I totally think this should be on the cover of all SPARK labels. This is the ultimate YEP this stuff works! Thanks Joe. Your the best.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Little miss Spark
I totally think this should be on the cover of all SPARK labels. This is the ultimate YEP this stuff works! Thanks Joe. Your the best.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
SPARK results
This is Lauren at the beach.
She was rewarded for taking her SPARK for two weeks.
We will have a test trial by taking her off of SPARK for a time so we can truly evaluate its effectiveness.
What a happy girl we have.
Here's our results for our two week test.
SPARK helps Lauren focus. It helps her little mind think faster and it helps her to be able to listen to and follow directions more easily.
Drawbacks: SPARK is the antagonist to sleep. Lauren is having a hard time settling down and getting to sleep at night.
Also: It really increases her energy. Perfect for an athlete, but not so ideal for a bouncing three year old who is already known as monkey.
All in all, we are really pleased with the results that we have found with this product and will continue to purchase SPARK.
Also, Lauren and her sister DID NOT CARE FOR the PINK LEMONADE, they much perferred the Orange, although sometimes it was hard to even get Lauren to take that too.
Congratulations SPARK, you have made our family pleased, especially my husband Tyler who is working on his fitness routine and trying to lose weight, also, thanks for allowing us to try this product for a test run. we are pleased with the ADVOCARE sport drink.
Liz
SPARK helps Lauren focus. It helps her little mind think faster and it helps her to be able to listen to and follow directions more easily.
Drawbacks: SPARK is the antagonist to sleep. Lauren is having a hard time settling down and getting to sleep at night.
Also: It really increases her energy. Perfect for an athlete, but not so ideal for a bouncing three year old who is already known as monkey.
All in all, we are really pleased with the results that we have found with this product and will continue to purchase SPARK.
Also, Lauren and her sister DID NOT CARE FOR the PINK LEMONADE, they much perferred the Orange, although sometimes it was hard to even get Lauren to take that too.
Congratulations SPARK, you have made our family pleased, especially my husband Tyler who is working on his fitness routine and trying to lose weight, also, thanks for allowing us to try this product for a test run. we are pleased with the ADVOCARE sport drink.
Liz
Friday, July 9, 2010
Roller coaster days.
Lauren has had some ups and down with her mood and her study habits. This is seeming to be more regular these days. Somedays she can concentrate and get alot accomplished, but with that, she seems to be bouncing off the walls. Not long afterwards, it is as though she is down on herself, almost depressed. I think she has some serious bi-polarness going on and I wonder how this SPARK is reacting with this. I hope to have more information on this, as I know the study with Texas Tech, was with ADD and ADHD but not with bi-polar children. I really need some more time to really take into account the many mood swings and the caffine effect. I am thinking of doing a study with some placebo orange juice mix our church makes that tastes alot like SPARK and tang to see some real effects with the caffine verses sugar content.
Lauren's dad has been taking it before work and has been satisfied with his ability to think faster and have energy.
I will try it out for a paper route I am helping with on Sunday to see if it will help me to stay away in the early hours. I have noticed a change in my sleep when I take SPARK, and my inabliltiy to stay asleep. I hope this is just something to get used to, or I won't be able to take it.
Lauren's dad has been taking it before work and has been satisfied with his ability to think faster and have energy.
I will try it out for a paper route I am helping with on Sunday to see if it will help me to stay away in the early hours. I have noticed a change in my sleep when I take SPARK, and my inabliltiy to stay asleep. I hope this is just something to get used to, or I won't be able to take it.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Tuesday July 6th, 2010
Early Childhood Education came by to see Whitney and set some new goals for her social development. Lauren was upstaging her sister pretty badly today and seemed to be a bit rambunctious. I had to set her in a time out chair twice and make her sit quietly a few times. Then she went to the table to color and interrupted me a few times. This morning she had not received SPARK. As I give her some, I hope this will help calm down this tasmanian devil, who really is just wanting some connection with the adults through distractions.
Sunday, the 4th of July
Today we went to church, and Lauren had a hard time sitting still and listening. She was very irreverent during the first meeting and had a hard time focusing in class.
