Let’s Get Ready with Cedar Valley Publishing

If two brothers can change the face of aviation, then I can tackle education!! This is my platform. 

I was a mom who was trying to get my own kids ready for school and was shocked at how advanced Kindergarten has become.  Starting the education process in Kindergarten is already too late. We need to empower kids at ages 2-4 to inspire parents and preschool teachers to all work together to be involved in education. 

A generation of children were taught to wear seat belts and they taught their parents and grandparents.  Teach children what they need to know and they will inspire their parents to become vested in education as well.  That’s the key!

A homework assignment for parents everywhere!!! Do these 6 things daily and your children will succeed!

1. Stop, Drop, and Listen.  Stop what you are doing, drop to their level and listen to your child talk about their day, daily!
2. Unload the backpack/ homework folder with your kids daily.  Be involved in helping them stay on track for the next day!
3. Read with your kids every night for 15 minutes.
4. Play a repetitive game with your kids for 15 minutes.  You could even do 10 pushups and 10 sit-ups as a family!
5. Ask open ended questions to help your kids learn to communicate effectively. 
6. Be involved in school activities and join your PTA/PTO!

Copyright 2007, Stacey Kannenberg, Cedar Valley Publishing, Author of Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten! and Let’s Get Ready For First Grade!

Letting children know you care is one of the best ways to help them stay on top of their game.  What’s your favorite way to stay involved?

I loved staying at home with my kids.  I gave notice the same day I dropped my baby off for her first day at a sitter’s home.  She was 5 months old and I cried the entire day.  I had called my husband crying several times that morning and we agreed to meet at noon in a parking lot not far from his office.  We were both in tears.  I told him that I could not let someone else take care of our child; I wanted it to be me.   So we both decided that I would give up my job and I would stay at home. 

I was already working from home, my boss was 3,000 miles away and I would have a conference call with the home office once a week.  The only downfall was the weekly overnight travel schedule.  I was still nursing with not much success pumping.  My heart was not in my existing job; my new passion became our new baby. So I gave notice that day.  My company allowed me to work out my notice around my child’s schedule and our family started to make some changes to our lifestyle for me to be a full-time mommy.  Here are some things that worked for our family:

1. Crunch the numbers.  In our situation, we were in a higher tax bracket with two salaries, so without my salary, we dropped down to a lesser tax bracket and found most of my salary was going to Uncle Sam rather than in our pocket anyway.
2. Make sure both of you are on the same page for one of you to stay at home.  Set the ground rules with responsibilities on both sides:  not because one goes to work all day, the other has to do everything else.  That is never a fair arrangement!
3. Trust your gut.  Being a 24/7 at home parent is hard work.  It’s not for everyone.  Be honest with each other to determine if it is the right decision for your family.  If you decide that working gives you a release and makes you happier, for goodness sakes, don’t let guilt get in the way.  Instead embrace your outside opportunities with the positives and stay focused on the benefits!
4. Run your household like a corporation: upper management needs to have meetings to discuss human resources, operations, engineering, delegation, maintenance and scheduling. 
5. Set a schedule.  Plan exercise time, snack time, reading time, playtime, nap/quiet time and clean-up time and act accordingly.  When it’s nap/quiet time you can be starting dinner, folding laundry, reading a book or mediating.  Exercise time means everyone needs to get up and burn calories, walking around the yard, dancing to a favorite tune, doing jumping jacks or hopping on one foot.  Moving is exercise!
6. Have fun!  They grow up so fast, before you know it they don’t want to take naps cuddled together on the sofa, play puzzles with you or help set the table for dinner. 
7. Make it a point to have your children get into the habit of welcoming home both parents from work or shopping.  Everyone likes a welcoming committee complete with the sound of running feet after a quick trip to the grocery store or when Daddy comes in from a day at work.
8. Make your own special rituals.  If my children are awake when Daddy leaves for work, we do group hugs.  My husband and I each put a child in our arms and we all hug together.   A family that hugs together stays together!

Copyright 2007, Stacey Kannenberg, Cedar Valley Publishing, Author of Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten! and Let’s Get Ready For First Grade! 

