{Take Action} to make BPA go away

I received an email from Fresh this morning (new thinking about what we are eating) and thought I would pass the information along.  There is an easy way to potentially help make a big difference in removing BPA from our packaging, our bodies, and our environment by signing a petition for Walmart to phase out BPA from their products.  Here is some information from their email, and a link to one of my previous posts about BPA:

Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a toxic chemical that is making us sick. It leaches into us from plastics, paper coatings and canned foods. 90% of us carry measurable amounts of BPA in our bodies. 90% of us—that means it’s everywhere, practically unavoidable.

Canada and the E.U. have already banned the chemical for use in baby bottles. But our government hasn't banned it (yet!), so let’s change the industry, starting with Walmart. They are a retailing giant with enormous influence. If Walmart commits to eliminating BPA, the whole industry will be forced to change.

BPA disrupts our hormonal system even in very small doses, and has been linked to miscarriages, erectile dysfunction, heart disease and diabetes. For more information on the harmful effects of BPA, read here. Safer alternatives are available; there’s no excuse for continued use of BPA.

A recent report gave Walmart an F rating for their lack of efforts to phase out BPA packaging, yet Walmart has pledged to take a leadership role in environmental stewardship. Let’s tell Walmart to stop the corporate greenwashing—it’s time to get serious about removing BPA from their products. If they commit to phasing out BPA, it will effectively force the entire packaging industry to change.

Click here to sign the petition for BPA-packaging alternatives at Walmart.

For more information about the effects of toxins in everyday products, I recommend reading Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things

This book is about two Canadian friends/environmentalists who exposed themselves to everyday products and monitored the toxin levels in their bodies. 

Key concerns raised in Slow Death by Rubber Duck:
• Flame-retardant chemicals from electronics, pyjamas, and household dust polluting our blood.
• Toxins in our urine caused by leaching from plastics and run-of-the-mill shampoos, toothpastes and deodorant.
• Mercury in our blood from eating tuna.
• The chemicals that build up in our body when carpets, paint, and upholstery off-gas.

As a useful book for parents and consumers, it goes beyond scare tactics to provide solutions that we can all apply to our daily lives.

More reading about BPA:

The Breast Cancer Fund

Healthy Child, Healthy World

An Awesome Book (of Thanks)! (and a coupon code!)

Have you heard about An Awesome Book?

I recently discoved Dallas Clayton through his second book,

An Awesome Book of Thanks!

Although it is an obvious read-together book for Thanksgiving time, I think it is wonderful for all year long, as the messages in it are important and precious!  The simply, folksy illustrations are really endearing.

Here are some of my favorite pages from the book:

{Click on the image for a larger view!}

You can read An Awesome Book of Thanks for free online here,

and Dallas' first book An Awesome Book here.

What's even more awesome?

Dallas started the Awesome World Foundation.

For every book sold, he gives away a book.

Want a copy?
You can purchase the book here:

An Awesome Book of Thanks!
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Still have holiday shopping to do?
Lakeshore Learning has a $10 off a purchase of $50 or more coupon code out right now, good through December 13th.  Enter coupon code EM1224 at checkout to receive your discount.  Also, they are giving you free shipping on orders of $69 or more.

**Plus, don't forget about the GIVEAWAY for the $30 gift certificate!
You can enter until 10PM CST on Sunday (Dec. 12).**
♥

Options for Tactile Sandpaper Letters and Number Sets

So, you want the sandpaper letters, but can't bring yourself to purchase them retail from one of the fine Montessori Suppliers. You do have some less expensive options!

First, if you are feeling crafty, make them yourself! I made my first set myself using flat wooden tablets bought in bulk at a craft store (only a few dollars), and some textured paint sampler cards in blue and red from my nearest hardware store. I traced the letters on the back of the paint sampler cards with graphite paper, and used an exacto knife to cut them out. (This part would be even easier if you had access to an Ellison machine or something similar to punch out the letters). Then, I simply glued on the letters to the wooden tablets! For the numbers, I purchased black, raised mailbox numbers from the hardware section of Walmart. The best part about these are that they are already textured, have strong self-adhesive on the back of the numbers (made to last through weather conditions), and all I had to do was peel and stick! The children really like these because the numbers are 3-dimensional and easy to finger-trace.

Another option is to purchase handmade sandpaper letters/numbers. Polliwog Learning Products sells sets of their letters and numbers beginning at $9.99. The photo above is from their sandpaper numbers.

A third choice is to visit Lakeshore Learning's nearest store or their website for this set. Although I haven't ordered these myself, I've always been happy with their quality and customer service, which is important to me. Plus, these are only $14.95! The number set is also available.

Montessori Services offers a book version of the tactile letter concept in the Red Letter Alphabet Book. Although they recommend using this book as a complement to the sandpaper letters, it does use the same concept, with velvety, touch-sensitive letters, and has paired them with pictures of everyday objects. Priced at $20, or buy it as a set with the number book for $30.

One other book selection, which I have, is called Making Letters, a very first writing book. Currently available at Amazon for $7.99, it is a great introduction to tactile letter tracing. The book is a board book with the letters indented into the page, creating a cut-out surface for finger tracing. There are large dots to show the child where they begin tracing, and they follow the dotted path around the letters. Next to each letter is an object that begins with that letter and the name of the object. This book is all lower case, which I find refreshing, as so many of the alphabet books on the market show only upper case letters. You can buy it as a set with the coordinating Making Numbers and Making Shapes tactile books for $23.97. I also like the book concept because unlike the sandpaper tablets, they travel well in the car, a waiting room, or at the table in the restaurant.

If you already have the sandpaper letters, and want an extension, take a look at the Magnetic Trace a Letters by Anatex. Yes, they are expensive ($87.32), but they look like such fun! Plus, the child will gain practice in holding the magnetic wand like a pencil while they trace, making the transition to pencil and paper gentler. These are on my wish list!

Introducing Languages and Geography through Cloth Books

I found this great Etsy shop while browsing around the other day. The name of the shop is called ex libris handmade. The store offers many different quilted and hand sewn products, but my favorite are the cloth books. While any book is great for a child of course, I have always felt that children take a special interest in cloth books. And, each of these cloth books are a unique work of handmade art.

My favorite is the one pictured above, the Yes/No language cloth book. It features a different language on each page, and with embroidery and simple cloth backgrounds introduces children to the ways to say "yes" and "no" in many different languages. What a great first exposure! The texture of the embroidery and the different cloths are sure to feel rich and engaging to a young child's hands. The languages included are French, Russian, German, Mandarin, Spanish and Arabic. Plus, you have the bonus of no chomped-on book corners from young toddlers, and simply throw it in the washing machine when it needs cleaned. I just may have to purchase one of these!!

My other favorite is this Earth Cloth Book. This cloth book is really inventive, and I love the hand sewn illustrations for the geographic vocabulary. The word EARTH is spelled out over the 5 pages through the use of 5 geographic terms, while demonstrating the meaning of the Earth on the cover, the Equator, the Arctic, river, trees, and horizon.

I just love the products at this store, and I hope you all will check it out for your young child!