Earlier in the week, we had been to her teacher's home to swim and enjoy dinner. Her teacher asked if I had given SPARK to her. Then she said, "if you have given her SPARK it is not working, but if you haven't it just might be, as she is different today than what I have seen earlier this week."
It is really hard at this stage to determine if the five little boys in her class get her going, or if she is just used to being a busy body at church and not listening intently, or if she is just acting out as a three year old is known for doing.
I hope to be able to see better improvements when she is with her peers, and hopefully, she will be able to focus more intently.
Also, I need to be a bit better at giving her SPARK at the same time without food each day. How am I going to do this before school?
This poses a difficult question.
Earlier in the week, we had been to her teacher's home to swim and enjoy dinner. Her teacher asked if I had given SPARK to her. Then she said, "if you have given her SPARK it is not working, but if you haven't it just might be, as she is different today than what I have seen earlier this week."
It is really hard at this stage to determine if the five little boys in her class get her going, or if she is just used to being a busy body at church and not listening intently, or if she is just acting out as a three year old is known for doing.
I hope to be able to see better improvements when she is with her peers, and hopefully, she will be able to focus more intently.
Also, I need to be a bit better at giving her SPARK at the same time without food each day. How am I going to do this before school?
This poses a difficult question.
Sunday July 4th
Lauren was pretty gittery at church this morning. I had a hard time getting her to sit down durning the meetings, and when it was time to be reverent.
In class, she was very distracted and had a hard time following the teacher and the rest of the classmates, which consisted of five boys and herself. I thought she should have been able to do better than she did. I don't know if this is due to the SPARK, or just her three year old behavior, and lack of wanting to be reverent and still.
Her teacher asked if I had given her SPARK and said, if so it's not working, if not, well it just might be, because she is different this morning than she was the rest of the week, as she had observed her at her own home while we went swimming.
The decision to continue is a hard one, but we will continue our study. The real test will be when the study is complete and the notes are compiled, and I take her off for a few days and study the differences.
Over the fourth, there has been some fireworks.
Wow,
I have a few things that I would like to point out. We have had such a crazy weekend around here and have been crazy busy. I have been taking notes and have a short in which to record them, so I will do my best, although I might have to revise them later.
Thursday and Friday were hard days for Lauren to focus. We had some upsets to our normal routine, which posed a few problems in her SPARK. I am grateful for this, as this will be a glimpse into what we will experiance in the future.
Lauren has been pretty good up to this point in taking her SPARK even though it was tough to get her to drink it sometimes without the bribe of 1/6 of a peice of Stride gum.
Thursday she surprised her daddy as we sat down to talk after dinner, and she sat down by daddy to trace her abc letters with a marker. She did the whole alphabet without wiping the previous letter off. She has never done this before, usually she is more caught up in the erasing of the letters than actually tracing them. We thought this was pretty significant in her progress.
Friday, she went with her older sister to go and watch some movies and play with some family friends of ours, unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to get her to drink her SPARK, and therefore have no evidence of what went on, Although the family she went with told us that she was delightful and that they would do that again. They spoiled them with McDonalds and skittles, sugar high.... oh my.
Saturday was the third of July and it was full of fun and activities and a whole lot of driving around. Lauren had a hard time settling down to a nap. It was really difficult for her brain to shut down. I wonder how this will affect her at school, and weather or not we will be able to get her to take a needed nap after she gets home to wind down.
All, in all, we have been pretty satisfied with her development, but notice that she is having a hard time staying in her bed at night. She seems to be up a few times a night, whether it is sleep walking or what not, we don't know. We do agree that she needs to get a better night's sleep, and we need to weigh the importance of good sleep with school work.
I have a few things that I would like to point out. We have had such a crazy weekend around here and have been crazy busy. I have been taking notes and have a short in which to record them, so I will do my best, although I might have to revise them later.
Thursday and Friday were hard days for Lauren to focus. We had some upsets to our normal routine, which posed a few problems in her SPARK. I am grateful for this, as this will be a glimpse into what we will experiance in the future.
