Shooting the bossman @ Nextoy LLC

So yesterday I got a package delivered to my house. I knew it would either be the Staples Easy Button, or my USB Missile Launcher. Thankfully, it was the missile launcher. Since the bossman, Mr. Fuhrer, loves toys and novelties, I figured he would be ammused if he got hit with a missile.

I got to work early, set up the launcher, practiced the shot a million times, and set up the hidden camera. The whole plan worked out great, he couldnt see the missile launcher from his seat, couldnt see the camera, I was good to go. He hilariously walked in and starts talking about what we needed to do for the day, meanwhile I was taking careful aim at his face.

I took the shot, and missed slightly right, I dont know what happened. I took another shot and missed far left. After the second shot, which he saw fly past his face, he was onto me.

Tomorrow i'll throw up the video.

होमेस्चूल मैथ ब्लोग्स व्

I found the following blogs while searching around for good places for parents to learn about teaching math to their children.


www.themathmom.com

I would like to share with you a great site for parents: www.TheMathMom.com It is funny, informative and captivating. Claiming that Life is a Puzzle and we can solve it with numbers, The Math Mom demonstrates how we all use mathematics daily when cooking, shopping, parenting, dating or managing our homes. TheMathMom.com contains stories, life puzzles and tips fr parents on presenting math to their kids as a toy, a tool and a friend. You can subscribe for a weekly newsletter.


www.homeschoolmath.blogspot.com/

This blog is very similar to TheMathMom. The author is a mother and a teacher, and does a great job combining her personal life with her helpful tips about teaching and math. She works for MathMammoth, a leading website for math curriculum.

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Great Intro to a 4x4 KenKen!

KenKen 4x4 Introduction and Strategy - The most popular videos are a click away

What cant math do?

Discover magazine has a top 100 stories list each year. These stories include new scientific breakthroughts, fun facts about math, and many other cool ways of relating these topics to daily life.

This particular entry talks about how combining a GPS system with mathematical methods could help fix traffic jams. If you think logically about a traffic jam, you realize it is pretty simple. After the crash or what not is cleared, the "jam" moves steadily backwards, as the amount of cars piling up is doing so at a faster rate than those who are leaving the jam in the front.  The correct speed of incoming cars to leaving cars would have to be reached to allow jams to disperse more quickly.

 

Check out more of these cool stories at this link. http://discovermagazine.com/2010/jan-feb/39

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How to KenKen

Many people get scared off from KenKens because of the initial shock of how "hard" the puzzles are. However, the smaller sized puzzles are actually much easier than Sudoku. Once you get over the slight learning curve, no one has an issue playing.

 

Check out this site: http://www.squidoo.com/kenken-puzzles.

 

Squidoo has a collection of How-To's and other great.

Top ten math websites

Top 10 Math Websites!

www.kenken.com

 The following have been voted the top 10 websites for helping kids/parents/teachers use math techniques. You can find kenken in many of them. Thanks to Sylvan Learning Center

1) www.mathforum.com. This online community includes teachers, students, researchers, parents and educators who have an interest in math and math education. The site includes Ask Dr. Math, Problems of the Week, discussion groups and much more.

2) www.AAAmath.com. Customized by grade level and topic, AAA Math features explanations of various mathematical topics, practice problems and fun, challenging games.  

3) www.coolmath.com. This fully interactive site and allows the user to sharpen basic math skills, play games and explore new math concepts.

4) www.figurethis.org. Created by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, this site helps families enjoy mathematics outside school through a series of fun and engaging challenges.

5) www.mathcats.com. Math Cats provides playful explorations of important math concepts through games, crafts and interactive projects. Includes a magic chalkboard and an art gallery.

6) www.easymaths.org. This South African Community website for teachers, parents and students is complete with lessons, tests, exams, worksheets, study skills and much more.

7) www.bbc.co.uk/education/megamaths/tables.html. This lively, interactive Web site, based on the popular BBC Schools Television series “Megamaths,” is for practicing and testing times tables.

