Kennedy and Barbie In The Lab #BarbieProject

Kennedy recently got a beginners chemistry lab set and decided to try it out with a few of her Barbie friends! My first 'observation' is that Ms. Kennedy is VERY inpatient in the lab!  She was like a bull in a china set when she ripped open the box and started going through all the contents. She wanted to jump in immediately and get to work.  She flipped through the experiment booklet and ran through the house grabbing items like baking soda and vinegar.  Since several of the experiments had to be supervised I grabbed my camera and pulled up a chair.  I was hoping that we would not have to call 911 as Kennedy started to dive in! She found a simple experiment involving ice, string, salt and went to work.

Instead of reading through the instructions carefully she just started sprinkling and mixing. In my mind I'm thinking: "Ummm Kennedy aren't there a few more steps involved ?" I bit my tongue and watched.  Her first experiment was a big fat flop!  Ice went flying everywhere instead of sticking to the string.  I told her that she needed to SLOW down, read the instructions thoroughly and make sure she had everything that she needed before she got started.  She agreed to slow down and let me help!!! Geez!!

I found a simple experiment that involved acids, bases and pH testing on simple household items.  We read over the definition of acids, bases and the different levels on the pH scale.  We read through all of the steps before she began this time..LOL! She was very excited to start testing out items using the kit's pH indicator strips.  It was so cool watching her try out things like lime juice, vinegar, baking soda water, tap water and bottled water. She checked the chart and determined if each item was an acid or base.  She really enjoyed it and started working on setting up her own lab/classroom with her I Can Be A Teacher Barbie doll and students. It was finally safe for me to step away to start dinner at this point. I came back to see Kennedy's official science lab and classroom.

I was amazed at how Kennedy took the time to set up the classroom and started to explain everything that we had just learned through her teacher Barbie. She showed her results during class. She even found a small water bottle in her toy box like the one she used during her experiment.  I don't know how she keeps up with all of her Barbie accessories!

Student Raising Her Hand For Questions..Too Cute!!

 

 

'Chemist Kennedy' Writing Out Her pH Test results!

 

 

 



I really loved sitting down with Kennedy and doing these fun experiments. I think that it is so important for girls to take an interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).  I have always worked hard through my non-profit that empowers girls and women and with my daughters to expose them to science programs and trailblazer women and girls. When we were shopping for the chemistry set, I had to go past all the dolls and toys to find a small section of science based toys.  They are there, we just have to look!

I know there has been a lot of recent controversy with Barbie and the mixed messages that were sent in a book that was published a few years ago called Barbie I Can Be A Computer Engineer.  In the book Barbie needs the help of two male programmers to complete a computer game that she started. It definitely could send a mixed message, but what I realize especially through this project, is that we should not allow Barbie or books to shape our daughters or sons. We also should not feel that if our daughter reads a book or plays with a doll that her perception on her future will be tainted.   Kennedy has always played with Barbie dolls, and princesses but I also buy her microscopes for her to play and explore.

 At her Birthday party last December her theme was based off of Barbie's I Can Be Line of dolls which focuses on different careers and the attendees came dressed as who they wanted to be when they grew up.  I didn't stop there, I had someone come in and do a robotics demonstration with the girls and boys and at the end of the party they built their own robots.  We as parents have to realize the power we have to shape our sons and daughters!  I found this cool calendar of STEM based activities that you can try with your daughter click here! Kennedy and I have found a few that we are going to try for sure!

We would love to hear your thoughts and stories on the fun things that happen during playtime with Barbie!  Does your daughter want to be a scientist, astronaut, or computer programmer? Be sure to share your experiences and comments below or on the official Barbie Project website!

This is part of a group of posts in partnership with #BarbieProject .

All words and images are 100% organic and authentic.

Raising Empowered & Ambitious Girls - #Barbie Project

So a few weeks ago, my youngest daughter, Kennedy, came home and announced that she was running for a position on her 5th grade Student Council.  She decided to run for Student Council Secretary. Of course me being Mrs. 'Empowerment' Mom, I asked why she didn't run for President or Vice President. Any daughter of mine should be President..right? She explained to me that she was VERY busy with her school schedule, homework and rehearsal four days a week for her lead part in her school play. With so many things going on she didn't want to take on too much, she wanted to be able to manager everything.  My daughters hear me talk all the time about how important it is to not take on too much, especially as a mom and to create some sense of balance in our everyday lives. I was telling this story to a friend of mine and she said, "You know she is talking just like you, right?"  I didn't even realize the correlation when she initially gave me her answer until my friend pointed it out. As moms and parents we truly do have a huge impact on our children, they are listening and watching what we do all the time. Wow!

Kennedy made it past the primary election and was on the official ballot. She focused her attention on her signs that she could place around the school.  She gathered her supplies and once again pulled out Barbie and friends to help with her campaign.

Barbie & Nikki - Official "Team Kennedy" Campaign Members 

 

Kennedy was super excited to kick off her "Vote Kennedy for Student Council Secretary" campaign.  She was ready to chant "Take Note....Vote For Kennedy!!!" in the school hallways and shake lots of hands..too cute! After her campaign week, she finalized her speech that she would deliver to an auditorium full of fourth and fifth grade students. She practiced in front of the family and with Barbie, I'm sure she was probably less nervous in front of her dear Barbie friends!  She gave a great speech but said she was super nervous and messed up on some parts. 

