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When you hear the word “geek,” visions of someone overly intellectual and socially awkward may come to mind. Add the title “dad” to that geek and the picture becomes a middle-aged man wearing black socks with sandals and a pocket protector. But a survey titled “Confessions of a Geek Dad,” conducted by Answers Research on behalf of Cisco Home Networking Business, shows today’s geeks are cooler, connected and more engaged fathers than you’d think.

According to the survey, 71 percent of geek dads say they spend more time doing activities with their kids than their fathers did with them. Also, 72 percent say they’re more excited about teaching kids how to use tech tools than the traditional workbench tools their dads taught them. And it looks like this “tech tool school” is always in session in the home, with 93 percent of geek dads saying they assist their kids with their tech toys.

“These statistics help describe a new generation of dads who’ve grown up with an ongoing evolution of new technologies and now use tech to connect with their family,” said Cat Schwartz, tech expert and blogger. “These dads aren’t just tech-savvy; they know how to translate that knowledge and excitement into fun and memorable traditions with their kids.”

Schwartz says creating new family traditions with tech in the home is easy and fun – regardless of whether you’re a geek dad or not. She offers these tips to get started:

* Begin with Opening the Box – When a new device comes into the household, involve the entire family in the set-up process (or at least watch it). This helps everyone understand how to use the product, so they can hopefully fix it if it stops working. It also allows you to discuss guidelines when using the device, and talk about the features and controls that impact your kids.

* Don’t Suffer the Buffer – It’s frustrating when you’re streaming video or music and it stops and starts due to buffering issues. You can’t achieve maximum performance from tech devices without a strong wireless router. The Linksys E4200V2 Maximum Performance Dual-Band N900 Router offers powerful speed and performance, and features an easy three-step set-up, parental controls and 24/7 support.

* Establish Tech Rites of Passage for Kids – In my home, we reward our kids with a phone at age 12 for their safety. We put rules into place as to how minutes will be earned and when they can carry and use it. Also, we sync all of our phones to our wireless network to connect from while at home, so we save minutes on our data plan.

* Special Creative Keepsakes – Harness technology to introduce fun traditions.  At least once a year, we take a family photo that we send to loved ones. With today’s digital cameras and imagery editing tools, we can digitally add images of family members unable to be with us. It’s a fun way of bringing everyone together when we’re miles apart.

“One of the best things about technology is that there is a continual stream of new and exciting innovations,” says Schwartz. “This gives parents so many options to create fun tech traditions that are unique to their family every year.”

For more information on Linksys routers, visit www.Linksys.com.

Study abroad programs offer the opportunity to learn more about other cultures, the world, and ourselves. But there are so many programs available – how do you choose the right one for you?

Study Abroad Programs

First you need to decide what types of program you’re interested in. There are three basic kinds of study abroad programs: direct enroll, island, and field-based. Directly enrolling into a foreign university allows you to be considered a student just like anyone else there. You take integrated classes and live in dorms.

An island program can offer separate classes and spaces for foreign students. These classes are usually sponsored by a university here in the States, and they’re often highly structured.

Field-based programs can allow students to learn in the classroom with study-abroad and home campus students, and through hands-on learning outside of class.

Academic Goals

Think about what it is you want to get out of your studies. You can study something that you can’t study at your home institution, or try something  completely new to see if you like it. You can dive deeper into your specific area of interest, researching art or history up close, for example. Make sure the program you choose lets you accomplish those goals.

Location

Next, you need to choose where you want to go. If you love all things French, Paris might seem like the perfect fit. But don’t forget there are many other French-speaking countries around the world that could really broaden your horizons. Do you want to live in a bustling city, or do you prefer quieter or more rural locales? Do you want to go where you can easily understand the language, or do you want to immerse yourself in something totally new? Do you want to live with a homestay family, or in a dorm or apartment?

