Back to School: The Adventures of Everyday Geniuses

Barbara Esham

There is no better way for Baltimore families to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss than to explore books from a local author. Like Dr. Suess, Barbara Esham is a children’s author who recognizes and celebrates the uniqueness of each young mind. 

Recognizing that each child is gifted with individual strengths and challenges, Esham uses children’s literature to reexamine common assumptions about learning and intelligence.

Traditional teaching methods and academic expectations may not effectively facilitate learning for all children. Esham’s ultimate goal is to revolutionize education by redefining the concepts of learning, creativity, and intelligence.

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Informed Families the Florida Family Partnership

THE NUMBER ONE REASON KIDS GIVE FOR NOT USING DRUGS IS THEIR PARENTS!  

However, 40% of parents believe they have little influence on their children's drug use. Worse, 50% of parents expect their children will use drugs. 

When we ask kids what they would like us to do to help with the drug problem, the surprising answer is "talk to our parents about drugs." 

Informed Families/The Florida Family Partnership, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is a broad-based, grass roots volunteer/parent organization that is affiliated with the National Family Partnership. Informed Families is an education, training and support center for parents, schools and communities to help raise safe, healthy and drug-free children. 

We teach people how to say no to drugs and how to make healthy choices. To reduce the demand for drugs, Informed Families has focused its efforts on educating and mobilizing the community, parents and young people in order to change attitudes. In this way we counteract the pressures in society that condone and promote drug and alcohol use and abuse. The organization educates thousands of families annually about how to stay drug and alcohol free through networking and a variety of programs and services . 

Informed Families offers children's substance abuse prevention activities in various locations throughout the State of Florida. While the agency is headquartered in Miami, other service locations include the Orlando and Pensacola Regions.

Follow PACT Prevention Coalition on Twitter.

The Genius in Children: Bringing out the Best in your Child

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By Rick Ackerly

Rick Ackerly has over 40 years of experience working with students, teachers, and parents as a principal, father, and consultant. The stories and advice in his first book THE GENIUS IN CHILDREN reveal a rare wisdom about children and the process of education.

The value of this experience to hundreds of children, parents, and teachers derives from the depth of his perception and the subtlety of his understanding. He offers perspective and guidance on a wide range of challenges faced by parents of today's school-age children: First Day of School ~ Self-confidence ~ Discipline Boundary-Setting ~ Building Character ~ Integrity Taking Responsibility ~ Facing Challenges ~ Separating from Parents Getting into Trouble ~ Handling Disappointment ~ Friendship Bullying ~ Peer Pressure ~ Harassment ~ Reading ~ Testing Homework ~ Academic Achievement ~ Failure and Success Dyslexia and ADHD.

The GENIUS IN CHILDREN is a must-read for parents who want to discover how to bring out the best in their children.

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Learn more about the author here, and follow him on Twitter.

Public and Permanent: The Golden Rule of the 21st Century: Straight Talk About Digital Safety

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Public and Permanent: The Golden Rule of the 21st Century: Straight Talk About Digital Safety -The Real Consequences of Digital Abuse 

By Richard Guerry

Public and Permanent is the first book to boldly address the very dark areas of the digital world and shows how all digital citizens can avoid becoming victims of any cybercrime. It offers a raw and uncensored glimpse into the digital black market and sheds light on the terrifying reality that digital citizens are often the victim of cyber crime because their friends, family and neighbors hand-deliver their private content to criminals. This eye-opening book provides an unprecedented approach that prevents all digital issues in a rapidly evolving digital world ─ protecting you and your family from making life and legacy altering mistakes. 

Public and Permanent is a life changing  philosophical guide based on the award winning and nationally acclaimed, "Course to Digital Consciousness™  Live Event.   The information in this empowering book ─ and workbook ─ is knowledge that all users of digital technology must know as citizens of a rapidly evolving digital village. This information will help to protect you and your family from making life and legacy altering mistakes. 

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Learn more about the author and the book here.

Girl In The Water: Bullying Starts at Home

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Girl In The Water: Bullying Starts At Home. 

The research link between bullying and sibling abuse can’t be overlooked

By Nancy Kilgore, M.S.

Bullying in America is at epidemic levels, often starting in the American home. Each year, 19 million children are abused in their homes by their own siblings. Nearly two million children use a weapon as a means of resolving a conflict with a sibling. Siblings commit 10 percent of the murders that occur in the American family.

