About Me

My photo
Like all of you, I'm a number of things to a number of people...Navy wife, homeschooling mama, educated woman and aspiring writer. Read my thoughts on all of it here. Please feel free to leave your thoughts on all of it too!

Friday, August 27, 2010

Healthy Living: Food, Fitness, and FUN!!!

Every one needs to learn about living healthy, right? They need to learn about what makes a well-balanced meal and how to get great abs, right? Well, something like that...


Our healthy living unit encompassed quite a bit more...and I don't think we covered ab workouts at all.


Our book list:
The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram your genes for effortless weight loss, vibrant health, and boundless energy. by Mark Sisson


The Omnivore's Dilemma: The secrets behind what you eat by Michael Pollan, adapted by Richie Chevat - Young Reader's Edition


The Primal Blueprint Cookbook by Mark Sisson with Jennifer Meier


The Quest to Digest by Mark K. Corcoran


What we did:
We started by using Mark Sisson's Primal Food Pyramid and 10 Primal Blueprint Laws (the laws are written slightly differently on the poster, but they're basically the same as you see on the web site). We started here because I'm living a primal life and wish my family to do so as well. Also, the 10 laws cover healthy living...from food...to fitness....to fun! So, there's really no better place to start.


By the way, Jace quickly questioned that if Mark Sisson isn't the president...how does he get to make laws? I let him know that he wouldn't go to jail for not following the Primal Blueprint Laws, he just wouldn't be living as healthy as he could be.


We focused on eating healthy for the first week (PB law #1). We talked about what foods are good for our bodies and what ones are not. We defined poisonous foods (PB law #2) as not only ones that can kill us or make us very sick, but also ones that don't get digested easily in our bodies or make our bodies react in unpleasant ways.


Here's a chart from The Omnivore's Dilemma that we used to talk about corn (not a vegetable) and all the places it has inserted itself in our lives.





At the suggestion of a forum member (you can join the conversation too, if you want) we did a supermarket search for poisonous things! (Thanks jqbancroft!) The kids had a great time learning why some of the foods they thought were good aren't so good for them!


Jace and Gracie plan and cook a meal a week with me. In light of what they learned they chose healthier options to make these last two weeks. Hopefully that trend continues. We also made aprons to wear when making our fabulously healthy meals!





Gracie did help guide the fabric eventually, but she never got quite good enough to sew on her own...at 5 years old, I think that's OK! In a year or two she'll be altering all her clothes, don't worry!





No, Tyler doesn't do much cooking, but in light of how adorable he looks in his apron and chef's hat, can you blame me for stitching him up one too?


We've been taking walks (PB law #3) several times a week all together, as part of our schooling, and one or more of them usually walk with me in the evenings too. During this unit we talked about moving frequently at a slow pace, why sunlight is important (PB law #8), and foraging. We even got enough berries for a tasty crumble. (Thanks yESiCan!)





Another of the Primal Blueprint Laws is to get adequate sleep (PB law #6). This is something I've always believed in, the kids...not so much. But, put it in a list of rules, that someone else wrote, and the kids are all over it. There was one day Gracie woke up early and was miserable. I told her she needed to take a nap and she started to cry and whine.


"Gracie, remember we all need adequate sleep?"


Gracie sadly nods her head, tears running down her face, boogers too.


"What does adequate mean?"


"Enough."


"And you didn't get enough sleep last night, did you?"


Gracie shakes her head and, with her sleeve, wipes her face.


"So, taking a nap will help you get adequate sleep, won't it."


"Yes."


Brilliant!


We talked about taking care of our teeth and looked at our teeth prints, seeing the two different kinds of teeth omnivores have. We read about digestion and then simulated it...



A banana was our food. We put in on a plate and smashed it with fork (chewing). It slid through a snack baggie with the ends cut off (esophagus) into a sandwich bag (stomach).



The kids got to churn it in the baggies. It then went into panty hose (the small intestine) where they squeezed it down into a paper cup (large intestine and rectum). The water and pulp that squeezed out symbolized the nutrient we absorb into our bodies. We then cut a whole in the bottom of the cup to expel our waste. That was their favorite part!


We've used our brains (PB law #10) in all sorts of ways...we've been creative, traditionally intellectual, played games and listened to music. We have talked about the fitness laws (PB laws #3, 4, and 5) and practiced some over the past two weeks...with plans to do more this next week. (Next week is going to be a sort of vacation for us. We aren't starting a new unit and are taking a couple days completely off to play! But we'll still be doing math, writing letters, and practicing vocab on a few of the days. Anyway....)


We've done lots of playing (PB law #7), both inside and out. We created a Grok Kit for our van, a set of fitness goodies to stay in the van in case we find ourselves with time and a place to play. (Thanks tbow!) This coming week we're meeting up with some (hopefully) new friends on Wednesday to celebrate not-back-to school day for us (the local public schools start that day). We're going to the zoo on Thursday to see some old friends, and the animals too!


So, the only law I haven't mentioned yet is PB law #9 - avoid stupid mistakes. We discussed this on the first day but haven't talked about it much since then. That was almost two weeks ago. Yesterday Jace said, "Mama, I'm a little worried now that we know the primal blueprint laws."


"Why?" I asked.


"Because I like to go to Luki's house and ride his 3-wheeler." (Luki is the boy down the road who has a tricycle-style bike...it's sized for bigger kids, though, not toddlers.)


"What does that have to do with the primal blueprint laws?"


"One of them says to avoid stupid mistakes."


Jace is such a clever boy. It was a good opportunity to talk about wearing a helmet but still having fun. Getting scratches, bumps, and bruises is acceptable. Breaking your leg on a stunt you know is not bright...that might be considered a stupid mistake.


It's been a great two weeks and there's more food, fitness, and fun to be had!!!

No comments: