Recycling of plastic water or pet bottles in creative ways

PET is one of the most common plastics being used by consumers. Bottled water is usually called pet bottles. Recycling of these water bottles is very important to save our environment, our planet. This post is about creative uses or craft projects.
Polyethylene terephthalate or as it is more commonly known PET or PETE is a polymer resin that is part of the polyester family.The PET package is simply discarded by the consumer and becomes part of the waste stream as consumer waste. Some local governments and private agencies collect PET separately from other household waste.

PET bottle recycling is more practical and more easily executed because they are more easily identifiable in the recycle stream since most soft drink and water bottles are made exclusively of PET. Some of these are used in bottles for soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, edible oils, pharmaceuticals, and detergents. 
These first 3 projects are made by children at the occasion of 'Save energy' event, followed by other recycling pictures or news found at the net.

At the occasion of  'Save energy' event, this recycled project was created which shows the use of a  soda bottle as a trash bin

Another crafts created by class 5 boys 'A windmill'

Another recycling example which was created by class 5 boys

Grandfather creates geodesic: It is an innovative sustainable design for kids: the geodesic dome building blocks shown above are constructed entirely of used plastic bottles otherwise destined for a landfill.

Make.com has a long list of ideas for recycling water bottles-including one for using a bottle to keep your yarn from tangling. 

How about creating a beach shoe made of pet bottles? Gearfuse.com offers this unique idea of recycling your old water bottles as sandals for the beach. 

The boat made of thousands of plastic bottles used successfully ply the Pacific Ocean and dropped in a number of ports without significant disruption.
This boat has a length of 18 meters have been sailing for four months with the distance traveled 15,000 km. Thousands of old plastic bottles were tied to the pontoon, so that increases used strong special glue.
Plastic Bottle Boat sailing the Pacific Ocean for Four Months

Useful links:

* Things you can make with old plastic pop bottles

* 20 crafty ways to reuse plastic bottles (An amazing post with link to 20 crafts made of plastic bottles)

* Water PET bottle from trash to treasure

What Foods to Avoid if Your Child is Diagnosed ADHD?

Eliminating or avoiding some foods from the diet may improve ADHD symptoms. If your child is diagnosed with ADHD, this diet guideline may help you minimize the ADHD and related symptoms.As diet and nutrition are related to mood and behavior, and that they can affect brain development, so particular changes in diet can diminish the symptoms related to this neurological disorder called 'ADHD'.

Avoiding or eliminating some foods means a particular food or ingredient you think might be causing ADHD symptoms. Then you stop eating anything containing that substance. If the symptoms subside, then you continue avoiding the substance. The assumption is that you are eating something unhealthy that causes ADHD symptoms or makes them worse. Proper nutrition, including an array of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and essential fatty acids (EFAs), is particularly necessary in the first few years of life to support brain development and prevent certain neurological disorders. 


Even among older children, a lack of certain dietary components such as protein, or an insufficient number of calories, can negatively affect a child’s learning and behavioral abilities, and vitamin or mineral deficiencies can certainly interfere with learning over the course of a school year.
What foods to avoid if your child is diagnosed ADHD?

• NO DAIRY PRODUCTS, especially cow's milk. The American Pediatric Association estimates that a significant percentage of all children are allergic to milk. Instead try Almond milk, Rice milk, or Better Than Milk. We are looking at "Raw Organic Milk" which has not been pasteurized. Since it still has enzymes it might be digested better than the "ultra-pasteurized" milk. And drink lots of water for two weeks.
• NO YELLOW FOODS. Especially Yellow Corn or Yellow Squash. Bananas are white, but don't eat the yellow peel. About 1/1000 people have problems with the stuff that makes these foods yellow in color.
• NO JUNK FOODS. If it comes in a cellophane wrapper, don't eat it. Stop eating junk food and your brain will work better. Junk foods tend to be very high in sugars and carbohydrates, and our brains get fuzzy and our kids get more hyperactive when sugars and carbohydrates are eaten together.
• NO FRUIT JUICES. They have too much sugar. One small glass of apple juice has the sugar content of eight apples. Later on you can have juice, but for now if you have to have any juice just dilute it with water 50/50.
• CUT SUGAR INTAKE BY 90%. If you can, cut it down to zero. Sugar is in just about everything, but try to really restrict eating it. Do your best to reduce your sugar intake without going crazy.
• CUT CHOCOLATE BY 90%. No more than a single piece, once a week. Chocolate is our favorite food here at newideas.net but it has about 220 different chemicals, some of which people can have problems with.
• NO NUTRASWEET. None. Period. Never. It's bad for you. It is bad for your brain. This is not just a two week restriction. It is not very good for your brain.
• NO PROCESSED MEATS and NO MSG. Only get meats with labels that say, “Turkey and Water,” etc. This is not just a two week restriction. If the meat has chemicals listed that you can't pronounce, don't buy it and don't eat it.
• CUT FRIED FOODS BY 90%. The Trans-Fats in fried foods and other less than healthy foods compete in the body with good Fatty Acids, and the Essential Fatty Acids. You can either have unhealthy Trans-Fats, or healthy EFA, but not both in the same space in your brain. Good fats with good fatty acids are your friends. Bad fats such as Trans-fats or Poly-Unsaturated fats are bad for us. Good fat sources can include animal fats, coconut oil, olive oil, flax oil and so on.
• AVOID FOOD COLORINGS WHENEVER POSSIBLE. See if your child is sensitive to any particular colors, such as Reds, Yellows, etc. For now, though, avoid all if possible.
• AVOID FISH. Mercury levels in most fish is simply too high to be either safe or healthy.

