EARTH DAY Celebration!

I am so excited - I can hardly stand it!  Earth Day is around the corner.  This year marks the 40th anniversary of the first Earth Day celebration.  On Sunday, my family and I are heading down to Balboa Park here in San Diego for Earth Fair 2010!  This years marks the 20th anniversary of our city's fantastic celebration. Each year, it draws over 70,000 people - is produced by 400 volunteers - features 350 exhibitors - has special theme areas, a Food Pavilion, a wonderful Kids’ Activity Area, three entertainment venues, the Children’s Earth Parade, the eARTh Gallery art show, and the Cleaner Car Concourse. I mark this event on my calendar just as any other holiday.  For me, it goes right up there with the big ones - Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day, Easter, Earth Day...  

I urge you to check out your hometown and see what activities and celebrations are going on this weekend. It is such an important event to involve your kids in.  Also, here are some ideas on things you can do at home to celebrate this remarkable occasion. 

Have a SLOW FOOD meal.  Eat a meal that is cooked from start to finish by you and your family.  All ingredients should be local and organic (within 60 miles of your home.)  Farmer's markets are great places to shop - as is your own backyard (if you have a garden).  Check out these websites for more info:

http://www.slowfood.com/

http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution

Pick up trash your neighborhood.  We have done this for the past few years - and our son really gets into it.  Finding trash almost becomes as much fun as an Easter egg hunt, oddly enough! Take precautions - wear gloves.  And keep an eye on your children - you can pick up the broken bottles and dangerous stuff - leave the paper to them.

Even though the official Earth Hour has passed - turn off all of your lights and appliances from sundown to dawn one night.  Eat by candlelight.  Play cards.  Sing songs.  It is great for Mama Earth and a nice bonding time for your family.

Plant a tree in your backyard.  Last year, we planted a plum tree to commemorate Earth Day.  

And now we have baby plums all over it!  

To learn more about Earth Day, please visit:

http://www.earthday.net

They have a great site.  Check out their mission statement:

"Earth Day Network was founded on the premise that all people, regardless of race, gender, income, or geography, have a moral right to a healthy, sustainable environment. Our mission is to broaden and diversify the environmental movement worldwide, and to mobilize it as the most effective vehicle for promoting a healthy, sustainable environment. We pursue our mission through a combination of education, public policy, and activism campaigns. Earth Day Network has a global reach with more than 20,000 partners and organizations in 190 countries. More than 1 billion people participate in Earth Day activities, making it the largest secular civic event in the world."

For San Diego's Earth Fair, go to:

http://www.earthdayweb.org/

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!

SPRING BREAK WITH YOUR MONTESSORI CHILD

Vacation time is among us, and we, as parents, may be wondering, "What are we going to do during Spring Break?"  Some of you may be traveling to exciting places, but for those of us staying home here in San Diego, we don't want to feel short-changed.  Keep in mind, San Diego is a destination spot for millions, so there are plenty of wonderful adventures we can experience right in our "own backyard." Here is a handful of fantastic activities that may not have come to mind when planning your spring break here in San Diego!

OUTDOORS

The San Diego Botanical Gardens (formerly The Quail Botanical Gardens), located in Encinitas, has two gardens specifically designed for kids.  The Seeds of Wonder Garden is an interactive garden designed for preschool age children.  It features a dinosaur garden, playhouse, topiary, and miniature garden railroad.  The Hamilton Children's Garden is geared for kids of all ages. Here you can climb Toni's Tree House in a jungle canopy, hop through an elephant foot tree forest, see live quail, play in a mountain steam, make music, and so much more.  

http://www.SDBGarden.org

Kayak La Jolla Shores.  Ready for a real adventure?  Rent a kayak or take a kayak tour at La Jolla Kayak and head out to La Jolla Shores to explore the caves.  Bring your mask and snorkel, too!  (or you can rent them.) You will see seals, girabaldi, and leopard sharks!  (Don't worry, the sharks are harmless to humans.)  It  is an incredible adventure - you shouldn't miss it!  When you get home, your child can do "research" on the wildlife they experienced.  

http://www.lajollakayak.com

San Diego is home to thousands of miles of hiking trails and parks.  Spend a day with nature in our great city.  During, your visit, pay homage to mother nature.  Let your child choose a tree to sit under.  He or she can draw a picture of the tree, write a story about the tree, or make tree rubbings from the bark.  Since Earth Day is just around the corner, this 

