By Rowann Imms

The importance of early childhood education in today's world is crucial. With so much gang violence, limited child care centers, latch key kids, and even divorce playing a factor, is there any hope at all that the future of our world will change for the better?

It always has been said education starts at home. Children learn by example in child care centres. Many of today's parents have poor literacy and math skills without completing high school and simply do not have the skills to educate and teach their children.

It can be up to child care centers to step in and make sure that early childhood education is covered. When a child is dropped off at daycare center, it is not supposed to be just a babysitting service it is a place where children can learn and grow through an array of experiences that help them develop mentally and emotionally.

Things for parents to think about:

Focus on each child's needs. What are their special gifts? Does one love to read and show a hunger to learn more? What if one child is lagging behind? Who in the child care center is giving that extra attention to show the child how to catch up?

If the child is actually enrolled in a child care center, the parents need to do their homework. There are paid preschools versus public preschools. But, money doesn't always buy an education. Parents need to do background checks, ask questions with the teachers and staff. See how your child relates with the teachers. When you walk into the preschool unannounced, is it quiet or are kids screaming out of control? Make sure there are not too many children to teach with one teacher being overloaded. This is quite common in a preschool.

It is important for parents to stop and discuss with their child what they learnt that day and keep the learning going at home. A child can always teach a parent something they never knew before.

A child care center is a real home away from home. Sometimes the children spend more time there than at home. So, preschools and child care centres need to focus on a new generation that will be taking over this world in the next twenty years. They are the ones that will help shape the future of many countries, not just the parents. The parents and the schools must start working together. With caring, love, and kindness, education can be a beautiful thing learned that will last a lifetime.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Role-of-Child-Care-Centres-in-the-Modern-World&id=5901992

Like it? Share it!

Many parents will breathe a sigh of relief as they load their precious cargo onto the school bus. But a new year also means a new teacher, and thus a new partner in making sure your kid ends up happy, healthy and at least sort of normal. Here’s how to establish a positive and effective parent/teacher relationship.

Give the teacher the benefit of the doubt

Be a pre-emptive parent and start the school year off right. “We want teachers to give our kids a clean slate, and it’s important that we do the same for them,” says former teacher, author and parenting guru Alyson Shafer. In other words, don’t listen to wicked whispers about “the mean teacher,” “the strict teacher,” or “the teacher who gives too much homework.” These people got into the profession because they care about kids, so consider yourselves allies in the attempt to raise a future common cold curer, a Nobel Peace prize winner or a multiplatinum pop star.

Put parenting on your to-do list

Woody Allen said 90 per cent of life is showing up, and the same can definitely be said for parenthood. Sure you’re busy, but make keeping up with your child’s school experience a priority by reading every single correspondence that comes home. “Remember that the teacher spent time putting the memo together,” says Ms. Shafer. Be sure to attend parents night and make a note of relevant deadlines. (“You’d be amazed at how often a parent will say ‘Well I didn’t know about that,’ meanwhile the teacher has sent home two letters on the subject,” says Ms. Schafer.) This stuff is only optional in the sense that being an attentive, engaged parent is optional.

Your smart phone has a calendar – use it!

School-related gatherings are a great way to meet the person who is sculpting your youngster, but with dozens of other parents in the room, this is not the place to have that 10-minute convo on little Zoe’s learning style. “If you want to get to know him or her, just schedule a meeting,” says Ms. Schafer. Schedule being the key word: “What you don’t want to do is be one of those parents who hijacks the teacher after school.” You wouldn’t show up at anyone else’s workplace without making an appointment. (Or if you would, it might be time to start dealing with some boundary issues of your own.)

Provide an emotional dump zone

When little Gemma comes home complaining that her teacher was mean to her, parents tend to take one of two approaches: A) the old-school parent tells the child to brush it off (secretly or not-so-secretly assuming that the kid was in the wrong); or B) the protective parent assumes perfection on the kid’s part and promptly gives the teacher a verbal lashing. Neither is the right response, and the latter will be detrimental to your parent/teacher relationship. “When your kid comes home upset about his or her teacher, the most important thing is to validate the feelings,” Ms. Schafer says. If you can let them vent, 99 per cent of the problems will disappear.

