This morning I read an article by Meryl Gwinn in my local newspaper. A friend was quoted as saying, “We have no right to stress ourselves out; to live any way less than in joyful appreciation.” As our busy lives get busier during this upcoming holiday season, may we all take time to consider the wonder around us: friends, family, children, and creation. May our hearts be filled with thanks and enjoyment as we press on through our days.
“The doors of wisdom are never shut.” Benjamin Franklin
One of the saddest experiences in my teaching career was when one of my struggling students told me that their dictionary was being used as a T.V. stand. Many of my students struggle with word meaning and vocabulary. The majority of American students don’t see the value of their dictionary. Noah Webster stated, “the Dictionary was, next to the Bible, the great school book”. Do you have a good dictionary? A lot can be gleaned from this great book! Mr. Webster worked tirelessly on his American Dictionary. He took it with him on trips across oceans to continue to add new words to his volume. Webster believed that the dictionary would teach human virtues like self-control over one’s passions, overcome laziness, respect authority, love God, and help to maintain social order. Where has the excitement in learning gone? Kids in school today seem mostly unchallenged and almost “brain-dead”. Look at the book your student is reading. Is it meaningful in any way? Even book displays at stores are full of fun colors/illustrations, but what are they teaching? One way to challenge students is to have them use their dictionaries every day. I believe some of the greatest thinkers in our world use their dictionary often. A marathon runner from the United States in the last summer Olympics immigrated from a foreign country. His father instructed all his children to read the dictionary. Those children grew up into productive, thinking adults. Quite impressive, since they were new to America. Learning is possible and reading a dictionary will add color to a dull education.
Imagine a world where everyone was the same and had the same interests. How boring! Instead, we are blessed with a variety of cultures filled with different people, foods, arts, and lifestyles. Travelling to different locations is wonderful, but if you can’t get away physically there are alternative ways to experience different cultures. In the United States, one does not have to travel far to enjoy different cultures. We are blessed from coast to coast with multiple cultures. Literature is one way to dive into different cultures. Two books that are well written with delightful stories are Pelle’s New Suit by Elsa Beskow and The Farolitos of Christmas by Rudolfo Anaya. Both books are beautifully illustrated. Beskow is a Swedish author who writes about a growing boy who needs a new outfit. He creatively solves his problem by using his lamb’s wool and works with his family and town to sew a new suit. Anaya’s story is about a young girl who loves her family. A problem arises and she wonders if their New Mexican family tradition will continue. Her Christmas is full of surprises with an unexpected happy ending. Both books will warm your heart and give you a deeper appreciation for multiple cultures.
Learning is an adventure, and those who have chosen the life long road to discovery are enjoying the taste of the journey. How sad that 70 percent of American high school graduates will never read a book cover to cover after they graduate! Is this how our current educational system instills a joy for learning? Education should be individualized and personal. Every person is a unique human being given their own set of talents to serve in this world. All people have a place and a purpose. An educational system as large as America’s cannot meet the needs of all its learners. As an educator, it was my goal to try to do this. It exhausted me and burned me out. With smaller class sizes (20 or under) meeting student’s needs was more possible. In 2004 my class size nearly doubled to 32. Sometimes, I would have up to 38 kids in my class! This became a classroom management challenge and seemed like more maintenance than education! With Common Core being implemented in many states, education will become less personalized and more of a “one size fits all” package. This will cause even more children to lose their spark for discovery. Learning should be fun and enjoyable. I believe it can be when it is personally tailored for each individual learner.
“The longest life is not long enough in which to learn even very simple and common things.” Christian Liberty Nature Reader
Did you know that there are about 3 chickens for every person on the planet? Actually, there are close to 19 billion of these birds on Earth.* Certain breeds of chickens can lay up to 300 eggs a year! One hundred years ago, many American families kept chickens in their backyard. Kitchen scraps would go out the back door to the flock. Chickens are omnivores, so they enjoy eating a variety of foods. We feed our girls all organic chicken crumble/pellets. They are excellent debuggers, fabulous egg layers, weed devourers, and great at making wonderful compost/manure for your garden. Many people believe that hens need a rooster to make eggs. Hens will lay eggs without a rooster about every 25 hours. However, a rooster is needed to fertilize the eggs. Chickens are incredible egg factories. The process in their little bodies is amazing. First, the yolk is released, an egg white is formed, and the longest process is the manufacturing of the shell. The largest part of the egg comes out first. Our girls enjoy special treats like organic corn, sunflower seeds, and shredded mozzarella cheese. They actually laugh when thrown some cheese. We have heard the chickens purr when they are happy as well. It sounds more like a cooing. We sure do appreciate our chickens!
*Statistic from Vital Times http://www.vitalfarms.com
We want our snacks!
