Fun to see how your family allowance program compares. Enjoy! I image it will help you think about how much is too much and what age. Take the poll!

Link: http://financialplan.about.com/cs/moneyforyouth/a/MoneyKids.htm

As a parent we struggle with how much money is too much money for our children to have access and control over.... After reading the article Dollars and Sense for Kids on About.com I felt that you would want to read it too.. when I read ..... "How will you teach your children to be more financially successful, avoid living from paycheck to paycheck, and steer clear of crippling credit card debt?" I thought you also should read this message and think about how much is too much. When is it appropriate to start teaching your child about money? Why is it important to teach your kids about money early.... all of your questions can be answered ... and you can start a plan to teach your children how to be great money managers and a future built on financial peace!

Is it good news or bad news? Well, the math fix is relatively easy if everyone slows down and takes a more steady pace and remains patient!

At any point along your math journey a student can excel but first you will have to get back to basics and fill in the gaps by learning and understanding the foundations or building blocks math concepts learned in elementary and middle school.

WARNING: All middle school students who have a shaky foundation MUST NOT move on until they have a full understanding of prior math concepts. GET A TUTOR if you find that you are weak and lost.

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Math is built on learning concepts in a specific and cumulative order. The building blocks of math begin during our primary years and we learn more complex math over our school career. In primary school the foundation of addition and multiplication become part of the foundation for the building blocks to rest over years to come.

By middle school students learn about formulas and operations. It is critical for this information to stick before any further concepts are taught. A firm understanding of formulas and operations must be learned before a student moves on to enlarge his framework of knowledge.

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Link: http://ezinearticles.com/?Pop-Rocks-Candy---Dont-Fear-the-Fizz&id=2762909

I saw this today while out on the web and just had to share it with you. Enjoy!

Hard to believe it, but there are still some people out there that are afraid to eat Pop Rocks candy or will never eat them with a serving of Coca Cola. If you are one of those people, then I am writing this article especially for you. Years after the rumors have gone, the retro candy treat lives on.

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Write down every assignment

Don't leave completed assignments at home

Talk with your teacher

Organize and do it with color

Set up study space

Prep for the test days

Know how you learn

Take awesome notes

Overcome procrastination

Many scientist believe that people learn differently because they are "wired" differently. Have you heard of right or left brain learners? Well supposedly left brain learners are logical thinking and strong in math ability. The right brain learners are strong in artistic thinking and intuitive learning.

What kind of brain does your child have and how can you use his best learning skills to support learning through all areas? Help your child learn through his strengths!

If you ask students which subject they feel is the hardest.... you most often will hear MATH! Why is math so difficult and what makes it the dreaded subject of the school day?

When someone finds a subject difficult what they are really saying is that it is not easily completed and most often requires hard work, labor, learned skills, and planning so the outcome can be performed successfully.

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1. I don't know why; just because...
2. I don't want to get into trouble so I do it...
3. Everyone else does it so I do too...
4. Don't want to be noticed for not doing it...
5. To make the teacher happy...
6. To pass a test...
7. To be popular with the other kids when I make the good grades and can help them when they need my help to pass...
8. I do what is asked of me...
9. I follow the rules...
10. Not to end up like a loser...

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Link: http://www.nasponline.org/resources/home_school/homework.aspx

Kids and parents are frazzled by homework! How much is too much? A long standing debate on the topic of homework begins as the new school year starts. I can relate to parents, kids and teachers as to how much homework is too much and who really needs the homework.

The parents of our country stand divided on the "How much is too much homework?" issue. Parents are constantly talking about the homework issue! Kids spend a lot of time on homework and some parents feel it is far too much time. High-stakes testing and reduced school budgets have caused educators to work harder and longer hours. With less to work with it has resulted in increased homework to get the job of learning done. Coupled with news that American students achieve below our international counterparts in Japan and China force schools to continue to put the pressure on.

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Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGL4btEIoTo

Enjoy the Archies intro from 1969.....

If you are a parent with a teen going to school then I am sure you have heard complaining about how heavy their backpack is? Right? This may not be the most important issue in your adult world but it sure is an issue for teens across the nation.

Keep in mind that when teens carry heavy backpacks it can become a source of chronic, low-level trauma, and can cause chronic shoulder, neck and back pain for them.

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Matthew Amster-Burton, the author of the new memoir-style cookbook Hungry Monkey, says there's no reason a baby shouldn't eat sushi, bacon-jalapeno pizza or chocolate malt milkshakes. Find out more about his book and his thoughts on helping children enjoy eating from all food groups! Enlightening all the way around and certainly sugar can be one favorite food group that I am sure kids would agree to eat!

The Maya built an ancient nation with highly developed science and civilization that once existed in the history. This mysterious group of people used to live in the present-day southern Mexico (Yucatán), Guatemala, northern Belize and western Honduras. Many pyramids, temples and other ancient constructions built by the Mayas can still be found in Yucatán and Guatemala. There are also many stone carvings and mysterious inscriptions on tablets. Archeologists believe that the Mayas had a magnificent civilization. There exist answers to many questions regarding the life and universe of the Mayan culture. It is very likely that we can find these answers in their books, their inscriptions on the stone tablets, and their mystical stories. It is a great pity that the precious books in the Mayan library were all burnt by the Spanish army during their invasion after 1517. Only some inscriptions on tablets and some confusing calendar systems are left today. Read more about the Mayas.

