Family Literacy Day: an "off-beat" list of ideas for families | clubmom

Okay so your kids have been read to since they were in the womb, you role-model positive reading behaviours at home (your kids see you read the news, for example), and you encourage all kinds of fun literacy activities at home.

So what?s left for you to celebrate the upcoming Family Literacy Day? Lots actually, and it doesn?t even have to include a book! (Not that I?m encouraging you not to read?)

1. ?Build your house from the ground up

I?m not talking about building a tower with Lego blocks. I?m talking about developing a strong oral language foundation. Oral language develops before writing and reading development. The simplest thing you can do with your family? Storytelling. If you go back far enough in your memories, you may remember some of those gems that were told to you. Some held lessons, (like traditional folktales often do), some told of a family member?s experience in a humorous way, others were spooky. Storytelling can be shared with many people at the same time making it perfect for a family. It can be done anywhere and people can start from scratch if there aren?t any stories in your memory bank.

2. ?Paint the town red, green and purple

The Pre-school/ Kindie set might appreciate some creativity on your part. Have them write in unusual places:

• in the snow with a water spritzer filled with water and some food colouring (or beet juice)
• with a paint brush and plain water on the side of a building (they love watching it dry up in the summer heat)
• in the bathtub with non-toxic bath crayons
• making words threaded on beaded necklaces with letter beads
• with their food (e.g. dough, pasta ? see an old post?of mine for ideas)

3. ?Be an Adbuster

Any definition of Literacy must include Media Literacy. Your kids are BOMBARDED with hundreds of images and media influences by the hour. It is up to us as parents ? though schools are doing an amazing job ? to deconstruct what our kids take in. It runs the gamut from body image stereotypes to understanding what we are being told we should buy. There are some pretty good sites?that deal with media awareness. Given its plenitude in our lives ? packaging, billboards on street corners, commercial jingles, backpacks with promotional material and product placement in movies ? there is no shortage of material to choose from when you want to chat with your kids about Media. A walk down any busy street with the kids and you can chat media for hours (if they let you). mediasmarts.ca?has some resources for teachers that parents should have a look at too.

4. ?Board games, duh.

Okay so this isn?t off-beat, just fun. But making one up is, so get the kids the materials they need and guide them if they wish. Or if you prefer,?skip the board-making and make up a game you can play on-the-go, like I did here.

5. ?Belt it out!?

Get out the karaoke machine (if you are cheesy enough to have one). Songs, lyrics?they are poems. ?My daughter loves to find her favourite singers on Youtube. Since I don?t yet let her watch videos, she finds the lyrics. She?s reading poems (lyrics) for enjoyment. Double-win. This is an all-family event, so get everyone together and celebrate your love of lyrics, song and poetry.

6. ?Make an infographic.

If you don?t know what infographics are, then consider this?your media education. Kids can pick a topic, generate data (they have to do some?research?mua ha ha says the evil teacher) and publish it. They can then be shared on all social media with family and friends. You can try making one at?http://visual.ly/ and view some ways that others have used information and data to get a message out.

7. ?Make cool how-to manuals on Snapguide

In school, we teach kids how to do procedural writing so many kids will have background knowledge about what goes into how-to guides. Snapguide?has a web-based, visual format, is easy to use, and can be shared through social media to friends and family. Kids can make anything based on their interests (how to make a Lego car, how to paint stripes on you nails, how to make coconut muffins, how to knit a hat, how to do a dance move, whatever?). ?You?ll need photos or video footage and the template makes it easy for you?to insert titles, materials and instructions.

This list could be as long a Canadian winter, but report cards are a-calling, so maybe YOU can post some of your favourite off-beat ideas here too!

Daniela

Source: http://clubmom.ca/family-literacy-day-an-off-beat-list-of-ideas-for-families/

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Managing Anxiety By Accepting Your Brain's Alarm System | Your ...

By Bob Livingstone

There have been dramatic studies about the science of the brain, how it works and how we can deal with our emotional pain in new ways. There have been many articles and books written in the last few years about the different parts of the brain, how they function, and how they can heal emotional anguish.

This article will focus on the workings of the part of the brain called the amygdala. I am concentrating on this part of the brain because it has a huge impact on our emotional lives.

The amygdala is a necessary part of our brain that has kept us safe throughout history. It becomes activated when you are in real danger. It triggers the fight or flight response. If you see a wild dog running towards you, your amygdala will mobilize and you will take whatever action is necessary to protect yourself.

