Here’s an interesting article from Education Week. Normally I really despise the ACLU, but this time I think they have a point. Read the article and judge for yourself.

School Strip-Search Case Heads to Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court next week will hear a case on the strip-search of a 13-year-old girl at a public school, wading into the legal balancing act between protecting students’ privacy rights and allowing school officials to take steps to ensure a safe campus environment.

The case, which has attracted national media attention—as well as friend-of-the-court briefs from national education groups, civil-liberties advocates, and the Obama administration—could have major implications for how schools proceed when they wish to search students.

At issue in Safford Unified School District v. Redding (Case No. 08-479) is the search of 8th grader Savana Redding by school personnel at an Arizona middle school. The 2003 action came amid suspicion that the honors student possessed prescription-strength ibuprofen tablets, a violation of the school’s anti-drug policy. No such pills were found on Ms. Redding, who stripped down to her undergarments, which she pulled away from her body so that two female personnel, including the school nurse, could inspect her.

Infuriated by the search and apparently dissatisfied with school officials’ explanation, the student’s mother, April Redding, filed suit against the 2,750-student Safford district as well as the school officials directly involved.

For more of the article go HERE.

National Geographic Sea Turtle Race!!!

I thought this was really cool. Next week Miss Leigh suggested a theme of Earth Week. And this goes great with Earth Week!!!

Today, Conservation International and National Geographic announced The Great Turtle Race, which follows 11 live leatherback turtles in a simulation of their annual migration from Canada to the Caribbean.

The virtual race starts tomorrow at the National Geographic-hosted HERE . These very endangered and majestic creatures-the leatherback sea turtles-illustrate the increasingly dire plight of the Earth’s oceans, thanks largely to human impact.

National Geographic will galvanize the youngest Web audience to rally around the cause with a new, addictive online game, daily updates on the turtles’ progress and engaging biographies and artist renderings of the real-life animals and a No More Plastic pledge kids can take to do their part to ensure the survival of oceanic wildlife.

“We especially think The Great Turtle Race is going to resonate with the kids’ audience because they’re the generation that we are going to empower to protect the planet,” says Michelle Sullivan, executive producer of the National Geographic kids Web site, where much of the programming for the two-week virtual race will reside. (www.nationalgeographic.com/kids)

This year’s turtle racers have celebrity sponsors including socially conscious pop-culture icons Pearl Jam, R.E.M, as well as a selection of Olympic swimmers from the 2008 U.S. team. More details are included in the release below and later today we will have an MP3 file available of the press conference with comments from Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard, R.E.M’s Mike Mills, turtle experts and two Olympic swimmers.

Years ago I remember visiting my mother in Pittsburgh. I had three little kids, and I remember looking forward to getting away from home for a few days. My parents had huge stone house and a lovely rose garden and I could just imagine the “rest.” Arrival was filled with hugs and kisses, and more or less it stopped there. I seemed to be “in the way,” and the rest I had imagined was mostly in my head. Keeping the children from touching, breaking, and leaving toys around was harder than being at home. Our schedule was different from theirs, and the 6:00 a.m. up and the 7:30 p.m. to bed didn’t mesh with brunch at 11:00 and dinner at 8:00. Moved trinkets didn’t make up for the child’s discovery of something with a number on it – everything in my parents’ house was cataloged!

When my mother made the announcement that she would spend her next day at work, I was so disappointed, I think I cried. My father had it easy – he got up and went to work about 6:30. Alone in someone else’s house with three kids!

Now, when my grand children visit, it’s more or less the same thing in reverse with the exception of the numbered goodies. I buy junk for them to play with and if the junk breaks… oh well.

People of any age have routines that are not as easily put aside as we would like. As an older person, I find my routine to be a blessing. I am content getting up early and being alone in my house. I like that first morning tea and a look at the garden and a review of all I have to do that day without the demands of children. When my grandchildren come, being up with me is wonderful if, and only if, I can share MY routine with them. It is my house after all.

What visitors forget too often is that grandparents aren’t on hold until children arrive. We don’t live in a vacuum or on a shelf or in a closet until kids arrive. We have real lives and sometimes much more strenuous than our children’s lives. It takes a lot of years and “sans” kids to be able to accomplish a great deal without the kiddie interruption!

What many child visitors do not appreciate is that parents often have very complicated lives and a whole list of things to accomplish in order to be emotionally comfortable. Putting aside some chores or activities is a given, but there are other things that must be done. When my children visit, I still have to maintain the school, write for the blog, and take care of a dozen other activities that involve me. Just abandoning all my activities and responsibilities for a week is not possible. Just getting everything done is sometimes daunting enough without the disruption of guests.

