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It may only be mid-March, but now is the time for high school students to start looking for summer jobs. With the economy still sluggish, many jobs that students would normally take, may be filled by adults who are struggling financially.
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So how should you go about looking for summer work?
- Start Now. There’s a lot of competition for summer jobs, and the sooner you start looking, the more likely you are to find something.
- Make a List. List all the skills you have. Use your education, hobbies, volunteer and paid work to come up with your skills.
- Create a Resume. Even if you’ve never had a job before, you can make a one page resume and include your contact info, your education, any awards you’ve had, hobbies and any work or volunteer experience you’ve had.
- Use Your Contacts. The number way to success for most anything you will do in your life is by networking. Talk to your parents, teachers, friends, neighbors, volunteer contacts and anyone else you know who may be of help. You’ll have your resume handy to show just how serious you are about finding work.
- Think Local. Take a drive around your community and make a list of the different businesses nearby. Then see what you can find out about those businesses on the internet. Call the manager and ask if that business is hiring for the summer. Be ultra professional on the phone and polite. If that business is not hiring, the manager may make suggestions to you about other places that might have openings.
- Make Yourself Wanted. Practice a one sentence explanation of why a business should hire you. “I am very responsible and have 500 hours of volunteer experience at my church helping deliver food for the poor.”
- Be Neat. Be Prompt. If you are asked to come in to speak to a manager about a job, be on time. Do not show enter the workplace more than 5 minutes before your appointment, and by all means do not be late. Make sure you are properly dressed. If you are interviewing for a job at a plant nursery or a fast food restaurant, don’t show up in a suit. But do wear clean clothing and closed shoes. No flip flops! Have a pair of khaki pants, a polo shirt and loafers ready for interviews.
- Say thanks. Be sure to always be polite and say thank you when you speak to others on the phone or go on interviews. This may seem like a no-brainer – but trust me – not enough people have the courtesy to say thank you these days. And if you do say thanks, you will stand out in the crowd. If at any time, a person goes out of his or her way to help you, write a short note of thanks and stick it in the mail.
- Follow Up. People who own and manage businesses can get so busy that they forget to call. So don’t be shy about following up. It’s okay to call a person you spoke to or met with to remind them that you are still available. But be sure not to overdo it. If you do not hear back after one or two calls, you can assume there is no job opening for you.
- Create Your Own Income. If you cannot find work, you can create it. Pet sitting, dog walking, errand-running and tutoring are few of many ideas. You’ll need to create some business card and flyers on your computer and start letting your friends and neighbors know what you’re up to.
- Be responsible. Do what you say you are going to do. If you are fortunate enough o get
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You may have read a story about a boy who is 13 and is trying to reach the peak of Mount Everest. Here’s an article about it in thr NY Times. This young man is risking his life to stake the claim that he is the youngest person to ever reach the peak (his father is on the journey with him). Is it worth it? I suppose if he safely makes it there and back, he’ll sure think so. But soon after he celebrates, someone will come along and blow his record away. “Toddler Climbs Mount Everest Alone in One Week in Diapers.”
There’s another story about a young man named Adam Wheeler who allegedly faked all of his academic records (and claimed to have a perfect SAT score) to get into Harvard and obtain scholarships and grants. He allegedly lied about where he went to college and faked transcripts. He even falsely claimed to author and co-author a long list of books. His ability to fool the pros (for a while) gave him opportunities that should have gone to other authentically accomplished students. Rather than achieving, this young man seemed to be spending his energy scheming. Just imagine if he had put all this effort into actually doing well in school rather than lying! Was there pressure on him by his parents to achieve? How did they not know he was lying to get in? Is he just an extreme example of what the pressure can do to be the best and the brightest?
As a parent of a child who just graduated from high school and survived the college app process, I can tell you that competition among children is getting fiercer and fiercer. When I was graduating from high school, outstanding students never paid for college; they received countless scholarship opportunities. Now there are so many superstar students, not only do colleges not need to offer them scholarships, they don’t even need to accept them into their schools. Students graduate from high school today with a long list of AP credits, academic distinctions, perfect test scores, essay awards, thousands of community service hours, music and dance competitions and on and on.
