NOT From Concentrate

As an avid foodie, I love seeing the following descriptions on food labels:

• Organic
• 100% Pure
• Fresh
• All-Natural
• Heart-Healthy
• Lower Sodium
• Lower Cholesterol
• Not From Concentrate

I spend extra time reading labels of fresh, frozen or packaged foods. Not only do I look for those listings on labels, but I also try to read all of the nutritional ingredients. Yes, I am that annoying shopper...you know the one who reads labels, asks questions and who has the giant stack of coupons!

Despite my sweet & salty tooth (addiction to chocolate and ice cream), I try to eat healthy and shop healthy for my family. We are so blessed that our son actually enjoys eating fruits, veggies and ranch dressing and things like sushi instead of candy! Oftentimes, I hear people say that it is so much more expensive and time-consuming to eat healthy. I have to agree, but on the flip side of it, the investment in my family's health and well-being is so worth it!

With that said, I am finding that homeschooling is a lot like eating healthy.  If you think about it, many of our healthy-eating labels parallel "labels of learning". Organic and 100% Pure- As a homeschool parent, you know exactly what is going into your child's learning diet. There are no questionable ingredients about what is happening in your child's learning environment- things like bullying, distractions or factors that can take away your child's interest in learning. Fresh and All-Natural- Nothing stale. Fresh ideas and learning to foster creativity, interest and moving forward. Need a new way at looking at fractions? Have a unit study that incorporates things like cooking or art. Need a change of scenery? Have a unit-study field trip!  Heart Healthy, Lower Sodium and Lower Cholesterol- I liken these labels to the stress of learning in a formal environment. Namely, the physical and emotional tolls that the everyday stressors of "regular school" may have on your child's well-being. Think about all the stress that your child endures in school, especially  as he or she gets older. Add to that a child who may learn differently, who may need to approach things a different way or who may not fit into the "traditional model" of a school environment. Years of stress will take a physical and emotional toll on your child.  Doesn't sound very heart-healthy to me! Finally, my "favorite" label...Not From Concentrate- No watered-down curriculum. No time-saving shortcuts in learning. No outside programs or entities stating how many different ways your child should know how to do a single math problem for Pete's Sake!!! Nope. Nothing re-constituted, previously frozen or dehydrated...just the good stuff!

Speaking of good stuff, they say that "when you put good stuff in, you get good stuff out". I'm finding this to be so true. A few days ago, our son was doing some language arts activities from a new workbook that I found to be particularly interesting (and thought he might appreciate a different approach to writing).  Usually "ELA" or Language Arts is not a pleasant thing for our son to do...he never liked writing. However, I found some great activities that sparked his interest. After handing the workbook to me,  he said the words- that every book-loving, blog-writing parent loves to hear- "Mom. I hope it's OK, but I finished more pages and wrote more than you told me to do." Whoa...I thought I was going to cry!

Bon Appetit! Buono Appetito! Here is to good eating!