Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Make Math Fun at Home - When to Play Math Games With Your Children

Parents absolutely can grab the opportunity to play math games with their children when everyone is at home, and they should not avoid it!. Popular board games and card games are easily adapted for use with those fact flash cards cards. Unique and interesting printable games for kids loaded and saved on your computer allow for a never ending supply of educational entertainment so parents can make math fun at home.

Here are some suggestions of good times parent can play math games with their children:

On a no homework night. It is simple to pull out a game, and have some fun while reviewing facts. Use the flash cards the children bring home with the spinner or dice. Whatever number rolled is the number of flash cards the do. Some printable games for kids can be adapted so multiple skill levels are played at one time.

When your child is home sick- Parents are always worried about missing work when their child is sick, but the child is too sick to work! Often a sick child has trouble concentrating on make up assignments, particularly if they missed the explanations in class. Playing a fun game, that uses their math skills, but is not too taxing will give them time to think about math without the pressure.

A Rainy Sunday Afternoon- This is a great low key kind of time to sit and play a fun games with children. Using some creative printable games for kid at this time will get extra practice

Snow Days! That one is self explanatory! Particularly when it is the second or third day at home! Do not forget about Hurricane Days, Flood Days, and No Electricity Days

School Vacations- This does not mean a vacation where the family is away on a trip, but a vacation from school that lasts a number of days or weeks. Having a supply of printable games for kids to make math fun while away from school will solve those, "I don't have anything to do!" moments. Playing these games will keep their skills current and help prevent the frustrating vacation memory loss that teachers always notice.

Using these different opportunities to play math games with children at home will help make math fun for all. So it becomes important to search for a high quality resource, written by a teacher and actually used in classrooms. Then they can be downloaded to your home computer and parents will have a supply of printable games for kids as well as and other activities that will be ready to use for years with children of all ages.

It is absolutely possible for a teacher to make the material and activities they use challenging and still have fun in their classroom. Keeping the students interested, active and engaged makes the biggest difference in their overall learning experience.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Top Gifts for Big Boys That Love Toys

When it comes to finding gifts for men it can be a lot easier than you think, you just need to look for the right stuff. Toys for Boys give them something gadgetry and they'll be playing with it for days on end, which make them ideal. Believe it or not Big Boys Toys are practical and fun, and that's what it's all about, being useful to them, getting excited, as well as having the latest stuff that all their mates will drool over.

With technology booming there's almost something exciting out every month, especially with stuff like mobile phones, LCD and plasma TVs, MP3 and portable video players, the list goes on and on. Along with this expensive stuff you now find the same with the more fun and practical boys toys and gadgets, someone out there is developing the next best thing that will hit the shelves.

On occasions it's hard to keep up, however there are useful 'latest' gadget magazines or gadget blogs that can help. Putting aside the more expensive consumer electronics there is plenty out there for 'Boyz Toyz' gifts. Looking at fun stuff you can choose from a good range of radio controlled indoor helicopters, silly joke stuff and USB gadgets for computers.

Indoor helicopters are great affordable gifts, they are ready to fly straight out the box, easy to get the hang of and provide hours of entertainment and thrills in the home or outdoors in good weather conditions.
Silly joke stuff is also a must for boys toys, there's nothing better than them playing a prank on their mates while down the pub just for a giggle on someone else's expense.
USB Gadgets can be used almost everywhere on a daily basis, computers have taken over this world by storm. USB Toys are great for taking a break from work and having a little fun, probably this time at the bosses expense!

On the practical side there's also a lot to choose from for big boys toys such as spy gadgets, novelty alarm clocks and outdoor gadgets to name a few. They're useful in a boys kind of way and can look really cool.

Spy Gadgets are great for doing a bit of surveillance in a discreet kind of way, maybe they want to know who's up to what by using a spy camera in their bedroom or at the front door.
Novelty alarm clocks make it fun for waking up in the morning, with silly clocks like those that run away when it's time to rise or extremely load alarm clocks that will even wake the dead, there's no way of a lazy bloke waking up late.
Outdoor gadgets such as walkie talkies are a must for any outdoor enthusiast; they'll be able to keep in touch with you or their mates without the cost of the usual telephone call or if they lose mobile phone signal.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Classroom Activities

Developing lesson plans must be one of the toughest tasks of our nation's teachers and professors. With the technological revolutions of the past decade or two, attention spans have shortened, and distractions have infiltrated classrooms. Text messages and access to social networks through classroom computers decrease the likelihood that students will be as interested in classroom activities, lecture and discussion.

