I’m a kid… at heart. Hey – Maybe that’s why I’ve never forgotten how to have fun! Did you know that if you can draw a circle, a square and a triangle, you can draw a SKELETON? During Halloween week I had fun showing classes of 1st and 2nd graders how to draw one – And then we made him animate using two sheets of paper!
Got KIDS? You can show them, too. Go ahead. Have some fun!
Sending Love, Ruth Elliott-Hilsdon
Co- Founder and Director of Edu Designs, a 501(c) (3) Non Profit Fed. Tax ID # 261576531
When you donate to Edu Designs, you help students Build their Brains and Hearts through the Arts. Follow YOUR heart. Click on the seal below to give:
Children need positive influences to inspire them with a love of learning and high ideals of good character.
They will become the adults in charge one day, so we need to fill them will good things BEFORE they grow up. As my mom used to say, “Before it’s too LATE!”
It’s quite a big job, but raising my own 7 kids taught me to be thrifty and make the best use of every penny. None of us here at EDU DESIGNS receives a salary, so 100% of your donation goes to help support our mission of creating and distributing media for the education and character development of children. We know you care about kids or you wouldn’t be reading this.
Thank you for helping provide the Arts for children!
For more information about the impact this music is making in the schools and how the arts matter to the world, contact NEO’s director, Cynthyny (Bo) Lebo, at 818-742-5099
RUTH SHARES HER 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN ART, STEP BY STEP, TO
“SEE WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING AT!”
Emmy Award winning author and illustrator Ruth Elliott worked at studios such as Disney, Warner Brothers and Hanna Barbera, on shows such as Space Jam, The Tigger Movie, The Smurfs, The Simpsons, The Jetsons – and more.
Schools all over the world use these step-by-step lessons that build on each previous one to:
SEE what you’re LOOKING at!
The 90+ pages include tips from how to hold your pencil to life drawing, cartooning, storytelling and animation.
The average cost of college is more than $20,000 per YEAR.
Get the benefit of Ruth’s 30-years of experience
without taking 30 years to learn!
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS OPPORTUNITY TO HELP A CHILD’S BRAIN AND HEART
IT WILL GET them THINKING.
And Drawing.
And CARING about the world around them.
The character values of compassion and persistence are imparted throughout the book, with anecdotes from the true story of Roscoe the squirrel Ruth rescued as a baby. How wonderful to enjoy a good story while you learn!
When she heard that children involved in the arts improved their math scores by up to 15%, Ruth worked relentlessly, taking years perfecting a system that could teach the brain and hand to work together.
Why is it that some people seem to have more empathy than others? And some seem to have none at all. How did we get this way? Is it nature? Is it nurture?
Neuroscientist Dr. Marco Iacoboni, author of “Mirroring People, the new Science of how we connect with others” tells how scientists have discovered the brains’ capacity for what they call ‘mirroring’: the ability to feel something that happens to another as though it’s happening to us!
[dropshadowbox align=”none” effect=”lifted-both” width=”600px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]According to Dr. Iacoboni, “…whenever you expose kids to any form of violence, through media, through video games or through films, then you put these kids at risk of expressing violence with their own acts because they’re going to imitate that.“[/dropshadowbox]
What we call ‘empathy’ happens when our brains light up in the same areas in our brains that mirror what the other person is feeling. One of the earliest scientific observations found a monkey’s brain fired up seeing someone licking an ice cream cone as though he were eating it himself!
Dr. Iacoboni says, “All in all, we come to understand others via imitation, and imitation shares functional mechanisms with language and empathy.”
To me that sounds like: “MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO!”
Most of us are innately wired to feel for each other.
It’s no wonder that most spiritual faiths embrace some kind of teaching that expresses “Treat others the way YOU want to be treated”.
Our kids will only be teachable for a little while, and they are learning from YOU things that are ‘more caught than taught’. Dr. Iacoboni said, ”The way we understand other people’s feelings is by simulating in our brain the same activity we have when we experience those emotions.”
