Archive for December, 2009

Break the Fast

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

If we break the word breakfast into two, we get the words ‘break’ and ‘fast’. So breakfast is the best way to break the fast! In other words, a breakfast is a ‘fast’ way to ‘break’ free from hunger in the morning.

breakfast

Children need a lot of energy to stay active at school. After school, they play sports. For all this, their body requires the right kind of food. And nothing can be better than to start a day with a nutritious breakfast.

Many children skip their breakfast, and munch on junk food during the day, thus resulting in unnecessary weight gain. Parents can help their children learn good eating habits. The first step towards this would be ensuring that children eat a breakfast that is rich in protein, carbohydrates, calcium, vitamins, and minerals.

cow

Food items like eggs, milk, yoghurt, brown bread, nuts, and fruits make for a good breakfast. Whole grain cereals must also be made a part of a healthy breakfast. For those who are in a hurry to go to school, parents should pack the breakfast properly and let their child carry it to school.

Breakfast, nutritional experts say, is the most important meal of the day. Avoiding breakfast, therefore, would not only make your child crave for junk food, but also make him lazy and restless. Even the American Dietetic Association has confirmed the importance of breakfast. The habit of eating breakfast, if developed from early childhood, can last a lifetime. Hence, parents should ensure that children never miss breakfast.

Biker Kids: Teach them Road safety

Sunday, December 27th, 2009

Cycling is fun.  Most children like to hop on their bikes and ride into the woods. But sometimes, they also meet with unexpected accidents while crossing a busy traffic signal or a congested street intersection.  Therefore, it is the responsibility of parents to teach safety rules to children before allowing them to use their bicycles.

Practice

Children should be asked to cycle in parks until they learn how to ride a bicycle properly. Parents should always be around while kids enjoy biking. Kids should be taught to ride in a straight line, brake efficiently, and corner the bike correctly.

traffic_signal

No Helmet No Bike

Government has made it compulsory for bikers to wear helmets. Ensure that your child does not ride a bike without his helmet on.

The Right Helmet and Positioning

Parents should teach children how to wear a helmet properly. Preferably, they should use images such as the following to make them understand the right way to wear a helmet. The helmet that you buy for your kid must be approved. Many children develop the habit of cycling wearing a cap. This is dangerous, and therefore, should be avoided.

helmet

The Right Bike

Bicycles come in different shapes and sizes.  A bike meant for a 13 year old kid might be unsafe for a 7 year old. Hence, one should check the bike’s size before buying it. When your kid sits on the bicycle, his feet should reach the ground. Bicycle seats are important for your child’s safety. They should be comfortable and sturdy. Regular servicing of your child’s mean-machine is important too.

Pedestrian safety Rules: Does your Child know these?

Sunday, December 27th, 2009

Road accidents that involve pedestrians have become commonplace, blame it on increasing traffic or congested roads. Reckless driving, driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and unnecessary accelerating to overtake someone have contributed to the growing cases of road accidents.

It, therefore, becomes important for parents and teachers to teach road safety rules to children. Pedestrian safety rules, in fact, should be made a part of the school curriculum. Children are not going to learn pedestrian safety rules unless we teach them. Listed here are some of the rules that teachers and parents can teach children.

Crossing the road with an Adult

Pedestrian_safety

Children should be instructed to cross the street only when there is an elder person with them. As children appear short to drivers of heavy vehicles like trucks and buses, the company of an adult can possibly reduce the chances of fatalities. In the absence of an adult, children should be taught to ask the nearby policeman or traffic policeman to help them cross the street.

Understanding Traffic Signs

Children should be able to figure out the meanings of the ‘WALK’ and ‘DON’T WALK” signs. Elders should teach them the meaning of the red and green signals. Zebra crossing should be used to teach kids when to cross the street.

Look on Either Side

Parents should demonstrate to kids the importance of looking to the left, then to the right and again to the left before crossing a road. It takes just a few seconds to avoid a possible mishap.

Use of Sidewalks

Sidewalks are generally elevated from the driving street in order to protect pedestrians from possible accidents. Children should be taught to use the sidewalks.

Pedestrian rules, if followed, can save the lives of millions. The lessons children learn at a young age become a part of their lives when they grow up. That is why it is best to teach them at an early age.

Character Education: Implement before it’s Too Late

Sunday, December 27th, 2009

Character Education is something that our education system needs badly. As basic moral values are slowly disappearing from our lives, we need to include character education to help our children understand values like honesty, love, compassion, and kindness. With angst and hatred taking center stage, the role of parents and teachers in enlightening their next-generation becomes indispensable.

character_education

Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.” This is a famous saying that rightly emphasizes on the importance of character.

Teaching character must not wait for the right time. Character education is not for a particular age group; it is for people of all ages. If moral values are taught to children at a young age, they grow into human beings who value life and believe in ‘love for all’ philosophy. The best thing about teaching character to children is that its results are visible in just a short period of time.

The world today desperately needs responsible, self-controlled, and compassionate individuals who can make positive choices. Juvenile Delinquency is at an all-time high. Blame it on the faulty education system or the prevailing political atmosphere, but it is the children who are suffering the most.

Character education is the answer to the nagging problems of our society. If every child starts ‘feeling’ for every other person, all hatred would disappear and a world would take shape where there would be no wars.

What’s wrong with One-Size Fits All Approach?

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

Many times parents complain that their child is not learning anything at school? Teachers lament that they have to look after a whole class of size 30 or more. Children complain of too much homework or ‘boring’ lessons. Is there a solution to all this?

