Food, Food and More Food

Feeding the kids, no matter how old they are, is one of the main issues of good childcare.

We hear so many nightmare stories about how children are given a steady diet of chickpeas in one childcare facility, and not enough food in another, a piece of cheese for lunch someplace unlicensed, and graham crackers for every snack in a center, it may be interesting to parents to understand the rules surrounding meals in childcare.

The United States Department of Agriculture Child Care Food Program, better known as USDACCFP has been around since World War II. It was established and designed to amend growth and development problems in America’s poorer children whose parents had to work, and who found themselves in full time care. The program paid child care providers to do it right, and it still does.

The program inspects childcare facilities that are on the program. They reimburse the money spent on food and food maintenance.

Essentially, the program demands that children be fed certain food components at meal times. Meals may not be skipped and must be served in a reasonably timely manner.

The food program is not demanding.

For breakfast, a child needs to have milk, a grain product and a fruit or vegetable.

For lunch, a child needs to have milk, a protein, two fruits or vegetables or one of each, and a grain product.

For snack, a child needs to have one serving from any two food groups – like milk and crackers.

Lots of people are confused about the food program because the food program’s nutrition often differs from individual points of view. For example: a breakfast of eggs and bacon and potatoes and milk would not count as a reimbursable meal, but a breakfast of toast, raisins and milk would. It’s a matter of serving all components which are fruit or vegetable, bread and milk.

It’s the same with lunch. A peanut butter sandwich and milk and canned soup is not a lunch that is reimbursable, but a slice of cheese, a piece of bread, a quarter apple, a teaspoon of raisins and milk fulfills the USDACCFP component list.

As a monitor for the USDACCFP for over ten years, I realize the shortcomings of most people’s idea of nutrition. There’s a steady quarrel at my house about the “food-ability” of things like canned pasta, canned soup, boxed macaroni and cheese, Jell-O, and ready-mades.

“Peanut butter is not a food.” The fight’s on.

Peanut butter is half a protein, and as a legitimate source of protein for a child’s lunch, one must add beans or peas or cheese or egg, so why serve the peanut butter to begin with unless it’s just a snack?

Likewise, canned soup and pasta has no nutritional value. Neither does Jell-O, canned pudding, or most store- bought cookies.

Understanding good nutrition is only half the lesson. That’s the head lesson.

The heart lesson is realizing that food is not a “budget cutter.” Cheaping out on a menu to save a few dollars is about as dumb as it comes because food is an investment in life. Feed a child well, and not only will the doctor bills evaporate, but the adult will also be a healthier person. That’s the heart lesson.

Food is the heart of a child’s day. Food is fun; food is replenishing; food is a discovery.

The best plan for feeding children is to make half of it child-friendly and half of it child-discovery.

Starting in August, menus will be posted at the front of the school. We are going to join the USDACCFP. One of the outstanding agreements we have at the Garden School is that food is a priority. For us, it’s a moral issue, so our menus more than exceed the Federal requirements, and they always have.

If you would like to come and eat with your child, please let us know. We serve our lunches family style, and we would be happy to set a place for you.

Old Kids are Fun Kids

When you do it right, you get kids who shoot for the sky. Children who travel the world and do really neat stuff make being an older parent as much fun as being a younger parent.

This week, Edith's family is visiting. It's an exciting time for her. Her son, Regis, has a particularly interesting job. He's a writer and traveler for the Lonely Planet. His web site is on a new links list called "Fun Places to be Links." You can also visit it by clicking Regis. I hope you enjoy it. Look for his blog Regis St. Louis.

You will find other fun places to be in the next weeks. These are the links we will use for our geography and history classes. So read up and be able to answer your child's questions!

More of the Same

Here's another area of the country and more parental discontent. If you read between the lines, you can see the same problems and the same discontent.


Changes Spark Anger At Child-care Center

Thursday, July 28, 2005

By Ben Cunningham

The Grand Rapids Press

CALEDONIA -- Changes at the Duncan Lake Early Childhood Center have sparked discontent among parents, but district officials vowed to work on any problems.

The center has seen a new director, a new building and rate increases in the day-care program during the past year. Parents recently outlined grievances over staff turnover during a recent Board of Education meeting.

"We are not getting the services we pay for," said parent Angie Brown, during a recent meeting, adding that the district is sending mixed messages.

Another group of parents, when asked to specifically define their grievances, said there were "hundreds of problems."

Beginning Sept. 1, the district's rates for day care for a child five hours or more per day for four days or more a week jumps from $130 per week to $150. A part-time rate, for three days or fewer a week or less than five hours, rises from $38 per day to $44.

In comparison, Caledonia Appletree Christian Learning Center, a private facility, charges about $175 for five days of care, and Kid's World Child Care/Learning Center charges about $160 per week.

District officials said the rate hike comes from a variety of causes, most
notably a desire to maintain competitive salaries and an effort to make the
center more self-sustaining.

Assistant Superintendent Carol Nelson-Purkey said bond money has been available to upgrade technology and other items in the general education in recent years, leaving other money to subsidize the Early Childhood Center. She said rates have not increased in more than three years, despite the rising cost of such things as natural gas.

Parents said they object not only to the rate increases but to the way they were informed of the changes, through an impersonal letter delivered just before spring break.

"It is not meant to be for profit, but we are trying to make things self-sustaining," said Janel Switzer, who took over as the center's director late last year.

Switzer oversaw the move from the now-demolished buildings on Johnson Street to a new facility in the former high school. She is leading the district's effort to give the day care a more educational emphasis.

"Since we really are an educational institution, that really is the direction we are trying to take it," she said.

While some turnover in staffing has taken place, the exact numbers are unclear as district representatives say personnel matters are confidential. Nelson-Purkey said much of the turnover has come because staff members are moving to private facilities that pay higher wages.

Switzer said the district offers training to employees to allow them to better blend with the institution's newer educational philosophy.

"Change is always difficult," she said.

"As an employee of the (center), I can honestly say that I felt the pain of our families and fellow workers," Sheri Maxlow, an 11-year employee of the day care wrote to the board. "The lack of respect that we have all felt has not showed the support we once felt that our district tried to provide to all families in our community."

Nelson-Purkey says she is meeting with any staff members who are having problems. District officials said they will continue working with parents to address concerns.

Lunch

Humor from the Mouths of Children

A Sunday school class was studying the Ten Commandments. Theywere ready to discuss the last one. The teacher asked if anyone could tell her what it was. Susie raised her hand, stood tall, and quoted,"Thou shall not take the covers off thy neighbor's wife."

Our Father who does art in Heaven, hallowed be my name...

Picture? Leah and Holden are both graduates of the Garden School or will be next week. They have been best friends for a long time.

Childcare Across the Nation

I think this is a really cute picture. It was taken by Jordan Barclay at the Freedom Festival. It's also for sale.

Here's an article from Jacksonville, Florida. I was curious about it because that's where my son and his family live. I found it interesting that they are going through this "fixer upper" mentality about child care just like we are in Evansville with the Welborn Foundation Grant.

I am aso curious as to why it took so long to discover why childcare is such a mess nation wide.

Here's the article:

By Mark Spain

First Coast News

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The earlier children get off on the right foot to learning, the greater their chances for success later on in school."We know that children do better when they are prepared at an earlier age," said Susan Main of the Early Learning Coalition Of Duval, Inc.

The Oaks at Durkeville is one of 14 child care centers participating in the coalition's pilot program to improve child care facilities in Jacksonville. "It's gonna trickle down to the children. Our program is getting a boost and we are better equipped," said Charlene Gross of The Oaks at Durkeville.

By utilizing a five-star rating system, with one being the lowest and five being the highest, parents can easily determine where their child's facility stands. "The five star center is the epitome in the field. But we've set the bar really high and don't expect many centers to reach it right away," said Main.

The coalition evaluates the centers on everything from ratio and staff compensation to professional development and parent and family involvement. There are eight areas viewed for the evaluation. "We're gonna be looking for every opportunity to build this program and help parents and students learn. We're going forward in a big way," said Main.

The Early Learning Coalition hopes to include 100 centers in an additional pilot program. Participation in the program is purely voluntary.

Pictures You Might Want

This is one of Taylor's Dad's photographs he took of us at the festival. He has prints for sale. If you are interested, please let Miss Judy know.

We had a great day that day. It was hot, but sitting in that jet plane and watching all those sky acrobats was really a treasure.

This is probably the best picture of our summer we have. We thank Jordan Barclay.

