Blanket Roundup! and The Garden Wall!

Good golly we have some generous people in our school district! We started our Blanket Roundup on December 6th to collect blankets for the homeless and for the animal shelters and we ended up with a HUGE truckload! Thank-you CHICO! We will be collecting all the way through the end of January so if you still have blankets to donate please just bring them to the school.
On another note...has anyone noticed the beautiful transformation of the garden wall? Our own Mrs Darcie Regall has turned the wall into a work of art!
Words just do not describe, and at last photo the artwork was still not complete. I will get another picture up soon showing the final piece. Word has it that you can actually hire this artist to do work for you! Jump on that because I am sure she is very busy! Word has it she goes by the artist name Sunset Regall...She must book up quickly so if you are looking for some art work to be done you best get the move on! The Roots and Shoots kids love you Mrs. Regall! Thanks!
One last thing...we have started our Pennies for Patients drive which will go all the way until the end of January. Start bringing in that loose change to donate in your classroom. We are trying to raise money to help find a cure for blood borne cancers like lymphoma and leukemia.
On January 19th we will be having a fun event called "Stuck for a Buck" We will be selling a strip of duct tape to the children at school for one dollar each. We have four wonderful teachers who have offered up themselves to be taped to the wall for a good cause! One lucky student will also be chosen to be taped up there along with the teachers....
Should be fun!

Big green for the Great Red!

SO! The final count is in... Three orangutans have been adopted an many Rambuntan trees planted. We earned a total of 506.00!
Fio, and Kesi were adopted by Emma Wilson School and with the money they had left over they were able to help plant some much needed, much loved trees on the island where the orangutans live. Marigold adopted Dodo, one of the newest members to the island.
Little Chico Creek was able to raise 80.00 and purchased some trees for the orangutans. We can not begin to express our extreme graditute to the other schools that jumped in and participated. We are so happy and proud to be a part of the Chico Unified School District! Keep watching Orangutan Island... go to www.redapes.org check in with us any time you have questions. WE LOVE ORANGUTANS!

Orangutan Celebration!

Oh! Great Red ape! How Do I LOVE THEE.... let me count the ways...
We had SUCH a great time at the Sacramento Zoo!
Oh my goodness! It just goes without saying that the weather was beautiful and the people were generous, but really the orangutans were just wonderful!
We raised 150.00 at the Zoo to donate to www.redapes.org and we are still collecting money at our school and some others here in town for the cause. By Friday (November 21st) I think we will be 100% done with our fund raising and ready to report our amounts!
I am so excited and happy with all of the kids efforts.
I have the best group of kids EVER!
Plus the Sacramento Zoo is AMAZING for letting us have an Orangutan celebration there! They took an idea an ran with it, giving us ample help and support with their Zoo Teen program, craft ideas, tables, bulletin boards, wonderful buttons, raffle prizes, and just some darn nice people.
Lets just all remember what a great place the Sacramento Zoo is! :)
I LOVE THE ZOO!

Pictures of our visit to see Dr. Jane

On November 1st of 2008, I had the honor to drive four giggling excited girls to meet their idol. It is not often that I get to listen to a group of kids these days and know that what they are saying is important, life changing, and memorable. As I peered through the buckets of rain that Mother Nature threw at our van, I thought back to when I was a little girl and in love with Dr. Jane Goodall. Here I was taking my ten year old to see her.
There is no limit to what a good person can inspire. Dr Jane has inspired these girls to be more responsible with their environment, with the animals they love, with the people they come in contact with on a daily basis and with their own soul. These were the things I was hearing, as I tried to both drive and listen. Of course I plucked the meaning of the rambling words of four ten year olds who said things in broken sentences, and interjected thoughts of what we might be eating for lunch in the middle of a profound statement about global warming… but the true heart of the day bounced around inside the van. All I had to do was take one look in the rear view mirror at my daughter or the other girls who had perma-grin, to know that in just three or four hours they would be standing next to someone they looked up to, read about, studied, saw on T.V, did reports about in class, and now…now were about to share a moment in time with.
It was too much for me. I was glad when we arrived that the whole day was moist and my eyes were not alone.
I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to not only see Dr. Jane speak, but to see my daughter and the girls in my Roots and Shoots club see Dr. Jane speak. To watch them, watching her was one of the best days of my life.

JANE GOODALL! and a little singing...

