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Highlights for Free Stuff for Educators Everybody knows that teachers work hard for little monetary compensation. Fortunately, there are many fine resources available that allow educators access to free stuff. Who deserves free stuff more than our teachers? If you are a teacher searching for the best of what the web's freebies, here are some places that offer freebies just for educators. Teaching Education Aid Available for Free There are many websites on the World Wide Web that offer totally free educational and teaching aids. If you teach younger students, you can find great coloring pages. You can also find several teaching aids, including alphabetical pages. Why spend money on expensive preprinted alphabets? You can gain easy access to your own free alphabet pages. Print them out, color them and seal them to make them last. This is an easy way to put together very elemental packets and gain access to fun activity pages. There are many fine teacher resources available for free on the World Wide Web. Here are even more resources for finding great and free resources for educators of all stripes. Getting Access to Free DVDS for Educators Did you know that you could get access to free educational DVDs? Izzit.org offers you a free DVD on your birthday (or another day of your choosing). This offer is limited to teachers of grades 6-12. This website also offers educators discounts on educational DVDs as well as coupons for free ice cream. Gaining Free Nutrition Educational Materials If you are an educator seeking out free nutritional materials, you are in luck. The Dole Corporation is currently offering free educational materials to teachers. Their 5 a Day program offers free downloadable teaching materials. You can also request professional teaching materials by using mail and fax. Simply request your free nutritional materials on your school's official letterhead. Free Computer Tools for Educators If you need access to free teacher tools, Microsoft Office has got you covered. Microsoft is currently offering free learning essentials that can help you create handouts, compose tests, and make presentations and other educational content. You will need a registered copy of Microsoft Office 2002 or 2003 that runs on Windows XP and Windows 2000. Need Teaching Aids for Your Classroom? If you are looking for free teaching visual aids, there are many nonprofits that can provide you with such aids. The Human Genome Project offers educators free posters. Although this promotion is directed specifically to educators, anyone can take advantage of this great offer. The National Institute of Drug Abuse also offers free visual teaching aids. These are great to hang in the classroom. You can order multiple copies directly form the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The USEPA is another organization that offers educators a variety of free posters, as well as other teaching materials, including activity books, CD-ROMs, lesson plans and more. Keep Your Classroom Safe With Free Cleaning Aids Keeping the classroom clean is one of the biggest challenges of any educator. The Clorox Company is trying to make it easier on teachers by offering them a free "Clean Up the Classroom" multimedia kit aimed specifically at classroom educators. The free kit comes loaded with a poster, a cleaning guide and DVD. You will also get a free canister of handy Clorox Disinfecting Wipes. Get Free Magazine Subscription Offers Educators have access to many free magazine subscription offers. Yes Magazine is offering educators a free one-year subscription. This is a magazine published by the Positive Futures Network. This is non-profit organization that helps promote social change to a more compassionate and sustainable world. Take advantage by contacting the magazine for your free educator subscription.