A Happy Ending Story

I get a lot of stories about people who do great things or even simple things from media marketers. I liked this one especially on the eve of receiving three calls for twins today, so in honor of twins, I'm passing it along. I will say that I've written for the St. Louis Children's hospital and their programs on a number of occasions, and they are a wonderful group of people.

By Sheena Quinn

Stevie Sipes’ life-changing journey began in 2003 when, at age 20, she noticed a painful bump on her head. Tests revealed bone lesions throughout her body – on her back, leg, hip, knee, clavicle and other bones. Stevie was diagnosed with Langerhan's cell histiocytosis (LCH), a rare disease that arises from a defective immune system that cannot regulate itself. Stevie’s case was extremely aggressive and potentially fatal, attacking her lungs and bones, drastically reducing her lung function.

Several rounds of chemotherapy in increasing intensity did nothing to improve her lung function or reduce the lesions. Stevie’s last option was a bone marrow transplant from an exact match to replace her defective immune system with a healthy one. The transplant would also require more chemotherapy in order to prepare Stevie’s body to accept the donor cells. Thankfully, her younger sister was an exact match and Stevie received the life-saving bone marrow transplant. But doctors feared that Stevie would never be able to conceive a child because of the high doses of chemotherapy she would need to receive.


"My doctors told me that I would probably be sterile and wouldn’t have kids after all of the therapy," says Stevie. "They believed that the high doses of chemotherapy would probably ruin my ovaries."

Infertility is just one potential late effect, or consequence, of chemotherapy or transplant. Dr. Shalini Shenoy, associate director of the bone marrow transplant program at St. Louis Children’s Hospital (SLCH) and co-founder of SLCH’s Late Effects Clinic, says, "We at the clinic always discuss this possibility with patients, as well as the other late effects that might develop with treatment."

At the clinic, Dr. Shenoy worked with doctors to implement a reduced chemotherapy regimen for Stevie and a reduced intensity transplant using antibodies to decrease the incidence of late effects.

After a successful bone marrow transplant, Stevie’s immune system began to regulate itself. The lesions got better and her lung function stabilized and improved. She was able to gradually stop all her medicines.

Then, nine months later, Stevie received a small miracle – actually two; she was pregnant with twins. Less than 18 months after her bone marrow transplant, she gave birth to healthy twin boys Cori and Dalton.

Dr. Shenoy credits the reduced-intensity chemotherapy administered at the clinic for Stevie’s ability to sustain her pregnancy. This type of regimen at the clinic is designed to preserve tissue and organ development, which can be stunted by intense chemotherapy, as well as prevent some of the late effects known to be associated with the treatment.

The Late Effects Clinic aims to help survivors of cancer and other diseases requiring similar treatments to deal with the challenges resulting from their successful treatments by providing comprehensive, lifelong care.

The long-term effects of childhood cancer treatments have come to the forefront of the medical society. Statistics from the National Institutes of Health indicate that 30 years ago only 30 percent of children diagnosed with cancer survived into adulthood. Today, the survival rate has grown to 80 percent, presenting pediatric oncologists with a new challenge – caring for these cancer survivors into adulthood.

Stevie's success story is not a common one. Many patients have ovarian failure or premature menopause after transplant because the chemotherapy decreases the ability to make estrogen. Hence, Stevie’s story has some encouraging implications for girls facing this kind of treatment.
I hope you are interested in this inspiring story or the long term effects of chemotherapy. I will be in contact shortly. Stevie and her family as well as SLCH’s pediatric oncology experts are available for interviews.

Day Care in Lancaster

In Lancaster PA, a child care center stands out as one that works, is well run and a child-friendly place. It’s been in business since 1915.

The story begins with the children eating macaroni and cheese, ham and stewed tomatoes.
Within the story, the director speaks freely about the huge block grant that helps maintain this center.

There is a description of the four essential play areas with children separated into rooms by age.

Teachers are staying and getting an education which should be happening in every center across the nation.

Everything seems to be on target except for the child. The day care is doing it all right with the exception of the child. Look at the focus, and it’s on the adults. That’s the problem with most day care. It’s stewed tomatoes rather than watermelon.

When you talk today about separating children by age and using the same sixty year old play stations, it’s about adults not children. Read my column at WFIE and see another perspective.

Blast Furnace Day

Stuck inside all day, we played with everything that wasn't nailed down.

The kids were great. We had six new ones, and two didn't speak any English, but you coudn't have guessed, because they got along fine.

The air conditioner broke, and the rabbits were in about 96 degrees. We might well have gone to the pool and nobody would have noticed the heat.

Tomorrow should be a better day.

I Just Love This

Deadbeat Parents Published In KY Newspaper

Jul 25, 2005, 9:32 AM

New Media Producer: Kerry Corum

Parents who have skipped out on child support payments in Jefferson County are headed for some bad publicity.

The county attorney's office is planning to publish, in the state's largest newspaper, a list of deadbeat parents. They owe a combined $40 million in back payments. County Attorney Irv Maze said one father of 13 children owes $202,000.

The list will be published in The Courier-Journal of Louisville on July 31st. It is the first of its kind in Jefferson County, and will include the last known addresses of the parents and the amounts they owe. Maze hopes the list will help track down deadbeat parents. He did not say how many would be named on the list.

Navy Mothers

Every once in a while when we really think about how good we have it, we remember those people who serve us by putting their lives in jeopardy so that we can continue to live well.

A long time ago I joined an organization called Navy Mothers. I am a Navy Mother and always will be. There was a time I had two children in the Navy – one on a submarine and one on a fast frigate. It was a frightening time for me, but a time when I was especially proud of my kids.

For most of our readers, service time is a long way off for your kids, but the time will come when a son or daughter makes the decision to go into the service. The service offers some of the best life training there is.

Neither of my children went in as commissioned officers. They went to boot camp like everybody else. I can definitely say that without the service, my son Brendan would not be working in nuclear medicine building Proton Therapy units all over the world.

I’ve posted the Navy Mother’s web page in honor of all of us who have given and will rear a child who serves his country.

Big Grant for Southwestern Indiana

I had to digest this for a few days. I'm glad SW Indiana got the grant, but I also hope that some BIG changes are ahead for childcare all over this area. Half a million Dollars is a lot of money to spend on the status quo. There are a lot of changes needing to be made, and most of them start with really poor theories about childcare. If you missed the article, take a look.

The Garden School might be eligible for some of the funds, but we're already doing everything they hope to do other places.

Nightmare Day Care Closed

Local home day care business shut down

By Cindy Klose
KWCH 12 Eyewitness News Wichita, Kansas
Friday, July 22, 2005


Citing sewage in the basement, hanging electric wires and broken glass, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment ordered a home daycare center shut down.

The business is at 2301 Shadybrook Street in Wichita.

The state health department issued an emergency order Friday to suspend the daycare's registration.

Jeanette Coleman is the daycare owner.

Inspectors say they found raw sewage leaking on the basement floor, several potential fire hazards, and food and trash around the house which was infested with rodents and roaches.

Space

Let’s look at childcare space. The Garden School can enroll 150 children and still be within the state’s codes for childcare. That space allotment is 20 square feet of space for each child as dictated by an elementary school standard. That’s 4x5 feet. That means we could legitimately cordon off our play carpet – circle time – and keep 15 kids there for the entire day.

Day cares are a little more spacious. The allotted space for childcare is 35 square feet per child. That’s the size of a king sized bed minus one corner. It’s an image most people are familiar with. So cordon off that carpet again and reduce the number to 9.

Now mentally charge the Garden School with this allotment: In the main room plant 100 children there. Put another 20 in Edith’s room and 25 in Rachel’s and 10 in the pet room and now squeeze five more onto the absentee list. What do you think? Other places do it.

Now change from elementary school to day care and reduce the numbers to 60 in the main room, 15 in Edith’s and 20 in Rachel’s and 5 in the pet room.

The Garden School’s motto is to take a child from wherever he is as far as he can go. That means we need to “know” every child. How can you know 150 children well? You can't.

The truth of the matter is our best number is about 30-35 children. We do our best work with 30 to 35 children. We’ve had as many as 55 in the plant, and it’s just too hard. There is too much toy replacement, too much dirt to sweep, too much time in the kitchen to prepare twice the amount of food, and then too much time cleaning up. The animals and other projects like the plants, and the repair work are neglected with too many children.

Edith and I come in on weekends to feed the animals and clean, and it’s just overwhelming. With 55 children, we spent all day Saturday and half a day Sunday repairing the damage from the week before.

