I Don't know this

In Nigeria, here we have over 50 agencies and organisations set up to help the smooth running of the Education System, amongst those multitude these are a few:

TETFUND  - Tertiary Education Trust Fund

It  was established as an intervention agency under the TETFund ACT - Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Establishment, etc) Act, 2011; charged with the responsibility for managing, disbursing and monitoring the education tax. Its Mission is to To provide focused and transformative intervention in public Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria through funding and effective project management.

They objective is to  Promote creative and innovative approaches to educational learning and services Stimulating, supporting and enhancing improvement activities in educational foundation areas like Teacher Education, Teaching Practice, Library Development, etc.

Championing new literacy-enhancing areas such as scientific, information and technology literacy.
http://www.tetfund.gov.ng

NANS - 

National Association of Nigerian Students
www.nans.org.ng

NIEPA - Nigerian Institute od Educational Planning and Administration

            

The National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), Nigeria domiciled in Ondo town in Ondo State, was established in 1992 by the Federal Ministry of Education, in collaboration with UNESCO/IIEP Paris, as a sub-regional staff college for West Africa. It seeks to realize its mission through capacity building, continuous training, consulting, action research in educational planning, information dissemination and providing resource centre services.

It is the only capacity building outfit for education sector planners and managers in Nigeria and the sub- region and the only Federal parastatal of Federal Ministry of Education in the south west of Nigeria.

www.niepa-ng.org

NAEC -  Nigerian Army  Education Corps


NCNE -  National Commission for Nomadic Education


ETF - Education Trust Fund www.etf.gov.ng


NAPPS - National Association of proprietors of Private Schools

AIESEC - International Association of Students in Economic and Commercial Sciences.

This an international nonprofit organization that provides young people with leadership opportunities to develop themselves into global leaders with an
urge to make a difference in society.

AIESEC provides a platform for students in different universities and colleges, by going on an international internship and/or by joining various local chapters. These young individuals can develop their leadership potential by working and leading teams. Associate membership opportunities allow the students to work with various NGO partners of AIESEC, and represent their college as a part of campus ambassador program.

Each year over members have an opportunity to live and work in a foreign country. Participants can choose to work in areas of management, technology, education, or development; helping to build one’s
corporate skills.

AIESEC annually offers “24,000 leadership positions and delivers over 500 conferences to  its membership of over 90,000 students". It is present in over 2,400 universities across the globe. AIESEC runs an international exchange program that enables over
20,000 students and recent graduates the opportunity to live and intern in another country.” AIESEC is supported by over 8,000 partner organizations.

It has various branches all over the states of Nigeria - Enugu, Calabar, Benue, Lagos, Abeokuta, etc.
www.ng.aiesec.org


COEASU - College of Education Academic Staff Union


SSUCEN -   Senior Staff Union of Colleges of Education Nigeria


STVEP -  Skills Training and Vocational Education Project


SBMCs - School Based Management Committees

The establishment of SBMCs is a policy requirement in all schools in Nigeria. The SBMC is a structure representing all key stakeholders of the community working with the school to improve the management and ensure improved teaching and learning for the children.

They represent the participation of the community in school administration and have the potential to transform, sustain education, and promote school governance at the grassroots level.

The SBMC involves the head teacher, teacher representatives, pupil representatives (when appropriate), representatives of the PTA and other stakeholders from the community, including religious and traditional leaders.

SAGEN - Strategy for the Acceleration of Girls’ Education in Nigeria (SAGEN), focuses on Girl Education in the Northern part of Nigeria.

