How to Sleep like a Baby

It’s 3:00 a.m. where are you? Most people would probably be asleep. However, for a large majority of people, it is near impossible for them to get a good nights rest. Without it, they are unable to focus well, they have low energy, and let’s face it, they are usually in a not so good mood. Is there anything that the sleep deprived can do in order to help give their body the much needed sleep it needs? Aside from counting sheep, which rarely works, try some of the suggestions below.

First, start out by examining your bedroom for sleep distractions. Sleep distractions would be such things as clutter, the color of the paint, the noise level, etc. If your room is painted in bright, electrifying colors, you may want to consider painting it a soothing cool color. A pale green or a soothing blue would be good choices. You can’t expect to be able to sleep if the paint in your bedroom is so bright that it looks like an airport runway.

If your room is cluttered, consider scheduling a spring cleaning day and get rid of all those unwanted sleep thieves. If a room is cluttered, it gives our mind more things to focus on and think about during the night instead of sleep. Your bedroom is supposed to be your sanctuary, and let’s face it, who wants piles of bills or junk mail in their sanctuary? Not too many people.

As far as the noise level goes, this is different for each person. Some people enjoy some form of noise while they sleep and may even purchase a noise machine, while others have to have quiet. If you fall into the latter category, try purchasing some heavy drapes to see if they block out any of the unwanted noise. While the drapes probably won’t get rid of every unwanted noise, you will notice a big difference.

Next, try not to exercise before going to bed. I’m not saying don’t exercise at all, because exercise is good for us, but we all know that exercise releases endorphins which amp us up. You can’t expect to be able to go to sleep if you feel like you could run a marathon. Try to keep exercise to either early in the mornings or to around four hours before bedtime. This will give your body time to calm down and will help you to drift off to sleep much easier.

Another suggestion to help you get a good nights sleep would be to take a nice warm bath just before you are ready to go to bed. The warm bath will not only help you to relax physically, but it will also give your brain some time to unwind as well. It doesn’t have to be a long bath, just 10 or 15 minutes should do the trick. As you are letting the water out of the tub, picture your troubles and cares being washed down the drain. A mind that is not burdened with troubles is a mind that can easily drift off to sleep.

Lighting is another issue that effects sleep. If your bedroom window lets the light of a nearby street light into your bedroom, you might want to try some of those room darkening curtains to eliminate that problem. If you can’t find any or can’t afford them, try putting a quilt up instead. If your curtain rods are sturdy, they will usually hold up the extra weight of the quilt. Either of these two things will help darken your bedroom and help you drift off to what could be the best nights sleep you’ve had in a while.

Of course, don’t forget to flip your mattress every so often to keep it from getting worn. However, if your mattress is not in good shape and you can’t afford to buy a new one (because we know they don’t come cheap), consider buying a mattress topper. This will give you the sense of a new mattress, but will cost you a fraction of the price. Toppers come in a variety of styles, and it is up to you to find the one that suits your needs.

The last tip, try and keep the temperature in your bedroom at a comfortable level. You don’t want the temperature too hot or too cold. You want it just right. Again, it is up to you, as an individual, to decide what your perfect temperature is. Try these few tips out and see if they help you get the peaceful nights slumber your body has been missing. Pleasant dreams sleep deprived.

Love Christmas

Christmas is the gentlest, loveliest festival of the revolving year – and yet, 4 all that, when it speaks, its voice has strong authority.

Christmas is the one time of year when people of all religions come together to worship Jesus Christ.

At Christmas play and make good cheer, For Christmas comes but once a year.

Bells are ringing and everyone is singing, It’s Christmas! It’s Christmas! Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Bells ring and the birds sing, May you get all the happiness that Christmas brings! Wishing you and your family a very Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

Bless us Lord, this Christmas, with quietness of mind; Teach us to be patient and always to be kind.

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.

Christmas Quotes

A wish for peace and happiness at Christmas and throughout the New Year.

The gift of love. The gift of peace. The gift of happiness. May all these be yours at Christmas.

 May the good times and treasures of the present become the golden memories of tomorrow. Wishing you lots of love, joy and happiness. Merry Christmas!

May the Christmas season fill your home with joy, your heart with love and your life with laughter.

May this Christmas end the present year on a cheerful note and make way for a fresh and bright New Year. Here's wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

May this Christmas end the present year on a cheerful note and make way for a fresh and bright New Year.