When there is an art project with too many kids, instead of taking 30 minutes to teach, to plan, to do, and then to clean up, it has to be done in shifts, and the work becomes work and not pleasure. It takes an hour and it becomes a race to the finish line, and some of the kids just get railroaded into “quick, do this, do that, fine, you’re done.” And that’s not what art is about. Art is about expression, and you can’t do that on the fly.

With 30 kids, there is one adult for every 5 children when the whole faculty is there – for field trips. That’s an incredible ratio considering the school aged ratio is 1 adult to 20 children. During the day, our faculty is 5 adults in the morning and 4 in the afternoon.

In the morning, children are divided according to abilities and interests. Three teachers teach while the other two attend school chores. This is probably the highest ratio during the day. In the afternoon, I usually take the whole group for French, music while the other teachers stand by. At that point, we get a drink and the whole school does Literature, Bible Stories, Science, or History/Geography.

By team teaching, we can give our teachers a break to attend to personal matters, i.e. the toilet, a phone call, or more importantly, a few minutes to talk to another teacher about things that matter to us. Often, parents will hear us discuss art and literature, and other interests like philosophy and theology or a personal project like a painting, a novel or creating a nature center at home.

The question is still space, however. Do we have room to do what we do? The answer is yes if it is working and the children are learning and they are. The next question is would we like more space? You bet. I’d love to buy that wing of ground or have it donated which means the right call to the right person just outside the back fence and build two more classrooms side by side the two we have. I’d make the pet room a hallway with a door to each classroom, and put a pet area in each classroom and buy a chinchilla. Maybe a goat! The wheels are turning nicely now.

Pictures of a School Day in Summer

School is in and School is out. This is the way we have some fun, have some fun, have some fun. This is the way we have some fun, all on a summer's day -ay.

These are our youngest kids with our oldest teacher.

I am always so impressed by Edith's willingness to teach anything that comes her way. She is probably the oldest swimmer at the pool, and she really doesn't like the water. She's a mountain gal, and knows far more about hiking and forestry than swimming, but what the heck. She puts on the suit, and looks a lot better in it than a lot of the ladies half her age and she works! When I watch the twice her weight mamas half asleep in lawn chairs, and see Edith giving swimming lessons to five or six three and four year olds, it's not hard to see why she's as vital and youthful as she is.

School Day in Summer Part Two

Smimming pics from Friday.


This is Ty diving. He took to the instruction with great gusto. He's only four. His style needs a bit of work, but any four year old who can dive into twelve feet of water from a four foot board needs a lot of congratulations and a lot of praise.

Peyton was our first real swimmer. She is a natural. She, like Ty, is a Mezo and she had no trouble diving. She has better form than he does, but she's got a few months on him.

This is Dylan. He's eight. He's Alan's brother and a graduate of the Garden School. He's a lot of fun in the water and does some really neat stuff for the younger kids to copy.
This is Briauna. She's got great style and a lot of bounce off the board. She really loved this whole swim-dive episode. We are really quite proud of her.

Smimming and More Smimming

We had an outstanding day at the pool today.

The kids were jumping in, and I mentioned that they should know how to dive. Well the desire to dive was so strong, we cleared the diving well and all learned how to dive off the edge. The belly flops were really something. We stood in stretch yoga position and then bent over and fell in. It was a dive of sorts. Then we tried to add a little bounce to it. I demonstrated of course, and looked like a whale, but it was a good effort and the bones didn't break. The kids loved the whole thing from beginning to end and were great sports about water up their noses.

Our divers were: Briauna, Danielle, Ty, Morgen, Peyton, Jack H., Gage, Chip, and Drake.

Today we drilled Austin, Alan, Micheal and Taylor, and they all graduated, but could not make the cut for the diving well. They are just not strong enough swimmers.

Alexa and Mayli graduated to the deeper end, but are not quite ready for the diving board. Next week for sure.

This is the best class of swimmers we've ever had. I left the camera at school, so I will post them tomorrow.

If you review that article on William Sheldon, you will see that the Mezo kids are the first to swim. The lanky, thin kids take a little longer. The round kids take delight in it, but take the longest to learn.

A Likely Story

I was powerless this morning after the storm, so I couldn't post this. But here it is now. Hope you enjoy it.

One of the major sources of discontent in childcare is brought up by the Savannah Morning News. Savannah is not different from any city or region in America. Right here in the Evansville Area, this same problem exists.

Family day care is the greatest source of childcare outside the home. More than fifty percent of children who are in childcare are in childcare in family homes, and that's a good thing especially for very young children - infants through the toddler years.

I know about family childcare. I provided it in my own home for eight years back before a lot of you were born. I was also a family day care home monitor for the Federal Government's food program for over ten years. I believe in family childcare because infants and toddlers need to be in a home because it is the home that teaches values we must live.

I monitored forty family homes across the southern counties in Indiana, and every licensed day care provider I knew said the same thing this article says: It is hard to get a family license, hart to maintain it, and at the same time there are too many really poor, unlicensed, unmonitored family childcares that continue to run and even under the worst circumstances go ignored by the state officials until somebody gets hurt.

[My comments are bracketed.]

Hunting for Good Day Care

By Dana Clark Felty

Finding quality day care would be easier if Pat Edwards could just post a sign announcing, "Family Child Care Done Right" in the yards of good providers. But it's not that easy, Edwards and other day-care advocates say. Many of Chatham County's low- to moderate-income families end up turning to cheaper, unlicensed day-care programs.

[Unlicensed childcare will often promise a "serve as you come" deal that allows nearly anything and will take just about any kind of abuse from parents and then dish it back to the kids.]

They're up to 65 percent cheaper than licensed programs, and they're easy to find.

[Look for a little outdoor playground with no fence and you will probably find a childcare.]

"If you ride through any community, you'll probably see someone dropping kids off at a home. And the chances are good that home doesn't have a child-care license," said Edwards, a Lutheran Services of Georgia manager. "Those mostly see day care as a baby-sitting service."

[Babysitting is a nighttime service that is a once in a while thing. Day care is an every day thing that goes on outside a child's regular family home.]

That view might have been acceptable a generation ago, but not anymore.

Many studies within the last decade have shown that human brain development is most active within the first five years of life.

Nationally, the proportion of children ages 3 to 5 enrolled in pre-primary education rose from 42 percent in 1990 to 61 percent in 2000, an increase of 19 percentage points, according to the federal study America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2003.

Georgia had the largest increase - from 41 percent in 1990 to 67 percent in 2000.

Still, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, children from poor families are less likely to participate in preschool education.

[And sadly, poor families are so consumed by putting a meal on the table, clothing children, and doing something as right as they can on a limited budget, education across the board is neglected; there simply isn't time.]

Edwards oversees the Satellite Child Care Quality Improvement Program, a local effort by the Lutheran Services to help those struggling to find jobs become licensed, quality child care providers. Her program also helps parents find good care.

Since the program's beginnings in 1999, Edwards has helped 75 small day care providers exceed state requirements to receive higher levels of training and equipment.

All the while, she and four full-time staff keep tabs on those providers, dropping by the home facilities at least three times a quarter.

"We make sure they're doing it the right way and doing it safely," she said.

[Which is more than the state is able to do. Apparently it is a matter of choice to license or not to license in some states. Even with the rules on the books, little if anything is done to stop day cares with too many kids, crowded dirty conditions, and horrible nightmare care. The State just turns its head because there isn't time in the day.

That's because there is no agency to deal with the mess. Overworked caseworkers from the Welfare Department govern day care homes. When a caseworker has as many as 600 cases, the family day care homes on her list of to dos are the last 25 lines of her list.

Most people don't want to be inspected anyway, to take classes or to live up to a lot of standards that might cost money. They simply want to an easy income so they "take a few kids." And reasonably speaking, the Welfare Deaprtment couldn't care less.

But at the same time, registered, licensed, skilled providers who are diligent about doing the job right are often treated like criminals by the same people who turn a blind eye on the awful providers two houses down. Licensed providers are held up for ridicule and rule evasion which often becomes an expensive battle and often amounts to harassment. I can't tell you how many women I know who have spectacular little learning centers at home who are crucified for a slow sink, or a gap in the fence, or one child over their limit, when the gal down the street couldn't pass an inspection to save her life.]

[in Savannah] Lutheran Services standards exceed those of the state's day care licensing agency, Bright from the Start: Department of Early Care and Learning. State guidelines only require an inspection about once every five years for small caregivers.

The agency regulates 574 licensed providers in Chatham County. Among them, 75 percent are licensed to care for no more than six children for pay at a time.