Of course, these challenges increase as the students grow older. When polls ask children what would help improve their learning experience, answers typically consist of some variation demanding to include fun classroom activities interspersed throughout their lessons. This is too broad of a suggestion, and does not give teachers much material to work with. There are strategies that teachers can implement to hold fast to their authority inside the classroom; however, developing lesson plans that are refreshingly entertaining and/or up to current fads is one of the best ways to ensure the interest of students.

For example, a Biology teacher in High School incorporated the theory behind the game of Jeopardy into her lesson plan every time she wanted to assess how well her students had learned material, and to help them prepare for exams. Adding the edge of competition into classroom activities ensured that students' attention was not only captivated, but future games of Jeopardy were awaited with enthusiasm.

Another method that could be incorporated into regular classroom activities would be to have a different group of two or three students teach the day's lesson every Friday throughout the semester. This may not be as fun and entertaining for the group lecturing, but it will give them an insight into the difficulty of teaching and potentially increase their respect and interest for your methods as a teacher.

Suggestions from students typically include activities like playing games, drawing, painting, and free-lance activities that could be used as a break from the regular lesson plan. These are often good fosterers of creativity in the students, but are rarely taken as serious educational tools by parents and administration. A fun activity that would be both educational and fun (and which I have not heard employed among classrooms of late) is the classic "Spelling Bee."

Competitions would drive students' desire to become stronger contestants, while simultaneously improving prospects for developing a continued interested in achieving higher education. Having a strong vocabulary is a skill that opens doors throughout whole lives. Perhaps the forgotten Spelling Bee should make a comeback!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Make Math Fun at Home - Play math games with your children

Parents can definitely an opportunity to address math games with their children, when everything is at home to play, and should not avoid it!. Popular board games and card games can be easily adapted for use with the current flash-cards. Unique and interesting games for children printable loaded and stored on your computer allowing an infinite range of entertainment such as education, parents can make fun of math at home.

Here are some suggestionsgood times, parents can play with their children in mathematics:

In a night without homework. There is simply pull out a game and have fun, while checking the facts. Use flash cards to bring the children home with a spinner or dice. Who is also diced always be the number of flash cards. Some printable games for kids can be adapted, multiple difficulty levels to play at a time.

If your child is sick parents at homeare always worried about losing their jobs when their child is sick, but the child is too sick to work! Often a sick child has difficulty concentrating on tasks, make-up, especially if they have missed the explanation in class. A fun game that uses their math skills, but not too much work time on mathematics without considering the pressure.

A rainy Sunday afternoon - This is a great low-key kind of time to sit and play with fun games Children. With some creative printable games for young people at this time for additional practice

Snow Day! That explains it! Especially if it's in their second or third day at home! Do not forget Day Hurricane, Flood Days, and Days of electricity

This is not school holidays, a holiday where the family is traveling, but a vacation from school, that a certain number of days or weeks, continues. With a range of print> Games for kids to make fun of math, while away from school to solve this: "I have nothing to do" moments. In these games, keep their skills current and to avoid the frustration of the loss of holiday memory that teachers always end.

Play with these different modes of mathematical games with their children at home will help make math fun for everyone. So it is important for a high quality resource, written by a teacher in research and effectively useClass. Then they can be downloaded onto home computers and parents will be a series of printable games for children and other activities and be ready for use for years with children of all ages.

And 'quite possible that a teacher materials and activities they use to make it even more challenging and fun in its class. Keeping students interested in an active and committed a difference to their learning experience in general.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Goodie Bags Make Good Gifts

Almost any child's party needs goody bags coordinated to the rest of the theme party decorations. Goody bags have their place at adult parties as well. It may well be possible that no party is complete without some version of this time treasured favor.

Easter bags for pastel wrapped candies or Egg party favors and toys are a given. It is hard to imagine a birthday party for a six-year-old that doesn't include a goody bag with at least a few party cookies or pencils. These can be colorful and inexpensive but still make each child feel that his or her presence at the party is appreciated.

Adult party ideas may include the use of goodie bags used instead of place cards. None of the usual small static cards unless they are attached to the bag to assign seating for the sake of encouraging conversation. When boy, girl, boy, girl and so on seating are planned the items in the goody bags can be used as novelty conversation starters. Bags at wedding receptions can contain disposable cameras, wine glass charms, or other trinkets to commemorate the occasion.

Goody bags for a Halloween party can contain wax lips or other simple costume elements. These goody bags can contain home baked treats for distribution at a scout meeting or other club in which all are invited and know the hostess. If the goody bags are meant to be passed out to strange children at trick-or-treat or other similar community activity it would be best to use purchased individually wrapped treats within the loosely sealed goody bags.

Perhaps the best use of goody bags is at adult sales parties. If invited guests are given the party gift in a goody bag with other small samples it is that much nicer and easier to contain on the way home from the get together.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Increase Your Child's Reading Proficiency Through Sight Words

You may have heard educators mention the phrase "sight words" or "high frequency words". Do you know what they are or how they can help your child with reading? If not, you're not alone.

