Fun For The Fourth!
Please join us for our July 4th Virtual Backyard Barbecue. Celebrate with us, have some fun and maybe even win a FABULOUS prize! |
June 6, 2009
- Finding a Balance with Summer Youth Programs
*** Monthly Feature Column ***
Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids
by Kelly Curtis, M.S., author of Empowering Youth: How to Encourage Young Leaders to Do Great Things.
For many families, summer marks a prime time to become involved in extra-curricular programming. Often opportunities abound during the summer months, that are not available during the school [...]
May 2, 2009
- Be an Adult Role Model for Service
*** Monthly Feature Column ***
Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids
by Kelly Curtis, M.S., author of Empowering Youth: How to Encourage Young Leaders to Do Great Things.
Last month, I wrote about Global Youth Service Day, and for the past few weeks, I’ve spent a lot of time reading about the fantastic service young people are [...]
April 4, 2009
- Global Youth Service Day
*** Monthly Feature Column ***
Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids
by Kelly Curtis, M.S., author of Empowering Youth: How to Encourage Young Leaders to Do Great Things.
I’ve written about youth service in past columns, most recently in September when I shared ideas for raising charitable kids. Service to others is the topic of one [...]
March 7, 2009
- Promote Literacy - Read Across America
*** Monthly Feature Column ***
Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids
by Kelly Curtis, M.S., author of Empowering Youth: How to Encourage Young Leaders to Do Great Things.
This month, the National Education Association celebrates the 12th annual Read Across America, in conjunction with Dr. Seuss’s birthday. The program focuses on motivating children to read, by [...]
February 7, 2009
- What does your family value?
*** Monthly Feature Column ***
Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids
by Kelly Curtis, M.S., author of Empowering Youth: How to Encourage Young Leaders to Do Great Things.
Family values.
It’s a catch phrase that gains momentum during an election year and then gets pummeled every time a politician falls from grace. Values can be controversial, emotion-charged [...]
January 3, 2009
- New Year’s Responsibilities
*** Monthly Feature Column ***
Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids
by Kelly Curtis, M.S., author of Empowering Youth: How to Encourage Young Leaders to Do Great Things.
‘Tis the season to set resolutions. I have a few and you probably do as well. Your kids might even get in on the goal-setting.
But [...]
December 6, 2008
- Financial Discipline - Cost Saving Ideas for Christmas
*** Monthly Feature Column ***
Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids
by Kelly Curtis, M.S., author of Empowering Youth: How to Encourage Young Leaders to Do Great Things.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
America has come a long way from the Depression-era society that lived by this mantra. And few [...]
November 1, 2008
- Teaching Kids Financial Discipline
*** Monthly Feature Column ***
Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids
by Kelly Curtis, M.S., author of Empowering Youth: How to Encourage Young Leaders to Do Great Things.
The housing market is down. Unemployment’s on the rise. Yo-yo stocks aren’t helping the economy either. We’re going into winter with an expected 15% increase in residential fuel [...]
October 4, 2008
- Two Years of Positively Speaking
*** Monthly Feature Column ***
Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids
by Kelly Curtis, M.S. from Pass the TorchAs of this month, I’ve been writing this column for two years.
It’s interesting to mark milestones like this one, particularly in conjunction with a look at what’s gone on in my life in the past 24 months: a [...]
September 6, 2008
- Positively Speaking - Lessons about Poverty
*** Monthly Feature Column ***
Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids
by Kelly Curtis, M.S. from Pass the Torch
Each year at this time, our family buys extra school supplies so we can assemble full backpacks for students in my husband’s school. We sponsor these students because my husband works in a district with more than 50% [...]
August 2, 2008
- Service to Others - Raising Charitable Kids
*** Monthly Feature Column ***
Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids
by Kelly Curtis, M.S. from Pass the Torch
A fifth-grader starts a neighborhood book club. A 14-year-old former foster child writes a series of booklets to help others caught in the foster care system. A seven-year-old Canadian sets out to raise money to [...]
July 5, 2008
- Never Underestimate an Awesome Neighborhood
*** Monthly Feature Column ***
Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids
by Kelly Curtis, M.S. from Pass the Torch
I never understood the benefits of living in an excellent neighborhood, until this past year when our family moved to one. This understanding was reinforced last month when my neighbor proactively addressed what could have turned into a [...]
June 7, 2008
- Positively Speaking - Self Esteem
*** Monthly Feature Column ***
Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids
by Kelly Curtis, M.S. from Pass the Torch
As I haul out from storage the shorts and tank tops I wore last summer, I’m acutely aware of the pounds I’ve accumulated since I wore them last. So when I was asked to review the teen book, [...]
May 3, 2008
- Positively Speaking - Safety
*** Monthly Feature Column ***
Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids
Safety
by Kelly Curtis, M.S. from Pass the Torch
Have you seen my book yet?
With warmer weather and longer days, come family fun and play, but also more opportunity for bumps and bruises, bike crashes and road worries. I devote an entire chapter of my [...]
April 5, 2008
- Positively Speaking - Taking Care of Yourself
*** Monthly Feature Column ***
Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids
Taking Care of Yourself
by Kelly Curtis, M.S. from Pass the Torch
It seems like every spring – as our long Wisconsin winter finally draws to a close – our family gets cranky. We celebrate December, play in January and February, hold our breath through March and [...]
March 1, 2008
- Positively Speaking - Your Child’s Strengths
*** Monthly Feature Column ***
Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids
Your Child’s Strengths
by Kelly Curtis from Pass the Torch
(I’m giving away a copy of Your Child’s Strengths on my blog this week – please stop by and sign up!)
It’s so easy to get overwhelmed by weakness.
The crashed computer. Unfinished taxes. Those 10 pounds I keep meaning [...]
February 2, 2008
- Positively Speaking — Play and Creative Activities
*** Monthly Feature Column ***
Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids
Asset #17 – Play and Creative Activities
by Kelly Curtis from Pass the Torch
Although I can’t speak for those living in warmer climates, I know in northern Wisconsin many of us tend to hibernate in the winter. The fun play activities that are so easy to [...]
December 1, 2007
- Positively Speaking — Family Boundaries Part 2
*** Monthly Feature Column ***
Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids
November – Asset #11, Family Boundaries
by Kelly Curtis from Pass the Torch
In last month’s Positively Speaking column I introduced a discussion about family boundaries and the impact they can play in child behavior. I regularly have the opportunity to witness master teachers at work, so I [...]
November 3, 2007
- Positively Speaking — Family Boundaries
*** Monthly Feature Column ***
Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids
November – Asset #11, Family Boundaries
by Kelly Curtis from Pass the Torch
In my role as a school counselor, I spend a lot of time in the pre-kindergarten classrooms. For many children, the first weeks of school are a major transition, but after these master teachers [...]
October 6, 2007
- Positively Speaking — Reading With Your Kids
*** Monthly Feature Column ***
Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids
October – Asset #25, Early Literacy
by Kelly Curtis from Pass the Torch
My daughter is an avid reader, and has been since she discovered Junie B. Jones in first grade. At ten years old, she’s now sharing her love for books with the neighbor kids. [...]
