A Ballerina Mouse

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_E7eSie6jMW2ugsYXJ910UgLmkT-ALXFxhoKqqi9Aa5sqxcgD4zPVWhdYxz7gEUow4sp6NfFI6ahB6MCxQEIkPXqHVS_XgooZV-gQaa9ua89t1b7zcxXZJXIgmXw7ynXZ9afI-jiMzWE/s1600/Summer+2010+-Audrey%27s+b%27day+023.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511029784791521138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_E7eSie6jMW2ugsYXJ910UgLmkT-ALXFxhoKqqi9Aa5sqxcgD4zPVWhdYxz7gEUow4sp6NfFI6ahB6MCxQEIkPXqHVS_XgooZV-gQaa9ua89t1b7zcxXZJXIgmXw7ynXZ9afI-jiMzWE/s200/Summer+2010+-Audrey%27s+b%27day+023.JPG" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>My granddaughter wanted to be a ballerina mouse for Halloween last fall. That theme carried over into her summer plans for a wonderful birthday. And why not? Why shouldn't children still have the opportunity to dream and pretend that life is full of wonderful surprises. <div><br /><div>I worry sometimes that children are not encouraged to build an imagination and dream about possibilities. I was sharing with students recently how I used to hurry home from school to play in the hills around our small-town home. I remember making mud pies, building a tree house, playing with the dog and many other things. I didn't even consider watching television or going from one planned practice to another. It is wonderful that we have so many opportunities and options for children in 2010. However, I worry that imagination and creativity is in jeopardy. We need to make sure that children still are encouraged to explore and create their own adventures.</div><br /><div>So, Audrey wanted to be a ballerina mouse. No one told her that there was no such thing or that she couldn't pull it off. She WAS a ballerina mouse. It was a great birthday. I wonder what she will come up with for Halloween this fall. It is sure to be good.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRb6AU6E-Pw9Z9tKMoY_baRzCCbFhQjjYjC2Pu-OqtY8LDe3NRvDQxIQWAuTyd5_BeVl-9aJh05sH76SEDQ1cQKHDqs_9CB1cUhhXgRryRCKX1-Sslok9KF3Y0eQdudbYbz8UHum1oPY/s1600/Summer+2010+-Audrey%27s+b%27day+024.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511029268007674194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRb6AU6E-Pw9Z9tKMoY_baRzCCbFhQjjYjC2Pu-OqtY8LDe3NRvDQxIQWAuTyd5_BeVl-9aJh05sH76SEDQ1cQKHDqs_9CB1cUhhXgRryRCKX1-Sslok9KF3Y0eQdudbYbz8UHum1oPY/s200/Summer+2010+-Audrey%27s+b%27day+024.JPG" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 94px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 67px; CURSOR: hand" /></a></div></div>

A Ballerina Mouse

My granddaughter wanted to be a ballerina mouse for Halloween last fall. That theme carried over into her summer plans for a wonderful birth...

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Eat Your Breakfast!

A new study from the University of Essex has drawn a link between child obesity and breakfast - basically, the researchers concluded that those children who skip breakfast before going to school <a href="http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/rss/1022595/Lack-breakfast-linked-childhood-obesity/" target="_blank">were more likely to be obese</a>.<br /><br />The research has been published in the <span style="font-style: italic;">European Journal of Clinical Nutrition</span>, under the snappy title of 'Associations between habitual school-day breakfast consumption, body mass index, physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness in English schoolchildren.' UCB students can access this article in full via the Gale service in Athens.

Eat Your Breakfast!

A new study from the University of Essex has drawn a link between child obesity and breakfast - basically, the researchers concluded that th...

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