Cost

You really can find a quality program that’s affordable. Do your homework, and know that there are study abroad scholarships* available. Keep in mind that basic fees don’t always include insurance, housing, meals, trips or medical needs, so be sure to factor those into your budget as well.

For more about study abroad programs, visit www.aiuniv.edu.

*University grants or scholarships are based on established criteria as published in the University’s catalog and are awarded after verification that the conditions of eligibility have been met.

AIU cannot guarantee employment or salary.  Find disclosures on graduation rates, student financial obligations and more at www.aiuniv.edu/disclosures.

SOURCE:
American Intercontinental University

Too much time indoors can often lead to cranky, stir-crazy kids. But you can keep your kiddo occupied with kid-friendly, educational activities that will appeal to their imagination. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Pitch a tent and build a campsite. If the weather has prevented you from a camping excursion, pitch a tent in your living room. Use a table, chairs and a sheet to create a tent or fort in your dining room or living room. Then, set out a blanket in front of the tent and make a circle using potatoes in place of rocks and a flashlight or lantern for a fire. Get the whole family involved and take turns telling one another funny stories. Remember to pack some good campsite treats, such as popped popcorn and dried fruits.

Embark on an adventure. From your campsite, go exploring through the jungle of the living room. Encourage your child to use their imagination. What animals do they see? Do they hear any foreign sounds? How tall are the trees? Will they have to cross a river? If so, will they need to build a bridge? If a bridge is needed, let them use some throw pillows to use as crossing stones. Remember, if you’re excited, they’ll be excited too. A great adventure story, like the serial story “Quetzalcoatyl,” can really get their imagination going. This tale about a magical sea creature and the boy he befriends can be found each month in the pages of the free children’s newspaper Kidsville News!

Create a journal. Ask your child to describe their adventure – or just their day – by writing, painting or drawing on a series of pages. Have them start from the beginning by describing what they had for breakfast, what they found in the jungle, etc. You can use a hole punch and yarn or string to put together a journal to help them recall their exciting day.

Head out on the town. What better excuse to head out – even in less than favorable weather – than to take a trip to the library? Keeping your child’s book collection well-stocked and diverse are great ways to encourage their hobby, and help them to continue to develop a larger vocabulary.

Find out if your local library has a reading program and get your child signed up, and don’t forget to check to see if they have story time as well. If you’re looking for children’s book suggestions for your child, ask your local librarian or check out the children’s newspaper Kidsville News! for book reviews and suggestions. Reviews from author James Patterson’s Readkiddoread.com are featured in the publication every month, and online at www.kidsvillenews.com.

Set up a book nook. There are few things better on a dreary weather day than to curl up in a cozy corner in warm pajamas with a good book and a trusted teddy bear. And after a long day of pitching tent and trudging through the jungle and the library, both you and your kiddo are likely to need some quiet time. Designate one corner of your home as the book nook with lots of comfy blankets, pillows and a reading light. Then snuggle up and read some stories together.

If you’re looking for more educational activities, great reading material or tips for encouraging your child to read, look to “Kidsville News!” in your area or online at www.kidsvillenews.com.

All too often, news headlines tell of another teen killed in a car crash. It is estimated that 35 percent of teen casualties are due to vehicular driving accidents, making it the leading cause of death among teenagers in the U.S., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Through their participation in a high school program called Project Ignition, thousands of young people have stood up to this statistic and worked tirelessly to change the driving behaviors of their peers and broader communities.

If you have a teen driver in your family who you want to help become safer on the road, here are some tips from students in Project Ignition:

Open the lines of communication

• Talk with your teen about distracted driving. Make sure you both understand what things are dangerous distractions.

• Listen to your teen. Ask about what it’s like being in the car with other teens, and what distractions there are to handle.

Offer support

• Encourage your teen to use his or her voice. Role-play with your teen so that he can become comfortable saying things like, “We both want to live, so let me answer your phone or text while you drive.”

• Help your teen get involved with programs at school like Project Ignition, so that she can be a positive example and make an impact.

