There’s a vote in progress – Apparently, Miss Faith has entered her grandmother’s house in the Evansville Courier house front contest for Christmas. It’s house #36 outside. If you get a chance buzz over to the site at Contest

and vote – every day once.

The Zoo was magnificent yesterday. It was a glorious day – truly sweater weather. The sun was brilliant. We were greeted by some roaring, and I do mean roaring monkeys who were not pleased at all by our presence. I suppose they were into intimate activities and we were disruptive!

We walked through most of the zoo except where there is construction. The kids were in high spirits. Miss Emma and Miss Briana stayed back with me to pet some very sweet horses. I enjoyed the goat; the younger boys loved the tiger who was pacing and Mrs. St. Louis and Miss Hazel loved the otters. The lions have been moved and are in a temporary home and look squished, but soon they will have a new place. The Kookaburra was screaming and the kids were laughing at the raucous sound. We ran, we looked, we played, we had a lot of fun on the play center in the petting zoo.

Miss Mandy came as a volunteer and stayed to close with her sister Miss Kelly. We are grateful to young teachers like Miss Mandy for all their love and affection for us. It is a pleasure to have her with us.

We came home to pulled pork crock pot and sweet pull bread and fruit. Some of the kids asked for salad and milk. Home made cookies for snack.

Another beautiful day today! We’ll extend those recesses and get the kids running.

Grilled cheese for lunch!

We’re off to the zoo today. It should be nearly sixty degrees and sunny. It will be a great trip because the animals are usually very active on a warm day in the winter. We will go out about 10:00 and stay until 1:00 and then come home for a late lunch of crock pot and fruit and bread.

When we come back, we will be working on parent gifts, so if you come early today – DON’T LOOK!

Yesterday, we didn’t have a roster to teach by until noon, so we did some group Christmas projects and some separate tutorials. One of our four year olds – just four – discovered addition. He spent an hour working on adding two groups of things. We built a lot yesterday, and some of the first and second stage builders expanded their knowledge and skills. Building contributes to problem solving and complex thought, and it’s good for children. Unfortunately, parents don’t get to see a lot of a child’s progress because a child can’t take his building home in an envelope.

We are singing lots of Christmas songs. the kids like the new fast ones best, but they are learning some of the old traditional songs like Angels We Have Heard On High.

Yesterday we had homemade waffles for breakfast, and for lunch we had baked chicken, noodles, apple sauce, carrots, dip, and poorboy French bread.

It’s here! It’s a whopper and it’s dangerous. Please be on the lookout for real influenza. Today, Jackie Snyder woke up at 1:00 a.m. vomiting into his mother’s bed as he reported that he was ill. His temp was 104. He was red faced, sweaty, glassy eyed and shivering. He has vomited every hour since. Miss Molly took him to the doctor and he had a blood test that reported a terrible case of the real influenza. He and his family have been quarantined at home till Friday.

Here’s what to look for – that horrible non responsive glassy eyed look, watery drippy eyes, hacking cough, vomiting, lusterless appetite, sore throat, and high fever.

It’s best not to just let it go. It’s best to get the child tested. This dangerous flu must be treated and quarantined. This is not the time to over-the-counter medicate and slip into school. This is the kind of influenza children die of. Children coming to school with flu symptoms will be sent home for the week.

We know that children come down with these things quickly. We are asking parents to be on the lookout and to keep suspect children home for the sake of the other children. Being sick at Christmas is a nightmare for everyone.

Please push water and milk and juice at home and nix the soda and the sweet drinks. Sugar takes a toll on a child’s digestion and will cause it to work over time. Water will help flush the system and help prevent illness. Milk and juice are real foods, but sweet drinks are detrimental and calorie laden junk to avoid during flu season.

Please avoid a lot of junk foods. If in doubt, give your child some good whole grain crackers, fruit and “real” cheese rather than the drive in. Greasy burgers, deep fried chicken skin or nuggets, French Fried potato fat, and other grease laden muck should be avoided during flu season. These quasi foods are cloggers and tend to stay in the system too long causing constipation which is waring and caustic to the system.

