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	<title>Cash for Creations</title>
	<updated>2010-03-15T00:17:42Z</updated>
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	<generator uri="http://app.onlinequickblog.com/" version="2.0">Quick Blogcast</generator>
	<entry>
		<title>Teachers Refuse to Work More, So School Board Fires Them All</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://blog.cashforcreations.com/2010/03/14/teachers-refuse-to-work-more-so-school-board-fires-them-all.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:blog.cashforcreations.com,2010-03-14:4f580fc1-f688-4c9c-a9e4-6ad717ed88a8</id>
		<author>
			<name>Cindy Martin</name>
		</author>
		<category term="Teachers" />
		<updated>2010-03-14T20:38:00Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-14T20:38:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;span&gt;&lt;img src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/106232-99023/Acts_of_Kindness.jpg?a=66" width="700" style="width: 300px; height: 200px; " border="11" alt="students" align="left"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;The superintendent in Rhode Island decided to fire all the teachers and the administrator at a local high school because teachers refused to work 25 minutes longer per day, provide tutoring (with pay), attend summer workshops (with pay) and eat lunch with students. &amp;nbsp;Notice the extra 25 minutes a day was without pay. &amp;nbsp;The union refused to accept these demands, which &amp;nbsp;lead to the superintendent's decision. &amp;nbsp;The high school has been among the state's lowest-performing schools for seven years. &amp;nbsp;Only 7 % of students are considered proficient in math, and less than half graduate. &amp;nbsp;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Being a teacher, I can see both sides to this problem. &amp;nbsp;We all know that teachers work longer than their normal school hours, but we don't "have" to work past normal hours, which is a bonus for us working moms. &amp;nbsp; Personally, NO WAY am I eating lunch everyday in that noisy cafeteria! &amp;nbsp;How is eating lunch with students going to boost academics? &amp;nbsp;It would only increase teacher's medicine intake. &amp;nbsp;The students enjoy their "social" hour (25 min ,really) and so does the staff members. &amp;nbsp;Looking at the school's history, something has to be done. &amp;nbsp;Is firing teachers the answer? &amp;nbsp;I don't think so. &amp;nbsp;It takes a village to raise a child. &amp;nbsp;Try making the students and the parents accountable, giving teachers an option to tutor for compensation or provide teacher guided workshops for &amp;nbsp;parents on how they can help their children at home. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;I would love to know what you think, please leave a comment!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.cashforcreations.com"&gt;Sponsor: Cash for Creations, Inc. -Educational Visual Aids&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-3859561-10564846" target="_top"&gt;Buy multiple job ads at Yahoo! HotJobs and save up to 65%&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.awltovhc.com/image-3859561-10564846" width="1" height="1" border="0"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Prom is Canceled for Students from Lesbian Phobia</title>
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		<id>tag:blog.cashforcreations.com,2010-03-13:38db66f8-c2ed-4bf7-a477-94dd6a049f92</id>
		<author>
			<name>Cindy Martin</name>
		</author>
		<category term="High School" />
		<updated>2010-03-13T19:58:00Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-13T19:58:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">A school in Mississippi canceled the prom because a lesbian student wanted to bring her girlfriend to the prom.&amp;nbsp; Constance McMillen, and 18 year old student at Itawamba Agricultural High School asked permission to take her date to the prom.&amp;nbsp; She also wanted to wear a tuxedo.&amp;nbsp; The school's board objected,&amp;nbsp; felt it would be a distraction to the educational process&amp;nbsp; and canceled the Prom.&amp;nbsp; Yes, canceled it!&amp;nbsp; Which you can imagine upset a lot of ther other students.&amp;nbsp; The ACLU filed a lawsuit against the school district.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;I would love to know why the girl even asked for permission.&amp;nbsp; If she really wanted to, she could have just showed up in a tux and with a "friend".&amp;nbsp; If you want to support her, you can join the over 160,000 fan's on Facebook&amp;nbsp; at &lt;A href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Let-Constance-Take-Her-Girlfriend-to-Prom/357686784817"&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Let Constance Take Her Girlfriend to Prom!&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Would love to hear your comments!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;
&lt;P sizset="40" sizcache="0"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Educational Labels Change Student Behavior</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://blog.cashforcreations.com/2010/01/17/educational-labels-changes-student-behavior.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:blog.cashforcreations.com,2010-01-17:5c22b7b9-064e-4f88-af11-5e618d2f3b6d</id>
		<author>
			<name>Cindy Martin</name>
		</author>
		<category term="Education" />
		<updated>2010-01-17T20:29:00Z</updated>
		<published>2010-01-17T20:29:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;FONT size=3&gt;Can educational stickers help your children become confident?&amp;nbsp; Cash for Creations, Inc. believes they can!&amp;nbsp; The company manufactures labels including Instant Genius Gel, Optimistic Ointment and Captivating Courage Cream.&amp;nbsp; The idea is to use the stickers over existing stickers of your favorite hand sanitizer or lotion bottles.&amp;nbsp; Schools have been snatching up these labels to help their student have confidence prior to testing, giving speeches or to encourage positive behavior.&amp;nbsp; "Genius Gel is the first topic of our day.&amp;nbsp; Students actually feel more confident and it makes keeping their hands clean a breeze." said one teacher.&amp;nbsp; You can find the labels at &lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.cashforcreations.com"&gt;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;www.cashforcreations.com&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;&amp;nbsp;.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.shop.cashforcreations.com/product.sc?productId=41"&gt;&lt;IMG style="WIDTH: 171px; HEIGHT: 257px" border=0 src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/106232-99023/geniusgel.jpg?a=32" width=510 height=1473&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/A&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;A href="http://www.shop.cashforcreations.com/product.sc?productId=81"&gt;&lt;IMG style="WIDTH: 308px; HEIGHT: 256px" border=0 src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/106232-99023/056.JPG?a=81" width=1532 height=1337&gt;&lt;/A&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Teaching Life Skills in the Classroom</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://blog.cashforcreations.com/2010/01/02/teaching-life-skills-in-the-classroom.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:blog.cashforcreations.com,2010-01-02:9cd4673a-5077-4e71-9560-c9060ba25e22</id>
		<author>
			<name>Cindy Martin</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2010-01-02T23:28:00Z</updated>
		<published>2010-01-02T23:28:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">The importance of learning life skills in elementary school is often over looked by the general public. However, life skills should and need to be taught in early childhood.&amp;nbsp; Every new teacher knows that they cannot teach the curriculum until they have control of their classroom.&amp;nbsp; If your school supports life skill lessons, it is easy to see the positive impact it has on the students.&amp;nbsp; Every day we make it a part of our morning to discuss or role play different life skills.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;You can&amp;nbsp;see it works when a student recognizes other students using a life skill in class&amp;nbsp;or uses the vocabulary we talked about in the lessons.&amp;nbsp; "He used a "put down". or "She is organized." are great to hear after teaching the skills.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;We review&amp;nbsp;different life skills daily&amp;nbsp;but&amp;nbsp;put&amp;nbsp;a focus on one every&amp;nbsp;2 weeks.&amp;nbsp;Here is a list of life skills we teach in our classroom:&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Trustworthy&lt;BR&gt;No Put Downs&lt;BR&gt;Organization&lt;BR&gt;Integrity&lt;BR&gt;Respect&lt;BR&gt;Caring&lt;BR&gt;Citizenship&lt;BR&gt;Responsible&lt;BR&gt;Truthful&lt;BR&gt;Cooperation&lt;BR&gt;Friendship&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;You can find a Life Skill's Dry Erase Pocket Chart here to help students know when they have used the life skills appropriately:&lt;A href="http://www.shop.cashforcreations.com/product.sc?productId=67&amp;amp;categoryId=6"&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;http://www.shop.cashforcreations.com/product.sc?productId=67&amp;amp;categoryId=6&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Cash for Creations, Inc. - Educational Visual Aids&lt;BR&gt;&lt;IMG style="WIDTH: 436px; HEIGHT: 346px" src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/106232-99023/1221616565547_1970679546.jpg?a=1" width=291 height=413&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Give Student More Than Homework to take Home - Teach Critical Thinking</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://blog.cashforcreations.com/2009/11/07/give-student-more-than-homework-to-take-home--teach-critical-thinking.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:blog.cashforcreations.com,2009-11-07:bae135f0-c1cd-4606-a1ae-a8a82e5f09f3</id>