Set rules

• Set family ground rules for texting and calling while driving. Your teen needs to know you have high expectations, and what the consequences will be if the rules aren’t followed. Read More

When it comes to learning math, some students do just fine. Others, unfortunately, seem to hit all the snags and pitfalls while trying to learn.

Why is learning math frustrating for so many? Even those who are considered bright and hardworking have difficulty. Elementary school and high school require math and most college degrees require math too. College classes get bottlenecked with students who are taking the same math class for the second or third time. I’ve often heard, “I just have to pass this math class or I won’t graduate!”

While teaching math to students, I have hypothesized why this occurs and it doesn’t have anything to do with intelligence.

When learning math, a student must engage their full attention to the instruction. All it takes is for a student to daydream for a just few minutes and the whole week’s key points can be lost to the learner. Not so with other subjects like reading and writing. A student can get away with occasional daydreaming in those subjects and still grasp the week’s main point. Students can’t get away with that in math. Having an absent mind for just a few minutes in math can produce poor results on tests. Making a dumb mistake on a test in reading does not produce an “F” like it does in math.

Learning math is a sequential process. Learners need to be firm with all the steps that lead up to the final answer and they need to be provided adequate time to process and practice just-taught information before a new concept is introduced. For some students, information presented in math books needs to be broken down into sub-steps that are not found in the textbooks–information that would need to be fine-tuned by the instructor. Unfortunately, because of classroom limits, there just isn’t enough time to teach at every student’s skill level or to break down math information for those who need it most.

A typical classroom of math students rarely starts on an even academic playing field. The differences and needs can be vast. Because of the abstract nature of mathematics, some students require multi-sensory techniques and extra drill and practice in order to catch on. There simply is not enough time to do this in most classes and if parents are unavailable or don’t understand math themselves, the students suffer. It is hard for teachers to meet the needs of all math students, even with their earnest efforts and best intentions. Because of this, many math students never realize their full potential.

While working with students, I have found that the most glaring deficit in math understanding is a skill called “number sense” or the ability to have a feel for mathematical amounts. Students who have developed number sense do much better in math. Weak math students often produce answers that are not even close to being correct. They won’t think to challenge whether their answer is logical–an indication they lack number sense.

Good news–even though academic frustration seems rampant, math frustration can be minimized with the help of adults playing math games or activities at home. Math games are fun and are motivating. They develop number sense and actually get kids to want to be involved. There are no class grades tied to the outcome. These activities do not need to be purchased and here’s more good news–no tricky math understanding is needed for the adult. Any type of math game holds value and don’t let the word “game” make you think that a math game is not academically worthy.

Here are some ideas. Some can be played alone.

• Grab a handful of anything–jellybeans, marbles, paper clips, or pennies–anything that can produce “a bunch of.” Have the child guess and write down the estimate, then count to confirm. Hands-on counting is a wonderful activity for students that need tactile validation.

• Find another handful of anything, estimate the amount, and then grab another handful of the same amount. Do the different handfuls hold the same amount?

• How many cereal Os does the child eat each morning?

• What is the value of a handful of pennies, nickels, dimes, or mixed coins?

• Fill three different sized cups with the same item. Estimate and write down how many is in one of them, count, then estimate how many are in the others.

• Look quickly in a drawer, close the drawer and then estimate how many items are in it.

• Estimate amounts in a see-through container. Guess the amount, write it on paper, count to confirm.

• Estimate the weight of a backpack.

• How much time would it take to reach a certain destination?

• Place three pennies on the counter. How many more are needed to make ten pennies? Repeat using different amounts that will equal ten. Put twelve cents on a counter. How much more will make fifty cents?

• How long would it take to earn a certain amount of money?

• How long would it take to earn $1,000 if you earned $5 a day walking the dog?

• How long would it take to spend a million dollars, spending a specific amount each day?

• How many inches would a 100-foot building be?