Education is a team sport

You and the teacher should never feel like you’re on opposing sides. Whether it’s a complaint you have, or a phone call from Mrs. Simms about how your child is “the biter,” it’s key to approach the issue as a team. So in the homework scenario it’s not: “You are giving too much,” but “I’m finding the homework level a lot to handle. Do you have any suggestions?” At this point, you will probably learn that Madison does not, in fact, have three hours of math homework a night. Miscommunication is common – your messenger is a Wiggles obsessed 6-year-old. When the teacher is calling you, the most important thing to do is put the ego aside. Even if you’re unsure about the accusation, phrases like “Well I’m sure we can both agree that neither of us wants Diego bullying his classmates,” help re-enforce the team mentality.

And don’t do this: Give a mug at the end of the year to show your appreciation. When in doubt, go with a gift certificate.

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/parenting/back-to-school/how-parents-can-get-into-a-teachers-good-books/article2152370/

Like it? Share it!

The start of school has started and despite reconnecting with friends, most students do not look forward to the start of school and many get very anxious about it.  In this month’s newsletter, we help you, as a family, get the new school year off to a smooth start with articles on handling back to school jitters, avoiding morning time chaos, lots of school lunch ideas, and creating a strong relationship with your child’s teacher by volunteering.

Back to school anxiety for some students is due to the learning loss that has occurred over July and August.  They may not have read or practiced any math over the summer, and they realize they have forgotten a lot of what they learned over the last school year.  With semestered schools, most high school students have not had Math, English, or Science for eight months or more.  Often students feel they will easily get caught up but before they know it, it is well into the school year or semester and they never have caught up.  As a result, their confidence has eroded and their teacher is now teaching well beyond their understanding.  Unfortunately, many kids dig themselves a big hole which is very difficult to climb out of without help.

While Tutor Doctor can certainly help get students out of that hole, it is much better to get tutoring help at the start of the school year or semester.  September is a great time (better than January!) for families to implement change, set up new routines and do things better, including school work.  Tutoring can:

• Motivate your child
• Make them accountable to someone other than you or their teacher
• Increase their confidence
• Help them understand their homework better
• Increase their grades
• Give them the great start they deserve

Like it? Share it!

What would we do without volunteers?  Volunteers really do make a difference and they’re appreciated in any capacity, particularly in our classrooms where teachers are working hard to teach the curriculum in several different ways in order to reach children who all learn in different ways.  If you have the time, volunteer in the classroom.  If you’re unable to volunteer during the day, ask if there is something you can do in the evenings to help out.

Maybe you can come in after school and help put up a bulletin board display. A teacher may appreciate help assembling a  project for the next day or maybe you can do some of the phoning to find a required item or track down a desired speaker. Perhaps there are some items that require pre-cutting that you could do for the teacher in your spare time.

Here are five reasons why it makes sense to volunteer in the classroom:

1.       If a teacher has help, your child will benefit from a better classroom environment, not just in the physical sense, but in the educational sense as well; it will allow the teacher to focus more on the academic aspect than on all the preparation (especially in the younger grades).

2.       Volunteering in the classroom during the day also allows you to see firsthand what’s being taught.  You see where your child is struggling and you may be able to mirror certain teaching techniques later with your child if he/she needs help.  You also have better access to educational materials which directly relate to what your child is learning.  Teachers are able to give you resources to help you help your own child if needed.

3.       If you’re in the classroom, you can see other areas where your child may need some support or be able to circumvent awkward social or bullying situations.  Teachers can’t be everywhere at once and they only have one set of eyes.  The mere presence of an extra adult in the classroom helps with discipline and control.