		<author>
			<name>Cindy Martin</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2009-11-08T02:18:00Z</updated>
		<published>2009-11-08T02:18:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;The days of sitting in a classroom in rows with the focus on the teacher should be a classroom environment of the past. &amp;nbsp;There are many ways to teach thinking skills. &amp;nbsp;After all, students should not be taught to only rely on others for information. &amp;nbsp;The parents or teacher will not be there with them at all times, so critical thinking is crucial in today's society. &amp;nbsp;Research has show critical thinking to be a weak area for students who take tests. &amp;nbsp;Critical thinking or "strategic" thinking is the ability for one to put things in a correct order to come to a reasonable conclusion. &amp;nbsp;Here are some tips for parents and teachers to help foster thinking skills:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;1. &amp;nbsp;Rearrange your classroom seating in a circle or in group clusters. &amp;nbsp;This helps students become actively involved in class discussions and takes the focus off of the teacher to constantly supply answers. &amp;nbsp;If your the type of teacher who likes complete silence all day, this may be a new concept for you to grasp, but after teaching discussion "etiquette" you will find that some of their answers are far better than the one you might have supplied for them. &amp;nbsp;This will also give more meaning to findings when a students hear answers coming from a peer.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;2. &amp;nbsp;Instead of giving answers to questions, have students form discussions or answer their questions with questions.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;3. &amp;nbsp;After reading a book, ask students to reflect on the book with each other. &amp;nbsp;What they liked, didn't like, what were facts or opinions.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;4. &amp;nbsp;Always include "free" writing choices during writing to help foster their own ideas. &amp;nbsp;Encourage them to share with others and get other opinions about their writing.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;5. &amp;nbsp;When students bring up current events, have them share their ideas of how to solve problems or change outcomes.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;6. &amp;nbsp;Actively listen to children's conversations and ask them questions about their interests. &amp;nbsp;Be a listener, not a speaker.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;7. &amp;nbsp;After discussions, have students locate information either on the web, newspapers or books to encourage them to find the resources and answers on their own. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.cashforcreations.com"&gt;Sponsored by Cash for Creations - Educational Visual Aids&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>The President's Speech to School Children</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://blog.cashforcreations.com/2009/09/07/the-presidents-speech-to-school-children.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:blog.cashforcreations.com,2009-09-07:ed099ea2-f35a-450c-98b4-642485338cee</id>
		<author>
			<name>Cindy Martin</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2009-09-07T21:04:35Z</updated>
		<published>2009-09-07T21:04:35Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;h1&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h1&gt;&lt;h1&gt;&lt;/h1&gt;&lt;h1&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="'Times New Roman'"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="'Times New Roman'"&gt;The President will deliver his speech to school children tomorrow. &amp;nbsp;The White House released the &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="'Times New Roman'"&gt;transcripts today&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="apple-converted-space"&gt;&lt;span style="color: black; "&gt;&lt;span style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="'Times New Roman'"&gt;. &amp;nbsp;This has caused quite a controversy with parents and educators. &amp;nbsp;You can find more details on their &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/mediaresources/"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="'Times New Roman'"&gt;web site&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="'Times New Roman'"&gt;.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: black; "&gt;&lt;span style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="'Times New Roman'"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Although other Presidents made educational address' to inspire students to stay in school, this one has an optional lesson plan attached to it ,encouraging students to write to him on what they can do to help him and help America. &amp;nbsp;I did say "optional". &amp;nbsp;Being a teacher myself, I know&amp;nbsp;a lot of teachers can't fit this into their overstuffed curriculum. However, why would this be a problem? &amp;nbsp;Students have always written letters or essays to the President on this issue.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h1&gt;&lt;h1&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="color: black; "&gt;&lt;span style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "&gt;&lt;span style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="'Times New Roman'"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="'Times New Roman'"&gt;After reading the transcripts and viewing the lesson plans, I can honestly say as a teacher; there is nothing strange or out of the ordinary in either. &amp;nbsp;The words are inspiring. &amp;nbsp;He even touches on Bullying, a huge problem in today's schools, by saying&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="'Times New Roman'"&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="'Times New Roman'"&gt;"&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;em style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "&gt;&lt;span style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "&gt;&lt;span style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "&gt;&lt;span style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="'Times New Roman'"&gt;Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn."&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="'Times New Roman'"&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; color: black; "&gt;&lt;span style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "&gt;&lt;span style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="'Times New Roman'"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="'Times New Roman'"&gt;In my opinion, this is the best educational address given to students because it has the lesson plans attached to it. &amp;nbsp;The plans activate prior knowledge, review what was covered and even require students to think "outside of the box". &amp;nbsp;He asks them to set personal goals. It doesn't force students to agree with his words. &amp;nbsp;The speech invites them to activate critical thinking skills which is what every individual should strive for in their life. &amp;nbsp;Every American should listen to this speech so they can discuss the important highlights of the speech with children, whether they agree or disagree.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; "&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="'Times New Roman'"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;font face="'Times New Roman'"&gt; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;img src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/106232-99023/obama_is_president_e_36561b.jpg" width="627" border="2" style="width: 300px; height: 150px; "&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h1&gt;&lt;h1&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; color: black; "&gt;&lt;span style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "&gt;&lt;span style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; "&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h1&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="color: black; "&gt;&lt;span style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "&gt;&lt;span style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="color: black; "&gt;&lt;span style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "&gt;&lt;span style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12px; "&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Writen by Cindy Martin&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Sponsor: &lt;font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.cashforcreations.com"&gt;Cash for Creations, Inc. - Educational Visual Aids&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>President Obama's Speech to Students has Parents Outraged?</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://blog.cashforcreations.com/2009/09/04/president-obamas-speech-to-students-has-parents-outraged.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:blog.cashforcreations.com,2009-09-04:f1671fe3-1700-4953-9732-9acc1bafefe4</id>
