Making Math Fun Review

Making Math Fun for kids of all ages

Archive for December, 2009

31 December
0Comments

Teaching Your Kid to Get the Right Math Answers


Every other child has to struggle to get the right math answers. Math is difficult for most children. However, there are proven ways to help children overcome difficulties in math. Prepare yourself early on. Try to start math learning as early as possible. Your child may be a math wiz, he just might be one of the many whose waterloo is math, or he may be somewhere in between. The earlier you know how he fares in math, the easier it will be for you. Kids good in math may only need encouraging and regular practice. On the other hand, those who are struggling will need more than that. Maintain a positive attitude about math. Many parents hate math. If you breed this contempt against the subject, it is very likely that your child will harbor the same attitude. Try to avoid expressing this by saying how you have always flunked in math, or you have never really liked it. Instead, encourage your child to work hard and be persistent when he encounters difficult math problems. Appreciate his efforts, whether or not he get the right math answers as expected. Share his excitement when he solves a challenging problem or finally understands a math concept. Make math an interesting, everyday routine. It is important to let your child understand the importance of math, especially in their everyday life. Point out situations where he would be likely to use math. You can start with counting plates, to measuring ingredients to making purchases at the grocery. Try to play educational games and puzzles which involve the use of math. Better yet, try to do math problems and find the answers together just for fun. Teach him to work independently. It is very important for your child to learn to work independently especially in math. If your child does not have the genes that math wizards do, diligence will be his best shot. He should learn to persevere on his own. This will prepare him for time-consuming and challenging math problems he will surely encounter. Instill the right mathematical reasoning. Getting at the right math answers involve a sequence of steps. If your child knows these steps by heart, there is no reason not to arrive at the right answer. The steps involve: Knowing what information is given. Determining what information is being asked. Thinking of a way to get the information being asked from what is given. Translating the problem into a mathematical equation. Solving then checking if the answer makes sense. It is important that you instill the virtue of reasoning and understanding more than memorizing. You should encourage him to give his own explanation of the problem. Ask him what his thoughts are on how to solve. Listen well, and comment whether or not it makes sense. Make every problem he encounters an opportunity for your child to learn something new. Lastly, never forget to practice. As mentioned before, diligence is a very important key that will help your child breeze through each problem with the right math answers.

John runs a site called MathTrench. com, which offers thousands of solved math problems
31 December
0Comments

Kindergarten Math Games: Helping Children With Math Anxiety


Kindergarten Math games are a good way to start in helping kids love math. Introducing fun math activities in school and at home can result to a much better understanding of Math. Math is important in nurturing a child’s education. Interactive games provide teachers and parent the support they need. It enhances mathematical development and curiosity. Teachers use different materials and references in planning certain activities for classrooms. This is to make math more interesting. Since children’s ideas are firmly based on their everyday activities and experiences, it best to adapt playing while gaining knowledge. Here are some tips to consider: Learning Math in school Kindergarten classrooms use the manipulative method. It is anything handed for counting will help a child to learn math concepts. This includes concrete things like puzzles, cubes, blocks and clocks. Children are very active and they want to learn new things. Pictures grasp the attention of children. Flashcards are best options for number recognition, while puzzles help children to find out mathematical strategies. Thus, playing addition games are more exciting. It heats up group competition. Other game samples are: ? Triangle Number Game- Adding number and connects the answer to the side that matches it. ? Snail One Hundred game – Learning number structure from 1 to 100. ? Highs and Lows – A Place Value Activity Learning Math outside Outside games will utilize the children’s energy while learning. Do-the-Math Hopscotch is one of the outdoor educational games inspired by the book Game On by Patt Doyle. This game resembles a chalk drawing of a calculator. A player will toss a stone to a number and hops on to form an equation. One foot hops to zeros and odd numbers and 2 footed hops to even numbers and symbols. A player will continuously play until he makes a mistake or finished all the numbers to 9. Math Games at Home Parents should encourage kids to play along with numbers using simple materials and preparation. One can make board games using dice and pieces of cardboard with creativity. There are also ready made educational cards for those busy parents. Go Fish Cards is one example that has become popular for math reviews. It enables kids to easily identify numbers and understand the difference between more or less. The use of dominoes, chess, checkers and Yahtzee will also deepen a child’s logical ability. Other game samples are: ? Math Bingo- A Bingo classic game of mathematical approach. ? Popsicle Stick Game – Focuses on child’s counting ability. ? Two-Fisted Pennies Game -Identifies left and right positions and addition of numbers. Math Games Online Online learning has become the most rapid and common tool for young students. Internet math games help kids practice more and excel in math. It also reinforces math skills and concepts. Many free online games offers visual and hands-on activities such as: 1. Number recognition 2. Counting practices 3. Addition/Subtraction games Below are popular math games on line. ? The Frog Puzzle ? Mathematical Matches ? Interactive 100 Square Chart ? Flash Algebra ? Tessellations Number Puzzles online are: ? Crossnumber- Adding five digits numbers to find the clue. ? Color Quiz- Answering addition questions by coloring pictures. ? Number Cruncher – A mathematical arcade game that uses arrows to eat numbers of a given multiple. ? Shade – Shading the correct number to get an equal fraction. ? Table Times – It is a simple multiplication quiz game. Math games can be effective when linked with standard teachings. It plays a vital part in stimulating interactions. A child’s interest must be supported by teachers and parents. Thus, games are math helpers only. It is much better to attend school and study homework that can beat up the Math anxiety.

