Austin Kids' Directory Blog
Lemonade Day is Coming to Austin
The West Austin Chamber of Commerce has announced the upcoming date of Lemonade Day Austin, taking place Saturday, May 5th. Lemonade Day is a free, fun, experiential learning program that teaches kids how to start, own and operate their very own business – a lemonade stand. Lemonade Day has spread to over 67 cities in 23 states and three countries. Lemonade Day Austin’s goal is to register 1,000 youth who in turn will start new businesses all across Austin - on a single day.
“The West Austin Chamber of Commerce is thrilled to have the opportunity to bring together a community of support to make this year’s Austin Lemonade Day a meaningful experience for everyone involved,” said Morgan Briscoe, president of the West Austin Chamber of Commerce. “We’ve worked hard to be able to welcome children, parents and organizations across Austin to register for this free, educational and fun event. We look forward to working with all of our partner organizations to help our young entrepreneurial Austinites prepare for lemonade stand success on May 5 and beyond as our future business leaders.”
Each child that registers receives access to an online interactive program, Lemonopolis, that teaches them the valuable lessons of Lemonade Day - including how to set a goal, make a plan, work the plan and launch their first business. Once a participant earns enough to cover the cost of expenses, just like in real life, they keep their profits. The average profit per Lemonade Day stand in 2017 was $224 with many earning more. Lemonade Day encourages kids to spend some, save some and share some of their earnings—teaching additional lessons in money management and social responsibility.
Anyone and everyone can be involved in Lemonade Day. Young entrepreneurs with lemonade stands need mentors, investors, business partners, great locations, and customers. Sponsors and volunteers are also needed to make Lemonade Day a success. Austin Lemonade Day’s 2018 City Champion is Cole Alredge, vice president of AV Capital. The event is sponsored by HEB Grocery and a group of generous local Austin area families and individuals with additional support from Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers and a select group of graduate students at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business.
To find out more information or to register for Lemonade Day Austin visit: https://lemonadeday.org/austin and follow Lemonade Day Austin on social media at https://www.facebook.com/lemonadeday or @LemonadeDayATX.
The West Austin Chamber of Commerce represents West Austin business while supporting its local communities and leaders of tomorrow. For more information about upcoming events and membership visit www.westaustinchamber.org or call (512) 551-0390.
The Importance of Collaboration
Collaboration is an important skill. Nearly every job, creative or otherwise, requires you to work with others. Filmmaking is no different. In fact, collaboration is the key to effective filmmaking. Making a film requires many specific skills and trying to do all of them yourself can take away from the quality of the final product.
A Hollywood film production may have dozens, if not hundreds of people on its crew. On a indie film shoot with a smaller crew, every professional relationship is magnified tenfold. This is also true for young filmmakers who do not have all the resources a big studio does. Instead of a team of crew members they may only have a couple friends’ help at their disposal.
At Summer Film Camp, we want campers to make the best films possible. That’s why we teach them how to work together. We do this by explaining the different roles in a production and showing them how they can work collaboratively to heighten the quality of the final product. Each group is typically broken down into the following roles:
Writer: The writer is the one who takes all the ideas the group has come up with for their story and writes them down as a screenplay.
Director: The director controls a film’s artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of that vision.
Camera Operator: The camera operator is tasked with ensuring that the camera gets each shot just as he/she and the director have decided.
Sound Recordist: The sound recordist is the member of the crew responsible for recording all sound on set during production.
Editor: The editor is responsible for selecting and combining shots into sequences and ultimately creating a finished film.
If you want your young ones to learn how to work well with others and make a better film in the process, there is no better place to send them than Summer Film Camp. For more information and to register, please visit our website here.
3rd Annual Austin Kid’s Directory Fair
Austin Kid's Directory is hosting our 3rd Annual Spring Fair on March 17th from 10am-2pm. Come meet local businesses including: Mad Science, TLC Pediatric Dentistry, Rock Chiropractic, Austin's Capital Grannies, Wanna Play Playcare, Apple Blossom Center for Discovery, Harmony Public Schools, Skyhawks, SuperTots Sports Academy, Camp Einstein, Code Ninjas, Creative Brick Builders, Sonrisas Dental Center, Education First Exchange Student Program, Usborne Books and more who will be offering information about summer camps, birthday parties, schools, childcare, family activities, medical services and all things kid!
Bonzo Crunch, Baby Signs by Tina C., and Gymboree Play & Music, Art Beat Dance Center and Tiaras & Tea Parties will also be there to entertain the kids!
Admission and parking are FREE and there will be great prizes like a Catch Air - Anderson Mill Birthday Party Package for 8, tickets to Schlitterbahn New Braunfels and Playland Skate Center passes along with giveaways, freebies, hands-on activities, entertainers and more! Attendees can register to win by visiting all booths and turning in a completed entry form.
Great news! Our event is being held in conjunction with the huge Fairytale Threads Children's Consignment Event where you can shop for kids clothing, toys, books, baby equipment and more!
Hope to see you there!!