Well it appears I have been slacking on this whole weekly entry thing! I must say it has something to do with the fact that on November first I had the opportunity to take four of the Roots and Shoots kids down to San Fransisco to see Jane Goodall! It was very exciting, and very fun, and a very hard thing to choose only four kids out of such a large group!
Sigh.
I ended up picking names from the oldest in the group...which means the fifth graders...
It was at the Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. The weather did not seem to care that Dr. Jane Goodall was kind enough to come and see us, and the event was outside, so we all were a little damp. It was well worth it. Dr Goodall spoke for about 25 minutes about her experiences with the chimps and why she started the Roots and Shoots organization. She encouraged the kids to wake up each day and think, "what can I do today to make a difference?" If they do that, there is no way they can feel bad about themselves.
She is truly an inspiration, and yet looks out at the faces of our children and sees hope.
I am so proud to say our kids were there and that Marigold Roots and Shoots was represented. We showed Dr. Jane a poster that had all of our projects we have accomplished over the last two school years... we are a busy group!
Speaking of that! We got our scripts and have begun to rehearse for our Readers Theater! We will be performing for the school and for a nursing home here in Chico, to spread some cheer.... ( I hope. Right now our singing is pretty chaotic!)
We will be practicing off and on until our performance. I will keep everyone updated and let you know exactly when that will be.
In other exciting news, we are encouraging every school in the district to adopt an ORANGUTAN! yippie! It is National Orangutan Week coming up here very soon November 10th- 16th!
We are definitely able to do something with the Sacramento Zoo on the 15th and 16th so look for more details on that soon! :)
Send in your loose change and lets adopt an orangutan!
Thanks everyone
NinjaMom out

Make a Difference by Decorating?

So Saturday October 25th is National Make a difference day! (or was rather as I write this) On Tuesday at our meeting we made some beautiful decorations for a nursing home here in Chico. Riverside Nursing home became the recipient of some of the most lovely wreaths and pilgrims/Indians I have ever seen! On Saturday Orangutan and I took over all the decorations to the nursing home and toured the place. It was filled with wonderful people eager to have some company. I talked with the nursing staff about having our kids come by and read books to the guests, and sing Christmas carols to them during the holidays. This is something I want to work on over the next few weeks.
I hope all of you went out on Saturday and found a way to make a difference!

Feast or Famine? Do you know the answer?

We played a bit of a game at this meeting! A game show to be exact... I named it Feast or Famine, because the questions were based on facts about children and life in Ethiopia. A friend of mine told me about someone who would be sending containers of food and goods over to an impoverished village in Ethiopia and asked if our club would like to help. (To get more details on this please visit the website at...

http://www.vertechengineering.com/EthiopiaRelief.html )


So me, being me, can't just tell the kids to bring bags of food, and be done with it! I wanted to make a game of it, and have them learn something in the process. I was surprised at the outcome. I think I learned more than they did!
For example to point out how different our lifestyle is here; I asked the kids how much a house cost here in the U.S, and how much a house cost there in Ethiopia. (keeping in mind their home is made of tin scraps, mud and hay...)
What I learned is that our children think our homes cost 1000.00! So a home over there must be about 50.00.
A chicken on the other hand here in the U.S must be about 50 or 60 dollars... ( do these kids go shopping with you?) It was hysterical! I was going to ask what an average monthly salary was here and there but they were so far removed from reality I moved on to some other questions... (In Ethiopia the average income is 70.00 a month!)
So we discussed some interesting facts like the favorite foods here verses favorite foods there, the rich over there eat less vegetables, where here I think it is the opposite. One sad fact is that 30% of American children are over weight and 40% of children in Ethiopia are underweight. Those numbers have another interesting statistic behind them. Both weight problems carry similar health problems. Diabetes, heart disease etc. Hopefully this is something that will change within our lifetime.
Educating kids about healthy choices and exercise now is one way to help. Here in Chico there are so many out door activities, it is easy to stay busy. Speaking of that...next Saturday, October 25th is National Make a Difference Day!
http://www.nationalserviceresources.org/node/19455
The above website is a link that might get you thinking about what you can do...
Of course I will be doing something with the kids on Tuesday that will be for Saturday.
Until next time
NinjaMom out

Communicate? Sounds like jiberish to me!