Research has shown a solid link between bullying and sibling abuse. Children who are abused by their siblings are often targets to bullies and often become bullies. The terrifying world of sibling abuse and bullying is exposed in this book. The author’s account is a “first” in the nation.
It is a brilliantly written portrayal that offers a rare and riveting glimpse of what lies beneath the surface of millions of children’s and adult’s lives. The author’s first bully was in her home…her own sister. The author leads the reader on a journey back to her childhood home—where she is confronted with her young dreams and fears, her familial bonds, and the profound, lingering influences that sibling abuse and bullying had on her adulthood and parenting. Resembling the scariest fairy tale, the author’s personal story is narrated with a singular devotion to re-telling her experiences, no matter what the cost.

Like a fairytale, it provides lessons for us all concerning the tragedies and experiences of victims of bullying and sibling abuse. It grips the reader’s imagination with the same unrelenting moral force that fairy tales have for children. This unique story breaks the seal to what has been hidden in so many American homes…sibling abuse. It is a hopeful story for millions of children and adults. This book is comprehensive and has a bibliography, resources and informational strategies for parents and adult survivors.

About the Author:

Nancy Fox-Kilgore, MS is a survivor of sibling abuse and bullying. She holds a Master’s degree from the University of Oregon. Her B.A. and teaching credentials were received from Sacramento State University. Nancy is a leading expert on Bullying, Sibling Abuse, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She is the author of EVERY EIGHTEEN SECONDS: PERSONAL JOURNEY INTO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE and THE SOURCEBOOK FOR WORKING WITH BATTERED WOMEN.

Nancy is a consultant for the United States Department of Victim's of Crime. She is endorsed for her trainings by state domestic violence coalitions, associations, and organizations. Nancy is a continuing education professor for various universities throughout the United States. Nancy consults and trains from the background of a researcher and a trauma survivor. She enjoys helping survivors of bullying and sibling abuse to overcome fears and move to the unconditional truth of their true selves. She is a workshop facilitator, stress consultant/ life coach and lives in Sacramento, California. 


Learn more here.
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You ARE Loved

History of You ARE Loved

Lisa Elifritz lost her 20 year old daughter Amy Rae Elifritz to  tampon related Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) on June 13, 2010.  From that time on, Lisa has been committed to doing everything possible to raise awareness.  In 2011, she founded the non-profit organization You ARE Loved.  As of June 2011, the organization has already reached tens of thousands of people through face-to-face educational programs and online awareness initiatives.

Toxic Shock Syndrome Basic Facts:

Toxic Shock Syndrome develops when the common bacteria, Staphylococcus Aureus, produce a toxin which is absorbed into the bloodstream. The toxin rapidly overwhelms the immune system and attacks the major organs, leading to kidney failure, collapse of the lungs and in severe cases, cardiac arrest. Alarmingly, half of all known cases of Toxic Shock are women using TAMPONS.

Symptoms of TSS

• Sore throat
• Aching muscles
• High temperature; over 102 degrees F
• Vomiting
• Watery diarrhea
• Red rash
• Confusion
• Dizziness
• Very low blood pressure

Only one or two symptoms may occur. They do not necessarily occur all at once and may not persist.

Learn more and please pass this information on to others.

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Help This Kid Counseling

Uriah Guilford - Making a difference.

From a Troubled Teen to a Successful Adult

From a troubled teen to a successful adult, I have had a remarkable journey to becoming a helping professional. I am able to relate to teenagers from my personal life experience, as well as guide them to positive change using my specialized education and training.
The challenges of today’s youth are tremendous and I believe that they need all the support that they can get. I work to strengthen families and increase adolescent’s chances for finding joy and success in life.

As a teen counselor, I specialize in connecting with young people, meeting them where they are and helping them to cope with the challenges they face. I am able to use humor and creativity to help my clients learn and grow. In many ways, I am the therapist that I wish I had as a teenager.

Please don’t hesitate to give me a call at (707) 520-4357 and find out if your teenager can benefit from counseling.

I would be happy to give you a Free 15 minute phone consultation.

Learn more - visit his website at www.HelpThisKid.com and follow him on Twitter and FB.

Refused to Be Broken

By Anita Hasan

Nicole Kennedy grew up without ever knowing her father. Her mother on the other hand made her feel like she was not loved. The only place she found love was in the house of her grandmother, the wise woman whom she called Big Mama. At six, Nicole learned that her mother was raped, thus her conception.