Ministry of Education

Our Federal Ministry of Education situtiated at Block 5A (3rd Floor), Federal
Secretariat Complex, Shehu Shagari Way, Central Area, P.M.B. 146, Garki, Abuja, Nigeria,

Since 1960 till date our almighty Education Sector
has witnessed as head  of the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) the following:

For  7 years Aja Nwachukwu (1958 to 1965)

For  2 years Richard Akinjide (1965 to 1967)

Wenike Briggs (1967 to 1970) for about 2 years

A. Y. Eke (1970 to 1975) about 5 years

Ahmadu A Alli (1975 to 1978) just 1year

G. B. Leton (1978 to 1979) just 1 year

Sylvester Ugoh (1979 to 1982) for 3 years

Alhaji B. Usman (1979 to 1982)

Elizabeth Iyase (1979 to 1982)

I. C. Madubuike (1982 to 1983)

L. A. Bamigbaiye (1982 to 1983)

Sunday Afolabi (September to December 1983)

Alhaji Y. Abdullahi (1984 to 1985)

Alhaji Ibrahim (1985)

Jubril Aminu (1985 to 1989)

Babs Fafunwa (1990 to 1992)

Ben Nwabueze (January 1993 to August 1993)

A. I. Imogie (January 1993 to November 1993)

Alhaji Dongodaji (January 1993 to January 1994)

Iyorchia Ayu (January 1994 to February 1995)

Alhaji Wada Nas (January 1995 to February 1995)

M. T. Liman (February 1995 to December 1997)

Iyabo Anisulowo (February 1997 to December 1997)

Alhaji D. Birmah (December 1997 to June 1998)

A. N. Achunine (December 1997 to June 1998)

Olaiya Oni (August 1998 to May 1999)

Alhaji S. Saadu (August 1998 to May 1999)

Tunde Adeniran (June 1999 to January 2001)

Alhaji Lawam Batagarawa (June 1999 to 2001)

Babalola Borishade (February 2001 to June 2003)

Alhaji Bello Usman (February 2001 to June 2003)

F. N. C. Osuji (July 2003 to February 2005)

Hajia Bintu Musa (July 2003 to June 2005)

Chinwe Obaji (June 2005 to June 2006)

Halima Tayo Alao (June 2005 to 2006)

Grace Ogwuche (February 2006 to June 2006)

Oby Ezekwesili (June 2006 to April 2007)

Sayadi Abba Ruma (June 2006 to April 2007)

Adewunmi Abitoye (June 2006 to May 2007)

Igwe Aja Nwachukwu (June 2007 to December 2008)

Jerry Agada (June 2007 to December 2008)

Hajia Aishatu Jibril Dukku (June 2007 - ?)

Sam Egwu (December 2008 to March 2010)

Ruqqayat Rufai (April 2010 – September 2013)

Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau (2014 - Present)

For over 56years the education sector has witnessed 46 heads of an averagely 1.28years in office each. With about 11 women in all, some Ministers we can never forget about, some we don't even know anything about them any longer.

The longest serving Minister of Education in the history of this country was Aja Nwachukwu, who in the “brief shining moments” of Nigeria, spent eight years in the Ministry.

He was followed by Chief A.Y Eke, five years and Prof Jubril Aminu, four years. If you look at the years of political crises, such as 1983, when Shagari’s regime was terminated, and the years following June 12 crisis of 1993 to 1999, they coincide with shortest tenures in the Ministry.  Things began to look up again from June 1999, the return of democracy, when some Ministers spent between two to three years.

One man our education sector and the nation at large can never forget is our very own Late Babatunde Fafunwa of the 1990s, we read of books, journals, etc and we see his comments, suggestions, philosophies that are still some what relevant to our present world..... What a man!

Is that the tenures of the ministers are too short?

Are they square pegs in Round holes?

We say we have moved forward evidently since 1960?

Are the Issues of our Education sectors too big to solve?

Are we not ready to go the extra mile?

Is it the Constant Change of Government that is our issue?

Why this sector is not improving unlike every other sector of the economy is a huge  concern to us.....

How long should a minister spend in office, or is there no particularly during of years in Office?

Is it that Politics is interfering in our sector?

Nigeria which way to go?

What it takes to be a teacher?

A teacher they say is expected to be an epitome of knowledge, creative, inspiring, motivating, a Role Model, just to mention a few.

