Month: June 2016

It’s time to sweat: Whether you’re on the golf course, bike trail, or high school running track, the season of extra deodorant and SPF 50 is upon us. Don’t let humidity drag you down; find inspiration in these true tales of summertime athletes. From a late-blooming tennis champ’s rocky path to the story of a swimming legend fulfilling a life-long goal, these 11 books will inspire you to set your alarm clock early and hit the pavement right up to Labor Day.

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Running Like a Girl

by Alexandra Heminsley

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Hilarious and refreshingly honest, this memoir will inspire you to (literally) run after your dreams. Told from the perspective of a first-time runner, Alexandra Hemingsly reveals the emotions, and the unexpected joys of running. This is just the read to get any beginner off the couch, and into their sneakers.

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Late to the Ball

by Gerald Marzorati

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An award-winning author shares the inspiring and entertaining account of his pursuit to become a nationally competitive tennis player—at the age of sixty. Being a man or a woman in your early sixties is different than it was a generation or two ago, at least for the more fortunate of us. We aren’t old…yet. But we sense it coming: Careers are winding down, kids are gone, parents are dying (friends, too), and our bodies are no longer youthful or even middle-aged. Learning to play tennis in your fifties is no small feat, but becoming a serious, competitive tennis player at the age of sixty is a whole other matter. It requires training the body to defy age, and to methodically build one’s game—the strokework, footwork, strategy, and mental toughness. Gerry Mazorati started playing the game seriously in his mid-fifties. He had the strong desire to lead an examined physical life, to push his body into the “encore” of middle age. In Late to the Ball Mazorati writes vividly about the difficulties, frustrations, and the triumphs of his becoming a seriously good tennis player. He takes on his quest with complete vigor and absolute determination to see it through, providing a rich, vicarious experience involving the science of aging, his existential battle with time, and the beautiful, mysterious game of tennis. Late to the Ball is also captivating evidence that the rest of the Baby Boomer generation, now between middle age and old age, can find their own quest and do the same.

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The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances

by The Oatmeal and Matthew Inman

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This is not just a book about running. It’s a book about cupcakes. It’s a book about suffering. It’s a book about gluttony, vanity, bliss, electrical storms, ranch dressing, and Godzilla. It’s a book about all the terrible and wonderful reasons we wake up each day and propel our bodies through rain, shine, heaven, and hell. From #1 New York Times best-selling author, Matthew Inman, AKA The Oatmeal, comes this hilarious, beautiful, poignant collection of comics and stories about running, eating, and one cartoonist’s reasons for jogging across mountains until his toenails fall off.

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Find a Way: The Inspiring Story of One Woman’s Pursuit of a Lifelong Dream

by Diana Nyad

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When Diana Nyad arrived on the shore of Key West after fifty-three hours of grueling swimming across an epic ocean, she not only set a world record—becoming the first person to swim the shark-infested waters between Cuba and Florida with no cage for protection—she also succeeded in fulfilling a dream she first chased at age twenty-eight and at long last achieved when she was sixty-four.

Now, in a riveting memoir, Diana shares a spirited account of what it takes to face one’s fears, engage one’s passions, and never ever give up. For no matter what life may throw at you, or how many times you may have experienced defeat, it is always possible—as long as you commit to living life to the nth degree, no regrets—to “find a way.”

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Let’s Go Fishing!: Fish Tales from the North Woods

by Eric Dregni

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Anglers are simply superior because of their contemplative pastime, according to Izaak Walton. And few who fish would disagree. In fact, the habit of amplifying the sport is documented at least as long ago as 75 A.D., when Plutarch wrote that Mark Antony faked a catch to impress Cleopatra. From Bible verse to Grandpa’s latest whopper, fishing has figured in our spiritual and cultural lore, to say nothing of our cuisine, as far back as we remember, and nowhere is this truer, perhaps, than in the great north woods.

A celebration of the sport in the land of 10,000 lakes and beyond, where the fish fry is a near-holy Friday ritual, the running of smelt heralds spring, and a village of ice-fishing huts springs up on every frozen lake, this irresistible book tells the full story from trivia to sacred tradition. Eric Dregni, who has entertained countless readers with enlightening tales of Midwest marvels, here shows his considerable skills as a raconteur and cultural historian of the fun and the facts of fishing in the Great Lakes region.

