THE “Jessica Mikayla Adams’ K1 Speed 12th Birthday Party” EVENT

If you missed it, well you missed an Awesome star studded party. On Friday Oct. 13, 2017, we celebrated Jessica Mikayla Adams 12th Birthday party at K1 Speed. Jessica came dressed for the occasion decked out in her racing gear- looking cute as a button! She was joined by a host of friends who all came out to celebrate by participating in K1 Speed’s race, jamming to cool beats being played by DJ Lela B.

Incase you’re wondering who Jessica Mikayla Adams is , Jessica Mikayla Adams is an actress, known for Reel Kids (2014), Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Sports 2015 (2015) and Nickelodeon’s Ultimate Halloween Costume Party (2015)IMG_8194

Okay if you are like me, a person who has never been to a Silent Party. The party was filled with children of all ages/grownups too. All enjoying the food, Racing, glow house Squad, and Nintendo Switch.I saw everyone walking around with headphones. Wait.. headphones? It wasn’t until someone put a pair on my head  , that I realized that, hey they are jamming up here! What a way to start the weekend, with an Awesome party!

I’m going to #JESStober @jessadams10 #birthday #party #101317#thatssojess 

 

Law Firm Expected to Take on Probate Role to Help Victims of Vegas Shooting

Law Firm Expected to Take on Probate Role

to Help Victims of Vegas Shooting

Victims and their families encouraged to file a creditor’s claim

 

LAS VEGAS – A Southern Nevada law firm is expected to be appointed tomorrowOctober 12, 2017

, to oversee the distribution of funds from the Las Vegas shooter’s estate to benefit the victims.

Attorney Jonathan Barlow of Clear Counsel Law Group has submitted the petition to administer the estate of Stephen Paddock. The petition was accepted by the Clark County court clerk this afternoon and Mr. Barlow is expected to be appointed to probate the estate. The estate is being opened in order to collect and preserve the shooter’s assets for the victims. Clear Counsel Law Group anticipates that, to the extent possible, the estate will be distributed, as directed by the courts, to benefit the victims of the shooting, which took place on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nev.

The probate process, which can take several months or longer, aims to identify, preserve, and liquidate all of the shooter’s assets. The value of Paddock’s estate has not yet been determined. Once the assets are collected, the court will oversee the distribution of the assets in accordance with the law, including to the victims and their families.

“We are part of the Southern Nevada community and were devastated to hear about the shooting that effected our community, friends, family and neighbors,” said Jordan Flake, Managing Partner with Clear Counsel Law Group. “Like so many in our community, we wanted to help. When we were asked to handle the probate, our firm decided that taking this difficult case would be the best way to provide a needed service for our community by using our experience with local probate law to support victims and their families.”

The probate process provides an opportunity for creditors of an estate to seek compensation. Clear Counsel will facilitate the probate process for the estate, but the court will ultimately determine where the funds go.

“It is imperative that the victims do not file a separate lawsuit against the estate,” said Flake. “Under Nevada law, in order to recover, victims must file a claim in the probate case, not in a separate lawsuit.”

Clear Counsel Law Group is encouraging victims and their families to file creditor’s claims within a 90-day claim period so that they are eligible for compensation.

“The beginning of the 90-day period will be determined at a later time, but will most likely be in mid-to-late November,” continued Flake. “We recommend that individuals who may have claims talk to an experienced Nevada probate lawyer, other than Clear Counsel per the law, as they go through the process.”

More information regarding the claim process, and the claim form, is available atwww.clearcounsel.com.

About Clear Counsel Law Group

Clear Counsel Law Group is a Southern Nevada law firm which focuses on personal injury law, estate planning, probate, and bankruptcy. The firm was founded in 2013 when the attorneys at Barlow/Flake and the attorneys at Richards and Associates joined their firms together in an effort to offer more comprehensive services to their clients. Clients come to Clear Counsel for fair, approachable, efficient and affordable legal assistance from attorneys and staff that care about their clients and their community and fight for positive outcomes for each and every client.

