Happy Easter

 Easter has always been one of my favorite times of the year, and this one was no exception.  From the time I was young, and Easter was mostly about candy, I have loved Easter.  The mention of Easter brings to mind flowers, pretty clothes, blue skies, and family dinners. 

Now, I realize that all Easters are not like that.  There was the Easter when it snowed so badly that I had to spend the night at a friend's home when I went there for dinner.  There have been Easters when it poured buckets, and Easters when it was so hot that the chocolate was melting.  There was the Easter when my younger daughter, looking lovely in a pink dress with pink lady slipper orchids embroidered on her white collar, white tights, and Mary Janes went outdoors while we were getting ready.  It had rained during the night and she was busy picking all of the worms up off the driveway so that the car wouldn't run over them.  (Actually, the worms didn't do much damage to the outfit.  It was the dive onto the wet grass and the sweet roll at the church brunch that did the most damage!)

This Easter was a good one.  I made the bunny buns for breakfast that my mother had made for the family for years and that I now make every year.  We had Easter Eggs to go with them for breakfast.  We had a great dinner with friends on Good Friday, church on Sunday, and a quiet day with a good dinner.  I even spent an hour just sitting with a cat or two on my lap and a book in my hand.  Yes, it was chilly and damp, and at times the rain poured down.  Still the flowers were blooming outside and, in my head, the skies were blue, the sun was shining, and the air was warm.

Do It the Right Way!!

Many years ago I taught at a child care center in a small town in Livingston County.  It was located in an old school building and featured a playground that was designed for older children.  One of the children in my care, who was four years old at the time, wanted very badly to use the large steel slides, but he was very afraid of them.  For days he watched the other children climb the ladder, slide down, run to the back of the slide, and climb back up again.  Periodically he would manage to climb the ladder, but he would reach the top and I would have to climb up and help him down.  Still, he watched that slide every day.  One day he found his solution: slowly he climbed to the top, looked down, carefully turned around on the platform at the top, carefully laid down on his stomach, and slid to the bottom.  He stood up and turned around with a triumphant smile on his face - he was so proud of what he had accomplished!  What was the first thing that he heard from a teacher?  "Daniel, go down the slide the RIGHT way."  Immediately the smile was gone, the sense of pride and accomplishment was gone, his head was down, and tears were in his eyes.  (Needless to say, that teacher had a very short career in child care - or at least in mine!).

Now fast forward to the present.  The three year old room received a new building set made up of brightly colored plastic balls, rods, flat pieces, and accordion pieces, each of which had a magnet on each end in order to connect the magnet ends to construct three dimensional structures.  While the children were building, one little guy took one of the accordion pieces and walked around the room with it.  First he worked and worked with the piece at a table until he got it to balance on its ends.  After experimenting with this for a while, he walked around the room and put the piece against the wall.  What a discovery! At the corner of the wall, he let go of the piece and it stuck to the wall!  He moved around the room putting the piece against the wall and letting go.  Every time that he put it on the flat wall the piece fell to the floor, but when he put it on the corner, the piece stayed put.  Soon the other children were sticking their pieces to the wall, also.

Now, the three year old teacher had not planned a balancing, wall-sticking project.  She had planed a building project where the children and teachers could admire and discuss their structures.  Why did she not yell at the child to "use the toy the RIGHT way"?  Because this teacher knew and understood how young children learn.  She remembered that Bev Bos teaches that, "If it isn't in the hand, the heart, it isn't in the brain".  She knew that learning to balance that piece would lead to physical problem solving.  She knew that sticking the magnet to the beading in the corner of the wall would lead to a greater understanding of magnets than doing ditto sheets would ever accomplish.  She understood that when a child is excited about a new discovery it is easy to crush that child and make him feel stupid and worthless.  That is why the first person was a babysitter and the second one is a teacher.

It is so easy to hurt a child who has learned something exciting.  Whether we are parents, grandparents, or teachers, we need to remember what is important in life - having things done our way all of the time or helping our children to grow and develop to their fullest potential.

The Joys of TP

Yesterday I was sitting at my desk working on a risk management plan for the child care center, since it is a highly rated item on the administrator's rating scale that we are using to critique the management of the center.  I was moving right along when several of the three year old children appeared in my doorway to say hello.  They were all smiling and each one was holding a roll of toilet paper in their hands. (Toilet paper?  Huh?)  Following these children were several others who were also holding a roll of toilet paper and leading the assistant director, who was totally wrapped in tp and could not see.  When I went out to admire their handiwork, they began to wrap me up as well.  Now I had a choice between doing important director work or playing, so of course I chose playing.  Chaos ensured - it was great. 