The Importance of Written Communication (written communication) Written communication is just as important as oral communication. Of course, all communication requires a clear concise flow of ideas, and words that are easily understood by any reader or listener. Written communication is one of the most difficult forms of communication as writers are typically prone to write for themselves, instead of for their audience. It is important for readers to understand what has been written and why it has been written. Writing is very different from oral communication, because words are written they cannot be taken back. Communicating through writing is more concrete than verbal communication with more room for mistakes and misunderstandings. The slightest misunderstanding can cause chaos for many, so it is important to right as clear and concise as possible. This form of communication is defined as a clear expression of ideas in writing. The clear expression of ideas includes grammar, organization, and structure of an essay, book, article, or report. Grammar is a large part of written communication, and writers must always consider spelling, punctuation, writing style, and wording before displaying their work to the world. Proper grammar and form may have a varying importance for different writing jobs, and usually depend on the method of communication used for that job. However, it is always important to strive to use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Most writers use spell check and grammar check on their computers to ensure that the grammar and spelling is suitable. Grammar is also a major factor when writing as a freelance writing and submitting work to an editor. Many editors will reject further submissions from writers who have too many grammar and spelling errors. Organization of a letter, essay, article, or book is also important factors of written communication. Communication should always have a logical organization that is easy for readers to follow. For the reader, it is much easier to read a paragraph with one common theme that relates to the entire work. Most writing requires a clear flow of ideas and proper transitions to indicate when a new idea is being presented. However, transitions are not often needed for pieces of writing that are clearly organized. Ideas should also be expressed in a manner that is easy for the reader to understand and recognize. Data in the writing should also be presented accurately to support conclusions and recommendations given by the writer. The structure is also important in a piece of writing. All writing is organized into five to seven sentence paragraphs that all relate to each other. The number of paragraphs usually depends on the work that is being written. For example, it is common for essay to contain five concise paragraphs that all relate to a common theme. Generally, essays begin with an introductory paragraph, followed by three supporting paragraphs, and ended with a concluding paragraph. The basic structure of a piece of writing is only the beginning of written communication; the words used and the organization of the work is important to the readers understanding of the work. In many cases, the style format, and content must be adjusted to the communication level of the reader. The ability to convey ideas to a certain reader are very important, and a key component of written communication. Like oral communication, written communication can be seen as an aspect of life that makes the world go round, and learning to communicate through written word has become a basic skill for most people. Communication is needed in all aspects of life, and although many people cannot write well, it is important to be able to communicate out loud and on paper.

Achieving a Better Family and Work Balance Makes for Better Job Performance Are you constantly working after hours and weekends at the office? Are beginning to forget what your family even looks like? Many people find themselves in this predicament. Work seems to get more and more demanding with every passing day, and to stay on top of your game at work, you feel like you need to put in long hours. The flipside to this is that of course when you are at the office, you are away from home – away from family dinners, play time and your kids’ sporting events or school plays. You may feel like your hands are tied – that no matter how much you want to be more involved with your family life, you have to keep working as hard as ever to make sure your family is provided for in the long run. The truth is, however, that you may be doing yourself a disservice on both fronts. Studies have shown time and again that well rested workers with well balanced lives are more productive in the time they do spend working. In the end, the best way to be a stand out worker at the office is to be fully involved and present in your family live. But wait, you say, “I’m working practically around the clock now, and everything still isn’t getting done.” However, maybe the problem isn’t that you aren’t working hard enough. Maybe the problem instead is that you aren’t working smart enough. Think about the way you spend you working day. Are you taking on more responsibility than you need to, instead of delegating tasks to others? Are you spending a lot of time chatting in the break room when you run for a cup of coffee? Are you procrastinating so that big projects require you to work all-nighters instead of spreading out the work? Keep a journal of all of your activities at work for a few days. You might be surprised to see how you are really spending your time and in what areas you could make improvements. Simply staying on task and delegating effectively could get you home in time for dinner. When you have done everything you can to make your work habits as productive as possible, it is time to turn to other ways to balance your work life and your family life. Rule number one is the hardest one for most people to follow you – draw clear lines of distinction between work time and family time. Family time isn’t really family time if you are constantly on your cell phone making and receiving work calls or if you are on your laptop for the entire family vacation. When you’re working – work. When you’re with your family – concentrate on them. The time you spend actually taking a breather from work will recharge your batteries and make you a better worker when work time rolls around again. Next, you have to evaluate your priorities. Maybe working around the clock will help you make partner faster, but at what cost? Decide if seeing your daughter’s soccer game every week is more important to you than moving up the corporate ladder quickly, and make adjustments in your schedule appropriately. There is no right or wrong answer, but deciding where you priorities lie will make scheduling easier for you. With your priorities in mind, see what work options are available to you to help you meet them. If you want more time with the kids, see if your office offers flex time or part time hours to help you meet your family commitments. Last but not least, don’t feel guilty about taking time with your family. Not only is this time important to your family, you can rest assured that the time out from the office stress will make you more productive when you return to work.