Making Learning Fun

New research is showing that babies who grow up in a bilingual household develop more brain power than children who don’t. This short video presents the information and provides suggestions for exposure to an additional language for children who don’t happen to be part of a bilingual family!

Watch the Video Bilingual Babies may be Brainier

Earth Day is coming up on  April 22nd, 2009.  I know a lot of people don’t think Earth Day should be celebrated because they don’t think Global Warming is Real.  But even if it’s not, I personally don’t feel that learning to take good care of our planet should be tied to whether there is scientific proof that Global Warming is here or not!.  Taking good care of our planet should be one of those things we do just because it seems like the right thing to do. We all try to take good care of our families and our homes. So the planet is really just an extension of that. 

There are very simple ways to celebrate earth day:

1- Plant a flower.  It is as simple of buying seeds at a store and just planning an event around it.  Afraid that the seeds will not develop into plants? not enough patience to wait for the plant to grow?  you can always buy a nice small plant and go with it instead of the seeds.  And remember that kids love butterflies, so if you find a plant that attracts butterflies, you can double the fun.

2- Take an opportunity to remind all members in the family to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.  Go over your recycling procedures at home and make sue everyone understands why it matters.

3- Go on a nature walk.  Sometimes we forget to celebrate the simple things.  This is a great day to rejoice in the beauty of our world by exploring the nature that surrounds us.  Go to a park, lake, the beach and spend some time looking at all the beauty around you.

4- Looking for other ideas?  Check out http://www.funiqtoys.com/earth-day-projects-for-kids.html

Getting Kids to Read…..Sometimes it seems as easy as finding the Holly Grail.  Let me start by saying I am officially a Book Worm. I learned to read when I was 3 years old and since then I have spent my life reading just about everything I can get my hands on.  I love books and I am subscribed to a couple dozen magazines from business, to parenting, to light reading.  I just crave information.

So when I had kids, I started envisioning lazy days just sitting on the sofa with the whole family reading.  Well, that dream didn’t last long. My kids just did not like to read.  They would read the minimum required by homework, and that was it.  I spent money on books and time at the library picking different types of books and different authors hoping that I would find the “right book” that would just awaken their love of reading.  All my efforts failed.  That is until we found Rick Riordan.  He has written a series called Percy Jackson and the Olympians.  Think Harry Potter but instead of the kids being children of Sorcerers and Witches, they are children of the Greek Gods.  The books are amazing.  The adventures are so much fun, and the kids learn all about greek mythology in such a fun way that they don’t realize they are learning.  They are also easy to read. So even young children who have already mastered the reading of chapter books, can easily transition to these books.

My 9 year old son was the first to start reading them.  Then, I joined him and we read the first 4 books of the series in a matter of days.  Then my 7 year old daughter started browsing one of the books and she also got hooked.  I have to say these books changed my children’s lives.  They went from thinking reading is boring, to thinking reading is absolutely wonderful, and to understanding that books are the doors to all sort of magical worlds.  So if you are looking for a way of getting your kids to read, I would recommend you try these books.  And be prepared, because once they start reading these books, they won’t want to do anything else but read.  These books are just absolutely engaging.  The first 4 books of the series are:
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)
The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 2)
The Titan’s Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 3)
The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 4)

But hurry up because the 5th book is coming out in May.  Our dilemma in our house is who will get to read it FIRST!