Firefighter Training Homeschool Curriculum

Welcome to the May 2013 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Emergency Preparedness
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared their plans to keep their families safe. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
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My daughter has just completed her first "year" of homeschooling, which seems like a silly thing to say considering that we've been teaching her at home her whole life.  But, she completed all of her goals for first grade.  One of our favorite units, which we broke into two parts, we called "Firefighter Training."  Sofi love, love, loves firefighters, and anything firefighter related.  She tells everyone that she will be a firefighter when she grows up.  So, when we needed to talk about safety related subjects - as required by law in our state, and just for common sense purposes - I tried to make it more fun and pertinent for her by calling it Firefighter Training!

Firefighters need to be able to cope with all types of situations.  We have learned that pretty much all firefighters have to not only know how to fight fires, but also need to be trained as paramedics.  Most of the time, when a 911 call comes in, the local fire department also responds.  Often, at the scene, paramedics and police officers need the strength and specialized tools that a fire company carries - even if there is no threat of fire.  So, it was important for my little firefighter to know how to cope with all manner of emergency situations - not just how to aim a hose at a fire.

For our unit, we covered the following topics:

I. List of emergencies to prepare for.
A. Fire
B.Thunderstorms
C.Tornado
D. Earthquake
E. Flood
F. Winter Weather
G. Extreme Heat
H. Downed Power Lines
I. Wild Animals
J. Gun safety
K. Being lost
L. Injury 
M. Sneaky People

II. Know how to identify warnings
A. weather sirens
B. Weather app

III. How to prepare for each emergency
A. Fire
1. Discuss Exit Strategy
2. Make a Map
3. Know meet up destination
B.Thunderstorms
1. Stay under sturdy cover
2. Stay away from windows
3. Stay away from tall objects
C.Tornado
1. Take cover in a low lying area
a. basement
b. bathtub
c. ditch
2. Protect head, neck and back
a. mattress
b. hands
D. Earthquake
1. Drop to hands and knees and crawl to shelter
2. Shelter under sturdy tables during quake
E. Flood
1. Do not play alone near lakes, ponds, rivers or streams
2. Do not play in water drainage ditches
3. Do not go into water that you cannot see through
4. Do not go into water that has debris floating in it.
F. Winter Weather
1. Wear warm clothing
a. Long underwear
b. Long sleeved shirt/sweater
c. Warm socks
d. Snow boots
e. Warm coat
f. Gloves or mittens
g. Warm hat
h. Scarf
2. Stay dry
3. Avoid frostbite
a. Keep skin covered
b. Keep extremities warm
4. If outside, be careful walking on surfaces that could be slippery
a. Porches
b. Sidewalks
c. Parking lots
d. Snow
e. Frozen waterways
5. Keep an Emergency Car Kit
a. Antifreeze
b. Wiper Fluid
c. Cat litter
d. Scraper
e. Flashlight
f. Water
g. Snacks
h. Blankets
i. Fix-a-flat
j. Jumper cables
k. Flares
l. First aid kit
m. Candle
6. Build 72 Hour Kits
7. Discuss Emergency Plans
G. Extreme Heat
1. Stay out of direct sun
a. stay in shade if outside
b. use water to cool down
i. sprinkler
ii. swimming pool
iii. wading pool
c. park car in shade
2. Use air conditioning or fans inside
3. Use windows or air conditioning in car
a. do not leave children or pets in parked cars
b. do not play in cars
c. cover car seats
d. metal on cars may burn
H. Downed Power Lines
I. Wild Animals
J. Gun Safety
K. Being lost
L. Injury
1. Bumps and bruises
2. Scrapes
3. Cuts
4. Broken bones
5. Falls
6. Fainting
M. Sneaky People (Name borrowed from www.hobomama.com, material borrowed from www.safelyeverafter.com)

1. I am the boss of my own body, and other people are the boss of theirs.

2. Know name, address, phone number and parents' names.

3. Safe grown ups to ask for help.

4. Never go anywhere with anyone or take anything from anyone you don't know without asking a parent first.

5. Always check first with a parent before going anywhere, or getting into a car with someone even if it is someone you know.

6. No one should ever look at or touch the area that your bathing suit covers unless you ask them to.

7. It is ok to not be nice to someone if they are hurting you or giving you the uh-oh feeling.

8. We don't keep secrets from our parents.

9. We all have a magic voice in our heads called our conscience, and it is always best to listen to it, especially if it is telling you uh-oh!