4.       An extra person in the classroom means that there are now two available adults if children are having difficulty.  A line-up forming at the teacher’s desk or several hands up and knowing that each “assist” will take several minutes’ means that a teacher may not be able to get to that fourth or fifth child for at least 15 minutes. That’s 15 minutes lost if a child is unable to continue on his/her own until clarification is received because in some cases, children aren’t able to “skip the difficult question” and continue.  They need help before they can proceed.  Having someone else to help with the easier requests, such as spelling a word or re-explaining the instructions (yes, believe it or not, sometimes children don’t listen the first time, shocking, I know), leaves the teacher better able to support those who are struggling with the concept and requiring more extensive instruction.

5.       If inclined, teachers can “teach” a willing parent how to work with smaller groups having difficulty.  A parent can help those students who may not get the extra help they need from home.  Not only are you helping struggling children, but by helping with the academic level in the classroom, you’re allowing the teacher to continue teaching the curriculum without being held back.  In the same sense, a teacher may have a parent work with the more advanced students who are bored and need some enrichment.  You’re helping the balance in the classroom and helping that teacher reach more students than would be possible with just one person in the classroom.

No matter how your volunteering hours are spent, that time contributes to enriching your child’s learning environment. Teachers have a million great ideas, but not always the manpower to get them all done.  Whatever you can offer is very much appreciated.

Like it? Share it!

Written by Tutor Doctor Daphne Engelken

Before kids can start celebrating the holiday season, they must first log in countless hours of studying and numerous homework sessions. Often this series of tests and quizzes can become stressful and lead children to become less focused and motivated during a time they need to keep their minds sharp.

“Typically we see that around this time, children become a bit distracted with the holidays and winter break coming up,” said Daphne Engelken of Tutor Doctor in Monterey Co. “Because of this, it is important to remind students about proper study techniques so they can stay on top of their studies during the testing season.”

Whether students are learning their ABC’s in kindergarten or cramming for finals in high school, it is important to have the right study habits in order to achieve the best results. Tutoring is a great option for parents, especially those who can’t quite remember the ins and outs of their high school calculus curriculum, since the holidays get a bit busy.

Tutor Doctor offers these basic tips to help your child stay focused and on top of their academics during the hectic times we refer to as the holidays.

• Study in an environment similar to the one you learn and take tests in.

Your student may want to do their homework on their bed, but studies show it will be easier during a test to recall the information they studied if they study in an environment similar to the classroom.

• Designate a “study area.”

Whether it is the kitchen table, free from distractions, or a desk in the child’s room, there should be a designated area where the child does their homework. This way they will understand when they are in this spot, it’s time to learn.

• Figure out the best time to study.

Everybody learns differently, and different times work better for each individual. In order to maximize efficient learning, take on the more difficult lessons when your mind is sharpest.

• Spread out learning and study over a long period of time.

The brain needs time to process and absorb information. It is much more effective to learn small amounts over a long period. For example, studying for a half an hour a day over a week is better than studying for three hours in one day.

“It is understandable that kids are a little burnt out from school at this time of year,” said Engelken “Hopefully these tips will help kids study and reduce the stress in their academic life.”

Tutor Doctor is a rapidly expanding one-on-one, in-home tutoring service is designed to help students from ages six to 106, offering the Monterey Co. community and students a private, easy way to improve in any of area of schoolwork. Tutor Doctor even provides services for adults to assist them in learning the basics of email, the Internet and more.

About Tutor Doctor

Tutor Doctor was founded in 1999 as an alternative to the “one-to-many” teaching model most extra-curricular learning centers offer by providing a personalized one-on-one, in-home tutoring service to students. The company quickly grew and in 2003 turned to franchising as a way of expanding the company’s impact and meeting the vast market demand. Now with offices internationally in Canada, the United States, Latin America, the United Kingdom, and the Caribbean, the Tutor Doctor vision is becoming a reality as the lives of students and their families are being positively impacted throughout the world. With 180 locations worldwide, Tutor Doctor was listed by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the fastest growing franchise brands. Tutor Doctor is affiliated with the National Tutor Association (NTA) whose mission is to foster the advancement of professional and peer tutoring, support research into best practices and standards for all tutors, support tutor training, advocate for tutor certification, and uphold the NTA Code of Ethics.

Like it? Share it!

By Jennifer V. Hughes

Homework is an important part of a child’s education, but it can also be the source of stress and conflict. You want your child to do well, but you hate being a nag. You want to help, but you don’t know how.