 



 



As a girl and teen I never had the drive to go for things like this,  I was very shy and insecure. I was afraid of failure.  Both of my daughters are self motivated to try different things and are so fearless. I am amazed at the things that they go after and their confidence.  I try to instill in them that they can do anything, and it is okay to try things and fail.  I also expose them to fearless women and girl role models, through the work that I do in my community and with my non-profit.  Earlier this week I had my daughters watch this new mini documentary about Mo'Ne Davis a 13 year old girl baseball pitcher that is defying all the odds and creating a new meaning to "Throw Like A Girl" with her 70 mile per hour fastball..whohoo!

Mo'Ne Davis (Image Credit: Al Tielemans/Sports Illustrated)

I also love that brands like Barbie are using their platform to show girls that anything is possible, like with President Barbie and their new Entrepreneur Barbie. It is important that our girls see women and girls in leadership roles! Kennedy aka Future President of The United States of America has a nice ring to it!

Kennedy's President Barbie, Love Her Platform!

 

After all of Kennedy's hard work she ended up not winning her school election.  I was so nervous for her as a mom and hoped that she would win.  When she got the news she was initially disappointed and a little sad, but she told us that she knew that she was super busy and that maybe this was a good thing as she could stay focused more on school and the other activities going on in her life. This great attitude from a 10 year old! We told her how proud we were of her along the way and that whatever the outcome was at least she tried and it was a great experience that would prepare her for many great things to come.   I am truly a proud mommy to have such amazing daughters!

How do you instill confidence and ambition in your sons or daughters? Do you have children that grew up like I did, with a lack of self confidence and are afraid to try new things? We would love to hear your thoughts and stories as it is not easy raising empowered girls and boys!  Be sure to share your experiences and comments below or on the official Barbie Project website!

Continue to follow our journey on this project and support our mission to empower women and girls by following us on our website, Facebook, Twitter!

 

 

This is part of a group of posts in partnership with #BarbieProject .

All words and images are 100% organic and authentic.



Look Up!

I received this text from my 16 year old daughter the other day. She was referring to a powerful new spoken word film by Gary Turk called "Look Up" that urges people to unplug from smartphones and social media and engage more with the people and things that surround us everyday. The film has gone viral on YouTube with over 35 million views.

My friend showed me the video the other week, however my daughter's text struck a cord with me and I watched the video again.  Her words "my generation is sad" really resonated with me.  After watching the video I started to reply via text "Wow...this was powerful, it's not just YOUR generation" I stopped myself mid sentence! She was in the next room...why was I about to respond with my thoughts via text???  In that moment I realized just how crazy it was and that the reality of the video was true, as a society we are losing touch with real connections. I called my daughter (the old fashion way..screaming at the top of my lungs)  into my room and asked her what her teacher and fellow classmates thought of the video. She said that everyone felt really guilty after watching the film. 

I realized that kids today and parents for that matter are consumed by technology ignoring all that is around them at times and we are taken further away from many personal connections with one another.  What a different time it is from when I grew up.  I thought about a recent conversation I had with my youngest daughter about Barbie and this project.  She asked me if they had Barbie dolls when I was her age.  I told her they did and she asked if I played with them.  I told her yes and the look on her face in my rear view mirror was pure shock! She said "YOU" played with Barbie. I said "Yes, Kennedy!" She immediately asked what I did with my Barbie's. I told her that I dressed my Barbie's up and played with them just like she did. She just shook her head in disbelief and mumbled again, "I can't believe that YOU played with Barbie!"  I told her that Barbie dolls were created over 50 years ago by a mom and she created the doll because of her daughter.

Barbie Founder Ruth Handler

 



Barbie and her history of playtime is so important in this day and age when kids and adults are not playing, interacting, using their imagination/creativity, touching or connecting with each other. I thought about how I stumbled upon Kennedy playing with her Barbie dolls the other week and how she decided to add an elevator to her Barbie dollhouse.  Most times she wants to be on the Ipad or computer playing Minecraft or Poptropica or watching shows on TV. We have to encourage her more and more these days as she is getting older to read a book, play, explore and put down the electronics!

I had no idea that this project, simply following my daughter's playtime journey, would pull in my oldest daughter. In our discussion of the video we talked about the possibility that after her sister's generation (Kennedy is 10)  kids might not want to play with toys and that we might be creating a generation of kids with their noses and eyes glued to technology.  My oldest daughter and I both thought that would be very scary!  She was genuinely concerned for her sister.  I caught a glimpse of a conversation with her sister later that night and she was telling her that she should spend less time using technology.  She actually sat in her room that evening instead of being behind closed doors in her room on her phone/laptop and they talked about different things without distractions .

After her sister went to bed, my oldest daughter and I chatted a little more about the video and I asked her if she knew what social change was. I explained to her that social change was getting to the root of an issue, to find the cause of the problem not the symptom.  We identified that a big cause of the disconnection in our society is our smart phones and social media being so accessible on our phones.  You no longer have to go to a computer to check things it was in your back pocket now, 24 hour of the day.  We both decided to experiment with taking popular social media apps that we spend lots of time on off of our phones and accessing them from our computers instead.  We both thought that this would free up time for us to be more engaged with the family and friends during the day.  You should have seen both of us taking the apps off of our phones! 

Screenshot from my oldest daughter's phone when she took off one of her favorite apps.

 

 It was really neat to see my oldest daughter taking the lead and really realizing how these things were affecting her.  We plan to both engage more at home versus having our eyes glued to electronics.  I pray that simple things like playing with Barbie dolls will not be lost in the generations to come!  I pray that my daughter's children and grandchildren will experience the simple joys in real playtime not just with devices Continue to follow the journey and revelations that I discover through the Barbie Project by visiting www.barbieproject.com!