Get origami projects or crafts ideas online

Origami can be used for skill development for educational, developmental, and therapeutic aspects. Origami is good for any age as it provide an entertaining and creative feeling when you are busy doing it.

For kids at preschool or kindergarten stage you need to teach them easy origami which they can learn themselves. Your instructions should be clear and easy to follow. You can find lot of sites and links online where you can get ideas, projects details and even step by step tutorial helping you learn origami projects or crafts ideas yourself or for your kids. This post is helpful for teachers, parents who are interested to start teaching this creative activity for kids.

* 'How to origami' is full of easy projects for children. You can get an idea from the pictures I have loaded here. These easy instruction are enough to start learning with basic folds. As you can see that the 3rd picture shows a table chair made with origami folds which seems difficult to make, but as first two pictures show easy steps to follow, you can easily learn it. Even your kids can follow these instructions by watching these pictures or online videos.

* 'Free Homemade bookmarks, crafts and gifts' 

* 'Origami Resources' Helps you make Origami crafts, Origami Crafts for children, free videos on Origami, Origami Aeroplane, Origami Flowers, Origami Animals etc.

* 'Simple Kids Crafts': Daily, Easy, Educational, Functional Children Arts and Crafts projects for children of all ages using easy to find materials such as recyclables, egg cartons, cardboard, paper, boxes, string, crayons, paint, glue, fabric and pompoms, pipe cleaners, beads, ribbons, construction paper and more. They offer toys, games, school crafts, experiments, FREE printable coloring pages/templates and craft recipes.

* 'Easy origami forkids'

* Paper the World offers simple origami of models that focus on endangered animal species.
It educates and teaches some charming origami animal figures to children so that they can enjoy the art and creativity of folding paper and making beautiful things from such common material.

Why you should choose alternative therapy for your kid with asthma?

There are various reasons to choose alternative healing or therapy for you or your kid. I am a mother of asthmatic child who is suffering from asthma from the age of 3 and now he is 11. With my experience with alternative therapies, I can assure you that whatever therapy you select, it can help you in healing process. I am practicing acupressure therapy for common ailment myself and it is really effective, easy to apply and without any side effects.

The best side of these alternative therapies is that you don't have to worry about side effects. These alternative therapies may include acupressure, acupuncture, aromatherapy, homeopathy etc. Remember whatever therapy you use for the prevention or healing of asthma, don't discontinue the use of medicines prescribed by your health practioner.

Now I want to explain the side effects of medication which are commonly used for the treatment and healing of asthmatic patients.

The mainstay of conventional treatment is medication, primarily with oral or inhaled bronchodilators like albuterol (Proventil, Ventolin), isoetharine (Bronkometer, Bronkosol),isoproterenol (isuprel), metaproterenol (Alupent), and terbutaline (Brethaire, Brethine, Bricanyl).These medications work to open up the airway, easing breathing. They can cause a variety of side effects, including nervousness, increased heart rate, tremors, increased blood pressure, and dizziness.

In more advanced or chronic case of asthma, corticosteroids may be prescribed, in either oral or inhaled form. Inhaler forms include beclomethasone (Beclovent, Vanceril, Vancenase, Beconase), fluticasone (Flovent), and triamcinolone(Azmacort, Nasacort), Prednisone is the most commonly prescribed oral form. These medicines work by decreasing the swelling and inflammation of the airways, but they do have several disadvantages. First, they have an adverse affect on the functioning of the immune system and the adrenal glands. Oral yeast infection can be a problem with inhaler forms. All steroids have the potential to cause significant side effects, especially when taken over the long term, that need to be understood. Talk this over with your doctor or pharmacist.

Theophylline and related drugs, once commonly prescribed for asthma, are less often used today because they are more likely to cause side effects such as restlessness, insomnia, headache, loss of appetite, increased heart rate, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. Long-term use of theophylline may also be associated with behavioral problems and learning disabilities, although the evidence for this is not conclusive.

Source: 'Mother nature'

Useful links:

A useful post about the acupressure therapy: 'Healing and cure from asthma with the help of acupressure therapy'

* 'acupressure for asthma'

Are there any natural remedies for ADD and ADHD ?

I have experience of facing kids at school who display poor sustained attention to tasks or were impulsive or were excessively active and restless. We know that they all suffer from ADHD, which is characterized by destructibility, impulsiveness and hyperactivity.

Although, these symptoms are found in varying degrees in most, this condition becomes a medical disorder, if they’re excessive, long-term and pervasive. About one-half to two-thirds of children suffering from ADHD will continue with this disorder as adults.

It is thought that diet with refined sugar and food additives can causes children to become hyperactive and inattentive. Though there’s some truth in it, scientists at the National Institutes of Health conclude this may apply to only about 5% of either very young children or children with food allergies.

Treatment of ADD or ADHD

Most of the medications have a lot of side effects.
However, there are some excellent natural remedies that are perfectly safe and effective, without any side effects. These remedies can be adopted for the treatment of ADD and ADHD for the relief of these neurological disorders.