Turn off the TV and involve them with the day to day things that you need to do. Let them ‘mirror’ what YOU are doing. It’ll be more fun if you work together. They’ll learn to help and their fun will be so much better when they are done. And they’ll be proud of themselves.
I know you care about educating children for good character, or you wouldn’t be reading this.
If you ARE a parent, here are some links you can use to help you find things fast on GoMommyGO®:
Many thanks for reading and caring about the future adults around you! For your gift of any amount, we have something special for you – Click here to find out what it is!
Kids and Parents need all the help they can get.
EDU DESIGNS and GoMommyGO® are there to help, providing materials for parents and teachers who can’t afford them. We need YOUR help to do that!
Before you get worried wondering, the quick answer is:
“NO”. You CAN’T spoil a baby.
There are many reasons.
Babiesneed consistent Loving Attention. Not only for physical survival but for the emotional security and intellectual development to build a strong foundation for the rest of their lives.
BEING A BABY CAN BE VERY STRESSFUL
I remember. Here’s one of my memories of infancy at around a month old:
In a dimly lit room, lying on my stomach in my crib, I awoke to sounds of people laughing in the other room. I wanted to go out and enjoy the fun, but I couldn’t get up. Just lifting my head took a huge effort, so I called out for someone to come and get me. Sadly, no one heard me. I cried out over and over, to no avail until I became so exhausted I fell asleep again. I awoke later as my Mama was coming into the room.She picked me up and smiled. I was exhilarated and thought, ‘Finally! Now I’ll get to see all the people and find out what made them laugh!’But when we got to the other room all the people were gone! I was disappointed.Funny how a baby can be aware of more than we realize!
Remembering how it felt to be a baby made it easier to identify with my children’s needs when I became a mother. Especially their need to be seen, heard and known.
I found scientific affirmation of my impressions from Dr. Gabor Mate. He calls the instinctive hunger to be SEEN, HEARD and KNOWN the need for ‘Attunement’.
If we are ‘Attuned to’as infants, we will have greater inner security, an all-important anchor to keep us steady through hard times, and an increased ability to comfort others. Attunement can prevent ADHD in children as well as Anxiety in adults.[1]
Carl Rogers calls it, “Unconditional positive regard”, wanting the best for our offspring from the deepest part of ourselves.
That kind of love can never ‘spoil’ anyone.
The joy on this baby’s face demonstrates the happiness and emotional security kids can experience when they have good communication and feel ‘attuned to’ by their moms. (Thank you to my friend Candi Alvarez Matz for allowing me to share this lovely photo.)
Dr. Claudia M. Gold, best known for her work promoting children’s mental health, writes, “the science of early childhood tells us that the brain grows in relationships.“
“When a parent gazes into her baby’s eyes, she literally promotes the growth of her baby’s brain, helping it to be wired for a secure sense of self…” [2]
“The brain makes millions of synaptic connections every minute. It is in infancy that the parts of the brain responsible for emotional regulation have the most rapid development.” [3]
Whoever is taking care of the baby should give that baby everything it needs. In others words, feel free to ‘spoil’ your baby.
When it feels loved and wanted, given “Unconditional Positive Regard”, the person that emerges from that child will succeed in relationships through all of it’s life.
And long before, you, the caregiver, might even find yourself smiling like the mom in the picture above.
One of my kids said one day, “Mom, how come you never yell at the baby?”
Before I could answer, my oldest girl piped in, “That’s easy. When babies are little you need to be nice to them, so when you yell at them when they’re older, they know you still love them!”
At first I laughed, and then it made me stop and think. Had I been yelling, then?
I MOONLIGHT –AS A MOM
All I ever dreamed about was being a mom, changing the world one kid at a time through love and understanding.But after the first two kids, financial pressure forced me out to earn a living.I eventually found a job in animation.