When is there time to be a kid when you are spending so much time trying to be perfect? Attempting to be better than everyone else in some way? Does all this overachieving really pay off or is there a price to be paid for it?
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If you are looking for a pediatrician for your newborn or just want to change your child’s doctor, here’s how to go about it. Talk to other parents with kids older than yours and find out what doctors parents like best. You can also call the local hospital for referrals. Ask other parents as well as the pediatrician’s office manager the following questions:
- How would you rate the office when it comes to getting an appointment when your child is sick?
- Is the staff friendly?
- How long do you usually wait?
- Is the office clean?
- Are there separate “well waiting rooms” and a sick waiting rooms” or is everyone thrown together?
- Is there a special waiting room for newborns?
- Do you always see your own doctor, or do you just see whoever is available there?
- How’s the bedside manner?
- Do you do blood work at the office or do you send it out?
- Do you take my insurance?
- Do you take credit cards for co-payments?
There’s nothing wrong with visiting the office just to see what it is like inside, before signing up. In addition, do an online search with the doctor’s name to see if he or she has any malpractice claims against him/her. It’s amazing what you can find out about a person just searching. (I Googled this weirdo MD I once had, and found out that he was arrested in 2001 for illegal drug possession.)
Over the years I’ve figured out how to work the pediatrician’s office system. For example, if my child is sick at night, I start calling the office a minute or so before it opens so I can be one of the first to get an appointment. You cannot expect to call at 3pm and get in to see a doctor. Another tip is that I do not use doctors who are the heads of different children’s departments at the hospital. They make you wait so long, because they get stuck at the hospitals with emergencies in the morning.
Before you take your child in, whether he is sick or just getting a check-up, be prepared with questions. There’s nothing more frustrating than leaving and then realizing you forgot to ask the doctor something important. Good luck getting him on the phone later. But also, mind the doctor’s time. I don’t like it when other parents chit-chat for a long time and make me wait. So I want to be courteous to the doctor and other parents as well.
The most important part of any doctor’s visit is washing your hands and your child’s hands upon leaving. I actually wash my hands in the examining room while waiting for the doctor to come in. I wash them again when leaving. And again when getting home – and I do this thoroughly! When my daughter was small, I supervised while she washed and encouraged her to play in the suds a bit. With all those kids coughing, sneezing, pooping, peeing and vomiting in the office, you’ve gotta do your best not to bring those germs home.
My apologies – there’s simply no other way I could have said that.
Clip art copyrighted by Bobbie Peachey,
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I thought it would be interesting to research many different statistics about American children. Here are some of the countless fascinating facts I discovered:
Health
Obesity
In a NHANES II survey of the Prevalence of Obesity in Children ages 2-19 years
- Ages 2 through 5 - In 1976-1980 study, 5% were obese. In 2003-2006 study, 12.4% were obese.
- Ages 6 through 11 - In 1976-1980 study, 6.5% were obese. In 2003-2006 study,17.0%were obese.
- Ages 12 through 19 – In 1976-1980 study, 5% were obese. In 2003-2006 study, 17.6% were obese.
Source: http://www.cdc.gov
Autism
Experts estimate that two to six children out of every 1,000 will have autism. Males are four times more likely to have autism than females.
We can estimate that up to 500,000 individuals younger than 21 have autism.
Source: http://autism.emedtv.com
Education
Gifted
The National Association for Gifted Children estimates there are around 3 million academically gifted children in grades K-12 in the U.S. That’s about 6% of the student population.
Source: http://www.nagc.org
Students who study music test better. Those who took courses in music performance and music appreciation scored higher in the SAT than those who did not participate in the arts. Music performance students scored 53 points higher on the verbal and 39 points higher on the math.