For Immediate Release: October 11, 2017

Media Contacts: Kendall Tenney or Paige Candee, 10e Media,

Robi Reed’s Sunshine Beyond Summer Celebration Combines Influence, Innovation and the Power of Celebrity to Drive Awareness and Action Around Health & Wellness (Photo credit added & caption)

Robi Reed’s Sunshine Beyond Summer Celebration Combines Influence, Innovation and the Power of Celebrity to Drive Awareness and Action Around Health & Wellness (Photo credit added & caption)

(Top Photo L-R) Tasha Smith, Debra Lee, Robi Reed and LisaRaye McCoy

(2nd Row L-R) Tisha Campbell Martin & Robi Reed, and Director F. Gary Gray & Robi)

(Last Row: Robi & T.I. and Estelle)

Photo Credit: Kengi Carr

 

Los Angeles, CA — Emmy® Award-winning casting director and talent executive Robi Reed, Founder of The Reed For Hope Foundation (RFHF), presented the 14th Annual “Sunshine Beyond Summer” (SBS) Celebration – The Day Party with a Purpose on Sunday, September 3 at a private estate in Holmby Hills (between Beverly Hills and Bel-Air).

 

Hundreds of celebrities and influencers attended this health-themed awareness event and annual fundraiser. Actress, Tasha Smith, currently starring in Starz’s Power and OWN’s For Better or Worse, co-hosted the event. Grammy® Award-winning singer/songwriter Estelle and Hip-Hop icon Doug E. Fresh added stunning performances, and celebrity DJ D-Nice kept attendees dancing while the foundation showcased its innovative Wellness Row concept featuring free health screenings, affirmations and their ‘Certified Fit To Party’ platform.

 

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and Sundial Brands (maker of SheaMoisture) partnered with RFHF on the event to bring these celebrities, entertainment industry tastemakers and community leaders together to encourage them to use their voices to help shift cultural attitudes about wellness, disease prevention and health disparities. AHF and Sundial Brands announced their intent at the event to become corporate partners for 2018 to add resources to help RFHF empower one million friends advocating for health. Additional event attendees included: Debra Lee, Chairman & CEO BET Network, Duane Martin, The New Edition Story & wife Tisha Campbell Martin, Dr. Kim/Real Husbands of Hollywood, Eva Marcille America’s Next Top Model & RFHF Health Ambassador, Danielle Nicolet, The Flash/Born Again Virgin, Apryl Jones, Love & Hip Hop Hollywood, Isaiah Washington, Survivor’s Remorse, T.I., Actor/Hip Hop Artist, Danielle Mone’ Truitt, Rebel, Director F. Gary Gray, Straight Outta Compton & The Fate of The Furious, Creator/Director John Singleton, FX’s Snowfall, LisaRaye McCoy, Single Ladies, Lance Gross, Sleepy Hollow, Grey’s Anatomy, Yvonne Orji,HBO’s Insecure, Richard Brooks, Being Mary Jane, Michelle Mitchenor, Lethal Weapon, Vanessa Williams, Days of Our Lives, Tim Johnson, Hit The Road, Omar Dorsey, Queen Sugar, Garcelle Bouvals, Spiderman/Homecoming, Elise Neal, BET’s Tales, Eugene Byrd, Bones and many others.

 

In Reed For Hope’s Love Healthy Lounge and Wellness Pavilion, guests were required to be certified before the main event, while a live band played featuring Mike Phillips.  After checking into the lounge, attendees stopped by stations to have their blood pressure and heart rate checked and took a pledge to commit to healthy lifestyle choices. That pledge provided guests with an exclusive experience including credentials for complimentary cocktails, SheaMoisture gifts, a delightful vegan cuisine, and VIP access to special party zones. Access within the event was based on the attendees’ commitment to the cause, not their names.

 

The event was live streamed to key SBS enthusiasts. A virtual crowd of partygoers joined the fun by taking the Love Healthy pledge; dancing at home and watching their Hollywood favorites get “certified fit to party.” Continuing this digital engagement, social media will be the primary vehicle for the latest Love Healthy: One In A Million campaign kickoff aimed at inspiring an army of at least one million friends to advocate for health…. together. The current program centered on women’s health launches as a new mobile app at the beginning of 2018 with monthly messaging and entertaining content.