Some of the children worked on wrapping me while others wrapped each other.  One child got into my desk chair and tried to tp my computer, but changed his mind and began to unroll the paper in long strips on the floor.  Several other children followed suit and unrolled their paper onto the floor.  After a while the adults and the floor were covered.  A few of the teachers tried throwing the rolls, and I quickly learned which ones must have been the wild neighborhood children on Halloween.  When all of the tp had been unwound, draped, thrown, and otherwise used, all of the children worked together to clean up the paper and to save it for another use.  (Don't panic - it will be mixed with warm water and ivory soap to make "clean mud"). 

Was this what the teacher had planned for the day?  Not exactly.  What was the purpose of this, beyond making a mess?  The children and the adults spent time together laughing, sharing, and bonding.  The children worked together as they wrapped adults, made paper trails, and cleaned up the mess, developing social skills that they will use for the rest of their lives.  As the children worked to wrap the adults, they had to figure out how to keep the end of the roll in place while they wrapped the rest - this is physical problem solving which helps to build a base for mathematical and scientific reasoning.   The children learned that they were important to the adults who were willing to leave their work to spend some time with them.  (They also learned important throwing skills for future Halloweens.)

Is my risk management paper done? No  Do I have any regrets that I spent time playing with three year old children and toilet paper?  Never!

I Hope You Dance

Several years ago a lady named Lee Ann Woamck sang a song called, "I Hope You Dance" which detailed her hopes and dreams for her children.  At the end of every verse she would sing, "I hope you daaaaaance" and I would picture little girls in pretty dresses spinning outside in the grass with their arms outstretched and their faces up to the sun.  I have always loved to spin, although when I hit my middle fifties I began to get dizzy very easily.  Still, it was worth the swirling head to be able to turn in circles like that. (By the way, spinning also helps a child's brain to grow and develop!)

Friday at the child care center is often pizza day.  The cook gives the children lumps of dough and bowls full of toppings and they custom craft their own pizzas.  While the three year old group was making their pizzas, a lot of flour (naturally) landed on the floor.  I looked out of the office door to see one of the boys - a cute little guy with a head of shaggy blond curls -dancing in the flour.  He was absorbed in his dance, and went back and forth, kicking, sliding, and spinning.  The look of joy on his face made everyone who was watching him laugh along with him.  Eventually his teacher told him that he should not be playing in the flour, so the boy stood with his folded arms leaning on the end of the table but his feet kept moving the whole time.  There was a mess on the floor, but the joy that the child felt was worth all of it.

I love to dance, and I would be a pro if only I had rhythm, coordination, and grace.  Still - I love to dance.  When was the last time that you spread out your arms and twirled in circles?  It is a wonderful feeling.  It is even more fun if you are doing it with your children, or with the children in your care.  Try it.  You will be glad that your did.

I hope you dance!

We should consider every day lost in which we have not danced at least once.  Nietzche

Thoughts About Legos and Music

Yesterday I booted up the computer to check the center email before I began the day.  When my home page came up, it contained notes of all the important news: the imminent government shutdown, the threat of radioactivity in our fish, and the Lego dress worn by someone named Fergie.  My attention was immediately caught because I know Legos very well - I have played with Legos, found them in my pockets at the end of the day, stepped on them in my bare feet at night, and lured them away from a big, hairy dog.  Since my grandchild loves Legos, I thought that it would be a neat article to forward to him.  With anticipation of seeing something really cool, I clicked on the article and was immediately shown a picture of a young woman with long hair who was dressed like a Lego dominatrix. This was not exactly the picture that I wanted to send to a ten year old boy (although the boy might not have minded).  The picture had comments under it, most of which talked about how "cute" she was.  One lady even said that her children loved both Legos and Fergie so they loved the dress.  Cute?  With a whip and knee high black boots with heels, she could have been scary.

The only Fergie that I knew of was the lady named Sarah who married the English prince, divorced the English prince, wrote some children's books and was the spokesperson for Weight Watchers.  I could tell that this was not the same person, so I googled Fergie.  I found another picture of her in the Lego dress, and I found some videos of her when she was, I think, singing.  One song seemed to consist of Fergie saying "shut up" (something that my mother would never let us say because it was rude) over and over and over.  She must be fairly famous, because she sang at a Super Bowl.  She wore something that looked like a silver futuristic space suit with B-I-G shoulder pads.  She must have been nervous about the Super Bowl, however, because the poor girl forgot to put on her skirt.  She was yelling something into the microphone, but I could not understand the words.  The audience cheered a lot, but that was mostly when she rubbed up and down against the guitar player.  (Maybe it was the static electricity that made his hair look like that!).