		<author>
			<name>Cindy Martin</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2009-09-05T02:56:00Z</updated>
		<published>2009-09-05T02:56:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;Many parents and even some educators are outraged about the President's pro-education address which will be delivered next Tuesday. Even&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 18px; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;the chairman of the Florida Republican Party&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;Jim&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 18px; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;Greer said, &amp;nbsp;"President Obama has turned to American's children to spread his liberal lies, indoctrinating American's youngest children before they have a chance to decide for themselves."&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 18px; "&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;The speech will target kids Pre-K through 6th grade. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 14px; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;The White House plans to release the text of the speech online Monday so parents and schools can read it prior to showing it to students. Obama will deliver the speech at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;font color="#333333"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 14px; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;font color="#333333"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 14px; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;Do people really think that President Obama is going to turn our children into a cult? &amp;nbsp;Is the speech going to make our children into zombie-like obedient Obama lovers who will do anything he asks? &amp;nbsp;OR Is it just another speech intended to inspire students to stay in school and get a good education because of the high drop out rate? &amp;nbsp;Other Presidents gave similar speeches and the nation watched without questioning the speech. &amp;nbsp;Watching any public leader give a speech about the importance of education should be inspiring and necessary to for children to hear. &amp;nbsp;If for some reason the President does say anything a parent disagrees with, the parents should use this as a "teachable" moment to discuss their views with their child. Education is all about hearing information, discussing information with others, exploring different views, taking the information that works for the individual and throwing out information that doesn't work.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;font color="#333333"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 14px; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;font color="#333333"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 14px; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;Many people are embarrassed that it has even become an issue. &amp;nbsp;"Students have the right to listen or not to a speech, to stand or not stand for the pledge, to pray silently or not at all in public schools. &amp;nbsp;Public schools can't stop people from thinking freely." a volusia county teacher said. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;font color="#333333" size="3"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 14px;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;font color="#333333" size="3"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 14px;"&gt;Would love to hear your opinions!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;font color="#333333" size="3"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 14px;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;font color="#333333" size="3"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 14px;"&gt;Sponsor: &lt;font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.cashforcreations.com"&gt;Cash for Creations - Educational Visual Aids&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Dry Erase Blank Banners</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://blog.cashforcreations.com/2009/08/23/dry-erase-blank-banners.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:blog.cashforcreations.com,2009-08-23:08ee033b-a1a0-4ad8-9747-7694a1cbc849</id>
		<author>
			<name>Cindy Martin</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2009-08-23T14:36:00Z</updated>
		<published>2009-08-23T14:36:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;span&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 17px; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;The &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.shop.cashforcreations.com/product.sc?productId=39&amp;amp;categoryId=1"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;Dry Erase Banner&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt; is used to create your own banner. &amp;nbsp;Business' can use them to display a daily special or Grand Opening and then reuse them agaom. &amp;nbsp;They make it easy to go green. &amp;nbsp;Teachers use the banners to encourage student participation in making their own messages, to display for open house, Grandparents' Day, Mother's or Father's Day, etc.... The possibilities are endless! &amp;nbsp;If students make a mistake on the banner, it is easily erased. &amp;nbsp;My students love this product. &amp;nbsp;I have them use it in centers to write their vocabulary words, play games and drawing. &amp;nbsp;Parents have used them for their children to make their own birthday banner. &amp;nbsp;Reuse this banner over and over again. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.cashforcreations.com"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;Cash for Creations, Inc. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium;"&gt;make them 2 feet by 4 feet, with two holes in the top corners and 2 holes in the bottom corners for easy hanging. &amp;nbsp;You must keep them rolled up with the laminate side on the outside and never crease them. If they do get creased, you can use a hair dryer to get the creases out. &amp;nbsp; Also, only use dry erase markers on them. &amp;nbsp;If the ink is on the banner for a long period of time, you can use rubbing alcohol to get the marks off.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;font face="Verdana"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 17px; "&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &lt;font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.shop.cashforcreations.com/product.sc?productId=39&amp;amp;categoryId=1"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.shop.cashforcreations.com/product.sc?productId=39&amp;amp;categoryId=1"&gt;&lt;img src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/106232-99023/4444.JPG" width="221" border="0"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;font face="Verdana"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 17px;"&gt;Shop &lt;font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.cashforcreations.com"&gt;Cash for Creations, Inc. - Educational Visual Aids&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Encourage Acts of Kindness in your Classroom</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://blog.cashforcreations.com/2009/08/06/encourage-acts-of-kindness-in-your-classroom.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:blog.cashforcreations.com,2009-08-06:52eb4623-a12a-4954-97ae-d7ece3e5d311</id>
		<author>
			<name>Cindy Martin</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2009-08-06T19:41:00Z</updated>
