Latina on a Mission

Yesterday in my Wordless Wednesday post, I featured the newest craze for tweens and teens: Silly Bandz Bracelets.

Silly Bandz Bracelets are rubber bands that come in various shapes, sizes and colors. The five I featured, ostrich, seal, dolphin, flower, and shark, in that order, are some of the more common bands. As noted in RUN DMT’s comment, there are also “rare” bands. Rare bands are exchanged for more “common” bands; thereby making a child’s collection grow.

Schools in several states are now banning the Silly Bandz Bracelets. Although I agree they can be a distraction within the class, I do not believe that they should be banned from school altogether. Just like the Baseball or Menudo card craze of my youth, or the Pokemon phase of my teen’s younger years, Silly Bandz Bracelets fill a need for children, particularly elementary age students. They give them a sense of belonging, helping them form healthy friendships, and help teach them savings skills as well.

I believe that Silly Bandz Bracelets are a great way to teach children about money and YES savings and budgeting! How so? Well, children learn to hold onto their commodity, the Silly Bandz Bracelet, as we do with our money, to attain a greater reward, perhaps a “rare” Silly Bandz Bracelet, similar to an adult “want”, or a larger Bandz stash, similar to a savings account. These similarities are great teaching tools within the home and classroom because they use what children understand to explain simple financial concepts.

What do you think? Should Silly Bandz Bracelets be banned from schools?

Click HERE to read the article.

Last year, I wrote about an opportunity for teens to learn from Andrew Morrison, the President of Small BusinessCamp. Mr. Morrison has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and has trained thousands of entrepreneurs from Hawaii to West Africa.

Andrew Morrison has started a new venture to help our youth. It is called the Small Business Camp for Teens and is offered online on May 15, 2010. The online webinar will help teens to start and grow their own businesses by helping them to:

• Identify ideas that can make money
• Attract college scholarships with a service project
• Use the Internet to attract clients
• Track your finances
• Gain contracts and network with established business owners

The event is FREE, however, it does require a Facebook account and computer with internet access. Below I have noted the vital information:

• Date: Saturday May 15th, 2010
• Time: 9am EST - 5pm EST
• Location: Online

To register for the class click HERE

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Lunchables. All opinions are 100% mine.

Lunchables has created a wonderful contest called Field Trips For All. The contest will help children across the country to go on inspiring, educational experiences. These hands on experiences or field trips will help children engage and learn about things outside of their classrooms.

Field trips are no longer seen as a necessity. In fact, according to a 2009 report from The American Association of School Administrators, it’s estimated that over the course of the current school year, the number of school districts eliminating field trips will increase by a whooping 56 percent! That’s more than 30,000 schools.  This contest will allow children, who may not have had the opportunity to experience hands-on, creative learning outside of their classrooms, the opportunity to do so.  

Why not enter and nominate a classroom in 1st - 8th grade? Its simple, so simple that even a 6 year old can do it. That’s right, anyone 6 years of age or older can nominate a deserving classroom by going to Field Trips For All and submitting a nomination. From all nominations received, 50 classrooms will be selected to go on an inspiring, educational experience. 

I nominated my little one’s classroom. I’m sure he would love  to go on a field trip similiar to the one shown below! What about you? Who do you plan on nominating?

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of USC. All opinions are 100% mine.

I believe education opens doors. For various reasons, it took me almost ten years to obtain my degree. I started before I had my sons, working two jobs to pay for college but it was too hard. When I had my oldest, I realized that I had to make the time to attend college. I had to do it for my family. During those years my oldest, Karl, would join me on my tri-weekly trek. Some teachers did not allow him to sit inside the classroom with me, so many nights you would see a little 5 year old sitting quietly in the hallway playing Power Rangers. Other times, the teachers banned me from class because I could not find a sitter. On those days when I was banned from class, I had to go home and study longer and harder. I didn’t mind doing the extra work but I know that time spent studying could have been spent with my son.

Schools did not offer online classes, during those years. I wish they had. It would have allowed me to study from home, scheduling it around my family life. I would not have had to drop out of school, not just once but several times. I would also have seen my oldest grow up, something which I truly regret missing.

