This teacher has a quick reference guide posted at her TeacherWeb site. She is going to move it soon so if you will need it to help or learn to read braille with oyur child/student better hurry and get a copy. from theispdf file. I am working on the same type of reference in large print with ASCII characters for my parents and teachers. When I am done I will post it, or a link to it on my teacher web "Handouts" page.
http://teacherweb.com/UT/Granite/VisionBraille-CharlotteWOvard/Qkrefbrlpart1edit.pdf
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
LOOK into My Eyes!
Here's the tiny url made for one of my handouts. It's about detecting some symptoms that might be a case of vision problems in students.
http://tiny.cc/hwfdu
http://tiny.cc/hwfdu
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Amazing Space: Tactile Astronomy!
http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/tactile-astronomy/
TACTILE ASTRONOMY:
Making the Universe Touchable
"This new section of Amazing Space features "Images of the Month" — a collection of the latest Hubble images that can be printed in a tactile format. The opening of the section is in celebration of Hubble's 20th Anniversary."
TACTILE ASTRONOMY:
Making the Universe Touchable
"This new section of Amazing Space features "Images of the Month" — a collection of the latest Hubble images that can be printed in a tactile format. The opening of the section is in celebration of Hubble's 20th Anniversary."
Deaf-Blind UK Support Group Information
http://www.nhsinform.co.uk/Support-Services/Groups/D/DeafBlind-UK.aspx
Wheelchair dispute leaves teen waiting / People News / News
Wheelchair dispute leaves teen waiting / People News / News
http://www.checkorphan.org/grid/news/people/wheelchair-dispute-leaves-teen-waiting
http://www.checkorphan.org/grid/news/people/wheelchair-dispute-leaves-teen-waiting
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Louisiana Tech University's Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness
I knew the Center for the Blind up there in Ruston was an involved group concerning the education by and for the blind. I was not aware that they were cooperating with Louisiana Tech in this type of venture.
Hopefully there will be more young'uns up there in north Louisiana going into this field because we truly need them. There are not many of us here and most of us in my department can smell retirement in our very near future.
Here's contact information:
Professional Development and Research
Institute on Blindness
210 Woodard Hall
Ruston, LA 71272
318-257-4554
instituteonblindness@latech.edu
Hopefully there will be more young'uns up there in north Louisiana going into this field because we truly need them. There are not many of us here and most of us in my department can smell retirement in our very near future.
Here's contact information:
Professional Development and Research
Institute on Blindness
210 Woodard Hall
Ruston, LA 71272
318-257-4554
instituteonblindness@latech.edu
The Esther House Applications
I volunteer for Second Chance Mentoring which is a program in which volunteers serve as mentors to folks in parish jail so that they do not return nor "advance" to state prison. Please read below for how you can donate items or your time for one of the recovery houses. Thanks!
http://www.kathyskids.org
Ms. Kathy's Kids Blog: http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com/
http://www.kathyskids.org
Ms. Kathy's Kids Blog: http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com/
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: EULA S
Subject: Re: The Esther House Applications
From: William Bradford
To: w Sent: Wed, August 4, 2010 2:52:19 PM
Subject: RE: The Esther House Applications
From: EULA S
Subject: Re: The Esther House Applications
Thanks, William! Passing it on to my group of mentors.
Eula Shelmire George
Romans 10:9-10
Jeremiah 29:11
Philippians 4:6-8
From: William Bradford
To: w Sent: Wed, August 4, 2010 2:52:19 PM
Subject: RE: The Esther House Applications
Sorry, no attachment again! It gets me every time J
William Bradford
Correct and Recovery - Director of Re-Entry
(225) 445-5612 cell
(225) 924-1910 work
(225) 924-9188 fax
Correct and recovery (C.A.R.) is now taking applications for The Esther House. I've attached the application to this email. Once it's completed it can be mailed or faxed to me at the contact information on the application.
Also, please help me spread the word to the community that we're looking for help in the following areas: (1) hygiene products for the ladies, (2) appliances, (3) clothes, (4) dishes, (5) eating utensils, (6) a Godly mentor that will disciple them in the Word (1 per client), (7) help getting them connected to a local church, (8) volunteers to teach life skills and Bible studies during the week.
If you can help with any of the above items, please let me know.
Thanks again!
William Bradford
Correct and Recovery - Director of Re-Entry
(225) 445-5612 cell
(225) 924-1910 work
(225) 924-9188 fax
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
A Vision For The Future Of Health Care
Ms.Kathy spotted this on the guardian.co.uk site and thought you should see it.