Without the amygdala, we would not be able to prepare for peril, so it is a necessary part of our being. However, sometimes the amygdala can become over active due to situations that create post-traumatic stress syndrome. (PTSD)

The amygdala plays a part in the creation and storage of memories associated with emotional events. The amygdala also plays a role in the formation of many fear responses including freezing, rapid heartbeat, increased respiration and stress hormone response.

If you are a victim of child abuse, if your parents had a hostile divorce, if someone close died when you were young, if you were a soldier in a war zone, or if you had physical health problems; you may be suffering from PTSD.

In the original trauma, the normal and natural fight flight response kicks in, the amygdala immediately decides it is a dangerous situation that must be reacted to in that way; and that is a normal body response to danger.

In the original trauma, the normal and natural fight flight response kicks in, the amygdala immediately decides it is a dangerous situation that must be reacted to in that way; and that is a normal body response to danger. The higher functions of the brain located in the frontal lobe allows us to sort our experience, compare and contrast, make meaning out of what is going on and finding a safe resolution. These higher functions vanish during the original trauma; making it impossible to create any kind of logical strategy for dealing with this emotional disturbance. They go offline because protecting a real threat to the body overrules any other brain task.

Sometimes the amygdala can misinterpret body sensations. Jane can be thinking about the possibility about being rejected by her boyfriend and her abandonment issues get triggered. The amygdala is sensing that her life is being threatened when in essence she is not in danger, but panicking because she has strong, negative feelings and memories of being abandoned by someone she truly loved. This panic is wrongly identified as the possibility of grave physical harm by the amygdala, so its forces rev up.

Around four years ago, I had a number of health issues happen one right after the other: I had the H. Pylori stomach virus that felt like rats were fighting for control over my stomach which led to acid reflux. I remember lying on the floor feeling without energy as the country celebrated the inauguration of the first African-American president. A couple of months later, the electrical system in my heart wore out which resulted in the installation of a heart pacemaker. Then I had surgery to remove a seven millimeter kidney stone that became infected. This followed with intermittent back and other muscle pain.

My amygdala kicks in when I experience any body sensation that reminds me of the electrical system of my heart giving out or kidney stones floating in painful areas. I could be feeling winded when I exercise or heartburn or any other sensation that seems out of the ordinary. I feel the sensation and then thoughts about my possible demise enter and panic sets in like an unwanted visitor.

I also can be triggered by any incoming body sensation that I feel may lead to my death-even though there are no conscious thoughts that I am going to die, but the amygdala is getting the message that I am in danger and it sounds the alarm that is experienced as intense fear in my body. I feel so overwhelmed when this occurs and don?t know what to do. The panic can last a few minutes or can be intermittent over the course of a day.

This feeling of impending death is experienced at the same time as the memory of suddenly and without any warning, passing out while I was on my five mile run.

I realize that this hyperactive amygdala had its origins when my father died suddenly when I was fifteen years old. My innocence was instantly shattered and I was abruptly pushed into a world of having no father and no means to deal with such a loss.

I have felt shame about this fear/amygdala sensation being activated for most of my life. I always believed the fear was my fault and experienced humiliation since I?ve had no success in warding it off.

Now I know that the amygdala becomes active whenever it senses danger. I have had no control over that process when it does give out its warnings. A huge part of my emotional healing is about learning to accept that the amygdala will do its thing no matter what. Sometimes I will not be able to respond to the trigger immediately and the sirens from that part of my brain will ring with danger and a call to be ever vigilant.

When I was younger, I perceived the amygdala to be the critical parent inside me and now I am aware that I have mislabeled this part. We all have different parts of us inside that may include the child, teenager, calming mother or raging father. The amygdala is not in this category at all. It is part of your brain that is designed to keep you safe by alerting you to danger.

Example of how this all works: First you notice a physical sensation like heartburn and as soon as you feel it, you tell yourself that this feeling is not dangerous, that it is only heartburn and not a heart attack or heart failure. You will have to practice this; it won?t be natural to you at first, but after repeating this process several times, it will begin to become second nature. You then tell yourself to take some deep breaths and feel yourself relax. If you are focusing on your breathing, it is difficult to concentrate on anything else like fear.

It is important to realize that hardly any time elapses between the moment you are triggered and the amygdala can be deactivated. The amygdala, at the moment you are triggered is like a pot of water that is only simmering now, but will be boiling over soon if you don?t interrupt its process. Therefore, you don?t have much time to intervene and the trick is to identify what is happening quickly and calm yourself so the amygdala doesn?t sense danger and therefore doesn?t sound its full alarm.