The average day-care program costs between $75-$100 a week, depending on the age and special needs of the child, Edwards and other providers say.

But for households earning just up to two times the poverty level, that's about the same as a house payment.

It's no wonder, Edwards said, that many turn to cheaper day care programs.

"If you're making minimum wage and have six kids and get no subsidy to pay for your child care, it could take your entire paycheck," Edwards said. "These are not bad parents. You just take the day care you can pay for, not the day care you'd like to have."

Unlicensed home day care facilities charge anywhere between $35-$50 a week per child, Edwards said. But many don't meet even the minimum state standards.

[Check links for standards.]

Some advocates suggest government loopholes encourage poor quality day care.
The Child and Parent Services (CAPS) reimburse low-income families for child care expenses based on their income. Families who qualify are responsible for choosing their child care provider, which can be a "an informal provider" like a relative, neighbor, or friend.

"One of the disturbing policies to me is that unlicensed home day care centers can receive state subsidies through the CAPS program," said Julie Gerbsch, former president and CEO of Parent & Child Development Services.

"The state has no access to unlicensed homes and making sure the quality of care is being provided yet state dollars are being given to that day care provider."

[Why not? If State money is dispersed, then a home or provider should pass certain tests for quality; we are talking about a child's day, month, and sometimes the first five years of his life, not boarding a dog for a weekend.]

[How come nearly any family provider can list ten to fifteen unlicensed day cares in her neighborhood and the State hasn't a clue?]

Edwards said the answer for reducing unlicensed day care programs is to provide more parents with day care subsidies.

[That or closing them down with a summons and a fine.]

But the need outweighs the availability.

The Chatham County Department of Family and Children's Services spent $5.7 million in the 2004-2005 fiscal year on subsidies for 3,860 children.

However, the latest U.S. Census figures show over 6,000 Chatham County households earning up to two times the poverty level with children under 5.

In May, 474 families were on a DFCS waiting list for subsidized child care, said Charlotte Rehmert. who added that number was down from 947 in January.

"I think this is a huge underground issue in our community and it needs to be brought to light," Gerbsch said.

"We need to do more than we're doing for our children."

Thinking and Seeing Things Differently

All my life I've seen things differently from most people. It's made friendships very difficult. Edith has been a real Godsend because she sees things about as oddly. I think that's what makes our version of school just a little different and a little more fun for the kids. It's a kind of what on earth will those crazy women think of next.

When I worked for the paper, I was always in hot water about what I wrote about. When I wrote for John Reiter, I always made him laugh. He loved the dangerous edges I found and the rock throwing a fair deal.

When John left Evansville, I started writing for Linda Negro, and she found nothing I wrote palatable. Personally, I find her likes and dislikes a bit pretensious - I mean applesauce is applesauce; it all tastes like muck anyway unless you make it from scratch, and few people know how. I remember reading
one of her reviews of a place in Dale, Indiana, Wyndell's, that
I've eaten in for 35 years. She reviewed what amounts to a mom and pop diner like a four star restaurant. It was hilarious and she took it deadly serious.

I'm different and my food likes and dislikes are on a different menu. So are my childcare likes and dislikes. So are Edith's.

I've wanted to write about this since Linda told me to stop writing about day care. I was offending the status quo and that was a sin against man.

But the status quo is pushing an agenda on the public that doesn't work, I lamented. It's a crime against kids and it's bleeding the parent's dry. Apparently that was too bad because advertising is a major $$$ contribution to the paper and childcare is not.

So for a long time, I've kept our differences to ourselves with the exception of doing our own thing.

Since I've been duly fired for being too something or other, I think it's time to launch a review of the real story of childcare. It's going to come out in bits and pieces because that's how I review most things - in little chunks.

You will find a link to two sites that contain rules for childcare licensing and a site for the specific rules for day care on the links list. They are interesting to read for the concentration on space and plumbing. If you get to the lighting and read 5o candle watt hours, think that we have 200 candle watt hours, 100 with the lights off. If you can't grow a plant, you can't grow a child. So look around most childcare facilities and watch the flowers grow!

Now the Garden School is not a day care. We decided ten years ago that the idea of school suited us a lot better than day care. And naturally, there is no category for us. We are listed as a licensed exempt center because we have a real kindergarten and a first grade classroom with licensed teachers. It's not on the books, so they came up with that.

The State of Indiana told us not to bother them with licensing us as an elementary school because the expense and time would not be worth the effort unless we added a second grade. We just don't have the playground for second graders.

I'm friends with Bob Mills who happens to be the consultant for childcare through the Welfare Department, but it took a long time. Bob has his own ideas on childcare and is usually a dreaded figure among directors. I invited him to the Garden School and he just loved us. He wanted me to get a day care license, but Edith and I want a school not a day care.

So here we sit in between with a place to grow for kids ages three through seven. We've been copied, however, by a place in Newburgh. Haven't been there yet.

In the next few weeks, I'm going to post a lot of things to think about. I hope you enjoy it.

Blood Drive

Thanks to the parents who participated in our first blood drive:

Susie, Tami, Rob, and Satsuki.

The Blood Center was delighted and promised to come back. These guys are wonderful.

They proceeded to ask the kids about blood, and Miss Rachel had already taught them about the parts of blood and why blood is important, so they answered the questions with real gusto and a sense of real knowing.

The kids found out that there are eight types of blood from Mr. Tom who was a nursing student, and they drew all eight kinds.

We will let you know the next time there is a blood drive - in advance.

Baby Boot Camp

It was truly baby boot camp today at the pool and all the kids got involved to make it truly memorable.

We are paring down the days until the end of the summer field trips to the pool. We had today, we have Friday, Monday and Wednesday, and then it's done for the summer, so like the days, we are trying to get all the non-swimmers to be swimmers, and the swimmers to be board hoppers.

Ben and Madison, our teen and pre-teen helpers worked like a couple of boot camp generals today while they encouraged Ty, Allan, Drake, Morgen and Briauna to jump, swim and make it to the ladder.

I thought Ty was going to die of delight. He's ready - just. He got his courage up and admitted he wanted to jump off that board more than anything. He just barely made the test in the shallow end, but we took him over anyway to watch the jumpers, and he said he'd like to jump in the deep end even if he didn't go off the board.

Ben coaxed him to jump out to him and swim. Ty did it, and as Ben moved back in the water, Ty swam a little further and a little more and finally he decided that he'd try the board because he was really swimming. These big kids worked these little kids so hard it was a real badge of courage for the little ones to keep it up. Someone's going to sleep well tonight.

Briauna was first to go off the board. She hemmed and hawed until she finally jumped. A really pretty guard named Kristen helped her by getting in the water and offering to catch her. It worked wonders. Briauna made all kinds of good decisions today. We were very proud of her.

Morgen S was certainly not to be undone by her friend, Briauna, and Morgen jumped with some coaxing and Miss Judy under the board to catch her. She did fine.

Then it was Ty's turn. He just walked off the end of the board as if it were the easiest thing in the world. In fact, his first jump was head first. He had a little trouble swimming to the edge, but after a half dozen jumps, he had no more trouble. He's a swimmer now!

Then low and behold, there's Drake perched up there on the board looking very fetching and like a big boy swimmer, and off he jumps. He certainly didn't want to be left out of the loop or off the board.

Next time the generals are going to go after Austin and Allan and Leah.

Aiden passed his test, but he's still a little weak for the long swim to the edge. He paddles OK, but he doesn't make any headway.

Faith passed her test as well, but she's still questionable as to whether she can actually jump, come up and then swim to the edge without some panic. We don't want to scare them; we want it to be a success.

It was a great day.

Grandmas and Things

Jack and William, better known as Wilbur, at Pounds Hollow during a family outing.

This is the stuff life is made from.

As a proud grandma of four, I can honestly say, it doesn't get any better. For all you young parents with kids - enjoy it. Make the best of these years because the reward is a whole lot more the second time around.




Wilbur with his nefarious head stand. He can actually do it. He can get both feet up and then he comes crashing down. He's a Mezomorph like his grandma. (Article about body types in the blog.)

***
An elderly woman and her little grandson, whose face was sprinkled with bright freckles, spent the day at the zoo. Lots of children were waiting in line to get their cheeks painted by a local artist who was decorating them with tiger paws.

"You've got so many freckles, there's no place to paint!" a girl in the line said to the little fella. Embarrassed, the little boy dropped his head.

His grandmother knelt down next to him "I love your freckles. When I was a little girl I always wanted freckles, she said, while tracing her finger across the child's cheek. "Freckles are beautiful!"