To see this story with its related links on the guardian.co.uk site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/journalismcompetition/vision-for-the-future-of-health-care
A Vision For The Future Of Health Care
Pamela Peter-Agbia
Wednesday June 9 2010
guardian.co.uk
http://www.guardian.co.uk/journalismcompetition/vision-for-the-future-of-health-care
The mark of any community is how it treats its most vulnerable. Communities all over Uganda are working together to eradicate river blindness; a debilitating and destructive disease affecting the country's poorest and most vulnerable.
In Mbale District, Uganda, a young girl waits to have her height measured. A stick in hand, she points to pictures she has traced in the dry earth. Every so often, she solicits compliments for the trail of doodles that stem from her feet but nobody seems to be paying attention. Beside her, are school friends, neighbours, and family, including Mustafa Mugwano, who is resting docile on a bench. It's a hot and stuffy afternoon, but all are gathered here today to see Cleus, the village health worker, who is measuring people so he can give them the right dose of a drug called Mectizan.
Mectizan treats Onchocerciasis, commonly known as River Blindness. The disease causes intense itching, skin disfigurement, vision damage, and in some, irreversible blindness. Parasitic worms burrow under the skin and multiply throughout the body. The worms spread from person to person by little black flies which breed, in their thousands, near fast flowing waters.
Bunawazi is a remote farming village in the Mbale district of East Uganda. Here, the nearby rivers are the only source of water, the sustenence of life, but also of disease. The rivers teem with black flies that cause River Blindness and the Bunawazi community fish, wash, bathe and play in the rivers contaminated water, every day.
In this environment up to 300 bites daily are common says Dr. Frank Richards, a public health specialist from The Carter Centre, who help distribute Mectizan. 'This is the kind of biting rate that will easily sustain river blindness'.
River Blindness is the world's second largest cause of preventable blindness. Uganda is one of 18 endemic countries in Africa, where 99% of cases occur. Here in Bunawazi, the majority if the community are infected, including Mustafa who is partially blind.
'There is no misery like it' says Cleus, who has witnessed the suffering of many in his community. 'You cannot work, you cannot sleep, he who cannot work or sleep becomes poor'. The disease ravages not only the individual, but the family and wider community. Young children without severe symptoms are often taken out of school to look after ill family members, or to work themselves as the main breadwinner. In the long term, the chains of their community's poor health hang over their own future and slow down development.
Today, Mugwano is only partially blind and he is able to work, but his legs look as though someone has taken a sander to them. They are permanently disfigured from his battle with river blindness, the unbearable itching made him violently scratch his legs with rocks and sticks until they cut open. Like many, Mugwano lived like this for years, scratching in the absence of a medical authority to diagnose River Blindness. Traditional healers assumed he was bewitched, which led to stigmatization in the community, estrangement from his family and eventual displacement from his home. Mugwano was exiled from Bunawazi. For 10 years he lived in oppressive freedom, surviving in the wild forests nearby, with nothing but his own personal hell to keep him company. 'I hated myself, nobody wanted to be near me'. Mugwano looks to this time in his life with tides of worry; 'But, I am lucky', he says stoically. Some sufferers become psychologically traumatized and never recover. Some become tired of suffering and take their own lives.
Mugwano's symptoms have improved since his return to Bunawazi, and so have public perceptions of River Blindness. The community are more knowledgeable about the disease and less fearful because health workers like Cleus have been trained to educate them as well as treat them.
Mectozan relieves itching, improves vision and prevents blindness by stopping the worms inside the body from breeding. To date, it has been the most effective drug used to prevent continued infection. However, getting the drug to as many people as possible remains a difficult task. One of the greatest challenges within the African health sector is a critical shortage of human resources. According to health development organisation AMREF, the average doctor-to-patient ratio across Africa is 1 in 20,000. In remote areas where local medical infrastructure is less adequate than average, the ratio is closer to 1 in 50,000.
Through the Carter Centre assisted River Blindness Programme, more than 20,000 people have been trained to serve as community health workers. Volunteers like Cleus don't get paid, however they're primary incentive is the well-being of their communities. This makes the program a cost-effective and sustainable way of treating the disease.
