Articles written by Debbie DeSpirt

Comparison between the benefits of the dishwasher vs handwashing dishes. Pros and cons of each method of cleaning dishes and outlines the cost.

Mar 12, 2011 - Debbie DeSpirt

How to make homemade sports or sugary drinks to cut down the family grocery bill.

Mar 6, 2011 - Debbie DeSpirt

Incandescent or compact fluorescent light bulb have advantages and disadvantages but only one has the best savings for the family budget.

Feb 7, 2011 - Debbie DeSpirt

Making beads from old magazines is a cheap alternative for making jewellery. Simple and easy instructions to make homemade beads in a variety of colours.

Jan 29, 2011 - Debbie DeSpirt

Create a felt board with felt pieces to create hundreds of stories. Felt boards allow the child to imagine endless story ideas.

Dec 30, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Making foam board puzzles are a fun activity for the family. The activity allows families to spend time together creating and solving the different puzzles.

Dec 29, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Digital picture management tips to organize the countless images on a computer hard drive.

Dec 28, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Preparing tweens to be safe when at home alone. Open dialogue is key for the tween to feel and be safe at home without parents.

Dec 27, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Programmable thermostat, insulating windows and doors, and furnace maintenance are good options to reduce energy costs in the home.

Dec 20, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Discount dinner coupons, meal selection, and restaurant specials can save money for families dining experience.

Nov 20, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Transportation alternatives for the one car family. With high gas prices, more families are opting to forgo the second car for more affordable options.

Nov 20, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Simple ideas to write and mail Christmas cards to loved ones this holiday season. Make writing holiday cards a family activity.

Nov 8, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Cell phones seem to the be the new rite of passage for tweens. The pros and cons of cell phones for kids.

Nov 8, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Make one-of-a-kind Christmas cards to send to family during the holiday season. Personalize holiday greeting cards with creativity and a little paint.

Oct 23, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Writing a letter or email is a great activity for families to commence the Christmas season. Check out Santa's addresses from around the world.

Sep 26, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Make delicious homemade fudge with kids by using this simple and easy fudge recipe.

Sep 13, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Keep the family budget intact during the holiday season by planning the amount of money to be spent on gifts for family and friends.

Sep 4, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Photograph puzzle is a wonderful activity for parents and children to do together. They are able to spend time creating and solving jigsaw puzzles.

Aug 31, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

TFSA is a tax free savings account for Canadians similar to the RRSP plan for retirement and the RESP plan for education.

Aug 30, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Families can save money in the food budget by packing healthy lunches for kids during the school year.

Jul 31, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

RRSP is a tax-sheltered savings account for Canadians. Contributions to the account will provide tax incentives today and tomorrow.

Jul 25, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) are a savings account to help families put money aside for their children's post secondary education.

Jul 20, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Create an emergency savings fund to keep the budget balanced during difficult times. Rainy day savings is a smart strategy for family finances.

Jul 16, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Tips on how to reduce monthly hydro costs by conserving energy and weatherproofing the home. Simple suggestions to save money on utility bills.

Jul 14, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Unstable gas costs affects family transportation expenses. Get an accurate estimate of fuel costs for daily or weekly trips by calculating driving distance.

Jul 13, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Fuel tips to increase mileage and save money. Biggest tips to Increasing gas mileage are to drive less and drive more efficiently.

Jul 6, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Reduce car costs in the household budget by becoming a one-car family. Simple calculations to find out if it is a viable option for the family.

Jul 2, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Rubrics are an authentic assessment tool to aid teachers when grading assignments. As well, it gives students a template to know what is expected of them.

Jun 9, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Dust mite populations are a leading cause of allergies and asthma. Remove the allergen of dust mites naturally in the bedroom.

Jun 1, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Simple strategies for junior and high school students to discover a science fair topic geared to their interest.

May 2, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

A solid plan is required for paying off credit card debt fast. Implement the snowball plan and stop using plastic for purchases.

Apr 25, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

No camping experience is complete without delicious marshmallow dessert recipes. Simple camping dessert recipes that are cooked over a roaring campfire.

Apr 12, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Teach young camping enthusiasts how to build a campfire. Flame source, fire starter, kindling, and firewood are the basics of starting any campfire.

Apr 12, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Entertain kids with wacky mad libs, a word substitution game that can be played in the car, doctor's office or at the kitchen table on a rain day.

Apr 12, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Simple tips to lower monthly bank fees to keep more money in the bank. Save money by reducing costly ATM chargers, check fees, and bank service fees.

Mar 28, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Students must understand the difference between subject and object personal pronouns before they replace a pronoun with a noun in a sentence.

Mar 18, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Family entertainment budget can be stretched by cutting costs at the movie theatre. Financially smart ideas to save money while watching a new release movie.

Mar 7, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Sarah, Plain, and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan is good for class novel study. Visualization reading strategies improve student reading comprehension.

Feb 24, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Lesson ideas to teach the rules of irregular and regular plural nouns to children.

Feb 22, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Homophones and homonyms are similar as they both sound the same and have different meanings. However, the difference between the two is the spelling of the words.

Feb 18, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Teaching word choice with the aid of noun synonyms and verb synonyms to make student writing more interesting.

Feb 3, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Cheap Valentine's Day gifts for him and her that stays within the family budget but does not look or feel cheap.

Jan 18, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Creative ideas for kids to make some money working part time jobs. A look at kid inspired businesses that are fun and profitable.

Jan 1, 2010 - Debbie DeSpirt

Teach the family to skate on a budget via books, Internet, videos, and/or free private lessons. Skating lessons on outside rinks is cost effective for the family budget.

Dec 28, 2009 - Debbie DeSpirt

One hundred days of school marks about the half way point to summer vacation. Celebrate 100 days of school with fun and engaging activities to highlight the number 100.

Dec 22, 2009 - Debbie DeSpirt

Financial literacy is important for kids to develop at a young age. Teaching a child how to count change from his allowance is a valuable life long skill.

Dec 7, 2009 - Debbie DeSpirt

Mad libs are a wonderful teaching tool to highlight the parts of speech. Mad libs are an engaging activity to assist students to master parts of speech.

Dec 1, 2009 - Debbie DeSpirt

Four corners is an instructional strategy that develops critical thinking skills of students. As well, it improves their decision making abilities.

Nov 18, 2009 - Debbie DeSpirt

Money management is best learned through trial and error. Giving a child a weekly allowance gives him an opportunity to learn about the value of money.

Nov 9, 2009 - Debbie DeSpirt

Students are bombarded with media images and messages everyday. Engage them in advertising activities to develop their media literacy skills.

Nov 7, 2009 - Debbie DeSpirt