It was fun drawing Scooby Doo and the Smurfs. However, my new career was taking a huge chunk of time away from my relationship with the kids and my duties at home. I cried every day I had to leave them at my mother-in-law’s. I was giving my ‘all’ to someone else’s celluloid dreams, while my originalaspirations of child-rearing got squeezed into a corner.
SHOVELING MUD UPHILL
By the time I was a mother of four, just getting out the door in the morning was a big challenge. But after a full day’s work at the office, I’d come home to the other full-time job of meeting the children’s needs. Fatigue gave way to dread as the never-ending cycle of mealtimes, dishes and laundry piled up before me.
“How do OTHER mothers DO it?”, I agonized.
DON’T DO THIS!
[dropshadowbox align=”none” effect=”lifted-both” width=”380px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” rounded_corners=”false” ][/dropshadowbox]My mind raced down the ever looming to-do list in my head. I became a task oriented robot, numb to my feelings, and everyone else’s. But I could only hold back the pressure for so long.
One day I finally exploded at the kids and then ran into the bathroom, horrified at myself, “I USED to be such a NICE person!”
In my desperation, I knew I had to figure out a way to organize myself.
Afterwards, I apologized to the kids. “You don’t like it when mommy yells, do you?”They all shook their heads.
“I don’t like it either. I’m sorry. I’ll do my best to stop yelling. But I’m gonna need a little help from you guys.”
GET YOUR DUCKS IN A ROW
My husband, the kids, and I had our first family meeting that night. We brainstormed, we discussed our goals, what we all wanted as a family (peace, no yelling, sharing chores, etc) and how we should be treating each other. We agreed on a set of rules for good behavior.
This became our family ‘Constitution’, which was taped to the wall for all to see. Our Constitutionnot only expressed the crucial needs we had as parents, but it included important concerns the kids themselves came up with. Chores were one thing. Gripes that needed to be aired were another. “Don’t stick your tongue out at people”; “Don’t kick each other”; etc, were suggested by the kids themselves.
We continued adding to and refining our constitution with each weekly meeting. As time went by, the additions taped to the wall were becoming too numerous. We eventually boiled good behavior down to one phrase, “TREAT OTHER PEOPLE THE WAY YOU WANT TO BE TREATED”. This turns out to be a thought even young children can appreciate.
When it came to chores, we wrote them all down on pieces of paper and put them in a hat. We took turns drawing them out one at a time (even me) till all the chores were handed out. If a child got a chore that was too hard for him, we exchanged it with someone else’s, until each person had a chore or two they could actually handle.
For instance: 4 year old Mike was too little to vacuum, but he was able to pick up around the house. Johnny, who was 6, could then do the vacuuming.
I created a chart for each child showing which task they had, with spaces to mark when it was completed. It too was taped to the wall. Time proved that some fine tuning was needed. We’d assess our progress at our weekly meetings, and switch or add chores as needed. And the charts would be updated.
As an incentive, at the end of the week we would all go to the 99 cent store or the Dollar Tree and they’d each get to pick out ONE thing. Any thing they wanted! No one would get ‘paid’ unless they had done their ‘jobs’. For me this method was enormously helpful. It was always necessary to be the CEO, but I was now able to stay cool, calm and collected and simply remind each kid of what they had agreed to do.
I’d say “Oh, I see you left your shoes on the floor. You want your treat this weekend, right? Go put them away so I can give you your good mark!” Then I’d smile. Reminding them was enough. (At least until they became teenagers.) 😉
NO YELLING NEEDED
The reason I invented the Good Behavior Charts on GoMommyGO® in the first place was to keep myself under control, along with the kids. It became a guideline to follow, a system that SHOWED the kids what I needed from them in a way THEY could understand and remember.They learned what it was to feel needed and important, while I got the help I needed so I could pay attention to what I really wanted: A good relationship with the kids.
GET YOUR OWN PLAN:
After the kids grew up I put my charts on the web so every parent can use them too.
Here’s how to get the charts you can customize from 90 different images. My gift to you.
We’ve been adding Music to enrich our Art Presentations.
