Orange Parents

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!

CUE Box and Studio252.tv have so many great resources for my family. We love the Meal Time Discussion guides, but we don’t always have dinner at home, and I forget to take those guides with me. And my sons love watching the videos online. I’ve often wished I had those when we’re sitting in traffic or hanging out between ballgames.

The other day, we were in a brainstorming meeting and thought up a solution: a belt clip for the CUE Box! That way you could easily hook your CUE Box right on your belt or purse and have it with you everywhere.

You would always be ready to make the most of those every day moments with your kids.

But as we tested it out, it seemed a bit awkward and, I’m sorry to say, looked pretty dorky. Maybe a CUE Box belt clip wasn’t the answer. If only there was a way to keep the basics of the valuable CUE Box resources with me all the time—on some kind of device that I always carry with me . . . .

The Parent Cue app is born!

The Parent Cue app offers resources for those every day moments that happen away from home:

• Drive Time offers weekly videos retelling Bible stories and music that you and your kid will love.
• Hang Time gives weekly activities your family will enjoy and fun monthly videos.
• Meal Time provides discussion starters for kids and parents to help you take conversations a bit deeper.
• Parent Time is full of insight, information, and encouragement just for parents.

All of the content on the Parent Cue app lines up with the 252 Basics lessons they are already going through at church, allowing you as parents to continue the conversation all week long. You can also receive a daily push notification that reminds you to use their Parent Cue and connect with your kids. So, go to the Apple App Store or Android Market and pick up your Parent Cue for only $1.99.

Or send me an email and I’ll send you a very stylish CUE Box belt clip. The choice is yours.

There are a few more weeks of summer left, which means a few more weeks of entertaining kids. If you have one last road trip before school starts, you and your kids may want to consider downloading one or two of Sam Luce’s recommended iPad apps. We came across this blog post several weeks ago and thought it worth reposting. What are your favorite Apps for Kids?

10 Best iPad Apps for Kids

1. Casey’s Contraptions – crazy addicting think Angry Birds meets actual laws of physics.

2. Parent Cue – reThink’s CUE Box for the iPad – if you use reThink’s 252 Basics curriculum this is a no-brainer.

3. Toy Story Read Along – stunning ebook for the iPad also includes interactive treats like video, coloring and games.

READ MORE

What did you want to be when you grew up? A firefighter? Pro-ball player? Cowgirl? Whatever it was, I bet one of three things happened. You stuck to your plan and are now working in the field you’ve dreamed of since you learned to ride a bike, you gave up, or you changed your mind—which is really the best thing in most cases. I mean, let’s be honest, Spiderman’s life seems glorious now but I think once you got into it, you would find it to be very lonely.

So let’s go back to the second scenario: you gave up. As a third grader, you thought it would be cool to get your PhD. Then you found out it costs as much as a house and you have to write a thesis that’s longer than any book you’ve read. Or maybe as a fifth grader you wanted to be an author. But then you found out you have to actually write a book to do it. Even outside of the question “what do you want to be when you grow up?”—how many times have you gotten discouraged in every day life? Thrown in the towel? Abandoned the mission when things got hard?

It seems so easy for us to say to our kids, “You can be anything you want to be.” “The sky’s the limit.” “Dream big.” But then we fail to equip them with the knowledge and tools they need to reach their goals. It’s great to give our children the confidence to reach for the stars. But at the same time, we have to talk about how hard life can get, the obstacles they may face, and how to persevere when something unexpected comes their way.

We are spending the month of July talking about just that. Perseverance: refusing to give up when life gets hard. Life is going to get hard. So take some time this month and talk to your child about ways to persevere through the tough times. Here are just a few of the fun ideas our team at studio252.tv came up with to open a great conversation about the importance of perseverance.

• Watch as Jon perseveres through every possible obstacle to make sure the CueBox is completed on time!
• Use graph paper to draw your own maze. Then, challenge a family member to solve it.
• Talk about how a messy situation can turn into something great by making paper-mache bowls.
• Learn about historical figures that persevered to make a great contribution to the world.

To read more about these fun activities and tons more, go to studio252.tv and sign up for this month’s CueBox materials. Because no matter how high you reach, life is going to get hard. And maybe, just maybe, if you teach your child about how to persevere when life gets hard, you could raise the very first astronaut ballerina!

VIRTUE VIDEO: PERSEVERANCE (July 2011) from Orange on Vimeo.

The wind. Sound waves. A feeling. A thought.

There are hundreds of things we can’t see but we know exist because of what we can see. Think about it. We know there is wind because we see the leaves blowing. We know there are sound waves because we can see a speaker vibrating. We can see the effect of love. We hear the words formed by thoughts.

It’s easy to believe in the invisible things because they affect our world in a very visible and tangible way. This is such an important concept for your child to grasp. That’s why we are spending the entire month of June helping you, as a parent, teach your child how to have faith in themselves, others, and—most importantly—a big God they can trust no matter what.

As always, we have defined our virtue for the month—FAITH—in a unique and simple way: trusting in what you can’t see because of what you can see. And to help you discover more about faith with your child this month, the Studio252 team has come up with dozens of activities, discussion starters, and videos for you and your family to enjoy together:

• Watch as Jenny learns some important lessons on Faith when she has to rely on the rest of the Studio252 team in more ways than one.
• Go on a scavenger hunt for unique and creative things that only God could make.
• Practice having a little faith by letting your family guide you through an obstacle course—while wearing a blindfold!
• Make a list of all the things God can do that you can’t do and discuss how those things might help us have faith in a God we can’t see.

To see these activities and so much more, go to studio252.tv and sign up for this month’s cue box! We can’t wait to see the effects of talking about faith with your kids this month!

Watch this video for more ideas on teaching your children the virtue of faith: