Schema

I've been spending a lot of time down at the girls' school lately. Suddenly it seems like there is a ton of opportunity to volunteer down there, and I'm loving it. Yesterday I went in to help the 2nd graders in Kera's class with a special project. I ended up spending most of the afternoon there and I actually enjoyed it. I don't really enjoy sitting in little kid chairs for that long, but I am a bit taller than most of them. And tomorrow I'm scheduled to go in to Lindsay's class in the morning for book club and then will stay after to help her teacher with a few things. I've told the girls' teachers from the beginning of the year that I have time during the day to help out and I'm grateful that they have actually called me on it. Volunteering in the school is one of the most enjoyable parts of my "job". I love being around my girls in their "territory" and getting to know the other kids and teachers a little bit.

I've done a wide variety of things while volunteering in the school, but I can honestly say I've never been given homework until this year. And I'm not talking about cutting out a special project supplies kind of homework. I'm talking about reading and doing an assignment. Like, actual homework! Let me explain. I volunteered to help out with "Book Club" in Lindsay's 4th grade class, and it's really cool! Basically, the class is divided into five groups and each group is led by an adult (four parents and the teacher). Each group is reading a different book(s) with the same main idea.

This book club the main subject is prejudice. Our book is "Steal Away to Freedom" by Jennifer Armstrong. It's a challenging book for the kids just because it switches between "present time" and "past/remembering" and some of the vocabulary is old fashioned and/or regional dialect. I'm enjoying the story quite a bit.

We split up the book into 5 sections and each time we meet as a group, we talk about the section we just read and share our "assignment." With each section of the book the kids (and group leader) get a different assignment. The assignments mainly assist in discussing the book, they are: discussion director (asks questions to encourage discussion and deeper thinking), summarizer (summarizes that section), word wizard (looks for important/special words) , connector (writes about schema for that section), illustrator (draws a picture of significance from that section), and highlighter (picks a couple passages to read a loud to group that are interesting, etc).

I think one of my favorite parts of being involved in this book club is that it's forced me to take time to read aloud with Lindsay. She's in my group and the first week she had a really hard time getting into the book, so I started to read some of it aloud to her. Now we make it a bit of a habit to read the section together, taking turns reading chapters aloud. She's such a good reader that I haven't actually read aloud to her for a long time and it's really nice to cuddle up with her on the couch/bed and read aloud for an hour. Then we talk a little about our job for that week and what we think we'll do for it.

So basically I'll have to do each job once, as will the kids. I think its a great way to explore the book and get the kids to do more than just talk about "what happened." Most of the assignments seemed pretty self-explanatory to me, though not necessarily easy. Most recently I got the job of "Connector", otherwise known as "schema". I like this definition of schema:

an underlying organizational pattern or structure;conceptual framework: A schema provides the basis by which someone relates to the events he or she experiences.

My "job description" was like this: Your job is to write about the schema you have for the story (the connections you make). It can be text-to-self, text-to-text (book or movie) or text-to-world. Be sure to tell which kinds of connections you made. Include what happened in the book and how that relates to your connection. Try to make at least 2 connections.


Lindsay was sort of teasing me about having one of the "hard" jobs, and I can see that it might be difficult for the kids just because it forces you to actually think about what you're reading. Honestly, I didn't think it would be difficult because I did a lot of that type of thinking/relating to books in college (being an English major and all). But  then I remembered, I'd be sharing this with 4th graders, so any examples need to be relate-able to them. Suddenly it didn't seem so easy. I had all these ideas and then figured they weren't really fourth-grade appropriate. So I had to dig a bit. I did manage to come up with a couple...

1. Susannah smells hay and oats on her tour of the barn with Byron and it reminds her so much of home, she almost cries. There is a smell, most often in hospitals or veterinary offices, that brings up a memory of when my childhood dog got hit by a car and we had to take him to the vet. (text-to-self)

2. Neither Susannah or Bethlehem felt free, even though Susannah was legally free. in "The Help", the two main characters share a similar feeling of being trapped by skin color but also because they are women, although they are both legally free. (text-to-text).

I hope that the kids can relate to those ones, especially since they get to grade me! After each person shares their "job" the others can give input on whether they think that person did a good job or not. A little intimidating knowing a bunch of 9 and 10 year olds are "grading" me! :)

In all, I'm really enjoying this book club and getting more involved in Lindsay's class. I figure she'll soon enough be an age where the last place she'll want me is in her class/school, so I'm gonna milk it for as long as I can!

Do you volunteer in your kids' school? What's your favorite task?

Goal #26 -- Completed!

