Childcare by Judy Lyden

Friday's Tattler

2012-01-27T03:45:00.001-08:00

Pajama Party today! Your child wears his pajamas to school! It's a fun day on Friday!

Working with Teachers by Judy Lyden

2012-01-25T14:46:00.000-08:00

There are so many differences among personality types these days...types who won't give an inch. It makes the "find" in a kindred spirit really rewarding. Today I was talking to our beloved Miss Dayna. We discussed the differences in childhood ages, and how that works in the whole education package.

I maintain...it's my theory...that three year olds NEED to be around older children, because threes need to see the next step. Most of a three year old's time should be spent playing. Confining him to a desk for long periods, expecting what you expect from a four or five year old won't happen...the desire and the ability in most instances just don't exist. If you get blood from a turnip...you are probably really getting blood from a turnip!

Threes watch fours and fives. That's their job. They won't understand the concept of continents, oceans, and the globe...but the words, the ideas, the time spent seeing and hearing will all be there next year when the child becomes four, and his cognitive ability is different.

At four, a child is ready for most kindergarten work. This is the age when all that paperwork, all the pencils, and crayons, and the wonder of the desk is really calling. Most fours would be office persons...they love paper.

You can get a four year old to do just about any kindergarten task if you find the right opening and you stay with it. They will read, write and do arithmetic with relative ease. Some concepts are going to escape them simply because they are lacking one thing a five year old has...an abstract imagination.

So this is the time, at age four, when the mundane, boring, and relatively repetitive kindergarten work is easiest to teach. And there are other reasons to teach a four year old how to read and write...it gets the "how tos" out of the way so that when the abstract imagination begins to invade a five year old's thinking, he won't have to waste his time learning to read when it's already done.

A five year old can understand abstract ideas, so he can do a lot of work based on what if...it's a great time to introduce geography, science, and games. Fives are splendid beings with so much to offer...

So Miss Dayna and I were talking about the different ages, and agreeing about how each of them work off the other and how one group can do this, but another one can't and it was splendid to be able to invent for them.

Miss Dayna works very hard in her classroom. She has all kinds of things she wants for her children to learn and to do. Understand what they can and can't do helps, but like any fighter...she will try nearly anything anyway, just to see who can transcend the job even though...

I love having wonderful, hard working, talented teachers...makes my day.

Monday's Tattler

2012-01-23T03:24:00.000-08:00

What you need to know for this week:

This is the Southern Hemisphere week when we will study Africa, South America and Australia. Your child might be interested in the names of different countries on those continents.

On Friday, we will be having a pajama day. Children may wear their pjs, a robe, and their regular shoes so that they can go outside. It's supposed to be warm on Friday.

Please make sure your child is covered.

There could be dreadful storms tomorrow. We will have a storm drill. Please feel free to call us at any time to check up on your child. It could be a nasty day.

We will try to eat a variety of meals this week that will delight your child. On Thursday, we will have an African meal. Parents are always welcomed to attend lunch. Please let us know by 10:30.

We are looking for a new degu. If you see one in a pet store, we would love to have it.

Please dress your child for the weather. It will be mild all week.

Have a great week!

Cooking in a Bean Pot!

2012-01-22T15:13:00.000-08:00

You simply must get a bean pot! This is the new cookery item. I actually got mine when this cashier broke the one that I wanted. When he dropped it at the check out line, I went back to get the more expensive one, and he charged me the cheaper price, which I was thrilled about...long story now done.

My bean pot is an oven clay deal. It's nondescript, and would make a nice planter, lamp, or catch-all. It's a nice shade of muddy brown, with two handles on the side and a lid. Love the bean pot.

First recipe I tried in it was a bean recipe to absolutely die for. You take soaked and boiled beans with their water and you add seven strips of uncooked bacon, a cup of maple syrup, a 1/2 cup of ketchup, 1/4 cup of mustard, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, pepper, a teaspoon of ginger and a 1/2 teaspoon of all spice. Yum, and I don't like baked beans.

Tonight's little recipe is a stew in the bean pot. I browned 1.5 lbs of stew meat in a tablespoon of butter. I added potatoes, last night's sweet carrots, and barbecue spices, garlic salt, ketchup, mustard, red wine, and then I added some of the beans from last night and a raw onion and went from the frying browning pan into the pot and then into the oven. Smells divine!

I will serve it with some of my homemade hamburger buns on some left over rice. Should be a delicious meal.

What I like most about the pot is that it cooks and conserves the liquid. That means a healthy alternative to grilling or frying.

Cooking for long periods is nice when you have the time. Makes the house smell good and it doesn't have to be done at the last minute.

Buy a bean pot; you will be glad you did!

Friday's Tattler

2012-01-22T15:04:00.000-08:00

We had a great International Feast event on Friday. Lots of parents brought delicious food, and the kids seemed to really enjoy it.

We had Indian Curry, Chinese food, Gyogys which are Japanese, lots of egg rolls, pork fried rice, spicy chicken, Chicken Picatta - super good...Irish Soda Bread, Italian Spaghetti, Mexican foods of all kinds like quesadillas, enchiladas, a trifle to die for from a very evil mother who should never ever ever handle sugar of any kind!!! lol. We had Middle Eastern Falafel on pitas, Italian beef, and a lot more food that was incredible.

Kids were noisy on Friday. It must have been the excitement.

I was so pleased to have as many offerings as we had. It was truly a lovely afternoon, and we appreciate all the work and the love and commitment. Thank you so much for all you do!

Next on the agenda is the pajama party on Friday, January 27.

So What's "Illness?"

2012-01-19T13:58:00.001-08:00

Every parent signs a "Sick Child" agreement when they enroll their child at the Garden School, and most other places that care about children. Most of the time, this agreement is not even read, and I know this because so many parents are surprised when we say a child cannot come to school.

We get our list of childhood ailments from the State Department of Health. And for each one of the ailments on the agreement, there is a reason why this particular ailment is not conducive to sending a child to school.
Here's the list:

A fever of 99 degrees of higher
Vomiting within 24 hours
Diarrhea within 24 hours
Severe Constipation
Stomach ache
Headache
Earache
Ear infection
Profuse drainage from a cold
Any untreated infections
Hacking cough
Any flu
Strep throat
Tonsillitis
Pneumonia
Open wounds
Same day surgery
Teeth extractions
Tooth abscess
Head lice
Crabs
Chicken pox
Mumps
Measles
German Measles
Rubella
Fifth’s Disease
Roseola
Kawasaki’s Disease
Sleep Deprivation.

When a child comes to school with "a little fever" two things are happening: the child is incubating an illness that he or she is going to spread to many other children. Also, the child who is passing his virus, is very vulnerable to any other bug lurking on the surface of toys, drinking fountain, toilet etc. When children do not remain at home and quiet during a "little fever" the "little fever" often becomes a huge and dangerous bug.

It's the same with vomiting, diarrhea, profuse drainage from a cold, any untreated infections, hacking cough, flu, strep throat, tonsillitis, pneumonia, head lice, crabs, chicken pox, mumps, measles, German measles, rubella, Fifth’s Disease, Roseola, Kawasaki’s Disease or any communicable childhood disease. These can be very dangerous to children, and bringing a child to school with one of these illnesses is a disgrace.

These are all spreadable, contagious illnesses which do not belong brought into a facility with children. Not only is it unfair, it's against the law. It's really a matter that must be reported to the health department who could turn over chronic abusers to Child Welfare.

As for severe constipation, stomach ache, headache, earache, and ear infections...really? Parents would actually bring children to school to "play" knowing that their child was in terrible pain? Really? The answer is yes.

And how do we get by with this? We baby pack and shove the kid through the door hoping that the over the counter medication we packed into a child will hold just long enough to make it through the morning...then when the call comes from school, we can postpone picking the child up till snack...Sound awful? It is criminal.

One of the things that is on the list that few parents are concerned with is sleep deprivation. Children need ten to twelve hours of sleep every day. When they are "kept up late" children suffer. Children who are chronically sleep deprived behave as if they are mentally disabled. They can't learn like other children; they can't eat like other children because they are just too tired; they can't run and jump like other kids. They mule around looking for a bed all day and miss most of what the other children are learning.

The guideline for whether a child should come to school is easy: if a child needs over the counter medication, he or she is not feeling well enough to go to school. Check the list. What exactly is the child suffering from? What can you do to keep your child safe, and his friends safe at school. One day? It's better than five.
For the most part, a child who is kept home on the first day that he or she is ill, that child will probably only be sick one day. Most kids can fight off illnesses easily.

We've had an easy winter so far this year, but several nasty bugs have been passed around already. With the see/saw weather we are experiencing, we are waiting for the next round. Please watch your child carefully in the morning. Not a bad idea to "cheek to cheek" during your morning routine. Placing your cheek to your child's will tell you instantly if your child is running a fever. His cheek on your cheek will be hot.

Wishing you the best this cold and flu season...

Wise Wednesday...

2012-01-18T13:53:00.000-08:00

One of the things that makes my day is walking into three separate classrooms and finding real learning going on. We focus on the five year olds more than the other ages because the fives are giving back what they learned. The fours are learning to learn from the fives and the threes are putting together a learning plan while they do most of the watching. It's a remarkable group effort and never ceases to amaze me how demonstrative five year old children are and how much the others learn from them!

Today, I was amazed by our threes, however, who were playing sight word bingo and really getting it. Miss Amy has taught the children their letters and sounds well, so that they can put two and two together and actually play a game with nine little sight words.

The fours were busy with math...in fact, they were so busy, there was not a single noise. I marveled at the quiet. They were busy figuring out and sorting by coloring. It was a fabulously interesting problem, and Miss Dayna was holding a remarkable court!

As I walked into Miss Lisa's class, the fives were inventing a story about Mr. Terry. This is early creative writing. The mental juices were really flowing, and the children couldn't get enough of being next to "tell."

Our children get a fast and crazy thirty minutes of three subjects every morning...reading, writing and arithmetic. It's a fast paced program that keeps things moving. Teachers have only a short time to impart the day's lesson and then it's on to the next thing. Not an easy, leisurely pace, surly, but certainly geared for very young children.

Today's general lesson was North America and how we are part of a three country team. We talked about being "the UNITED STATES" as a group activity. We asked the children if they have ever heard of places like Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, and Florida. "How about California?" Many of the children had heard of Hawaii, and Texas. We explained how these places, called states, all made up the "United States." Some of the kindergarteners will take home a map from one of the states to enjoy at home. It's to be brought back tomorrow, and another map will go home.

These cold, indoor days need a lot of zest, a lot of thinking and a lot of teacher plans. This P.M., as it was reported, was filled with finishing our relief maps. I was told they are adorable with trees, and rocks and a boat and gummy bear and whale crackers...

A great day!

Monday's Tattler - The Northern Hemisphere

2012-01-16T03:21:00.000-08:00

So this week we will look at another part of the world...the Northern Hemisphere with an emphasis on the Temperate Zone. I have to remember that our focus is on the five year olds. Threes are there to observe learning. The fours are learning to learn and the fives are learning and telling us what they've learned. This allows the Threes the freedom to explore but not the obligation of things too hard for them. The fours are filled with curiosity and participate nicely, but they are often not there, and that's OK. Their time will come.

Trying to convey an abstract idea of space to a child who really can't grasp the globe and world as a thing they are standing on is always fun. So talking about its parts takes not only a creative mind, but also some fancy footwork, some humor and a lot of yeahs!

So today we will embark on three specific areas: North America, Europe, and parts of Asia.

On Friday, we will be having our annual International Feast. This is a lunch starting about 12:00 for all parents who can come. Invitations will go out today. Parents bring a serving for about four to school of a dish that is not a USA original dish. Examples? Spaghetti, curry, egg rolls, sushi, beef Wellington...

Everyone is welcome, and we do this at lunch time so more parents can come. If you can't come but would like to participate, you can send something with your child.

The weather is supposed to be a smorgasbord of hot, cold, rainy, sunny, dry, wet...all week. We will get kids out when we can.

Have a great week!

Friday 13th Snow Delay!

2012-01-13T05:21:00.001-08:00

We are on a two hour delay and will open at 9:00 a.m.!

Biscuits...

2012-01-13T05:13:00.000-08:00

Having made biscuits for years at home, it's something we have purchased on and off for the school because of the time element. We make our own refrigerated dough now with whole wheat flour, and now I want to incorporate biscuits into our lunch day. So, because there was a snow delay this a.m., I read this article and am sharing it with you!

My daughter Kate sent a recipe to die for...it's like monkey bread only pizza. Will definitely be making this for the kids next Wednesday...
From the COOKS.COM Culinary Archive.

How to Make Good Biscuits

What is a good biscuit? In the American sense of the word, biscuit is a shortened bread, to be eaten hot. It should be baked in small portions, delicately browned, but not hardened on the outside, moist and light from the steam so suddenly developed in it from the quick baking, rather thick with a very soft, fine-grained crumb, but flaky and tender rather than porous and elastic like bread. Many cooks fail to realize this difference and vigorously knead their biscuit, not knowing that as soon as flour is wet it develops a sticky, elastic substance called gluten, which becomes more rubbery the more it is worked. For the same reason that one does knead bread, one does not knead biscuit.

The secret of baking good biscuit is to have the dough as soft as one can handle it, but not to handle it a bit more than is necessary after the wetting has been added to the flour, and to bake it in a quick oven.

Cookery experts have experimented with every possible variation of the cookery recipe until they have not only established the standard recipe; but have ascertained exactly the result of varying it in any given detail. But it is not enough to follow the standard rule; there is something in one's technique. Experience proves that a cup of flour will make five large fat biscuits, or ten or twelve smaller ones, but that the smaller ones are a little superior; that a proper degree of lightness is secured by two teaspoons of baking powder to the cup of flour; that half a teaspoon of salt will take away the flat taste of the dough without giving an appreciably salty flavor; that there should be about half as much wetting as flour; that two tablespoons of fat is enough shortening to make a tender, flaky crust, but that more makes it too rich, more like pie crust, and therefore apt to give a greasy, heavy crumb.

One's results depend largely upon the way the fat is mixed with the flour, the quantity of the liquid added and the method of adding it, and the subsequent handling of the dough. Whether one chops the fat into the flour with knives, feeling that this is cleanlier than to rub it in with the hands, or that the heat of the hands tends to make the mixture waxy, or whether one feels confident in the cleanliness of one's hands and finds that if the materials are properly cold one can be surer of the right results when guided by the sense of touch, the point to be aimed at is a mixture in which there are no fatty lumps and no unshortened flour; it should feel slightly mealy.

Whether the liquid to be added is water or milk, it should be cold, and the quantity should be half that of the flour used. This makes a dough too soft to handle. Stir it lightly just enough to wet the flour, and turn it out on a thickly floured board. By this method the dough should all come away clean from the pan. The top will be too soft and sticky to touch, but if you sprinkle it thickly with flour you can easily flatten it out with the hand or spatula and shape it up so it can be cut advantageously. The inside is still to wet to handle, so dip the cutter in flour to keep the dough from sticking to it. You may have to use a spatula to transfer the biscuits to the pan.

Make 2-inch rounds, and put them in a pan which has been dusted with flour to prevent sticking. Never grease the pan, nor the outside of the biscuit.

Lay the rounds so that they do not crowd each other too much, or as they rise they will become misshapen and too thick. Experiment has shown that they are much better when cooked twelve or fifteen minutes in the top of a quick oven, than twenty or thirty minutes lower down in a slow oven. Overcooking does not produce the ideal biscuit.

Does the kind of shortening matter? Not greatly, though, of course, butter is more expensive than other fats, and gives a characteristic yellow color, as well as a characteristic flavor which many people think too pronounced for a hot bread to be eaten with butter. Many cooking fats and compounds contain cottonseed oil, which in its changed form is not in the least objectionable, but unchanged cottonseed oil gives off a strong, offensive odor and is therefore highly objectionable. If you use sour cream, of course, use less shortening — how much less depends on the quantity and richness of the cream.

Of course, the measurements given here mean precise, level measurements. Accuracy in biscuit making, as in all other forms of cookery, makes all the difference between the unreliable products, the occasional brilliant successes and the frequent failures; of the hit-and-miss cook, and the consistently good products of the cook who knows not only the rule, but the principle by which she works. To summarize:

1 cup flour,
2 teaspoons baking powder,
1/2 teaspoon salt,
2 tablespoons fat,
1/2 cup liquid

with as much more flour as may be necessary to handle the sticky dough. Vary this recipe sometimes for specially dainty occasions, by pressing down into the top of each biscuit a cube of sugar dipped in orange juice. But remember that the melting sugar makes the tops brown more quickly than they ordinarily would, so be careful to avoid overcooking. Sometimes a cube of canned pineapple may be substituted for the orange-dipped sugar, or you may find something among your own preserves more to your individual taste. The sugar and juice make a little well of sweetness in the top of the biscuit, and they do not split like ordinary biscuit. Put a little butter on the top, serve very hot and eat with a fork.

Delay, Friday, January 13!

2012-01-13T03:42:00.000-08:00

The Garden School is on a two hour delay and will open at 9:00!

Crazy Days

2012-01-11T13:31:00.000-08:00

Every day is a full day in the early childhood world. Amy and I start our days at 4:45 or so and are at school by 6:00. First thing on the agenda is making the coffee...feeding the cats...getting the kitchen ready for the day. While Amy prepares the scratch dessert to be eaten at 4:00 later that afternoon, I head off to the zoo room to make sure nobody is ill, and no one has gotten into trouble the night before. Usually, I dig out one section of the room, clean most of the surfaces, sweep, and then prepare to feed the animals the following: a half head of lettuce, several long carrots, a shovel of cockatiel seed, safflower seeds, sunflower seeds, rabbit cookies, chinchilla cereal, peanuts, crackers, cookies, and timothy. The animals chase me out of the room while they delight in their breakfast.

The first cup of coffee is ready and snack is in the oven. Pause.

Now it's time to get ready for breakfast. The first children arrive through the back door... it's early but there are special considerations... Miss Amy and I share the breakfast duties. Sometimes she switches gears and prepares delicious muffins and coffee cake, and sometimes I slice bread for French toast. Pancakes on Fridays...all done before seven a.m.

Checking the check in for Step Ahead, changing the roster for the day, putting mail where it needs to go, getting the notes to parents that need to go, deploying the mail from the day before, checking the calendar...are still quiet parts of the day.

Then the doorbell rings and the children begin to come to school. With every child, there are new demands. This one is going home with this person; this one needs to leave at 2:00; this one was puny the evening before, so watch him; this one was a nightmare for mom and deserves no medal...and the day begins to roll.

The bacon needs to be put into the oven...the toilet in the girls room has just emptied onto the floor...the phone rings and the State has changed it's mind about the upcoming inspection...the fish tank looks suspiciously unhealthy...second cup of coffee...it's 7:30, and another teacher arrives - Miss Dayna.

By 8:30, the school has filled with little voices, there have been eighteen crashes of toys, but teachers never flinch unless it's a head that goes down with the toy...dozens of conversations have occurred with parents about any number of things...this morning I taught a wonderful parent how to crochet. It's now breakfast time.

The bell rings, the children all stand still and listen to the plea to get toys picked up. There is some discussion about throwing our dishes and dress up clothes on the floor...one child will not attend to business and loses his medal with a frown and a scolding word. Before we finally assemble on the carpet, tables are scrubbed, sanitized and set. Kids are busy with geography...where and what, and then it's time to wash hands, call roll, pray and eat. Miss Lisa walks in.

"What have you eaten" is our meal eating incentive that follows every meal. This is an opportunity for children to speak publicly attest to what they have accomplished and voice an opinion. "I ate my breakfast and drank my milk," repeat about sixty-five percent. They are in the running for the prizes at the end of the week. Miss Dayna finishes with a roll call, and then we disperse to the carpet again for circle time which involves discussion, a prayer, the Pledge and the Star Spangled Banner. Children are expected to recite, to sing, to answer questions.

Class time runs an hour and a half. Teachers teach and Miss Judy usually has a project. Today I rebuilt the Degu house, made a quiche for lunch. Yesterday I hung artwork on the ceiling and watered all the plants. I might clean a set of toys, mop a stubborn floor or make something special in the kitchen. It's not unusual to have phone calls, inquiries, paperwork, cleaning or a sick or badly behaved child to manage. Lists of things to do, things to buy, errands, and records are done in this slot. Report cards need to be filled out this week.

It's also not unusual for any number of people to walk in unannounced including the health inspector, the USDA CCFP food inspector, the fire marshal, the welfare department, the police, and any other official who might need to ask, seek, or make an announcement.

At 10:30 it's time to cook again. When you cook from scratch, there is always something to do ahead of time. Today I made egg rolls and chicken fried rice. Fifty egg rolls needed to be stuffed and rolled. Chicken was cooked and pre-cut.

Recess is at 11:00 and children will once again make a gigantic mess. And there are messes in the kitchen, the bathrooms, the playroom while people come in a steady stream with questions or just needing to talk. Time to feed the cat's again.

Lunch is at 12:00. Music is at 12:30. While dishes are done and garbage removed, Miss Amy and I are teaching music. Miss Lisa has done the dishes and is busy getting the afternoon art project ready for forty children. Miss Kara is helping. Miss Molly is answering the phone, cleaning the fish tank, and busying herself with State issues regarding inspections.

Then the children play. But play is short lived because it's time to learn again. The children gather and have a lesson about geography. They have made paper mache relief maps, and will paint them today. But first it's story time.

Painting is usually a free for all, but teachers skillfully get the most out of every child. The incredible mess is cleaned up, and the children play again.

Snack is at four and then another story time, and then quickly and quietly, the children go home one by one.

It's always a great day because we are working as a team...planning, doing, building, making, talking, teaching, problem solving and just loving the kids.

The Compliment Free Zone

2012-01-10T03:39:00.000-08:00

Imagine living in a compliment free zone. Imagine that nothing you do receives a kudo. If you work hard and achieve, it seems to go unnoticed. If you accomplish a positive result after many negative results, there is no one to say, "Congratulations."

If you look great, it's a mute affair. If you bring home a trophy, a stellar report card, a bonus, a present, a new car, an elephant, it's all the same...not worth mentioning. This is a compliment free zone, and many people live in them, and sadly, many adults create these worlds for children. There is even a child expert who advocates a compliment free zone. His name is Alphie Kohn.

On the other side of the mountain, there is the wide wonderful teaching zone of compliments.

"I love that drawing, Magnetta!"

"Thank you, Miss Judy. I just did this and this and this," and the child eagerly shows, practices, and verbalizes her work and accomplishments.

"Those beads are beautiful, Robby. What made you string only the yellow and the blue beads."

"They are my mom's favorite colors," he says proudly.

When we extend ourselves in a loving and very human congratulatory cavalcade of words, we create a positive effect on the world. We teach that which is pleasing, beneficial, interesting and superior to things that are "not worth mentioning."

"I love these cookies, Miss Amy. How did you get them so moist?"

"I'm not sure. But I think it's the extra egg."

"That quiche looks fantastic, how did you manage such a great crust?"

And so the exchange of compliments leads to learning... practically every single time. It might not be a huge knowledge leap, but there is always information exchanged, and that's what kids and most adults need to feel good about themselves.

The big sixty four thousand dollar question is: Why would someone constantly fail to encourage another by refusing to notice their achievements?