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Run the World: My 3,500-Mile Journey Through Running Cultures Around the Globe

by Becky Wade

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Fresh off a successful collegiate running career—with multiple NCAA All-American honors and two Olympic Trials qualifying marks to her name—Becky Wade was no stranger to international competition. But after years spent safely sticking to the training methods she knew, Becky was curious about how her counterparts in other countries approached the sport to which she’d dedicated over half of her life. So in 2012, as a recipient of the Watson Fellowship, she packed four pairs of running shoes, cleared her schedule for the year, and took off on a journey to infiltrate diverse running communities around the world. What she encountered far exceeded her expectations and changed her outlook into the sport she loved.

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Lanterne Rouge: The Last Man in the Tour de France

by Max Leonard

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Froome, Wiggins, Mercks―we know the winners of the Tour de France, but Lanterne Rouge tells the forgotten, often inspirational and occasionally absurd stories of the last-placed rider. We learn of stage winners and former yellow jerseys who tasted life at the other end of the bunch; the breakaway leader who stopped for a bottle of wine and then took a wrong turn; the doper whose drug cocktail accidentally slowed him down and the rider who was recognized as the most combative despite finishing at the back.

Max Leonard flips the Tour de France on its head and examines what these stories tell us about ourselves, the 99% who don’t win the trophy, and forces us to re-examine the meaning of success, failure and the very nature of sport.

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String Theory: David Foster Wallace on Tennis

by David Foster Wallace and John Jeremiah Sullivan

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Gathered for the first time in a deluxe collector’s edition, here are David Foster Wallace’s legendary writings on tennis, five tour-de-force pieces written with a competitor’s insight and a fan’s obsessive enthusiasm. Wallace brings his dazzling literary magic to the game he loved as he celebrates the other-worldly genius of Roger Federer; offers a wickedly witty disection of Tracy Austin’s memoir; considers the artistry of Michael Joyce, a supremely disciplined athlete on the threshold of fame; resists the crush of commerce at the U.S. Open; and recalls his own career as a “near-great” junior player.

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18 Holes with Bing: Golf, Life, and Lessons from Dad Hardcover

by Nathaniel Crosby and John Strege

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In 18 Holes with Bing, Nathaniel introduces us to the Bing Crosby he and his family knew—not the beloved singer who played golf, but a golfer who sang to pay his country club dues. Nathaniel shares exclusive stories about this American icon golfing, working, and playing with some of the most famous people in history—royalty, titans of industry, stars of stage and screen, and champions of the green, including Bob Hope, Dwight Eisenhower, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Louis Armstrong. At the book’s heart is an intimate account of a father and a son—how a mutual love of golf formed an exceptional emotional bond.

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The Bogey Man: A Month on the PGA Tour

by George Plimpton

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What happens when a weekend athlete—of average skill at best—joins the professional golf circuit? George Plimpton, one of the finest participatory sports journalists, spent a month of self-imposed torture on the tour to find out. Along the way, he meets amateurs, pros, caddies, officials, fans, and hangers-on. In The Bogey Man, we find golf legends, adventurers, stroke-saving theories, superstitions, and other golfing lore, and best of all, Plimpton’s thoughts and experiences—frustrating, humbling and, sometimes, thrilling—from the first tee to the last green.

This intriguing classic, which remains one of the wittiest books ever written on golf, features Arnold Palmer, Dow Finsterwald, Walter Hagan, and many other golf greats and eccentrics, all doing what they do best.

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Running Man

by Charlie Engle

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A compulsively readable, remarkably candid memoir from world class ultra-marathon runner Charlie Engle chronicling his globe-spanning races, his record-breaking run across the Sahara Desert, and how running helped him overcome drug addiction—and an unjust stint in federal prison. After a decade-long addiction to crack cocaine and alcohol, Charlie Engle hit bottom with a near-fatal six-day binge that ended in a hail of bullets. As Engle got sober, he turned to running, which became his lifeline, his pastime, and his salvation. He began with marathons, and when marathons weren’t far enough, he began to take on ultramarathons, races that went for thirty-five, fifty, and sometimes hundreds of miles, traveling to some of the most unforgiving places on earth to race.