List of natural natural remedies:

• Ginkgo biloba: It’s effective in restoring the functioning of the circulatory system and improving blood flow to the brain. Its active ingredients include flavone glycosides, bioflavins, sitosterol, lactones and anthocyanin.
• Skullcap (Scuttellaria laterifolia): This is a relaxing nerve tonic and anti-spasmodic, which reduces excitability and relieves depression. Its active ingredients are flavonoids, tannins, bitter, volatile oil and minerals.
• German chamomile (Matricaria recutita): This has traditionally been used tocalm and soothe nervous tension. Its active ingredients include volatile oil, flavonoids, valerianic acid, coumarins, tannins, salicylates and cyanogenic glycosides.
• Gotu cola (Centella asiatica): It is used to revitalize the brain and nervous system, increase attention span and concentration, and combat ageing.
• Green Oats (Avina sativa): Also called Hawer, it’s used to treat nervous exhaustion and as a general nerve tonic. It’s active ingredients are saponins, flavonoids, minerals, alkaloids, steroidal compounds, Vitamins B1, B2, D, E, carotene and wheat protein.
• Umbabazane (Urtica Urens): This circulatory stimulant is effective in lowering blood sugar levels. Its active ingredients are histamine, formic acid, acetylcholine, glucoquinones, minerals, Vitamins A, B and C and tannins.
• Massage therapy: According to a study published in 1998, massage therapy has proven especially effective for children. A daily massage makes them happier, less fidgety and hyperactive, and more focused on their tasks.

Natural remedies have proven quite effective in treating ADD or ADHD. But it is important to consult your physician before adopting any of them.

Source: www.natural-remedies-for.com

Ideas to teach good manners to your kids with the help of toys

Toys are meant to play or have fun but toys can play a role of a teacher when you use them as a learning tool. Toys can keep the kids busy for hours while calming them down at some annoying moments. Toys can also help children teach good manners. This article offers tips and ideas to learn how you can use toys as a tool to manage your child's behavior.

Toys make amazing rewards that can encourage kids to behave. Toys can be used to encourage general good behavior or you can use them to teach manners, stop phone interruptions and more.

The power of kid’s toys is utterly amazing when you start using them as leverage for positive behavior.

How Kid’s Toys can Encourage Overall Good Behavior?

Get three of anything. It can be three pennies, three rocks, three trivial toys etc… Put the three items in a drawer. Put your child’s name on a plastic cup. When you see your child doing something good like using manners, treating his sibling nice or more then place one of the three items in your child’s cup.

Tell your child that he earned 1 point for his good behavior and compliment him on a job well done! Let him know that if he earns 3 points that day that you will play with him and his favorite toy at the end of the day. Now if you find that it’s too easy for your child to earn 3 points consider bumping it up to 5 or more. When play time arrives, count up the points and if he’s earned the right quantity let him go and get his favorite toy of the day and play with him for at least 30 minutes. You’ll find that doing this will improve your child’s behavior very quickly and once he learns that you’ll play “his way” for 30 minutes he’ll be very determined to earn those points every day!

Using Kid’s Toys to Teach Manners

If your child has a favorite stuffed animal or doll then you’re in luck! You can use his furry friends to help teach him good manners. You’ll first need to write down a list of manners that you want your child to learn. Do you want to teach him table manners and help him learn to say please and thank you often? Do you want him to know how to address adults like Mrs. Smith instead of using first names? Do you want to teach him how to say hello and goodbye on the phone and in person? What you teach your child is up to you, but it’s a good idea to write a list and practice often till it sinks in.

To teach table manners, have your child bring is favorite stuffed animal or doll to dinner. Ask him how his doll should be sitting and have him place his doll in the appropriate sitting position. Then ask your child to do as doll does. Then ask him to tell you what his doll should do if he wants to talk, but has a mouth full of food. Use his doll as an example for every table manner you want to teach your child. You can even have him place a napkin on dolly’s lap. You could have your child roll play his “inside” voice talking through his doll and even talk about how dolly could use his manners at a restaurant.

Later, go to the family room and have your child and doll sit on the couch. Have your child tell you how dolly can use the words please and thank you throughout the day. Roll play with the doll. Encourage your child to have fun with the roll plays to really “show off” his knowledge of good manners. Let him add lib and make things up and ask him to have dolly show you all the good manners that he has. This can be very fun, as well as, quite educational and effective at teaching manners.

Using Kid’s Toys to Stop Phone Interruptions

Everyone has been on the phone and had their child run up making tons of non-stop noise! This is annoying for mom and annoying to the caller, but it can be prevented by simply creating a phone call kid’s toy box. First step is to get a box. You can choose a pretty basket or plastic bin depending on where you want to keep the container. Get a box that’s big enough to fit 2 or 3 kid’s toys. Then you’ll want to choose some toys to put in it. I’d advocate choosing toys that encourage long-time play such as: blocks, pretend play toys, puzzles or anything else that will keep your child’s attention.