Here's wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

May the good times and treasures of the present become the golden memories of tomorrow.

 Wishing you lots of love, joy and happiness. Merry Christmas!

May your Christmas sparkle with moments of love, laughter and goodwill, and may the year ahead be full of contentment and joy. Have a Merry Christmas.

As you relish the goodies, decorate every nook and corner of your home and enjoy the get-togethers... may the joy and festivities continue to radiate in your lives, long after Christmas is gone.  Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

With all Good Wishes for Christmas and the New Year.

Baby's First Christmas - Celebrity Edition

The year of 2014 brought big changes in the lives of some of our favorite celebrities. New records, new releases, and new awards are always exciting, but nothing can measure up to the beauty and amazement of the birth of a baby. Meet all the new mini-celebrities that will be celebrating their very first Christmas this year.

Baby Schuyler
Parents: Rodger Berman and Rachel Zoe
Rodger Berman and Rachel Zoe (celebrity stylist) welcomed their very first baby this year, Schuyler Harris. Judging from his custom made shoes and his Missoni stroller, I think it's very safe to make the assumption that Schuyler's first Christmas will be filled with Gucci, Prada and Chanel.

Baby Flynn
Parents: Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr
Actor Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings) and model Miranda Kerr may have given birth to the cutest baby alive. With brown hair and big blue eyes, he has been making headlines since day one. This is an extra exciting time of year for Baby Flynn; he will be celebrating his first birthday on January 6th.

Baby Haven
Parents: Cash Warren and Jessica Alba
Producer Cash Warren and actress Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four, Sin City) welcomed their second daughter, baby Haven Garner in August, much to the delight of big sister Honor Marie. Jessica recently took both three year old Honor and four month old Haven to meet Santa Claus in their local mall. How sweet is that!

Baby Morocco and Baby Monroe
Parents: Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey
Nick Cannon (America's Got Talent) and singer/actress Mariah Carey welcomed their twins on April 30th of this year. This adorable duo made one of their first public appearances last Christmas when Mariah was visibly showing during her Christmas Special. Morocco was named after the Moroccan inspired room in which Nick proposed to Mariah, and Monroe was named after one of Mariah's longtime role models, Marilyn Monroe.

Baby Harper
Parents: David & Victoria Beckham
World renowned power couple David (English soccer star) & Victoria Beckham (designer) welcomed their very first daughter this year. Baby Harper Seven joined older brothers Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz.

Baby Bingham
Parents: Matt Bellamy and Kate Hudson
Matt Bellamy (front-man of Muse) and actress Kate Hudson (Bride Wars, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days) welcomed their first baby, Bingham Hawn in August. Baby Bingham joins Kate's older son Ryder, who affectionately calls him Bing.

Baby Arabella
Parents: Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump
Jared Kushner and entrepreneur and daughter of Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, married in October 2009, welcomed their very first baby, Arabella Rose on July 17th of this year.

Baby Aleph
Parents: Benjamin Millepied and Natalie Portman
Producer Benjamin Millepied and actress Natalie Portman (V for Vendetta, Black Swan) welcomed their first baby, Aleph this year. Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, a sweet tribute to the Hebrew background of the couple.

And there, my friends, are the newest celebrities of 2011. Merry Christmas to all the baby celebs and their parents! I can't help but wonder which celebrities will make this list next year...

Fun gifts for Christmas technology

 

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Lego Minecraft

When technology enthusiasts that participate in your life already has the latest smartphones, tablets, and much better headphones to last a lifetime, it can be very difficult to find something for Christmas, they really appreciate. Luckily for you, we tracked down some of the technologies more fun gifts that would not have arisen in the mind when he entered the street.

What do you get when building toys 20:21 coolest century combined? Lego Minecraft! There are a variety of games available, allowing you to build your own version of several places at once dig-em-up. Sets include a haunted by zombies and monsters cave spider, a set that leads to the end to find the Ender Dragon, and this assembly, which is $ 40 on Amazon, which places the first night in their first retreat with a pig, a vine and Steve own minifig.

DJI Phantom Vision 2 +

Get to the chopper! Help your tinnitus near their recent adventures flying high with DJI Phantom 2 Vision + Quadcopter £ 940 multi-rotor remote machine that can fly up to 25 minutes and even switch to autopilot when taking a rest from flight.

Your camera mounted below, you can shoot Full HD video resolution and stabilized by a three-axis gimbal, ensuring the footage is soft butter.

