It will only take one minute to run into the store and grab a gallon of milk.

It will only take one minute to grab some stamps at the post office.

It will only take one minute to run into a friend’s house and grab something you forgot yesterday.

It only takes one minute for you to make the biggest mistake of your life.

It is easy to do. It is easy to make excuses for. Many of us are guilty of leaving a child in the car for just one short minute.  It just is not worth it! Besides it being illegal to leave a child in a car unattended it isn’t fair and can kill a child. Nobody wants this!

“Every year, more than 30 children die because they are alone in a car. In just 10 minutes a car’s temperature can increase by 19 degrees – and it continues to rise.”

Grab this quick flyer.  Link to this article on your Facebook page, share the YouTube Video and visit Safe Kids for other ways to spread this important message.

1.  Snacks. Packing healthy snacks will save you money from stopping to eat and will be healthier.  Nick Jr. offers some easy to make snacks that can be packed and stored in a lunch box or cooler.

2.  Road Games. Easy and fun games like traveling Bingo will keep the kids busy and Nick Jr. offers free printables for families to create the Bingo game or coloring sheets. All you’ll need is a clipboard and crayons!

3.  Safety. Keep kids safe while traveling and everyone will be happier. Make sure your child is in their booster or car seat correctly. Make no excuses allowing children to unbuckle or not sit in their booster or car seat.

4.  Hydration. Keep everyone happy with water in reusable water bottles. For a great selection try The Soft Landing.

The Sandbox Party Convention (click here for the flyer) will be a first of a kind event that will highlight gubernatorial candidates whom we will ask to share their platform and how they view early childhood investment in Michigan.  There will also be other short speeches broken up by performances, interactive crowd activities, bands, etc.  We have just confirmed The Verve Pipe to perform at Convention and will have many more exciting announcements as we approach our August 26^th event.

As Star Power focused on the State’s budget, The Sandbox Party Convention will focus on the importance of this year’s election in regards to early childhood. Many of us know that Michigan is currently in deep financial crisis and many programs and services are on the verge of being cut. The responsibility of restoring Michigan will fall to a new Governor and a new crop of legislators. We need to educate these new legislators about the positive economic impact of investing in early childhood programs in an effort to rebuild our state.

The Sandbox Party was created with the notion that no matter where you live, how much money you make, whatorganization you belong to, if you have a child, if you are familiar with early childhood programs or not – as a citizen of Michigan, investment in early childhood is the key to rebuilding our state.

Registration (Registration website will re-open on Thursday, July 1^st)

We encourage you to register online at www.greatstartforkids.org/convention-2010 so we can get a feel for how many people will be attending.  Please help us save money by registering each individual member of your group attending Convention.  This money can then be used to make future events even better.

This event is open to anyone who would like to come.  Even if someone hasn’t registered, this event will be a family friendly with an open door policy.  The Breslin Center has a capacity of 15,085 seats so unless we go over that number, we will not turn anyone away from the door.

Food

The Convention will take place from 1-4 so it will not be during any standard meal times.  Snacks will be available to purchase from a few open vendor booths at the Convention. Please check the website for updates about food at the Convention.

Signs/Noisemakers/Etc.

You will be allowed to bring in your own signage and noisemakers.  Please do not bring signs that are inappropriate for a family environment, have sharp ends or are so large that they would disturb other attendees.  We also ask that air horns and bullhorns be left at home.  Items that are disturbing to others, offensive or dangerous will be confiscated.

Parking

Please check website for parking information and updates.

Strollers

Strollers are welcome but as a majority of the seating will be stadium seating, strollers do not maneuver well down sets of stairs.  Therefore, we will have designated “stroller” parking so you can bring your stroller, and park it nearby while you and your family are seated.

Live Michigan Gubernatorial Candidate Twitter Forum Focusing on Early Childhood

Monday, June 21^st from 12p-1p EST

It’s FREE!  Here’s how to attend…

1. Join our discussion by using the #greatstart hashtag in each of your tweets so we can all follow the conversation during the party.

2. 
Follow the Gubernatorial Candidates (@Mike_Cox @george4govenor @Dillon4MI @bouchardforgov)  @greatstart the host so we can respond to the discussion and answer questions.

3.  Click here to use a special Tweet Grid link that has been specifically created for this forum to make following the conversation easier.

