Valentine’s Day gifts

This Valentine’s Day, amaze and entice your partner with a gift so romantic and exotic, the excitement starts before the box is even opened. Imagine the anticipation on his/her face when a box arrives directly from Provence, France with the name zChocolat.com affixed! But the fun is just beginning because no matter which of our tantalizing Valentines you select, it will unquestionably exceed their most expectant imaginings.




Most popular gift for Valentine's Day are flowers, chocolate and cards. Flowers have symbolized the essence of the day. On this special day, whether it is a single flower or a garland, the sole expression reflected is the message of love. Roses are the ultimate romantic flower, and the most popular present for Valentine’s Day. White roses are for love, red roses are for passion, and yellow roses are for friendship. Lilac roses are the choice to symbolize love at first sight.

Red Roses signify passion or strength of feeling, yellow roses stand for love, and white roses traditionally reflect innocence. A dozen red roses are considered to be a gift of love, while a single long stemmed red rose is usually seen as a passionate gift. You can also send Valentine flowers to your parents, grandparents, favorite aunt or uncle or even the kids. It is the perfect time to remember the people you love. Valentine flowers will brighten the day for those residing in care facilities. It’s a good time to thank people, too. Think about all the people in your life that you would like to thank. Maybe it’s a coworker or boss, special friend or teacher.



There are many choices when you want to send Valentine gifts. Roses are always a favorite but you might want to choose tulips, lilies, orchids or a stunning combination of exotic flowers and chocolate or candy. Nowadays, flashy and ostentatious gifts are the priorities for the day, anyway this in no way undermines the significance of flowers.

Fast Phonics reading

No Guesswork With Fast Phonics
By Robyn Dalby-Stockwell

Hello again! Last time I told you how important it is for readers to read aloud each day. This article deals with the guesswork in reading.


Photo: stmedia.startribune.com

Around forty years ago, certainly this was when it all began in Australia, it was decided that children would learn to read by revisiting the same words over and over again. Thus, a reading book would run:

Page 1 Look at John's black dog.

Page 2 John's dog is black, look.

Page 3 "Look at the dog," said John.

Page 4 "It is a black dog."

Page 5 The black dog belongs to John.

It was assumed the words 'look, John, dog, black, said', would be indelibly imprinted into the long term memory , in readiness for the next book and its vocabulary of another six to ten new words.

When a new word was introduced the child was asked to guess what it might be. The guess would be based primarily on any one of the following three elements:

1 Contextually - to make the sentence make sense,

2 From clues in the picture,

3 From jogging the memory, "Don't you remember Johnny, we saw a word like that yesterday."

The difficulties here were manyfold. Most importantly, we have one of the finest languages in the world. Ours is the language of Milton, Shakespeare and Shaw, it is enriched by its wide vocabulary. The look and guess method left generations of children with narrow vocabularies, limited to the most commonly used words. Difficult texts were ousted or dumbed down to accommodate. Children had not become less intelligent, they were being taught less intelligently.

As these children grew older, they still guessed at new words, prepositions (on, over, by, with, from, beside) were permitted to be misread or left out altogether. If you have a child between the ages of ten and seventeen, using two copies of the same text, check on the accuracy of your child's reading, word for word. Children stopped reading not because of television, but because most texts made no sense. Schools and education authorities laugh off classics, calling them old-fashioned. Truth was they are simply beyond the reach of most youngsters.

And yet, there are still Heads of schools and teachers who are putting up a vigorous battle to keep this appalling system going.

I believe the decline in higher levels of mathematics and the sciences has much to do with the fact they have some challenging words. If you can't read the information the subject is barred to you.

Some children found no problems learning with the 'Look and Guess' system. They became excellent readers and progressed. Such children are always quoted by promoters of the system. These quick children with well developed short and long term memory skills would learn via any method and must never be championed as a success of any system.

We all learn at different paces, in different ways. 'Slow' learners, in my many, many years of experience, have always caught up with their fast peers of early years. Simply put, the brains of 'slow' children are less mature, they are not less intelligent, give these children time and a system that fits all children equally, and they will catch up, every time, unless there is actual brain damage.

The 'Look and Guess' system fits quick learners, slow learners and those with even the slightest trace of dyslexia are at a massive disadvantage. These clever and frequently gifted children are tagged 'remedial' simply because of a poor system of teaching.

