Jump to content

Menu

lovemyboys

Members
  • Posts

    1,444
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by lovemyboys

  1. Yes!!! I remember about 15 years ago when a new superintendent of a very wealthy school district outlawed recess because it took away time for math and reading -- from the kindergartners! Who wants to be holed up with 20+ kids who haven't gotten any exercise all day??? And we wonder why there are problems. Recent pushes for "healthier" lunch options have taken chocolate milk out of one county's lunchrooms. It's milk for heaven sakes. Don't tell me that all-natural organic fruit juice is a better option than milk with some chocolate "flavoring" -- especially if that's the only milk some of these kids will get in a day. Otherwise, what are the options? Plain milk, water, I guess. But reversing our lack of exercise and more sedentary lifestyles are key to changing a lot of the health issues today. Much of it isn't time, it's choices. We live in a neighborhood with many 2-income families, we rarely see kids outside playing pickup games, riding bikes, running around. They're in their basements playing video games. It's "safer."
  2. Music -- residents love to hear music, especially the older familiar tunes. There's often a piano in the dining room of nursing homes or you could bring a keyboard. Can kids take turns playing tunes? During this season they'll perhaps be inundated with scouts and other groups singing Christmas carols, so playing piano or an instrument would be nice. Sing popular songs too -- Oh Susanna, Frere Jacques, whatever. Board games are good. Keep it simple and shorter games -- connect 4, scrabble, sorry, trouble, chess, checkers, yahtzee. Nothing too complicated. Card games can be tricky. Kids can help with rules, moving pieces, etc. (Remind them not to be too competitive for things like misspelling in scrabble or wrong moves.) Simple crafts like beading little bracelets (obviously don't use teeny beads) on elastic. Or drawing on craft paper -- seasonal art to brighten up their rooms or halls. The residents, even those that can't really interact, like having kids around. They like seeing them do things, hearing their voices. They are the most uncritical audience your little musicians, singers, actors will ever have. If possible, it would be great to make this a periodic event, not just a holiday visit.
  3. And making choices in the marketplace that favor places that offer better fare. I'm old enough to remember when Wendy's started offering a salad bar, unique among fast food places. Dh and I would target those specifically when we were travelling. The product was obviously successful -- look at the number of fast food and convenience-oriented restaurants that offer salads. For that matter, many of the fast food joints now offer healthier choices with the little happy meal things -- though we've outgrown those -- so it's possible and attractive to choose fruit, small salad, soup, etc., at most places now. But back to your point ... as dc and I were walking through the frozen section of a large grocery the other day, we saw the myriad frozen dinner options. We actually stopped and pulled out a few to look at the "nutritional" info on the back. It's a discussion you keep on having. We talked about the trade you make for convenience, what's in there. Shoot, with Marie Callendar's offerings, the fat grams alone should stop anyone from purchasing them. But again, we as parents can discuss and educate our kids who have grown up amidst all this processing and convenience. And we can use the marketplace to help determine or refine these offerings. And some days when I open the dryer to discover a missed crayon nub in a jeans' pocket, I would prefer a little plastic toy. :glare:
  4. :iagree: That's just it. We assume that what we know of governments is the way it is in other countries. "We" sitting in safety have little idea what it's like to be on the wrong side of things under some of these regimes. Look no further than at the evil the Iranian students have been subjected to just for marching in the streets and protesting the government. If you read any blogs during that time or saw video, the suffering that went on is horrendous and heartbreaking. Have you ever heard what happened to the Iraqi national soccer team when they lost while Saddam Hussein was in power? If that's how they treat students and athletes, how much more so for lawyers, business people, teachers, political opponents?