We are challenged in terms of :

TIME: Most of  our time is spent on school work- writing lesson plans, thinking of institutional media, marking home works, test, examination scripts, observing kids, making evaluations, member of a School committee, ensures discipline,do publicity for our school sometimes, take kids on excursions, visits to places, etc.
We hardly have time to look after ourselves although people in other sector thinks we have more time than they do.

WORKLOAD: The workload of teaching as it involves research, mastery of the topic, directing classroom activities,understand facts, realities of the society, the concepts of each topics and its dynamics - whether Abstract or concrete, understand the values of the society and how it can be related to the topic, etc.


LOW PAY : We are the least paid, with no regular salary, no special bonuses, no extra time pay, least appreciated by parents and School Management. When there is a slight issues between us and parents the school authority would prefer to only hear from the parents and all they do is sack us straight away, if everyone should be sacked at every little mistake they make, no Good teacher would be teaching today. Employers think they are helping us by giving us employment.... Hmmmm.
Even parents detests us to a great extent having seen the way school management treat us.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT:  After getting lesson plan ready, we have to ensure the classroom is well arranged with the needed materials, kids are not in danger, learning is achieved, kids are not fighting, kids are participating in teaching learning procedure, ensure the class is neat and condusive for learning.


COMMITTEE: We are also active members of the various school committee - school events, yearly activities, Teacher's welfare, etc.  We are expected to also give in our very best, we organize school events, school outings, etc.


PARENTS & COMMUNITY :  We ensure that we have cordial relationship with the parents as well as the community because we are in many ways representing our school within our community.


After doing all this and lots more, we are the least paid and appreciated.

Over the Years these trends remain, Nigeria is 54 years Old today
We need make up our minds as Good Nigerians not to :

Never look down on our Teacher's

Please always respect and honor our Teacher's, we actually train and teacher our professionals in all others sectors of the economy

3;
I would suggest we need;
A labour force to protect unfair  treatment of teachers by their employers

Teacher Labour law to protect our teachers against unruly activities of our Primary and Secondary school teacher mostly from our private School owners

Proper Enforcement of the Teacher Labour Force if they really exist  by honest and diligent Nigerians.

If need be we need to set up laws to has to do with our teachers are work so as to see that we too are truly diligent with our work as we need a revamp of the image of our Profession.

Happy 54th Independence Day NIGERIA !!!!

10 things that are very true

At least five people in this world love you so much that would die for you.

Every night, someone thinks about you before they go to sleep.

When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.

When you think you have no chance of getting what you want, you probably won’t get it, but if you believe in yourself, sooner or later, you will get it.

At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.

The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.

A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone even if they don’t like you.

You mean the world to someone.

When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a look – you most likely turned your back on the world.

You are special and unique.

I need more MONEY

 

; Nigerian students there are better ways of surviving financially in School than getting involved in dirty deals.

There are 20 SMALL SCALE BUSINESSES that you need LITTLE CAPITAL for:

* Laundry services

* Tie & dye business

* Gift basket business

* Advertising agency

* Interior designing

* Car wash business

* Floral shop  business

* Shoe making business

* Weight loss business

* Cashew nut business

* Catering services

* Zobo production

* Standup comedian or MC

* GSM phone repairs

* Event planning

* Rug washing business

* Plantain Chips making

* Fire wood and charcoal business

* Branding of T-shirts

* Make-up business

* Making of  Soups

* Online sales agent

      Bonus : Sharwama business

If you feel this businesses already exist around you, then you have to observe your environment well, identify people's needs not "wants" if they are affordable, then buy and resell to people Look out for what people complain a lot about and fix it, get paid in return. Start small, no one really believe you will give them the best until they give you a try. Don't destroy first impression, they are unforgettable. Think wide, innovate and the size of your purse will increase.

Poverty is by choice not by chance.

Swallow your pride and get to work.

Don't forget "anything worth doing at all is worth doing well".

Every little nice or naughty customer counts.

