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  • Grade 5 Math Help


    Getting grade 5 math help is often vital to a student’s future. Middle school is a time when maths gets more complex and hence many students find it difficult to cope on their own. Mary was scoring high in the subject, until she reached grade 5.

    When she consistently fared poorly in her new class, her maths teacher felt that she would need some assistance. Hence, she gave her some extra attention and advised her parents to assist her at home. The collective help from her teachers and parents worked wonders for Mary. These are some of the tips that made a difference to Mary. Try them out to help your kid:

    • Jot down notes
    • Taking detailed notes during your maths class will help you remember some important tips. Most teachers try to cover a lot in a single period in middle school.
    • To ensure effective note taking, have bundles of notebooks with you. To start the process take a ruler and draw a vertical line about 2.5 inches from the left margin down the entire length of the page. Mark out the left column for things to remember and name it ‘recall’. Mark the right column for the actual ‘notes’. This pattern is the Cornell method and is suggested by Michele A. Hernandez of Scholastic. It suggests that during the maths class students should jot down in simple paragraphs and need not record every single thing the teacher says. The best help is to pick the main points and explain them with examples of math problems. These examples are generally similar to the daily homework given by your math teacher.
    • When the class is over, go through your maths notes once you are home. Don’t leave it for later.




    • Highlight the key points, then jot them down again in the left hand ‘recall’ column. This helps to remember the main points that have been taught in class. You can also write down important formulas and equations in the ‘recall’ section. This will help you to do your homework faster. The guidance given by this method can be of help to most students even beyond grade 5.
    • Keep the textbook handy – If your notes do not suffice while you are trying to solve problems turn to the textbook for guidance. When you are stuck with a problem, the textbook examples will guide you about the steps taken to get the answer.
    • Look for assistance from friends and family – It’s always wise to go to your older siblings and parents when you get can’t solve a problem. Also a little help from a middle school peer can help.
    • External help – If things don’t seem to improve, you could also enroll with a tutor who handles middle school maths. You could even ask you math teacher for help after school.

    All these points followed diligently will surely have an impact on your kid’s mark sheet. A little grade 5 math help can also make a great difference to your kid’s high school mathematical abilities as well.




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  • Math Game


    The great thing about a math game is that it tickles your gray cells to no end. It is thus no wonder that math games have been the rage throughout the ages fascinating both kids and grown-ups.

    Maths games range from the very simple that are actually child’s play to the immensely complex that have remained unsolved through the ages. Scholars have labored over many a game of math, resulting in theoretical developments in the realm of mathematics.

    Gracing the Hall of Fame of legendary maths games are the ones invented by the ancient Greek mathematicians, the most famous among them being Archimedes’ Cattle Problem. The sheer complexity of this game can be gauged by the fact that some of its solutions turn out to be numbers with 206545 digits.

    The Rabbit Problem is another ‘who’s who’ of math games. And wizards and laymen have raked their brains trying to figure out how many pairs of rabbits can be produced in a year from another pair of rabbits if every month each pair begins a new pair which from the second month on becomes productive?

    It was not only Jacques Saunier, of The Da Vinci Code fame, who was fascinated by the Fibonacci Sequence. The sequence 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, … where each number is the sum of the preceding two has mesmerized mathematicians enough to have a whole body of mathematics dedicated to it.

    Then there is the Kirkman’s School Girl Problem that assumes a towering importance in the modern theory of combinatorics. The game is all about figuring out how 15 girls can walk in 5 rows of 3 each for 7 days so that no girl walks with any other girl in the same triplet more than once.

    Some famous chessboard problems involving the use of mathematics are the Eight Queens game where you have to arrange eight queens on a chess board so that no two can attack each other and of course the ancient Arabian game on grains of wheat, 1 on the first square of the chess board, 2 on the second, 4 on the third, 8 on the fourth and so on.

    These mathematics games are not mere food for thought. They constitute important educational tools to guide your kid through the basics of mathematics. Children learn best when they can derive some fun out of the teaching.

    In fact, this is the credo of the numerous online sites that offer free tutoring on mathematics. These sites are replete with maths games of all kinds and different difficulty levels. These games aim to impart the logic behind maths through fun and frolic. In fact, the idea has caught on like wild fire and these days it is not uncommon to find a tutor attempting to teach the kids the basics of group theory with the Rubik Cube.

    You can also devise simple math games for your kid to have fun with. Something as simple as asking him to get three cookies from the jar or counting the number of kittens will help him with his counting. Board games are fun ways to brush up your kid’s sequential math understanding. You can even ask your kids to keep scores of the games so that he gets his addition fundamentals spot on.