		<published>2009-08-06T19:41:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;span&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: tahoma; font-size: 12px; "&gt;&lt;p style="margin-top: 0.5em; margin-right: 1em; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; "&gt;Bobby was a kindergarten student I had in my classroom who had many behavior problems. &amp;nbsp;He could not get a diagnosis from doctors&amp;nbsp;to identify a reason for his behaviors. &amp;nbsp;He wanted to do well, but couldn’t sit still, contain his emotions, comprehend or reason with logic and struggled academically. &amp;nbsp;He always felt like he didn’t fit in and sometimes he didn’t. &amp;nbsp;The other students tried to make friends with him, but he tended to eventually ruin friendships by his inappropriate language and behaviors. &amp;nbsp;I kept an&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.shop.cashforcreations.com/product.sc?productId=40&amp;amp;categoryId=6" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(34, 102, 153); font-weight: bold; "&gt;Acts of Kindness dry erase board&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;in my classroom. &amp;nbsp;When a student saw another student act in a kind way, they would tell the “kindness keeper” to write the person’s name on the board. &amp;nbsp;Bobby’s name was never on the Kindness Board, until one day toward the end of the school year.&lt;a rel="attachment wp-att-166" href="http://cashforcreations.wordpress.com/2009/08/06/incorporating-acts-of-kindness-in-the-classroom/family-pics-from-school-computer-038/" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(34, 102, 153); font-weight: bold; "&gt;&lt;img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-166" title="Acts of Kindess Dry Erase Sign" src="http://cashforcreations.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/family-pics-from-school-computer-038.jpg?w=300&amp;amp;h=225" alt="Acts of Kindess Dry Erase Sign" width="300" height="225" style="float: right; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); border-right-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); border-bottom-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); border-left-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); position: relative; padding-top: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 7px; display: inline; "&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin-top: 0.5em; margin-right: 1em; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; "&gt;We planted a spring garden by the classroom and went outside to water our plants daily. &amp;nbsp;This day, a beautiful little girl held her cup of water very carefully, trying hard not to spill the water on the way to the garden. &amp;nbsp;As soon as we got close, she lost her balance and stumbled. &amp;nbsp;The cup of water flew out of her tiny little hands. &amp;nbsp;Tears streamed down her red face instantly. &amp;nbsp;This made all the other students cling tighter to their cups of water, but none of the students moved to console her, except one. &amp;nbsp;Bobby did not hesitate to grab her cup, pour his water into it &amp;nbsp;and pat her on the back. &amp;nbsp;I was shocked and so were the other students. &amp;nbsp;One student shouted out, “He was nice! We need to put his name on&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.shop.cashforcreations.com/product.sc?productId=40&amp;amp;categoryId=6" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(34, 102, 153); font-weight: bold; "&gt;The Acts of Kindness Board.”&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;I agreed and this lead us to a class discussion about his wonderful actions and how the rest of the class could have acted differently.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin-top: 0.5em; margin-right: 1em; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; "&gt;Adding Bobby’s name to&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.shop.cashforcreations.com/product.sc?productId=40&amp;amp;categoryId=6" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(34, 102, 153); font-weight: bold; "&gt;The Acts of Kindness Board&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;made him happy for a short period, but he still had the same problems as he did in the past. However; this made him more aware of his actions in the future. &amp;nbsp;He started to point out when other students were kind and tried harder to be nice to others. &amp;nbsp;His parents told me that he came home and told them about getting his name on the board. &amp;nbsp;Previously, he did not talk about school at all with them.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin-top: 0.5em; margin-right: 1em; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; "&gt;Teachers cringe when having to add anything extra to the curriculum because of having too much now and not enough time in the day to do it in, but wouldn’t it be worth the 5 seconds to point out the kind actions people do for others. &amp;nbsp;There was no reward other than having their name on the board for a week. &amp;nbsp;Students who knew their parents were coming in for a conference were busy all day trying to be nice to others to get their name on the board with check marks&amp;nbsp;tallying how many kind things they did to show their parents.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin-top: 0.5em; margin-right: 1em; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; "&gt;Take the time to encourage kindness in your classroom. &amp;nbsp;Especially for all of you who have “Bobby’s” in your classroom.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin-top: 0.5em; margin-right: 1em; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; "&gt;by Cindy Martin&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin-top: 0.5em; margin-right: 1em; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; "&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.cashforcreations.com/" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(34, 102, 153); font-weight: bold; "&gt;Cash for Creations, Inc. – Educational Visual Aids&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Economic Impacts Achievement Gap in Schools</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://blog.cashforcreations.com/2009/07/16/economic-impacts-achievement-gap-in-schools.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:blog.cashforcreations.com,2009-07-16:9e77ba39-4773-4415-b745-45f0ca1ff711</id>
		<author>
			<name>Cindy Martin</name>
		</author>
		<category term="Schools" />
		<updated>2009-07-16T12:23:00Z</updated>
		<published>2009-07-16T12:23:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12px; FONT-FAMILY: arial"&gt;&lt;A name=backtotop&gt;&lt;SPAN&gt; 
&lt;P class=txt1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 12pt"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;McKinsey's report,&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN class=apple-converted-space&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;EM&gt;The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN class=apple-converted-space&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;EM&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;EM&gt;in America's Schools&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;, looks at the economic&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN class=apple-converted-space&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;impact of the educational&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN class=apple-converted-space&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;achievement gaps in United State’s schools. There has been a lot of controversy about why the gap exists. The report finds that not utilizing humans to their full potential as shown in the achievement gap is extremely costly and will lead to a permanent national recession.&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;EM&gt;&lt;EM&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;The report examines four separate gaps in education: (1) between the United States and other nations, (2) between black and Latino students and white students, (3) between students of different income levels, and (4) between similar students schooled in different systems or regions.&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;EM&gt;&lt;EM&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;A name=backtotop&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;The study prepared an intense literature review, interviewed leading researchers and performed independent analysis to collect their data in the four areas.&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;They found that the US falls significantly behind other nations in educational performance and continues to slip.&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;The longer students are in school the larger the gaps.&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;US students ranked 25&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SUP&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;th&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SUP&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt; out of 30 in mathematics and 24&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SUP&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;th&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SUP&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt; out of 30 in science.&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;The US was the leader in high school graduation rates, but now the US ranks 18&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SUP&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;th&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SUP&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt; out of 24 industrialized nations.&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;In 4&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SUP&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;th&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SUP&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt; grade subject areas, US students ranked in the top quarter, but by age 15 they ranked in the bottom half.&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12px; FONT-FAMILY: arial"&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;A name=backtotop&gt;&lt;SPAN&gt;&lt;EM&gt;&lt;EM&gt;&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;EM&gt;&lt;EM&gt;