Talk with your child about the importance of not interrupting you while you’re on the phone. Let him know that he now has a special “phone toy box” that can only be opened when you’re on a phone call. Show him the box and the special toys inside. Tell him that every time you’re on the phone he can play with those toys. Let him know that if he’s really good you’ll let him choose some new toys every 2, 4 or 6 months (depending on what you decide and your budget) that he can put in his phone toy box.

If he’s quiet while you’re on the phone then he can keep playing with his special toys until the call is over. If he interrupts, then the toys go back up on the shelf straightaway. If he needs to tell you something “important” you can practice teaching him how to interrupt the nice way. Have him walk over to you and place his hand on your arm or knee and wait till you excuse yourself from the call. Teach him not make noise as he approaches.

As you start using toys as rewards you’ll ascertain how much fun it can be to teach your child good behavior without having to use negative consequences. These techniques are a win/win for you and your child because each of you will get what you want in the end!

Author: Kim Proulx, a Certified Parent Coach.

Tips to buy safe and healthy lunch box for kids

Every mom wants to provide healthy and safe food for school going kids, but we sometimes ignore to check the material we use for packing lunch to tiffin. Parents should carefully select the food grade lunch boxes for their kids.

If you want to make sure that the healthy lunch that you pack for your child stays healthy and nutritious, you can avoid common contaminants and costly throw-aways by choosing the right lunch box solutions.

These tips are helpful to choose safe product for your kid's health and select lunch box made of harmless material which is healthier for regular use.

Cotton, bamboo spork, stainless steel, cloth are safe products for lunch boxes.

Metal or cloth is better than plastic:
Many plastic lunch boxes are made of PVC, which can contain contaminants such as lead, or leach chemicals like phthalates and BPA. If plastic is your best option, look for lunch boxes that are phthalate and BPA-free.

Wrap without plastic wrap or plastic baggies: Some plastic wrap and baggies are made with toxic chemical phthalates. Re-useable containers are a better choice; or you can choose butcher paper and bags such as GLAD brand made with polyethelyne.

Pack it yourself:
Packaging for greasy foods like microwave popcorn and french fries may be treated with PFCs, a non-stick coating linked to health disorders. Canned food and soda may also leach the chemical BPA. Choosing fresh or bulk food to package yourself is a healthier alternative.


Pack a No-Waste Lunch Box: The idea of lunch brought to and from school in a paper or plastic bag seems old fashion, but the use of an actual lunch box or reusable sack makes your eco-friendly options all the easier.


And finally, pack your food and drink in reusable containers. Just think of all the money you'd save per child per school year if you packed just two snacks and a drink in reusable containers.

Plastic Free Snacks and Sandwiches:
It's also great to stop using all those plastic zip bags and try reusable snack bags. These bags are handmade and come in some pretty fabrics. They're simple to wash and keep food fresh all day.
 

Encourage your kids to read books

At this tech age, our kids spend more time with computers than other outdoor or indoor activities. Reading books is a healthy habit which can be encouraged by providing online reading links to our kids. Parents can guide kids and teens providing site links or useful resources for online ebooks. Good news is that most of the online resources provide free access to the stuff either it is an ebook, video, audio, or a power point presentation. 'Tar

'Tar Heel Reader' is an online free site  for beginning readers of all ages. Books are easy to read with big words which teachers can use in classroom for development of language and reading skills.

More about the site:
Link: 'Tar Heel Reader' 

Many of us many think that the site name is strange, so the explainaiton is that 'Tar Heel is a nickname for the state and people of North Carolina. And the name comes from the fact that tar, pitch and turpentine created from the vast pine forests were one of North Carolina's most important exports early in the state's history

More about the site:

It offers a collection of free, easy-to-read, and accessible books on a wide range of topics. It fulfills the needs of older students as well who do not have access to easy-to-read, motivating, and age-appropriate text.

The books may be downloaded as slide shows in PowerPoint, Impress, or Flash format. Each book can be speech enabled and accessed using multiple interfaces. Site also offers books in other languages such as Arabic, German, French, Latin etc.

Facts: Books have been read in 133 countries and all 50 US states. They have books in 12 languages. Over 25,000 books are currently being read each week. Over 100 new books are added each week.

How to search at the site for appropriate reading?

These are suggested audience ratings. Rated E/Everyone means the book is appropriate for everyone. Books marked Rated C/Caution may have content that is not appropriate for some readers. The Favorites page is a good way to give your readers a selection of books that you have approved.

You can download a slide show of a book easily. Just follow these simple steps:
Go to the first page of the book. On the left side you’ll see a column of buttons. The second is labeled Setup. It will take you to the reading controls page. There you’ll see links to download the book as PowerPoint, Impress, or Flash.


Experienced educators who are knowledgeable about beginning readers of all ages review books published on Tar Heel Reader.

Write a book!

