Developing your Child's brain

Have you ever wondered why toys for babies tend to have so many bells, whistlesand lights? Or why they have so many different textures, and materials and colors?It's almost as if we want to provide young babies with a whole world of stimulation and we can't quite get it to them fast enough.Play gyms or activity gyms as they are sometimes called tend to be a firm favorite with babies from newborn up to about 12 months. These play gyms and activity nests mostly comein the form of comfortable, quilted or softly padded playmats, sometimes raised at the edges with a space in the middle for baby (like a ring doughnut).And these play gyms can be either brightly colored or in soft, pastel shades.But don't be fooled by thinking they are just snug and comfy resting places forbabies to fall asleep in!These activity gyms can provide a plethora of visual, audio and tactile stimulationfor fast developing young inquisitive minds.Often decorated with well known and lovable characters, Winnie-the-Pooh, Tigger, Eyore, or farm and zoo animals as well, they can consist of detachable, hanging parts for small babies to try to grasp. They tend to have parts that are crinkly, soft, scrunchy textures for baby to touch, squeeze and stroke. Some come with bright twinklinglights and bells and others make funny sounds, or musical sounds, and some even do both.You will often find mirrors attached to these activity gyms, so that your babygets to find and see its own reflection, often providing hours of fun for babies and carers alike. All of this is extremely important for developing young minds.Babies are like a sponge, they are ready to absorb whatever information they can - and boy - they can't grasp it fast enough! A lot of new research points to the first three years of life as being critical to a baby'sdeveloping brain. It is a known fact that during this period, not only does the brain triplein weight but it also establishes thousands of billions of nerve connections. Astonishingly, at the age of three, a young child has twice as many nerve connections as many adults. Therefore,in your role as a parent, or primary care giver, it is of paramount importance that you recognizethis and understand just how much development is taking place inside your young baby's brain from birth until the age of three.At birth, children have most of the neurons (brain cells) they need for a lifetime however, these brain cells are not yet linked (or "wired") together to form the complex networks that are requiredfor mature thought processes to take place. And what happens is that in the early years, young children's brain cells form these connections, or synapses as they are commonly called, very very rapidly. One of the crucial ingredients to aiding these connections to form, is experience, and repetition. In a word, the more times you repeat something new, like showing a baby how to scrunch up a ball, the quicker these connections are formed. Therefore, it naturally follows that the more positive interaction you give an infant or toddler, the more you are helping to stimulate young brains. This stimulation causes new connections to form neural pathways and strengthens existing ones. Playing with activity gyms, with allthe bells and whistles that they offer or reading to a child, anything which allows a child to have positive, interactive processes, will aid your child's brain development.So, as you lovingly sit and watch your young baby laughing and gurgling on the play mat or under the activity gym - do not underestimate the power of the changes taking place in the brain, all enriching an inquisitive mind and arming it with a plethora of knowledge andunderstanding for years to come.

Rich Dad's Education

check out this educational website which I stumbled upon yesterday evening. its cool and I believe you would like it.

Maths Games for children

Looking for a fun and exciting way to teach math concepts to children? Increase motivation and learning in a way that is enjoyable and pleasant by using the following math games for kids.

A Book Scavenger Hunt
This is a game that teaches counting and ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd...). The first thing to do is find a book for each child. It works well, and takes less time, for all children to use the same book title and edition, but it is not necessary. The idea is that the answer will spell out a sentence or two and the winner is the first one to decipher it. Each child will be provided with a clue sheet which will list directions for finding each word.
An example would be to say "find the 5th word of the 3rd paragraph on the 11th page after page 101." The children would then look for this word and write it down. You can also work in math problems, such as "go to the page that is twenty-one less than eighty-four and find the 7th word in the 2nd paragraph from the end of the page." Increase the complexity for older children and simplify for younger ones.

Picture Shapes
Math games for kids, especially the younger ones, can benefit from including pictures from books or coloring books. This game accomplishes this by using a picture that has obvious shapes in it, such as balloons for circles, doors for rectangles, etc., then seeing who can find the most shapes hidden. For older children you can include things such as octagons, cylinders, and cones.
Taking Directions
This is a great math game for a larger group of kids to play. The great thing about this game is that it shows us that math games for kids do not need to involve sitting at a table with a pencil in hand. This is played outdoors and involves putting a mat, or other flat object, in the yard and pairing the kids up. One child in each group wears a blind fold. The other child will give them directions.
The goal is for the child with the blind fold to follow the directions so that he/she ends up on the mat. The trick is that the child doing the talking can only give a set number of clues and can only use numbers for how many feet or yards, and the words forward, backward, right, or left. You can put obstacles in the way such as orange road cones or beach balls that they have to maneuver around to get to the mat. The kids giving the directions must stay stationary while giving the clues. Make sure this game is supervised by an adult who can make sure that the kids do not run into one another or trip and fall.

Board Games
Board games offer a variety of creative and interesting ways for teaching math concepts to children. There are many math games for kids that are in board game format. Some of these include Sorry, Yahtzee, and Rummikub. There are also many board games for kids that can be altered to include math skills. One example is to play Scrabble and give triple the points for each math term spelled out, as well as having the children keep a running score for every player.
Matching Math Cards
This is a twist on Old Maid where the goal is to match two cards by putting all of them face-down and turning over two cards at a time on each turn to see if they match. This game is different than Old Maid because it is centered around math concepts. You start by writing a math problem on an index card, using addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. Then you make another math problem on the next index card that is different but has the same answer. After you have made between twelve and twenty of these cards you lay them face down. Whenever someone turns over two cards with the same answer they get to keep them. The person with the most cards at the end of the game wins.
Learning math does not need to be dull and boring. It can be fun and challenging by using the above math games for kids, where math becomes play instead of work.