Over the years of 'Look and Guess' remedial teaching has become a growth industry, where children have been hauled out of their classes, away from their peers on a daily basis. They have been teased and labelled, when all they needed was to be taught to read via Synthetic phonics, this would have removed every reading stigma and put them on a par with their classmates.

Finally, as your child learns to read, encourage him to get every single word correct. Not one word should be slurred over or left out. Above all, every unknown (or forgotten) word must be decoded. NEVER, EVER ALLOW GUESSWORK.

Robyn Dalby-Stockwell is a teacher, writer, reading consultant and Director of Alonah Reading Cambridge http://www.alonahreadingcambridge.com/ which gives reading support to children and their parents.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

The most important part of the decision is what type of lawyer you will require. If you are going to court for a possession charge, you need a criminal defense lawyer. If you are going for a divorce, naturally you want a divorce lawyer. Choosing specialized representation is always a good idea because the person you choose as your attorney will have a vast wealth of knowledge on that particular subject, instead of a small amount of experience in many different fields.




Therefore, I would like to suggest the Los Angeles Criminal Defense Lawyer which professional in area and local law that can help you with any problem by a lawyer specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal conduct. The criminal defense lawyers deal with the issues surrounding the apprehension, searches of client or property. Criminal defense lawyers help you deal with the substantive issues of the crimes you are charged with.

By the way, there are legal procedures being followed by most states and this includes the issuance of a warrant of arrest. Even if the accused is innocent of the criminal charges a warrant can still be issued for his arrest and he can still be put to jail.

Fast Phonics

Fast Phonics teaching your child from a different perspective and are ready to take those first positive steps forward. The integrity of your commitment is important, don’t be spasmodic, do be regular, confident and completely relaxed.

No Guesswork With Fast Phonics
By Robyn Dalby-Stockwell

Hello again! Last time I told you how important it is for readers to read aloud each day. This article deals with the guesswork in reading.


Photo: susiej.com

Around forty years ago, certainly this was when it all began in Australia, it was decided that children would learn to read by revisiting the same words over and over again. Thus, a reading book would run:

Page 1 Look at John's black dog.

Page 2 John's dog is black, look.

Page 3 "Look at the dog," said John.

Page 4 "It is a black dog."

Page 5 The black dog belongs to John.

It was assumed the words 'look, John, dog, black, said', would be indelibly imprinted into the long term memory , in readiness for the next book and its vocabulary of another six to ten new words.

When a new word was introduced the child was asked to guess what it might be. The guess would be based primarily on any one of the following three elements:

1 Contextually - to make the sentence make sense,

2 From clues in the picture,

3 From jogging the memory, "Don't you remember Johnny, we saw a word like that yesterday."

The difficulties here were manyfold. Most importantly, we have one of the finest languages in the world. Ours is the language of Milton, Shakespeare and Shaw, it is enriched by its wide vocabulary. The look and guess method left generations of children with narrow vocabularies, limited to the most commonly used words. Difficult texts were ousted or dumbed down to accommodate. Children had not become less intelligent, they were being taught less intelligently.

As these children grew older, they still guessed at new words, prepositions (on, over, by, with, from, beside) were permitted to be misread or left out altogether. If you have a child between the ages of ten and seventeen, using two copies of the same text, check on the accuracy of your child's reading, word for word. Children stopped reading not because of television, but because most texts made no sense. Schools and education authorities laugh off classics, calling them old-fashioned. Truth was they are simply beyond the reach of most youngsters.

And yet, there are still Heads of schools and teachers who are putting up a vigorous battle to keep this appalling system going.

I believe the decline in higher levels of mathematics and the sciences has much to do with the fact they have some challenging words. If you can't read the information the subject is barred to you.

Some children found no problems learning with the 'Look and Guess' system. They became excellent readers and progressed. Such children are always quoted by promoters of the system. These quick children with well developed short and long term memory skills would learn via any method and must never be championed as a success of any system.

We all learn at different paces, in different ways. 'Slow' learners, in my many, many years of experience, have always caught up with their fast peers of early years. Simply put, the brains of 'slow' children are less mature, they are not less intelligent, give these children time and a system that fits all children equally, and they will catch up, every time, unless there is actual brain damage.

The 'Look and Guess' system fits quick learners, slow learners and those with even the slightest trace of dyslexia are at a massive disadvantage. These clever and frequently gifted children are tagged 'remedial' simply because of a poor system of teaching.