    When it comes to learning maths, the math game is a great one for mixing business with pleasure.

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  • Animal Classification Chart

    Animal Classification of Invertebrates and Vertebrates



  • April Fools Day



    The 1st of April is celebrated as the April Fools Day. Most of the countries consider it to be a national holiday. On this day, hoaxes and practical jokes of a great variety are cracked among friends and neighbors. People also send their close relatives fools errands and make them the butts of ridicule. The April Fools Day is now celebrated across the net too.

    The April Fools Day hoaxes are only pranks and fair games. Nowadays, different media houses too organize such fun games to entertain public. There are a number of monthly journals too, which prepare such things too in their April version.

    There is no initial date to be regarded as the first April Fools Day. The closest possible date that can mark the beginning of this celebration can be 1582, in France. It is a custom that might have developed in different countries at the same time. The April Fools Day is primarily the day when people celebrate the arrival of Spring.

    Prior to the year 1582, the New Year was celebrated for long eight days, beginning from March 25th and ended in April 1st. During the Georgian rule, a new calendar was introduced, where the New Year was marked to be on 1st January. But an inflexible sect continued to celebrate the New Year on 1st of April itself. The local populace called this backward class the fools . They were often subjected to ridicule and fools errands.

    Pranks and jokes cracked during the April Fools Day range from small to elaborate ones. Some practical jokes are kept up the whole day before the victim realizes what day it is. Whatever the prank is, the charlatan ends the game by crying April Fool and bursts forth in laughter.

    Celebrations of the April Fools Day is all about enjoying unlimited fun and turning a friend the prey of your prank.

    The celebration of April Fools Day in different countries

    It is generally believed that Europe has derived its concept of April Fools Day from France, since France was the first country to celebrate the New Year on 1st January during the reign of Charles IX. According to the French and Dutch references, they too regard the date of 1st of April to be the April Fools Day.

    In England, the April Fools Day began to be celebrated from the 18th century. In Scotland, the custom of harassing friends is known as hunting the gawk or the cuckoo. In France, this is known as poisson d’avril. The zodiac sign for April is a Fish , and is believed to be caught easily.

    People Of Scotland celebrate the April Fools Day for forty-eight hours. The second day is called Taily , symbolized by the kick me sign. In Mexico, the April Fools Day is celebrated on 28th December. It is the day when king Herod mercilessly killed small children. Later it became a day when people would mourn lightly, involving pranks and trickery. Chaucer too referred to the April Fools Day, in his Nun s Priest s Tale.

    Thus, April fools Day is celebrated across the world with a lot of mirth and light-hearted ridicule.

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  • What is Light?


    by Nancy Sutthoff

    If you were to ask someone the above question they may well
    look at you as if you were either joking or just a bit nutty.
    They may even tell you they think you are. That
    is fine. They will not have
    read this article so therefore, they may think they know what light is, but they
    won’t have the whole story. You
    will.

    Light is not as simple as it seems to be.

    Since the beginning of time, humans have strived to
    discover and understand what light is exactly. In simple terms, light is energy.
    Therefore,
    scientists who study light are called Physicists. Physics
    is the study of energy and matter. The
    effects of energy on matter, and the effects of matter on energy.

    Sunlight/Solar Energy

    The light we receive in the form of daylight from the
    sun is officially called Solar Energy. Solar energy also provides food for the Earth.
    This is how: Light from
    the sun contains a vast amount of energy that, if tapped into, has a great deal
    of power to be obtained. From the very beginning plants have used the sun to
    create energy. Animals such as reptiles use it to maintain their body
    temperature. We humans have only recently begun to explore the potentials of one
    of the most valuable resources available to us; the sun.

    Plants use light to make their own food. Plants are also
    known as autotrophs, which means they are able to make their food from the light
    of the sun. They make their food through a process called photosynthesis.
    Through photosynthesis, plants are able to take the energy from the sun’s rays
    and turn it into a type of energy that they are able to use. All green plants
    use this method. Some bacteria are also known to use photosynthesis.

