Let’s Get Ready with Cedar Valley Publishing

Congratulations to my Green Bay Packers who continued to preserve and fight each and every week even to the last play of the Super Bowl to become Super Bowl Champions!!  WOO HOO!

Do you know of a deserving mom who is passionate about education?  If so please nominate her for the 2011 Mom Congress and join me in Washington DC in April to meet Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan!  Mom Congress has changed my life! Please pass this amazing gift forward and enter before 1/31/11

http://www.parenting.com/forward?path=node%2F123833

I take every Election Day very seriously and am proud to exercise my freedom to vote.  Since I was 18, I have missed one Spring Election during college and one Primary Election during the early years of marriage; both to the flu.  Do you realize more people in this country vote for American Idol and Dancing with the Stars than vote in our elections?  Please don’t stand on the sidelines; think of all those military heroes who have serviced or who have died for your right to cast your vote.  I do understand that folks are upset that those who spend the most money on advertising…win!  It’s the same way in the world of business…the large national brands have more money to spend on advertising than small mom solo entrepreneurial businesses such as mine; but I am proof that you can have a national presence without a national marketing budget!  However, it’s the hypocrisy in education that kills me…one minute our education system is strapped to the bone and the next our educational leaders still find the ways and means to spend millions and millions on political advertisements and many of those advertisements are the exact opposite of their zero tolerance bullying tone…please every vote does count, make your voice heard!

Our back to school ritual involves Back-to-School shopping.  Every year (this was our 6th year) my daughters Heidi, now 11 and Megan, now 9 and our next door neighbor/big sister/babysitter/who has known the girls since day one, Amanda, who is now 17 and I go shopping.  This isn’t just shopping we turn it into a fashion show extravaganza and involving many times the entire store.   Honestly, I hate shopping and so do my girls.  But years ago I decided to tell the girls we would be having a fashion show with their favorite person in the entire world, Amanda.  We went from “fit n’tears” to “fun n’laughs” just by making it into a special event – a few stores for a few hours and lunch in a nice restaurant.   They gear up to the event with the girls painting their nails and picking out a special outfit to wear shopping and Amanda does their hair.  So they “feel” special for picking out even more “special outfits”.

We only go to a few stores and each of us takes one girl and we work with the help of a sales person with that girl.  This year we had one sales girl who keep going in the back room and finding us the cutest clothes that I would never have found on the rack in a million years.  Once the girls explain what they want – I have learned that if my girls really, really don’t love it and they are only buying it to please me – they will NOT wear it; so now we explain to the salesperson we want A line waistlines from one girl that cover her appropriately and will not show her belly button when she raises her hand in class and more fitted outfits for the other girl with the same description that they need to be covered appropriately and honestly, the salesperson does all of the work.  We have so much fun the manager and a bunch of salesreps usually gets involved too helping us decide which ones we should select.  The girls feel special and love the attention!    We have stores that remember us each year and enjoy the “fun and excitement” we bring back to Back-to-School shopping.  

The key for me, everyone needs an Amanda and salesreps who enjoy their jobs!!

Stacey Kannenberg
Fredonia, WI

Astrological Sign: LEO

# of children: 2

Ages: 11 &  9

Favorite Business Book: Anything by Authors Tamara Monosoff or Joyce Bone

Favorite Family Book: The Dream is Clear to Believe is the Reward – Mike Kannenberg

Favorite Quote: Winners never quit and quitters never win! Vince Lombardi

1. Which came first: the biz or the kid? The kids were 3 and 1 when I started the biz!
2. What is your biggest productivity secret- the thing that helps you accomplish the most in your day?  My ability to multi-task keeps me on track!
3.  How well do you feel you are balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship? As the kids get older it gets easier.  Any tips? Involve the family so they support you and the family business; Try to establish a routine that works for the family; Work around your family time; and most important remember it takes practice to balance it all!
4. What was the tipping point for you when you realized you were truly an entrepreneur? It started with my hot dog stand from 1969-1974 in front of my grandparent’s busy family bowling alley in Hayward, WI.  I always knew I would have my own business but I wanted to learn from the corporate world first and start my own business from home when I started my own family!
5. What one word describes your purpose in your family, your biz and your life? EMPOWER
6. Where do you find your greatest source of support for your goals in your family, business and life? I have the unconditional love of my husband and kids and the support of thousands of people standing behind me that have gotten me to where I am today.  From the love of family and friends to the support of so many people that I didn’t even know in person, who once they heard my story, have cheered me on by sharing my story and have continued to rally behind me!
7. What do you do to recharge your spiritual batteries? Pray and read the Bible!
8. What’s the one thing you can’t live without? Electricity!
9. iPhone or Blackberry? Blackberry
10. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate
11. PC or Mac? PC
12. Which do you do most often: Eat out, Order In or Cook it yourself? Cook it
13. Who is your biggest supporter? My amazing husband Mike who gave me a crystal clear clock in 2004 engraved with the Cedar Valley Publishing logo that reads:  The Dream is Clear - To Believe is the Reward
14. Who is your greatest inspiration?  I was raised by my grandparents who were both my “rock”.  My grandfather told me every day that I was destined for greatness and that I could make the world a better place.  He started me on my path and passed the baton off to Mike, who continues to support the mission!
15. What do you see yourself doing in 5 years? More of what I am doing today and loving every minute of it!

