Discover the power, joy, and love of living a present, authentic, and intentional life despite a world full of distractions. If technology is the new addiction, then multitasking is the new marching order. We check our email while cooking dinner, send a text while bathing the kids, and spend more time looking into electronic screens than into the eyes of our loved ones. With our never-ending to-do lists and jam-packed schedules, it's no wonder we're distracted. But this isn't the way it has to be. Special education teacher, New York Times bestselling author, and mother Rachel Macy Stafford says enough is enough. Tired of losing track of what matters most in life, Rachel began practicing simple strategies that enabled her to momentarily let go of largely meaningless distractions and engage in meaningful soul-to-soul connections. Finding balance doesn't mean giving up all technology forever. And it doesn't mean forgoing our jobs and responsibilities. What it does mean is seizing the little moments that life offers us to engage in real and meaningful interaction. In these pages, Rachel guides you through how to: Acknowledge the cost of your distraction Make purposeful connection with your family Give your kids the gift of your undivided attention Silence your inner critic Let go of the guilt from past mistakes And move forward with compassion and gratefulness So join Rachel and go hands-free. Discover what happens when you choose to open your heart--and your hands--to the possibilities of each God-given moment.

We all yearn to look back to find we lived a life of significance. But is it even possible anymore? Considering the amount of distraction and pressure that exists in society today, living a fulfilling life may seem like an unachievable dream. But it is not—not with the nine habits outlined in this book. New York Times bestselling author and widely known blogger, Rachel Macy Stafford, reveals nine habits that help you focus on investing in the most significant parts of your life. As your hands, heart, and eyes become open, you will experience a new sense of urgency—an urgency to live, love, dream, connect, create, forgive, and flourish despite the distractions of our culture. By following each daily Hands Free Declaration, you will be inspired to adopt mindful daily practices and new thought-processes that will help you: • Make meaningful, lasting human connections despite the busyness of everyday life. • Live in the now despite that inner nudge pushing you out of the moment toward perfection and productivity. • Protect your most sacred relationships, as well as your values, beliefs, health, and happiness, despite the latent dangers of technology and social media. • Pursue the passions of your heart without sacrificing your job or your daily responsibilities. • Evaluate your daily choices to insure you are investing in a life that matters to you. With a Hands Free Life perspective, you will have the power to look back and see you didn’t just manage life, you actually lived it—and lived it well.

Stressed out? Swimming in a sea of screens? Worried about our beloved, endangered earth yet uncertain how to work for change? If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. In this intelligent guide to mindfulness in the digital age, writer and teacher Amy Weldon describes how practicing life as an artist can help you wake yourself up and take back control of your attention, your money, your time, and the health of our society and our planet. Traveling from farm to protest march to classroom, and engaging a range of thinkers from Hannah Arendt to George Orwell, John Keats, and Henry David Thoreau, The Hands-On Life is a book for students and for everyone who dreams of building a better world.

**This is the chapter slice "Ecosystems Gr. 1-5" from the full lesson plan "Hands-On - Life Science"** Spark curiosity in this great big world of ours by discovering how everything works and lives together with our Hands-On Life Science resource for grades 1-5. Combining Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math, this resource aligns to the STEAM initiatives and Next Generation Science Standards. Dive right in by getting a firsthand look at ecosystems and building your own terrarium. Make information sheets for plants and animals, complete with hand-made drawings. Design your own food chain while grasping the knowledge about producers, consumers and decomposers. See what traits you inherited from your parents while learning about different adaptations. Learn about life cycles by studying a caterpillar's marvelous transformation into a butterfly. Explore your own brain with memory games and tracking your heart rate and dreams while you sleep. Each concept is paired with hands-on experiments and comprehension activities to ensure your students are engaged and fully understand the concepts. Reading passages, graphic organizers, before you read and assessment activities are included.

**This is the chapter slice "Adaptations Gr. 1-5" from the full lesson plan "Hands-On - Life Science"** Spark curiosity in this great big world of ours by discovering how everything works and lives together with our Hands-On Life Science resource for grades 1-5. Combining Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math, this resource aligns to the STEAM initiatives and Next Generation Science Standards. Dive right in by getting a firsthand look at ecosystems and building your own terrarium. Make information sheets for plants and animals, complete with hand-made drawings. Design your own food chain while grasping the knowledge about producers, consumers and decomposers. See what traits you inherited from your parents while learning about different adaptations. Learn about life cycles by studying a caterpillar's marvelous transformation into a butterfly. Explore your own brain with memory games and tracking your heart rate and dreams while you sleep. Each concept is paired with hands-on experiments and comprehension activities to ensure your students are engaged and fully understand the concepts. Reading passages, graphic organizers, before you read and assessment activities are included.

**This is the chapter slice "Food Chains Gr. 1-5" from the full lesson plan "Hands-On - Life Science"** Spark curiosity in this great big world of ours by discovering how everything works and lives together with our Hands-On Life Science resource for grades 1-5. Combining Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math, this resource aligns to the STEAM initiatives and Next Generation Science Standards. Dive right in by getting a firsthand look at ecosystems and building your own terrarium. Make information sheets for plants and animals, complete with hand-made drawings. Design your own food chain while grasping the knowledge about producers, consumers and decomposers. See what traits you inherited from your parents while learning about different adaptations. Learn about life cycles by studying a caterpillar's marvelous transformation into a butterfly. Explore your own brain with memory games and tracking your heart rate and dreams while you sleep. Each concept is paired with hands-on experiments and comprehension activities to ensure your students are engaged and fully understand the concepts. Reading passages, graphic organizers, before you read and assessment activities are included.

Spark curiosity in this great big world of ours by discovering how everything works and lives together with our Hands-On Life Science resource for grades 1-5. Combining Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math, this resource aligns to the STEAM initiatives and Next Generation Science Standards. Dive right in by getting a firsthand look at ecosystems and building your own terrarium. Make information sheets for plants and animals, complete with hand-made drawings. Design your own food chain while grasping the knowledge about producers, consumers and decomposers. See what traits you inherited from your parents while learning about different adaptations. Learn about life cycles by studying a caterpillar's marvelous transformation into a butterfly. Explore your own brain with memory games and tracking your heart rate and dreams while you sleep. Each concept is paired with reproducible hands-on experiments and comprehension activities to ensure your students are engaged and fully understand the concepts. Reading passages, graphic organizers, before you read and assessment activities are included.