&lt;P style="DISPLAY: inline! important"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;EM&gt;&lt;EM&gt;&lt;A name=backtotop&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;EM&gt;&lt;EM&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;The study reports that the gap in the US is larger between students from rich or poor families.&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;Schools that have mostly lower-income students perform much worse than schools with fewer low-income students which appeared early and continued over a student’s lifetime.&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;The racial gap gets worse the longer the students are in school. &lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;The more African-American and Latino students enter the student population in the United States; the racial gap is expected to act as a drag on the educational and economic performance.&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;The most impressive fact about the achievement gaps in education in the United States involves the incredible large differences in how the educational system serves similar students.&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;This is valuable because schools can mirror systems of high achieving schools to improve our lower performing schools that have the same type of students.&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;School leaders invest lots of time and money collecting data for clues to what needs to change to close the gaps.&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;It would be more beneficial to examine the top performing schools and try imitating the successful schools.&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;Then they could discover the formula for having more effective schools across the United States.&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;FONT size=4&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 16px; FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;by Cindy Martin&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;FONT size=4&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 16px; FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;NBCT&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.cashforcreations.com"&gt;&lt;FONT size=4&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 16px; FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;Cash for Creations, Inc. &lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;FONT size=4&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 16px; FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;- Educational Visual Aids&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;FONT size=4&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 16px; FONT-STYLE: normal"&gt;Source: McKinsey &amp;amp; Company&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/EM&gt;
&lt;TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" bgColor=#ffffff border=0&gt;
&lt;TBODY&gt;&lt;/TBODY&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>State Tests Dumbed Down and Creates False Impressions</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://blog.cashforcreations.com/2009/07/09/state-tests-dumbed-down-and-creates-false-impressions.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:blog.cashforcreations.com,2009-07-09:df3d0873-6250-48a9-8229-44eaa91c163f</id>
		<author>
			<name>Cindy Martin</name>
		</author>
		<category term="Educational State Testing" />
		<updated>2009-07-09T20:41:00Z</updated>
		<published>2009-07-09T20:41:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">According to &lt;span&gt;reports, tests that states use to determine reading and math proficiency under the No Child Left Behind Act are leaving false impressions. &amp;nbsp;Many states have dumbed down tests to increase scores. Tests should be used to determine if students are learning or not learning the material being taught. &amp;nbsp;Teachers spend all year preparing students for a state test that they are not legally able to view. &amp;nbsp;Students are nervous, throwing up prior to tests and left feeling ashamed if the results are negative. &amp;nbsp;States use the tests to retain students in various grade levels if not passed. &amp;nbsp;So the No Child Left Behind actually leaves children behind. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt;There is brain research that supports how chemicals release in the brain when placed under such stress which prevents individuals from processing information. So why are we spending so much time and money on state tests?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Every child is supposed to be 'proficient' in reading and math by the year 2014. Yet, if you look at the research 8 out of 26 states have made the tests easier. &amp;nbsp;If every state has different benchmarks of what is considered proficient, then children will inevitably be left behind.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;The only way to tell whether or not students are making adequate progress is to follow the same guidelines. &amp;nbsp;The way to help students not be left behind is to have teachers teach the guidelines, be able to view the tests and results. &amp;nbsp;This way teachers can dissect the results and determine what worked and what didn't work. &amp;nbsp;Then go back and re-teach the individual students a new way.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;When states dumb down tests every year and don't share the contents of the test, not only is the test useless, but it only creates an appearance of students making improvements even though they are not.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;If enough people speak out about our educational testing policy, maybe then reform will happen and our system will actually serve the students it is intended to serve.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;by Cindy Martin&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Owner Cash for Creations, Inc. - &lt;font size="+0"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.cashforcreations.com"&gt;Educational Visual Aids&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;NBCT&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;font face="AZBY"&gt;&lt;a href="http://education-portal.com/articles/State_Tests_Dumbed_Down_to_Create_a_False_Impression_of_NCLB_Success.html"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Source:&lt;font size="+0"&gt;&lt;font face="AZBY"&gt;&lt;a href="http://education-portal.com/articles/State_Tests_Dumbed_Down_to_Create_a_False_Impression_of_NCLB_Success.html"&gt;Education Portal&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>How to be an Effective Leader</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://blog.cashforcreations.com/2009/06/26/how-to-be-an-effective-leader.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:blog.cashforcreations.com,2009-06-26:cbf01c19-a025-4b47-8bb9-115274a101ca</id>
		<author>
			<name>Cindy Martin</name>
		</author>
		<category term="Leaders" />
		<updated>2009-06-26T14:47:00Z</updated>
		<published>2009-06-26T14:47:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;span&gt;&lt;p style="line-height: 14.25pt; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Georgia; color: black; "&gt;When thinking about the word leader, you can substitute the word for teacher, parent, boss or anyone who actually leads anyone. &amp;nbsp;Think about the way you lead. &amp;nbsp;Do you tell others what to do? &amp;nbsp;Do you voice your views? &amp;nbsp;Have you used fear tactics? How do you get others to do what you expect of them?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p style="line-height: 14.25pt; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Georgia; color: black; "&gt;To be a good leader, an enlightened leader, you must stay in the background and become an astute observer of others actions. &amp;nbsp;After&lt;span class="apple-converted-space"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;making observations you need to ask yourself how you can create a learning environment that help everyone act responsible without&lt;span class="apple-converted-space"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;noticeably&lt;span class="apple-converted-space"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;interfering. &amp;nbsp;Your job is to be as invisible as possible if you want to be effective. &amp;nbsp;As a parent or teacher, one strategy can be for you to leave the room to allow everyone to react without feeling they need to live up to your standards. &amp;nbsp;Then if there is conflict or an undesired behavior, perhaps you could suggest a way to resolve it or tell a story of how others have resolved a similar problem. &amp;nbsp;Trust that they will be able to make their own right path and walk away. &amp;nbsp;Your goal is to make others say, "I fixed this myself.” to empower others to take personal&lt;span class="apple-converted-space"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;responsibility. &amp;nbsp;If the outcome is desired, try a non verbal gesture of body language.