Expansion of Idea - Making The Best Of life

We have got into the habit of complaining and grumbling about our problems and difficulties. Instead of facing our problems and finding solution for it, what we do is whine over our troubles. By doing so we can never achieve any solution to the problem we face or never get any success out of our life.

Life is mean at times. But the best that we can do about it is face it with all our might and try to make the best of it. When we try to find solutions instead of crying and whining, we realize that life is not that bad at all. And in all that meanness which life throws at us, we can find those moments of joy and happiness which can make life worth living and enjoying. It is all about the attitude with which we approach life. As they say -

"However mean your life is,

meet it and live it;

do not shun it and

call it hard names."

Why Cognitive Skills Are Important For Children

The memory of a person has an ability to learn and process new information. This capacity to adapt and understand new things which could include a high level of perception to certain information or understanding written data, could vary from person to person. Such an ability to interpret and process certain notion is termed as Cognitive Skill. Every individual has his or her own level of capacity to cognitive functioning which usually develops during the childhood. At an early age children are more adaptive in learning new skills and functions. As compared to an adult, a child can absorb and analyze information to greater levels. And hence learning to improve cognitive skills for children is very important at an early age.

Six Important Cognitive Skills

- Memory.

- Attention.

- Processing.

- Perception.

- Mobility.

- Logic and Reasoning.

Need of Cognitive Skills for Children

In today's competitive world nothing is easy. Not even for children! The competition starts right at the school level and continues to rise every single level. Smart kids make their way through but certain children cannot always work up their way to the top. This is where the development of cognitive skills for children comes handy. The development of cognitive skills not only helps in a child's progress but it also improves other key areas pertaining to his or her academics such as  learning, attention span, memory  and perception. A child with improved cognitive skills can grasp and comprehend way better than other children. And this evaluation of information by a child works in a positive manner in his or her  overall development.

Teaching Cognitive Skills to Children

Every parent dreams about their child's excellent academic and social growth. They wish their child grow smarter and do well in his life. As every plant needs regular dose of water, sunlight and good care to grow, so does children. Certain cognitive skills such as perception, concentration, memory, logical thinking, and thought process needs proper learning as these skills need to be taught.  Every single parent out there should be aware of this fact that cognitive skills need to be 'taught' . For example, a child may pay attention in the class but still be unable to focus or concentrate on the words he is been taught. And concentration is one of the important cognitive skill a child needs to learn to perform well academically.

In the similar manner, no progress could be achieved from a child who has problem in recalling what he had learnt. If a child has a habit of forgetting what is been taught to him, then it is important to work in this area by teaching cognitive skills which would benefit  in improving his memory.  Not just teachers but even parents need to play an important role in this matter. At an early age children can learn these cognitive skills and absorb way better than adults. And hence it is important to empower a child to grow smarter by sharpening his cognitive skills.

Essay - Failure in Life

Encountering failure is one of the biggest challenges known to mankind. Not everyone is good at handling failure. One may overcome the biggest challenges to achieve success but when it comes to handling failure, not everyone can tackle it. Each individual has his own way of tackling failure. It is a whole different story for each one of us. Some may accept failure and learn to fight a way through it by trying again. Some take failures as graciously as they could while some miserably mess things up. Here is a story that I recently learnt which tell us about how not having the strength to handle failure could lead to serious repercussions. 

There was a very brilliant boy, who always scored 100% in Science. He got selected for IIT Madras and scored excellent in IIT. He then went to the University of California for MBA and got a high paying job in America and settled there. 

He got married a beautiful Tamil girl and bought a 5 room big house and luxury cars.

He had everything that made him successful but a few years ago he committed suicide after shooting his wife and children.

So, WHAT WENT WRONG?

California Institute of Clinical Psychology Studied his case and found “what went wrong?”  The researcher met the boy’s friends and family and found that he lost his job due to America’s economic crisis and he had to sit without a job for a long time. Even after expecting a job with less salary than his previous, he didn't get any. 

Since he couldn't manage keeping steady his house installments, the family lost the home. They survived a few months with low money and then he and his wife together decided to commit suicide. He first shot his wife and children and then shot himself.

The case concluded that the man was programmed for successes but he was not trained for handling failures. Now let's come to the actual question, 

"What are the habits of highly successful people?"

People often share their success stories but very few share their battles and struggles to success. Many fail miserably in their early attempts of success and then rise to shine.  Nothing is predictable in life. There are risks and possibilities. At any point of time, one may lose what he owns. Here is a quote that speaks the same, 

" Life is like a river, 

sometimes it sweeps you gently along and 

sometimes the rapids comes

out of nowhere."

What this means is that when we plan to start something new, nobody can predict how things would go on. We can desire success, but we should learn to accept failures too. Failures make us who we are. They help us learn things and give us experiences that we knew nothing about. Hence one of the most important success habit to share is to learn to handle failures. 

Same lesson applies to the kids. We want our children to gain success in everything they do. Seldom we teach our child that it is okay to fail. When a child fails we get disappointed which in turn disappoints the child. But instead of programming our child to be successful we should prepare them to handle failures which is one of the most important life lesson you could teach your child.