You can also write a book and submit at the site. You need to get registration for writing a book;

- Sign up for free at the registration page. They recommend you to read about the Beginning Literacy Framework before beginning to write. It will help you appreciate the kind of books they seek.

How to use search tools to find out specific information at internet?

How do you start your search at internet?
The simple answer is 'Google', but do you get the specific or reliable results after few searches? Yes, you many be lucky to get the specific information after some time, but often you are simly lost to find only reliable resource or links. How to search effectively for educational stuff at the internet? Using online search tools can help you a lot and save hours of your hard work.


Search tools are intended to help you find the information you need. Each search tool takes a slightly different approach. Search engines, directories, indexes, and portals can all be helpful. While each of these has a specific definition, many search engines have more than one option. For example, Google is a search engine, but it also has a directory available. While most search tools ask users to enter key words, some like 'Ask Jeeves' are designed for questions.


How do the search tools find all the websites?


Many of the search engines use robots, wanderers, worms, spiders, harvesters, and other automated systems to find websites. In addition, people sometimes add their own website to the list.


Search engines - resources are automatically databased by a computer. The results vary depending on the rules the sites uses to select materials.


Indexes and Directories - information is organized into categories or lists that are sometimes created by people and sometimes computers. Many search engines also have directories.


Subject guides - resources are selected and organized by people. They are good for large and focused topics, but provide fewer resources than search engines.


Meta engines - these sites explore a number of search tools to come up with diverse results. For example, Dogpile searches LookSmart, FindWhat, Overture, and several others


Portals - create a virtual desktop that provides, in one central place, web-based information and resources needed by a user. The difference between a portal and a regular website is that information is customized by the user.


 For Teachers and Teens:


Search Engines

• Alta Vista
• All the Web
• Excite
• Google*
• Hotbot
• Lycos
• Teoma

Guides and Directories

• About.com
• Galaxy
• Go.com
• Librarian's Index
• Open Directory Project
• Yahoo*

Meta Engine Search Tools

• Ask Jeeves
• Dogpile
• EZ2find
• Mamma
• MetaCrawler
• SurfWax
• Vivisimo
• WebCrawler
• Wisenut
• Zapmeta
• Visual Engine 'Kartoo'
• Science Search Engine 'scirus'
• Law Search Engine 'FindLaw'
• Audio & Video 'Singing Fish'
• Movies 'IMDb'
• Archives Engine 'Wayback Machine'

You can find search tools for children, as well as particular information formats (i.e., graphics, videos) and content areas. Ditto and FreePhoto are popular image sites. Use FindSounds for audio files. The advantage of a specialized tool is their narrow focus. Rather than getting "everything", they have selected those resources that fit a particular need. For example, KidsClick provides information about the reading level and number of illustrations contained on a website. Use CNET Search to search for software and hardware information.


Go to Starting Points for Kids or Kid's Search Tools for other pages with student search engines links.

Search Engines for Kids and Teens

• KidsClick- Web search for kids by librarians 
• Kids.net.au  is a search engine / portal for kids, children, parents, and teachers.
• EduHound
• Ithaki Kids 'Intelligent search engine that finds sites just for kids searching simultaneously in various guides.'
• LycosZone

Directories

• Alfy
• Ask Jeeves for Kids
• Awesome Library
• CyberSleuth Kids
• EduPuppy
• Family Friendly Search
• Internet Public Library
• KidsKonnect
• ThinkQuest
• Yahooligans*

More: 
* 'Google for educators' 


* Internet Resources for Teaching and Learning  at 'Teacher tap'
'

A family guide to video games for parents 'What They Play'

As craze of video games amongst all age people is wide spreading, parents need to keep an eye on what their kids are playing. The best way to guide your kids regarding video games is to learn yourself about video games. Internet offers handful of useful links and sites with news, reviews, and expert views about video games, and you need to just bookmark those links. 'What they play' is one of those useful links which is helpful in this connection. More about the site:


What They Play 


It is a video game-centric website aimed at helping parents learn about content in video games, helping them decide what games their children should play.


The site contains a database of over 16,000 games divided by console, genre and ESRB rating.
The site employs a small editorial staff of seven to play and review games based on their content, but the site also allows parents to leave comments and reviews under each game describing their thoughts on the game's content and/or their child's reaction to the game. Parents can also submit an age-appropriateness rating, assigned on a scale from 1-17.
To know more about the site, read the 'USA today''s post:
'What They Play' gives parents helping hand'


Other useful resources:


* 'Joystic'  source for news and reviews on the video game industry.

Prolonged computer use and health risks for kids

Using computer and internet for different school tasks is a good idea which can save your time. Playing video games or chatting with friends online is also not bad , but sitting in front of computers for hours have some bad effects on health.

Sitting for a long time in positions that aren't natural for your body can strain your hands, wrists, back, and eyes. Over time, this can result in pain and a kind of injury called a repetitive stress injury.

