Friday, June 29, 2007

The Garden School Tattler



This has been an interesting week for me personally. A very close friend of thirty years, Vivie Dunn, died this week suddenly. She was not ill. She had watched my family grow up and marry and make their way in the world. She was a fixture in our lives and someone we loved dearly.

On Saturday, she went to visit a friend and had a stroke. By Sunday, it looked hopeless. Tuesday morning she died quietly. Vivie lived right next door and not only did we share a lot of laughs and a lot of tears over the years, we shared life. We talked about life as a thing to embrace, a thing to find great joy over.

Vivie loved children and the one thing she always wanted in her life was someone special to love her and to think she was wonderful. There are a lot of people who love Vivie and think she's wonderful, but she had to share them. She wanted someone just for herself. Vivie loved children but never had any of her own. She shared mine and many other children in her life.

Vivie used to come to the school and do presentations on insects. She was an entomologist and had a degree in zoology. She was interesting and fun and the kids loved her.

It's hard to let go of someone and something like her presence in my life. She will be missed.

The people in our lives are the most precious part of our lives. Sometimes we take for granted presences that simply one day vanish. I'm sure I did that.

Children grow up quickly and then make their way in the world. Enjoy today what you have today and make the most of it. The little boy that Vivie and I shared, my son, will be 36 this year.

Think today of those people you love and embrace them.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

The Garden School Tattler




We had an outstanding day at the pool yesterday. It was hot! And the kids really enjoyed the water. We had three graduates to the swimming end - Nikolai, Eli, and Khalik. They were able to jump in and swim enough to make it safe for them to swim in deeper water. I was really surprised by Nikolai who is only four. He's quite a little swimmer. We went over to the board, but it's just a little beyond his reach.

I took Addie and Alexis to the deeper end, but they are still swimming perpendicularly and need to lengthen out before they are safe enough in deeper water. Giovanni and Braedon are still clingy as well. They love the attention of jumping off the side and paddling, but when I, as buoy, get in the way, they are just not ready.

Most of the children are making their own way nicely. Sometimes a little help is all they need.

We stayed in the pool until 12:30 and then made our way over to the picnic area. It wasn't long before the pool was closed because of weather. We played about an hour at the picnic area which was nice because everyone else went home. Then we climbed back on the bus and got home just before the rain. It was a splendid day.

One of the locals was kind of rude to us, and this is something we have to face nearly every year. The resentment that we are there is very high. I've been told since 1983 when I started taking groups of children to the pool that we have no right to be there - that we are riff raff and that these "day care" kids belong in "day care." My response is always the same: The children at the Garden School make a bigger investment in the Newburgh Pool any day we come than all of them combined. Yesterday we had 46 people at the pool and we paid for that. If they really think that because parents work and contribute to the workforce, and actually make places like the Newburgh Pool possible through taxes, that their children should be barred from swimming, they better think it through again. If they want places like our pool to remain open, they need to remain open to the school children!

And just a note for parents: Our children are the best behaved children at the pool. They are very courteous and considerate. So hurray for us.

Today is another swim day and then Friday we have this marvelous tour at the Freedom Festival, so we will get to see the air show plus see the boats "up close and personal." Not sure where we will go for our picnic, and then we're off to see the airplanes at the airport. We usually get to tour inside the planes and then there's this great air slide! Then... we'll stop for ice cream. What a day!

Monday, June 25, 2007

The Garden School Tattler




Mondays are wild in early childhood places. Children come to school with a variety of weekend activities and degrees of exhaustion. Parents seem to think that they get all their child's energy the weekend and teachers think that we get to spend most of that energy during the week, and often children are just plain loopy by Monday morning. Good day to stay at school.

Disciplines are at odds during the weekend too, and it shows on Monday morning. The "I don't have to," and "I can get away with..." and "Don't look at me because I want to do something I know I'm not supposed to" all fly like big flags on Monday morning.

Eating is down when kids are tired, and even the most kiddie friendly meal is often bypassed because it's not junk.

I asked one of the kids what her favorite at home meal was, and she told me chicken noodle soup. Please remember that most canned soup has not enough nutritional value to count as a food. If this is what is the whole of a child's dinner, it's really worth reconsidering.

Today, the older girls strung beads and made necklaces. They seemed to like the process, so I'll get more beads and we'll do it again. I bought those assorted glass beads because they are pretty and oddly shaped. If anyone has any old jewelry they'd like to donate, please pass it along!

Tomorrow and Wednesday we will be off to the pool.

Packing Children's Lunches for Camp?




Comment: Here's an article from Baby Fit that makes a lot of sense when it comes to packing lunches for children going off to summer camp or their parents. With childhood obesity as prevalent as it is, making healthy choices is important from the beginning!

Fun and Filling Lunches To-Go

Brown Bags Don't Have to be Boring
-- By Rebecca Pratt, Staff Writer

It's Sunday night and, like millions of workers and students across the land, you're once again rummaging through a cluttered refrigerator looking for something appetizing to pack for tomorrow's lunch. Or worse, it's Monday morning, and you're grabbing whatever you can find-often predictable and boring, and not necessarily nutritious.

If this sounds like you, perk up! With just a bit of planning, you can pack a lunch with both nutrition and pizzazz. Try these tips to make your lunch-to-go filling and fun:

Pick a variety of foods.
Include items with fiber, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and crackers. Try to incorporate foods from at least three of the four major food groups: dairy, protein, fruits and vegetables, and bread and grains.

Choose healthier alternatives as much as possible.
Go for less processed foods, which are lower in sodium, fat, and sugar. For example, a fresh apple is better than apple juice or apple pie; a turkey sandwich is leaner than a high-fat, bologna sandwich. When choosing chips or other salty snacks, go for baked rather than fried.

Convert leftovers into healthy lunch items.
Last night's pork roast can be cut up into chunks, then mixed with rice and vegetables for a satisfying midday meal. Access to a refrigerator and a microwave mean even more choices: you can have soup (look for low-fat, low-sodium brands or bring your own healthy homemade) or a salad with such touches as apples, raisins, sunflowers, nuts, jalapeno peppers, chickpeas, beans, cauliflower, corn or other vegetables.

Think both thirst and nutrition when it comes to beverages.
Low fat or skim milk boasts protein, calcium, and riboflavin; fruit juices (look for 100 percent juice) have various vitamins and minerals as do vegetable juices, but beware-they're often saturated with sodium. Likewise, beware of sugary fruit drinks (whose vitamins comes from fortification). But try not to forget that old standby, water-the healthiest drink of all.

Break out of predictable patterns.
The old sandwich, chips, and cookie combo is a hard routine to break. Instead, vary the items you pack from each food group. Instead of basic white bread, for example, try bagels, rolls, tortillas, pitas, English muffins, or multigrain bread. For meat, swap a veggie sandwich made with green onions, carrots, artichokes, or cucumber slices. Vary condiments and spreads too-try yogurt or hummus spreads, which not only have high nutritional value but are also a tasty change of pace.

Pamper your taste buds.
If the thought of plain produce makes you cringe, try pairing raw vegetables or fresh fruits with appealing condiments, such as yogurt or ranch dip, cream cheese, etc.

Avoid prepackaged cheese-and-crackers and similar treats.
Besides being overpriced, they're generally high in sodium, fat and calories. Instead, create your own! This way you know exactly what you're getting, and you can choose healthier versions, such as wheat crackers.

Making your midday meal a healthy one can be a challenge, especially if you're stuck at the office. But with a little planning and a dollop of creativity, you can enjoy a nutritious break-one that'll fuel you throughout the rest of your hectic day.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Shiitake Mushrooms

The World's Healthiest Foods
The George Mateljan Foundation is a non-profit organization free of commercial influence, which provides this website for you free of charge. Our purpose is to provide you with unbiased scientific information about how nutrient-rich World's Healthiest Foods can promote vibrant health and energy and fit your personal needs and busy lifestyle.


