OPN Kids Community Garden

Last year, Osan Parent Network won a Newman's Own Award. One of only 15 world-wide winners, we received $5,000 to improve the quality of life of Military families here at Osan Air Base. So far, the grant has funded our parenting library, located at the community center, and supplies and equipment for playgroup. The largest portion of the funds is designated for construction of our Kids Community Garden. The garden area is being fenced this week, and is located behind the hospital.

Once the fencing is completed, we will install composters, a storage shed, a rain water collection system, and some outdoor toys. A garden-breaking party will be scheduled soon. The garden will have a butterfly garden, herb garden, veggies and flowers, and more. We're limited only by our imagination, so if you are interested in getting involved in the garden, or have ideas for nature projects or garden art for the kids to do, please email us at osanparents@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Vinegar, Baking Soda, and Lemon

What do these three items have in common? Well, they are all environmentally friendly cleaning supplies and with spring cleaning season just around the corner, it might be useful to learn about something you can do with these 3 things.

Vinegar:

Vinegar cleans like an all-purpose cleaner and can be used to clean, disinfect, and, yes, believe it or not, deodorize. Make a solution of 1 part vinegar to 1 part water in a spray bottle and use it as you would any other all-purpose cleaner. It is most useful if put in a clean, new spray bottle. As with all new cleaning products, test it first in an inconspicuous area to ensure that the surface can tolerate the solution.

Because it is acidic, you should not use vinegar:

• To clean grout
• On marble

If you are sensitive to the smell of vinegar, add lemon juice to vinegar to make the smell of the vinegar more palatable. However, the smell of vinegar doesn’t linger when it dries.

Use it in the…

1. Bathroom to clean the bathtub, toilet, sink, and countertops.

• Use pure vinegar in the toilet bowl to get rid of rings. After flushing the water in, pour the undiluted vinegar around the inside of the rim, then use a toilet brush to remove the stain.
• A vinegar/water solution to remove soap scum and hard water stains. It is also a great way to clean and disinfect the floor. Before using it on tile, check to make sure it is safe.

2. Kitchen to clean the stovetop, appliances, countertops, and floor.

3. Laundry Room as a natural fabric softener. This can be especially helpful for families who have sensitive skin.

• Add ½ cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle in place of store bought fabric softener. Vinegar has the added benefit of breaking down laundry detergent more effectively. (A plus when you have a family member whose skin detects every trace of detergent.)

 Baking Soda:

Baking soda can be used to scrub surfaces in much the same way as commercial abrasive cleansers. Baking soda is great as a deodorizer. Place a box in the refrigerator and freezer to absorb odors. Put it anywhere you need deodorizing action. 

Lemons:

Lemon juice is another natural substance that can be used to clean your home. Lemon juice can be used to dissolve soap scum and hard water deposits. Lemon is a great substance to clean and shine brass and copper. Lemon juice can be mixed with vinegar and or baking soda to make cleaning pastes. 

• Cut a lemon in half, put a layer of baking soda on the cut section and use it clean dishes, surfaces, and other stains.
• Mix 1 cup olive oil with ½ cup lemon juice and you have a furniture polish for your hardwood furniture.
• Soak countertop stains in lemon juice for a few minutes (but not too long as it can be very corrosive!). Scrub the area with baking soda to make the stains disappear.
• Lemon rinds can be ground in the garbage disposal to freshen the drain. 
• Pour very hot water with a little lemon poured down a drain helps kill odor causing bacteria in the drain.
• Because lemon juice acts as a natural bleaching agent, it makes are create stain remover for fabrics as well. Put lemon juice onto stains on white cloth and allow them to dry in the sun. Stains will be bleached away.

For more information on these and other uses click here.

Happy Spring Cleaning!

Get your kids to do what you want!

'I don't wanna brush my teeth!'

'YOU pick the toys up!'

'I'm bored!'

Are they driving you crazy? Here's an idea for a sneaky way to get them to do your bidding and LIKE it:

Get some index cards or other small pieces of paper; even an old deck of cards will work.

Write down the tasks you want done, one on each card. Make them fun (pick up all the blue toys, all the toys with wheels, all the hard toys, all the soft, toys, all the red toys, all the toys that make noise, etc.).

They'll love picking a card and doing what it says. Try a deck for whatever you have trouble with- the morning routine, getting ready for bed, or clean up time.

For a 'boredom' deck, think up some things you don't usually do that would be easy. Make lemonade, get out some scarves and play animals, blow bubbles in the bathroom, make a fort out of boxes. A physical activity deck could help them expend some energy: jump up and down ten times, run down the hall as fast as you can, spin around in circles, throw balls into a container.

