Summer vacations give a super opportunity for parents to get their little girls outdoors to indulge in fun, bonding exercises. Be sure to kit out your little ones in the appropriate clothes when adventuring outdoors. Organic materials are highly tough and wash well, making them the ideal choice for the summer months outings. Little girls are one of the highlights of any parent?s life on earth and as a result, you will want to make use of every opportunity to indulge with them in bonding exercises. The summer season gives a large amount of time and super weather through which to get outdoors and savour parent/child adventures with each other. Camping, park outings and times reserved for arts and crafts will all be welcome hobbies for your little girl in the course of their school holidays. Camping. The great outdoors is most enjoyable when you can pitch a tent and extend your stay for an evening or two. Educate your little girls to pick constellations out of the clear night sky, show them how to fish in lakes and streams and tell them on successfully navigating backcountry paths. Camping offers an extended bonding experience involving mothers and fathers and their little girls, taking the family unit outside of the typical day-to-day routine and widening the horizons of your little ones in the lazy, hazy days of summer season. Organic fibres breathe well in the heat of the sun and they are easy to wash when it comes to getting out the dirt from rustic camping settings. Parks. If you do not have the time to get out of the city, a lot of UK parks can be found to give young youngsters a place to run and play with their parents and other little ones of the same age group. Massive slides, swings and monkey rings are just a few of the opportunities for play available at local parks. In addition, numerous parks include grassy areas where you can sit and savour a picnic lunch with your little girl. A full day of adventure at hardly any cost awaits you and your family at one of the a lot of parks in your community. Arts and Crafts. You don’t need to go any further than the front lawn to enjoy a day of arts and crafts in the sunshine. Whether it is making collages for the living room or melting down crayons to create ?stained glass? art pieces to hang in the windows, arts and crafts are the perfect summer time hobby to bond mothers and fathers and their little girls. The greatest part of staging arts and crafts set ups in front of your home is that little breaks inside can be a part of the day; this enables for snacks, potty breaks, sleeps and clean up times. Be certain to kit out your little girls in the appropriate clothing while doing any of the above mentioned exercises, so that you never ever have to be concerned about undue wear and tear while out having fun. Organic materials are very recommended for summer season outings, as these materials are both durable and easy to wash. Your little girls will savour improved freedom to ramble and roam in the outside when fitted with organic materials. Find more info about kitting your girl out in organic girls clothing at Frugi

SF Bay Area elementary afterschool reading program has illiteracy in its crosshairs. Promising results show eliminating illiteracy in the SF Bay Area is possible. Super Stars Literacy provides intensive literacy instruction combined with social/behavioral skill development five times weekly, for two to three hours each day after school. The Super Stars Literacy model draws on the cultural and economic assets of the surrounding communities and is adaptable to a variety of school settings and collaborative approaches. The program provides: * Whole group and small group literacy activities (including Read Alouds, Guided Reading, Phonics, and Phonemic Awareness instruction as well as literacy through music, art or science instruction) * Literacy Extension Activities (independent learning centers based on reading, math, science, and art themes/skills) * One-on-one Instruction on specific skills appropriate to the needs of each child * Family Events (family field trips to local museums and science centers and parent education events) Using Read Alouds, Super Stars Literacy Group Leaders model social behaviors and encourage students to understand social-emotional problems and develop empathy. Our curricula (including Kidzlit, Second Step, and Tribes) explore themes of pro-social behavior, impulse control and anger management. Children are encouraged to express their feelings and grapple with their fears and concerns through discussion, drama, art, movement and writing. Super Stars Literacy currently provides early literacy and social/emotional development programming at the following Oakland school sites: * East Oakland Pride * Hoover Elementary * International Community School * Parker Elementary * Think College Now Super Stars Literacy relies on the generous support of Individuals, Foundations and Businesses who share our belief that ever child deserves equal access to resources and opportunities to succeed and that our program of early literacy development and social/emotional supports can bring those opportunities to students entering school in under served communities. Super Stars Literacy needs your help to bring these opportunities to ever more disadvantaged Bay Area kindergarten to 2nd grade students. You can volunteer as a tutor, assist in a field trip or family event, or make a tax-deductible financial contribution.