    Color

    Color is the thing we perhaps notice most about light in
    the world around us. But why we see colors the way we do all has to do with
    light. The reason something appears to be the color that does is that the object
    is absorbing all the other colors of light except the ones we see, which are
    reflected back to our eyes. If something absorbs all the colors, it appears
    black, if it reflects everything, it appears white. Color comes from what is
    called the visible spectrum of light. This spectrum goes from red to orange to
    yellow to green to blue to indigo to violet, all the major colors of the
    spectrum, and everything in between. An easy way to remember this order is to
    remember Roy G. Biv, much liked the colors of the rainbow. Scientists measure
    the wavelengths of light in this spectrum in nanometers or billionths of a
    meter. Red has the longest wavelength, and violet has the shortest. So, what
    color we see depends on the wavelength of the light we absorb into our eyes. The
    primary colors of light differ from the primary colors of solid objects such as paint (red, blue and yellow). The primary colors of light are blue, green, and red. From these colors, every other color
    can be made.

    Activities:

    • Draw a rainbow, or use a prism to create a miniature rainbow that you can observe.
    • Get three flashlights, and cover the ends with red, blue, and green cellophane. Shine different combinations of light on a piece of white paper and see what colors you get.
    • Find out if your town uses and/or has facilities to make solar energy usable for utilities (electricity, heat, water). If so, see if they offer tours of the premises so you can SEE how light is energy.

  • Earth Day Crafts



    Earth day is an occasion to ponder over problems like environmental pollution and animal species extinction. Children can be made aware of their roles and responsibilities through Earth Day crafts and similar activities. Most people celebrate April 22nd as Earth Day whereas others celebrate it on vernal equinox.

    A few crafts for your children to make are:

    Papier Mache Globe:
    This is a messy activity but teaches the children a lot of geography. Make glue by mixing 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of water till it is thin and runny. Stir the mixture into 4 cups of boiled water and simmer for three minutes to give the glue a consistency. Then cool it for use. Tear one-inch wide newspaper strips without worrying about the length. Make each kid blow up a balloon. Dip the strips in the glue, remove the excess and stick them around the balloon. Stick at least three layers of strips. Dry the balloon overnight after sticking each layer of strips.

    Once completely dry – this might take a few days – the balloon will automatically burst, separate from the papier- mache, leaving a papier- mache globe. Draw the map of the earth showing whatever you want to.



    Earth Pendant/ Earth Light Catcher:
    Take an earth printout and place any flexible transparent paper over it. Spread blue glue on the flexible paper over its ocean part and the green glue on the continents. Fix an unbent paper clip at the top in the glue to attach a string. Peel the glue once it has dried. Now attach a string to hang the craft in a window.

    Pine Cone Bird Feeder: Prepare a food mixture by mixing ½ cup vegetable shortening, lard or suet with 2 ½ cups cornmeal or uncooked oats and blend well. Get bird foods like dried chopped fruits and nuts, sunflower or millet seeds. Take a pinecone and tie a string to it. Cover the cone with the food mixture and roll over the bird food. Now hang it on a tree.

    Magic Leaf Drawing: Place a real leaf on a flat surface. Place a paper over it and crayon it. The leaf appears magically on the paper.

    Paper Evergreen Tree: Fold and cut in half a construction paper piece. Put the halves together and fold again. Opposite the fold, draw half of an evergreen tree. Cut along the line to get two identical trees. Fold the trees in half, barely creasing the centerline so as to mark the tree. Make a slit in the lower half of one tree and another in the upper half of the other. Slip the trees together along the slits. To make the tree stand well and prevent the slits from flopping over, tape the top and bottom of the trees with a clear tape. You may draw pinecones for added attraction.

    For bigger trees take two pieces construction papers and fold them to make a narrow rectangle. Draw a tree opposite the fold and proceed as earlier. You get a big tree – perhaps a fitting tribute to the earth on Earth Day.

    These Earth Day crafts are simple yet it would an enjoyable and educative experience for you and your children.



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  • Chanuka



    The Chanuka is a Jewish festival of lights. The festival marks the religious freedom of the Jews and is linked to the winter solstice. In Hebrew, the term “Hanukkah” implies “dedication.”

    The Origin of the festival

    In the second century BC, the Jewish faith was outlawed by the conquering Syrians. At the time of the solstice, the Syrians put out the light of the menorah that burned in front of the altar of the temple of Jerusalem and thus dishonored it. However, after three years the Maccabees managed to restore the temple by defeating the Syrians.

    The celebration of Hanukkah goes on for eight days reminding the Jews that though there was only enough consecrated oil to light the menorah for a single day, the menorah remained lighted for eight days miraculously.

    The Lighting of the Menorah

    The lighting of the menorah is the most significant ritual in the Chanukkah festival. Every evening of the festival has Jewish families assembling around the menorah when it is being lit and a blessing is offered. This event circles around allowing a candle stand with nine branches. There are eight candles to mark the eight days of the festival. All the candles have the same size, excluding the middle candle, which is taller and represents the servant or the shamash . This candle is used for lighting up the others.

