Femininity is an interesting idea. What is it? Is it still useful in the early twenty-first century? Who is feminine and who is not? Does femininity disburse when the work starts? Or do those who are feminine just scatter or “swoon” when the work starts? Is femininity something of value? Is it a natural trait? Is it a cosmetic thing or is it from the heart? What does this illusive trait mean?

Two years ago, a pair of sisters told me I was the least feminine person they knew. I suppose it was because I could open the gallon pickle jars and they couldn’t. I thought a lot about that for a long time because the idea or the definition of femininity didn’t come with pickle jars for me. It came with a much deeper meaning.

Is femininity really and truly measured in the depth of pancake makeup, the length of finger nails, the showiest clothes, the jangly-est earrings, the latest fashions, the best car, the nicest hair cut…or is femininity something that comes from the heart and manifests itself in generosity, kindness, and affection for others?

When I think of manliness, I think of a man who will defend me at all costs. I think of a service man, a policeman, a fireman who will go into situations to make me safe. I don’t care if he wears a dress in public, a man who will defend me against perpetrators is a masculine man. That ability to go into combat comes from a conviction that it’s his job and his duty. He puts self away to protect those around him. If he’s wearing a pink tutu while he’s loading his gun, who cares?

At the same time, someone who is feminine also has duties, and those duties and the ability to fulfill those duties well reflect on her ability to be feminine. Women in marriage naturally give life. It’s a product of marriage. When that happens, the chain of events also demands that this woman give time, talent and treasure to the family she has naturally produced – without ceasing. It’s the prayer of the feminine woman. Can the wife and mother who announces, “I don’t do domestic things” be a truly feminine person? “I don’t know how to…” fill in the blank. Can this ever be a good and positive response to a woman’s life?

What are the needs of the family she has created, and who will provide for that need if she refuses? Should the man in the tutu provide for her job as well? Will that make him feminine? Is there a need for the feminine contribution, or can we just depend on anything and everything to do it for us because we don’t want to?

Roles have certainly changed in the last one hundred years. Women dictate a lot of what they will and won’t do. Is this a femininity booster or is this in fact a femininity destroyer?

When I think of the ultimate woman, I think of someone who can and does it all. Someone who can achieve a good public voice, someone who can manage a home, entertain, be successful at any job, manage children, and entertain the kind of hobbies that produce good. But more than anything I think of someone who is understanding, someone who is generous, kind, and involved with others. The last thing that occurs to me is what someone is wearing, driving, or their hair cut. And the fact that she can open a pickle jar…

So how does this effect the treatment and care of children? Teaching a child to live up to his or her potential means offering ideas based on truth. If a girl likes building, that means her mathematical interests are growing – support that, encourage that and help that grow. Let her take her interest in the direction that makes her happy. She is learning good things.

If a boy likes messing around in the kitchen, that’s wonderful. Let him mix and mash and organize all he wants. He might become a great chef, a chemist, a biologist, a forensics master.

Interests are precious and particular, and children will openly voice their likes and dislikes about what they do. My favorite example is paper mache. Children are not allowed to get their hands dirty today, and that’s the reason there is so much illness now, but that’s another topic. So paper mache is not considered “fun” by many children, both boys and girls, who can’t stand goo on their hands.

Let’s talk about goo on the hands. Life can’t be lived well with no goo. May I suggest kneeding bread, changing a diaper, cleaning, gardening, art…are these things we shy away from because they are NOT feminine? Is the feminine mystique so “pillowed and protected” that we lose these activities in favor of something encased in plastic? Sounds a bit like a return to endentured servatude.

As an advocate of reaching the “real child” in all they do and all they can do, the idea of feminine and masculine can be reached from many sides and many avenues. There is a natural law which dictates certain things, but that’s fundamental, and given. The avenues to the natural should be fun and filled with all kinds of choices.

My advice for parents is not to shorten those paths with a rediculously cheapened version of either masculinity or femininity.

Good Morning.

I hope the kids had a great time last Friday. It was certainly exciting and something new.

This week we will concentrate on swimming. It will be nice all week, and we will be getting the kids into the water to jump and then swim back to the side of the pool. This is a big step in learning to swim. We have about 10 kids who are really ready to go off the board. Zoey is our latest swimmer.

On Monday, spelling words will be given out. Please study one or two words with your child every day on the way to and from school. So far our results have been awful! I am saving these tests to make a book at the end of the summer. Some of these books should never be made! Please study with your child. It’s a parent and me time.

Tuesday we will swim and picnic at Newburgh Community Center.

Wedensday we will also swim and picnic at the NCC.

Thursday is our last day of school this week. We will be closed on Friday. On Thursday, we will have our spelling test.