For more information on Kindergarten Math and Free Math Worksheets please visit our website.
31 December
0Comments

How to Find a Good Vancouver Summer Program on Math


How to Find a Good Vancouver Summer Program on Math
 
Frank Ho, Amanda Yang 
Teachers at Ho Math and Chess Learning Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
 
www. mathandchess. com
 
We have been running an math specialty learning center in Vancouver for over 10 years and also both of our children went to all kinds of summer programs in Vancouver so we would like to share our own experience on how to find a good summer math camp or math program offered by learning centers in Vancouver. There are a few tale signs one can use to screen summer programs and these earlier warning signs can be used equally to evaluate summer programs offered in other cities as well.
 
1.      To teach what one knows the best.
 
Check out if the math program offered is the learning center’s expertise. If an math learning center all the sudden starts to offer computer course without up-to-dated hardware or a computer room in place then you may wonder if the learning center is out to make a quick buck? Or if the learning center is teaching mainly math but start to offer Chinese chess or other courses in the summer and the director or owner has no interest in playing chess then you may start to wonder what is their teaching philosophy or intention to offer these “out-of-core” courses?
           
2.      Check out the learning center’s teaching philosophy.
 
What is the learning center’s teaching philosophy of offering the summer math program? What kind of teaching method is being used? If the learning center cannot explain clearly to you but only copies other center’s ideas then this serves as a warning sign that you may have sent children to a wrong place.
 
The important deciding factor is don’t go to a place where the math and chess teaching is not their specialty if you want to have children to learn both math and chess in a fun way. Don’t go to a place to learn chess where the owner or director does not even know anything about chess or has nothing to say about its teaching philosophy.
 
Do diligently and carefully check out the facility offered. The worst is parents did not check out facility and send children to a place where no suitable facility is offered such as a separate computer room or a separate chess play room.
 
Ho Math and Chess offers unique and one-of-a-kind math and chess integrated and patented worksheets. We are the leader in math and chess integrated teaching and we are also the only place in Vancouver offering math and chess integrated teaching to raise children’s math marks, train their critical thinking skill and also boost their brainpower by playing chess. There must be a reason why Ho Math and Chess has over 30 locations worldwide, check it out at www. mathandchess. com.

Frank Ho is a Canada certified math tewacher and also the founder of Ho Math and Chess learning center. Ho Math and Chess is the only international child franchise dedicated to teaching children math using math, chess, and puzzles integrated workbooks. More information on Ho Math and Chess innovatie workbooks, please visit www. mathandchess. com
31 December
0Comments
30 December
0Comments

How I Become a Better Math Tutor

How I Become a Better Math Tutor
 
Frank Ho
 
Canada certified math teacher and founder of Ho Math and Chess
 
www. mathandchess. com
 
After spending most of my life on consulting and teaching and tutoring for over 30 years, I felt a bit depressed last few months since I was puzzled on why some kids would not make progress despite I have tried so many different strategies and made efforts to teach them. As an educator, I have constantly remind myself not label children since their potential is perhaps unknown to us and just because they are not good at math it does not mean they are going to have the dead end in their life. But still I was at loss to try to find some solutions to the following of my observations.
 
