Thursday, January 29, 2009

Beaba Babycook Williams Sonoma

I recently notcied a new comment about the Beaba Babycook regarding one of the comments I made about someone's review on Amazon. This prompted me to contact Williams Sonoma again about the materials in the Beaba Babycook and whether or not they are BPA free. See my new correspondence below.


Hello Suzie.
I have posted our correspondence on my blog and have been receiving quite a lot of traffic regarding the BPA issue. Someone recently posted a comment on Amazon that they went to the Beaba website and found the information below. This does not seem to be consistent with the information you gave me. I hate to beat a dead horse, but when you said the "bowl set" was made of polysulfone and did not contain BPA, did you mean this to include the steamer basket as well? That was my assumption, but I need it clarified.
From Amazon
To clarify the plastic issue, I went to the Beaba website.
http://www.beaba.com/en/index_collection.htm
It says:
- Transparent PP (Polypropylene) basket (for steaming)
- Unbreakable PSU (Polysulfone) bowl


Hello Kimberly,

Thank you for contacting Williams-Sonoma. We are so sorry for any inconvenience we may have caused you.

Our Beaba cooking bowl is made of polypropylene and the steam basket from polysulfone, both are BPA free.

If we may be of any further assistance, please contact us via email. Alternately, you may contact our Customer Service Department directly at 1(800) 541-1262 from 7:00am to 11:00pm (CST), seven days a week.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Kozy Coach Shopping Cart Cover

I was given the Kozy Coach shopping cart cover at my baby shower and recently started using it. This invention is great. I cannot imagine putting my baby in the shopping cart without the Kozy Coach again. The Kozy Coach stretches large enough to fit big carts, like Costco, and it fits snugly on small carts, like Trader Joe's.

The Kozy Coach also has loops for attaching toys which is a must have for a busy baby like mine. It is nicely padded for baby's comfort and I appreciate the durable fabric. I highly recommend the Kozy Coach if you are in the market for a shopping cart cover.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

NCLB Part 2 Grade Level Achievement for Special Education Students

No Child Left Behind had just been enacted before I entered the classroom. During my school site training (prior to meeting my students) I was told over and over again, all students must be exposed to the standards. Your students (special needs students) need to be taught from the grade level general education curriculum.

This was my first year teaching and I really did not know any different, so I taught from the 4th grade Teacher's editions in reading and math. I attended regular education grade level meetings. I went to trainings on ELD (English Language Development) and other general education curriculum.

You would not believe the amount of whining I heard in the first week alone. We can't do this! This is too hard! We didn't have to do this last year! There were tears. There was anger. There was a teacher more stubborn than the kids in that classroom. I put up my sign that let students know "I can't" is illegal in my classroom and began teaching them that we say "I will try" or "I need help" instead. It was not long before someone would slip and say "I can't" and the rest of the class would say "ooooh". Mission accomplished.

Soon they began to realize that I was not giving up and they began to achieve. They began helping each other in reading groups. They began to feel successful at reading and math for the first time. The best part was that they could take what they learned in my classroom and apply it back in the general education classroom. I had a general education teacher come up to me one day in complete shock. She began to tell me how one of our (I say our, not my for Special Ed. students--my way of helping gen. ed. teachers understand that they belong to them too) students had raised his hand to answer questions in the general education classroom. What was even more shocking, the answers were correct! On that day, I had another believer in grade level exposure for special needs students.

The best part of this was not that the students would do well on the testing. It was that they were learning that they could achieve.

More to come...

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Beaba Babycook Bisphenal-A BPA Update

Here is my most recent correspondence with Williams Sonoma regarding the Beaba Babycook:

Hello. I purchased the Beaba Babycook after receiving an email from you
confirming to me that there was no BPA in the bowls. However, I have since
seen many comments on the internet from people who contacted the
manufacturer and they say the bowls are made from polycarbonate while you
say it is made from polysulfone (either way both contain BPA according to the info. from these people). I need a straight answer about whether or not BPA is contained in this product. I have used it and feel that it is a great product if it is BPA free.
Thank you



Hello Kimberly,
Thank you for contacting Williams-Sonoma.

