Help! How do I Find a Girlfriend?

 

by: Mary L. Gavin, MD 
Dec. 31, 2009

(Q) Can you teach me how to find a girlfriend when I grow up? I don’t want to be lonely!

 

(A) Sometimes it seems like everywhere you look, you see couples. You might see them walking hand-in-hand down your street or even kissing in movies or on TV shows.

It’s common to wonder how you will get your very own girlfriend (or boyfriend) when you are older. How will someone decide that you are a very special person worth spending more time with?

The good news is that it usually happens pretty naturally. As you grow up, girls and boys get more and more interested in one another.

In the teen years, many kids want to experience what it’s like to go on dates and be part of a couple. So someday you might meet someone in school or at a party and develop an interest in her.

Maybe the two of you will talk or exchange phone numbers — or even discover that you both like the exact same music groups.

Next comes the tricky part. When feelings are mutual — you both are interested in each other in the same way — things work can work out pretty well. But sometimes the person you like only likes you as a friend or already has a boyfriend. Sigh.

What can you do then? Keep hanging out with your friends and having a good time. Try not to be too focused on getting a girlfriend and you just might meet someone special when you least expect it!

Source: Kids Health

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

Special Happy New Year

by Margaret Sangster
Dec. 31, 2009

Coming, coming, coming!
Listen! perhaps you’ll hear
Over the snow the bugles blow
To welcome the glad new year.
In the steeple tongues are swinging,
There are merry sleigh bells ringing,
And the people for joy are singing,
It’s coming, coming near.

Flying, sighing, dying,
Going away tonight,
Weary and old, its story told,
The year that was full and bright.
Oh, we are half sorry it’s leaving
Good-by has a sound of grieving;
But its work is done and its weaving;
God speed its parting flight!

Tripping, slipping, skipping,
Like a child in its wooing grace,
With never a tear and never a fear,
And a light in its laughing face;
With hands held out to greet us,
With gay little steps to meet us,
With sweet eyes that entreat us,
The new year comes to its place.

Coming, coming, coming!
Promising lovely things –
The gold and the gray of the summer day,
The winter with fleecy-wings;
Promising swift birds glancing,
And the patter of raindrops dancing,
And the sunbeam’s arrowy lancing,
Dear gifts the new year brings.

Coming, coming, coming!
The world is a vision of white;
From the powdered eaves to the sere-brown leaves
That are hidden out of sight.
In the steeple tongues are swinging,
The bells are merrily ringing,
And “Happy New Year” we’re singing,
For the old year goes tonight.

Source: Apples 4 the Teacher

Editor’s Note; We would like to know what you thing dan@youngchronicle.com

No to Family Activities

By Home word
Dec. 30, 2009

Our 15 year old son refuses to participate in family activities. He won’t go out for dinner, visit relatives or even join us at his little sister’s soccer games.

I know he needs some independence, but he’s still part of this family and we’d like him to realize that too. Any suggestions?

 

Your son is moving rapidly from dependence as a child toward independence as an adult. I think you are right; he does need some more autonomy and freedom.

However, he is only 15 and he is still very dependent on you and needs your family. I strongly believe that he should be included in many of the family experiences and on rare occasions given the freedom to not participate.

Many families are helped in this situation when they choose to have a weekly family meeting where they discuss the weekly schedule.

I have a feeling that your son doesn’t like having family outings and events sprung on him. Giving him a weekly notice it may help. Of course this isn’t the magic answer to your problem.

You may want to become very logical and methodical with your son. Create family expectations when it comes specifically to the issues you mentioned like his sisters soccer games and going out to dinner.

I might even ask, “Your sister has 8 soccer games this month, what you think would be a reasonable amount of games you could attend?” “Our family is going to dinner on Friday night from 6:30 to 9:00.

Would you like to have a friend come over from 9:00 to 11:00?” I find one of the keys to successful communication is to express your expectations with your teenagers and express them early.

I’ll tell you how not to do it. Some time ago my 16 year old daughter was home packing for cheerleading camp. My wife, Cathy, and I picked up our other two daughters from another event.