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p style="line-height: 14.25pt; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Georgia; color: black; "&gt;Fear&lt;span class="apple-converted-space"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;tactics&lt;span class="apple-converted-space"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;have&lt;span class="apple-converted-space"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;proved&lt;span class="apple-converted-space"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;over time to be&lt;span class="apple-converted-space"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;ineffective. &amp;nbsp;When others feel threatened, they might act a&lt;span class="apple-converted-space"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;desirable&lt;span class="apple-converted-space"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;way for the disciplinarian in their presence, however; after&lt;span class="apple-converted-space"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;the disciplinarian leaves, studies have shown&lt;span class="apple-converted-space"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;chaos&lt;span class="apple-converted-space"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;in groups. &amp;nbsp;Although being able to control others behaviors with fear can work, it is short lived and only feeds the&lt;span class="apple-converted-space"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;disciplinarian's&lt;span class="apple-converted-space"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;ego. &amp;nbsp;Studies show that children usually detach&lt;span class="apple-converted-space"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;themselves&lt;span class="apple-converted-space"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;from a&lt;span class="apple-converted-space"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;strict&lt;span class="apple-converted-space"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;dictatorial parent or adult.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p style="line-height: 14.25pt; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Georgia; color: black; "&gt;Instead of thinking that you know what is best for other people, trust that others know what is best for them. &amp;nbsp;Let your feelings or desires be known, but trust them to make their own choice. &amp;nbsp;When there is a desired outcome, give praise for them making their own choice even if it was not the way you would have chosen.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p style="line-height: 14.25pt; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Georgia; color: black; "&gt;Don't take personal credit for the outcome or achievements of others. &amp;nbsp;Let others take ownership of their actions. &amp;nbsp;If you are an effective leader, the ones you lead will follow and become effective leaders.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="line-height: 14.25pt; "&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 13px;"&gt;&lt;font face="AZBY"&gt;Sponsored by &lt;/font&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;font face="AZBY"&gt;Cash for Creations, Inc.- Classroom Visual Aids&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="line-height: 14.25pt; "&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 13px;"&gt;&lt;font face="AZBY"&gt;www.cashforcreations.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="line-height: 14.25pt; "&gt;&lt;font face="Georgia" size="3"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 13px;"&gt;by Cindy Martin, NBCT&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>The Most Important Way Parents Can Help Children Learn to Read</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://blog.cashforcreations.com/2009/06/18/how-parents-can-help-children-to-read.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:blog.cashforcreations.com,2009-06-18:9c9dbeb8-080b-4ba7-af0b-a4d30f05354b</id>
		<author>
			<name>Cindy Martin</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2009-06-18T21:32:00Z</updated>
		<published>2009-06-18T21:32:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;It is so important to parents to have a child who does not struggle in reading. &amp;nbsp;After all, if children can't read words, they struggle in almost all other subject areas. &amp;nbsp;There are several ways to help your child become a confident, fluent reading machine. &amp;nbsp; 
&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;
&lt;DIV&gt;The one MOST important ways to teach young children how to read is by reading to them. &amp;nbsp;Parents should start by age two if not as soon as the child is conceived, for the greatest results. &amp;nbsp;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;There should not be one day that goes by that a parent does not&amp;nbsp;read to or with a child.&lt;/FONT&gt; This&amp;nbsp;isn't hard or an "extra" chore for you or your child. &amp;nbsp;It can be a simple book with only pictures, discussing how a story unfolds, a short picture book, the newspaper, magazines, one page of a chapter book or directions to a game. &amp;nbsp;Parents can also read from a computer, ingredients on boxes while grocery shopping or street signs; however it is extremely important that they see text in book form.&lt;/DIV&gt;
&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;
&lt;DIV&gt;When I taught Pre-K, I knew if a child had ever been read to prior to their first school experience. The students who were read to regularly, knew how to hold a book, which way the page turns, how to look at pictures for clues and to read from left to right. &amp;nbsp;The other students had no clue how to hold a book. &amp;nbsp;They became frustrated easy. &amp;nbsp;This was a large percentage of my class. &amp;nbsp;Whether it was lack of time, knowledge or the old belief of &amp;nbsp;"That's what teachers are for." attitude; these students struggled for months.&amp;nbsp; Many learned the basics but still had a negative first impression of reading which will impact them for years, if not longer.&lt;/DIV&gt;
&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;
&lt;DIV&gt;Another technique for helping children develop a sincere love for reading is to let them choose their books.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Even as adults, we can easily fall asleep if the materials we read are not on our interest level. &amp;nbsp;Take them to the books store or the local library. &amp;nbsp;Let them choose the book or find books on topics that your child has expressed interest in from other activities like dinosaurs, sports, boats, butterflies, etc...&amp;nbsp; Pick up a book today and read with your child!&lt;BR&gt;
&lt;P class=shortbottompad&gt;"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free." — Frederick Douglass &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Sponsored by &lt;A href="http://www.cashforcreations.com"&gt;Cash for Creations, Inc. - Classroom Visual Aids&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Flower Pot Craft Idea for Gifts</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://blog.cashforcreations.com/2009/05/17/flower-pot-craft-idea-for-gifts.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:blog.cashforcreations.com,2009-05-17:ab9153ad-d914-420b-a706-315feaafcb84</id>
		<author>
			<name>Cindy Martin</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2009-05-17T22:45:00Z</updated>
		<published>2009-05-17T22:45:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;span&gt;&lt;div&gt;These make a great gift for a child to make and give away.  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Materials: clay pot, paint, seed, soil&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;1.  Provide each student/child with a clay pot. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;2.  Use different colored paint (acrylic) to paint the child's thumb.  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;3.  Press painted thumb to the flower pots in different areas.  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;4.  Use black marker or bubble t-shirt paint to add characteristics to the thumb prints.  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;5.  Use the paint to write "Thumbody Loves You" on the flower pot.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;For science, have the student germinate a flower seed in the window first and let it grow about a month prior to Mother's Day to give as a gift.  You can make the thumb prints into insects like seen in the picture or flowers.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt;                                    &lt;img src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/106232-99023/flower__for_web1.jpg" width="400"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span&gt;                                                                             &lt;img src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/106232-99023/flower_pot_for_web1.jpg" width="400"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Cash for Creations, Inc. wins The 2009 Leading Mom's in Business Award</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://blog.cashforcreations.com/2009/05/06/cash-for-creations-inc-wins-the-2009-leading-moms-in-business-award.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:blog.cashforcreations.com,2009-05-06:9e928cf9-c6fa-459e-a4d8-72fcaddbd79c</id>
