I’ve written previously about the slogans I’ve noticed on children’s shirts at school.  It’s a fascinating study in human nature and marketing.  Typically, girls have cute sayings such as “princess”  “spoiled rotten”  and “angel” or silly slogans such as “jelly bean” or “real blonde.” Both my grandgirls love their “princess” shirts and outfits.  And I have to confess that I’ve given them princess-themed items more than once. 

However, after reading and thinking about the printed messages and slogans on t-shirts and other clothing, I’m not so sure that “princess” and the other slogans above are the messages we want our girls to wear.  The word “princess” brings to mind words like entitlement and lack of ambition.  We need to encourage our girls to think outside the box by wearing their possibilities and potential.

I looked at the Girl Mogul website and found some inspiring and more ambitious slogans on shirts and other apparel.   The pink shirt in this post is an example.  “Future Leader of the free world” sends the ultimate empowering message.  Other great messages are : “Future marine biologist”  “Dream Big!”  “Science is Cool”  “Future CEO” and “Future Chef Du Jour.”   There are many more, and they’re all slogans that let girls know that their possibilities are limitless. 

Yes, I like the Girl Mogul slogan much better.

Over two years ago I wrote about buying a yogurt maker,  and recently I unpacked the box that held that yogurt maker.  A couple days ago I made my first batch of yogurt since I packed it up over 18 months ago.  I have to say, it was delicious.  RT tried it and didn’t care for it which was fine except he wasted an entire cup of my yogurt by leaving it out all night after he decided he didn’t like it! 

I made the yogurt with skim milk, added a little powdered milk to make it creamier, used some plain yogurt for the starter, and put sugar-free apricot preserves in the bottom of each cup because fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt is my favorite. I kept the seven cups of yogurt in the yogurt maker for nine hours before putting them in the refrigerator.  It has a good consistency and I’m very pleased with my efforts, and it was very easy to do.

Now there is a website community for everyone who loves their pets.  You can chat with other pet lovers, you can relax and have fun as you connect and network with other like minded animal lovers from across the country.  Best of all, you can build a personalized profile of each of your pets.  After all, who deserves his/her own profile than the pet that gives you so much companionship, loyal and enjoyment.  Everyone in the family can join in the fun.  You can share your pet with others.  If you have a particular issue with your pet, you can look for other folks who own the same breed and share experiences and hopefully be able to problem solve with other members of Anamigo.. 

Share you favorite stories about your pets, blog about your recent animal adventures, ask animal experts about any problem or situation you might have with your pets, enjoy showing off photos of your pets, and find information and tips on animal services, accessories, pet friendly places, and tips on favorite toys for your pet.  As Anamigo grows, so will your enjoyment.

Recently the Anamigo, the pet lovers site, had a launch party at the Sundance Film Festival.  Celebrity pet lovers such as Paris Hilton, Felicity Huffman, Perez Hilton, and Jack Black showed up to lend their support to the online community. 

I haven’t done a very good job of keeping up with Sunday Seven lately.  Life has been too busy - especially on weekends.  However, taking it one week at a time, here are seven things I’m grateful for the past week.

(1) a massage that helped my neck feel a little better

(2) sticking somewhat to a healthy eating plan (the d-word is a no-no - no dieting - just healthy eating)

(3) energy to do a lot of needed housework last weekend

(4) a good report from the doctor at my yearly checkup (which I’d put off for over six months)

(5) time with the grandgirls

(6) time with RT

(7) a good week at school - lots of positive interactions with children and teachers

There’s nothing like a wedding - with all that love and starry-eyed excitement.  With spring on its way, that means that soon we’ll start finding 1st Class Wedding Invitations in our mailbox.  You just never know who will be getting married next.  This past year THREE of my nieces/nephews were married.  It was so much fun seeing how creative they were in designing their invitations.  Each invitation was unique.  there was such a variety, and yet each was special and classy.