 

Immediately preceding the SBS, RFHF’s Annual Sunshine Awards took place honoring several awardees including the cast and crew of the soon to be released film, A Question of Faith, for the courage to create a film that tackles the important – yet under-discussed – issue of organ donations. AHF’s Rise Above Campaign received a ‘Sunshine Award’ for their work in AIDS awareness, prevention and sexual health. Actress Eva Marcille, Born Again Virgin and Brandee Evans, Hip Hop in Heels were the RFHF Health Awareness Ambassadors for the event and year. New partner, Sundial Brands, received the Corporate Partner – Sunshine Award, for committing to collaborate with RFHF’s Love Healthy: One In A Million Campaign with a skin health and hair component and for its commitment to making products with natural and organic ingredients. Other awardees were Dr. Valencia Mathews and Lorna Johnson.

 

It may seem like just a party, but inspiring influencers to spread messages of hope, health and love is serious business for RFHF founder Robi Reed, as she shared, “I want to build the One in a Million campaign within our Love Healthy Movement to bring people of all colors, genders, races, political affiliations and ages together to unite and focus on the health of our women. Life begins within us. When we heal, our world heals!”

 

Reed For Hope invites family, friends, corporations, groups, churches, and faith-based organizations to join the Love Healthy: One In A Million Movement immediately. Share your voice and your story of wellness with us. Go to LoveHealthy.org. An African proverb says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

 

ABOUT REED FOR HOPE FOUNDATION

The Reed For Hope Foundation (RFHF) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) based in Los Angeles, California. RFHF’s mission is to improve the quality of life in our communities by positively effecting public perceptions on wellness, disease prevention and health disparities. We aim to inspire our friends, partners and communities to join us in bringing focus, education, action and HOPE to a world that needs more healing and better health. One of RFHF’s main initiatives is the Love Healthy Movement, a multi-pronged healthy lifestyle campaign that includes the One in a Million initiative, Certified Fit To Party, Certified Fit To Praise, Entertainment-Centered Health Screenings, and retreats centered on holistic healing, disease prevention, good nutrition, and self-love. For more information, please visit www.reedforhope.org

 

Media Contact for photos and information:

Edna Sims, ESP Public Relations

310.770.8117 m ~ esppr@mac.com

 

###

Robi Reed with her guests at the party:

(Top Row: Amy Barnette Dubois & Richard Brooks and Michelle Mitchenor & LisaRaye) (Bottom Row: D Nice & Omar Dorsey and Yvonne Orji)

Billboard #1 Artist Bryan Popin Gives a Word on Racism in America Popin Talks About Soul Behind His Music and Shared His Story Behind His Difficult Journey to Success

MEDIA ALERT!

Billboard #1 Artist Bryan Popin Gives a Word on Racism in America

Popin Talks About Soul Behind His Music and Shared His Story Behind His Difficult Journey to Success

ATLANTA, GA (Tuesday, September 5, 2017) – – As Chart-Topping recording artist Bryan Popin single “I Got Out” spends three weeks in the Top 5 at Gospel radio and his independently released album of the same name maintains a top 5 position for six consecutive weeks on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart, Popin sat down with CBN News’ Studio 5 Efram Graham to give a word on racism in America. Popin also talked about soul behind his music and shared his story behind his difficult journey to success.

Bryan Popin’s Little Boy Wonder Music/Flaydo Music album, I Got Out, released July 21through Fuel Music and is the sixth highest Gospel album debut of the year.

Bryan Popin Talks Racism in America | Watch Short Clip Below

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WATCH FULL INTERVIEW BELOW

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About Bryan Popin:
A native of NJ, Bryan Popin was a piano protégé by his early teens. Later in his career, the legendary Stevie Wonder nicknamed him the “Little Boy Wonder” and he’s continued to impress with his songwriting, keyboard skills and vocal flow. Popin has appeared with Bishop TD Jakes numerous times and was featured at both MegaFest and Bishop Jakes’ Pastors & Leader’s Conference. He’s written with R&B legend Chaka Khan, opened for Tye Tribbett, Israel Houghton, Deitrick Haddon, Donnie McClurkin, Marvin Sapp and American Idol alum Danny Gokey. At the height of their popularity, Justin Timberlake’s *NSYNC recorded one of Popin’s songs for their multi-platinum album and stadium tour, Celebrity. His Billboard No. 1 Gospel album, I Got Out, is now available in stores and online.