There's nothing like Music to brighten your day and activate brain cells.
(L to R) Mark Hisdon, Jas Hilsdon and Ruth Elliott-Hilsdon activating brain cells!
At a recent Fair at Cobb School Jas and Ruth Hilsdon performed for 3 hours. The joy and energy from sharing music with the kids was infectious. Here's a VERY short video from that day.
A BIG THANK YOU to Mark and Jas Hilsdon for investing their talents in children.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE:
Would you throw this precious one away?
Mark and Jas Hilsdon have a special place in their hearts for kids with Special Needs.
Why?
Their sister, Diane, was born with a hole in her heart and Down Syndrome. The doctor's told their mom and dad she wouldn't survive, so just "leave her at the hospital and we'll take care of it".
But their parents refused, and brought her home, and she lived to be 53!
Diane LOVED music, too.
Jas Hilsdon wrote a song for her you can hear at this link
You can even hear a tiny bit of her singing in the very beginning of the song!
I felt a creative ache inside of me for years. I wanted to write a children’s book. I had an idea, I had the talent. But with seven kids, and laundry my constant companion, I felt constantly discouraged.
“When will Iever get a chance to write?”
Then came the year my 11 year old daughter Lisa had to choose an author to research for 6th grade. She picked Harriet Beecher Stowe*. And what a lot I learned from Lisa’s report.
Harriet Beecher Stowe, like me, had seven children. Unlike me, she had NO running water, and NO washing machine! And yet, she still managed to write over 30 books, including ‘UNCLE TOM’S CABIN’. Without a typewriter or computer.
Then it hit me.
“What’s MY excuse? If she can write a book, I can too!”
And that’s when I started work on my first children’s book:
THE RICHEST KID IN THE POOR HOUSE. In the story, a boy is disappointed with his family until he gets a hamster who doesn’t appreciate him. By the end of the story he learns a lesson that changes his attitude from Greed to Gratitude.
Read more by clicking on the picture of the book.
There are only a few copies left, so if you’d like one, order it before they’re gone.
Stories can inspire us to overcome our obstacles.
Maybe someone needs to hear YOUR story.
Thank you for struggling,
Ruth Elliott-Hilsdon
Founder of EDU DESIGNS
Creator: GoMommyGO®
BUILDING BRAINS AND HEARTS THROUGH THE ARTS
Since we are an all volunteer organization, we get no salary. 100% of your donation is Tax Deductible, and is used to create media for children’s character. Please help! When you do, you’ll receive a free download of Ruth’s Art Textbook for Kids!
I suffered panic attacks when my mother-in-law came to visit.
She was a perfect housekeeper and I wasn’t. Of course she had only had ONE child, and I had seven.
I’d always put my kid’s emotional needs first. The house could wait. But she never quite understood that, and I could always feel her judging me for it.
One day, in a moment of inspiration, this came to me:
Around Halloween that year I gave a talk to a Middle School youth group.
I told them about my predicament and showed them the joke.
I asked, “I wonder if we died today, what people would remember aboutus?”
I showed several cardboard tombstone ‘cutouts’ with sayings on them:
“He was Good at Video Games “
“She had lots of friends”
“She was Pretty”
“He was Tough”
Then I showed them a photo of a beautiful young lady and asked if they knew her. They all said they didn’t know.
“Actually you do know her,” and I revealed it was Wilda, the elderly receptionist in the front office.
They were shocked.
One girl said,
“I LOVE WILDA! But I never knew she was so pretty once!”
So I asked. “Why do you like Wilda so much?”
“Because she’s so nice.”
The other kids agreed.
Next, holding up a blank tombstone, I said,
“Maybe it’s a good idea to think of the end from the beginning.
What do you want people to remember about YOU after you are gone?”
They all got the message – that externals don’t last.
But that’s not the most important part.
Ruth and Wilda, my second ‘mom’.
The kids appreciated Wilda a lot more the next time they went to the office.
