Newsletter – Feb 25-March 1, 2013

501-327-5437 Phone * 501-327-5247 Fax
Newsletter – Feb 25-March 1, 2013 Allaboutcca@gmail.com * www.centralchristianacademy.org
Help us earn I-Pads for our school. We
have sent home a questionnaire from
Pearson Learning and we need as
much participation from families as we
can get. So please take five minutes
out of your schedule to fill out the
survey and turn it back into the front
desk. Thank you!!!!!
ExchangeEveryDay
Testing for Kindergarten
February 20, 2013
This is the best — to laugh with someone because you both think the same
things are funny.
-Gloria Vanderbilt
"When the New York City Education Department announced that it was
changing part of its admissions exam for its gifted and talented programs
last year, in part to combat the influence of test preparation companies,
one of those companies posted the news with links to guides and practice
tests for the new assessment," reported the New York Times(February 17,
2013)
"Assessing students has always been a fraught process, especially 4-yearolds, a mercurial and unpredictable lot by nature, who are vying for
increasingly precious seats in kindergarten gifted programs. In New York, it
has now become an endless contest in which administrators seeking
authentic measures of intelligence are barely able to keep ahead of
companies whose aim is to bring out the genius in every young child.
'It's something the schools know has been corrupted,' said Dr. Samuel J.
Meisels, an early childhood education expert who gave a presentation in the
fall to private school officials, encouraging them to abandon the test.
Excessive test preparation, he said, 'invalidates inferences that can be
drawn' about children 'learning potential and intellect and achievement.'
Contributed by Zvia Dover
Lots of new faces around!!
CCA has hired several new aftercare staff
and subs. Please feel free to make
introductions to new faces you see in the
classrooms. Many of our new hires have
education/going to school working in
fields such as early childhood,
occupational therapy and many more
professions.
Attention Parents:
Don’t forget that we have expanded
into Greenbrier! If you know
someone who needs quality
childcare in that area, please let us
know!
Call 501-581-0203 to tour!
EARN FREE TUITION
Refer someone to our Greenbrier
facility and get credit ($25-$100)
in tuition. With confirmation of
enrollment, you can get this
credit added to your weekly
tuition.
A Little Book of Life Lessons . . .
Words that Matter
“Courage is only an accumulation
of small steps.” – George Konrad,
author
Taken from OUR DAILY BREAD – Devotional Collection
The Core of the Problem
READ: Romans 3:10-18
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing
good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to
perform what is good I do not find. – Romans 7:18
One of my favorite television cartoons as a boy was Tom Terrific. When Tom faced a challenge, he would
put on his thinking cap and work through the matter with his faithful sidekick Mighty Manfred, the Wonder Dog.
Usually, those problems found their source in Tom’s arch-enemy, Crabby Appleton. To this day, I remember how
this villain was described on the show. He was “Crabby Appleton – rotten to the core.”
The fact is that all of us share Crabby Appleton’s primary problem – apart from Christ, we’re all rotten to
the core. The apostle Paul described us this way: “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who
understands; there is none who seeks after God” (Romans 3:10-11). None of us are capable of living up to God’s
perfect standard of holiness. Because of our condition of being separated from a hly God, He sent His Son Jesus to
give himself to die on the cross for the punishment we deserve, and then rise again. Now we can be “justified
freely by His grace” through faith in Him (v. 24).
Jesus Christ has come to people “rotten to the core” and makes us “a new creation” by faith in Him (2
Corinthians 5:17). In His goodness, He has fixed our problem completely – all the way down to our core.—BC
I know I’m a sinner and Christ is my need;
His death is my ransom, no merit I plead.
His work is sufficient, on Him I believe;
I have life eternal when Him I receive. -- anonymous
We need more than a new start – we need a new heart.
Remember drop off your
Campbell’s and Pepperidge
Farm labels by the front door.
The school benefits from
them.
Jesus Calling . . .
I AM LEADING YOU, STEP
BY STEP, through your life.