Comment: great new food for the kids?


Mushrooms, shiitake
Mushrooms, shiitake

Long a symbol of longevity in Asia because of their health-promoting properties, shiitake mushrooms have been used medicinally by the Chinese for more than 6,000 years. More recently, their rich, smoky flavor has endeared them to American taste buds and these exotic hearty mushrooms can now be found in supermarket shelves across the U.S. throughout the year.

Like other mushrooms, these specialty mushrooms are as mysteriously unique as they are delicious. While often thought of as a vegetable and prepared like one, mushrooms are actually a fungus, a special type of living organism that has no roots, leaves, flowers or seeds.

Food Chart

Health Benefits

A symbol of longevity in Asia because of their health-promoting properties, Shiitake mushrooms have been used medicinally by the Chinese for more than 6,000 years. Now that their rich, smoky flavor has endeared them to American tastebuds, these exotic hearty mushrooms can be found in supermarket shelves across the U.S.

Invigorate Your Immune System

Recent studies have traced shiitakes' legendary benefits to an active compound contained in these mushrooms called lentinan. Among lentinan's healing benefits is its ability to power up the immune system, strengthening its ability to fight infection and disease. Against influenza and other viruses, lentinan has been shown to be even more effective than prescription drugs; it even improves the immune status of individuals infected with HIV, the virus that can cause AIDS.

Promote Optimal Health

Lentinan, which is technically classified as a polysaccharide and referred to as a branched beta-glucan, has also been shown to have anti-cancer activity. When lentinan was given for human gastric cancer, reticular fibers developed in tumor sites. Reticular cells, which are spread throughout the body in various tissues, are immune cells that have the ability to ingest (phagocytose) bacteria, particulate matter, and worn out or cancerous cells. When lentinan was administered, not only was there a proliferation of reticular cells in gastric tumor sites, but many T lymphocytes (another type of immune defender) were drawn to these cancer sites with the result that the cancer cell nests were fragmented and destroyed.

A Hearty Mushroom That's Good for Your Heart

A large number of animal studies conducted over the last ten years have shown that another active component in shiitake mushrooms called eritadenine lowers cholesterol levels-and this amazing compound lowers cholesterol no matter what types of dietary fats the lab animals are given. Even when lab animals are given dietary protein rich in methionine (an amino acid researchers have found causes an increase in cholesterol formation), eritadenine still lowers plasma cholesterol levels in a dose-dependent manner. In other words, the more eritadenine given, the more cholesterol levels drop.

Shiitake Mushrooms Found to be Top Food Source of Potent Antioxidant

L-ergothioneine, a powerful antioxidant, has been discovered in mushrooms, thanks to a new analytical method capable of identifying this antioxidant in plant material. In research presented at the 2005 American Chemical Society meeting in Washington, D.C., an American research team revealed that mushrooms contain higher concentrations L-ergothioneine than either of the two dietary sources previously believed to contain the most: chicken liver and wheat germ.

Testing mushrooms consumed in the U.S., the team found that shiitake, oyster, king oyster and maitake mushrooms contain the highest amounts of ergothioneine, with up to 13 mg in a 3-ounce serving. This equals forty times as much as is found in wheat germ.

Of the most commonly consumed mushrooms, portabellas and criminis have the most L-ergothioneine, followed by white buttons. White buttons, the most popular of all mushrooms consumed in the U.S., contain up to 5 mg per three ounce serving-12 times as much as wheat germ and 4 times more than chicken liver. And more good news, L-ergothioneine is not destroyed when mushrooms are cooked.

Description

Although numerous types of mushrooms provide wonderful tastes, textures and healthful properties, shiitake mushrooms have been recently receiving widespread attention and, as a result, are increasingly available in the marketplace.

Like other mushrooms, shiitakes are as mysteriously unique as they are delicious. While often thought of as a vegetable and prepared like one, mushrooms are actually fungi, a special type of living organism that has no roots, leaves, flowers or seeds.

Shiitake mushrooms have brown, slightly convex caps that range in diameter from about two to four inches in diameter. The scientific name for shiitake mushroom is Lentinus edodes.

Other mushrooms with Asian roots that are also becoming more popular are reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) and maitake (Grifola frondosa). Reishi mushrooms usually have an antler or rounded, fan shape; the most popular type of reishi is red in color, although that is just one of the six colors in which they grow. Maitake mushrooms grow in a formation of clustered brownish fronds of fan-shaped petals and are commonly known as "Hen of the Woods." These types of mushrooms are available in food markets specializing in Asian foods.

History

Shiitake (as well as reishi and maitake) mushrooms have grown wild since prehistoric times. Their therapeutic value has been prized in Asian countries, where they originated, for thousands of years. They play a critical role in Asian medicinal traditions and were noted in some of the first books on herbal medicine written thousands of years ago. In the past few decades, these mushrooms have become more popular in the United States as a result of an expanding body of scientific research supporting their numerous health benefits. In addition to China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, these mushrooms are currently cultivated in a host of other countries including the United States.

How to Select and Store

Shiitake mushrooms are available in many grocery stores throughout the country. If your local store does not carry fresh reishi or maitake mushrooms, investigate the Asian food stores in your area as they oftentimes carry these specialty mushrooms.

Look for mushrooms that are firm, plump and clean. Those that are wrinkled or have wet slimy spots should be avoided.

The best way to store loose shiitake, maitake or reishi mushrooms is to keep them in the refrigerator in a loosely closed paper bag. They will keep fresh for about one week. Dried mushrooms should be stored in a tightly sealed container in either the refrigerator or freezer where they will stay fresh for six months to one year.

How to Enjoy

For some of our favorite recipes, click Recipes.

Tips for Preparing Shiitake Mushrooms:

Mushrooms are very porous, so if they are exposed to too much water they will quickly absorb it and become soggy. Therefore, the best way to clean mushrooms without sacrificing their texture and taste is to clean them using minimal, if any, water. To do this, simply wipe them with a slightly damp paper towel or kitchen cloth. You could also use a mushroom brush, available at most kitchenware stores.

If the fresh mushrooms become dried out because of being stored for too long, soak them in water for thirty minutes.

A Few Quick Serving Ideas:

Shiitake mushrooms are traditionally added to miso soup.

Healthy sauté mushrooms with onions and garlic. Serve as a side dish or as a topping for chicken, beef, lamb or venison.

To give your vegetable stock an extra depth, add dried shiitake mushrooms.

For a quick and easy Asian pasta dish, healthy sauté shiitake mushrooms with snap peas and tofu. Season to taste and serve over buckwheat soba noodles (or your favorite type of pasta).

Safety

Shiitake Mushrooms and Purines
Shiitake mushrooms contain naturally-occurring substances called purines. Purines are commonly found in plants, animals, and humans. In some individuals who are susceptible to purine-related problems, excessive intake of these substances can cause health problems. Since purines can be broken down to form uric acid, excess accumulation of purines in the body can lead to excess accumulation of uric acid. The health condition called "gout" and the formation of kidney stones from uric acid are two examples of uric acid-related problems that can be related to excessive intake of purine-containing foods. For this reason, individuals with kidney problems or gout may want to limit or avoid intake of purine-containing foods such as shiitake mushrooms. For more on this subject, please see "What are purines and in which foods are they found?"

Nutritional Profile

Shiitake mushrooms are an excellent source of selenium and a very good source of iron. They are also a good source of protein, dietary fiber and vitamin C.

For an in-depth nutritional profile click here: Shiitake mushrooms.

In-Depth Nutritional Profile

In addition to the nutrients highlighted in our ratings chart, an in-depth nutritional profile for Mushrooms, shiitake is also available. This profile includes information on a full array of nutrients, including carbohydrates, sugar, soluble and insoluble fiber, sodium, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids and more.