A few years later she went home to be with her Lord.
But she left a mark on all who knew her:
She showed us that LIFE IS PRECIOUS.
WHY? Because she made us feel we were.
You never know when we will be ushered into eternity.
“The way you feel about yourself is both your punishment and your reward. YOUR job is to become the kind of person YOU can love.”
I’m doing the best I can before I ‘croak!’
PS – Incidentally – if you know someone who loves art – there’s still time to get a complimentary copy of “SEE WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING AT!” my Art Textbook for Children. Just fill out the form on this page: http://www.edudesigns.org/blog/artbook/
When I hear the words, ‘MILK TRUCK’, three uncanny stories come to mind. Absolutely true. Two are from my own life. Take the next ‘step beyond’ to see what happened.
Milk Man in Houston, Texas Saves a 7 year old Girl
One day at the ripe age of 7 years old, I got out of school an hour earlier than my brother and sister, and walked home to an empty house. I went to my neighbor’s, hoping to play with them, but they weren’t home, either. Thank goodness their swingset welcomed me, remembering how they had always told me I could use it, “…any time”.
Having just seen the movie, Trapeze, with Burt Lancaster, I figured this was my big chance to practice what I had seen him do. Sitting on the trapeze bar I’d get a good swing going, then hang by my knees and then slip down with my ankles wrapped around the chain so I could hang swinging by my feet. I was getting pretty good at it, when I got tired. Normally I would just drop to the ground onto my hands and knees. However, this day I was wearing sandals, not my usual sneakers, and as I tried to get off the trapeze bar, the strap of my right shoe caught the bottom loop of the chain, and I was stuck – hanging upside down by one foot!
Terrified, the sudden realization hit me: I was alone. Who could help me?
Without my siblings or neighbors, I yelled and cryed out to God or anyone who would listen, hoping someone would find me.
Within minutes, someone did. A Milkman driving by saw me!
He helped me down, and as I was thanking him profusely, my brother ran up to me, sweating from head to toe, huffing and puffing, “I was two blocks away… when all of a sudden I saw a picture of you… like on a TV set… in front of my eyes! You were hanging upside down from the swings, screaming!”
I couldn’t believe it! My brother Mike and the Milkman had each unknowingly ‘heard’ my prayer.
Milk Man in NYC Saves a Lady from Bleeding to Death
The second time a milkman came to the rescue was years later when I moved with my pregant sister into in a 4th floor walk-up apartment in New York City. We had no electricity and no telephone. One night, she suddenly started miscarrying and hemorrhaging profusely.
“Oh, God!” I thought. “What should I do?” The neighbors across the hall were gone, and I had no way of getting her to the hospital.
In a panic, I flew down the four flights of stairs to the street, waving frantically to cars going by, but no one would stop. In desperation, I went out into the street and yelled to the next vehicle I saw, a Milk truck! I told the driver in tears that my sister was bleeding to death and needed a ride to the hospital, a couple of miles up the street. He got right out and rushed to help her into to his truck, and took her to the hospital in time – and she lived!
I never knew his name, or saw him again to thank him in person, but I can’t count the many times I thanked him in my heart. I know God answered my prayer through him that night.
In the early 1800’s, an orphanage ran out of food. They had nothing to feed the 300 children under George Müller’s care*. It was time for breakfast, and the children were hungry, so he told everyone to sit down, fold their hands and pray, thanking God for what He would provide.
Soon there was a knock at the door.
It was a Baker, who said that God had woken him up at 3 in the morning telling him to quickly bake bread for the orphanage. Could they use it?
Why, YES, they could!
Shortly after that came another knock at the door.
A Milkman’s cart had broken down right in front of the orphanage – and without refrigeration the milk would spoil before he could fix the wheel. Would they please take the milk?
Why, YES, they would!
That morning, a Milk man and a Baker had unknowingly been the vehicles to answer the prayers of those children. Each with different gifts he was given. One Bread, one Milk. But both with the ‘Milk of Human Kindness’.
