Free Lecture: Create a Healthy Family Life

I received notice of an upcoming lecture and seminar April 23-24, 2010 located at the Rudolf Steiner School of Ann Arbor. The first annual "The Years of Wonder” conference is open to parents, educators, homeschoolers and those individuals interested in creating an environment where young children can acquire skills, capacities and knowledge needed to live well in the world.

The overall conference will focus on enriching parenting skills, practices to foster vigorous brain development and creating a healthy, nurturing home environment!  There is also a FREE Friday night lecture “Love’s Other Name-Discipline”  and focuses on creating a healthy family life that supports intuitive discipline. Parents will take home skills to support their children’s well-balanced, broad-based learning, and thereby give these children treasures to last a lifetime.

Life Lesson: Teaching Gratitude with a Side of Math!

Zach and I headed over to Food Gatherers today for their Family Volunteer Day - Which was really a block of 90-minutes instead of all day. It was a great activity for him, very age appropriate, and was just long enough to hold his attention for a lesson in being socially responsible by helping others.

My first objective, was to make sure that he understood what the Food Gatherers organization was about. I settled on telling him that Food Gatherers is a place where food is collected to give to those that can't afford to go buy groceries. A clearer explanation for him though came while we were driving when I mentioned the "food bank warehouse" and Zach pipped up "You mean it's like the bank where I put my college money?" "Actually yes that's exactly what it is. Food Gatherers takes food from people like you and I (we brought a few cans to donate which helped) and then stores it for people who need groceries. Families can then take their groceries out of the bank!" That still doesn't completely encompass what Foodgatherer's is, but it worked easily enough and further explanation came when we were inside volunteering.

Zach and I were actually assigned to the Carrot Cake Crew (or maybe that was what we called it!) where we created 2-pound bags of carrot cake mix from larger bulk bags. I was thrilled to do this too because not only was it a lesson in volunterring, but this job was a quick "math lesson" as well: 

"We have 3 bags already packaged Zach, how many more do we need to reach 8?"

"Each box needs 16 bags of cake mix and there are 11 already there. How many more bags do we need to put into the box?"

Zach thoroughly enjoyed being the one to scoop the cake mix into the bag on a scale, he also really liked watching the scale adjust until he got each bag weighed just right.  He was a tad on the short side though and complained - only briefly - that his arms were hurting. (I don't blame him at all!) So instead he sealed the bags and carried them over to the packing boxes.

He and I bagged around 36 bags of mix, and never once did he ask to go home! He didn't even mind the clean up portion and grabbed the broom with glee... If only he volunteered to help like that at home!

If they asked I'm certain he would have wanted to stay all day...

Our morning was a great way to spend time together, to enjoy helping others and was a great way to instill gratitude into Zach. I would do it again in a heartbeat and will be watching very closely for more family volunteer days - If you would be interested in family volunteer opportunities, be sure to sign up for the Food Gatherers e-mail list.

Take the Family on a tour of a Working Mill: Learn About Eating Local!

I found a neat opportunity for local families when researching another article.  Have you ever wanted to teach your children about the entire process of getting food to your table - Call it teaching them the farm to fork method!  On April 11 from 2-3:30 p.m. you have that opportunity by touring the Westwind Milling Company (8572 Silver Lake Rd., Linden 48451).

Gather the family and take a family-friendly, hands-on field trip to historic Westwind Milling Co. in picturesque Linden (30-40 minutes north of Ann Arbor up US-23), where you’ll learn about the milling process, the history of the mill, and the significance of eating local food. The cost os very family friendly as well at only $5 per person, however children under 5 get in FREE.  In addition to the tour, the price includes Westwind’s bran or nonbran muffins and organic apple cider and children will also receive an activity book.

This event is sponsored by the Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum, so please register at MBGNA and pay at the mill.

Another Family Friendly Volunteering Opportunity for Older Children & Teens

The Ann Arbor Earth Day Festival is currently recruiting volunteers to assist with onsite coordination during the event on Sunday April 25th, 2010 at Washtenaw Community College. We are looking for individuals and organizations that have interest in contributing towards making this year’s event a success while helping us celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day! This opportunity is great for older scouts, high school volunteer groups, college and adult organizations and individuals. Volunteers can select from a variety of positions ranging from costumed assistants during the annual All-Species parade to onsite Zero-Waste facilitators. For more information on how to be involved please visit the Earth Day Festival information page.

This Weekend: Create an Egg Masterpiece at Tree Town Toys

Here's the Saturday morning scenario - And it's not a "yolk-ing matter" (Sorry for the April Fools Pun):

Your eggs are decorated, the Easter baskets are filled and you are ready for Easter Sunday brunch. The kids are getting antsy though, and want to DO something however you don't want your children's craft projects to make a mess in YOUR house. So what's a mom to do??? Why they load their children into the car and decorate Easter Eggs with Tree Town Toys!

On Saturday April 3, from 10:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. kids ages 4 and up can join Amber at Tree Town Toys (2611 Plymouth Rd., Ann Arbor) for a fun Easter "masterpiece" for just $3. To sign up for the project call 734.929.6545 or visit the Tree Town Toys website.