CONNECT WITH BRYAN POPIN:
Website:www.BryanPopin.com
Facebook: /BryanPopinMusic
Instagram: @BryanPopin
Twitter: @BryanPopin

Sanrio and Fragrant Jewels Partner for Hello Kitty Candle and Bath Bomb Collection

 

Sanrio and Fragrant Jewels Partner for Hello Kitty Candle and Bath Bomb Collection

 

Exclusive Hello Kitty rings are hidden in each product

 

LOS ANGELES (August 30, 2017) – Sanrio, the global lifestyle brand best known for beloved pop icon Hello Kitty, and Fragrant Jewels, the candle and bath bomb brand with a ring in every product, has partnered to develop co-branded candles and bath bombs with a Hello Kitty ring inside each product.

 

The Hello Kitty Fragrant Jewels collection is available in two gift sets and is shipped in a reversible gift box. Inside each product is one of ten custom Hello Kitty rings. Available gift sets include:

  • Set of three bath bombs – $42.95
  • Set of one candle and one bath bomb – $42.95

 

“We chose to partner with Sanrio for our first ever co-branded partnership because Hello Kitty is a beloved icon and we know our customers will appreciate this collaboration,” said Garett Hunter, VP from Fragrant Jewels. “The inclusion of our first reversible gift box is an added touch that further elevates this collection and is sure to delight Fragrant Jewels customers and Hello Kitty fans alike.”

 

The limited edition co-branded collaboration will be available to the public starting August 30, only on FragrantJewels.com. Each order will be shipped in a reversible gift box. Instructions are included in each box to turn it inside out and use as a keepsake or gift to friends and family.

 

Inside each Fragrant Jewels candle is a ring and sweepstakes. The rings are secured in heatproof packaging in the candles and waterproof pods in the bath bombs. With each ring is a sweepstakes that guests can enter on Fragrant Jewels’ website for the chance to win an additional ring valued up to $10,000. For additional information visit www.fragrantjewels.com.

 

About Sanrio®    

Sanrio is the global lifestyle brand best known for pop icon Hello Kitty®, who celebrated her 40th Anniversary in 2014. Home to many endearing characters including Chococat® My Melody®Badtz-Maru® and Keroppi®, Sanrio was founded on the ‘small gift, big smile®’ philosophy – that a small gift can bring happiness and friendship to people of all ages. Since 1960, this philosophy has served as the inspiration for the broad spectrum of unique products and experiences.  Today, more than 50,000 Hello Kitty-branded items are available in over 130 countries and upwards of 15,000 U.S. retail locations including department, specialty, national chain stores and Sanrio boutique stores. For more information please visit www.sanrio.com and www.facebook.com/hellokitty.

 

About Fragrant Jewels

Fragrant Jewels makes luxury candles and bath bombs that offer a captivating experience and a chance to dream.  Inside each product is a custom designed ring along with a chance to win another ring valued up to $10,000 through its “Enter the Vault” Sweepstakes. Since 2014, Fragrant Jewels has crafted its candles in Los Angeles from a proprietary coconut wax blend that offers a clean burn and unparalleled fragrance retention. All packaging is artfully designed and 100% recyclable.

Dazi Ties

 

If your like me, a woman who love’s to see my guys dressed to impress then I’m sure you like to see a nice suit complimented with a nice tie. So quite naturally I was ecstatic to receive a complimentary tie from Dazi Ties to try out. My sons excitement exceeded my own as he was  able to try a fashionable new tie just in time for an event. Not only was he complimented for his unique style and fashion, the ladies could not keep their eyes off of him.

The Dazi tie is perfect for completing a guy’s outfit .  with choices ranging from  a floral  skinny tie  to variety of other styles to choose from. They also carry bow ties and ties for children. Dazi ties are a bold fashion statement, that is making a significant statement in menswear.

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Dazi ties use a great quality/material,& offer so many different patterns, like floral,paisley, stripes, and a small selection of solid colors. . Dazi also has bow ties and clip on ties. the ties are approximately 2.5″ wide at the tip and 58″ in length. Which is very important  for men of all heights. Each tie offers cool options for couples who like to coordinate their attire. A floral tie can be matched with a floral dress or blouse.  I love the fact that the ties are skinny! I think that this is something that every guy needs , in his life. ( A skinny tie)

Dazi ties would make a perfect gift for that special guy in your life. Check them out at http://www.daziusa.com.

