The spookiest time of year has finally arrived! Happy Halloween, everyone! As you put the finishing touches on the kid’s costumes (or if you’re like me, haven’t even started your own) let’s not forget the importance of safety. According to a report I read, statistics show that pedestrians are twice as likely to be struck by a car on Halloween night as they are the rest of the year. Not only are cars a concern, but so is the potential of getting lost.
There are plenty of sites and articles that offer advice on how to keep safe this weekend, but I thought I’d add my own two cents as well!
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Category: goodies
Earth’s Best to Roll Out New Products
A few weeks ago, together with some other parenting bloggers and members of the media, Earth’s Best invited me to attend a luncheon at Rouge Tomate in honor of their 25th anniversary. Even though I spent most of the luncheon being a mom since the kid was having a tough time in the childcare area, I missed most of the presentations, but did get to hear snippets of about Earth’s Best history and future.
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PBS Kids Go Launches Fizzy’s Lunch Lab
With all this talk about eating healthy and reforming the nutrition standard of school lunches, PBSKidsGo.org has impeccable timing with the upcoming launch of Fizzy’s Lunch Lab.
Fizzy’s Lunch Lab is a fun new website (and more) geared to early elementary school kids that addresses smart food choices and living healthy. Through the silly animated adventures of Professor Fizzy and pals, kids can learn about the good, bad and not so yummy foods.
PBS said that the site will feature animated and live-action shorts, interactive recipes, food facts and games that are all geared to engage kids to make smarter food choices.
From the event I sat in on the other day, I learned that some kids really have no idea how to eat healthy. They know what they’re taught; and just like most things, the kids learn from example. I love the idea behind Fizzy’s Lunch Lab and how PBS leverages the web, humor and the quirky Professor Fizzy to engage and motivate kids. The graphics and dialogue are pretty impressive. Well, then again, it is PBS, so there’s no surprise there!
The site doesn’t officially launch for a few more weeks, but you can check out the site and see the above preview and also to get a feel for Professor Fizzy’s antics.
If you’re on Twitter, you can follow Fizzy’s Lunch Lab here, and where I just learned that they will be making an iPhone app as well!
Yum-O! Lunch Program Launches
I had quite the interesting morning; it was actually a super yummy morning! I’m in the midst of catching up on posts and organizing photos, but I thought I’d share a few photos from my morning with Rachel Ray and Sen. Gillibrand at P.S. 89 / I.S. 289 in Tribeca.
Together with a few other bloggers, I was asked to attend a media event for the launch of Rachel Ray’s Yum-o! Organization’s new partnership with New York City’s Department of Education, Office of SchoolFood. The Senator and Rachel Ray are both advocates of keeping kids healthy and fighting childhood obesity, and I’ll be sure to share more about what they had to say.
As much as I love awesome kid products, I’m just as passionate about learning and sharing about healthy eating and wellness, in general. I’ve written about healthy eating and the reform of nutrition standards here on NKT, and so, participating in this very informative event and to be able provide exclusive coverage on NKT was such an honor.
There’s much more to come!
There’s a Party in My City Awesome Giveaway
So, you know the Yo Gabba Gabba There’s a Party in My City tour I’ve been buzzing about? Well, there will be a party in my city!
As I mentioned in a previous post, there are three NYC shows on November 21st at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. (which are both sold out), and because they’re awesome, they added another show at 5 p.m. so more Gabba fans have a chance to hang with the gang.
DJ Lance, Brobee, Toodee, Muno, Foofa and Plex are expected to rock out to various tunes, including some that are heard regularly on the show. And I hear that there may even be some special guests at the shows. Trust me, the Yo Gabba Gabba gang knows how to get down. (Like there was ever any doubt!)
But, if there was ever a reason to do a Dancey Dance, today’s the day!
Oh yeah, friends. That’s right! Our friends at W!ldbrain are giving one lucky NKT reader four tickets to see Yo Gabba Gabba at the SOLD OUT 11 a.m. show on November 21! Awesome, right?