Expansion of Idea - However Mean Your Life is, Meet it and Live it; Do no Shun it and Call it Hard Names.

Human being has harvested into the constant habit of nagging. Be it grumbling about their financial problems or crying over facing daily struggles. Such people who persistently complain can never achieve happiness in life. Nor would success come to such people who whine about every single thing happening in their life.

Life could be mean at times, but that doesn't mean we stop living it or we stop enjoying the good moments that come across. Once we start living our life we will soon realize that it is not that bad at all. So instead of shunning our life and complaining about it, we should enjoy each and every moment we come across. 

Expansion of Idea - A Great Deal of Talent is Lost in the World for the Want of a Little Courage

There are many people out there who have real talents. Some are out exhibiting it, but not all. Seldom these talents go recognized or known to others. Many people with real talent rarely accomplish any success. This is the case with most because they hardly let others know in the first place that any talent does exist.

Timidity is one of the major fault that stops an individual from making the first venture. The fear of failure and being a source of embarrassment can keep a person from showcasing his or her talent. Then steps in self-distrust, where a person doubts himself and his capabilities. Thus the talent he possesses stay hidden within him, away from the eyes of others. And hence a great deal of talent is lost in the world for the want of a little courage.

Expansion of Idea - Living Life

Life is said to be worth living. Though it never turns out the way you want it. Unexpected things do happens, which aren't wished for. Every day is a new challenge, a new journey. It is not something that has an editing facility. If there had been such a facility, imagine how wonderful life would have been.

We would have edited every difficult and untoward situation and lived happily. But few people don't find happiness in their entire life. It seems to unbalanced. Seeking happiness is like winning a lottery. This happens to one in million.

Consider memories, when you think of past, along with all the good, funny and happy moments, you also remember all sad, horrifying and bitter moments. Wish life had a delete button, and then maybe we could delete all the unwanted, scary and non – happening memories permanently.

Life is a sad phase, where no one can expect the next thing going to happen in their life. What if we really had choices, like choice to live, to make amends? Though we have few choices; that can make us live peacefully or disturb our existence. Choices like forgiving someone, blaming someone, hating someone, forgiving someone etc.

Do we make a good use of such choices? Indeed no, we end up making a wrong choice at the wrong time and end up in dirt. Repentance makes us feel vulnerable to an extent that we start hating ourselves.

But then aren't mankind known to live out in odds and overcome such situations. Aren't we capable enough to make a better use of our life and handle things? Aren't we known for our power in terms of raising our voice, speaking out our mind, fighting back, building our own empire and striving hard to make our survival worth living? It's never too late and we can always make it happen what is wanted by us from our life.

Expansion of Idea - For Some The Journey is Quicker, For Some The Journey is Slow

Life is a journey. Each day you try and reach a new milestone. For some the journey of life is quick for some it is slow. Each one of us live life our own way. Everyone has their own goals, dreams and objective they wish to achieve. We try to fulfill our objectives and achieve our goals depending on our merit. Our skills and abilities provide us with the opportunity to make the most out of our life.

For some the journey is slow and for some the journey of achieving success is fast. This speed depends on how important it is for one to reach the goal. For some the only purpose of life is to make their dreams come true. But not everyone think that way and then they stagnate and live a dreary life. Then there are few who reach success on a slower pace, because they face many obstacles and yet never back out.

The journey of life allows us to come across varied experiences and vast opportunities. We meet people and learn different lessons. It is all about how you take each and every opportunity and try to enrich your life. Some let opportunities go and repent their whole life. Opportunities once lost can never be found again. Hence it is important that we take life in a positive way and make the most out of it. By doing so we can continue with the journey of life on a much faster pace. 

Expansion of Idea - Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Whenever we hear this maxim, the only story that comes to our mind is about the race between the tortoise and the hare. In this story, there was a race between a hare and a tortoise. This race is won by the tortoise, who slow and steadily reaches the winning line, whereas the hare loses because of it's overconfidence and foolishness.

At times, people rush into certain things or decisions without giving it a second thought. Such people make a fool of themselves by meeting with failure. The reason for meeting failures in such circumstances is either being too confident about oneself or not taking time thinking over the decision to be made.

Some students do not prepare for exams throughout the year, but study at the last moment when exams are near. But few start their studies right from day one and prepare well. These students who prepare well throughout the year fare well. But those who burn the midnight oil at the last moment, discover that they are ill-prepared. At times such students go blank during examinations or even forget whatever they have learned over the short period of time. It is then they realize that they could have fared better, had they been studying consistently throughout the year.

Overconfidence is something that can jeopardize your chances of success. As in the case of the rabbit from the story, who thought he was too fast and smart and could easily win the race against the tortoise. But on the other hand, the tortoise kept taking his slow steps forward consistently, until he reached his goal. 

Expansion of Idea - Say No To Plastic

The usage of plastic has been one of the major cause of concern. Recently government came up with severe resolutions towards ban of plastic bags. It is high time that government take such step towards the use of plastic. We use plastic bags because their use is convenient for us. We can go empty handed for shopping and come loaded with plastic bags. We rarely think how our action can harm the environment. Plastic doesn't cost much, in fact at times they are even free. We have been using plastic for such a long time that we hardly ever realized that by doing so we have been abusing the planet.