 

Back-to-School Busy Schedules Call for Simple Family Meals

FREDERICKSBURG, Virginia – (July 17, 2017) –The Nutrition Journal reports that Americans have shifted toward eating out more and cooking at home less. With busy work and back-to-school schedules, many parents find it difficult to find the time to make home-cooked meals. Yet the American Journal of Preventative Medicine reports that the amount of time spent on food preparation and cooking may have implications for ones overall diet quality and health, and that a greater amount of time spent on home food preparation is associated with a higher diet quality. The good news is that parents who are juggling back-to-school hours and work can fit in healthy home-cooked meals that are quick to prepare, nutritious, and delicious.

“Parents love to be able to feed their kids good, nutritious foods. That’s why we have created free tools and recipes to make cooking fast, easy and delicious,” says Dr. Nimali Fernando, a Fredericksburg, Virginia-based pediatrician who founded The Doctor Yum Project. “Not only cooking at home better for a family’s health, but it also saves them money, because eating at home is usually much more affordable than dining out.”

While the benefits of eating home-cooked meals are well documented, many parents are still unsure how to make it fit into their busy schedule. Here are 5 back-to-school busy schedule tips to help get healthy meals on the table quickly:

  • Plan ahead. On the weekend, sit down and make a list of what your family will eat for dinner all week long. Then head to the grocery store or farmers market to get the items you need for those dishes. Knowing what to make is often half the battle, so you can just look at your list on the refrigerator and get started making the meal.
  • Use what’s on hand. Pantries often have lots of food, yet people don’t know what to do to put it all together and make a meal. The Doctor Yum Project has taken on solving this problem by offering a free online tool, the Meal Maker Machine, that will help people create a recipe using the ingredients they have on hand. Simply input the items you have on hand and the system will create a convenient recipe for you.
  • Get everyone involved. Help spread the cooking tasks among the family. Get other family members involved in meal prep by assigning tasks to each person. Even younger children can help with age-appropriate tasks to help with getting the family meal ready.
  • Do prep work ahead. When you do have time on the weekend, take half an hour to wash, chop, and get your vegetables ready that will be used in recipes throughout the week. This way, you can reach into the refrigerator and pull out the chopped and prepared items that you need for your recipe. Another option that can help is to do batch cooking on the weekend, where you make up a few meals that can be frozen or put into the refrigerator. Those meals can then be pulled out and heated up during the week as needed.
  • Give pressure cooking a try. Pressure cookers like the popular Instant Pot are all the rage because they are a great way to help get healthy meals on the table quickly. This new generation of pressure cookers makes cooking healthy food so easy with other features like saute, slow cook, and yogurt making.  Drop in ingredients like dried beans or tough cuts of meat, set the time and walk away while your dinner cooks up fast. This style of cooking lets you be free to focus on other after school activities like sports, homework, and more. Check out doctoryum.org for pressure cooker ideas that will be sure to please.

“Work and school schedules can certainly make people feel pressed for time when it comes to getting meals on the dinner table,” added Heidi DiEugenio, director of the Doctor Yum Project. “Yet, when you do you will feel better knowing that your family is eating healthier, and you will have likely saved some money. Start the school year off cooking at home and it will soon become a habit, getting easier as the year goes on.”

Quick, healthy recipe from the Doctor Yum Project website:

Healthy Pesto
Prep time: 8 minutes

What you need:
2 cups basil (fresh, loosely packed)

⅓ cup parmesan cheese (grated)

¼ cup broth (chicken or vegetable)

2 tablespoons walnuts (or pinenuts)

1 clove garlic (use two cloves for more intense taste)

2 tablespoon olive oil

¼ teaspoons salt

black pepper (to taste)

DIRECTIONS:
Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until everything is well-mixed. Serve over pasta or however you enjoy pesto! Works great on sandwiches, drizzled over grilled meats or veggies.

Dr. Fernando created The Doctor Yum Project, an organization with the mission of transforming the lives of families and communities by providing an understanding of the connection between food and overall health, as well as empowering them with the tools to live a healthy life. The project offers healthy cooking classes, child nutrition classes, cooking camps for kids, hands-on cooking instruction for families, first foods classes, a teaching garden, and online tools to help families make healthier meals. They also offer a preschool nutrition program, with 40 classrooms and almost 600 participating preschoolers.

