Search Results for: blog helping a child find volunteer work

Volunteering With Your Kids

We recently volunteered at a local Youth and Women’s Alliance (a sort of independent YWCA). The activity was organized through my employer as part of the nationwide Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. It was a terrific day full of coloring with toddlers, playing basketball with tweens and cleaning, organizing and straightening the many bookshelves, supply closets, board games and puzzles lying around the place. In the words of Jimmy Valvano “It was a full day”. As anyone who has ever volunteered knows, there is a great sense of purpose and accomplishment that engulfs you after your work is … Continue reading →

Teaching Your Children to Manage Money with Christmas Shopping

One easy way to begin to teach your children about budgeting is to sit down and help them plan out a Christmas budget. This can work for older elementary children, as well as teenagers. If you are helping your children to buy Christmas presents for their friends and family members this is a great way to help limit the spending, while still giving your child freedom to make their own choices regarding gifts. You may want to start by deciding with your child who she will be giving gifts to. You should take into consideration Secret Santa exchanges that may … Continue reading →

Court Appointed State Advocate (CASA) The Constant in a Foster Child’s Life

You may or may not have ever heard about the Court Appointed State Advocate, or CASA program. If you have heard of the CASA program you still may not have any idea what it is and how it applies to children. The title of this position is not a real indication of what a CASA is responsible for. The title lacks the two most important terms of all: Child Advocate. The CASA program was born when a Seattle Washington judge was concerned about his decisions of how to handle cases with abused and neglected children’s lives without sufficient information. This … Continue reading →

Preparing for Sharing Time

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Since I am in the primary presidency, part of my responsibilities include preparing sharing time every third week. I usually find that Saturday night, I am looking over the sharing time, and throwing things together. But, seeing as we have a small group, it usually always works out fine. However, I’ve been thinking lately about ways that I can prepare more for these little lessons I give each week. After all, I truly believe that we are, “teaching children, not lessons” and it is more about being prepared in spirit rather than having the perfect prop or gimmick for the … Continue reading →

Back-to-School: Keeping Kids on Track

We’ve just hit the midpoint of summer vacation, though you’d never know it by strolling through Wal-Mart or Target. The popular discount retailers have their back-to-school displays front and center, reminding parents that they have yet another financial obligation looming. Personally, I am trying to ignore the stacks of new pencils, tablets and binders. However, I realize that parents of college-bound kids don’t have the same luxury. When Wal-Mart starts stocking Neutrogena Acne Facial Wash next to No.2 pencils, you know that the back-to-school clock is ticking. Thankfully, my daughter won’t be leaving for college for another decade or so. … Continue reading →

Dirt Cheap Vacations

With gas prices skyrocketing on a daily basis and airfare hovering near record highs, it would seem that finding a dirt cheap vacation would be next to impossible. Fortunately, that’s not the case if you are willing to get a little dirty to score dirt cheap prices. Working vacations are on the rise, according to travel experts. However, before you get too excited about the super low prices (think: next to nothing) associated with these unique vacation packages, consider that you will not be lounging by a pool for hours on end if you decide to opt for the inexpensive … Continue reading →

How Does Your Kid’s School Lunch Stack Up?

There’s a reason I am a Recess Mom and not a Cafeteria Mom. My daughter’s small Catholic elementary school relies heavily on parent volunteers, and while I happily oblige administrators’ requests to wrangle kids on the playground and shelve books in the library, I draw the line at serving hot lunch. I helped out in the cafeteria a few times early in the school year, but now, no more. For starters, lunch duty is a two-hour job, which requires set-up, food distribution, and clean-up. Given that I struggle to find enough time in the day to scrape the ketchup off … Continue reading →

The Gift of Giving

Dreading all the gifts you’ll receive this holiday season that are probably just going to collect dust on a shelf? Why not start a new tradition with your family and friends while also teaching your children the importance and joy of giving? * Donate money to a cause. Instead of spending your money on gifts for each other, pick a charity or organization that you all believe in and donate the money to them. This time of year, shelters for both people and animals could use an increase in donations as the weather becomes colder. * Go through your old … Continue reading →

Becoming Robin Hood

It’s almost Thanksgiving. It’s going to be Christmas next month. In this season, I encourage you to think like Robin Hood. Often in the Money blog we think about how to make our finances better. You may look to this blog for ideas about how you can reduce your debt or avoid getting one. You may look to this blog for tips on the day to day trials and streamlining of your money management. You probably do not look to this blog to hear about fairy tale characters from England. Robin Hood took from the rich and gave to the … Continue reading →

Complain, Complain

Well, it’s Boxing Day up here in Canada, which means that it’s one of the biggest shopping days of the year. There are lots of “I wants” still to be filled, I suppose. We had a lovely Christmas, and my daughter acted as the inveterate consumer, getting all but one of the toys she’d asked for. Lucky her. Of course, she doesn’t really realize how lucky she is, because no matter how much discussion and volunteer work we do, she’s only four and she’s still working on empathy. You know, the feeling that the world doesn’t actually revolve around you? … Continue reading →