JBL flip 2

2 Turn on Bluetooth speaker JBL going to hit an impressive sound comes in a variety of colors and even for phones using NFC technology.

If for their children to enjoy the fantastic music in their bedrooms or your partner for something more elegant rock while cooking in the kitchen, pull 2 worth the price of £ 50.

Apple iPod Shuffle

After chewing through a ton of turkey and mince pies this Christmas Mountain, you probably need to put on running shoes to return to a state of health of the entire family.

Apple IPod shuffle remains one of the best audio players to move, thanks to its small size and the fact that you can easily clip in a shirtsleeve, rather than going into the pocket.

It is on sale at the Apple Store for $ 40 for 2GB of storage - enough for hundreds of songs.

How to Successfully Breast-Feed Your Baby

Breast-feeding is a natural and wonderful experience for new moms and it is also a wonderful part of parenting. Many parents are scared when they get ready to breast-feed their baby.

Don't give up! There are a lot of ways to help your baby latch onto your nipple.

If you are a first time mother, don't get frustrated when breast feeding because it is not an easy task at first, though, here are some helpful tips to get you started.

Many mothers get sad when they can't get their baby to breast feed. If you want use a damp warm towel and place it over your breast before breast-feeding your baby. This will warm up your breast.

The first thing you need to do is relax. Before you pick up your baby, take a few deep breaths, and count to ten. Getting comfortable is key to stimulating your milk reflex. If you need a longer time then ten minutes go ahead and take the time to do so.

It wouldn't be a good idea to be stressed when you are about to feed your baby, so relax. Relaxing is also important when you are about to go to sleep after the baby has been crying for so long.

Try yoga, deep breathing, and calming music.

The second step would be for you to bring your baby close to your chest. While you baby is close to your chest, take another set of deep breaths.

After you do this, support your baby by placing your hand right behind his or her neck and head to support the head.

Be very gentle with your child's head. Be incredibly gentle, because if you have a new born, the head could be very sensitive because of birth.

The third step is to support your breast. Do this by using one hand. While holding your breast, rub your baby's face gently (calm him or her) with your hand or nipple.

This will make your baby go towards the nipple. Keep rubbing your baby's face so that he or she feels comfortable.

This will pay off when your baby is latched on to your nipple!

The fourth thing you need to do is direct your nipple upwards.

Make sure that your nipple is pointing upwards, as if it was pointing at your child's forward. This will give a great position for your baby to latch on comfortably.

This is important because it will position your nipple towards the baby's mouth.

Your almost there!

The fifth thing you need to do it to make sure your baby's lips are puckering outwards, rather than inwards. If your baby is puckering inwards, gently re-adjust your baby with your finger.

Unlatch your baby only if they are latched onto your nipple incorrectly. Do this by gently placing your finger at the corner of your baby's mouth and re-adjusting him or her.

Your baby should be latched on nice and snug right now!

Once latched on...

Make sure that your baby's nose isn't covered by your top breast, and make sure that your baby's nose is free from boogies.

Find a comfortable chair!

Gather a few pillows/nursing pillow on your lap and lay your baby across your lap. Hold your baby at a position where his or her feet are extended to the side of your body, instead of across your body.

The position will seem as if your tucking your baby under your arm.

Place your hand behind your babies neck and shoulders to support your baby.

Then you need to latch your baby onto your nipple by pulling him or her towards your breast. Do not force your baby to breast-feed. It could also help your baby also listened to calming music while you breast feed.

If you listen to the same type of calming music during breast feeding your baby will know when its time to eat when they hear the sounds.

If you want to try breast feeding lying down, you can do this on one side by placing your bottom arm over your head. You can also lay on your side with your supporting arm holding your head.

Try different positions so that you and your baby get comfortable with each other.

Then you can also feed your baby tummy-to-tummy. Lay your baby down facing you. Bring your baby close and re-approach the latching step. Position your breast accordingly and draw him or her closely.

This will let you and your baby rest will breast feeding, and sometimes a mother needs a little rest.

If you lay your baby on your bed to take a nap make sure to take everything off the bed, except for the bottom sheet and your baby blanket.

Make sure to never fall asleep on your baby, especially near a couch cushion! There are gaps between the cushions that could suffocate your baby.

If you want to take a nap next to your baby get rid of heavy pillows, comforters, and other things that could suffocate your baby.