Lauren has been pretty good up to this point in taking her SPARK even though it was tough to get her to drink it sometimes without the bribe of 1/6 of a peice of Stride gum.
Thursday she surprised her daddy as we sat down to talk after dinner, and she sat down by daddy to trace her abc letters with a marker. She did the whole alphabet without wiping the previous letter off. She has never done this before, usually she is more caught up in the erasing of the letters than actually tracing them. We thought this was pretty significant in her progress.
Friday, she went with her older sister to go and watch some movies and play with some family friends of ours, unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to get her to drink her SPARK, and therefore have no evidence of what went on, Although the family she went with told us that she was delightful and that they would do that again. They spoiled them with McDonalds and skittles, sugar high.... oh my.
Saturday was the third of July and it was full of fun and activities and a whole lot of driving around. Lauren had a hard time settling down to a nap. It was really difficult for her brain to shut down. I wonder how this will affect her at school, and weather or not we will be able to get her to take a needed nap after she gets home to wind down.
All, in all, we have been pretty satisfied with her development, but notice that she is having a hard time staying in her bed at night. She seems to be up a few times a night, whether it is sleep walking or what not, we don't know. We do agree that she needs to get a better night's sleep, and we need to weigh the importance of good sleep with school work.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
A few changes to note
(a picture from last Easter I thought was cute)
Okay, this is Thursday night, and we have had two days to observe a few changes we have seen in Lauren from before administering SPARK until now.
Lauren considerably listens more intently, and is able to answer questions and recall things we have taught her quicker.
She smiles more. This is a big difference even from last Sunday! We thought she was having some mild sadness or depressing mood swings (nothing uncommon from a 3 year old, but noted)
She is smiling and more silly today.
I usually mix up 4 oz in the morning, split it in half and give it to her an hour to two hours after breakfast without food, and then around 3 in the afternoon a few hours between meals without a snack. Today, my husband prepared the SPARK for Lauren. I didn't notice until she got into the fridge for her afternoon "dose" that he had made 8 ounces.
OH MY WHAT A DIFFERENCE 4 OUNCES MAKES.
Lauren considerably listens more intently, and is able to answer questions and recall things we have taught her quicker.
She smiles more. This is a big difference even from last Sunday! We thought she was having some mild sadness or depressing mood swings (nothing uncommon from a 3 year old, but noted)
She is smiling and more silly today.
I usually mix up 4 oz in the morning, split it in half and give it to her an hour to two hours after breakfast without food, and then around 3 in the afternoon a few hours between meals without a snack. Today, my husband prepared the SPARK for Lauren. I didn't notice until she got into the fridge for her afternoon "dose" that he had made 8 ounces.
OH MY WHAT A DIFFERENCE 4 OUNCES MAKES.
In fact, we noticed she tended to be on the bouncing off the walls side. WOW. we won't be doing that any time soon. She was still in a good mood, but seemed to be on a caffeine kick, which is a big deal, due to the fact we aren't coffee/ soda drinkers in our home and our caffeine intake is very very minute.
She was still able to focus more than before, but listening skills were a little harder.
At least we know now some limits and measurable quantities to work with.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Lauren before spark, Day 2
It has been noted by family members that she has a hard time answering questions on the spot, and has a hard time sitting down during quiet reading times. She is learning in her own right, but has a hard time staying with a group of children her own age. This is especially true at church in her Primary classes. Often her teacher asks me if I have noticed her ADD like symptoms and encourages me to do something to help Lauren, mostly because she knows that I am really envolved in their childhood, and I want what's best for them.
Today, we went to the library. Lauren had a hard time sitting still at the table and listening to me read to all of my girls. After we got home, I gave her some SPARK and she sat down quietly to look at a book by herself for 15 minutes. This was an awwwhhh hhaaa moment for me. We have a long way to go.
I hope this will help her be more courageous in her learning skills and help her learn her letters and numbers easier, also I hope it helps her see the letters for more than just symbols and put them together to help her create words. Today she asked how to spell mom and dad, and went around singing M O M is mom and D A D is dad.