As a responsible retailer, you can be confident that we carefully and rigorously test all of our products to ensure their safety and that they meet or exceed all government standards.

Independent testing completed in mid-June indicates no presence of Bisphenal-A in the BabyCook bowl set. The bowl set is made of polysulfone, an alternative to polycarbonate exclusively for Williams-Sonoma.

We hope you find this information useful and reassuring.

If we may be of any further assistance, please contact us via email. Alternately, you may contact our Customer Service Department directly at 1(800) 541-1262 from 7:00am to 11:00pm (CST), seven days a week.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Labrador Retriever Group Training Class

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to get your dog to obey commands, especially while in the presence of people and other animals. We enrolled our new yellow labrador puppy in a group training class when he was about seven months old, and we are so glad we did. We enrolled in a class administered by our City, with about twenty dogs in it. The first several weeks primarily consisted of walking around in a big circle outlined with cones for about an hour. It seems silly but the mere presence of the scent of the other dogs and all the activity at the park was so distracting to a young, active, and eager puppy! Here is a picture of the training class in action:

The class was one day a week for 12 weeks. Each week we were given homework and were instructed to work on various things with our dog. To tell the truth, we were not very impressed with the quality of the instruction, but we were happy because Buddy had a chance to learn be be around other dogs. He showed significant improvement. We would highly recommend this form of training.

Friday, January 2, 2009

No Child Left Behind Act Part 1

NCLB, you've heard of it right? Everyone seems to have an opinion about it these days. NCLB stands for the No Child Left Behind [Act]. I for one, support it which is a taboo thing to do in the world of education. I am in the minority among colleagues, especially those in special education. Allow me to explain my stance.

When I walked into my special education classroom for the first time it was somewhat more than I had expected. It was a normal classroom, placed in the middle of other normal classrooms. There was a large quantity of normal curriculum, although I had no idea which was to be used for what. I had five working computers, more than other regular education classrooms. There were age appropriate tables, age appropriate chairs, and wonderful chalkboards. It was all normal. What does this have to do with NCLB you ask? Keep reading.

Prior the the enactment of NCLB, special educators were on a different level. They were not afforded the same "luxuries" as other teachers. By luxuries I mean curriculum, supplies, you know the basic needs of a learning environment. It was blatant discrimination. It was wrong. Suddenly, when NCLB was put into place special needs students began to matter. Why? Because their scores on the tests mattered too. Special educators began receiving the same curriculum as the general educators. Special educators were invited to the same training as general educators. Materials became a necessity for special needs students for the first time in the history of special education.

Thank you George w. Bush for doing more for special needs students than any other president in history. No legislation is perfect, and I do believe NCLB can be improved, but I am so thankful for the chance to have everyone treated equal in the school system.

I will continue with NCLB and why I think grade level curriculum exposure is appropriate for special needs students in further posts.

In Defense of Teachers

My teaching career consisted of three years in the preschool setting and four years in the elementary setting. In seven years I taught every age from two to thirteen and every grade from preschool to sixth grade. I have been educated in Psychology, Child Development, Special Education, General Education, CPR, First Aid, and the list goes on. Prior to my teaching experience I was a Parent Educator for a company contracted by Social Services and it was my job to work with families that had been referred for some type of abuse. During this time I went to homes, worked with shelters, monitored visitations, drove children to visitations, and whatever else needed to be done. I have worked with the rich, the poor, the strong, the weak, and those somewhere in between.

At each of these jobs my employers provided an infinite number of training opportunities and I learned so much. There is something to be said for educators despite what society is saying today. Teachers are some of the most hardworking people I have met and they do this with very little recognition. Of course everyone knows teachers make very little money for the amount of hours and effort they put in. This should tell you something--teachers teach for the love of teaching. Sure there are a few now and then that have other motivations, but given such a large profession, there are bound to be those that do not fit. Usually they quit very quickly after they realize teaching it is not as easy as they thought it would be. I'll never forget the day my coworkers and I sat down to lunch with a man on his first day hired to teach the sixth grade at our school. He looked frightened and scared. I must admit, it was a tough school with tough kids. That was the last time I saw that man. Gone on the first day. Needless to say, it takes a special person to teach and to teach in a low income environment. You know if your talent is such on the first day!