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Overlooked Perks of Home School Part 2

October 14, 2011 in Simple Home School

(love this pic, we got it on the way to the library on monday.  I just love the way the sun shoots through the pic and leave lots of spots… this was a lucky shot… I am not good enough to figure out how to find this otherwise)

This is Part 2 of ‘Overlooked Perks of Home School.  See Part 1

S=Sunlight

This might be something where home school is better at avoiding. We try and stay out of the sun between 10 and 2 and then get outside time in the afternoon. Most outdoor periods at schools are during the middle of the day when the sunlight is the most dangerous to the skin.

T=Temperance

This is using good stuff wisely and avoiding the bad stuff. At the age of my kids I don’t think/hope that they would be dealing with drinking, drugs or cigarettes, but they do deal a lot with sugar. Sugar is everywhere for kids, free cookies at the store, suckers at the bank, treats from friends, bags of candy …. from seemingly everywhere. Sugar is also a main ingredient in most processed snacks that kids end up taking and eating in school (see nutrition in part 1). Sugar is unhealthy, addictive and makes it hard for kids to sit still and concentrate. These are all bad things for a learning environment. Sure, sugar is great, and we eat our share of deserts, but we can limit it at home much easier. … out of sight out of mind kind of idea.

(Really this is just a shot with Lily’s eyes closed, but I thought it looked like she was enjoying the air:))

A=Air

Do you know that most schools now can’t open the windows? My husband has worked on several schools and school remodels (he does construction) and most of the windows now are made not to open or to only open a crack. My first thought is fire safety, but fresh air is also super important for health as well as airing and cleaning out the germy air. As long as it isn’t crazy cold we have the windows open at least a crack all the time. Depending on the whether they are open early or late or both, but there is almost always air available.  I love the smell of fresh air!

R=Rest

This is another big one! Kids are kids, they have crazy days and they go through growth spurts. Sleep is not only important for health, but also for a properly functioning mind. Most of the time my kids wake up before 6:30 on their own…. I would prefer to stay in bed till 8 :) , but there are days when one or both of them sleeps in. With home school I never have to wake them up. If they miss some of the earlier classes, we can just catch up later in the day. It is way easier to teach a rested kid later than a tired zoned out one ‘on schedule’. We also have rest period in the afternoon. The kids don’t usually sleep (sometimes I get lucky and Ian falls asleep) but they have a quiet rest on their bed reading. … and I have a quiet house for a few minutes which is great for my sanity and health.

(Ian loves the monkey bars, but he isn’t quite big enough.  Here he wanted me to lift him up and let him hang for a while…. he loves ‘dropping’ into the sand below)

T=Trust in God

Often overlooked, this is super important to our physical health. Not only to learn about the Bible in school, but learn about how to incorporate Trust In God into our lives. It is something I am still learning, but it is an amazing key to health to let go of what we can’t control and trust God to handle it. … that right there can probably add more years to my/your life than any one of the other things in this list. Not sure if we are doing a better job at home school than a Christian school, but we are doing our best.

There you have it. Not saying that school is terrible or parents who send their kids to school are being unhealthy, just saying it is amazing how much easier most of these points are at home without even putting much time or effort into it. 

This is exciting to me. It is exciting when I see learning, social, and health benefits all coming from the same direction. … makes it easier to continue pressing on and makes me glad I made the decision to try home school.

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Simple Compassion-ADRA Helping Women in Balgladesh

October 11, 2011 in Simple Compassion

I wanted to help raise awareness of some huge world issues by highlighting some amazing things being done.  It is easy to feel overwhelmed when I hear of all the pain that so many people live through, but there is so much hope when people allow themselves to be used by God to be His hands.  Women especially have a hard time and I am excited to hear how this program is helping.  If you know of another great project that is making a difference, let me know!  Here is a link to the full article.

SILVER SPRING, Md. – In Bangladesh, women and girls struggle for equality due to patriarchal traditions of the country. This results in a minimized role in decision-making within family and social structures, leading to marginalization in a variety of areas, such as education and health. The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is improving the health status of women and their children through nutrition, hygiene, and skill training programs.