Some of these topics were pretty cut and dry.  Downed power line? Stay away from it, make sure the toddler and the dog are in the house, tell a grown up.  Some of them were a bit scarier.  If you are ever in a public place and someone starts shooting a gun, you run and hide - and it is ok to go without Mommy and Daddy, just HIDE.  The overlying theme - "and then come tell an adult."

The segment that was the most fun, was making our 72-hour "Emergency Kits."  We worked together to make lists of what types of things we would need for an emergency.  My kids are young - 4 and 6, so I didn't want this to put scary ideas in their heads, like terrorist attacks, or bombings, or what have you.  So, we focused on more natural disaster type things that would necessitate similar precautions.  We talked about what we would need if there were a blizzard that knocked our power out for a few days.  How would we stay warm?  How would we cook?  What kinds of foods could we easily prepare and eat with minimal water or energy consumption (that would still work for everyone's allergies and keep us all safe)?  What if there were a big flood and we had to evacuate?  What would we need to take with us?  Where would we go?  Who would be our contact person so that if Daddy were at work an hour away and we all had to evacuate immediately without having time for Daddy to come home first?

It was really wonderful how many of these questions my kids were able to answer on their own.  They are really very aware of what goes on around them, and how things work.  They were even able to help me make a menu for a 72 hour kit that would meet everyone's nutritional and allergen needs.  Then we had the fun of collecting the items we would need to make our 72 hour kits, and everyone got to pick out a new backpack to store his or her things in.  All of the backpacks are stored together in a little used closet, along with a bin of food and bottled water.  We also compiled lists of emergency needs for the car and the van and assembled them.

This was such a fun unit for us to do, with a lot of hands on time!  We covered the wintery subjects in the fall and the summery subjects in the spring when it warmed up.  Then we talk about them and reinforce them often.  My little firefighter found that she was able to cope with a lot of scary topics, with a minimum of tears, and learn what she needed to know to keep herself safe!

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Visit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:
(This list will be updated by afternoon May 14 with all the carnival links.)

• Be Prepared for Emergencies — Becky at Crafty Garden Mama is reviewing Angela England's new ebook, The Untrained Housewife's Guide to Getting Prepared. See what measures she is learning to adopt in her family.
• Prepare to Expect a Safe and Beautiful Natural Birth — What do you need to have prepared so that you can have a nice and relaxing birth at home? Lisa at The Squishable Baby shares her list in a guest post at Natural Parents Network.
• Fire Boxes for Emergency Preparedness — Jana of Jananas tells why she bought a fire box to store important documents and what is stored in the box.
• Firefighter Training Homeschool Curriculum — Kellie at Our Mindful Life helped her homeschooled kids prepare for emergencies through a Firefighter Training unit.
• 3 Secrets to a Royal Emergency — Jaye Anne at Wide Awake, Half Asleep tells the secret to living like kings during a storm-induced power outage.
• Is Your Family Prepared for an Emergency? — Chrystal at Happy Mothering shares an overview of what her family has done to become more prepared for emergencies.
• What to Do in an Earthquake — Julia at A Little Bit of All of It gives instructions for staying safe in the event of an earthquake as well as tips for teaching your children to keep safe and where to find information online after an earthquake.
• Spring Cleaning & Preparing, Part 2 — Justine at The Lone Home Ranger organizes and replenishes her emergency supply every spring and is learning to add to the food stockpile by preserving year-round.
• 15 Must-Haves For The Natural Minded Family When Disaster or Emergency Strikes — Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama shares how she prepares for disaster or an emergency as a natural minded mama. Learn what 15 natural items you should consider having on hand!
• Emergency Preparedness: Cosleeping, Cheezits, Chocolate — Kristine at All the Things in the World was happy to have cosleeping in her emergency tool kit during Hurricane Sandy.
• Being Prepared For Personal Disasters — Luschka at Diary of a First Child draws on her own recent experiences and considers five things every parent should have in place to ease the burden when sudden disaster strikes.
• The Natural Emergency Kit That I Always Carry in My Diaper Bag — Charise at I Thought I Knew Mama shares the four green and natural items in her emergency kit that she can't do without when she's out and about with her little ones.
• Prepared... or not? — Is it dangerous to not prepare? Jorje of Momma Jorje shares whether her family prepares…or not.
• Pack a car safety kit: 25 must-have items for emergencies — Whether you're out for a leisurely drive or fleeing a disaster, Lauren at Hobo Mama offers tips on stocking your car with emergency supplies that will tide you over if you're stranded.
• Teaching My Children About Tornados — Destany at They Are All of Me writes about preparing her children for tornado season.
• Preparing our children for emergencies — Preparing for emergencies means preparing your children, and Robbie at Going Green Mama shares ways on how to empower kids when it comes to emergencies.
• Emergency Preparedness in Sub-Saharan Africa — After living in Sub-Saharan Africa for 7 years, emergency preparedness is not just a concept any more to Laura from Authentic Parenting.
• Five Ideas to Keep Babies and Toddlers Safe from Choking — Do you have a baby or toddler who likes to put everything (and I mean *everything*) in her mouth? Dionna at Code Name: Mama does, and today she's sharing a story and some tips on how to keep your little ones safe from choking.

