Monday’s Tattler

Today is Monday – for better or worse. Yes, we’re open. We will be open today and tomorrow.

Today and tomorrow we will be looking at the Polar ice regions. We will tour the North Pole by film and then look at Shackelton’s exploration of the South Pole. Very exciting business.

Polar exploration is always exciting for the children who can understand what at least some of it means.

We will be able to go outside today – it will be in the fifties! Please do not send children in boots today. It is just too hard for kids to spend the day lugging heavy boots all over the school; it’s exhausting!

Mrs. St. Louis is still in Australia, and Miss Kelly is in Kansas, so Miss Amy’s sister, Miss Nila will be helping out today. Mr. Terry will come in later. It will be a nice day.

Chicken for lunch.

We hope you all had a marvelous 1/2 break, and a wonderful Christmas. Time is moving so fast… Calendars will go out today, and report cards on the 9th.

Please look at the new list calendar on the right of the blog. This helps parents know right away that something is up for the day, the week, the month. Please keep an eye on this.

See you later…

Something New Under the Sun

PARENTS BEWARE: Fat Tie is converting little devils into darling angels, one shirt at a time.

Sherman Oaks, CA (December 2008)—They may not solve the current economic crisis in this country, but Fat Tie’s hip, new shirt and tie alternatives are definitely
causing widespread celebration. If you don’t believe it, just put your kid in a Fat Tie and start counting how many compliments he gets.
Designed from 100% organic pre-shrunk cotton, these ingenious tees will take your rough and tumble tot from the schoolyard to a fancy family function.
Throw on a jacket and bam! He’s even ready for a black tie event.

Take it from SAHM mom, Christie, who says Fat Tie saved her sister’s marriage (well, almost)! “My boys would rather eat broccoli than be stuffed into a collared shirt and tie.
Fat Tie with a jacket took the pain out of getting the boys dressed for my sister’s wedding and made it fun.”

Inspired by her four-year-old son, Max, Mari Gallen decided to create shirts that combine the dressed-up look of a button down and tie with the durability of a cotton tee.
Mari loves how sharp her son looks in the shirts. Max loves how the shirts don’t interfere with his fun.

The striped ties, made from organic cotton thermal fabric, are sewn on top gray, white or chocolate long sleeve organic knit tees and are available in sizes 2T, 3T, 4, 5, 6 & 7.

For more information go HERE!

Sunday’s Food

Ketchup anyone?

Ketchup (also spelled catsup or catchup), also known as tomato ketchup, tomato sauce, red sauce, Tommy sauce, Tommy K, or dead horse is an American tradition.

What exactly is ketchup? Have you ever asked yourself, “What’s in the bottle so readily enjoyed by kids?” According to Wikipedia: The ingredients in a typical modern ketchup are tomato concentrate, spirit vinegar, corn syrup or other sugar, salt, spice and herb extracts (including celery), spice and garlic powder Allspice, cloves, cinnamon, onion, and other vegetables may be included.

Tomato Ketchup History

By 1801 a recipe for tomato ketchup was printed in an American cookbook, the Sugar House Book. James Mease published another recipe in 1812. In 1824 a ketchup recipe appeared in The Virginia Housewife, an influential 19th-century cookbook written by Mary Randolph, Thomas Jefferson‘s cousin.

As the century progressed, tomato ketchup began its ascent in popularity in the United States, influenced by the American enthusiasm for tomatoes. Tomato ketchup was sold locally by farmers. A man named Jonas Yerks (or Yerkes) is believed to have been the first man to make tomato ketchup a national phenomenon. By 1837 he had produced and distributed the condiment nationally. Shortly thereafter, other companies followed suit. F. & J. Heinz launched their tomato ketchup in 1876. Heinz tomato ketchup was advertised: “Blessed relief for Mother and the other women in the household!”

Americans have always had a love affair with the tomato. There are many people who can’t do without a tomato at least once a day. You find them everywhere and made into just about anything. They are pretty, nutritious and a welcome addition to just about anything but ketchup, but according to Wikipedia:

Ketchup has been shown to provide significant health benefits but many argue that these benefits are offset by the food’s salt and sugar content. Ketchup has been found to be a beneficial source of lycopene, an antioxidant which may help prevent some forms of cancer. This is particularly true of the organic brands of ketchup. In fact, organic brands were found to contain three times as much lycopene as non-organic brands. Ketchup, much like marinara sauce and other cooked tomato foods, yields higher levels of lycopene per serving because cooking makes lycopene in tomatoes more bio-available.