ART

The New Children's Museum located in downtown San Diego is a great place for kids to create.  The environmentally sustainable building provides a dynamic playful space and community center for children and families.  It is one of the most unique children's museums in the country in that is truly a "hybrid of a children's museum and an art museum."  The artists' work comes alive as children explore and create.  The space supports unstructured play, and if you let yourself, you may have just as much fun as your kids.  The mattress room, as I call it, is one of my favorites.  A room filled entirely with mattresses, kids get to literally, "bounce off the walls!"  The museum extends outdoors, as across the street is a quaint park.  Oh, and bring your chalk!  The park's concrete is a great place to bring out your inner Picasso!  If you want to add to your adventure, you could take the trolley!

http://www.thinkplaycreate.org

Try MonArt!  North San Diego MonArt holds ongoing classes for kids and families.  Some of your children may participate in MonArt at school.  Now they can share this activity with you! What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon with your child - you can both take the class!

http://www.northsandiegomonart.com

Visit one of San Diego's beautiful art museums, and bring along a sketch book and pencils. Both you and your child can choose a painting or sculpture you adore and bring it to life on your own page.  

MUSIC

The World Beat Cultural Center in Balboa Park presents a Children's West African Drumming Class every Tuesday.  (3-3:30 for 6 months-6 years, 3:30-4:15 for 7-12 year old.)  Parents are welcome to get involved.  I highly recommend this one!  The classes are led by Nana Yew Asiedu.  He is a wonderful storyteller!  The kids feel the rhythms as they use djembes and other West African instruments, they sing, they dance - it is a magical experience!

http://www.worldbeatculturalcenter.memberlodge.com/

PRACTICAL LIFE

How about a cooking class?  Check out these local schools for hands-on cooking classes for your kids and your family!  Or, if you love to cook, invite a small group of your child's friends over for a kid friendly class at home!   

http://alchemyofthehearth.com

http://www.captaincooksblog.com

http://cookingclasses.surlatable.com

YOGA

Jodi Komitor, founder of Next Generation Yoga,  teaches yoga in a beautiful way to children and families all over San Diego.  She has a unique talent to "connect families' gifts of harmony, love, laughter and fitness through the ancient practice of yoga." Check out the website for locations and times.  After my son's first class (when he was 3), he remarked that "he felt such peace inside him."  

http://www.nextgenerationyoga.com

 

THINGS TO DO IN SAN DIEGO with your Montessori child

AN AFTERNOON AT THE CAMEL DAIRY

Yes, that's right!  Located in Ramona, The Oasis Camel Dairy is home to 34-rolling acres of pasture and America's first camel dairy.  Gil and Nancy Riegler, the owners and caretakers, have devoted themselves to caring for the magnificent creatures for over 20 years.  

We ventured up to Ramona one weekend afternoon, meeting up with a few other families from our son's Montessori school.  The Rieglers introduced us to several of the camels and showed us how the babies nurse, and also showed us how they milk the camels.  It was fascinating and fun!  We all took pictures and had an opportunity to pet the massive creatures.  My son was a little shy - they are very, very big.  And, no, they did not spit on us - maybe we were lucky.  There was talk of one day allowing camel rides at the dairy.  We all purchased several bars of Camel's Milk Soap - which is actually quite lovely.  A good time was had by all - what a unique experience!

I am sure you are wondering "Camel DAIRY?"  Well, here is what the Rieglers have to say:

WHY CAMEL’S MILK?

The most commonly asked question we hear is simply ... why?

 

Why milk camels?  Why invest so much professional and personal time and resources, completely change your life, move to a large, rugged property where you can toil away at a "pet" project that you don't know is even marketable?

 

The answer is because it is important.  Because it needs to be done.  Because in other countries across the oceans, adults and children suffering from a wide variety of maladies including colitis, crohn's, autism and diabetes have found relief and reduced their symptoms with raw camel's milk.

 

We are not scientists.  We are not suffering from nor do have children suffering from any of these diseases.  But we know people who are.  We know people whose children are.  And we are working to find a way to help them acquire camel's milk.

 

This is a long reaching project with many steps to take.  The first steps have been huge.
 

1) Awareness and education.  We do outreach ... lots and lots of outreach.  Through live presentations, newspaper articles, television appearances and magazine articles, we educate the public about the wonder of these magnificent animals and the benefits of their milk.

2)Viable retail product.  What good is milking a bunch of camels if you can't do anything with the milk yet?  That's what we asked ourselves ten years ago.  Gil came up with the idea of making camel milk soap.  Based on a modified goat's milk recipe with special steps to maintain the delicate properties of the camel's milk, our camel milk soap(made right here on the dairy in own kitchen) now sells around the world. Everything is done right here on the dairy. 