The boy looked up, "Really?"

"Of course," said the grandmother. "Why, just name me one thing that's prettier than freckles."

The little boy thought for a moment, peered intensely into his grandma's face, and softly whispered, "Wrinkles."

A Few More Pictures to Enjoy

Some of the children get tired on the bus going, and some get tired on the bus going home.

This time Micheal was trying to sleep sitting up. It happens.

Actually, they don't mind. A nap's a nap no matter what you call it.

But you can guess that when the bus pulled in for ice cream, the nap was suddenly over.









This is another swimming picure.

After the rock climbing pictures below, we were hot and tired. The kids were really very coy about the swimming. First it was a tiny wet spot on their shorts, and then there was this kinda wet shirt because, well, you know, and then there was this giant spot on the next kid that just needed a little competition until we all went in. Miss Rachel is someplace in there - probably under the water.





The view from the top of the mountain where the kids climbed. It looks really high, and it is.

That's Miss Rachel and Micheal J and Madison at the top.

How they got there is in the picture below.

This is marvelous for the kids.

Plan to come with us next week, and you can see the whole thing for yourself.



After you look down, you start to look up. This is the mountain the kids scaled. There is a cave at the top left. All the kids wanted to see it, so we let them all come up.

The rock climber in the picture is Jack Snyder.

Each child made the climb, and each one loved it.

Miss Molly was trained in rock climbing and repelling by the fire department. She was a volunteer in high school.





Thisis a kind of group climb. Parents and teachers are moving children across the rocks.

Ben, our teen helper, is out on a ledge.

The kids are allowed to go to safe zones where they can look out, but most of them are only interested in climbing, and that's a real child thing.

Some of the minor jumps from one rock to another were a major accomplishment for some kids.





This is the kind of thing we found at Garden of the Gods. It's a long way down, but most of the drops have a buffer of stones, so that a fall would have to be a direct act of neglect on the part of a teacher.

Although it looks dangerous, it really isn't. But it is very beautiful and truly interesting.




Miss Stacey with the boys. We are looking at the camera, but behind us, Camel Rock looms in the background.

You can see several states in the distance.

This was indeed an ancient sea, and the rock formations were once at the bottom of that sea, that's what makes it so interesting.







This is the Girl's Group.

We were at the start of the climb. They were more interested in playing on the rocks than standing for a picture.

No telling where the boys were.

Nice group shot. Lovely children - best group ever.

More Pictures for the Blog Thanks to Monte

We can all thank Monte Merkel for his help in getting this blog site up and running. He's the computer wizzard. Here are some of the pictures we've been taking. We want to share with all of you, and so often our pictures just sit in a box. Now, thanks to Monte and a new program at Blogger, we can all enjoy them.



Here's Devon at Grant's Farm feeding goats. If only we could have a goat! Goats are such wonderful beings.

Ty was enjoying his goat as well. There must have been a hundred little goats and kids to go with them. Each one was cuter than the next.

Lunch under the Arch. It was just beautiful, and so clean. The kids are enjoying a variety of sandwiches and fruit and chips and homemade cookies. It was a must see and must do!

Something for the Baby - To Give and To Get

Every day I get a slew of emails about what’s new on the market. I thought this was neat simply because so many of us stash stuff in shoe boxes and then lose them.

With the new trend in organization to the point of scrap booking a year’s worth of theatre tickets, here’s something fun and really useful. There's a ton of paperwork when baby comes home - birth certificate, medical insurance, social security forms, immunizations, doctor info, equipment warranties….Whew! What new mom has time to organize it all?

She doesn't have to thanks to the Baby Briefcase – the fun, new and completely practical organizational system! It’s about $30.00

Invented by a Mom, the Baby Briefcase makes organizing vital documents hassle-free. Includes 15 pastel colored folders in a frosted sturdy plastic briefcase, with pre-printed and blank labels, a Thank You note tracker, convenient outside pen pocket and a fashionable framed photo pocket. Cute but not too frilly, this easily portable file is great for parents of boys and girls and is perfect for traveling or toting to doctor's appointments.

Something to Think About

When you think of all the possibilities of parenthood, childcare, and education, you think of all the ways it can go right, you think of your child as a future hero, you think of your child as a an involved, intelligent, altruistic man or woman who contributes brilliantly to society.

There are always a few bumps along the road to rearing a child, and even a few mountains to climb, but some people have it worse than others, because some kids are just not going to fit the hero mode. According to psychiatrists and psychologists, the worst disorder among children is called Conduct Disorder.

Here’s a profile I got from several sources:

Do you know someone who has been called ODD, and I don’t mean strange. I mean oppositional defiant? It’s a disorder that I think comes from confusion and inconsistencies of care.

In some ways, the experts say Conduct Disorder is just a worse version of Oppositional Defiant Disorder but recent research suggests that there are some differences.

Here’s the article:

“Children with ODD seem to have worse social skills than those with CD. Children with ODD seem to do better in school. Conduct disorder is the most serious childhood psychiatric disorder. Approximately 6-10% of boys and 2-9% of girls have this disorder.

Here is the Definition:

A repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or major society rules are violated. At least three of the following criteria must be present in the last 12 months, and at least one criterion must have been present in the last 6 months.

Aggression to people and animals, often bullies, threatens, or intimidates others, often initiates physical fights, has used a weapon that can cause serious physical harm to others (a bat, brick, broken bottle, knife, gun), physically cruel to animals, physically cruel to people, has stolen while confronting a victim ( mugging, purse snatching, extortion, armed robbery).

Destruction of property, has deliberately engaged in fire setting with the intention of causing serious damage, has deliberately destroyed other's property other than by fire setting.

Deceitfulness or theft, has broken into someone else's house, building or car, often lies to obtain goods or favors or to avoid work, has stolen items of nontrivial value without confronting a victim (shoplifting, forgery).

Serious violations of rules, often stays out at night despite parental prohibitions, beginning before 13 years of age, has run away from home overnight at least twice without returning home for a lengthy period, often skips school before age 13.

The above problem causes significant impairment in social , academic, and occupational functioning.

So how are ODD and CD related?

Currently, the research shows that in many respects, CD is a more severe form of ODD. Severe ODD can lead to CD. Milder ODD usually does not. The common thread that separates CD and ODD is safety. If a child has CD there are safety concerns. Sometimes it is the personal safety of others in the school, family, or community. Sometimes it is the safety of the possessions of other people in the school, family or community. Often the safety of the child with CD is a great concern.

Children with ODD are an annoyance, but not especially dangerous. If you have a child with CD disorder in your home, most likely you do not feel entirely safe. Or, you do not feel that your things are entirely safe. It is the hardest pediatric neuropsychiatric disorder to live with as a sibling, parent, or foster parent. Nothing else even comes close. It is worse than any medical disorder in pediatrics. Some parents have told me that at times it is worse than having your child die.

Conduct Disorder and comorbidity:

It has been common in the past for people to think that conduct disorder is just the beginning of being a criminal. Up until the last few years, children with conduct disorder were often "written off.”

It is now clear that this is true only with a minority of cases. It is very easy to focus on the management of the CD child and forget to check the child out for other neuropsychiatric disorders.

A careful examination of children with CD almost always reveals other neuropsychiatric disorders. Some of the most exciting developments in this area of medicine involve understanding these phenomena. It is called comorbidty, that is the tendency for disorders to occur together.

It is very common to see children with CD plus another one or two neuropsychiatric diagnoses. By far the most common combination is CD plus ADHD.

Between 30-50% of children with CD will also have ADHD .

Another common combination is CD plus depression or anxiety. One quarter to one half of children with CD have either an anxiety disorder or depression.

CD disorder plus substance abuse is also very common. Also common are associations with Learning Disorders, bipolar disorder and Tourettes Syndrome.

It is exceptionally rare for a child to present for evaluation by a pediatric psychiatrist to have pure CD.”

Down and Not Running

For the past two weeks, my computer connection has been down and not running. To post a single entry, it takes nearly two hours. It should take five minutes.

I have lots of pictures and lots of stuff waiting.

Cheers today for Morgen and Briaunna who got on the board ready to jump, but lost their nerve and ended up going off the side of the deep end.

Our jumpers to date are:

Chip
Jack Hall
Vanessa
Audry
Dylan

Our big water end graduates are:
Briaunna
Morgen
Chip
Jack Hall
Leah
Peyton (first one)
Vanessa
Holden
Dylan

Next four:
Aiden
Alexa
Alan
Austin

Rain Ins and Rain Outs

Here are some pictures from last week:



It’s been a rainy week, but we’ve done a lot even so.

