What you think does matter

Hello kitty Beer? Hello Kitty beer - no it is not a joke. The cartoon cat aims to get Chinese women to buy a low-alcohol brew. If a former boy band and The Simpsons can sell beer, then why not Hello Kitty? So, Hello Kitty is selling beer these days, and the business world is suddenly a wellspring of moral outrage. Please. Sit back, have a beer and let's pretend we all know that Sanrio's flagship character is nearly 40 years old and has fans making retirement plans. "What about the children," you say? What about the even more cynical marketing behind this latest move? The cans of six fruit-flavored brews -- including peach, lemon-lime, passion fruit, and banana -- all have the purposefully cute cartoon cat on the can. Does that mean they're angling for kids? Not any more than the presence of Samuel Adams on Boston Beer's (SAM -0.51%) products is a lure for middle school social studies students. No, the Hello Kitty beers are available only in China and

How to make 7 Habits ROAR tickets for student behavior Our school like most use “ROAR” tickets (or some form of ticket) system to promote good behavior – such as the behaviors found in the 7 habits leader in me program. Just like most schools everything at school has revolved around the seven habits and I was given the job of creating a new layout for our “ROAR” tickets with a 7 habits them. I have to say – I wanted to go all out. I didn’t just add some leader in me 7 habits element into our roar tickets – I redid the entire thing by scratch. Personally I think it came out pretty well and I am not just saying because I did it – Our school Principal and a few others have fallen in love with it (Hope the unveiling goes off just as well). Note: I created a sheet of seven tickets each one had a different 7 habits quoted on it. Seeing as others may want to do the same thing I decided to create a short tutorial on how to create a similar 7 habits themed ticket for your schools use.

Talk about Fox "Sleepy Hollow" or large Gator my nephew caught? Have I run out of things to talk about on my blog? Have I simply run out of ideas to talk about? Or have I just been to busy - or worst, my life has become so boring that I have nothing I think would be of interest to you? Well to be honest I have been way too busy to keep track of my blog (Sorry). Between all of the creativity I have been using on my Facebook page: Do well in school page. I have even spent several days and weeks creating interesting "status" updates for the Fred Wild school page I manage (thefredwild). I just simply have not had the time to come and write here at my blog. So what will I talk about on this blog post? Well, how about the fact that my nephew thought it would be so cool to go gator hunting with his friends and believe it or not they actually caught a gator - the even sent me a picture to prove it. They text me saying that the gator was still alive in the pi

Children can be successful, can excel in school and love it! What inspires me? Seeing children realize that they can achieve more in life. Have you ever seen a child – the moment they get an idea, when they realize they know the answer to a difficult question? That moment the inquisitive look on their face turns into a smirk and that “I know this” attitude smile appears? It’s what I live for; it’s what I look for in my own children and desire for all children. Children can be successful, can excel in school and love it! And above all things, when they understand that – while their situation or current economic status may be a hindrance, it shouldn’t stop them from achieving more in life. It shouldn’t stop them from dreaming big dreams for their future. When a child can dream, they continue to have hope – hope is what helps all of us, adult, teen or child to continue to move forward despite life’s many difficulties. This quote from Jim Rohn reminded me of one true fact: it i

7 habits to motivate children to Learn This year I have worked hard in using the “7 habits” to motivate children to learn and become better children and potentially successful adults in life. The “7 habits” I am referring to are the seven habits found in “the leader in me” book written by well-known author Stephen Covey. The book is good, but I will be honest with you – it’s a bit difficult to read (don’t expect it to be something entertaining - it is not a Harry Potter style book). With that said: I am enjoying the process my Elementary school “Fred Wild Elementary” has undertaken and the direction we are heading. I am going to be honest and transparent as I can without trying to diminish the book. The teaching of (an Mr. Covey alludes to this in several videos he has made) that the 7 habits are not new – it’s not a new thing never before seen. Yes, he presents it in a clear way with some twists and colorful antics – but character, honesty, good work ethics, and ethics in genera