Save more, Spend less.

Dont think of impressing people dont think you matter.

Everyone wants to be a friend to a successful person

Our Ideal School 2

TEACHING - LEARNING ASPECTS:
The students should have more project works so that they can enlarge
their creativity.

There should be a specific period where the teachers and the students can share new ideas and knowledge about different and innovative things.

The students must be allowed to the extra curriculums, as some students might like singing and dancing and others might have interest in sports.

Study tours should be organized each year to allow students swell their knowledge about certain things.

CURRICULUM:
Every school needs a curiculum upon which every subjects, extracurricular activities are based on.

The adpoted school curriculum should be well implemented and adequately followed.

SOCIETAL BALANCE:
The students should also have idea about their culture and society.

The teachers are the most important part, because an ideal school must have ideal teachers.

There have impactful, colourful school evemts frequently

The students will learn from their teachers just like a new born baby learns from his parents.

TEACHING STAFF:
The teachers must be well trained and adequate enough.

Besides having the ability to teach the teacher should also know how to motivate the students.

Our Teachers should be of integrity, modesty, true role models, approachable.

Our whole life depends on how we grow up just like a building depends on Its foundation.

An ideal school can be said to be:

It is intellectually stimulating.

It is safe.

It has positive energy.

It reflects the interests and cultures of all the students.

It is a place students wouldn’t mind visiting even if they weren’t in class.

It reflects the challenges students have faced and conquered within its walls.

It is a place in which studying the English language is interesting, fun, challenging, and seems worth every minute.

It is a place of change and growth brought about by learning.

It uses other types of tests that affect the psychomotor, affective domain of a child apart from the standardized tests are not accurate measures of intellectual growth and only make students anxious about going to school.

Some of this looks unachievable for schools just starting up and a lot of fund is required, Nigerians why not unite with other small schools around the location legally to do big things as one.

This shows that we love each other more and the impact in the lives of our students are more important than our egos.


References: http://rryshke.wordpress.com
Photos: shutterstock.com
visualphotos.com

Our Ideal School 1

Wards, pupils spend most of the time within a school environment which greatly influence their attitudes, thoughts, beliefs towards later life and moulds them for the future consciously and subconsciously.

A School is a place where we achieve knowledge about the whole world. Not only that, we also learn how to socialize with all sorts of people, know how to speak for ones right, distinguish about manners and learn to be the part of a certain group.


In identifying a good school, your lists should look at;

UNIFORM:
An appropriate school uniform colour should appeal to a child's  age group, texture should be skin-friendly, styles should be simply  and creative.

It must not be biased to any religion, culture. It should encourage unity at every possible way.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE:
Any Organization what so ever needs to know how authority and responsibility flows.

This is a chart this shows the School head , how information flows from him to every one in the school both the teaching and non-teaching staff as well as the pupils.

RELATIONSHIPS:
There should be a cordial relationship between the school and the community close to it, the school activities must be relevant to its immediate environment.

Also good relationship should be between teachers and teachersteachers and parents, school and parents through diverse innovative forums, like Parents Teachers Association (PTA), Parents forums, Open days,other creative programmes

FACILITIES:
A good, spacious field, playground that suit the learning age of the learners

Toys, artistic tools, equipments, laboratories with relevant tools, etc relevant to the child's learning age.

Library, Toy corner, Sick bay, First aid box, Running water, etc

PHYSICAL STRUCTURE:
Classroom blocks, staff rooms shouldn't be far apart, keep the wards close and the more the impact.

Well ventilated environment.

The site for an ideal school must be close to nature. It should be delimited by trees, have a big garden and a field where the students can play.

It should have lockers so that students don’t have to carry their heavy school
bags.

It should have different rooms for different kinds of extra curriculums.

Beside nature the students should also be introduced with science and new technology.

Each class should contain small number of students dependent on the age of the learners, so that the teachers can give more attention to each student.

Nice to meet you!

