Something for Moms

I got this from Susie E. and thought it was hilarious. I know there are lots of dads who do all these things, and we’d like to hear from them. Is there one of these for men?

The Next Television Survivor Series

Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks.

Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.

There is no fast food.

Each man must take care of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, and complete science projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of ‘pretend’ bills with not enough money.

In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.

Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time–no Emailing.

Each man must also take each child to a doctor’s appointment, a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment.

He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care.

He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.

Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times.

The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.

The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, adorn himself with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed.

During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties.

They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.

They will need to read a book to the kids each night and in the morning, feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair by 7:00 am.

A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: each child’s birthday, height, weight, shoe size, clothes size and doctor’s name. Also the child’s weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labor, each child’s favorite color, middle name, favorite snack, favorite song, favorite drink, favorite toy, biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up.

The kids vote them off the island based on performance. The last man wins only if…he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment’s notice.

If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years eventually earning the right To be called Mother!

Good Morning!

There’s a snow storm in New York. That’s exciting. It means we are finally leaving summer behind and entering the lovely “darker” seasons. It’s great for the kids to experience such wonderful seasonal changes. As you have probably noticed, the leaves are just beginning to change. I remember when they were pretty much down by Halloween, and we tromped through them on the way from door to door. Such an exciting time !!

Yesterday Miss Amy tirelessly kicked off the fund raiser. She has done a fantastic job finding just the right thing, and we are all very excited by all her efforts. This is what makes the GS a wonderful place to be. It’s what I always call the “care taking” element. The GS has always been a safe haven for many people at many times. We built our little school with the idea that it was more than a school. It was a “place to be” for families. That’s why we do the parties and the picnics and the field trips. A child’s life is greater than any one of those things, and so those things become a part of a child’s life, which in turn is part of a family. We serve families and that’s our mission.

The fund raiser helps our little place with the extras we couldn’t afford otherwise, and having someone as warm and happy and enthusiastic and brilliant as our Miss Amy makes the school the kind of place people want to be a part of and that’s what makes it a success.

Please take note of your children’s art around the school. You are welcome to take it home on Friday after the party. If you don’t collect it, we will send it home on Monday.

Goblins!

A New Taste Treat Delight!

I provided healthy snacks at the Literacy Fair at Chandler School last night. It was a nice evening with Mary Jo Huff as the entertainment. My job was to provide healthy treats for all the parents and children. I used the usual treats our kids get at the Garden School. I served chocolate cake, ginger bread cookies, chocolate chip cookies, cinnamon muffins, cranberry and walnut muffins and peanut butter pie for 200. It was well received.

It’s funny how parents are always leery about strange food for their kids, but once they tried the cookies and muffins, most of them came back for the recipes. Food is mostly only thought about when we are hungry or when it’s right in front of you. Preparing food is a skill, and it takes a lot of thought. When you consider how much food makes or shakes our health, it’s worth the time and effort to make it count NOW not when we suddenly find ourselves with heart or kidney trouble and it’s too late. Children today have the arteries of 40 year olds because of what they eat, and that’s not going away any time soon.

This morning I’m publishing a great article from World’s Healthiest Foods about sea vegetables. This is our new thing. I must the Asian store for this I’m sure, but … well you read the article and see if you think it’s something to try:

Go HERE for the article.

A History Lesson for a Sunday

I got this from Edith.

If any of you have ever been to a military funeral in which Taps was played?

This little history lesson brings out a new meaning to Taps.

Most of us have heard the haunting song, ‘Taps’. It’s the song that gives us that lump in our throats and usually tears in our eyes. It all began in 1862 during the Civil War, when Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison ‘s Landing in Virginia. The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land. During the night, Captain Ellicombe heard the moans of a soldier who lay severely wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate soldier, the Captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention.

Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, the Captain reached the stricken soldier and began pullinghim toward his encampment. When the Captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead. The Captain lit a lantern and suddenly caught his breath and went numb with shock. In the dim light, he saw the face of the soldier. It was his own son. The boy had been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, the boy enlisted in the Confederate Army.

The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his superiors to give his son a full military burial, despite his enemy status. His request was only partially granted. The Captain had asked if he could have a group of Army band members play a funeral dirge for his son at the funeral. The request was turned down since the soldier was a Confederate. But, out of respect for the father, they did say they could give him only one musician. The Captain chose a bugler. He asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes he had found on a piece of paper in the pocket of the dead youth’s uniform. This wish was granted.