I watch my daughter and I am afraid she is growing up so fast. Then I watch her fail at something she was working so hard to achieve - when she starts to cry: I see my little girl. Yes it’s odd, I know. But it’s true – and to be honest I couldn’t help but feel good. Our children are always running toward the future at a hundred miles per hour and as a parent (like most parents) I want her to slow down, be a kid and to not be in such a rush to grow up. I know it’s selfish of me, part of the reason I want her to slow down is because I don’t want to lose my little girl, my princess. Even with all the things I do in order to prepare my baby girl for the future – I secretly desire not to lose my little girl. I remember when I was her everything, I was Dad – no I was “SUPER” Dad. Now she is so busy trying to do everything on her own, working so hard to be self reliant, self sufficient, independent – that last one is the one that hurts the most – independent means (to a Dad) she no longer ne

Florida sink hole swallows up Orlando Florida Hotel - OMG! It was bad enough hearing about the story of the man who was swallowed up alive by a Florida sink hole that formed beneath his home - but this is getting crazy. This all has me worried, I just noticed my neighbors lawn and the have barriers up to keep people away from a large deep hole that has formed in their front yard - that is all I need, that is way to close to my home. Check out the video below. 

Creating a Video for Book Promo: using Animoto When most people have free time they usually relax - right? No not me, I go looking for something to do or to learn. As it goes I ran across and interesting video at my wife's job as I helped clean out the studio room of the school and so, I tried to figure out how the system worked. The video was a cool presentation about a special event that was held at the end of last year. I was so impressed with the video I took note of the company that was used to create the video: Animoto.com. It's an interesting way to create fun short or long videos (I mention short because if you want to use the free service you can only create 30 sec videos). The pricing is: you can create 30 sec videos for free, 10 min. videos for $5 a month and 20 min at HD for $39 a month. It's pretty easy to use - no one should find it difficult to use. Of course having some free time on Saturday, I took the time to figure out how to use the web site

Education does not guarantee you will be rich! Let’s face it – especially in our day an age people can become rich for just about any reason. Invent a new social site, a video game, become a socialite and you can become wealthy. Education does not guarantee success and riches. But what it does do is build the tools, skills and the mind necessary to become successful, stay successful and to build an all around intelligent person who will do more in life. Look Kim Kardashian may be famous and considered rich – but let’s face it: her looks will only last her so long. But with that said, she is a smart person, who has taken full advantage of her popularity and has done much with it. But again – there are millions of beautiful people out there who are not rich – Kim is just one of the lucky few. So is Education important? 10 famous school dropouts: 1. Princess Diana dropped out of school at 16. 2. Thomas Edison whose inventions included the electric light globe: He got a late st

What is my Motivation? I know, it’s usually used as a punch line for an actor who wants to “become the character” in a movie. But you have to consider this: in everything we do – there is an underlined “motivating” factor behind it all. Why did I chase after my wife when we were dating – because she was a beautiful girl (did I win some brownie points honey?) All kidding aside; we do things, we strive for things, to accomplish things, because we are motivated to do so. What does it mean to be motivated? Definition of motivation: in the simplest way possible – The reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way. I am sure Webster’s dictionary can give you several long meanings to the word motivation but it all comes down to – the reason why I am doing this or that. We all need an initial “motivating” desire, reason or pull to get us to do something. Especially if it’s something we have never done before or may be afraid of doing. Here is a perfect example o

Things I hate about you [ wife and kids ] Parenting is a give and take kind of thing. For all the things your kids give you - love, joy, hope... any real parent knows that there is a lot that parenting takes away from you. So to be fair I thought I would mention some of the things I hate about you [ kids and wife ]. I know parenting deals with kids - but since the significant other is part of the parenting process - I thought I would include her. .... LOL (that's going to cost me...) Public Nudity: As a Parent I know that I have to consider my kids and everything I do around them. But who told my son that it was ok for him to run around in his tidy whitie undies or worse - in the buff. Look kid - put some cloths on, cover that crack I said boy... Stealing Hot Water : As any parent knows getting your kids ready in the morning is a chore - but I hate cold showers and it doesn’t matter if I’m first in the shower or not - some how they find away to steal all of my hot water.