Hold My hand in trusting
dependence, letting Me
guide you through this
day. Your future looks
uncertain and feels flimsy
– even precarious. That is
how it should be. Secret
things belong to the Lord,
and future things are
secret things. When you
try to figure out the future,
you are grasping at things
that are Mine. This, like all
forms of worry, is an act of
rebellion: doubting My
promises to care for you.
Whatever you find yourself
worrying about the future,
repent and return to Me. I
will show you the next step
forward, and the one after
that, and the one after
that. Relax and enjoy the
journey in My Presence,
trusting Me to open up the
way before you as you go.
Deuteronomy 29:29
Psalm 32:8
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FEBRUARY
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18 19 20
25 26 27
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February
5th (Tue) – Dad’s and Donuts @ 8AM
14th (Thur) – Valentine’s Party @ 2PM
18th (Mon) – Closed President’s Day
21st (Thur) – Operation Lifesaver with Mike
Mason @ 10AM (Railroad)
M
T
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F
S
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5
12
19
26
6
13
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27
7
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MARCH
4
11
18
25
March
6th (Wed) – Conway Sanitation and Recycling Demonstration
@ 10AM
12th – 13th (tue-thur) – Spring Pictures starting @ 8AM
18th – 22nd (Mon – Fri)– Spring Break Week – please get your
reservation forms in ASAP
25th – 29th (Mon-Fri) – Parent Teacher Conferences (times TBA
by teacher)
. . . bring nature into your back yard and allow children to explore.
Creating Planet Earth
By Rusty Keeler
What is the most important place on the planet for children? Is it the Amazon Rain Forest? The Pacific Ocean? The
Himalayan Mountains? How majestic! As adults we may think of lofty places of great natural importance, and yet the
most important place on the planet for young children is . . . your back yard. That’s right. That small simple place that
children visit every day is actually the most important place in the world. It is the place where children use their
senses to explore the planet and experience the wonders of nature.
What do your children experience when they step outside? Are they able to touch dirt? Smell flowers? Find worms?
Plant seeds? Climb trees? Hug chickens? All children deserve to squish mud and splash in puddles. All children need
to smile at the sun and feel its warmth smiling back. Every child should be able to roll down hills and hid in tall
grass. All children deserve to have their sense of wonder sparked by the possibilities of the planet.
But doesn’t it take an extensive nature center or national park for children to make friends with the planet? No! All it
takes is someone like you to decide to ring nature into your back yard and allow children to explore. Plant bulbs and
pop into flowers in spring. Bring dirt, sand, and water into your yard. Plant shade trees and fruit trees and trees that
burst into fragrant bloom. Plant pumpkin seeds. Allow corners of your yard to grow wild. Hang birdhouses and bird
feeders. Allow children to take naps outside in the grass. Add magnifying glasses and shovels to your outdoor loose
parts collections.
Today people all over the world are making beautiful changes to their back yards by creating opportunities like these
for children to play and explore in the natural world. As we beautifying the world . . . and beautifying children’s
introduction to the planet.
Dream Big. Start small. Never Stop
Thank you Mr. Mike for coming
and speaking with kids regarding
Operation Life Saver . . . Mr. Mike is
retired from the Railroad and gave
the kids some safety tips
2/20/13
ADH: Child Nutrition
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Home > Programs & Services > Chronic Disease > Nutrition
Child Nutrition
But What If My Child Won't Eat?
Health Concerns
There is no doubt that nutritious eating is associated with good health. And since we would all like to see our children
grow up to be healthy adults, we are concerned about our children's eating habits. Early eating behavior often doesn't
measure up to our idea of good nutrition, however. Young children usually limit their diets to those few foods with
which they are familiar. This limits the variety necessary to obtain adequate amounts of the 40+ nutrients needed for
health. Also, children eat in response to hunger cues; if they don't feel hungry, they may not be motivated to eat.
Parental Responsibility
What should parents do about this? The answer is hard for a parent to accept - essentially, nothing. Children will eat
when they are hungry, and will not starve themselves. They eat more during growth spurts, which can last varying
lengths of time. This is why a child's calorie intake can change drastically from month-to-month, or even day-to-day.
