Cedar Valley Publishing

Drifting through Dinner

As I sat the dinner table with my family I found myself drifting. Physically, I was present. Mentally, though I was a thousand miles away. Thoughts of tomorrow’s schedule and what was yet to come kept me from being mentally present. The realization of my distance became apparent when my daughter asked, “Can we have ice cream, brownies and sprinkles for dessert” and after a slight pause I answered, “uh huh.” My wife looks across the table (more present than I apparently was) and asked, “Did you hear what she just asked you?”

Does this sound familiar?

Being present takes practice for most adults. Kids live in the present, absorbing life through each of their five senses in a way that most adults envy. While I am in favor of planning for the future I discourage worrying about the future or the possibility of what might happen if…

Eckhart Tolle’s new book, A New Earth, looks at the power of being present and the negative effects of drifting to the future or dwelling in the past. Teaching kids, to plan for the future while being present in the moment is a challenge worth pursuing.

The next dinner your family spends together may be a wonderful opportunity to model being present. Experiment with the ideas below.

• Acknowledge. Choose someone at the table who you would like to either thank or share an appreciation with. Simple statements like, “Thank you for helping me with dinner” or, “I appreciated your kind words this morning” keep everyone focused on the person sharing the statement as well as bringing a positive mood to the table.
• Beware the downward spiral. If you hear someone start to dwell on the past or drift too far into the future as they begin to talk about the negativity in their life, create a spiral motion with your hand. The overt gesture is a quick reminder to the speaker that he or she has started to drift away from the present.
• Use your senses. Everyone takes a turn in sharing something they observe about the present moment while using one of their five senses. The meal, room or table centerpiece have attributes worth describing. The smell of fresh vegetables (even frozen, which is more often the case at my home) often go unnoticed when the focus of your conversation drifts. Another way to engage in this activity is to see if everyone can share a unique comment about something they smell before moving on a new sense.

Given the small amount of time families share together do we really want to keep the focus on what happened while we are apart? Enjoy the time you spend together by keeping the focus on the present moment.

Regards,
Joe Bruzzese, M.A.
Leading Parent Coach for the Middle School Years
Author of A Parent’s Guide to the Middle School Years, to be published spring 2009 with Ten Speed Press

website: http://www.thinking-forward.com
featured articles: http://middle-school-life.suite101.com/
phone: 805-889-2142

Tags: Cedar Valley Publishing, dinner, Joe Bruzzese, let's get ready for first grade, let's get ready for kindergarten, Parent Coach, Spanish & English Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten!, stacey kannenberg

First, let me explain my “Fairy Godmother” title, from the StartupPrincess.com website: 

Fairy Godmothers are Startup Princesses that have been successful and have reached a level of expertise in their field and want to share tips and insights to bless the lives of other women entrepreneurs.  

If you are a female entrepreneur and want to join the Startup Princesses, then you MUST join this amazing group of princesses for their up-and-coming Touchpoint - the Annual Event for Women Entrepreneurs.  This is a fantabulous way to learn from the pros and to network with other female entrepreneurs.  DO NOT MISS IT!

For More Information, CLICK HERE

Tags: Cedar Valley Publishing, female entrepreneur, let's get ready for first grade, let's get ready for kindergarten, Spanish & English Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten!, stacey kannenberg, startup princess, touchpoint

Vanessa Van Petten wrote a parenting book when she was 17, called “You’re Grounded!” and is now on a national speaking tour, reaching out to both parents and teenagers about how to cope and thrive as young people today.  She is also working as a popular young parenting coach in California. Her daily blog, OnTeensToday.com is read by hundreds of teens and parents daily.  She was featured on CBS 4 Miami and Fox 5 New York and has been in the Wall Street Journal, the Santa Monica Daily Press, Atlanta Insite Magazine and the World Journal.  She has been an expert on KBUR, WCOJ Philadelphia and more for giving a young perspective on awesome parenting. Original Article here (http://www.onteenstoday.com/2008/08/16/school-supply-check-list-for-teen-and-tween-students/)