Over the years of 'Look and Guess' remedial teaching has become a growth industry, where children have been hauled out of their classes, away from their peers on a daily basis. They have been teased and labelled, when all they needed was to be taught to read via Synthetic phonics, this would have removed every reading stigma and put them on a par with their classmates.

Finally, as your child learns to read, encourage him to get every single word correct. Not one word should be slurred over or left out. Above all, every unknown (or forgotten) word must be decoded. NEVER, EVER ALLOW GUESSWORK.

Robyn Dalby-Stockwell is a teacher, writer, reading consultant and Director of Alonah Reading Cambridge http://www.alonahreadingcambridge.com/ which gives reading support to children and their parents.

Start Homeschooling

Start Homeschooling by find out what curriculums are out there & what you might be interested in using, start by going to conferences or networking with other homeschoolers to see what they have. You can also ask questions on homeschooling message boards, newsgroups, & e-mail loops and read this article.

How Do I Start Homeschooling Without Going Crazy?
By Kayley Kenzie

If you plan to start homeschooling your children, you don't have to feel overwhelmed or inadequate. You are your children's best teacher because you love them and want them to have a quality education.


Photo: sca-isp.org/

Your permission to teach your children comes from God, and your ability outweighs what a public education could give your child. Once you are committed to start homeschooling, you will be able to provide the best education for your children.

If you feel like you are lacking the skills and knowledge necessary to teach your children, you can learn right beside them. You can teach what you already know, and when you feel like your knowledge is limited, you can read out loud and learn together.

When you start homeschooling you will be concerned about money. Homeschooling can be free or low costing. If you can afford to purchase some curriculum items, do so prayerfully and with caution.

If you have a public library close by, you can use the vast resources there. Not only will you find a variety of books, but also magazines, research volumes, videos, tapes, homeschooling programs, foreign language aids, phonics tapes, and computer equipment.

You can also use the library in your home. You can affordably build your library by finding quality books at garage sales, thrift stores, and online.

Once you start homeschooling, you will realize that the process begins with the basics. One of the best things you can do with your child is read aloud. It is important to emphasize the importance of the written word at all ages.

If you start homeschooling your children at the age when they would normally go to public school, you can ease them into a routine. You can teach one subject at a time until you have seen some success. I suggest that you begin with phonics. Then you can move on to reading, handwriting, and creative writing. Basic math will eventually come into the picture.

You can find a variety of resources to help you teach these subjects. You can start homeschooling your children and feel successful. And the great thing is that you don't have to do it alone.

Discover How to Raise Your Child to Be a True Leader with Our Classical Christian-based Leadership Program. Great for Homeschoolers and Other Parents Who Want to Make Sure their Child Gets the Best Leadership Training Possible.

Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a learning disability that manifests primarily as a difficulty with written language, particularly with reading and spelling. It is separate and distinct from reading difficulties resulting from other causes, such as a non-neurological deficiency with vision or hearing, or from poor or inadequate reading instruction.

Dyslexia - The Hidden Disability
By Ray Ham

Ray HamLevel: BasicI am a retired special education supervisor with a masters degree in guidance and counseling. I also have certifications in school administration and educational diagnostician. ... ...


Photo: speechandlearningconnections.com

It would not be unusual for you to work with someone who has dyslexia and not even know it; thus, the reason this is called a hidden disability. Older dyslexics are very adept at hiding the fact that they cannot read, write or spell effectively. Just think how embarrassing it is to be a graduate from a well known high school or university and not be able to read at the expected level. I recently read about a man in his 50's who kept his dyslexia hidden from his family and his employer for over 20 years. Now that takes a very ingenious person!

The term hidden disability refers to the fact that the typical person rubbing shoulders with someone with dyslexia will not be aware that anything is different. You look at a person in a wheelchair and determine that he has some serious physical problem; you look at a person with a white cane and easily notice that he cannot see; and, you look at a person using sign language and quickly deduce that he has limited hearing. These types of disabilities are very visible. The dyslexic, however, does not have any outward physical signs that give anyone a hint of the storm raging inside. For some adults, the inner turmoil comes from the fact that this is a secret to never be disclosed for fear of more ridicule from peers; for children, the teasing, taunting and name calling are more than enough to cause them to not like themselves or not want to go to school. Lazy, retarded, stupid, dumb and dumbo are just a few of the slurs thrown at them.

