Can you judge a book by its cover? I stood transfixed as I looked at the book in my hand. The background was blue with white polka-dots that faded down into the real interest of my gaze–a classic pink convertible with a woman in a sunbonnet in the driver’s seat and two small heads poking up from out of the back seat. The title read A CAR SEAT IN MY CONVERTIBLE? Giving Your Grandkids the Spiritual Ride of Their Lives.

Finally the day came for the interview with Sharon Hoffman. She is a popular author and speaker known for her warm demeanor. When you listen to the interview scheduled to air on September 7, http://ltr.streamon.fm, from 11:00 to 11:30 am, you’ll catch the infectious enthusiasm she has for people and especially grandchildren.

So what do you think, is play really God’s way for helping us to connect with the children in our lives?

When is it Time to Sign? Well, we learned that now is the time. Infants and toddlers who learn sign language are able to communicate at a very young age—5 months old. Learning sign language makes learning an additional language easier. It raises communication awareness and abilities, and enhances the child’s vocabulary and literacy skills. Research indicates that an infant who learns sign language has a 10-12 point higher IQ level. It also enhances fine and gross motor coordination. All of these benefits give the child a sense of confidence that helps build a positive self-worth. Some additional benefits are:

Increased Brain Function

Visual right brain usage. The right half of the brain is the creative, high-order thinking sphere. We want to nurture this sphere of the brain because we want our children to be independent thinkers, not mere reflectors of other men’s thoughts.

Cognitive second language left brain usage. The left half of the brain is the analytical sphere where cognitive abilities are often measured. Signing allows for development on both halves of the brain creating additional connections or synapses.

Positive Behavioral Management Outcomes

Signing can lower children’s noise levels in the learning environment. Teaching your child to respond to signs will help reduce the noise level. Have you ever had to yell, “be quiet,” in order to get the children’s attention? It is quite comical to say the least. With signing you can greatly reduce the need to raise your voice.

Another advantage to signing is,  it enables classroom teachers and families to better support special needs children. Take, for example, the highly sensitive child. Noise can be most distracting and overwhelming for that child. If you have established some non-verbal signs, the children will quickly obey and peace will ensue. I have witnessed this phenomena where ever signing has become the culture of the family or classroom. It is not fully understood as to why sign language gets their attention better than the spoken word, but it does.

Once you’ve established a culture for signing use, you will notice the reduction of the instances of errant behavior. I believe this is a result of the child feeling heard. In other words, it provides children with the ability to understand and express their emotions in a positive way. This is particularly helpful to boys who often have a difficult time verbalizing their emotions. Now with a simple sign they can let you know if they feel sad, angry, or happy.

Check out the resources on Lillian Hubler’s website for beginning your Time to Sign!

Can I eat food that will make me smarter? Are there certain foods that help my thought processes? What about Alzheimer’s, are their foods that help with that? The answer is Yes, Yes, and Yes!

Yes, what you eat can make you smarter. Not that eating any or all of these foods alone will make you smarter, but, combined with regular study habits, these foods have been shown to increase focus, concentration, reaction time, and retention by keeping neural pathways in the brain healthy and high-functioning.

Fantastic Fats are essential to the neurochemical process. Specifically, foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids are considered “brain food.”

• Seeds, like flaxseeds and pumpkin seeds are loaded with fiber and omega 3 fatty acids.
• Nuts, such as walnuts and almonds , are also high in essential fatty acids and fiber. Fresh coconut is also a winner.
• Avocados not only taste great, they’re versatile and filling (because of their fat content).

Powerful Proteins not only help you build strong muscles, they supply the amino acids that are essential to brain health.

• Nuts, Seeds, and whole grains also provide a great source of protein and hence, the amino acids needed in neurotransmitter production.
• Eggs contain a healthy dose of protein and are chock-full of the B-vitamin choline – an important precursor to brain neurotransmitters.
• Dried beans like lentils and garbanzos should be part of your balanced diet.
• Green leafy vegetables like spinach are rich in protein and free-radical fighting antioxidants.