The Basics
-Pens
-Pencils
-Eraser
-Pencil Sharpener (if you have those kinds of pencils)
-Lead (if you have those kinds of pencils)
-Correction fluid or tape
-Crayons/Markers/Colored Pencils (one basic set for school projects that will not be used for crafts)
-Stapler and Staples
-Tape
-Glue
-Scissors
-Hole Puncher (a bigger one that can do more than 3 sheets at a time)
-Paper clips
-Ruler
-Rubber Bands
-Index Cards (in three or four colors)
-Calculator
-Highlighters
-Post-it Notes
-Tabs
-Reinforcements
-White Paper
-Lined Paper
-Glue
-Pencil case for school (get a soft one, not a hard case)
-Book stand* (can get this anywhere and it will save your kid’s necks and shoulders)
-Inbox/Outbox* (This will not work on every desk, but find it is a helpful place to put all ‘need to deal with’ papers, and you can go through it with them every week or so)
-Backpack
-Printer
-Ink
-Blank CDs
-External Hardrive
-Poly Pocket Folders
-Sheet Protectors

Class Supplies
This really depends on your child’s class schedule, but here are the basics:

-Binders
-Spirals
-Dividers
-Paper folders

Optional, but Helpful School Supplies You Might Forget
-Protractor
-Compass
-Book Covers
-Calendar
-Bulletin Board and Push pins
-Drawer organizer
-Lined pads of paper
-Dictionary
-Thesaurus
-Report covers
-Poster Board (If they have a place to keep it, I find there are always last minute projects that need poster board)
-Desk calendar (talk to them about desk calendar vs computer calendar vs planner—later this lesson).
-Doodle Notebook
-Graph paper

Print this out and take it with you!

Tags: Cedar Valley Publishing, let's get ready for first grade, let's get ready for kindergarten, School Supplies, school supply checklists, Spanish & English Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten!, stacey kannenberg, Vanessa Van Petten

About Nie:

On Saturday, August 16, 2008, Stephanie Nielson was in a plane crash with her husband, Christian Nielson, and his flight instructor, Doug Kinnear, near St. Johns, Arizona. Doug Kinnear passed away soon after arriving at the Maricopa County Hospital.
 
Christian & Stephanie remain in critical condition at Maricopa Burn Center.  Christian has sustained burns on over 30% of his body.  His wife Stephanie’s body was burned over 80%. 
 
For the past four years, Stephanie has welcomed us into her charming abode through the NieNie Dialogues.  Far from being a product of creative editing, the Nielson’s don’t just shine through the selective lens of a blog.  They are ingenuous examples of family devotion, eternal romance, and Christ centered faith.  This site is dedicated to their welfare & recovery.

On the right, you’ll see a NIE RECOVERY button, click on that to find ways to help this family through this tragic event.

Tags: airplane crash, Cedar Valley Publishing, Christian Nielson, let's get ready for first grade, let's get ready for kindergarten, Nie Recovery, Spanish & English Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten!, stacey kannenberg, Stephanie Nielson

Click Here to see this AMAZING Story - about a sister and a brother and the art of life:

http://tinyurl.com/5rd3ff

Tags: Cedar Valley Publishing, Difference is an Artist's Game, let's get ready for first grade, let's get ready for kindergarten, Spanish & English Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten!, Stacey Kanneberg, Trisomy 21

At the beginning of August, I featured a young author and artist, Keenan Dietiker who was making a difference in his world and in the world around him.

Today, I want to talk to you, from my heart, about Roland Ibanda from Uganda.  He is being featured for September on D.B. Pacini’s A Starry Night Productions website, which you can find here.

In August, 2008, D. B. Pacini verified Roland’s school, medical, and church records. He received excellent recommendations from his references. They all say he is a fine young man living in hard circumstances.  Roland’s dream is to someday come to America and attend college.