I have several concerns about the whole thing.  Nickelodeon is supposed to be a kid's place for entertainment.  Why in heaven's name is someone who looks as though she should be entertaining at a bachelor party being the entertainment for children?  When I was younger any woman who let her slip strap slip until it showed was obviously a slut.  (Gasp!  Am I channeling my mother?  Nooooo!)  I realize that times have changed and that our famous "Summer of Love" looks very tame now, but there are limits.  I constantly read concerns about children who grow up too quickly, children who are not responsible or who get into trouble, young girls who become pregnant, etc., etc., etc, yet it seems to me that many adults are not willing to set any boundaries on what their children see, hear, or experience.  Children's entertainment does not have to consist of ookey cartoon characters, but there are many excellent entertainers who do not rely on a sexy image to sell their product.  In addition, it would not hurt the children to listen to real singers who do not rely on tricky costumes or electronic enhancements to their voices.  If you are going to let your child watch a scantily clad singer, at least chose one who can sing!

This makes a rant for two days in row.  It seems to be time to relax, get off my soapbox for a while and do something fun.  Children (and adults) love to snack and here is a recipe for one that is healthy and fun.  (If you have any left over, they are good for breakfast, too).

Frozen Pudding Grahams

1 box instant chocolate pudding                                    1 1/2 cups skim milk



1/2 cup peanut butter                                                     1 box graham crackers

Mix the pudding mix, milk, and peanut butter.  Let sit in refrigerator a while to thicken.  Break a graham cracker in half, spread pudding thickly on one half, and top with the other half of the graham cracker.  Place sandwiches in a tightly closed container in the freezer.  Eat them frozen.  If you wish to use cooked pudding, which does not always have red dye, mix the pudding with 1 1/2 cups milk, follow cooking directions on box, and stir in pb. 

Random Thoughts

I often have random thoughts running through my head.  I like to think that it is because I have so many important and wise things to consider, but I am afraid that it is just my mind slipping some gears.  These are some of the things that have been floating through recently.

1.  Actually, this one is more of a rant.  The Food and Drug Administration recently announced that they would be studying the effect of red dye on children.  I know of children and adults that have not only had problems with red dye, but have actually gone into anaphalactic shock and have needed emergency treatment.  This is not surprising when you learn that the common food dyes that we ingest every day are made from petroleum byproducts.  They are not only in brightly colored cereals and drinks, they are in soaps and other personal care products (where they can be absorbed through the skin) and many non-colored  items (think white cake mix, chocolate syrup, etc).  After reading about these dyes, it makes me almost physically sick to watch children eating these foods.  The FDA decided that there was not enough evidence so that more data was needed to reach a decision!  Are they afraid to fight the food industry?  It is just common sense that we were not made to eat materials that are derived from oil and coal!!  (Child Protectives will go after parents who make their children ingest nonfood items that may make them sick!)  More time indeed!

2.  As an early childhood educator, one of my biggest peeves is teachers who do not tell the truth to children.  I am not talking about whimsy and imagination, but about rewriting history.  One example that makes me crazy is Thanksgiving when the Pilgrims (a plain, simple, and poor people) are all shown wearing gold buckles on their shoes and hats.  Turkeys are portrayed as large birds with multicolored tail feathers.  I am fortunate to have two very good friends who have given me turkey feathers (both domestic and wild) to share with the children so that they can see and feel part of a real turkey.  On top of that, each spring children are given brightly colored wispy feathers to paste to construction paper to learn about birds.  (Like they can't look out a window and see a bird and talk about it?)  How silly!  How pointless!

Because I am always looking for concrete items that will demonstrate real concepts to the children, I was excited when I passed a dead goose by the side of the expressway a few days ago.  I seriously thought about getting off and on the expressway and coming back to the goose to get some feathers.  I was picturing all of the lovely feathers that I could get to inspire and teach the children, but as I was smiling at this picture, it was replaced by a picture of the headlines in the Livingston County News: "Child Care Director Arrested For Vandalizing Dead Goose".  Then I pictured the day care parents, the Board of Directors, and my family (who would probably like to put me in a home soon!)  as they read the article so, with these pictures in my mind, I sighed and drove on home.  Maybe I can find a goose in a less public place that will just happen to shed some feathers in front of me.