Well, there's the sociopath who is so focused on self, they can't begin to ask anyone question that won't fill their own quasi emotional pocket, compliment another or learn anything from anyone because nobody really matters but self. And since that's only one in twenty-five people, we don't generally have to focus too much on that answer.

Then there's the green eyed monster answer, and many people would shrug the negative person off with "they're just jealous," but jealousy toward a child is really a strange bit of evil.

There's the "He doesn't know how. Never learned it in childhood and probably won't ever be that kind of generous person."

There's the oblivious answer. "So and so is oblivious to what is going on, so don't expect he/she to notice anything."

Perhaps the one thing that makes the most sense is: He or she who refuses to acknowledge another simply is not in the habit of doing so. Bad habits can take over a life that is in chaos. These bad habits begin in childhood and grow up with us, so that we never really learn to verbalize someone else.

Putting a smile on another's face is such a pleasure, it's hard to imagine giving that up. I can't imagine a day that I don't make our children at school laugh. Making someone laugh, smile, or take pride in something they have done is such a personal lift...almost makes you feel selfish!

The next step, of course, is teaching the children to say uplifting, complimentary things to one another. We will spend February doing just that because February is "social awareness month."

It's not hard to compliment someone. It's not only the exceptional people who encourage others. It's not only the boss, the achievers, the sales types, the athletes, the pros, the rich, the saints of this world who reach out to others and say, "Hey...I liked that because." Anyone with a voice can say something true to another that will make them feel good.

And does it cost to say something nice? No, it's free. In fact, saying something nice to someone else is such an effective tonic, it takes years off the voicer's life because it reduces stress, lowers the blood pressure and puts a smile on the headache waiting to happen.

Say something nice to a stranger, and you have made your own day. Say something nice to a child and encourage him to say something nice to another child, and you have a lifted feeling like no other.

Life is supposed to be joyful, a happy experience, an encouraging stream of goodness flowing from each of us. Extend that handshake and encourage and advances everyone around you. You'll be glad you did...then go teach your child how to...

Monday's Tattler - Around the World...

2012-01-09T02:53:00.000-08:00

This week at school we are honing our geography skills by moving away from the polar regions and looking at the land masses and the oceans. We expect our students to try to understand the land water concept and to learn at least some of the names of the oceans and the continents.

We will be doing regular classes this week and report cards will go out this week.

The weather is supposed to change, so please dress your child for the weather it should be at noon on any given day.

Please remember that an ill child is a child who feels poorly enough in the morning to require medication from over the counter! Please help stop epidemics by keeping ill children home.

Please remember that we will publish our snow closings on WFIE.

If you are looking for a cat, please let us know. We have several beautiful neutered cats available who are looking for their furever home!

Much happiness this week!

Sunday's Plate - Organizing a Cheap Food Week

2012-01-08T13:47:00.000-08:00

When money is tight, and it nearly always is with families after Christmas, the one really fluid part of the budget is the food budget. You can always scrape a few dollars out of the food budget if you think it through, and nobody seems to notice for about a week.

Here are some really cheap menu plans that taste good and fill up the family and won't break the bank. You'll have to do a little cooking, but you can save a bunch even if you have to buy everything listed.

Granola for breakfast.

Use half a large carton of whole oats $4.00, half large package of coconut @ $ 1.50, 3/4 cup canola oil @ $ 2.50, 1 cup brown sugar @ $ 2.00, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Bake 350 degrees in a baking pan for about 35 minutes. Let cool and serve every other morning.

$10.00

French toast for breakfast.

Use one quarter loaf of Italian bread @ $ 2.50 and two of a dozen eggs @ $ 1.50 and 1/4 stick of butter @ $2.50 lb. Use cinnamon sugar as a topping. Serve three days.

$6.50

Lunch:

Peanut butter @ $2.00 and brown bread or cinnamon bread @ $ 3.00 sandwiches serve M/W/F.

$5.00

With another loaf of Italian bread @ $ 2.50 make cheese @ $ 3.50 sandwiches T/W.

$6.00

Boil 2 eggs for egg salad for two days and use remaining Italian bread.

Apples every day for a week. @ $ 4.00 a bag.

$4.00

Dinner:

Chicken soup: 1 package of whole grain noodles @ $1.00; 1/2 jar of chicken bouillon @ 2.50; and 2 chicken breasts @ $3.00. Boil noodles, add bouillon, add cooked chicken, thicken with flour and water mix.

$6.50

Pancakes: Always a favorite: 2 cups whole grain flour @ $3.00; 1/4 cup canola oil; 1 egg; salt; 1 heaping teaspoon baking powder, milk @ $ 3.00 to desired thickness. 1 cup sugar @ $ 3.00 added to 1/2 cup water boiled three minutes will make syrup. Add 1/2 stick of butter.

$9.00

Mac and Cheese: One box of whole grain noodles @ $1.00. 1/2 stick of butter to 1/2 cup of flour cooked in a pan. Add two cups of milk, add rest of cheese from sandwiches, 1 tablespoon of chicken bouillon and bring to a boil. Serve over cooked noodles. Serve with piggy link sausage @ $ 3.00 additional = $4.00 total. Use some of the apples to make applesauce.

$4.00

Fake Crab sandwiches. Use one package fake crab from the sushi department @ $4.00. Chop celery and onion with crab @ $ 2.00. Use one piece of Italian bread and one egg. Make one package refrigerator biscuits at $2.50 for 4 tubes. Serve with left over mac and cheese, celery sticks and carrot sticks @ 1.50 a bag on special.

$10.00

Pizza: With some of your flour and a package of yeast @ $2.00, and some warm water and a tablespoon of oil, make a pizza dough. Use 1/2 can of tomato sauce @ $1.00 and one package of grated mozzarella or Monterrey Jack Cheese at @ $3.00. Use left over sausage...

$6.00

Meatloaf: buy two pounds of ground meat @ $ 8.00 and use some of your oats with the meat, 1/2 the can of tomato sauce. Bake for an hour at 350 degrees. Microwave potatoes @ $ 3.00 and serve with some of your carrots and celery steamed.

$11.00

Meatloaf sandwiches on the final night! Serve with any leftovers especially oven baked sliced potatoes dredged in oil.

If you had to buy everything here, it would cost under $80.00 and still be good for you. If you had oil, flour, and butter, it would, of course, be cheaper. Eating at school or grabbing a piece of toast in the morning is even cheaper. Substituting the meatloaf for tacos, might come out more cheaply as well.

Hope I've gotten you to thing about "cheap weeks!"

Canola Oil or Applesauce - Which is Healthier?

2012-01-05T03:51:00.000-08:00

I made apple muffins this morning for the kids. We make apple muffins a lot. We use whole grain wheat flour, reduced sugar, farm fresh eggs, milk, baking powder, salt, and canola oil.

"Oh," says a mother, "Have you tried applesauce muffins?"

"With applesauce?" say I, because we use fresh chopped apples in our apple muffins.

"Yes, but you substitute the fat part of the recipe and use applesauce," says the parent.

"Why would I want to do that?" question I.

"Because it's healthier for your child," insists the parent.

"Really? Are you sure?" quiz I. What are you adding and subtracting to make that statement true? Few people know; they just go along with the latest pap. And, some people are determined to believe myths. So I've gathered some information so that our readers can make their own minds up about applesauce or oil.

Here is the nutrition breakdown for applesauce:

Sugar: 36 grams to a cup which is 12 teaspoons
Carbs: 43 grams

"theGood" This food is very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium.

"The Bad" A large portion of the calories in this food come from sugars.

Now read what an applesauce replaced recipe is losing: Health benefits of canola oil

Canola oil has distinct health benefits than many other vegetable edible oils. It is fast emerging as healthiest oils in tandem with olive oil. Distinct flavor and unlike many other oils which are derived from nuts and seeds, olive oil is obtained from fruits and hence contains large amounts of plant derived anti-oxidants, phyto-sterols and vitamins. It is very low in saturated fats. It contains essential fatty acids at 2:1 making it as one of the healthiest cooking oils at a ratio even better than olive oil.

It has highest levels of plant sterols, especially. The FDA has approved the following claim for phytosterols: "Foods containing at least 0.4 gram per serving of plant sterols, eaten twice a day with meals for a daily total intake of at least 0.8 gram, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease." Phyto-sterols competitively inhibit cholesterol absorption in the gut and thereby can reduce cholesterol levels by 10% to 15%.

Canola oil is high in calories. However, its high calorie content comes from better fats. It is especially rich in mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) like oleic acid (18:1) which constitutes about 61% of total fats that help to lower LDL or "bad cholesterol" and increase HDL or "good cholesterol" in the blood. Research studies suggest that Mediterranean diet which is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids helps to prevent coronary artery disease and strokes by favoring healthy blood lipid profile.

The oil contains valuable amounts of anti-oxidant particularly gamma-tocopherol. 100 g fresh oil has 27.34 mcg of a-tocopherol and 17.46 mcg of alpha-tocopherol. Vitamin E is a powerful lipid soluble antioxidant, required for maintaining the integrity of cell membrane of mucus membranes and skin by protecting it from harmful oxygen free radicals.Being a vegetable source, it has very high levels of plant sterols, especially.

The FDA has approved the following claim for phytosterols: "Foods containing at least 0.4 gram per serving of plant sterols, eaten twice a day with meals for a daily total intake of at least 0.8 gram, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease." Phyto-sterols competitively inhibit cholesterol absorption in the gut and thereby can reduce cholesterol levels by 10% to 15%.

Canola oil has highest smoke point oil is also an ideal choice for deep frying because it can be heated to a higher temperature (smoke point -450 °F). This results in lower oil retention in the fried foods.

So, when I'm baking, I'll stick to canola oil and the fresh apples. And while I'm staying with my "heart healthy" recipe, I'll enjoy a light, flavorful fun muffin rather than a heavy, lifeless gluepod. But then, I'm a terrible kitchen snob....lol...

Ernest Shackleton, Explorer South Pole

2012-01-03T14:09:00.000-08:00

We always begin our Geography Study with Ernest Shackleton. He is an example of greatness, and his story needs to be told to impressionable children who will then be able to dream big dreams and know that success is at hand when we work hard and do the right things.

Ernest H. Shackleton
1874-1922

The Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1914-1917

In Shackleton's own words, "After the conquest of the South Pole by Amundsen who, by a narrow margin of days only, was in advance of the British Expedition under Scott, there remained but one great main object of Antarctic journeyings--the crossing of the South Polar continent from sea to sea".

When Shacklet
on returned from the NIMROD EXPEDITION, on which an attempt was made to plant the British flag on the South Pole, attention was turned towards the crossing of the continent as Shackleton felt certain that either Amundsen or Scott would succeed where he had failed, just 97 miles from his goal.

Shackleton felt that the first crossing of the Antarctic Continent, from sea to sea via the Pole, apart from its historic value, would be a journey of great scientific importance. The distance would be roughly 1800 miles, and the first half of this, from the Weddell Sea to the Pole, would be over unexplored territory. Shackleton intended on taking continuous magnetic observations as the glaciologist and geologist studied ice formations and the mountains of Victoria Land. While the Trans-continental party worked its way across the continent, other scientific parties would operate from the base on the Weddell Sea. One sledging party would travel towards Graham Land, making observations and collecting geological specimens while another party would travel eastward toward Enderby Land conducting the same types of studies. A third party would remain at the base to study the fauna of the land and sea and the meteorological conditio

ns. From the Ross Sea base in McMurdo Sound, another party would push southward to await the arrival of the Trans-continental party at the top of the Beardmore Glacier. Two ships were required for the expedition. The ENDURANCE would be used to transport the Trans-continental party to the Weddell Sea and would afterwards explore the shores of the coastline. She was constructed at Sandefjord by the famous Norwegian builder, Christensen. She was barquentine rigged and had triple-expansion engines which gave her a speed under steam of 9 to 10 knots. Some 350 tons, she was built of selected pine, oak and greenheart. Fully equipped, she cost the Expedition £14,000. AURORA, the ship used to take out the Ross Sea Party, was purchased from Douglas Mawson. She was very similar to the TERRA NOVA of Scott's expedition.

Preparations were started in the middle of 1913 but no public announcement was made until January 13, 1914. After the announcement, Shackleton was flooded with applications from eager members of the community to join the adventure. Nearly 5,000 applications were received from which 56 men were picked. In March, the promised financial help fell through so Shackleton immediately set about appealing for help. The funds were raised to complete the purchases with the largest contributors being the late Sir James Caird (£24,000), the British Government (£10,000) and the Royal Geographical Society (£1,000). Most of the Public Schools of England and Scotland helped the Expedition to purchase the dog teams--each dog was named after a school that contributed. The AURORA was purchased and Mackintosh was sent to Australia to take charge of her.

In this chapter, you will read of the most incredible, in my opinion, adventure of this era. What makes it even more remarkable is the fact that all men from the Trans-continental party made it back alive. Unfortunately, the same can not be said for the Ross Sea Party, whose story will be told in the next chapter.

The Endurance Expedition

The Transcontinental Party

Towards the end of July all was ready when suddenly the war clouds darkened over Europe. Arrangements had been made for the ENDURANCE to proceed to Cowes to be inspected by His Majesty on the Monday of Cowes week. But on the Friday before, Shackleton received a message saying the King would not be able to go. They sailed from London on Friday, August 1, 1914, and anchored off Southend all Saturday. On Sunday afternoon Shackleton took the ship off Margate and on Monday morning Shackleton went ashore and read in the morning paper the order for general mobilization. Shackleton immediately returned to the ship, gathered all hands, and told them of his intention to telegram the Admiralty offering the ships, stores and services to the country in the event of war breaking out. It was requested that in the declaration of war, the Expedition would be considered a single unit as there were enough trained men among them to man a destroyer. Within an hour after sending the telegram, Shackleton received a wire from the Admiralty saying "Proceed". Within two hours, another arrived from Winston Churchill in which he thanked them for their offer but desired that the Expedition go on. The ENDURANCE sailed on to Plymouth and on Tuesday the King sent for Shackleton and handed him the Union Jack to carry on the Expedition. That night, at midnight, war broke out. On the following Saturday, August 8, the ENDURANCE sailed from Plymouth.

The voyage out to Buenos Aires was uneventful and on October 26 they sailed from that port for South Georgia. For a month, final preparations were made for the assault. According to many, the war would be over within six months so when it came time to leave for the south, they left with no regrets.

The Leader

Shackleton wrote, "I had decided to leave South Georgia about December 5, and in intervals of final preparation scanned again the plans for the voyage to winter quarters. What welcome was the Weddell Sea preparing for us? The whaling captains at South Georgia were generously ready to share with me their knowledge of the waters in which they pursued their trade, and, while confirming earlier information as to the extreme severity of the ice conditions in this sector of the Antarctic, they were able to give advice that was worth attention...I knew that the ice had come far north that season, and, after listening to the suggestions of the whaling captains, had decided to steer to the South Sandwich Group, round Ultima Thule, and work as far to the eastward as the fifteenth meridian west longitude before pushing south. The whalers emphasized the difficulty of getting through the ice in the neighborhood of the South Sandwich Group. They told me they had often seen the floes come right up to the Group in the summertime, and they thought the Expedition would have to push through heavy pack in order to reach the Weddell Sea. Probably the best time to get into the Weddell Sea would be the end of February or the beginning of March. The whalers had gone right round the South Sandwich Group and they were familiar with the conditions. The predictions they made had induced me to take the deck-load of coal, for if we had to fight our way through to Coats' Land we would need every ton of fuel the ship could carry.
I hoped that by first moving to the east as far as the fifteenth meridian west we would be able to go south through looser ice, pick up Coats' Land and finally reach Vahsel Bay, where Filchner made his attempt at landing in 1912. Two considerations were occupying my mind at this juncture. I was anxious for certain reasons to winter the ENDURANCE in the Weddell Sea, but the difficulty of finding a safe harbor might be very great. If no safe harbor could be found, the ship must winter at South Georgia. It seemed to me hopeless now to think of making the journey across the continent in the first summer, as the season was far advanced and the ice conditions were likely to prove unfavorable. In view of the possibility of wintering the ship in the ice, we took extra clothing from the stores at the various stations in South Georgia". The day of departure arrived. The order was given to heave anchor at 8:45 a.m. on December 5, 1914 and the last link with civilization was broken. The morning was dull and overcast, with occasional gusts of snow and sleet. The long days of preparation were over and the adventure lay ahead.

The ENDURANCE left under steam and sail to the southeast. The course was laid to clear them of the coastline of South Georgia and then south of South Thule, Sandwich Group. On December 6, they passed two bergs, several growlers and numerous lumps of ice. Fifteen miles north of Sanders Island, the ENDURANCE was confronted by a belt of heavy pack-ice, half a mile broad extending north and south. The noon latitude had been 57°26'S which left Shackleton uneasy finding pack-ice so far north. This first encounter was only a portent of things to come. The situation became dangerous that night as they pushed into the pack in the hope of reaching open water beyond. Unfortunately, they found themselves after dark in a pool which grew smaller and smaller. The ice ground against the ship in a heavy swell as Shackleton and Worsley remained on deck all night in an attempt to dodge the pack. It was early in the morning before the ENDURANCE was able to get clear. They went east to find better ice and five hours later succeeded in rounding the pack. Sails were once again set. Shackleton wrote of the ice, "As the pack gets closer the congested areas grow larger and the parts are jammed harder until it becomes 'closer pack'...where the parts do not fit closely there is, of course, open water, which freezes over in a few hours after giving off volumes of 'frost smoke'. In obedience to renewed pressure this young ice 'rafts', thus forming double thicknesses of a toffee-like consistency...the opposing edges of heavy floes rear up in slow and almost silent conflict till high 'hedgerows' are formed round each part of the puzzle...All through the winter the drifting pack changes--grows by freezing, thickens by rafting and corrugates by pressure".

By early January they had shifted only a few miles further south. Frustration of the crewmembers was relieved on January 5 as a football game was played on the ice. Everyone was having fun until the ship's captain, Frank Worsley, fell through rotten ice and had to be rescued. Another perceived problem was the killer whales. Spotting a seal, the creatures would dive to great depths and then smash through the ice, seizing the seal in it's mouth. The expedition found a hole 25 feet in diameter that had been created by a killer whale. As photographer Frank Hurley took a dog team over the thin ice, he would hear whales blowing behind him. He would quickly dash for solid, thick ice with "No need to shout 'mush' and swing the lash. The whip of terror had cracked over their heads and they flew before it. The whales behind...broke through the thin ice as though it were tissue paper, and, I fancy, were so staggered by the strange sight that met their eyes, that for a moment they hesitated. Had they gone ahead and attacked us in front, our chances of escape would have been slim indeed...Never in my life have I looked upon more loathsome creatures".

By the 19th of January, the ENDURANCE was solidly frozen in. Their position was 76°34'S, longitude, 31°30'W. A sounding was taken which found them in 312 fathoms, finding mud, sand and pebbles. "Icebergs hang upside down in the sky; the land appears as layers of silvery or golden cloud. Cloud-banks look like land, icebergs masquerade as islands...". The ship was now drifting southwest with the floes. The ship's rudder became dangerously jammed on the 21st from the heavy ice which had to be cut away with ice-chisels constructed from heavy pieces of iron with 6-foot wooden handles.

Just before midnight on January 24, a crack developed in the ice some five yards wide and a mile long, only fifty yards ahead of the ship. The crack widened to a quarter of a mile by 10 a.m. on the 25th, and for three hours Shackleton tried to force the ship into the opening with engines at full speed ahead and all sails set. The only result was a clearing of the ice from the rudder. Later in the day, Crean and two other men were chipping away at a large chunk of ice that had lodged under the ship when suddenly the ice broke away, shooting upward and overturning, pinning Crean between the ice and the handle of an ll-foot iron pincher. He only suffered from some bad bruises but the thick iron bar fared worse..it had been bent against him to an angle of 45°.

The days that followed were uneventful. On the 27th, Shackleton decided to put the fires out. They had been burning coal at the rate of a half a ton each day in order to keep steam in the boilers. With only 67 tons remaining, representing 33 day's steaming, no more could be afforded as they remained stuck in the ice. Land was sighted to the east and south when the horizon was clear. By the 31st, the ship had drifted eight miles to the west. James and Hudson rigged the wireless in the hope of hearing the monthly transmission from the Falkland Islands. Nothing was heard. The sun, which had been above the horizon for two months, set at midnight on February 17th. On the 22nd the ENDURANCE reached the farthest south point of her drift, touching the 77th parallel of latitude in longitude 35°W. The summer was gone. Temperatures fell to -10°F at 2 a.m. on February 22. Shackleton wrote, "I could not doubt now that the ENDURANCE was confined for the winter...The seals were disappearing and the birds were leaving us. The land showed still in fair weather on the distant horizon, but it was beyond our reach now, and regrets for havens that lay behind us were vain. 'We must wait for the spring, which may bring us better fortune. If I had guessed a month ago that the ice would grip us here, I would have established our base at one of the landing places at the great glacier. But there seemed no reason to anticipate then that the fates would prove unkind...My chief anxiety is the drift. Where will the vagrant winds and currents carry the ship during the long winter months that are ahead of us? We will go west, no doubt, but how far? And will it be possible to break out of the pack early in the spring and reach Vahsel Bay or some other suitable landing-place? These are momentous questions for us'". On February 24 ship routine ceased...the ENDURANCE became the winter quarters.

The "Ritz", as they called their new winter quarters, was firmly caught between gigantic floes which could crush her easily. Shackleton ordered the sides of the ship cleared so that nothing would prevent her from rising above the ice as it pressed in against her sides. The men continued to take out their frustrations on the ice as football and hockey games were regularly played. On May 1 they said good-bye to the sun and the 70-day Antarctic winter night began. Oddly, on May 8 the sun rose at 11 a.m. and set 40 minutes later, rose again at 1:10 p.m. and set 10 minutes later. The navigation officer, who had announced its final disappearance a week earlier, had to explain to his jeering friends that it was not a mistake, it was a refraction of 2° more than normal. They celebrated Empire Day, May 24, singing patriotic songs. On June 15 Frank Wild, second-in-command, started his favorite team of dogs (a 6 to 4 favorite) in the first ever Antarctic Derby. With five teams competing, Wild's team, pulling 910 pounds, or 130 pounds per dog, covered the 700-yard race with a winning time of 2 minutes and 16 seconds. All 28 men had a bet and winnings were paid in chocolate and cigarettes.

A bi-weekly performance, cleaning the Ritz

Beautiful sunrise glows on the horizon came early in July. At midnight on the 11th, the temperature was -23°F. The most severe blizzard experienced to date in the the Weddell Sea swept down upon them on the evening of the 13th. By morning, the kennels to the windward side of the ship were buried under five feet of snow. By evening, the wind reached 70 miles per hour and the ship trembled under the attack. At least a 100 tons of snow piled up against the bow and port sides. Pressure from the ice increasingly became a cause for concern. Distant rumblings and the appearance of formidable ice ridges gradually approached the ship. Shackleton wrote, "The ice is rafting up to a height of 10 or 15 ft. in places, the opposing floes are moving against one another at the rate of about 200 yds. per hour. The noise resembles the roar of heavy, distant surf. Standing on the stirring ice one can imagine it is disturbed by the breathing and tossing of a mighty giant below". By the middle of September they were running out of fresh meat for the dogs. The seals and penguins had disappeared altogether and it had been nearly five months since a seal had been killed.