1.      I was teaching a child how to convert from km to m and then to cm and mm. He just could not get it. I drew picture of stairs to remind him that to find lower unit is to time by 10 and divide by 10 when going higher unit but he could not get it. Finally I was totally stunned when I asked him this simple question “if 1 cm is 10 mm then how many cm is for 10 mm?” He gave me answers like 100 or even thousands. Then I changed the question to “If one dime is 10 cents then how many dimes is for 10 cents?” He immediately answered one dime so I told him the relationship between 1 cm to mm is just like 1 dime to 10 cents and he replied ”Oh! I get it”. He got this money question right but still could not do the conversion. It was 8 p. m. so we all had to go home.
2.      I was preparing a girl for grade 10 final exam and despite I have taught her how to factor trinomials she looked at me as if I had never taught her the method and her day school had never taught her any method, what happened to her?  After some reviews and also showed her two ways of factoring, she told me that she simply forgot. She saw me once a week so what can I do as a tutor if she just forgets what she had learned?
3.      I was so surprised when one of my day school students told me that his day school math teacher told the whole class that 6 minus 1 and 2/3, the answer should be 6 minus 1 and then add 2/3. This is a grade 7 teacher who is teaching kids at a public school. More amazing is the boy told me that some kids actually got the right answers but was told it is wrong when in fact the teacher is wrong! Equally shocking is some math tutors perhaps should not be math tutors, I list the following examples used by some math tutors who were trying to tech children how to convert a fraction to % and how to solve an equation.
Convert 40/3 to a percent. The tutor told the student to get decimal 13. 33 and then it is converted back to fraction as 13  33/100 = 1333/100 and then the answer is 13. 33 after 1333 is divided by 100.   The second example is to find x of 4 x^2 – 19 = 45, 4x^2=64, 4x^2 – 64= 0, (2x + 8) (2x – 8) = 0, so x = + or – 4. The tutor has completely forgot the equation can be reduced as x^2 = 16 and from here an answer is very easily got by using perfect square.
 
Facing these problems, how do I educate myself to be a better tutor? I started to research the relationship between math IQ and students’ math performance and the results is very educational for me and this has led me to produce an integrated worksheets of math, IQ puzzles, chess puzzles and word problems all combined as one worksheet.
 
I observe that just by helping students’ school work; for some students it will not be enough to bring up their real math strength. I also discovered this type of integrated worksheets is most effective to use when the child is young. By continuing stress the importance of thinking skills and by continuing giving students the high-order thinking problems the students are able to make progress in improving their problem solving ability.
 
I also discovered that how wrong it is to think elementary math has 2 parts that is one part is for computation and does not train problem solving skills and the part has word problems which train problem solving or thinking skills. This kind of thinking is perhaps a mistake in making or producing math worksheets for kids and this has made kids feel the computation practice is boring and not satisfying. By producing math worksheets in a different and “out-of-box” approach, I was able to use my own students to conduct the experiment to see the difference and I was so moved when I witness the results were so much different and see the children were much happier.
 
My worksheets are developed from the “mention sensor” angles instead of “spot light” direct angle approach in that students see the relation between operations in wide different angles. For example, a student will not just practice 3 + 2, 6 + 1, 8 + 4. 7 + 4, instead they are asked to do exercises so that they see how 3 + 2 is the same as 2 + 3. They learn orientation, spatial relation, logic, and learn how to gather information and analyze it and how to do information retrieval. There are all kinds of visual stimuli built into worksheets so that they can reinforce what students learned and also to find the answers after going through a few steps just like going through the same thinking process as they would work on a word problem. I feel to develop the computation worksheets in such a way that they require students to “think” is a very innovative idea and is very different from conventional wisdom that computation is just from top to down or from left to right and aligned with numbers or sometimes with miss numbers.
 
