Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 23, 2016)
Appeal Tribune Wednesday, November 23, 2016 3B COMMENTARY Attitude of gratitude aids character, academic growth MARY MASSEY The holiday season is a busy time for many fam- ilies, with a full schedule of activities on the to-do list including shopping, baking and visiting rela- tives. However, it’s impor- tant to talk to children about what they’re thankful for during these months, and encourage an attitude of gratitude. Given today’s social pressures on fame, money, and status, kids may not al- ways see examples of gratitude on TV and in pop culture. The holidays can be a good time to start new family traditions or have conversations with children about thankfulness. Remember the story about the origin of the Thanksgiving holiday? Pilgrims who came to America for a better life joined their Native American friends for a feast, giving thanks to the Native Americans for helping them survive and plant crops. Many other holiday tradi- tions, such as Christmas and Hanukkah, also involve the feelings of gratitude and thankfulness. Grateful children, according to re- cent studies, have a better chance of be- ing emotionally, physically, and socially successful. Gratitude is also viewed as an instrumental virtue for other charac- ter traits helpful for students to succeed in school. One of the leading researchers on the subject, Dr. Jeffrey Froh, Associate Pro- fessor of Psychology at New York’s Hof- stra University, looked at the impact of teaching gratitude to students and found it improved academic achievement. “They report better relationships with friends and family, higher GPAs, less materialism, less envy and less de- pression, along with a desire to connect to their community and to want to give back,” Froh said. Many experts agree that teaching thankfulness starts at home. Noted psy- chologist and TV personality Joyce Brothers once said, “feeling gratitude isn’t born in us -- it’s something we are taught, and in turn, we teach our chil- dren.” Even though the holidays can be hec- tic for families, it’s a good idea to set aside some time to demonstrate thank- fulness. Here are a few simple and creative activities to help children embrace a spirit of gratitude: Artwork for appreciation Thanksgiving place mats -- A timely way to help your child count their bless- ings is having them make place mats for family and friends coming to Thanksgiv- ing dinner or another holiday meal. Glue or tape two pieces of construction paper together, then ask your child to personal- ize with hand written messages of thanks, photos, leaves, stickers or other creative elements. Garland of gratitude -- String some fresh or artificial garland along your stu- dent’s desk or on a favorite wall in the house, and add a few brightly colored clothespins throughout. Have your child cut up colored paper for notecards and write down one thing they are thankful for on each card. Your student can deco- rate the cards before attaching them to the garland for a festive and thoughtful holiday display. Chain of thanks -- Remember the old- fashioned homemade paper chains on Christmas trees? Now you can revive that tradition and involve the whole fam- ily in the gift of gratitude. Cut up strips of decorative paper and ask all family members to write down things they are thankful for on the strips. Then plan a pa- per chain party so you can assemble the strips into chains, and decorate the house in gratefulness. Your family can also start some grat- itude challenges during the holiday sea- son that can easily be reused year-round: Recording gratitude creatively Gratitude jar -- Designate a large jar or basket for this project and label it the “Gratitude Jar.” Place paper and pencil next to the jar and ask children to write something they’re thankful for each day and put it in the jar. Once every week or so, pass the jar around at dinner and let family members draw submissions, re- flecting on the topic drawn. Gratitude poster or book -- For long- er lasting memories, get a piece of poster board and write at the top: “For This I am Grateful.” Encourage students and other family members to write what they are thankful for, adding photos or other art- work. The poster is another good conver- sation starter at dinnertime. A scrap- book for the coffee table can also serve the same purpose, but contains more photos and can be started as a project to kick off the New Year. Joy journal -- Communicating grate- fulness can be hard for young children, so have them jot down their thoughts in a gratitude journal to help organize their ideas. Sit down with your child every evening and have them write a couple of positive things from the day. Soon they’ll start to appreciate the good in their life, big and small. Thank-you notes -- A short note of thanks goes a long way sometimes. Lead by example – put a note of appreciation in your child’s lunchbox. Then show your children how to write notes of gratitude for people that have done something de- serving of thanks. Writing thank you notes for gifts they received over the holidays is another way to practice gratefulness. Good role models -- It’s one thing to tell your child to say “thank you,” it’s an- other for them to see gratitude in action. Children absorb behaviors from grow- nups, so walk the walk and make sure your kids see you demonstrating grati- tude with others. Help your student un- derstand that it feels great to be on the receiving end of gratitude too. Catch your student doing random acts of kind- ness, like an extra chore and express ap- preciation for going above and beyond. Every child will learn and demon- strate gratitude in different forms as they grow, each will follow their own path. The more parents incorporate thankfulness into daily life though, the more it will sink in. A thankful child could potentially become a happier, more grateful adult. Families looking for something spe- cial to give their students this holiday season might consider the gift of grati- tude and try a few of these tips. Who knows, the lasting rewards could be bet- ter manners, better grades, better phys- ical and mental health, plus the added benefit of having some new thankful- ness family traditions! Mary Massey, of Corbett, is an Oregon Connections Academy sixth-grade tea- cher.She can be reached through the academy at www.OregonConnections Academy.com or (800) 382-6010. Oregon cities setting rules after opting in to legal pot ANDREW SELSKY ASSOCIATED PRESS Some 30 counties and cities in Oregon approved some type of marijuana busi- nesses in last week’s election, and offi- cials in those communities now must es- tablish rules for every step in the pro- duction and supply chain. When voters legalized recreational marijuana statewide two years ago, the communities — from the cowboy town of Pendleton to Sweet Home in the Willam- ette Valley — opted out. But many switched it up this month, voting to allow at least some form of the pot industry, in- cluding medical marijuana. “No one has done this in Oregon since liquor Prohibition,” said Scott Winkels, a lobbyist with the League of Oregon Cit- ies. “This is the first time we’ve had to step in and develop and regulate a mar- ketplace for a controlled substance since 1933.” Local officials must determine oper- ating hours for marijuana retailers, growing farms and processors. They also were trying to figure out whether the businesses should be allowed near parks and what sort of security and odor controls the businesses must provide. The rule-setting also was happening in other states that have legalized recre- ational marijuana. In California, which approved pot last week, the San Jose City Council imposed a temporary ban — including on outdoor gardens — to give officials time to devel- op regulations for sales and farming. In Colorado, where voters passed marijuana in 2012, the rules were still be- ing tweaked. This month, Denver became the first U.S. city to allow people to use marijuana in bars and