interactive.wxxi.org

As of last Thursday, I have started working from home and will continue to do so for the next few months. New into the realm of the home work environment, it has taken me a few days to arrange a set up that is comfortable and conducive to getting work done.

"Utterly enchanting....It is impossible to come away from an Alexander McCall Smith novel without a smile on the lips and warm fuzzies in the heart." -- Chicago Sun-Times

To me, the above quote is a perfect summary of what a good summer read should embody.

Is that the question??

Autism is very much a hot button topic these days. News reports, celebrity books and advocates as well as an increase in cases diagnosed place autism in the news on almost a daily basis. Today I ran across the article titled Experts Argue Over Push to Test Autism Treatment and found it to be very thought provoking read.

The new NBC television show Baby Borrowers was brought to my attention via a newsletter from Zero to Three, a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to support the healthy development and well-being of infants, toddlers and their families.

To summarize Zero to Three's response to NBC's "intriguing new social experiment...

I ran across an interesting article titled Diaper Genie by Emily Yoffe, which details her experiences working at a daycare for 2 weeks. Akin to the TV show Dirty Jobs, Yoffe refers to herself as a "human guinea pig, humiliating herself for fun and profit" by trying various jobs and hobbies that people are curious about.

For anyone who thinks that daycare workers are overpaid or that it is an easy job, I encourage you to read Yoffe's comments.

Summer here in the WXXI education department is a time to prepare for the next year's grant and school based programs as well as to plan for our next season of Homework Hotline.

For any blog readers who are not familiar with Homework Hotline, it is a live education television program, created and produced by WXXI and aired statewide in NY, that helps support students with their school work.

"An unhurried sense of time is in itself a form of wealth."
Bonnie Friedman

I am a person who likes to be on time when I go somewhere. That being said, I try to leave myself enough time to get where I'm going on time. I also understand that sometimes there are circumstances beyond a person's control that might cause someone to be late or to feel that they have to rush in order to get somewhere at a reasonable time.

More often than not, when discussing news and current events in relation to children, we hear about the negative impact that news reports can have. Like all programs, movies or books, content can be positive or negative in nature.

Rather than dwell on the negative, yesterday I was struck by a few news stories that would make for interesting discussions with kids.

Have you ever been to a graduation- high school, college or maybe even kindergarten- where there was some hollering and whooping or maybe even some inappropriate yelling from the audience?

Given the current status of our economy, I can't help but think about the trickle down effect that the high prices of food, gas and housing is having, and will increasingly have, on children. For many parents, those at the lowest income levels as well as middle class, providing for a family is becoming increasingly challenging.

So what is a parent to do? How can you maximize your dollar while still putting food on the table, paying the rent or mortgage (and utilities) and getting to work?