By observing how others teach, by producing new and innovative worksheets, and by observing how children learn, I feel that I have become a better tutor on how to teach children math.

Frank Ho is a Canada certified math tewacher and also the founder of Ho Math and Chess learning center. Ho Math and Chess is the only international child franchise dedicated to teaching children math using math, chess, and puzzles integrated workbooks. More information on Ho Math and Chess innovatie workbooks, please visit www. mathandchess. com
30 December
0Comments

Learn Italian | 10 Easy Ways To Instantly Learn Italian


Learning Italian is a fantastic opportunity. Speak Italian with people you meet while traveling, as well as those in your community. Communication opens doors to: work abroad, expand your business, expand a curiosity to full blown Italian fluency, discover your roots, find romance, a chance travel, and most importantly – expand your communication. 1. The Godfather Would Approve Rent Italian classics. As Italian movie director Federico Fellini said, “A different language is a different vision of life”. With all these reasons and more, in the following are a few ideas on how to incorporate learning Italian into your daily life. Some great internationally successful flicks are: “La doce vita”, “The Garden of the Finzi Contini”, “Ladri di Biciclette” (Bicycle Thieves) and movies from the Taviani Brothers, Visconti, Antonioni and Fellini. 2. Go on a Mental Adventure Head to your local library or bookstore and pick up a couple Italian books. Reading is essential to learning how language structure works. Check out travel guides, novels, and other books that describe Italy, to enrich the learning process. Learning more about the culture is a great motivating factor. Not only are you learning Italian, but also you’re immersing yourself in a new culture and understanding a people. 3. TV Time Watch TV. Yes, in the name of education, turn on your TV and veg out for a few hours; just make sure they’re speaking in Italian. With all the choices of satellite and cable channels we have no excuse not to find programming in different languages. Just listening to the programs, the Italian will begin to subconsciously sneak into your brain . Soon you’ll be sputtering out Italian in your sleep. If you don’t find any programming you really dig, there is the option to rent popular TV shows in Italian versions. This way you’ll still be able to enjoy your favorite programs and learn at the same time. 4. Italian Itinerary Search out Italian music online, in your local music store, or library. Inside the liner, the lyrics of the songs should be included. Skim the words along with the music, and try to figure out what they’re saying. Shortly you’ll be singing along and perfecting the lofty vowels of the Italian language in minutes. 5. Have Fun Learning a foreign language doesn’t have to be a snore. You can easily spice it up by incorporating some of your favorite games and activities. Try playing Italian bingo, Italian family feud, Italian crosswords, basically anything that helps you learn vocabulary and forces you to practice Italian. 6. Creative Renaissance Fuel your ingenious side and learn creatively. Create your own Michelangelo and label his body parts in Italian, draw a house and label all the rooms and furniture, post up your artwork where you can see it – on the refrigerator, your bathroom mirror, on the dashboard of your car. 7. Self Teach Try the Pimsleur Approach if you’re just starting. Pimsleur is great for beginners to learn Italian. This program doesn’t ask you to memorize lists of vocabulary or grammar. Basically, it teaches you the same way you learned your first language -audibly. Listen to the CDs in the car or on your lunch break. Repeat the phrases and soon you’ll be speaking like a native. 8. Phrase Your Words Wisely Express yourself by learning phrases in Italian. One big mistake beginners make is trying to learn everything at once. According to the Pareto principle, 20 percent of the input contributes to 80 percent of the output. 9. Explore Your City Get online, check your local bulletin boards, and visit community centers to find out about Italian programs. Find Italian speaking residents in your community and join a conversation group or learn more about heritage societies. Speaking a new language helps you understand another culture and its people. Language and culture are interwoven; in many ways, language defines our reality. By learning Italian you are opening your mind to new ideas and ways of seeing the world. 10. Vacation in Italy Wander the bella vineyards of Italy on a picturesque wine tour. Everything will be more enjoyable if you can understand Italian. Speaking their language illustrates a respect for Italian culture. In almost every country, people prefer it when tourists at least make an effort to speak their native tongue, even if it’s just Per favore (Please) or Grazie (thank you)! The fastest way to learn Italian is to be immersed. When you visit Italy, not only will you enjoy delicious food and beautiful sights, but you’ll also absorb the Italian language so naturally you won’t even notice it. Learning Italian is like learning a new way to think. You must immerse yourself into the culture; learn to speak and write a different way from your native tongue. Fall in love with the language. If you love the Italian language then everything will come easily to you.

