Wednesday, October 22, 2008
While leafing through the pages of Blogcatalog community, I just stopped by a little home. I refer it as home because that's the first word which pops on my mind as I take a look at the blog. It is maintained by Julia, hailing from human resources industry. However, she takes pride in her occupation of being a mom (Chief cook and bottle washer) as she defines it :D
Midwest Moms is all about sketching the life of Julia as a mom and assembling her daily tit bits in form of an online scrapbook. Her blog covers almost everything about her daily life..ranging from her cooking experience to caterpillar hunting with her kiddos. I must say that the handiworks of caterpillars posts at one of her posts is just too much adorable :)
As I took a look at the right panel, I figured out that Julia boasts of her presence in social medias like Blogcatalog, Technorati and the like...even I'm an ardent visitor of these community websites where you ge to meet someone like yourself.
As the blogger rejuvenates with pride for achieving her blog awards and also pens down her worries on national economy and its effects on household units. As I kept browsing through the posts, it occurred to me as if I'm reading something very much familiar to my own. The warmth and homeliness as portrayed in the blog make it look like a mom's blog itself.
Friday, October 3, 2008
A good number of parents believe that kids should preferably abstain from spending money in all accounts. And I believe they do have a point. Once you are habituated with spending money to fulfill your small desires, you urge for more. While adults are mature enough to understand, the kids get puzzled and sometimes go overboard to get money at any cost. But if the matter is handled with a little more caution, kids can be educated with the usage of money and learn to spend it wisely in later years.
Cute Rewards:
It can also be thought on whether allowances should be conditioned on performing chores, there’s value in doing work and being rewarded for it and it's good training for getting a job. A child should be required to contribute time and effort to help with the family work load. This process shouldn’t be continued endlessly as a child may take this to be an easy way of earning few quick bucks. A child may think that all jobs around the house should be monetarily compensated can cause endless friction on the home front.
Realizing small Goals:
Nothing really motivates a child in saving money like a wish list. A wish list is a way of putting down financial goals on paper and this would motivate your child in saving more for acquiring something really valuable. Your child can learn to become a more determined saver by deciding what they are saving for.
Length of time:
Review your child's allowance once a year to keep it in line with changing needs and costs. Gradually give your child a larger allowance and a freer rein on spending. The early teens are a good time to switch from a weekly allowance to a monthly one so your child will learn to budget money over longer periods of time. You should gradually increase the allowance to cover most, or all, of the clothing costs and entertainment expenses. In that way, your child learns to handle money in a more sensible way and you wouldn’t have to worry about its frivolous usage.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Simple in design, the blog is devoid of ostentatious ornamentations. The posts are made in random with some flakes of wacky widgets. The widgets reflects whims and fancies of Melissa, the blogger herself. The posts are based on varied experiences of Melissa in her life's journey. One of the most interesting was the one where she captures several moods of sky and its depicts its beauty with finest detail. Candy bars is yet another interesting post where she draws a simile between a candy bar and persona of a human being. I took out the quiz and the result was "Three Musketeers" one. That was quite a chill pill :D The blogger boasts of her presence in social networks which simply speaks of her web presence. Though I'm not typically a twitter fan, I find time to leaf pages of Facebook occasionally.
In a way, visiting the blog of Melissa was a great experience. The warmth and and easy going nature of the blog makes you feel at home. For me it was more like a visit to the home of my neighbor...a visit to the home of a mom just like myself.
Q: What did the math teacher have for fun?
A: Pi!
Q: why did the music teacher get locked in the room?
A: His keys were in piano
Q: Why the teacher was cross eyed?
A: she didn't know how to control her pupils.
Q:Why did the teacher wear sunglasses to school?
A: She had bright students.
Q: Where do pencils go to school?
A: Pencil-vania
A new teacher is trying to make use of her Psychology courses. She starts her class by saying, "Everyone who thinks you're stupid, stand up."
After a few seconds, little Johnny stood up. The teacher said, "Do you think you're stupid, Johnny?"