5 Ways to Make Your Home Safe for Your Child with Special Needs
Until you’ve had a child with special needs, you may not think about the potential hazards that could exist inside your home. The good news? With a few modifications, you can help ensure your child stays safe. Below, we highlight five ways to make your house suitable for a child with special needs.
1. Avoid hanging heavy objects on walls. If your child is prone to overexcitement, you may want to rethink what pictures or decorations you hang on your wall. Flailing arms and feet might knock items off the wall if it’s not screwed in, resulting in an injury to your child or someone else.
2. Bolt large items of furniture to the wall. For parents with children who like to climb, a dangerous situation awaits if large furniture like bookshelves and armoires aren’t bolted into the wall.
3. Move chairs away from railings. Stools or chairs situated near staircases could be a recipe for disaster. While it’s impossible to remove chairs from your home, you can place them away from dangerous heights.
4. Install locks on medicine cabinets. This could easily be a rule of thumb for any parents. Curious children may open a cabinet where medicine is stored and identify the pills or tablets as candy. Avoid the situation completely by making it impossible for children to do their own cabinet exploring.
5. Put dangerous items away immediately. Knives, blenders, cheese graters—anything that could cause potential harm to your child if they got their hands on it should be put back in its place as soon as you’re done using it. Since side conversations or telephone calls serve as constant distractions, it’s important to remove these items from your child’s reach before you forget to do so.
As any parent knows, keeping your children out of harm’s way is a nonstop responsibility. With these tips, however, we hope your job just got a little easier.
Beth Rubio is the Chief Clinical Officer for Atlanta-based Aveanna Healthcare, the largest pediatric home health care company in the country. Operating in 23 states, Aveanna is the parent company of Epic Health Services, which has three locations in Austin.
Back to School Decluttering
Keeping the kids and their stuff organized is a challenge for any family. They are constantly growing and their favorite toys, games, and characters seem to change monthly. We have to keep up with the clutter so it doesn’t take over! What do we do with it all? There are two main choices: Sell or Donate. We are going to go ahead a toss the crusty play-doh, the chocolate stained dress that will never be white with delicate blue flowers again. There are still lots of clothes, book, shoes and toys left.
Garage Sales:
Many people think of garage sales as the way to sell what they purge. You get to choose how organized you want to be. Leave it in boxes, hang all the clothes, pre price each item or quote prices as you go. Shoppers who drive around are looking for super low prices and the less organized you are, the lower your price expectations should be. You will need to set aside a sunny Saturday, make signs and negotiate prices in your front yard. Whatever is left can be boxed up for donation…. Just don’t let it back in the house.
Consignment:
Another option is consignment. Since kids can usually only wear clothes one season, there is a huge demand for kids’ clothes and toys through consignment. Consignment Stores usually give you prices by the box or a percentage increase if you accept payment in store credit. They set the price and because they have the overhead of store rent and employees, their price per box of clothes can seem low. Stores usually pay you about 25-30% of what they can sell it for. You don’t need to organize or price your items and once you’ve dropped off, you are done. No need to worry about the weather or hoping people come out to your front lawn. Because they have store fronts, you have many opportunities to drop off your items as you clean out your toy boxes and closets. You can always take the clothes they don’t accept straight to the donation drop.
Consignment Events give you more flexibility in selling if you have some time to prepare. Events allow you to inventory and price your items. Once you drop them off, events can offer them for sale to thousands of local families for 3-5 days and give you a chance to earn a higher percentage if you volunteer to help run the sale. Events usually give you between 60-75% of what your items sell for. You don’t have to worry about negotiations since everything is tagged and out for sale anonymously. If you are looking to fill the closets with clothes that fit your kids- shopping early is one great perk of being a consignor. You get to see everything that has been brought in before the event opens to the public. Most events will donate your unsold items or you can pick them up to transfer to the next event. You can even pick unsold items up and donate them for a tax credit- you already have your inventory list for the tax form.
Donation:
One of the easiest options is always donation. If you itemize on your tax return, you can keep track of your donations for a tax credit. Keep a list of the number and type of items and the second hand price for your tax forms. When you donate, you can take some steps to insure your donations really help your charity:
Tie shoes together- single shoes are trash at charity drop offs. Keeping them together makes all the difference and saves volunteer time.
Bag small toys- the Little People boat is so much more fun with the pirates! Grab a grocery bag for the small parts and tie it onto the main piece.
Keep like items together- while you shouldn’t keep clothes on the hangers (they get tangled and rip clothes), if you bag all of your girl clothes together, they are presorted for the charities.
Throw out the trash- charities spend so much money and donated time sorting through items that can be used again. Toss the skates missing a wheel or the toy that is cracked making it dangerous for little hands.
Recouping some of the money you’ve invested in your children’s outgrown clothes and toys is truly a motivator to roll up your sleeves and attack the clutter. A little organization as you go can make any one of these options easier and your home much easier to live in.
Are you ready to clear the clutter and get some cash back into your pocket? There is still time to sell at the Fairytale Threads Children’s Consignment Event (www.fairytalethreads.com) or come out and shop September 14, 15 & 16 at 1420 Toro Grande in Cedar Park.