    The Food of the festival

    The traditional foods of Chanuka are mostly cooked in oil, commemorating the burning of the oil in the temple. The famous foods of the festival are the potato pancakes and the latkes. For Israel, the food of the festival will be sufgania , which is cooked in oil and is a type of jelly donut.

    The History

    Celebrated for eight days and nights, Chanukah begins on the 25th of Kislev (Hebrew calendar). In the Gregorian calendar, it occurs in November-December. In 168 B.C.E., the Syrians occupied the holy temple of the Jews and the Jews were forced to worship the Greek god, Zeus. The Jews were even pressurized to consume the flesh of pigs, which is prohibited among the Jews. Gradually, the Jews started to fight back and attacked the Greek soldiers whenever they could.

    Ultimately, the Jews were able to repair their holy Temple and decided to indulge in a celebration. Therefore, the festival is a ceremony of the Jewish religious freedom and national survival.

    Celebration

    The Chanuka festival is more of a fun ceremony for the children. After the lighting of the candles, the families gather together to have food and play games. The gift-giving tradition of Hanukkah includes the practice of providing children with Hanukkah gelt or money.

    The Chanuka holiday does not have historical significance like the other holidays in the Jewish faith, but today the focus on it has increased owing to its closeness to Christmas.

  • Christmas for Kids



    Christmas for kids is a very special occasion where they get an opportunity to dine and have fun with the whole family. Christmas for kids always seem extraordinary with the Christmas tree, the taste of Turkey, the excitement of opening the wrapper of the biggest and the most gorgeous present kept quietly for the kid under the Christmas tree and singing aloud the lovely Christmas carols. All are so lovely, all are so sensational the excitement of childhood Christmas is a thing to be cherished for the entire life.

    How can you make Christmas for kids special and unforgettable?

    Why don’t you arrange for a party for your kid and his friends in your family? Nothing can please your kids more than a party.

    Ideas for a Christmas party

    • The invitation card for the Christmas party should be made very special and gorgeous. The cards are mostly shaped like star, snowflake or a Christmas tree.
    • You should choose an appropriate theme for the Christmas party. Some wonderful ideas would be the workshop of Santa Claus, Jesus in Bethlehem or a landscape full of shining white snow.
    • A Christmas party can never be without some exciting activities. You can make the children sing Christmas songs and you can even make them play games of different sorts. You can even arrange for decoration competition, baking and treasure hunt. Some parents even ask their children write letters to Santa Claus asking for gifts and blessings.
    • However, Christmas for kids can never go without delicious simmering foods. Hot chocolate, ginger bread, snowman faced sandwiches and sweets wow! Your kids would want to have more and more of such stuffs.

    Christmas Crafts

    Christmas for kids is so special that the little ones are always busy running about doing different types of things. You can make your kids prepare fantastic invitation cards. In fact, especially during this time of the year the kids can make use of their skill and imagination to work on crafts, which are both interesting and innovative.

    What do you need to make cards for Christmas for kids?

    • Rubber stamps and ink pads
    • Stickers, glitters and other shining decorations
    • Blank cards or construction papers
    • Crayons and markers of all colors

    Finding a Christmas tree

    A Christmas for kids cannot go without looking for a perfect Christmas tree in the woods. Take your kid to the forest one afternoon and ask him to select the right Christmas tree. Some state forests have special areas for growing Christmas trees where you can go and cut the one for yourself, which you think, would be the most appropriate.

    Christmas for kids is a happy moment for all your kids, so its time you should prepare yourself and your kid for a blast.

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  • Chanukkah



    Chanukkah celebration narrates the victory of Jews against Greeks for the cause of religious freedom. The festival of lights, Chanukkah is celebrated for eight days and nights beginning from 25th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar (which is November-December on the Gregorian calendar). The onset of this festival is uniquely linked to winter solstice.

    In Hebrew, the term “Hanukkah” refers to “dedication.” The festival of Chanukkah clearly portrays the dedication of Maccabees in their endeavor to restore their religious freedom from the clutches of the Greek. By and large, the festival commemorates the religious freedom and victory of Jews.

    Origin of Chanukkah

    During the second century BC, the exultant Syrians outlawed Jews religion and rituals, displaying a policy of non-tolerance against other religion. At the time of winter solstice, the Syrians doused the holy flame of the Menorah that burned before the altar, to ruin the holy temple of Jews at Jerusalem.