The men got an Emperor penguin on the 23rd. On the following day Wild, Hurley, Macklin and McIlroy took their teams to the Stained Berg, about seven miles west of the ship, and on their way back got a female crab-eater, which they killed and skinned. They climbed the berg and at an elevation of 110 feet could see no land. By the end of September, the roar of the pressure grew louder with areas of disturbance rapidly approaching the ship.

The Beginning of the End

Sunday, October 23rd, marked the beginning of the end. Their position was 69°11'S, longitude 51°5'W. At 6:45 p.m. the ship sustained heavy pressure in a dangerous position. The ENDURANCE groaned as her starboard quarter was forced against the floe, twisting the stern-post and buckling the planking. She immediately began to leak. The bilge pumps were started at 8 p.m. and by morning the leak was being kept in check. Then came Wednesday, October 27. Shackleton wrote, "The position was lat. 69°5'S, long. 51°30'W. The temperature was -8.5° Fahr., a gentle southerly breeze was blowing and the sun shone in a clear sky. 'After long months of ceaseless anxiety and strain, after times when hope beat high and times when the outlook was black indeed, we have been compelled to abandon the ship, which is crushed beyond all hope of ever being righted, we are alive and well, and we have stores and equipment for the task that lies before us. The task is to reach land with all the members of the Expedition. It is hard to write what I feel". She had drifted for at least 1186 miles and were 346 miles from Paulet Island, the nearest point where there was any possibility of finding food and shelter. A small hut was built there by Otto Nordenskjöld's Swedish expedition in 1902 and was filled with stores left by an Argentine relief ship. Shackleton knew of these stores because he was the person who purchased the stores in London on behalf of the Argentine Government.

The End

Shackleton ordered the boats, gear, provisions and sledges lowered to the floe. The ENDURANCE had been locked in the ice for 281 days. The 28 men pitched five tents 100 yards from the ship but were forced to move when a pressure ridge started to split the ice beneath them. "Ocean Camp" was established on a thick, heavy floe about a mile and a half from the wreck. On November 21, 1915, the ENDURANCE raised its stern and slipped beneath the ice, coming to rest at the bottom of the Weddell Sea. The ice was rotting around them so on December 20, Shackleton decided to abandon Ocean Camp and march westward to reduce the distance to Paulet Island. Christmas was celebrated on December 22 with their last good meal for eight months. Two of the boats were now man-hauled, in relays, from Ocean Camp: the JAMES CAIRD and DUDLEY DOCKER, with the STANCOMB WILLS being left behind. If their ice floe disintegrated, the 28 men would jam into the two boats, each measuring 20 feet in length, to be at the mercy of the Weddell Sea. On December 29, with the ice too cracked to carry them, they set up camp on a solid floe, but it cracked during the night as well. They shifted to a strong, old floe, surrounded by ice too soft to sledge over, but with not enough open water to launch the boats. Adrift on their new "home", they crossed the Antarctic Circle on New Year's Eve. Shackleton wrote, "Thus, after a year's incessant battle with the ice, we had returned...to almost the same latitude we had left with such high hopes and aspirations twelve months previously; but under what different conditions now! Our ship crushed and lost and we ourselves drifting on a piece of ice at the mercy of the winds". Meanwhile, Wild returned to Ocean Camp to retrieve the STANCOMB WILLS.
The ice disintegrated to the point where they were forced into the boats on April 9. The floe split directly beneath them and two hours later the channels opened wide enough for them to throw their stores aboard the boats and cast off for a three-mile stretch of open water a short distance away. The DUDLEY DOCKER got caught between two ice floes but the JAMES CAIRD was able to pull her free. By evening they had retreated to a new floe and once again hauled up the boats, pitched tents and lit the blubber stove.

The next day the boats were pushed into the water and by 11 a.m. they had reached a stretch of open water. On April 12, Shackleton discovered that instead of making good progress to the west, they had actually drifted 30 miles to the east. Elephant Island, in the South Shetlands, appeared to them in the north-northwest. A gale suddenly came up and separated the DUDLEY DOCKER from the others. She made for a narrow rocky beach and to their delight, the others were soon sighted making for the same area. Shackleton, in the STANCOMB WILLS, was the first to land. When all were ashore, the men were running around the beach as if they'd just discovered a keg of rum...they simply were ecstatic from touching land for the first time in 16 months.

Landing at Elephant Island

They knew they couldn't camp here for long so Wild, Marsten, Crean, Vincent and McCarthy left the next morning in the STANCOMB WILLS to locate a safe camping area. By nightfall, the men still had not returned which, once again, brought much anxiety to Shackleton and the others. At 8 p.m. they heard a hail in the distance. They couldn't see anything at first but out of the darkness like a ghost came the boat and men. They had located a nice, sandy spit about 7 miles west of them. After a lengthy struggle, the new camp was set up at the spit which they named Cape Wild...it was April 17, 1916. Shackleton wrote, "As we clustered round the blubber stove, with the acrid smoke blowing in our faces, we were quite a cheerful company...Life was not so bad. We ate our evening meal while the snow drifted down from the surface of the glacier and our chilled bodies grew warm". At 2 a.m. Shackleton felt a wave come up under his tent so they quickly relocated to a group of high rocks at the end of the spit. For the next week, Shackleton planned his dangerous voyage to South Georgia, 800 miles distant. As the question remained concerning their rescue, the whaling station on South Georgia seemed the only answer. The ocean south of Cape Horn in the middle of May was known to be the most storm-swept area of water in the world.
The men would have to face these conditions in a small, open boat for an anticipated month's voyage to South Georgia. Although Wild wanted to go, Shackleton refused as he wanted Wild to hold the party together on Elephant Island until the rescue. If by spring they hadn't returned, Wild was to lead the men to Deception Island. On Easter Monday, April 24, the men launched the STANCOMB WILLS and loaded her with stores, gear and ballast which would be transferred to the JAMES CAIRD when the heavier boat was launched. The ballast consisted of bags made from blankets and filled with sand. Some 250 pounds of ice was gathered to supply fresh drinking water. As for instruments, they had a sextant, aneroid, prismatic compass, anchor, some charts and a pair of binoculars. As the JAMES CAIRD was launched, the swell suddenly increased causing many to get soaked to the waist...a serious matter in that climate. When the JAMES CAIRD was afloat in the surf, she nearly capsized before the men could steer her clear of the rocks as Vincent and the carpenter were tossed into the water. This was terrible luck as it would be very difficult to get their clothes dried once underway. But soon they were free from the heavy surf and rocks. The STANCOMB WILLS came alongside, transferred her load, and headed back to the shore for the next load. This time she had to be beached and, as a consequence, the sea lapped right up over the stern. The boat had to be overturned to dump the water out before she could be reloaded...all were soaked to the skin. By midday, the JAMES CAIRD was ready for the voyage. The crew of the STANCOMB WILLS shook hands with those in the JAMES CAIRD, exchanging their last good wishes as the boats bumped together and then the JAMES CAIRD cut loose, setting the jib for the northeast. Shackleton, along with Worsley, Crean, McNeish, McCarthy and Vincent, began a voyage of a lifetime.

The departure was celebrated on Elephant Island with a two-week blizzard. Wild decided to make a hut from the two remaining boats and scraps of old tent fabric. Parallel stone walls were erected to support the boats which were laid side by side. Tent fabric and sail material was stretched over the upturned hulls to keep the rain and snow out while tent canvas was used for the walls. A blubber stove was set up and the second engineer, A. Kerr, made a tin chimney out of biscuit case linings. Celluloid windows were constructed with panes from a photograph case. Water was always a problem. As the temperature rose to just above freezing, drainage was nearly nonexistent within the structure...one day they bailed out 160 gallons of water. Midwinter's Day was celebrated on June 22 with a drink made from hot water, ginger, sugar and a teaspoon of methylated spirits. At Saturday night concerts, Hussey would play his banjo as the men sang vulgar songs about each other. By the beginning of August, food was starting to become in short supply. They dug up old seal bones and stewed them in sea water along with seaweed, which they found "very tasty". The last of the methylated spirits was drank on August 12 and from that date forward their toasting was done with hot water and ginger. The surgeons, McIlroy and Macklin, amputated the frostbitten toes of Blackborrow's feet by the light of the blubber stove.

Meanwhile, the JAMES CAIRD was making 3 mph between the icebergs. Worsley imagined structures and creatures etched into the mighty bergs as he described, "Swans of weird shape pecked at our planks, a gondola steered by a giraffe ran foul of us, which much amused a duck sitting on a crocodile's head. Just then a bear, leaning over the top of a mosque, nearly clawed our sail...All the strange, fantastic shapes rose and fell in stately cadence with a rustling, whispering sound and hollow echoes to the thudding seas...". They were making a fairly good distance each day...some 60 to 70 miles. But the going was very rough. The sleeping bags became soaked making it increasingly difficult to find warmth. The boulders taken aboard for ballast had to be shifted continually in order to trim the boat and give access to the pump, which became clogged with hairs from the moulting sleeping bags and finneskoe. The four reindeer sleeping bags shed their hair freely from the constant dampness and soon became quite bald. Their legs were chafed by the wet clothing, which had not been changed for seven months. The insides of their thighs had been rubbed raw with seawater increasing the pain. Meals were regular in spite of the stormy weather. Breakfast, at 8 a.m., consisted of a pannikin of hot hoosh made from Bovril sledging rations, two biscuits and some lumps of sugar. Lunch, at 1 p.m., was more Bovril sledging rations, eaten raw, and a pannikin of hot milk. Tea, at 5 p.m., had the same menu. They had 6½ gallons of fuel for the oil lamp which complemented their supply of candles. On the fourth day out, a severe storm hit them. During the afternoon they spotted small bits of wreckage, the remains probably from some unfortunate vessel that had failed to weather the storm. The next day the storm was so fierce that they had to put out the sea anchor in order to keep her heading into the sea, take in the double-reefed mainsail and hoist the small jib instead. A thousand different times it appeared the small boat would capsize but she lived on. The southwesterly gale was born above the Antarctic continent and with it came temperatures near zero. The sea spray froze on the boat, coating everything with a heavy layer of ice. The boat became so heavy that the men were forced to use what tools they had to continually chip away the ice as it froze. By the next day the weight of the ice became a serious problem as she became more like a log than a boat. The situation called for immediate action. They first broke away the spare oars, which were encased in ice and frozen to the sides of the boat, and threw them overboard. Two of the fur sleeping bags went overboard...they weighed a good 40 pounds each since they were so wet and besides, they were frozen stiff as a board. About 11 a.m. the boat fell into a trough, losing the sea anchor in the process. They had no choice but to set sail and trust that it would hold. They beat the canvas until the bulk of the ice had cracked off and, fortunately, it worked as the little boat came up to the wind again. Frostbite became a serious problem as large blisters developed on exposed fingers and hands. By the dawn of the seventh day, the wind had subsided. Once again the course was laid for South Georgia...it had been six days since an observation had been made. The sun came out and the men hung their sleeping bags to the mast and spread their socks and other gear all over the deck. The ice began to melt away as porpoises came blowing alongside the boat. Cape Pigeons and an occasional Stormy Petrel swooped within a few feet of the tiny craft. Wild "snapped" the sun and determined they had gone over 380 miles and were nearly half-way to South Georgia. The eighth, ninth and tenth days of the voyage had little to report. On the eleventh day (May 5), a tremendous cross-sea developed and at midnight, while Shackleton was at the tiller, a line of clear sky was spotted between the south and southwest. Shackleton wrote, "I called to the other men that the sky was clearing, and then a moment later I realized that what I had seen was not a rift in the clouds but the white crest of an enormous wave. During twenty-six years' experience of the ocean in all its moods I had not encountered a wave so gigantic. It was a mighty upheaval of the ocean, a thing quite apart from the big white-capped seas that had been our tireless enemies for many days. I shouted 'For God's sake, hold on! It's got us.' Then came a moment of suspense that seemed drawn out into hours. White surged the foam of the breaking sea around us. We felt our boat lifted and flung forward like a cork in breaking surf. We were in a seething chaos of tortured water; but somehow the boat lived through it, half full of water, sagging to the dead weight and shuddering under the blow. We baled with the energy of men fighting for life, flinging the water over the sides with every receptacle that came to our hands, and after ten minutes of uncertainty we felt the boat renew her life beneath us". The cooking stove was floating around in the bottom of the boat and portions of their last hoosh seemed to soak everything. It was 3 a.m. before the stove was finally functional again. The next day, May 6, Worsley determined that they were not more than a hundred miles from the northwest corner of South Georgia...two more days of favorable wind would put the island within sight. Thirst took possession of them. Their mouths were dry and tongues were swollen. On the morning of May 8, about 10 o'clock, a little bit of kelp was passed. An hour later two birds were seen sitting on a big mass of kelp and at 12:30 p.m., McCarthy caught a glimpse of the black cliffs of South Georgia, just fourteen days after departing Elephant Island.

Landing at South Georgia

They looked for a landing place but the presence of blind rollers proved the existence of uncharted reefs along the coast. Here and there were rocks close to the surface and over them great waves broke spouting thirty to forty feet in the air. The rocky coast seemed to descend sheer to the sea. Night was drawing near and despite their craving thirst for water, there was no choice but to wait until the following morning to make shore. At 5 a.m. the wind shifted to the northwest and increased to one of the worst hurricanes ever experienced by Shackleton. The little boat was tossed around in the raging sea and when dawn appeared, no land was in sight. At 1 p.m. land was once again sighted but sheer cliffs with roaring breakers was all that awaited them. Evening approached and suddenly, when disaster seemed imminent, the wind shifted and the small boat was once again free to locate a safer landing place. The night wore on and as dawn arrived on the morning of May 10, there was practically no wind. They sighted an indentation which they thought was King Haakon Bay. Shackleton decided this would be their landing place as the bow was set towards the bay. Soon angry reefs were on both sides with great glaciers reaching the sea. About noon they sighted a smooth stretch of water that reached the head of the bay. A gap in the reef appeared and they made for the opening but suddenly the wind shifted and blew straight against them right out of the bay. That afternoon, after tacking five times into the strong wind, they made it through the small entrance into the wide mouth of the bay.

A small cove, guarded by a reef, made a break in the cliffs on the south side of the bay and they turned in that direction. The entrance was so small that they had to take in the oars but in the gathering darkness, the JAMES CAIRD ran on a swell and touched the beach. At 2 a.m. on the first night ashore, Shackleton woke everyone, shouting, "Look out boys, look out! Hold on! It's going to break on us!" It was a nightmare...Shackleton thought the black snow-crested cliff opposite them was a giant wave.

Unfortunately, the men were 17 miles from the Stromness whaling station: a journey over South Georgia's mountains and glaciers awaited them, an effort no one had ever accomplished. McNeish and Vincent were too weak to attempt the trek so Shackleton left them in the care of MaCarthy. On May 15, Shackleton, Crean and Worsley set out on their adventure. They climbed over icy slopes, snowfields and glaciers until reaching an altitude of 4500 feet. Looking back they could see a fog rolling up behind them. The ridge was studded with peaks and since they had no sleeping bags or tent with them, it was imperative they find a lower elevation before night set in. They managed to descend 900 feet in two or three minutes by sliding, like children, down a snowy slope. The country to the east was an ascending snow upland dividing the glaciers of the north coast from those of the south. Another meal was had at 6 p.m.; Crean was the cook as Shackleton and Worsley broke the wind from the cooker. Night was upon them and for an hour they plodded along in nearly complete darkness. About 8 p.m. a full moon appeared from behind jagged peaks, lighting their pathway. By midnight they were once again at an elevation of about 4000 feet. After 1 a.m., the Primus was started again and the men ate hot food which renewed their energy. By 1:30 a.m. they were on their feet again, still heading towards Stromness Bay. A dark object in the distance looked like Mutton Island, which lies off Huvik. Their high hopes were soon shattered as crevasses warned them that they were on another glacier...Shackleton knew there was no glacier in Stromness and realized it must be Fortuna Glacier. Back they turned and tramped up the glacier again. At 5 a.m. they were at the foot of the rocky spurs of the range. The men were exhausted as they sat down, under the lee of a rock, and wrapped their arms around each other to keep themselves warm. Within a minute, Worsley and Crean were asleep but Shackleton realized that it would be "disastrous if we all slumbered together, for sleep under such conditions merges into death". After five minutes rest, Shackleton woke them up, told them they had slept half an hour, and gave the command to begin again. They were so stiff that for the first 300 yards they couldn't bend their knees. A jagged line of peaks loomed before them. This was the ridge that separated them from Stromness Bay. They found a gap in the ridge and went through it at 6 a.m. with anxious hearts and weary bodies. The twisted rock formations of Huvik Harbor appeared right ahead in the early light of dawn. While Worsley and Crean started the cooker, Shackleton climbed a ridge above them in order to get a better look at the land below them. At 6:30 a.m. Shackleton thought he heard the sound of a steam whistle calling the men from their beds at the whaling station. Shackleton descended to the others and told them to watch the chronometer for seven o'clock as this would be the time the whalers would be called to work; right to the minute the steam whistle sounded. Never had they heard such a sweeter sound.

Stromness Bay Before Us

"Boys, this snow-slope seems to end in a precipice, but perhaps there is no precipice. If we don't go down we shall have to make a detour of at least five miles before we reach level going. What shall it be?" They both replied at once, "Try the slope". Abandoning the Primus lamp, they plodded downwards, reducing their altitude to 2000 feet above sea level. At this point they came upon a steep gradient of blue ice. It took two hours to cut and rope their way down another 500 feet. Eventually they got off the steep ice and a slide down a slippery slope, with the cooker going ahead, landed them on a plateau 1500 feet above the sea. A few minutes later they reached a sandy beach. By noon they were well up the slope on the other side of the bay, working east-southeast, with one more ridge between them and Huvik. Shackleton was leading the way over a plateau when suddenly he found himself up to his knees in water, quickly sinking deeper through the snow. They spread-eagled to distribute their weight and soon discovered they were on top of a small lake. After lying still for a few moments, the men got to their feet and delicately walked 200 yards to a rise that indicated the edge of the lake. At 1:30 p.m. they climbed round the final ridge and saw a little whaling boat entering the bay 2500 feet below. They hurried forward and spotted a sailing ship lying at a wharf. Tiny figures could be seen wandering about and then the whaling factory was sighted. The men paused, shook hands and congratulated each other on accomplishing their heroic journey.
The men cautiously started down the slope of the ice-clad mountainside. The only possible pathway seemed to be a stream flowing to the sea below. Down they went through the icy water, wet to their waist, shivering cold and tired. Then their ears heard the unwelcome sound of a waterfall. The stream ended in a waterfall that dropped 30 feet, with impassable ice-cliffs on both sides. They were too tired to look for another way down so they agreed the only way down was through the waterfall itself. They fastened their rope around a rock and slowly lowered Crean, who was the heaviest, into the waterfall. He completely disappeared and came out the bottom gasping for air. Shackleton went next and Worsley, the most nimble member of the party, went last. They had dropped the logbook, adze and cooker before going over the edge and once on solid ground, the items were retrieved, the only items brought out of the Antarctic, "which we had entered a year and a half before with well-found ship, full equipment, and high hopes. We had 'suffered, starved and triumphed, grovelled down yet grasped at glory, grown bigger in the bigness of the whole.' We had seen God in His splendours, heard the text that Nature renders. We had reached the naked soul of man". Shivering with cold, they set off for the whaling station, now just a mile and a half away. They tried to straighten themselves up a little bit before entering the station, but they truly were a sight to behold. Their beards were long, their hair was matted, their clothes, tattered and stained as they were, hadn't been washed in nearly a year. Down they hurried and as they approached the station, two small boys met them. Shackleton asked them where the manager's house was and they didn't answer...instead they turned and ran from them as fast as their legs would carry them. They came to the wharf where the man in charge was asked if Mr. Sorlle (the manager) was in the house.

"Yes," he said as he stared at us.
"We would like to see him," said I.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"We have lost our ship and come over the island," I replied.
"You have come over the island?" he said in a tone of entire disbelief.

The man went towards the manager's house and we followed him. I learned afterwards that he said to Mr. Sorlle: "There are three funny-looking men outside, who say they have come over the island and they know you. I have left them outside." A very necessary precaution from his point of view.

Mr. Sorlle came out to the door and said, "Well?"
"Don't you know me?" I said.
"I know your voice," he replied doubtfully. "You're the mate of the Daisy."
"My name is Shackleton," I said.
Immediately he put out his hand and said, "Come in. Come in."

They washed, shaved and dined on 'coffee and cakes in the Norwegian fashion'. Worsley boarded a whaler headed for Haakon bay while Shackleton prepared plans for the rescue of the men on Elephant Island. The next day Worsley arrived to find the three men waiting under the upturned JAMES CAIRD. They all returned to Stromness Bay and the next morning Shackleton, Worsley and Crean left on the Norwegian whaler SOUTHERN SKY for Elephant Island. Sixty miles from the island the pack ice forced them to retreat to the Falkland Islands whereupon the Uruguayan Government loaned Shackleton the trawler INSTITUTO DE Pesca but once again the ice turned them away. They went to Punta Arenas where British and Chilean residents donated £1500 to Shackleton in order to charter the schooner EMMA. One hundred miles north of Elephant Island the auxiliary engine broke down and thus a fourth attempt would be necessary. The Chilean Government now loaned the steamer YELCHO, under the command of Captain Luis Pardo, to Shackleton.

As the steamer approached Elephant Island, the men on the island were approaching lunchtime. It was August 30 when Marston spotted the YELCHO in an opening in the mist. He yelled, "Ship O!" but the men thought he was announcing lunch. A few moments later the men inside the "hut" heard him running forward, shouting, "Wild, there's a ship! Hadn't we better light a flare?" As they scrambled for the door, those bringing up the rear tore down the canvas walls. Wild put a hole in their last tin of fuel, soaked clothes in it, walked to the end of the spit and set them afire.

The "Hut" at Elephant Island

The boat soon approached close enough for Shackleton, who was standing on the bow, to shout to Wild, "Are you all well?". Wild replied, "All safe, all well!" and the Boss replied, "Thank God!" Blackborrow, since he couldn't walk, was carried to a high rock and propped up in his sleeping bag so he could view the scene. Within an hour they were headed north to the world from which no news had been heard since October, 1914; they had survived on Elephant Island for 105 lonely days.

Tuesday's Tattler

2012-01-02T17:51:00.000-08:00

Good morning, and we are back to school with a vengeance. It's been a great holiday, and now it's time for us to get back on board the education ship. We will be launching Geography this week because last week so many kids were absent.

We will be watching Shackleton on Tuesday, and examining the arctic and the antarctic this week.

Please remember to dress your child warmly! Please avoid short sleeves.

This week, we will be sending home our new reading and math bags for kindergartners. Please remember to take this bag home with you and return it every single day. It will have your child's learning supplies in it. These supplies are for you and your child to work with. There should be a book inside the bag, and sight word cards. Please have your child learn or re-learn these words. He or she should be able to make a sentence out of these words.

