Author Archives: Claire

I want to get the word out about the Fisher House Foundation’s 2012 Scholarships for Military Children (College enrolled or College bound) and the February 24th deadline. If you or someone you know is interested in applying for this scholarship now is the time!

Military Kids Can Apply for Scholarships

By Elaine Sanchez
Feb. 2, 2012
SOURCE LINK

The deadline is swiftly approaching for the Fisher House Foundation’s 2012 Scholarships for Military Children Program, conducted at military commissariesworldwide.

Applications must be completed and delivered – not postmarked, but delivered – to a commissary by close of business Feb. 24, according to an agency release. People can pick up applications at their local commissary or download it from the scholarship program’s website.

A minimum of one $1,500 scholarship will be awarded at every commissary location where applications are received. The Defense Commissary Agency operates nearly 250 commissaries on military installations around the world, according to its website.

The program is open to currently enrolled or college-bound children of active duty, reserve or retired military commissary customers. Continue reading →

Defense Department Launches Website for Military Children

(National Center for Telehealth and Technology News Release)
JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash., Jan. 18, 2012 – The Defense Department launched a new website today for children experiencing the challenges of military deployments.

The highly interactive website, http://www.MilitaryKidsConnect.org, was created by psychologists at DOD’s National Center for Telehealth and Technology here. It helps children of deployed parents cope with the stress, changing responsibilities, and concern for the safety of their parents, officials said.

The center, known as T2, developed the website with informative videos, educational tools, and engaging games and activities for three age groups: 6 to 8, 9 to 12 and 13 to 17. The site features monitored online social network forums for the groups to safely share their experiences with deployments.

MilitaryKidsConnect.org is the first DOD website to connect children in the widely separated active, reserve, and National Guard military communities, officials said.

“Since 2001, an estimated 2 million children have said goodbye to a parent headed to deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, other places around the globe, and on ships at sea,” explained Kelly Blasko, a T2 psychologist. “Military children are deeply affected by the separation of their parent’s deployment. We’ve seen that in their hearts, kids deploy too.”

The website has features that will help children, parents, and educators navigate the wide range of practical and emotional challenges military families must live with throughout the deployment cycle, Blasko said. Continue reading →

Since we are not in the military any longer we are not directly affected by the changes happening. We are still, however, a military family via being Blue Star parents and we still have many friends who serve. I hear the same thing from many of my friends and family members — changes are coming (and some are here). Whether it’s reintegration changes from a war zone to home or reintegration changes from military to civilian life, it seems that change is afoot. With the declaration of the end of the war in Iraq, some troops staying in Kuwait, and the announced downsizing of the military, families are facing a lot of change.

How do you cope with change? These are not minor changes, but major life changes that can cause us to feel overwhelmed. What are your strategies? Below are a few I found that resonate with me personally. We have been through a lot of transitions ourselves between military and civilian life — it happened fast and insanely for us, but below are some of the attitudes we had that helped us through. Continue reading →

I used to send the Stars and Stripes Christmas messages when my son was in Iraq. It was a fun way to send a little extra love and some recognition while he was deployed and working lots of hours. Stars and Stripes is offering a Valentine’s Day message option too! Stop by today and send a message to your special deployed military member!

We are thrilled to offer you the opportunity to send your sweetheart stationed overseas a Valentine’s Day message and have it printed in the pages of Stars and Stripes.

Your message will appear online for loved ones to enjoy all over the world, and will also be published in the European, Pacific and Mideast editions of Stars and Stripes on February 14.

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Wherever your sweetheart is stationed or deployed, don’t miss the opportunity to share your love… Upload your message today!

CLICK HERE TO SEND YOUR MESSAGE

I know my heart melts when my daughter wants me to read her a story. When she was younger it was an every night event. When DBS was in still in the Army we even would sometimes be able to time it where he could call home in the evenings just in time for her bedtime story.

I found a great entry on SpouseBuzz about different apps that are available for a variety of of platforms. If you have an iPad, iPhone, Adroid, or computer (Mac or PC) you may be able to find an app that allows you to pre-record you reading a story to your child. Imagine how awesome it would be for your child to get to see and hear mom or dad’s voice reading a bedtime story even though he/she is deployed!

Reading is linked to literacy. If you read to your child then the love for reading will be passed on. What a precious way to bond, connect and pass on this vital love for learning!

Here’s an excerpt from the SpouseBzz post. Click on the link at the end of the excerpt to find out what application she is talking about — Continue reading →