Monday we played tag with the weather. Our new bird cage is up and running, and the birds are slowly making the transition from one cage to another. We cleaned, we colored, we did inside games and a science game of “What’s in the box.” Miss Stacey and Miss Rachel made little bowls of Jell-O, pudding, pealed grapes and Cheerios and the kids had to identify by touch and smell and taste what it was. They loved it.

Tuesday, we looked at weather and watched a new National Geographic film about birds and how they fly. We had the rabbit man in to take away the baby bunnies. Two went home with Morgen. We pulled out a new French Book and learned how to say “There’s a dragon in my bed.” We sang French songs.

Wednesday, we went to the movies to see Robot. The kids were really good.

Thursday, we will …. To be posted.

Friday we will have a visit from the Fire Department in the morning and from the Blood Center in the afternoon between 2:00 and 4:00. Parents are welcome to donate.

Next week it’s swimming on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday will be posted.

Motherhood Club

Monroe, LA – Howard Publishing is the creator of an innovative program specifically targeting moms of all ages and stages of life known as “The Motherhood Club.”

It’s a book club.

The Motherhood Club was the brainchild of Chrys Howard and Philis Boultinghouse. Their desire in creating the Book Club was to eliminate some guesswork when it comes to selecting resources for busy moms.

The Club includes an informative website featuring tips from professionals (and professional moms!) as well as a column by a licensed family therapist, articles on mom-related topics, inspirational devotionals, and news on upcoming Motherhood Club events.

Beginning last June, the Club officially launched its membership initiative.

“We think it’s about time that moms are honored for doing the most important job in the world,” said Boultinghouse.

“Our heart’s desire is to provide not only a one-stop shopping resource for these busy moms with our in-store display, but a network of mom-to-mom support.

This support is available on three levels: our website where moms can chat with other moms and find much-needed information; large city events where moms can come together to be refreshed and revived; and local clubs where moms can gather in homes or churches.”

These are the Motherhood Club’s first eight books:

The Busy Mom’s Guide to Prayer (Lisa Whelchel)

Mom PhD (Teresa Bell Kindred)

The Power of a Positive Mom (Karol Ladd)

There’s A Perfect Little Angel in Every Child (Gigi Schweikert)

I’m A Good Mother (Schweikert)

Holding the World By the Hand (Schweikert)

Tight Squeeze (Debbie DiGiovanni)

The Miracle in a Mother’s Hug (Helen Burns).

Blood and More

For those of you who did not read our flyer on Monday, we are having the Blood Mobile at school on Friday between 2:00 and 4:00. We are letting the kids tour and asking parents and teachers to donate. There is currently a blood shortage in Evansville, and since it's bound to rain on Friday and Miss Sandy is busy with a State meeting, we thought it was a good plan.

The fire trucks will be here Friday morning as well to do a fire safety program.

Rain can be a very good thing.

A Look at Bodies!

Dr. William Sheldon (1898-1977) was an American psychologist who devoted his professional life to observing the range of human body types and what he came rightly to believe as human personality traits or temperament types.

Today, there are people who want to discredit Dr. Sheldon and say that he dehumanized people and pigeon holed them, but the truth is, he tried to explain why someone might be the way they are. Whys are important when you search for answers for children. I think his work is spectacular and right on target. It's also very funny.

Here is an article about William Sheldon’s work:

Through a meticulous examination of the carefully posed (front view, side view, and back view) photographs of some four thousand, decently but scantily clothed, college-age men, Sheldon became persuaded that there were three fundamental elements that, in various proportions, contributed to each person's actual physique or somatype.

He conjectured that there might well be some relationship between these elements and the three layers of the human embryo - the endoderm, the mesoderm and the ectoderm - and consequently gave the three elements that he held as contributing to ALL human physiques the names Endomorphy, Mesomorphy and Ectomorphy.

He devised ways of standardizing the measurement and numerical expression of the various degrees to which each of the three element was present in any individual person's physique.He came to see Endomorphy as being focused on the digestive system, particularly the stomach, Mesomorphy as being focused on musculature and the circulatory system, and Ectomorphy as being focused on the nervous system and the brain.

On this basis he came to recognize that individual human beings would all possess stomachs, muscles, and nervous systems, but would also differ, more or less, in the inherent focus of their bodies towards their stomachs, their muscles, or their nervous systems.He accepted that, in any population, there would be a few extreme Endomorphs, a few extreme Mesomorphs, and a few extreme Ectomorphs.

He saw extreme Endomorphic physiques as being rounded and tending towards fleshiness. He discovered that extreme Endomorphic body types are endowed with a far longer digestive tract than extreme Ectomorphic body types.He saw extreme Mesomorphic physiques as being large, bony, and tending towards a substantial and well-defined musculature.

He saw extreme Ectomorphic body types as being light-boned and tending towards a slightness of musculature. He also conducted a large number of surveys directed towards the investigation of whether there was any identifiable link between physique and temperament type. Sheldon's surveys led him consider that there were three basic temperament types or human personality traits that he labelled Viscerotonia, Somatotonia, and Cerebrotonia.

He saw extreme Viscerotonia as being associated with a love of relaxation and of comfort. Extreme Viscerotonics tend to be sociable "food and people" persons.

He saw extreme Somatonia as being associated with physical assertiveness. Extreme Somatotonics tend to be very keen on physical activity. Extreme Somatotonics also tend to be keen on competition in which they tend to expect to do well.

He saw extreme Cerebrotonia as being associated with a pronounced need for privacy. Extreme Cerebrotonics tend to be highly self-aware and socially restrained.

He considered that there was a strong correlation between body type and temperament type. According to this view, human personality traits are underwritten by human physical types. Extreme Endomorphs tend towards Viscerotonia, extreme Mesomorphs towards Somatotonia, and extreme Ectomorphs towards Cerebrotonia.

There may well be an association to be made between Dr. William Sheldon's work and the work of other psychologists - not least the work of Stella Chess and Alexander Thomas. Working in the area of child psychology in New York Chess and Alexander ultimately went on to classify the temperament types of their young charges as variously being "easy", "difficult", and "slow to warm up".

Sheldon wrote several books on the variety of human temperament types / human personality traits that are now out of print - a work by Chess and Alexander entitled Temperament: Theory and Practice is of more recent publication.

A Day for a Child

Yesterday we really out kidded ourselves. We all had a blast doing just kid stuff. We packed a kid lunch and took off on a kid style excursion – Miss Sandy’s bus. Every child I know likes the bus trip almost better than the field trip proper.

We went rock climbing at Garden of the Gods. I know it’s the new no no place because last year some kid fell. But he was with one of the Y groups, and they employ teens. Instead, we have rock climbing adults who have been trained in repelling. Miss Molly was a volunteer fire fighter and was trained by the department in rock climbing. She loved the sport.

Miss Molly, Mr. Tom, Miss Rachel, Miss Stacy and the Gentlemen fathers who came along, scaled some rugged territory and took every single child along to the top of the overhang where they got a great view and an adventure of a lifetime. Then they forged ahead through the poison oak, and shimmied down between the rocks back to the path.

Then, we were off to the lake. Every child waded up to his neck and then some. They had a real “swimming hole” adventure in the lake. It was warm, had a sandy bottom, and was shallow about 1/3 of the way across. The kids could have swum till dark. Lake water is easier to swim in than pool water, and the kids found their acrobatics a lot easier.

We literally dragged them out for lunch with the cries and pleas, “Can’t we go back; do we have to eat; can’t we swim again?”

The answer was, “We can’t take you for ice cream soaking wet.”

After lunch, we all headed back to EVV and stopped in Mount Vernon for ice cream sundaes. Morgen ate three probably because she threw her sandwich into the woods. She likes to share with the raccoons!

By the time we got home, the kids were pleasantly tired. They played beautifully the rest of the day. Edith and I went home to an early bedtime, Molly and the girls had a night on the town.

It was voted most popular trip. I don’t know a single other school that would allow any of the above, but we think these are learning experiences the children shouldn’t miss. They are child appropriate and pure fun, and our staff is in great shape, so why not enjoy it.

Miss Molly thought a family day up at the lake before summer ends would be a great day. The bus seats 55. It’s a 2 hour trip by bus, and a 1.5 hour trip by car if you drive like Miss Molly. Any suggestions?

Off the Subject

Now that there is a new world crisis, I was wondering what my readers might think of something I’ve suggested for years. As some of you know, my husband taught history for over thirty years. He’s taught the whole world from beginning to end. He is more interested in the politics of history than states and dates.

