Category: How To:

How To: Pay for College from Dr. Michele Borba

Dr. Michele Borba reached out to me and offered to be a guest author on How Families are Paying for College and gave some excellent advice on paying for college.  One savings plan that she did not mention that I do for my kids is the 529B savings plan which allows the money that you save to grow in a tax advantaged way.  Here’s a link to a website on 529B College Savings Plans.  I personally use a financial planner for advice on this as there are many different 529B plans.  Financial planners are not cheap, but you can, with significant digging, find a qualified one that fits your budget for advisors.  The Motley Fool has some advice on How to Pick a Financial Planner that is quite good.

Finally: The World’s Simplest College Cost Calculator.  Just type in your child’s age and it will calculate the cost of college.  There are additional screens if you want to know how much you should save monthly and then figure out different scenarios of the return rate.

Let me know by leaving a comment if this is a topic that you want more information on.  I can possibly get my financial planner do guest post as well.

———————–

Planning for your child’s education is extremely important and I advise parents to start saving early. In a recent study by Sallie Mae and Gallup only a quarter of families (26%) strongly agreed that they had a plan to pay for the desired college degree before enrolling.

So it is important to think about college as a long-term investment that you need to plan for in advance.

The study found that on average, parents pay for 47% of total college costs for their children, student contributions cover 23% of the cost, grants/scholarships make up 23% and contributions from relatives 7%.

To make sure you are prepared for college:

Contribute on a regular basis. This not only helps in saving for your child’s future, but can help you maintain a long-term investment strategy, as well. Every month take a certain amount of money – even if it is a small amount – and put it in a college savings account. Even the smallest amount will add up over the years. Hopefully this will become a routine and you will think of your regular payment to your child’s savings as an essential part of your budget.

Save while you spend. Look for programs that help you earn money towards college. One great option is the Upromise® World MasterCard® credit card from Bank of America, which allows you to earn 1% college savings on all of your purchases. Anyone can open a Upromise account for free and apply for the card. Earnings from everyday card savings are automatically deposited into the account and can then be transferred to a tax-advantaged 529 plan or high-yield savings account. By using the card for everyday purchases like groceries and gas, you will be able to accumulate savings over time and when college comes and you need the money, it’s there.

Get the kids involved. Get your child in the habit of saving from an early age. If you give your child an allowance, require that a certain amount is set aside to save. For instance, if the allowance is $3, then have $1 go to savings. Deposit the money into a savings account, money market, bond, etc. and then it can be applied towards the long-term goal of college tuition.

Save your change. Few people realize how much change they really have. Even a small amount can add up by taking whatever spare change you have around and putting it away. Keep the change in a jar and once it is full, you can add the change to your savings account or child’s college fund.

The Sallie Mae and Gallup study also found that to make college more affordable, most families reduced spending (73%) or increased work hours or earnings (48%). Even more interesting, 43% of families report that their student lived at home during college in order to cut back on the cost.

The bottom line is to talk to your kids about college early and set a realistic plan for how you and them will work together to ensure they receive a quality college education.

Aug 16, 2010 | 0 comments View Post

How To: Organize by Creating a “Home Bible”

My friend, Aloha Mom, asked me to write about organization; how to make things easier for working moms.  That was about 6 months ago, so clearly I am not that organized.  But the last two weeks I have been ticking off those things on my person “To Do” list like annual medical appointments and other yearly pain-in-the-neck errands that I realized the value of the “Home Bible” that I created a few years ago for myself.

This was not my idea; I got it from a magazine article, written by Carolyne Roehm, the former fashion designer turned home guru.  Her article was tips from millionaires/billionaires.  The premise:  they must be doing something right, so here, copy what they do.

The Home Bible is simply a 3 ring binder with business card plastic inserts in which you organize all your service providers by category.  Carolyn was impressed with a Hostess-with-the-Mostess could whip up an elaborate birthday party in fifteen minutes (and so am I!).  The Hostesss said it was easy because everything related to a birthday was duely organized into her book (flowers, cake, entertainment, invites, etc.) so she just had to make half a dozen calls in swift succession and voila!, a lovely party!

So, my tabs are:

  • Advisors (attorneys, accountant, etc.).  I put this first in case we both die and no one knows who to call to locate our will.  In fact, the attorney who does that has a handwritten note on the card which is first that says, “Has Our Will and Trust.”
  • Birthday Party Ideas.  Yes, I needed something fun to balance my first tab.  Cards for cake bakeries (nut-free, of course), entertainers, and places that have birthday parties.
  • Medical. You’d be surprised how many business cards of doctors we seem to have.  But we need:  nutritionist, dermatologists (3), the best pediatric orthropaedic surgeon in Boston in case my son breaks his arm and requires 3 pins again, etc.
  • Home Service Providers:  carpet cleaning, junk removal, appliance repair, auto repair, taxi service (only one company in my town!), piano tuning and more.
  • Children’s Activities: strangely blank.  I need to collect some cards to their gymnastics place, flute teacher, Spanish tutor, and more.
  • Real Estate Agents and other sundry:  a photographer, cards for helpful sales people at department stores, bankers in case we need to set up a new bank account, etc.
  • Restaurants:  so it’s easy to make a reservation or get an idea for a place for a date night.
  • Frequent Flyer Numbers:  plus other cards with ID numbers for the car security.

This is what I need to keep track of.  How about you?  What are your organization tips and tricks?