Carbohydrates have gotten a bad rep over the past several years, but your brain needs them in order to stay alert and energetic. Knowing what carbohydrates your brain needs will put you right in the middle of your learning sweet spot.

• Starchy vegetables like corn, squash, potatoes, and carrots are great brain food.
• Whole grains found in breads, crackers, or cereals should not be avoided.

NOTE: The danger with carbohydrates is the spike that occurs in your blood sugar after you eat them. Eating small portions 5-7 times per day can help combat the surge and crash in blood sugar that we all know well. Another way to combat this increase in blood sugar is by eating a protein alongside one of the high quality carbohydrates mentioned above. Non-starchy vegetables also help to mitigate the well-known spike in blood sugar. Your mom always told you to eat your broccoli, didn’t she?

Vitamins and Minerals act as antioxidants in the body by scavenging free radicals. In addition, they act to keep the enzymatic reactions of the body in order.

• Fruits in small portions (around 1/2 cup) are a great source of natural vitamins and minerals. Ten servings a day is said to keep cancer at bay.
• Raw or stir-fried vegetables also provide a essential vitamins and minerals. Have fun with the color – you don’t have to stick to green and leafy to get all the nutrients you need.

What about Alzheimer’s, are there foods that help with that?  

If you want to lower your risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, you should eat more fruits and vegetables, fish, omega-3 oils according to a recent press release. If you eat foods that are high in omega-6 oils, you could increase your chances of having problems with your memory as you age.

Researchers at the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research, in Bordeaux, France, conducted this study. They determined that increasing one’s consumption of omega-3 oils could reduce the risk of developing dementia by 60 percent when compared to those people who did not consume omega-3 oils.

Additionally, by regularly including fruits and vegetables in their daily diet, people reduced their risk of developing dementia by 30 percent when compared to those who did not regularly include fruits and vegetables in their diet.

Researchers also determined that having a diet that is unbalanced, consuming far more omega-6 oils but not omega-3 oils, increased one’s risk of developing dementia.

So here’s my rule of thumb. Eat fresh whole fruits and vegetables at every meal and sometimes in between.

To celebrate three years of broadcasting we finally devoted a show to the subject of spelling! I personally have an aversion to the subject because of all the horrible experiences I’ve had.   

I take great comfort in the fact that doing poorly in this subject does not correlate to intelligence. But inspite of the research proving this point, I’ve still been labed a dumb blonde because of misspelled words. Even during the show I misspelled the word spell, carefully spelling it s-p-l-l for thousands of listeners. For the remainder of show both my co-host and my engineer kept asking me to spell the word spell, ha ha hee hee.   

I was so grateful to Dan Hite for his contribution to the subject and because he has developed this wonderful tool to help learners like me. The kind of learners who are bored to tears over the minutia (yes, I had to ask Cathy how to spell minutia), those little curves and symbols that represent sound. My brain just moves to fast to even notice.

Dan Hite understands, he’s seen his daughter struggle with their boring spelling lists and he’s taken the talents he has to make it better for them and for the rest of us in the process. Dan started working as a corporate software developer in 1995 and formed the software business Auction Sentry Software. In 2001 he developed and marketed the popular eBay user utility called Auction Sentry. The software was highly successful and in 2007 was awarded the People’s Choice Award at the Software Industry Conference. He then sold the Auction Sentry Software business at the end of 2007 to focus on his newer educational products such as SpellQuizzer. I’ve gone to his website www.SpellQuizzer.com. And I encourage you to check it out.

There were really two stories we should have discussed with Dan Hite. The first one was how Dan became so successful in developing the Auction Sentry software and marketing it. I asked him if a bright idea just comes into his head and poof, it’s a hit! He explained that he had developed the software for himself and later others wanted it too. “That’s how it is, you do it for yourself, and it might be what others want, or it might not.” I like that sentiment, be passionate because of your own need and inspiration and the money will follow.

The second story incorporated the question, “Why did you go from developing Auction Sentry software to developing software for spelling?” Here again, the need was to help his own children. Be sure a check out the www.SpellQuizer.com web site. You can get a 30-day free trial and see if your student’s spelling scores don’t improve. It works with other subjects too, any subject that you need to know facts or vocabulary for, and the price is reasonable, just 25 dollars.