I thought it would be nice to take the family out to dinner together since our oldest daughter would be going to camp the next day for a week. Everyone thought it was a great idea in the car, except I forgot to take my oldest daughter’s desires into consideration.

I rushed into the house with the van still running and told her to drop what she was doing because our family was going to dinner. She didn’t want to go because she had made other plans with some friends.

I told her she was coming anyway and that I would drive her to her friend’s house after dinner. At this point her friends arrived to pick her up.

I had to walk out and tell them she would get there about an hour and half later because she was going out to dinner with her family.

She was not happy and she let us know it. The dinner was spent in discussion about the “need” for her to be with us.

She didn’t order anything because she was going to eat at her friend’s house, and we all ate fast to try and accommodate her desire to not be with us!

I ended up spending $40.00 on a meal none of us enjoyed and then had to take my daughter to her friend’s house and pick her up.

She went to bed far too late and the next day probably left for camp grateful not to be going out to dinner with the family, especially me! In that case she had been given no notice and I was unwilling to change the plans that we had made up only 5 minutes before I saw her.

We could have compromised with a quicker fast food type dinner or by saying to our daughter, “Well, it was a good try and it was last minute so the rest of us will go out and I would like you home early so we can send you off to camp with a family dessert and a prayer.

Instead we settled for a more expensive dinner that no one really enjoyed and no dessert or prayer!

As logical and left brain as this sounds I think your best results (and mine) will be found as you list out your family understandings and expectations ahead of time.

How many family dinners would you like to shoot for a week? How many soccer games are realistic and acceptable? What are our expectations when the relatives come to town or the family visits them?

Remember kids support what they help create so you may want your first attempt to be in a family meeting where you brainstorm those expectations. And keep in mind that

What you are experiencing with your 15 year old comes with the territory called adolescence.

 Source: Homeword

 

Editor’s Note: This question first appeared in the “Let’s Talk” column of Campus Life Magazine, a publication of Christianity Today International. Used with permission.”

We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

New Year Resolutions Your Family Can Keep

By Mark Stackpole
Dec. 30, 2009

There is an excitement about the start of a new year, with all its promise and possibility.

Traditionally, people celebrate this holiday by making resolutions and pledging to change for the better.

The arrival of the new year is a good time to reflect on the past and plan for the future, especially for parents who want to make positive changes not only for themselves but also for their children.

 
Instill an Attitude of Gratitude
Erin E. Mitchell is an educational consultant in San Jose, Calif., and the mother of two. She and her husband, Clifford, a school administrator, lead busy lives and are concerned that their children will get caught up in the whirlwind.

A New Year’s goal for the Mitchell family is to simplify. “We started today by going through the toys we have collected in the last three years,” Mitchell says.

“We took the time to explain to our son, Matthew, that we were going to find things that he could give to other kids who don’t have toys.

He actually helped us out, which is funny because he won’t even give his sister a moldy Cheerio from the bottom of his toy box.

We are planning to do this at least once a year, in hopes that even when the ‘me stage’ is over, the kids will be more appreciative, grateful and respectful.”
Relax and Enjoy.

Mitchell also wants her family to be able to take a collective deep breath and spend more time enjoying the moment.

“Our children know that we love them, but I want to show them that they are truly the most important thing in the world to us,” she says.

“Our family traditions will start, and their memories will form, in the unhurried quality moments that we are able to spend with them. This year it is all about that ‘slow time.'”

Teach As You Play

Mark Victor Hansen is a world-renowned professional speaker and author. Best known for co-creating the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series and author of The One Minute Millionaire (Harmony, 2002), Hansen has dedicated his life to making a positive difference in people’s lives.

For parents looking to get their message across to young children, Hansen has some straightforward advice.

“Be involved in your child’s life,” he says. “Develop age-appropriate activities that exemplify family teachings. Use these activities to teach them as much as possible at an early age.”
Set 101 Goals

Hansen and his family begin each year by creating a list of things they want to accomplish during that year. “What I teach, believe and practice is for each member of the family to begin each year with 101 goals,” he says. “These goals are both individual and family-oriented.

When we sit down to write them, the question is, ‘What are we going to do together this year?’ We break our goals down into categories and consider financial, social, spiritual, mental and health-related issues.”