26. Buy coffee for someone behind me in line randomly at a coffee place.

I ran the girls to school today because they both had extra stuff to carry that I didnt' want them on the bus with.  Kera had some cookies, which probably would've been fine on the bus, but Lindsay had her diorama for a book report this month and I wanted that baby to get to school safely after all the blood, sweat and tears that we both put into it. So, I drove them and then afterwards made a quick run to the store to get groceries. I love grocery shopping early in the morning--the store is like a library it's so quiet! But anyways, since I'd not had all my morning coffee yet by that time, I decided to stop on by Starbucks. I had a gift card from my birthday burning a hole in my pocket and I needed my caffeine fix. 

Once in line I had a revelation. I could use my gift card to not only pay for my americano but I could also pay for the person behind me! I knew I had made the goal to do this randomly, so what better time then now in the season of giving! I looked in my rear view mirror and saw only one person in the vehicle but still asked the barista if it was only one drink because what if they were buying coffee for their whole office?! I knew my gift card wouldn't go that far. It was only one drink, but even combined with mine I had to shell out a couple dollars to cover the total. (Coffee is expensive, no wonder I make it at home usually!) 

But that's okay. I kept thinking how excited they'd be to pull up to get their coffee and not have to pay for it. I know that would totally make my day, so I hope it made theirs! And I'm excited to have completed one of my goals even during this crazy, hectic, busy, chaotic time of year.

How about you? Ever randomly buy some one's coffee? Ever had someone do it for you?

"The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food is Making Us Sick - And What We Can Do About It

You know me, give me a book about the evils of our current food industry or of a certain food in particular, and I'll be all over it. And this book, "The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food is Making Us Sick - And What We Can Do About It" by Robyn O'Brien and Rachel Kranz, is that but so much more. It tells the story of how Robyn's, a mother of four, discovery of a food allergy in one of her children led to the discovery/realization that the food we eat and feed our kids is not the same food our parents fed us.

I highly suggest anyone with an interest in how food affects our health and our children's health should read this, but as always, I'd like to share a few tidbits. These are the things that stuck with me, opened my eyes and hopefully will inspire you to read the book to get the whole picture....

*At least one out of every 17 kids under the age of 3 has a food allergy. That's more than double what it was 10 years ago.
*One out of every three kids currently suffers from allergies, asthma, ADHD, or autism
*The number of children with peanut allergies has doubled between 1997 and 2002.
*Many childhood ailments (chronic ear infections, coughs, runny noses, headaches, eczema, itchy skin, sleepiness, listlessness, crankiness, sickness) may result from diet. These could be inflammatory reactions by the body trying to rid itself of what it perceives as a toxic invader, a.k.a. an allergy.
*The author believes some of the answers to the potential causes behind the allergy epidemic include:

• the shift from a natural to an industrialized environment
• excessive exposure to antibiotics, both as prescribed and as consumed through antibiotic-laden meat, milk and poultry.
• the rise in pollutants and environmental toxins
• our tendency to eat more processed foods loaded with chemical additives and preservatives and eat far fewer natural whole foods.

*All of Europe, Great Britian, Australia, Japan and even Russia have very strong labeling laws that require food manufacturers to state when a product contains genetically engineered ingredients.

*GMO's are crops such as corn and soy whose DNA has been modified by the insertion of a protein from a different organism. The genetically engineered crops are suppose to be more resistant to insects and disease. So, if food allergies are an overreaction to a protein that the immune system reads as foreign and dangerous, our kids' immune systems could be reacting to the GMO's. This could be the trigger behind the new surge of allergic responses.

*Soy's evils:

• Soy has a tendency to block our absorption of essential minerals.
• Soy contains toxins that interfere with the enzymes that we need for digestion--one being trypsin, which is essential to the digestion of protein, which coincidentally kids with food allergies have problems with.
• Soy is "non-digestible" in animals who have only one stomach, such as pigs. Guess what, that's us too!
• Soy plays at least a small part in 20,000 to 30,000 products on the market today, whether directly as an ingredient or indirectly as feed or nutrient source. 
• Infants given soy formula had high levels of isoflavones. Isoflavones help produce estrogen and might be toxic to the thyroid. High levels of estrogen have been associated with breast and reproductive cancers, weight gain, obesity and early puberty.
• In the U.S., nothing has been done about this "soy danger" whereas the United Kingdom's chief medical officer and the British Dietetic Association have warned parents and pediatricians that soy formula is an absolute last resort. Other countries followed suit in some sort of way including New Zealand, Israel, France, and Germany.  Our own FDA has remained silent. Scary, huh? Even scarier is the reason why. The author goes into great detail to explain how the multibillion dollar soybean industry has great influence on our doctors and government agencies.