Whatever your image of a Creator, God or Heavenly Father, no one can deny that, the ‘Milk of Divine Kindness’ is active in our lives, listening and answering when we cry out. You never know when you may be called upon to deliver some of that ‘Milk’, too!
EDU DESIGNS creates media for the heart and mind of children. Since we are an all volunteer non profit, we don’t get paid for what we do. But the rewards! The rewards are “Out of This World!”.
Any funds donated are used to create and distribute materials to improve children’s character and education through the Arts.
– EDU DESIGNS is bringing Art back into the schools, providing materials for children’s character development and education through: http://www.edudesigns.org/
– Free Parenting Tips and Illustrated Behavior Charts through GoMommyGO. We are listed as a Resource on Autism Speaks for children with special needs: http://www.gomommygo.com/
My earthly dad used to say that folks accused him of being a generous man. But he would say, “Oh NO! I’m NOT generous at all – you see, it makes me FEEL so GOOD to give, I feel like I’m being VERY selfish!”
I’d like to share something with you today. The download of my Artbook for kids, called, “SEE WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING AT!” normally sells for $9.99, but I’d like to give a copy to anyone making a donation of any size. After you donate through the button below you’ll get your free download!
Please make the best of what you have TODAY, especially those (human) treasures that are asking you to pay attention to them!
EDU DESIGNS is the non profit I founded to help children’s character development through media and education. We are all volunteers, and none of us gets a dime for what we do, but the rewards are OUT OF THIS WORLD!
Can you help a little?
If you are struggling, too, then don’t feel pressured. I don’t want to give a load of guilt to anyone, but if you can spare a little, we need your help!
All donations go to help create and provide resources and media to those who need it.
MY GIFT TO YOU:
See What You’re Looking At! by Ruth Elliott
Please make a Donation Today and receive a Complete download of my Art Book – all 120 pages!
Here’s wishing YOU the BEST, EVERYDAY…
Ruth Elliott, Founder/Director of EDU DESIGNS, Creator,
I heard a story once about an experiment with two mice to see how long they could swim in a bucket of water…
When the first mouse was put in the bucket he drowned after just a few minutes.
When they put the second mouse in the water they saw him start to flounder around the same time the first one had. But this time they reached down and lifted him up out of the bucket for a second – just long enough to let him see over the bucket – and then returned him to the water again. He swam for almost a half hour more before he finally lost strength.
It seems cruel to even think of doing an experiment like that.
I do hope they let him live.
But the message that came out of it was clear:
The second mouse, that was LIFTED up, was given a moment of HOPE, where he was able to seeABOVEthe bucket, and that made all the difference.
We MUST have something better to look forward to, or WE WILL sink.
Do you remember how much fun it was to do art and music in school when YOU were a kid? New pathways were growing in your brain as your imagination was stimulated!
Due to budget cuts today, many children in schools don’t get that chance to do art anymore, despite clear proof that the arts improve cognitive development – and make an impact FAR greater than having a picture to put on your refrigerator door.
Here a wiggly group of PreSchoolers gets to learn about Art AND Music!
Lifting people up – ‘above the bucket’ is something EDU DESIGNS does with tools to Improve children’s character through the arts and stories.
Have you heard the saying, “THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE, RULES the WORLD”? We really DO have the power to influence the next generation to be better human beings. It is idealistic. And being a parent can bring out the best in us. But when you ARE a parent, you know that raising children can bring out the worst in YOU at times, too. WE NEED HELP!
Notice the word ‘STRUGGLE‘?
Raising my own seven children proved to me how much structure and support children need to be able to develop to their best ability, and how much I needed to learn. When I first created my behavior charts it gave me the structure I needed not to yell and scream at my kids. And when it DID work so well I thought, “Why isn’t someone doing this for all the mom’s out there who can’t draw?”
Nobody can do it alone. We all need each other.
If we struggle together it will lighten the load for all of us.
