Our Morning Smoothie.. how I love to start the day . . a smoothie packed with spinach, mangos, bananas, acai and more! If you’re looking for ways to incorporate more leafy greens into your children’s diet, you need to check this out!
Mornings are crazy at my house. I have my act together at the beginning of the school year but by this time of the year, it’s chaos. How is it already March?! My kids are not morning people so it’s always a struggle to get them up, ready, fed and out the door on time.
They should be taking the bus to school but I drive them. This gives us 20 more minutes, which in the mornings, is just what we need.
This morning, by the grace of God, I rushed over to the girls’ rooms and found them up, dressed and ready to go. I was in shock. Madeline says to me, “Mom, we’re ready!” so, this morning, instead of rushing them out the door and throwing a box of granola bars into the car (their breakfast), I actually made eggs and smoothies.
Shocked the hell out of me.
If you’re struggling to get more greens into your kids’ diet, try smoothies! I throw in a ton of fresh spinach, you can try kale too, along with frozen fruit, almond butter, kefir and water and they love them!
We hope you give this smoothie a try!
Our Morning Smoothie
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1 heaping cup frozen blueberries
- 1 heaping cup frozen mangos
- 1 frozen banana
- 1/2 packet frozen acai
- ½ cup kefir any flavor, we are using blueberry
- 2 cups of water + more if needed
- 1½ tablespoons hemp seeds
- 1½ to 2 tablespoons almond butter
Instructions
- Place everything into your blender, cover with lid and blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and enjoy!
National School Walkout
Today, March 14, 2018, students across the country walked out of school to demand new gun laws. “From Maine to California, the National School Walkout took place at 10 a.m. in each time zone. The protest was sparked by last month’s school massacre in Florida and fueled by years of anger about what many say are inadequate gun laws.”
- Ban assault weapons
- Require universal background checks before gun sales
- Pass a gun violence restraining order law that would allow courts to disarm people who display warning signs of violent behavior.
“Dear Students,
I know you. I am a retired teacher of 24 years. I have taught you as 7th graders all the way through 12th grade. This is not a tweet or a text. It’s called a letter; lengthy and substantial. Do you really want to make a difference? Are you sincere about making your schools safe? Don’t walk out, read this instead. Walking out of school is easy compared to what this letter will challenge you to do.
First of all, put down your stupid phone. Look around you at your classmates. Do you see the kid over in the corner, alone? He could likely be our next shooter. He needs a friend. He needs you. Go and talk to him, befriend him. Chances are, he won’t be easy to like, but it’s mainly because no one has tried to like him. Ask him about him. Get to know him. He’s just like you in that respect; he wants someone to recognize him as a fellow human being but few people have ever given him the chance. You can.
Next, see that kid eating lunch all alone? He could likely be our next shooter. Invite him to eat lunch with you. Introduce him into your fold of friends. You’ll most likely catch a lot of flack from the friends you eat with because they don’t want him upsetting the balance of their social order. After all, who you hang out with is critical to your status, is it not? If status is important to you, don’t you think it’s important to him also? The only difference being that he has no status because generally, shooters have no friends. Are you serious about wanting to make your school safe? Invite him to your lunch table and challenge your friends to do something meaningful with thirty minutes of their lives each day.
Lastly, are you completely frustrated by that kid who always disrupts your class and is consistently sent to the principal’s office? He could likely be our next shooter. Do you know why he causes so much trouble? He initiates disruption because that’s the only thing he does that gets him attention, and even bad attention is better than the no attention he receives from you and your classmates. You secretly wish he would get kicked out of school or sent to the alternative disciplinary school so that he wouldn’t disrupt your classes anymore, that somehow, he would just disappear. Guess what? He already feels invisible in a school of thousands of classmates, you included. So, before he acts out in your next class, why don’t you tell him you’d be willing to help him with the assignment that was just given? Or why don’t you ask him to join your study group? If you really want to blow his mind, ask him for help on the assignment. He’s never been asked that. Ever.