Never sleep with your baby girl or baby boy if you or your significant other smokes!

Best Tool To Learn English Vocabulary

Books, websites, videos, CDs, DVDs, word games, dictionaries, teachers, tutors, and who knows maybe candlestick makers in their spare time volunteering their services as an English specialist for overseas students of the language. Basically, there are many ways to learn, and improve your English vocabulary, and you can now even get SMS ‘word for the day’ messages on your mobile/cell phone.

But there is one other method not in that list – computer software – and it has been deliberately left off the list because many people are finding it the best tool to learn English vocabulary. Hence, it deserves special attention.

A good example of a successful computer program is Ultimate Vocabulary

Created by eReflect Learning Solutions, Ultimate Vocabulary is a program highly recommended by a number of leading English language specialists. The name pops up everywhere you look on the Internet, but that is no surprise given its reputation as one of the best English vocabulary tools.

Ultimate Vocabulary was designed in 2006 by Marc Slater, director of eReflect. In a recent interview, Marc explained that he hit upon the idea of creating the software because he was disappointed with the other tools that were available to him at the time. Although attempting to use books, and audio courses, Marc found that his vocabulary was hardly improving, at least not as much as he had hoped, and desired. Having then scoured the Internet for some software, Marc discovered there was a huge hole in provision, and Ultimate Vocabulary was soon born. Four years on andUltimate Vocabulary has become the best tool to learn English vocabulary with.

Marc believes an improved vocabulary is one of the best “self improvements” one can make as it leads to better self-expression, and communication in the workplace, as well as being socially rewarding. It follows then that career prospects are boosted, and peer-respect is increased. This philosophy extends to a deeper reason for improving English vocabulary, and seems ridiculously simple when you think about it. According to studies in psychology, and language, human thought patterns rely heavily on vocabulary, for whenever you try to solve a problem you will find you are doing it in words. The problem comes if your vocabulary is small, as you will only be able to solve the smallest of problems. The more words at your disposal, the more able you will be to solve the more difficult problems that arise in the hurly-burly of this modern world. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

So say hello to Ultimate Vocabulary. The definitive software package specially designed for everyone to use. It features a mega-dictionary of nearly 150,000 words, has 10,000 ‘ultimate words,’ and comes with access to 50 usage examples per word. There are also 20,000 audio pronunciations, easy to use tests, and exercises, and a customized graph chart to monitor your learning progress. You also get full interactive functions that make it the best tool to learn English vocabulary.

Not convinced? Then for only $67 why not give it a go…and get a full refund if not satisfied. You have nothing to lose – except gaining knowledge of some new words.

 

 

Sun’s Effect on Baby Skin

A baby skin is very thin and sensitive to sun. Within, ten – fifteen minute, exposure direct sunlight, causes sunburn. When a baby is placed, inside baby car seat, unaware seat and buckles, been exposed direct sunlight, will burn baby’s skin. Sunburns can be very painful and serious health problems, including dehydration and fever. Estimates, one in every 100 children, may eventually develop melanoma, most deadly type, of skin cancer.

Treating mild or less severe, baby sunburns, applying onto the area, a washcloth been soaked, in cool water. Applying wash cloth, onto skin for fifteen minutes, a few times a day or more, but cautiously, observing for any chills. Alternatively, bath baby in cool water and baking soda, cools the skin, and reduces redness. Applying, moisturizer containing aloe vera, vitamin ‘E’ oil or Noxema, cools down skin temperature, reduce redness, and discomfort. Provide, plenty of fluids, preventing dehydration. Severe sunburns or blistering of the skin, associated second degree burns, needs attentions of a physician or pediatrician, immediately. Prescribed treatment includes, applying ointments, creams, dressing of blisters, and relieving pain, taking infant non-aspirin.