Source: http://www.childrensmusicworkshop.com
Literacy
One child in four in the US grows up not knowing how to read.
85 percent of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate.
Source: http://www.begintoread.com
Attendance
The number of elementary school-age children (ages 5 through 13) declined by 381,000 while the number of their high school-age counterparts (ages 14 through 17) increased by 329,000 between 2003 and 2004.
Graduation
The last census shows that high school graduation rates for women (ages 25 years and older) continued to exceed those of men, 85.4 percent and 84.9 percent, respectively. But 28.9 percent of men had a bachelor’s degree or higher compared to 26.5 percent of women.
Utah, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire and Alaska continued to have the highest proportions of people 25 years and older with a high school diploma or higher (around 92 percent).
Source: http://www.census.gov
Smoking, Alcohol and Substance Abuse
Cigarettes
About 40% of adolescents ages 12–17 years have tried smoking cigarettes, including a few puffs, in their lifetime.
Overall, Mexican American adolescents (41%) and non-Hispanic white adolescents (41%) had a higher prevalence of ever having tried smoking cigarettes, compared with non-Hispanic black adolescents (34%)
Alcohol
Sixteen percent of adolescents aged 12–17 years had their first alcoholic drink before age 13. Among those adolescents who had an alcoholic drink, 37% did so before age 13
Eighteen percent of males and 14% of females aged 12–17 years reported drinking before age 13.
Overall, 21% percent of adolescents
Are you an Eco-Hero? Do you know an Eco-Hero?
Our friends at Action For Nature, a San Francisco-based non-profit, are now taking applications for the 2010 International Young Eco-Hero Awards! The awards recognize accomplishments of young people (ages 8 – 16) whose personal actions have significantly improved the environment. Award recipients will receive up to $500 cash, an award certificate, and other forms of recognition. The application deadline is February 28, 2010.
Their judges are experts in environmental science, biology and environmental health. They select Young Eco-Heroes from applicants from around the world. They are looking for young people to follow in their footsteps.
Kevin Huo, First Place Winner (Grade 4-5) of our “I Love Costa Rica’s Rain Forest Contest!” won an award from Action for Nature.
Please find more information, including guidelines and the application form, at www.actionfornature.org.
Action For Nature, Inc.
2269 Chestnut Street, #263
San Francisco, CA 94123
Phone: 415-513-2421
Kevin Huo is the First Place Winner in the 4-5th Grade Category in Smart Poodle Publishing’s recent “I Love Costa Rica’s Rain Forest!” Contest. The extraordinary artistic talents of this ten-year-old from Northern California astonished the contest judges and many contest followers as well. As soon as Kevin received his prizes in the mail (thank you Rand McNally!) he called me to say thank you! No one ever calls to thank me, so I was impressed. I asked Kevin (and his parents) if he would be interested in doing an interview. He said yes. Read on for answers many questions you may have about what inspires him to paint. You’ll also learn more about Kevin’s commitment to Green Living.
Kevin Huo, Age 10
Before we ask Kevin some questions, here is a list of awards he has won:
Smart Poodle Publishing “I Love Costa Rica’s Rain Forest!” Writing and Art Contest – Kevin’s spectacular painting of Costa Rica and clever story landed him First Place in the 4th-5th Grade Category.
Kevin’s award-winning entry “Living Color: Costa Rican Rain Forest”
Go Green SamTram Bus Contest – When he was in third grade Kevin won the Grand Prize for this contest for his painting of a bus with an energy conservation theme, reducing the carbon in our atmosphere. His artwork was featured on some of the actual SamTram buses and on the bus passes.
Kevin’s spectacular art was displayed on Sam Tram buses
Filoli Art Contest – The San Mateo County Board of Education and the Filoli organization sponsored an art contest. Filoli is an historic country estate that is part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. For this contest, Kevin created a painting of the California countryside.