Safety regulations are clearly the chief consideration when selecting a seat for your young baby, but the different styles aren’t simply cosmetic touches, and it’s important to be aware of precisely what ramifications your selection will carry before making your purchase. The safest baby safety seats, manufactured by brands such as Disney, Graco, Safety 1st, and many more, are made for babies up to 12 months or 20 pounds. Don’t forget, when choosing between available chairs, to settle on a preference between rear facing seats and chairs capable of facing in either direction to avoid choosing something that doesn’t suit your needs. Used as a baby carrier, seats like this make it simpler to transport your child from car to house - without even waking. The convertible style will last for longer before replacement is needed. Although you pay more for them, convertible safety seats’ll suit from the start until the little one leaves safety chairs in the past. You’ll find, however, that convertible seats aren’t as useful as baby carriers.

Comprehension of the features inherent to any given model can most easily be obtained from available comparisons and reviews, ensuring that you pick out the best for your family. In addition reviews like these are independent with no reason to mislead you about a seat’s quality.

Booster seats are created specifically for children weighing between around thirty pounds all the way up to eighty pounds. You’re faced with two major choices in fitting: a five-point harness design and a design using the car’s integral safety belt - and I recommend trying both approaches by putting your child in the booster seat to ascertain which suits the best while keeping the child comfortable. As you’ll note while reading the safety chair reviews, these seats typically come with a number of extras designed to make your daily travel easier by distracting the little one.

To learn more, you are advised to check out our exceptional site for Safety 1st strollers and car seats instructions…

Deciding on your ideal safety seats is often a long process, but you need to weigh your child’s needs against your lifestyle and finances. As a basic rule, the reviews and ratings out there make for the best guide you can hope for.

Wind power simply comes from air in motion. It is caused by the uneven heating of the earth’s surface by the sun. Since the earth’s surface is made of very different types of land and water, it absorbs the sun’s heat at different rates.

During the day, the air above the land heats up more quickly than the air over water. The warm air over the land expands and rises, and the heavier, cooler air rushes in to take its place, creating winds. At night, the winds are reversed because the air cools more rapidly over land than over water.

In the same way, the large atmospheric winds that circle the earth are created because the land near the earth’s equator is heated more by the sun than the land near the North and South Poles.

Today, wind energy is mainly used to generate electricity. Wind is called a renewable energy source because the wind will blow as long as the sun shines.
The History of Wind

Since ancient times, people have harnessed the winds energy. Over 5,000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians used wind to sail ships on the Nile River. Later, people built windmills to grind wheat and other grains. The earliest known windmills were in Persia (Iran). These early windmills looked like large paddle wheels. Centuries later, the people of Holland improved the basic design of the windmill. They gave it propeller-type blades, still made with sails. Holland is famous for its windmills.

American colonists used windmills to grind wheat and corn, to pump water, and to cut wood at sawmills. As late as the 1920s, Americans used small windmills to generate electricity in rural areas without electric service. When power lines began to transport electricity to rural areas in the 1930s, local windmills were used less and less, though they can still be seen on some Western ranches.

The oil shortages of the 1970s changed the energy picture for the country and the world. It created an interest in alternative energy sources, paving the way for the re-entry of the windmill to generate electricity. In the early 1980s wind energy really took off in California, partly because of state policies that encouraged renewable energy sources. Support for wind development has since spread to other states, but California still produces more than twice as much wind energy as any other state.

The first offshore wind park in the United States is planned for an area off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts (read an article about the Cape Cod Wind Project).

Graduation Cap

Graduation ceremonies are memorable events when family and friends of a graduate convene to celebrate the academic achievements of their loved ones. These events offer the graduates an ideal chance of expressing their pride in their respective accomplishments and this is mainly portrayed through the unique academic regalia that they wear. One of the most outstanding components of the academic regalia is the graduation cap which consists of a flat top resembling a mortarboard and a tassel at the center. Although the tassel of graduation caps is normally black in color, it sometimes consists of golden tassels but this mainly depends on the respective institution’s logo. A standard Graduation Cap consists of a traditional appearance with escalated sides to enhance comfort as well as add grip. The caps are normally customized according to the needs of the user and this includes handmade skull mortarboards. The color and design of graduation caps is usually dependent on the graduate’s field of study as well as the respective institution. There exist outlet stores that offer lending facilities of the entire academic regalia but despite financial constraints, it is recommendable to purchase the graduation cap to keep as a memento for years to come.
GraduationSource, a leader in graduation regalia products since 1960.