Certainly, prevention is best method, from sunburn, any age. According, Dr. Paul J. Honing, chief of Dermatology, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, severe sunburn or continued exposure to the sun early in life, may be correlated, with skin cancer, later in life. Furthermore, a child has two severe sunburns, before the age of 18, generally, greater risk of skin cancer. Dr. Honig warns, protecting the skin with baby oil, enhances damaging effect, of the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Importantly, Children have greater risk of skin cancer: Fair to light skin complexion, family history of skin cancer, history of sunburn early in life, typical moles or larger number of moles, freckles, and long duration sunlight exposure. Living, closer to the equator, during peak summer months or between 10 AM – 4 PM, sun provides, strongest rays. Living in high altitudes, greater exposure to the sun. Every 1,000 feet of altitude, increases sun’s rays by five percent, especially, living in Denver, exposure is 25 percent stronger. Baby should wear, long-sleeved shirt, tight woven clothing (prevents sunlight), light colored clothing, and loosely woven fabrics. Fabric labeled, Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) value, provides a level of protection, from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. Ultraviolet Protection rating of twenty, allows 1/20 of the sun’s UV radiation, pass through or reduces, skin’s UV radiation exposure, by twenty times. Higher Ultraviolet Protection Factor, provide greater UV protection. Preferable, a baby should wear, sunglasses with UV-protection, and have big lenses, exposure to the sun. A child vision can worsen, after years of exposure to the sun, without any protection. Outside, attach an umbrella or canopy, when using a stroller. Otherwise, sun-protective tent, provides sun-protection, baby is playing or resting. Directly exposure to the sun, apply sunscreen or lotion, exposed areas. Contact your pediatrician, recommended sunscreens or lotions. Babies over six months old, applying waterproof sunscreen, designed for children, and labeled ‘broad spectrum,’ protecting against, both ultraviolet B (UVB), and ultraviolet A (UVA) rays. Additional protection, by apply zinc oxide, upon areas of the skin, more perceptible to sunburn, such as nose and lips. Same for adult skin protection.

Sunscreen protects the skin, by absorbing or blocking, and scattering UV radiation. Degree of protection rated by Sun Protection Factor (SPF) system. The higher SPF rating, adult or baby exposure sun longer, before getting sunburn. Applying, an SPF ’15,’ exposure to the sun, for 150 minutes, prevents sunburn. Recommend, applying new sunscreen, onto a small area of a baby skin, and observing, for allergic reaction, of rash or redness. Applying, sunscreen 20 minutes, before exposure to sun, enough time for skin absorption. Reapplying sunscreen, recommended, after a baby or adult, played in water or has been sweating. Otherwise, reapplying every thirty minutes, during sun exposure. If eyes are exposed to sunscreen, cause irritation, apply plenty of water to the eye, reduces discomfort, and contacting a physician, if irritation continues. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends sunscreen, protective sun hats, sunglasses, and clothing.

Sun light absorbs and provides Vitamin ‘D’ or ‘sunshine vitamin,’ essential for developing strong bones, and calcium absorption. Sufficient, amount of time, baby exposed to sunlight per day is five to thirty minutes, depending how sensitive, a baby skin reacts. Avoid, strongest sun light, between hours 10 AM, and 2 PM. During winter months, absorption of vitamin ‘D,’ is limited, because sunlight contains, a limited amount of ultraviolet rays, produce vitamin ‘D.’

10 recipe apps to help you cook up memorable meals

Our food writer chooses her favourite apps to help you in the kitchen, from boiling the perfect egg to creating a culinary masterpiece

 

Felicity Cloake

They said the kitchen was the last bastion of the book; that water-phobic, grease-shy computers would never penetrate its steamy walls. Well, they were wrong; last year a survey by the recipe website allrecipes.com found that 44% of respondents claimed digital media was their cooking resource of choice – and I have to admit, I'm among them.

I do still love my enormous cookbook collection; tablets don't tend to take so kindly to being splattered with tomato sauce, but they do have certain advantages. For a start, the cleverest apps take on the boring bits of cooking: doing the maths to scale up that lasagne for four to feed a party of six, for example, and then making a shopping list.

Many of them will even sync across devices, so the list on your tablet will also pop up on your smartphone in the supermarket.

Best of all is the interactivity; puzzled by exactly how fine finely diced carrots are, or indeed the quickest way to produce them?

Click on the related knife-skills video for a tutorial from an expert. Just remember to wash your hands first.

1) Saveur magazine IOS Android free

Or, in fact food magazines in general: our very own British – and delicious – Olive, Jamie and BBC Good Food all have their own apps, but the real treat for me is flicking through my favourite glossy American food titles without having to pay for transatlantic postage. Sweet potato pie, here I come.

2) How to Cook Everything Essentials IOS free

Mark Bittman, a James Beard award-winning former New York Times food columnist, provides 2,000 recipes for everything from a basic tomato sauce to octopus with tomatoes and red wine, plus cross-referenced advice on equipment and techniques. Unlike some American apps, this is happily fully metric.