Your child's homework should not take more than twenty minutes.

Please remember to put your child's bag someplace in your home that will remind you to bring it back to school in the morning. We recommend the doorknob on the door you leave by in the morning.

If you are reading this post, please tell Miss Judy for a treasure box pass for your child. This treasure box pass is valid on Tuesday, January 3rd.

I Wish You Domesticity in the New Year!

2012-01-01T01:08:00.000-08:00

While perusing the 1896 copy of Fanny Farmer's Cook Book, I read some entries about how to build a fire, gut a fish and make jam and jelly w/o store bought pectin. Knowing how to do all three, I put my historical hat on, and traveled back in time to where a person of domesticity would need to know how to do those things, and I began to realize that domesticity is learned and is not a natural by-product of being female.

Domesticity does not make me cringe as it does to some people, because I know that domesticity is skill and intelligence working together. And I won't, in our day and time, narrow that statement by saying that domesticity belongs to a particular sex, bank account, or brainscape.

If someone was to offer a definition about domesticity, I would nod graciously if "knowledge of the home" was included in the definition. It is, after all, knowledge of how things work in the home. But knowledge is only one part of domesticity. A true domestician not only knows about the home, but knows how to make the home work for the people who live there. Homes built on domestic prowess are homes everybody wants to visit, live in, be near simply because involved in domesticity is a kind of intelligence and strength that makes people comfortable, safe, and happy.

There are many parts to domesticity, and people who engage it are often good at some parts and not others. Organizational skills like time management, economics, purchasing, public relations, human resources are all part of the domestic domain.

Knowledge of art, math, sciences like horticulture, biology, botany, animal husbandry, nutrition, and electronics comprise a successful domestic's knowledge.

Any domestically talented person should find the world an easy place just because of what that person understands how to live the world without being dependent.

I've always said, a Renaissance person should be able to hold down a responsible job, dress impeccably, write his/her own speech, deliver that speech to any group, and at the end of the speech invite his or her audience home where his or her perfect meal awaits in his or her wonderfully appointed home and brilliant garden with well behaved children and animals while his or her conversation is bright with interests that follow many subjects and flow from a life spent acquiring knowledge.

And that Renaissance person can be said to have great domestic knowledge.

So in the New Year, I wish, for your success and happiness, domesticity.

Happy New Years!

2011-12-30T14:39:00.000-08:00

With some much needed time off thanks to our brilliant staff, I am pleased to say I'm a happy camper. Just time enough between grandchildren to send out a message to our blog readers to say Happy New Years!

One of the resolutions that would be "fabulous" for the new years is for parents to read the material that comes home from school.

At Christmas time, we sent home a calendar in a folded heavy paper forum with all our activities. We posted our calendar here on the blog. We posted our activities on the Parent Board. We sent home notes, told parents about activities at the door and reminded children all day long. The upshot was that twenty-five percent of our parents did not have a clue as to what we were doing at Christmas Time.

We are going to pursue the folded calendar heavy paper forum this coming year, and we hope that parents will read what is sent home.

Reading what is sent home from the Garden School will help parents get in touch with big school. This is an "Every Day" job. Papers going home are important. Please take a minute to go through your child's folder and read his work, and all notes going home.

We will be starting a new reading and math program for the kindergarten starting January 3. We will be sending home a reading and math bag with your child's name on it. This is not a toy. It is a tool. This bag will go home with your kindergartner every day and come back to school every day. This is where you will find your child's homework, reading books, and flash cards. It is our way of saying we love you and hope you will enjoy working with your child at home. It is wonderful practice for big school, because you will be expected to work with your child all through grammar school.

We will be starting Geography January 3. We will be sending home some political maps that we hope you will encourage your child to study. The more places on the map your child can identify, the better!

If you have anything to share with the school regarding a culture or a foreign place, please see Miss Judy. We would love to have you as a guest.

If there is anything our school can do for your family, please let us know.

Happiest of New Years!

Tuesday's Tattler

2011-12-26T19:00:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, December 27, we are in school. We will be tackling Geography with a great introduction starting tomorrow. Lots of games and prizes We hope the children really enjoy our study.

Hoping that all the kids have had a great break and are ready to get back to work~

Please remember! In the case of snow, please look at Channel 14 weather for our school closings. This blog is another way to check and see if we are closed due to snow.

Please remember to dress children warmly during cold weather. Long sleeves please!

Please do not send children to school in boots unless there is snow.

Have a great week!

Monday's Tattler

2011-12-19T03:24:00.001-08:00

Here's what you need to know and do to make your child's party days a success:

Make sure your child's Santa gift is at school today. Do not wrap the gift.

Make sure your child will have someone at the party tomorrow. It starts at 2:00.

Bring a small treat - a dozen cookies or cupcakes to school tomorrow to share.

Take your Child's Christmas decorations home with you on Tuesday.

Make sure your tuition payment is in so we can pay teachers!

Enjoy your time at school on Tuesday!

Merry Christmas!

Sunday's Plate...Homemade Candy

2011-12-18T14:23:00.000-08:00

Every year we make candy at school, and every year it's a hit. Now, I'm not crazy, but I am crafty, and when you put those two things together, you get: "I never do anything hard..."

The key to perfect candy is a good candy thermometer. Buy one.

The second trick is to use dairy products and not field products.

When it says butter...use butter, cream, and milk.

When I make candy, I make it so that not only do I look like Martha in the kitchen, but it looks like M is wearing her Superwoman shirt as well.

Here's how to:

Truffles:

Using a food processor, use a box of powdered sugar and two sticks of butter...process and remove. Do that twice.

Divide the mix into six cereal bowls.

Into every bowl add a flavor. Here are some suggestions: fresh ground coffee, mini chocolate chips, toasted coconut, walnuts, pecans, peanuts, lemon, orange rind, peanut butter, ground fresh cranberries, chopped apricots, jams of any kind, but only add a teaspoon.

Mix plain candy dough with your flavors and put the bowls into the freezer. Taking one bowl at a time, divide the dough into the size truffle you want, roll into a ball, and put a tooth pick into the ball. Line the balls up on a cookie tin and freeze. You might want to label your flavors.

Once the candy balls are frozen, you can divide by flavors and put each into its own ziplock bag. Keep until you want a plate of fresh candies - for company, party, to take with you, or just impress a friend.

When it's time to complete the truffles by dipping them, take as many frozen balls from the freezer as you think you will need. In a very very small pan, heat slowly a half package of your favorite chips like milk chocolate, or mint, or dark chocolate, or butterscotch or peanut butter. Add a tablespoon of oil, and a half block of paraffin wax that you get in the canning department of your supermarket.

Dip your candy balls in the chocolate wax combination, let drip to avoid a candy collar, and then place gall on wax paper to try. You only have to do a dozen at a time, and the rest can stay in the freezer for the next time you need to look like Super Martha. When you are done dipping, twist the toothpick out of the candy, and dip the hole into the hot dipping chocolate and decorate with non parielles, or nuts or unmelted chips.

If you make larger truffles, it goes quicker and it is easier, and they are like eating a whole candy bar.

Now, just for fun, here's a recipe for about the absolute best caramel:

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat to 250 degrees on a candy thermometer:

2 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup karo syrup
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
2 sticks of butter

When the thermometer reaches 240 stir to avoid scorch.

Take candy off stove and add 4 teaspoons of vanilla. Stir.

At this point, you can do anything with this mix. Add nuts, pour on a bed of chocolate, drop chocolate candy into the setting caramel or nothing. Leave it out. It does not need to be refrigerated.

Caramel can be reheated to use as drizzle. It makes great individual candies and will taste great for ten days or more. It will take the shape of any container.

Have fun, and look like Supermartha any time you want!

Anyone want the absolute best nut brittle recipes? Let me know!

Friday's Tattler

2011-12-17T19:37:00.000-08:00

We were off to the Nutcracker early on Friday. It was a great set of seats! We were front row. I wondered if the kids thought they were watching a movie, or if they really knew that there were actors and dancers on the stage.

I was disappointed by the performance. A maid came out and told nearly the entire story of the Nutcracker...then there were two dance routines and it ended. The performance was twenty minutes late, and ended ten minutes early.

There was no rat battle and no introduction to the nutcracker. What was done was good, but there was no story.

I was sorry for the kids because they really looked forward to this, and it was a big zero.

After the Nutcracker, we went over to visit Miss Amy's mom in the nursing home. We sang a lot of our songs and visited with the residents. Then it was home for a delicious pizza. The kids ate the WHOLE eight boxes...

The afternoon was slow and busy with play. Everyone was tired.

All in all, it was a nice week. Looking forward to the party next week.

Have a great end to your weekends!

Monday's Tattler

2011-12-12T03:37:00.001-08:00

Good Morning!

Last full week before Christmas Break! We are trying to keep the lid down...kids getting excited.

Classes this week; arts and crafts in the afternoon.

Pot roast as our new food this week. Hope the kids like it.

The weather promises to be warmer this week, so out we go. Please make sure your child has what he needs to go outside!

On Friday, we will be going to the Nutcracker Suite. It begins at 9:00 and in order to get there and get a front seat for the kids, we will be leaving school at 8:15. So children need to either have breakfast or be at school by 7:30 to have breakfast. Please do not bring children at 8:00 who have not eaten.

School uniforms will be expected. If you do not have a red sweatshirt, please tell me. I have it at school.

Please read the ill child policy at the front end of school if you are not sure of it. Children who need over the counter medication in the morning should not come to school.

Have a great week!

Sunday's Plate - Pork Roast

2011-12-12T03:24:00.000-08:00

After years of making pork roast both at school and at home, I kind of fell on this recipe and love it.

You buy one of those enormous cheap sliced pork shoulders - you know, the huge piece of meat that's cheap and looks nearly square and is sliced.

At home, you pull all your left over bread from the refrigerator. The three pieces that have been hanging around for weeks, the rye that nobody wants, yesterday's muffins...the whole ball of wax. I'm not a believer in going to the store for stuffing...because stuffing can be made from any bread. You should have about a half loaf to a full loaf for this pork roast when it's all put together.

Toast or bake your bread for about fifteen minutes, and cut into small pieces about the size of a checker.

Heat a stick of butter and a cup of water and a tablespoon of chicken bouillon in a pan.

Slice about a half cup (together) of celery and onion and any other veggie you like and add to the bread.

When the butter/water/bouillon is hot, pour it on the bread and veggies.

You won't need salt because of the bouillon, but you will need pepper, and a spice called Masala. Add other spices that you like. I used oregano.

Put a handful or about a cup of fresh cranberries into the mix. Toss. It's ready to use.

In a very large baking dish, string two pieces of string that can be baked the long direction of the pan that are long enough to tie entirely around the meat.

Lay the first piece of meat against the side of the baking pan and the next flat. Put a handful of stuffing on the flat piece and lift to stack next to to the first piece so that both pieces are standing. Lay the next flat, stuff and lift until the whole roast has been stuffed.

Tie your roast so that it holds together.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 2.5 hours.

It Makes a Good School...Great!

2011-12-10T15:21:00.000-08:00

One of the issues I tackle almost every week is faculty cohesiveness. "Working together" is my first order of business most weeks. When you are working sans break hour after hour in a small space with many loud children, the whole name of the game is being sure of your co-workers. And that surety comes from certain personality traits that actually determine whether someone is going to fit in or trip up the day. It is remarkable to me how often grown women opt to trip up the day for everyone around them.

Energy is probably the first and most important personality trait of a successful teacher. When a teacher comes to work exhausted day after day; comes to work preoccupied with too many worldly troubles; comes to work clueless about routines, projects, the order of the day; comes to work ill, angry, or caught up with everything but the job, the job rolls over onto the laps of the other teachers, and everyone takes a hit while Miss Pitiful Pearl is paid to do nothing.

When a teacher is reticent to step forward to take the group for story time, for class, to get kids in line, to manage the bathroom, take role, lead prayer, set a table or offer assistance to a teacher struggling with a project...that reticent teacher is doomed.

When a teacher believes that his or her job is other than pitching in and helping, she's taking up space that might as well be taken out to the dumpster.

My favorite is the teacher who comes to "work," only said lightly, in order to "have her lunch" and then spends the rest of "her" afternoon begging for attention and pity from everyone around because her lot in life is untenable to her...out, out, out damned spot! Go home; look in the mirror and thank God you're alive. Get a grip; and put down the hand mirror.

As a school, we don't have time to cater to the incredible selfishness of the narcissist. We have time for one thing only - to work as a team for the sake of the children whose parents are paying tuition. Our job is to teach, not to cater to spoiled.

A brilliant, illuminating and strong teacher, and we have five, is someone who comes in knowing what they intend to do for the day. Someone who is prepared; knows her audience; knows her work partners and what she can expect from them; knows the task and what to expect from the children.

The children don't expect anything, so a great teacher will have something for each and every child...sometimes in a group and sometimes individually, and that can't be done by teachers holding a hand mirror in one hand and a handkerchief or a cell phone in the other.

A great teacher has a rapport with every child, knows every child's name, personality and needs, so when there is an art project, or a song, or a lesson, or even a coloring project, that great teacher knows what to say to a child to get the best work from him, and it compliments every other teacher.

Teachers who don't speak to the children should be escorted out the door NOW. Mostly, teachers who don't speak to children probably aren't speaking to the other teachers either. That's because they hold themselves in such high regard, that condescending to speak to a child, much less another employee, is beyond some special selfish plan they have created for his or her self. It's part of the Narcissus Plan, and that plan only exists off the property.

OK, now that I vented, I feel better.

It's going to be a great winter season, Miss Judy has learned some really valuable lessons, and all seems right with the world.

Friday's Tattler

2011-12-10T15:08:00.001-08:00

It was a wild and crazy week! We made some absolutely darling Christmas ornaments and decorations to send home. The children did a beautiful job and followed directions and got beautiful results. It's really a team effort...it means eyeballing the craft and heading of any possible issues that little kids might have trouble with.

When faculty work as a team, the kids sail...fly...race to the finish line with great ability! I always keep an eye out for those teachers who bring a craft to the table. When teachers hang back and let others take the lead day in and day out, it really hurts the team.

The kids were great all day Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but on Friday, as the latest cold front moved in, they were atrocious! We gave out the Advent Boxes with caution...

We are really racing toward the Santa Prize...there are about six children in the lead, but that could change at any moment! One child will find his altruistic hat one day and earn three elves; the next day, someone else has picked up the hat and is headed down elf lane. It's really remarkable to see.

We had an outstanding pork roast on Tuesday. I'll post the recipe on Sunday's Plate.

We also had one of their favorites...chicken soup. We added a lunch waffle that had onions, green pepper, celery and cheese in the batter.

We want to remind parents that teaching at home is a Godsend, but teaching wrongly is a nightmare. Please do not teach children to write their names in all upper case or capital letters. The first letter of their name is Capitalized and all the rest are lower case.

Please remember to teach your child to put on his own coat and hat. Knitted gloves for $1.00 can be purchased at the Family Dollar. These three inch gloves fit. Adult sized gloves are a nuisance on the playground.

We go out every day, so please send your child to school in LONG SLEEVES and a coat that zips or buttons and one that is meant for weather of 20-40 degrees. We DO go out nearly every day.

It's been a great week!

Monday's Tattler

2011-12-05T04:00:00.000-08:00

Good Morning! Here's what you need to know for the week:

Christmas gifts for the Santa Party are welcomed anytime. Please just hand your bag to the teacher who opens the door. Please do not discuss this with her.

Your child needs a coat...not a hoodie...not a light jacket. We go out most days.

Your child needs to be able to put his or her coat, hat and mittens on by himself.

Please review the ill child policy you have signed here at the Garden School. If your child needs Over The Counter medications in the morning...they don't belong at school.

Please don't forget to pick up your recipe cards at the front of the school. They are written for parents who want to try the cookies we make here at the Garden School. They are a little gift for you.

We will be making ornaments every day at school. Please check your child's folder every day.

Have a great week!

Sunday's Plate - Banana Cake

2011-12-04T15:33:00.000-08:00

OK, guys, this is the absolute best cake on the planet. I got it from Jackie Knights about twenty-five years ago, and there is no cake that tops this one. Make it and enjoy.

3/4 cup butter
1.5 cups sugar
1 cup mashed bananas
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 cup flaked coconut

Cream shorting and sugar and add eggs. Beat three minutes. Add bananas and beat another two minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat two minutes more.

Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes.

Frost with butter cream frosting laced with maple flavoring.

To die for.

Friday's Tattler

2011-12-03T05:11:00.000-08:00

We had a really nice week at school. Toward the end of the week, the kids worked hard at the Santa Prize race. Lots of extra elf winners. Connor D won the Advent Box because of his helpfulness on Thursday. Some of his friends saw that and immediately helped with picking up toys and helping the little guys with projects. That I really love to see. I heard Annie say that "We need to clean up this mess," and four children jumped on it. Such wonderful, wonderful children.

We made some wonderful Christmas ornaments so far this season. Miss Lisa invented a rather charming wreath, and Miss Carol invented a rather wonderful snow scene. Miss Molly has started preparing a cinnamon ornament for next week.

We had our first turkey for the season on Thursday. I expected some left overs for Friday, and the children ate the whole bird. So Friday, I made a new dish: chicken bread. It was a rolled bread featuring chicken and cheese. It turned out to be rather good even though there was some skepticism. I'm not narrow and obstinate about food. I'm not picky and bothered by new ideas and new ingredients, so it's much easier for me to invent than it is for other people who have a grand personal list of what should, must, has to be when it comes to making, baking or inventing.

In fact this week we had a surprising sticky bun made with ground fresh pineapple and fresh blackberry sticky buns with a great caramel sauce.

The turkey I stuffed with cornbread muffins we had earlier in the week, pumpernickel bread and whole wheat bread. I always stuff a bird with something interesting, because it keeps the white meat from drying out. People tend to cook meat too much anyway, and then you have a dry tasteless and expensive meal that's a disappointment.

The chicken bread was actually pretty good. It was very cheesy and most of the kids enjoyed it. I seasoned the meat with taco seasoning and masala. It's not going to be everyone's favorite, but children can't hope to enjoy their lunch, especially if it's something new, without a great deal of help and encouragement from the teachers. When teachers are supportive and positive about what we are eating, it goes a long way.

One of our jobs at the Garden School is to encourage children to be positive about their whole day. Food is an important part of any child's day because a child is building his body, and when he builds it properly, he is healthier for a lifetime. We know that many children go home to fast food, canned soup, or a bowl of cereal, that's why giving them all the nutrition we can during the day is a fundamental good.

"I was hungry and you gave me to eat..." In today's world, that "gave me to eat" has become, "You gave me nutrition." Bones, teeth, hair, eyes, organs...all need quality food, and that's our mission.

One of the things that has been really well done this year is the singing program. We are teaching the children one new song a day, and they are really learning them with all the verses. There is no point in teaching part of a song...I mean would you like the chorus of Jingle Bells to be the only song your child knows? How about all three verses with the chorus... We sent home a folder to collect each child's music as it comes home. We hope you will use the folder. Sing with your child!

Please pick up the recipe cards in the front of school. They have our traditional recipes and the new recipes we will use this season. Lots of fun to bake, and none of them are hard.

Enjoy your weekend.

Thursday's Thought

2011-12-02T03:33:00.000-08:00

So busy these days...I finished reading a great book. It is "The Sociopath Next Door." It's a scientific approach to the making of a sociopath, but it does not disregard religion, so it's a very nicely written book about a percentage of the society that we never really hear about until it makes the news.

Interestingly, one in twenty-five people is a sociopath. Does that mean one in twenty-five is a vicious killer? No. It means that one person in twenty-five has no conscience, and no ability to love. These people have no remorse for what they do or fail to do. A sociopath lives a failed life.

A sociopath could be the principal of a school, a businessman, or your mother. A sociopath cannot feel love, empathy or connection to another person. They learn how to hide this fact, and can be charming, attractive and play a huge part in ordinary people's lives.

The one outstanding identifying trait of the sociopath is the begging for pity. "Feel sorry for me because..." and then they invent the reason in order to manipulate anyone they think they can because that's their only joy - using and abusing other people - it's a game and the only delight in their lives. They will lie, cheat and steal without much thought because to a sociopath, nothing is really wrong to do. The world of right and wrong exists intellectually, but since there is no conscience, they can freely act on either side of the moral fence without regret.

A sociopath is lazy at heart, although can behave as if they are hardworking. A sociopath will begin a task and slowly let someone else take the work over while they either fain illness or some other pitiable weakness. Prolonged work, building and investment are nothing to a sociopath because that's not their game. The game is hurting others by destruction, even if it's one person at a time. A sociopath is irresponsible with money and he has no affection for success because he has no affection for anyone or anything even his own talents.

A sociopath denies that they have ever made a mistake because ultimately, they haven't. They don't need forgiveness because they are always innocent. But they do choose targets, and that target is one they think they can manipulate. The game is to get the target to do as much for them as they can.

The sociopath is born a sociopath with determining factors set in stone...you can't stop being a sociopath. A sociopath can learn to function very nicely in the world, and is often someone who wreaks havoc in good and kind people's lives.

Sound familiar? It was a great book and well worth reading.

Monday's Tattler

2011-11-28T03:16:00.000-08:00

Are we there yet?

It's Monday morning after break...rain is mixed with snow at 5:15 in the morning. Even the cat failed to go out...where's the coffee...

It's the first week of Advent, and children will begin to see some Christmas changes this week as we move towards Christmas. A Christmas calendar will go home this week.

We will be going to the Nutcracker Suite with the kids in December.

There will be a visit from Santa on December 20. We need a Santa.

Parents will be asked to bring a small gift to school for their own child in a brown paper bag for the Santa Surprise. Please don't show your child!

We will be out of school December 21- December 26 and resume school to the 30 and be out to January 3.

Lots to do...lots to do...have a great week!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T09:24:00.001-08:00

A beautiful and wonderful and tasty Thanksgiving to everyone who reads this. May the blessings of God wrap your day in goodness and light.

Love you all,

Judy

Wonderful Wednesday...

2011-11-23T01:26:00.000-08:00

Something from the literary world gone awry... thought readers might enjoy...World's Funniest Analogies.

Annual English Teachers' awards for best student metaphors/analogies

His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.

The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.

The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.

Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.

John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.

Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.

Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.

The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law George. But unlike George, this plan just might work.

The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.

He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

The ballerina rose gracefully en pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.

He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up...

Thanks, Cayce

Tuesday's Teacher - The Troubled Three

2011-11-22T13:33:00.000-08:00

Skipper, the precious three year old son of a nice young couple begins school throwing tantrums, becoming defiant and belligerent, spitting, using bad language, disrupting and deliberately assaulting other little guys at school. The teachers immediately corner the parent.

"He doesn't do that at home," says the astonished parent to the teacher.

"He doesn't have thirty-five competitors at home," retorts the teacher.

"We don't tolerate that kind of behavior at home," reassures the parent.

"I'm glad to hear that, because we can't allow this behavior to go on here either. Now what are we going to do about it? Let's begin with the tantrums. What do you do when your child throws a tantrum at home?"

"We give in and appease him. It's just easier."

A child who throws tantrums is a child who has taken or been given the command of his home. And when a child rules at home, that child will usually take that ruling hand with him to school and assume that his is the last word. Many children are shocked when they find out that they can't command teachers as easily as they do their parents. It's a respect issue.