Taste of the Caribe, the annual fundraising event of the International Children’s Heart Foundation (ICHF) was held successfully last May 10, 2008. The Bacardi Family Foundation, together with Pro-Cigar, helped make the event lively and entertaining.Throughout the evening, Caribbean food and Latin music kept the people on their feet. And while Pro-Cigar provided Dominican cigars for the guests, the Bacardi Family Foundation gave $40,000 and provided liquor which was used to spice up the guest’s drinks. The family and the foundation have long been avid supporters of ICHF; a family member even sits in the foundation’s board of directors in the person of Bret Rodriguez, a 6th generation Bacardi. By pledging support for ICHF, a foundation that aims to provide better and complete care to children with heart problems, the foundation reiterates its commitment to various foundations and communities all over the world, especially those devastated by natural disasters and those that are situated in developing countries. For ICHF, the Bacardi Family Foundation, through Bret Rodriguez, seeks to create a world where global businesses and opportunities freely extend support and funding for the training of medical teams and volunteers who may help improve the condition of ICHF’s pediatric heart patients. The foundation’s strong support for the annual money-raising event helped ICHF put up over $15,000.

Did you know?

•One of every five couples experience fertility problems

•The average cost of one in-vitro fertilization cycle runs about $15,000

•The number of infertile women in the United States aged 20-25 tripled in the last 30 years
•Throughout the world, sperm counts have reduced by 50% in the last 50 years
•One woman in five experiences a miscarriage
•One couple in six cannot conceive naturally
•Women can produce antibodies against the male sperm?
•One birth in five is taken through cesarean section (this rate has quadrupled in the last 30 years)
•Diseases linked to the father’s genes include leukemia, asthma and mental development

Preconception healthcare involves making sure that there is an adequate supply of everything that is essential to the health of your egg and sperm and the baby’s development. This is accomplished by eliminating everything which has been shown to be harmful to that process. It’s as simple as that.

Your goals, prior to conception are to:

Use Condoms: The presence of immune-mediated antibodies in the female block the passage of the sperm. They are also responsible for miscarriages. So, when you are in the detox and pre-conception phases, it is important to use condoms as a barrier contraceptive to isolate the sperm. This way, the body won’t be exposed to them to cause an allergic reaction and the body can heal and regroup.

Minimize or Manage Stress: Where does stress reside in your body? It is different for everyone, but wherever it resides, it is affecting those body parts and the hormones they produce. For instance, if you hold stress in your gut, then the gut responds accordingly. Did you know that the gut produces more neurotransmitters than the brain? Stress affects fertility by increasing a hormone called cortisol.

Learn two natural methods that can greatly increase your chances of conception. These are the Mucous Method and the Temperature Method. The Mucous Method teaches you how to identify fertile and infertile mucous in the reproductive tract. Only fertile mucous accepts, nourishes and transports sperm. Taking the temperature of the body the same time each day will identify hormonal cycles and diseases that may affect fertility. Both are necessary for maximum conception success rates.

Minimize coffee consumption: We are a society of caffeine addicts. Coffee and caffeine are extremely toxic alkaloids. Coffee is a powerful contraceptive agent. Caffeine damages the DNA. Decaffeinated coffee is worse, as dry-cleaning chemicals are used to remove the caffeine from the beans.

Protect, educate and detoxify your body from all common toxins. Unexplained infertility largely results from environmental and dietary toxicity. Common causes of infertility include: heavy metal toxicity, chemicals from various sources, over-the-counter pain killers, “social” drugs such as alcohol, caffeine and nicotine, household chemicals, occupational exposure to chemicals, radiation damage, agricultural exposure to herbicides/ pesticides/ fungicides and fertilizers, hormones and estrogens in milk, dairy and meat products, sugar-induced hypothyroidism and insulin resistance, the use of raw soy products (soy milk and soy ice cream), petrochemical exposure, chlorine or fluorine exposure (showers, hot tubs, drinking water), certain sports (swimming, golf, cycling), plastics exposure (especially with heated plastic), microwave ovens, allergies, stress, emotions, gut flora imbalances, autoimmune diseases, hormone imbalances, food-borne organisms (Listeria and Toxoplasma), and more.