Introduction to Food Rating System Chart

The following chart shows the nutrients for which this food is either an excellent, very good or good source. Next to the nutrient name you will find the following information: the amount of the nutrient that is included in the noted serving of this food; the %Daily Value (DV) that that amount represents; the nutrient density rating; and the food's World's Healthiest Foods Rating. Underneath the chart is a table that summarizes how the ratings were devised. Read detailed information on our Food and Recipe Rating System.

Shiitake mushrooms, raw
8.00 oz-wt
226.80 grams
87.23 calories
NutrientAmountDV
(%)
Nutrient
Density
World's Healthiest
Foods Rating
iron3.59 mg19.94.1very good
vitamin C5.98 mg10.02.1good
protein4.98 g10.02.1good
dietary fiber2.49 g10.02.1good
World's Healthiest
Foods Rating
Rule
excellentDV>=75%ORDensity>=7.6ANDDV>=10%
very goodDV>=50%ORDensity>=3.4ANDDV>=5%
goodDV>=25%ORDensity>=1.5ANDDV>=2.5%
In Depth Nutritional Profile for Mushrooms, shiitake

Friday, June 22, 2007

From Baby Fit



Body Beautiful from the Inside-Out

Make a Healthy Diet Your Beauty Secret
-- By Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian

Make a promise to your skin today to keep it nourished and rejuvenated from the inside out! Having healthy skin year-round begins with the foods you eat and drink. To get skin that you will be confident to show off every season of the year, devote some time each day to getting the necessary nutrients to stay hydrated and fight the signs of aging.
  • Drink plenty of water. While the exact amount you should drink each day varies, no one can dispute the role of good hydration in keeping your skin looking healthy, young, and radiant. Experts agree that when the hydration comes from pure, clean water-NOT soda and fruit drinks-the skin cells rejoice! Aim for six to eight glasses every day.
  • Limit alcohol. Avoid all alcohol if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
  • Sip green tea daily. This beverage contains polyphenols, which have anti-inflammatory properties that protect and benefit the skin's overall health. Enjoy one or two cups per day. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, consult your health care provider first.
  • Avoid simple carbohydrates. Foods such as cookies, pies, cakes, candies, and pastries can increase acne breakouts due to insulin spikes.
  • Nourish your skin. Eating healthy foods can protect, repair, and slow the aging process. Check out the chart below for the top ten nutrients that provide beauty benefits.

Nutrient

Beauty Benefits

Food Sources

Vitamin A

Keeps skin soft and supple.


Repairs skin cells and tissue.

May help with acne control.

yellow vegetables and fruits, apricots, carrots, spinach, pumpkin, cantaloupe, milk, yogurt, cheese

Vitamin C

Helps counter the effects of sun damage, smoking exposure, and pollution.

Assists in collagen production, giving skin strength and elasticity.

broccoli, bell peppers, citrus fruits, kiwi, strawberries, cabbage, pineapple, tomatoes, dark green leafy vegetables

Vitamin E

Helps counter the effects of sun damage, smoking exposure, and pollution.

Improves skin texture and helps prevent wrinkles.

almonds, avocadoes, peanuts, nuts, seeds, olives, asparagus, wheat germ, soybean and corn oils, dark green leafy vegetables

Biotin

Helps produce nails, skin, and hair cells.

Deficiency can cause dermatitis and hair loss.

cooked eggs, rice bran, nuts, wheat-germ, meats, oatmeal

Niacin Smoothes dry, flaky skin.

meats, pork, poultry, fish, legumes

Selenium

May help prevent skin cancer.

Helps counter the effects of sun damage, smoking exposure, and pollution.

Produces healthy skin cells.

whole-grain products, seafood, meats, eggs

Copper Forms elastic fibers that support the skin structure.

meats, nuts, seafood, dried beans and peas

Zinc

Can help control oil production and reduce acne lesions.

A deficiency can bring on acne.

wheat germ, meat, poultry, legumes, fish and seafood, whole-grains, eggs

Essential Fatty Acids

Helps produce the skin's healthy, natural oil barrier.

Lubricates skin.

A deficiency can result in white heads and inflammation.

cold water fish, salmon, sardines, mackerel, flaxseed oil, safflower oil, canola oil, olive oil, walnuts

Antioxidants Anti-inflammatory properties protect the membranes of skin cells.

green tea, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries


The real secret to beauty is no secret at all. Eating these healthy foods will provide the nourishment your skin needs daily, from the inside out. It is the first step to soft, supple skin and a glowing, radiant you!

The Garden School Tattler




Wednesday was a great day at the pool. More and more of the children are beginning to really get into the water and try to swim. The first step of course is putting heads under the water. This is very scary for children, and they have to practice and practice. Right now, all but about five children are afraid to go under. Phoebe is our swimmer of the week. She's three and can go under and stay under until she's darned ready to come up!

So far, Madison, Jasmin, Dawson, Adyson, Dhezmond, Jack, Morgan S, Hannah, Aidan, and Alexis D have graduated to the big pool. I tried to get Adyson to jump into the deep end, but he's still a little nervous. I'll give him another week, and we'll see what he wants to do.

Yesterday we worked with Master Gardeners all morning on the garden and it looks beautiful. India got the Gardener's Award for best service - she's two! Please check out the gardens!

In the afternoon, Mrs. St. Louis did and art lesson with the kids, and we had pizza for lunch and went out and got soaked with squirt guns. It was so dry, the kids dried off right away.

Today we are off the the zoo. At 5:45 as I write this, it looks questionable. If it clears, we'll stop at Price Park for lunch and a run.

Next week we will go over the the Freedom Festival and then out to the air show at the airport. The kids always love this. We'll try to take in some ice cream if it's hot. Sometimes when you buy ice cream for kids on a long hot field trip, they won't eat it. I can remember a lot of times when we threw away as much as we bought, and so we stopped doing it. Last week we stopped in Mount Vernon and the kids loved it, so once again it's a go.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Home and Garden Question




Comment: I got this from the Master Gardeners who are helping us with our summer program. I thought some of you home gardeners would find it informative:

TURF TIP
06/15/2007

Facts and Advice on Turf Survival in Drought

There are many questions about turf survival in drought with the on-going drought in most parts of the state. Though we understand many of the mechanisms turf survival in drought, it's hard to duplicate all of the potential situations on research plots across the country and it's difficult to give definite “black and white” recommendations for every given situation. Following are facts supported by research but also some statements that are supported by experience and anecdotal evidence where appropriate.

Facts

•Though turfgrasses perform best with enough regular irrigation during the summer to keep them green and growing, they are very capable of surviving without rain or irrigation.
•Turfgrasses perform much better under slightly dry conditions than under wet or saturated conditions.
•Turfgrass dormancy (brown turf) is a survival mechanisms allowing survival up to up to 5-8 weeks without irrigation/precipitation without significant thinning upon recovery from dormancy. This would be under ideal conditions of no regular traffic, good soil, moderate temperatures, no shade, minimum thatch, etc. However, survival is affected by species, age, shade, maintenance (low mowing and/or scalping, too much nitrogen fertilizer in spring, not enough in fall), traffic, heat, etc., etc.; so optimum survival may not occur on your particular area.

Deciding to water or not

  • •Many turf areas should be allowed to go dormant, especially in the Indianapolis area where water pressure is limiting.

  • •Turfgrasses that are trafficked during drought conditions (golf courses, athletic fields, etc) MUST be irrigated regularly to maintain performance and prevent widespread turf damage.
    •Turf areas established this spring or late last fall should be irrigated because they have not developed extensive root systems.

Advice if you choose to water

  • •Since all turfgrasses perform best on the dry side, water thoroughly to wet the soil to the depth of the deepest root (maybe 2-4“ into the soil) and then don't water again until you see the turf turning a bluish-gray in the heat of the afternoon (the first sign of drought stress).

  • •Try to expand the number of days between irrigation cycles, you'll likely be surprised on how long the turf can go without signs of drought stress.
  • •Consider purchasing a rain sensor for your automatic irrigation system to prevent watering during or after rain events. Also use the irrigation budgeting features of your irrigation system.

