Thursday, July 30, 2009

From Teacher Magazine at teachermagazine.org

Comment: I really like this article because it happened to a lot of kids growing up. We all feel the pain of this. I think it starts in preschool. It makes teachers very aware of the communication or lack of it while teaching. One of my favorite expressions is, "You have no manners. Did you know you can buy some at the Dollar Store for 79 cents?" This is my wake up call. Might think twice about that now.

Published: July 29, 2009

Are Schools Wounding Kids?

When I returned to the classroom this year after six years as a literacy coach, I chose to teach a reading intervention class other teachers actively avoided—a mix of 6th and 7th graders reading at a mid-2nd to early 4th grade level.

It was a year of change for me as a teacher. I was returning to the classroom for the first time since No Child Left Behind prompted my district to introduce mandatory instructional programs. These included a scripted reading curriculum for our intervention students.

Teaching struggling readers wasn’t new to me. In the late 1990s I had created a language arts intervention course using service learning as the primary vehicle for motivation. Now, however, I found myself pushing students through a massive workbook each day. Their general response was, “It’s boooooring!”

Pretty quickly I found myself “cheating”—changing up the curriculum on Fridays. We read plays from Action Magazine, wrote and illustrated poems, did word games, and sent letters to pen pals and authors. I began letting my more creative side breathe a bit. When the theme included a story about wacky inventions, we had a contest in which students devised their own. When author Elisa Kleven’s scrap art was introduced, students invented their own scrap-art figures and wrote character sketches. Throughout the year, there was this constant tension between what I was supposed to be doing with students and what I was actually doing.

And what was I supposed to be doing? To me, hand-in-hand with the goal of improving reading was the equally important goal of providing my at-risk students with positive learning experiences. Many were already beaten down and convinced they were losers. Bringing some fun and win-win into the classroom equation would help them, however cautiously, to try once more. Was this not important, too?

Teacher-consultant Bill Page defines at-risk students as “Children who are expected to fail because teachers cannot motivate, control, teach, or interest them using traditional methods and prescribed curriculum.” This is precisely what I observed in the early months with my intervention students.

To shine a light on these issues, one day I had my kids sit in a large circle. One child at a time answered the question, “When did you turn off to school?” In my years as literacy coach, I met privately with intervention students who had the lowest grade point averages, and they always had an answer to this question. Most often they turned off in 3rd or 6th grade, when they realized they were struggling and others around them seemingly were not.

Interestingly, seven of my 7th graders this year had turned off to school in the 2nd grade, when they were part of a district experiment that retained the lowest performers. They still had not forgotten what it felt like to be left behind as their friends moved on. At least now I was able to tell them how sorry I was this happened to them. Surely these students deserve a chance to heal the hurt and rethink their identities as learners, something no scripted curriculum I’m aware of can address.

‘Teachers’ Little Comments’

Recently, I came across Kirsten Olson’s new book, Wounded by School. I immediately devoured it and found more insights into the world of at-risk students.

Olson explains that her book began “with a desire to understand the experiences of highly capable learners, virtuoso explorers who showed unusual vitality in learning.” But she was “quickly diverted by the repeated and powerful descriptions among my research subjects of educational wounding and laceration in school.”

As I read this, I immediately saw an image of myself as a 6th grader. I was walking back to class after recess, and for perhaps the fifth day in a row I asked my teacher, “Can I go to the nurse? I have a headache.” “What’s wrong with you?” shouted Mr. Wright. “Why do you always have a headache?!” It was another 15 years before my migraines were diagnosed. I warily hid my headaches from others after my teacher taught me to believe something was wrong with me as a person.

Wounded by School delineates a dozen different types of school wounding and their effects, including:

• Feeling you aren’t smart and your ideas lack value.
• Feeling you don’t have what it takes to be successful in school.
• Feeling ashamed of your efforts.
• Suffering a loss of ambition, self-discipline, and persistence when faced with obstacles.

In a section called “wounds of rebellion,” I found my intervention kids and their defensive symptoms:

• The only way to protect yourself is to rebel.
• In response to being unsuccessful or told we are unworthy, we become hostile.
• We are unwilling to see another point of view.
• We act out, as an adaptive response and it becomes fixed, maladaptive, and self-destructive.

Olson quotes one student, who remembers a crushing moment in 7th grade that led him to declare, “I quit! I just really quit!”

The student saw himself as a screw-up: “Basically I became motivated to not do well—like what I could do well was not to do well. ... Kids that struggle are so much more sensitive to moments—especially bad ones. These moments shape their whole lives, their sense of themselves. Teachers’ little comments had a huge effect on me.”

These lines could have been spoken by any one of my intervention students. In an essay about three strengths of his, one of my students wrote: “I am good at three things. I can draw (graffiti), I like to be bad, and I get in trouble a lot.”

Olson’s book is not directed only at struggling students. Her research clearly shows that all students are vulnerable to school wounds. She nails what I observed this year among the most capable 6th graders in my English and history classes. She writes:

“Rather than making them more dutiful, more competent, and more disciplined, they grew weary of school and learning … risk averse, overly intimidated by authority, or likely to underestimate themselves … simply deadened—less enlivened by the world and its possibilities than they might be.”

I wonder if this was why some of my most successful classroom projects from past years seemed less engaging this time around. Although these students were strong oral readers and tested well, they didn’t enjoy reading, were often highly apathetic toward learning, and resisted staying on-task if the work was challenging. As a result, I was disappointed at times by their response to assignments that had once excited and engaged my students before I became a literacy coach.

On our last day of school this June, as I dismissed the class with the cheery words “have a great summer,” one of my best students turned back and said, “We’ve been waiting for this day since September.”

What is within our control to do differently?

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Teaching Children to be Aware of Others by Judy Lyden


One of my pet peeves, and I have a few like everyone else, is ungrateful usage. The term sounds a little confusing, but when I explain, you'll understand right away what I mean.

When someone runs a mile for me, spends a lot of hours on me, uses their time, talent and treasure to make ME happy, and I take whatever they give and walk away without saying a single thing about their efforts - not even "thank you," that's ungrateful usage, and I'm a sloth.

This is something the nicest, brightest, most respectable people are guilty of, and they haven't a clue they are at fault. Today we don't spend a lot of time giving kudos to one another except on TV where most of the time it's not deserved. At home and at work in the real world, we have come to take for granted everybody else's time and work even if their time and work is spent on us. I think it's become a game. The winner is the man or woman of fewest words of praise.