A tantrum means a child is screaming for boundaries, for the word "NO." A child who throws tantrums is a child out of control because there is no control, and that child is frightened to death that he or she is all alone in the world. There is no law and order and that is the most unsafe, scary, and lonely feeling in the whole world. Because children don't have the vocabulary to express that fear, they throw tantrums.

Best way to stop tantrums is to insist that the tantrum go to a place where it cannot be heard. The parent says not a single word, but carries the child to a quiet place and leaves him or her there to wallow in self pity alone. We don't discuss tantrums, we don't scorn, laugh, punish, or lose our temper. We carry and ignore. When the self indulgence is played out; it's over. The child can return to the activities.

It is never a good idea to appease bad behavior. It is always a good idea to remove badly behaved children from other children's play. Consistency and a casual calm will do more to curb tantrums than all the words there are.

But the root of tantrums is a gap in parenting. Somehow, the child has gleaned that all is not safe, and somehow he or she is not protected. Finding that gap and filling it in will help in ending tantrums. Children don't like too many adult choices. They like routine, they like security, so that they can enjoy playing and being a child. Too often, children are given too much responsibility and too many choices. It's confusing to a very young child, and too much choice often makes children frightened that they are unsafe.

Most poor behavior including tantrums is copied from the parents or older siblings. When children spit, hit, scream at other children, use bad language, you can be that this is what they are seeing at home in the ongoing example of everyday life.

When children are disruptive, you can bet that life at home is chaotic, that order is far from the door. Order teaches order. Chaos teaches chaos.

Changing a child's behavior often means changing an adult's behavior first, because children model their behavior after their parents. Children want to be like their parents. They want to do what their parents do.

No parent has to shout, scream, punch a wall or hit a child. The very best response to poor behavior in a child, after examining one's own conscience, is to tell a child quietly that their behavior is not acceptable, and then remove the child to think about what the child has done or failed to do. When a child knows what he's done, no words are necessary. Send or take the child to his room or sleeping place and leave him there to think about his behavior.

Less is always more. Children never listen past the third word of correction. Ranting and raving only make children rant and rave. But that steady, calm look of disdain, and the silent removal to the sleeping place will do more as punishment than all the words or smacks that an angry parent can muster.

Sound easy? It's never easy, and emotions will always make anger rise. But if a parent can separate himself from the offending child, it helps mitigate the angry emotions on both sides of the parent/child conflict.

Children do know the rules. They can probably recite them and everything you've always told them about the rules. So why do they disobey, disrupt? I don't know. Go look in the mirror to answer that question.

Monday's Tattler

2011-11-20T11:47:00.000-08:00

What you NEED to KNOW!

Monday - Wednesday we will be in school regular hours.

We will be doing some all school academic review.

Please DO NOT SEND SICK CHILDREN TO SCHOOL. Every parent signed a contract with the school not to send children who have vomited or who have had fevers. We have had a lot of fudging on this, and because half of our faculty is out sick, we are going to get tough. If your child has been ill this weekend - especially Sunday - he or she may NOT come to school. It is unfair to everyone. If children come to school on Monday and end up going home sick by noon, that is their LAST day this week.

On Wednesday, we will be making cranberry bread with the kids, so PLEASE send an EMPTY soup can or a can of soup size or two or three. Please only open one end.

We will be doing a sock drive for the orphanage in Mexico during the month of December.

Please watch the weather. The temperature is going to bounce this week, and that means one day we will be warm, and the next cold. Please pay attention and dress children appropriately.

Payments as usual are due on Mondays. It is a full tuition week.

Sunday's Plate - Stir Fry

2011-11-20T11:33:00.001-08:00

Here's a new gadget for Sunday's Plate: It's a salad, fruit, noodle server. It's called a Snappi and sells for 6. 95.

I thought seriously about making a big roast turkey this week to teach the kids about what they would eat this week at grandmas or Aunt Susie's, but on second thought, I thought I'd let them experience it as a novelty on Thanksgiving instead, and cook a turkey next week just for fun. o this week we are going to have Italian, Mexican and Chinese food as a compliment to feasting.

On Wednesday, I'm going to make my favorite stir-fry. It's made with angel hair pasta and shrimp and ham and chicken and veggies. It's quick and easy like everything I do.

Here's the recipe:

Boil a pound ( and in our case three pounds) of angel hair pasta. Set aside.

In a big wok, stir fry your favorite veggies like onions, garlic, green pepper, broccoli, carrots and anything you have in the fridge in a half stick of butter.

(Stir fry is really a use for left overs.)

Add a 1/4 cup of soy sauce. I use the sweet ABC stuff from the Asian Market, but regular soy sauce will do. Add a teaspoon of ginger and some cracked pepper.

Add your ham cubes or shreds and your cubed uncooked chicken.

When your chicken is cooked, mix in the pasta and then add your shrimp. It will take about three minutes for your shrimp to cook. Serve and eat as a once course meal.

If you need more sauce add more soy sauce.

The Thanksgiving Play

2011-11-19T12:29:00.000-08:00

A very busy week concluded with our Thanksgiving Play. On Thursday, we had eleven children out sick, so we were very surprised when the whole group showed up on Friday, and for the most part, were well.

Plays, as I explained on Friday, are important because they satisfy so many of the kindergarten standards expected by any school. They build cohesiveness among students. Plays offer children opportunities to explore that no other teaching technique does.

Does it always work, and can every parent hear and understand every word? Nope. It's a developmental structure that individualizes every child, but just trying, just getting in the game, just playing the part to the best of his or her natural ability is what is important. This breeds success, confidence, and the knowledge that the child can and did and is successful.

With that success under his belt, it's time to return to learning. It's hard with Christmas looming in the near future, but with enough games, prizes and new material, the natural course of learning just takes off now. Readers will be stronger, math skills will come more easily, and there is a huge new level of being grown up that paves the way to more success during the cold blustery winter months.

Children all learn at different rates. Two of our stars are four. Public confidence, the ability to project a line, the natural clown of both children burst forth in a success that will carry these four year olds the rest of the year - they are in Kindergarten already and reading.

Yet, there are other four year olds who can't remember their lines, can't pay attention, and can't deliver an ouch if you stomped on a toe!

So what makes one child so far ahead of another? Nature and nurture. Some children simply grow up fast. They want to know, to do, to explore, to understand, and you hear that in their questions because they see that these desires open the doors to success. It's intelligence right up front. You can see them try to understand what is expected of them, and they try very hard to comply. It's called motivation, discipline and virtue.

The home is also a source of advancement. When parents have expectations, children tend to be more grown up. When time is spent on directing children's activities and behavior; when correction is made, when rules are made and enforced, children tend to be more aware of their surroundings. Children who are talked to, directed and taught at home have a wonderful advantage.

Children who are unmotivated and have neither discipline enforced or encouraged at home won't have any. Chaos is chaos and it fails to breed virtue. When one child could recite the whole play, and another is busy pulling his velcro shoes wondering where he is, there is a sad difference.

So when working with a group of children to produce a play, there are many things to be considered. The writer and director choose lines they think a child may, could, might and probably will deliver. Sometimes those lines have to be changed to fit the ability of the child.

The standing statement before every rehearsal is: This is YOUR responsibility. This is YOUR homework. This is YOUR part of the whole. Do it well for your classmate's sake. Then, when they do their lines well, it's a HUGE hurdle, a huge learning process, and a huge success.

Our children will be involved in group activities right through college. Each one has a voice, a separate need, a desire to be singled out, and sometimes they are, but when there is discipline and virtue, it all works together. I think they worked together brilliantly and did a fine play. Our congratulations to children and parents!

Stuffed Pumpkin

2011-11-17T03:47:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd put this here because you can refer to it later. Lots of the kids really liked the stuffed pumpkin yesterday. It was easy to make and makes a great presentation!

Bake a whole pumpkin in a 350 degree oven for about an hour. Squash will do as well, but you don't need all that time.

When pumpkin is DONE, cut the top and clean out the seeds.

While your pumpkin is baking, make three dry cups of rice, brown is preferable because it is better for you.

While rice is cooking, bake a pound of sausage, a pound of ham and a pound of bacon or any combination on a rack with the pumpkin.

When the meat is cooked, chop in a food processor and add to the cooked rice.

When the pumpkin is cooked and cleaned, stuff the rice and meat into the pumpkin.

Cheese sauce:

Melt 1 stick butter and add 1 cup of flour in a sauce pan and make a paste. Add 3 cups of milk and 15 slices of American cheese, a tablespoon of chicken bouillon and bring to a boil. Add a huge dollop of sour cream.

This cheese sauce recipe can be halved and quartered for smaller meals. Cheese sauce lasts in the fridge for a week and is a great soup starter and chip dip.

Slice your pumpkin into slices and pile on your meat-rice mix and pour over your cheese sauce. It's a seller!

Have a brilliant day!

Tuesday's Teacher - Age One to Three...

2011-11-15T02:17:00.000-08:00

I'm always harping on the stages of development, and that can be as dull as it comes. But more and more, I'm finding that children who are not living within the bounds of what nature has established are losing out on their lives, on being happy, on growing and developing the way it was meant to be.

That peculiar age: one to three is an especially difficult age for many parents to handle emotionally. Their beautiful baby is suddenly walking - toddling - and he or she is just not the same and no matter how much mom or dad cuddles, holds, and whispers baby nonsense into those sweet little ears. He's a toddler, and he only wants to push away and run his little legs off!

At one, the child is not an infant anymore. He's a toddler, and his life is changing, and so his care is changing too. There is so much for a child to learn between the ages of one and three, there is no room to allow infancy to continue. He has to learn what the word "no" REALLY means. He has to learn to eat at a table with a fork and out of a cup. He needs to learn to sleep in a big bed and perhaps give up his nap. He needs to learn to be quiet when it's appropriate. He needs to learn language and communication skills. He needs to learn words so that he can communicate. He has to learn to wait, to stand in line nicely with his parent, to take his turn, clean up his toys, put his things away, put on his coat, shoes, and gloves. He needs to learn to climb, to run, when to climb and when to run. He needs to learn to come when he is called, to dress himself, to use the toilet, to comb his hair, to brush his teeth, and to say "thank you" and why he is saying "thank you."

It's a lot; it's a whole lot, and if we spend six months of his toddlerhood keeping him a baby, that only gives the toddler eighteen months to do everything a toddler needs to do to get to the next stage.

Parents who use the expression, "He's just not ready" are usually meaning "I'm not ready" to let go of my infant. And who is that fair to?

Expectations for a child who is one to three, are not cruel and inhuman punishment. Expectations begin at one when the child is no longer an infant. The child will have those expectations put on him the rest of his life. These "expectations" establish a child as a functioning member of the community. Avoiding the expectations of life are not doing the child any favors. Letting a two or three year old child behave like a screaming, undisciplined, mess making, indulgent infant are not contributing to society, but detracting from it. And the fault is not the child's but the parent's.

But one does not get from expectation to accomplishment without an enormous amount of work on the side of the parent. It's a daily struggle, a daily chore to repeat a thousand times, "NO" or have to push a little chair to the table, or clean up spills, or change soiled pants, or chase across the grass or down the hall. Teaching, re-teaching, repeating, redoing, undoing, and redoing for two years in a marathon race to the age of three. And thank God it's only two years.

Beginning on time with discipline and training will do more for a child than letting him remain an infant because, "he's not ready."

So what do you do when the child turns three and none of the above accomplishments have been accomplished...next time.

Monday's Tattler

2011-11-14T14:10:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late today...we are still working hard on the play. With so many little guys, it's been a real slow go. We are getting costumes together now, and working on polishing our two songs.

The play has been moved to 2:00 on Friday because 3:00 is just too late for some of our very little littles. The children get too tired, and they are not at their best. If parents are taking time off anyway, then we need to put children first. Please be on time.

We are asking parents to bring a small treat to share. A dozen cookies, a dozen cup cakes, a bag of chips, a bag of popcorn. Please do not bring candy or food needing a fork.

School dismisses on Friday at 3:30.

Saturday's Under the Sun - Flat Stanleys Still Traveling!

2011-11-12T06:24:00.000-08:00

In Dillon, volunteers working to collect gifts for needy kids worldwide
Operation Christmas Child up and running

By Kathryn Corazzelli

Summit Daily News

Comment: For those of you who have followed our Flat Stanley Project, our Flat Stanleys have made the news! In the picture, three of the children are holding our class's Flat Stanleys!

While many are busy polishing off leftover Halloween candy and planning how to brine the Thanksgiving turkey, folks at the Dillon Community Church are busy wrapping Christmas presents.

The gifts come in the form of empty shoe boxes filled with school supplies, stuffed animals, toys, hygiene items and notes of encouragement for needy kids overseas. The effort, dubbed Operation Christmas Child, is a year-round project of Samaritan's Purse, a religious-based organization that provides emergency relief around the world. Through Operation Christmas Child, 86 million gifts have been hand-delivered using whatever means necessary — including sea containers, boats, camels and dog sleds — to kids worldwide since 1993.

“This may be the only gift they get, not only this year, but possibly for their lifetime,” Kathryn Jo Pfeifer, collection effort coordinator in Dillon said. “It's an amazing opportunity to be able to know you're touching children's lives so far away.”

This is the fourth year the project has been coordinated at the church. They collected 294 boxes in 2009 and 405 in 2010. Last year, 117,466 boxes were collected statewide. “Each box made really counts,” Pfeifer said. “We are hoping we will continue the trend of increasing these numbers each year. We are encouraging people to do neighborhood parties, pizza parties and get together with friend and have some fun with this project while they put together boxes.”

Groups like the local cub scouts and girl scouts, classrooms and individual families like to get together to contribute, Pfeifer said. Just last week, about 90 people met at the church to decorate and stuff 66 boxes — Bass shoe outlet “has been wonderful with collecting shoe boxes” — with presents and supplies, and personal notes and pictures. Each gift is labeled for a boy or girl, and suitable age range.

Countries the gifts are sent to can be tracked online, by making a donation and printing out a tracking bar-code from the organization's website.

That's great for our kids,” Pfeifer said. “It's been fun for them to know where these boxes end up.” And while the individual child the present goes to can't be tracked, contributors do sometimes hear stories from volunteers who make the long trips to deliver the presents.

“They said the kids love the presents, love everything, but a lot of times what they dig through the box looking for is the picture and maybe the letter they get from the individual who made the box,” Pfeifer said.

Many times, volunteers report it's “the kid without shoes that gets the box that has the shoes in it.”

Volunteer Anneke Crowe wraps presents along with her children, who are 8, 6, 5 and 3. Her older two, who have been participating for the last few years, always get excited. “They say ‘it's time to go buy presents for other people, isn't this great?'” Crowe said. “It's rewarding to see that they understand why they're giving.”

While Crowe hasn't heard back personally from any of the children — along with a personal note, volunteers can include mailing addresses — her sister witnessed the impacts the gifts have last year on a trip to Mongolia.

“They were staying in a yurt. The children there were so excited to show my sister their things. When she went back to the little corner where they were sleeping, they pulled out their Operation Christmas Child boxes to show her,” Crowe said. “We wrap shoeboxes, and they save the wrapped shoeboxes. Their special treasures are in those.”

In Summit County, the due date for boxes is Nov. 20 so they can be delivered on time for a pre-holiday arrival. “So that is why we're celebrating Christmas early,” Pfeifer said.

The Plays...

2011-11-09T14:38:00.000-08:00

People are always a little amused when they interview at the Garden School when we say we put on two fully costumed and fully acted plays every school year. I tell them that it's important to the children, and they nod and smile...

The truth is, the play is one of the most important things we do at the Garden School. First, it fulfills many of the kindergarten standards, secondly, it allows children to step outside themselves and become someone else in public...and that's fun, but it's also a kind of creativity that begins on the inside of a person and continues all the way out and into an audience.

My theory on Kindergarten is that is most kindergarten curricula should be a project for four year olds because that's when they want it. By five, a child is into his first formative imagination where he directs his mind to explore, experience and dream about what ifs. If a child has the reading and writing skills AT five, he is more likely to be more creative and therefore brighter and therefore more aware...and that train follows right into old age.

Plays encourage the arts, social skills, imagination skills, and group activity. It's not MY play, it's not YOUR play, it's OUR play, and my line is important in the story to get to your line which moves to other lines until we have told our story, made people laugh and had a splendid good learning experience.

Plays are not things one will generally find in most schools because they are hard to do. Enterprising teacher, who think things through, will know that when you produce a play, it generally fulfills a lot of state standards.

But where do you get plays? I write mine, but that's something children can do, many parents would love to do, and even the Internet has plays.

A good play needs to be the length the children can handle. Our first play is about fifteen minutes long. Our Spring play has been a half hour. This is long enough. A play needs to tell a story and have enough dialogue that every child has at least one line. Some children will not deliver a line in public. One year, my grandson held up a sign that said his line because he was terrified. He didn't mind standing on stage, he just didn't want to say anything. By the time he was graduated from the GS, he was a top star.

Don't be afraid of changing lines mid practice. It's good for the kids and it's good for the play. Children should always be comfortable reciting their lines, and they should not fear getting a chuckle from the audience.

We invite parents and grandparents to our plays. It's always a grand time. Children always grow so big during play practice and especially on the performance day.

Plays also bring children together and make the group bonded as no other thing can bond them.

This year, Miss Amy is directing our play. She is doing a fantastic job and the kids are loving it. Can't wait for the end product... November 18 at 2:00!

Just Thinking It Over

2011-11-08T02:09:00.000-08:00

This weekend was lovely. My beloved Anne came home to spend a rushed day, and Miss Molly and Anne got to spend some time together and I got some time with Anne...and it caused me to think about my own mother. I loved my mother, there is no doubt, but the mother/daughter gig was not a happy arrangement.

My mother died at ninety-one, and I would say she spent very few days affectionate towards me. She simply did not like me, nor did she wish me well. She was unkind most of the time, humiliating and punishing and rarely approving. She was golden girl of the Alphie Kohn method of parenting, and it did NOT work.

People sometimes talk about spending time - just one more day, hour, lunch, or evening - with someone who has died. I see it on Facebook all the time..."If I could just spend one more day..." Not me. I wouldn't want to spend thirty seconds with either my mother or my father simply because I don't want to spend time with anyone who is constantly unkind to me. It's that simple.

It's the same with friends, husbands, and other relatives and even work environments. Do you really want to spend the time you have been given with people who make fun of you; cut your dialogue off; make you wait in line for any recognition; take phone calls on your time; forget you in all kinds of situations; lose your things? It's really no ones duty to sustain constant insults, belittling, lies, and even taking seconds over and over again for the sake of "family" or the "work environment" or for the sake of an "old friend" simply because you've known them forever? Or even a husband who is rude, unkind or simplistically male?

Over the last year, I've lost three old friends who I've had for at least twenty years...no they didn't die...they simply became so unkind, I decided that the cost was too great to continue the friendships. Do I miss them? Not in the slightest. I can't seem to miss people in my life who are unkind who use me, abuse me and then ignore me.

When I look at the children at the Garden School, I sometimes watch them play, and occasionally I will hear, "If you don't, I won't..." I would love to hear the response, "So what?" or "Go ahead because nobody cares." Children need to have their friendships monitored by loving parents. They need to know when they have taken the friendship on a wrong turn. Children need to learn from the beginning that there are rules about how we treat one another, how to say a "no" if their friend does something un-friendly.

Friendships are meant to be cherished, to be cultivated, to be loved and not to be a stepping stone to another one, or a time waster, or a crutch, or a pathology looking for a place crash. A friendship is companionship; it's a give and take; it's a soft spot in the road of life.

Encouraging real friendships is not only a parent's duty, it's a responsibility. Ask your children who their best friend is and why. Talk about your child's friend at home, and encourage your child to always be kind.

Monday's Tattler

2011-11-07T03:26:00.000-08:00

Good Monday!

With our travels over until the Nutcracker in December, it's time to really focus on the play. Play lines have been sent home and it's time for the children to learn to say these lines in the order in which they must be delivered. Memorizing just the line is not going to help. Parents should review the whole scene with their children so that the children know when they are supposed to come in.

It's a process, like anything else.

The play will be at 2:00 (and not 3:00 p.m.) this year on November 18. We have changed the time for the sake of the children. 3:00 p.m. is just too late on a Friday to expect them to do a good job. Fridays are tough enough, but there has always been a "holding tank" between 1:00 and 2:00 when the kids just ran and exhausted themselves and then had to put on their costumes and half of them just wanted to go to sleep. So this year the play is at 2:00 p.m.

Costumes will be provided for every child. Parents are welcome to help with refreshments.

This is going to be one of those warm, then cold, bright, then breezy, dry then wet weeks. long sleeves and jeans work well. Please remember that as the weather gets colder, short sleeves in a heavy coat just doesn't cut the chill. Children need long sleeves to play outside.

Have a brilliant week!

Sunday's Plate - Baked Beans to Die For!

2011-11-06T14:01:00.000-08:00

Here's a great new recipe for baked beans. I'm not a bean lover, but Mr. T loves baked beans, so I tried these and they were so good, I would have had them for dessert too!

Soak small white beans over night.

Boil beans until cooked - about an hour.

Reserve 3 cups of bean water. (I forgot to do this the second time I made them. Will let you know how they turned out without this.)

In a crock with a lid that is ovenproof, place beans

7 slices of uncooked bacon cut up into pieces ( use a scissors)

1 very large raw chopped onion

1 cup maple syrup - can be made by boiling 1/3 cup water and 2/3 cup sugar + maple flavoring

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup yellow mustard

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Mix in the crock, cover and cook two hours at 350.

These are truly yum.

Friday's Field Trip!

2011-11-04T05:46:00.000-07:00

Field trip at 9:30...wear your red sweat shirt and school t shirt. Philharmonic Lollipop Concert.

Lots of fun. Returning to the school at 11:30 for lunch.

Field Trips

2011-11-03T05:02:00.000-07:00

Last field trip for the season on Friday, November 4.

Field trips are wonderful for kids and we try to do as many as we can in a safe and exciting way. There have been a lot of field trips lately, and this one on Friday to the Lollipop Concert is no exception to the exciting. We do this every year, and the children love it. We are learning a song from Cinderella, "Bippity Boppity Boo" to sing at the concert.

Field trips are not cheap for either parents or the school. We charge a uniform rate for all field trips regardless of admission or bus fare. This makes it easier for parents and for collectors.

It costs between $150.00 and $1000.00 to take the bus out. Miss Sandy cuts a fabulous deal and is the ONLY driver in EVV who would do what we have asked her to do. She takes us on long fantastic trips anywhere we want to go. I am sure if we said we were going to Disney, she'd be there to drive. She has driven for us for sixteen years.

Every trip is a different expense, and when you add up the costs overall, they work out to about $10.00 per child per trip, so that's why we charge a uniform fee. Also, we never know how many children until we are pulling out of the driveway, so it's really hard to plan otherwise.

All our field trips are teaching. That's why you will never see a trip to put put or Holiday Village or any amusement parks. We go on our field trips to learn, and the children really benefit from these trips. I wish there were a trip every Friday, and there could be...but the kids get so tired. There is, of course, during the summer. We put a protractor on two points: Evansville and St. Louis, and we draw a circle and anything within that circle is fair game, so if you know of something in that circle you think the kids should see, please let us know.

