January, 2011

Science: Weather 101
January 31, 2011
A wise person once said, "Don't like the weather? Just wait a minute, it'll change." Weather and climate are always on our minds, in our thoughts. They affect what, how and when we wear something. They affect the plants we grow and how we grow them. They affect where we live and what kind of home we have.
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Nursery Rhymes
January 28, 2011
Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow? With silver bells and cockle shells And pretty maids all in a row. The familiar voice of childhood: the nursery rhyme. How many did we learn or sing when we were young? It's amazing how many of them we can still remember later in our lives and pass on to our own children. The nursery rhyme is usually one of our children's first introductions to literature. They are generally short folk tales and many of our American nursery rhymes are rooted in British history.
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Teaching the Internet: 5 Age-Appropriate Sites
January 27, 2011
Let's face it; we now live in a world dominated by computers and the Internet. Computers are in our homes, our classrooms and even on our phones, TVs and entertainment systems. They have become an integral part of everyone's work life and business. When most of us were kids, computers – if they existed at all in PC form – were rare luxuries and the Internet was just a fantasy. As parents, we did not have access to computer learning until late in our teens or even early adulthood.
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Short-term vs. Long-term Memory
January 26, 2011
Have you ever wondered how in the world you can remember the words to a poem you learned in kindergarten when you can't even recall what you did with your glasses five minutes ago? We've all had our personal struggles with memory and know how frustrating it can be to remember important information on a long-term basis. Just like adults, children struggle with converting the load of information they receive every day at school into their long-term memory banks so that they can readily access the information when test time comes.
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Learning and Exercise: A Winning Combination
January 25, 2011
The human brain is a complex and magnificent thing. As parents, we are constantly amazed at how quickly and mysteriously our children learn and process information. The capacity of our brains to store information seems limitless (at least until it comes time to recall where we put our car keys). Many teaching strategies focus on learning and teaching methods, improving memory and focus and the like. Most methodologies ignore the benefits of activity and exercise on the learning process. While it's impossible to get into all of the complexities of the brain and the learning process in one article, there are a few critical features you need to know in order to understand the benefits of exercise on learning.
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Issues in Special Education: Autism
January 24, 2011
Educating a child with autism provides many challenges for both parents and teachers alike. Autistic children, like all children, are all unique: what works for one may not work for another. There are multiple levels of autism and autism spectrum disorders, such as Asperger’s syndrome. This makes it very difficult to create any “gold standard” with respect to educational approaches to autistic children. Severity levels can vary from children who are completely non-verbal to the autistic savant portrayed in the movie Rainman. Some can be so mild as to be difficult to even diagnose.
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Teaching Your Child the Art of Storytelling
January 21, 2011
Not only is storytelling an age-old tradition in most cultures, but it is actually good for your children. It promotes literacy and stimulates the use of their right brain, which is responsible for the creative imagination and spontaneity. Storytelling also promotes good listening and turn-taking skills in your young son or daughter.
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The Importance of Taking Notes in Class
January 19, 2011
When thinking about test-taking strategies, students rarely consider good note-taking abilities as a critical aid to improving their test scores. In fact, many students assume that everything they need to know will be covered "in the book." This is, in fact, a harmful misconception in most instances, as many high school teachers use textbooks as a guide to teaching subject matter, not as definitive sources for information. Teachers use class time to impart critical extra information that expands and analyzes the material and ideas presented in the book.
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2011 ACT/SAT Testing Dates
January 18, 2011
Most colleges and universities in the United States require high school seniors to take a college entrance exam in order to be granted acceptance into their programs. Depending on the school, your child will have to take either the SAT or the ACT examination during their senior year. The SAT is the most widely used college entrance exam. It tests students' knowledge and abilities in reading, math and writing. The ACT covers English, reading, math, science and writing (optional short essay). Generally, both tests aim to assess students' skills with respect to vocabulary, reading comprehension, grammar, basic math, algebra,geometry and the overall ability to think critically.
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Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 17, 2011
History is an important part of our present and our future. The past can teach us lessons about how we live and act in the present and can lead us to become better people in the future. Many children shy away from truly appreciating history because of “all the dates” involved. But what is truly important about history is not that a particular thing happened, but why it happened and the circumstances in which it took place. One of the prime examples of the importance of history is the iconic figure, Martin Luther King, Jr.
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