So far I am pleased with this, though not sold completely on this product for helping her long term. we shall see.
Lauren after given spark drink
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Today was really a crazy day. It was really difficult for her to get going. In fact, there was a thirty minute break from the previous picture where she stopped coloring to this one where she started up again. She didn't have time to finish the page as we headed off to the library, but she sat more determined and less figity.
Concerns: what am I putting too much emphasis on and am I looking to much for something and missing other important elements of her development within this study. hopefully hide site will answer this question in a few days, and some of my adult friends who know and adore Lauren very well will be able to see some significant changes either for the good or bad, so we can really come to a conclusion to wether or not this drink makes significant enough changes to add it to our financial/ food budget every month.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Day 1, Monday June 28 2010
Lauren was in a pretty good mood to start off the day. I told her she was getting some SPARK pink lemonade. She said, " this is yum" even though it took about five minutes for her to drink the four ounces.
I cleared the glass from the table and put coloring pages on the table for the three girls, ages 5, 3, and 2. Then I put on the timer and gave them all a very small section of a piece of stride sugar free gum to chew as they colored and listened to their favorite thinking music in the background. It was time for me to set the timer for 20 minutes and I instructed them to color until the timer beeped.
Then I observed them all, while putting away dishes and taking notes.
This is what I saw:
1. The 5 and 2 year old colored slowly and steadily. Lauren stopped a few times and I encouraged her to keep coloring. I reminded them that they would be rewarded at the end of the twenty minutes with another small tidbit of gum. (this really gets Lauren's attention, better than pennies or other measures). She picks up the crayon and starts to color.
Two minutes later, she puts down the crayon and starts to suck her thumb, this lasts about two minutes. Her older sister encourages her and reminds her of the gum. She again picks up the crayon and begins to color more, this time asking me to help her. I decline, and encourage some more, then I remind her it's quiet time and she needs to do her paper by herself, and not distract her sisters. Three times in the first ten minutes she puts down her crayon and rests, as her sisters continue with their pages. the two year old finishes her page in 14 minutes and is dismissed from the table, to not be a distraction.
Lauren asks for help 4 times during this time, even though she is an excellent colorer. This is very typical of her as she has a hard time focusing. The last five minutes were more intense as she typically wants to get down and move onto something else, anything else. She finishes her page and it looks good. I reward the girls after the ten minutes and they hang up their art work on the fridge for daddy to see like they do every day.
20 minutes later, Lauren asks to do homework, this surprises me and I put her up to the table with a crayon and a blank piece of paper. This is a small hhhmmmm moment for me.
After her 3:00 nap she took for forty minutes, I gave her her second four ounce amount of Spark. then we headed off to the friends house that gave us the SPARK to try, and ate with them.
Notes:
Lauren was more pleasant today and didn't ask the same questions repeatedly. She seemed to listen more intently, and was calmer in her playtime with her sisters.
Her dad noticed that she responded differently than usual when he asked her to do something.
She finished lunch quicker than normal. It was chicken nuggets, one of her favorites, and ate her pizza for dinner without complaining about what was on it is record time. Is this a coincidence, or just because she liked the food? We shall see.
Concerns and questions: Is four ounces twice a day the correct amount. Will it affect Lauren to take it with meal or does it need to be between meals.
How much caffine is there compared to other products like candy bars verses the red bull drinks and does it really get the amino acids to the brain or just stimulate the reciever?
I cleared the glass from the table and put coloring pages on the table for the three girls, ages 5, 3, and 2. Then I put on the timer and gave them all a very small section of a piece of stride sugar free gum to chew as they colored and listened to their favorite thinking music in the background. It was time for me to set the timer for 20 minutes and I instructed them to color until the timer beeped.
Then I observed them all, while putting away dishes and taking notes.
This is what I saw:
1. The 5 and 2 year old colored slowly and steadily. Lauren stopped a few times and I encouraged her to keep coloring. I reminded them that they would be rewarded at the end of the twenty minutes with another small tidbit of gum. (this really gets Lauren's attention, better than pennies or other measures). She picks up the crayon and starts to color.