restaurants, though state li- censing officials announced a rule Fri- day that prohibits businesses with liquor licenses from allowing pot consumption on their premises. The move strikes a major blow to the voter-passed initiative. In Oregon, the Liquor Control Com- mission didn’t begin finalizing regula- tions and licensing businesses until this year. Now, the communities are starting. “Most have been borrowing from each other,” said Rob Bovett, legal coun- sel of Association of Oregon Counties, describing efforts to establish ordinanc- es. Opt-in ballot measures go into effect in January, Bovett said. If the jurisdic- tions want to reap the tax benefits at the earliest opportunity, they should have the regulations finalized before then so marijuana companies can seek licenses and start doing business, liquor commis- sion spokesman Mark Pettinger said. The League of Oregon Cities has drawn up a guide to help struggling local " "- # #& && '#,& /#+& "- #! VLOYHUWRQDSSHDOFRP +&" & #& /#+& ".* , officials. It says cities may impose restrictions on the hours of operation and the loca- tions of producers, processors, whole- salers, as well as retailers and medical marijuana grow sites, processing sites and dispensaries. They may also regu- late public access and how the business- es operate. “Probably most cities will use (the guide) as a template,” Winkels said. “The easiest way is to cut and paste the ordi- nance in … though some will probably be making local adjustments.” Robert Snyder, lawyer for the town of Sweet Home, said forming the rules is “going to take work” and that it will be up to the city council to decide whether to get public input. One marijuana ballot measure that passed imposed a 3 percent local sales tax on marijuana products, on top of a 17 percent state sales tax, Bovett said. +*#"' $*' '&,' '*+ **'!"#+&" %#!( ''' " $&"* "'/ *&#+ +"/ TRUST THE HOMETOWN EXPERTS AT SILVERTON REALTY SERVING THE EAST VALLEY SINCE 1975 Marcia Branstetter Broker, GRI 873-3545 ext. 318 Mary Cam Broker 503-873-3545 ext. 320 Micha Christman Offi ce Manager 503-873-1425 Becky Craig Broker 873-3545 ext. 313 Desaree Parks Angela Halbirt-Lopez Broker Broker 503-873-3545 ext. 326 503-999-0245 Michael Schmidt Broker, GRI 873-3545 ext. 314 Ryan Wertz Broker 873-3545 ext. 322 Meredith Wertz Broker, GRI 873-3545 ext. 324 Chuck White Broker 873-3545 ext. 325 Christina Williamson Broker 873-3545 ext. 315 Mason Branstetter Principal Broker, GRI 873-3545 ext. 303 SILVERTON MT. ANGEL SALEM NEW-SILVERTON SILVERTON SILVERTON #A2316 PRIVATE & SECLUDED 4 BR, 4 BA 82.000 ACRES CALL MARCIA AT EXT. 318 $799,000 (WVMLS#706727) #A2334 NEW LISTING 3 BR, 1BA 1179 SQFT. CALL MICHAEL AT EXT 314 OR BECKY AT EXT 313 $235,000 (WVMLS#709096) #A2284 COLONIAL HOME ON ACREAGE 4 BR, 4.5 BA 3680 SQFT. 1.510 ACRES CALL CHUCK AT EXT. 325 $479,900 (WVMLS#701127) #A2360 NICE SILVERTON SUBDIVISION 3 BR, 2 BA 1404 SQFT. CALL MICHAEL AT EXT. 314 $265,000 (WVMLS#712045) #A2341 2 HOMES ON 2 ACRES 3 BR, 2 BA 1367 SQFT. 2.630 ACRES CALL CHUCK AT EXT. 325 $549,900 (WVMLS#709561) #A2354 3 HOME INVESTMENT PROPERTY 4 BR, 3 BA 1776 SQFT CALL MARCIA AT EXT. 318 $449,000 (WVMLS#711358) SALEM NEW-SILVERTON MT. ANGEL MT. ANGEL SILVERTON SILVERTON #A2311 HOWELL PRAIRIE FARM 3 BR 2 BA 26.77 ACRES. CALL CHUCK AT EXT. 325 $549,900 (WVMLS#706154) #A2359 CRAFTSMAN STYLE HOME 3 BR, 2.5 BA 2381 SQFT ANGELA AT EXT. 312 $349,900 (WVMLS#711861) #A2233 2 ACRE LOT IN MT. ANGEL 2 acres Call Chuck at ext. 325 $189,500 (WVMLS#693008) #A2326 PLENTY OF ROOM 5 BR, 2 BA 2354 sqft. Call Mary at ext. 320, Angela at ext. 312 $267,000 (WVMLS#708384) #A2351 HISTORIC HOME 4 BR, 2 BA, 2256 sqft Call Meredith at ext. 324, Ryan at ext. 322 $425,000 (WVMLS#710687) #A2356 WONDERFUL LOCATION 2 BR, 1.5 BA 1116 sqft Call Marcia at ext. 318 $199,500 (WVMLS#711736) Brokers licensed in Oregon WWW.SILVERTONREALTY.COM | 303 OAK STREET | SILVERTON Call us today! 503.873.3545 | 1-800-863-3545 FOR RENT Call Micha at 503-873-1425 or see them on our website.