Action For Nature Young Eco Hero Awards- This nonprofit organization in San Francisco encourages young people to take personal action to better their environments, and to foster love and respect for nature. Kevin was honored for his environmental activism. Click here to see the pdf.
Town of Atherton, CA Evironmental Program Contest – While in 2nd Grade, Kevin won the Grand prize for his title Green Kid Saves the World.
10 Comments on Interview with Kevin Huo – Remarkable 10-Year-Old Artist and Advocate of Green Living, last added: 1/7/2010
I love to talk to my daughter about unusual topics. And I mean weird. Last night we discussed humans walking upright, versus on all fours. The other night it was all about how amazing our skin is, keeping us altogether, so to speak.
Here are 6 questions to pose for conversations that will really make you and your children think:
- What if we could not read? What would be missing out on?
- What if there is another planet out there, with humans living on it, we do not yet know about?
- What if every single person in America were well educated? Would that pose any challenges for our society?to your
- What if everyone sees different colors, but we do not know it because we see what we see.
- What if you could ask the President of the USA for one favor? What would that be?
- What was life like before computers, cell phones, ipods and even CDs? (Tell your kids about typing papers in college on onion skin paper!)
By: Debbie,
on 3/8/2009
Blog:
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Paint eggs with white glue and wrap embroidery floss around eggs
Experiment with acrylic paint
A fish and a pig (pipe cleaners, googly eyes, feathers)
Decoupage overlapping tissue paper
Decoupage paper cutouts
More fun with acrylic paint
Regal looking eggs with acrylic paint and metallic gold paint
Top of regal looking eggs
Every year since she was 2, my daughter and I have decorated Easter eggs. We blow them out using an old air compressor (made for asthma medication) and clean and dry them well. Start by using a pin to poke tiny holes in one end of the egg until they connect into a hole larger enough for the egg to drain out. Do this on the opposite end as well. Have patience because you don’t want to break the egg shell. You don’t have to have a compressor to blow out the contents. I know that you can do this with your mouth, as I have read online. But this seems yucky to me and maybe not all that healthy. If you have any other suggestions for our readers, please post a comment about it.
We keep and display the eggs year after year, and we give them away as gifts too. These photos represent just a fraction of our huge collection. They are so fun to make and so beautiful! I hope we inspired you to spend some time this year making eggs. They store very well in a box, especially if you put Easter grass on the bottom of the box. Happy decorating!
Happy President’s Day!
The third Monday of February is Presidents Day in the USA. It started with a celebration of George Washington’s birthday, February 22, 1732, and now it is a celebration of all the Presidents of the US.
Most children do not have school on this day. And if you work for a bank, school or government office, you do not have to work either. Yeah! In addition to enjoying your day off with your family, take this opportunity to learn, with your children, about one or more US presidents (great and not-so-great!). Ask your children to pick one or two past Presidents and see what you can learn. Make sure to find out where he was born so you can find that place on the US map.
The streets in my town are named after Presidents. One of the lesser-known presidents has Pierce Street named after him, so I did a little research to learn more about him. After all, he has a street named after him in my town, so shouldn’t I know a little something about him?
Franklin Pierce
- 14th US President (served from 1853-1857)
- At the time he was 49, the youngest President to be elected
- Political Party - Democrat
- Born 1804 in NH
- Died in 1869
- Education - Bowdoin College (studied law and graduated in 1824)
- Wife - Jane Means Appleton
- 3 Sons, all of whom died
- Former Fist Lady Barbara Pierce Bush is a descendant of Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce had a long political career, serving in the House and the Senate before becoming President.He was also a General in the Mexican-American War. During his presidency, he lived with great personal tragedy, as he and his wife, Jane, lost their first 2 sons at birth. Their 3rd son was killed in a train accident at age 11. Jane was understandably in a terrible state following his death, and was said to have never recovered from the tragedy.
Pierce ’s presidency was best known for the passing of the controversial Kansas-Nebraska Act, a bill introduced by Senator Stephen Douglas. Essentially it allowed the new territories to choose slavery (or not) for themselves, overturning the 1820 Missouri Compromise (which regulated slavery). The Kansas-Nebraska Act resulted in massive protesting and turmoil for Pierce. The ramifications changed history, as some outraged Democrats bonded with Whigs and others to create the Republican Party.
Pierce was unable to obtain a nomination by his party for a second presidential term. He was believed by many to be a “weak” President and was succeeded by fellow Democrat, James Buchanan.
Reference: The Reader’s companion to the American Presidency. 2000. Edited by Alan Brinkley and Davis Dyer.
Want to feel renewed and energized in the new year? Take down all your holiday decorations and put them away! It is so inspiring to just get rid of the cutter and clean up all the dust bunnies that collect during December. I love to put up the decorations and lights, but I equally enjoy taking them down after the new year. If I find any broken ornaments or lights that no longer work, I get rid of them if they cant be fixed.
What is the deal with pine needles? This is the first year I had a real tree. Wow, what a mess with the sap and the needles. ur tree was not dying at at all either. My daughter and I had a hard time lifting the trunk out of the tree stand. We did not want to spill the water. When we finally succeeded, we walked the tree out the front door and all the way around the house to the back alley so we would not drag the needles through the house. I am grateful for wood floors, and cannot even imagine having pine needles stuck in carpeting. I don’t think it would be possible to get those needles out of a deep rug. Despite that mess, the live tree was beautiful.
Now I say having no tree is beautiful as well.
Happy cleaning.
My Mom asked me to write an entry for her tonight . . .
Looking through some old journals from 4th grade, I came across a number of nonsense poems I wrote during “Reflection” time. I’m not sure whether to be embarrased or afraid- nonetheless, they were pretty entertaining. I was actually good at maintaining rhyme schemes and meter, but the content makes no sense whatsoever. Here’s one of the better ones that actually makes some kind of logical sense:
A frog, a stick, a shell, a stone
a paper clip, a chicken bone
a feather quill, a piece of string
a lady bug, a beetle wing
potato chips and soggy fries
Plus something I can’t recognize
A broken watch, a plastic cow
That’s what’s in my pocket now
And here’s a weirder one:
Do you have a ruler for measuring things?
Do you have a ruler that lets you sing?
Well I have a ruler
The best one in the world!
At first it looks straight
and then it looks curled!
I’m telling you it’s the best one!
That’s all for now!
I think I’m done.
Nine year olds can be pretty funny.
- Parent slapping/hitting his or her child
- Parent embarrassing child in public by scolding loudly
- Parent not responding when kid is calling, “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy ” 1,000 times
- Child dangerously climbing all over shopping cart in store and parent not paying attention
- Parent leaving very young child in cart and walking far away in store
- Parent speaking to child in a very condescending tone and enjoying strangers listening in
- Child having temper tantrum and parent ignoring it
- Child licking filthy dirty shopping cart and parent not doing anything to stop it
- 2 children beating each other up and parent not stopping it
- Parent giving babies very unhealthy inappropriate foods
I just returned from watching my daughter’s school play - Cinderella. Rachel is the accompanist for this play and all the other musicals at the school. The actors were so creative, and this got me thinking . . .
What makes kids more creative? Without a doubt it has a lot to do with having creative a parent(s). If children grow up in an environment where they are allowed to think for themselves and do their own work, they will be more creative. Creativity is certainly suppressed in children who have parents who schedule so many activities for them that they have no time for their imagination to stir. Also, creative people like to laugh a lot and have fun often, and often say things that are a bit off the wall. So if children are part of a family that likes to laugh it up and be silly, they will be more inspired to create.
When I was very young, I loved to write poetry, and a lot of it was extremely crazy. I also recall being drawn to art in many different forms from a very young age, and taking long periods of time to look at paintings, sculptures, photographs and other forms of art (and then think about what they mean). My sister and I also loved to perform for family members, making up plays and putting together our own props and costumes. We’d have a fake stage and set up chairs and invite family and friends to come to our theater. Neither of us could hold a tune but we were always singing. (I still feel sorry for the family members who had to listen to our horrid voices all those years!) Those day were so much fun.