So why does something made with a ton of tomatoes continue to take it on the nose?

Perhaps because American ketchup has come to be associated with something socially unacceptable. Has ketchup become a silent struggle between the classes a little like bad table wine? I can remember a dozen lectures from my mother on table wine. She was bound and determined that I would drink the right wine. Some wines were acceptable, she would say, and some were not. It didn’t matter what you liked; it only mattered what the right people were drinking. I never quite bought those right wines. I drink floor wine – a commonly used euphemism by my children for the gallon variety we park on the floor of the kitchen. I use wine for just about everything I do in the kitchen.

My mother drank Pinot Gresio which to me tastes like pino gasolino. It’s really a matter of taste just like a lot of other things.

One problem with ketchup might be the sugar content. It’s the third ingredient just after vinegar. Yet ketchup has no more sugar per tablespoon than store bought yogurt.

One of my favorite dishes I make is one packed with ketchup and called Piggie Pie. Men love this dish! The kids love it too, and I had no idea until I researched ketchup that the meal is filled with lycopene.

The recipe is: equal amounts of brown sugar, ketchup and fruit juice boiled as a barbecue sauce for pork.

Ketchup is a marvelous kitchen helper. Added to pot roast, stew, crock pots, meatloaf, barbecue sauces and marinades, ketchup helps break down meat and actually helps make a difficult cut of meat a whole lot easier to cook. As an ingredient in homemade salad dressing, ketchup is the one ingredient that will change a tasteless, overbearing mess into a palatable substance nearly every single time.

Ketchup is loved by children and can actually increase a child’s desire to eat. So go ahead and dip, pour, glop and dab – ketchup is a part of Americana that isn’t going to go away, and we should be grateful because ketchup is a many splendored thing!

The Bad Guy

Here is a neat little article about food science. It’s apparently the enemy of most. I can appreciate that because no one who reads a food article says to themselves, “Wow, I’m right on target with that one!” Food science and articles are not meant to be self deprecating ammunition, nor are articles about food supposed to be a test of faithfulness to God, family and country in that order. They are simply information to be ingested much the way a lovely deep chocolate fudge or a big helping of roast turkey is supposed to be eaten. It’s supposed to be fun to learn!

Why is Food Science the “Baddie” for Consumers

Food continues to be singled out by fear-mongering tabloids and the mainstream media: Additives are evil, processed food is the devil’s home-brew, salt is everywhere, children are hyperactive, and Irish pork is poison. Let’s all boo!

For more of this article go HERE.

Monday’s Tattler

Today is Monday and we are out of school. This is our rest time before the winter push to spring. Every year the calendar allows us a great racing start, then Holiday Session seems to take over with Halloween followed closely by the big Thanksgiving Play, and then it’s push, push, push to Christmas. This is my only time off during the year, and that only means I don’t teach. I am at school two hours every day to make sure the animals are fed and clean, that the jobs pushed off to “sometime” get done. Saturday I took down the tree and put some decorations away. Yesterday, I cleaned out all the storage from the Girl’s bathroom, and today I have to clean animal pens and finish yesterday’s work.

That’s the business of owning a business. You have to be there to take care of things. But on the home front, I’m practicing yoga as often as I can, and I send all the book revisions off today.

I recall Friday with great joy. It was a wonderful day filled with children’s delight. We went to the Nutcracker Suite and the children were so wonderfully behaved, it was a delight to watch them. They all really liked the ballet. I remember the faces of sheer wonder as the dancers performed, which they did wonderfully well. We went back to school to pizza and fruit, and the played outside for at least an hour. Then we sang for Santa until he came and delivered all the gifts. The party was wonderful, and if Isaac is reading, I want to thank him especially for his wonderful gift.

I am always surprised by the generosity of parents when it comes to the treats brought to school for our parties. The spread was wonderful and the kids seemed to enjoy it so much.

This Christmas we were able to supply Christmas for a very ill family, do an incredible fund raiser, a really cute play, a Christmas sing, and still learn lots of things at school. It’s been a great season. And now it’s time to get in gear for the big learning push from January through Easter.

Many thanks to Austin’s family for all they did for us this Christmas. Many joys to them at this special time.