If I were going to help plan another wedding (which I might do someday if either of my granddaughters will allow me to help with theirs), I would go for something with sophistication and yet still with an artsy bent to it.  I looked at 1st Class Wedding Invitations to see if I could decide which invitation I liked best.

The invitation in this post is my pick.  Isn’t it beautiful?  There’s such a great choice.  You can get invitations only or you can include reception cards, thank you notes - all coordinated.   The flowers on the invitations are watercolor - with the strokes of color giving the invitations a more personalized look.  I love the splashes of color.  I would select a forest green for the lettering in order to highlight the green stems of the flowers.  Then I would also use forest green for the lining of the envelopes.  I think that would look absolutely charming - but still sophisticated. 

So watch out, Sweet Stuff and Sunshine, when your wedding day comes (15-20 years away, at least), I will be right here with some ideas for your invitations!

Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems in one of my favorite children’s books. It was a Caldecott winner a few years ago - and it very much deserved to win. Absolutely wonderful illustrations. The background of each page is an old black and white photograph. However, there are illustrations of Trixie, the little girl who loves her Knuffle Bunny, and Trixie’s family on the old photographs. Very clever. The story is also very heart-warming. It’s a story most children can easily connect with. Trixie and her dad goes to the laundromat (great lesson on that vocabulary word), and accidentally leave Trixie’s Knuffle Bunny there. I believe this is a book that every early reader should have in his/her personal library.

Willems has just published a follow-up book called Knuffle Bunny Too in which Trixie goes to school only to find that another child has a Knuffle Bunny, too.

When you think of “email marketing” your first thoughts might turn to the word “spam,” and you’ll think we’re talking about all the spam email that relentlessly clogs up our inboxes.   However, email marketing doesn’t have to be synonymous with spam.  An appropriate metaphor would be that spam emails are the billboards that ruin the view when you’re traveling as opposed to tasteful signage that helps you locate your destination or sites of interest as you travel.  When done properly by using a company such as Software Projects, email marketing can generate sales leads, build brand advocates, enhance brand image, and  remind your audience of your product offerings.   Email marketing can help you and your customers interact with each other in an efficient and respectful manner.

There are a few companies whose emails I eagerly anticipate.  I do a large portion of my shopping online, and I’m always looking for a good bargain on items I regularly buy.  Here are some examples of products I buy from email marketing:  k-cups for my coffee maker, books for my classroom, software for my computer or decorations for my new home.  Email is my preferred method of communication between businesses and myself.  Don’t call me at home.  Send me an email.  Then I can respond to it at MY convenience.  It’s quick.  It saves me time and effort.  Most of all, it doesn’t interfere or interrupt my other activities.

There are benefits to email marketing as opposed to using snail mail.  The first inherent benefit is that email marketing is a great marketing tool.  The second is that it is relatively inexpensive when compared to the cost of snail mail.   The third benefit is that it’s quicker to implement.  You don’t have to design postcards or letters, wait for them to be printed, address them and stamp them and get them ready to go.  Email marketing is also much easier in terms of tracking response and return on investment. 

If you are serious about learning more about email marketing, check out Software Projects.   There’s you’ll find the support for all your email marketing needs.

Since I can’t watch the ocean from one of those chairs at the beach (see the graphic above), I will write about what I watch on TV.  Here are thirteen of my favorite shows on TV.  I’m sure my mother will read this and chastise me for watching too much television!  And my brother will deplore my lack of “quality” TV.

1.  Project Runway

2.  American Idol

3.  Survivor

4.  The Amazing Race

5.  Deal or No Deal

6. Top Chef

7. The Next Food Network Star

8. The Apprentice

9. America’s Next Top Model

10. Sex and the City

11. The Girls Next Door

12. Desperate Housewives

13. Grey’s Anatomy

Welcome to the 155th edition of the Carnival of Education.  Thanks to everyone who participated.  Now, on with the Carnival!

Around the Classroom:

Mrs. Bluebird describes a Teachable Moment at Bluebird’s Classroom.   If this is typical of her teaching, she’d better be careful if she starts teaching a unit on life cycles.