So Friday, the kids should wear their new Garden School field trip shirts or old green shirts, and their red sweatshirts. Those without red sweatshirts will have them tomorrow.

Have a great rainy day!

Monday's Fun on Halloween

2011-10-31T15:25:00.000-07:00

We had a spooktacular time today. The children came in beautiful costumes. They could not have looked cuter. So proud of them. Every child behaved beautifully. We left early early and arrived at our first nursing home in Boonville at 9:30. We brought a huge bag of gifts for the residents that the children collected all month. The residents gave all the kids candy and the children thanked everyone and deposited the candy in a bag to be divided later. We sang several songs and then visited with the elderly. It was a great visit!

We moved on to another home in Boonville and were greeted by some really nice people who took the children's presents to distribute to the residents. We sang, collected candy and were photographed standing by their Halloween display.

We moved on to our last nursing home in Boonville and were greeted in the dining room. This was splendid. The children did a great job singing and gathering treats.

We then went to a nice nursing home in Evansville and brought our presents and were treated with lots and lots of candy. We sang our songs and kissed and hugged and said "Happy Halloween" and then boarded the bus for school.

We probably received twenty pounds of candy which Miss Lisa and Miss Amy separated into separate bags for the kids.

We had a wonderful pizza lunch and then played until our little party. We had chocolate cupcakes and milk. It was a really nice day.

Monday's Tattler

2011-10-30T18:41:00.000-07:00

Today is Halloween and we will all be dressing up.

Please send your child to school in his or her costume today.

Please do not send masks or weapons to school.

Children should be wearing comfortable shoes. Your child may have his face painted.

Your child needs to be at school by 9:00 to leave on the nursing home field trip.

We will be returning to school by 12:30 for a pizza party.

School dismisses at 4:00 today. Please pick up your child by 4:00.

Halloween at the GS

2011-10-26T03:26:00.000-07:00

Friday is not Halloween. Friday, October 29, we will be going to Willard Library for ghost stories and a tour of the library. We will come back to school to eat pizza and carve pumpkins. Regular dismissal.

ON MONDAY, which is HALLOWEEN:

Children may come to school in costumes. If appropriate, children should wear shorts and t-shirts under costumes so that mid day, they can take off the costume. If the costume is comfortable and not an issue, they may keep the costume on all day and won't need shorts under.

COSTUMES: no masks or weapons. Children may have their faces painted. We will be on the bus in the morning, so please consider sitting on a bus when choosing your child's Halloween costume.

MONDAY, we will be going to the nursing homes in Boonville and one in Evansville to sing to the elderly and deliver what gifts we have collected this month.

Collections for the elderly are still going on!!! Please plan to give!

At lunch time, we will again pick up pizza and return to school for Halloween fun in the afternoon. School dismisses at 4:00 promptly so that children have time to trick or treat.

There is no Adult party this year. After much discussion, we felt that Halloween is for the kids, and it was too difficult for parents to come to eight parties, so we chose the four parties that were the most important and Halloween was not one of them.

If you are reading this blog article, please say Frankenstein's Monster to a teacher for your child to receive a special bead for his medal...it's a parent read bead!

Tuesday's Teacher

2011-10-25T03:27:00.000-07:00

Brain Study Points to Potential Treatments for Math Anxiety

By Sarah D. Sparks on October 20, 2011 7:18 AM | 9 Comments |

For some students, an announcement of a math pop quiz can send them into a cold sweat. A new brain-imaging study suggests that the way they deal with that first rush of anxiety can be critical to their actual math performance.

The study, published this morning in the journal Cerebral Cortex, is a continuation of work on highly math-anxious people being conducted by Sian L. Beilock, associate psychology professor at the University of Chicago, and doctoral candidate Ian M. Lyons. In prior research, Beilock has found that just the thought of doing math problems can trigger stress responses in people with math anxiety, and adult teachers can pass their trepidation about math on to their students.

But nobody likes to perform badly. And dyscalculia—a serious math disability—affects about as many people as dyslexia. So which comes first: the struggle to do math, or the fear of it?

The latest study suggests fear may be a bigger hindrance than previously thought. The researchers analyzed 32 college students, ages 18 to 25, identified as high or low math anxiety based on their answers to a questionnaire. The students were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI—a brain imaging technology which measures blood flow to different areas of the brain—while the students performed a series of equally difficult math and spelling tasks. As expected, students who were highly anxious about math performed less accurately on math than on spelling and less accurately in math than students who were not afraid. But the story doesn't end there.

"We know that anxiety or fear of math can lead people to perform worse than what they know," said Beilock, author of the 2010 book Choke, on brain responses to performance pressure. "We know that when people perform poorly in a particular subject area, they tend to develop anxiety about their abilities, but being math anxious doesn't mean you are going to perform poorly in math. Some of these math anxious individuals were able to overcome their fear and succeed."

Students were shown a symbol before each question, telling them whether the item would be math- or spelling-related. So the brain scan was able to distinguish a student's anxiety about the upcoming question—and response to that anxiety—separately from what the student did while actually answering the problem. The researchers found some highly math-anxious students performed considerably better on the actual math problems than others, and these students' brains looked very different as they prepared to answer a math question.

Students who were anxious about math but performed well anyway showed high activity in the frontal and parietal regions of the brain when they learned a math problem was coming up; these are not the areas of the brain associated with calculating numbers, but those associated with cognitive control, focus, and regulating negative emotions. Students who activated these parts of the brain before attempting the math problem got 83 percent of the problems correct, nearly the same as the 88 percent accuracy of students with low math anxiety. By contrast, highly anxious students whose brains did not register activity in those regions got only 68 percent of the math questions correct.

Moreover, the researchers found that students' performance had less to do with how afraid they were of the coming math problem—as measured by activity in the amygdala, the brain's fear center—and more to do with how they responded to that fear. While the study focused on college-age students, the regions of the brain that govern cognitive control and emotional regulation do not completely mature until a person reaches her mid-20s, so Beilock said the effects of anxiety may be even more important for younger students.

"Think about walking across a suspension bridge if you're afraid of heights versus if you're not—completely different ballgame," Lyons said in a statement on the study.

For highly math-anxious students, the researchers found, "it is not necessarily the level of one's self-reported math anxiety per se that predicts one's math deficit, rather it is one's ability to call upon frontoparietal regions before the math task has even begun."

Moreover, Beilock told me, that sort of focus can be taught, and math interventions that address anxiety may be more helpful than those that remediate math skills alone. Previous research has identified benefits from meditation and cognitive control interventions that improve the brain's focus and ability to control negative emotions. Mark H. Ashcraft, a psychology professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas is planning one such study next year of a potential intervention focused on changing middle school students' attention and attitudes.

"This study really suggests we can devise interventions that can help students reappraise the situation and control emotions before they even get into a task," Beilock said. "It shows how some math anxious people are able to engage brain power to succeed."

A copy of the study is available here: Math anxiety.pdf

Monday's Tattler

2011-10-24T01:14:00.000-07:00

Good Morning and welcome to another week at the GS!

Ghost week this week. Field trip to Willard library on Friday.

We are still working on collecting leaves. If you have a tree in your yard, have your child bring a leaf for our collection.

We have a new science project budding in the pet room. Last week, I wondered why Corky and Bess did not like the nesting box I put up in their favorite spot. I ordered a book on Quaker parrots, and I learned that they are the only nest building parrots. I watched a short short on UTube called "Sparky Builds His Dream House," and realized just how wrong I had been about this wonderful bird. So this weekend, I put the horse barn in the zoo room and this week, we will introduce the children to the new nest building extravaganza we hope shortly ensues from the bird and new house.

We will put all kinds of natural nesting materials in the room for the birds with the hope that the children can watch these wonderful birds build a fabulous home.

Also this week, new shirts arrive on Thursday, so if you have not bought and want one, now is the time. They are $15.00. New students since August will automatically get a shirt on Thursday.

We will be trying some new dishes this week. Don't forget to ask your child what he has been eating at the GS. If he likes it, I will put the recipe on the blog.

If you have read this blog entry, please tell a teacher "Rumpelstiltskin" and your child gets a treasure box pass.

Have a great week!

We Had a Great Week!

2011-10-22T14:17:00.000-07:00

Great week at school. Lots in the hopper and lots to do. Kids really responded well to the art projects and all that we did. The children are beginning to listen...

The single most important thing we can do for the children in our care is to teach them to listen. Listening skills are the one thing most people never learn and suffer from a lack of all their lives.

Listening means closing the mouth and opening the ears. Listening means to put self second and someone else first. Listening means to put our own ideas aside and listen to someone else talk about what they think.

Listening does not mean to adopt other people's ideas, allow people to bully us, or change everything we think. Listening, after all is passive. It's a time when we simply stop what we are doing and put ourselves on hold for someone else to "have a moment."

That's not possible with most adults, and those adults who never listen teach their own children not to listen by example, and that's a shame.

Listening usually follows a question. Most adults rarely ask a question and less frequently listen to the answer. That's because most adults are trudging through life holding a hand mirror, and we all know how frustrating that is.

We are working steadily at question asking and listening so that our children will be the absolute best students who ever lived. By learning to listen to what is being said, and that means putting self aside, and finding what is being said interesting enough to ask a question means the development of "curiosity," and curiosity about the world is one of the most important attributes a functioning human can have.

And while we are discussing such topics, teaching parents to read is a goal as well. This forum - the blog - is our school newspaper. If you are reading this article, just say "Rumpelstiltskin," and your child gets a treasure box pass.

For Ryan - Pancakes and Syrup

2011-10-19T14:08:00.000-07:00

Pancake syrup is easy. There are two kinds regular and fruit.

Regular syrup is two cups of sugar to a cup of water. Add 1/2 a stick of butter and boil three minutes. Flavor with your favorite: maple, vanilla, rum...

Fruit syrup is made with frozen apple concentrate and a cup of sugar and a stick of butter. Boil five minutes and add fresh fruit if desired.

Pancake Batter:

I start with whole grain flour - about two cups.

Add everything that sounds good to you: 1/2 cup oats, flax, wheat germ, corn meal, dry cereal, etc.

For every two cups of dry ingredients, add one heaping teaspoon of baking powder, 1/4 cup of oil, an egg, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and milk to the consistency of a milk shake. You can use any milk. Whisk.

Fresh fruit, coconut, nuts, peanut butter, chocolate, onions, bacon all give ordinary pancake batter a real zing.

On a griddle, lightly spray pan coat, and ladle batter on a 400 degree griddle. When bubbles appear AND burst, it's time to flip. You don't have to spray pan coat every batch.

Enjoy!

Wednesday's Wonder

2011-10-19T06:27:00.000-07:00

Here is a super good recipe for Devil Cake that is super good for you! But try to stay away from it after the first serving because it will bedevil you until you have eaten ALL of it...I promise!

1 cup white flour

2 cups whole wheat white flour

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter softened

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

4 eggs

1 15 ounce pumpkin

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 package mini dark chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degreese

use pan coat on two large bunt pans

mix first six ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.

In a mixing bowl using an electric mixer beat butter and brown sugar until creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add pumpkin and the vanilla. Blend. Alternately add the flour mix and the milk until smooth. Add the tiny chocolate chips.

Bake about an hour until done.

YUM.

Eating the Potatoes...

2011-10-18T08:20:00.000-07:00

It was fun about a week ago when Miss Molly went into the garden she planted last spring and pulled out a five pound sweet potato. It was a thing of beauty and we all admired it.

This week, I went out again, in the rain, and pulled out enough sweet potatoes to feed the kids today. It was triumph because it was so hot this summer, the other veggies died on the vine no matter how much water we seemed to give them.

We have lots of plants at the "Garden School." We have two apple trees, a pear tree, a plum tree, a cherry tree and a peach tree. We have a blueberry bush and strawberries, and if people would stop mowing them down, we would have some wonderful black berry bushes.

This past spring, we planted two raised beds of tomatoes and other vegetables like the sweet potatoes, and it was a bust until now.

Growing your own food is an incredible journey, and well worth the time and effort. It's so much fun to harvest what you grow.

Last week, I bought a book at Amazon called "Urban Homesteading" and gave the book to my wonderful young teacher, Miss Lisa. She lives down town and is planning to grow all kinds of things on her small piece of ground.

Learning to grow food, make food, and preserve food in this era of store boughts is a thing of beauty. So proud of my teachers.

I'll let you know how the kids liked these home grown very fresh sweet potatoes.

Teaching Tuesday - Taking the Kids...

2011-10-18T03:40:00.000-07:00

Last night my daughter, Molly, posted on her Facebook page that she was taking her kids to the movies in the pjs. It was the last night of their Fall Break at school, and they had all done A B work in school this period, so she thought some fun activities over the break would be fun. Unfortunately, she came down with a flu bug and couldn't keep her promises on Saturday and Sunday, so on Monday, the last break day, she got the kids ready for bed and then took them to see the new dolphin movie. What a treat! How fun.

Doing something out of the ordinary, something warm and cozy and just for the kids is a blessing to any family. Our theaters are close, clean, safe, and empty most of the time, so we're not talking about a crowded unsafe place. Curling up in arm-less seats with parents who absolutely love you, doing something different, daring (to a child) and fun is what family time is supposed to be about.

I cheer my daughter on with an enormous shout of approval.

Here's to something new and different.

Monday's Tattler

2011-10-17T02:35:00.000-07:00

Good Morning and welcome to a regular week at the Garden School.

No field trips this week! We are looking at leaves, and children are encouraged to bring in unusual leaves...we are making a leaf collection for the school library. We do not want a huge assortment. One a day will do, and we will save only those for the collection.

This week we are trying out a new food: baked squash. We will stuff the squash with bacon and rice and use a cheese sauce. We are experimenting with different kinds of meatballs and this squash will go with turkey balls.

We use a charting system to encourage children to eat their meals. This week, a child must finish his milk and his lunch or breakfast to get a sticker.

We are still collecting for the nursing homes in Boonville that we will visit on Halloween. Please be generous and donate items you would like to have if you were all alone in a nursing home and no one came to see you or bring you the things you need!

It will be chilly this week, and children are encouraged to wear jeans and short sleeves and bring a light jacket. Please do not send hats and mittens with children yet. It is not appropriate clothing yet.

Please check your child's medal. It could have lots of new things on it, and your child should be able to tell you what each new bead and bauble designates.

As usual, payment is due on Mondays.

If you have not paid your field trip fee, now's the time!

Have a glorious week!

Returning...

2011-10-16T14:19:00.001-07:00

Thank you all so much for leaving a comment. It really means a lot. I've written this blog for five years and quite frankly, I didn't think anyone was reading it, so I thought I would combine the writing with my web site The Garden School of Evansville.com. Because of your comments, I will stay with the blog.

I've loved writing about early childhood for twenty years. I started as a local columnist for my newspaper and that column was syndicated by Scripps Howard. I then I spent three years at a subsidiary of NBC, again writing about children. Over the years, my work has been loved and hated across the nation. I've received wonderful fan mail and a lot of hate mail because of my work with hyperactivity. Two of my hyperactive columns were published in medical journals, and I was delighted. All of these articles are available by Googling Judy Lyden and a topic.

In one edition of a children's magazine, I was quoted fourteen times.

When I first started writing about children, one of the journalists at my newspaper said, "She won't last three months...there is just nothing to write about kids... I wrote fifteen years, and it was the only column ever syndicated by that paper.

I love writing about children, and this blog gives me that opportunity, and so have those of you who left a message. Thank you so much. And PLEASE leave a comment when you visit! Love hearing from you.

Judy

Tuesday's Teacher

2011-10-04T00:52:00.000-07:00

Campbell Soup: Proposal on kids marketing sets ‘virtually unachievable’ standards

By Elaine Watson, 22-Jul-2011

Related topics: The obesity problem, Sodium reduction, Market

Government proposals designed to protect children from junk food marketing are “based on nutrition standards that are virtually unachievable”, according to a group of Campbell Soup employees.

Staff at the soup giant were commenting onproposals - published in April by a working group representing several government agencies - that would prevent firms marketing foods to kids unless they meet strict new nutritional standards.

While many manufacturers are channeling their views via trade associations, several Campbell employees have also submitted commentsindividually expressing their concerns during the consultation period.

Misguided and counterproductive

The Campbell staff, including Steve Petroski, Tracy Saloum, Curtis Dorn and Andrew Turay, say: “Although these guidelines seek to promote a worthy goal in which we wholeheartedly share, they do so in a manner that is misguided and that will be counterproductive."

In practice, the “draconian” thresholds for sodium, fat and sugars meant a high proportion of foods currently on the market would not meet the standards, while the proposed nutritional principles "describe products that manufacturers will not produce because children and teens will not eat them.”

Guidelines will also limit communications intended for adults

Because the IWG’s definition of advertising and marketing was so broad, the proposals could also “substantially limit communications intended for adults”, they claimed.

“In fact, if as little as 20 percent of the audience for a communication is composed of persons aged 12-17, the communication will be considered ‘marketing to children’ and must therefore satisfy the guidelines’ draconian standards. As a result, many communications plainly intended for adults will no longer be permissible.”

Karen Moller, business operations director at the soup giant, added: “Because the definition of ‘marketing to children’ is so broad - it includes anything on the packaging that could appeal to children or adolescents - the commercial viability of continuing to make these products would be in serious question.”

Several other firms have also joined Campbell in making individual public comments, including Denise Heck of the United Baking Company, who said: “We cannot understand how this advertising ban will provide a viable solution [to obesity]”.

Sodium targets

The IWG itself notes that a “high proportion of foods currently in the marketplace would not meet these limits [on sodium], even with significant reformulation” and says its goal, by 2021, is achieving a sodium limit for foods marketed to kids that matches federal labeling regulations for 'low sodium' foods.

While the American Bakers Association (ABA) has argued this would "preclude advertising of nearly all baked goods to children", many health advocacy groups argue in their public comments that this would be no bad thing.

The Obesity Society said: “We appreciate the difficulty in determining cut-offs in saturated fat, sodium, and added sugar that distinguishes healthy from unhealthy foods. Thus ideally those difficult decisions could be circumvented if all food marketing to children was prohibited.”

But ABA senior vice president, government relations and public affairs Lee Sanders said they would “eliminate the ability to promote and advertise very basic and important grain food staples in children’s diets”.

The American Meat Institute added: “Setting unrealistic targets and employing a one-size approach in sodium reduction ignores the unique functions sodium provides in meat products compared to other foods.”

Self-regulation

But Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) nutrition policy director Margo Wootan accused the food industry of scaremongering by overstating the impact of the proposals.

“The food industry lost major credibility claiming that the administration was trying to ban advertising of whole wheat bread, peanut butter, or other healthy foods to kids.”

According to an analysis conducted by Georgetown Economic Services, only twelve of the top 100 most commonly consumed foods and beverages in America would meet the IWG's proposed nutrition standards.

Food trade associations are instead rallying behind the industry-led Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI), which has recently been beefed up via with the adoption of uniform nutrition criteria for foods advertised to children.

Thursday...

2011-09-29T01:14:00.000-07:00

I am taking a break from posting here. If you will miss this blog, please leave me a comment. Thanks.

Wednesday...and its Wonder

2011-09-28T01:00:00.000-07:00

It all starts with name calling and telling one another that "you are NOT by best friend any more!" This is how the big wigs handle it...such a great article!

The Gentlemanly Art of the Insult
By George Weigel
Posted: Wednesday, September 14, 2011

From THE CATHOLIC DIFFERENCE

Publication Date: September 7, 2011

One of the (many) signs of our cultural decline is that verbal insults, these days, are almost invariably scatological or sexual, provoking a blizzard of asterisks whenever A wants to put the smackdown on B. Once upon a time, it was not so. Once, the ability to come up with a clever insult that could be repeated in polite society was thought an important, if not necessarily essential, component of being a gentleman.

Take, for example, two masters of English repartee and wit, George Bernard Shaw and Winston Churchill. Shaw, prior to the opening of one of his plays, sent Churchill a telegram: "I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend, if you have one." Churchill, nonplussed (and likely amused), sent a telegram in reply: "Cannot possible attend first night; will attend second, if there is one."

Oscar Wilde, who may have returned to the faith before his death, was another man of English letters who knew how to insult with class and wit: Thus, "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." Or the immortal, "He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends." (Wilde could turn his wit on himself, too, which is always a sign of an insulter-with-class: "I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying." Or, inventing a trope that others frequently used of Churchill, "I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.").

As writer and editor, Mark Twain accumulated the literary man's usual collection of enemies, whom he enjoyed twitting. Thus, to one especially dull critic: "Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?" Or about a more intolerable one: "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying that I approved of it."

The aforementioned Mr. Bernard Shaw appreciated Twain's wit, noting that "Mark Twain and I are in the same position. We have put things in such a way as to make people, who would otherwise hang us, believe that we are joking." For his part, Ernest Hemingway, in an unaccustomed moment of modesty, once said that "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn." Twain, in whatever post-mortem circumstances he found himself when told that one, may have winced, knowing as he must of William Faulkner's immortal put-down of his fellow-Nobel laureate, Hemingway: "He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to a dictionary."

Today's political badinage today is lame, lamer, lamest compared with the wits of yore. Churchill, of course, figures prominently here. Told over dinner by Lady Astor, the American-born female member of the House of Commons, that, "If you were my husband, Winston, I'd poison your soup," Churchill immediately replied, "And if you were my wife, Nancy, I'd drink it." And then there was the great man's take-down of the austere Labor minister, Sir Stafford Cripps: "He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." Another Labor stalwart, Aneurin Bevan, a great supporter of nationalized medicine, was a frequent target of Churchill's raillery: "I can think of no better step to signal the inauguration of the National Health Service than that a man who so obviously needs psychiatric attention should be among the first of its patients."

But Bevan finally got the best of Churchill. During the coronation festivities for Queen Elizabeth II, there was a state ball at Buckingham Palace at which the old, pre-war uniforms were to be worn. Sir Winston, exiting the palace men's room dressed in the bottle-green uniform of the Lord Warden of the Cinq Ports and wearing the ribbon of the Order of the Garter, spotted Bevan wearing a blue serge suit. "I think that at least on this occasion you might have taken the trouble to dress properly," Churchill harrumphed scornfully. "Prime Minister, your fly buttons are undone," replied a cherubic Bevan.

Those were the days.

George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow and William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

Teaching Tuesday

2011-09-27T01:23:00.000-07:00

California Poison Control System (CPCS) (http://www.calpoison.org) suggests being on the lookout for spiders which are increasingly active when the temperature rises. Spider bites can result in small puncture wounds, pain, redness, itching and swelling that can last a couple of days. Most bites occur between the months of April and October and are usually not serious.

People who think that they have been bitten by a spider is far more common than actual spider bites, and many “bites” are actually bacterial skin infections. An expanding red painful area on the skin may be a staph infection and should be examined by a physician.

“Only a few spider species have fangs which can penetrate human skin and be worrisome to people. But by following some precautions, people can minimize the chance of being bitten,” says Dr. Richard Geller, medical director for the CPCS. He added that, “Most spiders are killed only because they scare people, not because they are actually dangerous to humans. Spiders generally prefer to live in undisturbed areas where they can catch insects in peace.”