Please think of Mrs. St. Louis who is in Australia right now. She flew to Chicago on Saturday a.m. then off to San Francisco, and at Midnight our time, took off across the Pacific for Australia 17 hours later. Wow – that’s a lady who can do that. She is visiting her family outside Sidney.

Have a blessed Christmas,

Judy

The Twelve Days of Christmas


Here is the Children’s version of the Twelve Days of Christmas:

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas my parents gave to me:

Twelve luxury hotels; my own beautiful mountain; ten days upon the moon; nine herds of horses; eight pounds of diamonds; seven Serengeti summers; six trips around the world; five golden bikes; four trips to Heaven; three riding butterflies; two skyscraper playgrounds and a computer and a shiny new desk!

It’s always funny to hear what they come up with. One child offered a coffee pot. Anyway, I thought it was a hoot.

Speaking of hoots: If you are reading this, and you mention that you regularly read the blog, you will be put into a drawing for a nice gift. We are doing this because we are trying to make the blog the newspaper for the school. Nearly everyone has Internet access, and we are noticing that fewer and fewer parents are reading either the notes sent home or the calendar or the special agenda papers or the parent board or are they listening to the verbal announcements. On the day we expected the Santa Gifts to arrive, 13 out of 37 arrived, and some of those included a sibling.

Judy

Monday’s Tattler

Today was a peaceful day! The children were very well behaved for a Monday. We were forced to stay inside all day.

We sent yet another child home sick. There are several bugs out there and they are all nasty. Poor Isaac lost his cookies all over the bathroom floor.

We made several Christmas decorations today which were very funny and very pretty at the same time. The kids seemed to like to create and make knowing they would be a little treasure on their tree. Miss Judy made caramel and we at most of it. It was a great consolation prize during musical chairs, and it was a nice prize for being able to recite the entire Night Before Christmas like Jill.

Miss Beve arrived this morning with our pictures. She stayed around a few minutes to take a picture of Miss Judy for the book I have coming out in January. No it’s not about childcare – it’s a slapstick comedy about Catholic Parish life. It’s being published by Whiskey Creek Press.

We have finished our Twelve Days of Christmas a la the GS. It’s a hoot. It includes such memorable gifts as 3 riding butterflies and 7 Serengeti Summers. The kids had fun compiling it and we put it all together in a song we will sing on Friday to hail in Santa.

Please get your child’s Christmas gift in soon. Wednesday is the deadline. This gift should look like a Santa Workshop toy. If you have questions, please ask Miss Judy.

Tomorrow might be very nasty out. Please watch for school closings. If Warrick or Vanderburgh are closed, so are we. If school is delayed two hours, we will open at 9:00.

Tomorrow, if we are in school, we will be facing another indoor day. We will fill the day with games and fun and more creativity.

This Made My Day!

Dear Judy,

I am happily married, have 3 grown kids, and 4 grandkids. The kids and grandkids are deployed Stateside.

I lived in Bloomington, IN for about 15 years before I came to Taiwan in 1990. I came across your site by searching for “best little” plus “by a damsite.”

I have a couple things to say to you.

One.
I have a nephew who is severely autistic. And my observations of how this developed are these. His mother did not really like the baby, did not talk to the baby. She would prepare a bottle when necessary, or change diapers, but generally preferred to read a book. I had never seen anything like it. I thought it was sad, and thought at the time that if she had breastfed, she might have “taken” better as a mother. But that was out of the question. Now some 16 or so years later, she is much more reconciled, more willing, in her role as caretaker, but it is far from the joy it might have been. The father is loving, and pretty much exemplary, but often gone, earning a living for all of them.

Anyway, I liked what I read of yours about troubled processors. It rang some bells.

Two.
Not sure if you may be open to such sources or not, but Edgar Cayce recommended raw pineapple juice, in quantity of about two or three small glasses per week, as a help to hyperactive children. Can’t say I have tried this on children, but from my experiences with other Cayce remedies, and my own feeling of peacefulness the day after consuming raw pineapple, I think it would be worth a try. Note that the pineapple juice must be fresh; canned or cooked is probably worthless. I recall no discussion of causal mechanisms, just that it would work. Which is the important thing, anyway.

It occurs to me that you might be a person to try this, given your interest in high energy kids, and in nutrition.

Thanks for your time, and best regards,
Miles Odonnol
Tech writer