How Literacy Influences Us

How many times did you stop to read something today—a text message, directions to a lunch meeting, instructions to prepare breakfast, a street sign, a pamphlet? Literacy affects every single person in the world. Being able to read is a huge source of empowerment that lots of Americans take for granted daily. Imagine how many things you would be discouraged from doing if reading was a barrier. Would you be able to perform your job? Often, reading and answering emails and invoices, processing documents, and even interpreting phone messages are daily tasks that would be impossible.

Aside from work and household functions, simply understanding what is happening in the world would have to come from auditory sources. Social media outlets, newspapers, magazines, and other print would be completely inaccessible. The effect can be ostracizing and result in feelings of loneliness.

This cycle of empowerment starts as young as grade school. Unfortunately, one in four children grows up without learning how to read. Inability to read by the end of third grade means quadruple the chance of a kid dropping out of school, while inability to read by the end of age four drastically increases the chances of ending up on welfare or even in jail. The correlation is so strong that prison systems have been known to use primary school data as a predictor for necessary resource allocation in the future.

Countries with low rates of literacy typically also have lower life expectancy, less social inclusion, and higher poverty levels, whereas countries with high literacy rates show the opposite trends. In general, being able to read is positively correlated with social support and a sense of community. Regardless of the United States’ ninety nine percent literacy level, there is incentive to decrease illiteracy even further. Unemployment, poverty, and welfare assistance are still significant issues that affect not only individuals, but the entire country.

By starting early and being preventative toward illiteracy, these phenomena can gradually decrease and ultimately disappear. Encouraging kids to read whatever they are interested in is a great place to start. Taking children to the library, asking them about what they are reading, and being engaged about literacy will go far when it comes to fostering a love of reading. Ideally, children will be able to converse about their reading material and start to foster the related social connections that become so important. Well connected, literate kids are happier, healthier kids.

Check out the full infographic from Books A Million for more information.

How to Be a Good Receptionist

How to Be a Good Receptionist

When you are a receptionist, you are often the first person that someone meets in connection with the business you work for – you are the first impression of your company.  That can put a bit of pressure on you and make the job seem intimidating.  But if you are trained and prepared for the role, then you can be a good receptionist and make that winning first impression.

Skills for the job

If you are considering a career as a receptionist, then it definitely pays to get some professional receptionist training both to learn the basics of the job and to have a qualification behind you to enhance your CV.  There are lots of good courses available around the country that can help with the soft skills, customer services, telephone skills and even assertiveness that you will need in the role.

But what skills do you need to be a successful receptionist?

Technology skills

For starters, you need to have a good mastery of the tools of the trade – often phone systems, computers and other office equipment.  While you may encounter specialist systems within a business, if you have good basic skills then it will be easier to adapt them to the bespoke system the company is using.  Areas such as the use of spreadsheet and word processing software, email systems and being fluent on the internet will all help with the daily role.

Organizational abilities

There’s no doubt that you need to be a natural organizer to take on this kind of role because you are effectively organizing the whole company.  You guide people to the right people within the business, either in person or on the phone.  You handle queries and questions, help find information for customers and other businesses and handle correspondence both electronic and physical.  This all takes high-quality organizational abilities.

Great listening skills

Sometimes we aren’t natural listeners, only hearing part of what is being said because we are focused elsewhere.  But as a receptionist, your listening skills need to be top notch.  You might be handling a number of phone calls at one time as well as people visiting the business.  You need to listen to what they are telling you and act on it, while not being distracted by everything else that is going on.

Personable approach

There’s a certain expectation that the first person you meet in the business will be friendly, personable and able to help you – as the receptionist, that is often your role.  Therefore, you need to cultivate this personable approach, being upbeat and having a smile on your face even if you are grimacing internally.  Asking if you can help before someone tells you what they need, greeting them on entry, all of these little touches can make a person feel welcome and therefore impress them.

Laser focus

Despite being required to do multiple things at once, you also need to have a laser focus on your jobs as a receptionist.  People might think you are just there to chat for a bit while they wait for their appointment or want to have a little banter with you while they wait to be transferred.  Be polite but be focused and don’t allow others to distract you from what you need to do.  Just let them know you are there if they need you and carry on with the next person.