Related: http://newideas.net/adhd
Useful links:
* ADHD and Diet: Parsing the Recent Research
* Diet & ADHD: Are There Links Between ADHD & Diet?

Inauguration of self protective training for disaster management like fire and earthquake

February 4 and 5th  (Saturday and Sunday) a group of teachers of our School participated in a two days workshop 'Protective and preventive measures to face disastrous situations like 'Fire and earthquake'.

Purpose of this short training workshop was to learn self-protective training to the employees of the institution.
The training venue was the school itself.
It was inaugurated by 'Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense' department. Fire Service and Civil Defence is a department working for all kind of rescue missions in Bangladesh including fire safety, safety during air raids and any kind of disaster.

Why this training?

Fire Safety: We know that every year Bangladesh and our dear city Dhaka has to face some kind of fire disasters among which many situations can be prevented. These accidents happen due to a very minor cause.
Whatever the cause may be, we can help minimize these disasters and learning what to tackle the situation as a responsible citizen.

Earthquake: After the recent great quakes that have swept away entire coastlines and cities in Japan, Haiti and Sumatra, scientists are now looking hard at the nation that may suffer the gravest threat of all: Bangladesh. With more than 160 million people, Bangladesh is the most crowded place on earth, and one of the poorest–and it is growing fast. Scientists have come to recognize that it sits at the juncture of several active tectonic plate boundaries–including the tail end of the one that caused the 2004 Sumatra tsunami that killed over 200,000 people, 1,300 miles south. Any moderate or severe earthquake situation can become disastrous for the whole country and especially for capital city Dhaka. So every citizen need to get some basic training for that difficult time to face the situation and help minimize number of causalities.

Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense provided training to preventive and precautionary measures of different types disasters, fight the fire (fire safety), rescue trapped persons, providing first aid etc.
Whole day training included lectures, slide shows and practical demonstration. Precaution and preventive measure regarding any disastrous situation like fire or earthquake was discussed.

Importance of Self protective training:
By learning preventive and precautionary measures we can  minimize the destruction of wealth and properties of the Nation.

• We can help minimize the number of casualties and also help minimize the number of death.

Training outcome:
This kind of training and workshops help trainees getting ready to ----

• Fight all types of fire breaking out at any time day and night.
• Helping the volunteers or special teams to extricate trapped persons from burning buildings, underneath collapsed structures.
• Be able to provide first aid to the injured person before reaching the hospital.
• Advise on fire prevention and fire protection measures for buildings, industrial and commercial installations etc.

Importance of Having Nutritious Breakfast for Children

Do you know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? Not only for adults but children and school going kids should have habit of having breakfast at the start of the day.>A good breakfast provides the nutrients that people need to start their day off right. Studies also show a link between participation in the School Breakfast Program and improved academic performance.

Many people underestimate the value of breakfast. They may only have a glass of juice or a cup of coffee and eat nothing at all. However, research has shown that this type of routine is not the best habit to get into. Eating a substantial meal within the first few hours of waking up is much healthier for you and your child.
Children who eat a good breakfast tend to perform better in school, and have a better attendance and decreased hyperactivity. Children who don't eat breakfast tend to perform not as well, and also tend to have behavior problems such as fighting, stealing, and not listening to their teachers (Dr. Ronald Kleinman, Harvard Medical School).

• A good nutritious breakfast need not include typical breakfast foods, but eating breakfast is a good habit to start off the school day.
• Studies show that children and adult students who eat breakfast do more and better work in school than those who skip it. In contrast, those who skip breakfast tend to tire more quickly, be more irritable, and react less quickly than those who eat breakfast. Because many of the basic subjects are taught before noon, breakfast is an important meal.
• National studies consistently confirm that breakfast provides fuel for school and boosts brain power. Children who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight, have a higher intake of key vitamins and minerals and are less likely to suffer from colds than those who skip their first meal of the day.
•  In one study, test scores of children who did not eat breakfast were generally lower than those who had eaten a well-balanced morning meal. 
• Another good reason to make sure that children have a balanced breakfast is that four out of five children do not get enough vitamins and minerals from lunch and dinner alone.
•  By adding breakfast, children are more likely to get the vitamins and minerals they need. Also, children who don’t eat a good breakfast tend to eat more junk food during the day -- snacks that are high in fat and sugar and low in nutritional value.