I think wives who work at home feel it most because we all know that anyone can keep a house, and that most of it gets done whenever, and as a whole, it's probably the least important work there is. So when the recipients of the clean laundry, meals, clean home, scrubbed shower, and endless supplies of all the little treats we can't really go comfortably without, just take and take and take and never even think about a kudo, it's ungrateful usage. No wonder people don't want to be home these days.

Mrs. St. Louis sends birthday cards to every child who was ever a student of the Garden School. Every year she goes to a lot of trouble to locate missing children, make cards, find little stowaways for the envelopes and keep track of when this should be mailed. Occasionally, and very occasionally, she will get a note from a teenager who says a great big thank you. I think it means a lot to her. The time and effort put into this and the little boxes she hand paints for every student at the Garden School says a lot about her devotion to the school and to the children we care for. But rarely does she receive the praise that she deserves.

I know I'm not supposed to notice this kind of thing, because when I mention it to friends and relatives, I get the insufferable look. But I can't help thinking how it stings every time I see it. Ungrateful usage is in my face. I just see it everywhere I go. I watch it at the grocery store, I see it at the swimming pool, in restaurants; I hear it on the telephone, and on the news, at Christmas time.

One of the things we've been doing at school is encouraging the children to say thank you. Thank you is the polite response to someone for doing something nice for us. It's the simplest form of gratitude. What I want from the children this year is to not only say thank you, but learn at the same time to recognize just what they are saying it for. "Thank you for ___________." This is a beginning awareness of the work of others that genuinely make our lives better.

But it doesn't start in the classroom. It starts at home. A woman looks across the dinner table from her husband and says about her new meal, "Do you like it?" and he responds, "I'm eating aren't I?"

How many meals do we sit down to at home and never really recognize? Do we sit at a nice table that someone went to the trouble of putting together? Does the meal taste good? That doesn't happen by accident. Did someone have to go out to purchase the food, take the time to plan it, cook it and then put it on the table? That's their time, and that time is important, so how do we dare sit down to a dinner we had nothing to do with, eat it, be nourished by it, be satisfied by it and say absolutely nothing about it? You would think that the provider of that meal was a person who mattered not at all.

Because like so many things in life, we take other people's work, their time, and their talent for granted. Why should we part with precious words of praise? There is a limit of how many praiseful words we are entitled to, so we don't dare waste them. Words of praise become precious when it's our job to provide them. Apparently a lot more precious than someone's time talent and treasure.

Our children come to us and show us a little drawing, a painting, a cut and paste, and we give them the same brushoff response, "That's nice, honey." Then, to clean up the clutter, we dump the child's drawing in the trash. No wonder that child finds it difficult to praise a friend, he has no example for praise, he doesn't even know he should praise. He couldn't muster praise to save his life.

And that's a shame because praising one another should be the best part of the day. It's the time when we can smile and make someone else smile. Imagine the next time a child shows you a drawing, you say to him: "Artours, you are the best little artist. I love your colors. I see so much in your wonderful work. I'm going to keep this for a long, long time."

How nice it would be to hand someone a special effort sandwich and have them say, "Oh, that was so delicious. Thank you," instead of "I'm full" slam the dirty plate down and walk away leaving the remains of the sandwich and the plate to wash. One wants to say in return, "I don't care that you are full." It does not increase communication, it forbids it.

One of the highlights of my kitchen work this summer has been Miss Leigh's response to our egg salad. I think if she could wear it she would. Her response to this little bit of our summer picnic has been so delightful for me because along with her enthusiasm comes her happiness, and she expresses that in a most charming and positive way, and that makes a world of difference from a slammed plate or no response at all.

Teaching children to be aware of other people takes adult people who are genuinely aware of one another, and happy to be so. "Look what Elizabeth is doing," says the teacher and half a dozen children will run over to see. It's at that point that praise should be spent on Elizabeth. It's her turn. It's healthy to praise Elizabeth because it's encouraging, it's human to human contact, it's genuine and as Shakespere says, "It blesses him who gives and him who takes."

So this week, it's probably a good to practice praise. Let it rip. Let it out in a big fat emotional bomb. Explode with a beautiful laughing, affectionate piece of praise. Make it a work of art and enjoy. It should be the best part of your day.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Monday's Tattler



Good morning! Another hot one, but we'll be at Scales Lake, so the kids will hardly know it's hot. We don't expect to be back at school until 3:30.

Miss Sandy switched her days for us so we could take the children up there again. We don't usually do this on Mondays, but it's a treat and gears are set in motion and off we go....

Tuesday will be an in school day. We will do our class time and work on our spelling words.

Wednesday will be a swim day at the Newburgh Pool if it doesn't rain :-{

Thursday will be another in school day with a spelling review.

Friday we will be going to Blue Springs Cavern. We will be leaving at 8:30 and probably returning about 4:30. Now is the time to sign up.

Enjoy the week!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Sunday's Plate - More Chocolate!

Here is an absolutely easy chocolate sauce recipe we use at school for sundaes.

1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk

Boil three minutes until smooth. Yum.

The kids love it, but for caffeine sensitive people, don't eat after 3:00 p.m.

Sunday's Plate - Chocolate - The Latest News!



From Foodnavigator-usa.com

This is wonderful news!

Chocolate powder may slash blood pressure: Study

By Stephen Daniells, 22-Jul-2009

Consumption of a commercially available cocoa powder, enriched in flavonoids, may decrease blood pressure and boost heart health, suggests a new study with rats.

Rodents fed 300 milligrams per kilogram of body weight experienced a reduction in blood pressure similar to a 50 mg/kg dose of Captopril, a well-known pharmaceutical anti-hypertensive, according to findings published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

“This is important because this drug is known to be a very effective antihypertensive treatment in clinical practice and spontaneously hypertensive rats represent nowadays the best experimental model for essential hypertension in humans,” wrote the researchers, led by Amaya Aleixandre from the Faculty of Medicine at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid.

The study used Natraceutical’s CocoanOX and was funded by the company. The cocoa powder is a rich source of flavonoids, with a reported 139 milligrams of polyphenols per gram of cocoa powder, 129 milligrams of which are procyanidins, according to the new report.

The health benefits of antioxidant-rich chocolate have received much recognition in recent years, with positive findings from a number of studies impacting on consumer awareness. Chocolate manufacturers are using high cocoa content (over 70 per cent) as a means of differentiation, and cocoa has also received attention for its potential in functional food applications.

We have demonstrated the antihypertensive properties of the industrially processed natural flavonoid-enriched cocoa powder named CocoanOX,” wrote the researchers.

“The results obtained suggest that this product could be used as a functional food ingredient with potential therapeutic benefit in the prevention and treatment of hypertension.”

