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Musings of a Freelance WriterStephany Springer (41,578)     Stephany Springer   US Postal Service Taking Heat For Becoming Grinch!Posted Friday, November 20, 2009 (10 hours 11 minutes ago.) Viewed 79 times. Every year, children sit down to write their letters to Santa, the man in red that is known for bringing presents on Christmas Eve night. The letters all addressed to the north pole have become part of a holiday tradition for millions of children in the world. This year those children will not get a response to their letter. The U.S. Postal Service is dropping a the national program that began in 1954 in the small Alaska town of North Pole, where volunteers open and respond to thousands of letters each year. The replies are sure to be authentic as they come from the North Pole postmark. It always takes one The US Postal Service contends they are canceling the service out of safety for the children. Last year in Maryland, a sex offender was found volunteering for the Operation Santa program in the state. That was enough to cancel the program until changes in security can be made. Unfortunately, the North Pole post office does not have the means to change in this amount of short time. Kids can still send letters to Santa Claus. The Postal Service still runs the giant Operation Santa Program in which children can have their letters to Santa answered, and the restrictions do not affect privately run letter efforts. What will change are the generically addressed letters to "Santa Claus, North Pole" that for years have been forwarded to the Alaska town. That program will stop. As parents what do we do to keep this tradition alive. Obviously, the North Pole return address is no longer an option. Last year, I introduced my kids to the internet form of letter writing. Visit www.emailsanta.com and receive an instant reply complete with a printer friendly option. It is all for free and there is no postage cost at all. 
Permalink Comments (0) Parents And Nutritionist Want Chocolate Milk Out of Schools?Posted Friday, November 13, 2009 (7 days 8 hours ago.) Viewed 45 times. I guess I really shouldn't be surprised at this point. The options for kids lunches continue to dwindle with every day a new statistic coming out about childhood obesity. But Chocolate milk? Really? The Milk Industry is set to launch a new campaign this month, "Raise your hand for chocolate milk" campaign. Of course someone has to complain about the emphasis on the chocolate milk. Nutritionist and educators feel that chocolate milk is too sugary. The milk industry doesn't want chocolate milk to garner the same status as the soda. In turn, The National Dairy Council and the Milk Processor Education Program are spending between $500,000 to $1 million to get the message across that chocolate milk is good. According to the National Dairy Council, "Flavored milk drinkers consume more milk than exclusively white milk drinkers. Offering flavored low-fat or fat-free milk can help increase milk consumption and boost overall participation in school meal programs." As a parent, I serve my kids chocolate milk. We usually flavor Two percent milk, not whole milk, but my kids are far from obese. The National Dairy Council also state, "Removing flavored milk from schools has been shown to result in a 62-63 percent reduction in milk consumption by kids in kindergarten through 5th grade, a 50 percent reduction in milk consumption by adolescents in 6th through 8th grades, and a 37 percent reduction in milk consumption in adolescents in 9th through 12th grades." Do we really want to protest this as parents? A few years back, I taught fifth grade at an inner city school when the big craze happened to remove snacks and sodas from school. It was frustrating. The kids would just get off the bus with whole bags of Fiery Hot Cheetos and two litters of orange soda. Then as a teacher, we were denied sodas because we weren't as smart as the kids to think ahead and bring from home, not to mention the money the PTO failed to take in off of those sales. Taking stuff out of the school just makes it more appealing to the kids. Chocolate milk is healthy. There is such a thing as taking away too much for kids. Milk is something kids need and if making it a treat is a bad thing, I do not want to be a parent. Flavored milk contains the same nutrients as white milk, except more kids want it. What are your thoughts? Should they ban chocolate milk from schools across America too? For more information, visit online at http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/NationalDairyCouncil/
Permalink Comments (0) Thanksgiving Activities To Bring Families ClosePosted Monday, November 09, 2009 (11 days 9 hours ago.) Viewed 66 times. It is getting close to that time again when the kids will be home for that much too short Thanksgiving break. What a great time to spend that extra time together celebrating Thanksgiving and growing close together. Here are some activities to keep your family actively engaged with this Thanksgiving Break Family Turkey There are several ways to do this activity. I love doing this in our family just to see how our views change over the years. AS a family, you will make a turkey. This can be done with construction paper, paint, wood, etc. Each family member is given feathers dependent on how many people are in the family. We do three. Then each person decorates the feather and writes what they are the most thankful for this year. It may be a new job, a new teacher, a win on the field, health, etc. It is a great way to look back over the year. If you are one of those people who like to keep memories, these are a great way to do so. Dinner collage After dinner, make a collage to remember the day. Make sure to take pictures of all your guests, dinner table, food, etc. Then make a collage of Thanksgiving 2009, or whatever year it is. This can be done easily online by uploading pics to the local photo site or done on paper with stickers and glue. Get creative. Cook together I love cooking with my kids and always try recipes in which they can help as well. It can be the simple things like stirring, pouring or even cracking the eggs. Put on aprons and chef hats and pretend to be chefs. Don't worry about the mess, just have fun. One fun recipe is Ritz Crackers Turkeys. Buy chocolate fudge icing in a tub. Give your kids a knife or craft stick to spread the icing on the ritz cracker. Then place a hershey kiss towards the front and candy corn as the feathers on the back. Then dip one more candy corn in the icing and "glue" it to the top of the kiss as a beak. The kids will love making these turkeys. Volunteer together Collect food for a local shelter, help serve at a shelter, mow a neighbor's lawn, serve at an animal shelter. Volunteer opportunities are endless. Pack up a plate after dinner and take to a homeless person on the side of the street. It will help your family see the importance of helping those less fortunate. These are just a few suggestions. Stay active that week of vacation. Go collect leaves at the park. Get out and make a difference. Celebrate the good things in life and spend time together. Play games and just love your time together.