  • •Check your irrigation system for improperly aimed sprinklers, non-turning sprinklers, evenness of distribution, etc. This is true for automatic as well as hose-end sprinklers. This will improve the efficiency of irrigation and cut down on water use.
    •Aerify regularly with hollow tines to improve water penetration into the soil.

  • •Water between 5:00 and 8:00 am to improve efficiency because of less evaporation and wind distortion. Irrigating early in the water does not favor disease. The second best time is between 7:00 and 10:00 pm, but this tends to favor diseases.

Advice if you choose not to water

  • •Stay off the turf! Limit traffic (including mowing) to minimize crushing of the turfgrass leaves and crowns.

  • •Water once every 4 weeks with ¼ to ½ inch of water to keep turf plant crowns hydrated. This amount of water should not green up the turf, but it will increase its long-term survival.
    •Avoid the temptation to apply herbicides even though weedy species may become more obvious in a dormant (brown) lawn. Herbicides are ineffective on drought-stressed weeds and can be damaging on drought-stressed turf.

  • •Professionals might consider applying 0.75 lbs N/1000 ft 2 with a 60-75% slow release N source. This should help to speed recovery when rains resume.
    •Turf should recover in 1-2 weeks after significant rainfall returns.
    •Aggressive fall fertilization may be needed after the rains return and turf recovers. Applications of 1.0 lb N/1000 ft 2 in Sep, Oct, and Nov. can help thinned turf fill-in quickly.
    •Overseeding may also be necessary this fall after the turf recovers. Overseed if baseball-sized patches are open in perennial ryegrass or softball-sized patches in Kentucky bluegrass Use our web page at http://www.agry.purdue.edu/turf/tool/index.html to help identify grasses.

Monday, June 18, 2007

The Garden School Tattler




Last Friday we went to New Harmony to tour the old town and enjoy Pioneer Days. The children couldn't have cared less about butter churning, candle making or bread baking, but they loved the Dark Garden and they loved the Roofless Church and they loved the maze. It was very hot and they did remarkably well - no complaints. They seemed to love being out.

We had a few poorly behaved children who found out quickly that behavior either wins extras or loses ordinary things. By the end of the trip, those who were experimenting in selfish behavior changed quickly.

We picnicked at the city park and there was a huge Fortress of Fun there. The children played vigorously in the heat. We ate our usual choice of tortilla sandwich, had milk or water and the usual carrots and pickles and Miss Grace brought a lovely fruit pocket of strawberries and oranges and raisins. We brought cookies and watermelon, but the watermelon went un-carved.

On the way home, Miss Grace called Dairy Queen from the bus and ordered ice cream for everyone and we stopped in Mt. Vernon and then were late to return home.

All in all it was a fun day. I think the kids really enjoyed it.

This week swimming on Tuesday and Wednesday and then it's off to the Zoo on Friday. We were going to go out to the wetlands but considering the weather, the bugs and the drought, it's probably a better bet to make up that date.

Figs

From World's Healthiest Foods

Figs
Figs

Although dried figs are available throughout the year, there is nothing like the unique taste and texture of fresh figs. They are lusciously sweet with a texture that combines the chewiness of their flesh, the smoothness of their skin, and the crunchiness of their seeds. California figs are available from June through September; some European varieties are available through autumn.

Figs grow on the Ficus tree (Ficus carica), which is a member of the Mulberry family. They are unique in that they have an opening, called the "ostiole" or "eye," which is not connected to the tree, but which helps the fruit's development by increasing its communication with the environment. Figs range dramatically in color and subtly in texture depending upon the variety. The majority of figs are dried, either by exposure to sunlight or through an artificial process, creating a sweet and nutritious dried fruit that can be enjoyed throughout the year.

Food Chart

Health Benefits

Help Lower High Blood Pressure

Figs are a good source of potassium, a mineral that helps to control blood pressure. Since many people not only do not eat enough fruits and vegetables, but do consume high amounts of sodium as salt is frequently added to processed foods, they may be deficient in potassium. Low intake of potassium-rich foods, especially when coupled with a high intake of sodium, can lead to hypertension. In the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) study, one group ate servings of fruits and vegetables in place of snacks and sweets, and also ate low-fat dairy food. This diet delivered more potassium, magnesium and calcium. Another group ate a "usual" diet low in fruits and vegetables with a fat content like that found in the average American Diet. After eight weeks, the group that ate the enhanced diet lowered their blood pressure by an average of 5.5 points (systolic) over 3.0 points (diastolic).

A Sweet Way to Lose Weight

Figs are a good source of dietary fiber. Fiber and fiber-rich foods may have a positive effect on weight management. In one study, women who increased their fiber intake with supplements significantly decreased their energy intake, yet their hunger and satiety scores did not change. Figs, like other high fiber foods, may be helpful in a weight management program.

An Insulin-Lowering Leaf in Diabetes

You probably do not think about the leaves of the fig tree as one of fig's edible parts. But in some cultures, fig leaves are a common part of the menu, and for good reason. The leaves of the fig have repeatedly been shown to have antidiabetic properties and can actually reduce the amount of insulin needed by persons with diabetes who require insulin injections. In one study, a liquid extract made from fig leaves was simply added to the breakfast of insulin-dependent diabetic subjects in order to produce this insulin-lowering effect.

Bone Density Promoter

Figs are a fruit source of calcium (79 milligrams in an 8 oz-wt serving), a mineral that has many functions including promoting bone density. Additionally, figs' potassium may also counteract the increased urinary calcium loss caused by the high-salt diets typical of most Americans, thus helping to further prevent bones from thinning out at a fast rate.

Cardiovascular Effects

In animal studies, fig leaves have been shown to lower levels of triglycerides (a form in which fats circulate in the bloodstream), while in in vitro studies, fig leaves inhibited the growth of certain types of cancer cells. Researchers have not yet determined exactly which substances in fig leaves are responsible for these remarkable healing effects. Besides their potassium and fiber content, figs emerged from our food ranking system as a good source of the trace mineral manganese.

Protection against Macular Degeneration

Your mother may have told you carrots would keep your eyes bright as a child, but as an adult, it looks like fruit is even more important for keeping your sight. Data reported in a study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology indicates that eating 3 or more servings of fruit per day may lower your risk of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), the primary cause of vision loss in older adults, by 36%, compared to persons who consume less than 1.5 servings of fruit daily.

In this study, which involved over 100,00 women and men, researchers evaluated the effect of study participants' consumption of fruits; vegetables; the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E; and carotenoids on the development of early ARMD or neovascular ARMD, a more severe form of the illness associated with vision loss. Food intake information was collected periodically for up to 18 years for women and 12 years for men.

While, surprisingly, intakes of vegetables, antioxidant vitamins and carotenoids were not strongly related to incidence of either form of ARMD, fruit intake was definitely protective against the severe form of this vision-destroying disease. Three servings of fruit may sound like a lot to eat each day, but by simply tossing a banana into your morning smoothie or slicing it over your cereal, topping off a cup of yogurt or green salad with a couple of diced figs, and snacking on an apple, plum, nectarine or pear, you've reached this goal.

Description

Figs are not only the main ingredient in a very popular cookie, the fig bar, but are a culinary delicacy par excellence. Part of the wonder of the fig comes from its unique taste and texture. Figs are lusciously sweet and feature a complex texture that combines the chewiness of their flesh, the smoothness of their skin, and the crunchiness of their seeds. In addition, since fresh figs are so delicate and perishable, some of their mystique comes from their relative rarity. Because of this, the majority of figs are dried, either by exposure to sunlight or through an artificial process, creating a sweet and nutritious dried fruit that can be enjoyed throughout the year.