Elena Cienfuegos-Jovellanos, R&D Project Leader at Natraceutical told NutraIngredients that she anticipates results being used by finished product manufacturers to produce a health claim. However, in order for this to happen the finished product would have to be extensively tested in clinical studies.

High blood pressure (hypertension),defined as having a systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) greater than 140 and 90 mmHg, is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) - a disease that causes almost 50 per cent of deaths in Europe, and reported to cost the EU economy an estimated €169bn ($202bn) per year.

Cienfuegos-Jovellanos added that the company has also studied the long term effect of CocoanOX 12 per cent the same rats, and the results have been submitted for publication.

Study details

The Spain-based researchers tested the effect of a single dose of the cocoa powder, including 50, 100, 300, and 600 mg/kg, on the blood pressure of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive rats.

While no effect was observed in the animals with normal blood pressure, the SHR experienced significant reductions following consumption of the cocoa powder. The maximum effect on systolic blood pressure was observed with a dose of 300 mg/kg, with pressure reductions after four hours of 60 mmHg. This result was very similar to the decrease observed following administration of 50 mg/kg Captopril.

The maximum effect on diastolic blood pressure was caused by 100 mg/kg CocoanOX, with a reduction of around 50 mmHg, although the 300 mg/kg-associated reductions were similar.

While the researchers note that the theobromine content of the chocolate may explain the reductions, a lower effect at the highest dose (600 mg/kg) would appear to rule out a role for this compound.

“[…] the blood pressure lowering effect of [theobromine] is in principle dose dependent,” said the researchers. “Different data of this study support therefore that the blood pressure lowering effect exhibited by CocoanOX would be mainly due to the presence of procyanidins.”

“These results suggest that CocoanOX could be used as a functional ingredient with antihypertensive effect, although it would be also necessary to carry out bioavailability and clinical studies to demonstrate its long-term antihypertensive efficiency in humans,” they concluded.

Ongoing study

Cienfuegos-Jovellanos told this website that research was ongoing in this area, with researchers from the Rowett Institute of Nutrition at the University of Aberdeen carrying out a clinical study with a dark chocolate enriched in flavanoids made with the CocoanOX 12 per cent ingredient.

Dr Baukje de Roos, the study’s principal investigator said the research was focusing on the role of platelets in the formation of blood clots, a characteristic of cardiovascular disease.

“Platelets play a key role in our blood preventing bleeding if we have suffered a cut or a wound. But in disease conditions platelets can go into overdrive and stick together forming blood clots and blocking blood vessels,” said Dr de Roos.

“We already know that flavonoids can stop platelets from sticking together but we don’t know how they do this.

“The study will help us understand how these flavonoids may benefit blood platelets and, in turn, help protect against cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease and stroke.”

Source: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Volume 57, Pages 6156-6162, doi: 10.1021/jf804045b
“Antihypertensive Effect of a Polyphenol-Rich Cocoa Powder Industrially Processed To Preserve the Original Flavonoids of the Cocoa Beans”
Authors: E. Cienfuegos-Jovellanos, M. del Mar Quinones, B. Muguerza, L. Moulay, M. Miguel, A. Aleixandre

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Saturday's Book


I got this back in May, but it's still new...so enjoy - a perfect gift for the expecting mom.

Babies don’t need expensive toys—just you and this book!
Beltsville, MD – Engaging your baby in stimulating experiences encourages brain development and paves the way for successful learning in the future.

Did you know?
A baby’s brain is 250% more active than that of an adult.
The networking of the brains’ synapses is nearly complete after the first three years.
You are your baby’s best toy!

Drawing on extensive brain research, child development expert and best-selling author Jackie Silberg presents Baby Smarts. Filled with developmental games, Baby Smarts helps you build your baby’s brain power, one activity at a time!

Recently awarded two prestigious parenting awards, the iParenting Award and the National Parenting Publications Gold Award, Baby Smarts helps you unlock the power of your baby’s brain with simple activities that do not require expensive toys or props.

Try these fun activities with your baby:

Floating Feathers (3-6 month olds)
Lie down on your back with your baby next to you.
Throw a brightly colored feather in the air and watch it float gently to the ground.
This is a very relaxing game, and it challenges babies to follow (track) objects with their eyes. (Note: You can find feathers at art supply stores.)

Under the Blanket (9-12 month olds)
This game develops your baby’s observation skills, demonstrates the concept of “under,” and enhances your baby’s ability to follow directions.
Let your baby watch as you hide a small toy under a pillow.
After you hide the toy, ask her to find it.
If she does not understand, ask her again and show her that the toy is under the pillow.
Tell her that you are now going to hide the toy under the blanket.
Keep hiding the toy in different places that are “under” something.

Author Jackie Silberg, who has an M.S. in child development, is an early childhood advocate and popular keynote speaker. She is the author of 15 books with Gryphon House, including Games to Play with Babies and 125 Brain Games for Babies. She lives in Leawood, Kansas.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Friday's Tattler

We had a really nice time on Friday. We had a leisurely breakfast of whole grain pancakes - even added a little mung bean flour! Then it was "off to the races."

We went out to John Handcock's barn at Ellis Park, and we each got to sit on a race horse. We got to see a little guy up close whose name is "Brown." We fed the horses peppermints, Mountain Dew, carrots and a lot of love and then we went down to track.

We all saw the horse parade, but some of us from the distance of the shade. It was hot out there! Then we saw the horses win! Miss Judy put a $2.00 bet on every horse in the first race, but the man who set up my tickets did it wrong, so we didn't win anything. Too bad.

We then went over to Audubon Park for a picnic, and then off to ice cream.

All in all it was a fun day.

Looking forward to next week when we go to Blue Springs.

Pictures when I get them!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Wednesday's Wonder



I can't post the video I wanted, so here's a new site for women who want to keep up with what other women are thinking... it's called Mamapedia Voices

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Motivation or Ability by Judy Lyden

I was talking to my eldest daughter the other day, and she reminded me of a workshop she had done years ago that has stayed with her. In the workshop, she learned that people who are not "doing the job" are not doing the job for one of two reasons: either they are unable because they don't have the ability, or they are not motivated.

I thought a lot about this and realized how true it was not only for adults who I've hired over the years, but it's also true about children and their studies. It's also true about parents who fail to read the handbook, notes, letters, report cards, parent boards, etc, that go home from school.

In the workshop, Katy learned that once the reason for not doing the job is found out, then the avenue of correction can best be found. If someone is not motivated, they need counseling, and if they don't have the ability to do something, then they need training. Simplistic, yes, but it cuts out the middle man - the insufferable beast of ill will.