Dr. Fernando, otherwise known as Dr. Yum, is a board-certified pediatrician. She is also the co-author of the book “Raising a Healthy, Happy Eater: A Parent’s Handbook” (The Experiment, October 2015). To learn more, visit the site at: www.doctoryum.org.

About The Doctor Yum Project
Founded by Dr. Nimali Fernando, The Doctor Yum Project is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to transforming the lives of families and communities by providing an understanding of the connection between food and overall health, as well as empowering them with the tools to live a healthy life. They offer a variety of community programs to help with those efforts. They are located in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and feature an instructional kitchen and teaching garden for holding classes. To learn more, visit the site at: www.doctoryum.org.

 

 

# # #

 

Sources:

American Journal of Preventative Medicine. Time spent on home food preparation and indicators of healthy eatinghttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749379714004000

 

Nutrition Journal. Trends in US home food preparation and consumption. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3639863/

 

WOW Creations Pre Epsy Awards Gift Lounge in Hollywood

This wonderful event was held at the W Hotel in Hollywood, the WOW Creations Pre-Epsys Gifting Suite had both the indoor and outdoor second floor of the elegant hotel located in Los Angeles .

Although the adjacent 2 Suite’s and outdoor patio, where the event was held offered a nice ambiance and awesome view of the city of Los Angeles. The vendors definitely sweetened the deal. This year’s swag was stylish, delicious, and offered luxury.

From vendor: Gary Red-“offering  a tank top for the ladies and variety of shirts for the men. Gary Red is a cutting-edge brand using the power of diversity, freedom and community to connect (ALL) people.”   www.garyred.com
Another awesome gift for the swag bag, was the Banzai Jerky, if you are a bacon loverthis jerky will wow you!  Do your taste buds a favor and go get your jerky. whether you like it salty or sweet, there are many different choices to choose from. For a 20% discount go to Banzaijerky.com and enter coupon code “dainty” but hurry offer expires 7/31/17.

Engraved Forces- Laser engraved footwear – where you “set your shoe apart” by Personalizing each design with your own name, initials, or text. I already have a design that is going to match my nails and my fake ankle tattoo. Now I can look cute and stylish while out on the basketball court. Check them out on their website at http://www.EngravedForces.com

With all of the excitement and picture taking, I was more than happy to be greeted by the guys from GLOBAL Vodka . Offering the most delightful, refreshing, and satisfying drink that fill all your senses,with a delicious, mouth watering cocktail. This mixer went down very smooth and did not burn my throat going down. This drink is made with Natural spring water and Europe’s finest selection of organic wheat; To find out the full ingredients and to order this drink visit: http://www.global-vodka.com

There were other awesome vendors in attendance as well, with great products.  Like the Rumbo Cigar. Cigars by Marco Suave.I didn’t actually light it up, I saved it for my husband.It looks good though. Avjet- a jet avaiation company, offering luxury as well as many others.

I had an awesome time among the contestants and celebrities, influencers and , media while attending the Wow Creations Pre-Epsy gifting suite 2017. I look forward to attending future gifting suites.

Wow Creations Gifting suite has proven to be an excellent opportunity to get quality product in the hands of today’s leading trend-setters,high profile celebrities and sought-after national press .

www.wowcreationsmedia.com

 

Kids learn how NOT to procrastinate

Boys Town Press, Jeff Tierney

Why do today what you can put off till..whenever?: How to help kids stop procrastinating

How many of us have had the joy of being told that science project, you know…the one with the flour plaster volcanoes…is actually due tomorrow? Yes, your child knew when it was due three weeks ago and even mentioned it once to you in passing, but did you really imagine that you would be reminded about it at 8:00 p.m. the night before it had to be done?  I know you weren’t expecting it because my wife and I were never expecting the same sort of surprises when we became victims of our son’s procrastination.

Let’s see what tools in our parental arsenal we’ve tried up to this point to get our kids not to put off every important task until the last possible moments:  Endless reminding hasn’t worked. Even threats of taking away privileges that will never be seen again didn’t fix it either. Some of our kids are just so good at procrastinating they’ve become pros at it. And it doesn’t just apply to ]schoolwork. There are always the bedrooms that never get cleaned and trash to be taken out despite solemn oaths that they will all get done “in just a little while.”

