Salty Sam’s Fun Blog for Children
Number 550
Community
Hello Everyone
Do you know anyone who is addicted to social media?
Lots of people are – because social media is actually, purposefully designed to be addictive.
Yes, people are actually employed by social media companies to design it to be so!
Social media is known to have a bad affect on our mental health.
lt isolates people when they believe they are actually making good contact with the world.
After some years of social media becoming popular, people are now realizing that if given up for a while, life can feel quite different – calmer and more productive and fulfilling.
lt is not easy to give up something you like spending a lot of time doing, but it is possible to at least limit your time on social media – self-control is a good habit to pick up!
Did l mention that self-control is a really good habit to have?
You have to take advantage of tools like smart phones, without them controlling you.
There are other things to do besides scrolling – and they can feel so much more worthwhile.
One of those things is connecting with people face to face.
The lnternet is wonderful for finding information, finding things to buy, learning things and connecting with people long distance.
But it does not replace physically being with people.
Being with people is good for you physically, mentally and spiritually.
The chemicals in your body change when you are physically with other people! This is very healthy.
One chemical that is produced is called oxytocin. This is a brain chemical that makes you happy.
Human beings have always thrived in communities. lt is a basic need to feel like you belong somewhere.
But more people live alone nowadays than ever before.
A huge percentage of homes, especially in the Western World, are occupied by only one person.
And even families are smaller than they used to be too. Lots of children tend to have fewer adults around them as they are growing up than the children of the past.
Adults give children a feeling of security and support. They are there to answer questions and interpret the world for them. They give them a sense of family. They help them to understand history and what the world was like before they were born.
lt is good to have alone time; it gives you time to relax, concentrate on your homework, think and connect with yourself. lt is useful to have thinking time to solve problems and make decisions and plans. But too much alone time is not good for most people.
Even animals kept alone in cages have been observed to develop mental problems.
When there were fewer humans in the world many hundreds of years ago, people lived in tribes.
They ate, celebrated, worshipped and grieved together. This gave them strong bonds.
They supported each other through illness and loss – it is very healing to know that someone cares about you.
You really needed other people to help you survive, and if you were cast out and alone, you became very vulnerable.
Lots of animals like monkeys and apes, lions, elephants and horses do so much better in groups. They pine if they are alone and they miss the company of their own kind. Even our pets can get separation anxiety.
People today still belong to ‘tribes’ but they have a different structure.
Tribes might be schools, villages, churches, or other religious institutions and of course families.
They might even be something like a club, gym, community garden, allotment society or a group of neighbours.
Clubs can be for sport, swimming, rambling, model-making – the list goes on and on.
People can get together for a common purpose and work together to form bonds – like people looking after a community woodland.
They can get together to have a crafternoon.
Or they can join classes to learn a new skill.
lf you don’t make friends, at least you will have had some exercise or learned something!
You will notice that men bond by doing things together and women bond by talking together.
People who meditate in groups believe that they generate more spiritual power if they combine their forces. This can give healing to individuals who are ill or heal communities which are torn apart by crime and violence. They can point to evidence to prove this works.
Trying to bring peace to the world is not a bad goal!
Finding a community in which to belong can just happen to some people, and others may have to go out and find one that suits them.
Most people are friendly if you make the first move. lf they don’t want to talk to you or make friends, you will feel that they are not willing to, and you can just move on.
Friendship is a two way street – that means that both parties have to be willing to make an effort.
lf you don’t think that going to school gives you enough sense of community, there are plenty of other places that you can widen your group of friends and do things that you would never get a chance to do at school.
And if one thing does not work out – just try something else.
Bye bye everyone – don’t forget to subscribe to my blog!
Love and kisses
Salty Sam
www.christina-sinclair.com
Bill and Bob’s Joke of the Week
Bob: do you know the quickest way to catch a whole school of fish?
Bill: Nope.
Bob: You use bookworms!
Salty Sam © Christina Sinclair 2015
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of material from this blog without express and written permission from this blog’s author and owner is strictly prohibited.
Links may be used to www.christina-sinclair.com
Picture Gallery
THE SALTY SAM NEWS DESK
This week, Bill and Bob were helping Auntie Alice tidying up in the garden and picking the last of some of the crops.
They found this strawberry.
They thought it must be twins!
Then they made up a puzzle for you.
Can you solve it?
Alan has 10 strawberries, Bertie has 6 strawberries and Colin has 8 strawberries. Who should give whom how many strawberries for the boys to all have the same number of strawberries?
Then Darren comes along with 12 strawberries. How many strawberries should he give to whom to make sure everyone has the same number of strawberries?
The next lunar eclipse is on the 7th September. It will be called a Blood Moon because it will appear quite red. This will be partially visible in Britain.
A lunar eclipse is when the Earth gets between the Sun and the Moon so that the Moon is in the Earth’s shadow making it appear an unusual colour.
You may want to set a date to see it with your family and friends.
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Quick Quiz
What do these words and phrases mean?
- to put someone’s nose out of joint
- a hive of industry
- a prophet of doom
- a bright spark
- niche separation
- incarceration
- social conditioning
lt’s the Weekend!
HOW TO MAKE WATCH POUCH
Emily has two watches; one for summer and one for winter.
She doesn’t wear them all the time and they were getting tangled up with other things in her drawer.
So that they did not get scratched, Auntie Alice made her two pouches to keep them in.
Here is her pattern.
You can fit a large adult’s watch inside and any watch smaller than that.
Bend one half of the strap up before you put it inside the pouch.
WATCH POUCH (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and dk yarn cast on 13 stitches
Knit 2 rows
Knit 40 rows of stocking stitch
Knit 6 rows of garter stitch
Cast off
TO MAKE UP
With wrong sides together sew up the base using over-sew stitches
With right sides together sew up the sides in using over-sew stitches
Please note that the material on this blog is for personal use and for use in classrooms only.
It is a copyright infringement and, therefore, illegal under international law to sell items made with these patterns.
Use of the toys and projects is at your own risk.
©Christina Sinclair Designs 2015
Answers to the News Desk Quiz
Alan has 10 strawberries, Bertie has 6 strawberries and Colin has 8 strawberries. Who should give whom how many strawberries for the boys to all have the same number of strawberries?
Alan has to give 2 strawberries to Bertie and then all three boys will have 8 strawberries.
Then Darren comes along with 12 strawberries. How many strawberries should he give to whom to make sure everyone has the same number of strawberries?
Daren should give one strawberry to each of the first three boys and then all four will have 9 strawberries each.
Quick Quiz Answers
- to put someone’s nose out of joint – to upset or offend someone
- a hive of industry – people working hard
- a prophet of doom – someone who says bad things are going to happen
- a bright spark – someone clever or full of positive energy (often used in a sarcastic way)
- niche separation – competing species use an environment differently – each species uses it in a way that is for their own advantage but can live with the other species peacefully
- incarceration – put in prison
- social conditioning – the people in the society you grow up in teach you their ways of doing things – different societies in different parts of the world do things in different ways