I’ve added a reference list in case you want to know more about this important topic. I bet you didn’t know there was so much information about spelling.

References

Beers, J. (1995). Spelling development: stages and strategies. In: Scott Foresman Publisher (Ed.), Spelling research and information: An overview of research and practices (pp53-66). Glenview IL: Scott Foresman.

Bowey, J. A. (1995). On the contribution of phonological sensitivity to phonological recoding. Issues in Education, 1, 65-69.

Cramer, R. L. (1995). Making better spellers: Integrating spelling, reading, and writing. In: Scott Foresman Publisher, op. cit. (pp77-92).

Cramer, R. L. & Cipielewski, J. F. (1995). Research in action: A study of spelling errors in 18,599 written compositions of children in grades 1-8. In: Scott Foresman Publishers, op. cit. (pp11=40).

Gentry, J. R. (1987). Spel … is a four-letter word. Portsmouth NH: Heinemann.

Goswami, U. (1994). Phonological skills, analogies, and reading development. Reading, 28 (2), 32-37.

Groff, P. (1986). The implications of developmental spelling research: A dissenting view. Elementary School Journal, 86, 317-323.

Groff, P. & Seymour, D. Z. (1987). Word recognition: The why and the how. Springfield IL: Charles C. Thomas.

Honig, B. (1996). Teaching our children to read. Thousand Oaks CA: Corwin.

Marine, K. (1995). Using the research: Developing a spelling curriculum. In: Scott Foresman, op. cit., pp41-52.

Petty, W. T. (1982). Handwriting and spelling: Their current status in the language arts curriculum. In: W. B. Barbe, A. S. Francis, and L. A. Braun (Eds.), Spelling: Basic skills for effective communication. (pp53-60). Columbus OH: Zaner-Bloser.

Rondthaler, E. & Lias, E. J. (1986). A dictionary of fonetic spelling. New York NY: American Literacy Council.

Stanovich, K. E. (1994). Romance and reality. Reading Teacher, 47, 280-291.

Tangel, D. M. & Blachman, B. A. (1995). Effect of phoneme awareness instruction on the invented spelling of first-grade children: A one-year follow up. Journal of Reading Behavior, 27, 153-185.

Torgesen, J. K., Wagner, R. K., & Rashotte, C. A. (1994). Longitudinal studies of phonological processes and reading. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 27, 276-286.

Treiman, R. (1993). Beginning to spell: A study of first-grade children. New York NY: Oxford University.

Venezky, R. (1980). From Webster to Rice to Roosevelt: The formative years for spelling instruction and spelling reform in the USA. In: U. Frith (Ed.), Cognitive processes in spelling (pp9-30). New York NY: Academic.

Wing, A. M. & Baddeley, A. D. (1980). Spelling errors and handwriting: A corpus and a distributional analysis. In: U. Frith (Ed.), Ibid, (pp251-285).

I wrote this book with the strong belief that most addictive and high-risk behaviors can be avoided if we understand and take action to support and nurture the spirituality of the young child.

Research has proven that all addictions stem back to a low sense of self worth. This book is a call to action to support and nurture the child’s spirituality, because we know it is the essence of a child’s state of “well” being–a positive authentic sense of self-worth.

As I observed these infants and toddlers and then wrote the book, I realized so many things about my own up-bringing. This book can help you re-parent yourself, to fall in love with the wonderful creature you are! http://www2.xlibris.com/bookstore/bookdisplay.aspx?bookid=84429

What an interesting title for a show. Gentle Measures. What does that mean? Gentle Measures for what? Cooking? Cleaning? Clothes buying? How about discipline? In my experience, the topic of discipline is a hot button for many people – the biggest point of contention being whether or not to spank. So often you hear, “I was spanked and I turned out fine.” And, in fact, I was spanked and I do think I turned out just fine! But does that make it ok?

