Know The Ingredients in your Personal Care Products - Health Tips from EWG | Environmental Working Group

It's important to use chemicals wisely. Right now, it's a season of all sorts of colds, and our bodies are longing for the warmth and the sun, and less stress, and fewer clothes, and more humidity. Make sure you avoid dangerous ingredients in personal care products for you and your family. Use the health tips below for reference.
Know The Ingredients in your Personal Care Products - Health Tips from EWG | Environmental Working Group

An interesting perspective: Do you have a hand in this?

I am a dy/dan blog reader, and recently there has been a post about bloggers – especially the successful ones – who unknowingly become part of a game to improve money flow to certain institutions. If you are a blogger and don't want to improve the third party's bottom line in this way, you may be interested in learning more:
http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=9672
I would love to hear other people's thoughts about this one!

Snow is almost gone

Today was a lovely day, days are longer, warmer and kids are older! Speaking of older, my son has lost one tooth already and a second one is loose, so we are anxious to see when it will come out. He is turning 7 next weekend, and I hope to see his classmates at Happy Wheels for the party.
Today we noticed the first blooming crocus - behind our house, in a sunny spot. A bright yellow sign of spring! We are expecting to see more especially in the front yard, but it's shaded and may take a while for all the snow to go away. Ducks are flying in pairs, and birds are incessant all day. The bird feeder is still attracting diners and a bee came to sniff around as I had honey in my tea cup. The world is abuzz with life!

First graders went on a field trip!

I certainly received the notice and the waiver from the school about the field trip last Monday, Jan 31, and my son had fun.

I also caught the wind of what they actually watched, When you give a mouse a cookie. In line of work, I came across this title – it didn't ring the slightest bell with me, I must admit, – and I looked it up. If any of you are interested and would like to keep up with what your kids are doing in school (tall order, I confess!), then check out this helpful link. If you are a teacher, or would like to do some activities with your child(ren) to connect to the field trip, here are some resources for you.

Free National Parks Days

Admission to all 394 National Park Service properties will be free over the Martin Luther King Jr. birthday weekend, Jan. 15-17, in addition to 15 other days in 2011.
Besides the upcoming holiday weekend, the 100-plus national parks that normally charge for admittance (up to $25) will waive the entry fee on the following dates:
April 16-24 -- National Park Week
June 21 -- first day of summer
Sept. 24 -- Public Lands Day
Nov. 11-13 -- Veterans Day weekend
Source: http://travel.usatoday.com/destinations/dispatches/post/2011/01/mark-your-calendars-for-free-entry-to-the-national-parks-in-2011/137473/1

All-inclusive

Here I go again getting all thoughtful and things.
I just read a post from a blog which talked about the Christmas season and the not-so-secular connection to public schools.
Indeed, throughout the curriculum there seems to be a fairly broad cultural spectrum encompassing different beliefs (including those of non-believers). Yet, when Xmas comes around, this consistency breaks down, and the school becomes all about Christmas. Granted, it's not always – and probably quite au contraire – not about the Nativity scene, but rather about the other stuff that surrounds modern Christmas celebration, such as Snowmen, trees, and the most baffling to me, Santa's reindeer. That's in addition to the conversations about present expectations and wishes. Talk about equity now!
So, the point is really how does your school make sure that other beliefs are included?
The post I referred to in the beginning, also talked about the fact that we need to – and do – teach kindness and compassion. This should be the season to emphasize compassion and kindness – and does holding a Christmas celebration but not any other help with this?
You see, I don't belong to a religion, nor do I believe in Santa, in fact, nothing stresses me out more than having to compromise my ideas about raising children and having to play along with the Santa story (my main opposition is really about the commercialization and the fact that Santa is so unnecessary!) that the people around us pressure us to comply with. Talk about peer pressure!
Yet, I play along and we attend events, but my heart is not in it. I am trying to find ways to connect with the community but do I have to compromise that much? Are there other ways?
How does your school teach kindness? What does your school do to include and welcome everyone?

Lowes Build and Grow Workshop: Make an engine

This Saturday - if anyone would care to join us - at 10 am you can make your very own engine for a train set. The train set has been spread over 3 weekends, we missed the first one, but did make it to the passenger car clinic, and now on Saturday we get the very important engine.
These events are fun to attend, definitely educational (parents learn a lot, too, to control their own frustrations, and reading directions carefully, for example) and easy to plan. You just need to have about 30 mins of time and then you can also walk around looking at cool things for your home, but no obligation to buy anything.
Next week, my son's class is having a cookie decorating event - I bet lots of classes are - and I am planning to make the gingerbread people for it. Very excited to learn how to make them, as I have only made gingerbread cookies out of a box. They came out very good, too, simply delicious, but they were also very easy to make. I am counting on my son's help next Tuesday, maybe even a cookie making party? Any takers?
photo © 2008 Dave Fayram | more info (via: Wylio)