Always stand: It means “you are important enough for me to get out of my seat”. on the other hand it simply means “you don’t mean much to me; you’re not worth the energy to get up” Always smile: A Smile is the way our faces say “it’s nice to meet you” it’s a way to put others at ease. Always look the person in the eyes: The eye is the window to the soul. Eye to eye contact is an expression of interest, attention and confidence. If we fail look another in the eyes it may indicate a disinterest or lack of focus in the conversation, as if we are not interested enough to even look at the person. It could also indicate inner weakness or insecurity. Always shake hands firmly: Shaking hands is our way of making contacts and breaking down initial social barriers. Make your hand shakes as friendly as your manners. Always listen carefully: Get the name right, if you don’t hear the name clearly, ask to have it repeated. It won’t reveal that you’re forgetful rather it’ll show that you have respect for the one you’re talking to and that you want to remember their names. Always greet them with their first names: (Good Morning, Bukky) Again learning to use a person’s name is another way of saying, you’re a significant person to me. How would you want to be remembered? A B Awkward or Confident Dumb or Smart Silly or Sharp Shy or Sharp Boring or Interesting Lonely or Friendly Dull or Fun Nervous or Relaxed Offensive or Nice

Examination time again!

In a way an examination is a device for creating a ‘mini-crisis’ which enables you to find the which enables you to find the resources of will power and energy to take matters in hand and finally pull the ideas of the course together, into the best shape you can manage.

Failing an examination is not the end of the world, so keep your anxieties in proper proportion. Everyone wants you to pass, including the examiner. Don’t worry about what you haven’t done during the course; work out how to make the best use of what you have done. No one understands “everything”. There are bound to be areas where you feel underprepared and confused. Don’t panic when you read examination questions. Almost every examination question is linked quite directly with something you have covered on the course. You just have to work out the link. Exams tend to be about what understand rather than what you can remember. Getting your course note organized will sort your memory out.

Speed in an exam is to do with having a very clear plan as to how you intend to use your time. You probably will do a lot of work just before the exam. But you need to do it in a planned way, using your time efficiently and consuming your energies. You don’t want to turn your life into a computer misery just because of an exam. Poor presentation; in illegible hand writing, unstructured answer, lacking any division into paragraphs; writing in note form rather than sentences. Failing to answer the question; writing off point or digressing form the main point. Failing to write in relation with materials form the course; even if you have other facts, are they related to the course and the question before you write them. Bad use of time; for your 3 questions use 90% of your time to read, understand and write your answers, use 10% of your time to read your answers all over and tidy your work. Good luck…. In your examinations Photos: www.123rf.com

Permanent site here we come!

Redeemer's University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Debo Adeyewa,recently said the University is moving to its a bigger location very soon, its permanent site and it would facilitate the introduction of new programmes like Engineering, Law, Medicine and Environmental Science. Permanent Campus: Ede, off Gbongan - Oshogbo Rd, Osun State, Nigeria.

By Road; 186 Km - Distance from Redemption Camp, Mowe to Ede and it is travelled in 1 day. Travel Time: 154 Minutes - 2 hour(s) 34 minutes(s) The above is an approximation. Road Conditions,Diversions, Weather Conditions, Traffic, etc. affect driving distance. After 9years at its temporary site, Redemption Camp, Mowe, Ogun state. Redemeer's University will relocate by the end of September 2014. This is to serve as an avenue to make available state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructures, that will facilitate efficient learning. As the Institution so far has been paying its staff salaries and emoluments promptly Adeyewa affirmed that the University to attain a World-Class status, its processes and structures would also be re-engineered to confirm with the global best practices.

Nigeria how far?

