The Importance of Rolling Down Hills

Every child I know goes through the spin phase.  Some children enjoy standing in one spot and spinning.  Some like to ride on spinning amusement park rides.  Some children like to be spun around by an adult holding their hands as their feet take flight.  My child likes to roll down hills.  He is great at finding hills to go down and will often seek them out when we are out places.  

Here's Miles at Putnum Park Raceway 

Here is a trip down the hill at the river front in Evansville.  

So you might ask why I encourage this behavior. I have seen some very compelling research that talks about the importance of building up the muscles around the ear drum and in the ear.  The research was done by Candace Meyer over at Minds in Motion.  There is also some amazing research that links movement to school success and reading success.  Allowing children the opportunity to spin in one way to build these muscles.   Plus who doesn't like to get a little dizzy from time to time.  I went down the hill once, but realized that I was having a Roger Murtaugh moment.

Miles of Pizza

I have been really trying to encourage loose parts play with Miles and so I brought home a large spool when the occasion arose.  He rolled it around the yard and asked what it was.  My reply was that it's what ever he wanted it to be.  He decided that he ought to make a table out of it and because it was raining we pulled it up on the front porch for the evening.

The next day, Miles decided that he wanted to open a restaurant in the front yard and call it, "Miles of Pizza."  He arranged the spool under the large maple tree in the front yard and put his blanket on the table as a table cloth.  He collected up chairs from around the house and decided that he and Dolly would eat lunch outside.  (He told me that I'd be the chef for the restaurant.) I told him that I didn't have pizza to make.That didn't seem to bother him. He stuck with the name, "Miles of Pizza."  I made Miles and Dolly a finger foods lunch to enjoy in the out of doors.

Loose Parts win! 

The Teacher Essentials Box: My list

As you're starting out as a teacher you come up with all sorts of ideas of things that you need to teach, but what do you need to have at school for you?  I mean what are the little discomforts that are going to get you off your A game?  What supplies should you have at school either in your desk or a locked cabinet that will make your life SOOOOOOO much easier.  In my 10+ years of experience I have narrowed it down to just a few personal items that it's best to just keep at school.

1. A whole box of your favorite feminine hygiene products. (Assuming of course that you are a woman that needs these items.) For obvious reasons, you always want to have them on hand.

                                                     

2. Change for the coke machine in a child safe container.  The child safe container keeps little hands from walking away with a few of your hard collected quarters.

                                   

3. Neutrogina Norwegian Formula -This is my favorite hand lotion. It isn't smelly.  It helps my nails grow very long.  It's inexpensive and a tube lasts me almost the whole year.

                                                               
4. Headache medicine I have recently found one that is an essential oil and you put it on the back of your neck.  (It is smelly!)  This last semester I had a headache that lasted 3 days.  One of the teachers that I worked with asked if I wanted to try her essential oils.  I thought it was all hocus-pocus, but at that point I was willing to try just about anything.  I rolled the essential oils on the back of my neck and 20 minutes later my headache was gone. I went back to her and asked for the name.... doTERRA PastTense "tension blend."  My point though is to have some headache medicine on hand.
                                                 
5. A neutral blazer- Some classrooms are like ice.  Some days the "important person from ______" is in the building and it's nice to be able to be more polished.  I find that sweaters are soft and cuddly and some days a blazer helps you put on your "teacher face."  My first black blazer I got from the Goodwill for $4.  There is just something about a blazer that makes you look polished.  It can work over a jeans and your school t-shirt or with a dress, or with slacks and a top.  About the only thing my black blazer doesn't go with is brown and navy.  (Not everything can be perfect.)
                                 
6. Disinfecting wipes (ie Clorox) - Children get sick often.  Being able to wipe down those things that they have sneezed on will help you save those sick days to cash in at retirement.
                                             
7. Quality Tissues - The kids will share germs with you.  I'm picky about my tissues.  I don't want to have nose chafe.
                                               
8. Coffee Mug/Water glass with lid and a small bottle of dish soap.  Stay hydrated for health.  I once heard that teachers are the profession most likely to get a UTI.
                                 

I am not getting kick backs for mentioning the above products.  These are tried and true products that I actually use and would recommend especially to my very best friends.  You can always add to your list or take things away, but I find that I am a better teacher when I am comfortable.  Find those things that you can't be comfortable without and have it on hand.  You might like to chew gum or eat mints.  What ever it is that you need make sure you have it to help you spend your teach time teaching your hearts out!

From Design to Implementation: Miles Designs and Builds a Car

Miles decided that he wanted to design a car.  Above is his concept of a fan car.

We thought a little testing was necessary in the "proof of concept" stage.  So we strapped a fan to the skateboard and tried to move it across the floor.  Success!! 

Then Miles tried to ride across the front hall.  No such luck.  

The boys decided to go with a drift cart design that would use gravity instead of fan power.  

Here they are placing the pieces.  

Daddy did all the dangerous jobs.