The USC Rossier School of Education’s MAT@USC offers current educators and aspiring teachers the prestige of earning a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from an elite research university with the convenience and flexibility of studying online. Interactive online learning AND field-based experiences are combined to offer students an innovative learning program that has been ranked #22 in the United States, and #9 among all private universities by US News and World Report. They offer accelerated programs that allow you to complete your degree in 12 months, as well as tuition reimbursement programs and scholarships! Even better, online students are granted full USC student status and benefits, participation in commencement ceremonies, free lifetime Alumni Association memberships and the ability to say that they are part of the elite USC Trojan Family!

To read more about the program information feel free to click below! Go ahead, make that dream for a better future a reality!

¡Suerte! / Good Luck!

This past weekend the boys and I had an opportunity to go to the American Museum of Natural History to attend an interactive family science theater show.  The live show called Dr. Nebula’s Laboratory is geared towards younger children, ages 5-10, and their families. Its part of a series, featuring various topics from early human ancestors to the solar system. 

Dr. Nebula’s Laboratory uses the theater and story-based learning to bring to life the Museum’s exhibitions. Its not “Night at the Museum” with pre-historic creatures and people running around; however, its entertaining enough to captivate the younger audience.  It teaches while engaging, supplementing and in some cases stepping in where schools lack.   

Knowing that schools cannot do more with the funds they have, makes me love Dr. Nebula’s Laboratory that much more!  I’ve seen how similar programs have worked in my teen’s life. It encouraged him and exposed him to an area of science he was not learning in school. It also exposed him to a variety of children from different backgrounds. The American Museum of Natural History appears to do the same.  In fact, it goes a step further by utilizing audience participation, which helps children retain what they have learned from the day’s topic.

For those of you near the NYC area, I’ve copied and pasted below information on their upcoming  shows:

• Water Works

Water, water everywhere—but what do we really know about where our water comes from? Join Scooter as she follows the story of Drop and learn about the water cycle, conservation, and how to become a steward of this resource.

• Planetary Vacation

Dr. Nebula is lost in space! Come help Scooter learn about the planets and moons of our solar system. By becoming part of a three-dimensional model of the solar system, the audience will help locate Dr. Nebula.

• Life With Lucy

What would it have been like to hang out with our earliest ancestors? Scooter and the audience must travel back in time to find Dr. Nebula, exploring our human origins and learning about our most distant relatives along the way.

• Dino Adventure

Scooter is digging up a storm! Uncover the mysteries of the Ancient Dinosaurs and find out what might have happened to them in this pre-historic adventure in Dr. Nebula’s Laboratory.

• Super Cold Show

The Earth may be warming but there’s a chill in Dr. Nebula’s Laboratory. Join Scooter as she investigates the reason for the seasons, the effects of temperature on our planet, and the states of matter.

The Musuem is open daily from 10 am–5:45 pm, except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Suggested general admission prices are $16 for adults, $12 for students/seniors and $9 for children.  Note, prices are suggested and do not include the price of shows or classes. If you cannot afford the suggested price, you CAN pay less, as long as you do it on-site at the Museum. For more information, call 212-769-5100 or visit the Museum’s website, amnh.org.

From left to right: Suzanne Morris, writer and producer of Dr. Nebula’s Laboratory, Ms. Latina with curly hair, Scooter, the character created to connect with the children

 Denny’s is offering single parent student scholarships to Hispanics. Recipients will receive scholarships valued from $500-$1,500 AND a Kids Eat Free coupon. The application deadline is February 16, 2010.

 Below I have noted the application eligibility information:

Click HERE to apply.

¡Suerte! / Good luck!

Recently I found out that the Ronald McDonald House was accepting scholarship applications. The applications are due by February 16, 2010. Their are currently four applications but students can only apply to ONE of the four scholarships.

Below are the general eligibility requirements.

Students may download one of the four applications by clicking HERE or apply online by clicking HERE.

¡Suerte! / Good luck!

