Posts filed under ‘Working with Low Income Children’
Owls and the Homeless: When nature and reality meet
Look, there’s an owl nest.
Hey, check out the trout lilies.
And just ahead, there’s a homeless man sleeping.
So it goes at Turville Point Conservancy on a Saturday morning hike.
What goes down must come up: Life lessons learned while skiing
What goes down...
Learning to ski is a humbling experience.
Fall, get up. Fall, get up.
Poles and skis slip and slide and get tangled up in the weirdest of ways.
That’s pretty much how it goes for first-timers,
especially as they learn to maneuver hills.
I can’t think of a better metaphor for life.
If kids can get past the initial frustrations, they learn so much. That’s why we ask kids to make an 8-week commitment to ski club. That way, they have to work through their frustration. The end result is always a joyful celebration on the last day.
In the mean time, there’s more agony of defeat than the thrill of victory, but the victory is so very sweet.
Check out these photos from this week’s lesson at Black Hawk Ski Club. They really do say it all.
African savannas and Wisconsin state parks
Outdoor adventures with kids bring curious comparisons. |
Kids learn to enjoy winter at Indian Lake County Park
Even without snow, the kids made use of the sledding hill.
Lou and his mother didn’t look too happy as we gathered at 9 a.m. on a cold, December morning for a trip to Indian Lake County Park.
“I had my doubts,” mom admitted. But she showed up anyway along with 30 others. At the end of the day, they were all smiles and glad they came.
Despite the lack of snow and 10 degree temps, the kids found lots of ways to stay warm and have fun. Plus, Indian Lake is a drop-dead gorgeous park. The sunny, blue skies formed a perfect back drop for limitless outdoor fun:
- Kids ran, slid and rolled down a frost covered sledding hill.
- Kids played on a huge pile of wood. They turned the wood pile into a fort, a mountain or just a neat place to climb. They killed off space aliens, played soldier games and lots more.
- Kids played with sticks, the best toys ever.
- Kids examined beautiful frost crystals that coated the ground.
Sticks are the best toys ever. Note the lack of mittens.
- Kids helped build a fire.
- Kids played football and kicked around a ball.
- Kids hiked up the hill to see a historic chapel.
- Kids ate hot dogs and hot chocolate.
But mostly, the kids learned that sometimes it’s important to get up and go even if it’s cold. Parents set the example. Unfortunately, about 15 kids missed out because their parents cancelled.
We forget how warm kids get when they run around. No matter how many times we asked kids to put their hats on, most didn’t listen and took them off anyway. Go figure. Kids just don’t react to cold the same way as adults.
Winter is a great time to get outside. It’s important to help parents and kids learn how to enjoy the winter.
How do you respond to fears about cold weather?
Playing football in the morning sun. Again, no mittens. Are they crazy?
Carrot Juice vs Chips: Bike for Life explores the options
Surprise: Kids like carrot juice.
Carrot juice or chips?
Raw peanut butter anyone?
What do you think kids will eat?
Turns out they’ll eat all three, but not necessarily in that order.
I didn’t think they’d like carrot juice, but they did.
They watched intently as the Willy Street Coop juice bar man turned carrots into juice with the flip of a switch. The rich, orange juice flowed out and the kids eagerly drank it up. They also loved watching peanuts turn into peanut butter in the grinder. They liked that it looked kinda gross coming out of the machine, which always helps with kids.
After they tried the juice and peanut butter, I took out chips and chocolate to talk about portion size and choices in food. They squealed with delight. Sugar, salt and fat make for tough competition. No squeals for carrot juice and unsweetened/unsalted peanut butter, but then again, they had never tried them before. On the other hand, junk food, is readily available and a primary cause of obesity in kids.
Can you just 12 chips?
Of course, the real challenge with junk food is how much kids eat.
Did you know that there are about 12 chips and 250 calories in one serving? Have you ever tried eating just 12 chips in a sitting? That’s the challenge. I offered single serving bags of chips to make the point.
The next time you sit down to eat chips, challenge yourself and your kids to eat just one serving. And, before you eat, read the ingredient label. Turns out that the nacho cheese flavored chips are loaded with preservatives, whereas simple potato chips contain just potatoes, oil and salt. Even in the chip world, there are choices.
As for the chocolate, the package said a serving was half the bar. This seemed like a lot so we talked about that. Can you eat just a few squares of chocolate and put the rest away for another day? I know I can’t, which is why I don’t eat chips or eat sugar. I shared this with the kids so they know that there’s a choice. They don’t get it, but then again, they don’t have to, just yet.
Kids are smart and while most of their food choices are made by others, I believe that this information will make a difference to them.
Perhaps not now, but in the future.
What do you think?
Bike for Life is an obesity prevention program created and run by Diane Schwartz out of the Goodman Community Center. It’s funded by the Endres Foundation and the Rosenlund Family Foundation. The group is enjoying the great fall weather by biking around Madison. Next week, we’ll head up to the Capitol.
When it’s okay to shoot a gun: Outdoor Skills Day
Ebrahim, Gavin and Juan target practice.
Year ago, shooting a gun was a rite of passage for boys and BB guns were common. Today, BB guns and bow and arrow sets are pretty much things of the past, but not at Outdoor Skills Day at MacKenzie Environmental Education Center in Poynette.