4.  If you don’t have a Twitter account, sign up here.

For a free flyer to share or link to click here.

Who can apply for the training? Any parent in Michigan who has a child age birth to 18 years old and has received specialty public services in Michigan for their child. How long is the training session? On day one the training will be held from 1pm – 8pm. On day 2 the training will be held from 9am – 4pm. Parents need to attend both days. Where is the training located? Marquette is July 12-13, 2010 and Oakland County is July 20-21, 2010. Is there childcare provided during the training? No, however we provide reimbursement for money you spend on childcare while at the training. Who pays for the training? There is no cost to parents to attend. Parents also receive a honoraria for their time, mileage reimbursement, and hotel (if they are traveling over 50 miles each way). Meals during the training are provided.

Please apply online using the link on the attached flyer.  For more information contact Sarah Wedepohl at swedepohl@me.com or 248.761.2553.

A Grate Gift for Dad. This clever trio is a tasty way to honor the King of the Grill on Father’s Day. And who doesn’t love dessert (they’re cupcakes!)?

Formal Greetings. Even if the dad in your house isn’t a shirt-and-tie kind of guy, he’s sure to love this stylish Father’s Day card.

Crafty Computer Frame. We’ve all seen decorative mouse pads, but what about the computer itself? This monitor frame, made from craft foam and dotted with photos of your family, will turn Dad’s home or office computer into a much more colorful — and endearing — place.

For more Father’s Day fun and fare, visit http://familyfun.go.com/fathers-day/ or check out the latest issue of Disney FamilyFun – on newsstands now.

Visit some of these helpful resources to help make your summertime safer and more enjoyable!

Safe Kids offers advice, tips and additional resources and guides for parents with children of all ages.

Sun Safety for Kids offers videos, recommendations and tips for helping to keep your child safe this summer. A wonderful resource for providers as well!

Kids Health offers tips for how to handle those wasp and bee stings because they do happen and it is good to be prepared!

American Academy of Pediatrics offers many summertime safety tips and links for resources, a wonderful site to visit for an abundance of information!

Keep Kids Healthy is a great resource to help you learn how to keep your child safe this summer from spoiled food. Tips on packing lunches, how long food can stay out and what to look for and avoid.

Enjoy your summer and come on out, give us a call and join us for all of our summer 2010 scheduled events! We’d love if you printed this and posted it at your local playgroup, grocery store or library!

KIWI Magazine has taken a fun new approach to helping parents with parenting by holding free Kiwi University Classes with experts and this month Dr. Susan Bartell, author of The Top 50 Questions Kids Ask, is here to help with these tough questions! And guess what, you’ll get to ask questions too!

Hurry, spaces are limited for this free event!

* June 8 at 10 a.m. EST (Register for this time)

* June 9 at 8 p.m. EST (Register for this time)

Sign up and join us for the whole webinar, and you could win a copy of Dr. Bartell’s book! Ten participants in each session will be randomly selected to receive the book of their choice: The Top 50 Questions Kids Ask: Pre-K through 2nd Grade or The Top 50 Questions Kids Ask: 3rd through 5th Grade.

Great Start

Help your child get ready for kindergarten and let Dora help you!A free simple quiz will create a customized readiness plan for your preschooler. Focusing on early learning skills, social skills, healthy habits and parent involvement.

When thinking summertime fun with children it means stocking up on sunscreen, buying bathing suites, making sure the sand toys are packed and you’re ready to roll! Splashing good times accompany the summer months but summertime safety is equally important as fun! From avoiding heat stroke, to thinking about play ground safety, sun safety and sunburn prevention is important too!

Recently the Environmental Working Group published their 2010 study rating what they believe to be the safest sun screens on the market and a one page free guide for consumers to help them choose safe. To my surprise only 8% of 400 sunscreens tested were considered safe, which means you most likely have a bottle in your diaper bag or bathroom cupboard that is not so safe to use. Parents wanting to protect themselves and children from the rays can view the one page guide and learn more about the safe sun screen choices here.

Protecting our children from harmful sunshiny rays, it is important! Their skin is so delicate it can burn in less than 15 minutes!  Learn the facts about sun exposure or what to do if your child suffers from a sun burn, Kids Health is a helpful resource for parents and providers. Day cares and schools can help with sun safety by taking action steps to establish policies and educate children and parents about safe sun screen options. The sunshine is here, it is time to be prepared!