The Ted-Mister!

I forgot to post about Teddy! 

Teddy is our somewhat moody fish that takes residence in our living room. 

He is an introvert at heart.

He is easy to read. If he doesn't like the amount of food you gave him or the size of his little pebble of food he will simply spit it right back out. 

He likes to be watched. 

He doesn't have very good self esteem some days because when he sees himself in the mirror he gets pretty upset. (hehe)

I think he is afraid of bamboo because when he gets daring he swims through the bamboo really really fast, but most of the time he avoids it. 

Hope you enjoy him as much as we do! :)

3rd Grade Lessons

For one of my community internship requirements I got to teach a nutrition class to 3^rd graders. Those 34 impressionable minds were all mine for 30 minutes. I had my lesson planned and practiced. Everything was set up and ready. I honestly don't remember everything that I was taught in 3^rd grade. I thought they would have herd of diseases and medical problems that their grandparents might have. I was taking a chance that my audience would nod and smile when I said vegetables can lower your risk of type 2 diabetes. At least that was what I was used to in college. I learned a lot of new things today...

3^rd grade and college are worlds apart. Of course the boy in the front row says, “umm umm what is diabetes?” Gulp. How can I explain diabetes to a 3^rd grader? Do they know about cells or hormones? I started to talk and all I know is that I said hormones, insulin, sugar, and cells a lot which seemed to satisfy the wondering mind.

3rd  graders are so willing to share. After explaining that vegetables were low in fat and low in calories, I moved on to fruits. I finished with “Fruits are low in fat and calories just like what other group?” 75% of the hands went up just like normal and I called on a boy. His answer was “My brother likes fruits, but I don't eat them very much.” It fit so well to say that in their world. It made me smile.

3rd graders are willing to participate. I think it is interesting the older we get the less we want to be up in front of people. I also thought it was interesting that 3^rd graders raise their hands even when they don't know the right answer. The main goal is just to get picked.

It was certainly a fun learning experience. My favorite part of today was talking about the grain group. I started out with, "we want to make 1/2 our grains whole." and I ended with, "Is white bread a whole grain?" A resounding yes swept across all of their lips. I smiled and said, "nope" and I heard a collective gasp by the audience. I had to revive the troops again by telling them that all the benefits of whole grains are found in brown bread. "I don't like that stuff though" I heard. I guess I didn't do a good job in reviving them, but I hope they remember to choose it next time.