Time is precious. The fast pace of our modern-day family life made it difficult to find time to spend with our young children. The activities and opportunities available were endless! Normal life was flying by as we all rushed through our days to keep up with our very busy family schedules. But recently, the unthinkable happened! Overnight our fast-paced family life came to a screeching halt! Continue reading
In 2012, Northeast Iowa Food & Fitness Initiative (NEIFFI) began working with Early Childhood and Care (ECE) settings in six NE Iowa counties to encourage healthy habits at an earlier age through Farm to Early Care and Education (F2ECE). The goal of NEIFFI is to provide intensive technical assistance to support early childhood settings in adopting healthier habits, local food sourcing, gardens, and an education curriculum. Continue reading
Take a walk around town and look for the bulbs sprouting. Daffodils, Irises, and tulips are starting to show their sprouts this time of year. It is always fun to see the signs of spring in a bright green bulb sprout. Continue reading
Do you need some ideas during these days of staying home? Get Out the Washable Glue! If there’s one thing kids love, it’s glue! And the best thing about a glue project is that it’s a great way to make use of recycled materials and scraps. Gather up anything you have on hand, like empty cereal boxes, oatmeal containers, egg cartons, tissue paper, wrapping paper, beads, toilet paper rolls, buttons, Popsicle sticks, miscellaneous craft supplies, etc. and see what kinds of art masterpieces your kids create! You can also be creative and teach colors, shapes, patterns etc. while creating fun art! Please share pictures of any art creations made by your young creative artists! Continue reading
On Thursday, April 2nd, 2020 Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds mandated that Iowa schools remain closed until April 30th, due to the increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases in our state. I know that many young children had anxiously been waiting for the initial 4-week school closure recommendation to end, so they could get back to school around April 13th to see their teachers and their friends. Continue reading
We just learned that school will be out now until April 30th. While I have been enjoying time at home with my children, the excitement about the break from school has now worn off and our routine is more important than ever. The busier we are, the less time and energy we have to bicker! My children have play time, reading time, outdoor time – all of these parts of our schedule are going well. It’s lunch that I really struggle with. Continue reading
Greetings Families! With the school closures, I can’t see you or your children for my work with the Food and Fitness Initiative for the next month or so. Oats was the food of the month for March, and luckily I was able to visit the classrooms to talk about oats, and we had a taste test of granola. Continue reading
With having an unexpected amount of time at home, let’s think about starting our gardens. Continue reading
An extended break over the summer is something we all look forward to. Kids are ready to play outside, and everyone loves the long, warm days; endless activities lie ahead! But, a long break during March, when we’re all in the middle of the school routine is a little less shiny. Adding the stress of worrying about COVID-19, and being at home without play-dates, camps, grandparents, and less than ideal weather can get pretty overwhelming. Continue reading
The news came quickly and without much time to prepare – four weeks at home with our children! Where do we even begin? Four weeks seems like an eternity for those of us who usually send our kids to school and go off to work! What do we do now, with all this time on our hands? Continue reading
