Balanced Life Skills Martial Arts

Here are four of our students who have raised money for and shaved their heads in support of finding cures for childhood cancer.  We are very proud of them for finding ways to make a difference their community.

All of our 5/6 Lil’ Dragons learn to jump rope as a part of our coordination drills.  This is a great story as told by Evan’s mom about jumping rope and service to our community.

Evan participated in Jump Rope for Heart this year at school.  Last year he went and was very frustrated that he could not jump rope well.  This year, he was incredibly excited about the event, ready to show off his advanced jump roping skills (thanks you balanced life!).  It was a wonderful experience for him and increased his self esteem.  Because he was so excited for the event, he wanted to participate in the fundraising aspect of it, raising money for the American Heart Association.  (Btw, I told him that I did not want to request donations from anyone at BLS because it was the same time as his cereal box drive and I explained how important it was to not ask for too much.)  We went online and talked to friends and family about what he was doing.  Evan raised $445, more than anyone else at his school.  His sister even contributed $5 of her money to support the fundraising efforts!  Overall, it was an incredible opportunity for him to shine in many aspects.  I believe that most of what he gained from this experience grew as an extension of what you teach at BLS and I wanted to thank you for that.
Evan W. jumps rope Here’s a video of some of the more complicated jump roping he was doing that day.

Two Evan’s both with a last name that starts with a W. and both of them 6 years old.  Oh yes and they take class together here at Balanced Life Skills.  One of them put together this service project of collecting cereal for children who do not have homes.  The box he decorated and supplied  was getting filled up and then on Saturday it got really filled.

The other Evan W.  had a birthday party and he asked his friends to bring a box of cereal to the party in lieu of gifts.  Now look at the results.  The box is flowing over and so many children will benefit.  Those children who brought in the cereal benefit too.  When they take the time think about what it would feel like not having a home or something to eat for breakfast, it makes them more aware and grateful for what they do have.

Thank  you to both Evan’s for a job well done.  A great project and a great collaboration of efforts.

Before picture!

Balanced Life Skills student is a HERO one more time.  Jimmy K. is supporting childhood cancer research by agreeing to have his hair shaved on March 11.  It would be great to support him and St. Baldricks for this good work.  This is the second time that Jimmy has participated in this event.  It is very cool when someone has a cause that they are passionate about.

Here is a link to Jimmy K. and St. Baldrick

Good job Jimmy!

Joey S.  gets it.  He has been working so hard over the last year as he trains in tae kwon do and in his personal training too.  Joey has become one of the physically strongest students in class – in fact one of the most improved too.  This summer he accomplished a very tough goal – biking the Great Alleghany Passage Trail from Frostburg to Meyersdale and back.  A total of 32 miles.  His goal was a 25 mile trek.  What a great accomplishment.

In addition he has not forgotten the importance of doing for others. For the past 4 years when he has a birthday party, Joey invites his friends to make food donations to the Lighthouse Shelter instead of gifts.  This year was no different.  His family and him delivered the food this past Saturday.  Happy Birthday Joey and congratulations on your bike ride this summer.

I grew my hair long so that I could donate it to a charity that would make wigs for kids that had cancer or other illnesses that made them lose their hair.  It all started several years ago when I saw a kid here at Balanced Life Skills Read the rest of this entry →

Cleaning up Aberdeen Creek

Look at all the trash they pulled out of the creek! This was a great job by these students.

For my service project I worked with my grandmother to design an art project from my class to complete together for the fundraising auction at our school.   We designed an under the sea collage.  My class divided into groups and each completed a square.  Marmee and I painted the background, and my group did the treasure chest square. We named it “Shark Bottom”.  The golden shark is the one I made.  It was lots of fun, and here is a picture of it all finished.

For my community service project my Kindergarten class and I each wrote a letter to a soldier thanking them for their service to our country. On the opposite side of the page we used small pieces of white and red construction paper and some stars to create an American flag.

My mom is going to send all of our letters to an organization called  www.amillionthanks.org and from there they will be distributed to an American soldier.

I had the idea to do this after learning in school about Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day all the things that the military does for us to keep our country safe.