Darren discusses the recent topic of Maternity Leave For High School Students at Right on the Left Coast: Views From a Conservative Teacher. 

Dave Saba presents Great Teaching Defined? | American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence at DoE- Dave on Ed, saying, “A great interview with the New York Teacher of the Year demonstrates what great teaching is all about.”

Mamacita at Scheiss Weekly needs some quick and learned advice on a related topic.  Click over there and see if you can help her.

M. Cruz presents The Chocolate War - Disturbingly Truthful Fiction posted at NOIRLECROI.COM: “A review of the classic book The Chocolate War from the perspective of a current educator”

Scott McLeod presents Within-School Segregation: Reflections on MLK Day posted at LeaderTalk.

Mister Teacher presents Is a 50 good?? posted at Learn Me Good.

Denise presents The game of algebra posted at Let’s play math!: “My pre-algebra class hit the topic of equations just as the NFL season moved into the playoffs. The result was this series of class notes called “The Game of Algebra.”

Maria Fernandez presents I’m too old to learn a foreign language, right? posted at Learn a foreign language - blog, saying, “Not so. Language learning has a lot more to do with motivation and perseverance than with age.”

Seth Pearce presents The Student’s Role in Society posted at NYC Students Blog, saying, “A Student’s thoughts on our role in NYC Education and society in general.”

Alvaro Fernandez presents Brain Plasticity, Health and Fitness Books posted at SharpBrains, saying, “Enjoy this list of 20 great books on the brain and learning.”

Andrea presents Remedial Learning Lessons posted at Andrea’s Buzzing About…, saying, “why do we keep insisting that when students have problems learning by a particular method, what they need is to learn how to learn the “right way”?”

Elias presents Mathematics as the science of reasoning posted at Ramblings of an Australian teacher.

Dr Martin W. Russell presents Procrastination Case Study posted at Dr Martin W. Russell.

History is Elementary presents Get Out of the Box posted at History Is Elementary.

The Teaching Life
Justine Mize presents What are you reading? posted at Random Thoughts of a Teacher, saying, “With all the articles I have read about reading lists for 2008, I am curious how lists are organized and tackled.”

Joel presents Loving My Job; Hating My Work posted at So You Want To Teach?

Justine Mize presents Classroom Discord posted at Random Thoughts of a Teacher, saying, “A peaceful classroom is a nice place to be.”

Pat presents Class Size – Learning to Live With It posted at Successful Teaching.

School Policy and Red Tape

eduwonkette presents It’s Our Secret! The NYC Teacher Experiment posted at eduwonkette

Mike in Texas presents I’m No Reading Expert But This Seems LIke THE MOTHER OF ALL BAD IDEAS posted at Education in Texas, saying, “My submission is about some really bad decisions some administrator at my district made regarding a reading curriculum for struggling 2nd graders.”

Greg Laden presents Clay County (Florida) School Board Adopts Pro Creationist Standards, Breaches Ethics posted at Greg Laden’s Blog.

Oldandrew presents The Theory of Multiple Fitnesses posted at Scenes From The Battleground.

Matt Johnston presents Going to the Mat: Teachers, Pay and the Labor Market posted at Going to the Mat.

Joanne Jacobs presents Hallway culture posted at Joanne Jacobs.

Jennifer Ward presents Research Matters -or- Making Research Matter posted at Et cetera, saying, “integrating authentic and formative assessment techniques into the teaching of research.”

Scott McLeod presents 2008 Education Blogosphere Survey is now open! posted at Dangerously Irrelevant.

Michael Umphrey presents Now what? School reform after NCLB posted at Michael Umphrey’s Blog, saying, “Politicians are running education? How did that happen?”

John Holland presents Teaching from the standards not to them posted at Circle Time “Lead From The Start”, saying, “A post on how standards have changed the nature of teaching.”

woodlassnyc presents Bring back school uniforms — for teachers posted at Under Assault: Teaching in NYC.

Dave Johnston presents NCLB Poster Child posted at Friends of Dave.