Name of Businesses: Cedar Valley Publishing and HerInsight Media

URLs: www.cedarvalleypublishing.com

www.herinsight.com – coming soon

Radio Show Get Ready to Learn Mom

Twitter Name @StaceyKann

Facebook Page www.facebook.com/stacey.kannenberg

The Work Smart Mompreneurs Blog:  http://www.worksmartmompreneurs.com/blog/

Kindergarten is a big step! The social circle is expanding rapidly beyond caregivers, and the child is becoming more aware of self and others. There has been much research on which skills children need to get ready for kindergarten. The Kindergarten Entry Skills project (McIntyre, 2007) surveyed kindergarten teachers and identified skills they look for in incoming kindergarten students. According to the Kindergarten Entry Skills survey, skills include the ability to:

• separate from parents without excessive crying
• manage own bathroom needs
• verbalize needs and wants
• sit through an age-appropriate story without interrupting
• work independently for short periods of time
• follow simple directions
• respect limits and rules
• care for belongings

Ways to Increase Children’s Social-Emotional Competency for Kindergarten:

Familiarize your child with the new school before it starts:

• play at the school playground during the summer
• find out who’s in the class and arrange play dates during the summer
• invite classmates and their parents over during the summer

Get your child excited during the weeks leading up to kindergarten:

• Talk to your child about the positive changes that will occur when he/she goes to kindergarten. Share about all of the fun, new experiences and activities that “big kids” get to participate in while they are in school.
• Let your child assist when purchasing school clothes and supplies. After bringing the items home, let your child talk about all of the wonderful things that he/she will be able to make with the new crayons, glue, scissors, etc.

Provide your pre-k child with reading experiences that discuss going to kindergarten

Reading books about a potentially stressful situation, with a parent, can take the stress out of the situation. Here are a few book suggestions parents can share with their child:

• Ready for Kindergarten by Sharon Wilkins [Zondervan, 2000]
• Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten! by Stacey Kannenberg [Cedar Valley Publishing, 2006]
• Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate and Ashley Wolff

Read, read, read to your child every day! (Reasons to turn off the TV and read with children)

Talk to your children about their feelings: help them name feelings, understand and express them; this affects how children view themselves and others, and helps them cope with stress (Raising an emotionally intelligent child)

Give your child a chore to do during the summer to develop a sense of responsibility and self-esteem

Make sure your child gets plenty of sleep, and establish good routines for going to bed at night and getting up in the morning

Provide your child plenty of opportunities to get outdoor exercise and spend quality time with family and friends

Expect regressive behavior before kindergarten starts: children may rely on previously acquired self-comforting behaviors to help manage any fears

• shyness
• thumb sucking, needing a blanket
• clingy behavior

As school and new classmates become more familiar, self-comforting behaviors will occur less frequently.

Visit SF K Files- a place for parents who are seeking a kindergarten in San Francisco. The site offers up reviews of public, private, and parochial schools, as well as lots of advice and opinions from the community of parents who frequent the blog.

Sara Shaw, M.S., MFT is a Consultant for the Family Service Agency of San Francisco and has a private practice in Pacific Heights (www.sarashaw.com)

As we continue to enjoy our family and friends, please know that we wish you all the best for the end of 2009 and a FANTABULOUS 2010!  Amazing things are happening with us, and we’re SO glad you’re along for the ride!

May your tables be filled with the blessings of food, may your hearts be filled with the blessings of love, may you share your blessings with others less fortunate and may you all have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

With love and appreciation for all that have made all of us successful this year - personally, emotionally and profesionally.

Stacey Kannenberg & Family

I so enjoy talking with people who have gone out and taken action on creating the life they desire, it’s a gift we all have, yet so few do anything more than talk….  Today we are sitting down with Stacey Kannenberg of Cedar Valley Publishing, one of the few who has stepped out of the box and created the life of her dreams.  Welcome Stacey!

Stacey, please tell us about the path you traveled to arrive where you are today: I was trying to find a book for my own children (at the time) ages three and one; to get ready for that first day of school and couldn’t find what I wanted so I decided to create it myself.

What kept you moving forward on the days things were not going exactly the way you were hoping they would? My company was created in 2004 and that first Christmas, my husband had a clear crystal clock engraved with the Cedar Valley Publishing Logo and coined the following phrase, which has become my mantra:  The Dream is Clear, To Believe is the Reward.  On those dark days, that clock sits on my desk and keeps me moving forward!

Click Here to read more…by Caryn FitzGerald from Embracing My Journey