​Friends,
Recently, my eight year-old grand-niece drew a picture of Acorn and Button. I was pretty thrilled with the work. Belle made good use of her imagination. 

And here is Button sporting a new look - blond hair! Lol!

My dad always said that one of the greatest things you can ever have is a good imagination. He was right. Kids need time to dream and imagine. So do adults. That’s the way we keep the spark alive.

​There are several children’s books about imagination that  I’ll post in next week’s newsletter, but here’s one to start you off.

Imagine That is a story about a little girl (Olive) and her stuffed owl friend (Hoot). In the story they try to figure out why Hoot’s imagination has stopped working. During their search, Hoot says,
“Why is it, when my imagination is the thing that’s broken, it’s my heart that hurts the most?”

There's a real sense of loss when the spark of imagination goes out. The Hope lies in rekindling it again.

Friends,
Did you know that acorns in a diet provide health benefits?
Acorn nuts used to be an important dietary staple in many early cultures, as they were widely available and served many of the same dietary needs as grains do today. In fact, acorns are still used in some cultures in specialty dishes, most notably by Korean and Native Americans. 
You can eat raw acorns, but they are bitter in taste and are tough to metabolize because of the tannins in them. Too many tannins are toxic. You can boil or soak the nuts in water which helps to make the acorns eatable. 


Health Benefits of Acorns:

1. May Aid in Skin Care 
After you soak or boil the nuts in water, the rich tannin water can be topically applied to the skin in order to soothe burns and rashes.

 2. May Help Improve Digestion
Like most nuts, acorns have a significant amount of fiber, which may make them ideal for improving your digestive health. 

3. May Help Prevent Diabetes.
One of the most important benefits of acorns is their ability to regulate blood sugar levels in the body, thus preventing hazards that can lead to diabetes. A study by the Journal of Ethnopharmacology showed that the acorn seed extract had various healing effects on complications caused by diabetes. 


4. May Help Protect Heart HealthAcorns can be a good alternative for people wanting to cut down on their overall fat content. These nuts have five times more unsaturated fats as compared to saturated fats.


5. May Help Boost Energy LevelsThe high level of complex carbohydrates, found in acorns, provides long-lasting energy reserves when consumed.


6. May Help Keep Bones HealthyThe impressive mix of minerals found in acorns, which includes phosphorus, potassium, and calcium, helps boost bone health and prevent the onset of osteoporosis. Calcium is one of the most important minerals for bone mineral density and is found in high concentrations within an acorn. 


7. May Improve MetabolismOak nuts are packed with B vitamins, including niacin, thiamine, and riboflavin, which are very important for regulating metabolism. 


8. May Help Promote HealingAcorns are a rich source of proteins, which are key components of a healthy lifestyle. They are very important for the creation of new tissues and cells, repair damaged areas, and rapid healing following an injury.

Friends,

Here is an acorn craft that children can do. You can find other activities by looking through past newsletters in the archive. 


 
Acorn Owls

This craft was taken from toysinthedryer.com. The website has some great activities for kids.
 To make these cute little birds, you’ll need:

• a few acorns without the top
• construction paper
• a black marker
• glue
• toothpick (optional)
• a stick
• hot glue

Directions:
1) Cut round eyes out of white paper and use the black marker to make dots on the eyes
2) Cut a small beak out of orange paper
3) Cut wings out of what ever color you want
4) A toothpick works perfect to spread the glue over the tiny eyes, wings, and beak
5) Once assembled and dry, glue the owls onto a twig for display

That’s it! Pretty simple. Gluing googly eyes on the owls would be a fun alternative to the paper.

Acorn likes this project. He likes owls. They don’t eat acorns.