Something Meaningful for You to Do with Your Kid

Posted by Lazar M. on May 23rd, 2017

As our children get older, they tend to want to have control over their lives. For some this means making as many decisions about how they spend their time as possible. Much to their frustration, some find that they are not able to make many decisions about their lives at all.

Dave’s daughter Melia started young apparently. Dave just found now that 7 years ago when she was in 2^nd grade, she threw away her lunch each day because it was the one thing she was able to control. Lately, for the last several years, Dave has found his time with her significantly diminished as she wants to spend most of her free time with her friends.

We imagine that you may have had or heard of similar experiences with pre-teens. And that some of you may be wondering what the heck can I do with my child that is meaningful.

We’ve got a great idea for you. Share the children’s augmented reality book Pacha’sPajamas: A Story Written By Nature with your pre-teen children and engage with your children in reading and/or talking about the book. 

Pacha’s imagination is bigger than the Andes Mountains, homeland of her ancestors. When she goes to sleep, the plants and animals on her pajamas come alive in her dreams. The day before Earth Day, Pacha’s magical pajamas carry her into an epic dream where she’s the central player at a nature festival to save the planet from destruction.
Pacha awakens with the inspiration to show the world that “We Are ALL Connected.”

The Young Reader book is written for 8-12 year olds but it is fun for parents to read with younger children in the 4-8 years old range. The parents can read or help the child read a chapter every night, and the child can operate the augmented reality app.

Hovering the augmented reality app over the illustrations brings the characters to life with 3D animation featuring Cheech Marin,MosDef, and TalibKweli.

When older kids are reading the book, parents might considering reading perhaps their own copy of the book. We’ve found that the book can be as enlightening in many ways for adults as children. A college student recently read the book and said that she learned a lot.

Mostly, I learned all these new fun facts about the different living beings in the story… like how whales use their songs to communicate globally! (I thought that was so cool because elephants have been found to do the same thing by rumbling their tummies.) I found it fascinating that hummingbirds have been described as messengers between worlds. Most importantly, I learned more about how far the message reached, and its connections back to ancient Peruvian culture.

One of the key messages of the augmented reality book, Pacha’sPajamas: A Story Written By Nature, is that we are all connected. The book speaks to our connectedness in sharing one planet, the air that we breathe, and the water we drink as well as us all being one human family.

Imagine that rich conversation that you and children could have about Connectedness:

•          How do we know we are connected?
•          What are the different ways we are connected?
•          What are ways that our behaviour expresses our connectedness?
•          What are ways that our behaviour suggests that we are not thinking about our connectedness?
•          What can we do to express our connectedness more regularly?
•          What do I commit to do on a regular basis to express our connectedness?

The Pacha’sPajamas has a number of other themes including climate change, environmental issues, stress management, asthma, mindfulness, and fear of speaking in crowds. The book also touches on a number of other issues such as global footprint and growth that could sprout into full-blown conversations.

Suffice to say, order Pacha’sPajamas: A Story Written By Nature for you and your kids in the 4-12 year old age range and have a blast exploring the topics in the book that inspire your kids to conversation.

For more info - https://pachaspajamas.com/