Now-a-days, spanking is considered “taboo” by so many. It’s scary to give your child a swat in public for fear of being turned in to social services by someone watching from afar. Do you remember when teachers spanked students? Can you imagine a teacher spanking your child in this day and age? Yet, when you look around us, it seems that so many of our young people today are disrespectful, irreverent and downright rude. Why is that? Do you think it is because they aren’t spanked? Or could it just be lack of discipline? Discipline does not necessarily = spanking!

Personally, I am slightly conflicted when it comes to corporal punishment. Yes, my children have been spanked – but very rarely. Even my boisterous, happy-go-lucky-get-in-all-kinds-of-trouble seven-year-old has had very few spankings. Yet, when I was pregnant with my children, I absolutely intended on spanking, when necessary. After all, I was spanked as a child and felt like I deserved it every single time. I didn’t feel unfairly treated, embarrassed, or put down. And I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that my mother loved me with all her heart. But as my first child grew up, I quickly realized that with her temperament, spanking was not the answer and would do more harm than good. I had to change my plan, for sure.

Can you spank and still let a child know they are loved and valued? Basically the question arises – can you hit a child out of love? That sounds like such an oxymoron, to me. Yet I still stand on the middle ground, not sure exactly what my stance would be on spanking. I think there might be merit to spanking in certain situations. Yet, I know a set of parents who absolutely refuse to spank or do any corporal punishment, and while it seems to be more work for them at this point in time, they have a well-adjusted, very happy and secure child. I also know a set of parents who believe in spanking to teach their child right from wrong and they, too, seem to have happy, well-adjusted children. The one thing in common with both of these families is that they absolutely love and adore their children, and their children know it.

So, is there are right and wrong? Let us know what you think!

With November 2010 being a mid-term election month, we thought that this would be a good time to talk about the Right and Left of politics.

Norma Swanson helped us with our topic, What’s Right and What’s Left? Norma is the founder and president of Window to the World, Inc. She is a long-time teacher and educator, and has served as a confidential assistant to the Deputy Undersecretary of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs at the U.S. Department of Education, and also served as Assistant Director of Education for the U.S. Commission of the Bicentennial of the Constitution. We asked Norma what she thought was the most important value that our country was founded on and her answer was, “Honesty.”

The terms right and left first came into use during the French Revolution of 1789. It referred to the seating arrangement of parliament with those who sat on the left in favor of radical changes of the Revolution. These were the commoners who were known to be more in favor of change. On the right in the seating arrangement were those considered “upper class” and the church. They were more inclined to maintain the status quo.

The word “Left” came into more common usage after the restoration of the French Monarchy and was used to describe revolutionary movements which included socialism, anarchism, and communism. Although the terms right and left were in usage in other nations around the world in definition of political positions, in the United States it was not until after the Reconstruction period, after the Civil War, that the term was used to describe those who supported labor unions, the civil rights movements, and anti-war demonstrations.

Today, Right and Left are terms used to classify political positions and ideologies. They are often presented as polar opposites, but an individual may take a Left-wing position on one issue and a Right-wing on another. The idea that the Right is aligned with conservatism and Left with liberalism has caught on and has been with us for over 200 years. One should be aware that the political beliefs of many people are a continuum of Right or Left.

Unfortunately, politics is a highly volatile subject and causes rifts among friends and acquaintances. Yet, it is these very politics that our country was founded on – the freedom for us, the people, to choose our leaders. So get out there and vote!

 We had a great show with Charles Mills. As we talked about applying the ten top wellness tips to everyday life, I couldn’t help but think about myself. How could I feel better, have more energy, and keep from getting the annual virus?

Charles Mills

I have one very bad habit. Every year about this time, I start saying (usually as I eat), “It’s time to put on the winter fat.” Even though I say it as a joke, I always put on the “winter fat.” This year is going to be different. I’m going to post this list on my refrigerator. You want to know why? Because, it takes me all summer to get my “winter fat” off. This year, I’m going to save me some time and energy and follow these wellness tips, and I’m not going to put on the “winter fat!” Here’s a synopsis of what we talked about.