While reading my 9 yr old cries My 9 yr old reading a fifth grade level book starts to cry. Ever read a good book? Have you ever gotten so involved in the story, so attached to its characters that you were touched, moved – even cried when something tragic happened to the characters? In fact, I shouldn’t say characters; by this time these are people, friends, and loved ones that you feel truly connected too. I know people cry at movies – but have you ever cried reading a book. My 9 yr old did and it surprised me. When he was younger he would cry during movies: I remember the Irion Giant. The robot was destroyed thought to be dead and my son broke out in tears – scared the wits out of my wife. But I’ve never seen him do it with a book. The book: Dewey the library Cat. By Vicki Myron with Bret Witter Published by Scholastic I was a bit taken back because he is not a fan of reading, he reads because he sees me do it, his older sister do it and I guess so that he doesn’t feel l

Funny old man – I want to be him. I was gathered around with a group of family and friends helping a new local business get started in the neighborhood. Times are tough and smart businesses understand that they have to work with the community if they want to succeed in this economy. So here we were getting to know the owner, listening to him express what his vision and dream is for the local business: a new restaurant called BBQ Topia. He explained how he wanted it to be a community restaurant where people could come eat good southern cooked food, listen to live band music and that it could connect with the community by being open to community organizations that may want to hold events at the restaurant. It was a very interesting time, but the fun didn’t start until an older gentlemen found the owners authentic Mexican hat. This guy puts on the hat and starts dancing – now please, don’t jump the gun, don’t get offended, so please leave the politically sensitive attitude at the do

Life is strange; you never really know what can happen – especially when you’re not looking for it. You know what I mean? Things you thought were impossible or out of your reach – things you thought you would never do: they just fall in your lap. Now, don’t get me wrong: I believe in hard work. I believe people should strive for more, learn as much as one can (that pertains to their goals in life) and that life should always be a progression of ‘learning’. “The meeting of preparation with opportunity generates the offspring we call luck.” ~ Tony Robbins To be honest I am not a fan of luck, I don’t believe things happen just because – yes you can be lucky. Someone can come and give you an opportunity of a life time: but what if you don’t have the skills, the mind set, the work ethic? How can you benefit from that lucky opportunity? Also, luck as in 'opportunities' seem to find people who have the right work ethic, skills set and frame of mind. For instance: A friend

Kindle EBook, slipping into madness - someone kill me already! How did we ever survive without technology – its wonderful right? Not, not if it means little ‘bots’ roam the internet with a pre-written generalized order and end up creating havoc and accounts because there are no human beings that do these jobs. But let me explain my rant before I go on. I am a simple self published author who wrote a book for his two children as a Christmas gift. His children liked the books very much and even the wife (including several other non bias people) were very impressed with the book. So I humbly put it on Amazon and after receiving a few order decided that this being a digital computerized world – people will buy eBooks instead of hard or soft cover (physical books). After I put it on kindle I decided to put it on B&N’s nook, Google books, Kobo and left it at that. Like I explained to the wife – I don’t expect to sell millions of copies but I would like to sell a few. After all,

Me on Live Radio, does my hair look good? Doing some volunteer work at our local radio station: 104.9 FM. Imagine, me on the air! The radio waves will never be the same. Today I and the kids spent some time at the local radio station: Voz de la Verdad. My mother-in-law works as a volunteer at the radio stations office and needing the help - my daughter was recruited by grandma to help with some much needed work. And I – well, I somehow was asked to join in on the fun, I mean work. I mean I was glad to help where ever I could. Of course being the kind of person that I am, I couldn’t help but think of and to start taking some pictures of me “pretending” to be on the air. Check out the picture – I look good don’t I? And that was even before I got my wonderful, I’m too sexy for my…. cool hair cut. But it all wasn’t fun and games. I did learn of few things: being on radio is not what everyone thinks it is. The kids and I learned today that running a radio station, be it sm

