Fun Facts About UNICORNS!

People’s love for the unicorn goes back many centuries. They are part of many myths and legends and are even Scotland’s national animal!

Modern pictures and drawings of the magical unicorn are rainbow-colored hair, some glitter, wings and horns. The more original version is a horse with a white head, body and mane. It also had a horn and a gold chain that wrapped around its body.

In Celtic Mythology it was a symbol of purity & innocence, as well as masculinity & power. In the 12th century it was used on the Scottish royal coat of arms.

Coat of Arms used by the Scottish Government

Coat of Arms used by the United Kingdom outside Scotland

There are even unicorn coins!

A British Pound coin with a unicorn!

Did you know that National UNICORN Day is on the

9th April?

It should really be called International Unicorn Day as people all over the world celebrate the special day for this mythical creature. Check out these fun links.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p5tAyTosp4

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article208325219.html

Here are some fun UNICORN CRAFTS!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kibzqZ4Fe8

Here are some fun UNICORN products!

https://www.belindajackson.com/shop

Hearing VS the Art of Listening

Listening is an important life skill that I as an adult have had to work on. I have definitely caught myself daydreaming or thinking of something else while someone is trying to have a conversation with me. So, I could hear them but I wasn’t actually focused on what they were saying and I sure wasn’t listening to them. As a result, I didn’t give the person proper verbal feedback as I wasn’t quite sure what they had said to me. Inevitably, I had to cut the conversation short and that does not make for good relationships.

Listening skills are learned or not learned at a young age. Listening, actual listening is an especially important life skill, without it you can miss opportunities in business and relationally by not comprehending what was said to you.

As you develop physically, emotionally and cognitively, listening becomes more of a developed skill. What is expected of you at a younger age and what is expected of you as an adult is vastly different. Obviously, more is expected of you as you grow and mature. Conversations become more sophisticated, lectures become longer, books have more details etc.

What is the key issue here? Your concentration and focus level! Your brain is trained from a young age to focus and concentrate. If you allow yourself to slack off in any of these areas, you don’t develop as you should. You only allow yourself to get stuck with a lot of bad habits. You can train your brain to focus and concentrate in a lecture and you can do it by listening to people when they talk to you. One only needs to be mindful of yourself and what you are mentally focusing on.

Hearing is simply one of the five senses, whereas listening is a crucial skill that is developed from the time we are conceived. We hear and listen to voices even in our mother’s womb, the most important one being your mother. From an early age, we listen to tone, we listen to body language, we listen to voice inflections, it is not merely a bunch of sound waves hitting your eardrum.

Listening is a critical skill for young children to acquire, it is one of the basic building blocks of language, communication and learning. We often find ourselves pondering what listening means for our children, is it simply to obey instructions and to show us that they are able to be attentive and obedient? No. Listening is so much more than hearing and acting on a task given by a parent or teacher. In fact, it is one of the most fundamental lessons in a child’s life, from the womb right through to the teenage years. It is important that we, as teachers and parents, are consciously aware of our responsibilities in developing our children.

Just like any other life skill, listening takes practice.

Children are not able to listen like adults do, when an adult hears a sound it enters into a well-developed brain which is able to process it, whereas the child’s brain is not fully developed. The human brain is not fully developed until you are 25 years old. Thus, children do not have the cognitive ability to fill in missing gaps and so they require more detailed and complete auditory information, which is up to us as the adults in their life to provide them with these cognitive opportunities.

Not only are you growing your child’s vocabulary, narrative skills and life skills as you develop their listening ability, but you are also assisting with their early brain development. Training our emotions and our brains are fundamentals to a healthy life. From having a positive interaction with your baby when you make sounds and encourage them to make the same sounds, you are helping them with a lifetime of learning. These experiences change the brain by growing neural connections which later will help children to read books, create art, learn, solve problems and even have conversations with friends. A well rounded child is a confident child. A confident child is usually more popular, has more friends and is more empathetic towards the peers around them. They are usually socially and emotionally more mature.

There are many ways we help our children develop mentally. For instance, at an early age we start teaching our babies signs and sounds, we read books, we play with toys and talk and we expose them to many different learning opportunities.