Eating breakfast:                                                                                                                       

• Improves classroom performance, including better test scores and grades
• Increases children's ability to focus and concentrate on school work
• Decreases behavior problems, tardiness and visits to the school nurse
• Increases attendance rate

If your child eats breakfast at home, choose a breakfast with milk, fruit and cereal(grain product). These three foods can provide for a good breakfast. Eating a healthy breakfast does not need to take a lot of time. A good breakfast should include nutritious foods from three of the four food groups.
Whole-grain bread or cereal, fruit, milk, yogurt, or eggs are good breakfast options. 
Suggestions to get your children to eat breakfast each morning:
Offer variety. Mixing a variety of healthy cereals, especially those that are lower in sugar, are a good source of carbohydrate and fibre for children. In addition, skim or 1% milk supplies needed calcium and protein.
Make it easy. If pressed for time in the morning, try cutting up fruit the night before, so it’s ready to add to cereal or yogurt
Be creative. Breakfast doesn't have to be limited to cereal or toast. A whole-wheat English muffin with mozzarella and tomato sauce or an omelette with vegetables may seem unconventional to parents, but if a child enjoys it, it can be a healthy choice.
Useful links:                                                                                                            
* 'Breakfast'
* 'Serve up the benefits of breakfast' at 'Scholastic.com'
* Importance of breakfast for children
'Starting healthy eating habits

Natural Remedies to Treat ADD and ADHD Among Children

Children are naturally sensitive so regular medication means facing severe side effects. Natural herbs and home remedies have proven effective in treating ADD or ADHD. These remedies can be adopted for the treatment of ADD and ADHD for the relief of these neurological disorders. These excellent natural remedies are perfectly safe and effective, without any side effects. Herbal remedies are obtained from a wide variety of natural resources including plant leaves, bark, berries, flowers, and roots.

Natural remedies to treat ADD and ADHD:

Natural herbs and home remedies have proven effective in treating ADD or ADHD. These remedies can be adopted for the treatment of ADD and ADHD for the relief of these neurological disorders. These excellent natural remedies are perfectly safe and effective, without any side effects.

Herbal remedies are obtained from a wide variety of natural resources including plant leaves, bark, berries, flowers, and roots. Herbal medicine remains a popular alternative throughout China and the Far East, and is growing in popularity throughout the world. Natural remedies to treat ADD and ADHD:

There are many natural remedies available that focus specifically on child ADHD treatment. When researching natural remedies as a treatment for ADHD, look for ingredients which have been shown to be the most useful.

 Panax Ginseng: a Chinese herb, has been shown in studies to strengthen the immune system, reduce stress and fatigue, increase motivation, and normalize body functions.


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 (Scutellaria lateriflora):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 to calm 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. Recent studies show that it may also help increase blood flow to the brain and improve general circulation.


Green Oats (Avena sativa): Also called Hawer, it’s used to treat nervous exhaustion and as a general nerve tonic. It acts as a nerve tonic whose calming effects grow with time and consistent use. 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. Which things to avoid for better treatment:
It is thought that diet with refined sugar and food additives can causes children to become hyperactive and inattentive.
Avoid Sugar: Research has shown that children with ADD and ADHD may not digest sugars properly. Sugar consumption has been linked to aggressive, restless behavior. 
Avoid Soft Drinks: Both sugar-free and sweetened contain phosphates which displaces calcium/magnesium levels, causing exaggerated muscle activity. 
Get Plenty of Sunlight: Seasonal Affective Disorder, SAD, is sometimes misdiagnosed as ADD or ADHD. Occurring mostly in northern latitudes during the winter months, SAD produces ADD-like symptoms. Consider exposure to full-spectrum lighting if unable to spend time outdoors each day.


First published at 'factoidz'



Useful links:
* Herbal Remedies for ADHD

* Natural Remedies for ADHD and ADD

* How to Treat ADHD, or ADD, with Natural Remedies

* Teacher's Ideas: Dealing With Students Having ADD/ADHD

* Food colours are linked with hyperactivity of your child

* Why use herbal and home remedies to cure and how to use these remedies effectively?

Why Proper Development of fine motor Skills is Important?

A motor skill is simply an action that involves your kids using his muscles. They are divided into two groups: gross motor skills and fine motor skills. Both types of motor skills usually develop together, because many activities depend on the coordination of gross and fine motor skills.

Gross and Fine motor skills have become an important parameter for assessing the development of the child. So it’s important to develop these skills in them which will in turn help them to perform better academically and physically too.

Gross motor skills involve the large muscles of the body involving physical movement of the child like running, jumping, hopping etc. These require balance and coordination skills.
Fine motor skills are the collective skills and activities that involve the small muscle movements using the hands, fingers with vision. 
Today we are learning about 'fine motor skills', and its importance. Moreover what tasks your kids can perform if he/she has developed fine motor skills properly.

Fine motor skills are the coordination of small muscle movements especially the coordination of finger movement with vision to perform precise and refinded movements. These skills are acquired as children, and humans secure and perfect them throughout life.

How to adopt brain gym in classroom to boost skills among students?

I am adopting brain gym exercises before starting my class and noticed that these simple body movements help students become more focused for the learning. Brain gym is most effective when used in the classroom as part of the learning process. These physical activities help the chemical and electrical processes which take place during mental and physical efforts.