Dana presents P16Plus, or Who should be in control of education? posted at Principled Discovery.

Scott McLeod presents School law blogs posted at At the Schoolhouse Gate.

Nancy Flanagan presents DIVERSITY IS ITS OWN REWARD posted at Teacher in a Strange Land, saying, “What was Jay Greene thinking? Musings on multiculturalism and crummy research…”

Chanman presents Teaching indoctrination posted at Buckhorn Road.

Homeschooling and Parenting
Miss Profe presents Top Ten List For Parents posted at It’s A Hardknock Teacher’s Life.

Marjorie presents Where Experts Fear to Tread posted at Life Without School.

Vjack presents Guest Post: Teaching Lies Jeopardizes America’s Future posted at Atheist Revolution, saying, “Thought-provoking discussion of the impact of “Christian” education (home, parochial or ‘bible’ schools) on the future of America.”

Higher Education
Mark Montgomery presents Why Go To Harvard? One Man’s Story posted at Great College Advice.

Bob O’Hara presents The Collegiate Way Comes to Birmingham posted at Higher Education News from the Collegiate Way, saying, “Recommendations for improving undergraduate life at a large pubic university.”

Patrick A. Sizemore presents 10 Ways to Improve Note Taking Skills posted at College Information for Smart Students.

Matthew Paulson presents What to Do When You Can’t Afford to Pay for College Anymore » American Consumer News posted at American Consumer News.

Richas solis presents Choosing a Dissertation Topic posted at Customessays.co.uk Blog: guide on how to write essays, courseworks, dissertations, assignments. Essay help, Dissertation Assistance, GCSE Coursework, saying, “A person who is not really familiar in sentence construction may have a hard time in communicating with other people. This is also the same when it comes to writing papers.”

Carol Richtsmeier presents Semester Exemptions, Counting Computers & Singing Kanye West (Again) posted at Bellringers.

Resources

Larry Ferlazzo presents The Best Websites For Learning About Civic Participation & Citizenship posted at Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites Of The Day For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL.

Daniel Lafleche presents A fascinating clip from the film Malaria Parasites posted at Film and Video Marketplace Blog, saying, “Why is it that 30 years ago malaria in Africa was no more serious than the flu? This 5-minute educational video provides an overview on what has happened. Can be a useful resource for related lessons.”

Bill Ferriter presents Twitter-ific Success… posted at The Tempered Radical, saying, “This piece describes the valuable role that Twitter can play in the development of an individual’s personal learning network.”

Mathew Needleman presents Inspiration for Filmmakers and Film Teachers posted at Open Court Resources.com Blog.

Elsom Eldridge presents Create and Publish Your Book NOW posted at International Guild of Professional Consultants and Coaches.

Ted Reimers presents Using Wikipedia in Research posted at CampusGrotto.

Alex presents Essays Examples – A Typical Essay posted at Customessays.co.uk Blog: guide on how to write essays, courseworks, dissertations, assignments. Essay help, Dissertation Assistance, GCSE Coursework, saying, “When it comes to essay writing there is an overload of information. But there is nothing like a few essays examples to show the reader what an essay is all about.”

 Carnival Business
That concludes this edition. Thanks to EdWonk for sharing the Carnival of Education with us all.  Submit your blog article to the next edition of The Carnival of Education using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: carnival of education, blog carnival.

So how many of you are singing that song written and performed by American Idol contestant Renaldo Lapuz?  When I watched the show last Wednesday, I laughed and laughed  until I realized that the tune was catchy and that afterwards I was still singing it to myself. 

Renaldo has made a name for himself.  The flamboyant outfit helped to set him apart from the others, and his voice was really okay.  Not American Idol material, but not bad.  And he sang it with such gusto - even when everyone was laughing, he was belting it out.

So now people are talking - and people like him.  You can go HERE to see the video on YouTube (since I can’t get a video to embed correctly).  You can get a t-shirt of it HERE.  Enjoy, but don’t be mad at me if you can’t get the song out of your mind.