Figs grow on the Ficus tree (Ficus carica), which is a member of the Mulberry family. They are unique in that they have an opening, called the "ostiole" or "eye," which is not connected to the tree, but which helps the fruit's development, aiding it in communication with the environment.

Figs range dramatically in color and subtly in texture depending upon the variety, of which there are more than one hundred and fifty. Some of the most popular varieties are:

  • Black Mission: blackish-purple skin and pink colored flesh
  • Kadota: green skin and purplish flesh
  • Calimyrna: greenish-yellow skin and amber flesh
  • Brown Turkey: purple skin and red flesh
  • Adriatic: the variety most often used to make fig bars, which has a light green skin and pink-tan flesh

History

Figs can trace their history back to the earliest of times with mentions in the Bible and other ancient writings. They are thought to have been first cultivated in Egypt. They spread to ancient Crete and then subsequently, around the 9th century BC, to ancient Greece, where they became a staple foodstuff in the traditional diet. Figs were held in such esteem by the Greeks that they created laws forbidding the export of the best quality figs. Figs were also revered in ancient Rome where they were thought of as a sacred fruit. According to Roman myth, the wolf that nurtured the twin founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, rested under a fig tree. During this period of history, at least 29 varieties of figs were already known.

Figs were later introduced to other regions of the Mediterranean by ancient conquerors and then brought to the Western Hemisphere by the Spaniards in the early 16th century. In the late 19th century, when Spanish missionaries established the mission in San Diego, California, they also planted fig trees. These figs turned out to be inferior in quality to those that were imported from Europe, and it wasn't until the development of further cultivation techniques in the early 20th century that California began focused cultivation and processing of figs. Today, California remains one of the largest producers of figs in addition to Turkey, Greece, Portugal and Spain.

How to Select and Store

Since fresh figs are one of the most perishable fruits, they should be purchased only a day or two in advance of when you are planning on eating them. Look for figs that have a rich, deep color and are plump and tender, but not mushy. They should have firm stems and be free of bruises. Smelling figs can also give you clues into their freshness and taste. They should have a mildly sweet fragrance and should not smell sour, which is an indication that they may be spoiled.

California figs are available from June through September with the exact timing varying with the variety. Some European figs are often available throughout autumn. When purchasing dried figs, make sure that they are still relatively soft, free of mold, and have a mellow, pleasant smell. Dried figs are available throughout the year.

Ripe figs should be kept in the refrigerator where they will stay fresh for about two days. Since they have a delicate nature and can easily bruise, you should store them either arranged on a paper towel-lined plate or shallow container. They should be covered or wrapped in order to ensure that they do not dry out, get crushed or pick up odors from neighboring foods. If you have purchased slightly under-ripe figs, you should keep them on a plate, at room temperature, away from direct sunlight. Dried figs will stay fresh for several months and can either be kept in a cool, dark place or stored in the refrigerator. They should be well wrapped so that they are not over exposed to air that may cause them to become hard or dry.

How to Enjoy

For some of our favorite recipes, click Recipes.

Tips for Preparing Figs

Before eating or cooking figs, wash them under cool water and then gently remove the stem. Gently wipe dry.

Dried figs can simply be eaten, used in a recipe as is, or simmered for several minutes in water or fruit juice to make them plumper and juicier.

A Few Quick Serving Ideas:

When preparing oatmeal or any other whole grain breakfast porridge, add some dried or fresh figs.

Poach figs in juice or red wine and serve with yogurt or frozen desserts.

Add quartered figs to a salad of fennel, arugula and shaved Parmesan cheese.

Fresh figs stuffed with goat cheese and chopped almonds can be served as hors d'oeuvres or desserts.

Safety

Figs and Oxalates

Figs are among a small number of foods that contain measurable amounts of oxalates, naturally-occurring substances found in plants, animals, and human beings. When oxalates become too concentrated in body fluids, they can crystallize and cause health problems. For this reason, individuals with already existing and untreated kidney or gallbladder problems may want to avoid eating figs.

Laboratory studies have shown that oxalates may also interfere with absorption of calcium from the body. Yet, in every peer-reviewed research study we've seen, the ability of oxalates to lower calcium absorption is relatively small and definitely does not outweigh the ability of oxalate-containing foods to contribute calcium to the meal plan. If your digestive tract is healthy, and you do a good job of chewing and relaxing while you enjoy your meals, you will get significant benefits - including absorption of calcium - from calcium-rich foods plant foods that also contain oxalic acid. Ordinarily, a healthcare practitioner would not discourage a person focused on ensuring that they are meeting their calcium requirements from eating these nutrient-rich foods because of their oxalate content. For more on this subject, please see "Can you tell me what oxalates are and in which foods they can be found?"

Dried Figs and Sulfites

Commercially grown dried figs may be treated with sulfur dioxide gas during processing. They may also be treated with sulfites to extend their shelf life.

Sulfur-containing compounds are often added to dried foods like figs as preservatives to help prevent oxidation and bleaching of colors. The sulfites used to help preserve dried figs cause adverse reactions in an estimated one out of every 100 people, who turn out to be sulfite sensitive.

Sulfite reactions can be particularly acute in people who suffer from asthma. The Federal Food and Drug Administration estimates that 5 percent of asthmatics may suffer a reaction when exposed to sulfites.

Foods that are classified as "organic" do not contain sulfites since federal regulations prohibit the use of these preservatives in organically grown or produced foods. Therefore, concern about sulfite exposure is yet another reason to purchase organic foods.

Nutritional Profile

Figs are a good source of dietary fiber, potassium and manganese.

For an in-depth nutritional profile click here: Figs.

In-Depth Nutritional Profile

In addition to the nutrients highlighted in our ratings chart, an in-depth nutritional profile for Figs is also available. This profile includes information on a full array of nutrients, including carbohydrates, sugar, soluble and insoluble fiber, sodium, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids and more.

Introduction to Food Rating System Chart

The following chart shows the nutrients for which this food is either an excellent, very good or good source. Next to the nutrient name you will find the following information: the amount of the nutrient that is included in the noted serving of this food; the %Daily Value (DV) that that amount represents; the nutrient density rating; and the food's World's Healthiest Foods Rating. Underneath the chart is a table that summarizes how the ratings were devised. Read detailed information on our Food and Recipe Rating System.

Figs, fresh
8.00 oz-wt
226.80 grams
167.83 calories
NutrientAmountDV
(%)
Nutrient
Density
World's Healthiest
Foods Rating
dietary fiber7.48 g29.93.2good
potassium526.18 mg15.01.6good
manganese0.29 mg14.51.6good
World's Healthiest
Foods Rating
Rule
excellentDV>=75%ORDensity>=7.6ANDDV>=10%
very goodDV>=50%ORDensity>=3.4ANDDV>=5%
goodDV>=25%ORDensity>=1.5ANDDV>=2.5%
In Depth Nutritional Profile for Figs

Saturday, June 16, 2007

From the New York Times



Comment: This is an excellent article.

June 3, 2007

When Should a Kid Start Kindergarten?

Correction Appended

According to the apple-or-coin test, used in the Middle Ages, children should start school when they are mature enough for the delayed gratification and abstract reasoning involved in choosing money over fruit. In 15th- and 16th-century Germany, parents were told to send their children to school when the children started to act “rational.” And in contemporary America, children are deemed eligible to enter kindergarten according to an arbitrary date on the calendar known as the birthday cutoff — that is, when the state, or in some instances the school district, determines they are old enough. The birthday cutoffs span six months, from Indiana, where a child must turn 5 by July 1 of the year he enters kindergarten, to Connecticut, where he must turn 5 by Jan. 1 of his kindergarten year. Children can start school a year late, but in general they cannot start a year early. As a result, when the 22 kindergartners entered Jane Andersen’s class at the Glen Arden Elementary School near Asheville, N.C., one warm April morning, each brought with her or him a snack and a unique set of gifts and challenges, which included for some what’s referred to in education circles as “the gift of time.”