*92% of soy grown worldwide is genetically modified. (As is 80% of corn and 86% of all U.S. cotton).
*The authors information and study of how genetically modified crops were not tested to make sure they wouldn't generate new allergies before being released into the food supply.
*The story of how rBGH (the growth hormone given to cows to increase milk production) was allowed to be used even though it's been linked to cancer.
*And so much more! She brings up the big company Monsanto and it's less than stellar reputation, the issues of gmo corn, and even the affects of artificial food coloring, flavorings and additives.

I learned a ton from this book and am so grateful to have been able to benefit from the years and hours she spent researching this information. I think the thing that bothered me the most was how poorly the light was that shone on our own government and companies. For example, the Kraft Macaroni & Cheese sold in Great Britian is not the same as the boxes you buy here. Over there they've taken out the artificial colors.Why not here? One reason is that the moms and dads over there are more informed, but the British government actually regulates their corporations unlike us. It was so discouraging to me to read about how our governmental agencies whose job it is to make sure that the public is safe has basically revolving doors with the companies making these GMO's and hormone-laden meat and milk. It's all about the money and I find that very disturbing.

Although it is disturbing, Robyn gives some great tips/advice on how to make a difference not just in your families' diet but also in the bigger picture of it all (and she doesn't suggest moving to Australia). Her tips are very practical and she shares her own experience in changing her own family's diet, which is helpful.

Again, I would highly recommend this book as the detail she gives regarding what I've shared is thorough and extremely educational!

A few thoughts...

It's a new month. Well, as of yesterday it's a new month. And I am grateful. Looking back on October, it felt very....blah. I can't really pinpoint a main reason or even a main thing, the whole thing just kind of weighed me down. Which is weird, usually its my favorite one, for several reasons. Not this year, however, and so I am extra grateful for November. There is just something about a fresh, clean start that really encourages me. Not that I don't have that option everyday, (Thanks to Jesus), but for some reason, when the calendar coincides with my renewed motivation, it just seems right.

And so I'm back on track, mostly. I finally feel healthy after that cold/flu thing I had, so I'm jumping right back into working out and let me just say, Jillian kicks my butt in a workout video pretty hard. I was sweating buckets yesterday after her Blast that Metabolism (or something like that) workout video. I can't even fathom what it would be like to workout with her in real life! Kind of makes me a little sympathetic to those Biggest Loser folks. (Which, by the way, I'm excited to watch tonight. that and Castle, which was on last night, are the only shows I'm really into this year.) Oh, sorry I digressed there, back to the subject at hand: Working out. And I went for a run outside today, which was awesome in the 50 degree air and light rain. It felt so good, too, for the first time no gimpiness anywhere, so I was thrilled. I love my runs outside because they help me think, too. I love that I live not quite in town and so I get to see more than just houses, it is refreshing to spend time in God's creation and helps remind me why we are all here, anyway.

I'm back on the eating wagon too. Actually, I've never left that wagon, in fact I've been really good at eating lately. What I mean is that I'm back to tracking all my calories. I've got a little over two months before Erik and I go to Mexico, and I want to make as much of a dent in my weight loss battle as possible before we go. I know I can't reach my goal, but any progress I make will be encouraging, so I'm trying to plan meals with more intention towards healthiness and log every single bite.

In other parts of my life, like my "job"  and my relationships, I'm trying get back into it as well. I've figured out a little better use of my calendar and time and planning and all that to try and make sure I'm doing more productive things before the lesser productive things. I tend to go all or nothing (ha ha, see a trend?!) as in I spend all day at home doing absolutely nothing, being by myself, or I'm out and about all day hanging out with friends and letting my laundry and dirty house pile up or, I'm so focused on cleaning and all those things that I don't do anything fun or hang out with anyone. Right now I'm working on balancing those things so that I get a little of each every day, but making sure to prioritize correctly. (i.e. my quiet times and workouts come before blogging, facebook or even scrapbooking.)

So, even though I'm working on quite a bit right now, it feels good. I feel refreshed and energized and motivated and I love it when those are the feelings coursing through my head and heart. How about you? Are you working on anything? Today is a new day, its as good a time as any to start something fresh and new. :-)

First Day of School

Today is the kiddo's first day of school. They were eager to get up this morning and go--in fact Kera has been counting down the days for the last 2 weeks. It was so cute, when I went in to wake her up this morning, as soon as she realized I was waking her up, she smiled and said, "School!". She was so cute. Lindsay wanted to hit the snooze button, but then I asked her if she needed her bedtime pushed back to 8pm again (in honor of 3rd grade we moved it up to 8:30) and she said no and got up. (ha ha, tricky mom!)

