Our tutoring center has been full all year and continues to grow. I recently added a couple of workshops to the program: A.C.T. Prep and Implementing Daily 5 and Cafe. In the process, I've learned a great deal. I already know that teachers are incredibly dedicated. It shows even more when they volunteer to attend a workshop on their own time or agree to add teaching a workshop to their already busy schedules.

The Implementing Daily 5 and Cafe workshop has been very well received. This is a guided reading program presented by Annette Fracassa and Lynn Jimenez from Carr Elementary School in Lincoln Park. They use the program in their classrooms and are very excited to pass on what they've learned. The workshop is designed to show teachers how to set up their classrooms and ease apprehensions about the program. This is a very intense program that requires alot of set up, but will payoff in the end.

The A.C.T. Workshop is presented by Terry Laesser. Talk about dedicated! She works all day and tutors in our facility Mon-Thu. and Sat. And, has now added Sundays once a month to her busy schedule for the workshop.

I'm looking forward to adding more classes and workshops to our center. It's great to provide the ervice to our community!

Tackling the To-Do List

Clearly, my blog hasn't been on the top of my To Do List. The fourth quarter at Academic Avenue is usually pretty busy with the Back-to-School rush, inventory, year-end financials, etc.

The New Year usually brings resolutions for self-improvement. So, here we go....

My husband got me an iPhone which has the most wonderful apps on it. One of them is for errands. I've been mapping out my days with the application by placing errands complete with dates and times. The trick is allotting enough time to complete the task and including extra time, for those "monkey wrenches" that occasionally get thrown into your day. It goes something like this:

7 am Workout
8 am Get ready for work, make lunch/dinner
10 am Stop at bank
Vacuum, clean store
11 am Pay bills
12 pm Expense Reports
1 pm Lunch
2 pm Tutoring Schedule
3 pm Check in orders, merchandise, set displays
4 pm Tutoring
6 pm Close store

With the application you're able to check things off as they get done. You can sort the tasks by Home or Work. Just checking the individual list of items off gives you a sense of accomplishment. Not everyone has an iPhone but you can make up a similar schedule yourself just on paper. Don't forget to include set times to check your email account and/or social net work account. Test it out and let me know how it works for you!

Organizational Tips

I raised four children and at one point in time they were all in different schools. Remembering a teachers name by the time they had six each was out of the question. I was also working full time and going to school. The following tips are good for parents and/or teachers:

Color Coding - I kept different colored folders and highlighters for each child. School papers for each child and homework to be checked and turned in went into the folders. Events on the calendar were highlighted for each child in their color. This kept the confusion out of which school to go to for each event or what was due for whom.

Tips for Paperwork - I have a rule. If I put my hands on it I take care of it right then and there. That means when I get mail, I open it, file it, pitch it....right then and there. No piles!

File System - I have file folders labeled: "bills to be paid", "orders to be processed", "Invoices to be processed", etc. These are for tasks I can't get to right away. These should never be ignored - they just enable you to put your hands on something until you complete the task. It's harder to find something in a pile. The label names can be changed to "papers to be graded", "notes to go home", "permission slips", etc. You get the idea. Just don't forget they are there!

Time Saver - How often do you check your email, facebook, twitter accounts? Think about how much time you actually spend. Limit your time to just a couple of times a day. Try making a chart with times on it and assign certain times of day to checking these things. List out tasks that need to be done for the day on the chart and allow enough time for unplanned events that take you away from the task at hand. You'll be amazed at how much you get done and what a sense of accomplishment you have when tasks are completed.

Cleaning - Sometimes you don't have time to give the house a good cleaning but you can keep it looking neat. When you go into a room, grab anything that belongs in the next room you plan to visit or rooms along the way. Straighten anything out of place while you are in a room.

Hope these tips keep some sanity in your life!

Some of my Special Customers - 6/20/11

Today was a special day at the store. It wasn't about the sales, it was about the people.
Let me introduce you to some of the important people that come to my store.

Avery used to come in about every other week with his grandpa who lives in the neighborhood. He's a very smart little boy who's going to break about a dozen hearts or more. He used to come in for books to "teach" his friends. I haven't seen him since he came to say goodbye about a year ago because he and his family were moving to Germany where his dad was stationed. I was pleasantly surprised when he came in with his grandpa just to say hello to me and let me know he was okay and back for the summer. He introduced me to his mom and little sister, Sophie. A child of about ten years, made me feel incredibly special today.

Also in today were the sisters that live in the neighborhood that stop in every so often through the year and always make it in a few times in the summer. They bring their own money and carefully choose the items they want to spend their money on. They're always very polite and I swear they grew about a foot each in the last year. Isabella and Olivia are turning into beautiful young ladies and I enjoy their visits.

There was a dad that came to me a couple of years ago, going through a divorce and wanted to create an educational environment for his kids when they were visiting. He was pretty down. Today, a couple years later, he was really up and was nice enough to share with me what he'd accomplished with his kids in the last couple of years.

Yes, today was a very special day for me. These people made my day just by walking in and allowing me to be a part of their lives. That is priceless.

Summer Vacation

What I'm not going to miss about school is the daily battle to get my student out of bed every day. However, I don't know how on earth I'll get him up before I leave for work? Ah never-ending battles. It's always something isn't it?

I made an effort every summer to keep my children learning until they went back to school. Believe me, that was a battle, too. Lots of parents are coming in to my store and are worried about the same thing. When I was in school, I really didn't need much help with homework from my parents because we worked hard in school and pretty much worked on lessons until the whole class understood them. Parents had the mindset that they were paying taxes and they were sending kids to school to learn there. Why should they have to do it at home?

That isn't the case any more. Parents absolutely must work with children in order for them to succeed. Teachers are bogged down with impossible deadlines and benchmarks. They don't have the time to stop for each child. Not to mention, class sizes aren't what they used to be.
Kids need us now more than ever. If you have questions about what you could be doing at home to help your child learn, my phone line is always open. You don't have to spend anything to get information out of me. I'm happy to give ideas out over the phone or via email.
Whatever keeps them learning!

Steal Precious Moments

We had the most beautiful weekend here in southeast Michigan. A weekend that was predicted to be the last. I saw the gentleman who made the prediction on the news this morning, and despite the tongue-in-cheek humor I've heard in the last couple of days, my heart really went out to him. He truly believed with every fiber of his being that he was right. So much so that he wanted to warn the world.

I'm sure the folks in Joplin, Missouri are feeling as though their world ended. What would be the end of your world or what has been? Many of us have experienced something that rocked our world to it's very core. When is there time to enjoy life? Sometimes you just have to steal those moments because they are precious and few.

My husband and I abandoned our housework/yardwork responsibilities on Friday to go shopping. Then, we put off making dinner to go biking in the park. Then we just couldn't resist a walk, hand-in-hand, around the block after dinner. I hope you can take a few moments today and everyday to enjoy life. It's shorter than you may think.

Mother's Day

To me, there is no better Mother's Day gift than spending time with my family. Now that most of my children are grown and on their own it's difficult to get them all together with conflicting work schedules and life in general. My oldest son took charge this Mother's Day and rallied his siblings together to prepare a wonderful feast! He is quite the cook. I have to say it was odd watching my adult children scurrying around in the kitchen and running me out of the kitchen when it was time to clean up. My youngest son prepared a heart-warming video set to music of him as a baby and me. It's those thoughtful gifts that I cherish the most.

I hope everyone else had a wonderful Mom's Day, too!