The Ugandan government have made a bold commitment to eradicate River Blindness by 2015. Working in partnership with NGOs and service providers such as The Carter Centre, the Ugandan River Blindness Programme presents a fine model for community-led health care and perhaps, a template for combating other endemic diseases such as HIV/Aids.
In an article written to G8 leaders, Dr Michael Salley, Director General of AMREF, suggests that community health workers are the answer to most of Africa's health care problems. 'Disease doesn't exist in isolation' he says 'it thrives on an already weakened health-care system. Addressing the system includes getting communities to participate in identifying their needs and addressing the social, cultural and economic factors that make them vulnerable in the first place.'
Last year, former Minister for Health, Emmanuel Otaala reported that Uganda had significantly reduced the prevalence of River Blindness from 60% to 20%. With 5 years to go, Uganda is on its way to eradicating River Blindness; which is due in no small part to its large infrastructure of community health workers. If anybody needs proof that people-driven initiatives work, this is it. Certainly, community mobilization on a global scale will play a big part in whether the Millennium Development Goals are also met by 2015.
Beyond the simple satisfaction of meeting basic needs, is the satisfaction of simple pleasures. Mugwano likes to farm his land. It's impossible to ignore the joy he receives from gaining his sight and life back. His smile is infectious yet contented; eyes misty yet bright. 'Life has been given to a lifeless soul,' he says.
This feature was written between 6 March and 30 April 2010 as part of the Guardian International Development Journalism Competition
------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit guardian.co.uk - newspaper website of the year
www.guardian.co.uk www.observer.co.uk
To save up to 33% when you subscribe to the Guardian and the Observer
visit http://www.guardian.co.uk/subscriber
To see this story with its related links on the guardian.co.uk site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/journalismcompetition/vision-for-the-future-of-health-care
A Vision For The Future Of Health Care
Pamela Peter-Agbia
Wednesday June 9 2010
guardian.co.uk
http://www.guardian.co.uk/journalismcompetition/vision-for-the-future-of-health-care
The mark of any community is how it treats its most vulnerable. Communities all over Uganda are working together to eradicate river blindness; a debilitating and destructive disease affecting the country's poorest and most vulnerable.
In Mbale District, Uganda, a young girl waits to have her height measured. A stick in hand, she points to pictures she has traced in the dry earth. Every so often, she solicits compliments for the trail of doodles that stem from her feet but nobody seems to be paying attention. Beside her, are school friends, neighbours, and family, including Mustafa Mugwano, who is resting docile on a bench. It's a hot and stuffy afternoon, but all are gathered here today to see Cleus, the village health worker, who is measuring people so he can give them the right dose of a drug called Mectizan.
Mectizan treats Onchocerciasis, commonly known as River Blindness. The disease causes intense itching, skin disfigurement, vision damage, and in some, irreversible blindness. Parasitic worms burrow under the skin and multiply throughout the body. The worms spread from person to person by little black flies which breed, in their thousands, near fast flowing waters.
Bunawazi is a remote farming village in the Mbale district of East Uganda. Here, the nearby rivers are the only source of water, the sustenence of life, but also of disease. The rivers teem with black flies that cause River Blindness and the Bunawazi community fish, wash, bathe and play in the rivers contaminated water, every day.
In this environment up to 300 bites daily are common says Dr. Frank Richards, a public health specialist from The Carter Centre, who help distribute Mectizan. 'This is the kind of biting rate that will easily sustain river blindness'.
River Blindness is the world's second largest cause of preventable blindness. Uganda is one of 18 endemic countries in Africa, where 99% of cases occur. Here in Bunawazi, the majority if the community are infected, including Mustafa who is partially blind.
'There is no misery like it' says Cleus, who has witnessed the suffering of many in his community. 'You cannot work, you cannot sleep, he who cannot work or sleep becomes poor'. The disease ravages not only the individual, but the family and wider community. Young children without severe symptoms are often taken out of school to look after ill family members, or to work themselves as the main breadwinner. In the long term, the chains of their community's poor health hang over their own future and slow down development.
Today, Mugwano is only partially blind and he is able to work, but his legs look as though someone has taken a sander to them. They are permanently disfigured from his battle with river blindness, the unbearable itching made him violently scratch his legs with rocks and sticks until they cut open. Like many, Mugwano lived like this for years, scratching in the absence of a medical authority to diagnose River Blindness. Traditional healers assumed he was bewitched, which led to stigmatization in the community, estrangement from his family and eventual displacement from his home. Mugwano was exiled from Bunawazi. For 10 years he lived in oppressive freedom, surviving in the wild forests nearby, with nothing but his own personal hell to keep him company. 'I hated myself, nobody wanted to be near me'. Mugwano looks to this time in his life with tides of worry; 'But, I am lucky', he says stoically. Some sufferers become psychologically traumatized and never recover. Some become tired of suffering and take their own lives.