Mexica/Aztec Calendar Systems | The Civil Calendar
By by Dale Hoyt Palfrey

FACT: The solar year was the basis for the civil calendar by which the Mexicas (Aztecs) determined the myriad ceremonies and rituals linked to agricultural cycles.

The 18 month calendar with each month lasting only 20 days where each month was divided by four 5 day weeks. The year was rounded out to 365 days and then an addition of a five-day nemontemi(empty days).

The nemontemi was an omnious period marked by the cessation of normal activities and general abstinence. The correlation of dates in the Gregorian calendar is uncertain, although most authors on the subject affix the beginning of the Aztec year to early February.

Link: http://www.officedepot.com/specialLinks.do?file=/promo/backtoschool/5percent.jsp

A game plan is the best way to organize your back to school shopping list. Check over the list you should have been provided by the school but if you don't have one you can't go wrong with basic supplies and don't forget to take advantage of back-to-school shopping sales! Check your state's sales tax-free days during this time to assure you are shopping at the best time for your family and keep in mind savings is the name of the game!

Sit down with your child and work together and make a list of the basic needs. Keeping your child involved will help keep the expectations of what is needed vs. what is wanted in check. Start off with the list provided by the school and review it together. Spending a little prep time will also teach your child how to organize and practice a valuable lifelong habit.

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Link: http://www.nasa.gov/

NASA lacks funding to track asteroids in space. Physicist Michio Kaku Professor and Author points out that no one is talking about tracking asteroids that could hit planet earth. Congress has not allocated NASA the money to build telescopes in many years and that volunteers are tracking asteroids with limited resources. Very little money is needed for this program and no one is talking about it. Limited resources available to NASA is key reason as to why no one is talking about this program. NASA is soon to propose to the President the needed funding for the space program. Ask NASA to include proposed funding for telescopes to monitor asteroids that could make impact on our planet.

The Kid's Comic Book Reviews written by eight year old Liam with the help of his dad is one year old and going strong. To quote his dad, "Liam picks the books he wants to read from the store each week and we read the books together, discuss them afterwards and then he does his reviews." Liam's dad is hoping to "provide readers with a different perspective on some of today's comic books." That's a good thing. Even better though are the writing and organizational skills Liam is learning as he reads his comics and writes his reviews and of course this is just a really cool activity for a self proclaimed "geeky" dad to do with his son. What Liam is learning through his involvement with the site academically and about his dad personally will stay with him the rest of his life. You go Liam! Keep it up.

Juggling is a fun eye hand coordination activity!

How To Parent From Your Kid's Point of View

What a great concept! Vanessa Van Petten and her team of fifteen teenage writers lay it all out for parents with a straight forward style that only the young seem to be able to master. Recent posts include...

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Link: http://www.astronautix.com/craft/biosuit.htm

The Bio-Suit was a novel approach to spacesuit design that used and biomedical breakthroughs in skin replacement and materials to replace the bulky conventional "balloon" spacesuit with a 'second skin' approach to provide light weight, flexibility, and comfort in all extraterrestrial environments. It provided life support through use of mechanical counterpressure applied to the entire body through a tight-fitting suit, excepting a helmet for the head. The inner layer of the Bio-Suit could be sprayed on, and disposed of, together with dirt and dust, after each EVA. The external layers would include embedded "wearable technologies" that would be tailored to the environment and mission.

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CAUTION could catch on fire. Children need an adult to work with them on this project.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-_fAyoWQTc

Back to school lunches.... do you know what your child eats at school? Help your kids learn to think about healthy choices when buying lunch at school.

What do your kids eat for lunch at school?

Although your kids may be eating well if they eat a balanced meal prepared in the school cafeteria or if you pack them a healthy lunch, it is increasingly likely that they are making poor choices and eating an unhealthy lunch, which may be one of the reasons that more kids are becoming overweight.

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Link: http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-suck-an-egg-into-a-bottle

Atmospheric Pressure...this experiment involves a flame. Children need the supervision of an adult to do this experiment.

Ingredients:

- A peeled hard-boiled egg (extra-large size/grade egg).

- Glass bottle with a wide opening (the opening should be just a little smaller than the width of the egg). Many apple juice bottles work well for this demonstration. Also, make sure the bottle is dry.

- Matches

- An audience to show how cool this trick is.

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Link: http://www.weatherwizkids.com/index.htm

Welcome to Weather Wiz Kids®. I'm a television meteorologist for the ABC affiliate in Indianapolis, Indiana. I designed the Weather Wiz Kids website especially for kids to allow them to learn more about the fascinating world of weather. It’s also a wonderful educational website for teachers and parents that gives them the right tools they need to explain the different types of weather to children. READ MORE: http://www.weatherwizkids.com/index.htm

Creative Tutors http://www.creativetutors.com and Timmy Tutors http://www.timmystutor.com have a combined mission to help kids enjoy learning. Weather is a great tool to use to help kids learn about the world we live in.... take the fear out of weather and storms...and simply breakdown the mystery of weather through teaching the science behind weather! Simply fun and a great opportunity to spend time with your budding scientist!

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