Checking the high for the handle.  

Trying it out at the river.  

Desired result obtained.

My turn!! 

Here's Daddy in a drift.  

Here we go again! 

Miles and Chris have plans to paint it green this evening and then go again!! 

"Almond Joy" No Bakes

Have I got the perfect way to ruin your new year's resolutions!

I somehow have ended the holiday season with 2 opened bags of candied coconut from all of the desserts and things I made in December, so I've been trying to come up with an idea of how to use up large quantities in a good way.  Today I made "Almond Joy" No Bakes.

I simply followed this recipe for no bake cookies and added one whole leftover bag of candied coconut (1 1/2 - 2 cups) to it when I was mixing in the peanut butter and vanilla.  I also used Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder.  While I followed the linked recipe and used peanut butter, I suppose that you could use almond butter if you have any on hand to get a more authentic "Almond Joy" taste.

Now if you are trying to stick to your guns and stay on target for some New Year's Resolution I recommend  taking them to work and pawning them off on co-workers.  Or better still, send them with your spouse so that you won't eat them!! They are "Super Yummy" to quote Miles.   

Now what to do with the other unopened bag of candied coconut...?  

Turning a "Whole Hand"- A Medieval Birthday

I will admit that I had a ball putting together Miles 5th birthday party.  It was a lot of fun.  My hope is that the memory will last a life time.  I am thankful for Pinterest which allowed me to gather a barrage of ideas.  You can find my Medieval Birthday Board HERE to see the many ideas that I found.  We did a lot of dragon related activities, because Miles enjoys dragons.  We invited the children to dress up in medieval themed costumes and I had a basket of things that kiddos could borrow if they didn't come suited.  The theme worked out beautifully since it was a boy/ girl party.  I made Miles and Chris Knight tunics and myself a dress for the event.

It was super simple, I sewed it with the Surger in under an hour.  (I do wish that I had used gold thread, so it looked like it was trimmed in gold.)  

So here is what we did.

I made crowns for all of the children as favors and decorated with books from the library.

This is the cake I made the directions are on the Pinterest Link above.

The children had Sward Fighting practice.  The balloons in the trees were the enemy knights to fight.  We made the swords out of half of a pool noodle with duct tape for the hilt.

I had pre- cut out shields and made duct tape loops on the back that could be used to hold them.  The children decorate their own shields.  

I asked people to pose with the cardboard flames with the intention of printing these out for the thank you's instead I used boring store bought ones.  But at least the pictures are cool.  

The children played "Pin the Fire on the Dragon"

They "Sleighed" the dragon pinata.  

The children went on a dragon hunt to find their very own pet dragon.

The children had to "save the damsel in distress" by going across the bridge, jump the river, crawl through the dark cave, and then run around the tree three times to go through the dark forest to then save the damsel (Barbie) under the laundry basket.  

We fed the kiddos Rosted Hog (Hot Dogs), Swords (Carrot sticks), and Dragon Scales (Doritos).  Then we had the dragon cake.  

Rather than having favor bags the children created their favors along the way and left that day with a sword, shield, pet dragon, and crown.  I have been told by some of the parents that these props have sparked play experiences as home since the party which was exactly my hope.  A memory to last a lifetime.  

Things Not Discussed at Grandma's Dining Room Table

Today my brother blogged about perception and how everyone's view of a situation (even if they were present for the same event) is different.

This got me thinking about just how many conversations we as adults have that are about politics and religion.  It seems to me that now more than another time in my very short history people are willing and often make the icebreaker in a social situation something about their religious or political views.  I think that one of the things that is hardest for me as an adult interacting in society.

My mom is one of 8.  Grandma had a strict no politics or religion at the dinner table rule.  I think that this was to avoid annoying arguments among her children who have varying viewpoints.  (At least at the dinner table.)  And as a child that was the time that children did most off their interacting with the adults was when we paused from play to eat.  Otherwise, we were expected to be outside playing.  This has lead me to have the personal perception that a persons view on religion and politics are a private matter.  Not that you don't discuss them.... Just among close friends and family.  And "NOT AT THE DINNER TABLE!" to quote Grandma.  

I am surprised at people's willingness to put their views out on the internet (She says as she's doing that vary thing.)  It seems that the perception is, that if someone has put a viewpoint out about an issue that a particular political party holds that they are expected to like everything that that party does or every vote that that party sides with.  When I doubt this is true for anyone.  I remember that on election day when I was in high school, but not yet old enough to vote, I asked my mom who she voted for.  I remember her telling me that it was not my business.  That I needed to make my own decisions about each race and candidate.  

She had a very similar view of religion.  She encouraged my brother and I to attend a variety of churches so we could grow to make informed decisions about what we believe and live our lives accordingly.

After I've had a child of my own and had graduated from college, I know that I've had far more discussions about politics and religion as a family and certainly with my group of friends (some of the best around campfires).

But NEVER at the dinner table.