Our carelessness has costed the planet. The planet suffers for our deeds which can have severe repercussions on our existence. Most we could do to save our Mother Earth is stop polluting it. And plastic is one such major pollutant. Use of plastic is harmful to nature. Though plastic can be advantageous to us, they also are a disadvantage to our existence. One disadvantage of plastic is that it is non-biodegradable. This means that plastic cannot be decomposed and hence the discarded plastic will keep piling up on the earth's surface. This is a major cause of concern for the environment upkeep. Many animals swallow plastic bags and suffer severe health threats. Plastic bags often get stuck in the sewage openings and cause problems. Plastic bags indirectly contribute to problems during floods. The quality of soil is also deteriorated due to plastic bags.

Government has definitely taken major steps towards ban of plastic bags. But that is not enough! Every individual needs to take firm step towards ban of plastic bags. Everyone has to contribute their bit to ban it. This can only be done when each one of us, stop using plastic bags for shopping or stop accepting plastic bags from vendors. One can carry their own bags made from cloth or jute. Our environment would become a better place to live only if we say no to plastic.

Expansion of Idea - Dreamers Create A World Of Their Own

The world one dreams of is far better than the real world we live in. Our dreams allow us to create a world of our own where exists happiness, excitement and success. This little world of our own imagination which we dream, keep us content and allows us to stay away from our real problems. Dreams allow us to live in a world of hope and possibilities which inspire us to go on. What would we do without our dreams!

Dream plays a pivotal role in our life. We enjoy dreaming. This different world where our dreams take us, allow us to escape the harsh realities. Though dreams don't last long yet this small escapade from our real world do work out as a stress-buster. Dreams are the reason some people have managed to think out of the box. Dreams define you. Most of the inventions and discoveries we witness today are results of such dreams. A writer plots his story in his dreams and turns it out in his best fiction ever which may be relative from person to person.

One who dreams, remains happy in his own world where there are thrills and thoughts of happiness. Dreams are something you can look forward to when you are about to sleep. Yes! we do have to wake up after that and get back to the real world. But that is the whole point. Dreams allow dreamers to go on and fight to make it happen. Once you get back to the real world, try and work towards making the dream world real. And thus one can say that, 'Dreamers create a world of their own'. 

Expansion of Idea - Knowledge is Power

One can gain power through knowledge. Knowledge of something allows one to become powerful. It could be anything you are good at. A particular talent defines a person's skills in that area. Any specialization could help one overcome boundaries and attain success. Enough knowledge of something or anything can make a person dominate over others in his area of expertise.

A person who has acquired skills in any domain is self-sufficient enough to conduct his duties and affairs efficiently. Same could be said about a painter who knows how to get his work done, or a student who is well-read and is respected by his fellow students and teachers; or even a farmer who has knowledge of his farm and the climate. Such skilled personnel can maneuver their tasks seamlessly without any help from others. That is the case of an individual who acquires knowledge about something or anything he feels is important for him.

An avid reader gains knowledge through his reading and has his own speculations about the things happening around him. A person with knowledge does not believe in superstitions or beliefs which are presented to him but are not supported with real facts. Hence on the basis of his knowledge he could eradicate superstition from people's mind and create awareness among them. Such people with great knowledge have the power to become great leaders. Power of knowledge could make this leader respectable by his followers. They would look up to him for ideas and suggestions. But the same could not be said about a leader who himself lacks knowledge and is not well-read. And hence one can say that 'Knowledge is Power'.

Expansion of Idea - A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

The essence of a particular written matter can be improved if it is converted to a virtually relaxing object. This same aspects directly corresponds with a picture. A picture is a virtual representation of any event which has occurred or can take place in the possible future.

The synopsis of a particular incident by a painting is infinite. A painting also provides various perspectives to a particular event or a situation. Let us take the example of 'The Jewel of Paintings' which is the 'Last Supper', which is  a 'Magnum Opus' of Leonardo Da Vinci. When art or historical aficionados glance at the picture, many perspectives of the Last Supper start generating in the brain. These perceptions can be greatly varied and may describe the entire plot in different ways. This can be considered the 'alchemy' of paintings. They have the ability to hypnotize an individual and trap him into thinking about that particular painting.

Before the concept of painting or other form of it was invented, matter was only available in the written form. As a result, imagining a particular scenario has a limitation and were not analyzed clearly. However, the invention of paintings in the form of arts paved the way for clarity of information. Individuals were able to understand concepts more clearly. As a result, a picture is really a divine art form. By this, I conclude that 'A picture is worth a thousand words'.

Expansion of Idea - Playing Safe Gets One Nowhere

Most of us believe in the policy of playing safe. As kids we felt safe holding our parent's hand while walking or crossing the road. Safety keeps us at peace. The thought of getting into trouble does not go well with most of us. As kids too we were taught to play safe. Our instinct tells us to ensure our safety first then think of everything else. As we grow as adults, we take this teaching very seriously. We rather prefer playing safe then taking risks as we fear of failure.

