Sunday, January 24, 2010

Easy Piano Lessons For Beginners Do Exist

There are two things that make it so much more difficult to learn piano from a book. Thankfully, there's a solution to the problem.

1. Most piano beginner books are aimed at children. It appears that the piano book publishing sector thinks that only children want to learn the piano. This is plainly not the case as there are thousands and thousands of people who have always dreamed of playing piano but who never had the chance to learn when they were children. I know because I?m one of them. Years ago, when I was a kid, I didn?t know anyone who played the piano or who even had a piano in their front room. This was always the norm in middle-class Victorian families but not, alas, among the working classes. So very few of us had the opportunity of learning the piano at that time. Nowadays, children do have that opportunity and so today, if you pick up any of the majority of beginner piano books, you?ll find that it?s littered with little elves and pixies, the tunes will be mindlessly dull and the net effect will be to turn you away from what you?re trying to achieve. That?s not to say that there aren?t any beginner piano books targeted at adults, but they are not easy to find. And they still suffer from one major problem. And this takes me to my next point:

2. Piano lessons from books are intrinsically flawed. Here?s a little experiment: Try writing down on a piece of paper the sound that a bluebird makes, so that someone who?s never heard a bluebird can make the sound back to you. Of course, it can?t be done. No amount of words (supplied in a visual medium) can ever translate into an auditory one. It?s the same as trying to tell a blind man what the color blue looks like. It?s not possible. So what?s the answer? For years and years there was no solution and all the people who wanted to teach-yourself piano only had these silent books which could never teach them properly. But now, it?s time to rejoice! Easy piano lessons for beginners do exist at last! The new generation of piano lesson software contains not only the words and the notes written on the staves that you expect to see but also, and this is the killer difference, they contain audio clips of the pieces of music that you?re supposed to be learning. It really does make an enormous difference because finally it's possible to see what the notes look like and hear the sound that they translate into when played by a professional. It makes it much, much simpler and a lot quicker too, to learn to play piano than it's ever been before.

Thankfully it is true, you can get easy piano lessons for beginners. It?s simply a matter of downloading the best package for you and get playing at last!

Best Features of a Daycare with Voluntary Pre Kindergarten or VPK in Carrollwood, Tampa, 33625

Children in Florida are the main focus of the government’s free Voluntary Pre Kindergarten or VPK Program. Because of this, most of the reputable daycare centers have included the VPK preschool preparatory program in their own line up of educational programs and activities. To guide these daycare centers as well as the children’s parents in Carrollwood, Tampa, 33625, the Florida Voluntary Pre Kindergarten (VPK) Education Standards are regularly updated. The 2008 updated version defines the best features of a daycare center that includes the VPK Program in its offering.

The Florida government has also published a flipbook entitled “It’s Okay to Play in VPK.” This is in connection with, and is complementary to, the Florida Voluntary Pre Kindergarten (VPK) Education Standards of 2008. The 2008 Florida Voluntary Pre Kindergarten (VPK) Education Standards defines the proficiencies that the VPK Program teaches to four year old children. The flipbook, on the other hand, guides parents in developing the necessary learning environments most conducive for the children to learn such proficiencies. The two documents are intended to be used together by the educators and the parents. Parents could use the documents as guides, too, in choosing the daycare center with the best features for their children.

The VPK program covers eight developmental domains as defined by the Florida Voluntary Pre Kindergarten (VPK) Education Standards of 2008. These are Approaches to Learning, Social and Emotional Development, Language and Communication, Emergent Literacy, Mathematical and Scientific Thinking, Social Studies and the Arts, Physical Health and Motor Development.

These eight developmental domains of child development are best supported through various types of play activities in the classroom, the home and the community. This is the basis of the title of the flipbook, “It’s Okay to Play in VPK.” The play activities are used as active learning techniques. Scientific research has proven that children learn more from hands on experiences and that this is best done through play activities specially formulated to attain certain developmental goals. The children are guided through the structured play activities in order for them to fully explore their senses and apply their newly acquired skills. The play experiences chosen are those that are meaningful to the children of that age group and are, therefore, suited to their developmental stage.

Children in a daycare center should be healthy and should feel happy in being involved with the many activities provided for them. These activities should be in line with the Florida Voluntary Pre Kindergarten (VPK) Education Standards and the flipbook. The schedule of activities should be well designed to include equal amounts of play and learning both indoors and outdoors. The VPK teachers overseeing the program should be friendly, kind, patient and calm.