Well the last of our September meetings found us waving our arms like chickens, acting like Beavers and wondering what the heck NinjaMom was doing up there making all those silly noises!
I challenged the kids to create their own language. We pretended we were Native Americans who all had a common problem. Our water supply had run dry, and we were headed to a tribal council in front of the "elders" to see if we could come up with a solution. The thing is...no one speaks the same language! Interesting... It was great fun to see the kids use their hands and quite a few giggles to convey they had no water. Only one tribe knew that it was the Beaver's who had built a dam blocking the flow of water to all the tribes. I think most of the kids were able to follow the story even if there were no words used. Since we had a few minutes left we played a few rounds of charades. That was fun too.
Communication is so important. I talked to the kids about how we can talk to each other in many ways, with our bodies, the tone of our voice, and with our silence. The Native American's were able to communicate and trade with each other even though they did not share a common language. We could learn a lot from that.
There will be no meeting on October 7th. I have to go out of town for an appointment!
Darn! We will meet again the next week. We are starting our Charity work and begin to plan some things like skits and songs for the School and Nursing homes.
Until then
NinjaMom Out!

Get the fruit to Market!

Wow what a challenge! We had two difficult teamwork activities last Tuesday that showed us how important it is to work together. A special thanks to Bunny-Boo's mom for helping with the Ostrich egg challenge.
That was interesting wasn't it? The kids had to figure out how to get the "eggs" out of a nest that was up in a tree. Then the "eggs" had to be placed in a giant net and carried to the village with out dropping any. It was more challenging than it sounds since the "eggs" were small plastic balls and the net was a giant parachute! (hee hee) :) I hear one group lost some "eggs" to East Ave. Oh my! Poor little eggs.
Then they met with me and had the challenge of getting all of the fruit their village had grown to the market to sell. There were a lot of rules making it very difficult for the kids. Happy Feet was quick to figure out a human chain was needed to take the fruit to the market and other kids quickly fell into place. Everyone stalled when the line didn't reach all the way, but it didn't take them long to solve the problem. I was very impressed.
After we talked a little bit about how hard it is to work as a team when there is a common goal. I see kids work as a team for sports all the time, yet problem solving together seems to fall apart rather quickly. This was a good exercise for that reason.
Orangutan and I thought of a few things after this meeting, we saw some of the best things that happened were the communications between members. When things fell apart it was because people were not talking to each other. This sparked the idea for our next meeting! Our last September meeting, will be all about how to communicate with others. Of course you hopefully know me by now... it will be fun and challenging and a little silly.
Starting in October we will begin our Charity work and start planing for the National Orangutan Week event at the Sacramento Zoo. I will keep you posted!
Until then NinjaMom Out

Let Peace Begin With Me...

Hi there everyone! What a wonderful meeting we had! Sorry I did not get an e-mail reminder out to everyone this last time! I had a cat/sick great uncle emergency. (Thankfully they were unrelated!)
If you did make it to the meeting we had a wonderful time in the library, talking about what makes us the same and what makes us different.
I heard some VERY interesting things about our little members! We have brave fighting knights, world travelers, swimmers, avid readers, animal lovers, shark lovers, fashion parlor owners, one member who has sworn off candy, (palm oil...dontcha know!) Then we discovered together that we all have a nose, ears, hair on our head, feet, a heart, and we all, (thank-goodness) wear clothes! The next thing we did was decorate our "PEACE PEOPLE" These beautiful creatures are now on display in the library. I asked the kids to either draw themselves, or a kid from another country, or something they wanted to be. Some were silly, some were serious and some were just down right creative! But if you go look at them keep this in mind, just like all of us across the world, they are alike in so many ways and special and unique in some ways too. I am very proud of everyone's efforts on the doves and the people. Please remember to celebrate International Peace Day with your family this Sunday the 21st.
There is a lot going on in Chico too, so head out and enjoy the great weather! On Saturday is Pastels on The Plaza! Orangutan and I will be there, and I believe there is a music thing going on at Chico State! Fun fun fun. What ever you do, take a moment on Sunday to have a bit of peace in your life.
NinjaMom Out

Peace Doves Take Flight!