With the economy as it is and tuition continuing to rise, a higher education is getting harder to obtain without going into debt. Many middle class families are struggling just to put food on the table and hold onto their homes. A higher degree is the furthest thing from their mind, yet now is when its needed the most!  Gone are the days when you could get a decent job with just a High School diploma, in fact a Bachelor’s degree is no longer sufficient for many careers. 

Scholarships.com provides a FREE directory of scholarships and grants. They group the scholarships and grants into different categories making it very easy to search. They provide the requisite info needed to apply, like contact information and timeframes, in a concise format. They also have a resource section that can guide you during the application process, providing strategies on how to apply for the scholarships and grants.

They had several awesome scholarships available at the time of this posting. I noted several below.

• PRIMERO Hispanic Heritage Scholarship (Deadline Oct 15.)
• Various Technology Scholarship
• Various Scholarships for Women
• Prudential Spirit of Community Awards for grades 5-12 (Deadline November 2, 2009)

These scholarships and grants make a higher education possible, you only have to take the step and click over to apply! So go ahead take the step and click to start searching: Scholarships.com!

Suerte/Good Luck!

I discovered TextbookX several months ago and even posted about it HERE. In case, anyone missed that post I am writing about it again!

TextbookX is a wonderful place to purchase and sell textbooks, as well as current bestsellers, at a deep discount. They also offer a referral fee where you can get paid $1 everytime a person you referred purchases a book! Yet thats not the reason why I love this online store … I  love it because it offers scholarships!  

Right now,  TextbookX is offering three awards for 2009: (1) $2,000 grand prize and (2) $250 TextbookX gift certificates.  In order to be considered for the Scholarship, an essay must be submitted on a particular topic. This year’s question is “Should there be a death penalty? Defend your position on practical, philosophical or ethical grounds.”

The scholarship is open to all “undergraduate or graduate student(s) attending an accredited college or university in the United States sometime between November 1, 2008 and October 31, 2009″.  The deadline to apply is October 31, 2009 at 11:59 EST. The application must be submitted online. They will not accept e-mail or snail mail submissions. The winners will be announced on their website and will also receive notification by e-mail or mail. The winners will be announced between December 1, 2009 (My Birthday!) and December 15, 2009. 

Click HEREto apply and to read complete essay and eligibility guidelines. 

Suerte/Good luck!

Kaplan is offering FREE Math and Reading online programs. The program available for children in the kindergarten - 8th grade is customized to your child’s level. Perfect for back to school prepping!

The deadline to register for the Free Kaplan program is 8/31/09. Once you register for the classes you will receive one month of classes. It is only open to new students. To take advantage of this program click HERE and make sure you enter code AUGREF when prompted.

Note: I haven’t had a chance to enroll Prince in the program yet and am not sure if a credit card is required. If it is, please leave a comment to let everyone know. Thanks!

I love Staples! They have some amazing deals for back to school, including some wonderful freebies each week.

This upcoming week (July 19-25, 2009) the following items are FREE:

• mechanical pencils
• retractable gel pens and
• assorted retractable highlighters.

Along with these freebies, they have other wonderful products on sale like a 50 pack of Photo Supreme Double Sided Matte paper for $1, which is perfect for scrapbooking! I definitely suggest you pick up a pack of these for a future project.

In the meantime, I want to show you how you can use these freebies and discounts to create great party favors for children and tween classroom birthday parties. I’ve done this for the past couple of years and spend about 20-30¢ per child (if that!), which comes out to less than $10 for THIRTY kids! I actually have a nice stockpile that I also use whenever a group of kids come over so they can draw/write and let the adults bochinchar/gab!

I purchased the 30 pencil cases (shown below) for 1¢ each.

I was able to get the pencils and erasers FREE. I than paid 10¢ for two scissors and got 40 strips of stickers for $2 from the 99¢ store, which comes out to 5¢ per strip.

I was also able to get the pack of pens for FREE and the mini magnetic stapler, pencil sharpener and mechanical pencils for 10¢ each.

I stocked the pencil case with 2 pencils, erasers, a pencil sharpener, one strip of stickers, and scissors. It also has enough space for candy but my school doesn’t allow candies anymore.  You can also add stickers to decorate the outside of the pencil case or even create a birthday banner to place on the top (I did that!).