		<author>
			<name>Cindy Martin</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2009-05-06T23:02:00Z</updated>
		<published>2009-05-06T23:02:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;span&gt;&lt;h4&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; "&gt;For Immediate Release&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h4&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; "&gt;Contact: Cindy Martin&lt;br&gt; 321-662-3184&lt;br&gt; cindy@cashforcreations.com&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p align="center" style="text-align: center; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; "&gt;CASH FOR CREATIONS, INC. VOTED ONE OF TOP 200 LEADING MOMS IN BUSINESS IN STARTUPNATION COMPETITION&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; "&gt;Daytona Beach, FL – May 4, 2009 –&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; "&gt; Cash for Creations, Inc. announced today that it has been recognized as one of the top 200 mom-owned businesses in StartupNation’s 2009 Leading Moms In Business Competition (&lt;a href="http://www.startupnation.com/leading-moms-2009"&gt;http://www.startupnation.com/leading-moms-2009&lt;/a&gt;). The competition, sponsored by VerticalResponse, recognizes the achievements of mothers across the country who run outstanding businesses.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;b&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span class="apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black; "&gt;&lt;a href="file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Greg/My%20Documents/Cindy's%20Business%20Files/www.cashforcreations.com"&gt;&lt;span style="color: black; "&gt;www.cashforcreations.com&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, is a web site where, free of charge, teachers can submit their original ideas of self-made signs, posters, pocket charts, games or other visual aids that they use or want to use in their classrooms, and expert graphic artists will turn their ideas into professional visual aids. They manufacture the products and the materials go up for sale on the Cash for Creations, Inc., web site. Teachers earn 10% from every sale generated by their ideas paid bi-annually. They have a new teacher-designed product line for parents. The company also donates a percentage of every sale to various charities.&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; "&gt;"Moms across America were honored in this year’s ranking, showing that they’re capable of&lt;span&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;starting and running successful businesses while managing to balance family, career, home and self," said Rich Sloan, co-founder of StartupNation."Well over 600,000 votes were cast in support of several thousand contestants. What an incredible achievement to be named a winner, and what an inspiration for anyone looking to start their own business.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; "&gt;"It’s challenging for anyone to start and run a successful business – particularly in this economy. These women are setting the standard for innovation and creativity," said Janine Popick, founder and CEO of VerticalResponse. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; "&gt;StartupNation (&lt;a href="http://www.startupnation.com/"&gt;&lt;span&gt;www.startupnation.com&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;) launched the first annual Leading Moms in Business Competition in January with the support of VerticalResponse (&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.verticalresponse.com/"&gt;www.verticalresponse.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;) to recognize the achievements of mom entrepreneurs across the US. Winners were selected and ranked according to public votes accumulated from January through March, 2009. The elite 200 win bragging rights, promotional support, and digital winner’s emblems recognizing their achievements as the Leading Moms in Business.&lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; "&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.startupnation.com/leading-moms-2009/contestant/2994/index.php"&gt;&lt;img src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/106232-99023/Winners_Emblem.gif" width="291" border="0"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Earth Day Ideas for Teachers and Parents</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://blog.cashforcreations.com/2009/04/20/httpwwwcashforcreationscom.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:blog.cashforcreations.com,2009-04-20:a76ff33c-9932-408a-9df7-47f443de652c</id>
		<author>
			<name>Cindy Martin</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2009-04-20T22:07:00Z</updated>
		<published>2009-04-20T22:07:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;P&gt;Earth Day serves as a reminder that we can all make a difference by working together toward a healthier planet. Here are some "Green" ideas and activities for you to do with your children or students.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;OD&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Ideas:&lt;BR&gt;*&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Separate your recyclables with your child&lt;BR&gt;*&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Practice saving water by turning it off while brushing teeth or only watering the lawn on certain days of the week&lt;BR&gt;*&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Recycle paper (find out how to make paper at &lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.make-stuff.com/recycling/paper.html"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: purple"&gt;http://www.make-stuff.com/recycling/paper.html&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"&gt; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;*&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Make a compost and put lunch or dinnertime scraps in it&lt;BR&gt;*&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Only use eco-friendly cleaners in your home&lt;BR&gt;*&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Make a vegetable garden&lt;BR&gt;*&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Pack your child a healthy lunch&lt;BR&gt;*&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Use energy saving light bulbs&lt;BR&gt;*&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Join &lt;A href="http://ww2.earthday.net/"&gt;http://ww2.earthday.net/&lt;/A&gt; and find local events going on in your area&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Activities:&lt;BR&gt;*&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Make a class book by having each child contribute one page on how to save the planet&lt;BR&gt;*&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Give Earth Day Awards to students who pick up trash around the campus&lt;BR&gt;*&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Have an essay contest&lt;BR&gt;*&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Teach your class outside and enjoy the fresh air&lt;BR&gt;*&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Wear Green to show support of Earth Day&lt;BR&gt;*&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Plant flowers or a tree&lt;BR&gt;*&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Plan a lesson on endangered species&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none"&gt;&lt;?xml:namespace prefix = v ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" /&gt;&lt;v:shapetype id=_x0000_t75 stroked="f" filled="f" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" coordsize="21600,21600"&gt; &lt;/v:shapetype&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.cashforcreations.com/"&gt;Sponsored by Cash for Creations, Inc. - Educational Visual Aids&lt;/A&gt;&lt;FONT face=Arial&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;FONT face=Arial&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Tutor Match helps Teachers Add to their Income</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://blog.cashforcreations.com/2009/04/08/tutor-match-helps-teachers-add-to-their-income.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:blog.cashforcreations.com,2009-04-08:f28f6d87-707e-40c0-843e-079795384ef2</id>
		<author>
			<name>Cindy Martin</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2009-04-08T23:15:00Z</updated>
