmas. Have dinner together and then hop in the car to visit the local discount store. Walk through the aisles with your child choosing items that will bless another child somewhere far away. Then return home to pack up Christmas in a box.

The time you spend with your family may end up beinan even better present than the one you send around the world.

This month our First Look friends are learning that they are FANTASTICALLY MADE! God made them, and that makes them FANTASTIC!

The Bible teaches us that each and every one of us is “wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) by Him. That’s right. God made me, and God made you!

God made each and every part of you.

Spend some time this month looking in the mirror and pointing out all the different parts of your preschooler.

See those beautiful blue eyes. God made them.

See that adorable nose. God made it.

See that wonderful smile. God made it.

Or, grab your digital camera and take pictures of your preschooler’s eyes, feet, hands, hair and arms. As you look at the pictures, remind him that God made those eyes. God made those feet. God made it all! Isn’t that FANTASTIC?

You could even make photo album consisting of each family member. (Let your preschooler take the pictures.) Then, flip through the photo album each night and pray for each person there. Thank God that He made them, and that they are FANTASTIC.

The Wheel.

The Sistine Chapel.

The International Space Station.

The Segway.

According to Sir Ken Robinson, a well-known education reformer, “far more than any other power, imagination is what sets human beings apart from every other species on earth.” When cheetahs need a fast getaway, they run faster. Humans invent automobiles. When a chipmunk needs shelter from a storm, he digs a hole. Humans design and construct multi-room homes. We are the only species made in the image of a creative God and it is apparent everywhere we look; the human race thrives on their creativity.

When we really believe we are made in the image of God, we believe in a new set of possibilities. When we understand the image of God that is in us, we begin to look at life from a new perspective. In fact, we think it is so important to spend time talking with our children about creativity. Because it is through their ability to tap into their imagination that they can carry out the great plans God has for their lives. So we are spending the entire month of October talking about the idea of creativity: using your imagination to do something unique. In other words, creativity is simply IMAGINATION + ACTION. And here are a few practical actions to kick-start your family’s creativity this month:

• Watch as Z and our newest member, Fett, use their imaginations to find a unique solution to a very big problem.
• Paint a family portrait… with your toes!
• Write, direct, and perform an original play as a family.
• Create an obstacle course just using objects in your backyard.
• Cut out words from a magazine and use them to write your own song or poem.

For more about these activities and many others, visit studio252.tv and download this month’s CueBox! You can also watch Reggie talk more about Creativity in the virtue preview video below.

Preview: Imagine That (October 2011) from Orange on Vimeo.

There’s no doubt that the media has impacted our current perceptions of beauty in a powerful way through a pervasive presentation of unnatural and mostly unattainable beauty. The pressure to try to measure up has never been higher on women, men, and now children of all ages.

42% of 1st to 3rd Graders want to be thinner. 81% of 10 years olds fear getting fat. [Dove Real Beauty Campaign]

More than half of teenage girls are, or think they should be, on diets. About 3% go too far, becoming anorexic or bulimic. [ANRED]

In 2004, the average age girls started to use beauty products was 17. In 2009, the age has dropped to 13.

8 to 12 years old spend $40+ million a month on beauty products. Teenagers spend $100 Million. [NPD Group]

Cosmetic surgery procedures for those under 18 has doubled in the last 10 years. [American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery]

Culture and the media are having their say. As a parent, what messages are you sending to your children? What conversations are you having?

Mark your calendars for September 26th and plan a special dinner with your family.

We have all heard the saying that “families who eat together stay together” and that kids who have family dinner regularly are less likely to use drugs or alcohol as teens and are more likely to excel in school. Well despite the research, we aren’t always very good at making it a priority.

According to 2010 Pew Research,  1 in 5 families eat only occasionally or never with their families. And only half of families make it a daily ritual.

Statistics aside, here are some other excellent reasons posted on blogforfamilydinner.org why parents should make dinner with their kids a priority:

Family dinner adds a “break” to crazy, over-scheduled days.

Family dinner gives you a daily “touch-base” with kids of any age.

Family dinner saves money.

Family dinner makes healthy eating easier for everyone.

Family dinner gives you time to be a family.

Check out http://blogforfamilydinner.org/ for the full blog and make dinner with your family a priority.

Family Day Eat Dinner With Your Children was launched in 2001 by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University as a national initiative “to remind parents that what your kids really want at the dinner table is YOU!”

This month in 252 Basics, we are exploring what it means to have knowledge. For us, knowledge is “discovering something new so you can be better at what you do.”  In this preview, Reggie Joiner explains how KNOWLEDGE is a reflection of God’s character working in us to change the world around us. He then explores how the 252 Basics Bible stories will work together to unpack God’s truth in a way that makes the virtue come to life.

Preview: Grow Up (September 2011) from Orange on Vimeo.

It’s home to the king of rock and roll. In the past decade, more than 120,000 baby girls were given the name. And it’s something many of us say before picking up our dinner forks. But this month, at studio252.tv, we are going to introduce you to an entirely different side of GRACE!

We believe that grace is getting something great that you don’t deserve. But before we can fully comprehend the power of grace, we have to realize that we all mess up. Only then can we start to understand how incredible it is that no matter how much we mess up, God still offers eternal life; God is waiting and ready to give us something great even though we don’t deserve it!

It’s so critical for us to understand the significance of grace—for our relationship with God, our own self worth, and how we treat others. That’s why we want you to spend the month of August talking with your child about grace. The Studio 252 team has put their heads together and thought up dozens of fun ways to learn about the virtue of grace as a family. Here are just a few to get you started:

• Watch this month’s CueBox episode to see “The Boss” give the Studio 252 staff something great and definitely undeserved
• Over a game of catch, talk to your kids about how grace is something we have to learn to accept—or catch!
• Practice giving your time by volunteering as a family with a local charity
• Play a fun family game like four square, kickball, or tag—but challenge each other to give a little grace where the rules are concerned!

It’s so simple to fit the idea of grace into our every day lives. So this month, look for opportunities to talk with your child about getting something great that you don’t deserve. And for more suggestions—or cues—go to studio252.tv and sign up for this month’s CueBox!