I am certain that everyone on earth is creative in some way or another. Each person must simply make sure his or her environment is conducive to creativity. Parents can do that for their children and for themselves. We can never have too many creative minds in this world!
Yesterday I opened my mail box and was greeted by a huge envelope full of the most adorable hand-written thank you notes (for my Author Visit Day a couple of weeks ago) from the students at The Village School in Naples. They put a lot of effort into their words and drawings, and reading these was clearly one of the highlights of my career as a writer.
I see bright futures and successful careers for these students, because they know the RIGHT way to make others remember who they are. In 25 years, I will still remember them.
We just announced our Writing Contest for Librarians a few weeks ago, and already entries have been coming in. And I have to say they are looking good! So if you have not entered, please start writing your most interesting, funniest, most touching, most ironic, most endearing or most whatever you wish story describing “What I Wish Everyone Knew About Librarians.” The grand prize winner will receive $500, 2nd place winner will receive $100 and 3rd place winner will receive $50 just in time for holiday shopping! Click here for the full entry rules.
We are just a few weeks away from announcing our 3 winners from our Kids Travel Writing Contest. The deadline to enter is September 1st, so tell all the kids you know to get writing. Each winner will receive a check for $25 and an autographed copy of The Travel Adventures of Lilly P Badilly: Costa RIca. Click here for the full entry rules.
More and more we are reading and hearing about global warming, pollution and environmental protection. How can we raise our children to understand the importance of protecting our natural environment? Lilly P Badilly loves Costa Rica because she respects the environment and the creatures that live in it. Costa Rica would not be home to 5% of the world’s biodiversity if it were not for that fact that 25% of this country is protected wildlife.
Here are simple ways you can start teaching your kids without alarming them:
- Kids love animals! Explain to young children that animals thrive when they have a clean, safe place to live. Read stories to them about animals they love. (Millipedes!)
- When they are old enough, discuss deforestation with your kids. They can research this further on their own and learn about the organizations that strive to help save the world’s forests. I like this website: http://www.tqnyc.org/NYC052139/Prevent.htm
- Talk to your children about conserving energy - electricity and gas mostly. Turn off lights at home and have them help you monitor the use your A/C and heat. Show them that you are doing your part to cut back on driving whenever possible by walking more, combining your trips for better efficiency, and carpooling when possible.
- Show them your concern about garbage by ALWAYS recycling. Kids will love to help you by putting items in the recycling bin.
- Show them videos about the environment. I found this great website full of short science videos you can watch. http://www.sciencedaily.com. There is also Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. The film’s official website offers a downloadable study guide for teaching. http://prod.takepart.com/social_network/action/ait/studyguides.html
- Pick up garbage. When you see litter on your street, in a park or other public place, pick it up and throw it out properly. Kids will follow your lead. You can even volunteer for a street or beach clean up in your area.
- Beware of the products you buy. Take your kids shopping with you and explain how important it is to choose products that protect the environment.
- Plant a pesticide free vegetable garden with your kids. They will learn to research alternative ways to solve problems, protect the environment, learn to garden and save you money by NOT having to buy those veggies at the store! When you do buy, look for organic veggies whenever possible.
- Consume less stuff. Talk through potential purchases before you buy. Do you really need it? Teaching your kids to consume less stuff can be one of the most valuable ways to protect our environment. Less stuff = less waste. And what about the money saved?!!
- Talk to your child about trees and paper.Together you can decrease your paper consumption. Your kids can make an effort to waste less paper at the computer and with their school work. Show them how you disapprove of all that junk mail you receive!
- Don’t smoke! Teach your kids the importance of NEVER starting to smoke.
The bottom line is that your kids will learn to respect the environment mostly from observing your habits and listening to your opinions. Show them that they can make a difference!