How to multiply negative – positive numbers ? Spending the summer getting my son ready for fourth grade math has been an interesting adventure in the amazing world of mathematics. I am not sure if I forgot most of the things I learned as a child or if math has changed so much over the years that I may be out of my depth. Re-learning or learning all this ‘Math’ as I go along has been an interesting series of events. Thank heavens the internet and YouTube are available because without these resources I would be in big, big doo doo. I’ve come to the realization that without the many math resources I have found on the internet or the good math tutorial videos I’ve found on YouTube – I would be lost. For instance I ran into something I completely forgot…. How on earth do you multiply negative and positive numbers? Granted, it’s not something I use in everyday life – but my son will be learning this and he will be expecting me to help him with his homework. My math is rusty – learn

Games can be powerful teaching tools. These dynamic, educational video games engage kids while teaching them important money skills. Money Metropolis allows kids ages 7–12 to navigate a multi-dimensional world, making life decisions that will affect whether their virtual bank account shrinks or grows. And in Peter Pig's Money Counter, kids ages 4–7 can practice sorting and counting coins with the help of wise Peter Pig. "Children love to play games, and these colourful, creative games teach financial skills in a motivational and meaningful way. " –Gary Rabbior, President of the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education Money Games Cash Puzzler Money Metropolis Peter Pig's Money Counter Road Trip to Savings For centuries, play was considered a diversion rather than a means for education. But in the early 20th century, scholars like Swiss philosopher Jean Piaget began challenging these notions. He pioneered an educational theory that people build knowledge

Always looking for interesting stories - here is a good one: 'Bare Knuckle Babe' wrestles in a 72-pound catfish Personally, I wouldn't stick my arm into a gigantic monster fish's mouth - at least not for fun or sport. Also not sure if the bikini calendar helps in moving women's rights forward? Lucy Millsap's bare-handed grab of monstrous flathead beats a field of about 200, mostly men, to claim prestigious Okie Noodling Tournament title! For years, Lucy Millsap kept her hidden talent as a catfish noodler to herself. “I went through my entire high school career and no one ever knew,” the 19-year-old Texan told The Oklahoman. But these days Millsap is anything but secretive about her passion, which entails wading through rivers and lakes and wrestling monstrous catfish from their cavernous dens—bare-handed. Millsap is a calendar girl for the Bare Knuckle Babes (Miss May 2014), and on Saturday she served the Babes proudly by wrestling a 72-pound flathead

7 Ways to Encourage Reluctant Readers Reading is a tremendously appealing, satisfying activity, and children will become hooked once the adults in their lives consistently build it into their daily schedules. The key is getting children started. The following seven strategies will help even the most reluctant reader become more enthusiastic about the endeavor. By employing the strategies described below, reading will become something that students do willingly, even eagerly, and the adults in their lives will not have to resort to trickery, bribery, manipulation, or any other tactic that will, at best, lead to temporary compliance. After all, we’re striving to make reading a joyous lifelong habit. 1. Start with the child’s passions. Children will be more excited about reading when they can choose books or magazines related to their interests. This suggestion is far and away the most powerful one when it comes to encouraging those who are reluctant to read. When kids own the choic

FaceBook wants me to “PAY” for likes? Considering that FaceBook is called a social network where the society of its members vote up or down by the votes they give people (votes as in –LIKES) I find it surprising and disturbing that I am bombarded with emails, notifications and the likes by FaceBook to pay for page "likes". Don’t get me wrong – I am all for business, capitalism – Go American entrepreneurism! I just find it odd that a website called a “social” website where people gather to share stuff is not only offering members to pay and purchase likes but it seems – at least by my test, to be restricting its members from sharing freely in order to entice people to advertise on what should be an open social site. For example: I currently have 57 likes on my FaceBook fan page. My understanding is that people who like your page will be able to see what you are posting “status update” – correct? My Page: www.facebook.com/dowellinschool But on numerous occasions I h