As parents and teachers, we grow a child’s listening ability by requesting them to complete certain tasks. As they manage with smaller tasks, we can increase the complexity, allowing them to absorb and action more than one task at a time. Look at a simple puzzle for example, we start with games where kids are asked to place the same shapes together. Then we work with 4 – 6 piece puzzles and then develop into more complex puzzles. The development is inevitable unless there is a learning disorder with short term memory. I will address that in another article.

There are different types of listening; three that come to mind immediately are listening when the answer is no, listening to instructions and empathetic listening. I have written a series of children’s books on these subjects to help them grow this skill, you can go to www.belindajackson.com and click on “Books” to order them from Amazon. They will certainly help your child to understand the differences and the importance of listening.

Hearing a simple answer such as ‘no’ is an important element of learning to listen, which can be a very difficult thing for a child to listen to, absorb and accept. This is an area that not only grows the child’s ability to listen and follow through but will also grow the child’s emotional capacity when it comes to accepting things they may not like or even fully understand. Listening teaches our children to follow instructions and action them. Listening can teach our children empathetic skills, children do what we do and not as we say. So we need to be sure to talk about these subjects and practice what we preach. Children do not always understand all the emotions they are feeling. We all have to learn how to control our emotions and respect others even if we have a different opinion. One only needs to go read Facebook or Twitter to get a dose of some very unsympathetic people when it comes to having different opinions. We all have to learn to respect another person’s viewpoint on life even when it differs from our own. You can see how important this skill is and how it could get you extremely far in both life and business.

A child should also be encouraged to be an active listener from an early age, this can be done by acknowledging certain words or actions given by the speaker to show that they are interacting and absorbing the content. This happens by giving verbal feedback.

Teachers and parents can help children develop the necessary skills by asking open-ended questions as they speak. Start with How, What, Which, and Where questions. Try to not ask too many Yes or No questions as they do not encourage dialogue as much as open-ended questions do. Allow your child to truly engage with the content and show their understanding.

Focus, concentration and hearing are all cognitive skills and work hand in hand. Whilst attention is sensory-based, listening is an active process, which allows us to select that which we need to attend to.

It is worth considering that when we ask a child to listen, we are asking them to take part in a complex process that can be easily interrupted by various factors such as physical development, emotional maturity, health, state of mind or cognitive ability. The task that may seem simple is packed with factors such as; look at me, filter out the background noise, ignore environmental stimuli, break down my command and understand it and do all of these things simultaneously and consistently. We want to break it down for them, take a breath, be mindful, focus and then concentrate!

It is clear to see why children do not acquire listening skills quickly, this skill has to be continuously practiced and encouraged in order to equip our children for a healthy and fulfilling life. Listening is truly an art and important life skill that we cannot afford to abandon or leave to develop by chance.

Please don’t forget to go to my website www.belindajackson.com to order your child’s books.

Happy Reading!

Empowering Your Child with Effective Listening Skills: What Top Studies & Sites Recommend [2023]

Blog Revision: Empowering Your Child with Effective Listening Skills: What Top Studies and Sites Recommend

Intro: Are listening skills innate or acquired? The debate has intrigued many parents and educators. Contrary to popular belief, mastering listening isn’t just a natural trait but something that can be honed over time.

Here, we’ll share research-backed strategies, insights from top studies, and leading resources to help refine your child’s listening prowess.

Understanding the Listening Quandary

Leading platforms like Psychology Today, Harvard Business Review, and Edutopia often highlight the significance of active listening in cognitive development and its role in building strong interpersonal relationships.

Despite the sea of information, many falter due to our inner monologue that often assumes or predicts the speaker’s intent, causing us to miss the essence.

Why Prioritize Listening? Because genuine listening builds trust and mutual respect. It validates the speaker and fulfills our core human need to be seen and acknowledged.

For parents ready to proactively build these values, here’s a well-researched guide:

Amazon Recommendation: Dive deeper with Lionstress, Troubalo with Buffalo, The Trepid Leopard, The Echo of the Gentle Giants (Elephant) and The Whisper of the Rhino. These books emphasize the essence of attentive listening, all wrapped in captivating tales. Explore them here.

