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Constitution Day is required by Federal law to be celebrated by all publicly funded educational institutions, so if you’re a teacher in a public school then you have probably already made your lesson plans. If you’re looking for some last minute ideas, check out Constitution Day at How To Teach Kids.info for an assortment of ideas.

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Are you familiar with WordWorld? If not, check it out and see if you agree with me that it is one of the best educational TV shows available for children. There are also WordWorld DVDs available, and I’m giving away their new one, “Get Up and Move,” which encourages children to exercise while also teaching them reading skills in a fun way.

WordWorld was the only show that our grandson would watch when he was a year old. As a teacher who has taught many children how to read in first grade, I immediately fell in love with the characters and the influence I knew they must be having on young children learning their alphabet letters and sounds plus teaching them how to read words.

WIN IT:
WordWorld is providing one DVD for giveaway. This contest is open to all U.S. residents. Entries will be accepted until midnight CST Wednesday, May 4, 2011. Please leave a separate comment for each entry:

MANDATORY ENTRY:

Visit WordWorld – “Where Words Come Alive” and leave a comment telling me who is your favorite character.
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BONUS ENTRIES:

Must complete mandatory entry first! Leave a comment if you already follow or subscribe.

• Blog about this giveaway and link it back here (3 extra entries)
• “Like” Healthy Home Blog on Facebook (1 extra entry)

• Click the Facebook “Share” button below this post to share it on your FB wall (2 extra entries)

• Follow me on Twitter (1 extra entry) (leave a comment if you already follow me)

• Click the “Tweet” button below this post to share it on your Twitter feed (1 entry per day)

• Subscribe to my RRS Feed. (2 entries)

• Subscribe to Healthy Home Blog’s email updates- see sidebar. (2 entries)
• Follow me through Google Friend Connect in my sidebar. (1 entry)

* WordWorld is supplying a DVD for this giveaway. I was not compensated monetarily for this article. This is my honest opinion.

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How would you like to win one of these adorable T-Shirts for your child? PopFunk is providing a WordWorld T-Shirt, shipping included, to the winner of this giveaway.

Our daughter and s-i-l first introduced us to WordWorld when it was the only show that our grandson would watch when he was around a year old. Forget the other educational shows for babies and toddlers, WordWorld was the one that captured his attention. After watching it, I could see why. As an educator, I immediately fell in love with the characters on WordWorld and the impact I knew they must be having on young children learning their alphabet letters, sounds, and actually learning to sound out words and read.

So with that said, let me get on with the giveaway:
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HOW TO WIN IT:
PopFunk is providing one WordWorld T-Shirt for giveaway. This contest is open to all U.S. residents. Entries will be accepted until midnight CST Monday, April 25, 2011. Please leave a separate comment for each entry:

MANDATORY ENTRY:

Follow “Mr. P,” PopFunk, on Facebook &/or Twitter. (Each one counts as a separate entry.  Remember to leave a separate comment for each.)
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BONUS ENTRIES: Must complete mandatory entry first!  Leave a comment if you already follow or subscribe.

• Blog about this giveaway and link it back here (3 extra entries)
• Click the Facebook “Share” button below this post to share it on your FB wall (2 extra entries)

• Follow me on Twitter (1 extra entry) (leave a comment if you already follow me)

• Click the “Tweet” button below this post to share it on your Twitter feed  (1 entry per day)
• Subscribe to my RRS Feed.  (2 entries)
• Subscribe to Healthy Home Blog’s email updates- see sidebar. (2 entries)

• “Like” Healthy Home Blog on Facebook (1 extra entry)

* PopFunk supplied one of their T-Shirts for a giveaway. However, I was not compensated monetarily for this article. This is my honest opinion.

I am a special education teacher, and this is dear to my heart.
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April 2nd is the date of the annual celebration of World Autism Awareness Day.  Many events will be going on around the world in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Brazil, Hungary, India, Ireland, Mexico, United Kingdom, and the list goes on and on.  Famous people and celebrities will be in attendance at some events.  Much will be done to educate people on how to communicate with people who are autistic.
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In the United States, we are using the whole month of April as Autism Awareness Month to educate the public about issues within the autistic community. People are encouraged to contact their local representatives as well as congressional representatives to “Vote 4 Autism.” For more information about this legislation and to take action to support it, visit Vote4autism.org.

“LIGHT IT UP BLUE“ is the theme in Australia as well as other places as the Sydney Opera House and other buildings around the world are lit up in blue lights for World Autism Awareness Day.  They are encouraging people to sign up on the site and light their own blue light bulb.

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At my school, many of the faculty wear blue in honor of Autism Awareness Day.  If you have a chance, wear blue on April 2nd.  I definitely plan to be wearing blue on that day.

If you have the chance to watch this, I highly recommend the movie based on the life of  “Temple Grandin,” who has autism.  This movie won seven Emmy Awards, including Best-Made-for-Television Movie.  Here’s a summary of the movie in case you’re interested.  Claire Danes does an excellent job portraying Temple, which Temple herself admits.  Also, Grandin has her own website, Temple Grandin, Ph.D.

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Read here for more info about Autism Awareness & Tips.

We live in such a highly technological age.  People in other parts of the world are just a few clicks away on the internet.  Video and web conferencing make conferences available to those scattered across the country.

Dr. Temple Grandin will be doing a webinar on livestock tomorrow which illustrates how anyone, anywhere can tune in and watch this.  Having worked with children who have autism, I would love to meet or at least hear her speak.  Why?  In the 2010 TIME 100,  Dr. Grandin was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in 2010 in the Heroes category.  Why?  Because being autistic herself, Temple Grandin has given more insight into autism than anyone.  She didn’t speak until age three or four (I read three and a half but the movie about her says four), yet now she is a highly sought after public speaker and is a professor at Colorado State University.  What an amazing lady!  If I didn’t have to teach tomorrow then I would definitely want to watch and listen to her on the webinar.

The value of a degree cannot be underplayed in this economy.  With today’s market, competition is high in the job market, and one must have the skills or degree necessary for the job.  Many are opting for an online degree which can be completed at their convenience and within their schedule.  When one has a family and values the time spent with their family, an online college education provides just the flexibility they need so they can still go to soccer games, open house at school, and all the many things that parents attend.

Not only do online universities provide the convenience and flexibility that is attractive to so many, but they usually provide a savings, some more so than others.   Common to all, though, is the savings in gas money, time that might have to be taken off from work, and babysitting fees for those with children.  No wonder so many are looking at online degrees to complete their college education so they can compete in today’s highly competitive job market.

Note:  This is a sponsored post.

Check out:

WordWorld Valentine info @ How to Teach Kids.info

Also, watch cute WordWorld Valentine video!