Aug 05, 2010 | 0 comments View Post

How To: Pack Healthy Snacks Your Kids Will Eat

As my husband and I struggle to pack lunches and snacks for our kids’ camp lunches, I find myself wandering the grocery store aisles searching for healthy choices that my kids will actually eat.  While waiting at the hospital for my mammogram (just annual check up), I saw a great article on this topic at WebMD magazine (who knew they had a magazine?!).  So I searched their website further and found some helpful suggestions.

Do you have some healthy snack suggestions or combos that your kids like?  Please share!

Healthy and kid-friendly snack ideas from WebMD include:

  • String cheese
  • Whole wheat crackers and peanut butter
  • Air-popped or low-fat microwave popcorn
  • Frozen juice bars made with 100% real fruit
  • Fruit and dried fruit
  • Baby carrots with hummus or bean dip
  • Low-fat yogurt with fresh fruit

I failed to locate their excellent print article so I am just listing their suggestions:

Kashi TLC Oatmeal Raisin Flax Cookies or Kashi Oatmeal Dark Chocolate

Health Valley Organic Whole Wheat Crackers

Quaker Simple Harvest Chewy Multigrain Granola Bars, Dark Chocolate Chunk

Freschetta 4-Cheese Naturally Rising Pizza

These are snack suggestions that my kids will eat:

  • Apple slices with peanut butter and a few chocolate chips
  • Mild salsa with tortilla chips
  • Left over pancakes (or frozen and toasted)  spread with Nutella
  • Frozen yogurt tubes (or unfrozen), they like Cherry Stonyfield Farms
  • Brown rice marshmallow treats (if you make them yourself, I sneak in ground flax seed.  Also Trader Joe’s sells them individually packaged)
  • Chicken sausage
  • Edemame (soy beans, boiled and then served with a sprinkle of salt.  At Trader Joes.  I was surprised by how popular this was as preschool — coop, parents bring the class snack)
  • Fruit smoothies
  • Home made applesauce (take all your leftover apples that are soft, peel, squeeze juice of one lemon, a handful of sugar and cook on low heat for about 15 minutes.  Left-overs freeze well.)
  • Homemade chicken noodle soup
  • Beef jerky (great for storing in the car)
  • Freeze Dried fruit (I had blogged on Funky Monkey but there are other companies)
  • Cheese and crackers (my middle loves Epoise but cheddar is always great or string cheese)
  • Brown rice cakes with peanut butter (Lundbergs from Whole Foods are great)
  • Brown rice crackers (at Whole Foods, an Asian snack)
  • Smoothie Pops (freeze fruit/yogurt smoothies into popsicle molds)
  • Hard boiled eggs with salt or soy sauce
  • Cereal (oatmeal or Cheerios) with milk

Here are some ideas from Jessica Seinfield’s Deceptively Delicious Cookbook:

  • Lowfat cheddar cheese crackers
  • Cucumber slices with salt
  • Frozen grapes (or peas)
  • Soy Crisps
  • Whole wheat fig bars
  • Whole Wheat frozen waffles
  • Lowfat graham crackers
Aug 03, 2010 | 1 comment View Post

How To: Raise Confident Kids

DesignTrackMind asked me to post on this topic and I thought, “Gee, I wish I knew myself.”  She said that she is asking me, not because I have all the answers, but because she knows that I will go crazy and do all the research.  So, I did do that, and here it is.  And may we all raise confident kids because the world would be a better place if we did.

Of all the articles I read, these two were the most helpful.  Do YOU have any advice to share?  Please leave a comment.  Perhaps you read a great article or book or dealt successfully with bullying or confidence in academics?  Maybe you are a seasoned parent or grandparent?  Please share!

I am personally a HUGE fan of Dr. Sears so I am starting with his advice.  Here’s the link for his detailed post.

12 Ways to Help Your Child Build Self Confidence by Dr. Sears

Self-esteem is your child’s passport to lifetime mental health and social happinesst

It’s the foundation of a child’s well-being and the key to success as an adult. At all ages, how you feel about yourself affects how you act. Think about a time when you were feeling really good about yourself. You probably found it much easier to get along with others and feel good about them.

Self-image is how one perceives oneself

The child looks in the mirror and likes the person he sees. He looks inside himself and is comfortable with the person he sees. He must think of this self as being someone who can make things happen and who is worthy of love. Parents are the main source of a child’s sense of self-worth.

Lack of a good self-image very often leads to behavior problems

Most of the behavioral problems that I see for counseling come from poor self-worth in parents as well as children. Why is one person a delight to be with, while another always seems to drag you down? How people value themselves, get along with others, perform at school, achieve at work, and relate in marriage, all stem from strength of their self-image.

Healthy self-worth doesn’t mean being narcissistic or arrogant

It means having a realistic understanding of one’s strengths and weaknesses, enjoying the strengths and working on the problem areas. Because there is such a strong parallel between how a person feels about himself and how a person acts, helping your child build self-confidence is vital to discipline.

Throughout life your child will be exposed to positive influences builders and negative influences breakers. Parents can expose their child to more builders and help him work through the breakers.

  1. Practice Attachment Parenting (when your child is an infant)
  2. Improve Your Own Self-Confidence
  3. Be A Positive Mirror
  4. Play With Your Child
  5. Address Your Child by Name
  6. Practice the Carry-Over Principle (i.e. encourage her talents)
  7. Set Your Child Up To Succeed
  8. Help Your Child Become Home-Wise before Street-Smarts
  9. Lose Labels
  10. Monitor School Influences on Your Child
  11. Give Your Child Responsibilities
  12. Encourage Your Child to Express, Not Stuff, Their Feelings

Please click here for his entire, really excellent article.  Thanks Dr. Sears.  You are my pediatrician hero!