Of course, parents must be sure that when children do eat, the foods are nutritious. So while children determine how
much they eat, it is the responsibility of their parents to determine what they eat, and how it is prepared.
We must, however, be sure that children do nothing to blunt their hunger prior to mealtime. "Grazing" - continual,
unsupervised snacking - can provide just enough calories to stave off hunger and prevent the consumption of healthier
foods at mealtime. Fluids can quickly fill a small tummy, so drinking close to meals should be moderated. Healthy
snacks should be eaten at least an hour-and-a-half prior to meals.
Children cannot be forced to eat. Attempting to do so can start a battle that parents have no chance of winning. Even if
a child can be coerced in some way to eat at the moment, it may create resentments and negative attitudes toward
eating that can lead to unhealthy future outcomes. For example, telling a child he or she must eat vegetables before
having desert make vegetables "the bad guy" and desert is glamorized as "the reward". A negative association is
created with vegetables, and deserts are something viewed in a positive light, because they are used as rewards.
Forbidding foods also makes them more attractive. Human nature dictates that things are more appealing if they are
restricted, especially among children. All foods can fit into a healthy diet, as long as moderation is applied.
Choose the proper setting for meals and snacks. Distractions that compete for the child’s attention should be avoided or
limited whenever possible. Have meals and snacks away from the television; veggies can rarely compete with a favorite
TV show. Ditto with other activities. Make sure your child is not eating where other kids can be seen playing. The desire
to join the fun and games may convince a child that he or she is no longer hungry.
Your Child’s Diet will Improve
Children's tastes expand and mature as they get older, and they will gradually add more and more variety to their diets.
Parents can encourage this by introducing new foods regularly. In doing this, however, parents must show patience.
Children will not eat foods that are unfamiliar, and it often takes ten to twelve presentations before a child becomes
familiar enough with the new food to taste it. Parents also need to be flexible, as tastes frequently change. For
example, one week peas may be the only vegetable that is acceptable. The next week peas are out, but corn and
broccoli are in. Try to serve whatever vegetables are presently favored, to assure some degree of consumption. Giving
a children's vitamin with the Recommended Dietary Intake is a way to assure adequate basic nutrient intake until the
diet can do so.
“Home Alone” (Latch Key Kids)
Over the years societal changes have impacted family dynamics appreciably. Unlike the past, now both parents often
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ADH: Child Nutrition
hold jobs requiring their presence beyond the end of the school day. This means that when children get home from
school and want a snack, they are responsible for preparing it themselves. So how can parents be assured that their
children will prepare snacks with at least some nutritionally redeeming qualities?
Educating and Training Your Child
The more your child knows about foods and food preparation, the better the chances that he or she will be able, and
inclined, to have a snack that is more involved (and more nutritious) than opening up a pack of potato chips and
doughnuts and washing them down with a soda. Teaching the safe operation of kitchen equipment and utensils
(appropriate for age and ability) will greatly enhance the scope of what can potentially be prepared. Knowing relatively
simple tasks such as how to heat foods in the microwave or blend fruits, juices, yogurt, low-fat milk, etc. into tasty,
nutritious smoothies creates an almost infinite variety of healthy snack choices. Other basic skills include how to
properly wash, peel, chop, and slice various food items.
One of the most important things that can be taught is how to avoid illness from improper food preparation. Teaching
the value of hand washing, cleaning cutting boards to avoid cross-contamination, proper defrosting techniques, and
cooking times and temperatures provides essential food safety knowledge to your child. You can then rest easier
knowing your child is not likely to throw a raw egg into the blender as is fashionable among many athletes who are
ignorant of the dangers of salmonella food poisoning.
Parental Planning and Preparation
In anticipation of your child’s culinary debut you may wish to provide some planning assistance. Getting things off to a
good start will increase the probability of success. Also, you will be demonstrating to your child that proper eating is
important and warrants the time and effort to be done correctly. While it is important, though, try not to portray it as
just another task that has to be done. Approach it as a fun project- an adventure, if you will. The spirit in which things
are presented usually dictates how they are accepted.