With all the homework hoopla, many parents feel they are the ones back in the classroom, but experts say it doesn’t have to be that way.

Why Homework Matters

Meredith Resnick, a learning specialist and educational consultant, has a line she uses both with clients and her 8-year-old son when it comes to foot-dragging over homework. “I already went to 2nd grade,” says Resnick, who works in New York City. “Your teacher wants to see what you can do.”

In addition to reinforcing what students learn in class, homework gives teachers an idea of how well children are learning and gives parents a window into schoolwork. In the early years, homework also helps students develop the time-management and planning skills they’ll need as the work gets more difficult.

It’s important not to cross the line between helping and doing, says Marina Koestler Ruben, who wrote How To Tutor Your Own Child: Boost Grades and Inspire a Lifelong Love of Learning—Without Paying for a Professional Tutor. “If the reason you want Fred Junior to conjugate a French verb is so that he gets an A, then you need to take a closer look,” Ruben says. “If the goal is for the child to learn, the parent will encourage a child to do his own work and catch his own mistakes.”

How Much To Help

One question many parents have about homework is whether to correct their child’s work. There are different opinions on this, so ask your child’s teacher what she prefers.

Resnick suggests leaving the original with mistakes and then working with your child on the correct answer. Nancy Buck, a parenting expert and developmental psychologist based in Rhode Island, believes that children should take responsibility for checking their own work. “It’s the child’s business,” Buck says. “If the purpose of homework is to help them learn, then it’s the child’s job to figure it out. Your job is to support your child.”

Have a Plan

Some children benefit most from doing homework as soon as they get home from school; others need some downtime first. Some do better working in their room alone; some thrive at the kitchen table. You know your child best, so follow your instincts when establishing a routine.

Having a plan in place can lead to fewer homework hassles, says Audrey Klein, a private tutor and former classroom teacher from Chicago. “It helps so that you’re not arguing later,” she says. “They know it’s homework time, so let’s get to it.”

Setting up a plan doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t have any homework struggles, though. If a homework plan doesn’t work, parents should change it, Buck says. “You tell the child, ‘Let’s try again. I know we can set it up so that when homework time comes, you can do it and feel good and I don’t have to nag,’” she says.

Homework Strategies

It’s one thing if your son makes an error on an assignment but another if he simply isn’t trying hard enough and you know he can do better. For example, if he describes a book with the sentence “It was nice,” Klein suggests replying with “Give me another word instead of ‘nice,’ something more specific.”

“You can brainstorm with them,” Klein says. “That’s one of the wonderful things a parent can do, to give that one-on-one help.”

Ruben says that when a child hits a roadblock in a homework assignment, a parent should first consider whether the student is tired or hungry, and work to prevent those common issues. Children also can worry that a parent will be judgmental. “You can’t take it personally if your child is having trouble,” she says. “You have to be able to disengage. Parents can be quick to say ‘Why don’t you remember this? What’s your problem?’ That doesn’t help.”

Switching gears is often helpful when a child gets stumped on an assignment, for example by talking out an essay before trying to write it. Switching parents can help, too. There is nothing wrong with taking a break.

If a child—or a parent—doesn’t understand a particular assignment, write the teacher a note, suggests 3rd grade teacher Christy Bastos. That communication is one way she knows that what she’s teaching is getting across.

“If I get seven kids...circling number seven and saying they don’t understand it, I know I didn’t do a good job communicating on something,” says Bastos, who teaches in Washington, Pa.; teachers sometimes assume that “no news is good news,” she says.

Most important, resist the urge to do your child’s homework for her. Mom and Dad helping out too much may make it easier day to day, Bastos says, but it can be a barrier to learning.

Finding the Right Approach

Kathy Woods knew how it was supposed to go with homework in her house. Her son would sit peacefully and quietly at the dining room table with his pencils neatly lined up, and she would help as needed. “I had this whole June Cleaver idea for it,” says Woods, who lives in Teaneck, N.J., with her family of three boys—an 8th grader, a 2nd grader, and a 3-year-old.