Keep a Record of Your Life Together

In addition to setting goals together as a family, Hansen believes that there are a few very important gifts that parents can give to children in order to provide a sense of what is important.

“Give your children family pictures,” he says. “Create family memories and leave a pictorial family history. Keep a journal so that your kids can really know you. My children got to know me by knowing what I was thinking at any given time. Maintain a library.

The books you keep will give your children an idea of what you read, what was important to you and what you found influential. Kids can see where you have dog-eared a corner or underlined a sentence.”

No matter how well last year’s plans worked out, it is important to enter this year armed with the best of intentions. Life will always be busy and change will always be difficult.

For her part, Erin Mitchell believes that she has found a key to a healthier and happier new year. “When I am more balanced mentally and physically, it affects me emotionally,” she says.

“It makes me happier, more flexible and even more loving with the kids. Better balance on my part will help me teach my children better habits overall.”

 

Source: Family

 

Editor’s Note: we would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

McGruff: Help Stop Bullies

By McGruff and Scruff
Dec. 29, 2009

In 1974, a neighborhood crime watch group was organized in South Dade County. Citizens met with their local law enforcement departments to ask what they could do to help the police apprehend a rapist terrorizing their community.

From this first informal meeting, communities and law enforcement began to work together to keep neighborhoods safe and free from crime.

An organization was formed, and Citizens’ Crime Watch of Miami-Dade County, Inc. (CCW) was registered as a 501(c) (3) non profit organization. Today, over 1,600 neighborhoods participate in the crime watch concept.

In 1979, the crime watch concept was introduced into the public school system at one school.

Because it succeeded in curbing school crime, the Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) requested we, CCW, expand its student crime watch program from one school to include all public schools in the county. Since that time, Youth Crime Watch of Miami-Dade (YCW) has functioned as an allied program of the public schools.

Methodology The public school system contracts with YCW to educate and train students in violence and crime prevention strategies.

Children also learn that good citizenship and personal responsibility include watching out for family, friends, schools and community. YCW maintains a presence in all M-DCPS.

The foundation of the YCW program is built upon a “school safety survey” which is administered at the school during the first few months of the school year.

It asks respondents to rank their particular safety concerns – those issues which they believe have the potential to cause harm to themselves or their schoolmates.

YCW students, student advisors, and our staff are then enlisted in the effort to resolve those issues impeding the safety, health, and education of young people. The results of the survey are prioritized and comprise the core content of the YCW program.

The YCW program is structured to teach leadership skills to students who volunteer to learn about school safety.

While they learn how to keep themselves safe, they also learn public speaking, critical thinking, leadership, and other skills that will serve them into their adult lives.

This, in turn, reinforces their self-esteem and promotes positive involvement, again curbing misbehavior, crime and violence in the school.

I’m McGruff the Crime Dog – world famous for my advice on how to stop crime before it happens, and for my great sense of humor. But seriously, my job is to help people, especially kids, learn how to be safe and make their neighborhood safer.

Something else you should know about me is that I go all over the country to talk to people about how they can take a bite out of crime. So if you see me in your town, come on up and say hi. You can recognize me by my tan trench coat – I never go anywhere without it.

This here is my nephew Scruff. He helps me show kids how they can stay safe. Scruff’s a good pup but sometimes gets himself into a bit of trouble. Lucky for him he’s got a good memory – eventually he remembers the right thing to do to get out of trouble. Want to know more about me and Scruff?

You can read more about yours truly in the story How McGruff Became the Crime Dog, and you can read some of Scruff’s adventures in these comic books.

Today we will talk about: Help Stop Bullies

 

Did you know that you can stop bullies? Bullies are a big problem for kids, but you have the power to stop them.

Bullies usually threaten or hurt other kids when no adults are around to see them do it. They know that if an adult did see them, the adult would stop the bully and help the victim.  

Instead, bullies wait until recess, between classes, or the walk home to push other kids around. They usually do it where other kids can see them, though. Bullies like an audience. It helps them feel powerful.

Most kids don’t like watching another kid get bullied. When one kid sees another being bullied, he or she can feel scared and powerless. That doesn’t have to be. When you see someone being bullied, remember the tips below and help stop a bully. 