Bed times for very young children should commence about 8:00 or earlier. We notice that children who go to bed by 8:00 p.m. just do better through the day. Sleep is the mender of the body.

Please remember to watch the weather and dress children for playing out doors. Short sleeves are not acceptable clothing for winter. Hats and mittens and heavy coats are needed when the weather is freezing or below. For temperatures of 54% and above, a heavy sweatshirt is fine.

Today’s menu was ham, home made macaroni and cheddar cheese, sweet potatoes, apples, bread and butter and milk.

Wednesday we will try to take the children out to the zoo. Please have them arrive at school by 9:30. The charge is $3.00.

Red Wines

New research from the William Harvey Research Institute and the University of Glasgow shows that red wines from areas of greater longevity in southwest France and Sardinia have higher levels of procyanidins – a type of flavonoid polyphenol with potent protective effects on blood vessels.

A number of population studies have revealed that moderate drinkers of red wine have less heart disease than non-drinkers. As a result it has become widely accepted that a glass or two of red wine per day is good for your heart.

Writing in the 30 November issue of Nature, Professor Roger Corder from Queen Mary’s William Harvey Research Institute, and Professor Alan Crozier from the University of Glasgow, explain the importance of ‘traditional’ style red wines for conferring the protective effects of procyanidins.

“The endothelial cells which line our arteries are an important site of action for the vascular protective effects of polyphenols,” explains Corder. “We purified the most biologically active polyphenols, and identified them as procyanidins.” Procyanidins are the most abundant flavonoid polyphenols in red wine – up to 1 gram per litre is found in some traditional style red wines.

Red Wines from France and Sardinia

The team tested wines from two specific regions in southwest France and Sardinia, associated with increased longevity, to see if they differed to wines sourced from other countries across the world. The ‘traditional’ wines revealed surprisingly high levels of procyanidins, with often five to 10 times more than some new world wines.

The results suggest that while a glass or two a day can benefit your heart, not all red wines provide the same amount of heart protecting polyphenols. Professor Corder concludes: “The traditional production methods used in Sardinia and south western France ensure that the beneficial compounds, procyanidins, are efficiently extracted. This may explain the strong association between consumption of traditional tannic wines with overall wellbeing, reflected in greater longevity.”

Q&A on Red Wine Study

How did you carry out the research?
A: It was a laboratory study where we used cultured cells to screen for biological activity and then purified the most potent polyphenols found with this screening test for identification by mass spectrometry.

How much procyanidins would you have to consume to feel the benefits?
A: It is difficult to say as further work is required in clinical trials but the best evidence comes from clinical trials of grape seed extract, which have shown that 200 – 300 mg per day will lower blood pressure. Two small glasses (125 ml glass) of a procyanidin-rich red wine, such as a Madiran wine from southwest France, would provide this amount.

Note on Resveratrol
Resveratrol is often put forward as a key component of red wine, both in terms of reducing heart disease and increasing longevity (see: Kaeberlein & Rabinovitch Medicine: grapes versus gluttony. Nature 2006 Nov 16; 444: 280-1). But the levels of this polyphenol are so low (typically 1 – 2 mg/litre) that to consume sufficient daily amounts of resveratrol it would be necessary to drink around 1000 litres of wine per day.

Do the benefits differ between men and women?
A: Not that we know; however women are more sensitive to the adverse effects of alcohol with an increased risk of breast cancer. Consuming other foods or non-alcoholic drinks containing these procyanidins should also be considered as an option.

Why did you look at red wines from areas of higher longevity?
A: There is a 19th century expression “A man is only as old as his arteries” – which can be taken to mean that those with the healthiest arteries live longer. Since the most important protective effect of procyanidins we can show in the laboratory is on arterial function, our hypothesis was that areas of greater longevity might have a protective dietary factor, which could include the type of wine that was drunk. So it was of great interest to us when we found both in Sardinia and in southwest France that the wines made in these in areas had higher levels of procyanidins.