Her oldest son had other ideas.

From the time he started to get homework, it was a huge battle, says Woods of her 13-year-old son, Jordan, who has been diagnosed with mild ADHD. “I thought that sitting there with him, it would be easier for him, but it didn’t work,” she says.
“I was doing a little bit of the helicopter parent thing, and I was annoying both of us,” Woods admits. “I felt that was what a good mother would do, but I was getting on my own nerves. I knew there had to be a better way.”

As her son got older, he started to be able to come home from school on his own while her other boys were at day care or with a babysitter. “Left to his own devices, he’d come home and sprawl out in the middle of the family room and listen to the most hideous rock music I’d ever heard”—Woods pauses for dramatic effect—“and he would get his homework done.”

She says she still checks his homework and she has found that most of the time, he is doing a great job. Her middle boy, 7-year-old Destin, does need the quiet of his room to study, but she’s realized that what Jordan needed to succeed was to set his own rules.

“The more responsibility I give him, the better he does,” she says. “When I hover, he’s like, ‘Fine, you do it.’ He gives the minimum amount of effort. That’s something I had to do, to give up worrying about the process as long as he gets it done.”

Teaching Responsibility

Janae Condit says she’s had a range of problems—and solutions—dealing with homework and her now 5th grade son, Colin, over the years.

For a while he would drag his feet, making homework take forever. She tried setting a timer, but he then rushed through and did sloppy work. Now she just insists that it’s done by 6 p.m.

He was always forgetting things, like books, from school. Condit instituted a new rule: For every forgotten book, Colin had to go to bed an hour earlier. His memory got better.

Condit, who lives in Beverly Hills, Mich., with Colin and his three younger siblings, hired a tutor to help him work on his study and organizational skills, a move that worked in unexpected ways. “He hated the tutor,” Condit says with a laugh. “We wouldn’t let him off the hook until he improved.”

In fall 2010, Condit let her son hand in homework without her checking it, so if he made mistakes he’d lose credit. “His grades suffered because of it, and I said, ‘We did it your way, now we can do it my way,’” she recalls. “He needed me to step in a little.” She checked his work in the second semester, then he went back to doing it on his own and was doing much better work. Best of all, Condit says, her son is proud of his work now.

“Before, he wouldn’t care less; now it’s the first thing he wants to show me when he comes through the door,” she says. “I think he’s really starting to take responsibility, and it’s really great.”

Source: http://www.schoolfamily.com/school-family-articles/article/10805-homework-how-much-should-you-help

Like it? Share it!

By Lisa M. Cope

Teaching your child to say “thank you” can feel like living the movie Groundhog Day. You know the one where Bill Murray wakes up every morning and it’s the same day? "Thank you" is kind of like that. You urge your child to say it multiple times a day, time and time again, waiting for that one day when she will say it herself, all by herself, without a prompt.

Take heart, dear parent. The fact that your child doesn't express his gratitude may have more to do with development than it does with lack of manners. Children have difficulty saying thank you because at a young age, they don’t realize how their behavior affects other people. They are completely preoccupied with the present, living only in the moment, and failing to recognize or predict future pleasure. An inability to talk about feelings and an underdeveloped sense of empathy also contribute to a child’s difficulty giving thanks.

In the book, Becoming the Parent You Want to Be, authors Laura Davis and Janis Keyser offer ways to help teach manners in a way even the youngest children can understand:

• First, talk about your family customs with your children. If you don’t have any, start developing some. Say to your child, “In our family, we always say thank you when someone gives us a gift.” Repeating your own traditions will help your child understand that he is a part of a larger group that behaves a certain way.

• Model the skills you want to teach. You know that old saying, “do as I say, not as I do?” Well, not here my friend. You want them to do as you do, so you need to do it right. Remember to say “thank you” to people in your life so your children hear you using the phrase. The more they see and hear you thanking people for their kindness, the more likely it is that your children will pattern that behavior.

• Show, don't tell. According to Marleen Didech, a parent educator and coach in San Jose, California, “Parents have to teach thankfulness through the way they live their lives. That’s where it starts. Children can demonstrate empathy at an early age if they are shown a model.”