But guests are always welcome and the time shared is always a blessing. Unfortunately, the blessing can sometimes be tarnished. The tarnishing comes from one thing in particular. It’s the lack of a communication skill. Why communication is so hard for some people is beyond me, but it is.

The most important thing a visitor or visitee can do is ASK A QUESTION about what needs to be done. “What do YOU need to do tomorrow, Mom?” It’s the Everest question. That can be followed with “What do you WANT to do tomorrow, child?”

Making the visit a compromise of activities will make relationships grow stronger. It will take the pressure off busy lives meeting. It will unravel nerves, expectations, anger and frustration. Often the visit is around an occasion with several expected extra activities. For any sane adult, those activities are not last minute races to the finish line. I know I plan for everything, and because of a lack of communication, my plans are often bulldozed in favor of a last minute leap into the unknown which more often than not falls on its face. The question again to ask is of the householder is, “What have YOU planned for this occasion?” The follow up question is “How can I help?”

Assuming is a nasty little one-ups-man-ship. Assuming says, “You’re incompetent, and once again I have to take over and do this for you.” This breeds contempt on both sides. It is a contempt that does not have to ever come into play if one’s communication skills are at even a C– level.

Next time you visit or have a visitor try asking in the last telephone conversation, “What do you want to do and what do you need to do when we come or when you come to visit?” Then follow it up with more questions and less assumption.

I promise that this will make all visitations filled with green lights.

Good morning!

It’s a rainy Monday, but it’s not as cold as it has been. I thought I’d freeze all day yesterday!

It’s still the Easter Season and will be for 40 more days, so expect the Easter art to keep on coming!

If we get a break in the rain, we will do our hopining today. Please bring in your envelopes and donations for Easter Seals as soon as possible.

Today the weather is supposed to be 62 for a high. That’s still pretty chilly for short sleeves. Children still need a light jacket.

Listening has been a problem at school lately. Please continue to ask your child questions and listen to the response. Also, ask children what you have said and expect them to repeat what you have said. Not listening is a thing learned from too much TV. TV expects passive listening because it doesn’t expect a response. Children who watch too much TV don’t learn how to respond and certainly only listen selectively. If the TV suggests cleaning up, who is there to reinforce the suggestion. At school, sometimes teachers feel as if we are TVs only suggesting an activity, and the passive listening is rampant! I am sure you guys feel that way as well. So, at home, when you are needing a child’s attention, it’s nearly always a good idea to turn off the TV for some active listening.

It’s an ordinary week. We may or may not go on a field trip on Friday. It will be posted.

Have a great day!

Someone asked me for our most recent cookie recipe and here it is: It changes from time to time as tastes and children change:

1 cup butter
1 cup canola oil
1.5 cups white sugar
1.5 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup old fashioned oats

Combine in a mixer

Add 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour and 2 cups white flour

Add 1 cup caramel balls, 2 cups dark chocolate chips, and any other addition at this point like wheat germ, bran, other spices, orange peal, etc.

I use an ice cream scoop to make cookies.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes or until they look like you want to eat them. Remove from cookie sheets asap because caramel balls will make it nearly impossible to remove later!

Enjoy

This article is from Lunchbox Kids and Laptop Lunches. It’s a site that is on my “fun corner.” I try to post an article on nutrition on Sunday or a recipe, but this week I am posting a good article on picky eaters. Please remember that often a picky eater is simply in the habit of not eating.

Do you have a picky eater in your family? Here are a few ideas for helping him or her transition to a healthier diet:

• Prepare your child. Talk with your child about nutrition and the importance of developing a healthy body. Together, come up with a family plan, including a list of steps the family wants to take to transition to a more healthful diet. Post the list in a place where everyone can see it.
• Think Positively. If your child sees you enjoying these changes, he will be more likely to join in.
• Involve your child. Children of all ages can help with menu planning, shopping, and preparing meals. Children who feel they have had a part preparing the meal will be more likely to eat it.
• Introduce a wide variety of foods. Offer a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes. Offer a few teaspoons of each at every dinner. Even if your child eats only two bites, he will understand that these are the foods that make up a healthy diet. When he starts wanting more than two bites, expand your offerings to include more foods. As your child grows, increase serving sizes.
• Experiment with old favorites. Offer a new food with a familiar one. Applaud adventurous eating.
• Offer the same food prepared in different ways. Offer foods alone and prepared in combination with other ingredients. Cut foods in different ways. Try carrot sticks one day and carrot coins another.
• Don’t Give Up. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, many children will not accept a new food until it has been offered at least ten times. Continue to offer new foods until your child considers them familiar.
• Introduce foods one bite or several bites at a time. Some children become overwhelmed by large quantities of food on their plate. Others will feel more successful if they can finish a small quantity of food you have provided, so keep portions small.
• Serve vegetables and new foods as an appetizer. If vegetables and new foods are served last or with other foods, children can easily fill themselves up and leave vegetables behind. Start dinner, for example, with two green beans and two carrots or a green salad as a starter. When everyone has finished their, serve the rest of the meal. Consider serving fruits with the meal or saving them for dessert.
• Institute the “two-bite” rule by eating two bites of each item on their plate. Explain that our tastes change as we grow up and what we didn’t like last week we may like this week. Explain, too, that eating a variety of food builds stronger, happier bodies. Remember that children’s food preferences change frequently. What they don’t like on Wednesday might be a great hit on Friday or vice versa.
• Consider the possible unspoken meanings of “I don’t like it.” “I don’t like it” might really mean “I’d rather have a piece of chocolate cake” or “I’m not in the mood for that right now.” Insist on the two-bite rule.
• Don’t become a short-order cook. Prepare only one meal for the entire family. At first your child may refuse to eat dinner. Remain calm, stand firm, and ignore tantrums. Your child will not die of hunger from skipping a meal, but will likely come to the next meal with a healthy appetite and a willingness to eat what is served. Allow each family member to plan one dinner a week. Doing so will ensure that everyone has at least one dinner to look forward to.
• Don’t make a big deal when your child rejects a food. Stay cool and reaffirm the boundaries you have established by insisting that your child eat two bites before leaving the table. Don’t let your child engage you in a power struggle.
• Give your child a choice. Give your child some choices within the boundaries you establish. For example, instead of asking, “What do you want for lunch?” ask “Would you like a turkey sandwich, or a quesadilla?”
• Do not completely forbid certain foods. Forbidden foods can quickly become the foods of greatest desire. At school, for example, children are more likely to trade for foods that are not allowed at home. Allow your children to choose a special food from time to time and let them eat it guilt free. Teach your children the difference between everyday foods and occasional foods. In time, they will start making healthy choices on their own.
• Encourage children to bring home their lunch leftovers. Looking at leftover lunches is a great way to get information about your children’s lunch preferences. Find out why certain foods have come back uneaten. Did your child not like it? Was she not hungry enough to eat everything in the lunchbox? Was there a birthday celebration at school that day? Did she share someone else’s lunch instead? Maintain a dialogue without criticizing. Consider making a list of foods that your child likes to eat for lunch and update it regularly with input from your child. You may find that she prefers romaine lettuce to red leaf lettuce. By making this simple change, she might start eating salads more regularly. Providing a dip for carrot and celery sticks might make eating them more fun.
• Use the Star Incentive Chart (see Appendix 2 in The Laptop Lunch User’s Guide). If your child is resisting the change to a waste-free lunch program, try using the Star Incentive Program described in Appendix 2. Younger children may respond well to stickers, especially if they can help pick them out.
• Use the HealthPoint System (see Appendix 3 in The Laptop Lunch User’s Guide). If your child is resisting the change to a healthier diet, try using the HealthPoint System. Allow your child to take one point for each healthy food eaten, four points for each day without junk food, and four points for each day that they exercise. If your child has received a certain agreed-upon number of points by the end of the week, do something special together.
• Avoid food rewards. Neither dessert nor candy should be used as a punishment or enticement. Rather, you must establish and enforce rules for when and how many treats will be consumed.

Comment: I saw this and thought what a great way to acknowledge Holy Saturday – a day of waiting.

As a Company, Southwest Airlines is going to support ‘Red Fridays.’

Last week I was in Atlanta , Georgia attending a conference.. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed One of the greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen.

Moving thru the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camos. As they began heading to their gate, everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering.

When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and Cheered for, it hit me. I’m not alone. I’m not the only red-blooded American who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families.

Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work and home without fear or reprisal.

Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our Service men and women, a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old ran up to one of the male soldiers. He kneeled down and said ‘hi.’

The little girl then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her.

The young soldier, who didn’t look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to her daddy. Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek.

The mother of the little girl, who said her daughter’s name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Marine and had been in Iraq for 11 months now. As the mom was explaining how much her daughter Courtney missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up.

When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military-looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it..

After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, ‘I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you.’ He then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying ‘your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon.’

The mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet, he saluted Courtney and her mom. I was standing no more than 6 feet away from this entire event.

As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last act of selflessness turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek.

We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it’s good to be an American.

RED FRIDAYS —– Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the ‘silent majority’. We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers.

We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing.. We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions. Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops.

Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday – and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that.. Every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar will wear something red.

I’ve been trying to post for a few days, and was confounded by machinery!