What gives the wines their higher concentration of procyanidins? Is it just the wine-making methods? How does this differ to other areas of the world?
A: Numerous factors affect the procyanidin content of wine – but the most important is generally the winemaker, who can influence the selection of grapes based on ripeness, the contact time between seeds and skins with the fermenting juice (or must), and whether any fining or filtration is done to make the wine smoother and less tannic. Traditional wines frequently have a 3 – 4 week fermentation and maceration with seeds and skins, resulting in full extraction of procyanidins. Whereas modern style wines may only have a few days fermentation with seeds and skin (usually less than a week), which is only just enough time to extract the colour from the skins. If over ripe grapes are used to make the wine these have less procyanidins and higher sugar. So you end up with a type of red wine that is sweeter, higher in alcohol, and has almost no procyanidins. These are the wines that are everywhere now, and which are described as having smooth tannins or ripe tannins.

Does the grape variety have any effect on the procyanidin levels?
A: Yes it can do – a good example is the tannat grape grown in southwest France, which can produce the most procyanidin-rich wines, but requires much more skilful winemakers to make well structured wines. Cabernet sauvignon and Nebbiolo grapes also make good wines with high amounts of procyanidins but only if the winemaker uses techniques that favour full extraction.

Could other vineyards develop these techniques and grape varieties to make ‘healthier wine’?
A: ‘Healthier wine’ is a difficult concept because too many people over indulge on smooth, sweet, very alcoholic wines, when smaller quantities with meals is the only pattern of wine drinking that is associated with health benefits. But in the sense that higher procyanidin consumption could be achieved while drinking less wine (less is more!), then these wines need to be more readily available.

Winemakers already know how to make these wines, but they are more difficult to make and more costly, so not the type of wine that most mass market winemakers will choose to make.

Can you recommend any particular wines/vintages that we should be drinking over Christmas/New Year?
A: Madiran wines are the best choice but difficult to find in the UK.

Are procyanidins found in any other foods?
A: dark chocolate, apple, cranberries.

Comment: How about peanut-cranberry-dark chocolate candy?

From Baby Fit

Safety Tips

Stretching can be highly beneficial if done properly. If done improperly, it can cause real damage. Here are some helpful tips to ensure you are stretching safely and preventing injury:

• Always warm up before doing any stretching exercises. Stretching a cold muscle increases the risk of pulls or tears. Think of your muscles like you would a rubber band. It’s easy to stretch a warm rubber band, but if you try to stretch a cold one, you risk cracking or breaking it. Don’t treat your muscles like a cold rubber band!
• Stretching should never cause pain, especially in the joints. If you experience pain, you are probably stretching too far. Stretch to the point of mild discomfort or a mild pulling sensation, but not pain.
• Never bounce into a stretch – this can cause your muscles to tighten, increasing your risk of injury. Stretch in a slow, steady motion.
• Do not lock your joints when you stretch. For example, your arms and legs should be straight (or slightly bent) when you stretch them, but the elbows and knees should not be locked. This puts additional and unnecessary stress on the joints.
• Never hold your breath while stretching. Try to breathe normally, in through the nose and out through the mouth. This will make your stretching a more relaxing experience.
• Take your time. The long-sustained, mild stretch reduces unwanted muscle tension and tightness.
• Do not compare yourself with others. Everyone has different degrees of flexibility. Comparisons may lead to overstretching.
• If you have had a hip replacement, do not cross your legs or bend your hips past a 90-degree angle during any of your stretching exercises.

Comment: This is good advice for pregnancy and all other times.

I haven’t posted for a few days to give my cousin’s children a chance to be seen. When young people stretch and do something worth while, it’s always a good idea to help where you can.

So much…

Monday we started the Advent Box program. It’s a set of drawers over by the piano, and each drawer contains a prize with a date on it. The prize goes to the best child that day. Camryn won it for Monday and Justin won it for Tuesday. We haven’t chosen one for Wednesday. We’ll do that tomorrow.

Advent angels are up. Children who are beautifully behaved during the day will get an auto angel. Those that rise beyond the good and are exemplary and do something really good will get another angel. Angels are collectible, and the child with the most angels on December 21 will get the Santa Prize at the party. Children losing their stars are no longer eligible for the day.

The Christmas decorations started going up today. We scatter them around the school and children are encouraged to look and to touch what they like. We did a fine arts program on the many faces of Mary through the years. Kamden was especially interested. He’s three, and often he’s just bored with things like this, but today he was mesmerized by the art. That’s always interesting.