For one day each summer, kids learn how to shoot at targets, throw hatchets, cast a fishing line, cut wood, cook over a fire, start a fire without a match and lots more. I went with 13 kids ages 5 to 13 plus three parents.
At first, I was a little nervous, but once I saw how great the kids were behaving, I loosened up a bit. They were so respectful of each other and of the skills they were learning. The people at MacKenzie know what they’re doing. They made it safe.
The Bowhunters Association, DNR wardens and fisheries staff, and lots of volunteers were on hand to teach kids how to do things safely. They had the all the right equipment and plenty of room. Kids learned that shooting a gun wasn’t about killing people, but about concentration and skill. It was wonderful to see the kids so focused. I could see their self-confidence grow as they practiced. Experiential learning is so important for kids, especially high energy kids.
As a result of this trip, I’m inspired to bring an archery program to Goodman Community Center or to host our own Outdoor Skills Day. We could use a few more confident, respectful kids.
So what do you think? Do you think events like this are okay? What is your experience working with kids and outdoor skills?
Tania (age 5) and Buba (age eight) work the cross-cut saw.
Angel (age 13) shoots a muzzle loader with help from a Wisconsin Muzzle Loader Association volunteer.
Mari (age eight) gears up for archery.
Ebrahim (age 5) throws and then hits the target. His face says it all.
Gavin (age eight) gets instruction from a Wisconsin Muzzle Loading Association volunteer before taking aim.
$1 Snack Attack: What will kids choose to eat?
What will kids buy if they only have $1 to spend on a snack?
That was the Bike for Life challenge last week.
The kids could choose from the following as long as they stayed under $1:
- apple or banana – 22-60 cents
- cheese stick – 33 cents
- 1 oz peanuts – 22 cents
- 1 candy bar – 93 cents
- Single serving bag of chips 33 cents
Before they made their choices, we talked about each item and its nutritional value. We also looked at portion size and learned how to read a nutrition label.
Then, we biked to Copps grocery store on Aberg and took a tour of the departments. The store manager gave us a tour and the kids made their choices.
Of the six boys, 1 chose peanuts, two chose an apple and cheese stick, 1 chose the chips, and two chose the candy bar. Of the 7 girls, all bought an apple along with either the nuts or a cheese stick.
For whatever reason, it appears the boys felt freer to buy junk food. The two boys were giddy that I’d let them buy candy. If given money and the choice, some kids will always buy candy.
When I asked John why he chose the chips, he said “I just felt like a chip.” Perhaps he associated chips with a reward, or he craved the salt. Regardless, nutrition had nothing to do with his choice.
The girls all chose a healthy snack: either an apple and nuts, or an apple and cheese stick. One person commented that she didn’t get the candy because she could buy two things for her money instead of one candy bar. Just like John, nutrition had nothing to do with her choice. It’s also possible that the girls wanted to please me or were driven by peer pressure. Since none of the girls said they wanted a candy bar, perhaps it was too risky for a lone candy bar lover to break from the pack. I wonder what would have happened if just one boy would have wanted the candy. Would he have risked speaking up?
Overall, I think it was a good experiment. Most of the kids chose healthy snacks despite less healthy options. Next time, I’ll ask more questions about why they chose what they did. Healthy eating takes a lifetime to learn and this was a small learning step. Two things are certain, 1) kids have lots of reason for choosing what they eat and 2) the will never forget (I hope) the day that their teacher gave them $1 to spend anyway they wanted.
Biking: Independence on Wheels
Icie and Micah show off our super cool folding bikes outside the Goodman Community Center after our first neighborhood ride.
A bike is an independence machine.
called Bike for Life. Bike for Life teaches kids how to safely ride and navigate city bike paths and roads. It also strives to get kids moving and teach them about healthy nutrition. Obesity is a huge issue today, especially among minority populations. Of course, the serious stuff is disguised in the fun and adventure of biking.
Kids get Bikes on Thursday!
Six kids will get a new bike on Thursday.
They’re excited and I’m excited.
They’ve worked hard at doing service around the Goodman Community Center. They’ve washed windows, picked up trash and worked with preschoolers. They’ve written book reports too.
We’ll walk to the Wheels for Winners garage on Thursday and the kids will pick out their bikes. I can’t wait.
A Taste of Independence: Trusting kids
With the freedom to explore, a child spotted a pair of cranes and took this photo.
I let three 9-year-old boys walk a good distance ahead of the group on a hike at Governor Nelson State Park last week.
This might not sound like a big deal, but it was for them.
They wanted to feel independent. And yet, they kept looking back, just to make sure we were still there. That’s how growing up works. Kids want to stretch their wings, but do so only when they feel that someone will catch them if they fall.
It’s important to give kids opportunities to be independent. They don’t get this otherwise.
Unlike my youth, these kids do not get to roam outdoors.
They go from home to school to after school and then back home again.
They do not get to practice being independent even in the smallest ways, like going to the grocery store or walking to school.
On this trip, I was happy to give them a taste. And look what happened. They “snuck up” on Sandhill Cranes; they spotted a hummingbird; they watched Canada geese with their goslings; they walked on the rocks by the water and spotted a dried up carp.
They were so excited and engaged and I didn’t have to do anything, but be with them. They developed observation skills, gained confidence and expanded their knowledge of the world.
But most important, they learned to trust themselves and I learned to trust them.
Let me know how you give kids a taste of independence.
