Handy Hints for Parents & Teachers
The following is information we have found to be beneficial in our work with children, and in raising our own families.
We are built with our own unique characteristics, likes and dislikes and so we hope you find avenues for balance and wellbeing that work with your needs, and the needs of your family or school.
The following topics: Education, Health, Environment, Community and Creativity form the key values for the work of Circles of Learning. Within each of these you will find a wealth of health and wellbeing information.
You'll also find a great range of healthy recipes using natural ingredients FREE of:
gluten
preservatives
wheat
dairy
additives
We value the involvement of community in everything we do, so if you have some of your own handy hints please tell us about them.
Enjoy
HEALTHY TIPS & HINTS
Be happy!
Eat equal parts of pineapple & orange to lift you into a state of happiness. (A great boost to those who suffer depression and who are feeling down or sad)
Eczema, rashes and all skin problems
Squeeze lemon juice over the skin
Morning Sickness
Drink ginger tea
Natural Toothpaste/powder
2 tblspns Bicarb soda, pinch of salt. For taste add some drops of peppermint essence and/or stevia
Natural Hair Shampoo
Bicarb Soda. (Can make up a mix of Bicarb and water) Wash and rinse 3 times
Body Salt Scrub
Mix coarse and fine salt (eg. Celtic or Himalayan salt ) in a jar, add lemon oil and top up with extra virgin olive oil. Mix to the consistency you want by adding more salt or oil
Apples
Remember an apple a day keeps the doctor away. An old but true saying, apples are filled with the nutritional needs for our body.
Lemon & Water
A great start to the day is a big glass of water with as much lemon juice as you enjoy.
Lunchbox ideas
A healthy lunch that will keep your child awake and alert in the afternoon.
Water - filtered water in a metal drinking bottle is great for lunches. Non breakable and no nasty plastics leaching into the water. Remember most filters remove the chemicals from the water.
Fruit - a whole apple or a whole banana or any piece of fresh fruit. Remember that 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away' - apples and bananas are highly nutritious and are a great energy boost.
Fresh greens & salad - when fresh and organic, salad greens keep you awake and alert and provide great nutrition.
Avoid bread if possible. Bread gives a boost of energy and then leaves you sleepy. No wonder so many children fall asleep in class and just look at people at a conference if they have had bread during their lunch break...they are asleep too. If you need an alternative, wraps are generally better.
Yoghurt. A quality natural yoghurt and add your own dried fruit or cut up fresh fruit.
The Importance of Play
The joy and pleasure that you get in playing with your children, truly playing, not computer games is unbounded. The love between you grows and expands and these are the most valuable moments that you will remember and treasure for life. Best of all your children will also treasure these moments, they want your love, your attention and your time.
Holidays are a wonderful way for you to express your love through playing with your children. And, best of all you are helping their development. Play helps build physical and emotional wellbeing. It develops social interaction, teamwork, decision making, leaderships, resilience adaptability, imagination, and develops fine and gross motor skills.
Best of all play is fun.
So these holidays play with your children, especially outdoors, and when you have finished for the day, play again the next day and the next and you will discover the happiness and joy within yourself and your children.
Warm yourself up this Winter
Have you ever seen young children and teenagers running around in winter wearing a t-shirt, whilst you are rugged up in warm winter woollies and still feeling cold. Well, some children get it just right. They know how to sustain that inner warmth and here are some of the ways you can do it for yourself and for others in your family who ‘feel the cold’.
Boost your Immune System
Nourish your body with warming teas and other hot drinks - Green tea is a powerful antioxident
Nourish your body with warming foods that are high in Vitamins and zinc and antioxidants such as
Red capsicum, kiwi fruit, mushroom, lean beef, berries, oysters, oranges, carrots and broccoli
Get out in the sun as much as you can
Stay hydrated - drink plenty of good clean water
Be active - Exercise – 20 minutes is a good start and then do more exercises
Create a warm environment
Pull the curtains and blinds down at night
Seal cracks where the cold air and drafts can come in
Close off rooms when not in use
Leave the bathroom door open when you have a hot shower
Leave the oven door open after you have used it
Wear slippers, bed socks and use rugs
Wear extra layers of clothing
Snuggle up with a pet
Be like a child – run around and have FUN
Clean Water - essential for health and wellbeing
Water filters a great alternative to plastic bottles for travelling and for home
In Australia and NZ we take it for granted that our water is clean safe, however there are chemical pollutants and flood waters that seep into our water supplies.
This is one reason why bottled water has become such big business here and around the world. We want our water to be clean and when we travel we want to know that the water we drink is maintaining our good health.
Equally important is when we travel outside of Australia.
“I always backpacked on my early trips which started in 1979 when I purchased my first portable water filter which used silver and charcoal to purify my drinking water. My trips were fantastic with many fantastic memories, best of all I stayed completely healthy for the entire duration whilst I met so many people who had been sick.
Two years ago I planned a trip to Bali with my son. I discovered a very new Australian adaptation of a water filter designed for third world aid. It is perfect for travelers or home. I found it so good that I am now selling these. I have set some up in an orphanage in Bali and they are so happy. With these filters we have more money to spend on having fun. We never need to buy another plastic water bottle and I simply dry it out and put it away until my next trip.
Many people have purchased Cleanwater kits and so enjoyed healthy happy trips exploring SE Asia , India , South America , Africa and other wonderful places.
And here is a testimonial from Dario Schwoerer “The TOPtoTOP Global Climate Expedition was found in 1999 in Switzerland and started its epic journey in 2002. So far 4 children have been born on the expedition. Clean water is the most critical aspect when you travel with newborns and small children. Specially now in Africa. Thanks to our friend Karen Rivers with her great and simple technology to purify the water, we have been able to explore some of the most remote places in Africa as a family. Thank you so much Karen!" Dario & Sabine, Salina, Andri, Noé and Alegra.
Karen Rivers http://www.cleanwaterkits.com.au
Nourishing your child nutritionally
Nourishing your child begins from the time of birth. Nourishing means mother’s milk until the child is on solids, then moving to the best quality organic foods, fresh living foods that are grown in the earth (or on the earth).
Time and time again we notice that where there is a gathering of groups, the children are given one type of food and the adults another type of food. Take sausages for instance, the children are often given those ‘plastic style’ supermarket sausages, whilst the adults eat the butcher superior tasty quality sausages.
And in restaurants we regularly observe that children’s menus consist of nuggets & chips, sausages & chips, ice cream and chocolate and rarely do you see any fresh lettuce, tomato, fruit etc.
It is vital in the early years for children to develop a healthy body and when you give children the best quality organic fruits and vegetables, their bodies absorb the maximum amount of vitamins and minerals to develop and sustain their body and mind.
Sweets, biscuits, packaged foods and chemically laced fruits and vegetables, will continually break down your child’s immune system, allowing for illness and diseases to occur. Next time you are in a group of people, ensure that the best sausages, and the finest of foods, nourish your children first.
Children do eat healthy foods if you give them healthy foods. It comes from you.
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