By: Debbie,
on 7/7/2008
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My daughter is almost 16 now, so themed birthday parties are a thing of the past. That makes me a bit sad! I can honestly say she had the BEST birthday parties growing up! They were always homemade, inexpensive and creative. I dug out these old photos, which are almost 11 years old (way before digital photography) and took photos of the photos with my digital camera. I wanted to share them with you.
We always had small parties so they would be manageable, less stressful and more fun! I used to go crazy when I’d take Rachel to parties years ago where there were dozens of kids running around and parents yelling. And who wants all those gifts all over the house? We actually attended one party for a 3 year old with more tan 80 guests. It was horrible, and we left as soon as possible. No one was having fun. And I’ve never seen so many gifts scattered all over the place! Can you imagine a 3 year old opening 80 gifts? It really repulsed me. I think parents forget that young kids can get easily overwhelmed. A good rule to follow is to invite around the same number of kids of the age of the birthday party child. So when or child turns 5, have 4 guests plus your child to equal 5 kids for a 5th birthday party.
Now, back to the party….I remember that first I sent out invitations that looked like a treasure map. I drew water and a pirate ship and land with squiggly lines that led to our house. (You can use clip art if you like.) There were only 6 invitations, so I made each one by hand. (You can make 1 and take it to a copy center also.) I did them on yellowish/cream paper and them burned the edges to make them look authentic.
I made this cake to look like a pirate ship, with the back end starting to sink a bit. I always started each cake by making a sheet cake first and then cutting it up and stacking it to look like whatever I wanted it to be.
I bought a cardboard treasure chest from a catalog that came with pirate related finds and I also added more goodies for the kids. They had to play a game and do a treasure hunt to find the chest. I hid clues all over the house. First I gave them one index card that I aged and crumbled a bit. It had a rhyming clue that would lead them to the next rhyming clue on an index card and so on. I think I had about 10 clues before they found the chest. One was hidden in the dishwasher, another in a flower pot in the back yard, in the shower, pillow case, etc. The kids were running all over the house and were so excited when they figured each one out. The parents were following them back and forth across the house and yard. It was a blast.
I dressed my husband up in this homemade pirate costume and pinned a stuffed parrot to his shoulder, and he held some sort of hook in his hand. He came out of the bedroom in costume playing his guitar, singing “yo ho ho…” and since the kids were only 5, they did not recognize him as Rachel’s Dad. They REALLY thought he was a pirate. All the parents were hysterically laughing. We even had a pinata of a pirate filled with candy. We blindfolded the kids and let them take several whacks at it. They loved that! The pinata was so hard to bust, that my husband had to do it at the end with his hook hand!
I hope you try a pirate party. Not only will your kids have a great time, but so will you!
I’ll be sharing many more party ideas with you. Stay tuned!
Libraries are often overlooked and underutilized, and librarians are often unappreciated. Do you take your kids to the library on a regular basis? There is so much to offer! From huge cities to small town libraries, you’ll find fantastic programs. Here are some of the MANY programs I’ve discovered:
- Bedtime stories for toddlers
- Traveling book mobiles
- Pet Reading Projects - Kids practicing reading out loud to a specially trained dog
- Self Improvement Seminars
- Art Projects
- Book Clubs
- Contests
- Birthday Parties for Books
- Mystery events (Nancy Drew and others)
- Book Club Meetings
- Author Visits
- Tea Parties for Girls
- Teen Volunteer programs (restocking shelves and helping kids find books)
- Teen knitting for the needy
- Comic Book conferences
- Genealogy Programs
- Ghost Story Time
- Writing Workshops
- Baby Sitting Training
- Reading Festivals
- Book Reviews
- Homework Assistance
- Yo Yo Workshop
- Used Book Sale
- Concerts/Sing Alongs
- Chess Tournaments
- Monopoly Tournaments
- Home School Programs
- Guided Internet Sessions
- Puppet Making
- Costume Design
- Art Shows
- Readathons
So take advantage of your local library. It is undoubtedly one of the best uses of our tax dollars! The programs, books and media materials are free, and the benefits are endless. Just remember, there are kids all over the US who could never afford to buy a book and would not have access if it weren’t for their school or public library.