If our kids could articulate what their behavior has already told us they would say “But I can’t do it now, not when there are so many other things that I could be doing that would be so much more fun.” And that’s a big part of the problem. Kids are often distracted by opportunities to engage in more immediately rewarding activities than doing schoolwork or cleaning their rooms. Our task as parents becomes teaching them a strategy that allows them to do both.

Award winning children’s author Julia Cook addresses this very issue in her latest book The PROcrastinator, which is published by the Boys Town Press.  The lead character Norman David Edward, better known as Noodle, finds it so hard to feed his cat, take out the trash, and (especially) get his homework done when there are a lot better things to do instead. So Noodle puts them off until he is hopelessly behind on homework and has a very hungry, angry cat. Noodle’s mom says he has become so good at procrastinating that now she considers him a pro at it. A PROcrastinator.

In the end, Noodle’s mom teaches him a strategy to manage his days and all of his responsibilities, all while still having plenty of time to play new video games with his friends. The trick is in figuring out what can be accomplished in under two minutes and getting those things done before anything else. Noodle also learns how to break bigger tasks into smaller parts that are easier to get done as well. This is a great strategy that all parents can use with their children who may be inclined to put things off until the last minute.

Of course, one of the most important things we parents can do is recognize when our kids are taking care of their responsibilities right away and really praise them for their efforts. This is especially true when we see them making steady progress on long-term goals such as working on a school project, studying for an upcoming test, etc. Parents can even set up rewards to be earned for their kids’ consistency in completing household responsibilities without being asked repeatedly.

What happens when we use these sorts of strategies for encouraging responsibility and good planning?  Less reminding and frustration on our part as parents and better teaching our children the skills they’ll need to be successful in school and out in the “real world.”

Jeff Tierney, M.Ed. has worked with children and families for over 35 years.  He has been at Boys Town in Nebraska for the past 28 years working in the staff training and evaluation areas and, most recently, as Director of the Boys Town Press. Jeff is the author of Teaching Social Skills to Youth, Basic Social Skills for Youth, and articles in professional journals on reducing aggressive behavior in children and teens.

For more information about the Boys Town’s award-winning resources for families, schools, and communities visit www.boystownpress.org

Turfmutt Helps Kids Avoid The Summer Slide This Summer

Summer can be a good or bad situation for children and parents when school lets out. Kids are typically more than ready to trade school lessons for leisure time. But parents want to ensure their children don’t succumb to the “summer slide” – the phenomenon where students lose important skills they’ve learned over summer break.

TurfMutt – the online stewardship and education program for students ages 5-12 – has a solution that is fun for kids, yet also satisfies a parent’s desire to keep kids learning, even on school break. Here are the top ways TurfMutt and the Outdoor Powers strike a perfect summer break balance for kids and parents.

Digital Storybooks
Is your little one required to do summer reading? Add TurfMutt’s digital storybooks to the mix. There are two tales to tackle: “The West Coast Mission” and “Saving the Planet, One Yard at a Time.”

Creative Writing
TurfMutt’s digital storybooks might inspire your child to create their own story, and TurfMutt has an online story creator to help! Your child simply adds their name, selects their age range, and off they go! There’s no chance for writer’s block with TurfMutt’s story idea spinner, which suggests imaginative topics at the click of a button. With countless combination options, your child can create multiple tales throughout the summer. There is even a drawing screen so your student can add illustrations.

Outdoor-Themed Activity Sheets
The TurfMutt activity sheets are where the screen time ends. The hands-on TurfMutt activities are based on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) principles and encourage kids to go outside to learn about the green space around them. The activity sheets are available in two categories – for kids in grades K-2 and grades 3-5.

Climate Quest Game
TurfMutt’s Climate Quest game is at the head of the class. The interactive video game challenges children to answer questions correctly to help TurfMutt and the Outdoor Powers move through the climate regions on an interactive map of the United States.

Educational Videos
When it’s time to wind down for the day, sometimes there is nothing better than a video. TurfMutt has several educational short movies that cover topics about living landscapes. They teach children how to help their families be good environmental stewards of the green space around them.

Learn more and stop the “summer slide” at www.TurfMutt.com.