Educational Christmas gifts for children

Play time; it really is a crucial factor in the development of your child's cognitive ability. Not only does play time help develop good social skills through bonding with parents and friends, it can also improve decision-making skills and subject specific knowledge, depending on the toy or game.

Kerri Atherton, of the British Toy and Hobby Association, said: "If you want to spark an interest in a particular educational subject area, then educational toys can enhance children’s understanding of it by providing a fun and entertaining play experience to learn in. Educational toys retain children’s interest for the subject by engaging them in a way they naturally enjoy.”

With stores regularly stocking a range of toys and games specifically designed to get children engaged in a particular subject, learning at home has never been easier. To help, here is our Christmas gift guide to some great options.  

1. 56 piece building blocks

Encourage learning with this set of building blocks of different shapes; featuring numbers, letters, pictures and colours to encourage imaginative play and improve the hand-eye coordination skills of children. Use the blocks to make up sums, words, pictures and stories to inspire learning at play time. These blocks are also great to use in group play, to show children how to successfully work as a team whilst improving social skills. 56 piece building blocks, £16.99, Educational Toys

2. Kid O Sort Shape House

Inspire children to learn the names of different shapes and colours, as they match the solid blocks to the cut-out shapes of the play house; all colour co-ordinated. Children match each form to the coloured cut-outs to assemble a chimney, the windows and doors, and successfully build the play house. Kid O Sort Shape House, £28.95.

3. Big Jigs Triangular Activity Centre

This wooden triangle activity centre has no detachable pieces, which makes it ideal for travelling. With five sides, the toy is multifunctional, with each side sporting a different type of learning activity in the style of a game. One side teaches sorting and counting by matching animals. There is also a side of chalkboard to practice writing. The activity centre also features an abacus, and letter and picture blocks for alphabet practice. Big Jigs Triangular Activity Centre, £28.99, Big Jigs

4. Light and Sound Drum

One for all the senses; children can roll or bang the drum to discover fun sounds and brightly coloured lights. The drum stimulates the senses and encourages crawling and walking, making it great for physical development and hand-eye coordination skills. Light and Sound Drum, £15, Early Learning Centre

Ages three to five years

1. Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set

The Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set has won two awards since being released in January. The toy introduces children to maths, engineering, science and technology using 'Colby', a robot mouse, for hands-on learning. Children program the mouse to a sequence through maze formations to get the cheese. Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set, £50, Mothercare

2. Pop to the Shops

Great for ages five and up, this interactive shopping game introduces children to personal finance. By handling fake money and coins, children learn through practical activities. In the game, children are shopkeepers, while the objective is to complete a shopping list without over-spending, they pick up a card and move from shop to shop buying items on the card until they have collected everything they need. Pop to the Shops, £10, Orchard Toys

4. Janod Garden Maxi Activity Centre

More suitable for three to four-year-olds, there is a shape sorting side for children to develop their recognition skills, a side featuring moving animals and a puzzle to test children’s cognitive abilities. Janod Garden Maxi Activity Centre, £49.95, The Toy Centre

Ages five to eight years

1. BrainBox Maths Memory Game

Developed by a primary school teacher with over 30 years experience in the classroom, BrainBox Maths Memory Game is designed to improve your child’s memory, a fundamental tool in learning. It's also designed to make the sometimes difficult concepts of mathematics fun and easy to remember for children. BrainBox Maths Memory Game, £9.99, John Lewis  

2. LeapReader Reading and Writing System

A good introduction to reading and writing for your child. Use the interactive pen to guide letter strokes and sound out words while reading along with the story,  children touch pages or words to hear them read aloud, sound out words and play words to build vocabulary and comprehension. It also gives stroke-by-stoke guidance by tracing letters, numbers and words on special paper for mess free writing. The books range from Disney to LeapFrog own titles and have lively character voices and fun sound effects. LeapReader Reading and Writing System, £29.99, Smyths

 

Creating Quality Time With Your Kid

As l glanced at my schedule for the coming weekend, I was shocked at how busy it is! Two wedding parties, one public speaking engagement dominate the landscape, along with a list of household chores ( household chores? Yes, I do that to support my wife!) and errands longer than anyone would face. All these are supposed to be my day off! The Bible says that children are inheritance from God, and blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. Not only have I found that to be true, but I have also discovered that the fuller my quiver gets (I've got arrows), the harder it is to find the time to give each child the attention he needs and deserves.

Can you relate to this? If so, here are ten things you should do to develop good relationships with your kids and make them happy in spite of hectic schedule:

1. PRAY TOGETHER
Prayer is important for families. You cannot do anything without prayers. Whether at meal times, before you go to bed or when you wake up, it is important.

2. BE AVAILABLE
Our children need to know that they are important to us. You children have permission to call you on your cell phone or at work anytime if they need to. You will find out the best quality time at night when your kids go to sleep and you just lay down next to them and talk about their day.

3. EAT TOGETHER
As much as your schedules allow, try to have a meal together as a family. This is one of the greatest times to reconnect and recharge after a busy day. It is your chance to celebrate victories, to help each other through the tough times, to do a short devotional, laugh, to cry (if need be), to tell a joke, to hear a story, to sit and feel part of a family.

4. HELP YOUR CHILD DEVELOP GRATITUDE
Many people think they can't be grateful until they're happy,

meaning until they have something to be grateful for. But

look closely and you'll find that it is the opposite: people are happy

because they are grateful. People who describe themselves as

consciously cultivating gratefulness are rated as happier by those who know them, as well as by themselves.

Children don’t have a context for life, so they don’t know whether they are lucky or unlucky, only that their friend Michael has more expensive sneakers. But there are many ways to help children learn to cultivate gratitude, which is the opposite of taking everything for granted.