3) Great British chefs IOS Windows free

One of my favourite websites comes in a variety of stylish mobile forms (including a great cooking with kids version) and includes recipes from some of the country's finest chefs, beautifully photographed. It also includes a handy shopping list function so you don't forget the fleur de sel or the tonka beans.

4) Paprika IOS £2.99 Android £3.05

Replace that sheaf of recipes fluttering forlornly from the fridge magnet with this clever electronic manager, which collates all that inspiration in one place. Features include built-in timers, a screen lock so it doesn't switch off in the middle of something and seamless cloud sync across devices.

5) Myfitnesspal IOS Android free

An invaluable free resource for anyone who overdid it at Christmas; with over three million foods in their database (some entries are more reliable than others), it's a handy way to keep track of the calories. Though I wish I didn't know that 1tsp olive oil contains 40 of the damn things.

6. Jamie's Recipes IOS free

Jamie's embraced the digital revolution with characteristic enthusiasm; his free app gives you 10 recipes and six videos every month, while subscribers can download collections like money-saving meals. Great interactive photos and tips – though slightly unnerving to have Jamie piping up from nowhere.

7) The perfect egg timer IOS 69p Android £1.29

Even food writers aren't always on the ball at breakfast time. This unashamedly simple app, which also comes in a steak version, takes into account temperature, altitude and egg diameter to guarantee you your perfect egg, every time. Genius.

8) Modernist cuisine at home IOS £54.99

OK, so this gorgeous paean to cutting-edge cuisine doesn't come cheap, but bear in mind the book's a cool £100, and this has 260 more fiendishly precise recipes and 359 more stunning photos, plus videos, recipe scaling and a shopping list function, and suddenly it seems like quite good value really.

9) The Good Fish Guide IOS Android free

If you can never remember whether eating sea bream will see you eternally damned to environmental hell, then this Marine Conservation Society app should salve your conscience considerably. Almost every fish you're likely to come across in this country is classified as either an eat, or an avoid. No excuses.

10) Riverford veg recipes IOS free

Those who started the year vowing to eat more greens will find this excellent app from the organic vegbox scheme a godsend. It includes nearly 800 recipes, plus storage and preparation tips and a surprisingly fun fruit (veg?) machine-style search tool children will love.

 

The 12 Best Children’s Educational iPad Apps Released

TeachThought and Teachers With Apps are happy to release our list of 12 best children’s educational apps released in 2012!

Every app featured in this review has been released in 2012, updates excluded. We wish this list had 12 categories so we could cover all of the wonderful new educational additions to the app store. Since that is not feasible we are limiting this list to learning games only. We will post a list of the 12 Best Book Apps of 2012 soon, as well as a list of the top 12 Educational App Developers. Stay-tuned!

The 12 Best Children’s Educational iPad Apps Released In 2012

1. State Bingo and Road Trip US, just hit the app store last week! It is totally educational, exceptionally engaging and aesthetically pleasing. It also completely encompasses Common Core Standards and differentiated modes of play. This app has so much to offer, learning-wise, and is so much FUN!  The zoom in- zoom out map is an exciting way to learn all types of map skills and the act of immediately applying that knowledge to a given question brings this app into the category of deeper learning.

2. Spinlight Studio released their newest app, Geography Drive USA, and we love it!!  No more boring maps and memorizing facts. Students will be delighted to learn about geography in a whole new, fun, exciting way. The visitor’s center has each of the individual states and facts galore. Each state has three different questions to answer. To gain more fuel and money, visit the all-state pass for more questions that are read to the player.  There is more than one chance to try a state, with a wonderful variety of harder and easier questions. Questions cover current as well as historical events.

3. Ansel & Clair: Paul Revere’s Ride, by Cognitive Kid, was recently released too and we had the pleasure of beta testing this incredibly elaborate app over several months. Cognitive Kid is one of those companies that will go down in history as being one of the first to develop outstanding learning content, where discovery is the model & play is the focus, where students love it as much as the teachers and every school considers it a must have! Let us share some feedback from the students during round one. When kids were asked to respond why they thought it was a good way to learn, the responses were plain and simple. “Because it teaches important history stuff in a fun to play way.” Or, the let me get right to the point comment, “Made boring history fun.” Kids approached this app eagerly and surprised us by the amount of time spent exploring and discovering each individual scene with complete focus.

