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Trust. 5 letters that carry a tremendous amount of weight. Trust falls, trusting your scene partner/kids, and why potty training is the worst – trust me! We’ll kick off our show with The Raise a Glass Series, get on to our questions to explore, and end with A Short Story Before We Go. MFA is the sometimes-musical, dramedy, in 3 acts, 1 intermission, the length of a sitcom designed to give mama’s (and any caregiver) a break in the day to breathe and reset along with a much-needed audio hug.    Quote: “it doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to be.” Isabella from her song What Else Can I Do in the movie Encanto   Act I: The Raise a Glass Series The Raise a Glass Series is a space for reflection and gratitude centered around the topic of the day and inspired by lyrics from Hamilton the Musical. Today’s lyrics – “Burr, how do I know you won’t use this against me the next time we go toe to toe? Alexander, rumors only grow, and we both know what we know”    Act II: Main Questions 1.       What does trust mean?  2.       What can the theatre teach us about trust? 3.       We want our kids to show us we can trust them, how do we show our children we are trustworthy? How do we model trust? 4.       If we had full trust in our children and they had full trust in us, what would our relationship with our kids look like?                 Intermission: Angelica Interlude   Act III: A Short Story Before We Go   Episode transcript: available at www.mfaparentingedition.com/047   Sources that helped inspire this episode: Building a Relationship of Trust Between You and Your Children - WeHaveKids Trust Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster Lessons on trust from child development research | Queen's University Gazette (queensu.ca) 5 Improv-Inspired Games to Build Trust in Your Teams - Honestly 17 Proven Drama Exercises for Building Confidence - DramaTips   Connect with Me: Best way - [email protected] IG - @mfaparentingedition Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mfaparenting)

Orders, commands and punishments. Oh my! Today’s topic is all about discipline. The ugly yucky monster that infects all of our parenting brains with the shoulda, coulda, woulda's about raising our kids. We are screwing up the world by the way we parent our kids. Yeah, I said it. And I want us to change the way we parent humans because we're changing the way we are raising people in society. We’ll kick off our show with The Raise a Glass Series, get on to our questions to explore, and end with A Short Story Before We Go. MFA is the sometimes-musical, dramedy, in 3 acts, 1 intermission, the length of a sitcom designed to give mama’s (and any caregiver) a break in the day to breathe and reset along with a much-needed audio hug.  Quote: “A positive goal to strive for when disciplining would be to raise children we not only love, but in whose company we love being." Magda Gerber from Janet Landsbury's, No Bad Kids Toddler Discipline Without Shame.  Act I: The Raise a Glass Series The Raise a Glass Series is a space for reflection and gratitude centered around the topic of the day and inspired by lyrics from Hamilton the Musical. Today’s lyrics – “What happens if I don't get congressional approval? I imagine they'll call for your removal. Sir. Figure it out alexander, that's an order from your commander.  Act II: Main Questions What does discipline mean? Is discipline, as punishment, necessary for our children? If we changed the way we thought of disciplining our kids how would that change the world?              Intermission: Angelica Interlude   Act III: A Short Story Before We Go Lost in the Woods   Episode transcript: available at www.mfaparentingedition.com/046   Sources that helped inspire this episode: ·       DISCIPLINE English Definition and Meaning | Lexico.com ·       Discipline Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster ·       discipline | Etymology, origin and meaning of discipline by etymonline ·       DTA | Organized Chaos: Discipline in the Theatre Classroom (theatrefolk.com) ·       By Janet Lansbury Archives - Janet Lansbury   Connect with Me: Best way - [email protected] IG - @mfaparentingedition Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mfaparenting)

Today’s topic is the imagination: what is the imagination, how do you activate it, why is imaginary play so important. Kids have the best imaginations because we haven’t, as a world, killed their minds yet with all our imposed ways of thinking, being, and living in this world. So how can we learn from kids, theatre, and from the way we use our own imagination every day to live a richer more exciting and beautiful life? How best can we stop living mediocre, boring lives absolutely free today? We’ll kick off our show with The Raise a Glass Series, get on to our questions to explore, and end with A Short Story Before We Go. MFA is the sometimes-musical, dramedy, in 3 acts, 1 intermission, the length of a sitcom designed to give mama’s (and any caregiver) a break in the day to breathe and reset along with a much-needed audio hug.  Act I: The Raise a Glass Series ·       The Raise a Glass Series is a space for reflection and gratitude centered around the topic of the day and inspired by lyrics from Hamilton the Musical. Today’s lyrics – “I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory” Act II: Main Questions ·       What is the imagination? How is it activated and why do we use it? Why is imaginary play so important? How does an actor engage their imagination? What are imaginative games to play as a family? If I knew it could be 100% achievable what would my ideal family life of my wildest imagination look like?           Intermission: Angelica Interlude Why don’t you like using the potty? Act III: A Short Story Before We Go The Scene That Never Ends Episode transcript: available at https://www.mfaparentingedition.com/045 Freebie: Imaginative Play and Theatre Games for the Family here Sources that helped inspire this episode: (full list on website) ·       Imagination is an Actor’s Best Friend (backstage.com) ·       Talking Play and Imagination with Peter Gray - Resilience ·       Play Games, Watch Videos Online & More! - Bluey Official Website ·       Improvisation for the Theater a book by Viola Spolin (bookshop.org) ·       Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life a book by Peter Gray (bookshop.org) ·       Podcast - Raising Free People™ Network Connect with Me: Best way - [email protected] IG - @mfaparentingedition Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mfaparenting)