5. SUPPORT YOUR CHILD TO PRIORITIZE RELATIONSHIPS
Research shows that people who are happiest have more people in their lives, and deeper relationships with those people. Teach your child that while relationships take work, they're worth it.

6. NICKNAMES
Learn to give and address each child by a nickname that no one else has. Remember that nicknames are given as special tokens of your affection, so, anyone can call them by the given names but only you can call them by their nicknames. You should let your children know that they hold a special place in your life and that you love them uniquely, equally and individually.

7. PUT THEIR ACTIVITIES INTO YOUR SCHEDULE
Try and get involved in your kids' practices, games, school assemblies, and other important events that you don't want to miss. You may not be able to make all of them, but as much as possible, be there to cheer them on. And if you can't be there, remind them of their big day so that you can all talk about it later.

The old saying that laughter is the best medicine turns out to be true. The more we laugh, the happier we are! It actually changes our body chemistry. And here’s a wonderful tool: smiling makes us happier, even when we initially force it. The feedback from our facial muscles informs us that we are happy, and immediately improves our mood. Not to mention the moods of those around us- so that feedback loop uplifts everyone.

8. ALLOW FOR SUCCESS AND FAILURE
Of course, if you really want to bolster your child's self-esteem, focus less on compliments and more on providing him with ample opportunities to learn new skills. Mastery, not praise, is the real self-esteem builder.

Fortunately, when it comes to the under-4 crowd, nearly everything they do is a chance to attain mastery- because it is all new to them: learning to crawl, walk, feed and dress themselves, use the potty, and ride a tricycle. Our challenge is to stand back and let our children do for themselves what they're capable of. The great mistake good parents make is doing too much for their children. While it can be difficult to watch our kids struggle, they will never know the thrill of mastery unless we allow them to risk failure. Few skills are perfected on a first try. It's through practice that children achieve mastery. And through repeated experiences of mastery, they develop the can-do attitude that lets them approach future challenges with the zest and optimism that are central to a happy life.

9. HELP HIM LEARN HOW TO MANAGE MOODS
Most people don’t know that they can choose to let bad moods go and consciously change their moods. But practice in doing this can really make us happier. Of course, we aren't talking about denial. The first step is always to acknowledge the upset feelings, snd let ourselves feel them. So with your child, simply empathizing with her upset feelings will help them start to evaporate. But there are times when we just stay in a bad mood, rather than nurturing ourselves through the upset, or choosing to change it. That is just a habit that our brain has gotten into. If you can practice monitoring your own moods and shifting them, through acknowledging the feelings, allowing yourself to feel the emotions, correcting any negative thoughts that are giving rise to the emotions, and nurturing yourself, you will be re-wiring your brain. And as you practice this and get better at it, you can teach these skills to your child.

10. HELP YOUR CHILD FIND JOY IN EVERYTHING
Studies show that people who notice the small miracles of daily life, and allow themselves to be touched by them, are happier. Daily life overflows with joyful occurrences: The show of the setting sun, no less astonishing for its daily repetition. The warmth of connection with the man at the newsstand who recognizes you and your child. The joy of finding a new book by a favorite author at the library. A letter from Grandma.

As Albert Einstein said, "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

Our children learn by our example what is important in life. Let us, pray, and trust in God for a better home front which lead to a better country.

NO FAMILY, NO COUNTRY; SOUND FAMILY, SOUND COUNTRY!

published byADEOGUN JOSEPH KAYODE, the Nigerianvoice

‘Is It Safe?’ Foreign Students Consider College in Donald Trump’s U.S

At a college fair on Wednesday at the Le Méridien hotel here, 20 American universities made their pitches to aspiring students, many of whom had long hoped to study in the United States. But as the students checked out presentations from colleges ranging from the State University of New York at Binghamton to Abilene Christian University in Texas, several expressed concerns about going to America under a Donald J. Trump administration.

“It’s the main topic of conversation among my friends,” said Palak Gera, 21, who is applying to graduate programs in pharmaceutical science in North Carolina, Illinois and North Dakota. “They don’t want to apply to the U.S. under Trump.”

Aman Kumar, 18, who is looking at universities in California, said, “In his campaign, he’s discriminating against Muslim and other brown and black people,” adding, “I’m thinking of applying to Canada.”

This year, the number of international students in United States colleges surpassed one million for the first time, bringing more than $32 billion a year into the economy and infusions of money to financially struggling colleges.

College admissions officials in the United States caution that it is too early to draw firm conclusions about overseas applications, because deadlines for applications are generally in January and February. But they are worried that Mr. Trump’s election as president could portend a drop in international candidates.

Canadian universities have already detected a postelection surge in interest from overseas.

“We have seen an increase in applications from the U.S. and from international students in the last week,” Jocelyne Younan, the director of global undergraduate recruitment at McGill University in Montreal, wrote in an email. “We’ve also seen an increase in students inquiring about McGill on social media.”

Traffic on a University of Toronto website for international applicants surged the day after the election, officials there said — and most of it came from Americans. “Visits to our recruitment website from the U.S. are typically around 1,000 a day,” said Ted Sargent, the university’s vice president, international.

Sokoto establishes agency for girl-child education

As part of renewed efforts to enhance access to education among females in Sokoto, the state government has announced the establishment of an agency girl-child education.

Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal made this known during a meeting with officials from the Nigeria Office of UNICEF and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID).

“The new agency will coordinate all issues related to female education from basic level to tertiary level. Officials of the agency will also interface with local and international stakeholders to properly monitor progress of our girls in schools and what needs to be done to boost enrollment, retention and completion of all girls in schools in Sokoto state.