Despite this shocking revelation, she still had the urge to look for the one man that had been missing in her life. Nicole would have to endure physical, emotional, and verbal abuse that went on for several years even into adulthood. Amid the trials and tribulations, Nicole mustered the courage to move on with faith. She lived life with her grandmother’s reminder to always stay resilient and to always trust in God.

Refused to be Broken chronicles how Nicole endured the different tragedies in her life, but she chose to never give up. With God’s help, she was never broken.  It is about strength, never giving up, and having faith even at times when there is nothing tangible or intangible to believe in. Written to inspire others, this book is for anyone who has lost all hope and feels close to being broken.

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Caylee's Law - Sign it today

Speak for Caylee!

If you don't live under a rock, like 12 jurors from Pinellas County Florida do, you probably know the outrageous verdict that literally condones child abuse and neglect.

Since this unbelievable verdict chilled the entire world, it has prompted lawmakers to create a bill called Caylee's Law.

If you think about this - we have come to a sad time in our society when we need to invoke a law that mandates a parent report a child missing.  What parent wouldn't?  We are not talking about frequent runaway teens, we are talking about toddlers.  Even parents I speak with weekly have teens they report as runaways - although they may know where they are, these parents fear for the safety of their teens.

Now because 12 people, would refused to show their face after making such a major blunder, are not only showing their ignorance through the 2 alternates that spoke, and the one, Jennifer Ford who decided getting a free trip to Disney from ABC was worth sharing her idiocy with us, we are forced to get laws into effect that a layman can understand.

It is blatantly obvious these jurors were oblivious to Florida's State Statue for child abuse and neglect.  

Reads in part:  "Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation, or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm"

Casey Anthony neglected to report her child missing for 31 days.  The dead toddlers remains, including a skull with duct tape around the jaw and nasal area, as well as her tiny body in 3 bags, was found 6 months later.  But these 12 jurors just couldn't wrap their head around it.  There was only one person that Caylee got in the way of - her mother, Casey.  Caylee was starting to talk - Casey's lies would soon be exposed.  

Now it is our turn to speak out - boycott all things these jurors can profit off of (juror #6 already found an agent and waiting for the highest bidder), boycott all things Casey or her family intend to profit from.

Most importantly - sign the petition to create Caylee's Law.

The Sparkle Effect

What is The Sparkle Effect?

This innovative student-run program encourages teens nationwide to include students with disabilities in high-school cheerleading programs. An on-line Quick-Start kit, grants for uniforms, and free on-site training makes starting a squad easy and fun! The result: students with disabilities experience true acceptance and gain confidence as high-school students inspire entire communities to embrace inclusion.

 Do you want to start a team?

You are taking the first step toward starting your own cheerleading squad for students with disabilities. Although we originally created our squad, the Spartan Sparkles (www.spartansparkles.com), so that we might play a part in enhancing social, communication, and physical skills in students with disabilities, we now see the tremendous positive effects that our Sparkles have had on us, our entire student body, and our community.

It's exciting to know that cheerleaders like you will soon experience "The Sparkle Effect" as you seize this amazing, life-changing opportunity.

We are confident that this Quick-Start kit will give you all of the information and tools you will need to start your own squad. Rest assured, we stand ready to answer questions and provide guidance to you every step of the way. We plan to generate at least one hundred new high-school based squads for students with disabilities in the next two years. The outcome of the Sparkle Effect will be profound: One hundred new "Sparkles" programs (that's just two more in each state) will touch more than 1,000 special-needs students and their families. This will move the hearts and consciousness of 500,000 students and millions of neighbors, and will ultimately change game night in America forever. Remember, when everyone cheers, everyone wins.

That's the Sparkle Effect. Let's get started!

Sarah Cronk
Sarah Herr
Co-founders, The Sparkle Effect

Parents Helping Parents: Join Us on Facebook

Are you struggling with a teen that was always a good kid - now making some horrible choices?

Are they hanging out with kids that are questionable?

Did you get a report card that was less than acceptable?

Have you seen evidence of them smoking or using other substances?  Maybe drinking?

Don't be parent in denial!  You are only prolonging them getting the help they may need.  You don't want to see them get arrested - you want to see them get back on a positive road to a bright future.

Join us on Facebook - and LIKE our community of professionals, parents and educators that want to help.

Also visit www.HelpYourTeens.com for a free consultation.