The haunting melody, we now know as ‘Taps’ used at military funerals was born. The words are:

Day is done … Gone the sun From the lakes … From the hills …From the sky . All is well. Safely rest .. God is nigh.

Fading light .. Dims the sight .. And a star … Gems the sky Gleaming bright from afar .. Drawing nigh.

Falls the night. Thanks and praise … For our days. Neath thesun … Neath the stars… Neath the sky. As we goThis we know .. God is nigh.

I too have felt chills while listening to ‘Taps’ but I have never seen all the words to the song until now. I didn’t even know there was more than one verse. I also never knew the story behind the song and I didn’t know if you had either, so I thought I’d pass it along.

Please remember our Armed Forces every day.

The Garden School Tattler


Good morning!

It’s a lovely rainy day, and do we ever need rain!

As you have probably not noticed, we have had our front garden FINALLY done by Miss Amy’s family. It looks marvelous, and it’s guaranteed to stay put! We are trying to get the garden tilled and a new place for the strawberries for next spring. That will do it until next spring.

Looking ahead is an important part of running the school. Looking at the children and what they will need in the immediate future as well as the long range future is the only way of managing their education and their young lives away from home.

Manners, appropriate responses, the ability to listen, the ability to put the right appropriate answers with a question, and the ability to understand the rules and follow directions are things that a child will take with them into a very unfriendly world!

One of the things we have had problems with this week is a failure to use the bathroom at assigned times. We have eight assigned times to use the toilet and to wash our hands. Children are welcomed to use the bathroom at any time with the exception of being out on the playground. If they must use the bathroom, they may, but they must turn in their medals for the privilege. Here’s the problem. We all line up to USE the bathroom, and they play and never get the job done. They are all asked, “Did you use the bathroom,” and the answer is always yes, and then about five kids will get to the playground and say, “I have to go to the bathroom.”

A teacher must take the child to the bathroom and leave only one teacher watching the kids, or send the disobedient child to the bathroom hoping that the teacher indoors will stop what she is doing and keep an eye on the child. Mostly, it’s a “fool around” problem, and the child sent is only interested in the new toy.

We eat in a very orchestrated manner. We all wash our hands, we sit at our table with our hands in our lap and wait for everyone to be seated. We take roll for the food program, we are told what is on our plates, and we pray and then we eat. The kids are wonderful at this and it makes table time such a joy. We have increased our eating and our manners by 100%.

In the afternoon, we have a fast an furious French class. The children again go to the bathroom and wash their hands after eating, and then straggle into French class. I start teaching when there are five children present. We start with hellos and then move to song or prayer or animal identification. When everyone is gathered, we count, or review vocabulary. This straggle in method of organization keeps the stragglers from disrupting the class. They come in and sit and start right away. But this doesn’t work for every class.

Yesterday we did a world social studies and world map thing with both the little group and the big group. Some of the children in Miss Amy’s class were able to identify North America, South America, Africa, and Asia. It was amazing how much they have learned. The younger children loved the map and are learning to color, so it was not a waste of time for them.

Today is a fine arts day in the PM. We will do theatre after lunch. The kids really like this. I think today we will do the story of The Little Red Hen.

We are writing the Thanksgiving play now, and it looks really cute. We will cast it next week, and begin our practice shortly after Halloween.

Have a great day!

The Garden School Tattler

Good morning!

Another spectacular day – weather wise! It’s a day for just about any kind of clothing. The sun will be bright and very warm, and there will be a nice little chill in the air on the playground. Toward the end of afternoon recess, the sun will be very warm, and the children will be hot and thirsty. Yesterday we had bug juice on the playground and today, we just might do the same thing. Bug juice is lemon aid with a berry juice blend.

Yesterday we looked at Europe with an emphasis on Italy. We had a story from France – Puss in Boots. I love that story because of all the possibilities and the fact the wonderful cat takes advantage of just about every raw material around him. If you are going to do something great, do it like Puss with gusto and nerve!

We are hoping that we can kick off this year’s fundraiser on Thursday. We are waiting for the brochures to arrive.

Today is Africa day. We will take a tour of Africa by book and by film. We will eat peanut encrusted chicken, rice with peanuts and yams and pineapple for lunch. Peanuts came from Africa as did yams. It will be a favorite lunch.

The new playground toy is a smashing success. It’s always completely filled with lines waiting.

If our fundraiser is successful, we will be able to buy the new fence, but also put the sandbox back together with great new “covered” sand. We will be able to buy some new trucks and cars for outside use, and a new wagon or two. We are always looking for pea gravel options.