With adults, it's not always easy to really "understand" why someone is failing to do a job. You ask yourself, is something amiss at home, are they tired, are they burned out, are they unhappy with something on the job? Understanding is a very human desire. We want to love other people, take their side, champion the weaker and learn from the stronger. The problem with understanding is that it rarely is vocalized, and people don't volunteer their disgruntle, so the job continues to be undone, and the questions heap on the plate until it's poison between employer and employee.

I once knew a teacher who was disgruntled because her child could not participate in her class. The child was disruptive and too young to participate. The disgruntled teacher secretly refused to teach any of the children in her class and let them play out of protest. All the understanding questions in the world could have been asked at this point: Would your class be a positive for your child? Are you demonstrating a positive example for your child? By not teaching at all are you somehow avenging your child of a great injustice, or is the injustice really a self inflicted wound? Does your child need avenging or even want avenging? Is your child happy as is? By refusing to do the job are you taking revenge on the other children? The thinking person wants to know the answers to these very important questions, but perhaps the simplest and most effective communication is to step back and ask a simpler question: "Is this employee motivated to do the job?" If the answer is no, then that employee needs counseling a.s.a.p. Counseling might bring out the disgruntle, and if not, the employee should be terminated for the sake of the job and the sake of those who depend upon the employee.

On the other side of the ticket, there is the question of ability. Has someone in a job been raised to the level of their incompetence? Can they no longer do the job? Are they ill or hurt? If this is the case, then that individual needs training.

With children, dealing with the two issues is a daily drama. Trying to understand a child's point of view - why they won't or can't is usually a matter of maturity. Most children don't develop an agenda until later than early childhood years. Unlike the adult who plans out an attack because he or she is not getting "their due," a child's immaturity is unlikely to take revenge. Yet motivation is still half the reason for a child not wanting to do the school work job.

Years ago, a child who took no interest in school work was simply branded as lazy or "at the bottom of their class." Today, we are a little more discerning. Children who want to play rather than study can be divided into several groups: the group that learns better from play than worksheets, the group that is not ready for their imagination to be limited to a worksheet, the group that can't yet make the connection between the lesson and the worksheet, the group that gets no training or academic help from home, and the group that is physically deprived, so that the first and only consideration is basic bodily needs.

Most children want to learn, and learning comes in many ways. That's why the classroom that tackles learning from all the intelligences is the classroom that has the fewest number of unmotivated children, but that takes a very involved teacher. Motivation is partly from home, partly from the class, and partly from a good teacher.

A child's motivation can be destroyed by what is going on at home. He or she is upset about mom or dad, a beloved ill grandparent or even the family dog. He brings that to school because he cannot help to do so. It is on his mind. He may not be able to verbalize it. He seems not to be motivated because he is distracted by what is on his mind.

And at the same time, a child may not have the ability to do what a teacher or parent thinks he or she should be doing at a particular age. Should a four year old do work that is over her head? Should a five year old be put into a class that causes him to reach too far? Is that fair? Is that good management? Is that a presumption on the part of the parent or the teacher? Will this motivate a child's ability? No, of course not. It will only cause a child to fail, and squash his motivation.

The balance of motivation and ability with children is real and very fragile. Today I am motivated to stretch, to reach, to do my best. Tomorrow, I might not be...it depends. It depends on the signal from home and from the classroom. Today we expect, tomorrow we relax a little. The hurdles are high and hard and every day is different, so every day we have to ask, "Are you motivated or are you stuck?" Then we either counsel or re-train, and so goes the school year.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Monday's Tattler

Good morning on Monday week nine summer!

Nothing really special today - a little rest from whatever families did over the weekend. Spelling words again today. There seems to be a little more interest.

Lots of play outdoors in this nice cool summer weather.

Tomorrow we swim and Wednesday if it doesn't rain. We are trying to get Sandy to take us back to Scales Lake for swimming, but it has to fit into her schedule. It would be a lot cheaper.

Friday we will go to Ellis Park and tour the barns of John Hancock. He's a really nice man who lets the children feed his horses soda and carrots. We will all pick a horse we like. The children who pick the fastest horse will take everyone else out for ice cream.

It should be a nice week.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Sunday's Plate

Lots of people ask me about our famous cookie recipe. Lots of people ask for it. It all began with a friend of mine who made wonderful cookies when I was a child. She was one of twelve children, a Sioux Indian, a trench nurse in WWII and a real influence on my youth. She was my neighbor and the mother of my oldest friend. Parky never did anything hard - so she said, and one of the easy delights of her kitchen were these cookies "ones and twos," she would say. One cup of this, two cups of that - easy to remember. She'd make cookies at the drop of a hat. There were always cookies in her cookie jar which was in the same place for nearly forty years.

Today, I remember Parky by using her recipe. In case you haven't noticed, this Garden School cookie recipe is now posted in the right hand column of this blog. I should begin to refer to this snack as a "Parky."

One of the things I've tried to do over the years with this cookie is to make it different ways. Lately, I've nixed the chocolate, and added two hands full of coconut. The kids love these chewy bars or cookies. Miss Amy is not a coconut fan, as many people profess, and even she thinks the cookies are good.

Last weekend, I used the recipe to make vegan cookies. I subbed the butter and eggs for vegan butter and egg re placer - same good cookie. At home, I've gone to different flours. I've made these cookies with a combination soy, brown rice, chickpea, potato, and bean flours. And although they are a bit different, they are the same good cookie.

Cookies are a wonderful thing. They should be desirable, delicious, definitely a first choose, and more than anything, a full scale healthy treat. There is not a single thing in these cookies that is a "NO." When you cut the sugar back like I do, they have less sugar than cold cereal, store bought yogurt, and any cookie of the shelf, and most crackers. They have less sugar than bagels, white bread and a lot of foods we take for granted as being "healthy."

I find it interesting that changing butter, egg, and flour does not detract from this recipe.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Saturday's Sun - And What's New Under It!



NEW HANDBOOK FOR SOCCER MOMS

If you’re a soccer mom, you might find yourself asking some questions: What is a U9? Why is my daughter a striker? What is offsides? How do I flag? Why did my son get a penalty kick? Do headers hurt? What if they ask me to coach? What is FIFA? What is Osgood-Schlatter’s Disease, and why have I never heard of it before? Do I want to sign up my son on a Travel Team? How can my daughter get a college soccer scholarship?

This invaluable handbook has all the answers to these and all of the questions you haven’t even thought of yet.

