The Story 

According to legend, if you tell your troubles to a Guatemalan worry doll then place it under your pillow, your worries will be gone by morning. These small, colorful dolls date back to Mayan traditions. They’re typically about one inch tall, made from a small piece of wood and dressed in scraps of clothing and yarn.

More than a Legend

Worry dolls combine everything I’m passionate about…legend, story, craft, and stress relief. But a worry doll’s ability to reduce anxiety is based in more than just myth and magic. Many psychologists believe that putting problems into words can blunt their emotional impact. Studies suggest that verbalizing an emotion may activate the right ventral lateral prefrontal cortex, which then suppresses the areas of the brain that produce emotional pain.

Talk Away Worries

According to UCLA psychologist Matthew Lieberman, PhD, psychologists who practices talk-therapy have realized the peculiar power of language. “There’s this idea that putting bad feelings into words can help wash worries away,” says Lieberman.

So the next time your child is feeling anxious, encourage them to take out their worry dolls and start talking.

FEATURED CRAFT: WORRY DOLLS

Materials

Wooden Clothes Pin with a flat, round top (found in craft stores)

1 Garbage Bag Twist-Tie per Doll

Approximately 20 feet of yarn in various colors

Scissors

Markers

Pipe cleaner (optional)

Fabric Scraps (optional)

Glue (optional)

Directions

1. Wrap the garbage bag twist tie around the center of the clothes pin to create arms. Fold down the edges to create “hands.”
2. Tie a long piece of yarn around the center of the clothes pin and knot. Leave 2-3 inches of yarn off the end of the knot.
3. Begin wrapping the yarn around the middle of the clothes pin. Then wrap it up and around and down each arm. Continue wrapping down to the legs.
4. To create “pants” wrap each individual leg. To create a skirt, wrap both legs.
5. Once the body is wrapped the way you like it, cut the yarn leaving about 2-3 extra inches. Tie this to the extra piece you left at the beginning to finish off the project (keep the knot in the back of the doll).
6. Decorate your doll with markers, yarn and pipe cleaners. Color in the feet with markers.

Variation: Glue fabric scraps to the clothes pin instead of wrapping the yarn. This is easier for younger children.

When I was growing up, I had a poster of a ballerina on my wall with the statement: If You Can Imagine It, You Can Achieve It, If You Can Dream It, You Can Become It. I know.  It’s a little cliché, but that doesn’t make it any less true.  That statement had a profound impact on the way I looked at life. I believe strongly in the power of imagination to shape our lives.

The Ballard Girl’s Vision Boards

All In The Family

I had been working on a vision board activity for our Big Test Success program, when I happened to come across a facebook post from my friend, the amazing Susanne Ballard.  She was talking about the vision boards she and her husband were creating with their four girls as a New Years Day activity.

Susanne’s nine year old daughter, Kirby shared her vision board with me and told me a little bit about what she chose to put on it and why.

She has a smiling mouth because she wants braces, an image of two friends because she wants to focus on deeper relationships, a picture of herself writing because she wants to write more.

The board is filled with images that have meaning for her: a camera, a piggy bank, a surfer, a horse, a puppy, and so much more.

Family Vision Boards

“It’s amazing how just the act of collecting images gives you clarity about what you really want, starts to set your brain in motion,” says Kirby’s Mom. “Having the images in front of you opens you up to possibilities you might not have seen.”

The Ballards have also created a family vision board with places they’d like to visit in the coming year, and a health vision board filled with images of fresh fruit, exercise, massage, and even, organized closets.

The family plans on putting all of their vision boards on a wall in their dining room where they can look them every day because they know…If you can imagine it, you can achieve it, If you can dream it, you can become it!

This is a great activity to do as a family. Try not discourage any images. Just because your daughter glues a picture of a pony to her vision board doesn’t mean that one is going to show up on your doorstep tomorrow, although…you never know! 

Make Your Own Vision Boards With Kids

Materials

• Large piece of posterboard
• Glue sticks or double sided tape
• Lots of old magazines, catalogues, travel brochures, etc.
• You can also print out words and quotes 
• Markers
• Stickers, gitter glue, other decorations (optional)
• Scissors

Direction

1. Ask your kids to think of some goals that they’d like to accomplish, things they’d like to have, and places they want to go. They can also think about words or phrases that have meaning for them.