Here are some tips which can help you safe from bad effects of prolonged computer use. Teachers and parents can make a copy of these tips and print it out to fix it near computer so that kids or teens remember to check these tips while working on computers.

Sitting Square in Your Chair

The way you sit is important. To sit square in your chair, put your behind in the center of the seat. Your legs should bend at the knees and rest on the floor. Most kids are too short to do this, so use a footrest or find a box or a stack of books to place under your feet.

Sit so your back touches the seat back the whole time. Try not to slouch or lean over the keyboard while you type. A chair that has lower-back support can help you do this.

Typing Time

When you type, sit so your elbows are bent at 90-degree angles (like an "L"). Your wrists should be straight, not angled up or down so your fingers rest gently on the keys of the keyboard. And if it feels like you have to stretch your fingers to reach the keyboard, move it closer to you.

Try to keep your fingers and wrists level with your forearms (the lower part of your arms). A wrist wrest can help you stay in the right position. If your wrists are starting to hurt, or you are waking up at night with wrist pain, you may be getting an overuse injury (this is also called carpal tunnel syndrome). If you're having this kind of pain, let your parents know. You might need to see your doctor.

A Mouse!

A small wrist rest also can help support your right hand as you move the mouse. Using a trackball instead of a mouse is also a good solution. A trackball allows you to use a few fingers, instead of just one, as you move around the computer screen.

All Eyes on This

Any time you're using the computer, your eyes are hard at work. Be kind to them by positioning the monitor 18 to 20 inches (46 to 51 centimeters) away from your face. At this distance, you shouldn't have to lean in to read what's on the screen.

Position the screen at your eye level, with the top of the monitor itself level with your forehead. This will keep you from having to lean your neck back (or bend forward) to see the monitor. Your mom or dad can help you get adjusted. They can help you raise the monitor a little higher by stacking a few books under it. You also can raise the height of the chair or sit on a pillow or two.

Take a Break

Here's a good piece of advice: Don't get so involved in the computer that you forget to go to the bathroom! And even if you don't have to go to the bathroom, be sure to take breaks. Kids shouldn't sit at a computer for more than 30 minutes without a break.

When it's time for a break, start with your eyes. Focus on something far away by looking out a window. This gives your eyes a rest from all that focusing on the computer monitor.

Then you'll want to give your body a break, too. Try to move your muscles. Go for a walk, shoot some hoops, or dance in front of the mirror.

Doctors recommend only 1 to 2 hours of screen time per day — which includes TV, the computer, and computer games. Make computer time just one of the activities you do instead of the only thing you do. 

Your body wiL thk U l8r!

Source: 'Familydoctor.org

Useful links:

'Prolonged computer use may lead you to eye and vision problems'

Online Interactive typing lessons for kids

Now kids are learning to use technology and they are learning a lot about computers and internet. Typewriting is an added skill for computer users as it speeds up your work. Learning or practicing typewriting is a boring task but many sites have made it very interesting by adding attractive tools for kids.

This post is about online typing lessons in interactive way so that kids or young children learn in a fun way. Best thing about these links is that these online typing practice lessons are free.

* 'Dance Mat Typing' at BBC.co is provided with animation and games introducing touch typing to children aged 7 to 11. ... Meet the gang and learn to type. Make your way through all 12 stages.

* 'Free typing tutor online with free typing lessons' from 'Powertyping' which is an educational web site for kids, students and adults.

* Learning to keyboard and free typing games for kids!

* 'Kiran's Typing Tutor' is a free keyboarding program for children and adults that includes more than 500 typing lessons, practice, and tests. Each lesson calculates and shows accuracy, words-per-minute, keys-per-minute, as well as typing speed and errors for each letter.

* McGraw-Hill- Glencoe's Online Keyboarding is an online typing tutor for kids or adults that is divided into 16 individual typing lessons ranging from Home Keys and Spacebar to Symbols. Each lesson includes a demonstration movie, typing exercises, a drill, and a printable lesson report to show completion of the lesson.


* E-Learning for Kids Keyboarding Skills is an interactive typing tutor where your child can participate in the Type-E-Chi Virtual Typing Tournament. :E-Learning for Kids Keyboarding Skills -

* 'Learn to type online FREE typing':
Sign up for a FREE kids account and join 4894314 other registered users and learn typing! Take the online Typing Test to check your speed.

Can food choices make your kids more intelligent or smart?

Food can help you become intelligent or smart. As a parent we know that our food should have some important elements such as it should contain protein, carbohydrate, minerals and vitamins and we try to make our food menus rich and fulfilling our daily needs. Our kids are getting sufficient supply of nutritious food and sometimes very rich food which is making our new generation fatter. This article is about tips which can help you determine and check your food menu if your kids are getting the perfect food helping them become smarter and intelligent. As these foods may trigger the brain cells as well.

Foods enhancing brain workout:

Proteins

Protein is the best way to get amino acids which are essential to brain health that the body cannot synthesize itself. A high-protein diet is usually recommended to athletes as it helps to build strong muscles, so give that brain a workout with protein-rich foods!

