Kids love a challenge. If you ask a kid to memorise Math facts over and over again, they will fall asleep.  But if you get them to challenge each other, they love it.  Especially when they win!  Use card games to change their attitude and get them to love Math. Here’s the game.  First deal out the cards to all the players.  2 to 6 players is ideal.  Place the cards in a stack face down in front of each player.   Each player takes his top card and opens it at the same time.  The player with the higest answer or number wins.  A picture card is the highest.  The winner takes all the cards in that round.  The players then play another round.   If there are 2 or more highest answer, the players fight by playing Scissors, Paper, Stone to decide the winner of that round.   For an easier game, use only the answer cards. For a harder game, use only the question cards. The player with the most cards at the end of the game is the winner!! Yay! Play with friends.  Play in the class.  It’s a fun way for kids to get [...]

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  Children who cannot cope well turn into emotional zombies. Like a zombie, they have no fear…no fear of punishment, that is.  And it shows in their behaviour – they go out of control. They misbehave in school.  They misbehave at home.  They refuse to follow instructions.  They are irresponsible, you cannot rely on them. No amount of nagging seems to help.  No amount of threats seem to work.  Trying to stop their tantrums is like trying to hold back a zombie: IMPOSSIBLE.  Like zombies, they live in their own world, never noticing anyone else.  They don’t seem to connect emotionally with anyone.   How did they become a zombie? Did you make them into a zombie? As parents, we often feel that we can mould our children.  That we have the power to turn our children into high achievers: doctors, scholars, lawyers, maybe even the Prime Minister.  Like our computer, we feel that children are just waiting for us to program them.  With the right input our child can do what we want them to do. So we do our part by organizing their world – do homework, take art lessons, piano lessons, enrichment classes, etc etc… – with [...]

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How Children Learn Children learn best when they are relaxed, interested and having fun; then they learn unconsciously, almost by osmosis.  That is why games are a great way to help your child learn.  For example, when your baby first learns to talk, I’m sure you made a game of it by making all kinds of sounds for your baby to imitate.  You both had fun and your baby soon learned to talk. When children start school, learning is suddenly a Serious Affair.  No more fun and games.  Learning is now more associated with tears and tantrums.  It is time to bring fun back to learning!   Memory Children who have a poor memory usually find it tough to do well in school.  They find it very hard in Science because they cannot  remember all the facts.  They find math hard because they cannot remember their multiplication tables.  Even when reading, they find it hard to understand the story because they keep forgetting parts of it.  The good news is your child can improve his or her memory through games. Here are some games to play with them. 1.     I have created a printable Memory Board game.  This is a [...]

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PROS Portable : The Leapfrog Leapster2 can go where your child goes. The battery-operated console has a comfortable, curved shape, a full-color touch screen, videogame-style D pad, volume control and a jack for headphones. Educational: It has built-in tutorials and different learning levels to suit your child. Your child can learn at his or her own pace. The Leapfrog Leapster2 comes with 2 pre-installed educational games – a “video game” type activity with four different levels and a simple art program. More games can be purchased via SD cards or game cartridges.  It is also compatible with all 15 original Leapster learning games Web Connectivity:  The Leapfrog Leapster2 connects to the Leapfrog Learning Path, a free online learning program.  This online program allows you to register and upload your children’s Leapster 2 profiles to show you their learning activities and their progress. Your children can play on the go, and then connect their handhelds to your home computer to collect fun rewards they’ve earned.  An online creativity studio also lets them upload art that they’ve created, embellish it or change it completely, and publish it to share. Wide Range of Subjects: Leapfrog Leapster2 games teach skills in a wide range [...]

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