• Give your child information and make your expectations clear. Tell him “Your Dad spent a lot of time fixing your bike; it would make him happy to hear you thank him for it.” If she starts to learn that other people’s feelings are being affected by her behavior, she will be more likely to show kindness of spirit. Let her know what you expect. For example, tell her “We’re not leaving Noah’s house until you find a way to say thank you.”

• Give your child choices as to how she would like to say “thank you.” Rather than nagging her again for not saying it, ask her if she’d like to sing Uncle Roger a "thank you" song, or paint him a "thank you" picture. Kids love to make their own choices and if it’s fun, they may come up with a "thank you" idea all on their own.

When you support the development of empathy in your child, you are giving her the gift of good manners. Believe it or not, they will start to flow out of her naturally. And don’t limit yourself to teaching kids to be thankful only for material things. Didech even suggests that you “make a list of things together that you are grateful for in life. It can be as simple as ‘I’m thankful that the sun is out.’ You have to plant the seeds early on and most importantly, you have to walk the walk.”

Giving back to your community is another great way to teach gratitude. By seeing others less fortunate, children will begin to learn to appreciate what they have. And one day, right out of the blue, your child will give you a beautiful “thank you” and truly mean it.

Source: http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Teaching_Gratitude/

Like it? Share it!

By Rebecca VanderMeulen

You may have heard that more and more American students are heading to Canada after high school. News reports on this trend often trumpet the fact that Canadian universities offer a quality education for a fraction of the cost of a college degree in the United States. But is college in Canada really as viable and economical for American students as it seems?

According to the Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C., an estimated 10,000 Americans are pursuing degrees in Canada, up from about 3,500 10 years ago. Canadian officials see this as a way to build a strong connection between the two countries and enhance the international profile of Canadian universities. Representatives from Canadian universities appear at college fairs in American cities from Atlanta to Seattle, and the embassy says they plan to add more stateside stops to their recruiting trips.

There are advantages for Americans, too. Many Canadian universities (north of the border the word "college" usually refers to schools focused on vocational coursework) have a reputation for strong academics, earning recognition from institutions like the college-ranking juggernaut U.S. News and World Report. And Americans who study in Canada can stay relatively close to home while getting the experience of living in another country. This is especially true in the French-speaking province of Quebec.

Many Americans pursuing degrees in Canada look to the north because of the significantly lower price tag. For example, a year at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, costs a foreign undergraduate student about $12,000 in American dollars. Compare that to yearly U.S. university fees that can run the average undergrad around $25,000 - just to start.

"Parents are always shocked at how much less expensive it is," says Yusuf Varachia, international recruitment coordinator at Simon Fraser. Students and parents have become accustomed to the idea of paying through the nose for a good college education.

But Kathleen Massey, registrar at McGill University in Montreal, notes that Canadian universities aren't necessarily less expensive than those in the U.S. McGill estimates that foreign students could pay up to $44,000 in American currency for a year of tuition, fees and other costs.

"When we're promoting McGill, what we're promoting is the quality of the educational experience, regardless of price," Massey says, adding that many of the Americans considering McGill have heard about the university from friends or family.

If you and your soon-to-be college student are considering Canada as an option for higher education, here are some pointers:

Find the Right Canadian University for You

While there are some differences between the U.S. and Canada, students and parents pointing their college searches north of the border have to consider schools based on the same criteria they'd use in the States - like whether your child would rather live in a big city or small town, or if she's interested in any particular subjects, clubs or sports.

Varachia suggests visiting a campus and talking with current students and faculty. If your child knows what he wants to study, academic departments' websites offer a wealth of information about faculty members' backgrounds and research. Approach researching Canadian colleges the same way you'd look at any college.

Research Application Requirements

Canadian universities might also appeal to students who aren't looking forward to submitting reams of paper and thousands of words with every college application. Even top Canadian universities like McGill and Simon Fraser don't require documents like application essays and letters of recommendation. Instead, they weigh class grades and test scores to decide who gets accepted.

