BUTLER COUNTY FAMILIES
ISU Extension and Outreach information and resources for northeast Iowa
January, 2016
Spend Smart Eat Smart
BUTLER COUNTY EXTENSION &
OUTREACH
320 N. Main St.
Allison, IA 50602
319.267.2707
nejensen@iastate.edu
www.extension.iastate.edu/butler
The Spend Smart, Eat Smart blog focuses on sharing ideas, tips,
resources and recipes to help you feed your family for less.
A Healthier Me in 2016
It’s that time of year again when we tend
to look at how we can live just a little bit
healthier in the New Year. For me, this
means making more time for exercise
Butler County
throughout my day. I do alright with getting
my workouts in, but I spend most of my day
Extension Staff
at a desk and I would like to work in some breaks to get my body moving
County Program Coordinator
throughout the day. Our bodies are not meant to be in a sitting position
Nancy Jensen 319.267.2707
nejensen@iastate.edu
all day, it can damage our posture and even affect breathing. Being
active for just ten minutes can help boost mental focus and increase
energy.
Office Assistant
Ruth Kampman
319.267.2707
rkamp@iastate.edu
I plan to use a strategy called SMART goals to make this happen. A goal
is SMART if it is:
Specific – It identifies a specific action that will take place.
Human Sciences Specialist,
Family Life
Measurable – it’s easily measured, I can tell when I’ve done it.
Cindy Thompson
641.229.6655
cpthom08@iastate.edu
Achievable – it can be accomplished with my current resources.
Realistic – though the goal will stretch me, it is possible for me to do it.
Human Sciences Specialist,
Nutrition & Wellness
Timely – the goal includes a specific timeline for accomplishing it.
Jill Weber
319.234.6811, Ext. 112
jrweber@iastate.edu
So here’s my goal!
I will walk briskly for at least ten minutes three times per week while I’m
at work. I will walk in the halls of our building when it is cold and snowy
and outside once the weather gets nicer.
… and justice for all
Iowa State University Extension programs are available to all without
regard to race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation,
gender identity, genetic information, sex, marital status, disability, or
status as a U.S. veteran. Inquiries can be directed to the Director of Equal
Opportunity and Compliance, 3280 Beardshear Hall, (515) 294-7612.
Cooperative Extension Service, Iowa State University of Science and
Technology, and the United States Department of Agriculture
I’ve taken some steps to increase my likelihood of success:
I have comfy shoes at the office.
I have told my colleagues about my goal so they can keep me


honest.