After the morning announcements and the Pledge of Allegiance, Andersen’s kindergartners sat down on a blue rug. Two, one boy and one girl, had been redshirted — the term, borrowed from sports, describes students held out for a year by their parents so that they will be older, or larger, or more mature, and thus better prepared to handle the increased pressures of kindergarten today. Six of Andersen’s pupils, on the other hand, were quite young, so young that they would not be enrolled in kindergarten at all if North Carolina succeeds in pushing back its birthday cutoff from Oct. 16 to Aug. 31.

Andersen is a willowy 11-year teaching veteran who offered up a lot of education in the first hour of class. First she read Leo Lionni’s classic children’s book “An Extraordinary Egg,” and directed a conversation about it. Next she guided the students through: writing a letter; singing a song; solving an addition problem; two more songs; and a math game involving counting by ones, fives and tens using coins. Finally, Andersen read them another Lionni book. Labor economists who study what’s called the accumulation of human capital — how we acquire the knowledge and skills that make us valuable members of society — have found that children learn vastly different amounts from the same classroom experiences and that those with certain advantages at the outset are able to learn more, more quickly, causing the gap between students to increase over time. Gaps in achievement have many causes, but a major one in any kindergarten room is age. Almost all kindergarten classrooms have children with birthdays that span 12 months. But because of redshirting, the oldest student in Andersen’s class is not just 12 but 15 months older than the youngest, a difference in age of 25 percent.

After rug time, Andersen’s kindergartners walked single-file to P.E. class, where the children sat on the curb alongside the parking circle, taking turns running laps for the Presidential Fitness Test. By far the fastest runner was the girl in class who had been redshirted. She strode confidently, with great form, while many of the smaller kids could barely run straight. One of the younger girls pointed out the best artist in the class, a freckly redhead. I’d already noted his beautiful penmanship. He had been redshirted as well.

States, too, are trying to embrace the advantages of redshirting. Since 1975, nearly half of all states have pushed back their birthday cutoffs and four — California, Michigan, North Carolina and Tennessee — have active legislation in state assemblies to do so right now. (Arkansas passed legislation earlier this spring; New Jersey, which historically has let local districts establish their birthday cutoffs, has legislation pending to make Sept. 1 the cutoff throughout the state.) This is due, in part, to the accountability movement — the high-stakes testing now pervasive in the American educational system. In response to this testing, kindergartens across the country have become more demanding: if kids must be performing on standardized tests in third grade, then they must be prepping for those tests in second and first grades, and even at the end of kindergarten, or so the thinking goes. The testing also means that states, like students, now get report cards, and they want their children to do well, both because they want them to be educated and because they want them to stack up favorably against their peers.

Indeed, increasing the average age of the children in a kindergarten class is a cheap and easy way to get a small bump in test scores, because older children perform better, and states’ desires for relative advantage is written into their policy briefs. The California Performance Review, commissioned by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2004, suggested moving California’s birthday cutoff three months earlier, to Sept. 1 from Dec. 2, noting that “38 states, including Florida and Texas, have kindergarten entry dates prior to California’s.” Maryland’s proposal to move its date mentioned that “the change . . . will align the ‘cutoff’ date with most of the other states in the country.”

All involved in increasing the age of kindergartners — parents, legislatures and some teachers — say they have the best interests of children in mind. “If I had just one goal with this piece of legislation it would be to not humiliate a child,” Dale Folwell, the Republican North Carolina state representative who sponsored the birthday-cutoff bill, told me. “Our kids are younger when they’re taking the SAT, and they’re applying to the same colleges as the kids from Florida and Georgia.” Fair enough — governors and state legislators have competitive impulses, too. Still, the question remains: Is it better for children to start kindergarten later? And even if it’s better for a given child, is it good for children in general? Time out of school may not be a gift to all kids. For some it may be a burden, a financial stress on their parents and a chance, before they ever reach a classroom, to fall even further behind.

Redshirting is not a new phenomenon — in fact, the percentage of redshirted children has held relatively steady since education scholars started tracking the practice in the 1980s. Studies by the National Center for Education Statistics in the 1990s show that delayed-entry children made up somewhere between 6 and 9 percent of all kindergartners; a new study is due out in six months. As states roll back birthday cutoffs, there are more older kindergartners in general — and more redshirted kindergartners who are even older than the oldest kindergartners in previous years. Recently, redshirting has become a particular concern, because in certain affluent communities the numbers of kindergartners coming to school a year later are three or four times the national average. “Do you know what the number is in my district?” Representative Folwell, from a middle-class part of Winston-Salem, N.C., asked me. “Twenty-six percent.” In one kindergarten I visited in Los Altos, Calif. — average home price, $1 million — about one-quarter of the kids had been electively held back as well. Fred Morrison, a developmental psychologist at the University of Michigan who has studied the impact of falling on one side or the other of the birthday cutoff, sees the endless “graying of kindergarten,” as it’s sometimes called, as coming from a parental obsession not with their children’s academic accomplishment but with their social maturity. “You couldn’t find a kid who skips a grade these days,” Morrison told me. “We used to revere individual accomplishment. Now we revere self-esteem, and the reverence has snowballed in unconscious ways — into parents always wanting their children to feel good, wanting everything to be pleasant.” So parents wait an extra year in the hope that when their children enter school their age or maturity will shield them from social and emotional hurt. Elizabeth Levett Fortier, a kindergarten teacher in the George Peabody Elementary School in San Francisco, notices the impact on her incoming students. “I’ve had children come into my classroom, and they’ve never even lost at Candy Land.”

For years, education scholars have pointed out that most studies have found that the benefits of being relatively older than one’s classmates disappear after the first few years of school. In a literature review published in 2002, Deborah Stipek, dean of the Stanford school of education, found studies in which children who are older than their classmates not only do not learn more per grade but also tend to have more behavior problems. However, more recent research by labor economists takes advantage of new, very large data sets and has produced different results. A few labor economists do concur with the education scholarship, but most have found that while absolute age (how many days a child has been alive) is not so important, relative age (how old that child is in comparison to his classmates) shapes performance long after those few months of maturity should have ceased to matter. The relative-age effect has been found in schools around the world and also in sports. In one study published in the June 2005 Journal of Sport Sciences, researchers from Leuven, Belgium, and Liverpool, England, found that a disproportionate number of World Cup soccer players are born in January, February and March, meaning they were old relative to peers on youth soccer teams.

Before the school year started, Andersen, who is 54, taped up on the wall behind her desk a poster of a dog holding a bouquet of 12 balloons. In each balloon Andersen wrote the name of a month; under each month, the birthdays of the children in her class. Like most teachers, she understands that the small fluctuations among birth dates aren’t nearly as important as the vast range in children’s experiences at preschool and at home. But one day as we sat in her classroom, Andersen told me, “Every year I have two or three young ones in that August-to-October range, and they just struggle a little.” She used to encourage parents to send their children to kindergarten as soon as they were eligible, but she is now a strong proponent of older kindergartners, after teaching one child with a birthday just a few days before the cutoff. “She was always a step behind. It wasn’t effort and it wasn’t ability. She worked hard, her mom worked with her and she still was behind.” Andersen followed the girl’s progress through second grade (after that, she moved to a different school) and noticed that she didn’t catch up. Other teachers at Glen Arden Elementary and elsewhere have noticed a similar phenomenon: not always, but too often, the little ones stay behind.

The parents of the redshirted girl in Andersen’s class told a similar story. Five years ago, their older daughter had just made the kindergarten birthday cutoff by a few days, and they enrolled her. “She’s now a struggling fourth grader: only by the skin of her teeth has she been able to pass each year,” the girl’s mother, Stephanie Gandert, told me. “I kick myself every year now that we sent her ahead.” By contrast, their current kindergartner is doing just fine. “I always tell parents, ‘If you can wait, wait.’ If my kindergartner were in first grade right now, she’d be in trouble, too.” (The parents of the redshirted boy in Andersen’s class declined to be interviewed for this article but may very well have held him back because he’s small — even though he’s now one of the oldest, he’s still one of the shortest.)

