by California Casualty | Educators |
What is it about Kindergarten teachers that make them such outstanding bloggers!?
Today we are profiling another magnificent Kindergarten blog: Mrs. Wills Kindergarten!
If you are looking for an elementary school blog with fantastic (and super creative!) resources, Mrs. Wills Kindergarten is a MUST SEE blog!
And the blogger behind the blog, Deedee Wills, is a rock star.
Not only is she a fun, interactive blogger, but she is also working on a web site that helps teachers find the right books for their teaching ideas, organizes web-based teacher book studies, and is constantly updating the blog with great book ideas and giveaways.
Phew!
Luckily, Mrs. Wills did manage to find a little time between all this multitasking to talk to us a little bit about her blog and her experience as a Kindergarten blogger!
Deedee, how would you describe your blog?
My blog is about the daily happenings in my kindergarten classroom. I share lesson ideas and hopefully inspire teachers to try new things in their classroom. I also can connect with teachers around the world. Blogging helps me be even MORE reflective in my teaching… as a result, my students win.
What do you aim to accomplish with ‘Mrs. Wills Kindergarten’?
To share and connect with other teachers, particularly primary teachers.
Is this your first blog?
Yes.
When did you launch it?
January 2011
Do you have any favorite or least favorite topics?
Favorite: student writing!!!! Least favorite: promotional items.
(I have to step in here and say that Mrs. Wills has a fantastic post about student writing that I just love. It’s about the class pet, Miss Theodora, and you can find it here!)
Tell us a little bit about your blog ‘community’…
My blogging community is awesome! There are so many bloggers that make me laugh out loud… goodness! In the world of teaching we often shut the door and work with little kiddos. We sometimes can work closely with teaching peers in our building, but everyone is busy. In the blogging world, everyone’s door is wide open. You can look inside of 15 classrooms in less than 5 minutes. It helps you gauge if you are on track with your instruction or if you need to kick it up a notch. You can see the possibilities. Anyone who says that teaching is no longer fun, needs to sit down and see how amazingly joyful it can be.
What has been your best experience as a blogger?
Last summer I led a blog book study on Math Work Stations. GOODNESS! I created Linky parties and asked other bloggers to help host various chapters. We had K-2 bloggers represented and it was amazing. We were able to share resources and see the vertical alignment of instructions. It was incredible! I am getting ready to do the same thing with a book based on writing instruction. We are VERY excited! You can read about last summer’s here: Math Work Stations Chapter 1 and 2 This summer’s here: In Pictures and in Words.
What have you learned from the blogging experience?
There is more than one way to bake a cake! There are many ways to inspire and teach children. When we share our perspectives, children win.
There is no such thing as a dumb question. I have had first year teachers email me and say, “This may seem like a silly question, but…” My feeling is that we were all new once and someone helped me. If I can help someone through my semi-random ramblings, I am happy to do it.
Any stories you’d like to share?
I had a teacher who was from Joplin, MO email me and tell me how low the teacher moral was (this was 8 months after the devastating tornado). She asked if I would donate an item I had made to give to these teachers. Of course… but then I thought… I can do better than THAT! I called out to the blogging community and they were AMAZING! You can read about this here: Love to Joplin.
So, Mrs. Wills, if you win the Battle of the Blogs, to which charity will you donate your $200 winnings? Why?
Donors Chose is a wonderful organization. I would love to be able to support another teacher by helping to fulfill their project.
Want to know more about Mrs. Wills Kindergarten? Check out her blog here! Already a fan? Vote for her in our Battle of the Blogs here!
by California Casualty | Nurses |
Have you ever had one of those experiences where something just keeps popping up in your life?
You meet someone with a peculiar name, and next thing you know you’re seeing it everywhere: the credits of movies, a book you’re reading, the nametag of your waitress. You hear a song you like and suddenly it’s on in the grocery store, running in the background of a TV ad, playing while you’re on hold.
Well, that’s what’s happening to me right now.
And it all started with this:
Yes, I am being stalked by chocolate beauty products.
That chocolate scented lotion is in the bathroom at work. It smells heavenly. I have quickly become a chocolate lotion addict.
