Explore Our World: "Nutrition" A Tour of Whole Foods

Our Explore Our World theme for January was "nutrition", so I arranged for the Cadets to take a tour of perhaps the healthiest grocery store in town, Whole Foods! 

Our tour guide was Ms. Heidi, who met us out front to go over a few rules for the tour.

Ms. Heidi took first took us to see the flower department.  She explained while these flowers weren't edible (though some are!), flowers are important for well-being and happiness.  "Who cries when they receive flowers?" she asked the Cadets!

We then headed over to the produce.  Ms. Heidi gave us some samples of pineapple and melon to eat!  It was interesting to learn how organic fruits and veggies are grown without chemicals, and how organic farmers take care of bad bugs by bringing in good bugs to eat them.  Ladybugs aren't just pretty, but useful!

Ms. Heidi showed us the eggs.  It was kind of cool how they weren't in all that packaging that normally comes with eggs!  And all the colors (and even duck eggs) were really cool to see!

By far our favorite section was seafood!  The Cadets were happily grossed out!  Mr. Fionn came out to show us some really cool (and big) fish that they sell!

My personal favorite part was the cheese!  And the samples were amazing!

Next came the meats, dairy section, and bakery!  All the wonderful samples we got along our tour were highly appreciated by the Cadets, and I know a few moms who went home with some of the divine breads they carry!

Last, but definitely not least, Ms. Heidi took us into the classroom they have at Whole Foods were you can take cooking lessons, among other things (check it out here).  Ms. Heidi gave us all samples of a yummy pizza and packets of cookies!  The Cadets were in heaven!

Thank you Ms. Heidi for giving us a great tour!  It was really great for learning all about nutrition!

Read more...

Change Our World: A Tour of the Ronald McDonald House

The Greene Family was in charge of arranging our Change Our World outing for January.  Ms. Maiden came up with the idea of visiting the Ronald McDonald House and bringing along baked goods to give to the families who are currently staying there.  For those who aren't familiar with the Ronald McDonald House, it is a non-profit that "provides a comfortable and supportive environment for families with children in the hospital".  They are always looking for volunteers to help with items and services, so if you are interested, check their website out here.

Ronald McDonald House Associate JoD was gracious enough to give us a tour of the house.  Before we began, JoD talked to the kids in the living room about what the Ronald McDonald House is, and asked them what our group does.  Cadet Ryan (who I am nominating for our official spokesperson!!) gave a very eloquent explanation, saying "Project 33 is a group of families who get together to make our community better".  I couldn't have said it better myself!

Next JoD showed us the kitchen and told us about a great volunteering program they have at Ronald McDonald House called the Chef Program.  Individuals, families, or organizations can come over to prepare a meal for the residents.  Again, if you are interested, check out this link for more info.

We then headed off to tour more of the house:

This room was particularly fun for the kids!  It's a giant recreation room stocked full of toys!

The library:

Laundry Room:

One of the bedrooms for residents.  This one is larger to house families with children:

Last was the most exciting part for the Cadets!  Out back was a very large gumball machine/playhouse!  It feature a ladder going up to a loft, and a big slide!  The Cadets all got to take a turn checking it out!

 

 

On the porch out back, I spied Ronald McDonald sitting on a bench and snapped this picture of our three oldest boys!

On behalf of the Cadets, I want to thank the Ronald McDonald house for taking the time to give us a tour, and to Ms. Maiden and the Greene family for putting this outing together!  Thanks Ms. Maiden!!



Read more...