———————–

Another View: Confident Children Result from NOT Overparenting by Michael Gross at Brainy Child

Click here for article.

Here are some key paragraphs:

Overparenting occurs when parents solve children’s problems rather than give them the chance to overcome problems themselves. It occurs when parents allow children to avoid legitimately challenging situations so they won’t be inconvenienced. It also occurs when too much control or too much order is imposed on children.

Overparenting is predominantly a mindset. It is a belief that children can’t overcome difficulties themselves and they can’t cope with discomfort or disappointment. It comes with increased affluence but it can occur in any socio-economic group. From my observation, it is more likely to occur in smaller rather than larger families or in families where a death has occurred or tragedy has been a visitor.

An overparented child is a protected, spoiled child. He or she often lacks real confidence and won’t take many risks. An overprotected child avoids new situations and looks to hide behind his parents when difficulties or challenges arise.

———————–

This is a different version of the information by Dr. Sears … a bullet pointed version if you don’t want to read a lengthy article (though I highly recommend his article).  This is the link but the full post is below.

Ways to raise a self-confident child with high self-esteem

  • Have a wall of accomplishments, display trophies, awards, photos and achievements. These positive reminders of a child’s successes will help to keep their confidence high.
  • Monitor your child’s friendships and friends. Discrete attention to who he is seeing, how he interacts with them, and how his social skills are developing, will allow you to intervene when necessary to support him or make small adjustments to his activities. The support of his parents, acting for him in all situations where his confidence might be impacted, will be a powerful boost to his self-esteem and confidence.
  • That also goes for his other activities outside the home. It’s no use relinquishing responsibility for your child to church groups, scout groups or schools: he’s ultimately your responsibility, as is his welfare. That responsibility extends to his developing self-confidence as well as his physical welfare. It may, for example, be necessary to introduce your child to suitable playmates if he seems unable to find the right set for himself.
  • By inviting his friends to your home, you’ll be much better able to monitor who he’s mixing with and what the likely effect of these friends will be. After he’s about seven, his peers will begin to have an increasingly important effect on him, and since not everyone he associates with will have the same values that you do, it is probably a good idea to keep tabs on his friends by having them to your house.
  • When children have had adequate attachments in their childhood, they are much better equipped to handle different environments which may have different rules. For healthy social development and complete self-confidence, a child first must feel secure with himself and his parents before he can feel secure with others.
  • Don’t label your child. There’s a tendency for a family to scapegoat one member, or at least to label him or her. Calling a child “the shy one” or “the clever one” or “the unhealthy one” may give them a label to live by (or live up to) but it isn’t likely to do much for their sense of self or self-confidence.
  • Monitor how your child is doing at school. One of our clients reported hearing a primary school teacher saying to the mixed sex class in her “care” that “all the problems in the world were due to men.” What message the boys in the class must have internalized from that is easy to imagine. That kind of influence needs to be corrected: generalizations like this, no matter what the reason for their delivery, can severely impact a child’s self-esteem and self-confidence.
  • Your child needs neither complete protection from the outside world nor complete exposure to it. How he or she responds to the different behaviors that they meet in the world depends on how strong their attachments to you have been and how strong their self-confidence is. What’s for sure is that school can be a confidence-destroying experience if a child does not have the resilience to withstand the negative influences of the people they will meet there. This includes the disruptive behavior (bullying, aggressiveness) of other children who cannot cope because their confidence is not strong enough to withstand the change of environment.
  • One point to keep in mind is that a child who has been exposed to a clear code of values early in life has a strong base from which to work when exposed to the value systems of others. And with a high level of self-confidence the child will be able to work out for him or herself what values he or she wishes to live by. The best way to get your values across to a child is to live by them.
  • Don’t overprotect your child: the consequence of this is that your child may end up unable to think for himself.
  • Don’t under protect either: that leaves a child lacking in confidence and open to the negative influences of people who offer some form of security – usually acceptance by the group, which may be  undesirable.
  • Give your child responsibilities. Let them learn assigned tasks, preferably things they have already shown an interest in. Giving a child responsibility for a task which he or she is capable of completing is  a good way to build self-confidence, and helps to develop a sense of responsibility to self, family, and eventually society. Some jobs will be paid, others will be ones they are expected to do because that is their responsibility. By contributing to the smooth running of the house, children feel needed, valued and competent.
  • Be clear about what is expected of each family member.
  • You’ll always want to encourage your children to express what they feel. That doesn’t mean expressing emotion in an uncontrolled way, it means giving them the confidence to express what they feel in an appropriate way. You don’t want to raise a very reserved child nor one with too much emotional expressiveness. But keeping feelings inside doesn’t do anyone any good. For one thing, it conveys the message that feelings are threatening – which they can be, if a person is not used to their expression – and it denies them the natural need to express themselves. If feelings are denied, disapproved of or not expressed, a child can come to the conclusion that it isn’t worth feeling anything; and if a child believes his or her feelings count for nothing, they are likely to come fairly quickly to the conclusion that they too are not worth much.
  • Being uncaring about how a child feels is one way that parents can teach a child to suppress emotions. Another is to react angrily when a child feels something and expresses it in words or emotions. In essence, the caring parent who wishes to build a child’s self-esteem will accept their emotions, not judge them, and help the child work through whatever is bothering him or her.