Audrey Tumaneng is spokesperson for Pimsleur Approach, internationally-recognized provider of language learning products. Their courses are currently used by the FBI, CIA, and business professionals everywhere. You can reach Pimsleur Approach at PimsleurApproach. com and by phone at 866-204-7139 or +1 202-266-3328 (international).
30 December
0Comments

What is Ho Math


What is Ho Math?
 
Frank Ho
 
BC certified math teacher
 
Founder of Ho Math and Chess Learning Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
 
Ho Math is a special concept and game-based math teaching method especially designed for elementary students (from kindergarten to grade 7). It was invented in Canada by a Canadian math teacher Frank Ho.
 
How Ho Math was invented?
 
Below is a short description by Mr. Frank Ho.
 
When I was a teenager, I went to a few learning centers including general purpose and some specialty learning centers (like English only) and also went to my teacher’s home for preparing for junior high entrance examination. The purpose of these learning centers is for one simple reason that is to cram students with exam questions so students can get higher marks, there is no other real mission. None of these learning centers expanded or made to the international stage since they were geared to prepare for local exams and they exist or die depending on education policy in the area.
 
In recollection, I realized how wrong it was to learn something for the sole purpose to get better in exam, although I agree the marks are important and some employers only recognize marks for new graduates. But learning for the purpose of getting high marks without training to think is definitely wrong.
 
There are still many learning centers out there just mainly advocating kids to do computation or preparing for exams etc.  Their teaching style and way of running business is still the same as the learning centers I went when I was young, nothing much was changed. Since I realized the way of my learning was wrong when I grew old, I never wanted to teach my own kids the way learning centers were teaching me when I was young. I never sent my own kids to any learning centers until I set up my own learning center.
 
I never had a mind to start a supplemental education business except by coincidence. When my son was about 6 years old, he asked me what was the use of a chess set, which I left in the living room. It was given to me as a gift by my former colleagues at the Faculty of Education when I quit working at the University of British Columbia. My son’s curiosity got me thinking on how to “educate” him so he could learn chess and this led me to investigate on how math and chess are related. My research and study resulted in my invention of Geometry Chess Symbols.  When my son’s classmates’ parents told me that they would like to enroll in my tutoring classes, I knew I did not want to set up a learning center for the purpose of just cramming school stuff and for just getting higher marks. So I had the idea of using chess as a tool to train their critical thinking skills.
 
After my over 10 years of devotion in research and study the interrelation of math and chess and I found out that my teaching method of integrating math and chess in deed generates more interests in math for children than the traditional worksheets.
 
I found out that some kids’ progress were very slow or even stagnant, despite how hard I explained concepts or tried to teach them again and again. I discovered one major contributing factor, which caused the problem and this promoted me change the way I teach. I discovered that the weak math students tends to not like the IQ type of questions and the condition is reversed for strong math students under the condition these questions do not even require any math knowledge other than analyzing, comparing, sorting, or collating. This tells me that the weak math students perhaps have a problem that is their brains are not trained or fit for doing math problems (and thus they do not want to do much math problems. )  Because of this discovery, today Ho Math program consists of 5 major components:
 
1.     School math
2.     Chess and IQ mathematical chess puzzles
3.     Word problems
4.     IQ Puzzles
5.     Math Contests problems
 
Why Ho Math is unique and effective?
 
Ho Math is unique in its teaching philosophy and teaching method. To create the worksheets for the above 5 major components, Ho Math and Chess™ uses proprietary, copyrighted and patent applied intellectual properties such as Geometry Chess Symbols, Frankho Chess Mazes, Ho Math and Chess Teaching Set, and Universal Word problem Solving Tool.
 