Sight words, sometimes referred to as high frequency words, occur frequently in the English language. They can comprise between 50-75% of text, making them important to learn. They are often exceptions to phonetic analysis and many are service words that do not provide a visual image. For example, can you picture an image for the words "of" or "the"?

Learning sight words can help your child become a better reader. Studies show that children who have a good grasp of sight words can increase their reading fluency (the rate at which they read), and reading comprehension. When your child spends less time sounding words out, he or she will have a better understanding of the material read.

Typically, children are taught a list of sight words at school that coordinate with their grade-level, or language arts program. If your child is school-age, ask for the list that the teacher is using. Otherwise, you can refer to commonly used lists such as Dolch Sight Words or Fry's Instant Word List.

You can begin teaching your child sight words before mastery of letter sounds, or alongside the learning of letter sounds. Knowing a few will allow your child to read simple and predictable stories, allowing him or her to practice and build confidence in reading.

Games and activities can promote sight word knowledge in a fun, easy way. Start with 2-3 basic words. You don't have to teach them in order. It's actually more helpful to choose ones that form a simple sentence such as, "I", "like" and "the" or "I", "see" and "my". Introduce additional words after your child has mastered the previous ones.

15 Fun Games & Activities

1. Read sight word stories.

2. Label common objects in your home, or child's bedroom, such as bed, door, lamp, dresser, etc. This is easily accomplished using index cards and a black marker.

3. Play a sight word bingo game. As a variation, use a wet erase marker to trace the words, instead of using plastic makers when it is called out. This works best on laminated bingo cards.

4. Use Sight Word & Picture Cards to build sentences.

5. Create a picture dictionary that contains familiar items, objects, animals, or colors and label the words. This can be a great reference for future writing activities.

6. Practice spelling with magnets on your refrigerator, or metal cookie sheet.

7. Lay out an array of familiar word cards. Instruct your child to point to the words as you say them
aloud. This is a great way to assess your child's mastery.

8. Play a word search game after reading a story. Ex. Point to the word "for". Can you find the word "like" on this page? How many times can you find the word "blue" on this page?

9. Turn dead-time into a learning-time. Car games such as I Spy can help your child practice sight word recognition on the road.

10. Write stories and illustrate them. Ex. I love my mom. I love my dad. I love my cat. I love my grandma. Wouldn't Grandma love to receive that in the mail?

11. Create puzzles on tag board or blank puzzles from the craft store.

12. Play a game of concentration. Print two sets of sight word cards on your computer to create a matching pair. Laminate or cover with clear Contact paper for durability.

13. Play a game of Sight Word Snowman (a friendlier version than its Hangman predecessor). Guess the correct word, by guessing the letters, before the snowman is complete!

14. Develop fill-in-the-blank game. I like ___ dog. (the, or, to) or ___ can go play. (We, Have) It may seem simple, but helps children analyze which word makes sense in the sentence.

15. Find or develop easy sight word search games to reinforce learning.

Games and activities can make learning fun and enjoyable for your child. Use flash card drills sparing and your child will thank you with cooperation and smiles!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Keep It Exciting With Christmas Games

Christmas is a time for gatherings of all kinds and Christmas games. Whether it is an office Christmas party, a Children's Christmas Party, or a family celebration, Christmas games add fun and spread the Christmas spirit!

No matter what type Christmas party you are planning, one Christmas game that is always fun is the forbidden word game. You have probably seen this game many times, and variations on it are always popular at baby showers, wedding showers, etc. It works just as well as a Christmas game, and your guests are sure to be laughing all the while.

Simply hand out some type of token as guests arrive, so that each one has one. A good suggestion is a simple garland necklace. Choose one Christmas theme word ahead of time. Tell each person that they must not use this particular word all day long. Some good examples are "tree" or "present" but most any word will do. Anytime one person hears another person using the forbidden word, they get to take their necklace (or whatever token you have handed out) and at the end of the party, the person with most necklaces wins a present!

Christmas Games

Christmas at the Office is a perfect time for a Christmas Carol Contest!
A good choice for Christmas games held at the office is a Christmas Carol contest!

Choose a few contestants ahead of time to judge the competition. Let everyone showcase their talent by singing with or without music. Give winners gag gifts, novelties, or computer generated certificates, and let the winners have several categories such as "Best Singer" "Best Dancer" "Worst singer" "Most Original" "Most Humorous" and whatever else you can come up with.

The most important element for enhancing your Christmas party with fun games for everyone is to consider the ages of your guests and make the games simple enough so that even the youngest guests have a chance to win, and everyone keeps smiling while they are enjoying your get together!