		<published>2009-04-08T23:15:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;A href="http://www.tutormatch.com/"&gt;http://www.tutormatch.com/&lt;/A&gt;&amp;nbsp;is a fantastic web site that connects students with tutors.&amp;nbsp; Tutor Match&amp;nbsp; helps students easily connect with qualified tutors nationwide. Today, Tutor Match offers a directory of thousands of tutors waiting to assist students with homework help.&amp;nbsp;They are dedicated not only to matching the right student with the right tutor, but also protecting the privacy of all&amp;nbsp;the tutors and students. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;This is a great way for teachers to earn extra income and provide their expertise to children anywhere.&amp;nbsp; Tutors can &lt;A title="Create Tutor Profile" href="http://www.tutormatch.com/for-tutors-seeking-students.aspx"&gt;create their own personalized tutor profile&lt;/A&gt; which is then made available to students searching the Tutor Match database. You may choose between a basic&amp;nbsp;FREE listing and a Preferred Subscription service. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Tutors specify their level of education, tutoring experience, tutoring style, hours of availability, hourly rates, and desired tutoring commitment levels.&amp;nbsp; Check it out!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.cashforcreations.com"&gt;Sponsor: Cash for Creations Inc. - Educational Products&lt;/A&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Online Games for Preschoolers</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://blog.cashforcreations.com/2009/03/24/online-games-for-preschoolers.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:blog.cashforcreations.com,2009-03-24:77340b2e-02e5-46dd-b19e-ca84cf5ad826</id>
		<author>
			<name>Cindy Martin</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2009-03-24T23:47:00Z</updated>
		<published>2009-03-24T23:47:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;DIV id=articlebody&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;FONT size=4&gt;Online games teach computer skills, pre-reading, letter and number identification for preschoolers.&amp;nbsp; Here are some great sites teachers can even use in the classroom.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;DIV class=lsItm&gt;
&lt;H3&gt;1. &lt;A onclick="zT(this,'1/XJ')" href="http://www.nickjr.com/"&gt;Nick Jr. Games Online&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/H3&gt;
&lt;H3&gt;Click on Nick Jr.&amp;nbsp;Preschool to open the games window.&amp;nbsp;The games&amp;nbsp;are great for little ones and easy to navigate. &lt;/H3&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;
&lt;DIV class=lsItm&gt;
&lt;H3&gt;2. &lt;A onclick="zT(this,'1/XJ')" href="http://pbskids.org/rogers/R_house/build.htm"&gt;Build a Neighborhood Online Game&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/H3&gt;
&lt;H3&gt;An online build-a-picture game, it's fun because kids get many choices and the quality of the pictures is very good. Move the pictures around, zoom in and out, well done game from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood at PBS Kids. &lt;/H3&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;
&lt;DIV class=lsItm&gt;
&lt;H3&gt;3. &lt;A onclick="zT(this,'1/XJ')" href="http://www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamestreet/?scrollerId=games"&gt;Sesame Street Games Online&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/H3&gt;
&lt;H3&gt;Lots of games so your child shouldn't get bored. Graphic quality, learning potential, and ease of use make these games winners. Somewhat clunky navigation back to more games and the games are fairly slow loading. Overall, a great destination for online preschool games. &lt;/H3&gt;
&lt;DIV class=lsLks&gt;&lt;A onclick="zT(this,'1/XJ')" href="http://www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamestreet/?scrollerId=games"&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;
&lt;DIV class=lsItm&gt;
&lt;H3&gt;4. &lt;A href="http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=10&amp;amp;e=gamesLanding&amp;amp;mcat=game_infant,game_toddler,game_preschool&amp;amp;site=us" target=_blank&gt;Fisher-Price Online Games for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/H3&gt;
&lt;H3&gt;Great for infants too!&lt;/H3&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;
&lt;DIV class=lsItm&gt;
&lt;H3&gt;5. &lt;A href="http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/" target=_blank&gt;Orisinal Online Games&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/H3&gt;
&lt;H3&gt;I love this site!&amp;nbsp; These are beautiful games for children to play&amp;nbsp;with nice music.&lt;/H3&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;
&lt;DIV class=lsItm&gt;
&lt;H3&gt;6. &lt;A onclick="zT(this,'1/XJ')" href="http://www.noggin.com/games/index.php"&gt;Noggin Games&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/H3&gt;
&lt;H3&gt;These are great games with characters your child will recognize.&amp;nbsp; They teach various learning skills.&lt;/H3&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;
&lt;DIV class=lsItm&gt;
&lt;H3&gt;7. &lt;A onclick="zT(this,'1/XJ')" href="http://www.poissonrouge.com/"&gt;Poisson Rouge - Online Games for Young Children&lt;/A&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/H3&gt;
&lt;H3&gt;Children don't need to be a reader to do these games.&lt;/H3&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.cashforcreations.com"&gt;&lt;FONT size=4&gt;Cash for Creations, Inc. - Classroom Visual Aids&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;DIV class=lsLks&gt;&lt;A onclick="zT(this,'1/XJ')" href="http://www.poissonrouge.com/"&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;!--/gc--&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Budget Cuts Hurt Education</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://blog.cashforcreations.com/2009/03/21/httpwwwcashforcreationscom.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:blog.cashforcreations.com,2009-03-21:b61fd2f6-7d7c-48ae-a9bd-76809e01b45c</id>
		<author>
			<name>Cindy Martin</name>
		</author>
		<category term="Education" />
		<updated>2009-03-21T21:56:00Z</updated>
		<published>2009-03-21T21:56:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;P&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"&gt;The economy is in a crisis which means we all need to pitch in and tighten the purse strings.&amp;nbsp; Unfortunately our schools are the area that gets cut out of the budgets dramatically.&amp;nbsp; Last year we had to cut 200 teachers, remove every plugged in appliance from our classrooms and if you were Nationally Board Teacher Certified in &lt;?xml:namespace prefix = u1 /&gt;&lt;u1:State u2:st="on"&gt;&lt;u1:place u2:st="on"&gt;&lt;?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /&gt;&lt;st1:State w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;Florida&lt;/u1:place&gt;&lt;/u1:State&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:State&gt;, you lost your mentoring bonus.&amp;nbsp; This year more cuts are coming including cutting the air off completely when no one is there (in Fl, this means mold), no lower than 78 degrees when we are in the classroom, the county is begging for money to save&amp;nbsp;extra curricular activities&amp;nbsp;and asking for volunteer substitutes.&amp;nbsp; It takes a village to raise a child and it takes a country to raise healthy educated children who can eventually help put this country back on track again.&amp;nbsp; We all know that education leads to power so let's put our money where our mouth is...."Children First", "No Child Left Behind".&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;These statements sound&amp;nbsp;good just like the low class size amendment, but no one is funding it.&amp;nbsp; Please write your congress representative and demand they stop cutting schools' budgets!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Sponsored by &lt;A href="http://www.cashforcreations.com"&gt;Cash for Creations, Inc. - Educational Visual Aids&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>President Obama and Vice President Biden's Zero to Five Plan - Early Childhood</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://blog.cashforcreations.com/2009/02/02/president-obama-and-vice-president-bidens-zero-to-five-plan--early-childhood.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:blog.cashforcreations.com,2009-02-02:066c4d7e-b5ff-4418-ae04-662d5a2a1b68</id>
		<author>
			<name>Cindy Martin</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2009-02-03T02:05:00Z</updated>
		<published>2009-02-03T02:05:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;P&gt;The Obama-Biden comprehensive "Zero to Five" plan will provide critical support to young children and their parents. Unlike other early childhood education plans, the Obama-Biden plan places key emphasis at early care and education for infants, which is so essential for children to be ready to enter school prepared for kindergarten. Obama and Biden will create Early Learning Challenge Grants to promote state Zero to Five efforts and help states move toward voluntary, universal pre-school. This plan will help children who may not have the skills, meet the requirments that many schools have in place in kindergarden.&amp;nbsp; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.cashforcreations.com"&gt;Cash for Creations, Inc. -Educational Products&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;</content>
	</entry>
</feed>