The premises of the daycare center should have ample space for various types of learning centers and play activity centers indoors and outdoors. There should be a library with a big and varied collection of children’s books, a children’s art center with a variety of creative materials, a dramatic play center, a music center, a huge collection of educational and manipulative toys, puzzles and blocks, a sand table and a water table. All facilities should be child safe, child friendly and clean. All equipment should be working properly and safely. The entire atmosphere should be cheerful.

A Brighter Future Child Development and Learning Center is a Christian facility in Carrollwood, Tampa, 33625 that provides childcare services to children from 6 weeks to 11 years old. It offers daycare that includes the Voluntary Pre Kindergarten or VPK Program as well as after school child development programs for older children in K1, K2, K3, and K4. It definitely has all the best features of a daycare with Voluntary Pre Kindergarten or VPK in Carrollwood, Tampa, 33625.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Obama Will Make Scholarships Available to Single Mothers

Having to take care of their families on their own, single, working mothers have perhaps the toughest job of all. For many moms higher education is only a wish or a goal that has to be put on hold in order to take care of other responsibilities. President Obama, together with his new administration, is, however, encouraging moms to make their education a priority. Obama scholarships are offering working mothers a great chance to improve their futures. Obama is urging working moms in particular to participate in his Scholarships for Moms program, whilst still encouraging people of all ages to seek higher education. Building on The Scholarships for Moms program, is the federal government's long-standing offer of Pell grants. Applied for through FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), Pell grants are the most commonly applied for forms of aid for students going to college. To encourage more mothers to return to school, the Obama administration is making some changes now. The biggest incentive is the amount of money that is being offered for the Scholarships for Moms program. $4000 per student is the maximum amount awarded through Pell grants, but that amount is increased to $5,000 for mothers who apply to the program. The aim of these grants is to allow working moms to return to school and earn a degree that allows them to better provide for their families now and in the future. The administration also envisages that by equipping mothers with skills to earn more money as working professionals will also be a stimulus to the economy. Moms can receive an education without the worry of the costs of school or having to pay back money for a loan. An additional great incentive for moms considering this program is that it applies to enrollment in nearly all types of higher education institution. Four-year universities as well as smaller community colleges, are covered. You have the choice of going to a private school or a public one. An option for busy moms who can't stay on campus is to study through online courses. The government's Scholarships for Moms program really is a comprehensive attempt to get eager mothers back into the classroom. The Obama scholarship attempts to take a lot of the worry out of returning to school. In almost any area of interest working moms can earn a degree, thus they can be fully equipped to provide for their families. An unfulfilled wish or an unobtainable goal no longer has to be higher education. The Scholarships for Moms program is intended to create a brighter future for mothers and their children.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Homeschooling - Getting Started By Mary Joyce

Mary Joyce

There are more and more parents every year who have reached the conclusion that educating their children at home has become a much better option than what the public schools today have to offer. The advantage is to homeschooling are many among the top that homeschooling has to offer is the flexibility of the scheduling and knowing that your child is be presented with and learning the values and morals that are important to your family.


When it comes to homeschooling there are many different types of homeschooling approaches that you will no doubt come across in your research. Probably the most common type of approach taken today would be best described as an eclectic approach. This is where the parents over time have come to use various components of several different approaches and combined them into an overall educational process that works best for their child and their family.


Many parents when they just start out seem overwhelmed by all of the information available. And believe me, there is a vast amount of information available. Don't panic, you'll sort through it in time and find what works best for you and your family. Don't grind to a halt and suffer from paralysis by analysis just because you try to gather more information than anyone could possibly process.


For this reason, many families choose to go with a packaged curriculum. Although initially you might feel as though a packaged curriculum is not within your budget, if you are just starting out this may be the best and most organized way for you to begin. You can always take what you learn from a packaged curriculum and develop your own model.


As you look through all the possibilities for homeschooling your child and all of the programs out there, keep in mind that any homeschooling program under its packaged for your own needs to follow the natural growth pattern of your child. In other words, you'll want to find or develop a package that contains not only a natural progression in the subject matter, but you'll also want to be mindful of any documentation that is required by your state and local regulations.


I would think that it would be safe to say that for the majority of homeschooling parents their curriculum has developed over time. Don't worry if you feel like you don't have everything perfectly aligned in the beginning. This is one of the great advantages to homeschooling... you don't have to be perfect and you don't have to follow a perfect schedule.


Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=152164&ca=Education