You don’t have to worry “giving” a child about self-esteem

It isn’t something that needs monitoring on a daily basis. Children go through ups and downs, just as we all do. The secret of giving a child strong self-esteem and a high level of confidence is to be there with them in what they experience, go through life supporting them, caring for them and letting them develop naturally, all the while being around when they need you. It’s not about force feeding an agenda that you have for the child, or passing on your own expectations. Nor is t about falsely protecting them from the rigors of life.

Aug 02, 2010 | 0 comments View Post

How To: Detect & Get Rid of Lice

I  have battled lice twice thus far.  Between my school’s PTO website, the summer camp nurse and the web, I found a plethora of information both helpful and confusing.  This is what I found to be successful in eradicating lice.  I hope this helps you in your battle against head lice.

Detecting Lice

First of all, if you suspect your child has been exposed to lice, Pragmatic Mom suggests you watch this short video before you begin:  www.HeadLicetoDeadLice.com.

Not sure what to look for?  The easiest thing to spot is small, white, grain-of-sand-sized eggs (nits) that will be “super-glued” to a hair shaft.  If you can flick or blow away the white blog, IT IS NOT LICE EGGS.  You will have to grasp it between two fingers and slide it off the hair shaft if it is lice.    Live eggs or nits are brown or grey in color and the younger the egg, the smaller it is.  Live eggs will be very close to the scalp, about a quarter inch.  White eggs are dead eggs (i.e. the egg has hatched and the white egg is just the husk).  The white eggs can be further down the hair shaft, from a quarter of an inch on down.

Stand in natural light.  If you are over 40, a magnifying glass is recommended.  Check carefully starting at the hair around the forehead back to the crown of the head.  The white eggs will be the easiest to spot but look carefully for the live eggs.  Next check the hair behind the ears and at the nape of the neck.  These are the most common spots for lice to lay their eggs.  Finally, use hair clips to separate out sections of hair and using a comb, check section by section taking a width of hair no thicker than the width of the comb.  The nurse who helped me thinks this is easiest done with the hair dry.  I find that wet hair is easier to section off and see a contrast of egg against black hair.  Wet or dry, check very carefully.  It takes me about 15-20 minutes a head to check carefully.

Treating Lice

What happens if you find eggs or lice?  First, Pragmatic Mom says to Take A Deep Breath.  Yes, lice is totally disgusting and even a bit shameful, but it’s not life threatening!  If you detect lice, the first thing you should do is check everyone in your household including yourself.  You’ll need help to check yourself.

While everyone will recommend a lice shampoo or even a prescription lice shampoo, I opine that since lice shampoo is not 100% effective, it doesn’t make sense to expose your kid to harmful chemicals if it doesn’t actually work.

If you see live lice, it can be hard to remove them  as they are pretty fast on the head.  And, it is pretty disgusting to find live lice on your child so Pragmatic Mom understands the need to kill them as fast as possible.  Pragmatic Mom suggests killing live lice using an electronic comb called the Robi Comb.  Most drug store chains don’t carry this, so Pragmatic Mom suggests buying it online from Amazon.   Yes, that does mean you have to buy in advance, just in case.  Some independent drug stores do carry the Robi Comb so call first if you didn’t stock up before your lice outbreak. 

The Robi Comb doesn’t really work that well for nits (eggs) because it’s basically a lice comb that zaps anything that gets caught between the tines of the comb.  It works well for lice, but it will also zap a hair snarl or an ear if you accidentally get too close to the ear.  Pragmatic Mom’s kids hate getting zapped.  Pragmatic Mom thinks the eggs are too small to get caught in the tines of the comb, so the lice eggs still need to be meticulously removed.  Please note that the hair HAS TO BE DRY for this comb to work.

The Robi Comb is also great if you’ve learned that your child has been exposed to lice and need to do a lice check yourself.  You run the comb through your child’s hair, and if anything is detected, the comb will stop buzzing.  There are lots of false positives if you hit a hair snarl, but then you know which area to focus on for a manual search.  If there are live lice bugs in your child’s hair, the Robi comb electrocutes them dead, and the bugs will also be stuck on the comb.  If you are going to eradicate lice by solely using the Robi Comb, you need to spend at least 5 minutes a day running the comb through your child’s dry, unknotted hair for 30 days.  This length of time is necessary to break the cycle of lice.  Pragmatic Mom suggests that even if you go the Robi Comb method, you still need to manually check for and remove eggs.

If you don’t have a robi comb, Pragmatic Mom suggests the Olive Oil Treatment.  For this you will need:

  • cheapest olive oil possible
  • metal nit comb (Pragmatic Mom likes The Terminator Comb found online at amazon.com)
  • hair clips
  • disposable shampoo cap plus something to put over cap (she used swim cap or bandana also works)
  • clarifying shampoo

Olive Oil Treatment

The following instructions have been given to parents from The Pediatrics at Newton Wellesley practice, as well as by some professional nitpickers, and have proved to be effective.  It may be messy and time-consuming, but if the directions are followed properly, the lice and nits will be eliminated.

Have the child change into old clothes that can get stained.  Also use an old towel around the child neck to catch any drips.