 

Speak up. Tell the bully what you think of what’s going on. By saying, “that’s not funny, let’s get out of here” or something similar, you can help stand up for another kid.

Be a friend. When kids go somewhere without their friends, they are more likely to get picked on by a bully. If you see someone being picked on, even if you don’t know the person, be a friend and ask the kid to walk away from the bully with you.

Get an adult. If you see someone being bullied, get an adult. Either tell the adult what is going on or ask the adult to talk to the kid who is being bullied.

 

Learn about how Scruff deals with bullies by reading these great comics:

• Shortcut
• Wrong Street
• Lunch Money 

Also be sure to watch “Stop the Bully” to learn even more!

 

 

Source: McGruff

 

Editor’ Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

Kids and Money

By MvParents
Dec. 29, 2009

In some families, talking about money can be more uncomfortable than talking about sex.¹ Because money is a very personal matter, many parents don’t know how to approach it (and some avoid the topic altogether).

By starting the discussion early, you can make it easier to talk about this tough topic later, when your child is making larger purchases, thinking about getting a job, or beginning financial planning for college.

Talk with your children about how you make spending choices based on more than just affordability.

For example, if a child asks for a toy you think is overpriced, explain your values by saying, “We’re not going to spend our money that way because…” or “It’s not a good value because…,” rather than just saying, “It’s too expensive,” which may give the impression that you would buy it if you could afford it.

 

Take advantage of financial literacy resources for kids, such as Disney’s The Great Piggy Bank Adventure, an online game that teaches children the basics of financial planning, including setting goals, saving and spending, and diversification.

After playing the game, ask your child what he has learned and how it could be applied in real life.

 

Bring your kids with you to the bank. If you’re making a deposit in a savings account, talk about the importance of saving “for a rainy day.” If you’re refinancing your mortgage, you have an opportunity to discuss the concept of interest and the importance of paying off loan balances quickly.

When you’re taking out a car loan, talk about how loans allow you to pay for things that you don’t have the money for, but you end up paying more in the long run.

 

If you are facing financial difficulty, be honest with your children. You don’t need to worry them with all the details, but it is helpful for them to learn that money isn’t magical. It doesn’t appear when you want it to.

Invite them to be creative in coming up with ways to save money and to join you in making decisions that are within your means.

 

Many kids—especially young ones—have difficulty differentiating between wants and needs. When your child says she “needs” something, ask if she really needs it, or if she just wants it. Sometimes purchases are necessary (like winter boots for cold climates), but many times, they’re just to satisfy a want.

Make sure your child understands the difference, and start paying attention to what you’re saying and the example you’re setting—for example, do you really need an expensive cup of coffee to get you through the morning?

 

When you’re out shopping, talk with your kids about why you make the purchases you do. Are you influenced by advertising? Pricing?

The quality of the product? How do you choose one product over another? Help your child start thinking carefully about making purchases.

 

Discuss with your children the choices you make with your money. For example, how does your caring for others impact how you save, spend, and give money away? Why do you sometimes wait to make certain purchases? What does it mean to you to be responsible with your money?

It takes many years of observation—and good examples set by their parents—for kids to figure out how they feel about these issues, but it’s good to get them thinking early by talking about it.

 

Many financially savvy practices, such as buying secondhand, donating old clothes to a thrift store, and reusing and recycling goods, are also good for the environment.

Point out that not only are you saving money by doing these things, but you’re also taking action to help preserve the environment.

It can be very difficult to bring up the topic, but it’s in your child’s best interest to start talking about money early.

The sooner you can start talking to your kids about making smart financial decisions, the easier it will be for them to make those decisions when it comes time to make them on their own.

Source: MV Parents

 

Editor’s Note: 1. ING Direct, “New Survey Also Shows Parents More Prepared to Talk about Drugs, Alcohol or Birds and Bees than Dollars and Cents with Children,” news release, June 8, 2009

We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

Family Visiting for the Holidays

By Alexander
Dec. 28, 2009

Dear Alexander,

(Q) We have a lot of family members that we go visit during the holidays. All my cousins are always getting extra treats that I can’t have. It makes me feel really left out. What can I do?