Two minutes later, she puts down the crayon and starts to suck her thumb, this lasts about two minutes. Her older sister encourages her and reminds her of the gum. She again picks up the crayon and begins to color more, this time asking me to help her. I decline, and encourage some more, then I remind her it's quiet time and she needs to do her paper by herself, and not distract her sisters. Three times in the first ten minutes she puts down her crayon and rests, as her sisters continue with their pages. the two year old finishes her page in 14 minutes and is dismissed from the table, to not be a distraction.
Lauren asks for help 4 times during this time, even though she is an excellent colorer. This is very typical of her as she has a hard time focusing. The last five minutes were more intense as she typically wants to get down and move onto something else, anything else. She finishes her page and it looks good. I reward the girls after the ten minutes and they hang up their art work on the fridge for daddy to see like they do every day.
20 minutes later, Lauren asks to do homework, this surprises me and I put her up to the table with a crayon and a blank piece of paper. This is a small hhhmmmm moment for me.
After her 3:00 nap she took for forty minutes, I gave her her second four ounce amount of Spark. then we headed off to the friends house that gave us the SPARK to try, and ate with them.
Notes:
Lauren was more pleasant today and didn't ask the same questions repeatedly. She seemed to listen more intently, and was calmer in her playtime with her sisters.
Her dad noticed that she responded differently than usual when he asked her to do something.
She finished lunch quicker than normal. It was chicken nuggets, one of her favorites, and ate her pizza for dinner without complaining about what was on it is record time. Is this a coincidence, or just because she liked the food? We shall see.
Concerns and questions: Is four ounces twice a day the correct amount. Will it affect Lauren to take it with meal or does it need to be between meals.
How much caffine is there compared to other products like candy bars verses the red bull drinks and does it really get the amino acids to the brain or just stimulate the reciever?
Lessons with Lauren
Lauren is our second child. She is three years old.
She has an older sister a year older than she is. And two younger sisters.
She is very cute, and she knows it, along with being adored and doted over by friends and family.
Her personality brightens up each day, and she is a social butterfly of the most magnificent colors.
She loves to cuddle and sit alongside adults to take in whatever it is that they are doing. She is a brave little girl, and loves to show off. She is our MONKEY.
Lauren has a hard time focusing. She gets distracted over the smallest things. She has a hard time expressing her desires and her feelings with words, so she does it with actions. She does it very well and has been known to hide her insecurities with her bright smile and her delightful personality. She is left handed and is one of the most creative little girls. She loves to draw and cut with scissors, however, she finds it very very difficult to sit down and follow directions even with her peers.
She loves to interrupt for an important Lauren message that can carry on for some time. Often, we remind her that it isn't always her turn to speak, or that our ears are tired. She continues with her little quirky antics anyway.
I discussed a few of her little nuances with our pediatrician. I mentioned my concern over her ability to express the things she knew like her numbers and colors. I noticed how she would almost shut down when someone asked her a thought provoking question, and she would hide behind her thumb. I noticed how hard it was for her to tell me something important and get her thoughts across. I was concerned with her inability to eat dinner without getting distracted even if it was a bowl of ice cream or a cup of milk, or her favorite snack.
Lauren was cute all right, but a twit of sorts. Some would say she was just the typical blond. I felt there was more to that. I wanted to find some answers.
I adjusted her diet a few times. I added more protein, better sleeping habits. I watched her as we constantly, consistently tried a few new things and tweaked a few existing things.
Lauren started to get a bit down on herself as she tried and tried to actively participate and learn new things. She wasn't being naughty, she was just being disruptive in her own way of trying to cooperated and be apart of the activities.
The pediatrician and I discussed a few things that might add to Lauren's plate of learning difficulties. First, that she was left handed in a right-handed family, or that she was the second child following after a very intelligent older sister who read at the age of three.
Maybe because her grandfather was diagnosed highly bi-polar and most of her uncles had learning disabilities and ADHD or ADD growing up. Maybe her mother's dyslexia. Maybe just that she was three.