But consider what would have happened if none of us had the courage of taking risks. If the stone-age man had not taken risk and continued to live in the provided circumstances, what would have happened to our development as a human being. If he had not shown the courage to try out new things and learn new techniques, we may have ended up dwelling in the caves even today. Similarly consider the risks scientists take for the development of mankind, or astronauts take to learn more about the space and life around us. They do know that every step towards the unknown involves risk and threat to one's life but unless they go for it, how would they achieve success and gain new parameters in life.

All the progress that we see today, is a result of someone somewhere taking on certain challenges and risks for the betterment of the society. Agreed that, playing safe would keep you away from dangers and certain risks in life. Yet playing safe would also make your life dull and stagnate your growth. And hence one has to agree that 'playing safe would get one nowhere'.

Essay - Should all School Subjects be Compulsory or Should You Have a Choice

No more school days are an enjoyable time the way it was a while ago! Earlier school days bought smile on the student's face. But it does not happen any more. Nowadays the activities that the kids spend time doing in school are not at all enjoyable or interesting. How can a student enjoy time in school, when he is made to spend time with dull and boring subjects.

Student  should get a choice about what activity he wishes to do. If a student enjoys subjects like math then he should be allowed to enjoy his math sessions. On the other hand he should not be forced to involve in activities such as painting or languages. There are children who enjoy music more than subjects like mathematics. They avoid homework for such subjects and always score less marks. Hence the whole compulsion of studying subjects which one is not interested in is beyond my understanding.

We are all aware that a person would always do better in things he loves doing. There are many in this world who choose their passion as their profession and enjoy every minute working on what they love to do. Like great writers or poets or even painters who enjoy what they do. But consider people who do not get such choice and end up choosing a profession which they know they do not belong to. Such wrong career choices can lead a person to a disappointing life.

And hence every student should be given a choice to study what he enjoys the most. For example, if a student is interested in pursuing writing, then school should make a provision to hone up his writing and language skills and guide him to get better. If a student is interested in painting or drawing then such classes should be arranged for his benefits.

Should this not be the benefit of living in a democratic country, where each and every individual gets to enjoy his or her freedom. Thus schools should make an attempt in considering this matter and giving every student a choice of choosing subjects as per his taste and not force him to study subjects he is not interested in. 

Expansion of Idea - Perseverance Is The Key To Success

Rome was not built in a day! It took several years of hardship and labour to get the great work of building the city of Rome done. A farmer toils hard in this farm, right from early morning to night for reaping a great harvest. Ants go in search of food from morning till the end of the day to store food that could be useful for future.

Nothing can be accomplished without hard work and perseverance. Be it study, sport or music, to achieve success you must work hard. The hard work that you need to put in, needs to be put consistently. Practice makes man perfect and in turn shapes your destiny. Hence, in order to gain success and achieve good results, you have to persevere for long hours in a continuity. Expecting to achieve success in short time without any input of hard work is impossible. If it was that easy, then nobody would have gone through so much pain. All it takes is continuous efforts and practice on one's part to gain success.

How To Prepare Well For Exams In Less Time

It is that time of the year when the only thing on children's mind is exams! Be it board exams or the annual exams; anxiety level arises not just in kids but parents too. One thing a child at this stage wishes is to do well and give his best shot. If you have been studying regularly throughout the year then there is nothing much to worry about. What is left for you is revisions and paper practice. But if you are one of those who study only when the exams are approaching then there is lot much to do and very less time. It is now that you make a plan and carry it out. Here are some tips on how you can do well in less time by making a plan and sticking to it throughout.

How To Prepare Well For Exams In Less Time

Choose Your Study Time

Choose one time of the day when you think you will be more comfortable studying. Select a time which suits you well - be it early morning, late night or even in the afternoon. The whole point of choosing this time is that you can be comfortable, attentive towards study and have fruitful results.

Review Your Lessons

It is important to review lessons that you study. What you can do while you are studying is whenever you come across any important point - jot it down or highlight it. If you come across important formulas for Math it is ideal to make charts for the same and stick them on the walls of your room. This way whenever you wish you go through them or memorize them by regularly viewing them.

Solve Question Papers

For students who appear for board exams the best way to achieve success is to solve many past question papers as possible. Solving question papers also helps you to identify questions which poses difficulty for you. Once you identify these questions, start a detailed study of them and practice. Also try and finish each papers in the assigned time.

Develop a Time Table

It would be ideal to develop a timetable that helps you to track down your study routine and monitor your progress. A well planned timetable helps you to pay equal attention to each and every subject. Try to include at least 3 to 4 subjects everyday plus some time for revision. With a well planned time table one gets to focus on each subjects at regular intervals.

Learn To Relax in Between

The concentration span of a human being is 45 minutes at a time. So one is allowed to take a break for 5 - 10 minutes after every 45 minutes. So when you make a timetable and consider studying 3 to 4 subjects in a single session, it would be advisable to spare 45 minutes for each subject and then take a break for few minutes to just freshen you up. You could relax your eyes or try some meditation or even splash water on your eyes for an instant lift in those breaks and rejuvenate yourself.