(A) Why don’t you and your mom or dad bake some special treats before you go to visit relatives? You can put some of your special treats in the freezer so you will have one to take with you every time you visit relatives.

This should help when everyone else has something special, you will have something special too!

Talk to your parents about the situation. Maybe they can talk to your relatives and suggest to them that they offer treats that you don’t eat, such as stickers, pencils, or other things that everyone can enjoy.

Enjoy visiting with all your relatives, have fun and be safe.

Good luck!

Your friend,

Alexander the Elephant

 

Source: Food Allergy

Editor’s Note: The information above is not designed to take the place of a doctor’s instructions. Patients are urged to contact a doctor for specific information regarding guidelines for care.

We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

A Dog Name Lucky

By Dan Samaria
Publisher/GCC
Dec. 28, 2009

Do you know what “Joylogy” means? It is the study of caring, sharing, and listening and Sacrifice.

This was written by Mr. Jeineke in 1975

We would like to know what you think: dan@youngchronicle.com

What is a Joyologist? A joyologist then would be one who studies joy logy. Frankly our world could use a great many joyologists whose mission in life is to actively research the effects of discussing and sharing joy.

The research could branch out into how joy affects our careers, family lives, and friendships. The very act of doing the active research should spread jubilation throughout the world and bring about positive results. What a fun job!

All one needs to start with is to share the words joyism, joy logy, and joyologis with others. Use the words daily and make them a part of the world’s vocabulary.

The upcoming year is going to challenge us all. Here is something we need to think, this is from an unknown reader. It is called: A Dog Name Lucky

 

 

By Unknown

Mary and her husband Jim had a dog, Lucky. Lucky was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy.

Inevitably someone would forget and something would come up missing Mary or Jim would go to Lucky’s toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky’s favorite toys.

Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box.

It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of this disease…she was just sure it was fatal. She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders.

The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky. A thought struck her…what would happen to Lucky? Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim he was Mary’s dog through and through.

If I die Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won’t understand that I didn’t want to leave him. The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.

The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully but the dog just drooped, whining and miserable. But finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital.

When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn’t even make it up the steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap.

Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn’t come to her when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.

When Mary woke for a second she couldn’t understand what was wrong. She couldn’t move her head and her body felt heavy and hot.

Panic soon gave way to laughter though when Mary realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed, in every treasure Lucky owned!

While she had slept the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement and back bringing his beloved mistress his favorite things in life. He had covered her with his love.

Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every night.

It’s been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky? He still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

Live everyday to the fullest…because every day is a blessing from God!

 

Source: Joyology

God’s Gift to the World: A Boy who Paints Like an Old Pro

By Patrick Barkham
Dec. 28, 2009

His pictures cost upwards of £900, there are 680 people on a waiting list to buy them, and his second exhibition sold out in 14 minutes. Patrick Barkham meets the gifted artist Kieron Williamson, aged seven.

Kieron Williamson kneels on the wooden bench in his small kitchen, takes a pastel from the box by his side and rubs it on to a piece of paper.

“Have you got a picture in your head of what you’re going to do?” asks his mother, Michelle.

“Yep,” Kieron nods. “A snow scene.”

Because it is winter at the moment, I ask.

“Yep.”

Do you know how you want it to come out?

“Yep.”

And does it come out how you want it to?

“Sometimes it does.”

Like many great artists, small boys are not often renowned for their loquaciousness. While Kieron Williamson is a very normal seven-year-old who uses his words sparingly, what slowly emerges on the small rectangle of paper in his kitchen is extraordinarily eloquent.

This month, Kieron’s second exhibition in a gallery in his home town of Holt, Norfolk, sold out in 14 minutes. The sale of 16 new paintings swelled his bank account by £18,200.

There are now 680 people on a waiting list for a Kieron original. Art lovers have driven from London to buy his work. Agents buzz around the town. People offer to buy his schoolbooks.

The starting price for a simple pastel picture like the one Kieron is sketching? £900.

Kieron lives with his dad Keith, a former electrician, his mum, who is training to be a nutritionist, and Billie-Jo, his little sister, in a small flat overlooking a petrol station.

