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With a vote of 6-4, Guilford County Schools has a new superintendent. Maurice “Mo” Green will start the position on September 8, right after school starts back for the 2008-2009 year.

A lawyer who has had just two years’ experience in Charlotte Mecklenburg’s School System, Green comes to Guilford with a passion for education. They just made the decision, and already there’s buzz. Does he have enough experience? Does he know enough about schools? Apparently, he will be missed in Charlotte, which is a good sign. Check out what the Charlotte Observer is saying, and stay tuned to the John Locke Foundation’s blog for further opinion.

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Guilford County Schools announced this week that starting this school year, every child will be issued an email account. My first response was that this is great news, especially because as a parent of a student in this system, I feel our kids aren’t on the computer enough.

But now the questions start to rise. Is it safe? That’s a valid concern, but there will be plenty of supervision, firewalls and safety nets in place.

Then on the other extreme, is it too little too late? Sure, email is great for adults in the workplace, but it’s become passé for our teens. Is it important to teach kids how to email, and email etiquette, now, so they’re prepared for careers? Or will it be a thing of the past by the time our third graders enter the workforce?

Whatever the case, it’s always hard to predict the future. And it’s high time Guilford County Schools ramped up their computer literacy education. Other counties are getting in the game, as evidenced by the recent grant for Wilkes County.

So sign those permission forms and let your kid have email this year. If anything it will help their typing skills.

And if your children aren’t in the Guilford County School system, you can still get them email. Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail and others offer free accounts, but they can also be loaded with spam. Check out Kid Safe Mailfor an email with some controls built in.

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We’re parents, so we’ve seen this scenario many times at the park: you take your 3 year old to play, they can’t wait to get out of the car and until it’s time to go again they’re just running full force, sliding, swinging, or just running in circles.

But what happens to our kids when they become teenagers? News just came out that a new, and relatively comprehensive, study shows that daily activity makes a dramatic drop between the ages of 9 and 15. And it’s not just because kids are playing video games these days.

There are plenty of factors, including the fact that as parents we’re not that active, and therefore not good role models; as kids get older organized sports become more exclusive; and of course there’s always just that factor that they’re more aware of what other people think, so they lose that uninhibited ability of children to just run and be free.

Our kids aren’t getting much help from schools either. As testing and academic standards are being prioritized at the expense of other classes, including PE. North Carolina only requires a minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity a day for kids in kindergarten through 8th grade, and high schoolers only need one credit their entire four years.

But the benefits of exercise are tremendous. In addition to help fight childhood obesity, girls who exercise are also at less of a risk of developing breast cancer. To help back your arguments for less couch time, check out these ten reasons to exercise.
So what’s a parent to do to ensure our kids maintain active lifestyles that will follow them into adulthood? Set a good example and get out there and be active.

Summer is a great time to start an exercise routine, even one the whole family can participate in. If you’ve enjoyed going to the pool or the lake, keep up that swimming habit by joining a Y this fall: YMCA of Greensboro, Greensboro’s YWCA, YWCA High Point; Central YMCA in Winston.

Or try one of these activities for getting the family active.

There are also plenty of ideas for teens to do themselves. Check out our online exclusive, Disorganized Sports, for some great ways to get your teens active even if they’re not on a sports team at school

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Well, it’s official. The third-trimester swelling has commenced! And leave it to family to tell you the truth about yourself. Here’s a sample of a recent conversation with my mother.

Mom: So, how have you been feeling?
Me: Pretty good, but I’m starting to swell.
Mom: Yeah, I know … in your face.
Me: I was actually going to say my hands and feet. I think my face is just getting fatter.
Mom: (Silence … )

And my darling daughter also recently told me that my knees and legs look gross.

You have to love family.

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Believe it or not, some great parenting advice came out of a Hollywood actor this week. Kevin Kline was quoted as saying it’s up to parents to expose their kids to culture and pass along the great works of art our world has produced.

He definitely has a point. With the focus on EOGs, sometimes art and music are getting left behind at school. But it’s so important to expose kids to the arts, and through learning about them they also develop language skills and improve their social and cognitive skills.

Summer is a perfect opportunity to explore the arts with your kids, while our time is a little more relaxed. And the Triad offers great opportunities. Here are a few of our favorites:

ArtQuest: A hands-on, interactive art studio for kids. They’ve just started a new early childhood class on Monday mornings, and families can come create magnificent masterpieces for free on Wednesdays from 5-7 p.m.

Reynolda House of America Art: A gem of a gallery in Winston-Salem, this is a great place to visit anytime, but be sure to go to their Family First Workshops on the first Sunday of the month. The August 3 event, Sculpt and Swim, will lead kids through an art project and then let them dive into the private pool.
North Carolina Shakespeare Festival: Right in our own back yard, this High Point group is producing Much Ado About Nothing and King Lear this summer. But there’s also a great Family Theatre offering from them, A Thousand Cranes. Before each performance an origami workshop will be held to instruct kids on making paper cranes.
Eastern Music Festival: In addition to the great concerts, they’re having more stuff geared for families. Tuesdays there are open rehearsals you can take kids to for free at 10:30 a.m., as well as other day camps and kids’ concerts.