I’ve suggested that he write a column called Current Events for Dummies. Or something like it. Terry is really good at explaining very simply why certain parts of the world are in the shape they are, what kinds of people and events have made it that way, and what’s going on right now that will or won’t change the status quo. In real life, he's got one of those deep, low voices a little like Orson Wells. That won't show up, of course, but his writing is interesting and fun to read.

What do you think of a column about the reasons we have the problems that we do?

Would you read it?

Stacy Keel Wrote:

Stacy Keel wrote:

Attached is a copy of an e-mail I sent to Judy.

Stacy Keel wrote:
In the last couple of months I have really noticed a big improvement in Faith's drawing and coloring. I think she is doing great! Sometimes I don't realize how much she learns there at school until I hear her with her little friends. Last night she and Kayla (best friend from across the street) were sitting on the patio in the backyard playing "school" while Kayla's mom and I were breaking green beans. We were just listening to them and of course Faith was Ms Judy. She had an alphabet book and was explaining to the pretend kids what sound the letters made. Kayla's mom was really impressed and made the comment that Kayla's pre-school (Newburgh pre-school) was more of a socialization for the kids than an actual place of learning. I have been very pleased with what Faith has learned from your school and with the experiences she is having. I hope you enjoy her as well because you are stuck with her for awhile. All of you are doing a wonderful job and I'm glad Faith has you. She loves it there and it makes life so much easier when you know your child is happy.

I just wanted you to know that all of you are greatly appreciated.

Thanks

I

Judy called earlier and apparently it was good timing because as she was sharing it with the other teachers one of the new parents came in and chewed them out about the way they did things there.

Anyway she asked my permission to post the e-mail on her blog and to give a copy to the parent that was unhappy. Just thought I would share it with all of you since you are familiar with the school.

In addition, I thought you would get a kick out of Faith's Uncle Will's comments - he usually cracks me up. I thought his comments were pretty accurate.

Humans under the age of 15 should be covered in dirt regularly, or they're not exploring enough.

Probably also applies to humans over 15 as well, of course."

A boy is a noise, with dirt on it." Same for girls, only more so.

The first time I stepped into the school there, it was abuzz withyoung scientific minds, each discovering his or her universe at his or her own pace. I stood there a while soaking it in -- our white-collar jobs are so sanitized and sterile!

Judy came up and asked what I needed; I took a while to respond and finally said "What a WONDERFUL noise." She was glad to hear it, but added that I'm one of the few who thinks so.

The purpose of having kids is NOT for the convenience and comfortof the parent. (At least not until they can do chores, of course. :)

Stacy

The Garden School's Curriculum

I was stunned this morning when a new parent came into school and complained that her child did nothing at school but watch TV. The child reported that during the day, he watched videos.

It’s always important to ask children what they do during the day. Sometimes they remember, and sometimes they don’t because a child is a creature of the immediacy.

FYI, for other parents who believe that our curriculum begins and ends with TV, today we had breakfast on the patio, came in for circle time and Bible stories that was followed by art – we painted deserts. Every piece of artwork done at school must have the child’s handwritten name on it. If a child cannot write his name, he is responsible to raise his hand and ask for help. If a child doesn’t do either, that’s his choice too, and we throw out nameless papers.

We played soccer in gym class, had a science lesson on rocks and rock formations, created a volcano which erupted all over the yard, and then stayed outside for a short recess. I read a story called, "The Stupid's Step Out." It's a funny story that makes them laugh. I read it because one of the kids was upset about being called a name. We talked about name calling and how unkind it is.

We had marinated and barbequed chicken and Italian sausage cooked on the grill, our own garden grown zucchini that I hand breaded and deep fried, we had oranges, watermelon, green grapes, bread and butter, a rice and bean and cheese casserole, tater tots for the hard to please and milk. Jackie Snyder had an apple.

We played about 30 minutes outside and came in for a history lesson on rocks. History? We started with all the primitive formations like Stonehenge, The Easter Islands, and some places in the Middle East.

I reminded the children of the Bible quote about building your house on rock. Then I showed them some examples of houses and villages that have been around about 4000 years.

We looked at the pyramids and reminded the children of something they learned earlier, that the tallest building in the world was the pyramid before 1900. We simply did not have the technology. We talked about the Laseau Caves and about ancient cave art – done on rock about 40,000 years ago.

We ended our lesson with Mount Rushmore and stories about the four presidents who grace that “rock.”

Tomorrow we will go to Garden of the Gods.

We think it’s a good curriculum and the children are learning. But it’s real hands on, and hands on can’t be done from a chair. Too many parents have a deodorized notion of childcare where the children sit spotlessly clean around darling hand painted furniture in a shining clean room doing work sheets. You can accomplish that for about 35 seconds. You should see our hand painted furniture.

In an environment like that two things are happening: The teachers know nothing about childcare and their time and effort is being put into the room not the child.

If you want a hospital for your child, there are facilities available where children never go outside and if they do, it’s a concrete base and nap time is ¾ of the day. Or try Le Petite Academy where the national standard is comparable to dry storage.

Edith and I have been in this business since just after the flood. We are not eager to make a great name for ourselves or win the “Mrs. Clean” award for childcare. We are spending our knowledge packed years on the children because they are our most important cultural asset.

As Miss Molly said, “I’m giving my life to children because I love them.”

Morning Sickness

Every day, I get about ten "up to the moment" news releases and promos for new products and new books. Some of them are worth sharing. This one is. Besides being current, it's funny. I remember when.

Seven Survival Strategies for Morning Sick Moms A new book by "morning sickness maven" Miriam Erick provides the tools you need to satisfy cravings, suppress nausea, and maintain good health--and she does it with a welcome dose of empathy.

Boulder, CO (June 2005)--So...you're pregnant. In the days before the stick turned blue, you imagined you'd spend these early months fielding congratulatory hugs, mooning over tiny outfits, and savoring carefully balanced, nutrient-filled, folate-rich meals. But someone forgot to tell your body. Your soft-focus dreams have come up against a far less pleasant reality: gagging in the bathroom at 2 a.m., praying you'll make it through your business meeting without having to bolt, desperately rummaging through the pantry for something--anything--you can keep down for more than five minutes.

"Though some people tend to make light of morning sickness, it is no joke," says Miriam Erick, M.S., R.D., a registered dietitian at The Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who is known to her patients as the "morning sickness maven." "It is truly debilitating. A severe case can disrupt a woman's career and family life and even threaten her long-term health. For such women, the old 'crackers and jell-o' mantra isn't going to cut it."

The bad news is that there's no one-size-fits-all cure. The good news is that you can learn from Erick's wealth of experience in discovering what does work for the moderately nauseated as well as the sickest of the sick. Her new book, Managing Morning Sickness: A Survival Guide for Pregnant Women (Bull Publishing Company, 2004, ISBN: 0-923521-82-8, $16.95), provides proven remedies, nutritional guidelines, and safe, nutritious recipes.

This book also covers the triggers and possible causes of morning sickness, presents the latest research on drugs and other treatments, discusses the effectiveness of acupuncture, holistic, herbal, and homeopathic treatments, and more. Real-life case studies from the author's experience in hospital practice will help readers see that they are not alone--a realization that can come as a huge relief to women who are (insensitively) told that "it's all in your head."

Here, excerpted from Managing Morning Sickness and from Erick's website, morningsickness.net, are some tips on understanding, coping with, and defeating morning sickness:

Try lemons. "Eating lemons has been noted as a remedy for seasickness," says Erick. "In my clinical experience, I've observed a strange but real therapeutic effect of lemons. You can sniff them, suck on them, or sprinkle them with salt and lick them. Lemon is a fragrance that works about 99 percent of the time! Not only is it effective in relieving nausea, it has been proven to relieve depression."

Track your triggers. If you chart your episodes of nausea or vomiting, you are likely to discover patterns that reveal contributing factors. Do certain smells make you nauseated? Taking medication, eating, or drinking at certain times of the day? Being exposed to heat or humidity? Hearing loud noises? Being "jiggled" by a husband who tosses and turns in bed? As you can see, there are many potential triggers for morning sickness. Only by identifying them can you take defensive action.

Realize that bland isn't always best. It's almost a cliché to suggest tea, toast, crackers, and jell-o. It's true that for many women, bland foods are the answer. But others find success with such unlikely choices as "fireballs" (cinnamon candy), tater tots, sour cream & onion potato think might work, no matter how odd it might seem.

