More important than buying your child fancy toys and computerized gadgets is providing them with the time and tools to play outside in the fresh air, and use their creativity. A great way to keep your child busy and encourage them to play outside is by making a homemade kite. Kites have been favorites of kids for years, and your child will be so proud to see her homemade kite fly!
Before you start be sure that you have a wide open area in which your child can run and fly the kite, where it will not get stuck on trees or electric poles. The area may be a field of grass or a playground with rubber mulch flooring. Rubber mulch is preferred for playground safety, as your child may bump into something while looking up at the sky, and fall. Rubber mulch prevents injuries from falls with extra shock absorbency. However, many such areas have playground equipment blocking the way. If this is the case, a grassy field or empty parking lot will work.
Take two bamboo skewers or plastic or wooden rods, and tie them together with cotton string or lightweight tine in the classic diamond shape. This will make your kite spars, the skeleton of the kite. Now take a large piece of plastic, this could be one side of a plastic shopping bag, and lay the sticks over it. Tape the sticks, or spars, down on the plastic, and draw and cut a diamond shape out of it. Fold a piece of tape around the plastic at each corner of the sticks.
To attach the string, punch two holes at the bottom of the long end of the kite, threading string through and looping it around the spar a few times. Tie it off firmly and make a loop. Now cut a tail by using another plastic shopping bag and cutting around and around, like cutting an apple. Tape the tale to the bottom of the kite. Attach fishing line to the loop in the string, and you’re done!
Take your child to a local park, field, or area that is floored with rubber mulch chips or mats, and watch them go! The flying of kites is an enchanting activity that has kept kids spellbound for years.
Horse racing and training is more than an occupation. It’s an art. Any horse owner or trainer knows that horses are expensive, as is their upkeep. Being negligent or not investing in the best for your horse is a bad decision, when your horse’s safety and well being is at stake. That’s why you can only get the best flooring for a horse arena. The best is rubber mulch.
When building an arena, it’s important to get the horse footing right, because if the ground is too deep the horse can strain a tendon, and not deep enough won’t provide cushioning for the horse to do really hard work. There are different options for flooring in a horse arena, some of which are sand, sand with additives, and rubber mulch. Rubber mulch mixed with sand is the most attractive option for many horse owners for a variety of reasons.
Rubber tracks for racing are known to give an extra spring, and give the best running time. They also have an advantage over sand that there is minimal dust kicked up. The best known way to control dust is with sprinklers and water. Using rubber mulch saves much time and effort spent on controlling dust that is kicked up from sand.
Some horse owners with outdoor arenas have found that black mulch flooring gets hot in the middle of the day in the summer, and horses can’t be rode on it. However, this isn’t a problem for those that don’t ride in the heat of the day regardless. Also, today’s rubber mulch is manufactured in various colors that don’t absorb the sun and get as hot as black. Another solution is to mix the mulch with sand, which will reduce the heat.
The last factor which some horse owners may balk at is the expense of rubber mulch. However, most quickly realize that the mulch pays for itself within a few years, as it requires little or no maintenance and replenishing, as opposed to other flooring options for horse arenas. As time passes, more and more horse owners are realizing that the smart solution for flooring in a horse arena is rubber mulch.
With the world moving so fast, some of us find ourselves dreaming of having a beautiful garden but don’t have the ability to make that dream come true. We find ourselves at a loss- with gardening taking much time, money, and effort. Lucky for us, with the latest technologies and all, there is hope! Those of us that recycle our tires can enjoy the amazing benefits of Rubber Mulch.
Safe, non-toxic, and odor- free, Rubber Mulch is taking the gardening industry by a storm. People around the world are getting to know the great aspects of Rubber Mulch. Just having to install it once makes Rubber Mulch the product of choice. It’ll fight the weed growth and keep weeds out. Plus, Rubber Mulch is great for your soil! It will keep your soil rich and healthy, by allowing water and nutrients in.
Rubber Mulch does not attract termites and insects. Also wind and rain won’t ruin your garden! You can rest assured that no matter what the weather, your garden will look fabulous.
You can get your Mulch in a variety of different colors and add some life to your garden. One thing you’ll be guaranteed is that your Mulch will look vibrant and retain its color for years to come! You will not have to worry about your garden ever again! With no effort or worry, it’s time to make your dream come true- check out rubber mulch web site now!
It already feels like Winter here. My favorite fruit stand is closed. The raspberries are gone. We’ve even had some snow. Most of all though, it is cold. I’m not used to it being this cold. I’m pulling out my sweaters.
If you’re wondering what today was the best day for, let me tell you, courtesy of the Farmer’s Almanac:
Harvest aboveground crops
Begin logging
Set posts or pour concrete
What if you want to lose weight? wait until November 28th.
Here’s what’s on my list of things to get done:
Cover my strawberries with straw (wonder why they’re called strawberries?)
I was reading a somewhat shocking article in Men’s Health recently. This article was a bit harsh…talking about how we hate fat people. As a result there are “Fat Advocates” who say this is akin to hating gays, blacks, Jews or any other group.
Do you agree? Here’s what they say:
“given that two-thirds of Americans are now overweight or obese, you’re liable to be in the position of hating your wife, your mother, your best friend, or your child, along with Santa Claus and Oprah Winfrey.”
Ouch, I can’t believe they mentioned Oprah. But keep reading for the twist (which is almost comical in its irony). The author soon realizes to his dismay that HE IS FAT too! And he’s not alone either, most of the planet is struggling with their weight:
“today, likely for the first time in history, the overfed outnumber the underfed by a large margin: There are 1.6 billion overweight and obese people worldwide, and 1 billion going hungry.”