• Estimate weights of objects, then step on a scale. Fill a bag with items, or a suitcase, estimate the weight.

• Arrange objects heaviest to lightest.

• For older students, determine how many miles they can travel by car for 6 or 8 hours by traveling 55, then 65 miles per hour.

• Finally, discuss the child’s strategies used for their estimating.

Increasing a students’ number sense and math confidence will not solve all the challenges felt by both math strugglers and teachers. But developing number sense outside of school will certainly help. Students will be able to transfer their learned information into the classroom. Instead of just guessing the answer and hoping to be lucky, students will better know when their answer seems logical or have enough mathematical sense and confidence to keep on working.

Maureen Stearns–an author, parent, and educator living in St. Petersburg, Florida–has been teaching struggling learners for over 20 years. She holds both Exceptional Student Education and Community Psychology Degrees. She recently wrote “Multiply and Divide with Sticks and Steps®: Teach this Easy Method in Just 5 Minutes,” to help students conquer this stumbling block. To learn more, visit www.sticksandsteps.com or www.ksblinks.com.

In an increasingly competitive global market, education is becoming more important. But many families find the cost of education to be outside their grasp. According to a study commissioned by the US Department of Education, from the 2001-02 to the 2010-11 academic year, the cost of attending a 4-year undergraduate in-state school rose by 47.3 percent.

With ever-increasing education expenses, many families are accumulating significant debt, putting students further behind. However, with planning and financial management, students can control their finances. Here are some tips for parents of soon-to-be college students.

Start the conversation. Talk with other parents, teachers and guidance counselors about the cost of education. Make contact with the student financial aid offices of the colleges on your child’s list and get an accurate estimate of the cost of each institute. Most importantly, talk with your child. It is imperative your child learns the budgeting process as they will soon be managing their finances away from home.

Set the budget and stick to it. Once you have a set budget, add wiggle room for other unforeseeable expenses. Make sure you set this budget realistically. Calculating the cost of pens and pencils may seem ludicrous, but if you’re on a tight budget, every expense counts.

Get connected. Tracking your financial spending is easier than ever. From smart phone apps to free financial planning software, you can get an accurate financial report at any time. Research banks to determine which ones offer services to help you can stay on top of your budget. Also, consider linking your banking account with your child’s, to easily transfer funds online.

Make a plan. When taking on debt, it is important to have a plan for paying it off. Calculate the monthly payments and time it will take your child to pay off the debt. Research salary ranges for the field in which your child plans to pursue a career to understand the debt they can realistically carry. Find more information and calculators to help determine payment schedules and interest rates at www.direct.ed.gov.

Do your research. Before taking out a student loan, look to other options, such as financial aid and scholarships. While some scholarships are awarded on academic merit, others are given based upon both academic performance and community service. Foresters, a life insurance provider committed to the well-being of families and their communities, is one organization that provides a competitive scholarship program open to eligible members or their dependent children, including grandchildren, worth up to $8,000.

Recipients can use the scholarship to attend accredited universities, colleges and vocational schools, as long as they are pursuing their first post-secondary degree or diploma. There are up to 350 Foresters Competitive Scholarships available, in the US and Canada including five Ken Peterson Awards for Community Service. These awards are worth up to $11,000.

Learn more about the scholarship opportunities awarded by Foresters at www.foresters.com/membership/scholarships.asp.

Did you know the average human can recognize 10,000 scents? Have you ever considered how directly your sense of smell is connected to cueing your emotions? It’s for this reason, technically coined “associative learning,” that the fragrances around us can impact our mood and performance.

Consider the feelings that just thinking about freshly-laundered towels, pumpkin pie, a crackling campfire, the salty ocean or baby powder evoke in you. For many people these strong scents trigger distinct memories or evoke a sentiment that can linger for hours. The same is true for the strong scent of a clean home.