Are you considering becoming a Stay at Home Mom (SAHM)?  If you’re on the fence, get out the paper and pencil and get busy.  Make a list of pros and cons, crunch the household numbers, and most importantly consider what is really right for both you and your family. 

If I could wave a magic wand over our educational system, I would make some serious changes.  I would do a better job of making sure parents, teachers, and kids are all on the same page starting at the core:  preschool.  Until you have preschool teachers and parents knowledgeable on what kids are learning in Kindergarten, at toddler time, you will always have children falling behind.  

Testing has changed as the curriculum has become more advanced.  It is my belief that if each school took the time to have a meeting every year with parents and kids to discuss the curriculum for that year and handed out a sample report card explaining exactly what information they will be tested on, parents and kids would step up to the plate and become more responsible for learning this information. 

It is silly to expect parents and kids to just “know” what kids will be tested on before the kids are tested on it.  For each school to share this information before they begin testing just makes sense.  It would help empower both parents and kids so they would understand just how advanced the curriculum has become.  It would allow parents and kids the opportunity to become more involved in their education.

Another way to keep the fun in school is to change the way we view instruction.  Children should want to go to school and learn.  In the age of computers and technology, classrooms need to move away from the instructor in the role of lecturer at the head of the class, with the attitude that children need to shut up and listen.  I hate to tell you this but not all teachers are great teachers.   Great teachers realize the importance of involving children in the day-to-day learning process and empowering them in a creative and revolutionary way to keep learning fun.  Teachers need to realize that memorization studies show that unless the information is presented in a fun and interesting format, after the test, the information is not successfully retained. 

I would like to bring prayer and the morning pledge of allegiance back into schools.  For those that don’t believe in prayer, both sides will learn acceptance and tolerance for someone else’s belief.  I would like to end the political division in education.  It seems unfair that I know my superintendent’s political belief and yet my child is not allowed to pray in school.  Why is it okay for him to practice his belief on school time and yet my child is not allowed to pray in school?  Where is the union for my child, protecting her belief?

Our public school in Wisconsin has a $10 million dollar budget, the exact salary as the Green Bay Packers pay their quarterback, Brett Farve.  I am a huge Brett Farve fan, but the priorities of our nation say he is more valuable than one entire school district. 

In that district, 85% of the budget or $8.5 million dollars goes for teacher’s salaries, pensions, retired employee’s and health benefits and the remaining 15% is for the kids, right.  WRONG.  Of that 15%, the district needs to pay for school busing, heating and cooling the school and maintaining the school to the tune of another $1 million dollars or so.  So what is really left for our kids?  Not much! Show me any other business that caters to the employees rather than the customer and I will show you a business that was forced to close its doors long ago.  And of course, if you say anything about this discrepancy you have every teacher union president in your face screaming.  Why?  We live in a democracy where we are even allowed to bash our president but heaven help us if we question our educational system.  Why is that?  Sadly, because we have allowed unions to become the heart of education.  They are dividing education into two sides at the expense of our children.  I say, enough is enough; it is time to bring both sides to the table and re-negotiate for the future of education with our children becoming the top priority. 

Copyright 2007, Stacey Kannenberg, Author of Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten! and Let’s Get Ready For First Grade!

What are your thoughts on the state of education today?  Are you happy with your school and/or district?  Have any suggestions for reform?

I made some positive life changes to my diet and exercise program a few months before I turned 40.  I was working out like a banshee, eating right and the weight was coming off.  I was finally on track until the unthinkable happened.  I had a knee and elbow injury that forced me to take some time off and recuperate. 
I actually had a doctor’s order not to exercise and I was never so miserable in all my life.  The lady who hated to exercise–I still hate to exercise, but I so love how I feel after I exercise–was told to take it easy.  I didn’t listen and ended up having a more serious injury that kept me away from the workout routine that I had been doing for 2 years.

My body was ready to begin at the 6 months mark, but it took another 3 months before my mind was ready to actually begin the journey again.  Sadly, in 9 months I had gained back all the weight it had taken me 2 years to lose.  I was back to square one. 