Let?s revisit the case of Jane from earlier. When she was a small child, her father, who she loved very much, one day decided to leave his family without any notice or conveyed reason. Now, whenever she thinks about being abandoned, which she does often, she has the memory of her father leaving and then gets triggered. Shortly after she is triggered, the amygdala kicks in because it senses danger and possible catastrophe. Her past memory falsely interpreted that she is in danger now/in the present.

Jane can then feel out of sorts and very anxious the rest of the day until the amygdala senses that the danger has passed.

She can learn to identify when she feels triggered. She learns that it commences with an anxious feeling followed by her childhood memory of dad leaving. This self-awareness is a cue that the trigger-amygdala activation is about to begin. At this moment she tells herself that she can take care of herself no matter what, that she can tolerate being alone and that she doesn?t need to give this trigger any more energy. She chooses to focus on something else such as work or guitar lessons.

The amygdala will not sense any danger and therefore will not get charged up.

If the amygdala has been activated and you are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, hopeless, distressed, and/or confused; healthy distraction is a great technique to use.

If the amygdala has been activated and you are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, hopeless, distressed, and/or confused; healthy distraction is a great technique to use. In the midst of these intense negative feelings, you can give yourself permission to distract yourself from the fear by concentrating on something else. You may choose to focus on a work related activity, exercise or a walk on the beach. This diversion from the fear will cause the amygdala to shut down its warning system because it will no longer feel that you are at risk for demise.

One form of healthy distraction for me is to get angry at this sense of overwhelm and by telling myself how sick I am of having to deal with bone aching anxiety. The amygdala may have felt that my anger signified that I was in control and therefore no danger was on the horizon.

It is very important to understand that mastering the process above is far from an easy endeavor. It takes lots of practice and patience. It takes many instances of trial and error. You may find that one or more of these techniques presented here is effective or you may discover something that works for you that no one else has discovered. Sometimes no matter how good you are at these techniques, the amygdala is going to get fired up and you will be overwhelmed. It is possible to reduce the frequency of these incidents though and you need to be a warrior to reach your goals. Go for it!

Psychotherapy Techniques that may help you: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), Cognitive Therapy and Mindfulness.

Other techniques that may help: Meditation, Breathing Exercises, Relaxation Skill Training, and other Stress Reduction Programs

Medication prescribed by a psychiatrist may be helpful as well as certain herbs and supplements recommended by alternative healers.

I do recommend that you do your own research for all these helpful possibilities.

- Special Thanks to Kathy Carlson MFT and Sharon Kman MFT for assisting with this article.

- Bob Livingstone is the author the critically acclaimed Unchain the Pain: How to be Your Own Therapist, Norlights Press 2011, The Body Mind Soul Solution: Healing Emotional Pain through Exercise, Pegasus Books, 2007 and Redemption of the Shattered: A Teenager?s Healing Journey through Sandtray Therapy, Booklocker 2002. He is a psychotherapist, licensed clinical social worker in private practice in The San Francisco Bay Area and has nearly twenty five years experience working with adults, adolescents and children.

Source: http://www.lensaunders.com/wp/?p=12124

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How to use forum marketing to improve online business? | B-Real Web

Today there are many people who carry out online business. There are many ways to promote an online business. First of all; creating an online business and surviving in it for a long time is really difficult. To have a successful online business one should clearly identify the marketing strategies and techniques. One of the easiest ways to make your business global is through forum marketing. It is very simple and will also gain you some traffic. There are many forums on the internet where you can promote your online business successfully.

Most of the forum owners welcome people with their own business and display it on their forums. These people should be hard working and should provide effective information that may also contribute to the benefit of the community. The business owners who post in the forums should respect the forum and its entire community. Members of the community will get interested in you very soon if your active everyday and if you are promoting your business with effect. They will soon start asking about your business and your products and services if you offer any. An important part of your forum would be to be unique especially with your signature when you provide the link to your pages or blogs.

Your forum should consist of such information that it emphasizes your business in a proper way. When get a lot of traffic to your forums then there may be a turnout of many viewers on your respective website. However one has to always follow the basic guidelines of a forum to make your business successful. Information that you share in the forum should be absolute and accurate and should also benefit all the members. You can also join many multiple forums for fast marketing.