Smell is different from other senses because it is connected to the olfactory cortex, the part of the brain responsible for emotions and memory. In patients with dementia, schizophrenia or Alzheimer’s, medical experts can measure their sense of smell as one of the earliest indicators of change. As humans we tend to think of smell as one of our weaker senses, but the fact is it is far more connected to our performance than we might imagine.

Boosting Study Time with a Clean Home

A study shows that children who perform better at school almost always identify their homes with scents associated with clean. What is a “clean home” smell? That depends on what era you grew up in. During the 50s most people associated a clean home with a strong bleach scent. In the decades since then there has been a plethora of citrus and floral scented room freshening cleaners on the market. Generally speaking, when many people think of a clean smell, they think of Pine-Sol cleaner.

The study of nearly 5,000 high school students, conducted by Dr. Alan Hirsch and the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, found top performing students (those with grade averages of A and B) overwhelmingly – 84 percent – used words like “lemony, minty or clean” to describe the smell of their childhood homes. More than one-third (34 percent) of lower performing students (average of C or below) associated negative smells – urine, fecal matter or mold – with their homes.

“A clean smelling home is just one component to the overall picture of how parents can provide a healthy and stimulating family environment, and help their children improve self-esteem and have a more positive learning experience,” said Charmaine Hussain, marketing manager for Pine-Sol brand cleaners. “We are excited by this research, as it really shows that there is a higher order need for cleaning. It’s not just about a clean house – it’s about the powerful difference parents can make in the lives of their children.”

“What this study tells me is that there is a strong correlation between the memory of a clean-smelling home and academic success,” added Dr. Hirsch. “If you are in a home that has clean, pleasant aromas, it will promote success by enhancing harmony in the household.” According to Hirsch, the brain makes similar associations about the “smell” of other situations and experiences from your past, and the effect plays out in your mood in the present. Read More

The allure of traveling abroad to study and experience other cultures continues to grow for teens across the country. U.S. student participation in study abroad programs has more than doubled over the last decade, according to the Institute of International Education.

While traveling abroad is an exciting opportunity for students, parents often have concerns over safety.

“As travel safety experts with nearly 50 years of experience, we work diligently to ensure the safety of every student and leader in every program,” said Mike Bowers, Senior Health and Safety Director for People to People Ambassador Programs. “We understand the concerns and we are committed to providing a safe and enjoyable educational experience for all program participants.”

Bowers has reviewed years of travel data to understand the most common safety issues as a leader in travel safety. Learn more at www.peopletopeople.com/safety.

Pack Common Sense

• Ask yourself – would I do this at home? If the answer is no, rethink your actions.

• Get some rest. You can have a good time without staying out too late – the more rested you are, the more likely you are to be aware of and safe in your surroundings.

• Always travel with a buddy – traveling alone can make you a mark for thieves.

Scope Out Your Surroundings

• Be knowledgeable about your destination. Visit Centers for Disease Control travel websites and other online resources before you travel. Check out hotels and inns before you decide to stay there.

• Go ahead, travel like a native, but be cautious when using public transportation. Crowds make it easier for pick-pocketers. Always keep your money and identification on your person in multiple locations.

• If you see the same person three times in different locations it could mean you are being targeted, and you should find a safer place. Read More

Whether you’re a parent, a classroom teacher, or a homeschool instructor, you know that students learn best when they can interact with their subject. It can be fun and inspirational to explore and experience an educational concept first hand.

The sample project featured here comes from a new, free resource that’s helping to inspire an appreciation of botany in elementary-aged students across the country. The educator website MyBotanicPlanet.com is a creative collaboration between TruGreen, the nation’s largest professional lawn, tree and shrub care service provider, and the Memphis Botanic Garden.

U.S. standardized lesson plans in botany and related activities available on MyBotanicPlanet.com were created by professional curriculum developers to help grades K-5 teachers and students explore the diverse plant world. Through online and hands-on experiences, this creative educator resource lets students customize an avatar to explore colorful plant environments and interactive games as they learn. My Botanic Planet visitors can interact with educational guides Flavor Flores on an adventure in the origin of plant flavors, and with Inspector Nectar on a flower mystery investigation.