The total price for the above is 21¢ per child! It includes:

• a pencil case (1¢)
• pencils and erasers (FREE)
• 1 pencil sharpener (10¢)
• 1 scissor (5¢)
• 1 strip of stickers (5¢)

You can also vary it if you have an older child by using mechanical pencils, pens and a mini stapler.  In fact you can get the mechanical pencils, retractable gel pens and assorted retractable highlighters that are FREE this week to create GREAT classroom birthday party favors!

Ultimately, as noted in this post and in my previous post HERE,  if you start stockpiling now you will be able to get most of your children’s school supplies, as well as extras for classroom supplies and party favors, for about $10-25 max!

Now that’s a deal that you can take to the bank! Of course, don’t forget stash that extra ca$h!

Staples has started their Back To School Sale. Each week until school begins they will offer several items for a penny. That’s right you heard right … ONE PENNY! These items normally have a purchase limit. However, you can purchase more by bringing along a friend or going to another store. Thankfully I have four in a two block radius so I tend to stock up on these deals.

The best deals so far are:

• 8 pack of pencils for 1¢ *Limit 2 - Valid 7/12-7/15/09
• Staples 8.5″ x 11″ Copy Paper (500 Sheets) for 1¢ *Limit 2 -Valid 7/12-7/15/09

These items are also used to satisfy classroom requirements so stock up early and you will save some ca$h! The other items marked for $1 will go lower as we get closer to the beginning of the school year, so if you wait you will get a better deal.

Click HERE to see the weekly circular for your area.

Click HEREto see a generic list of needed school supplies. You can also search your State’s Board Of Education website for more information, just remember to search on Swagbucks! If you’ve never heard of Swagbucks click HERE to read more about the perks of this search engine.

Happy Saving!

The Hispanic Scholarship Fund lists several  scholarship programs for college bound High School students, as well as Undergraduate and Graduate students. There are currently two scholarships available from the Verizon Foundation and General Motors. The postmark deadlines for these scholarships are July 15, 2009.

I copied and pasted the requirements for each below.

General Motors Scholarship:

Eligibility Requirements

• Be of Hispanic heritage 
• Be a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident with a permanent resident card or passport stamped I-551 (not expired)
• Be enrolled full-time in a degree-seeking program at a four-year U.S. accredited college or university in the U.S., Puerto Rico, or U.S. Virgin Islands during the 2009-2010 academic year (enrollment is verified in the Fall)
• Have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
• Be majoring in Engineering (electrical, industrial, manufacturing and mechanical) or Business (accounting, business administration, economics and finance) or Human Resources 
• Must apply for federal financial aid by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) 

The General Motors Scholarship award amount is $2,500. Click HERE to apply.

Verizon Foundation:

Eligibility Requirements

• Be of Hispanic heritage 
• Be a U.S. Citizen or a legal permanent resident with permanent resident card or passport stamped I-551 (not expired)
• Be an undergraduate enrolled full-time in a degree-seeking program at a four-year U.S. accredited college or university in the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or Guam
• Have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale
• Must be majoring in one of the following:  Accounting, Business, Finance, Human Resource Management, Marketing, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology (IT/MIS), Electrical, Industrial, or Mechanical Engineering
• Must reside in one of the following states or counties:  California; Florida; Illinois; Maine; Massachusetts; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New York counties: (Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens, and Richmond); Pennsylvania;  Texas; Virginia; Washington; Washington D.C.
• Must apply for federal financial aid by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) 
• Must submit a resume with application

The scholarship award amounts for Verizon Scholarship is $2,500-$5,000. You can apply HERE to apply.

Suerte mi gente!

Summer is almost here and the kids will soon be out of school in New York City. As a mother of a teen, I have to say that it seems as if programs for teens and tweens have been hit the hardest in this economy.  They are either locked out of good summer jobs because of the market or from summer camp programs because of the cut-off age! Thankfully, I was able to find a program for my son; however, if you are still looking I received the below information from a very good friend. I copied and pasted the info below. Hopefully some of you will be able to take advantage of it!   