Becoming a community member for a long term period will certainly help in improving the business. An adequate poster will also help in improving your business rapidly. The most important thing above all is finding the right forums for your business. This is where many people go wrong and lose their potential for success. Creating a compelling profile is also necessary in this aspect. Staying away from drama and making various valuable contributions to the community will gain trust in your business which is one of the main things for any business activity.

Author Bio- The above post was contributed by Dhanjit on behalf of Website Planet. Website ?Planet is a guide about how to create a great website.

Source: http://brealweb.com/how-to-use-forum-marketing-to-improve-online-business/

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Q&A: How to Set Up Twitter Lists - NYTimes.com

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About Gadgetwise

Gadgetwise is a blog about everything related to buying and using tech products. From figuring out which gadget to buy and how to get the best deal on it to configuring it once it?s out of the box, Gadgetwise offers a mix of information, analysis and opinion to help you get the most out of your personal tech.

Contributors

J.D. Biersdorfer answers reader questions about computer-based technology.

Warren Buckleitner reviews children?s technology ? gadgets, apps, toys and software.

Damon Darlin is The Times's Technology Editor.

Roy Furchgott covers cellphones, smartphones, mobile applications and accessories.

Gregory Schmidt writes about consumer gadgets, apps and accessories.

Source: http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/qa-how-to-set-up-twitter-lists/

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Video: Chairs: Squawk Takes a Stand

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/50624740/

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Crude oil spills into Mississippi River after oil barges crash

(Reuters) - Two oil barges pushed by a tugboat slammed into a railroad bridge in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on Sunday, causing one to leak crude oil into the Mississippi River, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Officials used an "absorbent boom" to contain the undetermined amount of oil that leaked into the river after the collision, which occurred shortly after midnight and damaged both barges, Lieutenant Ryan Gomez said. The barge that is leaking was holding 80,000 gallons of light crude oil, he said.

"A towing vessel was pushing two barges side-by-side and they struck one of the Vicksburg railroad bridge piers," Gomez said.

No one was injured in the accident. Federal, state and local officials, as well as the industry's Oil Spill Response Organization, were on the scene.

Gomez said he did not have information about any of the companies involved in the oil transport.

The barges were pushed up against the river bank while a team at the scene decided how to clean up the spill, he said.

(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Edith Honan, Mohammad Zargham and Stacey Joyce)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/crude-oil-spills-mississippi-river-oil-barges-crash-222702091.html

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American Idol Official leads iOS Apps of the Week

Headling this week's best iOS apps is American Idol Official, a mobile offering that celebrates the televised singing contest, now in its twelfth year. If you?re not into reality TV, we also have solid apps for the X Games, weird facts, grammar, and mathematical calculations.

While it?s hardly my favorite show, it?s hard to dismiss the cultural impact of American Idol. Now Idol has an app to go along with its dominant TV presence. American Idol Official features cast bios, news, and videos of the performances you might have missed on the show. It also features a large social media component, so discussing your favorite singers is a breeze via Facebook and Twitter.

The ESPN X Games app received a mega update recently. For starters, the app shifted its focus to the Winter X Games, so the menus received a chilly winter makeover. Feature-wise, X Games now has a built-in game called HypeMeter as well as ?Gamecast? functionality so users can follow the live results of X Games events. Just sit back and watch Shaun White shred the halfpipe and Roz Groenewoud?curise the slopes.

National Geographic's Weird But True, the app that brings users strange but true facts about everyday life, has updated with a bunch of new content. Its new design features 5 ?Fact Packs? filled with 625 unique ?weird but true? facts. You can also search across Fact Packs to find specific facts they want to share with their friends and family. In addition, you can rate each fact?s level of weirdness and compare with others.

Endless Alphabet helps kids learn their ABC?s alongside some basic grammar with fun, silly lessons and adorable monsters. Kids can learn phonics via interactive puzzles and the app constantly updates with new words. Currently, Endless Alphabet has dozens of words in its database and more are delivered on a regular basis. The app doesn?t score users, as it?s only focused on learning, not competition.

MyScript Calculator lets you solve serious math problems by simply drawing the problem out on your iPhone. Trying to find a square root divided by another number multiplied by another number? If you draw that problem on your iPhone, MyScript will solve it for you. MyScript Calculator solves basic operations like addition, subtraction and multiplication as well as more complex problems involving percentages, square roots, exponents, trigonometry, and logarithms.

Download the Appolicious Android app

Source: http://www.appolicious.com/tech/articles/13168-american-idol-official-leads-ios-apps-of-the-week

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