Imagine This: If just ONE person was made happier today because of something YOU did, and and if each person helped ONE OTHER person, everybody would touch EVERYONE’S life eventually. So don’t give up.
Do your best. Don’t worry about the rest.
“Everything comes out in the wash”, as my mom used to say…
“Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned.” ~ Peter Marshall
Never miss an opportunity to do a good deed. ~Ruth Elliott
So much has been happening I haven’t had time to let you know – from the art classes for kids with Special needs (see pic below) and many schools locally to the outreach to other countries (even Ghana and India) who are benefiting from our materials thanks to those who have found us via the internet. I’ll be in Connecticut and reaching out to schools and organizations there as well. This map shows just a few of the places we are reaching. The reaction from grateful teachers and parents is like bringing water to thirsty travelers along a lonely desert road. There’s so much need for what you and I are doing!
Please continue your support and tell others – I know they will thank you.
Everyone benefits from what we do. If you know a parent, student or teacher, tell them about GoMommyGO® andEDU DESIGNS.
I know you care about investing in CHARACTER as well as INTELLIGENCE. You want to give children more of what really matters. SO DOES CHRIS ZURBUCH!
Chris Zurbuch is not only a phenomenal RUNNER – he runs for a good cause: To help children achieve their goals and become productive citizens in society.
The Nanny Goat Race in Riverside, CA, raises funds for Charity each year. On Saturday May 25th 2013 Chris ran in the 100 mile race to help raise money for EDU DESIGNS, our non profit that creates and distributes media for the education, motivation and character development of children.
A devoted husband to his beautiful wife Messina and proud Dad of three wonderful children, 11, 9 and 18 months, Chris explained why he chose to run the 100 Mile race to fundraise for EDU DESIGNS:
“I feel it is very important for our youth of today to have some sort of Creative arts and Books in all forms which are crucial to shaping Children’s enrichment in their overall education. EDU is a wonderful non-profit organization that does just that for many less fortunate children. Every little bit helps to create a positive culture of growth and learning so these children can have some of the same opportunities as others to utilize their talents specifically in the arts…I have wanted to use my love of running into helping kids gain additional resources whether, food, housing or in this case, education.”
The caption reads, “Moderation Has It’s Place: “It Ain’t Here!” Chris goes all out for what he believes in!
Chris Zurbuch helped CHILDREN by RUNNING for EDU DESIGNS. And you can help too! No running required. You can keep up the good work he started by helping us get our educational materials to children who need it. For a limited time, donate any amount & get a FREE Download of my Art Book, too! Such a deal. The Instant download is normally $9.99, but until May 31st it’s free to everyone who makes a donation of ANY amount. Emmy Award Winning Animation Artist Ruth Elliott’s Art Book increases creativity, spatial reasoning, cognitive development and references the CA Math Standards. Read more here…
Each donation allows us to provide our materials to schools that need them, along with tools for better behavior. Can you help?
“The need for what you’re offering is growing stronger by the day, the schools are in crisis, seemingly everywhere… Bless you guys for what you’re doing.” ~ Justin
Please donate – we need your help to reach children who need the arts and tools for character development.
I’m SO excited! Ghana is now using our Art Textbook, videos and other educational materials for character development!
Ghana
Kids in Ghana struggle to advance their skills without the proper tools.
Thanks to the hardworking and dedicated staff of The Reward Foundation Ghana, a Non Profit, led by Project Manager Eric Ansah, children in the deprived areas of Ghana are now being benefited.
The Reward Foundation Ghana is committed to Youth development, Cultural Exchange Programs and other activities for children of all ages.
EDU DESIGNS was pleased to be able to provide our materials, plus a projector and DVD player to enable them to reach more children as they reach out to different areas.
Your support is needed! If you wish to help this worthwhile organization, please contact Eric directly at:
Eric Ansah <info@rewardfoundationghana.org> Project Manager
When my son Jon was 11 years old he wrote a letter to Mr. T after seeing ‘The A Team’ on TV. Mr. T wrote him back a long personal letter, telling him to study hard in school, stay away from drugs and alcohol, take good care of his body and trust in the Lord!