The pediatrician didn't necessarily recommend or endorse Ritalin or it's counterparts or anything else, but wanted me to know about something she had heard about by a study performed at Texas Tech, about a study of known ADHD kids put on a sports nutritional drink called SPARK produced by a company called Advocare. She sent me the link to the study and told me their were lots of alternatives to chemicals and prescription drugs. So I looked up the product and the study via the link she emailed me, and considered buying Spark to try it out. I put the link in a file on my desk top to consider it later.
About a month later, I called Lauren's grandmother to discuss the possibilities of trying a few things to help her to concentrate, learn easier and be successful, she suggested trying the SPARK drink. I thought about it stronger this time and went to the website to check the pricing. Then I let it ride for a few days.
Saturday, June 26th 2010 I was at a neighbor's house and noticed SPARK on her counter, I got all excited and started asking her all sorts of questions about it, assuming she knew something about it. Well, she had NO clue what it was. It belonged to her niece and nephew, they were visiting for a few days for some conferences and she was watching their kids. As she said was that they were sports buffs and like to eat healthy and they drank it. I waited to meet them and ask them more about the products.
Come to find out, they sold Advocare, and were new to the organization, but really liked the drink. They had heard it was good for older kids with hyperactivity disorders, but didn't know much about the effects of the study done by Texas Tech. They too were interested to learn more.
I thought about it late that night, and thought, it was worth my effort to put my three year old on SPARK and document the results on a blog. If it worked, we would continue using it and would allow my other girls to try it and monitor them as well.
So... this blog is dedicated to the study of SPARK drink. on my active twitter bug/ monkey of a daughter.
My plan is to try it for 14 days, administering it to her in four ounce increments twice a day.
I will then have her do her coloring and counting and writing exercises she is accustomed to, but monitor her results with what we typically see, and note any changes from the norm or old norm if things progress in her learning.
This blog my become tedious and cumbersome, but I plan to do a through job, as I can always edit or remove mundane data at a later date, but will find it hard to put it in at a later date if it is not documented. I will however use the skill of hind site to note anything I may have noticed in order to try to make the most accurate account of weather SPARK works for her, and weather or not we should pursue adding it to our diet, or our kids' daily regimen.
Here goes. Honestly, I am keeping an open mind to the results, and I am not looking for some miracle cure. Really my design in doing this is to note the little changes in hopes of finding something that will make it easier for my little girl to focus and learn. I do not know what the outcome will be, and at this point it is a fifty-fifty chance at weather or not this stuff works.
Also, I would like to note that a few of my friends have stated that they would like to see if this works as to consider it for their own children, which make me want to do a good thorough job at observing and documenting any results that I find. Also, it has been suggested that after the two weeks, I should take her off for a few days and observe any changes that way to see if it works. I might just do that, really I don't know at this time if I will.
Wish me luck, or rather, wish Lauren luck as this is her trial and I am just the administrator and loving parent that would love to see her succeed, even if this isn't the solution.
Liz
She has an older sister a year older than she is. And two younger sisters.
She is very cute, and she knows it, along with being adored and doted over by friends and family.
Her personality brightens up each day, and she is a social butterfly of the most magnificent colors.
She loves to cuddle and sit alongside adults to take in whatever it is that they are doing. She is a brave little girl, and loves to show off. She is our MONKEY.
Lauren has a hard time focusing. She gets distracted over the smallest things. She has a hard time expressing her desires and her feelings with words, so she does it with actions. She does it very well and has been known to hide her insecurities with her bright smile and her delightful personality. She is left handed and is one of the most creative little girls. She loves to draw and cut with scissors, however, she finds it very very difficult to sit down and follow directions even with her peers.
She loves to interrupt for an important Lauren message that can carry on for some time. Often, we remind her that it isn't always her turn to speak, or that our ears are tired. She continues with her little quirky antics anyway.
