With the upcoming sporting event captivating the interest of the nation, why not use that enthusiasm to inspire learning?

The Super Bowl is filled with statistics, history, and opportunity.

When looking at this sporting event through the eyes of a teacher, one might see first the opportunity to have students plan a trip to the event. This requires finding flights, accommodations, transfers between the events, purchasing tickets, finding other things to do around the city, along with figuring out expenses. How much would it cost to take two people to the Super Bowl? To take this activity even further students could log the information into a spread sheet.

Geographically speaking, the Super Bowl has traveled throughout the United States. Students can find the locations of all the Super Bowls and then put that information onto a map of the United States.

Evaluating the history of the entertainment for the National Anthem and the half-time show is another activity. Why were these people selected? What types of groups performed? What was happening in the country at that time?

The tickets to the Super Bowl are also reflective of the location. Looking at tickets from the past is interesting. Thinking about what a ticket would look like if your city was hosting the Super Bowl is another activity. What aspects of your city are highlights that would warrant being a part of the design of the ticket?

Evaluating the data of the team members provided on the team rosters is another activity worth exploring. Are there any team members that came from colleges in your state? How do the two teams compare based on the information on the rosters?

Statistics are readily available through the National Football League. If you review the statistics of all of the teams throughout the season, did the very best teams make it to the Super Bowl, or are there other teams with betters stats?

Create your own playoff series, and gather and evaluate statistics by having your own “football” games. Fold the piece of paper, make footballs, and then flick them across the table to hold tabletop football games. Gather data and evaluate.

The learning opportunities that come from seemingly celebrating a national sporting event can inspire students to enthusiastically learn new skills while creating engaged minds!

I am hoping the girls can get rid of their training wheels this summer...

Step 1, PURCHASE THE SMALLEST BIKE you can find. A small bike that a 2 or 3 year old can sit on with his or her feet completely flat on the ground. Don’t be distracted by all the beautiful bikes that they can grow into. Buy the SMALLEST bike possible –period. You can upgrade to a cool bike later after they learn how to ride.

Step 2, REMOVE THE PEDALS – Make sure the seat is in the lowest possible position and then unscrew the pedals, yes, take them completely off. Before peddling comes balancing, so take off those pedals because they will just confuse your kid while he or she should be concentrating on balancing.

Step 3, COASTING & CHEER LEADING – Find a small incline, almost flat but with just enough of an angle to let your kid practice slowly coasting on the bike. Let them coast down and walk back up as many times as they want with their feet sliding on either side of the bike. This lets them get the balance and the steering down pat before you put the pedals back on. And this way they will never fall down!

And your Job is to cheer every time they make it down the hill! Clap and scream and hug them as if they just one a gold medal! This is perhaps the most important part to get them excited to want to learn, you MUST do this. Don’t worry about people watching, you’ll just look like the best parent in the world to anyone who happens to see you whooping it up with your kid. So always stand at the bottom of the hill and drag them off of the seat and hug them each time they make it down!

Step 4, PEDALS BACK ON – Screw on the Pedals and let them practice pedaling and coasting down the small hill as many times as it takes until they are completely confident. More hugs, clapping and loud screaming whistling happiness!

Step 5, RAISE THE SEAT – Without the child knowing it, slowly raise the seat one notch at a time – let them continue riding then do it again when they aren’t looking, so that the child eventually has to touch the ground with just his or her tippy toes on either side of the bike which is the proper height for bike riding.

Your kids won’t mind, because THEY WILL BE RIDING A BIKE! And never once will they fall and break a bone or bloody a knee or loose their trust in you for pushing them and letting go like all the other parents in the world are doing.

This is the only painless FUN way to learn to ride a bike! And it only takes one day! One day that can be recorded forever on video to show their friends that they never fell down once learning to ride a bike – umm they must.

Yes We Can...And Yes We Will. Hope springs eternal. Now the journey begins.

Today was an historic day. For some, it meant the possibility of a better economy. For others, it meant that their loved ones will may come home sooner from abroad. For African-American families (of which, mine is one), it means a little more.

There have been African-American judges, congress-men, Senators, etc. For the first time, ever, there is an African-American President of the United States. Here is what this translates to. America is still the most powerful country in the world. The leader of that country is the most-powerful person in the world. African-Americans have gone from being slaves less than 200 years ago to having one of us hold the most-powerful office on Earth.

I tried to teach the girls some of what this means and what today’s activities were all about. I think it is going to take a few more evenings of going over this for them to understand. They need to understand what those who have come before them have done to make this happen; what people are doing today that will help them in the future; and what they can do to help themselves achieve any and every dream they have.