My Botanic Planet Flower Investigation

There’s no better way for students to investigate the parts of a flower than by dissecting real ones.

What you need

• Enough real flowers for pairs or groups to work together. Alstroemerias and gladiolus work well and are available year round in supermarket floral departments. Azaleas or any member of the lily family could also be used because the parts are well-defined and easy to see.

• Plastic knives and tweezers could be used for dissecting equipment.

• A magnifying glass would allow for closer inspection.

Getting started

• Open up the flower. This is easily done by first locating the base of the flower and slicing or splitting it in half. Use a dissection tool or even a fingernail.

• Next, slice or pinch off the petals. Remind students to be careful with all of the tiny pieces. It’s easy to damage or brush away some of the most important parts.

Review the parts of the flower

• Petal: This is the colorful part of the flower that attracts the attention of birds, bees and butterflies, letting them know that there is food inside the flower. Have students record how many petals their flower has and what they look like.

• Stamen: This is where the pollen is made. For older students, you could also point out that the top part that holds the pollen is the anther and the stem part is called the filament. Students should record how many stamens their flower has. If it has six petals, it will also have six stamens. If they have an extra piece, then one should look a little bit different, and is actually part of the pistil. Read More

For parents with young children, it’s often hard to know when to start reading to your child, or teaching them colors and numbers. But the act of reading to even very young children can soothe them and lead them to love story time and enjoy reading for themselves as they grow.

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), reading to children in the home sets kids up for success in school and in life. Providing a wide-range of reading materials they love, reading with your child and speaking with them about stories they’re enjoying all build excitement around reading.

Learning to love reading is so important to a child’s success in life that VTech, a leader in electronic learning products for kids, has joined with First Book, a global social enterprise that provides books to parents who can’t afford them, by donating more than 4,000 new books to Head Start programs across the country.

Kyle Zimmer, First Book’s founder and CEO, says reading at home makes a real difference, in a lot of ways. “It provides the bonding little ones will need to feel confident in school, as well as an affinity for reading on their own throughout their lives,” she says.

Meanwhile here are some ways to get your young child to love reading:

• Snuggle up. Kids love the attention and snuggle factor while reading a good book. The feeling of connection helps them calm down before nap or bedtime, and creates a sense of security that will help them build healthy relationships with others later in life.

• Choose wisely. Bright colors and big pictures can be alluring for toddlers and children beginning to comprehend letters and numbers, so look for books with plenty of illustrations or photos.

• Use voices. If you take on character voices while reading, you’re more likely to get a few giggles and further engage your child. Encourage them to repeat what you have said and participate in the story telling.

• Remember to play. For children who have an especially difficult time sitting still during reading time, begin to incorporate storylines into playtime. This will likely result in the child’s excitement to learn more of the plot during the next story time and will lead to a fondness for classic story characters.

• Get creative. You can also follow your child’s creative play and help them write their own stories, using your child as the protagonist. Turn everyday activities into adventures and incorporate friends and family into the plotline. Allow them to draw illustrations to include in the book.

• Engage your child. Go beyond just the copy on the page. Ask your child to find certain animals, plants, etc. Also ask them to identify colors, or to count the number of people on each page. Building these skills early will help your child think critically later.

• Embrace technology. Another way to engage your child during story time is to look to new tech-savvy reading trends. Electronic readers, such as the V.Reader by VTech, have interactive stories that help kids love learning to read. Color touch screens with animated stories and spelling games bring books to life and let kids engage with reading in a whole new way.

Books help children succeed in life – every child. So if you’d like to join in helping kids read through First Book, you can make a donation or get books for your reading program at www.firstbook.org. And to find out about the latest learning tools to help kids love learning to read visit www.vtechkids.com.