Homeschool Number Fun

Sofi and I have been doing some really fun number activities for school lately, and I wanted to share.

Numbered squares have a lot of possibility for learning math

First, I used construction paper and cut out 1.5" by 1.5" squares.  I used a crayon and numbered the squares.  I used one color for 1 - 25, another for 26 - 50, etc.  Then, I started thinking of what we could do with these numbers!

The obvious was to put them in chronological order.  Mixing them up first let her practice number recognition while ordering them.  But there are many other creative ways we came up with to use them!

1. Line them up in 2s, 3s, 4s, or 5s and skip count - as pictured.

2. Order them backwards.

3. Figure out how many sets of X you can make with 25, 50, etc.

4. Put odd numbers in one row and evens in another.

5. Draw random numbers and play "which number comes next?"

6. Sort them into piles by their tens.

We started with 1-25, then did another 25, and so on.  We've been playing games with these squares for a few weeks now.  They've really helped Sofi to grasp the one to one quality of the numbers as well as to visually see how addition, skip counting and tens work.  This is setting up the basis off the math processes, which we will be starting in the morning!

What other games can you come up with for the number squares?

Fall Vocabulary Poems for Beginning Readers

In Waldorf education, the children learn to read by writing verses, songs, tongue twisters, etc.  Sofi and I have been working on some Autumn themed poems and I thought I'd share them in case anyone else would like to use them!

Poem 1
Fall leaves
Fall down,
Yellow, orange,
Red, brown.

Poem 2
Moon yellow,
Leaves red,
Nuts brown,
Orange pumpkin bed.
Fall is here!

Poem 3
On a walk,
In the Fall,
Leaves from
Trees tall,
Red, orange, yellow, brown,
Lay down,
On the ground.

Poem 4
Pumpkin orange,
Nuts brown,
Yellow moon
Looks down.
Leaves red,
In bed.

Of course, these are all my original poems and belong solely to Our Mindful Life.  Anyone is welcome to use them for their own personal use, but please do give me credit if you use them for something else!  :D

Ten Tips for Travelling With Young Kids

As I've discussed a lot lately, our extended family is split between 2 different areas of the country - Missouri and Ohio.  So we have traveled with the kids since they were born.  Sofi's first car trip across was when she was 4 months old.  Walter's was at 3 weeks, and Elliott went to Denver with us (same distance, different direction) at 2 weeks old.  They are seasoned travelers, even at their tender ages.

Along the way, we've honed some great travel skills - parents and kids alike.  And we've done it all the old fashioned way - without laptops, audio books, game devices, or dvd players.  In fact, our travels resemble our home life, to a great extent.

I always have so much fun telling people about the little tricks we've learned, so I'm going to share some with you today, my fabulous readers!

10 Tips for Traveling With Young Kids

10. Prepare ahead of time by talking about it, so they are excited and know what to expect.  My kids are involved in every aspect of the travel that they can be.  Sometimes specifics aren't something they can decide (like, when Daddy can get time off work), but they can help choose clothing to pack, fold it and roll it to put it in the suitcase, and carrying things to the vehicle.  And for the days and weeks before, and while packing and loading the vehicle, we talk, talk, talk, talk about getting in the van and how we are going to be going to (insert destination here); WHY we are going; what we are going to do there; how much FUN we are going to have there; how we will be DRIVING for a LONG time to get there, and ALL THE FUN THINGS WE WILL DO ON OUR DRIVE!  So when we buckle in, the kids are ready.  They know we aren't stopping any time soon (ok, our kids have traveled with us long enough to know that we'll have to stop at least once before we actually make it out of town, most times, but THEN it's on)!  They already know what toys they've chosen to bring, what sights they will be looking for along the way, what snacks they will be eating, and whether or not we'll be stopping at a hotel for the night.