In the slum area of Mirpur, a suburb of the Bangladesh capital city Dhaka, ADRA is training new mothers and pregnant women health and nutrition methods to improve health conditions. Women are taught the importance of taking adequate care of themselves as well as their children through proper feeding, basic hygiene practices, monitoring children’s growth, and properly vaccinating children to prevent disease, such as polio. ADRA’s training has benefitted approximately 2,000 women and 500 severely malnourished children under the age of five, and an additional 10,000 household members indirectly.

For a number of years, a young mother by the name of Nargis (pictured above) and her husband Abdul Goni, have been living in the Chalantika slum with their three young children. Nargis expressed her family did not maintain proper hygiene within the home and admitted hand washing with soap after bathroom use was something they were not familiar with. A significant change in their lifestyle came after ADRA made a community visit to their home. Shortly thereafter, Nargis began attending ADRA’s hygiene, sanitation, and literacy classes.

Since joining, Nargis is now preparing nutritious meals for her family and monitors her children’s growth and health. She boils water to ensure it’s safe for her and her family to drink and has enrolled her two oldest sons into school. Nargis now shares what ADRA has taught her with her neighbors, and through her lifestyle changes, she has attracted many others to ask and learn these simple life-saving methods.

To learn more about ADRA’s humanitarian efforts, please contact ADRA at 1.800.424.ADRA (2372) or give online at www.adra.org

Follow ADRA on Twitter and Facebook to get the latest information as it happens.

ADRA is a global non-governmental organization providing sustainable community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race or ethnicity.

For more information about ADRA, visit www.adra.org

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Overlooked Perk of Homeschooling

October 7, 2011 in Simple Home School

It hit me a few days ago when I was trying to get my kids to eat broccoli and I was trying to explain to them that, when cooked right, broccoli still has just a bit of crunch…. that it isn’t supposed to smear when you try to cut it. 

Health is a big thing for me because it is very important for growing minds.  But it got me really got thinking about how much our homeschooling decision affects the kids health.  I decided to compare it to the Newstart program which I have always really respected and have also used to teach my kids health.  This is what I came up with.  Some offer only a slight difference while others offer a huge benefit.

N=Nutrition 

This, I believe is hugely different in a home school setting.  Sure there are great mothers who pack super healthy lunches and home school moms that don’t cook healthy, but for the most part kids at home are eating home cooked, fresh cooked, balanced meals.  It is just easier to do at home.  Taking a healthy lunch is hard to start with, and then there is ‘peer pressure’ or ‘lunch envy’ for the kids who get the most ‘junk’ in their lunch.  What is served at ‘hot’ school lunches can qualify for ‘warm’ (hopefully) food, but it is far from healthy, nutritious, or fresh. 

But that is just the obvious lunch problem.  There is breakfast, the most important meal of the day, that at home can be unhurried and balanced when kids are rushing out the door.  I have worked hard at cooking full breakfasts for the kids.  Sometimes it isn’t ready soon enough to get it in before our school starts at 7:15, but we can break for it at 7:45 and still have a full meal without being rushed. 

Snacks are also great.   Kids just function and think better when they aren’t hungry and we have a morning snack every day (sometimes an afternoon one, but the morning seems the most important).  For snack we usually cut up fruit or pop popcorn, but just having the kitchen close makes it easier to find something fresh and healthy.  My poor son goes through growth spurts that have him eating tones and still begging for food almost every hour.  At home there is always something on hand as well as time to stop and ‘re-fuel’.

Funny side note:  When I started homeschooling Lily at 5 I asked her what she thought of home school.  She answered “Oh mom, I love it.  At school we only got one snack (referring to pre-school) at home I get TWO snacks”  

Kids can’t think or learn hungry, or sugared up… They also can’t learn as well if they are missing vitamins or nutrients from an over processed, over stored, and over cooked diet.    This is not some great feet for a home schooling family, or that other families are mistreating their kids, it is just easier to eat nutritious at home.

E=Exercise

This probably is very different per school and per home school, but we try and make exercise really important in our day.  We have gone for a 2 mile walk, played at 2 different parks for a total of at least 3 hours, and gone swimming 3 times this week for a total of at least 4 hours.  Kids need to move.  I was super proud my kids both hiked the Grand Canyon this summer (ages 7 and 4). 