At the tender age of eight Roland began working numerous jobs to help support his disabled mother and siblings. His mother had sustained extensive injuries from an attack by robbers. In spite of his enormous responsibilities, Roland was a successful student. He completed secondary school and qualified for advanced level high school education in Uganda. Students in Uganda must pay for their high school education. Roland helped pay his tuition by working at the high school doing maintenance cleaning.

Roland recently emailed me, and I’d like to share a little of his email with you:

Thanks so much for all your concern, efforts and the endless love you have towards me and my family, I greatly appreciate you and I always wish you for the best together with your family.  I am still searching for a family, organization, company or an individual to invite me to the States make sales of my Art and Stories & later join College to further my studies but the process is still so hard so please keep me in prayers.

Here is a beautiful piece of Roland’s artwork:

For More information about Roland, his art and writing, please visit http://www.astarrynightproductions.com/creative/pages/ibanda.htm

Let’s Get Ready to Help Roland realize his dream of coming to America to attend college - and to be able to grow his art and writing — through love.

Tags: A Starry Night Productions, art school, artist, Cedar Valley Publishing, let's get ready for first grade, let's get ready for kindergarten, Roland Ibanda, Spanish & English Let's Get Ready for Kindertarten!, stacey kannenberg

MamasTimeOut© is a new support site and social network for moms of All ages and All stages!

We feature a weekly mom support call in show on various motherhood/parenting topics, including interviews with special guests!

Tags: Back to School, blogtalkradio.com, Cedar Valley Publishing, let's get ready for first grade, let's get ready for kindergarten, mamastimeout.com, Spanish & English Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten!, stacey kannenberg

I feel so special, to have so many people who are willing to give me a hand, an ear, their time and sometimes their undying loyalty in the wee hours of the night, to get a project such as we’ve recently undertaken, publishing an Spanish & English version of the award-winning Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten! book published and printed.

I’m sure my college Spanish teacher will be amazed, because, ummm, I had such a challenging time in grasping the concepts of the language.  But, the key to success for me with this project was to hire a translator!

This book would not be possible without the amazing helps from Joyce Babel-Worth, my incredible illustrator and layout expert; Dori Schmitz from Dori Schmitz Creative Design; Sin Fronteras (Without Borders); Languages by Nancy LLC and Hayley Vandenbush and all the fabulous teachers who helped with amazing input!!!

As a side note, my girls think it’s hilarious that I have devoted so much time to putting this book together, considering the fact that we do not speak Spanish in our home.  Just goes to show that where there’s a will, there’s a way — and when one mom sets out to set the educational world on fire, she’s going to do it in her native language, and continue to help others through their own languages!
 

Tags: Cedar Valley Publishing, let's get ready for first grade, let's get ready for kindergarten, Spanish & English Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten!, Spanish and English Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten!, stacey kannenberg

BRAND NEW!!!  Spanish & English “Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten!”
Pre-Order Your Copy Today - Click Here

Tags: Cedar Valley Publishing, let's get ready for first grade, let's get ready for kindergarten, Spanish & English Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten!, Spanish and English Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten!, stacey kannenberg

I get tickled when other mom bloggers ask me to guest post or be interviewed for their blogs.  It’s probably a little thing to most folks, but the real world of mom-networking is truly recognized when moms find out what I do and then ask me to join them, in some way.

Truly, what I do is communicate.  That’s how I network.  I talk to others, and then talk some more.  And through those communciations and conversations, I’ve found some of the best folks ever to work with, to grow with and to sustain life’s balance with.

Therefore, when HybridMom.com asked me for a guest post, I was more than happy to do it!  You can CLICK HERE to see my article, How One Mom Does it All:  Through Creating Outsourcing.

Networking, ladies.  Never stop communicating with other moms and women - some days, it could be the bottom line between sanity and a rubber room!

Tags: Cedar Valley Publishing, communicating, Hybrid Mom, Hybrid Mom.com, let's get ready for first grade, let's get ready for kindergarten, Networking, stacey kannenberg