Soccer has become the sport of choice for families nationwide. Over 10 million 4-½- to-19-year olds will don their shinguards and play soccer in the U.S. this year. That means there are almost that many moms driving them to fields, cheering in the stands, and coaching their kids for the first time. From a child’s first walk onto a Little Kicks soccer field, through the ranks of childhood and teen soccer, the average Soccer Moms will spend months (if not years of her life) immersed in the sport. Soccer for Moms covers the nuts and bolts of the game for beginner and experienced soccer moms alike.

As Soccer Moms ourselves, we believe practices and games are much more enjoyable—and fun!—when you understand the basic rules of the game, know how to prepare your kids and yourself beforehand, and have proven strategies at your fingertips for successful parenting for your fit, on-the-go kids.

Soccer for Moms is loaded with insights from a mom who’s been there. Kerrie’s straight talk and tips derived from real-life soccer mom experiences will help families get more enjoyment out of the whole soccer experience, and learn to love the game, whether they’re playing, coaching, or cheering.

About the Author: Kerrie Paige is a mother of three with more than 15 years of soccer experience—ranging from local recreational teams all the way up to state and regional-champion elite club teams. When not watching her sons play, she’s a mathematician running an international consulting company.

About the Publisher: Plain White Press LLC is an innovative, woman-owned company in White Plains, NY that creates products for busy women who want to manage some of the challenging aspects of their lives with confidence and style. At Plain White Press we value tips and tricks that can help busy moms. When we’re not busy making books, our own schedules are full of sports practices and other kids’ activities, so we understand why this book is a must in every Soccer Mom’s library!

This book is available for purchase at Borders, Amazon.com & Independent Bookstores everywhere!

Saturday's Sun - And What's New Under Iit!

Friday's Tattler

We had a wonderful time at Scales Lake. I've never been there, and I can truly say I've missed a lot. It's not coast of Ireland, and it's not the South of France, but it is one heck of a nice lake in Southwestern Indiana. The kids were thrilled.






They got to play in the sand and swim and go on the big cascading slide made for children who can swim. It was, however, freezing, but the water was warm.









We stopped by the nursing home and sang for a couple of minutes, and the children were wonderful with the elderly. Austin was especially cute.









We swam in the morning and played on the beach, and then we broke for lunch about 12:30 and then back to the water about an hour later.













A whole group of kids spent hours making a sand castle.










The big boys had a delightful time and voted that we need to return once a week, which is doable for us if it is OK with our bus driver. We were so proud of Emily who practiced going under the water.













When all was finished at the lake, we stopped to visit at the petting zoo. The kids had such fun. Alexis was nibble by a duck, Trevor was snapped at by a turkey, Bill was bitten by a chicken and they all laughed because they were having such a good time.









It's nice to take a group of children out for a whole day and not have one child reprimanded the whole day. Lunch was eaten peacefully, and nobody fought the whole day. It was splendid. Congrats to our beautiful group.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

When I was a child, I spoke like a child... It's from Scripture. I always liked the many ideas this passage offers. Over the years, and thinking about it, I realize that speaking like a child has many meanings. Some people will always "speak like a child." The question is why.

I think it's a matter of three very important things: vocabulary, willingness and possibilities.

If one was to go back in history, one would see that at one time perhaps 1000 years and as late as 600 years ago, when there was precious little middle class, the other two classes ( those who worked for those who protected) were really divided by these same three things: vocabulary, willingness, and possibilities. The common man had a vocabulary of about 600 words. Because he could not express himself, his willingness to try new things was hampered, and because he didn't have the experience, life's possibilities were hidden from him.

As the middle class emerged from fiefdom, three things happened: vocabularies necessarily grew with new work and new responsibilities. The willingness to better one's life grew, and the possibilities appeared as they always do with knowledge.

As the centuries have passed, the middle class has taken over the West one generation at a time. Most of us are middle class and will be middle class all our lives. But there seems to be a desire for something better than our parents had. We watch Hollywood with that vague hope that one day we may become one of the elite. Unfortunately, that drive is usually down money lane.

When I was a child and living in Pittsburgh, the goal of nearly every household was to join a country club. This core of culture separated people by every possible standard. If you were anything but Mainline Protestant or Caucasian, your "invitation" to nearly any country club was out of the question. The country club was a clear division of the classes. My father belonged to a men's club so prestigious that during a fire, men were sent back to their apartments to get neck ties because even in a fire, they could not be in the Ladies Dining Room without a tie. Talk about stupid.

Today, the core of culture is still separating people into classes. I believe it happens in puberty and it happens not so much because of race or creed, but solely by the will of the adolescent. There comes a time when a child decides that a vocabulary is either a good thing or a dumb thing. Those who turn towards words, communication, expression and thought will separate from those who turn toward other things - the cool of the crowd.

Those who develop a vocabulary will have the keys and the ability to experience new things with the right questions and the right interest. Understanding grows, intelligence grows, interest in many diverse things grow. These children are now separated from the "huhs." As the mind grows, the willingness to explore grows. More becomes more. The world of possibilities opens up and invention, discovery, and thought offer the thinking child, who quickly becomes an adult, a whole world that the children who passed by vocabulary have missed. This, I think, is where division of the classes is most apparent today. This is where "When I was a child..." begins to take on new meaning.

From the beginning of a human's life, vocabulary is a crucial part of education. It begins at two when sentences are forming. Teaching children new words to use is not an extra but an essential. Teaching a child to use many words, different words, expressive words will encourage him to make the better choice in years to come. The importance of words will, in this day and age, make his life a better life.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Kindergarten to First Grade Words to Know

Here is a list of words that children should know
when leaving kindergarten and going to first grade:

I
can
we
like
play
you
he
is
what
for
here
little
see
the
go
to
have
a
she
and
said
are
do
this
was
my
look
has
where
with
me

Monday's Tattler


Another super warm week. On swim days it's supposed to be in the mid nineties. That's great for swimming. When it's ten degrees lower, it's too cool. Kids like it hot to swim.

We're going to try out Scales Lake this Friday. It will be a new adventure for me. I live in Newburgh, but have never been to Scales Lake. This beach lake should be lots of fun, and a change from the pool. Remember that July's focus is on swimming, just like June's focus was on travel.

Spelling words will go home with kids today. They are simple words. Please help your child with them. When children tell us that "they didn't have time to study," it's a good indication of what kind of students they will be next year. Study shouldn't end with Memorial Day. It should always be present in the home.

We are beginning to get some produce from the garden. We started harvesting our blackberries on Friday, and we will have a choice of blackberry or plain muffins today for breakfast. Please encourage your child to try new things. Summer is a wonderful time to explore new fruits and vegetables.

