Teacher Training! Homemade Mace

If you've ever tried clubbells you will love mace training! 

This one is very light, about 10 pounds, but it still requires tremendous grip strength to control and balance the weight. It provide excellent shoulder mobility and is quite fun. It can be made easily with a wooden handle, a bag of concrete mix, and a basketball. If you're really strong you can use a full size basketball.

Soft Star Shoes!

I am just loving these shoes! Check out Soft Star Shoes for amazing barefoot walking shoes for babies through adulthood. I bought a pair for Yakov and I, and Roger is considering splurging for himself as well! Chose from custom colors, cut outs, designs, and styles. The shoes are priced reasonably and hand made in the USA! Buy them, thank me later!

Just for background info, as to why shoes are important:

Caring for a child's feet will benefit their health, mobility and well-being throughout their entire lives. According to the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists,

the 26 bones in our feet are not fully hardened until age 18. In fact, children's feet are composed of relatively soft and flexible cartilage which gradually converts to bone with age. While children's feet are developing, the soft cartilage centers are fusing together. As such, the foot is at risk from injury and deformity due to ill-fitting footwear. Any postural foot abnormality can have an effect further up the body, permanently altering posture and walking style.

Beach Week

Beach Week - Eco-Sandals

Head in the Sand-als - Beach Week

The Bite:

Face it - your kid's feet grow faster than the tides change. This summer, choose beachy green flip-flops for kids. Our picks are comfy and fun, plus by using recycled and sustainable materials, they don't ignore the planet.

The Benefits: 

• Burying less in landfills. Americans generate almost 300 million scrap tires a year, but recycle fewer than 7%. Some of these sandals divert a few from the dump.
• Not hiding behind synthetics. Many conventional flip-flops are made with petroleum-based synthetic rubber. Sustainable finds often use natural rubber (yup, from a tree), hemp, and organic cotton.
• Acknowledging good business. These shoes are walking the talk, since the companies that make them sponsor beach cleanup projects and take back old pairs to recycle 'em.

Wanna Try: 

• Patagonia Kids' Cygnet - recycled rubber outsole, inner, and midsole and eco-tanned (according to ISO 14001 standards) suede upper; in green, pink, and blue; sizes toddler 10-3 and kid 4-6 ($35).
• Planet Flops - made with sustainably tapped natural rubber from a managed Brazilian rain forest; in five colors; send old Planet Flops back for recycling and receive a 10% discount on the next pair; sizes toddler 10-13 and kid 1-4 ($24). 
• Bakura Hemp Sandals - uppers and footbed made from 100% organic hemp canvas; sole made from a 100% recycled bicycle tires; in five colors; sizes toddler 6-10 ($23).
• Ocean Minded - fun striped and solid flip-flops made from recycled plastic bottles and car tires for boys and girls; OM organizes beach cleanups all over the world; sizes kid 4-13, junior 1-5 ($22).

Recycled Shoe Flower Pot

How Cute?

 

Instead of throwing away the shoes you’ve outgrown, use them as pots for plants. It's a great gift to give to an eco-conscious mom on Mother's Day.   YOU WILL NEED Seedlings (if you’re working with kid-sized shoes, choose a plant that is no larger than four to six inches [10 to 15 centimeters]) Old shoes (sneakers or closed-toed shoes work best) Potting soil Drill   HERE'S HOW With the help of an adult, drill two small holes into the soles of the old shoes for draining. Fill up shoe with potting soil. Place seedlings into soil. Top off shoe with more soil. Water your plant. NOTE: Make sure you consider light conditions when selecting plants.