If you’ve read this far, you probably really do care about the safety of your school. Don’t trust that walking out of school will bring an answer. Gun control or more laws is not, and will not, be the answer. You are the answer. Your greeting, your smile, your gentle human touch is the only thing that can change the world of a desperate classmate who may be contemplating something as horrendous as a school shooting. Look past yourself and look past your phone and look into the eyes of a student who no one else sees. Meet the gaze of a fellow human being desperate to make contact with anyone, even just one person. You. If you really feel the need to walk, walk toward that person. Your new friendship can relieve the heartache of one person and in doing so, possibly prevent the unjustifiable heartache of hundreds of lives in the future. I know you. I trust you. You are the answer.
And teachers, my fellow guardians of our youth, I know you too. I know the desire of wanting to make a difference in a young person’s life. I know the thrill of stepping in front of a classroom of students but simultaneously intimidated by the trust bestowed upon you. I also know the crushing, sometimes unbearable responsibility that your shoulders are asked to carry. But that’s why you got into teaching, because you have big shoulders. And a big heart. You’re overworked (I would add underpaid, but you didn’t get into teaching for the pay, so it needn’t be said), underappreciated and exhausted. May I add one more item to that list? You’re also a miracle waiting to happen in the life of your worst student. He could likely be our next shooter. The next time (and there’s always a next time) he’s ready to wreak havoc in your classroom, I challenge you to pull him aside and ask him if he’s ok, if there is something bothering him and is there anything you can do to help? Your genuine concern for him may be just the miracle he’s looking for. The miracle we’re all looking for. I know you. I trust you. You are the answer.
A former teacher who is as heartbroken as you and trusting you not to walk out on the real answer,
David (yes, teachers really do have first names) Blair
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/14/us/national-school-walkout-gun-violence-protests/index.html
Thank you for sharing the letter Alice ! These kids need to hear this. The solution to the problem starts with us. It doesn’t mean new laws and safety precautions won’t be helpful, but to holistically address this we have to consider how we treat each other and teach our kids about real kindness. I am not sure that it’s any coincidence that the more we stuff our faces into a screen, the more this stuff happens. We have to teach the future generation to really see people and respect human life.
Hi Krysten, thank you so much for this comment. . Agreed! and yes we also need new laws and safety precautions!!! But YES to seeing people, all people and respecting human life!
Eh, I of course appreciate the sentiment and spirit of the letter, but turning to student development theory I identify some issues with this approach.
Oversimplification of an extraordinarily complex issue. Friending (or demonizing) isolated students is good but is not going to “fix” this. Tasks students with this is also a significant burden. (Not that we shouldn’t ignore our fellow students- but again, this is an oversimplification of a multifaceted complex issue.)
This deeply minimizes the problem. “If only” you did this or that.
There’s also a lot of privilege and power implied in this message. “Put down your phone.” Im older, know better, listen to me, my authority, etc.
These messages speak often to adults. Less to activist populations.
Emily, I really appreciate your opinion and taking the time to leave a comment. This is a multifaceted complex issue, with SO MANY things related to it: gun control, mental illness, depression. . Our world, government, leadership, law makers etc have to look at these things and address and make change. . as one person, me, as a mother of two children, I am looking at what happened in FL and what is happening in our world today and asking myself, what can I do? OF course I know this alone isn’t going to FIX anything. . but if children, students, people, ADULTS did this, this would certainly make some kind of a difference. and again, I said I don’t agree with everything written in the letter, or how it’s stated but some of the things he said resonated with me.
Also, I’m not pointing the finger at students .. this is a message for EVERYONE. I will edit what I wrote above to make sure people understand where I am coming from. Thank you again for taking the time to leave a comment.
Where do you get your acai? What kind do you prefer? I’ve never tried it before, but would love to try this!
Hi Keri! you can find acai in the frozen fruit section at most grocery stores!!! Sambazon makes a good one!!! Hope you can find it!