Have a great week!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Sunday's Plate

Ladies - this is something for you. Taken from Food Navigator, it's a great little article.


Soy may help men remember anniversaries: Study

By Stephen Daniells, 09-Jul-2009

Daily supplements of soy isoflavones could help boost a man’s mental function and memory, according to findings of a small study from Australia.

Men receiving daily supplements of the isoflavones performed significantly better in tests of their working memory, report scientists from the University of South Australia and the University of Adelaide in the British Journal of Nutrition.

The beneficial effects may be related to the oestrogenic effects of the isoflavones, said the researchers, noting that the improvements were in cognitive processes “which appear dependent on oestrogen activation”.

Researchers, led by Peter Howe, recruited 34 healthy men to participate in their 12-week double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over trial. The men were randomly assigned to receive a daily dose of 116 mg soy isoflavones, providing 68 mg daidzein, 12 mg genistein, and 36 mg glycitin, or placebo for 6 weeks. They were subsequently crossed-over to the other intervention for the following 6 weeks.

Tests of memory, mental function, and visual-spatial processing performed before and after the supplementation period showed that the isoflavone supplements were associated with improved spatial working memory; “a test in which females consistently perform better than males”, said the researchers.

Indeed, men receiving the isoflavones required 18 per cent fewer attempts to correctly complete the tasks, committed 23 per cent fewer errors, and achieved the tasks in 17 per cent less time than they did during the placebo phase.

However, the researchers note that the soy had no apparent effect on either auditory or episodic memory, executive function, or visual-spatial processing.

“Isoflavone supplementation in healthy males may enhance cognitive processes which appear dependent on oestrogen activation,” they stated.

Commenting on the possible mechanism, Howe and his co-workers noted that it has already been reported that females “perform better in certain memory-related tasks than males”. This has been attributed to differences in circulating oestrogen levels. The female hormone interacts with certain receptors in the hippocampus, frontal lobe and cortex of the brain that play a role in mental function.

Remembering other studies

Previously, Italian scientists reported that isoflavone supplements may improve both mood and mental function in post-menopausal women - a group of women with reduced levels of oestrogen (Fertility and Sterility, Vol. 85, pp. 972-978), while French researchers reported that increased intakes of flavonoids, of which isoflavones are on such sub-category, may reduce the loss of cognitive function that occurs naturally with age (American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 165, pp. 1364-1371).

Source: British Journal of Nutrition
Published online ahead of print, First View article, doi:10.1017/S0007114509990201
“Soya isoflavone supplementation enhances spatial working memory in men”
Authors: A.A. Thorp, N. Sinn, J.D. Buckley, A.M. Coates, P.R.C. Howe

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Go Picnic on Saturday



Here is something new from Go Picnic. It's a whole meal in a box that needs no refrigeration. It would be great for little picnics, car trips, care packages, sports games and gifts. For more information go HERE.

Friday's Tattler

This week has been a big swimming week. Lots of the children have been really engaged with learning to swim. This is a really interesting phenomena. There is the constant draw from the pool. It's a challenge, a game, a world of fun in the blue mystical water. It's a little dangerous, but the rules keep us safe, and the children are learning to follow directions, listen, and take advantage of the joy of a kind of education you're not not going to find in a book. It's an "I can do" that's really putting out their arms and drawing the kids in. They are finding the challenge real and exciting, and every one of them is maxing out their discovery.

This week several of the kids have gone from what we call "flounders" to what we call "sharks." It's a real migration. What used to be a pool filled with flounders is now a deeper sea filled with sharks. Even some of our three year olds are really swimming.

All this creates a real trust and therefore a bonding between students and teachers. This allows us to teach children anything. It makes the plays work because the children have learned to trust their teachers enough to believe the teachers when they say, "You can do this too."

Swimming is like the second gear on the engine of education. Now that we are well into second gear, the next step is a really good start to the school year...yeah!

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Thursday's Child

From Education Week

Comment: We put our right hand in; we put our right hand out; we put our right hand in and we shake it all about. We do the hoki poki and we turn ourselves around, and that's what it's all about!

Published Online: July 2, 2009

NRC Urges Greater Focus on Preschool Math

“It’s fair to say the attention is almost entirely on reading and literacy, without recognizing the importance of math,” said Christopher T. Cross, who co-edited the report and chaired the committee that produced it.

That lack of attention comes despite research that shows many young students arriving in preschool with an ability, and a willingness, to tackle math lessons, added Mr. Cross, the chairman of Cross & Joftus, an education policy consulting company based in Washington and California.

“There’s a natural curiosity about mathematical things,” he added, “even if they don’t call it math.”

Patchwork System

The National Research Council, headquartered in Washington, is one of several nonprofit institutions charged with providing advice to Congress, as part of the National Academies. The early-childhood study received funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Head Start; the agency’s Office of Planning Research and Evaluation; and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which has provided funding for coverage of math and science issues at Education Week.

Ms. Satkowski said she believed the report could broaden understanding of how many different routes into math are available to teachers and parents.

“[E]arly math instruction doesn’t have to be flashcards and worksheets,” Ms. Satkowski explained. “A good pre-K or kindergarten teacher knows how to effectively integrate math into child-initiated play activities with questions about the number of rocks in their pail, the relative size of the two spiders they drew,” and other means.

The consequences of not providing an early math foundation to disadvantaged students, given their more limited opportunities to learn the subject away from school, can be especially great, the authors found. At the same time, high-quality math instruction can help overcome “systematic inequities in educational outcomes and later career opportunities,” they say.

The report focuses primarily on children between the ages of 2 and 6, according to the NRC.

The system of early-childhood education in the United States is a “loosely sewn-together patchwork” of programs and services, as the report describes it. About 60 percent of preschool-age children are in “center-based” care, including services run through the federal Head Start program; roughly 21 percent receive some sort of home-based care; and about 20 percent have no formal child-care arrangements, according to the NRC report.

In addition to the Head Start program, which serves an estimated 908,000 students, many children in center-based care are enrolled in state-funded preschool, as the report points out. A number of states have moved to fund preschool programs for low-income families in recent years.

It follows that bringing about the changes in preschool teachers’ training and professional development, Mr. Cross said, would likely require action from several players, including federal officials who administer Head Start, professional associations, and state licensing programs.

“It’s a complex set of actors who would have to implement this,” Mr. Cross said.

For more of the story go HERE.

Wednesday's World



Just a quick warning about something we are seeing more and more of and I think it needs to be taken seriously.