Wow!
What a meeting! Thanks to the parents who stayed and helped. I am looking into getting some college volunteers to attend all of our meetings since we have such a big group this year. I LOVE the way all the doves turned out! Everyone had such a different "vision" of how they wanted their dove. That is what I enjoy about kids and art. You can show them the instructions give them the supplies stand back and get 35 different end results, all wonderful!
We learned from several creative members that when launched from the play structure the doves actually took flight! This was impressive. I am sure Jane Goodall her self would have been proud. I can honestly say I have never seen plastic shopping bags used in such a creative and, (no pun intended) uplifting way.
All the kids wanted to take home their works of art, but alas I want to share these with the school! I will be allowing the doves to take flight above the children as they eat in the cafeteria. I hope to accomplish this soon. I have many birds to hang, so kids... bear with me! :)
I was so pleased at how well everyone participated in the making of the doves at our meeting. The kids seemed to enjoy the craft. I hope they enjoy the World Peace Poster that we will be working on next week. I hope to hang that in the cafeteria as well. Then the week after that...excitement looms...we begin our teamwork challenges!
Can you solve the puzzle? Can you be a part of the team? I am on the edge of my seat in anticipation....
NinjaMom Out

First Meeting Was Great!

Well I don't know about you but I had a great time at the first meeting! The kids in this club are top notch! We talked about our plans for the year, and played some games. The kids all picked their code names for this site and we planed to meet next week and start on our peace doves. Just in typical NinjaMom fashion I didn't read the instructions for the peace dove very well, turns out we don't need 2 liter bottles! We just need 120z bottles! That will be much easier! You will all be getting an e-mail or phone call with a list of things to bring next Tuesday (September 9th).
To re-hash some of our plans for the Social Awareness section of this club we came up with some ideas of how we can spend our time.
Suggestions were made to sing Christmas carols to the elderly in nursing homes, or perform a skit of some kind. We want to try the "Keep the homeless warm" drive again. There was some mention of a fundraiser with the "wrapmat" (more on that later)
Big news included an event with the Sacramento Zoo that Orangutan is working on.
In November we will be celebrating National Orangutan Week. There is talk of doing something with the zoo and their Roots and Shoots club to help spread the word about Palm Oil and it's harmful affect on the great red ape.
That should be exciting and once we know more about what will be taking place I will let everyone know!
After the Peace Doves have been made we will have an exciting meeting that will challenge the members creativity and team spirit. That is set for September 22.
But for the next two meetings Doves are in our future. While we make these I hope we can talk about Peace and see what the kids think our world needs to get there.
I told the kids about this great video I saw of this girl, no more than 13, who traveled to South America to speak to the delegates of a convention. She basically yelled at these grown ups and told them, if they didn't know how to fix something they should stop breaking it. It was done with grace, respect, and elegance. Very impressive for a kid. I hope to show them while they work on the doves.
Well that is all for now.
NinjaMom out.

This Year's Plan!

Well If you are here checking out the Blog I can assume you got the flier and are interested in the club! We had a great time last year and since we have more meetings this year it should be even better.
As I had said we will have our first meeting on September 2nd then meet every Tuesday after that. This Blog will allow you to keep up on the club and what we are doing. I don't feel comfortable using the children names on the internet so at the first meeting I will ask them to come up with a code name. You will know your child's code name so if they are mentioned on the Blog you will know. My daughter is Orangutan. My son is Brickmaster. To keep it fair I guess I should have a nickname too. There was much debate in this house as to what that should be. My kids think I am a little bit nuts but I like to think I am prepared for anything, nimble and quick, like a ninja! So I will be Ninjamom. (I need to have a dream life somewhere)
So there you go. If I talk about how Your child had a great idea at the meeting and we are going to run with it then it would be with their code name. I also wont be putting their pictures on here. At least not of their faces. I will probably get some shots of their hands doing some work.
Our first big project comes up quickly. September 21st is International Peace Day. Jane Goodall encourages all the Roots and Shoots kids to get involved by making peace doves. We will be doing this.
The kids will be needing 2 litter plastic bottles and plastic shopping bags... I will send supply lists home... check out the Roots and Shoots web site by clicking on the link to the side of this blog. There is a Giant Peace Dove that we can do. It is like the size of a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Float! Good Grief!
I think we will just make a bunch of little ones! :)
Any comments or questions feel free to e-mail me
Ninjamom out

School Is Starting soon! Check out the Garden!

Hello All! Not that any of you know we are even on line yet! :)
But the garden is looking great and I am testing out the new blog! woo hoo! This coming school year this is where we will post what we are doing and let your parents enjoy how cool you are! :)
I can't wait for our club to get going again...we have so many things to do! I hope you are ready!