Brain gym is the easiest and fastest way to shift students from scattered to focused, from confused to clear, and from tense to relaxed. A typical classroom experience lacks the quantity of movement required for healthy physiological development. Brain gym can be effective in changing attitudes and the classroom atmosphere;

 To be successful, it is important
* that the teacher is confident with the Brain Gym exercises and has an understanding of underlying concepts on which Brain Gym is based;
* any initial resistance to using the exercises by students feeling embarrassed is recognised.

When to apply brain gym?
These and other brain training exercises are especially effective for children with learning difficulties. A good time to perform them is right before learning activities. It seems your students are too lethargic and need a bit of revitalization to be ready for learning Or when you see they are too nervous and restless so that they can calm down... and you as well!

Centralization: These are mostly relaxation exercises which help to reestablish the neural networks between brain and body and, this way, facilitating the passage of electromagnetic flow through the body.

Brain buttons: One hand massages two spots below the clavicle while the other rests on the navel. The movements stimulates the carotid artery and this way enhances the blood flow to the brain.
It activates the brain for:
• reading skills

• memorization.                                                                                  
 Earth buttons: One hand fingers rest on the lower lip while the others stay on the pubic bone. While having the sensation of a better connection between the upper and lower parts of the body the students feels more stable and centered.
It improves:
• reading skills.
 Balance buttons: These buttons reestablish balance in every dimension: left-right, above-under, behind-before. The student massages the spot where the skull is attached to the neck and, at the same time, the navel.
It improves the next learning skills:
• critical and decisional capacities
• spelling accurateness
• Maths calculations.
 Space buttons: One hand rests on the upper lip while the other lays on the back-bone.
It activates the brain for:
• relaxation and concentration
• eye-contact in communication with people
It improves these learning skills:
• focusing during a test
• reading
• motivation and interest.
 The thinking cap: This activity helps the student to focus attention on hearing. It also lessens tension in skull bones. The student gently pulls ears backwards and unrolls them with fingers. They start from the top of the ear, massage them delicately and end on the lobe.
It activates brain for:
• hearing one's voice
• short-term memory
• inner dialogue and thinking .
 Hook-ups: The exercise can be done while standing, sitting or lying down. Students cross the left ankle on the right one. Then they intertwine fingers and bring them near the chest. They close their eyes, breathe deeply for a few minutes and relax. Then students free hands and legs and finger tips touch gently while they keep on breathing deeply.
Hook-ups help:
• mind and body relaxation
 The energetic yawn : Don't get angry at your students if they yawn during English classrooms! Not now that you know that scientific research has proved yawing to be a perfect exercise which brings oxygen to the brain and so enhances learning performances!

Related post: What is brain gym and how to integrate it in classroom to enhance learning abilities of students?

Useful links:

* Brain Gym's Energy Exercises. Energy Exercises help to re-establish neural connections between body and brain.
*  Brain gymnastics therapy can reduce autism symptoms

Negative influence of ads on children and why parents need to teach them to become wise consumers?

As parents or guardians we needs to educate ourselves and our kids about the purpose of ads.
We need to train them to become wise consumers to make healthy choices. We can help your kids get better at assessing ad messages by encouraging them to talk with you about what the ads are really trying to say.

A Stanford University study had kids taste food in McDonald packaging and unmarked packaging and asked which they preferred. The kids preferred the McDonald packaged food not realizing that they went for it because they were conditioned to believe "it must taste good."
Advertising campaign can affect a child's social, emotional and physical health, in various ways like:

• Advertising can encourage a child to believe that his/her personality and likeability can be expressed in things.
• Excessive materialism can affect the development of children's self-image and values.
• Aggressive marketing of fast food commercials featuring candy and soft drinks contributes to overweight.                         

Advertising is powerful – that’s why companies pay millions for it – and it is especially effective on kids.

Troubling about all this advertising exposure is that young kids are not so good at telling fact from fiction. They don’t understand that the ad’s purpose is to sell, and they often accept advertising claims and images as the truth.

Teaching kids how to look at advertisements with a critical eye for the truth can be very effective in reducing some of the negative effects of advertising.

Intention and purpose of advertisers:
Advertisers target at children because of their high disposable income, their early establishment of loyalty to certain brands and a conventional wisdom that young adults buy products on impulse. Many parents and critics fear that children are susceptible to commercial appeals because young viewers lack the necessary cognitive skills to process the highly persuasive messages and make appropriate judgements about them.

Educators and researchers have attempted to design programs that will teach children about the intent of advertisements and help children construc defenses from commercial messages. To get more information about it you may search at following sites:

Helpful websites

Don't Buy It!

MediaWatch.com Negative effect of advertisement on children

Basic drawing practice tips to improve your drawing skills

I am a drawing teacher and love to see kids learning and enjoy drawing class. Sometimes teachers want to enhance their own skills in particular area, so there are lots of online sites offering free tutorials to improve at drawing.

These basic drawing tips and tutorials can be adopted in classroom to teach basic drawing process to students.

Tips to help you with practicing drawing:

Prepare the essential drawing tools for drawing which are pencil, eraser and paper. HB pencil is probably the most popular hardness of a pencil, because it is neither too soft nor too hard. It allows you to draw a large variety of pencil drawings and sketches and, is excellent for shading.