3.  Sunday was an exciting day, one that I look forward to every year - the local ice cream shop is opening.  Gone are the resolutions about exercising, gone are the mental pictures of me as a size 6 (as my schoolers would say, "Get real!"),  gone are the resolutions to save every dime.  Visions of ice cream are swirling around me and calling my name.  Unfortunately, while I am sitting here with visions of cones running through my head, winds, rain, and 40 degree temperatures are running through the outdoors.  Still, in my head it is a nice 70 degree night and I am sitting with my ice cream cone.

4.  While I am sitting and writing this, a seven year old girl with a smile that takes up about half of her face came in to visit with me.  She wiggled back and forth while we talked about her school day and she told me her new joke (knock, knock - who's there? - ice cream- ice cream who? - ice cream pickle head!).  The whole time she smiled and smiled, with some giggles and laughs thrown in.  What joy she has and spreads without even being aware that she is doing so.

5.  Also in my head are songs, lists of things that I hope to remember, and the great unpublished novel that I am sure is in there, and plans for the future garden.  No wonder my head gets tired sometimes!

Eat Your Veggies!

Many of my blogs have to do with cooking for several reasons, which I have covered in previous blogs.  In addition to the previously stated reasons, I a very concerned about the state of nutrition in the country today.  The "old age" diseases are showing up at earlier ages every year.  Many children are now suffering from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes, all of which are usually diet and lifestyle related.  Starting to eat well early in life will prevent problems later on.

One of the best ways to stay healthy (or to become healthy if you are having problems) is to load up on vegetables.  Too many people in this country eat mostly proteins, refined sugars, and bleached grains.  Vegetables have many vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber, both of which help to keep the body healthy.  Unfortunately, many people do not like vegetables and do not eat them.  There are two reasons for this:  1) A dislike of vegetables has been handed down from parents to children and 2) most people do not cook their vegetables correctly.  Vegetables should be steamed in a small amount of water, not cooked in a pot full of water since this removes most of the nutrients and flavor.  Also, vegetables should be cooked just until they are done, so that they are crunchy and have lots of color.  Nothing is worse that looking at a plate of mushy, grayish broccoli - yuck!  (And as far as I am concerned, canned peas should be illegal!).  The vegetables also need a little fat on them since many of the vitamins in vegetables are fat soluble and cannot be used by the body without a little fat.  A pat of butter or margarine is fine, although I like a little splash of olive oil.  I have one of those bottles with a spout ($3.88 at Walmarts) that I keep on my counter to splash olive oil.  I love it - it makes me feel like one of the cooking show stars! 

Plain vegetables can be repetitive, and you certainly can't put cheese sauce on everything, but there are many things that you can do to vary your meals.  Saute the broccoli for a few minutes in a little olive oil and then add ginger and soy sauce.  Steam cauliflower and carrots, and then add a little butter, nutmeg, and parmesan.  Zucchini sauteed with green pepper and onions is great.  Try a stir-fry. You are limited only by your imagination.  During the summer you can put a little olive oil on almost any vegetable and put it on the grill.  Try an ear of corn that has been husked, asparagus, sliced zucchini or eggplant, sliced sweet peppers - almost any kind of vegetable will work.  It is delicious and will amaze most of your friends with very little effort.

If you can garden, it is an excellent way to get children to try vegetables.  I have been involved with gardens at home and at day care, and children are fascinated by the growing process.  They have been willing to try things that they would never eat if they could pick them and take them in to the cook.  My children loved to graze on the beans and peas and things from the garden while they played outdoors.  My grandchildren were amazed to learn that brussel sprouts grew on "trees" and checked their progress daily. If you can't garden, try a pot with a tomato plant, or even a pot of basil on your steps.  It will look pretty, smell great, and the children will enjoy watering it and picking some to go in the supper.

If you cannot garden, go to the grocery store.  Produce has come a long way since the stores only had a few basics wrapped in shrink wrap.  Let the children handle them.  Talk about the size, the smell, and the color.  (Remember, children are tactile, sensory beings!).  With a little coaching, they can learn to pick out produce, count out the correct number, and weigh it.  During the summer farmer's markets abound, in addition to the public market.  Again, it is a great place for the family to walk, enjoy the sights and sounds, and find something good for dinner.

Remember: Children will never learn to enjoy their veggies if their parents (or their teachers!) turn their noses up at them!