Posted on

Can pre-school children be depressed?

I have been working on a report of the 6 most dangerous trends facing our children today.  One of the most stunning pieces of research I have come across is that the fasting growing age groups for depression are pre-schoolers.  Then last week this article came out in the NY Times.  Here is the link to the article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/magazine/29preschool-t.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

In the coming weeks I will be ready to present the findings of the work I have been doing to parent groups.  Depression is just one of the trends that have surprised me.  This report will include not just the problems but some of the solutions too.

Posted on

Reduce our consumption

There is a lot to think about here in this video. Of the 3 R’s Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle, it is my personal opinion that Reduce has the largest impact on the entire world and not just our corner of the world. This video makes some powerful points. http://www.storyofstuff.com/ I have personally made it a point to reduce consumption of goods.  I ask myself about what I am buying or throwing away.  Could I continue to use it or find someone who can use it?  Do I really need something new or is it just a want? Will you join me in the quest to reduce?

Posted on

June Announcments

The following dates are important for the Month of June.

  • June 2 All students may begin wearing BLS T-shirts to class. I would ask all students to please wear them inside their uniform pants with their belts.
  • June 6 & 7 Jackson & Ella Art Show Please bring your childs art to the show and then attend on Friday or Saturday. Entrance Fee is $10 per family and $5 per piece of art. All proceeds will go to the Severna Park Assistance Network. There will be no Open Mat on June 6.
  • June 14 Belt Testing
    • 5/6 year olds 10 AM
    • 7/8 year olds 11:30 AM
    • 9 – 12 @ 1 PM
  • June 16 starts the Summer Schedule
Posted on

BLS Students @ West Annapolis Elementary School

Last year Megan O’ Rourke put on a demonstration of her martial arts skills at her school. This year she was joined by 6 of her fellow classmates; Kaeo, Kalani, Matthew, Zach & Maggie. They worked hard the weeks prior to the show to come out and show their best. I was very happy to be there to support them. Here is a video of their performance and an after show interview!

Posted on

Student Art Show

On June 6 & 7 Balanced Life Skills will host a student art show. Do you have some art that you would like to contribute? Watch the video below and see what this event is all about.
Student Art Show

Posted on

Jr. Diabetes Walk

Sunday morning turned out to be a beautiful day for the Jr. Diabetes walk. So many of our students turned out many of them I did not see till we were walking or they were headed home. This was great to show our support for Chris and everyone else that deals with this everyday. Now we need to defend ourselves from Type 2 and BLS will be continuing to talk about how to protect ourselves, not only to our students, but to the community as well.
I am sorry that I did not get more photos of those that attended. I had a great time walking with our students and their families. Thank you again!
[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.507707&w=425&h=350&fv=host%3Dpicasaweb.google.com%26captions%3D1%26RGB%3D0x000000%26feed%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fpicasaweb.google.com%252Fdata%252Ffeed%252Fapi%252Fuser%252FJoe.VanDeuren%252Falbumid%252F5189072096908063329%253Fkind%253Dphoto%2526alt%253Drss%2526authkey%253D16XIoIQreQc] from picasaweb.google.com posted with vodpod