Ho Math is created based on founder Frank’s belief that math learning must be effective and fun.  Ho Math is fun to work with and also it improves children’s math marks. It also improves children’s brainpower and at the same time, children also learn a social game, which will last life time. Chess is competitive and also a social game, it connects people and provides chance for improving social skills and improves children’s critical thinking skills. Chess is one of the best education manipulatives.
 
 
How Ho Math worksheets differ from others?
 
Ho Math is a math teaching method invented by a Canadian math teacher Frank Ho. Frank intrigued by the relationships between math and chess after teaching his son chess started Vancouver Ho Math and Chess™ tutoring & learning center over 10 years ago. His long-term devotion of research has led his son to become a FIDE chess master and also the publications of over 20 math and chess workbooks for children. The trademarked name “Ho Math and Chess ” reveals part of its history of “Ho Math and Chess” and its tradition.
 
Working on mathematical chess puzzles is an excellent way of improving problem-solving ability. By combining chess and math problems together, Frank wrote the world’s first math and chess integrated elementary student workbook for children.
 
Frank also invented Geometry Chess symbols and also Ho Math and Chess Teaching Set so that children as young as 4-year old can learn chess much easier than using the traditional 3-D chess set. Using Geometry Chess Symbol, Frank created the world’s first and copyrighted Frankho Chess Mazes.
 
The Illinois (USA) data has shown that Ho teaching method is statistically significant in raising students’ math marks.
 
Today, Ho Math and Chess ™ is an international brand name in franchised math specialty learning centre business. Ho Math and Chess ™ is the leader in the areas of research, marketing, and teaching integrated chess and math to elementary students.
 
Ho Math and Chess ™ learning center is the only supplemental education franchise dedicated to teaching children math using math and chess integrated workbooks. It is now the world largest franchised scholastic math and chess tutoring organization with worldwide locations to serve including offices in Vancouver, Canada. Mr. Frank Ho invented the unique Math and Chess teaching method in 1995. Today when people talk about Math and Chess, they think about the leading research organization in this highly specialized field – Ho Math and Chess. Ho Math and Chess and Math and Chess are synonyms.  
 
Ho Math and Chess offers one-of-its-kind and unique 5 subjects in 1 program, namely, math, IQ chess, IQ puzzles, and word problems, and math contests problems with paying only one fee.
 
What are the purposes of Ho Math?
 
The purposes of Ho Math teaching method are to:
 
·       Raise math marks.
·       Improve critical thinking ability.
·       Improve chess ability.
·       Improve brainpower.
 

Frank Ho, a Canadian certified math teacher, coined the learning centre term Math and Chess and he also founded the world’s first math and chess learning centre by creating the world’s first math and chess integrated workbooks for elementary students in Vancouver, Canada. He invented Frankho Symbolic Chess Language, intriguing Frankho Chess Maze, and also an unique new chess teaching set. He published math and chess teaching theoretic basis in a Canadian math journal. The USA Illinois research data has shown statistically significant that Ho Math and Chess teaching method increases children’s math marks and also improves children’s critical thinking skills. The Ho Math and Chess Teaching Set can improve children’s memory by playing half-blind chess. More details, please visit www. mathandchess. com.
29 December
0Comments