It feels so nice to get them off to school and have the whole day ahead of me to get things done. There's just something about the whole routine of school days that lends itself to a little more disciplined life, I think. Sure, summer vacation is fun and we get to spend time together, but its mostly fun and games and I don't get much "work" done, so its kind of nice to get back to it. I really hope that the girls enjoy their day at school as much as I'm already enjoying my day alone! :-)

Here's to a wonderful first and third grade years! :-)

Oh, and a funny little thing that happened this morning. Last night we picked out clothes, each girl choosing at least one of their newly bought items. For Kera it was jeans mixed with a couple tops she already had and her new slip-on shoes, for Lindsay it was this super cute top and bottom outfit. Well, this morning came around and Lindsay wanted to wear her old black pants (complete with holes in the sides) with her well-worn black footprint shirt. I don't want her wearing all her old raggedy summer clothes to school, but those don't look too bad and I didn't want to argue with her. So I told her to go ahead. It was also a good reminder to me, in the grand scheme of things it really doesn't matter what my kids wear (as long as they are clean & appropriate) what matters is that they are happy. And this morning, Lindsay was happy to wear her worn but loved clothes to school and that made me happy.

Ignorance is not bliss

Not too long ago I never ever bought anything organic. I didn't know anything about eating food in season or locally grown/produced. I read labels, but only to watch out for fat and calories, nothing else. The only thing I worried about in my food was the price, if it was somewhat healthy and if my family would eat it.

Then I read a couple books on healthy eating and tried to start eating more organic food, like milk and yogurt and kiddo snacks. Not too long after that, I read an article on beef. I blogged about it here. That really opened my eyes to the state of our food in this country and I started trying to purchase more organic than not.

But, I must confess, I have gotten out of that habit. I still buy organic milk and I love visiting our local farmer's market, but the rest of it is kind of hit or miss, depending on convenience, price and taste. I have sort of put up this cloud of ignorance to it all again, figuring that it didn't really matter.

Guess what, it does matter though. I watched the movie, "Food Inc." last night and my eyes have been opened once again, but this time to more than just the state of our beef. If you havent' seen this movie, I highly suggest you do so. You will learn a ton about where our food comes from and it will make you think twice about what you spend your money on, and even more so, what you feed your family.

It's a little overwhelming to me. I found myself thinking, "well, how can we change this?" while watching the movie. The cool thing, is that they end the movie with suggestions for what you can do.

You can choose with your money. Every time you spend it on a food item, you are choosing that item and everything that goes into it, whether its locally grown/organic or produced by one of the big food companies. So it's like you're voting every time you put something through that check out line. And yes, most of the time, organic products are more expensive, but the only way to change that is for there to be higher demand for them instead of the other stuff. It's all supply and demand. What are you voting for? Unfortunately I have been voting for the yucky stuff.

So, I've decided that I will change how I feed my family.

I will buy more organic.

I will support local farmers, frequenting my farmers market and finding local farmers who sell grain-fed beef/pork.

I will try to purchase food seasonally. (I need to research this as I have really no idea what is in season and when.)

I will no longer purposely buy anything with high fructose corn syrup in it.

I will cook more meatless meals. I do this already a little, but I need to do it more.

And, of course, I will talk about it, telling my friends, family and you what I think, because the more people that know and that are on board, the quicker things will change.

Have you seen that movie? If so, what did you think? Have you changed how you eat as a result? Or has there been something else that has spurred you to change something in your life?

To remember

Yesterday my sister and I went to the mall and had our toenails done.

It's the second year of a tradition that I'm sure will continue.

We do it to remember

our

 beautiful

fun

adventurous

loved

and

dearly missed

cousin Amy.

Monday would've been her 31st birthday. Tragically, its also the day she died, two years ago. We decided to get our nails done, in honor of her, and I think she'd have done the same thing. It's weird to think that she's not here anymore. It makes me very grateful that her family and ours lived in the same city for long enough that we made some really great cousin memories. It's nice to have good memories of her to think about during these times.

I've also been thinking, lately, that I need to do something. Something besides remember with pretty toenails. You see, she is the second person that I've been close to that has chosen to end their own life. Back in college, I lost a dear friend to suicide as well. They had different situations, but I think in both cases it boils down to the desperation that it was the only solution. I feel like I need to do something with my own experience in dealing with these losses, but I'm at a loss as to know what to do. How can one really make a difference in situations like my friends? like my cousins?

My sister works in the mental health field and so has resources and opportunities that I probably wouldn't be aware of otherwise. She's participating in an "Out of the Darkness Community Watch" here in September put on by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. She emailed out a request for support, I believe it is kind of like the cancer walk, where you get donors and then you walk for a whole day. And at first I thought that of course I would make a donation of support, but then I thought that I should join her team and walk as well. That seems like it would be doing more, at least for now. There's got to be something else out there for me to do, as well.