Mugwano's symptoms have improved since his return to Bunawazi, and so have public perceptions of River Blindness. The community are more knowledgeable about the disease and less fearful because health workers like Cleus have been trained to educate them as well as treat them.
Mectozan relieves itching, improves vision and prevents blindness by stopping the worms inside the body from breeding. To date, it has been the most effective drug used to prevent continued infection. However, getting the drug to as many people as possible remains a difficult task. One of the greatest challenges within the African health sector is a critical shortage of human resources. According to health development organisation AMREF, the average doctor-to-patient ratio across Africa is 1 in 20,000. In remote areas where local medical infrastructure is less adequate than average, the ratio is closer to 1 in 50,000.
Through the Carter Centre assisted River Blindness Programme, more than 20,000 people have been trained to serve as community health workers. Volunteers like Cleus don't get paid, however they're primary incentive is the well-being of their communities. This makes the program a cost-effective and sustainable way of treating the disease.
The Ugandan government have made a bold commitment to eradicate River Blindness by 2015. Working in partnership with NGOs and service providers such as The Carter Centre, the Ugandan River Blindness Programme presents a fine model for community-led health care and perhaps, a template for combating other endemic diseases such as HIV/Aids.
In an article written to G8 leaders, Dr Michael Salley, Director General of AMREF, suggests that community health workers are the answer to most of Africa's health care problems. 'Disease doesn't exist in isolation' he says 'it thrives on an already weakened health-care system. Addressing the system includes getting communities to participate in identifying their needs and addressing the social, cultural and economic factors that make them vulnerable in the first place.'
Last year, former Minister for Health, Emmanuel Otaala reported that Uganda had significantly reduced the prevalence of River Blindness from 60% to 20%. With 5 years to go, Uganda is on its way to eradicating River Blindness; which is due in no small part to its large infrastructure of community health workers. If anybody needs proof that people-driven initiatives work, this is it. Certainly, community mobilization on a global scale will play a big part in whether the Millennium Development Goals are also met by 2015.
Beyond the simple satisfaction of meeting basic needs, is the satisfaction of simple pleasures. Mugwano likes to farm his land. It's impossible to ignore the joy he receives from gaining his sight and life back. His smile is infectious yet contented; eyes misty yet bright. 'Life has been given to a lifeless soul,' he says.
This feature was written between 6 March and 30 April 2010 as part of the Guardian International Development Journalism Competition
------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit guardian.co.uk - newspaper website of the year
www.guardian.co.uk www.observer.co.uk
To save up to 33% when you subscribe to the Guardian and the Observer
visit http://www.guardian.co.uk/subscriber
BBC E-mail: Sight loss could double by 2031
Kathy saw this story on the BBC News website and thought you
should see it.
** Sight loss could double by 2031 **
The number of Scots going blind may double in next twenty years according to a report from RNIB
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/news/10308550 >
** BBC Daily E-mail **
should see it.
** Sight loss could double by 2031 **
The number of Scots going blind may double in next twenty years according to a report from RNIB
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/news/10308550 >
** BBC Daily E-mail **
To serve
I thank brother Checo for this one! Lotsa street marchers for hate are forgetting this. But then those are the kind are only Christian behind the four walls of a building of people who look like themselves and agree with them...but not necessarily with Christ's teachings.
http://www.kathyskids.org
Ms. Kathy's Kids Blog: http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com/
http://www.kathyskids.org
Ms. Kathy's Kids Blog: http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com/
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Checo Yancy
To: Checo Yancy
Sent: Thu, June 3, 2010 2:49:35 PM
Subject: To serve
From: Checo Yancy
To: Checo Yancy
Sent: Thu, June 3, 2010 2:49:35 PM
Subject: To serve
Good afternoon, what blessing it is to serve others as we serve Him.
