G.R.O.W.

Do you want to grow your business? Or any aspect of your life, perhaps?
Use this simple acronym:
G – Goal (set a specific goal for yourself)
R – Reality (assess where you're at, presently)
O – Options (determine what you need to do to go from where you are to where you want to be)
W – Way Forward (break that trip down into small steps/actions)

Pearl Team Update

Welcome to the newest PEARLS:
Victor G. of NY sponsored by Simone W.
Nyla K. of NY sponsored by Danit R.
Laura G. and Jen A. of NJ both sponsored by Lisa S. get kudos for attending a fall kickoff their first week in the company!
Recent PEARL Rocket Starters:
Level 1 Sally D., Michele S., Debra D., Sarah D., Cheri C.
Level 2 Anita J., Nancy D.

Books Fall Open by David McCord

Books fall open, you fall in,
delighted where you've never been;
hear voices not once heard before,
reach world on world through door on door;
find unexpected keys to things locked up beyond imaginings.

What might you be, perhaps become,
because one book is somewhere?

Some wise delver into wisdom, wit,
and wherewithal has written it.
True books will venture, dare you out,
whisper secrets, maybe shout
across the gloom to you in need,
who hanker for a book to read.

JUST PLAYING by Anita Wadley

When I'm building in the block room,
Please don't say I'm "Just Playing".
For, you see, I'm learning as I play;
About balance and shapes.

When I'm getting all dressed up,
Setting the table, caring for the babies,
Don't get the idea I'm "Just Playing".
For, you see, I'm learning as I play;
I may be a mother or a father someday.

When you see me up to my elbows in paint,
Or standing at an easel, or molding and shaping clay,
Please don't let me hear you say, "He is Just Playing".
For, you see, I'm learning as I play.
I'm expressing myself and being creative.
I may be an artist or an inventor someday.

When you see me sitting in a chair
"Reading" to an imaginary audience,
Please don't laugh and think I'm "Just Playing".
For, you see, I'm learning as I play.
I may be a teacher someday.

When you see me combing the bushes for bugs,
Or packing my pockets with choice things I find,
Don't pass it off as "Just Play".
For, you see, I'm learning as I play.
I may be a scientist someday.

When you see me engrossed in a puzzle,
Or some "plaything" at my school,
Please don't feel the time is wasted in "Play".
For, you see, I'm learning as I play.
I'm learning to solve problems and concentrate.
I may be in buiness someday.

When you see me cooking or tasting foods,
Please don't think that because I enjoy it, it is "Just Play".
I'm learning to follow directions and see differences.
I may be a chef someday.

When you see me learning to skip, hop, run, and move my body,
Please don't say I'm "Just Playing".
For, you see, I'm learning as I play.
I'm learning how my body works.
I may be a doctor, nurse or athlete someday.

When you ask me what I've done at school today,
And I say, "I Just Played".
Please don't misunderstand me.
For, you see, I'm learning as I play.
I'm learning to enjoy and be successful in my work.
I'm preparing for tomorrow.
Today, I'm a child and my work is play.

John F. Kennedy said...

“The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your powers along lines of excellence.”

Pearl Team Kudos!

Level 2 Rocket Starters: Anita J & Nancy D Level 1 Rocket Starters: Lisa G, Michele S, Sara D, Cheri C
Congrats to all!

Pentominoes

Pentominoes are twelve different shapes, often named after the letters of the Latin alphabet that they resemble (F,I, L, N, P, T, U, V, W,X, Y, Z), each composed of five connected squares. These 12 shapes can be combined in hundreds of different ways to form 2 dimensional shapes such as rectangles (see example below), iguana, kangaroo, etc. or 3-D shapes like pyramids and staircases. Pentominoes are a key part of the 2003 children's novel "Chasing Vermeer" by Blue Balliett. The book, often compared to the adult book "The DaVinci Code," is based on Johannes Vermeer's painting "A Lady Writing a Letter." Puzzles based on Pentominoes are sprinkled throughout the book for readers to solve.
Discovery Toys used to sell Pentominoes, and I still have a limited number of them in stock. Email me to purchase Discovery Toys Pentominoes.

Sleep begets sleep

Dr. Marc Weissbluth, sleep expert, says parents play a key role in helping their babies develop healthy sleep patterns. He says there's a "direct connection between how parents behave and how their child sleeps." Parents must "nurture the need to sleep and can help their child learn to self-soothe." Moms and dads can give the gift of sleep to their child by matching her sleep schedule with her natural sleep rhythms. When they have those 2 in sync, the child can sleep very well. The trick is to get your child to sleep before the hormones that give them a second wind are released. If they are overtired, it is more difficult to get them to sleep. He therefore suggests shorter (3-4 hour) awake intervals between naps. Dr. Weissbluth suggests a mid morning nap time around 9 or 9:30 am, with another nap around noon, and depending on the child, a third nap several hours later. Bedtime can be as early as 6:30 pm. He encourages parents to stick to a schedule most of the time for success. Holidays and other special occasions are the rare exceptions, one or two days a month. Parents who have used his technique report amazing results, which allow parents to sleep while their baby is sleeping and keep stress and crankiness to a minimum.

Discovery Toys announces a pay increase!

Read about the new Discovery Toys compensation plan.

Money ≠ Success

Inner wisdom is more precious than wealth. The more you spend it, the more you gain.
-unknown

Where the candidates stand on Autism

From Barack Obama's site: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/
Support Americans with Autism. More than one million Americans have autism, a complex neurobiological condition that has a range of impacts on thinking, feeling, language, and the ability to relate to others. As diagnostic criteria broaden and awareness increases, more cases of autism have been recognized across the country. Barack Obama believes that we can do more to help autistic Americans and their families understand and live with autism. He has been a strong supporter of more than $1 billion in federal funding for autism research on the root causes and treatments, and he believes that we should increase funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to truly ensure that no child is left behind.

More than anything, autism remains a profound mystery with a broad spectrum of effects on autistic individuals, their families, loved ones, the community, and education and health care systems. Obama believes that the government and our communities should work together to provide a helping hand to autistic individuals and their families.

From John McCain's site:
John McCain is very concerned about the rising incidence of autism among America's children and has continually supported research into its causes and treatment. He has heard countless stories about families' hardships obtaining a diagnosis for their children's autism and accessing quality medical treatment. He believes that federal research efforts should support broad approaches to understanding the factors that may play a role in the incidence of autism, including factors in our environment, for both prevention and treatment purposes.

John McCain was proud to lend his support to the Combating Autism Act of 2006, which he cosponsored, and worked to ensure its enactment. This law is helping to increase public awareness and screening of autism spectrum disorder, promote the use of evidence-based interventions, and create autism Centers of Excellence for Autism Spectrum Disorder Research and Epidemiology. John McCain understands that despite the federal and scientific research efforts to date, the exact causes of autism are not yet known and greater research is needed to understand this disorder. That is why in November 2007, he joined with Senator Lieberman in requesting the leadership of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which has jurisdiction over federal research into autism, to hold a hearing on federal research efforts regarding factors affecting incidence and treatment in order to help determine where research efforts can best be directed. As President, John McCain will work to advance federal research into autism, promote early screening, and identify better treatment options, while providing support for children with autism so that they may reach their full potential.

Pearl Team update

A warm welcome to our new PEARL
Cheri C of NJ sponsored by Lisa S

Recent PEARL Rocket Starters, Level 1 Sales
Anita J
Lisa G
Sarah D

August achiever of Group Manager Bonus for meeting selling requirements of GM ($500+ personal sales, $2000+ team sales) in a month that she and her team recruited 5 or more
Lisa S, GM