Overhead View
While in fourth grade, I watched a movie about “advanced” farming technology while HUGE combines were harvesting acres and acres of wheat. This movie thoroughly impressed me! The message was that modern-day agriculture was great! But was it really? Where is America today? Our crops are polluted with poison through chemical sprays and our animals are polluted with antibiotics, vaccines, and hormones. Drive past or around one of these farms and you will smell it and be glad to get away from it. How sad that farms have turned into cesspools. This should not be. Farms should smell good and be happy places for all creatures. Instead of being sad and disgusting places, farms should be a place of revival and renewal. Animals can and do heal the land. Did you know that grass varieties provide natural antibiotics and essential vitamins to pastured animals? Given the right environment, animals don’t need antibiotics, hormones, and vaccines. Think about the American prairie 150 years ago. The grasses were tall, the soil plentiful, and life was abundant. Why can’t it be this way now? There are farmers who care and, in a sense, are “salt of the Earth”. You may support these innovators with your choice to purchase their “clean” food–even if it costs a little more. You will benefit and others will too.
About 3 years ago we began to suffer from clicking jaws, plugged ears, and runny noses. We were taking allergy medicines and Quercetin. They did help our symptoms, but not the root of our problem. Last April, we watched a popular video on You-Tube titled Wheat: The Unhealthy Whole Grain- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSDkJEF9aBY. Suddenly, a bell went off in our heads. We began to experiment in our kitchen by eliminating “store-bought wheat”. Within days our symptoms began to disappear without the use of anti-histamines! But we enjoy eating grains, so we began visiting every store in town to collect different grain/flour varieties. We do not have gluten intolerance. We are allergic to the hybridized modern-day wheat, better known as high yield, semi dwarf wheat, found in most stores and baking products. We have discovered some ancient grains like Emmer (purchased at Bluebird Grain Farms in Washington), Einkorn (Jovial), and Spelt. We have bought MANY gluten-free grains as well. Our energy levels have increased and we feel better. During this baking season, we are outliers, and working hard to combine flours and grains to make recipes that taste good.
As a middle school student, a friend of mine loaned me her Hobbit book. It was the first book that I could not put down. I was caught up in Bilbo’s adventure. To this day, The Hobbit is one of my favorite pieces of literature. To prepare for the release of the movie, I revisited the story with even more enjoyment the second time. With The Desolation of Smaug being released in December 2013, I wanted to do more preparation for the movie. I have often had many unanswered questions about the elves, “the all seeing eye”, the ring’s power, etc. Tolkien wrote another book titled The Silmarillion. This is a challenging read, but many questions get answered if you enjoy Tolkien’s writings. The attached video simplifies Silmarillion. Watch it to the end. You will be rewarded and have a great foundation about how The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings fit into Tolkien’s imagination.
Food choices are made every day by most people in the United States. We have the freedom to choose what we want to eat. Finding life-giving food is difficult, but it is available. It must be sought like a hidden treasure. Eating food from our back yard garden has brought whole, new, and delicious flavors to our plates. While watching Food, Inc. a few years ago, a family in the movie was trying to justify their poor choice of having to eat at Burger King. The father had diabetes and one of their daughters was in danger of becoming diabetic. Yet, the parents ate at Burger King and passed the bagged food to their daughters in the back seat. They claimed they were too busy and, in a sense, too poor to prepare and serve healthy food to their family. I understand that people get busy and tired. However, I believe it is important to have priorities. Making the right changes/choices are important! Not long ago, I was shopping at Sprout’s for some healthy food. The woman in front of me at the checkout had a shopping cart full of produce. I was amazed when her bill came to only $12.00. She left the store with two FULL bags of life-giving food. I remembered that family eating fast food in Food, Inc. for about $12.00. That was for ONE meal! The woman in front of me probably ate for a week! We all make choices. We are personally responsible for them. October is G.M.O. awareness month. May we all become more aware and “responsible” for our health and the health of others. http://naturalsociety.com/5-tips-how-to-avoid-gmo-foods-grocery-store/
When I was a freshman at U.C.L.A., my teacher’s assistant for Chemistry was studying how to change the D.N.A. of carrots. At the time, I thought it sounded like advanced science. I had no idea how his studies would involve my future. Do you know if you are putting G.M.O.s (genetically modified organisms) into your body? About 70 percent of processed food has genetically modified organisms. Do you believe that you have the right to know? I believe that you do. Everything that you eat goes into your amazing, machine-like human body. Trillions of cells work together to run your organ system. Your gut, full of coiled tubes many feet long, digests and collects everything you put in your mouth. EVERYTHING, good and bad. G.M.O.s are altered foods that were not created “good”. You, as a consumer, have a right to know what is in the food that you are purchasing. Your food is already labelled. Why not add a simple G.M.O. label? http://www.anh-usa.org/how-much-will-gmo-labeling-cost-consumers/ The general election in Washington state is November 5, 2013. Initiative 522 is giving people the opportunity to “Know G.M.O.”. The following are a list of current genetically engineered seeds used to varying degrees in the United States:
For your health and the health of our Earth, educate yourself and others. For more information you may link to Organic Consumers at http://www.organicconsumers.org/. “If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as the souls who live under tyranny.” Thomas Jefferson
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