Wellness Tip #1 One Cause, One Remedy The cause for most chronic illnesses, such as high blood pressure, diabetes’s, cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, and obesity is poor nutrition. Dr. Gamblin suggested one way to eat your way to a healthy body was to make eating an apple and five almonds before every meal a habit. Now instead of snacking on sugared or salty items, slice up an apple and eat it with a few almonds while you are fixing your meal. You’ll be surprised how full it makes you feel and how any excess weight will start to come off.

Wellness Tip #2 Fiber The apple and almonds both are rich in fiber. Why is fiber so important? Because it is the vehicle that carries the nutrients to our body’s cell. Nutritional fiber helps lower cholesterol and maintains sugar levels; you need to eat at least 20 grams of fiber per day.

Wellness Tip #3 Do It All the Time Habits aren’t habits if you don’t do them all the time. You brush your teeth every day, you put on your seat belt when you get into a vehicle, and you should do your health habits every day. Just forgetting to drink water for one day can set you up to become sick.

Wellness Tip #4 Brain Fog Do you ever feel “foggy brained?” That foggy brained feeling is caused by lack of blood circulation to the brain. If you want to avoid that feeling, be sure to drink at least eight glasses of water every day. Get plenty of exercise, eat fresh fruits and vegetables, and spend time walking out doors in the fresh air. If you still feel “foggy brained.” Check your medications for side effects.

Wellness Tip #5 Body Adjusts It’s never too late. Change just one life style feature and your body will begin to adjust in a good way. Our bodies are wonderfully made and if we give them the correct tools it will try to heal itself.  

Wellness Tip #6 Health Habits Affect Children’s Children If your father was an alcoholic that doesn’t mean you are going to be an alcoholic; it does mean that the tendency is greater because your father’s DNA has been etched with his experiences including alcoholism. You can break the cycle, and after three generations the tendency will be gone unless the habit is resumed. Fill your life with good habits as a legacy for your children.

Wellness Tip #7 Media is Leading Us Astray The media is bombarding us with messages about food. Doesn’t your mouth water when you see those delicious hamburgers, “I’m Lovin’ it,” and what about cereal and candy bars, “They’re GREAT!” “Break Me Off a Piece of the Kit Kat BAR!” and so on and so forth. If you can make a habit of doing a little channel surfing during commercial time, you’ll find yourself less tempted by these food messages. Better yet, jump up and do something, dust the room, get five minutes in on the treadmill, or call a friend.  

Wellness Tip #8 Medical Profession Doesn’t Know If it is an acute situation, such as a broken arm, or wound, go to the doctor. Modern medicine has saved many lives because of the knowledge about infections, anesthesia, and antibiotics. These are considered acute situations. But if it is a lifestyle problem (and a doctor can help you decide), change your lifestyle. You owe it to those you love and who love you; dying young leaves a vacancy that no one else can fill.

Wellness Tip #9 We Are in charge of our Health Yes, take charge of your health. If you feel sick, go through your own inventory: Am I eating fresh foods and vegetables, getting enough exercise, drinking plenty of water? Have I had enough sunlight and fresh air, am I getting enough rest, do I trust that God is in all of my circumstances? And then take the steps to fix it; you are the only one that really knows how you feel.

Wellness Tip #10 Start Preparing a Healthy Body for Heaven Scriptures tell us in 1 Corinthians 6:19, What, know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? The next time you struggle with overworking, overeating, or over anything, remind yourself, you are a temple, so treat yourself with respect.

I’d love to hear some of your wellness tips. Maybe you make it a point to find humor in stressful situations. Hey, that’s another great tip. I’m going to add it to my list. I’m going to find a reason to laugh every day. How about you?

The topic of Homeschooling seems to bring out defensiveness on both sides of the issue. Today we had a debate show on the pros and cons of homeschooling. Our guest debater was Matt Bosely who is the also the engineer for our show. Matt was homeschooled as a young kid and had a lot of thoughts on the issue.

I, have spent the last five years homeschooling my children, yet just this year, I put my children into private school. Am I against homeschooling, now? Absolutely not! Will I go back to homeschooling in the future? Possibly.

So, homeschooling…is it for everyone? Is it for no one? We had one listener send us an email and he stated that he thought all schools should just close and everyone homeschool. Of course, that is not even a possibility, but it is something to think about!