If you have any questions, please ask Miss Judy.

Edith sent this and I just love it. Enjoy:

Bananas contain three natural sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world’s leading athletes.

But energy isn’t the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression:
According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills – eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases.. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a ‘cooling’ fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body’s water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around. So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, ‘A banana a day keeps the doctor away!’

We had the adventure of a lifetime on Friday. It didn’t start out that way. It was a regular trip to Garden of the Gods, and then we would spend the afternoon at Pounds Hollow Lake. We started off early, about 9:00 and drove right up in the mountains in Illinois. No mountain lions today, although I’ve seen one before on another trip. It was getting hot, and I was concerned it would be miserable in the park. We arrived with little trouble and toured the great sights at this truly memorable place.

Leigh took the big kids and disappeared down the trails while the little kids got to go out on the rocks only if they were holding an adult’s hand. It took about an hour for all the kids to get to see everything. Safety takes time. It’s our new slogan. The view is of seven states. Garden of the Gods is what is left from a vast sea, so you look down into the sea. It’s quite a place. The rock formations are breathtaking, and that’s why we do this every year. It’s in our area; it belongs to us, and the children should be familiar with it.

At the end of a very thirsty trail, Mr. Casey, Alexis’s dad, pumped the old drinking fountain with pump handle while all the kids got at least one long cool drink. Then we boarded the bus for a short drive to Pounds Hollow Lake and beach. It was closed. It was closed because of the ice storm last winter. We couldn’t even get close. So back in the bus and off we went to ask at the nearest civilization, and that’s taking the word lightly, about another swimming lake.

Well the store owner, where we stopped, told us about a swimming hole just up the road. After hearing the directions we headed out. The kids were desperate to cool off. We had ice water on the bus, and drove 20 miles down a dusty dirt road until we came to another “National Park.” We ate a short lunch – too hot for much- and Mr. Todd and Mr. Casey volunteered to take the children down to the swimming hole.

Well down to the swimming hole is a matter of semantics. We walked through primitive wild woods down a narrow path to a vast set of rock stairs, under the overhanging rocks, down more paths to a stream. We took our shoes off and marched across the stream and ended up in the prettiest little lake at the bottom of this box canyon I think I’ve ever seen. It was unbelievably beautiful and pristine. One would pay a fortune to travel there, but we were seeing this in our own back yard for nothing. The kids threw themselves into the water of this very primitive place.

The older kids watched as the natives jumped from the cliffs into the lake. Four of our older kids and Miss Leigh jumped too. Austin G, Jack S, Morgen, Michaela all climbed the cliffs and made the 25 foot jump. It was the glory of their day.

We put our soggy socks and shoes on and an assortment of clothes and made our weary way back to the bus. We started for home about 4:30. I’m sorry we were late! It was just too good to pass up the swimming hole. I think this is something the children will remember for years to come. It was one day in one million. I don’t think we could duplicate it. It was hot and sticky, but the long adventure was a breathtaking one.

Many thanks to Miss Christi, Miss Cathy, Mr. Todd and Mr. Casey for making this a fabulous trip.

One of the things I’ve learned recently is how to listen to someone who believes differently from the way I think, and evaluate the differences and revere those seemingly very different and hard to believe ideas.

It’s easy to brush someone off as a flake and regard what they believe as just nuts, and then regard them as a nut too. But people think differently and believe differently do so not because they are necessarily nuts, but because what they know to be true is taking them in a different direction. And it’s not a matter of “setting them straight” it’s a matter of listening – because we all need to listen to learn.

One of the things that has come into my life lately is Vegetarianism and even Veganism. Now we are not talking about paganism, Nazism, Atheism or Communism. We are talking about a belief that meat is not a go on the plate. With Veganism we are talking about no byproducts of a mama go on the plate.

When you first think about this, it strikes an emotional chord. You think of all the animals who die to fill our plates. You think of death animal camps and brutal killings. But then you go to the grocery store and packaged meat just looks like packaged meat.

There is information on both sides of the issue:

Is meat good for you or isn’t it? In what amounts can meat be deemed a benefit to the body? Is the perfect food really an egg? Why is it so hard to drink milk after 40; is nature telling us something?

If you don’t eat any meat or meat byproducts, do you have to supplement your diet with chemicals that will keep you alive? If you don’t eat animal byproducts are you constantly searching for substitutes to eat a like diet? What happens if you just nix the like diet and eat only those things that can naturally be made without substitutions or chemicals?

But these are questions about the life of a carnivore, a vegan or vegetarian. They are not questions that bespeak the goodness or the creativeness nor spiritual essence of the person who either eats meat or doesn’t eat animal byproducts. They are about lifestyle only.