Go to the store with your child and shop for easy-to-prepare, nutritious items that appeal to him or her. Choose items
that will be practical to prepare and eat for a late afternoon snack (and dinner, if there are times when you may not
make it home in time). Freezer sections are stocked with microwaveable dinners or single entrees. Many of the entreeonly choices, such as the pocket-type sandwiches, can be consumed as a snack. Careful label reading will reveal the
choices that are nutrient-rich, but not so plentiful in the fat, sodium, and cholesterol categories.
Take this opportunity to teach smart shopping. Compare items according to cost per unit of weight, nutrient quality,
freshness (e.g. expiration dates), etc. Choose produce for ripeness according to color, texture, and firmness; and
explore all the varieties available. Explain how to purchase amounts required for the number of snacks/meals needed,
as well as the necessity of staying within a monetary budget.
A little preparation can save plenty of time and effort. Pre-prepare food items and refrigerate or freeze as necessary in
single-serving packets. This makes it easier to prepare after a grueling day filled with tests, reports, and all those newfangled math problems. And mom and dad, this is your opportunity to prolong the modicum of control that you exert
over your child’s dietary lifestyle.
Preparation Tips
Preparation is relatively simple and, contingent on age, could be taught to your child:
Chop vegetables into the size of small meatballs. Saute in a nonstick pan with vegetable oil spray. Mix in with
spaghetti sauce, heat, and serve over spaghetti. The vegetables have the consistency of meatballs, and the
sauce hides the taste.
Finely chop broccoli, cauliflower, tomato, onion, pepper, mushrooms, etc. Use as ingredients in an omelet. (Use
egg whites for the omelette, if you wish to avoid the fat and cholesterol from the yolk.)
“Protein Punch” sandwich: Fry two egg whites in a nonstick pan with vegetable spray (cook both sides until firm
and solid white); place one ounce of fat-free lunch meat on the egg whites, then melt a slice of low-fat or fatfree cheese over the egg whites and meat; put on toast (or nontoasted bread) to make a sandwich; top with a
slice or two of tomato. This makes a low-fat sandwich that is nutrient-rich, especially in protein and calcium. (I
often recommend this to athletes who need a little extra protein.)
Clean carrot and celery sticks, broccoli and cauliflower florets, or fresh squash slices. Put them in the
refrigerator in a bowl of water to prevent dehydration. Have some low-fat or fat-free salad dressing available
(most kids like Ranch) to dip the veggies, or fill the celery stalks with fat-free cream cheese or peanut butter
(raisins optional).
Have blender ingredients handy to create tasty, nutritious shakes. Limited only by personal preference, most
anything can be used - fresh fruit, fruit juices, low-fat milk, yogurt, low-fat ice cream, cereal, peanut butter, and
different flavorings such as vanilla or almond extract. Ice can be added for additional fluid and to make it nice
and cold.
Blend fruit and pour into popsicle molds. This tasty, portable snack provides the fiber from fruit, as well as the
juice.
Prepare a bowl of fruit salad or slices and refrigerate. Have bananas handy so they can be added whenever a
portion is taken for consumption. Soak apple slices in orange or lemon juice, as the citric acid will prevent
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ADH: Child Nutrition
oxidative browning.
There are a zillion ways to prepare healthy, appealing, and quick and easy meals and snacks; the only limit is your
imagination. Make healthy snacks as easy and appealing as chips, cookies, and sodas, and you may find that they
compete quite well. And your child may actually become proud of the fact that he prepares his own snacks, rather than
merely opening a pack of cupcakes.
Influences That Shape Your Child’s
Nutritional Habits
Children learn from and are influenced by the things they encounter while growing up. This is why we as parents
attempt to exert a certain modicum of control over the things in which our children are exposed. We know that they will
soon be making their own choices, and we want to establish a good foundation of knowledge and common sense from
which to make them.