And to further the adventure, try out these at home:
6 movies to introduce your kids to Shakespeare
Classic children’s literature to download online.

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Barack Obama is facing some heat after allowing Access Hollywood to interview his family, including his two children. It’s a glimpse inside the candidate’s life that helps to make him seem more real to many of us, especially parents of young children. But did he go to far by letting his kids be on TV? He’s gotten some flak, but there’s also plenty of support saying it was okay because it was tasteful.

And admit it, aren’t we all curious about these kids who might be living in the White House? While they’re often sheltered as much as possible from the media, we love the photo ops of kids living in our nation’s capitol, from John John playing under his dad’s desk to Amy Carter holding her family pet. More recently, Chelsea Clinton got plenty of press as a president’s kid, even though she was rarely allowed to talk. But now that she’s an adult and participated on the campaign trail with her mother, she’s making a name for herself. The same is true for the Bush girls, who were kept out of the spotlight as much as possible, but now Jenna is going public to promote her own books.

So is it exploitation to allow kids to be interviewed by the media? It seems that it mostly depends on how it’s done. If tasteful, it can be harmless fun, and for political candidates maybe even a smart political move. We can probably all take a cue from Hollywood, where two polar opposites of dealing with kids in the media have surfaced. On the one hand there’s Billy Ray, who allowed his daughter Mylie to participate in what some call a questionable photo shoot, later claiming he didn’t know, but he was in some of the questionable pictures.

And then there are the Smiths. Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith are very famous in their own right, but also lead very private lives. They have introduced both of their children, Jaden and Willow, into acting, allowing them to shine in the spotlight, but through it all have kept the family grounded.

What do you think? Did Obama go too far, or was it just a nice interview with the family that we can all enjoy?

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The job search, that is.  And I haven’t wasted one minute of time working on finding my next job.  Right after I was informed of the lay-off, I went directly home, dusted off and updated my resume.  Then I proceeded to search for jobs and send out resumes/completed applications.  I continue to search for new job openings daily and hope my perseverance will pay off soon.

Since many out there are looking for jobs, or for a better job, I included a couple of useful tips:

1-Make sure your resume is up to date and includes all your contact info(Home telephone, cell number and email address);
2-Use job search engines, such as Monster.com, Career-builder and Hot-jobs.  If you are in a specialized profession it is also a good idea to tap into any professional/networking websites since they also include available job opportunities.  You can also sign up on these websites for email alerts to be sent to your personal account so you are aware the minute a new opportunity is posted.  Also look at websites local to the Triad.
3-Make sure you have a list of at least 3 professional references (family members don’t count here);
4-Network, network, network!  Utilize anyone and everyone you know that might be able to point you in the direction of a job opening.  Also make sure to look in your local paper/publications.

I wish all of you searching for jobs good luck and stay positive!�

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I took Andrew to the All-a-Flutter Butterfly Farm on Saturday for some Mommy/Andrew quality time. They do a program/tour on Saturdays at 10 a.m. I thought Andrew would think it was neat; he chose going there over a visit to the library.

The program was very informative and child-friendly. Andrew went up and participated in pretending to be a caterpillar moth making a cocoon. I think that says a lot for him, having just turned three. After learning about the butterfly’s life cycle and anatomy, we were divided into two groups.

Andrew and I were in the second group and our visit kind of went downhill from there. Our group had to wait about 20 minutes while the first group went into the “flight house” where the butterflies were. Andrew had a pretty good time playing with the other little kids while I tried to stay in the shade.

While we waited they brought out a mister to help keep us cool. If you know Andrew, you know he can get sopping wet in a tablespoon of water! He and another little girl did just that.

By the time it was our turn to go into the flight house, Andrew was hot and tired and had no interest in looking at butterflies. We went inside for a few minutes and saw many Monarch butterflies in different stages of growth. One even landed on Andrew’s arm. If we go again, I would pack some cold drinks and snacks, and make sure we were in the first group.

On a side note, Bill said the best part of his weekend was when Benjamin fell asleep on his chest. The best part of the weekend for me was catching Andrew singing, “I love you in the morning,” to his brother. So sweet it hurts my teeth! Dear Reader, what was the best part of your weekend?

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There’s a lot of good things about the Girl Scouts. The national group dedicated to helping build character and skills for success in the real world in our young women, through fun and fellowship, is strong in our area thanks to the Tarheel Triad Council. And this weekend, you can help support them by buying more than cookies. The first annual Fiber and Folk Art Festival will be held this Saturday. Visit our Calendar Highlights for more details. And the opportunities to support the Girl Scouts continue, with the Thin Mint Sprint coming up in September.

There’s plenty of other great things happening this weekend, from Peach Day at the Triad Farmer’s Market to the Horseshoe Crab Grab at SciWorks. Visit our calendar for more information and ideas.

And the summer movies continue to premiere. This weekend, if you’re lucky enough to make it to the theaters, you can check out Hellboy II, which is actually getting pretty good reviews; Brendan Fraser’s newest romp, Journey to the Center of the Earth, or the Eddie Murphy vehicle, Meet Dave, that will get your kids laughing.

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