"We're basing our evaluations on their senior-level courses and their grades," says Varachia of Simon Fraser, which allows applications as late as April 30 for the following fall.

That might seem especially late to Americans familiar with the Universal Reply Date of May 1, the deadline for students in the U.S. to tell colleges where they plan to enroll come fall. However, Varachia advises American students to turn in their applications by Feb. 28 so they can hear by May 1 whether they've been accepted.

Still, Americans do have some extra paperwork to fill out if they go north for school. Canada's government requires foreign students to get study permits, for which they also need proof of being able to support themselves financially. Students going to Quebec also need a Quebec Certificate of Acceptance.

Apply for Financial Aid

Financial aid from the U.S. government can also go toward the costs of a Canadian university, Massey says. Like American schools, Canadian institutions also offer merit scholarships and aid packages, often referred to as bursaries, for students who need financial help.

Keep an Open Mind

The best way for American students to make the most of their time at a Canadian university is to stay open to new experiences, Massey says, and venture off-campus during breaks from rigorous study.

"American students and their parents see Montreal as kind of a European experience within North America," she says, adding that students don't need to learn French before arriving at McGill.

And the weather in Quebec is colder than some Americans are used to, so Massey cautions students from southern climates to bring plenty of warm clothes.

Surf the Web

There are great resources on the Internet that help make making a decision easier. Here are a couple:

Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada: Learn about different types of Canadian schools. Search among 95 schools by major, province and degree program.

Imagine: Education au/in Canada: Find universities, estimate your cost of attendance and learn about visa requirements.

Whether your child decides to stay stateside or head north for College, it's important to weigh all of your options when it comes to college and your child's future. Canada might just be the new frontier in U.S. higher education.

Source: http://www.education.com/magazine/article/college-canada

Like it? Share it!

Every child is born with a creative prospective, but this potential may be nipped in the bud if care is not taken to foster and inspire creativity. Creativity shows one's individuality. Creativity is the ability to see things in a fresh and extraordinary light, to see troubles that no one else may even realize exist, and then come up with new, unusual, and useful explanations to these problems. It's the attitude to "think out of the Box". There are many ways by which we can boost our children's creativity. Play is one of many ways to do that. Children gain much from creative indoor and outdoor plays. Creative play, where children can move around and are capable to use their imaginations, has many profits. Study has shown that play which is too structured or centered solely on hi-tech toys which could be harmful to youngsters. There is proof that children are forgetting how to play while they are being encouraged to take part in controlled activities rather than being permitted to use their imagination.

Children need to be given ample opportunities for creative play and creative thinking. The first step is to engage them in activities of their interest. Say for example, if a child likes to draw figures on a notebook or loves to play with colors, then the child should be given color pencils, glitters and white boards to display what is there in their mind. There's also photography, music, field trips, working with wire, clay, paper, wood, water or shadows. The possibilities are endless. It's vital to provide children with lots of time to discover the materials they require and pursue their ideas. This comprises of time required to think about how to plan, graph, build, research and modify their project ideas. Creative play is expressed when kids use recognizable resources in a new or unusual way, and when children engage in role-playing and inventive play. Play helps expand each child's exceptional viewpoint and individual style of creative expression. Creative play may include a variety of games like puzzles, riddles, building blocks, and other items that actually set the child to think and to explore.

A strange characteristic that we often notice in children is that they always find a play item in every other thing close to their reach. A few days ago I noticed my little nephew playing with a simple hanky. He folded the hanky and made out different items out of that. And he was literally enjoying the act. I stared at him for about an hour, and he enjoyed working at it. Manipulative play starts in infancy. Babies play with their parents; for example, they drop a toy, wait for the parent to pick it up, clean it, and revisit it, and then they drop it again. This communication gets the infant and parent together in a game. Children shift objects such as puzzle pieces and devices to better appreciate how they work. Play reinforces the child's growth and development. Children who are anxious may be helped by role playing games.

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/k-12-education-articles/creative-play-an-interactive-way-of-encouraging-a-childs-creativity-5216489.html

Like it? Share it!