"No, ma'am," he says, but I hate to see you standing there all by yourself."
A few more...
Q: What did one pencil say to another ?
A: You look very sharp today
Teacher: Mark, make a sentence starting with the letter 'I'.
Mark: I is...
Teacher: No, no, no, don't say "I is", you say "I am".
Mark: OK, I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.
Teacher: Johnny, you know you can't sleep in my class.
Johnny: I know. But maybe if you were just a little quieter, I could
An English teacher asked her class to write an essay on what they'd do if they had a million dollars. Alec handed in a blank sheet of paper. "Alex!" yelled the teacher, "you've done nothing. Why?"
"Because if I had a million dollars, that's exactly what I would do!
Teacher: Now, children, if I saw a man beating a donkey and stopped him, what virtue would I be showing?
Student: Brotherly love.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
And just like me my kiddos too are choosy ‘bout the card the like to send to their buddies. I guess the online ecards have largely resolved the issue. The ecards did exist even ten years back, but over a span of time they have manifested like anything. Today, as I browse through an ecard site I find the ecards quite similar to a mini video game or a cartoon show with a lot more interactivity. Ecards are quite popular with kiddos due to their cute designs and adorable messages. What’s more, the look and theme of the card could be customized keeping in mind the likes and dislikes of the recipient. The ecards meant for kids offer more interactivity and sometimes involve playing a small balloon game or adorning a clown. Again if you want to shower your child with the touch of your affection, you may very well upload his snap from you computer and send it as an ecard on his birthday.
It’s true enough that the craze of an ecard is not as much as it was years back. With the advent of social networks, teens and even tweens are busy opening respective profiles and exchanging “Hi-notes” through occasional comments and scraps. But for some folks, an ecard carries with itself a certain charisma that enthralls toddlers. To be at par with our fast paced lives Ecards are now even available on mobiles. Mobiles equipped with GPRS and WAP technology are capable of sending ecards just as a simple text message and deliver it in the palm of your loved one. Once you wish to pamper your child with a token of love, just grab you cell phone, select the best ecard for him and you emotion is just ten digits away!
Monday, September 15, 2008
But why do they love them so?
According to some studies it would appear that the excitement of video games causes the brain to release a chemical that is, in essence, addictive. For any parent who has seen the fervor by which some kids play video games, this news is hardly surprising to them.
What makes these games so addictive?
They are very compelling with increasing complexity, so a child becomes more facile, yet wants to know more and apply new skills while wanting to improve their game is not a problem in itself. Some say it offers some real opportunities for puzzle solving, strategic and critical thinking and its also very important that video and computer games are played in moderation. From the humor of pre-school games, to the realistic violence of some teen games, the video game culture often relies on violence for entertainment and for good reason violence is inherently attention grabbing for most people. Some have the opinion if you want to get the attention of video gamers you have to keep them energized, you have to keep them attracted and attending to the stimuli, video and computer games can have the most profound influence on the behavior of children, simply because children retain a lot more information if they learn actively, rather than passively.
Another great advantage is that many of these games are educational games for kids. Children learn eye hand coordination and mental strategy. Some are even educational and they can learn about history and culture as in “age of the empires”.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
But I still made time and took a peek. Though its not quite different from rest of the Hollywood animation stuffs, it is worth the time. Space Chimps is yet another work of fiction produced by Vanguard Animation in collaboration with 20thcentury Fox and Starz Animation. The story begins when a billion dollar NASA probe looses its direction and gets trapped in a wormhole between two galaxies.The researchers then go to the extent of hiring Ham III who happen to be the grandson of Ham, the first Chimpanzee sent in space. However, ham III and his two crew members end up landing upon a strange planet and have a roller-coaster journey of adventure.
Made in the style of ludicrous it is a complete entertainer for young and adults a like. The movie depicts in details the intricacies of characters, not to forget the amusing mannerisms of the Ham and his crew mates. The presentation style is unique and above all the movie depicts originality and does not in any way pose out to be a replica of its previous counterparts.