So chocolate-themed beauty products were already on my mind.
Then CalCas announced that we were giving away a spa trip for nurses…
To the Hershey Hotel.
As in this Hershey:
Apparently, aside from providing nurses auto insurance, we also like to provide them with chocolate facials. Who knew!?
I had to get to the bottom of this chocolate products craze. And guys, it doesn’t stop at facials. Hershey’s offers chocolate sugar scrubs, cocoa massages, whipped cocoa bathes, chocolate fondue wrap, chocolate immersion!!!
So I had to know, what’s the deal? Does coating ourselves in chocolates do anything more than lead to wicked candy bar cravings? After extensive googling, here’s what I learned:
- Cocoa beans are high in antioxidant phenolic phytochemicals (say that three times fast…). Those anti-oxidant properties prevent damage to skin’s elastin and collagen. In other words, it could help smoothen out/prevent wrinkles. (One study even shows that chocolate can contain more antioxidants per cup than red wine or green tea!)
- Chocolate contains Shea butter. Shea butter! Now there’s something I recognize. Shea butter is a fairly common moisturizer and skin softener. It can do wonders for dry skin
- The cocoa butter in chocolate also serves as a natural skin softener as well as conditioner
- The caffeine in chocolate can stimulate circulation and give your skin a healthy glow
- That great chocolate smell causes the brain to release serotonin. That’s the same hormone that promotes happy feelings (like falling in love) and reduces stress
So, I was pretty sold on this whole chocolate shtick. (Honestly, it didn’t take tooo much convincing.) And then today, I had to get my oil changed. I’m flipping through a magazine and what do I see?!?
This ad:
It’s a crazy, chocolate world out there, kids.
[And hey, if you’re a nurse and you wanna give this whole chocolate thing a try (and take three people with you!) enter to win the Hershey Spa Giveaway from California Casualty by clicking here!]
Chocolate fact sources:
- https://www.livestrong.com/article/164163-chocolate-spa-treatment/
- https://www.sharonpalmer.com/blog_details.php?article_id=104
- https://www.herbcompanion.com/body-care/body-soul-chocolate-spa-treatments.aspx
by California Casualty | Firefighters |
Springtime is a beautiful time of year – but it also begins the lead up to several dangerous weather related seasons. One such dangerous season is fire season, which runs from summer to fall, and is especially threatening to our western states.
The best time to prepare for fire season is before it starts – so here are some tips to help you stay safe during fire season.
If you live in an area that could be threatened by wildfires, you should make sure you have at safety zone of at least 30 feet around your home, and as much as 100 feet if you live in a pine forest. Are your plants fire-resistant? If not, you might consider replacing them with hardwoods. Regularly clean up fallen leaves, pine needles and other plant debris, especially from underneath structures, and trim away tree branches that could touch your roof or are at least 15 feet from a stovepipe. If any tree branches on your property touch power lines, contact your power company to come have them trimmed.
You can make your own disaster preparedness kit, and store items in an easily transportable container, such as a camper’s backpack or a duffel bag. Your kit should have a first-aid kit, some canned food and an opener, a battery powered radio and flashlight with plenty of extra batteries. You should also have a supply of drinking water; experts recommend about three gallons per person. You might also consider stashing away a small amount of cash in your disaster kit. Some weather resistant clothing – such as ponchos and rain boots – may also come in handy. Include copies of all your most important documentation in the disaster kit, such as insurance policies, wills, birth and marriage certificates, credit card and banking information, titles and deeds to your property. Place these items in waterproof bags in the kit, or in a fireproof safe, if you have one. As a double precaution, send copies of your important documentation to a relative or friend who lives in another state or region.
If you haven’t prepared a household inventory, it is also advisable to do this, and you can do it either with a video camera, a Polaroid or digital camera or by taking notes. Include copies of the tapes or notes in your water- or fire-proof safe havens.
by California Casualty | Homeowners Insurance Info |
This has been a difficult spring in terms of natural disasters – from devastating tornadoes to a large number of hail storms. Currently, we’re watching towns in the south being submerged under water, and rivers in flood stages that haven’t been seen in recent history.