4. Eye Paint Animals, by Curious Hat, is one of the most innovative and invigorating apps we’ve seen to date. TWA had the pleasure of speaking with Luca Prasso, one of the co-founders of Curious Hat, and got a better understanding of where this state of the art company has been and where they hope to go.  They strive to design tools for children that encourage discovery play and foster creativity, they succeed spectacularly. Curious Hat has taken the iOS user experience to a whole n’other level.  Luca states, “Our apps are not games, they are discovery tools aimed at energizing kids to play, create, invent, explore and learn in enjoyable ways without the limitations of set parameters.”

5. Native Numbers, by Native Brain, is a wonderful addition to the already saturated math app market! This game is on the money when it comes to providing a deeper understanding of number concepts and imperative math vocabulary, which is needed to build a strong foundation for all mathematics to follow. As Native Brain mentions on their website, kids are capable of so much more if we give them the chance. We need to embrace this philosophy and raise the bar. Starting early is by far the best way to achieve this. Research has shown over and over that children that have a solid and deep exposure to basic number concepts have the ability to learn and understand math skills later.

6. Numerosity: Play with Math!,by ThoughtBox, is based on a cutting edge approach to learning math and TWA found while field-testing, the kids kept wanting to come back for more and more play time. We love their statement, “Let’s show our children that Math and Science can be loved.”  Numerosity may not have coined the term GamefulLearning, but they refer to it often and explain it as a way to engage and empower learners by placing them in the driver seat. TWA couldn’t agree more! The games are a brilliant way for students to learn and Numerosity has done a smashing job of coming up with an app that has the ability to put the child back in the drivers seat.

7. Social Quest,bySmarty Ears, is a keeper! Speech therapists and teachers will have no problem engaging students with this superb app. Students will love their picture being in the House of Heroes. Various items will be earned as the student successfully answers either receptive or expressive questions. This app is very clever in creating a game around a castle. Pick a room in a house by pulling the students picture or avatar to the room, then student will transport to that specific room. The bathroom, for example, covers sharing items in the bathroom, how to explain to parents you want a haircut and what not to touch. Actual photographs make the experience more real and reinforce concepts. Other locations are available such as the movies, a restaurant, in the neighborhood, at the doctor’s office, in the supermarket and at the mall… and up to 4 students can play in different locations at one time. Different situations create great, true to life learning opportunities for all students.

8. iTooch Junior High School, by edupad Inc., is not only a state of the art and completely comprehensive educational app, it is exciting, effective and enormously fun!  iTooch Junior High School has more than 10,000 exercises in ELA (reading, writing vocabulary, grammar) and Math (properties and operations, graphs, algebra, geometry, statistics and probability, and data analysis) and Health – Grade Six. iTooch comes equipped with  an easily accessible built in blackboard for a workspace and students are provided with clear, concise lessons at any point, by just tapping on the iTooch mascot. The app is free to download and titles can be tried out before buying any in-app purchases, which are available for each topic.

9. Tense Builder, by Mobile Education Storeand renowned developer, Kyle Tomson, released this long awaited app and it does not disappoint in any way shape or form! Teaching the tenses is one of the hardest concepts to explain, as it is a very abstract concept. Then there are the English words that do not follow the rule, otherwise known as irregular verbs. It isn’t difficult to comprehend this concept with words like: walk, walking, walked. Now try come, coming, comed… opps, doesn’t quite work. Along comes the terrific Tense Builder and what used to be a tedious task for the teacher is now an app away!

10. Reading Raven, by Early Ascent – This developer has reason to be proud of their first release. Reading Raven has what it takes to get kids on the road to reading and the developers have done it brilliantly by following a proven reading program. Reading Raven is phonics-based, and unlike other learn-to-read apps, even phonics apps, it takes children all the way from learning foundational pre-reading and reading skills to reading sentences and very short stories. We’ve heard this story many a time, Scott White wanted to teach his 5-year-old son to read and wasn’t too impressed with much of what was available for mobile devices. Once again, a new app was born due to a parent’s curiosity and concern about their child’s early learning experiences. The developer suggests this app for ages 3-7 and that appears to be right on.