Spinach: Along with other leafy vegetables, spinach is a good dietary source of protein. An added benefit to spinach is that it contains anti-oxidants that can dispose of free radicals.

Nuts and Seeds: Another great source of protein. Easy to snack on and readily available, nuts/seeds/whole grain foods make for a great way to easily improve your brain power.

Eggs: Not only do they contain a large amount of protein for your brain, but they also carry a great deal of choline, a member of the B-Vitamin group and responsible for maintaining the health of neurotransmitters in the brain.

Fats

We often hear that we need more “omega-3” or that a food is rich in “omega-3”, so when you hear this, know that they’re referring to a type of fatty acid which is usually considered as being food for the brain as well as having the added benefit of reducing heart disease, amongst other things.

Seeds and Nuts: Returning again, seeds and nuts are a fantastic source of fatty acids, including the omega-3 variety of fatty acid. Prime examples of nuts or seeds will include almonds and pumpkin seeds.

Fish and Shellfish: Rich in fatty acids and omega-3, fish truly is food for thought. You’ll often find that people will claim fish is the number one food to make you more intelligent. Anything Oily: Except maybe for people, you’ll find that anything that’s vaguely oily (fish, flaxseed, soya oil, virgin olive oil) will be high in fatty acids and a lot of them will also contain decent amounts of omega-3 for added brain-boosting power.

Carbohydrates

When people think of carbohydrates, they might think of the “carbs” which are bad for them because they induce weight gain. But the truth is that carbohydrates are the main source of fuel for metabolism, the body breaks down carbohydrates and is in return supplied with energy to keep going, thus keeping your brain alert and active. The problem is knowing how much to have, for having too much can indeed lead to weight gain (as can too much of anything) and a high blood/sugar level, but can be partially countered with non-starchy vegetables like broccoli, for example.

Starch-Rich Vegetables: Pastas, corn, carrots and potatoes are all high in carbohydrates and starch, providing the body (and therefore the brain) with an abundant energy source.

Whole Grain Foods: Another supply of energy can be found in common whole grain foods such as breads and cereals, things we commonly have for breakfast to give ourselves that much-needed wake-up boost in the mornings.

Minerals and Vitamins

Vitamins and minerals also contribute to the fight against harmful free radicals, as well as being full of anti-oxidants and other beneficial nutrients, they generally keep the body at its healthiest, maintaining the status quo, as it were. The building blocks of a healthy mind and body. Fruit and Vegetables: The most common and plentiful supplies of vitamins and minerals can be found in such everyday items as small portions of the most common fruits (apples, bananas, oranges, etc) and stir-fried/raw vegetables.

Vitamin Supplements: Supplements shouldn’t be frowned upon for any reason just because they come in little labeled boxes and containers. They can be an incredibly important and beneficial source of health for a person, however, it is important to stress the fact that one cannot live on supplements alone. Think of them as a booster to a well-balanced diet, greatly enhancing the effects of the nutrients contained within normal food.

Ref: 'Teaching tips'

Joy Bauer who is a registered dietitian and the author of several best-selling books, suggests:

When it comes to overall brain health, encourage kids to exercise, eat berries, and increase their intake of foods rich in omega-3 fats and folic acid. Exercise is important because it improves circulation, which increases oxygen flow to the brain.

Blueberries and other berries are powerhouses for young noggins. They’re among the best sources of anthocyanins and flavanols—chemicals that have been shown to increase connections between brain cells, enhancing learning ability and memory. Blueberries also are rich in antioxidants.

Numerous studies on omega-3s have shown that these essential fatty acids help fuel brain power and may be effective in reducing the risk of attention-deficit disorder and dyslexia. Omega-3 fats are especially abundant in salmon, sardines, fortified eggs, ground flax seeds, and walnuts.

Folic acid, a.k.a. folate, is a B vitamin that helps keep your memory sharp by lowering levels of homocysteine, a substance that can damage blood vessels and impede blood flow to the brain. Serve up an Ivy League-inspiring bowl of hearty soup brimming with lentils, beans, and broccoli, and you’ve hit the folic-acid trifecta.

Full article: 'Food to Make Kids Smart'

Related posts around the net:

* What Makes Kids Intelligent?

* 10 Bad Habits that Destruct Brain,Love your Brain

Best educational and free sites for K12 students

During my browsing for educational and resources sites, I was amazed to see so many blogs with a lot of useful information which were otherwise difficult to search around the net. 'Learning reviews' is one of those sites which is mainly a free resource site with reviews.

Site author 'Heidi Reina' is a parent, teacher, technology integrator and webmaster. She has more than 20 years of experience as a computer guru and fifteen years experience as a tutor and elementary school teacher.

Her blog 'Best Kids Educational Websites' is a source of free information and reviews for kids, parents and teachers.

