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Can Math Really Be Fun?

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The brain of a child is open to anything you can put in front of it. The key is making it fun! One way is to turn learning into a game for your child...as well as for you! Math is no different. At Parents.com in an article, Making Math Fun , "little kids naturally love counting, sorting, doing puzzles, and discovering patterns. But once these activities get labeled "math," with daily doses of addition, multiplication, fractions, and long division, many children lose both confidence and interest." See the entire article at Making Math Fun They suggest activities to peak their attention and fun meter. I personnally use cooking and baking activities to bring math into our daily routine. Using everyday situations can really help without making it seem like "math". In addition, there's no prep time required! For example, you can always ask you toddler to help in the grocery store, by letting him pick and count 5 red apples or ask questions like, How many di
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Positive Affirmations--Use Wisely!

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Have you ever been told to use positive statements or affirmations? A new study just out from Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, found that these statements actually can have the opposite effect for the people that may need it the most! Psychologists, Joanne V. Wood and John W. Lee from the University of Waterloo, and W.Q. Elaine Perunovic from the University of New Brunswick, suggest that, like overly positive praise, unreasonably positive self-statements can provoke contradictory thoughts in individuals with low self-esteem. So, as you probably already know or sense, connecting and trying to see the world from your child's eyes will help you to determine what techniques may help to improve self confidence and self esteem. Be aware because the study suggest that, “Repeating positive self-statements may benefit certain people [such as individuals with high self-esteem] but backfire for the very people who need them the most.” Here's
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The Secret to Engaging a Child's Cooperation-Part 1

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I am still in shock that in the 21st century and among the most intelligent beings on the planet the question to "Spank or Not Spank" is still a debate. Ugh! http://tinyurl.com/Sodahead-NoSpank Don't get me wrong, I understand why we all think we "may" and maybe even "should" hit our children. Yep, sorry but it is "hitting". We've just reworded it to make us feel ok about it. I'm a product of the same angry, mean and hurtful society and I am embarassed about how angry a five year old can MAKE me. Oops, let me correct that "MAKE me" to "how angry I CHOOSE to let a five year old control my anger". That's right. It really is a choice. But no matter what you believe, let me just ask you one question. What would you feel like if you got hit for not listening, for speaking your opinion or not wanting to eat your peas? Of course, I'm trying to make a point, but could there be a better way than fear, control and
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Let's Get Movin'!

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Aloha and E Komo Mai! Welcome to the inaugural post of IMAGkids! Our vision for this blog is to introduce anyone that has anything to do with kids to a village mindset. We truly believe it takes a village to raise a child in being an Innovative, Mindful, Accepting and Giving adult. ...an IMAG! To say the least, this blog should be of interest to everyone on the planet. As I often tell people when they get me talking about kids and our future (which is quite often), you never know what a simple neighborly smile or wave (connection) could mean to a kid, not to mention anyone with a human brain! So with that written you'll understand the magnitude of our vision, but we know we must also be realistic, at least for the time being. Therefore, the focus of this blog is to provide parents, care-givers and teachers a resource...a partner in sharing knowledge, learning skills and taking action when it comes to our kid's future...our country's future...our wo
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