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Balancing the Energy Equation

by | Sep 23, 2014 | Educator, Grown Up

Childhood Obesity Awareness Month is the perfect time to talk about the importance of balancing the all-important energy equation. It might sound complicated, but it’s actually pretty simple. The energy equation is all about balancing the food you eat with the physical activity you do. If each day you balance your food intake (calories you eat) with your physical activity output (calories you burn), your weight should stay the same.

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Food Safety 101

by | Sep 17, 2014 | Grown Up

2042 COVER copyAlong with a number of other health observances, September is also National Food Safety Education month. It is so important to create a safe and sanitary environment when it comes to food preparation. This starts at the grocery store when you are purchasing all of the yummy food that you will be bringing home to your family.

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5 Colorful Ways to Eat your Fruits and Veggies

by | Sep 10, 2014 | Grown Up

September is not only National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, it also happens to be National Fruit and Vegetable month. It makes sense as these two tend to go hand and hand … the more colorful fruits and veggies you eat, the healthier you will be! That being said, sometimes it’s challenging to get those kiddos to eat the rainbow of fruits and veggies that is available to them.

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5 Back to School Best Practices

by | Aug 22, 2014 | Grown Up

By Maria White

By Maria White

It’s that oh so highly anticipated time of year! Back to school. The stores are stocked up with supplies, backpacks, clothing sales (or not), and tax free weekends to help get you going. With all of this hassle, I mean excitement, it is easy to get stressed about all that has to be done in time for that first day of school.

Here are five tips that may help make that first day of school preparation just a little bit easier:

  • Bedtime Routine – Establish specific bedtimes for each child. Whether the times are staggered or everyone goes to bed altogether, it needs to be a set schedule and then enforced. It may not happen on the first try, but work towards these times as you get closer to that first day back to school. Sleep is vital, so get this down ASAP!
  • Supply Prep –  Now that you have bought all of those school supplies, don’t wait until the night before to label everything and make sure it is all there! Plan ahead and go ahead and pack their bags so all you have to do on that first day is grab and go.
  • Wardrobe Prep – Try on any new clothes prior to the first day of school. (I know I have waited until the morning of and realized an outfit didn’t work, then had to scramble.) Cut off any new tags and have your outfits for the first day (and that entire week if you are that good!) picked out and ready to go. You don’t want to have clothing disagreements slow you down!
  • Menu Selection – If you get a lunch menu ahead of time, go ahead and highlight the days in which your kids will eat the school lunch and which days you will be packing them. Make sure to check out this calendar prior to your grocery shopping so you can be prepared for lunches you have to make. It also may be helpful to portion out certain fruits or veggies and snacks ahead of time to make it a quicker process.
  • Organization System – There are endless amounts of school papers, artwork, and report cards that the kiddos will bring home that they (and you for the most part) will be proud of. The question is, what do you do with it all? Create a rotation system where the kids can select a few of their favorites and hang them up. We have a “Masterpiece” wall where we hang the favorite art pieces and then, after awhile, switch them out and file away the old ones in a file box that you can create for each child. Have this system set up ahead of time so you don’t have papers overflowing on your kitchen counters!

That’s it! These tips should help you at least organize the chaos of back to school just a little bit!

You can also enjoy this fun video of The Kidney Brothers back and forth banter about making sure kids are partaking in the proper behaviors as they head back to school:

So tell us, how do you get your kids ready for the back to school grind?