Advertising
It is estimated that by the time a child has reached puberty, she will have seen about 100,000 food commercials on
television alone, approximately 90% of them for items high in fat, cholesterol, or sodium. No wonder the shelves of
supermarkets are stocked full of popular foodstuffs, such as cereals, that are so loaded with sugar that they should
rightfully be placed in the candy aisle.
How can we combat the millions of dollars spent on sophisticated ad campaigns targeted specifically at our children?
One thing we can do is spend time with our children on “their turf.” This allows parents to experience various
phenomena, including advertisements, with them. Parents can explain, on a level at which their child is capable, the
psychology behind advertising. They can equip their children to see though the persuasive attempts to sell a product via
celebrity or some appealing situational scene that has nothing to do with the quality of the product. In essence, parents
can teach how to separate and evaluate the meaningful information from the “hype.”
To carry this one step further, couple healthy eating with fun activities and events. Pack a healthy, tasty lunch to eat on
picnics and hikes, have juice and low-fat flavored yogurt as a snack when your child works up an appetite from playing
with friends, or create pictures on his plate with the many different shapes and sizes of foods. This is “fighting fire with
fire” - using the same basic psychological principles that advertisers use but, in this instance, to develop a positive
association with healthy foods.
Parents
As parents we have first crack at influencing our children and need to take advantage of it, because it won’t last long.
Before we realize it, our children will be spending time away from home and subject to many new influences. When
this occurs, we want them to have a good knowledge base from which to make important lifestyle decisions.
Speaking about outcomes important to our children, not us, will give us a much better chance at success. For example,
teaching how nutritious choices not only lead to good health, but enhance appearance, energy, and physical
performance, will help assure that our children listen to and retain what we impart. They will then be more likely to
make better choices after our influence wanes.
Establishing an environment that encourages healthy lifestyles and provides the opportunity to manifest them is
important. Our teachings about nutrition will be to no avail if we make chips, sodas, candy, etc. readily available for
snacks, while keeping fruits and vegetables hidden away in the bottom of the refrigerator. Regularly frequenting fast
food establishments and purchasing cheeseburgers, french fries, and sodas after extolling the virtues of healthy, lowfat eating gives mixed messages that negate our efforts and confuse our children. Probably the biggest threat to our
nutrition nurturing is our own actions. A major learning modality of children is imitation. Being the most significant
figures in our children’s lives, we are the role models whose lifestyles are most emulated by them. Therefore, it is
incumbent upon us to “practice what we preach.”
School
Entering school is the first major step toward increased independence for children. They will now begin spending more
time away from home, and be subjected to many new influences. The school environment imposes a major influence in
the child’s life. Unfortunately, the school’s influence is often not what we might desire in regard to healthy eating. While
on the one hand teaching nutrition and health in the classroom, many schools create an environment that is the
antithesis of these teachings. Vending machines flourish in the hallways, usually offering very little in the way of healthy
choices. Soda machines are ubiquitous, while juice machines are nowhere to be found. This means that children
couldn’t choose healthy snacks even if they wanted to do so (and believe it or not, many want to).
School food service is commonly supported by funds raised from sales. Therefore, cafeterias offer items they know will
be good sellers such as cheeseburgers, french fries, and pizza. Some school cafeterias have an alternate choice or a
salad line, but frequently there is little effort to make these very appetizing or even healthy.
Fund raising has become synonymous with candy. Check out educational and PTA conferences that invite exhibitors,
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ADH: Child Nutrition
and you’ll see that many are candy wholesalers. To raise money, schools regularly promote the sales of candy to the
public by students. This has been such a longstanding tradition among schools universally that it had been rarely
questioned. Recently, though, many parents, teachers, and health professionals have begun to wonder why healthy
alternatives cannot be used for this purpose.
Major supermarkets are usually amenable to establishing a relationship with schools whereby educational tours can be
conducted, and produce can be purchased at greatly discounted prices for special promotions. Doing this would show
children that schools “really mean what they say” in nutrition and health classes.
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4/4
Miss Tizzy let the children pick the flowers. Then
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And the children loved it.
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the raisins, and then lick the bowl while the
cookres were baking. The children loved it.
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