God Bless,
Thursday, June 03, 2010 | |
Your attitude must be like my own, for I, the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life. Matthew 20:28 (LB)
For Christians, service is not something to be tacked onto our schedules if we can spare the time. It is the heart of the Christian life. Jesus came "to serve" and "to give"—and those two verbs should define your life on earth, too. Serving and giving sum up God's fourth purpose for your life. Mother Teresa once said, "Holy living consists in doing God's work with a smile." Jesus taught that spiritual maturity is never an end in itself. Maturity is for ministry! We grow up in order to give out. It is not enough to keep learning more and more. We must act on what we know and practice what we claim to believe. Impression without expression causes depression. Study without service leads to spiritual stagnation. The old comparison between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea is still true. Galilee is a lake full of life because it takes in water but also gives it out. In contrast, nothing lives in the Dead Sea because, with no outflow, the lake has stagnated. The last thing many believers need is to go to another Bible study. They already know far more than they are putting into practice. What they need are serving experiences in which they can exercise their spiritual muscles. Serving is the opposite of our natural inclination. Most of the time we're more interested in "serve us" than service. We say, "I'm looking for a church that meets my needs and blesses me," not "I'm looking for a place to serve and be a blessing." We expect others to serve us, not vice versa. But as we mature in Christ, the focus of our lives should increasingly shift to living a life of service. The mature follower of Jesus stops asking, "Who's going to meet my needs?" and starts asking, "Whose needs can I meet?" | |
|
God Bless,
Checo W. Yancy
"We are not put on this earth for ourselves, but are placed here for each other. If you are there for others, then in time of need, someone will be there for you"
Jeff Warner
Fw: Help NPR beat FOX News
Yeah, help NPR beat "Faux" News!
http://www.kathyskids.org
Ms. Kathy's Kids Blog: http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com/
http://www.kathyskids.org
Ms. Kathy's Kids Blog: http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com/
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Change.org Action Alert
To: mrs.micha
Sent: Fri, July 30, 2010 8:14:11 AM
Subject: Help NPR beat FOX News
From: Change.org Action Alert
To: mrs.micha
Sent: Fri, July 30, 2010 8:14:11 AM
Subject: Help NPR beat FOX News
|
LCWE Community Extends Our Sympathy
| Wow! Richard, thanks. I will share the news! http://www.kathyskids.org Ms. Kathy's Kids Blog: http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com/ --- On Mon, 8/2/10, Richard Beall wrote:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Monday, August 2, 2010
Programs of Service for First Time Homebuyers & New & Emerging Business Owners
Thanks, Eula! Sharing with others in this reply.
http://www.kathyskids.org
Ms. Kathy's Kids Blog: http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com/
http://www.kathyskids.org
Ms. Kathy's Kids Blog: http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com/
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: EULA SHELMIRE
Sent: Tue, July 27, 2010 10:31:52 PM
Subject: Fw: Programs of Service for First Time Homebuyers & New & Emerging Business Owners
From: EULA SHELMIRE
Sent: Tue, July 27, 2010 10:31:52 PM
Subject: Fw: Programs of Service for First Time Homebuyers & New & Emerging Business Owners
Baton area family and friends, please see below...
Eula Shelmire George
Romans 10:9-10
Jeremiah 29:11
Philippians 4:6-8
----- Forwarded Message ----
|
Children's Church and Food
I like Children's Church at my church. For whatever age group we work with we teachers rotate so that our turn comes around about once every four months. Unlike Sunday School which is every week. It's a special treat for me because I get to visit with between five and fifteen four- to five-year-olds about once every four months. So, I probably get more excited than the kids do about it. No, I definitely get more excited than the kids.
Seven- and eight-year-olds are great for Sunday school each week but the four- to fives--I like their "take" on things. I don't like just reading a lesson and having them spit it back. I like for them to get up, run around, do things, make things and offer some critical thinking.
Yeah, critical thinking in four-year-olds; there is such a thing! It's an adventure. You take a li'l-o'-this--which may be an awesome Bible story or a concept like helping other people; then you do a -o' that--which may be a game and you make something else then you use it to see if they "got it!" "Tell me what you think..." "How would you...?" "What would you do if...?" If they can process what the media is telling them they should be about processing positive messages via the Word of God. I know which I prefer. The Word of God tells them that they are something special--wonderfully made and connected to other wonderfully made spirits while the media tells them something entirely different. But I digress on another of Ms. Kathy's soapbox issues. At any rate, like the older kids, four- and five-year- olds should be encouraged and are anxious to share their spin on things and it's always wonderment !