Her site "Learning reviews" is a directory of educational web sites. The site helps K-12 students, teachers and parents to find worthwhile educational content appropriate to their grade levels. If offers listing of more than 2,100 mostly free educational sites.

LearningReviews.com provides a forum for reviews and ratings from you. Is the content of the educational website worthwhile? Is it easy to navigate? How did you use it in the classroom or at home?

What you can get at the site?

For Kids - Interactive learning tools in all subjects, including research paper help.
For Parents - Websites for learning support, homeschooling information & parenting skills.
For Teachers - Lesson resources from elementary school math lesson plans to high school writing

Search for places to spend time with your kids

It is a good idea to plan for outdoors with your family and if you want to spend time with your kids then you need to search for the places near you. You also need to know the things or activities to do with your kid, so that well planned weekends or holidays bring real pleasure for whole family.

'Spend Day With Kids' is a site which can help you guide in this regard.

Mission: 'This web site is dedicated to help you find fun things to do and places to go with kids'

* It helps you find places to go with children in the area near you (around 100 km - 60 miles)
You can find them in two ways:

* In the search box, (for the best results) enter the city name and click the 'Show Me' button.
* Or click the 'All Attractions' and browse attractions by country

* Results will be displayed in the list and on the map provided at the site.

At the site you can find different type of children activities that are educational, cheap, fun or even free for the kids of all ages - from toddlers to teenagers.

They have large list of fun places like theme parks, family parks, water parks, zoos, nature parks, farms and other attractions through out the USA and UK.

* They have plan to include other countries from the Europe as well.

How to help our kids use digital technology wisely

Internet provides a lot of learning opportunities while surfing at the net but still we need to learn about downloading music, movies and copying computer software and games as there are some ethics which we should follow, learn and teach to our younger generation. We can help our kids use digital technology wisely by providing useful information to our kids.

'Peers2Peers' is a program of 'Wired Kids', devoted to making sure that all young people have a safe, valuable and private surfing experience and that all children have access.

Peer 2 peers.org teaches kids and teens how to help each other surf responsibly. It develops new educational and awareness programs for kids and teens about important issues affecting kids and teens.

They say: 'We think that when it comes to setting the rules for what you should and shouldn't be doing online, you should be involved.'

The public service announcements and animations have been designed by real teens and preteens to help others realize the consequences of movie and copyright piracy online.

A search engine for kids from librarians - 'Kids click'

'Google' is the most popular and being widely used for online searches and there is no doubt that you can find valuable information about any topic at this popular search engine. Still I suggest that parents, teachers and students should use family friendly or safe to use search engines for any kind of educational or related search. 'kids click' is another safe search engine for kids/students which is made by librarians and you can expect quality content from this search engines.

More about 'Kids click':

Kids click.org is a web search directory specifically made for kids by librarians. It is a search engine where kids can browse for any kind of online material and resources such as encyclopedias, dictionaries and all kinds of related educational resources for kids.

How to search at the search engine?

You can find other categories in case you want to browse for content by subject such as facts and reference, science and math, the arts, weird and mysterious, health and family, popular entertainments, religion and mythology, home and household, sports and recreation, society and government, machines and transportation, literature, reading, writing and speaking, computers, the internet, geography, history and biography. You can also search subjects by initial letters as well as do advanced searches for specific stuff

It is owned and run by the School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) at San Jose State University. as a logical step in addressing concerns about the role of public libraries in guiding their young users to valuable and age appropriate web sites. It is intended to guide users to good sites; not block them from "bad" sites.

Site link: Kidsclick.org
Related posts:

* Famous Search Engines for Kids

* Search safely with 'Family Friendly Sites'

* "All Safe Sites" - A search engine for young children

* Where to search for educational stuff?

A guide to web safety for kids

Text based web safety information are not attractive for kids so teachers or parents should guide their little ones in the way which could be interactive. 'A guide to web safety for kids' can be a good source in this connection.

It is a web safety presentation which can be easily used at home or school projector to teach children. It is created by Diana. R. Norton, a library service consultant from "The Mid-York Library System"

As the presentation slides are easy and well written, children would enjoy watching these slides.

A kid's guide to safety

More useful links: 'Kid's Internet Safety Sites'

Useful links:

* Fun and interactive sites for kids

*'Kids friendly search engines'

* 'List of good sites'

Search safely with 'Family Friendly Sites'

Internet is a world of information and if you intend to use it safely for you or your family you should use the search engines which provide family or kid friendly site links. Parents and teachers can help the kids learn how to use internet safely. Picking up family friendly search engines for search purposes is the safe way to browse the net.

Family Friendly Sites is a search engine based site which believes in supporting the online safety of family members using the Internet.

At the left side bar there is "Parent friendly link" where you can search for 'Internet Safety Resources' and 'Parenting Tips'.

There are "kid friendly link" categories like as 'Early Learning, Educational Sites
Games & Entertainment, Online Safety Tips, Search Engines.

