National Childhood Obesity Month

Posted on by Mandy

 

September is National Childhood Obesity Month.  Have you ever stopped to teach your child about portion control and what is a healthy serving of food?  My son is still in the picky eating stage, but occasionally when he really loves something (which is rare), I notice that his eyes become bigger than his stomach.  This month’s content talking point from Hormel has given us an opportunity to discuss healthy food portions and I was thrilled that his class discussed nutrition one week this month.

A visual image is sometimes all a person needs to see exactly how much of a portion of food they are taking in.  One easy way to do this is with a digital food scale. 

 

 Food scales are simple to use and can allow you to “zero out” the weight of the dish or bowl you are using to hold the food.  This way, you can get a clear visual for exactly how much your portion weighs and use a food portion chart to compare yours with to see if it’s considered healthy or not.  We’ve had fun testing ours out and I have to admit I was surprised to see what I thought was considered a healthy portion of certain foods were actually not.  With a little practice, I’ve gotten much better at it.

This month, I encourage you to talk with your children about making healthy food decisions.  The habits they form now about food can impact them for the rest of their lives.  

I received this digital food scale to facilitate this post as part of being a Hormel Extended Family blogger.  No other compensation was received. 

Emergen-C Kidz Vitamin Supplement

Posted on by Mandy

It’s so easy during our hectic days to let nutrition and eating a healthy, balanced diet go ignored.  I’m often guilty as I rush home from work, to swim practice, and back home again to begin my work at home to just grab whatever is fast and call it good.  Every so often, a small voice nags at me for not being better prepared, wondering if my son is getting everything he needs as a growing boy to be healthy.  I know that getting the right amount of vitamins and minerals daily is important for optimal health and in the past I have shopped around for different supplements for him to ensure that happens.  However, he is very sensitive to textures and tastes and we’ve bought more than enough products that were never used more than once.

Emergen-C Kidz has proved to be one such product that is the exception.  When we received our samples to try, my son was immediately excited that it was a supplement that he could drink.  We simply added the Emergen-C Kidz powder packet to bottled water and he thought it was just another fun, fruity drink!  Only I know the real difference, that it’s packed with the daily vitamins and minerals he needs to supplement his diet.  He loves the taste and has asked for it everyday since trying it.

Emergen-C Kidz is asking all families to take the Emergen-C Kidz Pledge, which asks that you commit to creating a more fun and healthy lifestyle for your family.  Eating more nutritious food, taking a daily vitamin, and being more active while spending more time together is what the pledge is all about.  I took it and it was super easy.  Simply visit Emergen-C Kidz on Facebook and take the pledge yourself.  As a bonus, for every pledge that is made, Emergen-C will donate 25 cents to Vitamin Angels, an organization that helps provide essential nutrients to children.  25 cents will provide one child a whole year’s worth of nutrients they need.  It’s a great way to help your family AND help others at the same time.

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Emergen-C and received samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

 

Emergen-C

Online Children’s Books

Posted on by Mandy

childrens books

Probably one of the most fun things about being a children’s librarian is the amazing websites I am stumbling across while looking for supplemental ideas for my lesson plans. I love reading my students books, but I also try to incorporate media and technology into our lessons. After all, these children are being raised in a digital world. Looking back, the technology we had in our school library when I was growing up seems almost antique. Anyone remember those old filmstrips that would project on the wall and the recording would make a beep when it was time for the teacher to manually turn the dial to the next still shot? Haha!! We thought that was the greatest thing.

Just this week I found a couple of great websites I wanted to share where books literally come alive for children. If this is something you think your child might enjoy, then check out:

WeGiveBooks.org: Not only can you read a book to your child at this website, when you’re finished, with a click of the mouse you can donate a book to a campaign that is in need of books for children. It’s a win-win situation! This site has an excellent selection of children’s books, but you will have to read them aloud to younger kids who can’t read yet. It’s great reading practice for the older ones who can read.

Online Story Time (Barnes & Noble)- This site is my absolute favorite of the bunch because not only are the books read to the children, but they are read by the authors of the books. It’s neat for the children to hear the author’s read their respective books themselves, and the selection is fabulous!

Storyline Online: This one comes a close second as my favorite because they stories are read by celebrities. From Betty White to Ernest Borgnine, your child will love the great selection of popular children’s books.

There are, of course, many other websites out there that offer interactive children’s books, but I really enjoyed these three and can already tell I will be using them often to supplement my lesson plans. I hope you enjoy them as much as my students will!