Consider food categories...and trust your gut. Women seem to crave certain tastes/textures when they're feeling sick. Maybe the thought of sweet food makes you feel "green" but the thought of something tart is bearable. Pay attention to these preferences and give your queasy stomach what it wants. Managing Morning Sickness provides an extensive list of foods to try, broken down by taste and texture.

For instance: * Salty: Mashed potatoes with salt and parmesan, tomato juice, hotdog * Bitter/tart/sour: lemonade, lime juice sprinkled on apples, salsa * Earthy/yeasty: pumpernickel bread, hummus, asparagus * Crunchy: raw zucchini, crisp bacon, taco shells * Spicy: gingerbread cookies, chili peppers, seafood cocktail sauce The above list is just a tiny sampling. The book also provides a wealth of menus and recipes categorized by these physical/sensory food attributes.

If junk food appeals to you, don't feel guilty. Many women believe that if they consume anything on the "do not eat" list, the baby will immediately suffer. Although it is true that a pregnancy will benefit by better eating habits, in morning sickness, it is a very different game. What's the benefit of eating well, vomiting, and having to take anti-vomiting medication rather than eating a few junk foods, foregoing medication, and not vomiting? It's a game of trade-offs.

Consider "alternative" remedies. One study from Italy seemed to suggest that the Sea Band, an antiseasickness wristband with a bead sewn in that supposedly exerts pressure on a nerve connected to the vomiting center in the brain, was helpful in alleviating sickness. Managing Morning Sickness reports on other remedies such as hypnosis, acupuncture, and foot reflexology. Common Western herbs such as cilantro, ginger, and peppermint and Eastern remedies like xiao hui xiang (small fennel), Jie Zi (brown mustard seeds), and pu gong ying (known in the U.S. as dandelion) have been found effective-but consult your doctor before taking any substance.

Finally, be glad you weren't born 60 years ago. "As bizarre as it sounds, in the early 1940s a woman who suffered from bad nausea and vomiting may have been given injections of her husband's blood, with the theory that there was something inherent in the spouse's blood that could reduce the problem," writes Erick. "This was not medical management from voodoo men but rather a practice from the United States, if you can believe that!"

Though it may seem small comfort, women who suffer from severe and unrelenting morning sickness deserve what Erick calls The Purple Heart of Motherhood.

"No one's going to pin a medal on you, so you need to honor yourself," she advises. "Nurture yourself as best you can. Take a break from housework. Eat what you can keep down and let everyone else fend for themselves. Insist that restless sleepers bed down elsewhere until the baby is born. And always keep in mind that no matter how terrible you feel, it has to be over in at least nine months. That may not be much to cling to, but Purple Heart Mothers will take whatever they can get." chips, and raw carrots and celery sticks dipped in vinegar. Quite simply, try whatever you

About the Author:

Miriam Erick, M.S., R.D., is a registered dietitian and nationally known perinatal morning sickness nutrition specialist. Her work in the field spans over 15 years at a major Boston medical institution. An author of three books on the topic and a well-traveled public speaker, Miriam also works directly with sick, hospitalized women with severe morning sickness.

Her work in obstetrical nutrition also covers high-risk pregnancy issues including eating disorders, multiple pregnancies, pre-eclampsia, vegetarianism, nutritional deficiencies, diabetes, and severe morning sickness (called hyperemesis gravidarum). As an educational affiliate of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Miriam has successfully led physician luncheon groups at two national ACOG meetings on the topic of morning sickness management.

Miriam has appeared on CBS This Morning with Paula Zahn, as well as several local Boston television stations. Comments from Miriam appear frequently in women's and childbirth magazines. She is an editorial board member of Fit Pregnancy, received the 1996 Ross Award in Women's Health (from Abbott Laboratories and the American Dietetics Association Foundation), and is a "Who's Who in America." Her book No More Morning Sickness: A Survival Guide for Pregnant Women was awarded the prestigious "Pyramid Award" for excellence in medical writing in 1995 by the New England chapter of the American Medical Writers Association.

About the Book:

Managing Morning Sickness: A Survival Guide for Pregnant Women (Bull Publishing Company, 2004, ISBN: 0-923521-82-8, $16.95) is available at bookstores nationwide, major online booksellers, or directly from the publisher by calling (800) 929-3811.
For more information, please visit morningsickness.net.

Cowboys are Fun

Here is something Edith and I just laughed out loud at.

Cowboy's Guide to Life

What we both liked so much about it is its ability to be applied to our jobs and everyday life. A lot of these really hit home, create double meanings and bring on funny memories.

Your fences need to be horse high, pig tight and bull strong.

He’s talking about consistency. If they know they can’t get over you, under you, around you, or through you, they’re just going to settle down and enjoy it.

Life ain't about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but how well you bounce.

That’s for sure. Every time you think you think you’re flying high, there’s something or someone to remind you that the ground is still there and still rock hard.

Keep skunks and bankers and lawyers at a distance.

Every time 5/3 comes over looking especially nifty in their clean pressed suits, ties and knee high socks, I tell them, “Yes, you can do something for me. You can get us a grant." They usually leave very quickly after that. Funny about money. If you can't make it in your own basement, you won't be happy until you make it in someone else's.

Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

Tell that to the bankers. Ever pull out a stump? I did it once, and ended up making a pond. We also had a grandma who pulled stumps for a living. If you ever want to test being in shape, consider Linda. She is in her mid sixties and can still pull a stump by herself!

A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.

Only if you’re frightened of flying insects.

Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.

That’s what I keep telling the kids.

Meanness don't jest happen overnight.

That’s what I kept telling my mother.

Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads

This is what I’m going to start telling the kids.

Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.

This is what Miss Molly needs to start telling the kids.

It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.

Ever seen a grudge? I think that’s our art project for the day. Draw a grudge.

You cannot unsay a cruel word.

Tell that to the Courier and Press.

Every path has a few puddles.

Puddles are neat. Does anyone know that the Emilio Regio program has raincoats and boots as part of their uniform code?

When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.

When you come to the Garden School, expect to get dirty.

The best sermons are lived, not preached.

Tell that to the Bishop, the refer him to unsaying, whispering, and wallowing.

Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.

Don’t believe it. Come spend a day with us at school.

Don't judge folks by their relatives.

Especially me.

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

MMMM.

Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.

Yep. See Mrs. St. Louis for instructions.

Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none.

The child’s red badge of courage for sure.

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

A lot like crying.

The easiest way to eat crow is while it's still warm, 'cause the colder it gets, the harder it is to swaller.

Tell that to Award Winning Editor Bruce Baumann.

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.

Unless you’re in the sand box then it’s onward and downward. “Anyone speak Chinese?”

It don't take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep.

No, but you have to be at least six.

Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

Depends on whether Miss Judy has demanded your medal.

The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with watches you shave his face in the mirror every mornin.'

Won’t go there.

If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.

In my case, it would be my new raccoons. I have two, you know. Miss Vivie has introduced me to them. They live in her tree.

Always drink upstream from the herd.

Yep.

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

Again, refer this to the Bishop. It might prove you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it in.

Especially Meistro. Anyone want to start a weekend cat sitting roster?

Don't squat with your spurs on.

Tried that once. Yoga came in real handy.

Never fry bacon naked.

Edith thinks this is especially funny. Will somebody ask her why?

The Cave Trip

The cave trip was outstanding. The children were beautifully behaved. I was impressed with how nimble they were on the steps. I always am. There are 300 + steps that wind down through deep holes. The cave shafts that can be seen from the stairs are remarkably round and quite dramatic.

One of our parents had the new awakening nightmare that suddenly she was really scared. Claustrophobia nailed her staunchly in the will. But she continued on. One of the other guests asked about earthquakes, and the ranger said that we probably wouldn't feel it down there. I wondered about the New Madrid Fault giving us a good shake, and interesting, so did Miss Molly, but we tucked that nightmare into our back pockets and continued on.

The cave is really quite interesting, but this time it seemed sterile. It’s dark and mysterious, but the 128 living species that inhabit it remain remote, unlike the species that inhabit a forest. I suppose there are some things to be grateful for.

Living so close to the cave means the children should experience it if at all possible. Today we will talk about the earth, caves, rocks and formations.

While we were in the cave, I mentioned to Morgan S that I was sure she should stay in the cave and be the bat girl. She was absolutely delighted. She advanced on an unsuspecting ranger and said, “Miss Judy said I can spend the night here; could you leave the lights on for me?” Morgan is just wonderful.

Next stop? It’s Garden of the Gods in Illinois. It’s a shorter trip. You can use the link on the links column right here on the blog.