1. The oil must fully saturate the scalp and coat the hair.  Use a plastic applicator, similar to those used to apply hair color.  Apply in small sections.   Use a large plastic comb to comb the oil thru long or thick hair.  The oil does not need to be dripping, just saturated.

2. Place a shower cap or swim cap around the head to provide an airtight and oil saturated environment.  You could even tie an old bandana around the shower cap, so it won’t move around.  Pragmatic Mom uses a disposable shower camp on the bottom and a swim cap on top.

3. Leave on for at least 8 hours or overnight. It is easier to sleep through this process.  Place an old towel on the child’s pillow, to prevent staining.

4. After at least 8 hours remove the wrapping, but keep the oil in the hair.  Divide the hair into several small sections, and comb thru each section with the metal LICE or NIT comb.  Pay special attention to combing the scalp, and all the way down the hair shaft.  Sometimes the lice will try to move around against the scalp (not all may be smothered, but the rest will be slowed down “a lot” from the oil).  Wipe the lice comb on a white tissue/paper towel, and dispose of in a plastic bag.

5.  Shampoo the hair with a good clarifying or purifying shampoo – this may take a couple of soapings.

6. You must still concentrate on nit removal – using a good NIT comb with small tines.  This is best done on dry hair, in direct sunlight.  For girls with curly hair, you can blow dry or use a straightened to straighten hair, to see them easier.

7. Because nits hatch every 7-10 days, the Harvard School of Public Health recommends that you repeat the oil process on days 1, 2, 5, 9, 13, 17 and 21.  These particular days must be followed to get the nit at the proper time in their developmental cycle.  Parents may use olive oil other days, but it must be done on the days outlined above.

Cleaning the House

Pragmatic Mom says it’s easy to go overboard here.  Remember that lice need to feed 5 times a day on a host, or they can’t survive.  If the lice are not on a host, they live only about 48 hours.  Lice can’t fly and can’t even walk that well when not on a hair shaft so they have limited mobility.  Pragmatic Mom suggests that you focus on the head but do take these steps in your house:

  • change all bedding for the affected child immediately
  • change pillow cases daily OR vacuum pillows daily for one week
  • vacuum affected child’s room daily for one week
  • wash all clothes and towels child used recently
  • stuffed animals can be treated three ways:  dry for 20 minutes on high in dryer,  wash and dry, or bag up for 2 weeks
  • vacuum any upholstered furniture child sat at (couches, chairs)
  • vacuum entire house on first day of lice detection
  • vacuum car seat and area of car s/he sits in
  • boil any combs, brushes and hair implements OR bag in air-tight bag for two weeks
  • wash hats and coats or dry for 20 minutes in dryer on high heat

Preventing Lice

Pragmatic Mom thinks that a few precautions will go a long way in preventing lice from coming into your home.

  • If your child has long hair, keep it tied back.  A pony tail is good but a bun is even better.
  • Don’t share hats or helmets; if your child uses a batting helmet you might want to consider buying your own.   Avoid using shared helmets at activities such as pony rides or batting cages.
  • Don’t try on Halloween costumes at the store,  particularly the masks with fake hair.
  • If your child hangs his or her coat on a hook at school, keep it instead in a zipped up backpack.
  • Talk to your child about being mindful of not touching heads when hugging or standing close to your friend.
  • If you live somewhere where lice is prevalent, you might want to consider a weekly lice check at home.

Ounce of Prevention worth a Pound of Cure

If  you have dodged the bullet for lice numerous times but know that it’s probably going to happen at some point, getting a lice kit together is a good idea.  Here’s what Pragmatic Mom stocks:

  • Disposable shower caps  (collect them from hotel stays or buy at a drug store)
  • Olive oil (you probably have this anyway in your pantry but stock up on one extra bottle)
  • Buy online:  terminator lice comb and robi comb.  Test the robi comb once you  get it to make sure it works.
  • A magnifying glass if you think you’ll need it.

30% off plus free shipping on orders of $50 or more

Jul 23, 2010 | 1 comment View Post

How To: Help People of Afghanistan this summer with just a photo…

Who:  Riverhead Trade Paperbacks, a division of Penguin Group (USA) is sponsoring.  You must be 18 years of age to participate.

What:  Campaign to aid people of Afghanistan through The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, a non-profit started by author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.

How:  Starting on June 15th and running through August 31st, people can visit www.penguin.com/community/hosseini, join the “Hosseini” group, and upload up to two photos of themselves holding either book (can be from library!)

—————–

Need More Detail?

Riverhead Trade Paperbacks, a division of Penguin Group (USA), has announced a campaign starting June 15th and ending August 31, 2010 to raise up to $25,000 for The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, a nonprofit organization started by the author of the internationally bestselling novels The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns to aid the people of Afghanistan.

Inspired by readers around the world who have embraced and shared Hosseini’s beloved novels, the Picture a Book Changing Lives campaign invites people to submit up to two still photos of themselves reading or holding a copy of either The Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns.

For each eligible photo uploaded to the Hosseini group page of the Penguin Group (USA) website, Riverhead will donate $2.00 (up to a maximum $25,000 donation) to The Khaled Hosseini Foundation. Starting on June 15th and running through August 31st (11:59:59pm ET), people can visit www.penguin.com/community/hosseini, join the “Hosseini” group, and upload their pictures.