I discussed a few of her little nuances with our pediatrician. I mentioned my concern over her ability to express the things she knew like her numbers and colors. I noticed how she would almost shut down when someone asked her a thought provoking question, and she would hide behind her thumb. I noticed how hard it was for her to tell me something important and get her thoughts across. I was concerned with her inability to eat dinner without getting distracted even if it was a bowl of ice cream or a cup of milk, or her favorite snack.
Lauren was cute all right, but a twit of sorts. Some would say she was just the typical blond. I felt there was more to that. I wanted to find some answers.
I adjusted her diet a few times. I added more protein, better sleeping habits. I watched her as we constantly, consistently tried a few new things and tweaked a few existing things.
Lauren started to get a bit down on herself as she tried and tried to actively participate and learn new things. She wasn't being naughty, she was just being disruptive in her own way of trying to cooperated and be apart of the activities.
The pediatrician and I discussed a few things that might add to Lauren's plate of learning difficulties. First, that she was left handed in a right-handed family, or that she was the second child following after a very intelligent older sister who read at the age of three.
Maybe because her grandfather was diagnosed highly bi-polar and most of her uncles had learning disabilities and ADHD or ADD growing up. Maybe her mother's dyslexia. Maybe just that she was three.
The pediatrician didn't necessarily recommend or endorse Ritalin or it's counterparts or anything else, but wanted me to know about something she had heard about by a study performed at Texas Tech, about a study of known ADHD kids put on a sports nutritional drink called SPARK produced by a company called Advocare. She sent me the link to the study and told me their were lots of alternatives to chemicals and prescription drugs. So I looked up the product and the study via the link she emailed me, and considered buying Spark to try it out. I put the link in a file on my desk top to consider it later.
About a month later, I called Lauren's grandmother to discuss the possibilities of trying a few things to help her to concentrate, learn easier and be successful, she suggested trying the SPARK drink. I thought about it stronger this time and went to the website to check the pricing. Then I let it ride for a few days.
Saturday, June 26th 2010 I was at a neighbor's house and noticed SPARK on her counter, I got all excited and started asking her all sorts of questions about it, assuming she knew something about it. Well, she had NO clue what it was. It belonged to her niece and nephew, they were visiting for a few days for some conferences and she was watching their kids. As she said was that they were sports buffs and like to eat healthy and they drank it. I waited to meet them and ask them more about the products.
Come to find out, they sold Advocare, and were new to the organization, but really liked the drink. They had heard it was good for older kids with hyperactivity disorders, but didn't know much about the effects of the study done by Texas Tech. They too were interested to learn more.
I thought about it late that night, and thought, it was worth my effort to put my three year old on SPARK and document the results on a blog. If it worked, we would continue using it and would allow my other girls to try it and monitor them as well.
So... this blog is dedicated to the study of SPARK drink. on my active twitter bug/ monkey of a daughter.
My plan is to try it for 14 days, administering it to her in four ounce increments twice a day.
I will then have her do her coloring and counting and writing exercises she is accustomed to, but monitor her results with what we typically see, and note any changes from the norm or old norm if things progress in her learning.
This blog my become tedious and cumbersome, but I plan to do a through job, as I can always edit or remove mundane data at a later date, but will find it hard to put it in at a later date if it is not documented. I will however use the skill of hind site to note anything I may have noticed in order to try to make the most accurate account of weather SPARK works for her, and weather or not we should pursue adding it to our diet, or our kids' daily regimen.
Here goes. Honestly, I am keeping an open mind to the results, and I am not looking for some miracle cure. Really my design in doing this is to note the little changes in hopes of finding something that will make it easier for my little girl to focus and learn. I do not know what the outcome will be, and at this point it is a fifty-fifty chance at weather or not this stuff works.
Also, I would like to note that a few of my friends have stated that they would like to see if this works as to consider it for their own children, which make me want to do a good thorough job at observing and documenting any results that I find. Also, it has been suggested that after the two weeks, I should take her off for a few days and observe any changes that way to see if it works. I might just do that, really I don't know at this time if I will.
Wish me luck, or rather, wish Lauren luck as this is her trial and I am just the administrator and loving parent that would love to see her succeed, even if this isn't the solution.
Liz
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