Sketchbook, notepads, chalkboards, whiteboards, the backs of receipts, you may use anything to practice drawing.

How to hold the pencil? 

The most common way to hold a pencil is the basic tripod grip. The basic tripod grip is the same as the one you probably use for writing.

This grip allows the pencil to be finely controlled by the fingers, so holding a pencil this way is ideal for drawing fine detail. The upright position of the pencil allows for accurate shading with the tip, rather than side, of the pencil.

There are more ways to hold the pencil. You may notice another way of holding pencil for shading in facing picture.

While practicing drawing, don't be so concerned with how the finished product will look. Instead, be open-minded as to how your drawings may turn out.


The lines we draw are representative of the thoughts we think. And in realizing this connection, it's important to be able to both think and draw creatively.                       

Take on a more 'free-flowing' approach with respect to the lines you put down on paper. Instead of fixed, rigid lines — switch over to quick, wispy, sketchy ones, gradually bringing the desired image into view.

You should have less focus on how your drawings will look when they're finished, and more focus on the process at hand — that of being creative.


Learning and improving at drawing is an ever-changing process, one that always has the potential to yield a number of different results and every drawing will be a learning experience for you.

Treat each new drawing as a stone on the pathway to success and with each new creation, you'll be one step closer to your goal. Draw in the moment!

Free download:

'Learning how to draw' 133 pages of pdf  file (2.27 M)

Download link

*** You may like to use online lessons to learn to draw at 'Draw Space'

YouTube video: Drawing lessons 

Useful links:

* 'Learn to draw' 

* 'Drawing coach'  offers free lessons on drawing techniques.

* 'Easy drawings and sketches' has many tutorials to learn drawing. You may check this site.

How many kind of pencils you can find and what are the uses of pencils?

There are many kinds of pencils like common lead pencil, colored pencil, mechanical pencil, etc. And there are many uses of pencil despite of the fact that we are now more attracted to computers, notebooks or hand held devices and use fingers or mouse. Let's learn more about pencil, kind and uses of pencils.

According to wikipedia: A pencil is a writing implement or art medium usually constructed of a narrow, solid pigment core inside a protective casing. The case prevents the core from breaking, and also from marking the user’s hand during use. Now we have a new look of pencils, mechanical pencils which are easier in use.

At the moment you can obtain 3 different varieties:
the traditional one (graphite refill encapsulated inside a wooden wrapper of cedar),
the propelling pencil (pens with very fine refills of graphite) or
the bar pencil (Similar to the propelling pencils but with thicker and more resistant graphite bars. Approx.. 5 mm in diameter).

According to 'Pencilopedia there are many kind of pencils like:

• Indelible Pencils                                                  
• Copying Pencils 
• Drawing Pencils 
• Drafting Pencils 
• Woodless Pencils 
• Checking Pencils 
• Colored Pencils 
• Writing Pencils 
• China Markers 
• Hydro Markers 
• Carpenter Pencils 
• Penny Pencil 
• World War II Pencils 
• Golf Pencils 
• Sketching Pencils 
• Highlighter Pencils                 

How people use pencil?

Writers (drafts of novels, stories, plays)
News reporters and newscasters (interview notes)
Engineers (plans and drawings)
Carpenters (plans and drawings, estimating)
Composers (creating music)
Scientists (experiments)
Teachers (lesson books)
Business people (meeting notes and memos)
High school and college students (class notes and homework)
Golfers (scores)
Parents (grocery shopping lists)

"What are Pencils Used for?

Student—Homework
Artist—Sketch Pad
Carpenter—Wood Board
Waiter/Waitress —Order Pad
Make-up Person—Eyes
Sports Scorekeeper—Scorecard
Architect—Blueprint

Links for more information:

* How Pencils Are Made?

* Office museum' explains the 'pencil history'

* 'Pencil History'

* The Pencil  a resource for pencil collectors or enthusiasts, information related to pencils.

* An interesting article: My Pencil Made Me Well

* Creative uses for colored pencils

* The Unleaded Pencil-Making your mark with graphite or color pencils

What is brain gym and how to integrate it in classroom to enhance learning abilities of students?

Teachers can use 'brain gym' activities or exercises to enhance the learning abilities of students. My kids of Nursery class love brain gym exercises and I ask them to do it usually before starting my maths class. I have noticed that when students are introduced to brain gym, kids become more focused and more enthusiastic for learning.

What is Brain Gym?
Brain Gym was developed in the 1980s by Dr. Dennison, an American teacher with an interest in the effect of movement on his students’ ability to learn.

Brain gym is an energising program of movement designed to release tense muscles, improve brain and body communication, create a state of active relaxation, and improve concentration, organisation and co-ordination.
Brain Gym movements prepare the brain and nervous system for optimal performance. They are ideal for anyone undertaking a learning activity.                                      

This movement-based system activates and integrates the brain and body by:

* Enhancing learning ability and academic performance
* Balancing emotion and behavior
* Improving physical coordination and sports performance and
* Developing an overall state of wellness and momentum in any area of life

Those educators who have incorporated the techniques and activities into their classrooms report good results.