Our hearts go out these families, and you can rest assured that we are doing everything we can to help our customers who have been affected by all of these disasters. For many, seeing the flooding (and with hurricane season bearing down on us) begs the question – “Am I covered if this happens to me?” This press release just came across my desk, and hopefully it will answer some of those questions.
CHICAGO—With hurricane season starting on June 1st, the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) urges homeowners, business owners and renters who do not currently have flood insurance to buy it right away.
“Many insurance consumers do not realize that their standard homeowners policy does not cover flooding, and that flood insurance must be purchased separately,” said Don Griffin, PCI’s vice president, personal lines. “Flood insurance is sold through agents who sell policies on behalf of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). If you have only a standard homeowners policy and suffer flooding from a hurricane, the flood damage will not be covered under that policy, so it is crucial to have flood insurance. Because NFIP policies don’t take effect for 30 days, the sooner people can buy flood insurance, the better.”
While having flood insurance in place is important in coastal areas, recent heavy rains have brought flooding to much of the nation’s heartland as well. Unfortunately, according to the NFIP, more than 50 percent of properties in high-risk areas remain unprotected by flood insurance, and in the northeast and Midwest, coverage rates are significantly lower. Even in coastal areas that live under constant threat of hurricanes or tropical storms, many homeowners or renters do not have this crucial coverage.
According to the NFIP, floods are the number-one natural disaster in the United States, and 75 percent of all federally declared disasters over the past five years have involved flooding. There is a 26 percent chance that a home will suffer flooding over the course of a 30-year mortgage, and U.S. flood losses have averaged $2.4 billion per year over the last decade.
“In any part of the country where flooding is a possibility, property owners and renters should absolutely make sure to protect themselves and their belongings by purchasing flood insurance,” Griffin said.
Individuals who currently have homeowners or renters insurance should talk to their agents to see if their insurers sell flood policies. They can also locate agents who sell flood policies through the agent locator on the NFIP website.
by California Casualty | News |
One thing I love about working here is that I hear a story about how someone made a customer’s experience wonderful on a nearly daily basis. The folks here at CalCas take a great deal of pride in the care they give customers, and it shows when we receive letters like this, from Joseph and Hilary in Oregon (edited a bit to remove some personal information).
Fred –
My wife and I have been with California Casualty for many years and have always enjoyed your competitive rates. Not until recently have we had to deal with your claims department and to be honest hopefully we don’t have to again for some time as being in an accident is not fun.
However it is important that you know how AMAZING our experience was with the claims department. We had a bad accident which caused a tremendous amount of stress in our lives. It was quickly determined that we had a total loss and Richard took over our claim. He quickly reached out to us to informed us of how the process would work.
Richard kept the communication lines very open and we felt that we were truly appreciated as customers throughout the entire process. We felt that Richard went out of his way to show us that he and your company cared about helping us move past this unfortunate situation. Here are a couple of the things that really stuck out from our interaction with him however there were many other moments that he exceeded our expectations with his service……
-Our claim was on his desk to be processed on the 31st of January. We had a new car in mind that we were getting at a discount but must be purchased that day due to end of the month push. I informed Richard of this the morning of the 31st and asked how much our settlement would be for so that we could determine if this was the right choice for us. He moved us to the top of the pile and got the info back to me within about 3 hours. This allowed us to save a good amount on our new car purchase.
-Richard made the process of getting the funds released quickly very easy on us. He gave simple instructions of what he needed from us and informed us where we were at along the way and we now have the settlement check (much faster than anticipated I should add).
-I am not sure how much say Richard has but we were also very happy with the settlement amount and Richard’s explanation of how it was determined. This prevented in arguing back and forth about what we were entitled to.
Again there was more but we don’t want to go on too long. I know from our interactions that Richard is a great asset to your team and brings a real value to being a California Casualty client!
Richard told us in an email that he still holds onto “the belief that you pay premiums for coverage AND service”. Before this accident my wife and I didn’t believe this. We do now!!!!!
If we can give any other feedback on our service from your claims department (specifically Richard) please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
Sincerely,
Two EXTREMELY satisfied clients