Eating Right

One needs good nutrition to set the balance right on energy, good thinking, clarity and good health. The food that you eat shapes your mind and body. Right breakfast improves better concentration and memory. For those who plan to study late in night or early in the morning, it is important to enjoy a power packed breakfast with portions of fresh fruit juices.

Get Plenty of Sleep

Before exam times or even during exams, it is important to get adequate rest. A child should get 7 - 8 hours of sleep. Sleeping relaxes you and takes away your anxiety. To start afresh, a child needs to have at least six hours of sleep. This sleeping time consolidates the brain of the child and the stored memory is refreshed. So plan a routine that does proper justice not just to your studying time but also your sleeping time. This prevents you from burning out. Not getting enough sleep may limit a child's ability to focus on problems and also lead them to aggressive behavior.

Enjoy Some Leisure Time

In between study routines enjoy enough leisure time which can help relax and rejuvenate you. Anything that you enjoy which does not involve studying can be opted for. For instance you could enjoy some music by listening to your favorite songs or even playing your favorite instrument. You could enjoy a session of swimming or go for a run or even a walk in the garden. This can take away your stress and refresh your mind.

Useful Tip to Study For Exams in One Night

If you are one of those kids who do not believe in studying throughout the year but right before the exam night, then you are in big trouble! So for kids like you the only thing to avoid any anxiety is not to go through the whole study material and revise all answers in one day. Because it is just not possible for an average student to revise the entire portion in a day. So my advice is to read the first primary source of content which are the textbooks made available to you. Read the textbook well and try to jot down important points. By doing this you can at least get most of the objectives right and secure satisfactory marks.

Ten Things You Should Do on Night Before Exams

1. Eat a light meal to prevent any lethargy the next morning. Try and eat homemade food.

2. Do not study throughout the night before the exam.

3. Get organized for the big day tomorrow. Keep everything that you need to carry with you handy.

4. Plan what would you wear the next day. Keep the clothes ready for the exam day on the previous night to avoid any anxiety.

5. Ensure you get enough sleep before exam day.

6. Set an alarm. Do not try to rush things in the morning. Allow the morning chores to be effortless by setting an alarm.

7. Before getting up practice meditation technique to keep anxiety at bay.

8. Eat a light breakfast. Avoid fried foods and coffee. Watch some television or listen to some music while enjoying breakfast.

9. Leave early for your exam center and reach before time. This would help you to settle your nerves and relax a bit before writing your paper.

10. Keep a positive mindset by assuring yourself that your performance is going to be better. 

Importance of Reading

Reading is one of the most important part of effective study skills. Effective study skills not only help us to achieve the goal of passing with flying colours but they also make our academic journey rather enriching, enlightening and pleasurable. And hence to improve our efficient study skills one should be adept in reading. One of the very important maxim says, 'Read and grow'. You find your intellectual as well as mental growth through reading. Reading cannot be just considered as a mode of learning but it is also one step that you take towards self enrichment.

Importance of Reading

Reading aloud and reading silently both have their own importance. Where reading aloud helps a child to improve his learning skills and beat the problem of understanding words; silent reading could help improve a child's reading speed and enjoy a book in more sitting and relaxed manner. Reading not only helps us understand the subject matter with much more clarity but it also enhances our knowledge. Reading improves our vocabulary building and pronunciation. The habit of reading helps develop self confidence in one and boosts our self esteem. An exposure to good literature helps a child to improve his intellectual development. Continuous reading helps a child to revise his studies and thus memorize textual content.

Points to Remember while Reading

To improve your reading skills you need to pay attention to certain points. Such few points for enhancing your reading skills are given below.

1. Reading works as a part of a vocal exercise which helps improve our voice modulation. And hence while reading, one should pay attention and work on the pronunciations, pace and grammar.

2. Read so as to develop your speaking voice by making the words sound in it's natural content such as whisper, dramatic speech or mysterious conversation. Never forget to consider the punctuation while reading.

3. If you have a session of group reading, practice and rehearse several times for better preparation.

4. It is necessary to read with proper understanding of words and scenes. Always keep a dictionary handy. Refer a dictionary or other reference materials, if you have a problem with what you are reading.

5. Always pay attention and concentrate on the subject matter. Never lose focus from the passage that you are reading.

6. While reading if you come across any pictures, diagrams, maps or charts, take a proper look at them. Never skip them while reading. These pictures or maps help us to understand the topic clearly.

7. Keep a notepad ready while reading. Whenever possible, highlight or underline certain keywords which you feel important and make notes. If you do not understand or have confusion with any word or sentence in a particular passage, note it down and check with your teachers for better understanding.

Do's and Don't of Reading

Reading is necessary factor for efficient study skills and hence it needs to be done properly. There are certain do's and don't that need to be followed while reading. Few are listed below to help you gain success in reading skills.

Do's of Reading

1. Reading should be carried in a place which is less noisy. Any corner of the house which ensures silence and peace is the perfect place for reading.

