The American Math Challenge

It's back the American Math Challenge http://www.americanmathchallenge.com/ Students compete LIVE with other students across the nation in a web based math challenge powered by Mathletics. The goal is to earn points by completing as many mental math problems in 60 second intervals as possible. Cool prizes are awarded. This is a fun FREE way to promote mental math. The contest is October 26th - 27th.

11 Things kids will not learn in school

I was forwarded an email in regards to Bill Gates giving a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

I don't know how true this is (if this actually came from Bill Gates), but I certainly agree with many of these statements. Suck it up, learn from your mistakes, take action, and reap your reward. But, don't have a high level of expectation when you have not put forth any or minimal effort. What do you think?

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it! (this is my daily anthem)

Rule 2: The world doesn't care about yourself-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

The White House Fellowship Program

The White House Fellowship is one of the nation's most prestigious programs for leadership and public service. Each year, 11-19 exceptional young men and women are selected to spend a year in Washington, D.C. to gain first-hand experience in the process of governing the nation at the highest levels of the Federal government.

Candidates need to be promising young leaders who are excelling early in their careers and are committed to leadership and public service. Thus, this is not for students but rather for individuals already into their careers.

Learn more about the White House Fellowship http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/fellows/

Download the application http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/fellows/apply1

Deadline is February 1, 2010

College Bound - Follow your Dreams

Middle school is not to early to start thinking about college. And, as far as I'm concerned your never too young to start thinking about college. I have had elementary school students express to me what university they want to attend. That's a wonderful thing. Enhance their dream and do all you can to make it come to fruition. Before you know it your child will be a junior in high school...then it's graduation time.

Ask your child what they would like to do once they become an adult. Every child has a dream...didn't you. Even as adults we are still reaching for our dreams. Here are some things that we can do to help cultivate that dream.

• Find a mentor - someone who works in the field that the student is interested in. This can be people whose services you already use: your doctor, pediatrician, attorney, dentist, minister, accountant, businesss owner, etc. Your chlid may be able to shadow that person and see the daily routine. There's nothing better than being involved first hand.

• Talk with someone who is new to that occupation - 2 years or less. Their outlook will be different from someone who is a veteran in that field.

• Use your inner network and see if any friends or family are in that line of work...your child can talk to them about their current experience. Most people are very open to talking about themselves and their career. You may never get them to be quiet.

• During the summer or even on the weekends see if your child can provide some volunteer work or possibly get an internship. They may not obtain direct experience in the field, but you will be able to network with current employees, have a realistic picture of what occurs on a daily basis, and open the door for other opportunities. This is priceless. Some companies do allow children over the age of 16 to participate in internship, volunteer, or mentoring programs. It doesn't hurt to ask.

• Go on the internet, see what length of schooling is required, what types of courses you will have to take, if there are any licensing/certificaion requirements after obtaining the degree, and research the salary. All of this data is very essential in determining if the occupation you choose is the right one for you. For instance, if you are required to be in school for 8 years and your not to keen on being in school for long periods of time then you may have to reassess your goals. If your interested occupation/major requires classes in chemistry, biology, and labs, but you hate science then you may want to do some rethinking . So, take a look at the full picture (the good and the not so good). Because, ultimately, you want to enjoy your career of choice.

• And, most importantly, see what the future holds for that field. What's hot today may not necessarily be in demand in a few years.

Once your in the mindset of attending college then you just need to start taking action. If you attended college tell your child about your experiences both good and bad. Children love to hear stories involving their parents. Sure, they may change their mind a few times but at least they will be better equiptted to make a knowledgable decision. Check out this website which steers middle and high schoolers in the direction of being college bound.

101 Ways to boost your child's ego

Children, no matter what the age, thrive on recognition. Even adults like to have their ego stroked every now and then. A little praise can go a long way. It can be the difference between wanting to do the work and doing the work just to get by. Children ultimately want approval and praise from their parents. This will not only help improve their performance, but improve their self-esteem. So, here are 101 ways to give praise, show interest and offer encouragment to your child. And, remember that praise should be given to those who are worthy of it. If used losely then the purpose for encouragement will be lost.

Questions for kids that spark conversation

Are you tired of receiving those infamous one word answers: "yes", "no", or "nothing" when you ask your child about his or her day? To often children do not want to engage in conversation about their school activities. So, as parents we have to find creative ways of learning about their day.

You don't want to ask them 21 questions, but just enough to understand how they are doing both emotionally and academically. Try to avoid closed end questions that have one word answers. The key is to ask questions that will spark their interest to expand on their answer. Or their answer may prompt you to have a follow-up question. Who knows...you may even get more than you ask for once your child sees you are expressing genuine interest in his or her well being.

Alway praise your child and let them know how proud you are of them and that you support them unconditonally. I would even recommend that you share your day with them, so that they understand parents can have good and bad days, too. Here are some suggestions:

1. Tell me about or show me something you learned today? Follow-up: Did you like learning about that?



2. What did you have for lunch? Follow-up: Why did you like or not like it? Who did you eat lunch with today or who did you sit beside during lunch?



3. What was the most fun thing you did today? Follow-up: Why was is so fun?



4. What did you not enjoy doing today? Follow-up: Why did you not enjoy it?



5. What did you do today in Math (or use another subject)?



6. Who did you play with today? What did you play?



7. What question did you answer today in class? Follow-up: Did you know the answer or did you just take a guess at it?



8. What did you like (or not like) about your bus drive today? Follow-up: If it was something they didn't like. How did you handle that problem?



9. What was the funniest thing that made you laugh today? Follow-up: What did the teacher do?



10. What do you like about being in your current grade compared to your previous grade? Follow-up: What do you think will happen next year?

Please share questions that you ask to initiate conversation. Happy talking!

A deck of math cards

Do you ever remember playing the game "War". It's when players split up a deck of cards and turn over the card on the top of the deck. The person with the highest card value wins the set of cards for each round. I loved that game. This game is fun and also teaches number recognition, counting, and number comparison.

If you are looking for an inexpensive way to have fun with your child while learning math then look no further. A deck of cards is all you need. I'll share some teaching techniques that I use with cards. It's fun, easy and the kids really enjoy it. Also, this website gives additonal games you can play.

Learning Multiplication (Grade 3 - 8) - Remove all the face cards. Use cards 1 - 10 in the same family such as all hearts. Select an eleventh card to be used as your multipier. E.g. if you wanted to learn your five times table, the eleventh card (mulitplier) will be a five. Lay the mulitiplier face up on the table and place one card at a time beside it to multiply. Have the child say the answer. You can repeat cards 1 -10 with the same multiplier as often as necessary.

Place Value (Grade 2 - 5) - Remove all face cards and the ten card. Put the remainder cards in a stack, flip over and place in a row face up. You can simulate place value showing ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, and more. e.g. 3 cards from left to right 5, 3, 2 would show hundreds, tens and ones. Ask the child, 3 is in what place value: answer ten. Or what is the value of 3: answer 30. Or what digit is in the tens place: answer 3.

Addition (K - 5) - Remove all face cards. Flip over two number cards and have the child add them together. You could also add 2-digit numbers by using four cards and placing two cards on top and two cards below.

So, the next time your child says "I'm bored" have them go and grab a deck of cards. Hope you have fun. Tell me how it goes.