Here Are 5 Guidelines On Learning And Speaking French


There is no specific formula for learning a second language. Learning any language would require effort, time and much patience. There are many techniques, however, which will help any learner become more efficient in learning any language such as French. There are two aspects that must be remembered by anyone wanting to learn French. First, learning French requires constant studying; and second, it requires much practice. These two aspects always go together as vocabulary words are rendered useless if the person would not constantly use them even in simple conversation. 5 Helpful Tips 1. Try to enroll in French classes. There are several ways that classes are held-in language schools or French classes in local communities, colleges or education centers. 2. There are now French lessons that are held online. Online lessons begin with the French basics such as vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and lessons on verb. The online learner has the option to go through the outline of lessons or to study according to topics. Online lessons also point at the major differences of the French and English languages. 3. It would be helpful for someone learning French to purchase audio cassette tapes or CDs that teach French. This would give the learner an opportunity to learn French even in idle moments such as waiting in line or being stuck in traffic. Constantly listening to such tapes would make the learner accustomed to how French words are pronounced and how they can be used in everyday conversations. Listening to French radio and watching television shows in French might be difficult at first but the learner would soon pick up the rhythms of the language. French people are also fond of making films so it would be an added learning experience if the learner could watch any of these films and take note of the French people’s cultures and traditions. Sometimes, understanding the general culture of French people would make the learner understand the etymology of their language. French movies with English subtitles would also be beneficial as the learner can read the meaning in English while hearing its French counterpart. This will give the learner an experience of decoding French into English. 4. Read French materials such as French magazines and newspapers. A learner must take note of all the unfamiliar French terms that he would encounter in all the articles that he reads. It would be helpful to have a French dictionary alongside every reading material. A French learner must also get to read the famous French literary works of Alexandre Dumas and Jules Verne. Appreciation of France’s culture through these books would help the learner strive to understand the language. 5. The best practice for anyone learning French is to speak and write using the language. Use French wherever and whenever the opportunity would arise. Write grocery lists in French, decode the ingredients on French cuisine, and try thinking of things in French. This means total immersion to learning the language. One great way to constantly practice French is to join a coalition that promotes French such as Alliance Francaise (a non-profit organization). Every French learner must understand all these aspects but, above all, he must have fun while learning. Minus the element of fun, learning French is nothing more than a need to just learn a second language.

The language machine offers a wide variety of language courses including Spanish, German, Italian and French Lessons London.
29 December
2Comments

MY FIRST AMAZING SCIENCE EXPLORER

  • How does a light switch work? Why is grass green? What is a star? Discover the answers to these and hundreds of other amazing questions about the principles of science.

Product Description
How does a light switch work? Why is grass green? What is a star? Discover the answers to these and hundreds of other amazing questions about the principles of science. Visit eight interactive environments. Conduct real experiments. Record your findings. In no time at all, youll be a true Science Explorer!

Explore Eight Environments From the countryside to a workbench, each is packed with informative pop-ups, brain-tickling questions, challenging activitiesall about the world around you!

Have Fun Learning Which things are living? Which are not? Have fun with eight different science activities. The more you know, the faster youll win prizes!

Think Like a Scientist Type in your own observations and ideas in the printable Science Workbook. Just like a real scientist!

Conduct Your Own Experiments There are 20 printable experiments in all. And all you need is stuff around the house!

KIDS LEARN ABOUT

  • electricity
  • forces and energy
  • heat
  • light and sound
  • living things
  • materials
  • reactions
  • simple machines
  • space

System Requirements for Windows

  • Windows® 95/98, NT, XP
  • 486DX2, 66 MHz or better
  • 16 MB RAM
  • 20 MB free hard drive space
  • 640×480 display, 256 colors
  • 2X or faster CD-ROM drive
  • 8-bit sound card
  • Speakers or headphones

System Requirements for Macintosh

  • Macintosh® System 8.0 (not compatible with OS 9 or higher, or QuickTime 4 or higher)
  • Any PowerPC
  • 16 MB RAM
  • 12 MB free hard drive space
  • 640×480 display, 256 colors
  • 2X or faster CD-ROM drive
  • 8-bit audio

Price: $3.50
MY FIRST AMAZING SCIENCE EXPLORER

29 December
3Comments

Smart Splash Number Fun Ducks, Set of 10

  • Kids love to play in the water
  • Adorable Number Fun ducks
  • Dots on their backs and the matching numbers on their bellies
  • Reusable mesh bag
  • Set of 10

Product Description
Kids love to play in the water, making it a great place for learning. Perfect for the bathtub or pool, these adorable Number Fun ducks have a certain number of dots on their backs with the corresponding number written on their bellies. Odd numbers are labelled in blue and even numbers are in orange.

Smart Splash Number Fun Ducks come with a handy tote bag. Also collect Color Link Frogs (sold separately) and Vibrant Shape Shell Turtles (sold separately) for even more learning fun. Measures 2 3/4″ x 3 3/4″. Set includes 10 ducks.

Price: $9.98
Smart Splash Number Fun Ducks, Set of 10