Site link: family friendly sites

Free e-book for parents -Beyond the Golden Rule

'Tolerance' is a skill which helps us deal with life matters. In simple words I think we can resemble it with 'patience'. This post is about a free e-book which you can download and learn how to teach your kids 'tolerance'. As a parents first we should learn it and then teach it to our young ones. First let's learn more about this term:

Merriam webster dictionary provides definition of 'tolerance': 'Capacity to endure pain or hardship'
Wikipedia says: Toleration and tolerance are terms used in social, cultural and religious contexts to describe attitudes and practices that prohibit discrimination against those practices or group memberships that may be disapproved of by those in the majority. Conversely, 'intolerance' may be used to refer to the discriminatory practices sought to be prohibited.

"Beyond in tract ability" explains: Tolerance is the appreciation of diversity and the ability to live and let others live. It is the ability to exercise a fair and objective attitude towards those whose opinions, practices, religion, nationality and so on differ from one's own.[1] As William Ury notes, "tolerance is not just agreeing with one another or remaining indifferent in the face of injustice, but rather showing respect for the essential humanity in every person."[2]

Intolerance is the failure to appreciate and respect the practices, opinions and beliefs of another group. For instance, there is a high degree of intolerance between Israeli Jews and Palestinians who are at odds over issues of identity, security, self-determination, statehood, the right of return for refugees, the status of Jerusalem and many other issues. The result is continuing inter-group violence.

Drawn from our handbook, Beyond the Golden Rule: A Parent’s Guide to Preventing and Responding to Prejudice, the age-specific sections here offer practical advice about the challenges and rewards of parenting

The ideas in this guide will help foster tolerance in yourself, your family, your schools, your workplace and your community. Some of the ideas are things to do. Some are things to think about. Some are things to remember.
This guide is not a sure-fire recipe for making the world a better place. These ideas are only some of the possibilities. The best ideas are those that work for you and your community.

- Download PDF version of parenting handbook: "Beyond the Golden Rule"
or go to this link to download from the site link.

Links:

Tolerance

Career Information for Kids

We often ask our kids 'What you are going to be, when you are grown up?' and sometimes we estimate about any profession which a child seems interested. Career selection is an individual choice and teachers or parents can definately help their children guide about the career they intend to adopt in future. If from the very early age our kids have an idea or target for the future studies or profession, they would be more passionate about their future goal.

Career information for kids is from Bureau of Labor Statistics, offering very useful links and information about many professions.

Web site for kids provides introductory career information for students in Grades 4-8. Most of the material on the site has been adapted from the Bureau's Occupational Outlook Handbook—a career guidance publication for adults and upper-level high school students that describes the job duties, working conditions, training requirements, earnings levels, and employment prospects of hundreds of occupations.

On the kids' site, wording and labor market concepts have been simplified and some statistical detail has been eliminated. In addition, the occupations on the site are categorized according to interests and hobbies common among students. The twelve categories and their corresponding occupations are shown at the end of this Teacher's Guide.
To help students continue their career exploration, each occupational description on the kids' site links to related information in the Handbook. The Bureau's Web site for kids is updated every 2 years with each new edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Because the kids' site is designed to give a quick introduction to a career, the information provided is general. For example, the most common way of preparing for an occupation is described, while other, less common, methods of entry might be mentioned only briefly or not at all. In the same way, the earnings figures given are representative and might not illustrate the variety of earnings found in an occupation. The Occupational Outlook Handbook gives more precise and detailed information.

When describing projected job growth in an occupation, the kids' site uses phrases such as "faster than average," "average," and "slower than average." The "average" referred to in these phrases is the projected job growth across all occupations. These projections are developed by economists in the Bureau's Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections.

For every field which you have interest describes the possible careers and each career choice explains:
What is this job like? | How do you get ready? | How much does this job pay? | How many jobs are there? | What about the future? | Are there other jobs like this? | Where can you find more information?

site link:Career information for kids

"All Safe Sites" - A search engine for young children

As internet use is increasing worldwide, more sites and links are emerging to help our kids browse safely online. I have written few posts about few top search engines where parents, teachers or students can search safely for the specific stuff.
is a directory and search engine for yound children. It is designed with visual aid to make it easy for small chilren who find text based sites difficult to read.

Other specialities of 'All safe sites'

- It is free of ads, and the reason (according to them) behind keeping it ad free is that most advertisement programs are deceptive in nature and attempt to lure the user away to another web site that is often not suitable for children.
- It offers educational, fun and safe sites.
- Directory of the search engine is human edited. Each site in their directory is personally reviewed and recommended by an elementary school teacher.

Home page offers search for catagories: Educational, technology, fun & games, entertainment, random and top rated sites.
Site link: All safe sites

Related posts:

* Search at "Ask for KIDS" for educational stuff!

* Search for the kids sites at "Kinder Start"

* Study Sphere-providing learning resources

* A "Child and Family Web Guide" about child development sites

* Where to search for educational stuff?

* Famous Search Engines for Kids