Your child won’t listen to you? Take a number, hun. Today we'll be talking about listening - why your kids don’t listen to you and why you may not be the world’s best listener and how to get better. We’ll kick off our show with The Raise a Glass Series, get on to our questions to explore, and end with A Short Story Before We Go. MFA is the sometimes-musical, dramedy, in 3 acts, 1 intermission, the length of a sitcom designed to give mama’s (and any caregiver) a break in the day to breathe and reset along with a much needed audio hug.  Quote: “children may not obey, but children will listen, children will look to you, for which way to turn, to learn what to be, careful before you say “listen to me”, children will listen” ~ Finale/Children will Listen from Into the Woods  Act I: The Raise a Glass Series ·       The Raise a Glass Series is a space for reflection and gratitude centered around the topic of the day and inspired by lyrics from Hamilton the Musical. Today’s lyrics – “I know my sister like I know my own mind, You will never find anyone as trusting or as kind, If I tell her that I love him she’d be silently resigned, He’d be mine, She would say, I’m fine, She’d be lying” Act II: Main Questions ·       Why doesn’t my child listen to me? ·       How does someone listen effectively? What are those skills? ·       If I could get my child to listen to me all the time what would that look like and mean for our relationship? ·       What would my relationship look like if I were a better listener?          Intermission: Angelica Interlude Act III: A Short Story Before We Go The Actor’s Nightmare Episode transcript: available at https://www.mfaparentingedition.com/044 Sources that helped inspire this episode: ·       Original Broadway Cast of Into the Woods – Children Will Listen / Finale Lyrics | Genius Lyrics ·       Lin-Manuel Miranda - Satisfied Lyrics | Lyrics.com ·       My child won't listen to me - 10 tips to turn things around - The Montessori Notebook ·       Why Your Child Refuses to Listen | Top Five Parenting Mistakes - YouTube ·       Check out the episode on finding your voice if you haven’t heard it yet right here:  https://www.mfaparentingedition.com/042 Connect with Me: Best way - [email protected] IG - @mfaparentingedition Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mfaparenting)

What does New Year’s mean to you? If you could hear the story of your life told by your children after you’ve past, what would you hear and how would you feel? What is the story you want to tell this year? Join me for a mini episode with a Raise a Glass series to bring in the new year. The Raise a Glass Series:  a space for reflection and gratitude centered around the topic of the day and inspired by lyrics from Hamilton the Musical. Today’s lyrics – “And when our children tell our story, they’ll tell the story of tonight” Episode transcript: available at https://www.mfaparentingedition.com/043 Spread a Beautiful Act of Kindness:  Tell one person you know you enjoyed this podcast and they should check it out  Sources that inspired this episode: ·       Encanto | Disney Movies Connect with Me: Best way - [email protected] IG - @mfaparentingedition   Support the Show: buy me a drink to say “hey, keep up the good work”, just go to                     www.buymeacoffee.com/mfaparenting Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mfaparenting)