2. Sitting posture is very important while reading. One should sit comfortably for best reading experience.

3. Reading should be a matter of choice and hence read only when you wish to.

4. Keep notepad, pen and dictionary available with you when you sit to read. Note making is one of the most important part of reading.

5. Reading should be practiced daily without fail. Allot certain amount of time in your daily schedule for reading practice. Follow your reading schedule obediently.

6. Difficult subjects should be read only when you are in a good mood or in positive state of mind. Such subjects need complete attention and presence for good understanding.

7. Always keep a track of what you are reading to continue efficiently.

8. Allot some time at least twice a week to revise or re-read the study material you already read. Also make it a point to go through the highlighted or underlined content at regular intervals.

9. A splash of cold water helps relieve stress and fatigue. Hence it is advisable to splash cold water on your eyes for refreshing yourself.

10. Rest your eyes for a while if you have been reading for a long time. Just close your eyes and remain so for a couple of minutes before continuing.

Don'ts of Reading

1. Do not read in dim light.

2. Do not hold your book too close to your eyes.

3. Do not carry on with reading if others are forcing you to do so and it is not what you want.

4. Do not read if you are feeling tired and have a headache.

5. Do not read just to forget about it.

6. Do not make reading schedules which you cannot follow sincerely.

7. Do not read a book while watching television.

8. Do not read content which are not appropriate for your age.

9. Do not continue reading a passage if you are not able to understand or follow.

10. Do not lose focus from the passage while reading. 

Importance of Reading Aloud

My 15 year old son still wants me to read a story for him before he goes to sleep. And if I am tired and exactly not into the mood to read anything in particular for him, then he makes it a point to read aloud to me, anything maybe a funny article which would bring some smile back to my face and help me forget the stress I faced throughout the day. Though nowadays we don't very often get to enjoy this reading aloud activity much, yet we try to at least once or twice a week, depending on the amount of time we can manage to steal from our busy schedules. He needs this time as much as I do to unwind himself, as we have over the years found out that the reading aloud sessions can be much engaging. Once we start to read aloud, we make it a point to discuss about new word and theories that we come across. And over the years, I have never been ashamed to confess over to him, if I wasn't aware of the meaning of certain words or theories. It is just not necessary that a parent has to know everything, we are parents not super robots! Once we come upon some word that we don't know of, we just grab dictionary and search for the word or if it is a theory we google it. Over the years, we have discovered that the read aloud sessions we engage in also help us to forget about stressful day we faced and end up with something new in our heads which can really be de-stressing.

Reading plays an vital role in developing a child's vocabulary and personality.  Importance of Reading could only to made aware to children by their parents. But sometimes  a child can have problem with reading and understanding words. And this is where reading aloud can really be helpful. Reading is known to improve learning skills of a child but reading aloud can help a child to build confidence and beat the problem of understanding words. With regular practice of reading aloud a child can gain confidence and be fluent in language. One of the most important parenting tip for every parent is to encourage their children to read aloud. And this has to be started right from the young age, when a child practices to read. It is said that a good habit developed at very young age sticks by for a long time and can really prove to be helpful.  Thus making a child read aloud is one of the foundation stone a parent lays as child's first step towards success.

Importance of Reading Aloud

Reading aloud helps a child in lot ways than one could imagine.And the benefits of reading aloud helps your child in long run and it has an important contribution in shaping up his personality as it enhances his language skills, listening skills and learning skills.

Reading Aloud Improves Pronunciation

A regular dose of reading aloud not only improves learning but it also helps to improve pronunciation. If reading aloud is practiced daily by a child, he easily gets hang of the words which he had problem with pronunciation at an early stage. Improvement in pronunciation in turn helps in the development of speech and also improves writing skill.

Reading Aloud Improves Listening Skills

When a child reads aloud, he gets to hear his own voice which helps him to improve his listening skills and also helps him to understand what he is reading. I a parent is reading aloud for a child, a child focuses his attention on the parent and thus his mind learns to focus well without being distracted.

Reading Aloud Improves Writing Skills

The development and improvement of a spelling totally depends upon a child's perception towards a phonic sound and this is where the habit of reading aloud comes into the picture. Reading aloud helps a child to listen to the phonic sound a word makes, to detect the phonic syllables and to visually connect the letters together to form a word. Thus the spelling awareness is boosted. This whole process in turn, helps to improve your child's writing skills.

Reading Aloud Helps to Connect with Books

Reading aloud helps a child to build a positive connection with the books. The basic things which connect a child to a book like how to choose a book, how to hold them while reading, bookmarking, connecting the pictures with the words  and taking care of books are understood by the children. This connection helps a child to explore the path which helps him or her to discover new words, new writing skills and a whole new adventure.

Reading Aloud Helps in Strong Vocabulary Building

With constant reading aloud practice, a child is exposed to new letters, words, sentences, grammatical adaptation and phonic syllables, which helps in building strong vocabulary. Introduction of new words, their meanings and synonyms adds up to his mental database or library of words. This can definitely help a child in language skills and to achieve good grades in theoretical writing.