The pool is always a place where children pick up all kinds of summer bugs - and strep is a big one.

Children don't always feel well. There are times they are tired, and there are times children are fighting off some little bug. They feel puny, listless, cranky and the want to sleep all the time.

Last winter, my Bill, age five, was cranky, listless and didn't really feel well for a couple of days. I don't think he even missed school. His mom passed it off as "a little something." Three weeks later, Bill broke out in a terrible rash. He was diagnosed with a staph infection in his kidneys that was brought on by an untreated strep infection. He has permanent damage to his kidneys as a result. He never had a sore throat; he never ran a high fever; he never had puss pockets on his tonsils. He simply didn't feel well for a couple of days.

If your child is listless, cranky, tired, and runs a little fever, you might look in his or her throat and have the child seen by a physician. It could be strep. If it is, he's not going to get out of it unscathed. He should be seen. Please don't wait for this to develop. Do something quick.

One way of checking a temp on a child when a thermometer is not available is putting your cheek to his cheek. If he is hot, he's got a fever. Hands don't check thermometers.

Best way of keeping a child's illness to an all time low is through diet and hydration.

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

The Question of Childcare by Judy Lyden




Running a home is a lot like running a business. Sometimes it's fun and sometimes it's not. A basic business strategy is: be prepared. It's the same at home. Preparation does not come from behind, it's not catch up, it's not when and if I feel like it. Child care, and the premium word is "care," should come at the head of the line with someone who has a plan. It's the same at home as with a child care business.

A man wrote to me asking: If I buy a house and turn it into a childcare facility, how much will I make? I didn't clobber him. I didn't even respond. One doesn't "buy" a house to warehouse children in order to make money. It's immoral.

Beginning a child care business means clearly understanding the moral answer to the question: Do I have something to give unrelated children? If the answer is yes, then one proceeds one step at a time. You welcome children into your own house. You set up a childcare facility at your church. You find out if you really do have something to offer month after month. If so, then you take the next step and build a facility.

Giving your time, talent and treasure to children is only part of the job. There is the business of finances, just like in a home. It's not a part time job to be done on Saturday or every other Tuesday. It's a full time job. It's not a job that one does after the fact, or occasionally when the spirit moves one. It's a job one has an eye on all the time, every day, three times a day. Finances mean planning and planning again, and planning a third time, and it takes a consistency that is sometimes baffling because there is always more needing to go out than what comes in - just like at home. And just like at home, there is the business of charity and thoughtfulness because what comes around goes around.

There is the business of feeding children - just like at home. Food can't be bought after the fact or expectant plates will be empty. Food must be planned, purchased and presented as early as first thing Monday morning. It's not something to think about whenever, because Monday comes every week, and so does Tuesday, so for the person who is providing food to the public, it must be a constant in the back of the mind: Is there enough, how much do I need, what's on sale, will the children like this, is it good for them, how is it good for them, how can I cook this, can I serve this with... and the questions never cease. Food is expensive, and having the kind of food on hand that one can "just serve" will break a child care facility. It's the same at home. If you buy only "Johnny on the spot" food, your budget will break and your children will be poorly fed with premades, already cooked, and prepared. Cooking is an important part of feeding any child.

Cleaning is also a huge issue for both home and business. Cleaning takes time and it takes a plan as well. Who is going to do it, when and how and with what? Cleaning is done after the fact. Floors, walls, rugs, bathrooms, kitchens, counters and toys all have to be cleaned all the time. So for the helter skelter mind, or the guy who is going to "buy this house" it's never really under control.

Activities are the mainstay of a successful child care facility. Letting kids watch TV all day, or just play, is not childcare. Activities begin with teacher or provider planned activities. They should have continuity, a reason to be, and at the end of a couple of months, the adult should have an idea of what happened, who learned what and what the next step is. Emilio Regio says, "Let the child decide," but if uninstructed children decide, it will be chaos without an adult who can and will keep the lid on things.

A good provider will not do the same things every day. The plan will change, grow, and be inventive. The plan will evolve just the way children are evolving. Today we do science, tomorrow we do geography, then we will do something else, but every day we will do art, music, and at least one story, and those activities will all be joined by a magic thread. Takes a plan and someone open enough to foster the plan.

Planning activities takes more than a last minute coloring sheet. Children don't learn anything from a coloring sheet. A coloring sheet says, "I didn't take the time to plan, so I will just..." It puts the adult's interest ahead of the children. It's not good child care.

A child's life is important, and all the time a child wastes in early childhood is just that "wasted." Every minute is precious and every minute should be spent doing something of value. The value comes in the child's response, and that's why things like coloring sheets are a waste of time. The parameters of the page dictate the whole of the control. One's ideas are squeezed into a 11.5 x 8.5 piece of paper with what amounts to lines on it. Better to give children a big sheet of newspaper and a red crayon or a pair of scissors, because without lines, a child can invent the whole activity.

There should always be a larger plan for children in early childhood. Learning should be a path in the woods - lots of things to see, lots of things to hear, and lots of things to explore and discover. It's supposed to take time, and it's supposed to be fun. But that won't happen if a great deal of planning by the attending adult is not done, or he or she who is planning is bogged down with every other task. When they talk about a good ratio of child to adult, it includes all the extra work of childcare.

Organizing a day's worth of child care can be a huge job to people who are not familiar with kids or who don't really know what to do with a child. So when someone writes to me and says, "I'm going to buy what amounts to a kiddie warehouse and make money, now how do you do that?" I want to reach through my email and squeeze his pompous little neck till his head pops off!

Child care is a labor of love, it's a way of life, it's a whole world that is incredibly demanding, cost crazy, and neatly balanced on the teeter totter of joy and frustration. One never ever goes home from child care. It's a 24/7 job that requires all your time every day. People who are not willing to spend a great amount of time with it are either not successful, or they are not fully engaged. And the rewards - it is never money. It's something else.

Where else do you have your clients kissing you and telling you they love you? Where else can you wear flip flops and spend a paid day at the pool and your somewhat older and heavier body is never noticed? Where else can you sit down with two semi warm cups of milked tea and enter a very funny conversation about poop or bugs or an owie? Where else will you cry with both joy and sadness and in the next second laugh so hard it makes you pee... child care."

Now don't tell me about this house with a fast chaser question of money... that would be like a man proposing, "I want to marry you, now how much will you earn..." Yuck.

Monday, July 06, 2009

Monday's Tattler



Good Morning!

It's going to be a go, go, go week this week. Another gorgeous day today, and then with rising heat we will be able to swim quite comfortably on Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Friday, we will be going to Blue Springs Cavern if possible. This trip is a new one for us, and we really don't know what to expect. But sometimes it's fun to see what's out there!