Normalize your weight if necessary. Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is greatly influenced by excess weight. Obesity increases the risk of miscarriage, birth defects, gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia and premature birth. In men, obesity increases heat in the testicles which need to be two degrees cooler than the core body temperature for the sperm to survive. Also, increased estrogen (from the extra fat stores) decreases testosterone production.

Stop using lubricants and products that are toxic to sperm: Pre-seed is the best lubricant to use for intercourse when trying to conceive, as it is sperm-friendly. KY Jelly kills sperm.

Test negative for all genitourinary infections. Genitourinary infections have been shown to be responsible for infertility, miscarriage and fetal growth problems. These include: Streptococcus B, Enterococcus, Herpes Type I and II, Anaerobic bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenza, Streptococcus millerii, E. coli, Klebsiella, Garnerella, Ureaplasma, Mycoplasma and Candida. Chlamydia infections tend to scar the fallopian tubes and are one of the most common organisms leading to female infertility.

Commit to and accomplish an adequate exercise program. Exercise increases circulation and brings essential nutrients and blood to the ovaries, testes and uterus.

Increase your alkaline reserves by eating lots of fresh, raw fruits/vegetables. Eat lots of raw fruits and raw vegetables. I would recommend 2-3 cups of each daily for the first month for the detoxification period, then 75% of that amount after that.

Add Wheat Germ Oil, wheat germ, or Wheat Germ Pearles to the diets of both the prospective mother and father. Wheat germ has lots of zinc and selenium in it and works on the body to dilate both the fallopian tubes and the seminiferous tubules. This makes the transport of both egg and sperm easier. It also helps to increase sperm counts, motility, healthy morphology and the number of effective, fertile sperm. Three capsules, teaspoon oil, or two tablespoons wheat germ is the usual dose.

Eat two tablespoons of raw, hulled Pumpkin Seeds each day. Pumpkin seeds bind up harmful byproducts of testosterone breakdown in the male and act as a building block for a balanced hormone system in the female. If a little is good, a LOT is NOT better, so stick to only two tablespoons max. Most other disease processes need only one tablespoon per day.

The goal to conquering infertility is to identify those factors that are causing infertility in both the male and the female. By doing so, we can work on individual issues and minimize environmental factors that influence infertility.

There are over 100 herbs, supplements, and homeopathics used in the support of infertility issues. These should be evaluated and protocols tailor-made for each couple. I hope this article gets you moving in a healthy direction so that you can accomplish your baby goals.

These topics along with avoidance tips and the mucous and basal body temperature methods are discussed in more depth at: http://www.naturalhealthtechniques.com/Specific%20Diseases/Infertility.htm

Dr. Denice Moffat is a practicing naturopath, medical intuitive, and veterinarian working on the family unit (which includes humans and animals) through her phone consultation practice established in 1995. She has a content-rich website at http://www.NaturalHealthTechniques.com and a free monthly newsletter.

Maternity is nature’s gift to women. The experience of nursing your baby can be increased if you ensure your own comfort level. Your breasts start changing shape from the fourth month of pregnancy. As a result, most women find their previous bra too small.

Purchase a nursing bras close to your due date or shortly after your baby arrives, because your breasts will grow larger toward the end of your pregnancy and when milk comes in.

You can purchase nursing bras in the maternity section of any department store. When purchasing a nursing bra, keep in mind that it is best to shop for one that has wide, comfortable shoulder straps to give adequate support to the breasts. Consider buying a bra that has flaps and can be opened and refastened easily. Since milk leakage is inevitable, it also makes sense to buy nursing pads to protect both your bra and clothes.

Make sure you get the right size. Though good looks are an added bonus, your primary consideration should be access and comfort. Even though you may find bras with underwires tempting, they can constrict the ducts and obstruct the flow of milk. This, in turn, can cause infections.

It is always better to buy 100% cotton bras, as cotton is a breathable fabric. Synthetic fabrics trap moisture and encourage bacterial growth and soreness.

Along with quality, pay attention to the quantity also. You should buy more than one nursing bras to avoid washing the same pieces again and again. As the breast size keeps changing, you should replace your nursing bras regularly to be sure you’re getting the support you need while breast- feeding.