9. Dress comfortably - yourself and the kids.  Clothing that is too tight, too loose, will lump up in the seat, or won't let a child move freely while driving is maddening.  After a few hours in the car, sitting with a knot in the middle a child's back, a meltdown will be coming.  Also, my kids have learned to ask first, but that they are allowed to take off their shoes to have more room to wiggle their toes.

8. Pack snacks.  Keeping the kids' blood sugar even makes a huge difference in the way they will manage the stress of a trip.  Feeding snacks on a regular schedule really is so important.  Many food items are friendly for car travel.  Another tip that I discovered on our last trip was to let them choose their snacks when they got back in the car at each stop, instead of trying to feed them while we were stopped.  This gave them more time to eat, and more time to run - win/win!

7. Have toys and drawing supplies within reach of the kids.  These don't need to be new, and they don't need to be fancy.  Just some simple notebooks, a small pencil box with crayons, pencils, maybe some pens or washable markers, if the child won't be likely to draw all over the back seat, a few toys that they especially love and will keep them busy for hours.  I actually forgot to pack any toys at all for the kids coming from MO to OH on one trip lately, so we stopped at Walmart and I bought them each an $8 doll that came with a hooded blanket and a potty.  They played with those dolls the entire drive - happily.  I put all of the toys in one of the kids' backpacks, and used a suction cup hook to stick it to the back window where Sofi could reach it.  She can pass the toys out in the back seat and put them back in the bag when people are done with them.  When we stopped, I would scoop up any dropped toys and put them back in the backpack, ready for another round.

6. Set a timer for driving and breaks.  It is common knowledge that people will need to stop often to stretch, pee, and other sundry things while driving.  At the same time, this has to be balanced with actual forward momentum of the vehicle, in order to reach your destination.  I use the magic kitchen timer theory for the road, with most excellent results.  When we get in the car, I set the timer on my cell phone for 2 (or sometimes 2.5) hours.  I tell the kids, who can't yet tell time, that we will be finding a place to stop again when the timer goes off.  This makes sense to them.  The timer is set for lots of things at home.  They don't know what 2 hours is yet, but they can rest easy in KNOWING that the timer will go off eventually, and the van will stop.  This gives them something to expect and count on, and makes the driving much easier for them.  When the timer goes off, I find a suitable place to stop, and we get out of the van.  I set the timer again, for 30 minutes (or whatever is appropriate for the stop), and when the timer goes off, we load back up, grab our snacks, and get back on the road!  Again, the kids have an expectation and they don't struggle, because they know that the timer will go off again, and we'll do it all again.

5. Keep a routine.  Just like at home, kids thrive on routine.  If every trip follows a similar pattern, they learn what to expect, and are not as stressed about the difference in their daily routine.  Routine can come in the form of steps followed packing and loading the vehicle, steps followed at stops, setting the timer, or whatever pattern works for your family.

4. Stop where the kids can run, and let them run whenever you stop.  My kids' favorite place to stop for a break is a good playground.  We try to find them whenever we can.  There is usually a bathroom at the playground, and we can make a quick stop for gas on our way back to the highway, if needed.  The kids get a fast way to blow off some pent up energy, and they love the excitement of getting to discover a new set of equipment in a new place. If a playground isn't handy, or the time of day isn't compatible, there are many different options.  Many businesses have a nice strip of green running alongside or behind them.  A nice long strip of grass can be a great place for the kids to run - literally back and forth - and stretch their little bodies. If that isn't available, one of our favorite tricks is to find a Walmart (they are nearly everywhere), go to the bike section and find a bike or tricycle, and pop the kids on.  Let them ride the bike (calmly) through the store while we have a nice long walk.  Sometimes there is something we need to buy at the store, but usually it is just a clean bathroom and a good stretch, just like stopping at the park.

3. Bring books to read or tell stories.  A great outlet for the boring parts of the trip, or after dark, is stories.  My kids love to hear me tell tales about when I was a little girl, or about where we are going, and most especially, when I was a little girl and I went where we are going.  When those stories run out, a chapter book will do.  I use the kindle app on my phone for this usually, and I can read even in the dark.

2. Teach them to look out the windows.  This really is a practiced art form.  Simply looking out the windows does not really register with kids.  They really need to know what they are looking for.  Point out things to your kids that you or they find interesting.  Sofi is into firetrucks and other rescue vehicles, so we always watch for them.  Walter loves farms with great barns, animals, and silos, so we always watch for them.  Both kids love hay bales.  Point out the rivers, the trees, the differences in the landscape from where you live and where you've been.  Point out semis painted in your kids' favorite colors.  Point out trains.  Point out interesting things that you've never noticed before, or landmarks that you watch for each time.