In California, for example, most spider bites of any significance are caused by the female black widow (Click this link to see a black widow http://bit.ly/4oZvxJ). The venom is dangerous even when baby spiders hatch. Black widows establish non-symmetrical webs in garages, closets, corners of patio furniture, as well as outdoors. They are usually not aggressive, so most bites occur because a spider is trapped or unintentionally touched

Dr. Geller suggested the following spider bite prevention tips:
• Check your bed thoroughly before climbing in; more so if the bed has not been slept in for a while.
• Keep cribs and beds as far from the wall as possible.
• Shake all clothes thoroughly before wearing them.
• Always put on gloves and long-sleeved shirts when going through or emptying closets, boxes or containers that have sat alone for a while.
• Turn your shoes over and shake them out before putting them on.
• Teach children to respect spiders and to find an adult if they see one.
Dr. Geller said that, “The biggest problem with black widow spiders is pain. If pain is increasingly severe, seek medical attention, as effective medicines are available.” The symptoms of a black widow spider bite include minimal redness at the bite site, and gradually increasing pain over several hours after envenomation (venom is injected). A bite on the hand or arm can cause chest pain, and bites to the lower extremities can cause abdominal pain. Not all black widow bites need medical attention. Reasons to go to the doctor after a spider bite include:
• Discomfort which is increasingly severe.
• Spreading local redness accompanied by pain.
• Any drainage from a bite site.

About CPCS
You can learn more about a variety of poison issues by following CPCS on Facebook athttp://on.fb.me/iS6S7J and on Twitter @poisoninfo. Sign up for weekly safety text messages to your cell phone by texting TIPS to 69866; and download a free iPhone app, Choose Your Poison, at http://bit.ly/gg9vfG. CPCS is dedicated to providing residents with the most up-to-date information and 24-hour help in case of poisoning. In case of an accidental poisoning, consumers should immediately call 1-800-222-1222 for advice. Pharmacists, nurses, physician-toxicologists and poison information providers are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to help. In most cases, a poison exposure can be safely managed in your home, avoiding a call to 911 or a visit to a crowded hospital emergency room. Many parents think about contacting the poison control services only in case of an emergency, but experts are available to answer questions any time

Monday's Tattler

2011-09-26T01:39:00.000-07:00

Good morning and welcome to another great week at the Garden School!

This week we will be working on Talents People Have. Report cards will go out this week. We will talk about what we want to be when we grow up, and how we intend to get there.

We will talk about hard work and its rewards.

We will talk about social skills and what makes good social skills.

We will talk about accomplishments.

On Thursday, Clarisse's Dad will be coming in to play the bagpipes for us. We certainly welcome him.

Please notice that the cloak room is taking shape. Hooks go up tomorrow along with pegs and names.

Next new area is the art display wall.

Have a glorious week!

Sunday's Plate

2011-09-25T02:51:00.000-07:00

Too often we become prisoners of impulse buying at the grocery store and too often those impulse buys contribute to weight gain and out of control grocery bills. The big question is how to stop this impulse buying and how to substitute healthy eating habits.

I heard a father say not long ago that he just "popped a Little Debbie Cake into his mouth if he was running late in the morning." Two things crossed my mind...why do you have those things in your house especially if you are trying to lose weight and eat a health life style, and secondly, why are we so willing to buy these things to have "in case we are running late in the morning?" Wouldn't a handful of peanuts or an apple be a better "grab" in the morning?

People could reduce their girth and their grocery bill with two little motos..."If I can make it, I'm not going to buy it" and "If nature or God made it, it's a sell!"

Right now I'm corresponding with a young woman who "never makes anything" who has some health issues and is trying to lose some weight. My first thought was, "It will never work unless you go to total fresh fruit and fresh vegetables" which she hates... so for her, changing a lifestyle is going to be a lot harder than for someone making simple impulse buying mistakes. This girl is going to have to ration things like whole baked chips, nuts, cheese and what fruits she will consume.

"I don't have time to cook..." This statement is somewhere between crazy and nuts. What people who are "popping" unhealthy food into their mouths and people trying to find food to eat that they don't have to make are kidding themselves. The truth is, people who don't cook don't want to cook. And people who don't want to cook either don't know how, or don't care about their own health. They haven't been convinced that food will either kill you or make you feel great. It's an effort that's not worth making, so they don't. It's just a simple, "NO!"

When a doctor says, "Your arteries are clogged or you have diabetes," it's a wake up call that has come too late. By eating meal after meal of prepared, processed, high calorie, high sugar, high carb food, high fat foods like Little Debbie Cakes, you might as well be giving your health and wealth away and all because you didn't want to take the time to learn to prepare nutritious meals for your yourself and your family.

Here's the rub: A household does not need "grazing foods." Children do not need to be entertained by eating. By maintaining meal times every four hours or so, hunger is a consequence that is satisfied in good time. If there is ONE snack time in the afternoon, that snack can be easily prepared by ONE recipe. Making ONE batter of cookies, cake or brownies can be rationed off so that only SOME of the recipe is eaten a day.

Buying prepared food other than fruit and nuts in a household where people are struggling with their weight is like pouring water on a drowning man.

Snack buying like whole corn treats, nuts, fruit and whole grain breads should be weighed for cost and survivablility. If you shop once a week, and you don't cook, then pick out seven snacks and deal out one per day. If they eat them all the first three days, then there are no snacks. In a pinch buy popcorn.

Groceries should reflect the intent of the care of the adults running a home. When the larder is filled with junk...what are we saying?

Saturday's Review...What's Eating Your Child?

2011-09-24T02:47:00.000-07:00

What's Eating Your Child?

This is an excellent book and well worth the read. There are chapters for every kind of behavior and remedies for all of them. If you are experiencing rough behavior from your children, this is the book for you.

It's available at Amazon.

What’s Eating Your Child? is about the connections between common ailments such as chronic ear infections, reflux, tummy aches, picky eating, poor growth, mood and behavior problems and your child’s diet. Most people agree that a good diet is important but few know how to decipher the effect food has on their health.What’s Eating Your Child? will help parents, medical professionals, teachers and caretakers identify possible dietary links and address the problem.

There are many informative nutrition books around but I noticed that many of them were boring. I was determined to write a book that was not only useful but also entertaining. The most fascinating part about being a nutrition detective is the real life situations I deal with daily. For that reason, the book revolves around true stories of families struggling with common health problems. I share their stories, how we figured out the solution, if their solution would help your child and how to apply it.

FASCINATING FACT

Extreme moodiness is one symptom of food intolerance. Some children respond to simple diet changes and can avoid medication and other treatments.

This is an excellent book and well worth the read.

Extending the Toddler Years by Judy Lyden

2011-09-22T02:46:00.000-07:00

Cheating nature is never a good idea. Here's the rub: Nature gives us these perimeters: A child is an infant for one year...until he begins to walk. Then he's a toddler and he gets to be a toddler for two years. Then, he's a preschooler for three years, and a grammar school child for four. It's the way it works, or should work, if parents work with nature. There is a reason why nature sets up childhood this way and it has to do with learning certain things, and it makes sense when you think about it.

Why is it so important to lock step with nature? Isn't it OK that children are toddlers for five years and infants for three? Every step of growing up has a purpose, and not one of these time zones should be manipulated for another one that is "more precious" to us. Children have a right to grow up the way nature intended, and not at someone's whim who just likes babies better than toddlers or preschoolers.

In the infant year, a child bonds with his parents. He learns what safety is, what pain is, what pleasure is. He learns to laugh, about self, and what being alone means. He learns to crawl, to sit up, to cry for attention, to eat, to enjoy being warm and being entertained. He learns about his body and about other people's bodies.

In the second year and third year, when a child turns one and up to three, he's a toddler. He learns how to walk, how to talk, how to use the potty, how to sit at a table, how to eat with a fork, how to sleep in a big bed, how to dress himself, how to run, and especially, he learns the word, "NO."

At three, a child is ready for preschool or the activities that one finds in preschool like listening, like art, counting, how to write his name, bright children learn how to read, they learn to sing songs, line up, play with other children, go places, do things, and ask questions.

In grammar school, a child learns to separate from parents and become his own little person.

Great, you say, but that year of infancy is just not long enough, so I'm going to keep him a baby for some of the two years of toddlerhood. I'm going to streeeeetch that baby year into nearly two if I can help it because I love babies and I'm not ready for little Fenwick to grow up just yet.

So Fenwick is an infant until he turns two. At two, he's just starting to be a toddler. He's still sitting in the playpen with his fingers in his mouth. He's still using a pacifier, and his speech is still pretty much goo goo and gaa gaa, but he's so sweet. By age three, Fenwick is a long way from potty training, he couldn't write his name or even be trusted with a pencil, he is still sleeping in his crib, and using a high chair. But guess what! It's time for preschool.

The problem with this "infantilization" is that Fenwick has spent too much time as an infant, and he hasn't learned what he should have learned as a toddler. He can't do what he's supposed to do...can't sit at a table or manage a fork. He's pooping like an elephant in what amounts to a depends. He can't make himself understood, and preschool, quite frankly, is out of the question, because Fenwick doesn't even know there is a word, "NO." He couldn't line up to save his life, and he couldn't listen, participate or even give up his pacifier. Fenwick's main mode of communication is tears!

By the time Fenwick is five, he's barely potty trained and it's time to start kindergarten and there is no way that he's ready to even separate from parents much less put in a cerebral day at school. Sooooo, we're going to keep Fenwick home to do his school aged years trying to catch up with the other children...ooops! The window of reading opportunity is going to close just about the time Fen decides to use the toilet...

By the time Fenwick starts big school, he's behind, socially limited and he's missed more than he's gained by remaining mom's little infant. And what has mom gained? A constant feeling of frustration because when she's finally ready to push Fenwick from the nest, he doesn't want to go. He still wants to sit in laps and suck his thumb, but he's five feet two...

In all ways, this is child abuse...loving, caring child abuse...it's neglect. A child is not a boutique item...he's a child. Nature gave us strict guidelines, windows of opportunity and purpose to every age. Parents have a duty to give up babies when they walk. They have a duty to run after toddlers, and say "NO" fifty thousand times a day. They have a duty to potty train, to table train, to de-pacify, to talk to and expect a child to talk back in full sentences.

So when a child is supposed to be ready for preschool, he is ready. He's ready to spend three years listening, learning and getting ready for big school.

If parents love babies so much, have another one, but don't keep a child a baby forever.

Children who lose the preschool years lose the one element in their education that they may never get back... the ability to listen and the ability to use an imagination that is fostered by listening in the preschool years.

From three to five, children will absorb more information than any other time in their lives, and if this is wasted on doing two year old stuff, that's a shame.

Let kids grow up. Let them learn what they should learn when they should learn it.

Wednesday...and its Wonder

2011-09-21T03:06:00.000-07:00

"EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON 'THE TRIANGLE OF LIFE'

My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI ), the world's most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.

I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries. I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years, and have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters.

The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene -- unnecessary.

Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them - NOT under them. This space is what I call the 'triangle of life'. The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the 'triangles' you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building.

TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY

1) Most everyone who simply 'ducks and covers' when building collapse are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a bed, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.

4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.

6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!

7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different 'moment of frequency' (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.

8) Get near the outer walls of buildings or outside of them if possible - It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.

9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.

10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper

Spread the word and save someone's life...

The entire world is experiencing natural calamities so be prepared!

'We are but angels with one wing, it takes two to fly'

In 1996 we made a film, which proved my survival methodology to be correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul,University of Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten mannequins did 'duck and cover,' and ten mannequins I used in my 'triangle of life' survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the results. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under directly observable, scientific conditions , relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover.

There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using my method of the 'triangle of life.' This film has been seen by millions of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe, and it was seen in the USA , Canada and Latin America on the TV program Real TV.

Tuesday's Teacher -- Background Checks

2011-09-20T01:17:00.000-07:00

Avoid Wolves in Volunteers’ Clothing at School

Why Background Screening for School Volunteers is Important

By Bill Tate

As the back to school season swings into full gear this fall, there are many opportunities for adults to volunteer and support school activities. Volunteers lend valuable time and assistance to our school systems, and while the majority of school volunteers are law abiding role models for our nation’s children, unsavory adults sometimes come into the mix. Predators, or “wolves in volunteers’ clothing,” can be quite wily at finding ways to be near children. When the infamous bank robber, Willie Sutton, was asked why he stole from banks, he said, "Because that's where the money is."

Individuals who work closely with children, whether it is a teacher or a volunteer, a coach or cafeteria or maintenance worker, should be subject to background screening before their interaction begins. Most of us assume that every adult working closely with our children is carefully vetted by the schools with which they are associated.

The practice of background checks for school employees is standard issue for all employees with access to children. Background checks reduce organizational liability and help protect children. So why should this practice differ with school volunteers? Depending on the role of the volunteers and the level of supervision they will have, many believe school volunteers should be subject to the same screening criteria as any other school employee. While not universal, more and more school districts across the country are adopting policies mandating that volunteers who interact with students must go through a criminal background check first. School districts in Charlotte, Nashville, Seattle, and San Antonio, for example, actively screen all volunteers who will interact with students.

However, such policies are not in place in all school districts. Some schools are concerned that background checks on volunteers will reduce volunteer involvement. But every school needs to carefully consider who they allow to interact with their students – on school grounds and at school sponsored activities. Background checks on school volunteers may reveal that someone has a criminal history or is living under an alias. Most parents don’t want volunteers who have misdemeanor and felony convictions at their school.

It is important that parent volunteers don’t become offended when asked to go through a background check. A comprehensive screening policy should dictate that everyone interacting with the students be screened – even if they are a parent of a current student. Most parents will understand this need and will support the school district’s commitment to student safety.

Parents should inquire about the background screening policy at their child’s school. This will allow parents to better understand the school’s position on the issue and what will be required of them if they have the opportunity to volunteer. If there is no background screening policy for volunteers, ask for one. It is important that schools establish criteria for background checks, and guidelines for unsupervised access to children. What level of access is the volunteer given? Are they alone with children in the classroom? Are they transporting students in a vehicle? Are they acting as the primary student supervisors on overnight trips?

As a parent and human resources professional, I believe that all concerned parents should be active in ensuring that a background screening process is in place for all people who come into contact with their child at school. There is nothing more important than the safety and security of our children. As our children return to school this fall, I recommend that we ask our school administrators the following questions. With the answers to these questions, we learn what policies and procedures may need improvement, and where schools may even be exceeding our expectations:

1. Does the school have a policy in place to ensure background screening for all employees of the school? Are teachers, crossing guards, teaching assistants, nurses, cafeteria workers, maintenance people – virtually all paid employees – screened?

2. What type of background screening is conducted on employees? Is a national criminal background check conducted? Is the school conducting drug and alcohol testing?

3. Does the school permit parents, grandparents and other family members to volunteer?

4. Are non-familial relations (i.e., area residents, nannies, family friends) permitted to volunteer?

5. Is there mandatory background screening for all school volunteers – whether they are family members or non-familial relations?

While some schools engage only in limited county or state checks, the national criminal background check offers the most comprehensive way to investigate someone’s criminal history within the United States. A national criminal background check searches for criminal and county court records, correctional facility records, and sex offender, terrorist and most wanted criminal records. National criminal background reports show current and historical felony convictions and misdemeanor offenses.

Federal and state laws strictly regulate drug testing procedures in order to protect the interests and rights of employers and employees. Should teachers be randomly drug-tested? Practices vary across the country. Teacher drug testing was the subject of court cases in North Carolina and West Virginia, where educators argued that time and costs associated with random tests would be better spent in the classroom. Hence, it is no surprise that if our nation’s teachers are not subject to drug screening, the volunteers are also getting a free pass. Every school should include a careful review of its state’s laws, as well as teacher’s contracts and union agreements, when developing a background screening policy

In addition to wanting to serve the best interest of the students, many school boards are open to the idea of background screening because they understand the risks they take by not doing so. The school itself is likely to be held responsible if a child is placed in danger from a volunteer or an employee. For the safety of our students, parents’ peace of mind and fiscal health of the school, it makes sense for schools to implement a comprehensive background screening program.

As parents, we are the best advocates for our children’s safety, and schools should truly be a safe haven.

Parents, along with parent’s associations, teachers’ unions and school officials, should review the level of access volunteers are granted to the children when building an effective volunteer background check program. Children are our most precious resource and they must be vigorously protected. Ensuring that “wolves in volunteers’ clothing” don’t enter our children’s vulnerable world is of paramount importance.

# # #

About the author: William (Bill) J. Tate is President of, HR Plus, www.HRPlus.com, a leading provider of comprehensive employment and background screening solutions and a division of AlliedBarton Security Services, the industry’s premier provider of highly trained security personnel

Monday's Tattler

2011-09-19T02:40:00.000-07:00

This week we will be concentrating on getting homework returned. We will be talking about community helpers, jobs and things related to our families.

It is almost time to do Fire Safety week, but Knight Township fire is no more, and the Evansville Fire department is not as easy to work with. So we will be doing Fire Safety ourselves. Children will need to know their full name, parents' full names, their address and phone numbers.

We will have a special guest on Thursday. Charles Connor is coming in to play the bag pipes for us. This is quite a splendid occasion.

Please keep mindful of the temperatures this week. A cool morning does not mean a cool day. It's HOT on the playground and all the little jeans and long sleeves over heat the little wearers. So you trip from the car to the building in the morning is not the only time your child will be out doors during the day, so think ahead, and be kind.

Have a great week!

Sunday's Plate - Chicken Salad

2011-09-18T14:31:00.000-07:00

Some of the parents asked for the recipe for our chicken salad, so here it is!

Use fresh chicken breasts. They are cleaner, more economical, and not shot with all kinds of additives, preservatives, and extras. When my cats refused frozen bagged chicken breasts, I knew I shouldn't be eating them either, so I quit buying them.

Bake your chicken breasts at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. I sprinkle mine with Mrs. Dash.

(Boiled chicken has a watery rubbery taste. Shredded chicken loses its shape in the mayonnaise. Sauteed chicken is great. Cut raw chicken into cubes and then cook it.)

Let the breasts cool. Cut them into pieces about the size of a large olive with a pair of kitchen sheers.

Put cubed chicken breasts in the bottom of a huge bowl.

Then gather all the things in your fridge and shelves that would taste good on chicken.

We used: celery, apple, dried cranberries, cashews, walnuts, green grapes, onion, bacon and peppers.

Add real mayonnaise - don't use miracle whip or salad dressing. Add a teaspoon of mustard. Toss.

Top with cracked black pepper - not the dust kind, but the huge chunks.

Lasts about a week in the refrigerator. Is spectacular on raisin bread.

Enjoy!

Friday's Tattler

2011-09-18T14:22:00.000-07:00

What a great day Friday was! We had a nice open house and featured Beve Pietrowski and family pictures, we had the Beautiful Baby Contest --- Connor Day won! --- Thank you Connor for all your generous donations to the NIC Units! Thanks to all our generous parents for a job unbelievably well done!

We had some activities: rock art, a story, and the book fair. We had a $800.00 sale! Whoo Hoo!

We had a Garden School table of food this year that featured Miss Judy's Chicken Salad and homemade bread, Miss Amy's brilliant cookies, a terrible cheesecake, popcorn and pretzels, and Miss Meredith's fabulous humus, and a light soda. Aside from the soda, it was totally healthy. We ARE the healthy place. In fact, Frank came up to me and asked me what was in the cookies, and I told him the ingredients, and he was impressed, then I told him the calorie count, and he ran back for two more! Such fun!

So proud of our little darlings, parents and grandparents and friends. Such a nice gathering.

Thank you all for coming and making it a wonderful and warm occasion.

Saturday's Review

2011-09-17T02:16:00.000-07:00

New book might be of some interest:

Stepparent Survival Skills 101

New Blended Family Survival Guide Shows How To Cohabitate in Peace

St. Louis, MO—American family photos typically feature a mother, father, and the children of their marriage. But today, instead of perfect family portraits like the Huxtables and Beavers, many modern families resemble the Brady Bunch and the Kardashians.

Over 30 million children live with a stepparent in what many call blended families. Although each family has a unique set of circumstances, everyone faces similar challenges. Where should you live? Should you change your children’s last names? What about in-laws? Should you have more babies? Who disciplines whom?

The new book, We’re Not Blended, We’re Pureed, asks if two families can ever learn to cohabitate in peace. With the help of God, the answer is yes.

Perfect for those who feel like they’ve turned into fairy-tale wicked stepparents, dating couples, newlyweds, pastors, and counselors—this book offers Diana Lesire Brandmeyer’s real-life experiences paired with expert advice from certified professional counselor Marty C. Lintvedt.

Both authors have created an engaging, readable text that is held together with humor and liberally peppered with informative commentary. This matter-of-fact book shows readers that if they’ve ever felt like they’re not cut out for the stepparent job, they are not alone.

Readers will learn:

1. The pros and cons of changing your children’s last names

2. How to deal with sibling rivalries

3. What to do when siblings try to play parents against each other

4. Why in-laws may resist accepting you or your children

5. Practical advice on discipline

The Monster...Bedtime by Judy Lyden

2011-09-15T00:43:00.000-07:00

It’s a monster many parents regard as the nightmare which starts before we sleep and it’s called bed time. Nobody agrees on bed time -- especially children.

The best thing parents of infants can do for their young families is to put an infant child to bed early, say 7:00 p.m. If a child’s bedtime is always early -- right from the beginning, there is no adjustment later.

Getting a toddler to go to bed early after he’s been allowed to stay up late, is not only difficult, it’s impossible. Getting a three year old to suddenly and routinely go to bed at 8:00 when he has been drifting off to sleep in front of TV at 11:00 is a chore from the repertoire of Snow White’s wicked step mother.

Why put children to bed early? Because they need the sleep. Sleep deprivation is a major cause of illness, both emotional and physical. It’s a primary source of bad behavior. It helps to stunt growth because children are too tired to eat. It retards learning because children are too tired to play.

Children need at least ten hours of sleep a night. That means 7:00 to 5:00, 8:00 to 6:00, or 9:00 to 7:00. Some children need more. Few, if any, need less. Yes, children can get away with less, and learn to endure it, but sleep deprivation will show up later in a child’s poor constitution.

Question: “But if I put Sally Anne to bed at 8:00, when does Daddy get to play with her?” Answer: Daddy can play with Sally Anne when Sally Anne is up. Sally Anne’s basic health is more important here than playing with her.

Besides, mom and dad need time AWAY from children for the sake of their marriage and the sake of their own needs. It builds a much stronger and healthier home environment for Sally Anne when mom and dad can enjoy one another -- without the chaperone of children.

Even parents who use day care should not feel the guilt pinch here. If the child care arranged is good child care where children are playing and learning, then the few hours you spend with your child in the evening during the work week should be a loving cap on a successful day.

A schedule of good bed time order is important. After day care, while mom or dad is arranging dinner, children might be helping out in the kitchen -- being around the parent. This is a good time to keep the TV off. Get kids to set the table and help with other household chores if possible.

After dinner, while one parent prepares a little tea is a great time for the other parent to bathe the child and get him ready for bed. A few bubbles in the tub means I care.