The sky's the limit!

Winter Nature Walk Activity

Here is a nature 'treasure hunt' and some easy and fun activities that can be done right here on base with almost no preparation:

Things to find/see:

* A tree that has lost all its leaves (deciduous)
* Buds on trees
* Something with thorns
* Fungi or moss on a tree
* An evergreen tree
* Some dormant grass or other vegetation
* A nest in a tree
* A bird

Things to feel/collect:

* A tree with rough bark
* A smooth rock
* Something slimy
* A sharp needle on a tree
* Pinecones

Related Activities:

* Paint the smooth rock, pinecones or other collected items
* Draw pictures of deciduous and evergreen trees, bark, leaves or other observed items
* Get some birdseed or bread crumbs and feed the birds

For the Love of our Children

I recently read an interesting book called The Five Love Languages of Children by Ross Campbell and Gary Chapman (a refocused version of Chapman’s The Five Love Languages which was targeted to adults.) This book was fascinating because it gets at the heart of what we always say with confusion about raising our children….”they are so different!” It shouldn't be a great surprise then that different children have different emotional needs, including how they need to feel love.

The authors develop the idea that because each person has unique needs it is important for us to identify how that person best receives our love. When we are responsible for the self-esteem and emotional growth of our children, it can’t hurt to think more about this issue.

Campbell and Chapman identify the five love languages and discuss how they relate to children:

1. Physical touch

2. Words of affirmation

3. Quality time

4. Gifts

5. Acts of service

I think we would all unequivocally say that we love our children with all our hearts, but what I didn’t spend a lot of time considering is the way I demonstrate my love for my children. I give lots of positive affirmation, hugs and a kiss, and time, because that is what is important to me and I thought that is what they would like. But I never stopped to think that these things may not be the most important thing to them.

For example, for the longest time, I was complaining that my son was just so DEMANDING! Why couldn’t he wait for anything? It was so frustrating because I never felt I could finish anything without interruption and I was feeling like his own personal hand maid. What was worse is that if I didn’t tend to the request quickly, the intensity of the request would mount and also additional requests were added to my “to do” list.

After reading about the love languages, it occurred to me that perhaps his love language was acts of service in which someone feels the most love when he/she is shown love through actions such as providing meals, offering a drink, making the bed. I thought this was a little wacky, so I gave it a little test and was quickly surprised by the results.

For 24-hours, I made the decision to respond to each request without waiting. Verbally acknowledge each request and not ask him to wait (which is what I would usually do). I would even offer preemptive acts of service by asking in advance if he would like a drink, a snack, or some other act of service, such as making sure he had his favorite “lovey” toy.

Interestingly enough, the requests instantly started to diminish and he seemed happier. Stress was reduced and he began acting lovingly towards me with hugs and other acts of love. It was so satisfying for both of us. The rewards were immense.

While all demonstrations of love are important there appears to be a primary or preferred language that meets the emotional needs of each person. We can learn a lot from learning about which methods appeal most to each of our children. What an easy way to nurture their spirits and to help us be more effective parents.

There are many versions of the Five Love Languages concepts such as for teenagers, for men, for couples, for singles, etc. For further resource information: http://www.fivelovelanguages.com/

Helen, guest blogger

Prenatal care: The Kicks that Count

Here at Osan, it's a little more difficult than it is in the U.S. to get immediate and high quality prenatal care if anything out of the ordinary happens, and we need to take responsibility for our own care, for our sake and that of our unborn children. Delivering a stillborn baby is one of the most horrifying things we can imagine, but it happens to seventy U.S. families every day, or once in approximately 150-200 deliveries. By contrast, SIDS claims about seven infants a day in the U.S. The good news is that like SIDS, the risk of stillbirth can easily be dramatically reduced.

A recent study found that 50% of moms that delivered stillborn babies noticed a decrease in movement in the days immediately prior to the death of their babies. Many stillbirths can be prevented with a simple test you can do at home: the daily kick count.

A daily kick count is just what it sounds like: a daily count of fetal movements. The count enables you to get to know the normal pattern of movement for your baby, so you can tell if the movements decrease, signaling fetal distress. There are a couple of ways to do kick counts, but here is an easy and effective one:

Pick a time of day when your baby is active; evening is generally good.

Time how long it takes to feel ten movements; record it.

Repeat every day; learn your baby's pattern.

If there is a significant decrease in movements or something else concerns you, get in for care immediately. Don't be afraid to kick up a big fuss to get what you need. Your baby is counting on you, too.

For more information, see the Baby Kick Alliance.