Conclusion

The receptionist is a crucial role for many types of business and is always in demand.  With the right training and honing your natural abilities, you can be one of the people who makes that instant winning impression on someone when they reach your company.

Planning for a Budget-Friendly Family Christmas

When you have a family, Christmas can be either the most enjoyable part of the year or the most stressful. We want to cherish the time with our kids, but what with buying gifts, organizing childcare over the holidays and stocking the pantry, stressing over money can easily get in the way of the fun.

If you have a big family, you’ll soon learn the importance of planning for the festive season. Not only will staying organized keep your stress levels to a minimum, but it will also help you save money, too. Here are some top tips for a budget-friendly family Christmas.

Start Early

It’s never too early to start planning for Christmas. If you’re guilty of leaving it to the last minute, set yourself a goal next year of saving just a little money every month. It’s always smart to hit the January sales, too. Wrapping paper, cards and gift items are usually reduced at the start of the year, so get stocked up.

The sooner you start, the more money you will save. That said, you could start right now and still have time to prepare, just check out this last minute checklist. You may not have a lot of money to spend, but if you can buy gifts and food items you can freeze, you won’t have so much to do come December. Make yourself a checklist and see if there’s anything you can tick off this month.

Buy Useful Gifts for Your Kids

Instead of filling your kids’ stockings with plastic junk they’ll be bored with by January, buy things they actually need. For babies who don’t understand about gifts yet, you can stock up on clothing and other essentials so they will have something to open. For preschoolers and above, puzzles and games are great gift ideas because they’re both fun and educational, plus, you can do them together as a family. For example, this foam floor puzzle is excellent value for money, and your young kids will love the eye-catching underwater design.

Limit Gifts for Friends and Family

If the purse strings are tight, settle on just one special gift per person rather than multiple items that the recipient might not want. It doesn’t have to be expensive either, as you can find gifts for under $30 online to suit every taste. If you can’t afford to buy gifts for friends and family because you’re focusing on your kids, then be honest about it – your loved-ones will understand.

Don’t Pretend It’s Not Happening

When you know Christmas is just around the corner, it’s tempting to shy away from it until the last possible minute – out of sight, out of mind, right? This mindset isn’t helpful, however, and it only makes the necessary planning and shopping more stressful as the day approaches.

Avoid those Christmas queues and get started now. Come Christmas Eve, and instead of doing a mad dash around the shops, you could be relaxing with a drink in hand, once the kids are in bed of course!

10 Fun Halloween Traditions and Greening Your Halloween

Please enjoy my article about 10 Halloween Traditions you'll want to try with your own kids, followed by the link to Greening Your Halloween! 

Don’t you just love Halloween?! It’s exciting (dressing up and sugar!) and scary (trick-or-treating in the dark!) … and a little bit gross (pumpkin goo!). My parents started Halloween traditions with me, and my mom still calls every year to make sure we know when the Charlie Brown Halloween show is on. Like me, I’m sure you enjoy discovering new traditions with your own kids, like “booing” and going to a Trunk or Treat. Read on for 10 Halloween tradition ideas, and don’t forget to take lots of spooky pictures!

Trunk or Treat 2012

The Heart of the Home: Creating the Kitchen of Your Dreams

The kitchen is the heart of the home, and with it being such a well-used room it’s no wonder there’s so much emphasis placed on it from a home decor point of view. Whether you want to make your life more functional or you want to boost the value of your home for when you sell it either now or later down the line, renovating the kitchen is a smart move. Here are some of the ways you can update the space.

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Clear Out The Old and Decide on the Layout

First things first is to clear out the old to make way for the new. Turn off the plumbing and electrics and remove all of the old appliances, units, and worktops. Now is the time to decide on the layout too, if you want to go open plan or make the space larger it’s a case of removing or moving walls around. You could go with fully open plan, or perhaps an archway if the wall you want to remove is load-bearing and therefore difficult/ expensive to move.