11. Futaba Classroom Games for Kids, byINKids, introduced a powerful concept for the iPad, engaging multiple players in fast paced games for the classroom or home. These games, which vary in content, can be set to a specific skill or set to randomly display a mix. All by a simple visit to the settings menu. Presently they have a pre-k section with animals, shapes, transportation, and “things.” There is a K-3rd grade math section, geography, and Dolch sight words. Also, they offer First Spanish Words and Japanese for beginners to learn the language. You can easily add your own content and create your own game based on any theme you choose. This is an amazing option for teachers to implement and customize to whatever they are studying. INKids is now asking for teacher and parent input and plans to expand the game selection. There are plans of adding different learning sets, as well. David Wingler, a teacher at Osaka Kunei Girls’ Junior and Senior High in Japan, is responsible for the original idea.

12. Letter School, by Boreaal, got lots of accolades from just about everyone (including us!) for being a spectacular app for implementing and practicing fine motor skills, and for beginning the process of building a strong foundation for reading and math readiness skills. TWA wants to give this app a huge shout-out! Their slogan, Letter School Makes Handwriting Cool, is on their opening page… and, oh yes, this app makes everything cool! The surprise factor and variety that this app has to offer for each and every upper and lower case, as well as numbers, keeps children engaged and active participants for long periods of time. When we field-tested this app, we had to struggle to get our iPads back from the students. They kept insisting, “Just one more, PLEASE!”

 

 

The Origin of the Baby New Year

Every year it's the same thing. Some diapered little baby is paraded around wearing a sash with the new year written on it. Who hasn't been to a New Year's Party that ended that way, huh? Okay, me neither. But the Baby New Year is still an iconic image that even popped up in a really bad sequel to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Baby. Usually in concert with the Baby New Year there is also a wizened old man with a ZZ Top beard. But this article isn't about that. It's about that naked baby.

 

 

The use of an infant as a symbol of the start of the new cycle that begins with the passage of the year dates back to ancient Greece. The festival of Dionysus, who was the god of wine, song and merriment let us not forget, was a big thing for the Greeks. No doubt the festival of Dionysus often ended long after the womenfolk had been sent to bed and each male reveler had left his male Greek friends behind to unsteadily walk home to the little woman.

Before these parties got down to the good stuff, however, it was the custom of the time to parade a newborn baby around in a basket. The baby was a symbol and a herald for fertility of the crops. (Probably just the crops since Greek style doesn't produce much in the way of offspring.

None so's you want to keep, anyway.) Across that big lake, the Egyptians were also fond of holding a ceremony of rebirth that involved the use of a young baby. In fact, there was a specific ceremonial ritual involving a young man and an older bearded man carrying a baby inside a basket that was discovered on the lid of a sarcophagus that is now on display in a museum.

The symbol of a Baby New Year was ubiquitous throughout the pagan religions so it should come as no surprise that the Catholic Church disallowed it for centuries. Finally, thanks to a fact that Bush seems incapable of grasping---that it is next to impossible to kill an idea that people cleave to with all their might---the Catholic Church gave in and allowed infants to be used in New Year celebrations. Okay, they made one adjustment. The Baby New Year was transformed from a pagan symbol into a symbol of the Baby Christ.

The contemporary image of the Baby New Year comes to us, like the Christmas tree, courtesy of those fun-loving, always-with-the-joke Germans. It was the Germans, you see, who first slapped a diaper on the Baby New Year. The newly diapered Baby New Year first cropped up in German woodcarving illustrations in the 1300s. When the German immigrants poured into Pennsylvania they brought with them the Christmas tree, Groundhog Day and our current image of the Baby New Year.

 

FUT15 DATABASE (FIFA15)

FUT15 players database search engine for FIFA15: multi-criteria advanced search (no network needed)
TOTW players automatic update every weeks (network needed)

Locus - addon GSAK Database

Do you know GSAK? GSAK is geocache manager, where you can manage your final waypoints, add notes or waypoints to geocache or import/export geocache from/to GSAK.

This addon provide connection between GSAK database, where geocaches are save, and Locus, great map tool for Android! So you can view all your GSAK geocache in Locus, manage final waypoints, view listing, etc. And everything offline!

It’s simple – install plugin, copy your GSAK database to SD card, setup addon and run Locus. And just import geocaches.

Instructions:
1. Set correct path to GSAK database on your SD card
2. Change filter in settings, if you want
3a. Add this addon on right-side panel and click on it.
3b. Tap on map (hold finger), select last icon in bottom menu – Settings and select Load GSAK geocaches.
4. Done!

Looking for volunteers who would like to help with the translation of this application. Contact me - kuratkoo@gmail.com

Tags: gsak, database, locus, geocaching