There is a difference in the learning approach of every child. We all know that different children think differently. Then how can the same education pattern be implemented to one and all? While it is not possible to devise an entirely different syllabus for every single child, at least teachers should try to teach in a customized way.

one_size_fits_all

I read a quote some days back. This quote explains it all in just a single sentence- “If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.”

Teachers and parents must try to implement the advice given in this saying. Children coming from different families, different cultures and of course different backgrounds can never be alike. Just because a mathematician created a theorem and gave the explanation/proof in a particular fashion does not at all mean that teachers should stop using their own brains to make the child understand the theorem in a way that he interprets properly.

Education should be fun. It should not pose as a scary thing for children. Online tutoring can provide your child with one-on-one learning, customized to meet his learning needs. A smart tutor would never make your child uncomfortable or burdened with boring math problems, biology diagrams, or chemistry equations.  After all, education aims at making our lives simple!

Jingle Bells Jingle Bells Jingle All the Way!!!

Friday, December 25th, 2009

Christmas has arrived. Santa Claus is coming with all the goodies. It’s time to celebrate, thank God for all His blessings, wish our family members, and most importantly, help others.

Children love to receive gifts from their parents and elders. While you can surely gift your child a nice bicycle or a baseball bat, you must also try to give him the most precious gift- Knowledge.

Education is something that would be with your child all through his life.  John Dewey put it correctly “Education is a social process. Education is growth. Education is, not a preparation for life; education is life itself”.

santa_clause

What could be better than to see your child get quality education and grow up to become a successful person in the field he chooses? A new year is about to come. It’s time you decide what’s best for your child. Compromising on education is not something that would do any good to your child.

Your child needs a helping hand to guide him through the difficulties he faces while solving a math problem or a chemistry equation. While it is best if you can be by your child’s side and guide him, busy work schedules hardly allow parents to teach their children.

Homework: Boon or Bane

Friday, December 25th, 2009

Apart from math and some other subjects, children share mutual hatred for homework. Completing homework assignments is a headache for both the child and parents. Research, however, points in the opposite direction. Experiments conducted by educators and scientists have shown that students who complete their homework get better grades in their tests in comparison to those who ignore homework.

Most children crib that they are given too much homework. While this is not 100% true, teachers should also ensure that quantity and difficulty level of homework assignments must match the child’s age and learning ability.

homework

Completing homework on time has a number of benefits. It allows children to develop a sense of responsibility. Children, by doing their homework, learn to complete tasks in the given time frame. Moreover, it helps children to work independently. Finally, the child feels a sense of accomplishment having completed his homework, provided teachers at school provide constructive feedback.

Parents should ensure that their child complete his homework on a regular basis, irrespective of his music/dance lessons. Fixing a time period for working on assignments can be a pretty good idea. It would be a smart move to create a study area for your child where there is adequate lighting, minimum distraction, and proper ventilation. Needless to say, televisions and music theatres should be kept away from the study area.

Online tutoring is one field that can provide homework help to your child. Assignment help provided by experienced tutors can help your child save a lot of time.

Availability of parents while a child is doing is homework can help the child complete his assignments easily. Parents should encourage their children to complete their homework. After all, homework is not that bad. Isn’t it?

Geometry the Fun Way: Congruence

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

How often do teachers try to teach mathematical concept using objects used in our day-to-day lives? Research has shown that children understand things better when they are taught using images and objects that they see and use. Though most educators and parents know this, not many really implement this to educate children.

Take for instance, congruence of triangles. I am use most teachers would use the following images to teach ‘congruence’ to children.

congruence

The problem with these images is that children might not take interest in understanding the concepts as they do not find ‘fun’ in these.  While these images are good for senior students, a beginner in geometry might fail to understand the meaning of ‘congruence’.

However, the same can be taught in an interesting fashion.

congruence_scissors

congruence_closed

Online tutoring is a great way of teaching children using images and pictures. Modern tools like the whiteboard allow online tutors to import images and even change their alignment to teach a concept to children.  Online math tutors, in particular, can use images used in our day-to-day lives to teach mathematical concept to K-12 students in an interesting way.

Geometry in Real Life

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

In general, whenever we are stuck solving a problem or understanding a concept, we think to ourselves “This is sheer waste of time. Am I going to use this in real life?” I agree that for most subjects, only the core elements are used in real life and not the details. However, there is one aspect of mathematics that will come across in varied forms in real life. You guessed it right, I am talking about Geometry.

Let us talk about some of the practical aspects of geometry that we, often unknowingly, use in real life over and over again. Christmas has almost arrived. Most of us would be busy decorating our homes with Christmas trees and bells. But before buying a Christmas tree, don’t we first try to determine its size that would fit in our drawing room through the main door? In other words, we determine the width and height of the tree. And that’s geometry, isn’t it?

geometry

The same goes with an architect who is about to develop a construction plan for a new building. Cooking is no different. When we bake a cake in a microwave-safe bowl, we determine the quantity that would fit in the bowl.  There are hundreds of examples that demonstrate geometry into action in our day to day lives.

Geometry can be made fun. Online Tutoring organizations can conduct workshops on teaching geometry to children using day-to-day objects. Geometry is an essential part of online math tutoring. An online geometry tutor would not only help children understand the concepts given in their school books, but also learn to apply those concepts in real life without getting bored.

Why do we need Math?

Saturday, December 12th, 2009

In the words of Albert Einstein “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school”.

Teachers come across some so called ‘rebels’ in school who ask questions like ‘Why do we need to learn Math?’ or ‘what good would this do when we grow up?’. While most teachers would talk about (more…)