Reading Aloud Helps a Child to Explore New Ideas

When a child gets into the habit of reading aloud a story, his brain tries to be perceptive by understanding the way a story is about to develop. A child's brain thus works it's way on how the story may end using it's imagination. This helps the child to explore new ideas, to fetch his curiosity and help the brain development by allowing it to work to fullest potential.

Reading Aloud Promotes Fluent Reading

If a child is encouraged by his parents and teachers to read aloud right from his early age, then this habit can help a child with language development and thus build a strong foundation in overall language skills. Early speech problems such as stuttering or stammering can also be resolved by the habit of reading aloud. Even if a child may start slow with the reading aloud process, constant practice would definitely help him to be a fluent reader. This fluency in reading would be developed only by regular practice and a child would achieve great results.

Reading Aloud Helps a Child to Cope with Stress

A small read aloud session before going to bed can help a child to cope up with stress and anxiety, as it completely works as a distraction from the stressful scenario and helps a child to engage in something which can make him relax and get a good sleep.

Reading Aloud - Wonderful Way of Engaging in Quality Time with Children

In today's fast paced world, parents hardly get to spend quality time with children. Hence some reading aloud session not only guarantees quality time with children but also ensures that the time spent with them is engaging and constructive. Parents also get to understand their child's weaknesses and improvement pertaining to  the language and help them develop vocabulary building. A child surely is encouraged in a positive way, if his parents actively participate and engage in the reading aloud sessions.

Top Ten Reading Aloud Tips

Here are few reading aloud tips and strategies that can help you with parenting and to get started with your child in terms of development of skills and language.

1. It is advisable to start the reading aloud sessions for a child from an early age. Start with picture books and phonic sounds. Make the child read the word and study the picture, this way he learns to develop connection with words.

2. Story telling sessions by parents for younger kids work as a foundation stone for reading aloud sessions.

3. Reading aloud practice starts with you reading aloud to your child.

4. In the early stage of reading aloud session, start with you reading a sentence aloud first and making your child repeat it after you.

5. Making use of phonic sound and phonic syllables can be really helpful for better understanding of words for a child.

6. If your child finds it difficult to read out a sentence, then reading in chorus can help him improve.

7. Once a child gets better with the reading aloud technique, challenge him with new books, which are little more complex than the previous ones.

8. Make it a point to read the story in a grammatical way, like pausing and continuing if there is a comma or a full stop. Try and show excitement on exclamations and include a sigh at sad parts of the story.

9. Reading aloud sessions should be followed by the idea of speaking aloud your ideas and opinion about the passage. It is where you discuss out on the certain idea of the passage where a child can learn in-depth new words, concepts and new theories.

10. A parent or a teacher needs to be patient with a child during a read aloud session. Sometimes a child may have doubts of his own surrounding to a particular idea or an ending of a story. He may have several questions regarding it. A parent can encourage a child to come up with his or her own version of ending. His or her efforts should be appreciated and the doubts surrounding a particular idea should be resolved. 

Story Writings Tips for Students

Stories have always been an important part of our growing up. Don't everyone of us have a beautiful story, a fascinating tale or an unforgettable memory to tell which relates to those amazing nights of our growing up. Be it an adventure tale, a fairy tale, a ghost story or even a short moral story, stories never fail to amaze us. When we hear a good story, we are thrilled and that, my dear friend can happen to people of any age group. Hence stories are thoroughly enjoyed only when they are told in a way that is engaging and interesting. Be it a fiction or a true tale, the story is enjoyable or engrossing depending on how it is written or how it is told. And hence it is very important to tell or write a good story.

Story writing is an art, which anyone can adept, provided story writing tips are followed. Story writing tips are important  for school kids. Usually for story writing, school students are provided with points related to the story. Students have to write a story based on the points provided to them. Here are few story writing tips that can help you write a good story.

Top Six Story Writing Tips for Students

Read and Follow the Outline

Before writing a story, it is very important to read the outline of the story. Once you read the story outline, make sure you get an clear idea of the story plot before you start writing the story. Understand the story plot and follow the outline carefully. Do not miss a single point that is been provided to you.

Connect the Points

Once the points are read and understood, it is important to connect the points in your head to get an idea how the story would be written. While connecting the points to make a story, remember to connect the points in a way that the story would sound natural and real. Do not omit a single point from the story that is to be written. Omitting a point would disconnect the story from the rest of the points.

Use your Imagination

It is important for students while writing a story to include all the points provided. But those are just few points, rest is all on the students to fill in the missing details. These missing details can be filled by coming up with something imaginary which they can freely use in the story. The students have total freedom of come up with whatever they feel can help them connect the points and write a good story. Imagination plays a greater role while composing a story by using a bare outline that has been provided.

Making Use of Direct Speech

A story can become interesting if direct speech is introduced in it. A student can use every tool to make the story interesting and enjoyable for its audience. So introducing conversation in a story can be a good idea and thus making use of direct speech can help the story look and sound natural. Remember if direct speech is not what you are planning to use in the story you are about to write, then ensure that the story is written in past tense.

Conclude Interestingly

Whenever we hear or read a story, we always await the ending or conclusion. If a story doesn't end up brilliantly then it is not a good story. The ending of a story has to be striking. Try and make the ending interesting by adding a surprise element. A story can have a happy ending or an ending with strong moral, but it has to be written with a twist or a surprise.