Our children spend more time on recess than any other early childhood place because we don’t nap. We play and learn instead of sleep. This makes our kids tired at the end of the day, but tired at the end of the day is better than wired at 10:00 p.m. because they slept all day.

The K-1 class is beginning to collect bugs. We want to do this with our middle class, Miss Amy’s class as well, but we need cigar boxes. If you have any, please bring them to school.

Have a great day!

The Garden School Tattler


Good morning!

It’s going to be a great week for “outside!” With a chill in the morning and sun all week, and temps climbing into the higher 60s and 70s we couldn’t ask for nicer weather. I hope it holds for Halloween because the kids will be quite comfy in their costumes.

This week is The World of Nations week. United Nations Day is this week, and we will be beginning our look at the world of nations. Today we will find out about Central and South America and the Spanish roots. We will eat a traditional lunch from Mexico. I looked for quinoa and couldn’t find any at Schnucks.

This weekend Miss Amy and I went to lunch and discussed our fundraiser. We will be sending out letters this week about it. It is strictly volunteer, but all your help is needed and appreciated.

We got the big prize for the Beautiful Baby Contest. Amy and I bought a delightful teeter totter airplane at Rural King on Sunday. It seats seven. It was ten dollars more than what we made with the contest. This kind of little fundraiser allows us to buy the big kinds of things we ordinarily couldn’t buy. We operate on a shoestring. Teachers salaries are low and expenses are high, and we are always robbing Peter to pay Paul, but that’s the way a small business is. We had roof damage during the storm, and the bill was $600.00. Luckily, Mr. Phil and Mr. Terry were able to put it right for 1/3 of that.

We know tuition is high and it’s a struggle for most parents. That’s why we try to provide all your child’s art supplies and most of your school supplies. The extras have to come from donations and fundraisers. Right now, we desperately need a new fence, a sand box upgrade and work on the front yard. A small business is always a work in progress.

We also thought about doing an in school, last of the day, Discovery Toy party as a convenience to parents. Discovery Toys are great toys and very educational, but you can’t just buy them. We thought if we had a display at school at the end of the day, parents could look at them. They are great for Christmas. Christmas is coming up quick. I need some feedback on this 😉 If we do this, the school will get a portion of toys which we will keep for January.

Halloween is our next big event. We encourage the kids to dress up and wear their costume all day. We have three nursing homes to visit Halloween day, and we thought we would take the kids out to lunch. Then in the PM there is a party at 3:00. We will tidy the children and have them ready to leave the GS at 4:00 for trick or treat.

Thanksgiving follows with our play on the Friday before Thanksgiving. It’s a big month!

The Garden School Tattler

Good Morning!

We had a wonderful day out yesterday. We went to Angel Mounds and had a delightful hour at the museum. The inside of the museum has changed so much over the years. There were lots of other visitors and one lady from Eastern Europe who was just fascinated by what she was reading.

Our children were well behaved, but really wanted to bolt.

We got to see and touch all the tools that the ancient Native Americans, the Mississippians used. There was a drill the kids liked especially. We got to see and touch a lot of animal hides and a wooden canoe.

Then we went out on the property to see the grounds. We walked around the whole thing. It was a glorious day! Nathan found a skeleton of a snake, and he decided he would donate it to the museum. We gave it to his friend Haley who works there. It was really so cute.

We picnicked at the Fortress of Fun and then came home to some stories and play at school. All in all a great day!

We are so waiting for the leaves changing. Perhaps by Halloween we will get to see some colors.

Another Reason to Serve Milk at Dinner!

Vitamin D has been in the news a lot the past few weeks. Everyone is talking about this quiet little vitamin. Doctors tell women, “Take vitamin D” because “You probably aren’t getting enough.” But we never learn why we should and what will happen to us if we don’t.

There was a study done recently about how children don’t get outside enough. The old days of play, play, play outside are gone, and that children are consuming great quantities of soda pop and leaving the milk in the refrigerator. They are missing the vitamin D, but we still don’t know why.

We make sure that every child is served three cups of milk every day at school. We also make sure that every child goes outside for at least 1.5 hours a day.

There has been a new study about milk and Parkinson’s Disease, and this testing is not controversial at all. It seems that patients with Parkinson’s have much less vitamin D in their bodies than they should. Same with Alzheimer’s patients.

Another good reason to serve milk at dinner – and to everyone! For adults milk, with its vitamin D, might just postpone old age another few decades. The source for vitamin D is the sun and the basic food source is milk, so drink up and go outside more!

To read the article on the new study, go HERE.