  5. ??? And I would say that if you shop more carefully and frugally than I do, good for you....if each person receives the $50 ($25) value of the gift then what's the big problem. This seems pretty greedy to be so detailed (sorry). What if the perfect gift for your person is only $40? You've then got to shop to pad it another $10? We use a range for our gift exchange, between $25-50. Has someone been shopping yard sales for $5 bargains in beat-up boxes or out-dated finds? Good luck. I'd shop as it makes sense for you....if something's "worth" $50, then it's worth $50. In this economic climate, I'd say those amounts are pretty high -- unless all involved are pretty well off. :001_smile:
  6. Exactly. Thanks for sharing the original article, asta. Interesting point from the article was that "outrage" may be what changes the dynamic of airport security. Wonder if we're fast approaching that boiling point now?
  7. So glad to hear how this turned out, especially for your dh! :grouphug:
  8. The first statement probably wasn't directed at my post, but thought I should say that these are my thoughts....I'm not familiar with the Bluedorns' writings. :iagree: with your 2nd para. I heard a debate with (I believe) Dinesh D'souza making a similar point about God as the origin of love and goodness, understanding of Himself. Profound and important concepts for our dc to have. :001_smile:
  9. Yes. Lego lovers here but I think it would fun for a lot of kids....it's basically 3D pictionary if you remember that game. It's more about building something pretty quickly than doing one of those intricate lego projects. I would store it with the games. The box has a compartmentalized insert to hold the pieces sorted by color. That way it'll stay together. But even if things get mixed around, not too big a deal -- you just need a good mix to be able to make your "picture." Ds just bought this for his birthday with his gift cards. Go for it if your family likes playing games together.
  10. :hurray: Seriously?! That's just not the point. Marketing to children since they don't have the money doesn't matter. But pornography?!! Marketing has nothing to do with it. If a market exists, the children are not the purchasers, they're the completely unwilling participants...the horribly abused and debased victims. And don't even get me started on the comedy central jokes involving nambla. :angry:
  11. Yes, I would venture that the increased amount of money spent in advertising to kids has as much to do with the number of channels, outlets and programming hours as anything else. "Back in my day...." ;) we had a couple hours around dinner time and Sat. morning cartoons. That was about it. Fwiw, dc here long ago decided that there were very few fast food joints with any toys they were interested in. The movie/television tie-ins were often for the latest superhero movie or tv shows (like yu-gi-oh) and dc never saw those shows. As a parent, you only have to say no a couple of times and dc get the message. Was it pqr who pointed out the huge Hollywood movie tie-in? I think it has a good bit more to do with control of corporations than real concern for kids' food. :glare: But it sounds like a great and valiant effort.
  12. Dh was talking with ds about this kind of thing just last night. I think ds asked if he'd ever done anything dangerous. Dh told him that yes he had, but that was before the kids were born. Now that he's a dad, he's more careful because he feels responsible for them. Motorcycles fall into that category for us. We both used to ride them, but not now. We've lost friends and acquaintances who rode them. With all of these issues, I'm more for the states or individual locales having jurisdiction vs. say a federal ban. But all the laws in the world won't stop bad things from happening. Putting myriad laws in place with the idea that we'll be "safe" is just over-bureaucratizing our lives. Most all the fast food joints now have salad, fruit cup, coleslaw, soup options even for the "happy meal" combos, as well as chocolate milk or juice box. When done very occasionally, that's not too bad. Look at cool places like Trader Joe's -- organic, natural and whole-grain do not equate with low fat, low sugar and good for you. You have to be just as cautious (or more so!) when shopping there because the assumption is that it's "healthy." Really look at those labels...much of the cheeses/dairy are full-fat only, baked goods are high in sugar and fats, sodium, you name it. The fresh produce area is just a small portion of the store. This is why I think it's ludicrous for places like SF to single out little happy meals as horrible for young children. As parents, we should model moderation with our choices and avoid demonizing foods. But I suspect that that horse was beaten pretty soundly in the other thread.