How to integrate Brain gym into the classroom?

• Many exercises can be performed while sitting at a desk. Children can be taught to engage in them when they feel their attention drifting or when they are feeling fatigued.
• These exercises can be done as a group during a lesson break.
• Brain gym helps in developing motor coordination and skills to follow directions.

Benefits of brain gym for learning:

* Academic skills - for example, reading, writing, spelling and maths
* Memory, concentration and focus
* Physical co-ordination and balance
* Communication skills and language development
* Self-development and personal stress management
* The achievement of goals - both professional and personal

This movement-based system offers additional assistance to children with learning difficulties and helps them achieve the best of success in their academic paths.

Useful links:

* Brain exercises that keep your brain sharp

* http://www.poipassion.com/DyslexiaBrainGym.htm

* Brain Gym International

* Brain and Body Connection

* Brain Gym - Simple Body Movements to Boost Learning Process

* Brain buttons

Interesting facts about learning disabilities in children every parent should know

These are some interesting facts about children having learning disabilities.
A Learning Disability may mean you have difficulty with:

• spoken language;                               
• written language; 
• coordination;
• self-control; 
• organizational skills; 
• attention; or, memory.

Guardians and teachers can help them learn how to cope with their learning problems better by teaching them applyhing strategies that can minimize their effect   There has been remarkable new research in the field of Learning Disabilities and brain function that show how the brain works. As a result, we are now better able to assist those with Learning Disabilities.

Interesting facts about learning disabilities:

•  People with Learning Disabilities often excel in their chosen fields. 
•  Those with Learning Disabilities can and do learn, just differently. 
•  Conservatively, 10-15% of the population has Learning Disabilities. 
•  An estimated 25% of the population is considered “at risk” for Learning Disabilities. 
•  Early identification and intervention reduce the risk of school failure to less than 5%. 
• In 1877 the term “word blindness” (wortblindheit) was coined by Adolf Kussmaul who recognized that there are individuals who can see perfectly well - but are unable to “see” written words. 
• Dr. Albert Einstein famous for the theory of relativity 
• and winner of the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics had speech difficulties and never completed high school. Later he wrote, “The spirit of learning and creative thought were lost by strict rote learning”.
• No one knows the exact cause of LD but it is believed to be a problem with the Central Nervous System, meaning it is neurological. 
• LD also tends to run in families. You may discover that one of your guardians or grandparents had trouble at school.

Famous people with learning disabilities! 

Do you know that Albert Einstein couldn't read until he was nine? 

Walt Disney, General George Patton, and Vice President Nelson Rockefeller had trouble reading all their lives. 

Whoopi Goldberg and Charles Schwab and many others have learning disabilities which haven't affected their ultimate success.

Useful links:

* Learning Disability Fast Facts

* Facts and stats about LD PDF report.

* 'LD success.org' offers load of information about this topic. They provide guideline of teachers and parents

* Read the news about disabilities. 

Online Resources for Parents to Deal with Children Having Learning Disabilities

This post is about resources and online sites which offer useful information about children with learning disabilities. You get some basic information about 'learning disabilities' and at the end of post there are online resources list to get more help about this important issue. Parents should book mark these sites so that in early stages you can figure out what kind of learning disability your child has and how to deal with it?

A learning disability can't be cured or fixed; it is a lifelong issue. With the right support and intervention, however, children with learning disabilities can succeed in school and go on to successful, often distinguished careers later in life. Parents can help children with learning disabilities achieve such success by encouraging their strengths, knowing their weaknesses, understanding the educational system, working with professionals and learning about strategies for dealing with specific difficulties.

If you think your child might have a learning disability, it’s important to face the problem early on. You can start by studying up on learning disabilities and pinpointing the specific learning challenges your child faces. With the right support and training, children with learning disabilities can tackle the obstacles they face in the classroom and thrive in all areas of life.
School teachers can also get help from these resources as they also need to check if any of the student have symptoms of learning disability!

 Common learning disabilities:
 Dyslexia – a language-based disability in which a person has trouble understanding written words. It may also be referred to as reading disability or reading disorder.
 Dyscalculia – a mathematical disability in which a person has a difficult time solving arithmetic problems and grasping math concepts.
 Dysgraphia – a writing disability in which a person finds it hard to form letters or write within a defined space.
 Auditory and Visual Processing Disorders – sensory disabilities in which a person has difficulty understanding language despite normal hearing and vision.
 Nonverbal Learning Disabilities – a neurological disorder which originates in the right hemisphere of the brain, causing problems with visual-spatial, intuitive, organizational, evaluative and holistic processing functions.

Useful links and online resources for parents and teachers: 

* ISER (Internet special education resources) is a directory of professionals, organizations, and schools that serve the learning disabilities and special education communities. They help parents find local special education professionals for learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder assessment, therapy, advocacy, critical teen issues, and other special needs.

* 'Dystalk.com''s motto is "helping your child learn better." It's for parents of children who are looking for information on how to optimise their child's learning. DysTalk provides information on specific learning difficulties that may be undermining a child's performance as well as learning strategies that can potentially be applied to all children of all abilities.