Based on what a person eats, would you rather be friends with someone who thinks about what they put into their body, or someone who eats a steady diet of glutenous muck? It’s a personal response. I vote for the thinker; their friendship would be more valuable to me because they would necessarily think about other things as well.

People come at life from different perspectives in life. It seems to me that all these things are interesting and worth time and effort to listen to and to try to understand. Understanding is a gift from God. So it’s a green light to stop, look and listen.

I think more than anything, I’ve learned so much from my new Vegan friends. I’ve learned to think about different perspectives on a lot of foods for my own health and the health of the people I serve. I’ve learned that substituting can be fun and creative and actually make food taste better. And learning about new foods has certainly been an eye opener. But vegetarianism is not too far from my state of mind because twice a week at school, we eat byproducts (eggs and cheese) and no meat.

Learning, it seems, should be a life long process.

I got this from a friend and think it’s pretty neat. Will Trillich is a good thinker and wonderful with kids. He’s the uncle of a former student at the GS, and he’s put together a really nice page. Go Here for some amusing thoughts and some down to earth thinking!

Hi Everyone,

The Early Childhood Development Coalition (ECDC) and Napoleon Peacock are hosting a fun-filled Nature Party at Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve on Saturday, June 27th from 1-3 p.m. Please think about taking your children to this event.

The purpose of these parties is to spread the message of the importance of reading and to encourage families to visit the attractions featured in their latest Napoleon Peacock children’s book.

When children experience first-hand what they read, it reinforces their knowledge and adds to the meaningfulness of their reading experience our own local ones. This all directly supports United Way’s focus on education.

For more information go HERE.

Have a great week!

Good Morning. It’s a brand new week. We hope this week is as much fun for your children as last week.

This week on Monday, we will issue a new set of spelling words. Lots of parents have been concerned that the spelling words are too hard, too long, too, too. This summer’s spelling project is supposed to be a fun parent and me project that encourages parents to work with children. Education is a partnership.

So far this summer, we have heard, “I didn’t have time; my mom didn’t have time; we were busy and didn’t have time.” That’s the way some summers go, but when the child sits down on Thursday and takes his test, he is lost, and that’s a shame. As a remedy to this, try doing one word every day in the car going home from school. It will take probably three minutes, and the work is done. Keep your child’s spelling list in the car.

At the end of the summer, we will be making a book to remember, so you will want your child’s book to be more than blank!

Tuesday and Wednesday we will be swimming at Newburgh Pool. It will be very hot on those days. We will be taking a big cooler of water with us and we will encourage the children to drink a lot of water.

On Friday, we will be going to the Garden of the Gods. This is a very save place when children listen and follow directions. No child can go out on a rock without holding and adult’s hand. It’s as simple as that. As one teacher holds the line, the other teachers proceed out on the rocks. It’s really not that unsafe. The reports you have heard about children falling are also about neglect by teenage day care help. We don’t employ teens and we don’t put them in charge of little kids.

We will be picnicking and swimming at Pounds Hollow. This is a beautiful swimming lake for children in Shawnee National Forest.

It will be hot all week. It is a great suggestion that children get a lot of rest. Children who retire before 8:00 do best.

Have a marvelous week!

Could vinegar be natural fat fighter?

By Stephen Daniells, 18-Jun-2009

Related topics: Science & Nutrition

From Food Navigator

For Food Navigator’s web site go HERE.

Ordinary vinegar – acetic acid – may prevent the build up of fat, and therefore weight gain, according to results of a study with mice from Japan.

Here’s something from Lunch Box Cards:

Hot dogs

We all know hot dogs are made from the parts of the animal that no one wants to eat… ground up tails, feet, ears etc (“meat by-products” or “variety meats”)… but I don’t believe that’s whats so bad about hot dogs. Heck, in many countries, crickets, spiders and brains are a delicacy.

So what DO we have to watch out for concerning hot dogs? I spoke to Abby Beeler and she informed me that many brands use gluten (an allergen) for binding, and nitrates, sodium nitrite and msg as a preservative. MSM (mechanically seperated meat) is associated with mad cow disease and finally, Robbie (Lassen’s amazing store manager) informed me last week that many brands use food grade plastics as casings!

All this is quite enough for me to find a tasty organic whole meat hot dog, skinless or in natural casings, and to shun the others!

Here’s what won: Applegate Farms Organic Uncured Chicken Hot Dogs, Beeler’s Fully Cooked Uncured Wieners made with whole pork in natural casings, and Trader Joe’s All Natural Uncured All Beef Hot Dogs.