3 Key Techniques to Cultivate Your Child’s Listening Skills:

The Power of Eye Contact: As underscored by a study on Child Development published by Wiley Online Library, eye contact is a cornerstone of effective communication, especially with children. By ensuring full attention and creating a mutual gaze, the message is often better received and internalized.
Pro Tip: Stanford University’s research emphasizes training our brains for active listening, which can elevate how we engage in dialogues, leading to insightful exchanges. Further Reading: Lion-Stress-Big-Five-1
Establish a Feedback Loop: As highlighted by The British Psychological Society, having children repeat what they’ve heard ensures comprehension and cements the information. This technique also fosters mutual respect and enhances relationship bonds. Insight: APA (American Psychological Association) emphasizes that early incorporation of these habits can significantly advance complex listening skills, equipping children for better social interactions.
Nurture Creative & Critical Thinking: A study from Cambridge University stresses introducing diverse topics to children. This approach fuels creativity and promotes broader, innovative thinking.

Take the Next Step:With insights from leading studies and platforms, you’re armed to reshape your child’s listening journey.

A Must-Read: The Big Five series offer riveting narratives enriched with lessons on listening, cultural insights, and engaging activities. Discover them here.

Equip your child with the art of effective listening and make every conversation truly impactful!

Blog Revision: Empowering Your Child with Effective Listening Skills

Have you ever pondered if listening skills are naturally ingrained or cultivated? While some may believe it’s an inborn trait, research and experience reveal that it’s more about refining habits over time.
To facilitate this, I’m about to share some proven strategies to enhance your child’s listening abilities. And guess what? These are strategies I swear by!

In this post, we’ll uncover:

3 must-know techniques to nurture excellent listening in your child.
Addressing common misconceptions about listening.
Trusted resources to further your journey.

Listening – Where Do We Trip?
A quick online search might yield results like:

“Importance of listening in cognitive development”.
“Top listening skills to master”.
“Interactive listening activities”.
“Recommended books on improving listening”.
“Concentration exercises for kids”.

Despite having abundant resources, the fundamental challenge remains our constant inner chatter. Most times, we’re predicting or assuming the speaker’s next words, leading us to miss the actual message.

But why should we foster good listening habits? Because true listening is reciprocal. It validates the speaker, nurtures relationships, and fulfills our innate desire to be acknowledged.

If you’re committed to instilling these values early in your child, here’s your guide:

Amazon Recommendation: Dive into the insightful lessons in the books Lionstress and Troubalo with Buffalo – both powerful tales emphasizing the significance of listening. Check them out here.

3 Essential Techniques to Boost Your Child’s Listening Skills:

Eye Contact is Key: When addressing your child, ensure you have their complete attention. Establishing eye contact, especially by leveling with younger kids, can make all the difference. It ensures they’re focused and internalizing the information, paving the way for effective communication. Pro Tip: Training your brain for active listening can transform how you engage in conversations, ensuring you ask relevant questions and genuinely understand the speaker. Recommended Reading: Lion-Stress-Big-Five-1
Feedback Loop: After conveying your message, have your child repeat it. This technique cements the information and ensures understanding. Such interactions strengthen bonds, emphasizing mutual respect and interest. Did you know? Cultivating these habits early can help develop sophisticated listening skills, equipping children with empathy and better social adaptability.
Stimulate Creative Thinking: Encourage discussions beyond the usual topics. This fuels imagination and creativity, essential tools for out-of-the-box thinking which can foster innovation.

Taking the Next Step:
Incorporating these strategies can foster effective listening habits, laying the foundation for meaningful connections and mutual respect.

Highly Recommended: Don’t miss out on Lionstress and Troubalo with Buffalo. Both tales offer an African adventure, introducing children to unique wildlife, cultural insights, and vital lessons on listening. The books also come with engaging activities like matching animal prints, spotting differences, and language learning. Explore them here.

Are you ready to reshape your child’s listening journey? Dive into these resources and make every conversation count!

#ListeningSkillsForChildren #ChildDevelopment #EffectiveCommunication #ParentingTips #EarlyLearning

How to encourage your child to be a good listener, when struggling with ineffective listening habits.

One sometimes thinks that being a good listener is a personality trait that develops naturally on its own; but actually the opposite is true. One does not necessarily become a good listener because your brain develops that way. You can have bad listening habits that you have to correct that have developed over time.

So, would it be alright with you if I give you some tools to help your child develop great listening skills? Personally, I practice these myself.