We've done a lot of new things at school this summer. The children seem to be enjoying themselves. Teaching teams have worked very well. We see a lot of children taking leaps in their development. Children are really stretching and reaching this summer.

We would like to thank all the parents for taking part in the identakid program.

And thank you for keeping track of what your child needs for swimming and for field trips and for regular days at school. It makes a huge difference.

Have a marvelous week!

Sunday, July 05, 2009

Sunday's Plate

From Kids Lunch Box Cards:

Here is a product for parents who want their children to have the surprise and delight of an occasional soda. This product was advertised in Kids Lunch Box Cards web site which can be found in Links. I haven't tried this, but it sounds delicious! You can find this on the web by going HERE.

Elixr Tonics
I've found it! I can say "YES" anytime to Root Beer, Lemonade and Ginger Ale! Elixr "soft-tonics" are all natural with real fruit, herbs and spices. My kids go nuts for the Root Beer with sparkling water. The small bottles (12 mini's to a case) are brilliant for lunches, and we like to have the big bottles on the counter at home so the kids can self serve- no refrigeration necessary! When you check out the soft tonics for your kids- also look at the Classic tonics- they are wonderful to have in the kitchen to keep us away from sodas and other sugar laden drinks.

"An Elixir is a substance that is believed to cure all ills."

Sunday's Plate

From Kids Lunch Box Cards

Understandably, fruit roll-ups are extremely appealing to kids. I fondly remember every day after school curling up to Bewitched and my Fruit Roll, yum! A couple of years ago I tasted some of the new tongue-tatooing & princess shaped fruit snacks...my kids love them, but I thought they tasted like plastic! Now I know why.

Basically, most fruit snacks have never been within a hundred mile radius of a piece of fruit, much less contain any actual fruit. They DO contain high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors and flavors, and preservatives. The biggest offenders I found were Kellogg's Fruit snacks (you know, all the fun shapes like Barbie and Spongebob), Kelloggs Yogo's, Betty Crocker Fruit Roll-Ups, and Jovy fruit rolls. I am sure there are MANY more.

We need to do our best to buy fruit snacks that are made with 100% fruit and no added sugar. They do exist, and they are really good!

Here's how SIX kid & two adult taste testers voted:

The overall winner was Clif Kid "Twisted Fruit" Sour Apple, followed by Annie's Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks and Archer Farms Fruit Strips (the organic Target brand!) .

Honorable mention goes to Trader Joe's Stretch Island Strawberry Pomegranate & Orchard Cherry flavors, Sun-Rype Wildberry and FruitaBu Apricot (the other FruitaBu flavors were too dry).

If I am making a theme lunch, every once in awhile I will buy theme shaped fruit snacks, but on a daily snacking basis, the winners here are fantastic! I have found if I am too rigid the kids pine for unhealthy foods more. Also, don't forget to have your kids brush after eating fruit snacks- they adhere to teeth prolonging the exposure of sugars.

Tastefully sponsored by:
Lassen's Health Foods
Trader Joe's Market

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Friday's Tattler

"See what you find in the water when Mommy isn't looking!"

It was a slow end to a very peaceful week. It was good to have this kind of week half way through the summer. It gave the children a chance to relax and recoup from a very busy march march march beginning to the summer. Five weeks left, and we will embark on Monday with a great week swimming and going on a new field trip on Friday.

Please make sure your tuition checks are in on Monday. The bank is holding our ability to pay our bills until all our clients' checks clear. That takes two days. That means our fund availability is limited until your checks clear. That means teacher's paychecks cannot be issued until the available funds are posted. When clients checks are late, we are stuck. If too many checks are late this week, we will have to cancel the field trip on Friday. It's super expensive. The Garden School's ability to go on the field trips planned requires that everyone pay. We understand when there are late checks because everyone falls into this category eventually, but when half the school is paying "whenever" we can't balance the checkbook and do all the things we want to do. We operate on a shoestring, and the field trip fees, although large to parents are really bare bones to us. We thank our parents for their cooperation.

Please make sure your children get enough rest. We are noticing many children dragging. Part of this is the heat and the sun, but children who go to bed at or before 8:00 will do much better than children who go to bed "whenever."

Last week, Miss Nila cooked with our older girls. This was exciting for the children. We found an angel food cake and a pineapple cream filling we thought the kids would love. They hated it. Isaac was the only child who liked it. Congratulations Isaac, you win a treasure box pass! We are going to try this cooking class again, even though the result was a kind of failure. Next week it's fresh fruit, cereal, and cool whip. Getting the older girls to be familiar with the kitchen is a big big green light.

Miss Julie helped with the spelling words this past week. It was better. This week the words will be super simple.

July's focus is on swimming. We want to get as many children in the water and really swimming as possible. This is not only a discovery, and exploration, and an "I can do" it's a safety matter. We have had super luck with this this year, and we are really excited. I'd like to see every single child do his best to be unafraid of the water.

We will not be going to Pounds Hollow Beach for the last picnic of the summer. We are trying to change this to Scales Lake in Booneville. If you have any connections or information that might make this easy, please tell Miss Judy.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Thursday's Teacher

Here is a web site I love. It's from Susun Weed.

Healing Wise
The Poaceae family - Grasses - the beating heart of life on earth
by Susun Weed

The earth offers us so many green blessings: an abundant, overwhelming, brimming basket of beauty, food, and medicine. With so many choices, it's hard to know where to start. Let's learn herbal medicine from the ground up, by focusing on the families of plants. In previous issues we visited with the mallow family, the knotweed family, the rose family, the aster family (and the genus artemisia), the cabbage family, and the lily family. Altogether, that's more than 30,000 plants we've learned how to identify and use. What's next? The grasses! Few people think of grass as a flowering plant; but it is. Our ancestors had great respect for the grasses. They, in their multitude, are the beating heart of life on earth, the prime mover of agriculture, and the tuning fork of universal nourishment. The grass family -- the Poaceae -- is found in every habitat all over the world, and includes more than 10,000 plants, all of which bear edible seeds.

For more of Susun Weed's article, go HERE.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Wacky Wonderful Wednesday

Today was a wonderful day. The weather was superb and the kids were delightful. Here's a little something from a teacher friend in New York. It's all about setting some good rules and sticking to them.

First - stay out of trouble.



















Second...aim for greater heights...














Third...practice teamwork!













Fourth...save for a rainy day!













Fifth...always take time to smile!














And sixth, nothing is impossible - ever!