Sunday, May 25, 2008

Every Sandwich Tells a Story!




...well, it does unless you are homeschooled.

Subway has a contest up and running now called Every Sandwich Tells a Story. The rules are simple (and this is directly quoted from the site):
  • Have your child write a story that has a beginning, middle, and end. Or have fun writing the story together!

  • Be creative! Let your imagination cook up a story that is as delicious to read as a Subway sandwich is to eat. If possible, include a few details that describe "Random Acts of Fitness (e.g. eating right, exercising, playing sports, living a healthy lifestyle).

Story starters for the contest are:

  • The Mysterious Meatball - When the invitation to the Meatball came in the mail...

  • Turkey Doesn't Live Here Anymore - There was a loud knock on the door, but when Salami Sam opened it...

  • The Race to Red Onion Ranch - Everyone gathered in the center of town for the start of the race except...

  • Nothing Better - The smell of fresh baked bread coming from the store was so good that...

Grand prizes include athletic equipment for your child's school ($5000 value); Scholastic gift basket (apparently good spelling is optional as they have it spelled "bastket" on the site); $100 Subway gift card; and story is published on http://www.subwaykids.com/ and in Scholastic's Parent & Child magazine. There will also be six runners-up who will get a Scholastic gift basket and $50 Subway gift cards.

Sounds like a great opportunity for any child, doesn't it? I know as a homeschooling parent, I am always looking for ways to encourage my children to write and I am sure parents with kids in public/private school feels the same way. And not only does the prize benefit the child, but he/she can perform a community service by being able to donate $5000 worth of athletic equipment to a school (possibly even a community park, youth group or maybe even an actual homeschool group...you get the idea).

But now for the fine print (and take note of the very humorous misspelling of "United" as it is posted on the Subway website):

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Contest is open only to legal residents of the Untied States who are currently over the age of 18 and have children who attend elementary, private or parochial schools that serve grades PreK-6. No home schools will be accepted.

I guess I can see why they might have excluded homeschoolers. After all, where would a homeschooler donate $5000 worth of athletic equipment? What use would a homeschooler have for a basket (or should I say bastket?) of Scholastic books? Why on earth would a homeschooled child want to see his story published on both a website and in a magazine?

Based on the fine print in this essay contest, though, I can definitely say that homeschoolers have no use for a Subway gift card. Certainly not those in the Untied States, anyway.

Subway sandwich contest: Homeschoolers not wanted

Subway Petition

Contact info:

Subway Headquarters
325 Bic Drive Milford, Connecticut 06461-3059
203-877-4281

Tom Seddon CEO, SFAFT
800-888-4848 x1370 seddon_t@subway.com

There's a feedback form:
http://www.subway.com/Applications/CustService/frmCustomerService.aspx

You can contact scholastic at:
P&CConnects@scholastic.com or CConnects@scholastic.com

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Happy Spring!

Yay! After a long and bleak winter, I am finally starting to feel more like myself again. It seems that from the month of January on I go into hibernation mode and tend to neglect many of the "extra" things I normally enjoy doing. I do not have seasonal affective disorder or anything like that. I do manage to keep up with the necessary things like laundry, dishes, etc. I also still enjoy going out and socializing. I just need an extra push to get me out the door! I think everyone suffers from this to some extent during the winter and I am equally sure much of it is due to lack of sunlight. It just never fails to take me by surprise when spring rolls around and I immediately feel energized and ready to do things...such as updating my blog.

We went fishing a couple weeks ago at a wildlife management area that is just over the hill from our farm. We go there frequently throughout the spring, summer and fall (sometimes even taking our canoe), so I thought it would be fun to post pictures of it from season to season. Here is how it looked a couple weeks ago:




And of course I have to include a couple pictures of the kids...first Sydney:


And then the boys...Tucker (back) and Dylan (front):