One of the cons we talked about was how homeschooling consumes so much of the parents’ time. As a homeschooling mom, that was so very true. I often felt so guilty because my house was a constant mess, and yet I was at home and felt that I should be able to keep up with everything at home while my husband was outside the home as the primary breadwinner. Finally, one day, my husband sat me down and said, “Hey, you have a full time job here at home, just as I do outside the home. We take care of the home together.” But I believe that many times, the parent who stays home with the children to teach them probably feels this way at some time or another. Homeschooling is very time consuming, as it should be. It is also very rewarding.

A couple of our listeners wrote comments about homeschooling. The basic gist of what they said was that homeschooling freed them up so much. They could get up, eat, vacation, study, play all on their own schedule. Life seems to be one activity after another. Our lives seem to be so scheduled. Homeschooling does allow a little bit of freedom from that rat race that is the human life.

One of Matt’s concerns was the socialization aspect of homeschooling. Actually, he was concerned about the lack of socialization. In many situations, there are homeschooling groups that allow for ample socialization. These groups meet once a week, or whatever schedule suits them, and the children do get a chance to play and work together. But there are other cases where there aren’t any groups, and maybe no other children in the home, or, as in my case, two children but the age gap is quite large. What do you do then? There are always ways to socialize your child in one way or another but it does seem that it is much more difficult. Matt also pointed out that it seems that homeschooled children seem to be very comfortable around adults. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Homework is another hot button. It seems that traditional schools send a lot of homework home with the children. If you homeschool, you don’t really have “homework” per se, because the work is done (at home) during the day. We never did schoolwork at night in our own home, though sometimes we did go a little longer during the day to get something done.

Of course, I’m coming at this topic from my own experience and everyone’s experience is different. The way I see it, I support homeschooling as a wonderful thing. I loved homeschooling my children and miss them now, during the day. But in our situation, putting them into traditional private school was what we felt best for them at this time. What the future holds, we have no idea. For now we just keep moving forward, praying for God’s guidance in helping us to do what is best for our children and to give me patience when dealing with teachers who have the audacity and temerity to teach a different way than I do (I’m kidding!). Maybe it’s the teachers we need to pray for as they deal with an ex-homeschooling mom!

Please let us know what you think!

By Cathy Jackson

Our guest today was Sarita Holzmann, co-founder and president of Sonlight Curriculum. She and her husband John are considered leaders in the field of literature-based homeschooling. They established Sonlight Curriculum twenty years ago. Their goal was to provide families across the globe with the rich resources they need to raise life-long learners who fervently pursue whatever God calls them to do. Sarita and John have co-authored almost fifty Sonlight Instructor’s Guides, Core programs, and study helps for topics as diverse as World History to Science. Sarita homeschooled her own four children and cherishes a legacy of family-centered, literature-rich home education. She now serves as a trusted guide in how to raise disciples with a heart for God’s global work.

In looking at the big picture of what education really is, Sarita said that it is so much more than just spoon feeding our children what is written in a textbook. Education should include cultural literacy, math, training to love and serve God, memorizing scriptures, reading biographies, understanding the big picture of history, to be critical thinkers and to evaluate and understand what they are reading and discussing. What do you get when you put it all together? The love of learning. “If your child finishes 12^th grade, closes the book and says, ‘yay, I’m done learning!’” Sarita says, “then we have failed.”

Instilling lifelong learning is a goal that every parent should have. Reading great books, such as the ones that Sonlight Curriculum offers, is one way to encourage that love of learning. What makes a truly great book? Sarita gives each book a 7-point test: 1) Real or realistic characters. 2) Solid character development. 3) Content that adds to a cultural library. 4) Multi-dimensional plot. 5) Emotionally compelling. 6) Verbally beautiful. 7) Re-readable.  If your book can pass this test, then in Sarita’s opinion, and the opinion of the author of this blog, you have a good one!

With a scholarship program in place and a charitable organization that they support, Sonlight Curriculum seems to be a well-rounded, literature-based, Christian homeschool curriculum that can fit your life and your children’s education. For more information go to www.sonlight.com.