When I arrive on a Saturday afternoon, Kieron and Keith are out. When Kieron returns in football socks and shorts, I assume he has been playing football. But no, he has been replenishing his stock of pastels in Holt, a chichi little place where even the chip shop has grainy portraits for sale on its walls.

From Jan Lievens to Millais, there have been plenty of precocious geniuses in the art world. Excitable press coverage has compared Kieron to Picasso, who painted his first canvas, The Picador, aged eight.

“We don’t know who Picasso is really,” says Keith.

“I know who Picasso is,” interrupts Kieron. “I don’t want to become Picasso.”

Who would he like to become? “Monet or Edward Seago,” he says.

These days, however, we are often suspicious of child prodigies. We wonder if it is all their own work, or whether their pushy parents have hot-housed them.

People who don’t know the Williamsons might think Kieron is being cleverly marketed, particularly when they hear that Keith is now an art dealer.

The truth is far more innocent. Two years ago, a serious accident had forced Keith to stop work and turn his hobby – collecting art – into an occupation. The accident also stopped Keith racing around outside with his son.

Confined to a flat with no garden, surrounded by paintings and, like any small boy, probably influenced by his dad, Kieron decided to take up drawing. Now, father and son are learning about art together.

Kieron is rubbing yellows and greys together for his sky. “There’s some trees going straight across and then there’s a lake through the centre,” he explains. Is this picture something you have seen or is it in your imagination?

“I saw it on the computer and every time I do the picture it changes.” he says, handling his pastels expertly.

Keith ducks into the kitchen and explains that Kieron finds pictures he likes on the internet. Rather than an exact copy, however, he creates his own version.

This winter scene is imagined from an image of the Norfolk Broads in summer.

At first, Kieron’s art was pretty much like any other five-year-old’s. But he quickly progressed and was soon asking questions that his parents couldn’t answer. “Kieron wanted to know the technicalities of art and how to put a painting together,” says Michelle. Hearing of Kieron’s promise, one local artist, Carol Ann Pennington, offered him some tips.

Since then, he has had lessons with other Norfolk-based painters, including Brian Ryder and his favourite, Tony Garner.

Garner, a professional artist, has taught more than 1,000 adults over the last few decades and Kieron, he says, is head and shoulders above everyone. “He doesn’t say very much, he doesn’t ask very much, he just looks.

He’s a very visual learner. If I did a picture with most students, they will copy it but Kieron is different. He will copy it and then he will Kieronise it,” he says.

“It might be a bit naive at the moment but there’s a lovely freshness about what he does. The confidence that this little chap has got – he just doesn’t see any danger.”

Garner says his parents have been brilliant at shielding Kieron from the business side and the pressure this invariably brings. Keith and Michelle are extremely proud, and protective, and perhaps slightly in awe of their son. They insist that Kieron only paints when he wants to.

“We judge ourselves every day, wondering whether we are making the right choices,” says Michelle. “Kieron is such a strong character you wouldn’t get him to do anything he didn’t want to do anyway.

\It’s a hobby. Some could argue he’s got such a talent, why aren’t we doing more for him in terms of touring galleries every weekend. We are a family and we’ve got Billie-Jo to consider; you’ve got to strike a balance.”

With all the people wanting paintings, I ask Kieron if he feels he has to do them. He says no.

So you only paint when you want to? “Yep.”

Do you have days when you feel you don’t want to paint?

“Yep.”

So you only do it when you’re in the mood?

“Yep.”

How many paintings or drawings do you do each week? One or two? “About six.”

Is he a perfectionist? “You’ve got a bit of an artist’s temperament, haven’t you?” says Michelle, softly, as Kieron continues wielding his pastels. “You get really frustrated if it doesn’t work out.

You punched a hole in the canvas once, didn’t you?”

That was rare. Sometimes, however, Kieron will produce “what we classify as a bag of trosh,” says Michelle. “He’s just got to go through the motions. It’s almost as if it’s a release.

It’s difficult to explain – it’s the process that he enjoys, because there are days when he is not really focused on his work but he just enjoys doing it.”

Sometimes, when they have taken Kieron out on painting trips in the countryside, the little boy has had other ideas: he has gone off and played in the mud or a stream. He is still allowed to be seven years old.