* 'Our Kids.org' work with children with physical and/or mental disabilities and delays.

* 'The teacher's guide' offers 'special education' resouces.

* 'LDonline' a website focusing on learning disablities and ADHD * 'Learning Disabilities in Children' from 'Help guide.org'

Efficient use of eye contact as a non-verbal teaching tool

We teachers get the opportunity to participate in workshops, seminars or training sessions to improve teaching skills on regular basis. Effective use of eye contact is part of 'classroom management' techniques which every teacher should learn.

Eye contact is a very important non-verbal teaching technique, which not only enhanced students’ attention in the classroom but also helps teachers in the attainment of desired student results.

Efficient use of eye contact in the classroom as a non verbal teaching tool:

In classroom, eye contact performs a very significant function as non-verbal communication.

Eye contact makes so much difference: if students feel that the teacher is actually talking and engaging with them, they are more likely to engage with teacher and listen what they’re saying.

Eye contact also helps to convey that all-important enthusiasm and passion that can bring the topic to life.

Teachers can use eye contact for the enhancement of learning of the students in various ways. Wainwright also highlighted six different functions of eye contact: seeking information; showing attention and interest; inviting and controlling interaction; dominating, threatening and influencing others; providing feedback during speech; and revealing attitude.

Teachers often complain about discipline, about lack of attention, about the use of L2 in the classroom and many other problems, many of which amount to a breakdown in communication between teacher and students or between students themselves. It is well known that speech is only one part of communication, yet teachers often forget about or underestimate the importance of non-verbal communication in their own and their students' performance.


One aspect of non-verbal communication is the use of the eyes to convey messages. The eyes are a powerful tool for both the teacher and the learner, yet much classroom time is spent with eyes firmly fixed on the book, the board, the floor, the window, or roaming randomly around the teaching and learning environment.

Teachers working in all disciplines in secondary schools have always been advised to develop 'the look' as part of their teaching persona. 'The look' ranges from 'be quiet please', through 'I'm not going to tell you again' to 'don't mess with me, sonny', and in this respect is seen as having a disciplinary function. Meanwhile, the business world has accepted eye contact as an important component of achieving success in giving presentations and improving rapport between representative and client, while these days it is possible to find many websites offering advice on how to forge personal relationships through the judicious use of eye contact.

Researchers and practitioners in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) have brought the notion of body language and eye contact back to the attention of language teachers, but largely in the context of providing clues to the nature of the learner rather than in terms of a teaching tool.

Establishing a management role in the classroom involves eye contact from the outset.

• Be in your classroom before your learners, and welcome them individually with a combination of eye contact and their name as they enter the room. 
• Talk to your learners, not to the book, the board or the screen. 
• Eyes can set the tone of a lesson. As the lesson starts, walk around the room looking to check whether the learners are ready -- books out, pens and paper handy, mobile phones off. 
• If not, eye contact should suffice to rectify the situation. Try teaching part of a lesson without saying anything. This should remind you of how important paralinguistics is as well as helping to control your teacher talking time.

Good eye contact does not mean staring or gazing. Many learners are likely to find this uncomfortable and consequently avert their own eyes and lose concentration. Neither does good eye contact mean eyes darting from learner to learner around the room -- this has no effect whatsoever.

• It is recommended that there should be three to five seconds eye contact for non-verbal communication to take place. Watch your learners as well as listen to them, particularly while they are performing tasks. Look for signs of being bored or being lost. 
• Encourage your learners to make eye contact while they are working together in pairs or groups. Start by training them to listen to each other using non-verbal responses only. 
• Research shows that there is a strong link between the amount of eye contact people receive and their degree of participation in group communication -- in the number of turns taken in a group conversation for example.

The NLP(Neuro-Linguistic Programming) approach to eye contact is holistic and individualistic, but is soundly based on the premise that good eye contact increases rapport. Save time and effort with specific messages delivered by eye and facial expression.
Show praise, encouragement often, and disapproval occasionally.
Remind learners that they ought to know an answer or that they could provide a response if they tried.
Use eye contact as a correction technique.
Nominate and invite responses by eye. If the nominee is not watching, someone will give him/her a nudge.

Eye contact is, fundamentally, time and effort saving. Teachers can use their body movements, eye contact, facial expressions; smile; anger; frown, pitch of voice, and spatial distance for better understanding of the concepts of students. In the classroom setting eye contact of the teacher, as non-verbal cue, is very vital and directly affects the learning of the students in addition to the classroom management. Eye contact is a tool of teaching, which a teacher can use very efficiently and effectively for the enhancement and achievement of students’ learning outcomes (SLOs) 

More reading and useful links:

* Eye contact as an efficient non verbal teaching technique

 * Eyes Talk Hongshen ZHANG Fujian University of Technology

 * The Importance of Eye Contact in the Classroom

* Non verbal communication (An article at 'Teaching English-BBC)

* Body Language- Speaking without words

Making crafts with paper strips and newspaper

Paper is easily available product which can be used in variety of ways. You can encourage and help kids in creating crafts with newspaper or paper strips. Usually I keep a stock of colorful paper strips. At crafts class kids love to touch and feel paper strips and they love to create shapes or different objects. This article offers few tips and ideas how you can keep your kids busy with these paper crafts or sculptures.

