A Generic “Playground Aide”? I Don't Think So!

Everyone is justifiably applauding teachers this week. Most go above and beyond the pittance they're paid, dedicating their personal time and often dipping into they own budgets to provide what schools will not or cannot. Similarly, classroom aides work hard to assist their students and mentors in making sure kids are happy and learning. 

One rank of the school system everyone overlooks is me: the playground aide. Low on the educational food chain, my peers and I come in for an hour or two every day to supervise recess, allowing teachers and classroom aides to have their well-deserved lunch. NEVER acknowledged, most of us aren't even known by name. Most kids refer to us as “the aide” if they're talking to someone about us, as if we are generic.

So what does a playground aide do?

Playground aides are important in keeping kids safe!

First and foremost, we protect your children from:

1. Outsiders who may be innocently walking their dogs,joggers working out, and/or predators who “wander” onto the playground during outdoor recess.
   
   
2. Themselves as they run after balls, stand under basketball backstops, and unintentionally chase each other into the woods or into parking lots. 
   
   
3. Parents who think they can just come on over to recess to say “hi” to their kids forgetting that the kids are the school's responsibility during the day. These parents mean no harm, of course, but recess is an important part of a child's school experience. It's important that parents not interfere with their kids' social opportunities. 
   
   
4. Each other as we referee squabbles and are on the constant look-out for bullying. 
   
   
   
   
    
   
   

We get to know your kids as individuals and in groups. We see who they hang with, how those groups interact, and who is most likely to be left out (it can vary from day to day).  We also talk with kids when they are alone, ascertaining whether the kid WANTS to be by him/herself or someone has excluded them (exclusions are addressed quickly). Arguments are taken seriously and talked about with the parties shaking hands or with an understanding nod; if a disagreement cannot be resolved, I send both kids to the school counselor for further consideration. Name calling and bullying are NEVER tolerated. 

My co-workers and I try our best to protect kids against injuries, but, unfortunately, they do happen. Kids carelessly bump heads, basketball players fall in the heat of the game, little ones trip over curbs and fall down walkways when the sun gets in their eyes. My peers and I wipe tears as we guide children to the nurse. Truth be told, WE get injuries too; I'm reminded of this as I look at the scratches I got yesterday trying to rescue a ball from the rosebushes. I'd rather get wounded getting a ball than have a kid get hurt (worst case scenario: the ball stays in the patch of poison ivy). 

While some aides look for reasons to blow their whistles at the kids, I take the motherly approach to being a playground aide: I look for and praise the good in children. Helpers are rewarded with praise, cooperation is copiously thanked, smiles are free and easy. A handful of children take the time to ask my name, wonder if I'm a mom, and tell me about their day. With one eye on the others, I beam at these kids: they make my heart sing! If I see these kids with their parents around town, I take the time to introduce myself to their parents and tell them how incredible their children are. 

So why take on such a humble, low-paying, often thankless job? Because it allows me to contribute to the family financially while still being at home for my younger daughter. I'm on her schedule, never far away and even if she's sick, I'm only away from her for an hour or two. My humble little salary helps pay for snacks, contributes to fundraisers, and allows us to splurge on the occasional ice cream cone. Plus, I LOVE being around kids, even for an hour or two until my own come home. 

Yes, to most of the kids, I am an nonspecific “aide,” or babysitter. To many of the parents, I'm usually a peon who “forgot to remind Jimmy to put on his jacket” (truth is, I reminded Jimmy several times, but I'm not wrestling your little darling into his overcoat on a 75 degree day). To the school administration, I'm a required-by-law body who allows the teachers to get some rest. But to a special handful of children, I'm a friend at recess when their peers abandon them, a protector, and there when they need someone to talk to. And those kids, who know my name, know I'm not generic at all. 

Thanks for reading!!!

6 Ways You CAN Look Good When You've Got A Cold

I came down to breakfast this morning and my husband gasped in horror. “Your nose – it's bright red and bulbous,” he exclaimed. Yeah, love you, too, you moron. I knew I looked terrible. I felt terrible and had cringed when I looked in the mirror this morning, but I just cannot shake this cold. Still, I have a job interview today and need to look decent. 

It's easier than you think to look good when you've got a cold!

So, after doing a little research and a bit of experimenting, here are 6 ways I found to not only look human, but good, when you have a cold:

• Combat puffy eyes with caffeinated tea bags. I look like I've been in a boxing ring, so I took two cold, wet teabags, placed them over my eyes, and laid down for about 15 minutes. The caffeine constricted the blood vessels and, combined with the coldness of the bags, reduced the puffiness. 
  
  
  
  
• Use lubricating eye drops to cool your eyes, reduce redness, and get rid of that bloodshot look. Just plain eye drops – not antihistamines.  These felt WONDERFUL, too!
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  My nose looked so bad that some kid starting singing "Rudolph The Red-Nosed-Reindeer" when he saw me in the grocery store this morning.  :((

  
  
  
  
  
  
• Play up your eyes. Make eyes look brighter by lining the inner corner of your eyes with white eye shadow or liner and use neutral shadows to play up your eyes. My goal was to take the viewer's attention off my Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer nose and emphasize my eyes. I used not only the white shadow and neutral tones (staying AWAY from anything remotely pink), but took out the eyelash curler to make my lashes look bigger. 
  