The post Solstice Salute: 11 Summertime Sports Books to Get You Going appeared first on Tips on Life and Love.

There are dozens of ways to use literature and movies to cultivate children’s empathy, open their hearts to care about others, as well as to expand their cognitive development and enhance academic achievement. A big secret to cultivating this habit is to make the activity fun as well as meaningful to children while matching material to their abilities and interests. Do ask your child every once in a while: “When’s the last time you read a great book?” If your son or daughter has a blank look, then you know you need to work harder to make reading pleasurable. From my book UnSelfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World, here are a few ways to instill a love of reading in our kids.

Make books available! Studies show that the more books you have in your home, the greater the chance your kid will become a reader. You don’t have to break the bank, but you should have available the type of reading material that elevates empathy. Dig out that library card. Take advantage of garage sales and buy gently used books. Set up a book exchange with the neighbors. Listen to audiobooks and then read the book as a family! Always stash an extra book in your child’s backpack and your car for those “just in case” reading moments.

Tailor material to your child’s passions. A big secret to engaging kids in reading is to find material with a theme your child identifies with. If your daughter loves horses, Black Beauty or National Velvet might be the perfect match. Films like The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The Book Thief, and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, or books like Where the Red Fern Grows or Bridge to Terabithia, can cause even a tough-skinned older kid to melt. To find the right selection for your teen, consider these online resources: Your Favorites: 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels (http://www.npr.org/2012/08/07/1577955366/your-favorites-100-best-ever-teen-novels), which is based on over 75,000 votes on best young adult novels, or the Empathy Library (http://empathylibrary.com), the world’s first online guide full of recommended empathy-building books and films.

Match the book to your child’s reading level. If your goal is to instill a love for reading, don’t push a book too hard. Most educators suggest you choose books for kids’ reading pleasure that are slightly below their academic level. Check the last report card or reading achievement scores for his or her reading level. Or at the next parent-conference ask the teacher what your child’s current reading level is. The back of many children’s books lists the reading level: for example, RL 2.1 means “Second grade, first month,” and RL 4.2 means “Fourth grade, second month.” You must match the reading level so it is geared to your child’s tested reading ability, not his age or year and month in school.

Find a good reference! If you have difficulty finding a selection for your child, ask a children’s librarian. They are wonderful resources for this kind of information—and they love to be asked! Also, check resources of great books kids like to read such as Scholastic’s national yearly survey of six- to seventeen-year-olds, “Kids and Family Reading Report,” http://www.scholastic.com/readingreport/what-kids-want-to-read, which is a portal leading to many guides of many books from all publishers, not just those of Scholastic. Quick-Picks (http://www.ala.org/yalsa/quick-picks-reluctant-young-adult-readers) is another resource, or ask other kids for book ideas. You might also treat yourself to a great reference that lists kids’ top reading choices, such as: Best Books for Boys: How to Engage Boys in Reading in Ways That Will Change Their Lives: K–8, by Pam Allyn; Best Books for Kids Who (Think They) Hate to Read, by Laura Backes; Books Children Love, by Elizabeth Laraway Wilson; How to Get Your Child to Love Reading, by Esm. Raji Codell; and The Read- Aloud Handbook, by Jim Trelease. Just be sure to let your child have a choice in the selection: 89 percent of kids say their favorite books are ones they pick out!

Don’t stop reading out loud! Around the age of eight is when our children generally stop reading for enjoyment. Ironically, it’s also when we typically stop reading aloud to them, so don’t stop reading aloud to your child. Find a book your whole family enjoys and use it as an ongoing read-aloud. Also, make sure your child sees you with a book in hand. Children who are more apt to be good readers have parents who read for pleasure.

The post How to Teach Kids Empathy Through Books appeared first on Tips on Life and Love.

Summer’s coming! For most families, this means looking forward to special times with the kids, unique adventures, and days filled with fun and joyful activities. However, when there is a youngster with a disability in the family, parents most often have to take extra steps to ensure that a summer vacation is more joyful than stressful for both the child and the family. Learn these tips and more in my book Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism.