 

3)Availability.  Until we started the Oasis Camel Dairy, camel's milk was not readily available in the United States.  Although there are thousands of camels living in America, nobody had trained them to offer their milk on a daily basis.  Now, any research project can come to us and be supplied with the raw milk they need for their studies.

 

We now have four camels trained to share their milk with us.  We have three more going into training this spring after they have their calves. Our goal is to have twenty females with an average of ten milking each year.

 

4) Making Raw Camel's Milk available to those who need it.  The laws concerning the public sale of raw milk are very stringent.  However, individuals who own camels can legally drink their own camel's milk.  So Gil and I get to enjoy fresh, raw camel's milk whenever we like.  People always ask us what it tastes like... ours tastes like very fresh, mildly sweet low fat cows milk.  Like with any milk, taste can change depending on what the animal is eating.  
 

There are definitely obstacles.  We are forging ahead into territory unfamiliar to American mainstream.   Female camels are expensive to purchase, slow to mature, and don't always mother their calves.  Their reproductive cycle is very long.  After a thirteen-month pregnancy, there is still no guarantee the camel will be milking.  If after calving she does not bond or something happens to the calf, it will be well over another year until you have the opportunity to try her again.  Because when it comes to milking camels, no calf... no milk.

 

So here we are just a 40 something married couple with a BIG idea and a small bank account.  Our camel milk soap, tours, camel safari rides plus our other interests including the bird show, the wild west turkey stampede and Gil's work as a quartz crystal cutting artist pay the bills while the camels continue to gestate our "pet" project.

 

http://www.cameldairy.com/

THINGS TO DO IN SAN DIEGO with your Montessori Child

AN EVENING AT THE FARM

La Milpa Organica in Escondido hosts a free potluck the third Saturday of every month.  The potluck is open to all.  Guests arrive, bearing fresh, organic dishes, to the farm.  The owners fire up the outdoor brick pizza oven.  Pizzas are cranked out - and guests just pick what looks good.  Could be a vegan pizza.  Could be four cheese or veggie - grown right at La Milpa.  Children play on the swing set and run through the rows of lettuces.  It is the epitome of a community gathering...Meeting people from all walks of life, talking about shared interests, enjoying the spirits of those who are dedicated to organic farming.  At nightfall, a movie is shown underneath the canopy of a large, old tree.  We watched one on bees.  Sometimes, guests bring their guitars and break out into song.  Check it out.  

http://milpaorganica.com/

THINGS TO DO IN SAN DIEGO with your Montessori child

THINGS TO DO IN SAN DIEGO will be an ongoing addition to the Montessori Parent blog.  Look for fun, creative, enlightening, and educational experiences right here at Montessori Parent!

An afternoon of PEACE at Swami's Beach.

I love taking my son on a "date."  It's just the two of us - exploring new things together.  He loves it, too! Even though he is rapidly growing into a very independent 6 year old - this "mommy time" is still very special to him.  

On this "date," we first went to the Self Realization Gardens.  It is a very quiet place - so I have to remind him of that before entering.  It is one of the most beautiful places in San Diego.  Nestled on the cliffs of Encinitas, the gardens feature koi ponds, tropical and native Californian plants, and stunning ocean views.  It has plenty of nooks for meditation and reflection.  

Sometimes, my son will say "I need peace."  He knows when things are too loud, too crazy, too frenetic.  Taking him to the gardens gives him a moment to connect with nature and himself in a peaceful way.  

After about 20 minutes at the gardens, we head over to Swami's Cafe.  Always busy, this local eatery provides yummy organic dishes.  Breakfast is served all day, as well as a nice selection of wraps, sandwiches, salads, and smoothies.  The tables are all outside and it is nice to feel the warm San Diego sun on our backs as we gobble up our lunch.  It is at this point you may start to think, "I am being really good to myself today."  

Just south of the Self-Realization Temple, is Swami's Beach.  This is a favorite among locals for surfing.  We descend a long series of wooden stairs to the dark sanded beach.  We walk. We talk.  We dig our heels in the sand.  There is no agenda.  No schedule.  No lesson plan.  Just a day at the beach.  Mom and son.  Life doesn't get much better than this!

Self- Realization Temple and Gardens  

215 West K Street, Encinitas (between 2nd and 3rd Street - closed Mondays)

Swami's Cafe  

1163 South Coast Highway 101, Encinitas