Last weekend I went to the DC Green Festival, a joint project of Global Exchange and Co-op America. Hundreds of speakers and exhibitors convened at the DC Convention Center to educate thousands of people on the latest trends in the green movement. Attendees who stopped by our KIWI booth walked away with a KIWI Magazine amongst other goodies PLUS had a chance to sign up for our contests. Don’t worry. In case you missed this event, you can still participate.

Here’s the deal:

KiwiCrusaders: KIWI acknowledges excellence in school meals. Enter to win a prize of $3,500 for your school. http://www.kiwimagonline.com/kiwicrusaders/index.php

Next Great Young Chef Contest: Kids ages 4-17 are invited to create a recipe with our secret ingredient – Florida Crystals Organic and Natural Sugars. Parents, please upload a video of the chef in progress. http://www.kiwimagonline.com/contests/NextGreatYoungChef/

Great School Beaches Getaway: Teachers who sign up to receive enews on our new website, MyHealthySchool.com, will be entered to win a vacation package to a Beaches Resort location in Turks & Caicos or Jamaica. http://www.myhealthyschool.com/contests/Beaches/

Next stop on my Green Festival tour is San Francisco this Friday November 15th – Sunday November 17th. Please make sure to stop and say hello and tell your friends…

Stephanie Singer

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve undoubtedly felt the effects of the economic slowdown in recent months. Gas, groceries, meals out–even movie theater popcorn–cost more than ever lately. Despite the gloom, there’s a silver lining: growing support for telework (a.k.a. telecommuting) and other flexible work arrangements.

Telework is a “green” win-win for employers and employees. Work options that allow employees to work from home make for happier, less stressed, and more productive employees (think, improved work/life balance, less time commuting, fewer work-related distractions, and more time for family). Studies suggest that telework is a good thing for employers’ bottom line. Like employees, employers can save money through telework options, including the costs of overhead and lost productivity. Importantly, telework is a huge plus for the environment (e.g., cleaner air) and goes a long way toward resource conservation (e.g., fossil fuels).

But assuming you actually have a job that can be done from home and your employer doesn’t already have an established protocol for telework arrangements, how do you convince your employer to go “green”? Here are five strategies to help you land that “green” work arrangement:

1. Jump on the green momentum. Green is hot right now and it’s a color your boss has probably heard something about or understands. This means that whether you’re asking to telecommute one day a week or twice a month, there’s probably never before been a better time to ask for a telework arrangement. Plus, it probably doesn’t hurt your case that “everyone is doing it”, right?

2. Come up with a plan. Before you approach your employer for a telework arrangement, think about why you want the arrangement, what schedule you want (e.g., will your schedule be fixed?, will you work beyond 9-5 hours), and how you plan to get your job done logistically (e.g., what technology or equipment do you need, and what about the kids, will they be home with you or will you have childcare in place).

3. Appeal to your employers’ interest. Let your employer know what she gains by letting you work from home. As cool as it may be to wear your pajamas and bunny slippers to work, be prepared to explain, if necessary, the benefits the arrangement confers to your employer in terms she understands (think, dollars, productivity, and availability).

4. Offer a trial run. When dealing with a reluctant employer or one unfamiliar with telework, suggest a “trial period”. Use this period to show your employer that you can get it done–and well, too. If you know your employer has particular concerns about the arrangement, use this time to address those concerns.

5. Write it down. If your employer doesn’t already have a policy for handling telework requests and/or prepared documentation, create your own paper trail. You’ll want to make sure you’ve memorialized the terms that you and your employer have reached, just in case….

–Julie Tower-Pierce, J.D./M.S.E.L is a lawyer, mom of three, and author of Staying at Home, Staying in the Law: A Guide to Remaining
Active in the Legal Profession While Pursuing Your Dreams (American Bar Association, 2008).

I was at my son’s travel soccer tryouts last night. The setting: a beautiful local winery that rents its fields to our town for the kids to play soccer and lacrosse. The winery is surrounded by dense New England forest, the kind every kid dreams about running through if it weren’t for the deer tick checks that inevitably follow each romp.