Summer vacations may pose difficulties for a family that has a special needs child, as the differences from the rest of the school year may be significant and therefore, confusing to a child with developmental challenges. First, there is a dramatic change in routine from typical days during the school year, and in most cases, schedules are less predictable and less structured, with more unexpected events and unfamiliar places.

Changes may also occur in basic rhythms in life–changes in morning routines, bedtimes and meal times. Even the types of foods may vary significantly from typical meals during the school year. These factors, along with the excitement of stimulating environments filled with noises and crowds may have a cumulative impact on a child that results in increased anxiety, irritability and confusion.

Does this mean avoid a summer vacation and special activities? Certainly not! There are some special precautions and supports that parents may use to make a vacation more fun and relaxing, creating wonderful memories for all family members. Here are some tips that will help most families have a great time in the summer.

Minimize the transitions across the course of a vacation. Most children do better with a home base that becomes predictable and comfortable. Rather than changing places too frequently, unpack and settle into a familiar comfortable setting that may be the launching point for day trips. Alternating busy days out with more relaxing days also prevents fatigue, which can lead to irritability and burn-out. If travel involves a significant time change, have a “settle-in” day rather than diving into exciting activities too quickly.
Be realistic and keep it simple. Do not plan too much within a day and build in breaks. There often is the temptation to try to cram too many activities into one day, which may result in too many transitions. Fewer activities with breaks for an afternoon siesta or late afternoon swim allows for a more relaxed pace. When energy levels of family members vary, “divide and conquer” with some going their own way for part of the day.
Increase predictability by reviewing upcoming activities and preparing everyone for transitions. A morning discussion accompanied by photos or other visual supports helps kids to anticipate and predict what is coming next during the day. A picture schedule may also ease transitions during the next day. As it becomes time to leave a favorite activity such as swimming, prepare for the transition with verbal reminders and countdowns, and talk about the fun activities that will follow. In the evening, discuss possible activities for the next day.

When planning activities, offer choices whenever possible. A sense of control helps a child be better regulated emotionally, and supports enthusiasm, motivation and participation. Alternating choices amongst family members also provides a sense of fairness and a team spirit. When necessary, use photos or picture symbols to help a child make choices. For older and more capable children, include them in the initial and ongoing stages of planning a family trip or vacation.
Bring supports and activities that your child can focus on and that help to maintain a calm state. Favorite comfort objects and toys (stuffed animals, Rubik’s cube), iPad, noise-dampening headphones will help your child when there is a need to wait and sit, or on when on airplanes or in a car. Giving your child time and space to engage in solitary activities is often helpful.
Eat healthfully. Avoid the temptation to indulge in fast foods that may result in digestive problems and increase activity levels and irritability, such as too many sweets, processed, and fried foods. Try to establish a predictable meal schedule with healthy snacks available throughout the day to maintain a positive emotional state. Many children with special needs have food sensitivities and allergies, and hunger is a major source of difficult behavior.
Choose times for participating in activities to avoid crowds, long queues, and other complications. When eating in restaurants, go at times when it is less crowded, and choose tables away from the action. A picnic lunch or a barbecue are great alternatives to waiting in line or being immersed in an overly stimulating environment. When you choose to eat out, bring table top activities (see #5 above) and plan regular walking breaks if needed. If you need special accommodations such as seating arrangements, do not hesitate to let the host know when you check in. For theme parks and recreational facilities, inquire about available supports such as quiet lounges for breaks, strollers, preferential seating and passes that provide quick access to rides and other events

The following questions may be helpful to ask every day. Of course, the specific way we support a child’s understanding depends on his developmental abilities:

Does your child know about the schedule of activities for the day?

Does he/she know how long certain activities will last, and what will follow?

Are there times of day that can be identified for “relax” or “down time.” Are there places that your child can go to relax for his or her downtime?

Does your child have choices, whenever appropriate, to participate in activities or stay at the hotel, or other places you are staying, rather than going out to activities?

With good planning before and during a family vacation, all family members can come away a lifetime of memories that will be cherished for many years.

Learn more about Uniquely Human, a groundbreaking, 2-hour online course from Barry Prizant!

The post Summer Tips for Traveling with a Disabled Child appeared first on Tips on Life and Love.