This is something families can easily still do when the kids aren’t at school, but I do believe home school makes it easier because of scheduling flexibility. 

 W=Water

This is simple, but super important.  I don’t know how the schools do it, but my kids have a cup of water at both their desks when they are working and drink regularly through the day. 

Got carried away with this post so I am breaking it into two parts.  Stay tuned for part 2 next friday! 

As I am getting ready to actually post this ‘part 1′ both kids have seemed to develop a fever…. they didn’t get the memo :)

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Forks Over Knives

September 30, 2011 in Simple Eating Blog

Much anticipated and desperately needed, the movie “Forks Over Knives” is now available! My husband and I watched it on Neflix (available for instant streaming).

Trailer and website.

Timely and life saving information in a great presentation.I am not sure where to start writing about it. I think everyone should watch it. If you don’t have Netflix, than you can sign up for a 30 day trial and watch it. If you do have Netflix… there is no excuse. (It is also available for rent from Amazon Forks Over Knives.)

The truth about food is out there, and it isn’t that complicated. Health and weight is not the mystery that it is made out to be For the most part it is really simple. However, in this case, simple isn’t always easy.

But simple is sure a good start. Society is bombarded with so much health advice that often contradicts, that it is dizzying. I have always been on a quest for health, and it is easy to head in a different direction with every book or every fad trying to find the ‘secret’. It is frustrating, time-consuming and expensive.

The truth is that all the health push on our society for the last 50 or so years isn’t working.  People are getting fatter and getting diet related diseases more and more.

‘Forks Over Knives’ takes the work of experts in the field. It tells the story of The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted And the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss, And Long-term Healthby Dr Collin Campbell.

I loved this book when I first read it, and it was neat to see him and hear more about how all his research was done. The movie also interviews and follows other well-known experts in the field.

The only drawback I see with this movie is that it is too much to cover in a video. Just like almost any other movie that has roots in books, the book has key information that isn’t/can’t all be included in the movie.

I have trouble tackling the subject down to write about. Depending on who you are, one or more of these is a big issue for you:

  • Cancer
  • Obesity
  • Heart Disease
  • Lots of other diseases
  • Fresh water supply
  • Endangered Animals
  • Rainforests
  • Cruelty to Animals
  • Ozone Layer

… and many other reasons all have the same answer. A whole foods, plant-based diet. It doesn’t answer everything in each point, but it is arguably the most important factor in all of them.

Along with the movie some of the best books on the topic that I would recommend are:

The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted And the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss, And Long-term Health

In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto

Food Revolution, The: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our WorldHealthy Living Books)

It is a big deal, but it is simple. Not easy, but significant

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Rice and Seitan Part 2

August 31, 2011 in Vegan Simple Eating Recipes

This works great with leftovers from the other seitan meal.   I just love the combo of brown rice, seitan and peas for color, nutritional balance, and price.

Fry chopped up seitan till browned a bit, add boiled brown rice and frozen peas.  I add in liquid amino (or soy sauce).  Other left overs could probably go in here too.  Simple, cheap and filling!

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Dads Salad

July 21, 2011 in Vegan Simple Eating Recipes

My dad made this salad when we came up to visit him a week ago. It was fabulous, so I wanted to share it. Salad can be a meal, but it has to be more than just iceberg lettuce and ranch. The idea with cooking shouldn’t be low fat it should be high nutrition. With high and balance nutrition, not only will the family be healthier, they will also be full till the next meal and not feel starved.

Dad’s Salad

  • Spinach (could also use another good deep green leaf or a combo) Tomato, Carrots, Zucchini, Yellow Peppers (could put in all kinds of other veggies, whatever is cheap and in season)
  • Veggie Hot Dog slices and chick peas (protein, could also put in beans or just lots of chick peas, I love them!)
  • Soy Cheese, olives (fat, could put in any cheese, nuts, olives, or flax meal. This, with the protein is what is filling and lasts so)
  • Strawberries (something sweet, could be any fruit, some people do raisins or crasins, but I don’t like them in salads)
  • Dressing is made from lemon juice, lime juice and olive oil (About 1 to 1 to 2 or 3 ratio). Other spices that taste really good are dill, garlic, rosemary, basil, chives or small amounts of ginger, curry. (not all at the same time)

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Tofu Salad

June 23, 2011 in Vegan Simple Eating Recipes

Had this fabulous salad last Tuesday.  We got lettuce from my in-laws farm that was really good.  They sent us home with so much I have been eating it 1-2 times a day all week.