Obesity is expensive for everyone, regardless of your weight:
“Taxpayers pick up half that cost through Medicare and Medicaid programs. And since private insurers pass the other half on in the form of higher premiums, we end up paying the whole bill for obesity: an annual fat tax of $483 on every man, woman, and child in the nation. That bill–$2,415 out of my family’s annual budget, which is more than we spent last year on clothes–is likely to grow.”
Not to mention the cost of eating more. Another Men’s Health article points out that hamburgers are bigger than they used to be (and I’m sure cost more.)
Thanks to an arms race among burger joints, hamburgers today are two to five times bigger than they were 20 years ago.
Part of the higher cost of being fat is due to childhood obesity racking up medical bills when childhood used to be mostly healthy. Kids got run-of-the-mill sickness like colds and the flu. Now they’re getting preventable and much more costly medical problems like diabetes and Heart Disease in 10 Year Olds!
Childhood obesity used to be rare, Dr. Dietz points out. But today, obese 11-year-olds are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes often enough that doctors have stopped calling it “adult onset” diabetes. Extremely obese teenagers can be candidates for coronary artery bypass surgery. That means they’ll run up higher-than-normal medical bills in the usually low-cost young adult years.
Recently on Nightline I saw a lower cost surgical solution that also scares me a bit. I know it’s a drastic step for people with few options but if you get this surgery you will NEVER BE HUNGRY AGAIN. Plus your stomach will be so small you’ll be physically unable to eat very much (a few cupfuls of food). Then I worry about malnutrition and other problems.
I wonder if we can solve this with expensive surgery or how this epidemic will affect our future society (did you watch the movie Wall-e??)
If a study of Utah residents is typical – it’s a lot more expensive to be overweight than to be healthy. You can justify that gym membership, those vitamins and all those vegetables you buy (you do buy vegetables, don’t you?)
It costs SEVEN TIMES more to be unhealthy says the study by the Utah Department of Health. It costs about $385 a year for regular preventative and care when you’re sick. Compare that to almost $2800 per year for someone with chronic health issues.
The study looked at health insurance claims from birth to age 64 in a 1-year snapshot (2009). The healthiest were children up to age 15. But by age 60 just 11% of Utahns are healthy. From birth to age 1 is an expensive time also. It costs about $800 a year to immunize a child.
Unfortunately I think the poor sometimes react to expenses as they come. It’s a lot cheaper to prevent health problems than pay for them as they go. I don’t know about you, but this made me feel a lot better about investing now so I’m in that 11% when I hit my 60s!
The city of Baldwin Park in California has declared a moratorium on any new drive-thru fast food restaurants. Ironically, the city is home to one of the first drive-thru restaurants in the country.
In-N-Out opened in 1948 as the nation’s very first drive-thrus. The city now has 3 drive-thrus per square mile for a total of 17 in a town of about 80,000 people. The ban will last for 9 months (extended from an original 45 day moratorium).
The Mayor Manuel Lozano has several goals for the move. He hopes people will actually get out of their cars and walk into restaurants. He also hopes to cut down on pollution from idling cars.
What do you think – is this going to far? Will it help obesity at all long term? It seems like people would actually just drive to a restaurant that has a drive-through and give them more business. You’d have to eliminate all of them. Better yet, eliminate all fast food. That’s not going to happen in a free country!
It’s the 3rd year that Louisiana’s schools got rated a D for overall children’s health. The problem? Children do not have enough opportunities to exercise during the school day.
This is from a new study from LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center, that rates Physical Activity and Health for Children and Youth. Weight and obesity were big problems – and they are not improving.
The study looked at the following to grade schools and here are some of the grades:
physical activity (D);
amount of time spent watching TV or passive interaction with a computer (D-);
sports participation (C);
weight and obesity (F);
overall physical and emotional well-being (C-);
fruit and vegetable consumption (D-);
tobacco use (C);
physical activity in school (D);
Over and over we hear about how are our kids are not moving but are sitting more and eating foods higher in calories and fat with low nutritional value. It’s going to kill us slowly if we don’t wake up and address the problem while our kids are in school. Schools should help by scheduling recess and active activities and serving healthier foods in the cafeteria.
“The report said 23 percent of high school students in Louisiana were physically active for at least 60 minutes every day; 45 percent of high school students met the recommendation for muscle-strengthening activities.”
This all despite new bills passed aimed at increasing children’s physical activity or the preventing obesity in children. Louisiana isn’t the only school in trouble – I’ve written before about New York schools. Even children in other countries are gaining weight at alarming paces.
How would your kid’s school fare in this study? What can we do about it and will legislation help? Read more at http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20100928/NEWS01/9280315
The rubber mulch can work well to prevent cuts and bruises, but Phillips said accidents on the concrete area have been minimal because playground equipment is not placed on the harder surface.
We don’t usually talk about concrete being a bad idea for playgrounds, but in this case it’s an additional surface. The Early Learning Center in Effingham, Illinois got some new concrete around the playground area.
It helps kids peddle tricycles or ride scooters and a place for them to line up after recess. Before they had to fit in-between the playground equipment. Usually concrete and playgrounds don’t mix but this is for the outer perimeter. While concrete is not a good mix for underneath swings or places where kids can fall – it can be ideal for other parts of the playground.
Congrats to The Early Learning Center on their new playground! See: http://effinghamdailynews.com/local/x752937437/A-dream-come-true
Yes tires can be made into something beautiful – as in this case. The sink is black recycled rubber and it doesn’t take a lot to make it either. The modern design took less than 1 pound of recycled rubber to make. I’m not sure I like the name though. It’s called the RUBBiSH sink.
We’re all for green design – anyone have any other innovative uses of recycled rubber to share?