8) www.mathleague.com. The Math League, designed for students in fourth grade through high school, specializes in math contests, books and computer software. The “Help Facility” is handy reference guide for math topics complete with examples, definitions and explanations.
 
9) www.fleetkids.com. FleetKids games teach elementary children several different aspect of money management. Games include Windfall, where a child can run an imaginary business and BuyLo/SellHi, where children can play the stock market. Students can sign up as an individual or as part of an elementary school team.

10) www.funbrain.com/numbers.html. This site includes 17 original games based on soccer, car racing and much more Other games include Math Baseball, where a child can score runs with correct answers and Operation Order, where students can build pyramids with their knowledge of algebra.

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A Day at the Nextoy Office

Pro's and Con's of HomeSchooling

Pros:

• Children are taught according to their learning styles and interests.
• Parents have more control over how and what their children are taught.
• Children can progress slowly or quickly, according to their abilities.
• Schedules revolve around family and allow time to bond with parents and siblings.
• Flexible schedules allow time for breaks, field trips, vacations.
• Curriculum for an entire year costs less than 1 month of private school tuition.
• Parents can transmit their values to children and shelter them from negative influence

Cons:

• Parents must help children improve upon their weaknesses and not just cater to their strengths.
• Parents take on sole responsibility for their children's education.
• Parents may feel inadequate to address the needs of gifted and special needs students.
• Extended time with family can strain tense relationships or lead to burnout on the part of the teaching parent.
• Family crises, illness and lax supervision by parents can interfere with learning.
• Parents must purchase own materials and still pay public school taxes.
• Parents must search for activities such as sports and music that are easily accessible at school.
• Parents must give children increasing independence and a chance to learn to stand for their values.

Credit due to: Successful-homeschooling.com

Do you agree with this? Any homeschoolers that would like to share their thoughts please do!

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iPhone issues

Yellow screens, faulty reception, and slow upload speeds are just a few of the problems with the new iPhone 4. Early adopters to the new device may be unable to control their anger with Apple. For those iPhone users who need to control their frustration, why not use the KenKen app from the iTunes store? KenKen can always take your attention away from external distractions. Once you’re concentrated on a KenKen puzzle, nothing can distract you, not even one bar in the upper-right hand corner of your cell phone.

There are three versions of KenKen in the App Store. There’s a free version to download so you can get a taste of KenKen. Then when you crave more puzzles, there are two premium versions. KenKen: Train Your Brain provides a ton of additional puzzles, and the KenKen Pro app provides even more and allows you to write in the numbers using hand gestures.
Apple is having a tough time coming up with a solution. They tried software updates, but it doesn’t seem to be working too well. Before you know it, they might even call for a recall. So, before your shiny, new iPhone needs to be sent back for repair, play as much KenKen while you can. When the time comes that you’re waiting for your iPhone to be repaired, if you have an older iPhone lying around, all the apps will work on that one too. Or, if you have an iPad, just double up the pixels and the game still looks crystal-clear.

So when you’re not video chatting with other disappointed iPhone 4 users on FaceTime, open up a KenKen app and you won’t even notice that your concerns for the iPhone issues have faded away.

Dan Sprouse Show on KenKen

The DS show does a hilarious episode on KenKen.



Like it? Love it? Leave a comment!

KenKen and Alzheimers

There are tons of researchers debating whether or not brain games and mental exercises such as KenKen and Sudoku can actually help the brain develop, and thus "beat" Alzheimers. A study done at East Carolina University studied the effects of daily casual mentally challenging video games. The results were promising. As opposed to video games that require little logic and reasoning, games such as Bejeweled, a simple logic game, helps the brain promote active participation. This type of participation cannot be found in activities such as watching TV or playing a mindless video game.

The brain needs exercise just like the body does. If you use and challenge your brain often, it will be healthier for longer. Pretty simple huh?

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