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Earth Day 2011

It’s spring and it’s time for Earth Day again. April 22 was named Earth Day by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970. By 1990, it went international and it is coordinated now by Earth Day Network. The United Nations (U.N.) designated April 22 as International Mother Earth Day in 2009. Why April 22? Actually, many communities celebrate the entire week, known as Earth Week. Senator Nelson felt that was a good time to maximize the day for college campuses. It didn’t interfere with exams or spring holidays, but the time was late enough in the year for the weather to … Continue reading →

This Saturday is Stamp Out Hunger Day

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This Saturday, your letter carrier, i.e. mailperson, will pick up canned goods and non-perishable food items for the annual “Stamp Out Hunger” drive. The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) has been doing this for 18 years now. This year, Campbell Soup Company is teaming up with them in what is the largest single-day food drive in the country. The letter carriers do this every May to help stock of the food pantries, which often run short of food during the summer. Despite hard times, the letter carriers collected 73.4 million pounds of food last year. The U.S. Department of … Continue reading →

Facts to Consider on Earth Day

Happy Earth Day! Yes, today is the fortieth anniversary of Earth Day. I’ve written several blogs about this day, but thought one more was in order. Here are a few interesting facts to think about on Earth Day: An acre of tropical forest is lost each second. Americans are among the worst environmental culprits. Although we only make up 5% of the Earth’s population, we use 33% of the paper produced and put out 72% of all hazardous waste. Americans also use 25% of the world’s energy and every two minutes, we use one million gallons of oil. The Environmental … Continue reading →

What on Earth do I do with Chard?

Our adventures in the Botanical Gardens on Thursday proved to provide quite the amount of blog fodder. I wrote about planning to have a healthy lunch in my mission possible journal in weight loss. I wrote about the twins’ tantrums in the baby blog. And now I’m writing about the bounties from gardening class in the food blog. One of the side benefits of having my kids in a gardening class is that my kids harvest their own produce. Every week we abound in good fruits and vegetables. Fresh garlic, cherry tomatoes, basil–you name it–they’ve brought it home. I’m generally … Continue reading →

A Brief History of “Pox Parties”

There seems to be a trend going on involving “Pox Parties”. In short, the purpose of these parties is to intentionally get a child exposed to chicken pox. Did you know that your health insurance covers the cost of the vaccine that protects children from this disease? What is a “Pox Party”? This is the term used when parents intentionally expose their healthy children to the chicken pox virus. In the past, this was generally done by bringing children over to the home of a child who currently has the chicken pox. Typically, the “Pox Party” would include family members, … Continue reading →

How do you choose a child you’ve never met?

Can I ask you a question? Just one question…? How on earth am I supposed to say yes or no to a child I have never actually met? As I mentioned the other day, we have been presented with a potential match. We had some questions, and we had some concerns. We were initially given what they call a “child study” on this girl. The child study is similar to the home study, but while the home study is the information on an adoptive or foster family, the child study is a document containing information about the child. Based on … Continue reading →

School Buses: Another Idle Threat

I have been blogging about vehicle idling and the damage it can do to your wallet and the environment. The rule of thumb is to turn your engine off if you plan on sitting idle for more than 30 seconds. No, it won’t hurt the engine and no, idling won’t help your car warm up. But, even if everyone turned their vehicles off, there is still another idling threat – school buses. It is estimated that each day, 24 million kids in the U.S. ride school buses. That means there are about 600,000 school buses on the road each day. … Continue reading →

Snow White’s Secret Green Streak

For my wrap-up to environmental week, I’m going to explore whether or not Walt Disney was, in part, responsible for the modern environmental movement. According to a book by a Cambridge University scholar, Disney films, particularly those produced between 1937 and 1967 and 1984 and 2005, are responsible for making viewers respond to and care more for the natural world. “The Idea of Nature in Disney Animation” by Dr. David Whitley, an English literature professor, argues that the eras of Walt Disney and Michael Eisner produced films which made young viewers in particular aware of nature and the issues surrounding … Continue reading →

Author Lauren Carr and the Many Animals That Inspire Her, An Interview

My next interview victim –er, I mean subject—is mystery author Lauren Carr. The thing that struck me most about her interview is how ingrained animals are in her life, and therefore in her books. Lauren shared a bunch of wonderful pet-related anecdotes that elicited more than one knowing head nod or chuckle from me. Will it be the same for you? Read for yourself and see if you can’t relate to her life with pets. Courtney Mroch: What kind of things do you write about? (Genre, subject matter, themes, what have you.) Lauren Carr: I am the author of the … Continue reading →

What Your Second Grader Should Know: Science

Initial experiences in science should be all about observation. I personally believe that one reason kids tend not to do as well in science after 3rd grade is that they were never taught to observe properly. Before your child delves deeply into the world of scientific fact, encourage as much meaningful observation as possible. Ask questions like: describe, what, and show. Encourage details. Of course you will do experiments, and learn facts but your end goal should always be the detailed observation of what you’re studying. After your child starts to observe well, then you can start asking questions like … Continue reading →