Give a Proper Title

Sometimes a story outline is provided for students to write a good story and also to come up with a suitable title. A student should come up with a title that suits the story perfectly. This title could include either the main characters of the story or one can use an object or incident included in the story as a perfect title. Use of proverbs or saying or even morals work as a good idea for the title.  

Report Writing Tips for Students

Every student must know how to write a report skillfully. It is a must for each and every level of schooling and higher grades of education. Education boards introduce report writing in the school curriculum to test the communication skills of a child and thus eradicate rote learning. A adept report written by a student demonstrates his learning skills and command over the language. Students usually bound themselves with fear of report writing, but once they get the knack of it, then they may find report writing as easy as a simple narrative essay. So let us start learning with the basic principles of report writing and understand how to begin writing a good report.

Principles of Report Writing

One cannot say that there are any mentioned hard and fast rules for report writing. Hence students can expect lots of flexibility which would be accepted in terms of how one writes a report. A student can write a report as he wishes, but all he needs to do is include some important points which will ensure qualitative output when writing a report.

1. The first and the foremost point a student should remember is the opening statement which is nothing but brief summary of the whole report.

2. The events that are mentioned in the report should be arranged in a logical order rather than sequential order.

3. Try and be precise and use of simple language works well.

4. Repetitions of facts should be avoided. The facts mentioned should be brief yet comprehensive.

5. A good report includes condensed details, critical thinking and lucid adjectives.

Characteristics of a Good Report

A good report on whatever subject or level it may be, for school submissions or for work purposes should have these eight important characteristics which makes it a good. These eight characteristics of a good report are

1. Fresh Presentation - The report that you are planning to write on whichever subject and on whichever level should have a fresh appeal to it.

2. Outstanding Originality -  A good report is when the content of the report sound original and exceptionally good.

3. Appetizing Style - The style and manner in which the report is written should be impressive and engrossing. The content within the report should be equally interesting.

4. Lively and Lucid Language - Usage of vivid adjectives, brief yet comprehensive details, perceptive writing and energetic output are all important features of a good report.

5. Appealing to Human Interest - A report is considered to be good, if it is found interesting and appealing to a reader.

6. Factual Content - The content used within a report should do complete justice to the subject on which it is written. It should be factual and should remain pertaining to it.

7. Well Organized - The content of a good report has to be organized very well, preferably in a sensible order.

8. Grammatically Correct - Usage of proper grammar, punctuation and spellings should be given utmost importance while writing a report. A good report should be error free.

How to Begin a Report

Once a student understands the principles and characteristics of a good report, then all remains is the way one should begin a report. The beginning of a report is the most important part of a good report. This is where a reader or the examiner is going to sum up a judgement on how he would find the rest of the report and whether he should continue reading or put it aside. So let us learn how to begin a report.

Selection of the Topic

Before you begin to write a report, the most important thing one has to do is go through all the topics that are provided and select the one topic carefully for which which you have at least a bit of an understanding. Select a topic which you can associate yourself to or you have interest or experience to some extent. 

Jot Down Relevant Points

You have obviously selected a topic which you have some interest in or can associate yourself with. So get down to work by jotting out all the points or events that come to your head related to the topic on a rough paper. Remember you need to write down these points as these are flow of thoughts which come and pass by; and when you don't note them down they may just disappear when you really want them.

Arrange Points in Logical Order

Once you have made a rough note of all the points relevant to the subject, start putting them in an order to make sense. Roughly arrange these points in a manner on how and when you wish to use them. This way, once you start writing your report your focus is clear on how you are going to begin the report and how you will start including these points throughout the report. 

Make it Interesting

Make sure that you arrange and present these points in your report in such a manner that they make it an interesting read. As mentioned earlier the first paragraph of the report is the cream of the whole report, hence make sure that you write about the most important points or facts in the beginning. Rest of the points should be included in the second and the third paragraphs. But make sure that these points too should be important and relevant to the first point. 

Ask Yourself 

While writing a report, you should ask yourself few questions such as, 'what?', 'who?', 'why?', 'when?' 'where?' and 'how?'. Now see that you try and answer all these questions in your report. That is finally the whole purpose of writing a report where one has to provide details of a particular event or a fact. So these questions need to be answered. However it is not necessary that you may need to answer all the question in every report, finally it depends upon the topic. You need to analyse which questions relate to the topic you selected and act accordingly. 

Go With the Flow

Once everything is clear to you about how you are to start with the report writing format, you begin writing the first paragraph of the report. This is the only difficult part of the report writing. Once you get done with the first paragraph, you ease yourself and get into the flow of thoughts. Thus the next paragraphs set in, as it gets easier with the amount of rough homework that you carried out in the beginning of the report writing.

Don't Drag the Ending

The report which starts out interesting in the beginning may go a bit slow towards the end. This usually happens when we are not thoroughly prepared with the logical sequence of the points. Once you know how to start and how to end, there is nothing that would stop you from writing a good report. But always remember something that you started on an interesting note has to end in the similar manner.