———————-

Official Blurb:

PICTURE A BOOK CHANGING LIVES Campaign

Between June 15, and August 31, 2010, for every eligible photo uploaded to Penguin.com/Community’s Hosseini group in accordance with these Rules, Riverhead Books will donate US $2 (up to a maximum $25,000 donation) to The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit. The Foundation provides humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan by supporting projects which provide shelter to refugee families and economic and educational opportunities for women and children, as well as awarding scholarships to students who have migrated to the United States under refugee status and women pursuing higher education in Afghanistan.

Open to residents of the fifty United States, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories and possessions ages 18 and older.

How to Participate:

  1. To participate in the PICTURE A BOOK CHANGING LIVES campaign (“Campaign”), review these Rules and if you are not already a member of the Penguin Community, register at www.penguin.com/community/hosseini, and join the Hosseini group. Then log in and upload a photo of yourself holding or reading THE KITE RUNNER and/or A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS (each a “Book” and together “Books”), by Khaled Hosseini. Photos must be submitted no later than August 31, 2010, 11:59:59 PM, Eastern Time (ET).
  2. Only still photos are eligible. Limit two photos per Penguin Community account. Submissions that do not contain a photo of yourself and the book(s) THE KITE RUNNER and/or A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS are not eligible. If the person submitting the photos is not the photographer, the submitter must obtain permission from the photographer of each photo before submitting it.

General:

  1. Open to residents of the fifty United States, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories and possessions ages 18 and older. Void where prohibited by law. All state and local restrictions apply.
  2. Riverhead Books, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. (“Sponsor”) and its parent, subsidiary or affiliated companies are not responsible for technical, hardware, software or telephone malfunctions of any kind. If for any reason the Campaign is not capable of being conducted as described in these rules, Sponsor shall have the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Campaign.
  3. Sponsor’s decisions concerning all matters related to these Official Rules and the Campaign are final and binding.
  4. By submitting photos to this Campaign: you grant to Sponsor, its affiliates, accounts, licensees, successors and assigns a non-exclusive, royalty-free transferable license to use the submitted photos and the right to use your name(s), likeness(es), hometown(s) and biographical information for promotional and advertising purposes, without further compensation or permission, except where prohibited by law. You represent and warrant that you have the right to make such grants and, if you did not take the submitted photos, you have obtained permission from the photographer of each submitted photo to use it as provided in these Rules.
  5. By participating in this Campaign and/or submitting one or more photos, you release Sponsor, its parent, subsidiary and affiliated companies, Khaled Hosseini and The Khaled Hosseini Foundation and their respective licensees, successors and assigns from any and all liability for any loss, harm, injuries, damages, cost or expense arising out of or relating to your participation in this Campaign and the use of the photos and your name, likeness, hometown and biographical information as provided herein.
  6. In addition to these Official Rules, you agree to be bound by Penguin’s Terms of Use and Online Privacy Policies, both of which are incorporated as part of these Official Rules.

Sponsor:

Riverhead Books, A Division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014.

468x60 Kids bedding

Jun 30, 2010 | 0 comments View Post

How To: Pronounce Mandarin Chinese Pinyin (cheat sheet)

From English Guide

“I want to learn Chinese but just give me the basics!”

That’s what this Chinese pronunciation guide is all about. It’s all that you need to know about the pinyin system of Chinese pronunciation to get by.

The 80% that’s important. (Spend 20% of time to learn the 80% that’s important.)

Continued from Part 1, learn Chinese pronunciation, the 4 tones…

1. Consonants

There are 24 consonants in pinyin which are pronounced a lot like in English.

b, p, m, f, d, t, n, l, g, k, ng, h, j, q, x, zh, ch, sh, r, z, c, s, y, w

Learn Chinese pronunciation of Consonants

b as in boy

p as in pine

m as in mother

f as in food

d as in dig

t as in talk

n as in none

l as in loud

g as in good

k as in kid

ng as in song

h as in hot

j as in jeep

q like “ch” in cheat

x like a sound between the “s” in see and the “sh” in she

zh like “dg” in sludge

ch as in children

sh as in shake

r as in raw

z like “ds” in words

c like “ts” in eats

s as in son

y as in Yao Ming

w as in we

2. Vowels

There are 6 simple vowels.

a, o, e, i, u, ü

Learn Chinese pronunciation of Vowels

- a as in mama

- o as in drop

- e as in

- I as in sit

- U as in look

- ü like the u in the French rue

3. Vowel Combinations

In Chinese pronunciation, basic vowels can form vowel combinations with each other or with a nasal consonant.

Learn Chinese pronunciation of Vowel Combinations

- ai like eye

- an sounds like “ah” with an emphatic “n” at the end (NOT like “an” in can)

- ang sounds like “ah” with a soft “ng” (NOT like “ang” in hang)

- ao is like “ao” in Tao

- ei is like “ay” in bay

- en is like “u” in sun

- eng is like “ung” in sung

- er like “ur” in purse

- ia is like ya

- iang is like young

- ie is like yeah

- iu is like the “ou” in you

- ian like yen

- iao is like “eow” in meow

- in as in “in” in gin

- ing as in “ing” in sing

- iong is like pinyin “yong”

- ong is like “ong” in kong

- ou is like “ow” in low

- ua is like “ua” in guava

- uan like one

- uang like “oo” + ang

- ui is like way

- un is like “wou” in would and ending in “n” sound (woon)

- uo sounds like “wo” as in wall

- uai is like why

- ua is like “wa”

- üan like yuan and written without two dots

- üe is like “yue” (”we” in “wet”)

Save 10% Off Today! Flower starting at $19.99!

