Learn a new language!

Have you thought about learning another language, or encouraging your child to learn one?  It can be a truly enriching experience.  Some reasons to learn a new language include:

1. To converse with friends and family that speak a different language.
2. To understand music, movies, and TV shows in another language.
3. To gain skills for a job.
4. To become smarter!
5. To ace a class in school.

One of the best websites I know of for learning a second (or third or forth) language is duolingo.com, which is absolutely free.  Currently you can take courses in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, Hungarian, Swedish, Turkish, Russian, Polish, and Romanian.

Check it out!

Online Learning for Kids and Adults

Does anyone in your family have a desire to learn from home on your computer?  There is a pretty awesome website called Khan Academy where you can learn (for free) a world of information in different subjects like math, science, arts and humanities, test prep, even computer programming.

From Wikipedia: Khan Academy is a non-profit educational organization created in 2006 by educator Salman Khan to provide "a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere."

Here at BHF we use the website specifically for math tutoring, and the results have been excellent.

Children of all ages can benefit from the wide variety of math lessons offered, from basic to complex problem-solving.  Twenty minutes of study a day can go a long ways toward improving skills and staying ahead in school.

Adults with some free time may also be interested.  Perhaps now is the perfect time to take art history basics from the comfort of your couch.

Check it out at khanacademy.org.

Late Summer a Good Time for Paper Airplanes

Are you about out of ideas for summer crafts?  Perhaps your summer travels have come to an end, and you find yourself back at home with your child as they prepare to go back to school.  Just because summer vacation is wrapping up doesn't mean the fun has to!

One very simple activity you can work on with your child is making a paper airplane.  It's simple and yet can provide hours of entertainment.  Which design flies the farthest, the fastest, and can it do tricks?

You could fill a bucket with paper airplanes and drop them from a height just to watch the mayhem that ensues.

This helpul wikiHow article outlines several methods for making a paper airplane, and includes links to more complicated designs, like ones that do loop de loops.  Enjoy!

12 Clever Tricks to Regain Your Cool Quickly

Have you ever lost your cool around your child and felt bad about it later?  If someone in your family is acting out, it seems all too easy to become upset and resort to anger and shouting.  Keeping calm is important in such situations.  If we can respond reasonably in the heat of the moment, positive outcomes are much more likely.

Here are 12 tricks that can help you keep your cool:

1. Breathe in, tense, and release your muscles as you exhale.
2. Roll your shoulders.
3. Squeeze something.
4. Suck on something sweet.
5. Chew gum.
6. Say how you feel, using "I" statements instead of "you" statements.
7. Find a pressure point.
8. Talk low. Talk slow.
9. Drink a glass of water.
10. Smile.
11. Turn the lights down.
12. Walk away.

These techniques are explained by Dr. Cameron Caswell in much greater detail in the article at this website, so check it out!