Kelly Bedard, a labor economist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, published a paper with Elizabeth Dhuey called “The Persistence of Early Childhood Maturity: International Evidence of Long-Run Age Effects” in The Quarterly Journal of Economics in November 2006 that looked at this phenomenon. “Obviously, when you’re 5, being a year older is a lot, and so we should expect kids who are the oldest in kindergarten to do better than the kids who are the youngest in kindergarten,” Bedard says. But what if relatively older kids keep doing better after the maturity gains of a few months should have ceased to matter? What if kids who are older relative to their classmates still have higher test scores in fourth grade, or eighth grade?

After crunching the math and science test scores for nearly a quarter-million students across 19 countries, Bedard found that relatively younger students perform 4 to 12 percentiles less well in third and fourth grade and 2 to 9 percentiles worse in seventh and eighth; and, as she notes, “by eighth grade it’s fairly safe to say we’re looking at long-term effects.” In British Columbia, she found that the relatively oldest students are about 10 percent more likely to be “university bound” than the relatively youngest ones. In the United States, she found that the relatively oldest students are 7.7 percent more likely to take the SAT or ACT, and are 11.6 percent more likely to enroll in four-year colleges or universities. (No one has yet published a study on age effects and SAT scores.) “One reason you could imagine age effects persist is that almost all of our education systems have ability-groupings built into them,” Bedard says. “Many claim they don’t, but they do. Everybody gets put into reading groups and math groups from very early ages.” Younger children are more likely to be assigned behind grade level, older children more likely to be assigned ahead. Younger children are more likely to receive diagnoses of attention-deficit disorder, too. “When I was in school the reading books all had colors,” Bedard told me. “They never said which was the high, the middle and the low, but everybody knew. Kids in the highest reading group one year are much more likely to be in the highest reading group the next. So you can imagine how that could propagate itself.”

Bedard found that different education systems produce varying age effects. For instance, Finland, whose students recently came out on top in an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development study of math, reading and science skills, experiences smaller age effects; Finnish children also start school later, at age 7, and even then the first few years are largely devoted to social development and play. Denmark, too, produces little difference between relatively older and younger kids; the Danish education system prohibits differentiating by ability until students are 16. Those two exceptions notwithstanding, Bedard notes that she found age effects everywhere, from “the Japanese system of automatic promotion, to the accomplishment-oriented French system, to the supposedly more flexible skill-based program models used in Canada and the United States.”

The relative value of being older for one’s grade is a particularly open secret in those sectors of the American schooling system that treat education like a competitive sport. Many private-school birthday cutoffs are set earlier than public-school dates; and children, particularly boys, who make the cutoff but have summer and sometimes spring birthdays are often placed in junior kindergarten — also called “transitional kindergarten,” a sort of holding tank for kids too old for more preschool — or are encouraged to wait a year to apply. Erika O’Brien, a SoHo mother who has two redshirted children at Grace Church, a pre-K-through-8 private school in Manhattan, told me about a conversation she had with a friend whose daughter was placed in junior kindergarten because she had a summer birthday. “I told her that it’s really a great thing. Her daughter is going to have a better chance of being at the top of her class, she’ll more likely be a leader, she’ll have a better chance of succeeding at sports. She’s got nothing to worry about for the next nine years. Plus, if you’re making a financial investment in school, it’s a less risky investment.”

Robert Fulghum listed life lessons in his 1986 best seller “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” Among them were:

Clean up your own mess.

Don’t take things that aren’t yours.

Wash your hands before you eat.

Take a nap every afternoon.

Flush.

Were he to update the book to reflect the experience of today’s children, he’d need to call it “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Preschool,” as kindergarten has changed. The half day devoted to fair play and nice manners officially began its demise in 1983, when the National Commission on Excellence in Education published “A Nation at Risk,” warning that the country faced a “rising tide of mediocrity” unless we increased school achievement and expectations. No Child Left Behind, in 2002, exacerbated the trend, pushing phonics and pattern-recognition worksheets even further down the learning chain. As a result, many parents, legislatures and teachers find the current curriculum too challenging for many older 4- and young 5-year-olds, which makes sense, because it’s largely the same curriculum taught to first graders less than a generation ago. Andersen’s kindergartners are supposed to be able to not just read but also write two sentences by the time they graduate from her classroom. It’s no wonder that nationwide, teachers now report that 48 percent of incoming kindergartners have difficulty handling the demands of school.

Friedrich Froebel, the romantic motherless son who started the first kindergarten in Germany in 1840, would be horrified by what’s called kindergarten today. He conceived the early learning experience as a homage to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who believed that “reading is the plague of childhood. . . . Books are good only for learning to babble about what one does not know.” Letters and numbers were officially banned from Froebel’s kindergartens; the teaching materials consisted of handmade blocks and games that he referred to as “gifts.” By the late 1800s, kindergarten had jumped to the United States, with Boston transcendentalists like Elizabeth Peabody popularizing the concept. Fairly quickly, letters and numbers appeared on the wooden blocks, yet Peabody cautioned that a “genuine” kindergarten is “a company of children under 7 years old, who do not learn to read, write and cipher” and a “false” kindergarten is one that accommodates parents who want their children studying academics instead of just playing.

That the social skills and exploration of one’s immediate world have been squeezed out of kindergarten is less the result of a pedagogical shift than of the accountability movement and the literal-minded reverse-engineering process it has brought to the schools. Curriculum planners no longer ask, What does a 5-year-old need? Instead they ask, If a student is to pass reading and math tests in third grade, what does that student need to be doing in the prior grades? Whether kindergarten students actually need to be older is a question of readiness, a concept that itself raises the question: Ready for what? The skill set required to succeed in Fulgham’s kindergarten — openness, creativity — is well matched to the capabilities of most 5-year-olds but also substantially different from what Andersen’s students need. In early 2000, the National Center for Education Statistics assessed 22,000 kindergartners individually and found, in general, that yes, the older children are better prepared to start an academic kindergarten than the younger ones. The older kids are four times as likely to be reading, and two to three times as likely to be able to decipher two-digit numerals. Twice as many older kids have the advanced fine motor skills necessary for writing. The older kids also have important noncognitive advantages, like being more persistent and more socially adept. Nonetheless, child advocacy groups say it’s the schools’ responsibility to be ready for the children, no matter their age, not the children’s to be prepared for the advanced curriculum. In a report on kindergarten, the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education wrote, “Most of the questionable entry and placement practices that have emerged in recent years have their genesis in concerns over children’s capacities to cope with the increasingly inappropriate curriculum in kindergarten.”

Furthermore, as Elizabeth Graue, a former kindergarten teacher who now studies school-readiness and redshirting at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, points out, “Readiness is a relative issue.” Studies of early-childhood teachers show they always complain about the youngest students, no matter their absolute age. ‘In Illinois it will be the March-April-May kids; in California, it will be October-November-December,” Graue says. “It’s really natural as a teacher to gravitate toward the kids who are easy to teach, especially when there’s academic pressure and the younger kids are rolling around the floor and sticking pencils in their ears.”

But perhaps those kids with the pencils in their ears — at least the less-affluent ones — don’t need “the gift of time” but rather to be brought into the schools. Forty-two years after Lyndon Johnson inaugurated Head Start, access to quality early education still highly correlates with class; and one serious side effect of pushing back the cutoffs is that while well-off kids with delayed enrollment will spend another year in preschool, probably doing what kindergartners did a generation ago, less-well-off children may, as the literacy specialist Katie Eller put it, spend “another year watching TV in the basement with Grandma.” What’s more, given the socioeconomics of redshirting — and the luxury involved in delaying for a year the free day care that is public school — the oldest child in any given class is more likely to be well off and the youngest child is more likely to be poor. “You almost have a double advantage coming to the well-off kids,” says Samuel J. Meisels, president of Erikson Institute, a graduate school in child development in Chicago. “From a public-policy point of view I find this very distressing.”