**********

Free Summer Evening Activities

The New York City Mission Society is offering free summer activities for children in grades 5-9 from July 1 to August 26, Mondays to Saturdays from 3 pm-10 pm. The sessions will be held at Wadleigh Secondary School located at 215 West 114th Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues in Manhattan.

Activities include FREE tutoring and homework help from trained NYC teachers everyday from 3-5pm. After 5:00 pm there is an array of activities that include Salsa dancing, Capoeira (Brazilian Dance), karate, basketball, soccer, boxing, sign language, and West African Dance.

There is no income limit. For more information on how to register your child, call Manuel Elias Colon, Director at 908-764-4080 or e-mail mcolon@NYCmissionsociety.org

While going around the blogoshere this week looking at other’s Wordless Wednesday pictures I came across some Latinalicios info on the SevEn cLoWn CirCus blog!

Angie posted about a wonderful site that would allow you to create a storybook for your children AND enter to win a $10,000 scholarship! That’s some ca-ching definitely worth seeking. Click HERE to print and enter.

While you’re at it visit Angie and send her a Latinalicious thank you for this GREAT opportunity! As a mom of five - who does not look it by the way!!!- she knows how to hunt down a deal!

Gracias Angie!

I received this opportunity for our youth over the weekend; however, I was so caught up that I was unable to post it earlier.  I do hope that some of my Latinalicious readers can still take advantage of it.

Youth About Business, a wonderful organization started in 1999, provides teenagers with an opportunity to attend and sleep at a college near them. Two to three week sessions on college campuses around the country are provided  to give teenagers a sense of college life while also instilling in them a yearning for learning.

The program will focus on business skills, particularly mergers and acquisition for high school students.

Applications have been extended to April 30, 2009. Registration and application information can be obtained on their website: Youth About Business.

I believe education is the key to betterment, to empowerment, particularly in this economy. It has definitely paid off for me and my children. It was a long road, over ten years, yet I will always remember the day I received my degree as one of my greatest accomplishments.

At the time I did not realize that there were so many scholarships and grants available for the taking.  I may have finished sooner if I would have known where to look! Hoping to make it easier for another individual to complete their own studies, I will feature scholarship information on my blog.

I found this particular scholarship while searching one of my favorite sites, Textbookx.  I was overjoyed to find out that they not only provide deeply discounted books but that they turn around and use part of their proceeds to fund Undergraduate and Graduate scholarships. The scholarships are available to any student attending an accredited college or university in the United States.

In order to apply for the scholarship, a student must submit an essay via the link below no later than October 31, 2009 at 11:59 PM EST (Eastern Standard Time).

Once on the site, you can review the eligibility requirements by scrolling down and clicking the button on the left hand side labeled “In Awards $2,500 Enter Fall Scholarship“.  Students meeting the eligibility requirements must submit an essay on the following topic: 

Should there be a death penalty? Defend your position on practical, philosophical or ethical grounds.

Don’t delay! Click away y sigue adelante!

College Students. $2,500 TextbookX.com Fall 2005 Scholarship Program. Ends 10-31. Apply Now!

Kaplan has offered to give New York City students an opportunity to take a practice PSAT & SAT exam before the actual exam. An excellent opportunity for students to get a feel for the exam without it going on record!

Both exams will be given at each location on Saturday, April 18^th beginning at 10:00am. 

Midtown Kaplan Center
131 West 56th Street
New York, NY 10019
East Village Kaplan Center
16 Cooper Square
New York, NY 10003
 

To reserve a seat in the practice test, visit family: kaptest.com/practicetest. You can also call  1-800-KAP-TEST (ext 4) for more information.

Students are encouraged to bring a suggested donation of $10 to take the test.  Note: Suggested donation means that you are not obligated to give any money to take advantage of this opportunity.

Kaplan will donate 100% of the proceeds to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City to support the NYC Ladders for Leaders program (another wonderful program for students). 

To learn more about the Mayor’s Fund or NYC Ladders for Leaders, please call 311 (or 212-NEW-YORK) or visit www.nyc.gov/fund and click on “projects.”