Today's lesson was about being thankful for food. The lesson dealt with how the Israelites complained to Moses when the food they took with them from Egypt started to run out. "We should have stayed in Egypt to be slaves rather than die of starvation out here in the desert!" some of them complained. So God told Moses that they would have quail and manna each morning. Then they complained of getting tired of manna. The children concluded that if someone gives you something you should say thank you.
We marched around and around the room pretending to be on a long hike while in the background Glad sang "So goooood to me" on the CD player. "Imagine walking like this every day! You have no car, no bike, no trike and no roads--just sand."
"Oh, I'd be so tired! I got to sit down and rest!"
It made sense that the Israelites had to rest, too, especially at night. So they stretched out on the floor and went to sleep for the night 'cause the Israelites didn't have beds. They camped out under the stars. Some of them snored, too. Really.
"Ooo! I'm glad I got a bed in my house!"
"I got a bed at my house, too!"
The next morning, breakfast on the grounds served by God! While they had their little eyes closed I placed some small paper plates on the table. Each plate had about a teaspoon of mashed potato flakes. They could taste it if they liked and pour the rest into the plate at the center of the table.
"What's that stuff?"
"That's manna like them people had, boy!"
"I don't want dat! I ain't eating' it!"
"That's what them people said! If you don't got no money and no store you s'posed to say thank you for whatcha get!"
"I still ain't eatin' dat!""Do you got some juice with this?"
"Hey! It tastes good! Tastes like potato chips! I love potato chips!"
"You do not have to eat it, but anyone who wants to taste it, you may try it now."
"If your mama gives you food you're s'posed to say, 'Thank you, Mama!' Even for the stuff you don't like."
"Yeah then you eat up all the stuff you like."
An interesting topic, as we made peanut butter and honey sandwiches, was where all the ingredients originated. Half the children agreed that the bread came from the grocery store because they’d seen it there when they shopped with a parent. They knew honey came from bees and peanut butter from peanuts. Somebody had to "mush up" the peanuts and I think the bees have some kind of factory according to a five-year-old's theory.
We talked about wheat and processing it into bread and how the grocery store has food delivered from different sources. But the ultimate source is from the One whom we give thanks when we sit down to eat.
Just think! The Israelites didn't even have to go to the grocery store! "They ain't got any Winn Dixie [grocery store] So they shoulda been glad they didn't have to walk to Winn Dixie! That's a long walk!"
I had pictures drawn on the board. They took another look at the quail and figured it was a bird--so we had to talk about quail.
"Hey! They ate birds? You ain't supposed to eat no birds! That's nasty!"
"Do you go to Popeye's Chicken?"
"Oh! I do!"
"Do you go to Church's Chicken? KFC? What do you eat from there? Corn, mashed potatoes and what else?"
One little boy gave me the Duh! It's so obvious look and said, "You get chicken there! I eat Popeye's Chicken!" Then he folded his little arms and looked at me like I was some kind of pitiful if I couldn't figure out they called the place Popeye's Chicken and not Popeye's Filet Mignon.
"Well, a chicken is a bird, boys and girls."
Silent pause. Crickets chirping. One little girl's chin dropped to her chest and her eyes became saucers.
"Nah ah!" said the little boy who was anti-mashed potato flakes manna. "Chicken ain't no birds! Chicken is food!"
That led to pictures of other foods and where they came from. The children helped me draw lines from favorite foods to food sources. Then we circled all the pictures and made a big arrow that pointed to the Ultimate Food Source.
"That is why you s'posed to say 'Thank you, God, for the food' when we eat lunch!" one child concluded.
"Yeah! We say grace at our house!"
"We do, too! We go like this!" another little girl chirped as she clasped her hands together and bowed her head as if in prayer. Two children shared prayers of thanks for food as it is done in their homes. Then she ate the rest of the potato flakes that all of the children had poured from their plates.
The saucer-eyed child was stuck on the chicken parts like she would never eat chicken again.
We prepared for Food Bingo. Each child was to twice fold a sheet of copy paper so that when the sheet was unfolded the creases made four rectangles. Inside each rectangle they were to draw food they liked. They could look at the drawings on the board for examples. The pictures were to be refolded, taken home and opened during home prayer time for remembering to say "Thanks for pizza!" "Thanks for eggs!" "No thank you for chicken, not ever again!"
On the way out of the classroom door the children received their bag juice and a bag of graham cracker snacks. "Mmmmmm! Thank you for snacks, God!"
Thank you God, for the opportunity to be in the presence of your most precious pint-size gifts!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)