Productivity @ Home

A Shocking Vision of Students, New Media and Technology

With a teen headed to college next year and a tremendous interest in New Media, this video caught my attention when I saw it recently on a friend's blog.  I've seen my kids "multitask", seen how they interact with their friends online and in person, seen them turn off the TV but live out loud to iTunes, and seen the way they obtain their information.  What are we, the grown ups who love them doing to realize and communicate with them in their changing world?  Fascinating - please take five minutes and watch this video.  I'd love to hear your take.

College Admissions and Facebook: To Friend or Not To Friend?

 Many of you know that my son Eric is in the throes of applying to college. It's likely during the next several months that I'll be writing a great deal on this topic, not only for those of you with high school seniors, but also for those with younger children too. You'd be amazed how quickly this process sneaks up on you, and it seems impossible to be "overprepared" to apply to college.

So many things have changed since I applied to college, including the many technological advances that now exist. So when I ran across this USA Today article this week entitled To friend or not to friend? College admissions in the age of Facebook, it caught my eye immediately. This article deals with the ethical issues that surround college admissions officers' use of social networking sites. Here's an amazing statistic from the article:

While 86% of college students have a Facebook account, according to a 2008 survey by Harvard University's Institute of Politics, only 13% of the 401 admissions officials surveyed this year say their schools have a policy about interacting with students on social networking sites, Olson says. "That's the picture of the changing landscape that we are in right now."

I'm certain that most of you with teens who are online are carefully supervising your kids' use of tools such as Facebook. But it's worth having a discussion today about the types of "friends" your child should be accepting online. We had a personal experience of this during the summer, when Eric received a personal letter from the Dean of Admissions at an Ivy League school. This professional shared all of the usual information about their wonderful college and then invited Eric to be his "friend" on Facebook. Thankfully, I was standing nearby when my son zealously grabbed the letter and headed to the computer. I was able to stop him and have an immediate conversation about the propriety of this use of Facebook. While I'm certain that the college official in question is likely simply using Facebook as another marketing tool, we were able to discuss the importance of Eric's personal profile - both his own postings there and what his friends write on his profile.

It seems that history is now being written about the role of Social Networking profiles in the college admissions process. We've always discussed around our home the need for Eric to have the attitude that his Facebook profile serves in a way as his "online resume". In other words, don't post (or allow the posting of) anything you wouldn't want a potential college or future employer to consider.

For those of you who use Facebook or have teens who are on any social networking site, I'm curious to hear how you handle these issues around your home. How do you regularly monitor your child's online presence? Do you feel it is ethical for colleges and universities to consider information posted online as part of the application process? Please chime in with your thoughts!

Friday Food: Vegetable Kabobs with Lemon Pepper and Banana and Peanut Butter Obsession

Find more great family recipes and meal planning assistance at Dine Without Whine

Vegetable Kabobs with Lemon Pepper
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 55 minutes – Yield: 4 servings

VEGETABLES
8 small new red potatoes
2 medium onions
1 medium yellow summer squash, cut into 8 pieces
8 medium fresh mushrooms
8 cherry tomatoes
SAUCE
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1. GRILL DIRECTIONS: Heat grill. Remove thin strip of peel from around center of each potato. Place potatoes and onions in medium saucepan; add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Cook 5 to 8 minutes or just until potatoes can be pierced with fork. Drain. Cut each onion into 4 wedges.

2. Melt margarine in small saucepan. Stir in all remaining sauce ingredients.

3. When ready to grill, alternately thread vegetables onto eight 8 to 12-inch metal skewers. Place on gas grill over medium heat or on charcoal grill 4 to 6 inches from medium coals. Cook 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender, turning and brushing frequently with sauce.

Banana and Peanut Butter Obsession

1/2 to 2/3 cup milk
1 cup partially frozen diced bananas
1/3 cup or more creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup chocolate-peanut butter or favorite chocolate ice cream

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender and mix by using the on/off pulse function until the ingredients are mostly blended. Continue mixing, gradually increasing the speed, until the mixture is smooth. Pour the smoothie into a glass.

Dine Without Whine - With your membership to Dine Without Whine, every Thursday You Receive In Your Personal E-Mail Box A Complete Weekly Menu That Covers The Following Week (Monday-Sunday). Included Is: A Personal Note From Christine Main Dish Recipes For Dinner Every Night Of The Week Suggestions For Side Dishes Brunch Ideas For Saturday And Sunday A Couple Dessert Recipes To Be Used Anytime During the Week In addition Christine will include a grocery list (categorized by aisle) for the week that includes all the necessary ingredients to prepare the recipes highlighted in the newsletter! All you have to do is cross off any items you may already have on hand - add breakfast, snack or lunch items you may need and you're ready to shop! Recipes will be fairly simple and family friendly - meaning hopefully your children (or picky husband) will enjoy them as well; and they will include ingredients that you have actually heard of. (You won't have to search all over town for that special ingredient!) Dine Without Whine - A Weekly Menu Plan & Grocery List Delivered To Your E-mail Box

Is Your Refrigerator an "Environmental Time Bomb"?