Newspaper can be used to create crafts and paper sculptures.  “Newspaper sculpture” is a way for kids to create an art piece with tightly rolled-up pieces of newspaper. 


With a “newspaper sculpture,” children will use their hand-eye coordination. Encourage them to make their own sculpture. 

Before you begin the activity, prepare by having several wands of tightly rolled newspaper pre-made. This way, the children can dive right into the activity. Place the wands of newspaper rolls standing up (like a flower arrangement) in a bucket or container so they are easy for the children to grab. Lay out lots of rolls of masking tape of different colors.


 Bring the kids over to your activity area and let the kids start creating their own sculptures. Encourage them to bend the wands of newspaper into different shapes. Have them use the masking tape to help retain the shape of their sculpture and to tape together different pieces of newspaper rolls. You may offer idea of making a weaving mat using newspaper wands.
Learn more at: 'A place of our own.org'

Children love to use the paper strips.   Many objects, figures, shapes or 3D shapes, or mobiles can be made by just tying strings to them. This is a great way to teach children about 3 dimensional figures and space…. not to mention teaching them their basic shapes.


Just show them a few examples of figures or shapes and kids would come up with more ideas. 

Stars and Stripes or Shape Sculptures:   Cut different size strips of red, yellow and blue paper.
Fold some strips into circles, some into squares others into triangles. Cut out large shapes for a base. Arrange shapes and strips on your base and glue into place. 


Cut free-form shapes of varying sizes from colored card stock or scrapbook paper (ours measure 3 to 5 inches wide and 3 to 8 inches long). Snip two to four 1-inch slits into the sides of each shape. Build a sculpture by interlocking the pieces along the slits. 


 Useful links: 
 * Paper Flowers – Anyone Can Do That 
* Recycled Paper Weaving in Grade Two 
* Art Lessons For Kids 
* Summer Crafts For Kids: Sculpting With Paper Strips

Role of classroom decor in classroom management

There are many elements of classroom decor that can affect a student’s ability to learn. Colors in a classroom can make you more receptive to be in the mood to study or learn. Classroom decor plays an important role in class management.

A mural at Play class wall- showing Islamic culture and nature

Simple and organized decorated classrooms enhance calm learning environments. Children are attracted to bright colors, but use the bold palette sparingly. Guide students’ attention to specific points you want them to retain, and use the bright colors there instead of anchoring the room in bold yellows or reds.

 A preschool classroom is a lively and energetic place. Preschool children are naturally curious and creative, so the decor of this classroom should showcase their creativity and challenge their curiosity. Make sure that the decor is colorful and placed at a level that makes it possible for small people to see and appreciate it.

You can notice the decor of play class in our school. Hanging paper plates are in various colors with numbers. Other resources and decoration around this classroom corner fulfill the purpose of interactive learning.

The artwork or posters on display on the classroom walls encourage learning and creativity, or act as a distraction. Most teachers carefully select this part of the décor and usually try to play towards their students’ imagination. Students need to feel comfortable with a nice balance of decor they can relate to. Students enjoy seeing their papers hung up around the room, reminding them of their other good grades.

The biggest focal point in the classroom is the bulletin board and it should be the backdrop for your room’s theme. Educational supply stores carry many popular theme kits, everything needed for decorating a classroom - borders, posters, bulletin board content and suggestions for fun classroom activities, but don’t go overboard with the decorations. Strike a balance between the décor, the color scheme and the educational information. 

Useful links and resources:

* What You See Is What You Get In The Classroom

*  Classroom Decor Themes and Tips DIY Classroom Decorations

 * Classroom decoration themes and ideas

* Classroom decoration ideas

* Creating a cozy classroom

Crafts and origami learning with kids

It is fun to teach crafts and origami to kids ( at early years).  I teach easy origami to kids in my Nursery class. I believe that origami helps in development of fine 'motor skills', intellectual abilities and creative abilities. As kids in our Nursery class are from the age group of 4 to 5 plus, even easy origami projects are sometimes difficult to follow, and kids need help at later steps for completing these tasks.

As you can notice from facing picture that I have mixed the drawing and origami together to make an interesting crafts.

As the outcome of this crafts was amazing, we selected it as a folder cover which we hand over to parents at 'Parents teachers meeting' as a record of kids learning.

How this crafts project was created?

1- First I teach them to make a simple house.
2- In second art/crafts class I told them to make a tree.
3- Third stage was to fix both origami projects at art book and finish it by drawing clods, grass, flower etc.
4- We fixed some pencil carving at the roof of the house to make it more attractive and appealing.

Early year display boards

In reception years, we teachers decorate our bulletin boards for display at the occasion of parent teacher meeting. Parent teacher meeting is held after every two months in a year. As we have completed our first term (Whole year is divided into two terms), our bulletin boards were showing the process of learning.

In our play class English board was showing 'Dolche Words':

These colorful display boards are used as a helping tool for learning.