Fortunately, it only took me 6 weeks to get back on track and settle into a daily routine which included exercise and healthy eating habits.  I am down 10 pounds and I’m ready to share what has been working for me this second time around:

• I schedule 35 minutes on my exercise bike every day before the kids wake up.  From 6:30-7:30 every morning, I bike ride while catching up on work reading.  I am in the publishing business and have piles of books to review, so for me this is killing two birds with one stone.  Yes, I don’t burn as many calories reading a book, but it is making a dent in my reading pile, so it is a trade off that works for me.  Also, I often find myself riding longer than the full hour allotted because I just can’t put down a great book!  It provides me with the added bonus of being eager to exercise and read the next day!

• Twice a week, my husband and I take a group exercise class with weight training/ball/kickboxing.  It is also a scheduled date with my husband on the calendar.  We do it together as a team and enjoy it greatly.  With school starting, I will be moving to mornings two days a week, to allow me to be home at night with the girls, staying on homework detail.  But we still will be working out on the same days doing the same class, just at a different time. 

• I watch what I eat.  I am at the point where I don’t need to journal, as I know what works for me.  Breakfast:  Fruit or 100% orange juice with oatmeal, whole grain cereal, or a slice of whole grain bread toasted dry, with a thin layer of peanut butter spread on top; Lunch:  Fruit with either soup, salad, baked potato easy on the margarine and light sour cream or a bagel with melted cheese and a slice of ham; dinner is always a protein, veggie and fruit.  I am in charge of the kitchen, so it is easy to keep the entire family on track with making healthy choices.

• I don’t eat after 6PM. 

• I have healthy treats, veggies and fruits on hand when I need a snack.

• I am lucky that I get to read books on weight loss, motivation and self-help for my job.  Filling yourself full of positive thoughts goes a long way to keeping you away from the refrigerator.  Call a friend, read a book, take a bubble bath, clean a closet, do something else (anything positive and/or productive) to redirect your energy when you are feeling the urge to eat out of boredom.  

• Listen to your body.  If you are in need of more fuel, fill it up.  Protein is a great choice to give you some long lasting energy:  a slice of cheese, a spoonful of peanut butter, cottage cheese or a glass of 1% low fat chocolate milk will take you much farther than a bag of chips.

• I use the scale every morning to help me stay on track and help me plan my day.  If it is up, I need to try harder that day.  Perhaps I add more exercise and make better food choices.  If it’s down or the same, I rejoice!  You can’t expect to loss weight every day, 2-3 pounds a week is realistic and staying the same means you are closer to a loss!  So rejoice that you are going in the right direction!

• I like myself.  I live in the present and look to the future.  So it happened, I am trying again, working harder this time to not re-injure myself and taking every day as one step toward my goal.

• Keep Moving!  I am doing this for my family and myself because it makes me healthy, happy and terrific.  It has become another passion that I don’t want to live without.

Copyright 2007, Stacey Kannenberg, Cedar Valley Publishing, Author of Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten! and Let’s Get Ready For First Grade!

What’s working for you on your quest for healthier eating and daily exercise?  Is it a journal?  A firm plan?  A promise to yourself or your family?  Let’s do some healthy dishing!

Parent Teacher Conferences are essential opportunities to find out how your child is doing in school.  It’s a time to ask questions and your opportunity to get to know your child’s teacher one-on-one.  Remember, as the parent, you are your child’s first and foremost teacher.  So if you have a question, ask it.  Find out how you can help and don’t be afraid of asking simply:  How can I help? 

Build a network of other parents within your child’s class and volunteer.  The easiest way to be involved is to just show up and make it fun.  Kudos to the Pigeon River Green Gang in Sheboygan, WI.  This group of parents, teachers and kids have been meeting for 6 years, every month and doing improvements to their school.  They have created walking paths, prairie settings, and pizza gardens by planting the basil, oregano, tomatoes, peppers and later having a pizza party or a salsa party for their school to eat the fruits of their labor.  WOW, and that was some yummy salsa they made!!! 

I was recently at Harvard, IL’s 4 year old Kindergarten to talk to parents, via an interpreter about how they can help their children be successful in school.  I told them that just by showing up and asking questions, they are showing their kids that they care.  I also talked about the importance of going through the backpack and folder every night, reading with their kids for 15 minutes and playing a repetitive game for 15 minutes, like jumping jacks and counting out loud as they go.  Stop, drop and listen to your child daily and ask open ended questions to help your child learn to communicate and be involved in school activities and functions and build a network of parents to make it a fun social experience as well.  It’s all about making it fun for the entire family!  If it’s not fun, you need to make some changes to make it fun.  Find new people that are fun and start networking!
 