The Nigerian Economic Summit (NES) was initiated in 1993,it had its 19th NES in 2013 focused on Agricultural sector, now the 20th NES focused on the Education sector tagged "TRANSFORMING EDUCATION THROUGH PARTNERSHIP FOR GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS" at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja on 18th-20th of March 2014.like

Speakers and Panelists like President Goodluck Jonathan, Senator Uche Chukwumerijie, Prof. Pai Obanya (WAEC), Adams Oshiomole, Hon. Aminu Suleiman- Chairman, House Committee of Education just to mention a few The 20th NES on Education sector was on these four critical areas that needs new thinking if Nigeria is to develop as a Nation: National consensus on the objective for our education system Collective realization of the pervasive centrality and importance of education to national development Sustainable structural reforms and changes that allow the emergence of a 21st century economy Building a culture of life-long learning to ensure the Nigerian economy can respond quickly to global changes and global development Alero Ayida Otobo (2014) said: Focus should be on early childhood education that every Nigerian Child needs Making Vocational and technical education exciting by having better infrastructures Create an opportunity to push the innovative enterprise institutes initiative to the for front Need for new curriculum for schools in Nigeria should be looked into ensure that the students are taught the right things that would be beneficial to employers of labour

ALVAN IKOKU FEDERAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, OWERRI Identified that: Our Education must inculcate the values of leadership; intuition, honesty, integrity and 21st Century skills, remodeling the learning environment and physical infrastructure to reflect the character of education budget More focus should be on trending global skills by establishing research and development capabilities in schools Develop new generation teacher that is passionate, emotionally intelligent, culturally sensitive, teach savvy, technology competent, role model, team player, expert communicator and life-long learner. Teacher Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) should be restructured to be like Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), etc reviewing condition of service for teachers especially in areas of wages, career progression and professional learning communities.

The SUMMIT also identified ways of removing the disparity existing between graduate of the university and those of the polytechnic, a gap that the federal government had tried to bridge in the past without a positive outcome.Teaching Profession should be attractive. For over 6 months now: the Question is how much of all this has been implemented or set out to achieve as Deborah (Oh ! Sorry) Ebola (smiles) has become a major distraction in the Education sector today. Recently in Abuja, the Government has raised a technical committee on the National Policy on vocational Skills Development to Bridge the gap that exist in the technical and Vocational training in the country. Honourable Chukwuemeka Wogu, the Minister of Labour said the committee marks another milestone in the on-going and commitment to strengthen the Ministry. The 14 man committee to be chaired by Mrs. Theresa Braimah, Director Productivity measurement and Labour Standards in the Ministry of Labour and Productivity with members fro the representatives of COREN - Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, National Boars foe Technical Education Headquater, Kaduna, CEO of 360 Capacity Builders Ltd, retired Director of Skills Development and Certification in the Ministry, amongst a others. They are to provide a report within 6 weeks to institutionalize a National Vocational Training and Skill Culture through hard work, creativity and innovation This is a wake up call for the necessary committee, body, agencies in charges of implementing this to get busy and ensure the right measures are put into place.

To be or not to be

Since 1973, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has been in existence. The new mode of operations of NYSC now to post about 80% of Graduate yearly into the Education Sector as teachers, is something to ponder about as a to-be or Fresh Corp member. Equal National Development is what we intended to achieve according to the goal of NYSC, these goals are only going to be achieved if the corp members themselves are to willingly to help visualize this goal. So far, some Corp members are enjoying their new found career as teachers, good,good enough.we

But in Corperhood we have issues like: Poor Career Development- After spending 12months of NYSC life as a teacher and gained experience skills in another career path, coming back to one's career will not be so easy as there are many things to learn and unlearn, this will help in career development at all as organizations now have to retrain the newly acquired staff to get the best out of them. Safety of Life: Over the years many insurgencies of Boko Haram crisis has killed a good number of our active Corp Members being posted to some parts of the country under attacks of the Boko haram terrorist group. We just wonder why can't the corp members be posted to their region, that is Corper from western Nigeria should be posted to another state within the west, likewise for other corpers from other regions and areas social unrest should be avoided totally. Harsh Cultural practices: Our naive Corpers are not so acclaimed with their new environment as regards its culture and norms, some of us in search of adventures have lost their lives due to some cultural practices that takes place there that boldly allows strangers to be victims of the evils of this culture. Unsafe Environment: Some parts of Nigeria are dominated by scorpions, snakes,ants, etc i our houses that bites us as we diligently serve our nation...... Is this fair enough. Yes, we always adapt to new locations as we are Nigerians. Seriously our living conditions should be improved may be there should be a law to ensure that the accommodation available for Corpers to stay are actually habitable indeed. We should be protected as we serve our nation diligently, after all we could have cut corners yet yea said yes to this clarion call.