May 08, 2010 | 0 comments View Post

How To: Select a Music Teacher



My sister is a piano teacher in California.  She has a three-year wait list and her students have rich and rigorous experience that includes not just the requisite recital, but monthly performance workshops, classical musical competitions, and juried piano recitals to earn certifications of merit.  Her students are serious about piano and practice everyday and the time commitment is a significant one.

Our  piano teacher is less rigorous than my sister because I had to coax my children into taking piano lessons.  Our teacher is less rigorous, and the repertoire is less classical.  My oldest dabbled in piano for 5 years then recently switched to flute with a new teacher who flute studio is more similar to my sister’s approach.  But because my oldest truly loves to play flute, she can commit to high level of dedication and daily practice sessions have become less of a chore for her.

My experience with choosing a music teacher is:

  • Pick a teacher whose personality is compatible with both your child and you.  This is potentially a long relationship and your  music teacher will start to feel like part of the family.  …and breaking up is hard to do!
  • While there are advantages to starting music lessons early, there are also drawbacks.  Make sure that your child’s first experience with music teacher (instrument not mommy and  me classes) is a positive one so your child doesn’t get turned off permanently.
  • I have talked to professional musicians who have said that a particular instrument “called out” to them and sometimes at an surprisingly early age.  Listen to what your child says if she repeatedly asks for music lessons for a particular instrument.  That being said, give your child the opportunity to try many instruments. “Quitting” an instrument doesn’t necessarily mean your child is a quitter.   And transferring from one instrument to another does not necessarily mean starting all over again from the bottom.  My oldest started with piano, took percussion in 4th grade, quit percussion after 1 month, but then found the flute and loves it.  My sense is that she will be playing flute for a long, long time!
  • Getting your child to practice on a daily basis is never easy.  It’s the rare child who will initiate practice on her own on a consistent basis.  Apparently there are bookshelves full of books on how to get your child to practice.  I’ll research and blog on this particular topic later.

This MTNA article can be helpful when trying to select a music teacher.  Link:  http://www.mtna.org/Resources/ChoosingaMusicTeacher/tabid/400/Default.aspx

Choosing a Music Teacher

How Do I Find the Right Teacher?

You’ll want a teacher who will inspire and nurture a student’s musical growth and instill lifelong love of music. When seeking a music teacher:

  • Consult with friends, family and others who are acquainted with teachers in your community.
  • Ask for recommendations from local music teacher organizations, music stores,  schools or churches.
  • Arrange to interview prospective teachers, in person if possible, before making a commitment.
  • Ask permission to attend a recital of the prospective teacher’s students.  (this is a good one because you can “see” ahead as to what kind of progress you can expect from this teacher!)

How do I Interview Prospective Teachers?

Teachers are willing and eager to explain their techniques and objectives. The following are types of questions to ask during the interview:

  • What is your professional and educational experience in music?
  • What is your teaching experience? What age groups do you teach?
  • How do you participate in ongoing professional development?
  • Are you nationally certified by MTNA?
  • Do you have a written studio policy? Will you review it with me?
  • Do you regularly evaluate student progress?
  • What instructional materials do you use?
  • What kinds of music do you teach?
  • What other elements are part of your teaching curriculum?
  • Do you offer group lessons?
  • Do you require students to perform in studio recitals during the year?
  • Do you offer other performance opportunities for your students, such as festivals and competitions?
  • Do you use technology in your studio, such as computers, music instruction software, digital keyboards?
  • How much practice time do you require each day?
  • What do you expect of your students? Their parents?

What is the Parent’s Role?

Parental support in the learning process is vital. Whether or not you know anything about music, take time to listen to your child play, provide exclusive practice time on a quality instrument, and celebrate his or her continued accomplishments.

How is Music Beneficial for All Learners

Today there are unprecedented reasons for making music a part of everyone’s life.

Students taking music lessons now will determine the place of music in America and the value society places on music tomorrow. Regardless of what these students ultimately choose a profession, music making will remain a part of their lives, whether it’s listening to music, attending concerts or serving as leaders in arts associations, and community and church music programs.

Benefits of Music Study:

  • Hearing music stimulates the mind.
  • Music instruction enhances abstract reasoning skills.
  • Grade school students who took music lessons generally scored higher on cognitive development tests.
  • In older people, music helps lower depression and decreases loneliness.
  • Playing an instrument strengthens eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills.
  • Music lessons teach discipline, dedication and enable students to achieve goals.


How Important is MTNA Certification?

MTNA’s Professional Certification Program exists to improve the level of professionalism within the field of music teaching and helps the public readily identify competent music teachers in their communities. A Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM) has demonstrated competence in professional preparation, teaching practices, ethical business management and lifelong learning. An MTNA certified teacher is your best source to facilitate musical learning in an environment that encourages student confidence, independence, teamwork and high achievement. To date, more than 3,500 teachers across the United States have earned the NCTM designation.

My personal take on MTNA certification is that it is not a deal breaker.  (This article is from the MTNA so take this last paragraph with a grain of salt).  My understanding of MTNA certification is that it’s wonderful but also a time-consuming process to apply so not all teachers are willing to go through this.  Type A personalities will tend towards “certifications” but a certification is not necessarily a stamp of approval  that this is a wonderful music teacher for your particular child.