  
  
  
• Use concealer on your nose. Sure, this is obvious. The harder part was really blending it in so that it covered the crimson but didn't look caked on. I also used a cream makeup, rather than powder which actually drew attention to my proboscis.  
  
  
  
  
• Ditch the blush and opt for a bronzer. Blush only reinforced any redness on my face whereas bronzer gave me a bit of a glow so I looked healthier than I felt. 
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  Looking good helps me feel a tad better when I have a cold.

  
  
  
  
  
  
• Use lip gloss rather than  a colored lipstick. My lips were chapped as a result of my cold, so I used lip gloss to hydrate them and by not calling attention to my lips, the emphasis was, again, on my eyes. 
  
  

Lastly, I stuck a bottle of water in my purse because it's especially important to stay hydrated when you're sick. I'm glad I did, because the woman interviewing me was 20 minutes late and the waiting area was painfully dry. 

Outside of the tea bags, none of the above took more than a few minutes and they were easy to do.

I looked good on the interview and nailed it. Rather than being fixated on my nose, the hiring manager kept looking me in the eyes. And even though I realize I don't want this particular job, I learned that just because I'm sick doesn't mean I can't look attractive.

I really believe in the whole "fake it till you make it" mantra where you fake looking better in the hopes that it will make you feel better.  In this case, it worked because looking better helped me feel more confident during the interview.  

Give these tips a shot and tell me how they worked for you!  Thanks for visiting!

A source for this article was www.rd.com,. 

Returning To The Workforce – Scary, Daunting, But Do-Able

 
Staying at home with the kids is a choice that many of us make. It involves sacrifice and is more than a little aggravating sometimes, but for those who choose it, we feel it's worth it for the kids. The scarey part of giving up your career, of course, is trying to get it or some semblance of it back. Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a seminar given by Lauren Markon of Career Connections (www.careerconnectnj.com). Ms. Markon is an expert in helping people become workforce ready. Here's what I learned from her and from attending that seminar.


We began with attendees going around the room and explaining what we'd done “in our former lives.” Previous occupations included a teacher, lawyer, nurse, college administrator, and yours truly, a humble marketing professional-turned writer. We realized that there are many barriers to returning to paid employment including:

• fear (of failure or, even, success)
  
• insecurity
  
• lack of focus
  
• lack of money for childcare
  
• age
  
• gaps on one's resume
  
• mental health issues, including depression and anxiety
  

There's also the fact that some of us just don't know what we want to do or are dismayed by the lack of options out there (i.e. an abundance of clerical jobs we're overqualified for or the sad fact that those of us with experience may be relegated to salaries lower than people who have just graduated college). Tackling those issues is critical before one can even think of re-entering the workforce. It may be as simple as building up your confidence or even a bit more difficult, as in getting some short-term therapy for mental health issues.


Once some of the issues are behind, it's time to get ready to jump back in. Identify your resources like workshops, professional associations, etc .and get any training you may be lacking in the form of classes, whether in-person or online. One website that I didn't know about is the one for the Goodwill Community Foundation (http://www.gcflearnfree.org) which offers free lessons in dozens of topics including technology, social media, computers, job development, and more.


Markon's website, as well, has oodles of really useful information that any job-seeker will relish. Begin networking with other people and don't be shy about letting your social circles know that you're looking for employment. Oh, and moms: lest we think we cannot network, we do it all on the time on the blacktop and while waiting for our kids who are in classes. How often are we just standing around chatting and sharing info about our kids, teachers, staff, etc.? It's time to share with those same people information about your job search and let them know you're looking for work.


Get your resume together and don't forget that volunteer experience counts and can fill the gap caused by staying at home with the kids. Make sure you have a cover letter you're comfortable with (again, resources to help you are at www.careerconnectnj.com) Let people you trust critique your resume and then get set up on Linked-In. If you aren't fluent in Linked-In, there are many books you can borrow from the library that will get you up to snuff.


Make sure you have the proper clothes to wear while interviewing. A novel idea that came out of the seminar was having business cards printed up showing your name and contact data on the front and bullets from your resume on the back that you can give out when you meet a person who can help you.
And don't forget to rehearse your interviewing skills, preferably with a professional who can give you helpful advice on how to land a job. Then, with your confidence up and the tools you need at the ready, start looking for a job.


While you're looking, volunteering for a position you might be interested can help with visibility and training. Years ago I found a great opportunity via the site: http://www.volunteermatch.org which helped me apply for a position that allowed me to learn and offered an enormous e amount of flexibility.


Re- entering the job market is difficult, but not impossible. With preparation, patience and dedication, you can find a job that will make you happy.