Our Easter windup was busy busy. We sent Easter baskets home on Wednesday because so much was going on on Thursday. The amount of candy in each basket represented your child’s good behavior and exceptional behavior. Lots of kids got extra candy for good work and for doing something special. We were very proud of our children.

On Thursday, we tried out a new staff member. Her name is Julie and comes highly regarded by a very dear and old friend of mine. Julie has been working in early childhood many years, and has a special love of nature which she will most like find a niche in teaching. You will be seeing Julie in the afternoons at the GS. She will be getting acquainted with us a little at a time and come on full time this summer.

On Thursday we celebrated Andrew’s birthday with cupcakes. It was lovely to share. We thank all our families who help us celebrate their children’s birthdays.

On Thursday we celebrated the birthday of the school and Miss Judy’s 107th birthday. Our school is thirteen years old this year. Thank you all for making it a go. We had cake to celebrate.

On Thursday we sent home report cards and K-1 testing. If you have any questions about the testing, please see Miss Kelly.

Miss Amy is working diligently with the children for Spring Sing which is at the end of April. Please make note. At the same time we will be having our book fair. The book fair is from Scholastic and will go on for almost a week. This is your chance to buy inexpensive books for your child. These are wonderful books and last a long time. Many of the books in out library at school came from my house and belonged to my children who are grown up now. They last a very long time. The GS is the smallest school allowed to have a book fair. We are very proud of that.

Monday is the hopining. We will hop Monday morning and send the results home that day.

Have a splendid Easter day!

I haven’t been able to post in the past few days because of technical difficulties.

The Easter Season is a wonderful time to reflect on one’s life and how one lives that life. It’s a time to enjoy the early spring and realize just how we are part of everything around us. It’s important to help children ask that question as well. Even if it’s just a brief muse, it’s well worth the time.

Recently, I had the opportunity to talk with someone about my own life. Precisely, it was about spending my life on children – very young children. It’s my favorite age, although I do love high schoolers. Very young children represent the future to me. They participate in the present, but they are a glimpse into the future. Not all children are well behaved, brilliant or aimed in the right direction. It’s always a pleasure to work with the good, the smart and the kids who are focused on achieving, but they aren’t the only kids.

My real talent lies in working with those who are less fortunate either by accident or by design. Over the years I’ve devoted my work and my prayer to the children who ordinarily would be left behind and kicked from one day care to another. These are kids who come from homes where discipline and care are less than they should be. The children go home to chaos, a poor meal and a constant drone of TV. Mothers who think the domestic achievement is in avoidance of rather than creating a home, so the children are constantly in an emotional need, and they lash out with poor behavior, constant testing or they just never catch up.

These are the children of Easter. These are Christ. These are the children with the enormous question on their face, “Will YOU care for me? Will you love me anyway? Will you think of me when I am gone?”

A friend, thinking she was being funny about some of my antique treasures, said of me, “If Judy Lyden can’t love it, nobody can.” I’ve treasured that remark ever since.

As our bishop once stupidly said, “There are no throw away priests” but intimated that there are throw away children. I correct him boldly and say, “There are no throw away people.” People make mistakes and sometimes they are terrible and hateful and egregious. If we don’t stop those mistakes in the making early, we have lost an opportunity to be truly good ourselves that moment we can never share again.

The problem with working with very young children is that they are not rational, and any child will try on behaviors that seem at the time acceptable simply because someone else is doing it. The reason is often lacking, and the model is often too tempting to pass by. It is not unreasonable to believe that most children will fall off the good pedestal for the swamp of iniquity if the piper is corrupt simply because other people are doing it. So when a child goes home to a swamp every night and sees poor example, he will come to school with that example every day. Every single day the example has to be replaced with good example. Sometimes the child begins to understand, and sometimes he does not, and therein lies the story of early childhood.

In my career, I’ve accepted the very worst behaved children into my life. Several have landed in the hospital for the severely emotionally disturbed. I struggled year after year with this until a few years ago when I decided that for the sake of the good children, I would limit it drastically. The children at the GS now are, as a cohesive group, very well behaved with a couple of exceptions.

Teaching the very young child should be a pleasure, with a few exceptions. With a keen eye, it should be a discover zone. Children evolve much like their parents or any other human being – a little at a time. You begin to see that when you work in small groups and see a child learn all his letters and sounds and start to count, and begin to express himself out loud, write his name and think before he does. When a child scribbles one day and draws a face the next, it’s grow time. It’s spring.

This Easter season, and it’s not over with Lent! Let’s be aware of all the good we see. Let’s offer every child all that we have for the time he is with us. Let us enjoy being parents and grandparents and teachers and try with the best of our poor power to love as Christ did and not fall off the pedestal into the swamp.