Dangers of Plastics and Cell Phones?

Safety Topic

I had a request from Shirin to do a topic on cell phone radiation, and include any research that has been done on how harmful or not it is. I thought we could also do some other safety topics under that discussion, like safety or harmfulness of plastic. Does anyone have any info. they'd like to contribute to the safety topic or would anyone like to research this topic and present info. to the group on it. We could have several of us contributing. Let me know in the comments section if you'd like to contribute to the discussion we may have one Monday if there's enough interest.

Thanks!
Julie

Non-Violent Parenting

This past Monday we were very fortunate to have guest speaker Terry LePage from opendoorcommunication.org come and speak on Non-Violent Parenting.

What is non-violent parenting? Terry says it is,"The shocking idea that we put love and connection first in our parenting. We give kids the respect that we want them to learn and model when they grow up."

Terry spoke mostly about the importance of giving our children empathy before limits are set with them. She emphasized taking several minutes if possible to empathize with our children, and see the event from our children's perspective. If a situation entails "big emotions," waiting to have a discussion with our young child until the "big emotions" have been let out can be most helpful. It is difficult, if not impossible, for a child to hear any guidance while they are having "big emotions."

To hear more of Terry's talk and the Q&A session, here's the video clips:
Non-Violent Parenting - Part 1 - what is non-violent parenting?
Non-Violent Parenting - Part 2 - specific questions
Non-Violent Parenting - Part 3 - more specific questions

Thank you, Heather C. for videoing! Also, thank you to Lisa for letting us use your stroller as a tripod!

Gardening, Composting & Produce

Thank you to Dawn and Heather C. for leading the gardening topic today! Here's all the fascinating info. they shared:

Vegetable Planting Schedule

Monthly Gardening Guide

Aguinaga Green Soil - organic soil recommended by Sarah P.

Outline of the talk

Valentine's craft & storytime

Thank you, Lisa, for the fun storytime. The toddlers loved it! The pictures say it all, how they are hovering over you, eagerly listening. That was cute! We should do that more often. Also, thank you, Emily, for bringing the craft. Looks like the kids (and mamas) had fun making them!

AP Living Camping trip

The camping trip, headed up by Emily and Lisa, has been changed to Saturday, May 1 - Sunday, May 2. Emily is reserving a group camp site at Oneil Park for that weekend. The total cost is only $35, so each family can contribute $5-$7 to pay for the fees. The site only allows tents and tent campers, not RVs. Some people have said they would like to come for the day and not spend the night, just to let you know that is an option.

Here's the list of the families who have said they'll be coming:
overnight
Emily
Lisa
Julia
Heather C.
Valorie

daytrip
Julie
Sarah
Angela

Please note the new date and RSVP, or if you need to change your RSVP, in the comments section below. Also, specify if you'll be doing a day trip or an overnight trip.

Book Reviews: Sex, Lies and Menopause & Natural Hormone Balance

This week I did a brief summary of the books Sex, Lies and Menopause by T.S. Wiley and Natural Hormone Balance by Uzzi Reiss.

Some topics that we covered were:

• the importance of our hormones
  
• symptoms of low estrogen and progesterone
• 3 ways to prevent cancer
• possible causes of breast cancer
• bioidentical hormones

For the outline and websites from the talk, see below:

Outline of the talk
Symptoms of low Estrogen or low Progesterone

Map of Doctors & Pharmacists who prescribe Wiley Protocol Bioidentical Hormones
Rite Price Pharmacist (I called Leigh Ann's compound pharmacist and he said the cost varies but shouldn't more than $40/month. Her pharmacist doesn't sell Wiley Protocol but he said they can make any formula of bioidentical hormones that the doctor prescribes).

Kristin's Shower of Blessings

Scout and Sage

AP Clothing Exchange

Here are some pictures of the mommies and babes who attended our clothing exchange. Enjoy!

AP Living Family Campout

The other day, Emily, Lisa and I were getting excited talking about planning an AP Living family campout. We thought this would be an ideal bonding time for our families. We can make 1 or 2 meals together, play, hangout around the campfire, etc. We could even make it an annual tradition.

The plan is to go for one night, arriving the morning of Saturday, April 17 and leaving Sunday, April 18. We are thinking of going to Doheny State Beach. We need to make reservations ASAP since things are already filling up for that time frame. I am not totally clear on the cost; it looks like it depends on the location. But it may be approximately $30-$35 per family. Also, the date is not fixed. We may need to change it if the campsite is already full by the time we make reservations.

If you think you and your family can come, please post a comment below, so we can make a campsite reservation. Also, remember to put your name in the comment if you have a profile like "mama bear" or "muffin man," etc., so everyone knows who you are.

Topic of the day: Unschooling

This past Monday morning, January 11, we were graced by the presence of three articulate, knowledgeable moms of "unschooled" children.

Video from Unschooling Meeting:
What is unschooling?
What does a typical unschooling day look like?
How do unschooling kids learn to read?
How do you document what you do?
What are the challenges you face as parent doing unschooling?

"Unschooling" is a form of homeschooling, which our speakers described as "a natural transition from attachment parenting" and "letting learning happen". One mom described it as organic learning: not forced, but yet not hands-off, either. Primarily and probably most importantly, the focus of unschooling is simply to follow your child's/children's lead in whatever subject matter interests them at any given time. And the fun part, as one mom pointed out, is that you're with them every step of the discovery process, learning new things yourself, too, as you immerse yourself in information.

Recommended Books

• Unschooling Our Kids, Unschooling Ourselves
• Anything by John Holt including How Children Learn, Learning All The Time
• Sandra Dodds Big Book of Unschooling
• A to Z of Unschooling
• Alfie Kohn The Case Against Competition

Other resources the speakers' mentioned:

For a list of recommended unschooling/homeschooling websites click here.
For more information on how to apply to be a homeschooler/unschooler in CA, click here.

Here are a few pictures of the beautiful babies (and beautiful mommies too!) that were at the meetup today. Our Unschooling Guest Speakers were Karri Lewis, Katheryn Culwell, and Paige McKinney (you can find them on Facebook). Enjoy!

A Few More

Another Day in the Park

Here are some photos I took of our meet up on Monday, January 4th. Enjoy!

The Ackerman Family

The Saldana Family