Miss Gwen and Miss Hazel came to school today to make sugar cookies with the kids. They seemed to enjoy the project. We baked all morning. The kids ate the cookies for snack. It was a lot of fun.

It’s going to be very cold in the next few days and children ill go out if it is 32 or above. Please send your child with “child sized” mittens and a hat. Hoods don’t work. Please send your child in a coat that is heavier than a light jacket!

We’ve had a great start with the Christmas ornament project. Most of the ornaments are gone. It’s just fine to go in on an ornament with another family. This will help us come back to school in January with a whole new set of learning toys. Thanks so much for your participation.

Fund raiser stuff is in now, and so is the bill. Please make sure your fund raiser money is in!

Food:

Monday we had lasagna, orange, mixed vegetables, whole wheat crackers and milk. I made the lasagna from shells and each child got two filled shell.

Tuesday we had piggie pie, macaroni and cheese – homemade, apples, oranges, rag bread and milk.

Today we had 15 bean soup with ham, mixed vegetables, oranges, apple sauce, soft rolls and milk.

Tomorrow it’s baked chicken, rice, mixed hot vegetables, apples, raisins and cheese biscuits.

We’ve had waffles, chocolate chip muffins, sticky buns this week. Coffee cake tomorrow.

Snack has been homemade cookies and cold cereal, cheese and crackers.

On Friday, we will have a visit from the new Childcare Coalition team. They wrote to say they had always been curious about the GS, and it was time to come and see. So we cleaned – you know what it’s like to clean for guests! But we got carried away and started moving things around and doing a bunch of new stuff and the kids got involved and the whole thing has meant a very busy few days!

I have been asked by some of the big girls, “Can I do something for you?” You can’t imagine how much that means to us. Abby and Hadley are the ladies most often asking. What I want to say is “Here are my car keys. Go …” Then I remind myself, “Not yet, not yet. They are too short to drive!” This particular group is simply too old. They are mini-teens. They laugh at our jokes, they remember things for us, they help without asking, they know where everything is and how to work just about all the machinery… What a glorious group.

The boys are fabulous too, and have taken the younger children under their wings and are teaching them all kinds of things. Today Adyson had Phoebe in his lap at Circle Time. She was tired and she was very comforted by his loving attention. At the same time I see a lot of the bigger boys letting the little boys look on at their projects and take a turn and do. It’s a really nice environment. Many times this week I’ve stood and watched the play and thought, this is just a giant home and every child is the brother or sister of the next child.

We’ve been working on the hemispheres and the continents in Geography class, and Miss Kelly has been teaching more and more Christmas songs. She can actually sing “I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus!”

Well… It’s been fun and yes we have a Santa! An old friend has agreed to play the part.

It seems like this half of the year has gone so fast.

Hi Everyone,

I am emailing you to let you know my husband, Sean, has completed his first children’s video — Magellan’s World: France. It’s a 30-minute video, for children aged 3 and up. It was a long process and he finished it with flying colors! It’s now on Amazon.com. I’m emailing to ask that you remember it as a suggestion for holiday presents. (Especially for the grandparents!) If you feel comfortable, feel free to email this on to friends/family. Grassroots!

Magellan’s World: France follows the travels of Magellan, a friendly, inquisitive mouse who visits France and Paris with his loveable Aunt Renee.

Because Magellan’s World is intended for pre-schoolers, there’s nothing scary, no “bad guys.” The story lines are peaceful and engaging, the characters are warm and sweet. Magellan’s World is not an animated cartoon — our video features good-natured puppets having wholesome, old-fashioned fun, looking at the world in a curious way.

Only the works of French composers and French artists are featured, offering an authentic window into a charming culture, giving your little one a rare treat: old-fashioned fun, meaningful learning, and the first steps toward understanding our global community. Magellan’s World: France also offers an exciting opportunity for little ones to have fun saying French words aloud,
accompanied by beautiful French music to stir the young soul.

If you have any questions, please visit the website: Magellan’s World

Comment: This was put together by my cousin’s children.