• It’s always darkest before…lightest
• Never underestimate the power of…craziness (that’s daddy)
• Don’t bit the hand that…feeds you
• No news is…good news
• You can’t teach an old dog new…tricks
• Love all, trust…none
• The pen is mightier than the…pencil
• Where there’s smoke there’s…fire
• A penny saved is…a penny spent
• Don’t put off till tomorrow what…you were supposed to do today
• There are none so blond as…man
• Children should be seen and not…see
• If at first you don’t succeed…try try again
• You get out of something only what you…put in it
• Better late than…early

A couple of these had me rolling…

I'll take this over tattoos and piercings any day...

I guess Cassie got ahold of my camera and decided to take some pictures of her toes.

Technorati Tags: 4th of july, independence day, fun, six flags, girls, swimming, hurricane harbor, family

Independence Bear

On January 7, 2008, our lives were changed forever when our 10 year old daughter Emily was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in her left thalamus. Emily’s brain tumor, a pediatric low grade astrocytoma (PLGA) is the most common type of childhood brain tumor and yet, has historically received little, if any, dedicated funding or research. Consequently, there are few treatment options available, and those that are available are invasive, toxic and mostly ineffective.

Emily is determined to change all this and she has set her sights on raising $1 million to help fund PLGA dedicated research by December 31st, 2008. We, her family, have partnered with The Pediatric Low Grade Astrocytoma Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) charity (founded in August 2007) to help raise money for dedicated PLGA research with a goal of developing kinder, gentler and more effective treatments, AND a cure, for the thousands of PLGA children around the world.

I do believe this to be true. Please visit Emily’s website, www.colorforacure.com. You can buy a pixel of color for just one dollar. Each dollar – every cent – goes to PLGA research, and each pixel is added to a picture which is gradually completed as the goal of a million dollars is approached. You can make a difference in a child’s life, and make sure you tell a friend!

It's nice to see them working together for a change...

The girls put a smile on my face tonight. We went to the library and they happened to check out the same book. I went to get gas and when I got back in the car, Alex was reading out loud. After a bit, Cassie started reading out loud and Alex stopped. It turns out, they were each reading a page of the same book.

Even though cats are fairly hearty and healthy, they do require some basic care. This includes looking after their emotional health as well as their physical well being. With just a little bit of practice, caring for your cat can be enjoyable as well as rewarding.

Surprisingly, caring for your cat includes more than buying canned cat food. Cats can and do eat vegetables and grains, but require meat to live. Although you will rarely catch them choosing non-meat based foods, they may enjoy a little bit of vegetable broth mixed in with their food. You should try to keep cats away from house plants known to be poisonous, as they can and will take a mind to chew on them. Caring for your cat may also include obesity management. Because cats cannot tolerate fasting, it is best to take your cat to a veterinarian to seek help with feline obesity.

Caring for your cat also requires certain immunizations. For the most part, rabies, feline distemper, and heart worm inoculations should be kept up to date. You may also want to have you cat immunized against feline leukemia, but many veterinarians feel this is as an unnecessary and risky decision when caring for your cat. There are also immunizations available to help manage fleas and upper respiratory infections.

Unless your cat is a kitten, hairless, or advanced in years, it will want to be outdoors. If the cat is healthy, you can purchase insulated houses that will suit most environments. That said, if the weather is very cold, or there is going to be a lot of snow, caring for your cat may involve some time outdoors looking for it. You should still do what you can to bring your cat indoors. That said, caring for your cat if it is feral will always involve a risk of injury, loss, and theft.

When considering how to go about caring for your cat, it is also important to consider how they will get along with other living things in the home. Among other things, cats usually do not like to share what they consider as their personal space with other cats. As a result, their subtle behaviors may be enough to drive one or more cats away from the home. In other cases, they will fight in order to establish territorial dominance. It is also important to note that some male cats will kill kittens. Therefore, if one of your female cats has a litter, it is best to isolate them from the males until they are weaned.

Finally, when caring for your cat, you must also consider its emotional well being. If they are indoor cats, and do not have an opportunity to hunt and play, they will need some attention from you. While they can keep themselves busy with toys, they still need social interaction with another cat, or with people in the home. Cats that are not getting their emotional needs met will do any number of things to get attention. This includes defecating outside of their litter boxes and behaving in an insecure way. When in doubt, it is best to take your cat to the veterinarian to see what is going on.

There is no question that properly caring for your cat will result in a loyal, wonderful companion. They will provide you with hours of comical activities to watch, as well as a companion whose purring can reduce even the worst stresses. A cat’s quiet charm and affection are prized by those that recognize it as being more than comparable to what dog owners have with their pets.

Author Resource:-> CS Swarens is the president of Find a Pet Online. 800 998-7065
For additional information on dogs, cats, birds, horses, and exotic pets visit the internet’s pet resource including pet classifieds at http://www.findapetonline.com
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