Copyright 2007, Stacey Kannenberg, Cedar Valley Publishing, Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten! and Let’s Get Ready For First Grade!

Got some neat ideas to make it fun?  We’d all love to hear them!  Don’t stop with us. Share them with teachers, other parents and your local PTA/PTO too!  We’re all in this together!

It’s back to school time. I couldn’t have said it any better than my dear friend Rachel Hamman.  She had a fabulous post and I’m with her!  I am so ready to practice the 3 R’s:  Relaxing, Recharging and Reclaiming!  To read more go to: https://rachelhamman.typepad.com.  

I learn so many great tips from observing homeschooling moms.  I saw this in action a few years ago, tried it last year and now it has become a family tradition with Heidi, 8 and Megan 6.  This is school shopping week at the Kannenberg household… 

Empower children to help make shopping for school supplies a fun game for everyone, instead of another dreaded chore that needs to be done. 

Every child gets to hold and cross off their supply list and is given a shopping basket.  Mom is in charge of helping and supervising the purchases before they can be added to Mom’s Approved Purchases (MAP) Cart. 

The rules are simple:

1. Everyone has to stay in the same aisle, so Mom can supervise purchases. 
2. Mom has final approval before the item can be put into Mom’s cart.

Tip: Empower older children to help younger children who might not be able to read the list, but can help find items and cross them off the list.  Everyone is involved in the process regardless of age; even a toddler can help search, find and put
the item into the basket for Mom’s approval and help Mom get it into the final cart. 

Make it a fun activity and start the school year with some positive fun!

I enlisted help from our 14 year-old neighbor girl, Amanda.  It’s become a tradition to go school clothes shopping with her, and this year the long wait was finally over.  Instead of calling it clothes shopping — it’s “fashion show dress up.”  We went to a discount department store a few hours before the dinner hour.  We grabbed two carts, one for each girl.   We shopped together as a team and visited each area:  jeans, skirts, shirts, blouses,
underwear, tights, socks and shoes.  We pushed our carts into the dressing room area, assigned each girl to a room and handed them each a complete outfit minus underwear, tights, socks and shoes to try on and model.  Amanda and I emceed the event and asked them to come out at the same time to model.  My job was final outfit approval, making sure all approved items were placed in the correct cart or put aside as a “no sale.”   When the show was complete and purchases made, we had dinner at a nice restaurant.  We all had so much fun!  The girls have talked and giggled about it for the past year and were so excited that it was finally time to go again. 

Copyright 2007 – Stacey Kannenberg, Author of Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten! and Let’s Get Ready For First Grade!

Action Item: How about you?  Do you have any great tips to take the stress out of back to school time?  Let us know how you’ve taken a chore that used to cause tears and turned into one that creates cheers!  Inquiring moms are dying to know!

Have you heard of Everyday Math?  It is used as the elementary math curriculum in many schools across the nation and the concept is simple:  do math everyday.  That I like.  Show children how much fun math can be and show it used in everyday practical matters.  Everyday Math introduces math at the core and presents it in a fun and positive environment.  Math is everywhere in everyday practical matters:  cooking, traveling, banking, simply everywhere.  

My children are at the beginning of Everyday Math so our family has yet to get into the meat of the program to see first hand the benefits in action.  I do hear from frustrated parents who are not happy with one thing about Everyday Math:  they do a different math concept everyday.  One day it could be fractions, the next it could be patterns, the next day measuring, and the next day decimals.   The idea is that at some point the light goes on and children understand the concept and if you are spending an entire unit working on fractions and then move on to measuring, the child might never have had that “aha moment” about fractions.  That might have been my problem with math in school.  The light never turned on for me with math.  I honestly still get nervous about fractions and storybook math problems and I am the first to direct my children to Dad for help on those units.  Math was his favorite subject in school and he uses it everyday in his job.  It is his passion.

