COLLEGE OF APPLIED ARTS

Did you know that the Church is looking for help from its members to meet its worldwide media needs?  They are looking for people who have talent in taking photographs, making videos or creating other types of media.  They are compiling an online library of these resources that will be available for members to use for lessons, family home evenings, and on noncommercial blogs and websites.  And you can get involved by submitting photos and videos!  Visit create.lds.org to find out more about this great opportunity!  There are lists of current needs in photographs and videos, and the requirements for submitting.

There is also a page that gives you tips and tricks on how to take better photographs.  This is a great opportunity to learn how to take better photographs, and to take some pictures that can be used by members all over the world someday.  And you could get a credit or two in the College of Applied Arts.

COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES - Visit A Museum For Free!

Do you ever think "I'd like to go to that museum, but I wish I didn't have to pay."... Here's your chance. Many museums are offering free admission on Sept 24th all over the USA... if you are interested in museums in Missouri, check out this link.   Or if you would like a list of the museums in Kansas who are participating, click here.  This is a great opportunity to learn something new, and earn a credit in the College of Social Sciences.

LIVING ESSENTIALS

BYUtv has a wonderful, educational program called Living Essentials.  There are 102 different episodes providing information on all sorts of issues that we face.  Here is just a small sampling:

• Using Your Food Storage
• Home Energy Conservation
• Budgeting
• Super Mom Syndrome
• Keeping a Family Health History
• Teaching Children a Proper Perspective on Human Sexuality
• Credit Reports
• Communicating With Teenagers
• Cancer Screening
• Autism
• Surviving Widowhood
• Identity Theft
• Disaster Survival
• Death, Estates and Wills
• Planning for Retirement
• Menopause
• Domestic Abuse
• Canning
• Education

And the list goes on and on . . .

Each episode is about 25 to 30 minutes long.  They are very informative and give great resources.  If you would like to find out more, click here and you can see all of the episodes and watch them from your computer.  You will  be continuing to expand your knowledge and skills, and you will be earning credits in the applicable College!

BYUtv also has released some very cool mobile apps so that you can also access all of their wonderful programming from your mobile device, so check those out!

COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES - Preparing For a Disaster

 From the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, to the flooding on the Mississippi, to the unbelievable amount of tornadoes already, including one of the largest and most deadly hitting just 2 hours south of us in Joplin, 2011 has been a reminder that disaster can strike anywhere and at any time.  Now is the time to prepare!  Below is a list of some of the things you can do to prepare for times of disaster:

*Put together a 72 hour kit for your family.  You can choose to have one large kit, or an individual kit for    each family member.  Make sure you have a 3 day supply of water and food, and any other necessary medication and first aid supplies.  You may also want to keep a simple kit in your car as well.  You can find more information here about disaster kits.  FEMA has a comprehensive checklist here.  You may also want to include books or activities for children to help them stay calm.

*Have mock emergency drills with your family.  Make sure your children know what to do in an emergency.  FEMA has a great website for kids here.   Practice using your kits.  Rotate the food, supplies and clothing according to season.  Some do this every six months at General Conference time.  Also, it is a good idea to have a family communications plan in case you are separated or not together when a disaster strikes.  You can find one at:  http://home.fema.gov/pdf/areyouready/appendix_c.pdf

*Organize a neighborhood disaster plan.  Decide with your neighbors what you will do on your street should a disaster strike.  For instance, if you have elderly or disabled neighbors, who will help them, etc. You can get more information on how to be involved in your community here.

*Prepare a home inventory, including video or pictures of your belongings in your home, and a copy of receipts for big ticket items, showing the price you paid and any serial numbers.  Then keep it in a safe place like a safe, a safety deposit box, or an offsite location.

*Learn what kind of disasters our area is prone to.  For us, it is mostly severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in the spring and summer, and severe winter weather in the winter.  Learn what all the watches and warnings stand for.  Purchase a Weather Radio and set it for our area.  This will give you alerts whenever a watch or warning is issued.  Click here for more information.

*Make sure you have an adequate food and water storage.  Some disasters could cause a disruption in the food supply chain, and make it difficult to get food for a period of time.  Buy a little food storage each week to build up your supply.  Below are some sites with more information about food and water storage:
From the Church:  http://www.providentliving.org/channel/0,11677,1706-1,00.html
From FEMA:  http://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/f&web.pdf
Another site with great ideas:  http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/

*Make sure that you are financially prepared for an emergency.  Get out of debt and stay out of debt.  Have some money put aside in savings.  Also, keep some cash in your emergency disaster kits.  The church has a great resource called "One For the Money" that you can get here.