Also, please remember to thank your librarian. They are dedicated to helping educate you and your family. I have learned that the amount of work they do to process new titles, manage the staff, meet the needs of the patrons and keep their libraries up to date is extraordinary!
1. Read a book (The Travel Adventures of Lilly P Badilly: Costa Rica would be a good start!)
2. Attend a reading at your local library.
3. Write a letter to a friend near or far.
4. Make a photo album/scrap book.
5. Research a favorite animal on line and in books.
6. Call or visit a grandparent.
7. Paint a birdhouse from the craft store.
8 Plant some seeds.
9. Run through the sprinkler with a friend or the dog.
10. Bake cookies with you.
We are getting entries for our Travel Writing Contest, and are totally enjoying the entires. Kids are so imaginative and honest. I wish I were a kid again. Well, since I can’t be, I’ll just continue to think and act like one! “I Love kids! I really love them!” (If you want to know more about what that means, read my book and listen to my silly CD.)
So if you are having a bad day or need a lift, read something written by a young child. I guarantee it wil put a smile on your face. And if your child has not entered our contest, please do so before the Sept. 1 deadline!
Today is the birthday of the rural poet John Clare, of whose poetry Edmund Blunden was a champion.
Water-Lilies
The water-lilies on the meadow stream
Again spread out their leaves of glossy green;
And some, yet young, of a rich copper gleam,
Scarce open, in the sunny stream are seen,
Throwing a richness upon Leisure's eye,
That thither wanders in a vacant joy;
While on the sloping banks, luxuriantly,
Tending of horse and cow, the chubby boy,
In self-delighted whims, will often throw
Pebbles, to hit and splash their sunny leaves;
Yet quickly dry again, they shine and glow
Like some rich vision that his eye deceives;
Spreading above the water, day by day,
In dangerous deeps, yet out of danger's way.
Clare was born in Nottinghamshire on July 13, 1793 and may be the poorest person to ever become a major writer in English literature. His father was a peasant farmer and the family often had to live off the proceeds from a single apple tree in their yard. Clare went to the village school between the ages of five and eleven, and having learnt to read and write, he decided that he wanted to write poetry.
He was forced to support himself by working as a farm labourer. Malnutrition had stunted his growth and he was never more than 5 feet tall, so he couldn't do any heavy work. Most of the time he weeded, stacked hay bales and looked after the animals. Since he couldn't afford to buy paper, he made his own from birch bark; he also made his own ink. However some of his poems were written on old envelopes.
Whilst other romantic poets, such as Wordsworth and Keats, were writing nature poetry they wrote about nature as a metaphor for something else. Clare, however, always tried to write about nature as it was, the thing itself.
His first poetry book came out in 1820 and the fact that he was a peasant helped to make it a bestseller. However, there was a bank crash a few years later, and then a recession in England so his books sold fewer and fewer copies, and he eventually moved back to the farm.
John Clare wrote: "I live here among the ignorant like a lost man ... they hardly dare talk in my company for fear I should mention them in my writings." He began suffering from a psychiatric disorder and his behavior became more and more erratic. He began seeing things such as spirits and demons, and was committed to an asylum where he forgot who he was; at some points he thought he was Lord Byron, and wrote some poems in Byron's style. He escaped from the asylum at one point but was returned and lived there for the rest of his life.
In all Clare wrote about 3,500 poems of which only 400 were published in his lifetime, and his great importance as an English poet has only become clear in the last few decades, in part due to the work begun by Edmund Blunden, himself a Nature poet even in the midst of the First World War.
Today's Poetry Friday round up will be hosted by Susan at Chicken Spaghetti.
This is a very nice sample,tips and guidelines on how to write a letter.Thanks for sharing it.