From a ride to the store to help with medication, we have the perfect senior caregiver! Sittercity.com

Mar 24, 2010 | 0 comments View Post

How To: Raise a Reader and a Writer

a href=”http://www.pragmaticmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/thumbnail.aspx-2.jpg”>
This brochure from the National Association for the Education of Young Children comes home with every about-to-be-a-kindergartner at our school.  This is their guide to parents for raising a reader and writer.  I just condensed it and added a few ideas of my own.

1.  Talk, Sing, and Play with Your Child.

  • Expand on what your child says.
  • Talk as you do simple everyday things together.
  • Recite nursery rhymes and do finger games like the “This Little Pig Went to the Market.”
  • Describe the child’s activities.

2.  Make Time to Read Together Each Day

  • Don’t forget reading time with dad or grandad– it’s not just a “girl” thing.
  • Bring a few books when you head out for errands.  Waiting at pick-ups for older siblings is a great time to read a book together!

3.  Choose Books With Care

  • Involve your child in the book selection.
  • Look for books that relate to what’s happening in your child’s life at home.  Going on vacation?  Starting school?

4.  Surround Your Child with Reading Material

  • Consider subscribing to a children’s magazine.  Children love getting mail!  National Geographic has some great ones!
  • Help your preschooler create a book of their own with drawings, photos or other things that have meaning for him or her.  My son likes to staple together coloring sheets and then dictate a story to me or create a story using a sheet of stickers.
  • A librarian suggested keeping (and rotating) a basket of books in the bathroom just to look at.

5.  Slow Down and Have Fun

  • Read at a leisurely pace
  • Occasionally pose a question or make a remark that will prompt the child to think a little, express himself, or relate the story to his own experience (even if your child’s response to you is, “Mommy, just read the story!”)

6.  Read It Again … And Again!

  • Repetition is great for kids!
  • If the books are really of good quality, you won’t mind as much!

7.  Foster Your Child’s Awareness of Print and How We Use It

  • Point out everyday print like street and store signs
  • Provide magnetic or plastic letters to play with.
  • Write notes for kids to read…lunch boxes are great places for this!

8.  Provide a Variety of Writing Tools and Materials

  • Stock a writing area with scrap paper, used greeting cards, bank forms, mail-order tear off cards, envelopes and notebooks.
  • Provide different kinds of markers, pens, crayons, pencils and other writing tools such as alphabet stampers and letter stencils.
  • Allow children to use the computer to write.

9.  Don’t Push or Pressure Children About What or When to Read

  • Don’t nag your child to read.
  • Comic books count!

10.  Show Children that You Value Their Efforts

  • Display their work prominently.
  • Ask your child to read to you, even if it’s just one word a page.  Rhyming books are great for a child to read the last word of each page.
  • If a child makes a mistake when reading aloud, don’t interrupt.  If the mistake doesn’t change the meaning, let it go.
  • Respond positively to the message in your children’s writing rather than focus on the handwriting or spelling.
Mar 20, 2010 | 0 comments View Post

How To: Tell Your Child Needs Help in Math

I found this at GoldStudent.com, http://http://www.goldstudent.com/GS_ResourcesAnswer.aspx?i=1 and they do online math worksheets so I removed the self-promotional paragraphs but kept these nuggets of advice:

Children can need help in math whether they are at grade level, working above their grade, or if they are struggling to keep up.  But few children will speak up and simply say help me in math! Instead, children react in many ways to math at school. They could be bored, frightened, they might lack motivation, they may need more drilling, or they may need more opportunities to take tests to reduce their stress or fears.

Whatever their skill level, here are ten ways to decide if your child needs additional math help:

  1. Your child understands the math worksheets and material, but makes careless mistakes.
  2. Your child understands the math worksheets and material, but takes too long to complete problems, resulting in poor results or test scores.
  3. You would like your child to do more math homework, but are unable to find math worksheets and other materials at the right level and in sufficient quantity.
  4. You would like your child to do more math homework, but you do not have time (or the ability with more advanced work) to grade the extra work or provide test situations.
  5. Your child seems unmotivated and does poorly on math homework and tests.
  6. Your child seems to understand the math worksheets and material, but does poorly on homework or on tests.
  7. Your child panics in test situations.
  8. Your child is baffled by one math topic, although in general does well in math.
  9. You are unable to help your child with their math schoolwork, either because you do not have time, your schedule does not allow it, or you simply cannot follow the assignments.
  10. Your child is very advanced in math, and the teachers at school seem unable to meet his or her needs, resulting in boredom or poor performance.

From Me, Pragmatic Mom:

This advice rings true to me.  Most children do need math supplementation at home simply because math is taught, typically, in a largely undifferentiated way at school.  Math could be too easy or too hard. Certain concepts may be hard for your child but not others.  My oldest is a visual learner so geometry and fractions really make sense to her.  Algebra is tougher.  My middle is really proficient in math, but she needs additional home supplementation for subtraction math facts.  And ditto for oldest on multiplication and division facts.

We are having really good luck with those free online games that I post on and have listed at the bottom of my blog.  My kids will play 3-4 games at a stretch and really enjoy them.  My middle just figured out how to create a private game that you can customize for a fact set.  She does the race car subtration, sets up a private game, and then sets the facts from 3-12 which is what she’s focusing on.

The URL for those FREE and GOOD online games that our teachers assign my kids to play, if you want it handy is:  www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/

Or find them listed out on the bottom of my blog.

Mar 18, 2010 | 0 comments View Post
Page 1 of 3123