2. Have them go through the magazine and start cutting out images that represent that goal, or anything that speaks to them. Lots of things they never even thought of will get cut out. This is the really fun part!

3. Encourage them to lay out the images on the posterboard before they start gluing. Remember, overlapping is fine!

4. Begin gluing. White glue will cause magazine images to buckle. Gluesticks tend to work better, but double sided tape is my favorite.

5.    Have fun!

P.S. I’d love to see the vision boards your kids create. Please share them in the comments section!

A WORD OF THE YEAR replaces a long list of resolutions and with a single, juicy word.  It can be any word that has meaning for you.

Author, Kate Coombs has a children’s literature blog called Book Aunt. The tag line is: ”Because OTHER People Give you Clothes and Video Games for Your Birthday!”

I love it! Especially because I myself am a Book Aunt. I love to give books as gifts. Maybe it’s because I love getting them as gifts. I think it all started when I was seven years old and my Aunt Pearly gave me a book called My Friendly Giraffe. I still have that book!

When the video games are obsolete and the clothes are outgrown, special books will be appreciated, enjoyed and shared for years to come. It’s something to keep in mind as you struggle to find a parking space at the mall!

What books are you planning to give this holiday season? What books would you like to get?  I just finished reading MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN. I LOVED it! Now I just have to figure out which family member will appreciate this delciously creepy story.

Do you remember Apple’s Think Different Campaign? There were posters and ads featuring innovative thinkers. (my favorite was the one with Jim Henson and Kermit). I think that campaign sums up creativity in two words: Think Different.

You don’t have to create a major installation to be creative, you just have to look at the world in a slightly altered way. Step back, tilt your head, squint your eyes and see what you come up with.

ALTERED ART

Some people are born creative, but it’s also something that can be nurtured. Altered Art is a fun way to help kids exercise their creative muscles.  

Altered Art takes very day objects then re-imagines and transforms them into something else entirely.

Anything can be used to create altered art: Altoid tins, picture frames, old board games, cigar boxes, and children’s toys (to name a few).

But my favorite alttered objects are books! Specifically, board books.

The stiff pages make a great base to work from and they often come in unusual shapes and sizes. If you don’t have any old board books lying around, ask your local dollar store if they have any damaged books they’d like to get rid of. You can also find a treasure trove at garage sales.

The directions for creating an altered board book are below, but before you start make sure to step back, tilt your head, squint your eyes and…Think Different!

This is one of those projects that works really well with a wide age range. They also make great holiday decorations and gifts.

Sand Paper

Modpodge or

Watered Down White Glue

Scissors

Acrylic Paint

Markers (optional)

Extra Materials: See Below

Directions  

1. Using the sand paper, rub off the finish from the board book

2. Paint the pages of the book with acrylic paint. Let Dry.

3. While waiting for the paint to dry, find, assemble and cut out images, quotes, photos, etc.

4. Glue the images, quotes, photos, pretty paper, etc. onto the pages. After gluing on the picture, go over it with a light coat of watered down glue or modpodge.

5. Allow to dry (make sure the pages aren’t touching)

6. Attach embellishments with glue.

Ideas for text

Write a story

Write a poem

Copy and print someone else’s poem

Print out your favorite quotes

Cut words and phrases from magazines

Ideas for images

Draw or paint your own images

Use ink pads and stamps

Rip* images from magazines

Print out photos (make sure they aren’t originals)

Find images

Old birthday/holiday cards

Pretty stationary

online http://karenswhimsy.com/public-domain-images/

Ideas for embellishments

Pretty papers, Wrapping Paper, Beads, Game pieces, Broken Costume Jewelry,  Buttons, Feathers, Scrabble Tiles, Old Keys, Nuts and bolts, Glitter Glue, Puff Paint, Scrap booking stickers and goodies…The possibilities are endless!

*Ripped paper tends to work better than neat edges when you’re using decoupage.