On Thursdays, I share my thoughts on Family Finances. 

Following on the heals of "Cash for Clunkers", plans are underway for a "Cash for Appliances" program later this year.  This article at USA Today provides an overview of the government's plans to emulate the automobile program and use stimulus money to encourage consumers to trade in antiquated and energy hogging appliances for new models with greater efficiency. 

How can you tell if your household appliances are weighing down your family budget?  Take a look at the following resources:

• Energy Star - Chock full of resources and lists of energy saving appliances, discounts, rebates and more
• ACEEE Consumer Guide - A great resources from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy.  Check out the individual appliance listings for specific tips to make your current appliances more energy efficient.
• US Department of Energy - Additional energy saving tips and suggestions

Prior to cashing in on government trade in programs and perhaps spending money unnecessarily, spend a few hours this weekend reviewing these tips and making and informed decision.

Home-work for Today:

• Chill Out!  Spend 30 minutes cleaning out the contents of your refrigerator, discarding outdated food and wiping down the shelves.

On the Bookshelf:

Billion Dollar Lessons: What You Can Learn from the Most Inexcusable Business Failures of the Last 25 Years

Reading Room Resources:
The Best of the Blogs from this week on today's topic

Are Poor People Lazy?
Kitchen Monki Makes Planning Your Grocery Shopping Easier
Living within Your Means

Beating the Back to School Budget Slash Blues

On Wednesdays, I share my thoughts on Learning and Professional Development.

My son, a high school senior, has been fighting the budget-cut blues this week. If you live in California, you may be aware of the impact the state's budget crisis has had upon the California State University system. 

Eric happens to attend a very fine charter school at California State University Fresno, where students in their junior and seniors years have access to Fresno State classes.  They are permitted to take two college classes each semester, enabling many of them to accrue quite a few college credits prior to graduation.  This year, however, budget cuts have resulted in drastic slashing of courses offered resulting in quite a lot of schedule wrangling for all of the students impacted.  Today, well into his second week of school, Eric is still working on finalizing his schedule.  College students in the CSU system are facing tuition increases, decreases in services provided (for example, shorter library hours), and amped up student fees.  It's stressful on them, to say the least, and will result in many students missing out on prerequisite courses required for their degrees.

My son is only a high school student, so the impact of this is much less critical than it is on the college students involved.  But I've been trying to work with him this week to see some of the positive skills he's acquired in working through this mess:

• Planning skills - Eric has had to come up with a broad variety of options and plans for the various alternatives that he could face when he walks into a college class and tries to register.
• Research skills - My high school senior is now pretty well versed on the college registration system and its ins and outs.   He has handled the scheduling "mess" independently, with his counselor as an adviser.  This knowledge will serve him well when he heads off to college next year on his own.
• Patience - It's a virtue, right?  In today's "now" society of instant messaging  and real time video alerts, it can be a difficult thing to learn to wait for things to work out properly.
• Diplomacy - Gaining entry into a class when you are wait listed frequently involves speaking with the professor and gaining his approval.  The likelihood of receiving an affirmative response is greatly heightened if you address the professor courteously, yet assertively.  Learning to speak with those in authority is a valuable life skill.
• Gratitude - We don't stop frequently enough in life to count our many blessings.  It can be easy to fall into the trap of complaining about what we don't have rather than embracing and being truly grateful for the things that are going right in our lives.

I'm hoping that Eric comes home today bearing news that his schedule has been worked out.  I'm also hoping that students everywhere who face stress and uncertainty will receive the assistance they need to continue to fruitfully pursue their educations.  Finally, I'm praying for wisdom and guidance for our elected leaders, that they can come to some decisions soon that will minimize the impact of crises such as this one upon families around our state.  In the mean time, Eric and will be dwelling on lessons learned and trying to beat the blues with a positive attitude.

Home-work for Today:

• If  your children have headed back to school, review the syllabuses from their classes and discuss with them their learning goals for this year.

Reading Room Resources:
The Best of the Blogs from this week on the topic of Learning and Professional Development

• 5 Minute Stress Relievers - Taking a Mental Break
• Freshman 15: Coping with the First Year of College
• Back to School: Talk to Your Professor

On the Bookshelf:
The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens

Back to School Soap Information

On Tuesdays, I share my thoughts on Family Life.  Today's guest column by blogger Katie Kimball contains very interesting information that may help you discern health decisions during this hectic back to school season.  Visit Katie at her blog at Kitchen Stewardship.

