Recent Studies Show America Lagging In Science And Math Assesments

According to, http://nces.ed.gov/pubs92/92011.pdf, America has been lagging in math and science assesments since the very first International Assessment of Educational Progress in 1988. According to this same survey Japan scored very well. What is it that Japan and other countries are doing better than us?

I was watching a DVD the other day and one of the segments had a group of teachers in a round table discussion on how poorly the teachers are not able to engage kids to learn within their particular school. One of the teachers talked about how the same thing they were saying were the reasons why kids were not interested in learning, were the same reasons teachers were giving as to why students weren't interested in learning 10-15 years ago when he was in school. Are teachers going to be saying the same thing 20 years from now and hold meetings to give ideas on how to change things but things never actually change? Or are we going to step-up and actually attack the roots of these issues and not be afraid to implement the real changes that will actually work.  

Etch A Sketch

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You can never go wrong with a classic like the Etch A Sketch. This product will allow you to create interesting and creative designs that you can show off to your friends and family. Certain individuals have made it a career showing off this unique style of art. George Vilosich III  is one of these type of artists and some of his pieces have sold for $10,000. 

The Etch A Sketch can help develop skills in young artists who have a passion for creative art work. For a person not as gifted artistically, this product can still be a lot of fun especially for young children. They can toy around with it for hours trying to develop various imaginary concepts that may formulate from their brains. The Etch A Sketch game can even be played online for free. This game makes for a great gift idea as well. 

Uno

Uno is a great game that will keep you entertained for hours. It takes strategic skills to get down to that all important "uno" card. With reverses, skips, draw 2's, draw 4's, and other important key cards it's entertaining and fun trying to win at this game. There is an important number and color strategy to this game as well that keeps you focused on trying to strategically get to the last card.

The fun part is trying to come up with your own winning strategy. You will be surprised but with so many different variations of this game, the many strategies that people are able to come up with are amazing.  

Duck Duck Goose

Duck Duck Goose is a great game that encompasses fitness and fun. This game can be played indoors or outdoors and is ideal for large groups.

With everyone sitting down in a circle you elect one person to go first. The person who goes first walks around the group tapping a person's head one at a time saying "duck" "duck" "duck" while tapping there heads,  until the person decides who he/she wants to chase them by saying "goose" while tapping the head. The person who was just tapped on the head then has to get up and chase the person who was doing the tapping and try to catch them before they sit in their seat. If caught they are then eliminated from the game.

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This fun game can played for hours and hours!

Energyville

Energyville is a great game to play. It helps you learn about the new technological advances in energy while playing a fun game. You start off by naming your town and are responsible for making energy decisions that impact environmental, security, and economic situations for your town.

Throughout the game you learn about Geothermal, Nuclear, Biomass, Coal, Solar, Petroleum, and other energies. You also learn about energies not yet in development but will have a huge impact on our society in the future.

This game deals with REAL life situations that our government officials have to deal with on a daily basis. Issues such as food supply, global warming, and other major decisions are impacted by the energy decisions you make just like in real life. Your taken through a simulation of years from now until 2030 where you may run into things like war, famine, and other events that are the result of the decisions you made prior to advancing to the next level. One thing I have learned is that many things still require the use of petroleum oil even as we move forward with other technological advances in energy.

This game can be played here Energyville

Wipeout Video Game

From the hit tv show Wipeout, comes an interactive and fun video game for the whole family. When played on the Xbox 360, this game turns into a work-out. The Kinect sensor puts you in the center of the action as if you were playing on the show for real. The Kinect sensor technology allows the Xbox 360 technology to recognize your body movements and mimic your actions within the game. You will be running, jumping, ducking, swinging your arms, and all the other fun activities that you see on the show.

Dancing Games

Dance Central 2 for x-box 360 and Just Dance 3 for the WII are the lateset installments of video games that are designed to keep you entertained for hours. The games will have you moving your body like you never thought possible. These dance games will help to improve your dance skills and keep you in shape.



Great for family fun, sleepovers, birthday gifts, office parties, and good old fashioned braggin rights to see who is the best dancer around.