1. Practice at home so they aren't used to being entertained.  Kids who depend on you for entertainment at all times at home will also depend on you for entertainment at all times while driving.  This can be annoying, frustrating for the kids, and downright dangerous if you are the only driver and you are also trying to entertain the children.  And it isn't fair to them, or to you, to expect them to suddenly be content driving in the car for hours without a constant stream of interaction from you, if they are used to always having that at home.  So, my number one tip for car travel is to let your kids practice being bored at home and coming up with a solution.  They don't have to sit still to practice - having the skill of finding something to do with what you have and where you are is invaluable, and translates to other media very easily.  A child who can stand in the middle of the back yard and figure out something to play, who can sit in a bedroom and figure out something to play, who can stand in the living room and find something to play, who can crawl under the dining room table and find something to play, will also be able to sit in a carseat and find something to play.  This is the beauty of creativity and imagination.  Just give your child plenty of time at home, without any input from you, to figure out how to entertain his or her self.

What other travel tips do you have?

My Mistake

The Bean has been learning hand work.  She is very excited.  What she really wants is to learn to sew, knit and crochet.  But we are starting small.  Her fine motor dexterity is not fine enough for anything complicated yet. So, we started with sewing quilt squares, and weaving on our pot holder loom.

We got started, and I showed her how to thread up the loom and draw the hook through with the yarn weaving in and out.  And then, she started making mistakes!  I knew it was coming, and at first, I prompted her to fix it.  But I wasn't enjoying that process, and neither was she.  Finally, I stopped insisting that each row be perfect and let her simply do it.

Two rows later, she was able to see that she had made a mistake.  She hadn't been able to find the mistakes when I was the one finding them, but left alone for 2 rows, she found them.  I showed her how to correct it.  A few rows later, she was finding and fixing the mistakes herself.  By the time she was done, her rows were perfect.

Amazing that I thought I had to teach her.  She knew how to figure it out all by herself!  My mistake.

She also took the pictures.

What Did You Learn At School Today?

Today, my kids have:

*Reacquainted themselves with some of their favorite cold weather clothing - Turning of the seasons - Earth Science

*Hauled firewood - Physical Education

*Sat mesmerized in front of a burning fire - Chemistry

*Counted out how many "clumps" of frozen peaches they could have with their lunch - Math

*Reenacted scenes from Farmer Boy and Little House on the Prairie - History

*Built with blocks - Both Math and Physical Science

*Learning new words and building a giant vocabulary - English

And this afternoon they will be

*Drawing with crayons - Art

*Learning the letter H (The Bean) - Reading

*And who knows what else?!

L, M, N, T?

The Bean has begun to learn her letters. I really held out as long as I could on teaching her, but she'd started to teach herself how to spell, and I was worried that she'd get into bad habits thinking that letters made a sound that they didn't. I've been very glad that we went ahead and started doing the letters, in the end.

We are going slowly - learning one letter each week. We started with L. Then we did M. Next came T. And this week we are working on N. And then people have asked... "Why L?"

I looked at many aspects of the letters and took a lot into consideration. Since I'm teaching an early 5 year old who doesn't have a lot of drawing skill yet, I felt it would be best to start with letters that are all straight lines and are not complicated to write. The part I didn't think through was that she can't really pronounce the L sound very accurately yet. But, she can hear it well enough that she can pick it out in a word most of the time just fine!

Bearing the language barrier in mind, I chose M next, then T. I was afraid that M and N would be too similar, but when she began calling Ns M, I knew we needed to address it head on - and she has done just fine.

On letter day, which is Monday, I tell the Bean a story or verse, and draw a picture from the story with her. I have my copy and she has hers. For L we did, "There once was a Lovely Little Lady who Loved to Ladle Long Leaves on the Lawn." Then we drew our lady, holding a big ladle which was actually the letter L, and all of the leaves fallen on the lawn. I write the verse at the top of our pages with all of the Ls in a different color than the rest of the text. Then we get a clean sheet of paper and write a big L in the middle. We go around and around the L in different colors until we've filled the entire page. Last, Beanie likes to practice writing the new letter on lined paper until she feels like she's really got it down.