I was so impressed with his kindness and generosity to take the time to write him! Somewhere in the recesses of our garage I still have that letter.
Years later in 2003 I was working at Cartoon Network and got to meet Mr. T. personally. I thanked him and told him how much his letter had meant to my son, who had taken it to heart at a time when he was receptive.
As soon as Mr. T. heard I had 7 kids he couldn’t stop telling me all about his mother who had 12 kids!He was thrilled to share with me how she kept him on the right track by consistently being a source of encouragement, wisdom and strict discipline to all of them.
Such enthusiasm and energy! He went on to share how he was so happy to be alive after overcoming cancer, and proud he had gotten his hair back. He kept pointing to the top of his head and rubbing his hair, saying, “Look at that hair!” You can read more about the amazing struggles Mr. T had to overcome here.
I was so happy I got to meet him. What an inspiration he is, and proof again of the powerful impact a mother can have on her children.
I made this little sketch of how I managed to get through it all when my kids were little…
How wonderful! Just rediscovered! Can’t believe it took me this long to share it!
Back in 2010 Shirley Smith’s TV Show, “Talk About Parenting, LIVE” welcomed me to talk about EDU Designs and GoMommyGO. Though it aired a while back it has a lot to say about what we are doing to help kids!
What is ’emotional connectedness’? And how does it help our brain power?
In Dr. Gabor Mate’s book, SCATTERED (How Attention Deficit Disorder Originates and What you can Do About It), he reveals how children engaged in an activity that includes emotional connectedness display higher levels of activity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, where self regulation and intellectual ability develop.
This means they will develop better concentration and self control!
In simple terms, when our emotions are engaged and recognized by another, we feel connected and can absorb information faster.
Art has a magical way of helping us relax and feel our emotions.
That’s exactly what happens at my Art Presentations! The children have a wonderful time drawing and participating – and learning! Recently, some teachers came up to me and remarked that they had never seen their students so FOCUSED and ENGAGED.
The ability to ‘focus and become engaged’ in an activity is the opposite of Attentional Deficit Disorder.
Dr. Mate says:
[dropshadowbox align=”none” effect=”lifted-both” width=”auto” height=”” background_color=”#f2f9f9″ border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]“…many children with ADD are capable of focused work in the presence of an adult who is keeping them company and paying attention to them… attachment promotes attention, anxiety undermines it. When the child is not concerned with seeking emotional contact, his prefrontal cortex is freed to allocate attention to the task at hand… The warmth and satisfaction of positive contact with the adult is often just as good as a psychostimulant in supplying the child’s prefrontal cortex with dopamine. Greater security means less anxiety and more focused attention… Where this need is satisfied, ADD problems begin to recede.”[/dropshadowbox]
This is something I have instinctively felt for years, that children need engagement from others in a positive emotional context. Seeing it in action, and getting confirmation from the teachers was tremendous!
It’s nice to know we’ve been on the right track all along.
I want all children to develop better self control and focus, as they increase their intellectual ability. I feel so strongly about it that I created an art book that includes everything I learned in 30 years – and it won’t take you 30 years to learn it! Share it with a teacher or child you know!
Did you know that our non profit helps build character in many ways? Our Art presentations inspire not only the children and their parents but the teachers who are empowered to bring art (and joy) back into the classroom.
Thanks to your support, we are able to do this.
I’m so grateful for any help.
Ruth Elliott
Director, Edu Designs
director@edudesigns.org
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[/dropshadowbox]My mind raced down the ever looming to-do list in my head. I became a task oriented robot, numb to my feelings, and everyone else’s. But I could only hold back the pressure for so long.
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Here a wiggly group of PreSchoolers gets to learn about Art AND Music!
Chris Zurbuch is not only a phenomenal RUNNER – he runs for a good cause: To help children achieve their goals and become productive citizens in society.
