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Quote of the Week
"Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present and future. We make discoveries about ourselves." - Gail Lumet Buckley
The Stories That Bind Us
"Our family’s falling apart,” he said.
“No it’s not,” I said instinctively. “It’s stronger than ever.”
But lying in bed afterward, I began to wonder: Was he right? What is the secret sauce that holds a family together? What are the ingredients that make some families effective, resilient, happy?
It turns out to be an astonishingly good time to ask that question. The last few years have seen stunning breakthroughs in knowledge about how to make families, along with other groups, work more effectively.
Myth-shattering research has reshaped our understanding of dinnertime, discipline and difficult conversations. Trendsetting programs from Silicon Valley and the military have introduced techniques for making teams function better. [...] I spent the last few years trying to uncover that information, meeting families, scholars and experts ranging from peace negotiators to online game designers to Warren Buffett’s bankers.
After a while, a surprising theme emerged. The single most important thing you can do for your family may be the simplest of all: develop a strong family narrative." [read more]
Reading Corner
 Title: All Families Are Special
By: Norma Simon
Ages: 5-8
When Mrs. Mack says she will soon be a grandmother, her students realize that teachers have families just like they do! Suddenly everyone in the class wants to share information about his or her own unique family. --Publishers
Recommended by Cubs Editors
Be The Change
After your children start to grasp details and stories of the past, you could start playing the “Do You Know” game when you have downtime (car, at dinner, etc). Ask questions like “Who knows which grandparent _____?” You could even make it fun with little treats for the first person to know the answer.
You could also write personalized stories about your grandparents and great-grandparents and even great-great grandparents, and then publish them into a little story book for your children.
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