Throughout the week, we practice the sound, find the letter in different writing, make the letter out of sticks and bark outside, draw the letter with sidewalk chalk, and anything else fun we think of to do with the letter! Bean will write the letter with her crayons when she is drawing for fun a lot.

And then we hole punch all of the papers from Monday and put them in her binder in order. When we've done the entire alphabet, we will bind the pages in alphabetical order in a book that she can keep.

Acorn Hunt!

Today, we went hunting for acorns to add to our classroom and toy collection.

We don't have any oaks on our property, nor any on our usual walking route. Ok, there is one oak with the tiniest little acorns on our route, but I was really hoping for BIG ones. So, a quick "wanted" post on Freecycle yielded some good leads, with one being just a few blocks away from the house. We took our baskets and set off to find some good acorns! It didn't take the kids long to gather up a significant amount.

We took them home and added them to a basket on the shelf. These acorns will become many things - play food, people, decorations, money, even math manipulatives when the time comes! This is the joy of truly open ended toys - they can become so many things beyond what they are.

Teaching Nutrition to Preschoolers

My kids are great eaters - generally speaking. But lately, I've become uneasy about the consumption of some foods to excess while ignoring others. Our rules for eating are pretty laid back - the kids are not expected to clean their plates, or eat something they don't like. We always offer whatever we are having, but I'm also not a short order cook. When we know that someone will likely not like what we are having for dinner, we generally expect that we will be making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich half way through dinner - and we are fine with that. A friend of mine once gave me a sage piece of advice that helped me to see this in a good light. She said, "I'm a vegetarian and the rest of my family eats meat. If I had to either eat meat or not eat at dinner every night, that wouldn't be fair."

Also, we let the kids pick their breakfast, lunch and snacks from a list of choices. We truly believe in giving them as much freedom as possible, but we also believe in educating them about the choices they are making. It seems silly to us to not inform them that the fire is hot and then to let them play in the room with a fire. The same goes for food - we want them to understand the value and danger of food while letting them have a large say in what they eat.

So, I began looking for some information about teaching preschoolers about nutrition. But none of the resources I found really worked for our family. To start with, my son has some extensive food sensitivities which means that he can't eat an entire food group from the traditional food pyramid. Also, I don't believe that fats are the bad guys that they are made out to be, and we make sure to get plenty of them every day - so lumping them in with sweets definitely doesn't work for us.

I began to think over what I believe to be true about nutrition, and to put together a lesson for the children that would reflect those beliefs - and would also be age appropriate for them. This is what I came up with!

I started with a large sheet of newsprint. I wrote across the top "Healthy Eating" - not that they can read it! Then, I drew a large rectangle, all of the way across the top of the paper. I asked what kind of foods we need to eat a lot of. My daughter answered quickly, "Vegetables!" I asked what else was like vegetables and she promptly responded, "Fruits!" So we labelled that top box "Fruits and Vegetables". We broke it into 5 different, equally sized squares and colored each square in a rainbow color.

Next, we drew another rectangle, not quite so large as the first, and labelled it "Grains and Breads". Next we added "Proteins and Meats" in a box about the same size as the grains box. Across the bottom was a square called "Calcium", a rectangle called "Oils and Fats" and a small rectangle labelled "Sweets and Treats".

We cut the label off of our rice milk jug and put it in the calcium square (just to be clear, we used an empty, washed jug for this). We will add an almond milk label when we have an empty jug too. Then, we ran off to the computer and Google Images where we looked up pictures of MANY of our favorite foods! I let the kids help to come up with ideas for the foods, and we looked for black and white pictures so that we could color them in. When we had most of our favorites, we printed up the pictures in thumbnail size. Then we had a good time coloring them in. After everything was colored in, we got out the clear tape and taped each food onto the chart where it belonged. The fruits and veggies we separated by color to show that each color had a value.

It was a very interesting lesson for the kids, and a great visual representation for them of the food groups that we actually eat, along with how much of each item we should be eating. I don't necessarily believe in daily servings so much as I believe in overall balance, and I think that the varying size squares really represent that well. I was also lovingly impressed with the foods the children chose. While they forgot some of the basics (melons, carrots), they remembered things like turnips, and mango.

Throughout the short term future, we will talk about what we are eating, and where it belongs on the chart, whether it is something we should eat lots of or just a little bit, why we should choose organic options, how each item on the chart contributes something different to our bodies, and why it is important to eat a balance of foods instead of just a lot of mayonnaise - not that anyone at our house has a problem with that, or anything!