Life is very difficult for the adult or child who has problems with learning, but does not have any idea why. They have never been tested nor has anyone told them that they have a learning disability. Many adults find out that they are dyslexic when their child is diagnosed. One adult, after his child was diagnosed as being dyslexia, was actually relieved to find out that his problems in school were because he also has dyslexia. His relief came because he thought he was stupid for all these years.

Most people with dyslexia are of average or above average intelligence, and possess skills that allow them to think outside the box. They often are very creative thinkers and are able to see a variety of possible solutions to a problem. They shine in many areas; but when you ask them to write, they are hindered by their inability to form the letters and spell the words in a normal fashion. In fact, their writing is so poor that it is difficult for even the teacher to read it. Children, especially, may confuse the direction of letters and words. Some very young dyslexics just learning how to write have been known to start on the right side of the page and write every word backwards toward the left side of the page. When this writing is held up to the mirror, it can be read perfectly. An adult friend of mine, who is a music major, recently told me that she has dyslexia and can read her music sheets backwards better than forwards. There are some dyslexic adults who, when told to turn right, will turn left. They also may have difficulties using a map to find their way.

Not all dyslexics display the same symptoms or learning difficulties, and do not have poor reading skills. It is possible for the dyslexic to be a good reader, but poorly comprehend what is read. There are some dyslexics who make a zero on a written spelling test but make 100 if the test is given orally. There are some dyslexics who can read fairly well to themselves but cannot read out loud. Many dyslexics know a word in the first paragraph but miss it in the next. Some dyslexics, like Einstein, have difficulty with simple math concepts but can think on a much higher mathematical plane.

One of the saddest aspects of dyslexia is the fact that it has been studied for over 100 years; in fact, it is approaching a century and a half and we still know little about it. Currently, there is no cure and no preventative measures; but one day, perhaps in the very near future, it will be possible to detect a child who has dyslexic genes and a vaccine will be given. It is already possible to identify which young children have the propensity towards dyslexia who, then, can be given early educational interventions. One of our biggest problems currently is that we know more about dyslexia than we put into practice. It is common knowledge that early identification and remediation are the two things we can do to save our children from the terrible scars of dyslexia, but currently it is very difficult to get this done in our public schools.

In Texas, in the mid 80's, the legislature passed a law requiring the identification and remediation of children identified with dyslexia and related disorders. One of the most unusual aspects of this program is that it is a regular education initiative; but even though this law is about 20 years old and as many as 20 percent of the population is considered dyslexic, most Texas schools identify less than 5 percent of their school population.

Most children with dyslexia need a remedial program that offers a strong phonics program that emphasizes a multisensory approach. Unfortunately, not all dyslexics thrive with a pure phonics approach and they may fall through the cracks in these types of programs. There is no program that fits all students, and this is not strange since the brain is a complicated computer that gets wired differently based upon many factors that are currently not known to us. The nice thing about it, however, is that there are thousands upon thousands of people who have an interest in solving the riddle of dyslexia, and some day we will have a cure.

If you know an adult or a child that is struggling with reading, spelling or writing, and you suspect dyslexia may be the cause, suggest to them or their parents to seek out professional help. Children can be tested at the public schools, free of charge, and adults can pay a psychologist for testing. Adults and children may get free testing through the psychology department of a local college or university. Be aware that free public school testing is not always an easy process since you have to work within the system. You do have the Rehabilitation Act which is called 504 and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), both federal laws, that will help you get assistance. Study these two laws on the Internet to discover how they can help you.

There are numerous websites that offer information about dyslexia; but I want to direct you to my new website at http://www.dyslexiavoice.info/ for additional help. Here you will find a Children's Corner, Parent's Corner and Teacher's Corner with words of encouragement and ideas about how to deal with dyslexia in children. Also, I have included a Message Board and a Dyslexia Blog. Please check it out.
I am a retired special education supervisor with a special interest in dyslexia. I have a masters degree in guidance and counseling, and I am an educational diagnostician who has tested a variety of children with learning difficulties.
I am not dyslexic, even though I did struggle in school and did not like to go. In the first grade, I clearly remember beating myself in the stomach before getting out of bed and then telling my mother that I was too sick to go to school. It did not work!
I am married with two grandsons, one 3 years old and one 2 months old, and find retirement to be a great deal of fun. I like to read, write, do arts and crafts and babysit our grandchildren with my wife.