I have a chart to track my progress and help me remember to
work in my walks.
This month’s blog posts are all about setting goals for the New Year. Share your goals with us on Facebook!
Sometimes letting just one other person know your goal can help you stay accountable .
Words on Wellness
The Words on Wellness blog promotes a healthy lifestyle. In each post, you’ll gain reliable, research-based information about
nutrition, exercise, and food safety, and explore the power of incorporating healthy practices into daily living for you and
your family.
Get Your Brain in Shape
New Year’s resolutions often center on self-improvement. The numberone cited resolution is to lose weight. Instead of focusing on weight loss,
for 2016 focus on eating well for your brain! What we eat can influence
how well our brain functions!
Eating a diet rich in vegetables, fruit, and omega-3 fatty acids is linked
with better cognitive function (ability to process thoughts), memory, and
alertness.
Suggestions from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics for a healthy brain include:
Put veggies on your plate. Consuming vegetables—especially broccoli, cabbage, and dark leafy greens—may
help improve memory. Try a broccoli salad or using fresh spinach on your next sandwich.
Bring on the berries. Dark-colored berries—like blackberries, blueberries, and cherries—are a rich source of
anthocyanins and other nutrients that may boost memory function. Enjoy them mixed into cereal, in a smoothie,
or with yogurt as a parfait. Buy berries fresh, frozen, or dried; they’re all healthy choices.
Don’t overlook omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids may help improve memory in healthy younger adults.
Seafood and fatty fish—like salmon, tuna, and sardines—are some of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids
and are readily available. Choose fresh, frozen, or canned. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
encourages us to eat fish twice a week. Grill, bake, or broil fish to reap the most health benefits.
Try to add these foods to your daily menu. They will not only be good for your brain, but for your heart as well.
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Winter Activities for Burning Calories
Looking for a fun activity to try this winter? These top outdoor
activities are good for burning calories:
Cross-country skiing
Glide along the trail, taking in the fresh winter air and looking for
wildlife. Search for parks with groomed trails. With moderate
effort, you’ll burn 700 calories an hour, or 500 with light effort.
Ice skating
In areas where it’s permitted and ice conditions allow, ice skating is a great way to get active outdoors in the
winter. In one hour of skating, you’ll burn 550 calories.
Sledding and tobogganing
You might ask how many calories you can burn while flying down a hill. Well, don’t forget the repeated walks up
that hill, and you’ll rack up 550 calories burned in an hour.
Stream fishing
Yes, you can still fish a stream in waders in the winter—look to the trout streams of northeast Iowa, which rarely
freeze. In an hour of angling, you’ll burn 460 calories. Not wanting to get in the water? You can still burn 300
calories in an hour by fishing and walking along the bank.
All calories burned are calculated for a 170-pound person per hour. Those weighing less will burn fewer calories,
while those weighing more will burn a greater amount of calories.
Search state and county parks by available activities with the Iowa DNR interactive Healthy and Happy
Outdoors map.
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ANSWER LINE
Families Answer Line at ISU provides information and resources for consumers with home and family questions.
Call Monday thru Friday, 9 am to noon and 1 to 4 pm at 1.800.262.3804
Tips for Organizing Toys
The Answer Line staff has been thinking and talking about getting more organized
in 2016. Recently, I was visiting with my daughter as she was organizing her sons’
toys. As she was adding Christmas toys to the boys’ rooms; she was removing some
toys they don’t play with much anymore and making sure the remaining toys are
age appropriate.
Here are some tips to help you organize toys at your house:
1.
Choose a time when children are away, sleeping, or otherwise occupied.
2.
Make 3 boxes for toys labeled: dispose, donate, store.
3.
Dispose of broken toys and those that can’t be safely repaired.
4.
Remove toys that you seldom see the children using.
5.
If an older child has outgrown a toy, recycle it to a younger sibling, relative, or a
box to be used when younger children visit.
6.
Rotate toys you don’t want to be without. Plan to remove some toys for a season or 3 months. Exchange
these toys with other seasonal toys at that time.
7.
Consider investing in some clear, plastic storage boxes. You can group toys according to theme; farm
toys, train toys, play dough. This makes storage and room cleaning so much easier.
8.
Older children may want to help choose which toys to remove, donate, or dispose. This can be a great
learning experience.
9.
Remember, some toys are favorites and it may be better to organize than remove them.
Hopefully, reorganizing your children’s toys will bring a less cluttered and more
enjoyable 2016. I plan to reorganize the grandchildren toys at my home this weekend.
I will buy some more boxes for the train toys to help the grandkids find what they need
more easily. I won’t dispose of any trains or accessories as they are a favorite with all
my grandchildren.
Science of Parenting
The Science of Parenting blog shares and discusses research-based information to help parents in their important
role of raising children.
Helping Kids Set Goals
Eat better. Exercise more. Get organized. Learn something new. It’s that time of
year when adults make resolutions to help them reach their goals. It’s also a
good time for parents to help their children build goal-setting skills. To succeed in
school and in life, children need to be able to make their own decisions and
guide their own behavior. Setting goals can help kids learn to connect their own
personal choices with the end results. Parents can be involved by helping their
children think about and set personal goals, and then encouraging them to work
toward the goals.
As you work on goals, try to avoid steering your child toward the goal you want
him or her to achieve. Offer guidance, but let your child choose the goal. Children who have a say in what they
are learning are more motivated to succeed. What matters is that children see themselves making progress. This
is far more important than what the specific goal is.
Money Tips
Three financial educators offer new money tips each week. Saving, getting out of debt, buying wisely, looking to
the future.
Nothing is Free
During a recent visit with a lawyer who specializes in elder law, I saw the check list he used when advising
people on estate planning. First on his list was PROTECT ASSETS. My question was, “Who are assets being
protected from?” His response was, “Nursing homes.” In a nutshell, his goal was to legally shelter assets so the
aged are put on Medicaid…transferring the costs of living in a nursing home, to the state.
It costs money (a lot of money) to care for someone in a nursing home. The government reimburses nursing
homes only a fraction of the cost to care for someone living in the home on Medicaid. Nursing homes are a
business; like all businesses, if they do not cover their costs, they will not be in business for very long.
SO: if all the costs to care for a loved one are not covered by the state, how can the nursing home keep their
doors open? They can cut back on their expenses (hire fewer people, which means providing fewer services), or
increase their income in the fees they charge non-Medicaid clients. The more Medicaid clients a nursing home
has, the greater the cost that is transferred to the non-Medicaid clients.
My family is lucky… our dad has assets, which means my brother and I have access to more choices in how and
where dad is cared for. We have always hoped that dad would spend his last penny on his last breath; by that
we mean that HIS money will be spent for HIS comfort and needs rather than leaving an inheritance to us kids.
We found a Memory Care Unit that does not accept Medicaid. Yes, it is very expensive, but reasonably so…the
number of activities and services provided are amazing! He will get what he pays for and deserves.
Selecting Your Health Insurance Provider
One simple step to make sure your health care plan is compatible with your health
care providers (including clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, mental health services, dentists,
and others) is to CALL AND ASK! This seems to be wise advice for everyone, whether
they are selecting coverage from their employer, enrolled in public insurance (such as
Medicaid/Medicare), or buying health insurance individually; the challenge seems to
be universal.
ISU Extension’s workshop called Smart Choice: Health Insurance devotes some time to
defining the different types of networks found in different insurance plans. (For full info, check out “Types of
Health Insurance Plans,” one of our Smart Choice handouts). In brief, there are three most common types:

the closed network of the HMO/EPO,

the referral-required POS model, and

for coverage when you go to a clinic out of state or want the option to see a specialist without referral
there is the PPO plan.
News Flash: ANY insurance plan can have limitations that will put you in a position of not having coverage. The
changes can result from institutional events (such as privatization of Iowa’s Medicaid and Expanded Medicaid
programs) or private contract negotiations between health providers and the insurance industry. Changes are
common, so don’t assume what worked last year is true for the next 12 months. The “Call and Ask” rule is a good
rule to apply every single year.
In our workshop, we also ask participants to rank 5 items in order of importance to them in choosing a health
insurance plan. The five items are:

Health care services needed for the next year

Doctors and health care providers in the insurance network

Monthly premiums


Deductibles, co-pays, and coinsurance
Prescription drugs covered by the plan
Right now given the changes taking place in health insurance coverage, I’d put networks (2nd bullet) at the top
of my list.
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Let’s Talk . . . Windows and Mirrors
Occasionally when the topic of multiculturalism comes up in early childhood
conversations in the state of Iowa, I hear child care providers comment that they do
not serve a diverse population, so the topic is not relevant to them. This could not be
further from the truth!
A few points to note –
Iowa and the nation’s demographics are changing. So, while you might not be serving children from a variety of
ethnic backgrounds, you likely will be in the near future.
It is SUPER important that even though our children and families may SEEM similar, there is still diversity among
them. Each family is unique and we want to make sure we recognize that fact. Celebrate similarities and
celebrate differences!
As early childhood professionals, we want to give intentional thought to our program in all areas and ask the
question – Does this reflect windows and mirrors? Meaning, do the children in the program see themselves and
their families (mirrors) in the displays, books and learning materials available? This says to the child, “I am
important and my family is recognized.”
And, equally important, do the displays, books and learning materials available reflect the growing multicultural
world we live in and the one they will be citizens in (windows)? When we offer materials that show a variety of
skin tones, abilities, ages, ways of dress, and different family make-ups, we build the foundation for children to
appreciate someone who is different from them. When we shut the window of diversity to children and only show
their own “reflection,” we send the message that there is nothing else out there.
If you are in Iowa, look for a *NEW* DHS-approved 2-hour course titled Moving Beyond Heroes and Holidays:
Creating a Rich Anti-bias Learning Environment in Early Childhood. This workshop will offer practical guidance to
early childhood educators for reflecting on as well as confronting barriers of prejudice, misinformation, and bias
about specific aspects of personal and social identity. Most importantly, it will include tips for adults and children
to respect each other, themselves, and all people. If there is not one scheduled for your area, talk to your Child
Care Resource and Referral consultant about offering the session.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
February:
1
Master Gardener Webinar, Hunger in Iowa, 6:00- 8:00 pm, Butler County Extension Office
3
Extension Council, 7:00 pm
4
Private Pesticide Training, 9:30 – 11:30 am, Extension Office
8
Master Gardener Webinar, Working with Food Banks, 6:00 - 8:00 pm, Extension Office
9
Commercial Ag, Weed Training, 9:00 – 11:45 am, Butler County Extension Office
13
Iowa Small Farms Conference, Ames
15
Master Gardener Webinar, Best Practices for Food Safety, 6:00 – 8:00 pm, Butler County Extension Office
16
Windbreak Meeting, 1:30 – 3:00 pm, Butler County Extension Office
24
Seed Treatment, 9:00 – 11:30 am, Butler County Extension Office
March:
1-3
Hawkeye Farm Show, UNI
2
Ornamental & Turf Applicator Training, 9:00- 11:30 am, Butler County Extension Office
2
Extension Council, 7:00 pm
8-9
Annual Extension & Outreach Conference, Ames
12
Swine Weigh-In, 10:00 – 11:00 am, Butler County Fairgrounds
15
Evaluating Your Estate, Waverly
22
Certified Handlers, 9:00 – 11:30 am, Butler County Extension Office
28
28-1
FSQA Training, Hawkeye Community College Farm, Fennemann Center, 6:30 – 8:00 pm
Extension Week