Nobody has exact numbers on what percentage of the children eligible for publicly financed preschool are actually enrolled — the individual programs are legion, and the eligibility requirements are complicated and varied — but the best guess from the National Institute for Early Education Research puts the proportion at only 25 percent. In California, for instance, 76 percent of publicly financed preschool programs have waiting lists, which include over 30,000 children. In Pennsylvania, 35 percent of children eligible for Head Start are not served. A few states do have universal preschool, and among Hillary Clinton’s first broad domestic policy proposals as a Democratic presidential candidate was to call for universal pre-kindergarten classes. But at the moment, free high-quality preschool for less-well-to-do children is spotty, and what exists often is aimed at extremely low-income parents, leaving out the children of the merely strapped working or lower-middle class. Nor, as a rule, do publicly financed programs take kids who are old enough to be eligible for kindergarten, meaning redshirting is not a realistic option for many.

One morning, when I was sitting in Elizabeth Levett Fortier’s kindergarten classroom in the Peabody School in San Francisco — among a group of students that included some children who had never been to preschool, some who were just learning English and some who were already reading — a father dropped by to discuss whether or not to enroll his fall-birthday daughter or give her one more year at her private preschool. Demographically speaking, any child with a father willing to call on a teacher to discuss if it’s best for that child to spend a third year at a $10,000-a-year preschool is going to be fine. Andersen told me, “I’ve had parents tell me that the preschool did not recommend sending their children on to kindergarten yet, but they had no choice,” as they couldn’t afford not to. In 49 out of 50 states, the average annual cost of day care for a 4-year-old in an urban area is more than the average annual public college tuition. A RAND Corporation position paper suggests policy makers may need to view “entrance-age policies and child-care polices as a package.”

Labor economists, too, make a strong case that resources should be directed at disadvantaged children as early as possible, both for the sake of improving each child’s life and because of economic return. Among the leaders in this field is James Heckman, a University of Chicago economist who won the Nobel in economic science in 2000. In many papers and lectures on poor kids, he now includes a simple graph that plots the return on investment in human capital across age. You can think of the accumulation of human capital much like the accumulation of financial capital in an account bearing compound interest: if you add your resources as soon as possible, they’ll be worth more down the line. Heckman’s graph looks like a skateboard quarter-pipe, sloping precipitously from a high point during the preschool years, when the return on investment in human capital is very high, down the ramp and into the flat line after a person is no longer in school, when the return on investment is minimal. According to Heckman’s analysis, if you have limited funds to spend it makes the most economic sense to spend them early. The implication is that if poor children aren’t in adequate preschool programs, rolling back the age of kindergarten is a bad idea economically, as it pushes farther down the ramp the point at which we start investing funds and thus how productive those funds will be.

Bedard and other economists cite Heckman’s theories of how people acquire skills to help explain the persistence of relative age on school performance. Heckman writes: “Skill begets skill; motivation begets motivation. Early failure begets later failure.” Reading experts know that it’s easier for a child to learn the meaning of a new word if he knows the meaning of a related word and that a good vocabulary at age 3 predicts a child’s reading well in third grade. Skills like persistence snowball, too. One can easily see how the skill-begets-skill, motivation-begets-motivation dynamic plays out in a kindergarten setting: a child who comes in with a good vocabulary listens to a story, learns more words, feels great about himself and has an even better vocabulary at the end of the day. Another child arrives with a poor vocabulary, listens to the story, has a hard time following, picks up fewer words, retreats into insecurity and leaves the classroom even further behind.

How to address the influence of age effects is unclear. After all, being on the older or younger side of one’s classmates is mostly the luck of the birthday draw, and no single birthday cutoff can prevent a 12-month gap in age. States could try to prevent parents from gaming the age effects by outlawing redshirting — specifically by closing the yearlong window that now exists in most states between the birthday cutoffs and compulsory schooling. But forcing families to enroll children in kindergarten as soon as they are eligible seems too authoritarian for America’s tastes. States could also decide to learn from Finland — start children in school at age 7 and devote the first year to play — but that would require a major reversal, making second grade the old kindergarten, instead of kindergarten the new first grade. States could also emulate Denmark, forbidding ability groupings until late in high school, but unless very serious efforts are made to close the achievement gap before children arrive at kindergarten, that seems unlikely, too.

Of course there’s also the reality that individual children will always mature at different rates, and back in Andersen’s classroom, on a Thursday when this year’s kindergartners stayed home and next year’s kindergartners came in for pre-enrollment assessments, the developmental differences between one future student and the next were readily apparent. To gauge kindergarten readiness, Andersen and another kindergarten teacher each sat the children down one by one for a 20-minute test. The teachers asked the children, among other things, to: skip; jump; walk backward; cut out a diamond on a dotted line; copy the word cat; draw a person; listen to a story; and answer simple vocabulary questions like what melts, what explodes and what flies. Some of the kids were dynamos. When asked to explain the person he had drawn, one boy said: “That’s Miss Maple. She’s my preschool teacher, and she’s crying because she’s going to miss me so much next year.” Another girl said at one point, “Oh, you want me to write the word cat?” Midmorning, however, a little boy who will not turn 5 until this summer arrived. His little feet dangled off the kindergarten chair, as his legs were not long enough to reach the floor. The teacher asked him to draw a person. To pass that portion of the test, his figure needed seven different body parts.

“Is that all he needs?” she asked a few minutes later.

The boy said, “Oh, I forgot the head.”

A minute later the boy submitted his drawing again. “Are you sure he doesn’t need anything else?” the teacher asked.

The boy stared at his work. “I forgot the legs. Those are important, aren’t they?”

The most difficult portion of the test for many of the children was a paper-folding exercise. “Watch how I fold my paper,” the teacher told the little boy. She first folded her 8 1/2-by-11-inch paper in half the long way, to create a narrow rectangle, and then she folded the rectangle in thirds, to make something close to a square.

“Can you do it?” she asked the boy.

He took the paper eagerly, but folded it in half the wrong way. Depending on the boy’s family’s finances, circumstances and mind-set, his parents may decide to hold him out a year so he’ll be one of the oldest and, presumably, most confident. Or they may decide to enroll him in school as planned. He may go to college or he may not. He may be a leader or a follower. Those things will ultimately depend more on the education level achieved by his mother, whether he lives in a two-parent household and the other assets and obstacles he brings with him to school each day. Still, the last thing any child needs is to be outmaneuvered by other kids’ parents as they cut to the back of the birthday line to manipulate age effects. Eventually, the boy put his head down on the table. His first fold had set a course, and even after trying gamely to fold the paper again in thirds, he couldn’t create the right shape.

Elizabeth Weil is a contributing writer for the magazine. Her most recent article was about lethal injection.

Correction: June 17, 2007

An article on June 3 about the age that children start kindergarten omitted the name of an author of a seminal paper that analyzed the topic. The co-author (with Kelly Bedard) of “The Persistence of Early Childhood Maturity: International Evidence of Long-Run Age Effects” is Elizabeth Dhuey.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

The Garden School Tattler




Yesterdays swim was great! We had two parents along and it made the swim fun and easy, but the pool was really crowded. Although it was hard at times to keep track of everyone, the children didn't seem to notice and they had a lot of fun.

Swimming is really good for kids, and we've already had some graduates to the deeper end. Jasmin can now swim in the deep end, and that's great. Adyson is on his way. It won't be long before the kids begin to disappear from the safety of the ramp and get into the main body of the pool, and that's what it's all about.

We had a nice lunch at the picnic area and the kids played on both playgrounds. At 1:00, there is an adult swim, and we rest our lunches until then, and then it's back to the pool until the bus arrives.

I can't tell you how manageable this group of children are. I'm so proud of them.