National Heart Month

My mom suffered from a heart attack when I was in fifth grade... I remember my dad explaining it to me. We got out books and he showed me the body and I can't really remember anything from that night except he said your moms heart stopped. The dr jumped on top of her and used this machine. He did it several times and he was so scared she would not make it. I remember the first night going to see her. The smell the noises the scene. Nightmares....

Flash forward many years later to 2007. My mom had suffered from a MAJOR stroke followed by another mini heart attack and stroke. Why the stroke? The clots were formed by the "dead" part of her heart caused by the first heart attack.

Heart disease runs in my family. I have had grandparents who have passed away from it... great grandparents... etc.

So why do I teach Kindergarteners about how to keep our hearts healthy.... because I have a very sensitive part in my heart and know how important it is.

Last year was the first year we did a two week unit in my class on heart health. It was a success and I brought it back again this year! We touch on some things about bad hearts... more because the class brings up things they know "Your heart can be black if you smoke" etc. In no way do I want to scare them!

So we put a positive spin on it! Keeping our hearts healthy will let us live till we are very very very old and we will be able to run in races and exercise and play etc.

So we talk and do things to bring awareness to our families and each other.

Here is a video I had to put together for my ESL tech. class. I will show it to my class when I get back from being sick! :) Enjoy! These are things we have talked about in our Kindergarten classroom!

http://youtu.be/ladnNW0PtoU


Oh and heres a picture of my mom and I just a few years ago! She is doing so much better but the stroke did take the women she was away and is having to learn a different life... She does not have control of her right side of her body as well as other things. But she sure is a strong women and a fighter!