  13. :iagree: The problem, I think (from a Christian perspective), in looking at classical education as solely Christian or not Christian is that it takes away the existence of God prior to Christ's life on earth. God was in history even in ancient days. As a Christian, I am able to teach my children all about ancient history, mythology, ancient civilizations, their leaders and philosophies and events without worrying that they'll be snatched away by some evil philosophy. Imo, actually, they'll be better prepared with understanding. I would much rather read with dc through ancient philosophers, as well as more modern ones, wrestling over interpretations, deciphering vocabulary and worldview, than fling them out into the world without understanding other world religions, ancient societies or concepts of nihilism, postmodernism, etc. The more our children understand the sweep of civilizations, the more discerning they are, the more alert to pseudo-intellectualism, etc.
  14. Yes, I remember this. One of the video clips I remember seeing back in May was kids draping very large Mexican flags inside school buildings from balconies, etc. This was also a CA school -- Bay Area, perhaps? These were the first two links that are still available/active on a google search: http://www.mediaite.com/online/thoughts-on-cinco-de-mayo-american-flag-shirt-school-ejection-brouhaha/ http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/05/06/2010-05-06_california_kids_blasted_for_wearing_american_flag_shirts_on_cinco_de_mayo.html
  15. Excellent post. And great reminder to all of us! We don't always keep the same level of excellence "after hours" that we do for school. Punch the clock and head off to sports and electronics....
  16. I agree with you. This was, after all, a party at the Y. I would imagine they have policies for appropriate dress. The point -- that I think some are missing in saying that this woman should be allowed (or ignored or even felt sorry for) with her choice of clothing -- is all the people, especially the children, who were around this woman all evening and couldn't help reading her shirt. The "in your face" message was what she meant it to be. It's different if she's headed to a pub or neighbor's party, she'll get the laugh and attention she wants with it. What's wrong with keeping the party "G rated" for the little kids?
  17. This is definitely an urban thing too. And not just limited to teens. :001_huh:
  18. Hershey's now has a candy corn kiss. It really tastes like it too.
  19. I get math but I don't love it...especially compared with a college roommate who would figure out statistics of things for fun. But I remember the joy of figuring something out....like how to set up a computer program or tackle something complex. Like someone mentioned about cheating....it probably would be a situation where one or two do most of the actual work and the others just write it down.
  20. Ugh. What a pain for all of you! My neighbors whose kids were in a "great" ps regularly stood around the neighborhood comparing notes, either trying to figure out some of the EM curric. (as in, why it was so convoluted) or lamenting the stupidity of it.
  21. That's what I was thinking, especially when the oldest is just 5th grade. There may be too much or overlap that you could look at reducing somewhat. Sure the occasional lab, project or craft might take all afternoon. But expecting everyday to go til 4pm? Seems like long days. I talk with mine about focussed activity, so we concentrate and get through subjects and have regular breaks. For instance, they don't take an hour to do math probs. or (shorter) writing. That's just unrealistic -- they wouldn't be allowed that kind of time in any other situation, so why allow it to derail our schedule? (I haven't read a reply post, so this may not be what's happening for you.) The other thing that works better for us is if I stay disciplined about my time on the computer or phone. ; ) Hope you find a "groove" that works for your family.
  22. Second these. Also the more modern series No.1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith set in Botswana and the Miss Julia series by Ann Ross set in North Carolina. The first series is a great read, clever stories, simply charming. The second series is frothy but fun, a good Southern feel, especially in the early books. Good luck.
  23. Great fun! Might have a kind of hazy atmosphere so light beams show. They're not "real" lasers. The vests are a little heavy when you first put them on and the interior is dark. Most places have 15 min. sessions, I've found, then a break for scoring and taking a break, then another round of lasers. That's in the organized places like Laserquest or similar. Ime, people take it as slow or fast as they want.
  24. Bummer -- hope you get some more. Don't know about your species, but the deer in our neighborhood are grazing under the huge crabapple tree every afternoon. My mom's had them eat out of the birdfeeder too. They can drain a few cups of seed in one visit.
×
×
  • Create New...