Even though I won’t be going back to school this year (I’m a teacher in my former life, but I haven’t been since the year prior to last school year), I’m ready to help you think through your kids’ back-to-school shopping list when it comes to soaps and sanitizers.

Hand Sanitizer:  Safe for Schools?

Is hand sanitizer or antibacterial handsoap on your child’s back-to-school list?

I know a lot of schools, especially parochial ones, are asking parents to bring basic supplies like paper towel, tissue, and soap these days to cut costs.  I also know a lot of schools use alcohol-based hand sanitizer like it’s…well…water.  It’s not water, folks.

I would encourage you to read my post about the pros and cons of hand sanitizer before you go shopping.  You may want to try Cleanwell’s tea tree oil-based sanitizer instead.

Should You Buy Anti-Bacterial Soaps?

An even more important topic, in my mind, is the overuse of antibacterial soaps.  They are not needed, not ever, unless you’re sick in the hospital. Lots of kids get sick at school, I realize that. But isn’t the fact that lots of kids get sick at school, in spite of the rampant use of sanitizers and antibac products, proof enough that the antibacterial soaps aren’t going to protect you?  They are most likely doing more harm than good, in fact.  I encourage you to read Antibacterial Soap: How it Works and Why you Should Avoid Triclosan to arm yourself with information, life’s greatest weapon.

What Can We do About It?

You may find yourself wanting to write your child’s teacher or principal a note about antibacterial soap and why you don’t think it’s necessary in their classrooms.  You may even get your undies in a bunch about this country’s marketing strategies, companies that sell us things we don’t need while tricking us into thinking we’re protecting our kiddos’ health…all the while creating products that actually harm our kids and our earth.  Grrr…

Here is a form letter to Bath and Body Works, my least favorite store, asking them to reconsider their seeming undying commitment to antibacterials and triclosan.  You can cut and paste the informative part and draft a quick letter to your child’s school, too.

For now, don’t let yourself be tricked by back-to-school sales on alcohol-based hand sanitizer and antibacterial soap. Be sure to temper your frugality with your common sense, and do your research before committing to a 64 oz. bottle of something!

Copyright 2009 Katie Kimball

About Katie Kimball - Katie blogs at Kitchen Stewardship , where she offers weekly Monday Missions to help people balance God's calls to stewardship of our time, money, environment and family nutrition through the eyes of faith. Find practical tips, challenging facts and healthy recipes there. Katie is a Michigander mom with an inquisitive preschooler and a busy one-year-old, a former teacher who now spends her time immersed in her kitchen and her kids while striving to make time for an active prayer life.

Home-work for today:

• Prior to rushing out to buy every item on your child's "back to school" supply list, spend some time reviewing your supplies for gently used items that might be recycled, including notebooks, binders, water colors, colored pencils, and other less frequently used items.  

Reading Room Resources:
The Best of the Blogs from this week on the topic of Family Life

• Getting Organized for School - Start the Night Before
• Take a Risk and Unclutter
• FHP Plans a "No Plans Month" in October

On the Bookshelf:
You Can't Go To School Naked!

Planning Your @ Home School Year

Every  Monday, I share my thoughts on Working @ Home.

My kids are coming home with scads of paper these days - syllabuses, learning contracts, long term planning calendars and more -- all designed to help them make the most of the year that lies ahead of them.  With this being the first full week of school, they're off to a quick start.  Homework has kicked in, tests have been planned and the learning has begun.

Seeing them get so serious so quickly is a wake up call for me.  The past few months have been busy - there is little evidence of it here on the P@H blog, but you can take my word for it.  I've been swamped with book edits, magazine articles, podcast interviews, and most importantly enjoying the company of my family.  But now that Eric and Adam are back in school and I've retrieved my "work day" schedule, it's time to put things in order.

For me, this week, this includes getting caught up on email, putting my office back in order, setting some long term goals for this year, and reestablishing a workable daily schedule.  In the mean time, current priorities continue and new responsibilities arise seeking a place in my priority list.  Perhaps this week's re-orienting will mean that a few less important tasks get dropped from my "to do" list.

Even if you do not have children in your home, the school year cycle works well as a frame of reference for those of us who work at home.  What are your priorities for the upcoming school year?

Home-work for today:

• Create a nine-month plan, focusing on long term goals and aspirations for the year.  Make two copies: one to consult regularly, and another to be placed in a tickler file and checked in June '08.

Reading Room Resources:
Blog posts from this week related to Working @ Home

• The Get Started Now Guide to Being Self Employed
• What Matters to You?
• How to Do Good AND Make a Profit

On the Bookshelf:
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

7 Back to School Lunch Tips

Find more great family recipes and meal planning assistance at Dine Without Whine.

Don't look now, but school's here! Are you ready for one of the biggest challenges for Moms of school-age kids - preparing school lunches day after day?