Just a salad doesn’t fill me up so I have made this one several times.  First I fried extra firm tofu with a bit of olive oil, garlic, dill, nutritional yeast, Cayenne and soy sauce.  Then I mixed the lettuce, tofu, tomatoes, some seasoned sliced almonds (I found on clearance at Big Lots) and green olives (I love olives), in a big mixing bowl with Trader Joe’s Goddess Dressing.  This was restaurant ready… I loved it!  I had a huge plate and it was full of fresh vegetables, with a mix of fat and protein.  Lovely.  Can’t get the kids to eat lettuce so they didn’t want to try it.  My husband liked it but didn’t go for to much of the tofu (but he claimed it ‘wasn’t bad’)

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The Cheapest, Simplest, Substance to Get Past My Lips

June 23, 2011 in Simple Eating Blog

I wanted to start out with the simplest and foundational substance–Water. Most people have heard that humans need to drink ‘8 glass a day’. It is clearly the cheapest, simplest and undeniably the healthiest liquid ,we can find.

The body is estimated to be about 60 to 70 percent water. Blood is mostly water, and your muscles, lungs, and brain all contain a lot of water. Your body needs water to regulate body temperature and to provide the means for nutrients to travel to all your organs. Water also transports oxygen to your cells, removes waste, and protects your joints and organs.” Source

Why do we need to drink water?

Instead of addressing the need for water in more detail, I wanted to write about why is it so hard to get our water and how to get more? I believe a big reason is because we have so many other drinks. If someone already has drinks with most meals and drinks between meals they aren’t near as thirsty and don’t think of drinking water. So, I would propose drinking only water. With drinking only water, one not only gets the health benefits they also benefit from the following:

1. It is the best drink for kids! What other drink can they get for themselves, drink all they want, drink from old cups (ever found sippy cups of milk under the couch… not healthy), drink anywhere in the house or car or while wearing their best cloths, cleans their teeth and doesn‘t make them hyper? Speaks for itself. If given the choice most kids don’t choose water, but if it is the only choice they soon get used to it. If you are only drinking water and there isn’t other options around they can probably get used to it even faster than most adults.

2. Avoiding hidden calories-Depending on the drink there can be 10 to 1000+ calories per cup. Even if you are only getting 100 calories from drinks per day that adds up to more than 10 pounds a year! Not only that, it often has no nutritional value. I think this is a major cause of weight issues.

For example: a cup of apple juice (from frozen concentrate) is 112 calories (source) where 1 cup (or about 1 whole) raw apple is only 65 calories (source) and fills the stomach and lasts longer.

3. Avoiding added ‘non-foods’-drinks are a crazy place for added colors, heavily processed sugars, flavorings… I could go on but you get the idea. Even  fruit juices have preservatives that your body doesn’t need.

Should it be bottled?

There is arguments all over the place with bottled or not. The truth is that lots (I have heard up to 2/3rds) of bottled water is just tap water put into bottles and then sold for an incredible mark up. There might be an argument for higher end bottled water, but for the most part, bottled water isn’t any healthier than my own tap water. If I get stuck thirsty somewhere, and don’t have my refillable bottles with me, I buy water because it is the healthiest choice to buy. If I can get tap water… I don’t spend for bottled. There is also a very real argument against all the bottles creating a strain in production and disposal on the environment.

However, tap water isn’t always perfect and a good filter system hooked to the tap or filter pitchers are the best!

What if water just doesn’t taste good?

Fresh lemon juice is great to add to water. Or as I read in ‘The Cure Heal Your Body, Save Your Life’ by Dr. Timothy Brantley add fresh lemon, some sea salt, some real maple syrup and a bit of cayenne pepper to your water. These all (in small doses) help hydrate the cells even better. (in his book there is lots more water information and recommendations)

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