What do his school friends think? Are they impressed? “Yep.” A few ^­ moments later, Kieron pauses.

“I am also top of the class in maths, English, geography and science,” he says carefully, rubbing the sky in his picture.

Kieron explains he is sticking to landscapes for now but plans to paint a portrait of his 98-year-old nan when she turns 100. What does he think about people spending so much money on his paintings? “Really good.” Would he like to be a professional painter? “Yep.”

So he doesn’t want to be a footballer when he is older? “I want to be a footballer and a painter.”

Kieron enjoys playing football and, like his dad, supports Leeds United (“I haven’t ever pushed him into it,” says Keith quickly).

What other things does Kieron like doing? “You played on the Xbox but then you got bored of it didn’t you?” says Keith.

“You said I could have it out when Christmas comes,” says Kieron.

“You can have it out in the holidays,” promises Michelle. “He’s a bit all-or-nothing with whatever he does, like the artwork.

You have to pull the reins in a bit because otherwise he’d be up all night.”

What would his parents say if Kieron turned around and told them he was not going to paint any more? “Leave him to it. As long as he’s happy. At the end of the day, he’s at his happiest painting,” says Keith.

“It’s entirely his choice,” says Michelle. “We don’t know what’s around the corner. Kieron might decide to put his boxes away and football might take over and that would be entirely his choice.

We’re feeling slightly under pressure at the moment because there is such a waiting list of people wanting Kieron’s work, but I’m inclined to tell them to wait, really.”

I doubt many artists could paint or draw while answering questions and being photographed but Kieron carries on. When he finishes, we lean over to look.

“Not bad. That’s nice,” says Keith, who can’t watch Kieron at work; I wonder if it is because he is worried about his son making a mistake but Keith says he just prefers to see the finished article.

“Is it as good as the one I did this morning or better?” asks Kieron.

“What do you think?” replies Keith. “It’s got a nice glow on it, hasn’t it?”

Kieron nods.

I would love one of his pictures but, I tell Kieron, he is already too expensive for me. “I can price one down for you,” he says, as quick as a flash.

No, no, I couldn’t, I say, worried I would be exploiting a little boy who is eager to please. I thank him for his time and hand him my business card. And Kieron trots into his bedroom, comes out with his business card and says thank you back.

 
Kieron’s tips for landscape painting

1 “Go on holiday to where you really want to go, and be inspired.”

2 “Start with acrylics, then watercolours, then pastels and then oils”

3 When you set out to do a landscape, “start with the sky first, top to bottom.”

4 “When you do distance, it’s lighter, and when you do foreground it comes darker.”

5 “If you’re doing a figure in the winter, do a brown head, leave a small gap, do a blue jacket and brown legs. Then with the gap get a red pastel and do a flick of red so it looks like a scarf.”

6 “Keep on painting.”

 

Source: Guardian

 

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

Save Power with These Green Tips

by Emily Busch
Dec.26, 2009

It’s easy to protect the planet! These tips help save energy. So get green and give the tips a try. Make sure to ask your parents before trying any of these tips!

Keep those fans buzzing in summer instead of turning on the air conditioner?

Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones. They last up to ten times longer and can use a quarter of the energy.

Plug electronics into a power strip and flip off the switch when the gadgets aren’t in use. (Make sure this won’t mess up clocks and recordings.)

Commit to turning off your computer before bed each night and before you go out for the day. Also set the computer’s sleep mode for when the computer is idle for just a little while. By doing these two simple acts, you will use about 85% less energy each day.

Switch off the light every time you leave a room.

Set the thermostat to no lower than 78°F in the summer and no higher than 68°F in the winter.

Place your desk next to a window and use natural light instead of a lamp.

Close your curtains to keep out daytime summer heat or keep in nighttime winter warmth.

Turn off the TV or video game console and play outside.

Ask Mom or Dad to turn off the car instead of letting it idle while you’re waiting.

Ride a bike or walk instead of using the car.

Carpool.

 

Source: Kids National Geographic

 

Editor’s Note: Play outside instead of using electricity. Photograph by Lori Adamski/Sport/Jupiterimages

We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

Next Page »