Maths Games for children

Looking for a fun and exciting way to teach math concepts to children? Increase motivation and learning in a way that is enjoyable and pleasant by using the following math games for kids.

A Book Scavenger Hunt
This is a game that teaches counting and ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd...). The first thing to do is find a book for each child. It works well, and takes less time, for all children to use the same book title and edition, but it is not necessary. The idea is that the answer will spell out a sentence or two and the winner is the first one to decipher it. Each child will be provided with a clue sheet which will list directions for finding each word.
An example would be to say "find the 5th word of the 3rd paragraph on the 11th page after page 101." The children would then look for this word and write it down. You can also work in math problems, such as "go to the page that is twenty-one less than eighty-four and find the 7th word in the 2nd paragraph from the end of the page." Increase the complexity for older children and simplify for younger ones.

Picture Shapes
Math games for kids, especially the younger ones, can benefit from including pictures from books or coloring books. This game accomplishes this by using a picture that has obvious shapes in it, such as balloons for circles, doors for rectangles, etc., then seeing who can find the most shapes hidden. For older children you can include things such as octagons, cylinders, and cones.
Taking Directions
This is a great math game for a larger group of kids to play. The great thing about this game is that it shows us that math games for kids do not need to involve sitting at a table with a pencil in hand. This is played outdoors and involves putting a mat, or other flat object, in the yard and pairing the kids up. One child in each group wears a blind fold. The other child will give them directions.
The goal is for the child with the blind fold to follow the directions so that he/she ends up on the mat. The trick is that the child doing the talking can only give a set number of clues and can only use numbers for how many feet or yards, and the words forward, backward, right, or left. You can put obstacles in the way such as orange road cones or beach balls that they have to maneuver around to get to the mat. The kids giving the directions must stay stationary while giving the clues. Make sure this game is supervised by an adult who can make sure that the kids do not run into one another or trip and fall.

Board Games
Board games offer a variety of creative and interesting ways for teaching math concepts to children. There are many math games for kids that are in board game format. Some of these include Sorry, Yahtzee, and Rummikub. There are also many board games for kids that can be altered to include math skills. One example is to play Scrabble and give triple the points for each math term spelled out, as well as having the children keep a running score for every player.
Matching Math Cards
This is a twist on Old Maid where the goal is to match two cards by putting all of them face-down and turning over two cards at a time on each turn to see if they match. This game is different than Old Maid because it is centered around math concepts. You start by writing a math problem on an index card, using addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. Then you make another math problem on the next index card that is different but has the same answer. After you have made between twelve and twenty of these cards you lay them face down. Whenever someone turns over two cards with the same answer they get to keep them. The person with the most cards at the end of the game wins.
Learning math does not need to be dull and boring. It can be fun and challenging by using the above math games for kids, where math becomes play instead of work.

How to choose the right nursing school for you

by: Tubersmike

There are a number of factors to consider when looking the best nursing school for your education. It is not that much different from choosing a college or other specialty program, but the applicant must consider a couple of key factors. Things like geographical location, tuition, degree plans and tuition costs are all things that should be evaluated before making a final decision. This article will cover some of the basic factors that should help any nursing student make the decision as to which program is the best one for them and their career choice.
Location & Tuition
One of the most important and first questions on most students minds is the location and tuition of the university or program. This is because unfortunately money often dictates the type of education that we get. With unlimited funds it is not difficult to choose a program clear across the country, but for most it is a huge factor. That is one thing that must be evaluated first, the location of the school and whether or not the tuition can be afforded. Universities have different tuition rates and offer many options of financing. If financial aid or grant money is something that you are looking for than it is important to choose a college or program that offers federal financial aid or other methods of payment. Compare the per credit hour or cost of the program rate to other universities in the area as well as their reputation and what it offered. Other factors to consider are public versus private and in state as well as out of state tuition rates.
Specialties
Not every program or university will offer the same specialties in nursing. This is very important because if you are planning a specific track or career the program must prepare you or you will not be eligible to take your state exam. Check with the admissions office or counselor before making a decision. Ask what programs are available and whether or not you have an option of a more advanced degree. For example, if you are enrolled in an LVN program, do they offer an RN or BSN? This may not be something that you are concerned with this moment, but maybe something that you are interested in after completing that particular program.
Accreditation
With the addition of online classes and universities there has been some concern over accreditation and licensure. This is important because even after completing the program if the university is not accredited the state may not allow you to test. It is important to not only ask the university about their accreditation, but also check it out with your states licensing board first. A good rule of thumb is if the university offers Federal Financial aid they are most likely accredited by the appropriate authority. This information can be found by searching on the internet or contacting the board of higher education within your state or federal government. This is not something that you want to take a chance with or ignore because it could cost you thousands of dollars and a great deal of grief.
Preparation And Success Of The Program
Something else that may factor into your decision about the right school for you is the university or programs past graduate’s records. Do these students pass their state exam, are they successful at finding employment and what their pass/fail rate is. This is something that can be inquired about at the admissions office or the respective state licensure board. A wise student is one that makes sure that the program successfully prepares them with both academic and hands on preparation. Clinical rotations and class size greatly affect the way that a student is prepared and should be asked about. If the class sizes are enormous that divides the instructor’s attention that much further and can leave a gap in the learning environment. The smaller the class is the better chance of interaction and more hands on experience that the student receives. That is not to say that the larger classes are not good, but there is not as much personal attention in the large class versus the smaller class.
There are many things to consider when entering into a nursing program. Not only should the student evaluate the program, but also must decide on the particulars of their specialty. It is a good idea to do a little bit of research, talk to an admissions counselor and also talk to those in the profession to answer any questions that you may have about choosing the right program for you!