In New England, we wait a long time to wear tank tops and capris, following our dreadfully long winters, only to be bombarded by flying, biting bugs of all shapes and sizes. Black flies, gnats, mosquitoes… if you have ever been to New England in the summer, you know what I am taking about. The beauty is like no other, and so are the bugs.

People love to have me around because I am a natural magnet for these venomous creatures. They tend to leave others alone when I am around. Unfortunately for my daughter, I passed this gene on to her.

As a result I have been forced into finding the perfect natural insect repellent, while avoiding conventional sprays that contain DEET. And let me tell you, I have tried them all!

Here’s what works: essential oils of citronella, lemon eucalyptus, cinnamon, rosemary, lemongrass, cedar, peppermint, clove, and geranium.

The down side of these is that they require frequent application to be effective.

My personal favorite formula, Buzz Away Extreme, is made with all natural ingredients (and it smells good, too). Not only did it last an entire soccer practice, but it allowed me to water my garden three hours later, at dusk with not a single bite!!

–Dr. Keri Marshall MS, ND is a licensed Naturopathic Doctor who specializes in holistic pediatrics and women’s medicine.

Remember it is not always easy to talk to your kids at a young age about issues that they will hopefully not encounter until much older. As in the Appletini incident highlighted in my last Blog, here are five useful tips for having “the conversation.”

1. Start early: It is much easier to initiate conversations regarding drugs and alcohol when your children are seven, rather than seventeen. Start early and often!

2. Keep appropriate: Keep the conversation age appropriate and discuss making healthy choices for their bodies. Introduce consequences for behavior. “You want to make good healthy choices for your body, so your body won’t get sick”.

3. Expressing feelings: Create an environment of listening that supports your child’s ability to express their feelings. As your child grows and their interests widen to friends and activities outside the home, you want them to continue to talk to you about their feelings and “keep you in their loop.”

4. Problem solving: Have your child identify safe people to talk to about their problems (including you). Discuss what can happen if they “mask” or hide their emotions. Modeling healthy ways to resolve and express issues with your child empowers them to tackle the bumps in the road.

5. Safety rules: Discuss the importance of safety rules and the dangers of touching, tasting or smelling things that they can’t identify. Stress how very dangerous this can be.

Open communication with your child early on, practicing patience, problem solving, listening to your child and teaching consequences for their behavior are excellent foundations for laying the ground work for future “tough stuff discussions” including the use of alcohol as they head into the pre- teen years. (Oh, the Teen Years…when you will want that Appletini!)

Written by: June Grushka-Rosen (Miss. June Bug) M.Ed. is a Life Coach, Educator, Psychotherapist and mommy of two.
To contact - LifeCoachingYou@Verizon.net

When I picked up my daughter Sasha from school she proudly announced that a special visitor had come into their second grade classroom to discuss alcohol abuse. I was pleased that my daughter and her peers were being exposed to alcohol prevention so early. I know that early prevention statistically shows a decrease in the onset of kids drinking and addiction. In addition, I had been working diligently through my job to create an effective drug and alcohol prevention program in a near by school district.

I asked Sasha what she had learned, hoping to steal a few good ideas for my own program, and of course, to see how she was processing her new gained knowledge from someone other then her mother. “They said beer was alcohol, so I raised my hand and told them that my mom loves Appletinis. I asked them if Appletinis are alcohol too, and did you know mom… they are!?” You can imagine my surprise! After great effort to teach my child about the dangers of alcohol, it was a casual conversation with a friend joking about a recent event we attended and how we really enjoyed the Appletinis that my daughter picked up on.

The messages we send our children are not always conscious ones. Parents need to be mindful about their casual habits regarding drugs and alcohol. Sit down and have a conversation with your children regarding alcohol. Take it from me…. your children really are taking their cues from you.

Written by: June Grushka-Rosen (Miss. June Bug) M.Ed. is a Life Coach, Educator, Psychotherapist and mommy of two.
To contact - LifeCoachingYou@Verizon.net

P.S. Check back tomorrow for June’s tips on talking to your kids about alcohol.