5 things we want from parents

It takes a village to raise a child. We can't expect teachers to be the only ones educating our children. Research proves that when Mom and Dad become involved in their kid’s school life, grades, behavior and emotional well-being improve. So, if you want to make the teacher’s job a little easier, check out these 5 things teachers want from parents. Read to Your Child “The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading, is reading aloud to children,” stated the U.S. Department of Education Commission on Reading in 1985. Grab a book, any book, and read to your child at least three times a week. You’ll plant the seeds for a lifetime of reading. Get to Know the Teacher You should be on a first-name basis with your child’s teacher. Ask for the best way to get touch with him or her, such as by phone or email. Be there for open houses and parent-teacher conferences. Don’t be the parent who only shows up when you have a bone to pick. Encourage Friendships Outside of School Classroom learning works best when solid teamwork is in place. Because there isn’t always time for children to get to know one another all that well at school, make sure that your child spends time with classmates outside of school by encouraging playdates and after-school activities. Get Involved With the School Attend school council meetings. Join the school’s PTA. If you work and these school-oriented meetings are scheduled during the day, ask if meetings can occasionally be held at night. Your voice counts— sometimes, it's the only voice that will advocate for your child. When parents unite, they can more readily affect changes in schools. Take Part in School Events Don’t miss school events such as talent shows, science fair nights and seasonal potlucks. Even if your child isn’t playing on the team, why not attend a school sporting event? You’ll help foster an appreciation of school life. Not only will you be helping your child be successful in school, but you'll also be making memories with him along the way. Source:www.education.com

Building is fun!

Expect to see towering skyscrapers and leaning Towers of Pisa decorating your table when you do this fun activity with your child. Learning how to see the world and then translate it into 3-D can be challenging when in the two dimensional world of paper and pencils or crayons. This activity encourages a child to sculpt in free form with the only rule that they have to build 'up'.

What You Need: Mini marshmallows Toothpicks What You Do: 1. Try helping to build a small shape to get your child started. Stick 4 toothpicks into 4 marshmallows to build a square (with the marshmallows forming the connectors). 2. Next, have your child start moving his sculpture 'up'. Place 4 toothpicks vertically into the marshmallows with another set of marshmallows on each end. 3. Repeat your first square and connect the marshmallows. You now have a 3D square which can form the base of a tower or even perhaps a house. 4. Let your child's imagination take over from there! Did You Know? The resulting sculpture is an example of three dimensional artwork made by combining hard material with a plastic material (this material is mimicked by the marshmallows. Sculptors also create sculptures out of stone, wood, glass or metal. Their art is often painted. Spending time discussing local public artwork in parks and plazas with your child is a great way to get him thinking about structures. After building structures in three dimensions young artists may start noticing three dimensional shapes in local architecture. Not only will your child love playing (and eating!) marshmallows, but he'll learn a bit about construction as well. Kids don't often get the chance to work on what teachers call "visual spatial skills"-- in other words, they don't often get to work on being able to think in physical space. This is a great project to get them thinking in 3-D! Note: since marshmallows are not readily available in Nigeria so improvise and be creative.... Your kids will love this activity. Source: www.education.com

Does this describes us..

Can we remember this?

So of our dads do this in their mind......

Lol.....you will be surprised at yourself...

I bet we ladies will buy this mores....(smiles)

We all do this...... Procrastination! See what Nike says...

Sources: www.itsfunny.org www.youintern.com