How do you honor your body? If we could model appreciation and honor for our body, to our children, what would that look like? If we could ease our stress concerning our children's ability to hit physical and developmental milestones, how much pressure would we take off ourselves and our children?  Today we'll dive into honor and appreciation for our body, the Alexander Technique, and the ridiculous pressure we put on ourselves and our kids for them to hit developmental milestones prescribed by other people. Imagine the relationship you can develop with another human being when you can accept them for who they are without having to change them. We’ll kick off our show with The Raise a Glass Series, get on to our questions to explore, and end with A Short Story Before We Go. MFA is the sometimes-musical, dramedy, in 3 acts, 1 intermission, the length of a sitcom designed to give mama’s (and any caregiver) a break in the day to breathe and reset along with a much needed audio hug.   Quote: "It will all work out. Now it may not work out how you think it will or how you hope it does, but believe me, it will all work out exactly as it's supposed to. Our job is to have zero expectations and just let go." Ted Lasso in Ted Lasso.  Act I: The Raise a Glass Series ·       The Raise a Glass Series is a space for reflection and gratitude centered around the topic of the day and inspired by lyrics from Hamilton the Musical. Today’s lyrics – “I'm not falling behind or running late. I'm not standing still I am lying in wait.”  Act II: Main Questions ·       How do you honor your body?  ·       How can we use our bodies more efficiently, safely, and creatively?  ·       If we could model appreciation and honor for our body, to our children, what would that look like?  ·       If we could ease our stress concerning our children's ability to hit physical and developmental milestones, how much pressure would we take off ourselves and our children?  ·       What would removing that pressure mean for our relationship?  ·       What can we gain by daily movement with our family? Intermission: Angelica Interlude Tricky Trickster of Potty Jokes & Insults  Act III: A Short Story Before We Go Autumn in New York with Alexander…Alexander Technique, that is Episode transcript: available at https://www.mfaparentingedition.com/042 Sources that helped inspire this episode: ·        Connect with Me: Best way - [email protected] IG - @mfaparentingedition Support the Show: buy me a drink to say “hey, keep up the good work”, just go to                     www.buymeacoffee.com/mfaparenting Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mfaparenting)

Today we'll be talking about our voice. What does it mean to find your voice? How do I find my voice as a parent? If you were to use your voice authentically, respectfully, and effectively to communicate your feelings, what would it sound like? How can I teach my children to find their voice? And in communicating with our kids, understanding what we want to say and why we feel compelled to say it is going to make a huge impact on how we say things.  We’ll kick off our show with The Raise a Glass Series, get on to our questions to explore, and end with A Short Story Before We Go. MFA is the sometimes-musical, dramedy, in 3 acts, 1 intermission, the length of a sitcom designed to give mama’s (and any caregiver) a break in the day to breathe and reset along with a much needed audio hug.   Quote: “What a liberation to realize that the voice in my head is not who I am. Who am I? The one who sees that.” Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose  Act I: The Raise a Glass Series - a space for reflection and gratitude centered around the topic of the day and inspired by lyrics from Hamilton the Musical. Today’s lyrics – “I know I talked too much I'm abrasive, your incredible court, your succinct, persuasive.”   Act II: Main Questions ·       What does it mean to find your voice?  ·       How do I find my voice as a parent?  ·       If you were to use your voice authentically, respectfully, and effectively to communicate your feelings, what would it sound like?  ·       How can I teach my children to find their voice?        Intermission: Angelica Interlude Hitting. To the dungeon you go! Act III: A Short Story Before We Go Tai’s Karen Chronicles Get voice exercise’s to use on your own or with your family here Episode transcript: available at https://www.mfaparentingedition.com/041  Sources that helped inspire this episode: ·       7 Steps to Finding Your Voice | HuffPost Life ·       A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose | IndieBound.org ·       SNAP! - The Power (Official Video) - YouTube Connect with Me: Best way - [email protected] IG - @mfaparentingedition Support the Show: buy me a drink to say “hey, keep up the good work”, just go to                     www.buymeacoffee.com/mfaparenting Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mfaparenting)

What sparks your curiosity? How can you help a person feel seen, heard, and understood? What does it mean to observe? What is the importance of observation? If we had all the time in the world to observe what our children were showing us they needed, what would we learn from them? Today we'll dive into the art of observing our children and ourselves to learn what we all really want and need. Dr. Maria Montessori wrote and spoke extensively on the necessity for the adult caregiver and/or parent to be an observer. Preparing the adult, is one of her pillars of the method. Kind of like Stanislavski’s book An Actor Prepares. There is a lot of preparation an actor has to do on themselves before they can step on a stage and begin saying their lines. Intense acting training is…probably the equivalent of being a lab rat and a toddler all over again, at the same time. We’ll kick off our show with The Raise a Glass Series, get on to our questions to explore, and end with A Short Story Before We Go. MFA is the sometimes-musical, dramedy, in 3 acts, 1 intermission, the length of a sitcom designed to give mama’s (and any caregiver) a break in the day to breathe and reset along with a much needed audio hug.  Freebie: get the exercise from today’s episode here Episode transcript: available at https://www.mfaparentingedition.com/040 Sources that helped inspire this episode: ·       *NSYNC - MTV VMA 2000 Performance - YouTube ·       ‎Goblet Of Wine: A Drunken British Harry Potter Podcast on Apple Podcasts ·       Rockwell - Somebody's Watching Me (Official Music Video) - YouTube ·       About Montessori | Association Montessori Internationale (montessori-ami.org) ·       The Montessori Method - Maria Montessori - Google Books ·       Dictionary by Merriam-Webster: America's most-trusted online dictionary ·       Delray Beach Children's Garden (delraybeachchildrensgarden.org)  Connect with Me: Best way - [email protected] IG - @mfaparentingedition Support the Show: buy me a drink to say “hey, keep up the good work”, just go to                     www.buymeacoffee.com/mfaparenting Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mfaparenting)