So, I am going into Everyday Math with an open mind because math has never been one of my favorite subjects in school.  I am not going to let on to my kids that math was not my favorite subject, instead I am going to attempt to oversee the math homework links, to see if I could possibly start over with math at the core.  It may not be too late for me to have my own math epiphany.  I do believe in the importance of practice and at some point enough practice over and over might lead to that light bulb burning brightly between myself, my children and math. 

Copyright 2007, Stacey Kannenberg, Cedar Valley Publishing, Author of Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten! and Let’s Get Ready For First Grade!

Do you have a secret subject that’s still “Greek” to you?  Are you working towards making it more you-friendly?  Tell us how it’s working out! 

I will never forget the day I was finally hooked on reading. I was blessed by the presence of my friend Mary Isham one day in 9th grade.

Yes, you read it right. It took me until 9th grade to finally love reading. I wasn’t a born a reader, nor was a child-bookworm.

Even my school librarian knew I dreaded school assignments that forced me to check out books and report on a particular subject—or any subject at all. I was not a struggling reader, but I never found an interest to read anything beyond my homework assignments; which had too much reading in and of itself.

So, back to that glorious day in 9th grade…

I was walking into the school library and noticed my friend Mary Isham having an animated conversation, mostly to herself, as she openly expressed her concerns with the librarian. She was a cute and bubbly girl, dressed in her cheerleading outfit for the big game that night and seemed to be having some sort of problem.

I walked closer and overheard Mary tragically exclaim, “I can’t bear to part with it, I just can’t, you know.  I can’t stand the thought of it being put back on the shelf and no one reading it – I have checked it out three times and have read it over and over for weeks and the thought of it all alone waiting for someone to read it makes me sad.”  Mary spots me walking in and gushes, “Stacey save me!  This is such a great book and I have to turn it in today and I hate to see it sitting on the shelf alone, please, please take it and check it out…it is such a great book.”

I remember her words vividly.

That was it! 

I couldn’t believe that someone could love a book so much that she was having such a dramatic scene about returning it to the library,

So, I figured it must be good, right?  As pleaded, I took the book and checked it out.  I went home, rushed to my room, and opened its first page. I was hooked!

I even missed the football game that night.

When it was time to return it, I checked out another Victoria Holt romance book and the librarian smiled as to say something about that being a life changing event for me.

I didn’t appreciate it until now. Yes, being hooked on reading became a life-changing event for me.

Thank you Mary Isham!

What’s your favorite book? What title can cause you to get dramatic and overly-animated?

Well, whatever book it is, please introduce that book to your child, friend, family member or co-worker.

You never know, it might be a life-changing event for them too!

Copyright 2007 – Stacey Kannenberg, Cedar Valley Publishing, Author of Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten! and Let’s Get Ready For First Grade!

Care to share your favorite book with us?  What about a favorite author or series?  Reading can be a wonderful life-altering experience; the right book can be the key that unlocks the door.

Are you living the life you want?  Is there something missing, something you want to do but maybe now that you are a mom, you think it might be too late?  Have you always wanted to fly a plane, go skydiving, scuba diving, bungee jumping, parasailing or ride on a Harley? 

Okay maybe you are not the risky outdoor type, so how about write a book, take that dream trip or start your own business?

You need to ask yourself:  is there something I need to do and if so, what is it?  And then you need to go for it. 

Write down what your want to accomplish.  Writing it down reaffirms your desire.

Tell everyone about it.  The more people who know about it, the more people might be able to help you make it happen.  Ironically, sometimes it is the people that you do not know who end up being the most supportive along the way to making it happen.

Networking, networking, networking.  People make things happen.  You never know who that person will be.  Many times it is the person you would least expect, yet they seem to hold the key to something you need.  You will never know unless you ask.  So keep asking, you will find the answer.

Allow yourself to dream about it.  Visualizing your goal will help make it a reality.

Find someone who has already done it.  Via networking, you might find someone else who has already started a similar business, skydived, authored a book, or taken that trip.  Find them and find out how they did it and then make it happen for yourself.

Believe and you will.

Copyright 2007-2008 – Stacey Kannenberg, Author of Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten! and Let’s Get Ready For First Grade!

What are your dreams?  Close your eyes and see what dreams materialize.  Keep a notepad handy to write them down; then start taking those steps to make them a reality.  While you’re at it – share your dreams with us.  You never know – just the person you need to see it…may!