Bras provides detailed information about bras, bridal bras, and more. Bras is affiliated with Garter Belts.

How many times have you stared at a person who looked different? The person could be largely overweight, have some sort of physical deformity or be too tall or too short….. but whatever it was about them, they were different from you.

I have to admit, I used to stare at people different from me. That was until I spent time with someone very close to me that got stares all day long. I realized that this person dealt with more uncomfortable situations in a day than most of us deal with in a lifetime!

In our house, the word “fat” is a naughty word. So is “big”. So is anything that could be potentially uncomfortable for anyone else. With a 5 year old however, there is always going to be a situation like what happened a few years ago when we were in line at the grocery store. The pimply young cashier intrigued my son and Jeremy yelled out, “he has OUCHIES on his face”. Well, what can you do?

Today was an opportunity for a good lesson regarding special needs children. I took my son to the Doctor for a physical and being flu season there were several children there with physical and mental disabilities that are considered “high risk”. Right across from us was a man with his son in a very elaborate wheel chair. The chair secured the boy who probably couldn’t sit up on his own. The boy spoke very slowly and was severely mentally and physically challenged.

But his eyes lit up when I asked the daddy if I could introduce my son to him. Jeremy had been staring at him and told me he couldn’t talk so I asked the dad if we could meet him. The dad seemed happy too so I crossed the room to sit down right by him and asked the boy his name. He said “Tim” . I said, “hi Tim, this is Jeremy” . Then I asked, “How old are you Tim?” He said, “Ten”. While I talked with him I rubbed his leg gently and I could see he was trying to put his hand out for me to grab it. I asked Jeremy to tell Tim how old he was.

The conversation was short but sweet. The nurse then called them in and the dad looked at me and thanked me and we said goodbye.

On the way home, I was able to explain to Jeremy that Tim has feelings just like any kid who wants to fit in. He wants to have friends and experience life and love his family. He doesn’t want to be laughed at or pointed at just because he is different. And he doesn’t want to be “special”. He just wants to be “normal”.

I felt good about having the opportunity to introduce Jeremy to Tim. I want him to feel as comfortable talking with someone in a wheel chair as he would anyone that was able bodied. I want him to know that everyone, no matter WHO they are or what their circumstances, wants to be acknowledged and not ignored, talked with and not stared at, and they want people just to be comfortable and not intimidated.

I don’t know if it made an impression on Jeremy today, but I feel that it did. We’ll continue to speak with whoever comes along our path no matter how different they are from us.

Teaching our children not to stare is probably impossible. But teaching them to share a conversation with people who are different is truly remarkable!

Mary Gardner is a writer, consultant and mom who lives in Orlando, FL. Her information is http://www.marygardner.com

It’s often a challenge to decide just who to invite to your baby shower. What is the proper etiquette and how do you avoid hurting someone’s feelings?

When determining your guest list, it’s important to define your target group. Is it your idea to host the traditional women only gathering or will you include children? Today it’s becoming increasingly popular to invite couples and/or complete families.

When you decide on the type of shower you are going to be hosting make sure your invitations are precisely worded, such as “women only”, “children welcome” and so on based on your decision. If you are planning a specific theme make sure this is included on your invitations as well as any special instructions such as what to bring, how to dress, and directions to the party location. This will save you countless telephone inquiries regarding the specifics of your shower plans.

Always ask your invited guests to RSVP and keep in mind that typically about 20-25% of those confirming will ultimately fail to attend for a variety of reasons.

Baby Showers held at an office, social club or church have a pre-determined guest list of co-workers, club members or fellow church members but make sure that you find out if your shower is the only one being held for the mom to be. If it is, then you may want to extend invitations to her personal friends and family. It may take a bit of discreet probing to find out if there are additional showers planned.

Alternatively, if you are a friend or family member planning the only shower, it’s a thoughtful idea to make a call to the prospective mother to be’s employer to find out who should be invited from her workplace.

In most cases her husband should be able to supply contact information for her friends and work associates.

Don’t forget that if your shower is the sole party planned, you should extend invites to the mom’s family as well as her husband’s family.

Jim Hutton writes articles about planning and hosting baby showers, you can see the full article library at: Baby Shower Ideas