There's hope and help for you yet. Here are 7 back-to-school lunch tips. Hey, I can't come over and make your kids' lunches for you, but these tips will surely make it much easier:

1. Make dinner do double-duty

You're already in the kitchen preparing your family's dinner, why not use that time to get a head-start on the next day's brown bag lunches?

Make a double batch of meals that taste just as good "the morning after," you know, like fried chicken. Or cook dishes that can be transformed into something "new", such as pasta sauce that's just as yummy as pizza topping (on ready-made crust of course).

To make meal planning easier, take a look at Dine Without Whine. It's a monthly service for planning your family's meals and grocery shopping.

2. Include lunches when meal planning

To do tip #1, you need to be more organized. This means including your kids' lunches when planning your family dinners.

3. Let the kids participate

Lighten your load and teach your children some important life skills at the same time. Even small children can help prepare their lunches.

If morning is too stressful, then make this an after-dinner activity - which brings us to...

4. Make advance preparations

Do whatever you can do ahead of time. For example, cook in batches on the weekend, or put leftovers in packable containers the night before.

5. DIY fast food

Commercial packed lunches are attractive but unhealthy. But who says you can't make your own? Buy your own colorful and attractive lunch boxes, such as a bento-style lunchbox.

Fill it up with a variety of healthy food. Think of mixing up foods with different textures and colors. And cut them up into small pieces so they're easy and fast to eat.

6. Soup it Up

Soup makes a quick and healthy lunch. You can cook a large pot in the weekend and pack it in a thermos for a warm and satisfying lunch. Serve with whole wheat bread and some fresh fruit and you've got a complete meal!

7. Sprinkle in some fun

Sneak a little surprise into your child's lunchbox once in a while. It could be a little chocolate treat, stickers, or a sweet note from you. Getting something unexpected makes lunch fun.

With planning and creativity, your children can have healthy, delicious lunches without too much work for you.

For meal planning help, go to Dine Without Whine. It makes meal planning a breeze, while helping you save time and money.  Then you'll have time and energy for those school lunches.

Using Geek Techniques to Prepare for Back to School

Around the country, families are sharpening number two pencils, buying backpacks and getting fresh haircuts for the annual return to school.  With two busy high schoolers in my home, I’ve been examining ways to help get myself and my boys more organized. 

This week, I thought I’d brainstorm a few ideas for using technology and other organizational tools help me get our family’s act together.  Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

• Establish a family calendar at Google Calendar. I have the ability to set up a family calendar and “share” it with my husband Greg and sons Eric and Adam.  Since all of us use Gmail, this calendar will be easily accessible every time we’re online.  Greg and I can also access the family calendar from our iPhones.
• Simplify family finances.  I’m looking for ways to reduce paper in our lives, so I’m paying as many bills as possible with online banking.  Our almost 18 year old Eric now has a student debit card that we can closely monitor during this, his last year at home before heading off to college.  Since our accounts are linked together, I can oversee and help manage Eric’s account from one centralized location.  This will also help him gain budgeting skills prior to departing for college.
• Purchase school supplies online.  I’ve been searching for bargains on some of the many supplies the boys will need this year.  I’ll also be purchasing some used books on Amazon once we receive their syllabi and reading lists from teachers.
• Spice up school lunches.  Teens can be almost as choosy as toddlers, and coming up with creative lunch ideas is tricky for children of any age.  I love the article “Beyond Peanut Butter and Jelly” at Faith & Family Live and the article School Lunches at KidsHealth.org for information on nutrition and safety.
• Get connected.  I’ve added my sons’ school website to my favorites, downloaded the annual calendar, and added the principal, high school counselor and a few selected teachers to my email contacts.  I’m also prepared to closely monitor the boys’ grades and attendance on “Power School” and have set myself a weekly reminder alert to make this a regular routine.  I have configured the system to notify me if the boys are late or tardy, or if their grades drop by a certain percentage. 
• Learn with the Library.  We love our public library system and are frequent users.  With online account access, we can quickly and easily reserve books, renew items we’ve checked out, or research events that are coming up at our local library branches.

My brainstorming list is certainly not complete, but I’m off to a great start towards being more organized this school year.  What tools help you prepare for the school year ahead, whether your children are homeschooled or attend traditional schools?  I’d love to hear your tips and tricks for making the “Back to School” transition a more sane and happier time of the year.

Social Media Do's & Don'ts for College Students

Over at UniversityParent.com, there is a terrific article entitled Social Media Do’s and Don’ts for College Students.  The facts and ideas presented in this column are important to review with your children of any age who may be using Social Media.  Around our house, my kids are constantly reminded that their Facebook pages are their "online resumes" -- future college choices, employers, and even their own parents will be closely watching their online activities and judging their characters as a result.

The information in this article is also pertinent to adults of any age who are active online.  Think twice before you type, post a photo or video, or hit "send".