Today we'll start diving into our history. As an actor, part of the work of creating a role is to understand the history of the character (their backstory) and how it impacts the life they're living and the moments they're experiencing in the story being told. Their history dictates how they show up in the world of the play. Our history dictates how we show up in our world, in the role of parent. We'll explore why understanding our history – the history of how we were raised and its impact on how we parent our children, is so important.  We’ll kick off our show with The Raise a Glass Series, get on to our questions to explore, and end with A Short Story Before We Go. MFA is the sometimes-musical, dramedy, in 3 acts, 1 intermission, the length of a sitcom designed to give mama’s (and any caregiver) a break in the day to breathe and reset along with a much needed audio hug. Understand Your Parenting Backstory: get the exercise from today’s episode here Episode transcript: available at https://www.mfaparentingedition.com/039  Sources that helped inspire this episode: ·       Do Re Mi – Sound of Music movie ·       Paul Simon - Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard (Official Video) - YouTube ·       Know thyself - Wikipedia ·       Parent | Definition of Parent by Merriam-Webster ·       BETTY HUTTON I Got The Sun in The Morning 1950 - Bing video ·       About the RHETI® — The Enneagram Institute (the test I took) ·       The Enneagram Personality Test (truity.com) (free test – I think I actually took this particular test 4 or 5 years ago) Connect with Me: Best way - [email protected] IG - @mfaparentingedition Support the Show: buy me a drink to say “hey, keep up the good work”, just go to                     www.buymeacoffee.com/mfaparenting Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mfaparenting)

“What’s in a name?” Well, so much. Today we’ll be looking at the name of this show, the inspiration behind the podcast, why frankly my dear you should give a damn, and what to expect the rest of the season. These lessons from the theatre for raising ourselves and our kids is an inspiration and reminder to myself, and hopefully to you too, to remember the power you already have to be the parent of your dreams to the child of your dreams.  We’ll kick off our show with The Raise a Glass Series, get on to our questions to explore, and end with A Short Story Before We Go. MFA is the sometimes-musical, dramedy, in 3 acts, 1 intermission, the length of a sitcom designed to give mama’s (and any caregiver) a break in the day to breathe and reset along with a much-needed audio hug. Episode transcript: available at https://www.mfaparentingedition.com/038 Connect with Me: ·       Best way - [email protected] ·       IG - @mfaparentingedition Send me an email or DM on IG to say hello and tell me  1. one fun thing about your life journey  2. if you were stranded on an island and could be with the members of one boy band would it be the gentlemen of NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, or New Kids on the Block and yes you’d have to be with all of them you couldn’t pick Donnie, AJ, and Justin and leave the rest Support the Show: buy me a drink to say “hey, keep up the good work”, just go to                     www.buymeacoffee.com/mfaparenting Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mfaparenting)

Today’s episode is the last in season two. We’ll be looking at The Magic “If” an acting tool that works so perfectly for parenting and life in general.  The Raise a Glass segment lyrics are “to your union and the hope that you provide, may you always be satisfied.” It’ll be the first personal toast to someone I love, my husband of nine years, Scott. May you toast to the significant person in your life that helps you hold it down and bring so much joy to your life, who ever they may be.  A Short Story Before We Go segment is an ode to Lin-Manuel Miranda, well more like a letter of thanks. I’ll share how the In the Heights and Hamilton musicals have greatly impacted my life at some of the most personal and significant turning points in my life.  IG: https://www.instagram.com/mfaparentingedition Review: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/mfa-the-parenting-edition-1370329 Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mfaparenting)

This week's Artistic Parenting conversation is our last one for the season. My chat today is with 2 time Helen Hayes Award winning actor and mama of two munchkins, Erika Rose. We know each other from college at the University of Maryland College Park and it was such a pleasure to sit down and talk about where we are in our lives now.  Today we talk about arts ability to heal, creating a container for creativity, being a doula kind of spirit, and we get a story of a magical moment with each of her kids that is forever imprinted on her heart. Today's Raise a Glass lyrics: "Pride is not the word I'm looking for, there is so much more inside me now." ~ from Dear Theodosia in Hamilton Follow MFA on instagram @mfaparentingedition Leave a review on Podchaser  Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mfaparenting)