Concert tickets, in general, can get pricey—nevermind ticket prices in NYC—which is why I’m so excited about this AWESOME GIVEAWAY. Four tickets to this show, which run as high as $75 last time I checked, is a dealbreaker for many families. I think it was quite generous for our friends at W!ldbrain to offer this fabulous giveaway—which by the way, is definitely my favorite/most awesome giveaway ever.
So listen up friends, to win the Awesome Giveaway for four tickets to see Yo Gabba Gabba on November 21, at the 11 a.m. show at Beacon Theatre, you must comment below with your favorite character, celebrity guest or Dancey Dance from the show. Multiple entries are encouraged.
Healthier School Lunches Should be a Priority
The subject of school lunches remains a hot topic in the headlines, and of course, it’s a timely topic for Wellness Wednesday.
In fact, yesterday, a report released by the Institute of Medicine suggested that school-provided lunches and breakfasts need to be improved and updated. I read a number of reports on the topic, but The Checkup on Washpost.com summed things up nicely.
The IOM, an independent organization (one of the four National Academies) that advise the federal government on health and nutrition matters, issued a report today outlining its recommendations for improving standards for the national school nutrition program, in which virtually every public school and the vast majority of private schools take part. The report comes a few weeks after the Child Nutrition Act expired on September 30; Congress is due to reauthorize it this session.
The new rules would, for the first time, establish an upper limit for calories (650 per lunch for kids in grades K-5, 700 for kids in grades 6-8 and 850 for those in grades 9-12).
Students should be served more fruit, only half of it in juice form; more leafy and orange vegetables but fewer potatoes; only 2 ounces of meat at lunch and 1 ounce in school-provided breakfast; more whole grains, and 1 percent or skim milk instead of whole or 2 percent.
The school lunch program’s current nutrition standards are based on the 1995 Dietary Guidelines for America — which were revised in 2005 and are again under revision, with a new set due next year. The similarly outdated 1989 Recommended Dietary Guidelines have since been supplanted by the IOM’s Dietary Reference Intakes.
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1, 2, 3, 4…
Probably one of my coolest blogger events to date is today’s destination: Sesame Street. I have butterflies and am filled with so much excitement; it’s almost surreal that, together with several other bloggers, I’ll be touring Sesame Street and learning all about their latest advancements. Best of all, I can’t wait to share everything I learn during my day trip to everyone’s favorite street. The only thing that would make this trip even MORE awesome would be if I could bring my Sesame Street-loving kid along, too! Next time…
For now though, I thought I’d share one of my all-time favorite songs from Sesame Street, Feist singing the Counting Song! This one makes me smile every time!
I’ll be back with the word on the street. Enjoy!
Fresh Week, Fresh New Beats
Happy Music Monday, everyone! It’s a new week and Nickelodeon is rolling out fresh new episodes of the Fresh Beat Band starting today, Monday, October 19 to Thursday, October 22 at noon. As if new episodes aren’t enough, the preschool music series will also feature a new music video every Friday from Oct. 16 through Oct. 30.
Where the Wild Things Are Opens Today
Well, it’s here! It’s opening day for Where the Wild Things Are! The classic children’s book by Maurice Sendak, which was adapted for film by Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers features Max whose imagination leads him to wild places. Reviews so far have been positive, and I can’t wait to see for myself. I highly doubt my little guy will sit through the entirety of this movie, even though some reviews are saying it’s for “all ages.” Either way, I’m crossing my fingers that we get to check it out soon! Does anyone else plan on seeing this?
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Let’s Get Wild!
As I’m sure you’ve seen, I’m pretty wild about the Where the Wild Things Are book and movie! As a kid and now adult with a wild imagination, I hold the premise of this beloved classic so close to my heart.
For years, there have been tons of shirts and paraphernalia paying homage to Max and his wild buddies, though I’ve had a hard time finding unique kiddie shirts. I did, however, find a cute shirt that would be great for tween girls. With its pink lettering that reference the book and movie spelling out, “Let’s Get Wild,” it’s still girly and innocent, but I particularly love the beasts running amok among the letters.
This t-shirt is by Junk Food, one of my faves for the kid, so I expect it would have that vintage-y look and feel, meaning that it’s thin and comfy. It comes in sizes S-XL for juniors and retails right around $20 on Amazon.