Then, a cup of decaffeinated tea with lots of milk, a few special cookies, and a story read by both mom and dad will end the evening nicely. Keep the lights low, and the TV off and don't do this in the child's room.

After one really fun story, it’s time for bed. Up the stairwell, or down the hallway to Sally Anne’s room where the bed is turned down, and a favorite teddy is waiting. Kiss Sally Anne, and make good nights short.

Bed time is a routine -- not a play scheme. Putting children to bed is not the highlight of an adult’s evening. It shouldn’t be the nightmare either.

Wild and Wacky Wednesday

2011-09-14T02:43:00.000-07:00

UNKILLED HAMBURGER MEAT

Note To All Hunters: This is from a San Francisco newspaper

Wild and Wonderful Wednesday

2011-09-14T01:13:00.000-07:00

I Thought you might like to know about this dog and his history.
I especially like the hugging at the end ...........

The K9 above is Brutus, a military K9 at McChord..
He's huge - part Boxer
And part British Bull Mastiff and tops the
Scales at 200 lbs. His handler took the picture.
Brutus is running toward me because he knows I
Have some Milk Bone treats, so he's slobbering away! I had to duck around a tree just before he got to me in case he couldn't stop, but he did.
Brutus was the recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor last year from his tour in Iraq. His handler and
Four other soldiers were taken hostage by
Insurgents. Brutus and his handler communicate by sign language and he gave Brutus the signal
That meant 'go away but come back and find me'.
The Iraqis paid no attention to Brutus. He came back later and quietly tore the throat out of
One guard at one door and another guard at
Another door. He then jumped against one of the
Doors repeatedly (the guys were being held in an
Old warehouse) until it opened. He went in and
Untied his handler and they all escaped. He's
The first K9 to receive this honor. If he knows
You're ok, he's a big old lug and wants to sit
In your lap. Enjoys the company of cats..
K-9 Congressional Medal
Of Honor Winner
Thought
You'd find this interesting.
Talk
About animal intelligence and bonding
With humans!
Remember that they can't do a lot of things for
Themselves and that they depend on you to make
Their life a quality life!
Instructions for properly hugging a baby
(from a dog's point of view):
1. First, uh, find a baby.
2. Second, be sure that the object you found
Was indeed a baby, by employing classic sniffing
Techniques.

+
3. Next, you will need to flatten the baby before
Actually beginning the hugging process.
4. The 'paw slide' = Simply slide paws around baby
And prepare for possible close-up.

5. Finally, if a camera is present, you will need to execute
The difficult and patented 'hug, smile, and lean' so
As to achieve the best photo quality.

It will be a shame if you
Don't pass this along!!

FYI on Tuesday

2011-09-13T02:38:00.000-07:00

Great facts for us to be aware of!

BURNS

A young man sprinkling his lawn and bushes with pesticides wanted to check the contents of the barrel to see how much pesticide remained in it. He raised the cover and lit his lighter; the vapors inflamed and engulfed him. He jumped from his truck, screaming. His neighbor came out of her house with a dozen eggs, yelling: "bring me some eggs!" She broke them, separating the whites from the yolks. The neighbor woman helped her to apply the whites on the young man's face. When the ambulance arrived and when the EMTs saw the young man, they asked who had done this. Everyone pointed to the lady in charge. They congratulated her and said: "You have saved his face." By the end of the summer, the young man brought the lady a bouquet of roses to thank her. His face was like a baby's skin.

Healing Miracle for burns:

Keep in mind this treatment of burns which is included in teaching beginner fireman this method. First aid consists to spraying cold water on the affected area until the heat is reduced and stops burning the layers of skin. Then, spread egg whites on the affected are.

One woman burned a large part of her hand with boiling water. In spite of the pain, she ran cold faucet water on her hand, separated 2 egg white from the yolks, beat them slightly and dipped her hand in the solution. The whites then dried and formed a protective layer.

She later learned that the egg white is a natural collagen and continued during at least one hour to apply layer upon layer of beaten egg white. By afternoon she no longer felt any pain and the next day there was hardly a trace of the burn. 10 days later, no trace was left at all and her skin had regained its normal color. The burned area was totally regenerated thanks to the collagen in the egg whites, a placenta full of vitamins.

This information could be helpful to everyone: Please pass it on

Monday's Tattler

2011-09-12T00:32:00.000-07:00

This week!

We are busy busy busy with several things:

1. The Beautiful Baby Contest. In order to win a point for your child, you need to bring an preemie article of clothing to school as a donation. Every article wins your child a point toward winning most beautiful child.

2. Book Sale all week. We are having a one week Scholastic Book Sale this week only. Cash or Checks please. Book Sale ends on Friday. Please shop for your child between 7:00 and 5:00. After 5:00, it is too busy to make sales. Please be kind to Mr. Terry.

3. Grandparents' Tea, or Family Day is on Friday. It's an open house from 1:00 to 4:00. Invitation have been mailed. Our photographer, Beve Pietrowski, will be at school from 1:00 to 4:00 to take keepsake photos on demand. Please consider doing this for your child.

4. Refreshments will be served, play time will be available inside and out. Come sit a spell and enjoy your favorite child at school.

School dismisses at 4:00 on Friday.

Friday's Tattler

2011-09-11T12:17:00.000-07:00

We had a crazy week! Monday was a holiday, so the kids came in tired on Tuesday! We have had 13 children out with head, chest, stomach, and lower intestinal yuck. Terry and I were talking about why this is so, and we think it might have to do with three things:

1. Bed time. We don't nap at the GS, so that extra two hours needs to be made up at night. Children need ten hours of sleep at least every night, so they should go to bed before 8:00 for sure. Sleep is repair time, and all children need lots of sleep. We have always found that those children who go to bed before 8:00 do the best work at school.

2. We have not yet adopted the habit of eating. Most children graze, and then when meals are offered, they refuse to eat. It's a pattern, a habit, and they know that they can get by the difficult stuff for the fun stuff if they just wait it out. We eat a really good breakfast at 8:30; lunch at 12:00 and snack at 4:00. You do not need to feed your child in the morning. When children are tired, they don't eat, and when you take food and sleep away from anyone, the resistances go way down, and presto...illness.

3. Most children drink little water and have substituted sugar drinks. Children need a lot of water like everyone else. When you don't flush out your system with enough water, germs will get a chance to multiply.

So please watch the snacks, make sure you offer water at home, and make sure kids get to bed by 8:00.

On Thursday, we had a visitor from the Health Department who demonstrated hand washing. This is a great public service. We stress clean hands when children come into the building, before they eat and after they toilet. Children should wash their hands when they enter your home as well and shake off the outside world's dirt!

On Thursday, we had a visit from Deaconess Children's Enrichment Center. This is an exchange that has been going on a long time. The director, her cooks, and an assistant got to see the Garden School operate. It was a very nice exchange.

On Friday, at 6:30, the playground started to go up. The kids got to watch the men put it together. It's a beautiful piece of equipment. We are very lucky to have been able to buy this.

The winners for the week's Knowledge Bee are: August, Ely and Logan

Extra Special Awards go to: Ely and Connor D for Gentlemanly behavior

Citizenship Award this week went to Ely.

Manners awards went to August, cindy, Clarisse, DeAsia, Ely, Josiah, and Sophy.

Food Awards go to:

Alexis, Annie, August, Bryleigh, Cindy, Connor D, Connor H, DeAsia, Dillon, Ely, Jacob, Josiah, Kaelin, Logan, Oden, Sophy, Jil.

Congratulation to all of them.

FYI on Saturday

2011-09-10T02:37:00.000-07:00

Johns Hopkins Update –
This is an extremely good article. Everyone should read it.

AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY ('TRY', BEING THE KEY WORD) TO ELIMINATE CANCER,JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY.

Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins:

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer
cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have
multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients
that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after
treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the
cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable
size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a
person's lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer
cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and
forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has
nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic,
but also to environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies,changing
diet to eat more adequately and healthy, 4-5 times/day
and by including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing
cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells
in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc, and can
cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7.. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars
and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often
reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of
chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor
destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from
chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either
compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb
to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to
mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy.
Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other
sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer
cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

*CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made
with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute
would be Manuka honey or molasses, but only in very small
amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in
color Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the
gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting
off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer
cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based
diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little other meat,
like chicken. Meat also contains livestock
antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all
harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole
grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into
an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked
food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live
enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to
cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance
growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building
healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most
vegetables including be an sprouts) and eat some raw
vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at
temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C)..

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high
caffeine Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer
fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or
filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap
water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of
digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the
intestines becomes putrefied and leads to more toxic
buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By
refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes
to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the
body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system
(IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals,
EFAs etc.) to enable the bodies own killer cells to destroy
cancer cells.. Other supplements like vitamin E are known
to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's
normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or
unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit.
A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior
be a survivor. Anger, un-forgiveness and bitterness put
the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to
have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy
life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated
environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to
get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen
therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer
cells.

1. No plastic containers in micro.

2. No water bottles in freezer.

3. No plastic wrap in microwave..

Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well. Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.
Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.

Wasn't Yesterday Better? By Judy Lyden

2011-09-08T03:09:00.000-07:00

There is a book out called "Wasn't Yesterday Better?" I haven't read it, but I'm contemplating reading it. WAS yesterday ( fifty years ago) better than it is now? In some ways yes, and in some ways no, and I remember fifty years ago quite clearly, so I can judge.

Quite frankly, if you got lymphoma, yesterday, you died. Today, you will probably live. We all suffered through measels, mumps, chicken pox, sunburn, tonsillectomies, and today we have shots to stave off these children's plights.

Yesterday, the son of factory workers probably became a factory worker, lived happily in his blue collar world. Today, that child might be a doctor or a lawyer because the possibilities of walk on colleges at the state's expense work.

Yesterday, mom stayed home. Today, mom goes to work and the family lives in a house four times the size of yesterday's shot gun house with no air conditioning and someone sleeping in the living room. The family takes the kind of vacations yesterday's family only drooled over. So which is preferable - day care and the extras, or mom being home?

Yesterday, children were free to play anywhere. From age four, I had the run of my two square mile island. Today children are prisoners of the dullness of video games and a once a week shot at the playground.

Yesterday, you got a shot if you were sick; today, you are mollycoddled and given ten days of bubble gum flavored medication.

Lots of things have changed, but the things that don't change are the things that are important like discipline.

Discipline is one of the things that makes life in any family better, and good discipline never changes, never modernizes, never upgrades. No matter if the nine bedroom house with the nine baths is the up grade for the shack on a dilapidated corner in a worn out town, parents who enforce good discipline can live in either. Good, fair discipline is the model for anyone to live by, and that never changes.

Good discipline always begins at the top. A disciplined parent is an asset to any family. This is someone you can always depend on. A disciplined person is someone who is disciplined in all the parts of his or her life. I believe, yesterday, they called that - thought, word and deed and this never changes.

A disciplined person never makes excuses for why he or she can't, didn't, wouldn't, couldn't, shouldn't or won't. That takes too much time and deprives others of their own discipline. A disciplined person is reliable - they always get the job done, done well, and you never hear about it, because by the time one job is done, they are busy doing the next one - even if it's yours - and this could be found in any time you choose among all history.

A disciplined person is never late. They never break their promises; they are the last ones to leave and the first to arrive. A disciplined person is in as good a physical shape as they can be at any time. A disciplined person reads to understand, to know, and to be able to enter into conversation that makes a learning environment. This too never changes.

A disciplined person always pays bills on time, employees ( if applicable) on time, and never spends money they don't have... I could go on and on about the disciplined adult, but the most important attribute of discipline is that it is a good example to children. It's the thing that either makes or breaks a whole personality. The example of discipline is the harder way, surely, and those parents and teachers who demand discipline from a child are helping children to reject a culture that is beginning to love the failure of government handouts.

In a child's life, the discipline comes slowly, but it comes routinely. We had one silly rule at our house years ago: Don't fall in the river we eat at six. That meant think it through. Use your brain to duh - not fall into the river which is two blocks from our house, and we eat at six...know the time and be home early enough to wash your hands and eat with your family.

A disciplined child, just like a disciplined adult, rises at about the same time every day. That means they go to bed about the same time every night. This little rule helps children sleep well. There are, of course, special occasions, but for the most part, good bed routines help keep the body in good shape.

Disciplined people eat respectable meals. They don't eat too much, too often, or the wrong things, meaning they don't indulge in restaurant feasts five nights a week nor do they eat fast food as a mainstay, nor is the grocery cart filled with empty calories.

You can talk about yesterday as much as you want and lament all the changes, and there are lots and lots of changes, but the important things never really change.

Wacky but Wonderful Wednesday

2011-09-07T00:33:00.000-07:00

USE OF BOTTLE TOPS TO SEAL A BAG.....

WHO EVER THOUGHT OF THIS SHOULD GET A GREEN MEDAL

WHAT A GREAT IDEA. NO MORE TWIST TIES OR RUBBER BANDS. This method is WATER PROOF AND AIR TIGHT. GREAT! The guy who first thought of the idea should be given an award for originality!!!

Seal Plastic Bags with Old Bottle Caps

Cut up a disposable water bottle and keep the neck and top, as in photo.

Insert the plastic bag through the neck and screw the top to seal.

The bag is made to be air-tight, such that water will not leak, the secret lies with the top and screw cap!

This is a great idea to share.

Good for us and the environment too.

Zip-top bags are great, but sometimes you buy something in bulk and you're stuck with an unsealable bag. Home-centric blog Re-Nest shows us an easy way to give these bags an airtight seal with an old water bottle.

All you need to do is cut off the top of the bottle and take off the cap. Push the bag through the bottle neck, fold it over the edges, and twist the cap back on. Now, your bag has an air and water tight seal, and you didn't have to waste the bag.

Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, And never regret anything that made you smile.

FYI on Tuesday

2011-09-06T02:07:00.000-07:00

The Real Truth About Bed Bugs

Everything you never wanted to hear, but need to know

NEW YORK, July 18, 2011 – Bed bugs are back. Since 2000, bed bug infestations have risen 81 percent, according to The National Pest Management Association. This resurgence has consumers nationwide on high alert, seeking information on the pests and how they can protect themselves.

Gail Getty, a noted entomologist at the University of California Berkley explains, “Bed bugs and their habits are actually very simple to understand. For the unassuming public, though, differentiating between fact and fiction is becoming ever so difficult with the amount of information available. Understanding the basics is the first line of defense a consumer has against the unwelcomed critters, which can take a toll both financially and emotionally on a victim.”

Confirmed Facts

Bed bugs can be found on bedside alarm clocks

True: bed bugs have been known to fester in alarm clocks and other appliances and within dark crevices like coffee makers.

Bed bugs like to hitch rides

True: bed bugs can very easily be transferred in suitcases and on clothing, putting travelers at extra-high risk; Bedbugs do have primitive wings, but they cannot fly.

Some people are not affected by bed bugs bites

True: Some people do not have a physical reaction to bed bug bites and may be unaware that bed bugs are in their home until they actually see them, but everyone is at risk for having infestations as bed bugs do not discriminate based on socio-economic class.

Bed bugs can live for many months without feeding

True: Bed bugs can live for many months without feeding. That is why it is imperative to encase mattresses, box springs, and pillows with bed bug proof protectors like the entomologist tested Allergy Luxe® bed bug collection with Arm & Hammer™ odor neutralizing technology. Bedding encasements effectively trap bugs that are in and on your mattress and box spring and cut them off from their food source indefinitely.

Insect foggers provide very little control of bed bugs and may even cause the bed bug population to disperse, making control more difficult

True: Insect foggers do not effectively control bed bugs. Most insect foggers contain a flammable propellant and some have been associated with accidental fires. The best way to control bed bug problems is to contact a pest professional, who will help with vacuuming, and steaming, laundering belongings, sealing areas and gaps where bed bugs can hide and encasing mattresses, box springs, and pillows with bed bug proof protectors like the entomologist tested Allergy Luxe® collection with Arm & Hammer™ odor neutralizing technology.

Bed bugs reproduce at alarming rates

True: Depending on conditions, bed bugs can produce three or four generations in one year; a female can produce one to five eggs a day, which are as big as a pinhead and can hardly be seen.

Myths Debunked

Bed bugs spread deadly diseases

Wrong: Bed bugs do not transmit disease. Bed bug bites, however, can cause allergic reaction in some people similar to a mosquito bite. Frequent scratching of the bite marks or picking the scabs can cause infections. And people with severe and/or repeated infestations can feel anxious, worried or ashamed.

Chemicals/pesticides will kill all bed bug stages.

Wrong: It is difficult to kill all bed bugs with only a pesticide application. Successful treatment depends on an Integrated Pest Management approach to bed bug control which involves, vacuuming, and steaming, laundering belongings, sealing areas and gaps where bed bugs can hide, homeowner, tenant, manager education and encasing mattresses, box springs, and pillows with bed bug proof protectors like the entomologist tested Allergy Luxe® collection with Arm & Hammer™ odor neutralizing technology. Do not use home remedies such as kerosene.

I can get rid of bed bugs by leaving my house empty for a few weeks.

Wrong: Adult bed bugs can live as long as twelve months without a meal, so a long vacation won’t provide you with relief. The only way to deal with the problem is to treat it directly and monitor results over the long haul.

Bed bugs feed off of dirt and other grime

Wrong: Bed bugs feed on the blood of human beings and other animals such as dogs, cats, birds, gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs and mice.

Bed bugs are mostly found in beds OR found in shelters; only poor people or dirty people get them.

Wrong: They're found close to where they feed. Typically they're found in a bed mattress, box spring, bed frames and around the bed. They're also found in electric outlets, switches and behind pictures. Bed bugs can be found in hotels, motels, dormitories, apartments, condos, private homes, and even in public places, such as retail stores, movie theaters, businesses and offices. Anyone can get bed bugs.

Bed bugs are too small to see with the naked eye

Wrong: The adult is about the size of an apple seed. The eggs and baby or nymph is about 1 mm long, almost entirely white and difficult to see with the naked eye. The nymph turns red as it feeds and fills with blood, making them easier to see.

Bed bugs come out only at night

Wrong: It’s true that they are more active at night and in the early morning, but bed bugs sense the heat and carbon dioxide given off by humans and therefore may come out at any time of day.

Bed bug bites are easily felt

Wrong: You do not feel a bed bug biting because they inject their saliva first which contains an anesthetic, numbing chemical and an anti-clotting agent so your blood flows freely.

Walking into a room that has bed bugs means you will get bed bugs

Wrong: They spend 90% of their time hiding and are usually active at night. Bed bugs avoid light and do not like to be disturbed. So you will not necessarily walk away with bed bugs just by being in a room that has them.

If you have bed bugs you need to throw away infested clothing and furniture

Wrong: Clothing can be laundered to get rid of bed bugs. In most cases furniture can be treated and should only be discarded if there are no acceptable treatments that can rid them of bed bugs.

It’s too cold where I live for bed bugs!

Wrong: Even in the coldest climates bed bugs can still thrive. For starters, most bed bug infestations are located indoors. Bed bugs only need to be transported for short periods of time on clothing or luggage to find a new home to infest.

Sleeping in a metal bed will protect you from bed bugs

Wrong: Having a metal bed will not protect you from bed bugs. In some scenarios a metal bed may actually make it harder to detect a bed bug infestation because the hollow tubing of a metal bed is a great place for bed bugs to hide. The best way to prevent and control bed bug problems in beds is to encase mattresses, box springs, and pillows with bed bug proof protectors like the entomologist tested Allergy Luxe® collection with Arm & Hammer™ odor neutralizing technology.

You can’t get bed bugs from your neighbor

Wrong: Bed bug migration from one home or apartment to another is actually more common than most people think. In apartments or shared housing such as condos, the risk of migration is even higher. Bed bugs can travel through tiny cracks in the wall, through connected vents or spaces, or in the seams of floor boards or the edges of carpet. They have even been shown to travel out a front door, down the hall and into a neighboring apartment.

Bed bug bites all look the same

Wrong: They can be small and red or bigger like welts. Some people don't react at all to a bed bug bite. It is almost impossible to diagnose a bed bug problem solely on the presence of bites on a human host.

Monday's Tattler

2011-09-05T14:16:00.000-07:00

A little late, but none the less here! This week is all about me. Not me, me, but the kids me. We will talk about who we are and what we think and what we want to do when we grow up. We will talk about what makes me me and you you. Such fun.

We will be having a new Beautiful Baby Contest this month. Prizes will be awarded at the new Grandparents' Tea on September 16.

Please bring a picture of your child or children as infants. Our contest is "Beautiful Head to Toe."

We will be collecting Preemie clothing as a donation for the Neo Natal Intensive Care Units in both hospitals.

Every preemie outfit, bonnet, bootie, blanket or onesie will give points to every child whose family donates! The willer will be announced on September 16.

Please plan to contribute to this very worthy cause.

We will be getting a new playground this week. Not sure what this will mean, but it will be lovely weather for it.

Have a great week!

Sunday's Plate

2011-09-04T00:05:00.000-07:00

Recently, I was asked to go to one of the largest day care facilities in Evansville to talk to their cook about healthier eating. Most facilities use boxes, bags, cartons and cans to feed children, so you know that those foods are HEAVILY processed. Why was I asked to go to this facility? Because the Garden School cooks have worked hard for years to establish ourselves as the "wellness" place for exercise, education, activities and more than anything else, food.

And it's a curious thing...the more you do, the more you want to do and the more we are challenged to make every investment in a child's diet a promise to every child. Health comes from a life time of good food, plenty of sleep, cleanliness, and lots of water.

It's been a real up hill trek with processed food in early childhood facilities buying substandard frozen, canned and processed junk-food. Chicken nuggets, prepared patties, ground meat, canned fruit and vegetables, frozen potatoes and veggies, white bread, canned biscuits etc. are high salt, high fat, glutenous, watery, nutritionless muck.

For years we have tried to achieve a standard of wholesomeness that we can truly be proud of. With every effort to make whole foods for kids, fresh fruit and veggies, the best possible lean meat, high quality cheese, farm eggs, and best of all homemade - makes what we serve top quality.

What our goals are is to make every mouthful count toward brain development, body health, skin and hair health, hydration, strength, energy and vitality. It takes a lot of work, but the investment in little bodies is very important even though we stand alone.

Our biggest hurdles are parents who refuse to get in the game and cook at least a little. We hear from children who eat junk cereal for dinner, or miss a meal every day at home. We hear about families who serve nutritionless meals in front in TV. There is nothing we can do...or is there?

We hope that children will like the meals at school enough to ask their parents to make their favorite school recipe at home. We are eager and happy to pass our favorites along to parents. Nothing that we do at school is hard, elaborate, or time consuming.

We try to make our treats, snacks and sweets the healthiest thing they eat all day long. Whole wheat flour, reduced sugar, eggs, butter, and whole fruits, nuts and nut butter, whole oats, coconut, dark chocolate, and whole corn. It couldn't be better for a child.

We work every day to find new and interesting things to eat that we think the children will love. It's a way of life...for the sake of the children. We want to encourage day cares city wide to stop and look and think about what they are serving children. It doesn't take that much effort to make small changes...one step at a time...one food at a time...one meal at a time so that within a year's time, the processed food disappears and nutrition and health take over.

It's a matter of thinking it through. It's a matter of a little extra effort every day.