*FEMA has a very comprehensive guide to preparedness that you can download at:
http://home.fema.gov/pdf/areyouready/areyouready_full.pdf

*Prepare Spiritually!  Being prepared spiritually can be one of the best things we can do.  It will help us to have an eternal perspective during any time of crisis.

Preparing now will give you some peace of mind, and help you be able to cope in a disaster or emergency.  It will also help you earn credits in the College of Social Sciences.

COLLEGE OF THEOLOGY - General Conference Activities for Kids

The College of Theology invites you to enjoy General Conference April 2 and 3, and has some ideas that will help you if you will be watching with young children.  These activities will help them to stay busy while keeping their focus on Conference so that you can have a little better focus too.

The Church has some activities that you can print out for children to participate in.  There is a wonderful Conference Notebook that has a place for older children to write down what each of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve speaks about.

For younger children, there are printable Conference Squares pages that they can color and use to play bingo.  Or print some Coloring Activity pages.  There is a Conference Word Tally Sheet where they can keep track of how many times a subject is spoken on.

Other activities:
You can download and print color Conference Bingo Cards. 
A General Conference Packet that has some great activities and games.

So help your kids to enjoy Conference, which will help you to be able to enjoy Conference, and which will also help you earn a credit in the College of Theology!

COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES - Keeping Personal and Family Histories

“We may think there is little of interest or importance in what we personally say or do—but it is remarkable how many of our families, as we pass on down the line, are interested in all that we do and all that we say. Each of us is important to those who are near and dear to us—and as our posterity read of our life’s experiences, they, too, will come to know and love us. And in that glorious day when our families are together in the eternities, we will already be acquainted.”   (President Spencer W. Kimball in Conference Report, Oct. 1979, 5; or Ensign, Nov. 1979, 5)

Keeping personal and family histories is not only something we should be doing, but it is also FUN!  There are so many creative ways you can preserve your memories.  If you missed our last meeting, you can download a list of ideas here.  

If you would like to learn how to preserve all types of digital media, click here.  

And if you would like to start your Life History, or someone else's, you can download a copy of the "One Hour Life History" here. 

With all these great ideas, before you know it, you will have memories for you and your family to look back on, and credits earned in the College of Social Sciences.

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS - Learn to Prepare Your Taxes

The professor of the College of Business and Economics, Melanie Shashindranath, is offering to teach you how to prepare your own taxes.  If you would like to learn how to do this, or have any questions about how to do it, she is here to help you.  Just email her here to make an appointment to meet with her.  And remember, April 15 is just around the corner.  So learn how to prepare your taxes, get them done, and earn a credit in the College of Business and Economics.

COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS - Piano Improvement Program

The Piano Guy

If you’ve ever wanted to learn to play the piano better, but have been intimidated by the prospect, you’re in luck! BYUtv has invited Scott Houston, the self-proclaimed Piano Guy, to join you every weekday for a quick lesson. He’ll give you tips to take your piano playing to the next level and introduce you to musical guests who will reveal stories and tricks behind some famous songs.  So tune in Weekdays at 4pm on BYUtv, channel 9402 on Dish Network and channel 374.  Learn to play better and earn a credit from the College of Fine Arts. 

COLLEGE OF HOME ECONOMICS - Food Storage Help

-Are you afraid your family would starve if they had to actually live off your food storage?

-Would you like to save money, eat healthier, cook faster, and never run out of anything?

-Do you want to stop feeling guilty and start being prepared for the future?

If you answered YES to any of these questions you can visit the Everyday Food Storage Web Site  and check out Crystal's FREE 10 day challenge!  Each day she will email you secrets for learning how to use food storage in easy to bite off portions.  You’ll learn more about her philosophy of using food storage every day, short and long term food storage, and how to cook with the basics- powdered milk, powdered eggs, whole wheat, beans, and dehydrated fruits and vegetables.  There will be awesome recipes, great tips, and best of all, she'll get you using your food storage in your own recipes in 10 days or less!  And you can earn a credit in the College of Home Economics!!!