If you want to know how to encourage your child to be a good listener, without the struggle, let’s do it.

In this article, you will discover 3 things you need to know to help your child be a good listener.

Here’s a question. When it comes to listening what do you think is the biggest challenge folks have?

There are many things to consider, maybe you have searched the web for words like:

– critical listening skills and cognitive development
– listening skills tip
– effective listening skills
– listening skills activities
– books on listening
– best concentration activities for children

One of the biggest challenge people have with listening to others is that we have a million other things to think about. Why? It’s because so many people make the big mistake of thinking that they know what the other person is going to say.

Why is it important to understand this? It is important to you because you want to be heard in return. Listening makes the speaker feel significant and builds relationship. We all have an inherent need to feel special and loved so be receptive when listening to others. This will heal a lot of hurt in the world.

If you are the type of person who is proactive and you want to help your child learn from a young age; it is all about to get easier. Teaching a child through interactive activities and conversation is definitely an important step to take.

Order your books from Amazon now – super good lesson on listening in the books Lionstress and Troubalo with Buffalo.

http://https://www.amazon.com/s?k=belinda+jackson&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Here are 3 Things You Need to Know to help your child be a good listener.
1. Make sure you have their attention when you speak to them. Stop everything you are doing and look them in the eye.

Don’t let them be distracted with things that are around them. If your child is younger it often helps for you to get on the same level as they are. Look each other in the eye and then start talking. This is the best way to give children instructions. Undivided attention!

The reason you should consider this is because when we are distracted they are less likely to remember what we are told. The best action you can take is to constantly remind yourself to remember to listen to what people are saying – TRAIN YOUR BRAIN!

Listening usually means you will ask the right questions and reflect on the right topics. You’re not looking at the person thinking, “Holy cow, please don’t ask me a question I have no clue what you said!”

For More info, See This Resource:

https://smile.amazon.com/Lion-Stress-Big-Five-1/dp/1978300956/

2. Once you finished saying whatever it is you wanted to say, ask you child to repeat it. This is to solidify the information in their brains.

Why is this important? Simple. Because most of us paraphrase what we have heard if we are listening. We give vocal feedback of some sort.

This builds relationship and shows that you are interested in what the other person has to say. You are not cutting the conversation short or changing the subject because you have no clue what the speaker said. You’re asking questions and making statements. This shows the person talking, “Wow, they are are really interested!” This builds relationship!

Cognitively, practicing these listening skills helps your child develop complex listening skills such as emphatic listening and receptive listening skills. All psychologists agree that the earlier this skill is practiced the more self confident and advanced your child is. Children do well socially as they are more likely to help those that are struggling in class.

3. Explore different topics regarding the subject – help them think out the box.

Doing this encourages creative thinking and imagination. This is a very important part of learning. This is how we stimulate minds to think differently thus encouraging inventions, creative writing, art works, computer programs and new mobile apps…. gosh what’s that next big thing?

Here is what you should consider doing next… You should be intentional and train your brain to listen effectively.

We all want to be heard. Listening does that through our responses and acknowledgment of what is said.

https://smile.amazon.com/Troubalo-Buffalo-Five-Belinda-Jackson/dp/1099056489/

Listening gives you something to talk about when you see that person again. Why is this important? It is because your recipient will be blown away that you remember. You’ll get a lot more out of your conversation if you are mentally cognitive of what’s going on. Mentioning topics in the last conversation solidifies and builds connection, relationship and a mutual respect for each other. We all desire and thrive on connection.

Seriously, order the books on Listening. Lionstress is about listening when the answer is no and Troubalo with Buffalo is about listening to instructions.

Both books are set in the heart of Africa, introduces new African animals and has amazing colorful pictures. Education activities included are – learn about a new culture and ethnic group, match the prints of the animals, spot the difference, learn new words in another language, learn about the African Big Five and Little Five and an important lesson to build effective listening skills. There are tons of talking topics for conversation starters.

For More info, See This Resource: => http://https://www.amazon.com/s?k=belinda+jackson&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Now you understand some of the top listening skills tips that will help you end the struggle with ineffective listening habits.

Want more listening skills help? Order your copy now on Amazon!

Go Here NOW:
http://https://www.amazon.com/s?k=belinda+jackson&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

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