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About Children’s Kindness Network Building a Culture of Kindness — Beginning with Pre-K. The Children's Kindness Network (CKN) has brought new programs and materials on kindness to help busy preschool teachers. Bringing kindness teaching to at-risk children is especially critical in their early brain wiring — some Middle TN counties have 64% of their 4-year-olds considered economically at risk putting many low income, minority children behind in brain development. Social emotional learning, kindness, effects cognitive learning as well.
Our Ambassador — Moozie the Cow
(Photos courtesy Franklin Head Start - Franklin, TN) Moozie is a robotic cow, strong and durable. She comes with a series of pre-programmed messages and songs that coordinate with her life-like movements. From a keypad, her operator can select the desired program. Kindness presentations are age-appropriate and can be tailored to fit Moozie's surroundings -- a preschool or a church or a hospital, for example. Programs can take 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the amount of discussion the leader wishes to include beyond the scope of Moozie's programmed message. Moozie, with fence, requires a 7 x 7-foot stall space. She's ready to take up residence in classrooms, libraries, or lobbies. Here's how she looks at home in a Children's Kindness Center at the Loma Vista farm in Vallejo, California.
Moozie's Children's Kindness Center is located at the Loma Vista Teaching Farm in Vallejo, California. The first Moozie's Children's Kindness Center was opened on September 28, 2002. Over 20,000 children annually hear her message of kindness at this three-acre teaching farm. To explore the possibilities of having a Moozie for your own Kindness Center, please contact Ted at Ted@Moozie.com.
Our Story and Background Statement Moozie the Cow is the ambassador of kindness for the Children's Kindness Network, a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) www.childrenskindnessnetwork.org. The Children's Kindness Network (CKN) brings new programs and materials on kindness to assist busy early childhood teachers and parents. The message of kindness is brought through specially developed kindness teaching materials, music, presentations and puppetry. Children connect with Moozie whether in the form of a puppet, costumed, or a animated robotic cow. With this special relationship, the children listen to Moozie's message of kindness -- being kind to the earth, being kind to each other, being kind to animals, and being kind to ourselves. As a talking robotic cow, Moozie comes with a series of pre-programmed messages and songs that coordinate with her lifelike movements. From a keypad, her operator can select the desired program. Programs can take 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the amount of discussion the leader wishes to include beyond the scope of Moozie's programmed message. There are Moozie puppets across the United States, and even Australia. Moozie robotic cows currently reside in Franklin, TN; Charlotte, NC; and Vallejo, CA. In Vallejo, Moozie is part of a three-acre teaching farm. The children visit the pigs, ducks, etc. and then go to a barn and listen to Moozie talk about kindness. She has become one of the main attractions at the farm. On an annual basis, between 25,000-30,000 children are exposed to MoozieÕs message of kindness with that number growing each year. What was began with Moozie the talking robotic cow in 1998, has now become a nonprofit organization (CKN) dedicated to teaching children about kindness. Moozie started as a simple garage project for founder Ted Dreier, who grew up on a Kansas dairy farm. But, when it was discovered that the children loved Moozie and paid close attention to what she was saying about kindness, Moozie took on a life of her own. Seeing the impact that Moozie had on children, Ted stepped back from his corporate life as a public speaker in 1998 and committed his energy and time to building a culture of kindness with the goal of reducing violence and bullying among children. A Message from the Founder - Ted Dreier
It's much less expensive to reach a child's mind when they are young, with minds like sponges, than when they are older--just like it is less expensive to put a good foundation under a building than to constantly repair the crumbling walls later. Through the impact of Moozie the Cow, the ambassador of kindness for the Children's Kindness Network, children connect with the message of kindness, whether it is being kind to each other, the earth, animals or ourselves. It is recognized that the social and emotional impact of kindness teaching is a very important part of cognitive learning in early childhood. Also, when children show more kindness behavior and respect, it is easier for the teacher to teach. Parents tell the teachers how their children are talking to them about Moozie and how kindness makes Moozie happy. One parent told what happened when their 7-year-old son said something that wasn't kind-- their 5-year-old daughter said "Moozie wouldn't like it that you said that". On a more personal note, I will have to admit that when I built a talking robotic cow as a garage project, I had no idea that Moozie would impact children, something that was initially discovered at a Head Start School in Denton, Texas in 1998. Seeing this impact was very significant to me, since I had been visiting a young man in jail for one and a half years who was being charged for having killed a man. When I saw the impact that Moozie had on those young children at the Head Start School, I stepped back from my corporate life as a public speaker, at age 60, and committed this chapter of my life to reducing violence. And yes, it was quite a shift to go from being a business man, to starting a nonprofit and being a full time volunteer — a motivational change from money to mission. It has been a rewarding experience to see others become a part of the Children's Kindness Network as we all try to make this a better planet You might say we are all planting trees that we will never sit in the shade of. What if we all dreamed that in 50 years there would be half the number of jail inmates because of a reduction in violent crime? The answer is not in building more jails, it is in reaching children in the formative years. I would love to have you become a part of the Children's Kindness Network. Please feel free to contact me at: ted@moozie.com.
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The media continually reminds us of the violence among children, including the problem of bullying. The Children's Kindness Network is a network of people dedicated to building a culture of kindness beginning with Pre-K.
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Children's Kindness Network is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) reaching children through the generous financial support of individuals like you. www.CKN-USA.org | Copyright ©2009 All Rights Reserved |