    After destroying the sanctity of Jews’ holy Temple, it was seized and dedicated to the worship of Zeus. The Greek King of Syria, Antiochus banned Jewish rituals and ordered the Jews to worship Greek gods, denying the religious right to Jews.

    The diabolical outburst against Jews reached peak when a Greek officer along with his soldiers reached Modiin, a village not far from Jerusalem and assembled Jewish villagers asking them to consume beef and worship idol, something which is against their religion. The officer intentionally gave such orders to strip their belief in own religion.

    The officer ordered Mattathias, a Jewish High Priest, to take part in the ceremony, who outrightly rejected it, but another villager geared to follow the order. Enraged Mattathias assassinated the man and the officer. This prompted Mattathias five sons and the other villagers to kill the soldiers, without comprising their religious dignity.

    Mattathias’ family launched their resistance against the oppression of Greek soldiers to restore their religious freedom. Maccabee and his four brothers organized a group of resistance fighters known as the Maccabees who adopted guerilla tactic. Eventually their efforts showed results and surprisingly they flushed the large Greek-Syrian army out of Judea.

    After defeating the Greek-Syrian army Judah Maccabee and his soldiers moved to re-establish their temple. To celebrate the occasion, the Maccabees wanted to light the Menorah in the Second Temple. They searched everywhere only to find a small flask having oil sufficient only to light the menorah for a day. However, miraculously the oil lasted for eight days. This incident marked the beginning of Chanuka festival. The Jews celebrate Chanuka for eight days by lighting candles in a menorah every night.

    Celebrating Chanukkah

    The Lighting of the Menorah

    The lighting of the Menorah is the most essential ritual of Chanukah festival. The eight candles lit on Menorah signify the eight days of Chanukah. All the candles are of equal length except the middle one referred as Shamash , which helps in lighting the others. Each evening, Jewish families assemble around the menorah to offer special blessing.

    Preparation of oil-based food

    The traditional foods of Hanukah are cooked in oil to celebrate the oil flame in the Temple. Latkes, or potato pancakes are the universally accepted dishes on this occasion. Sufganiya, a kind of jelly donut cooked in oil is quite popular in Israel.

    Hanukkah is a festival of fun and frolic for children. Families eat and play games, along with their invited guests. Dreidel is one such simple traditional game that can be enjoyed by whole family. The Practice of giving Hanukkah gelt (money) to children has developed into a gift-giving custom common in many Jewish families.

    Message of the festival

    Chanukkah celebrates the victory of Maccabees military over the Greek-Syrians and the revivification of the Second Temple after three years. Chanukkah the festival of lights teaches the essence of religious freedom and promotes a sense of brotherhood.

  • Children Activities


    Children activities are certainly the call of the hour, as your child needs some activity to kill boredom. It is quite evident nowadays that, children are plunging more into TV, play stations and computer games. It’s a pity that they do not indulge in real life activities outdoors. The fast lifestyle of today’s world can be blamed for this. Children have started living second hand lives and not only has their imagination cramped, but they also tend to become inactive to say the least.

    Fun activities and new things are the best means that you can offer your children. The best you can do is, try to remember the things that fascinated you when you were a kid. Birthday parties, music, art, sports and going on a picnic were quite the things that you loved the most. All of this is the food for thought for you.

    Your children can even end up into activities like soccer, baseball, or football for that matter. It will not only keep them super active but also help them acquire fresh skills. But always make it a point to keep an eye on your child. Music lessons or art classes are the other options out. Even crafts work is quite a handful. Always remember that these kinds of activities fit well for children all through school vacations.

    But at the end of the day, you child needs to decide his or her choice of activity. So make sure that you ask your children about what they like to do. Furthermore, music lessons are much loved by children due to it’s own reasons. Let them find their own artistic and musical touch. It will be a different experience for them altogether. And taking part in musicals, plays, and other performances is just the icing on the cake. Now, activities simply don’t enhance the skills of children but they also bring out their personality.

    All you need to do is encourage your child to come up with his activity in due course. There is no dearth of online sites that cater projects and children activities. Who knows, you might as well find an activity or game of your choice for your child. Let your child venture into woodworking. The creativity meter of your child not only scales up but it also cultivates your child’s skills. Let your child’s curiosity and interest take a dip into the world of science and nature.

    Children activities that lay bare the basic scientific concepts is precisely what your child must take on. Cooking, learning arts plus crafts and sewing are nothing but an extension of fruitful activities. With a whole array of activities your children not only add feather to their hats but also gain clarity of thought, growing imagination and not to mention creativity.

    You don’t want to see your child turning out to be a couch potato at any cost. Children activities certainly help kids discover more about themselves.