Bingo Cards

Phonics Bingo Cards
By Sunil Tanna

Phonics is a method of learning reading in which students learning to associate letters or groups of letters with particular sounds. For example, a student would learn that the letters "c", "ck" or "k" are associated with the hard /k/ sound. Although using phonics to teach reading has been a matter of some controversy both inside the educational professions and in the wider community, many teachers have in fact concluded that they do offer an effective way to teach reading.



Photo: bingocardscreator.com

When phonics are used as a method of learning reading, students are taught to sound words out. Obviously students tend to progress fastest when students have a variety of methods to practice these skills. It is for this reason that many teachers, as well as getting students to read out loud, and practice writing, also incorporate educational games into their lesson plans. One such educational game that many teachers are turning to, principally because of its flexibility plus the fact that it doesn't require expensive equipment or specialist materials, is bingo (using bingo cards printed with words instead of numbers).

It should be emphasized that learning to read using phonics, doesn't require mastering a single skill, but in fact requires mastering several skills. These skills including learning to blend letters to make sounds and words, recognizing common sounds within different words, learning sounds which rhyme, and eventually learning to recognize the effect of the "silent E" that is the last letter of some letters. Each of these different skills can be practiced using bingo. For example to practice blending, a teacher can read out a word slowly (e.g. "mmm-aaa-t") and require students to recognize the word (by learning to blend the letters), or the teacher can ask about one word contained within another ("find a word containing 'pan'?" - to which students must find "span"), or the teacher can ask about sounds ("find a word beginning with a 'rrr' sound?").

By S. Tanna. To create your own custom bingo cards, go to http://www.bingocardprinter.com/

Dad reading for Children

Good readers interact with text without even realizing that they are doing it. Poor readers often are unaware that this is what they are supposed to do. They read literally without bringing in prior knowledge. The children listener will read same they listening also;

Dads Reading Aloud to Build Their Children's Language Skills
By George Jacobs

When dads read aloud it not only helps promote reading skills. It also benefits all the other language skills for the child:


Photo: fcd.ecitizen.gov.sg

* Children's listening skills improve via the practice they receive while listening to us read aloud.

* The listening that children do also helps pronunciation, because they hear the words pronounced and see the link between the letters (or characters) on the page and the way the word is pronounced. Pronunciation is learned in large part by repeatedly hearing a word. Reading aloud provides multiple opportunities to hear the same word pronounced.

* Dads reading aloud helps their kids learn the alphabet and phonics in context, rather than studying individual letters and sounds in a workbook. This contextualized way of learning is a more natural, more enjoyable approach, because children learn as part of reading not as a separate activity. It is the same for learning characters in a language such as Chinese.

* The main way that we learn to spell comes not by repeating spelling lists or learning spelling rules that are full of exceptions. The main way we learn to spell comes from visual memory. We see a word we have written and say to ourselves, "That doesn't look right." Then, we try writing the word a few different ways until it looks right. Children develop this visual memory by seeing the word many times in the books that dads read to them.

* It is much better to learn vocabulary by hearing a book read aloud than by studying a word list. In a book, the rest of the book provides a context that helps children figure out the meaning of words they do not know. This contextualized learning deepens children's understanding of words they are learning, and they learn which words go together. The illustrations in some books also aid vocabulary learning. Plus, when dads read aloud to children, they are always there to assist them in figuring out what a word means.

* Reading skills and writing skills go together. Research shows that children who read well usually write well and vice versa. By building children's reading skills, we are also helping their writing skills. Indeed, exposure to books helps improve children's writing. Adults who write well were probably read to as children.

* Grammar is yet another element of language where exposure is key. Just as we use our visual memory to decide if a word is spelled correctly, we use our aural (hearing) memory to help us decide if a sentence is grammatical. Even if the sentence is written, we say it aloud to ourselves. When the sentence, "just doesn't sound right," we know that something may be wrong with the grammar. When dads and moms read aloud is a great way to provide children with a bank of correct sentences to use to check the grammar of sentences that they create themselves.

Finally, when dads read aloud, they draw children into discussions of what they are hearing. In this way, they not only receive language by listening to us and looking at the book, they also produce language when they converse with us. This language production helps them consolidate all the pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar knowledge they have learned while dads are reading to them. So dads, what are you waiting for?
Dr. George Jacobs, Ph.D., is the author of many books (including "The Read Aloud Guide", textbooks for teachers and students, curriculum guides, and children's storybooks).
For more information visit :- http://www.greatdad.com/category/430/read-aloud.html