Permalink Comments (0) Celebrate America Recycles Day On Nov. 15Posted Tuesday, October 27, 2009 (24 days 9 hours ago.) Viewed 798 times. America Recycles Day is Nov. 15. I have to admit that this day means more to me this year then it ever has in the past. At my own home this year, we have gotten a new trash service. With that new service came a recycle bin that we can put out each week. I was shocked by the accompanied list at how much can be recycled. At first I thought that we would never be able to do it and keep everything straight. Just not enough time, I thought. But then my son said something profound. "Sometimes I worry about all of that," he said. "What," I asked. "The earth dying and us not having enough trees to breathe," he said. His knowledge came from school and he seemed very concerned. I felt a lump in my stomach and realized recycling is the least I could do. So we started as a family recycling. You will not believe how the kids fight over who gets to throw the item in the recycle bin. Since we are competitive by nature, I have to boast that our bin is the fullest every week on the street. I was shocked at how much we could be recycling and how much less our trash output was every week. America Recycles Day is the only nationally recognized day dedicated to encouraging Americans to recycle and buy recycled products. This year will be the 12th year to celebrate the day. On Nov. 15 each year, millions of people become better informed about recycling because of this day.Take the time out to learn more and visit an event in your area. Go to http://www.americanrecylesday.org The site has useful information including area events and a calculator to see how recycling impacts earth. You can type in how much cans, paper, glass or plastic you recycle and it can calculate how much you are helping the environment. Very interesting stuff.
Permalink Comments (1) Six Early Literacy Skills Your Preschooler Needs To Know Before KindergartenPosted Friday, October 23, 2009 (28 days 6 hours ago.) Viewed 110 times. Preschoolers are like sponges so it is imperative that they develop these literacy skills to prepare them for a lifetime of learning at the top of the class. Early literacy is about helping your child get ready to read. Experts say there are six early literacy skills that every preschooler should know in order to help the reading process. Print Motivation-Preschoolers should have a joy of books and reading together. This is easy to accomplish by exposing them early to the library, storytime and picture books. You can start fostering this as early as infancy. Print Awareness-Preschoolers should know that print on a page has meaning and is read in a certain direction. Big picture books and pointers are a great way to model this as well as using your finger to point to the words while reading. Vocabulary-It is important for preschoolers to begin building their vocabulary by knowing the names of things. This starts as a baby and should be continued. While shopping in the store, point out items. On trips, point out buildings and trains. Play I-Spy, kids love that and it teaches them vocabulary. Letter Knowledge-There is a reason as parents we sing the ABC song until we are blue in the face. Preschoolers should learn that different letters have different names and that sounds go with letters. There are so many great toys available today that teaches this concept. You can also show them this every time you eat dinner- Oh, Apple sauce starts with A- or a. Narrative Skills-This is probably a preschoolers favorite. They love to tell stories. It is essential for preschoolers to develop the skill of understanding, describing and telling stories. As busy as you are, it is essential to listen to your child and have them even tell you about their day! Phonological Awareness-I know it is a big word, but it just means the awareness of sounds in words. Preschoolers should hear and play with smaller sounds in words. What difference does all of this make? You should shape your preschoolers experiences around these six early learning skills. If you are a mom, plan out your day so that each of these areas are addressed. If you are a teacher, make sure every one of these areas are stressed to your preschoolers throughout the day.
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