When you’re trying to teach your kid about the importance of saving the earth and protecting the environment for future generations, it can be worthwhile making the subject a little more interesting to them by relating the topic to cars, and in particular, hybrid cars.

There’s a short answer to your child’s predictable question of whether hybrid cars are better for the environment – which is simply a resounding “yes”. But as with most things in life, it’s a little more complicated than that in practice. Hybrid cars certainly reduce emissions of harmful substances to a significant degree – which is what we’re really interested in. When compared to a conventional petrol engine car, hybrid cars reduce harmful emissions by around 70% to 90% of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and Nitrogen Oxide (NOx). Also, most electric petrol hybrid cars reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25% compared to an equivalent petrol only car.

So what complications are there? Well the manufacturing process to produce hybrid cars is a little more complex and environmentally damaging substances such as NOx are increased. Also, purchase prices are still generally higher for hybrids than for
conventional cars. Although this may change over time, it remains an
undisputable fact at present. “What’s this got to do with the environment?” I hear you ask. Well, nothing directly, but if a consumer has paid significantly more for
his/her vehicle, then there is the possibility that the same individual will seek cost savings in other consumption to make up the difference – choices which may not be as environmentally friendly perhaps.

This is something of a moot point, however, and hybrid cars are undoubtedly the superior choice for today’s green thinking motorist. There are, of course, even more environmentally-friendly options available like not owning a car at all, or choosing a purely electrically powered vehicle, but practicalities dictate that for most of us – the hybrid is the most realistic current “green”option.

If you’re trying to get your child interested in comedy, you may sometimes feel that you’re fighting a bit of an uphill battle. For us adults more interested in watching reeves and Mortimer than telling jokes that appeal to youngsters, it isn’t always easy to make humour appeal to both adults and children at the same time.

However, with a little bit of creative thinking and effort, it is possible to make your child interested in the world of comedy.

The first place to start is by providing your child with a glimpse into the real world of comedy. When it comes to educating kids, we all know that showing is much better than just telling. Show your kids science in the making by taking them to an interactive science museum can reap far more dividends than sitting them down with a textbook. The same rule applies to comedy. You can find comedy venues across the country that put on special shows for kids. Even the world-famous Edinburgh Festival Fringe now books comedians who appeal to a younger demographic, while a couple of venues in central London also do the same.

If you can’t afford tickets for comedy shows at the moment, have a search online for the best methods of making up comedy games for children. There are plenty of videos on sites like YouTube that show how to do improv comedy with kids.

If that sounds a little too active for you, how about sitting your kids down on a wet, windy Sunday afternoon and showing them a few comedy classic films? A few good choices include ‘Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure’ and ‘Night at the Museum’.

One final tip to remember at all times when trying to interest your child in comedy is never to patronise them; kids are inquisitive, curious beings who don’t deserve to have their interest in comedy restricted by knock knock jokes!

Geography is one of the most interesting subjects expecially for kids. So I am after such Geography games for kids that will help them to learn and build on their knowledge of the world around them. From stepping out of their front door, to learning about lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena on the Earth, different countries, culture, foods, environment and different ways of living.

It must be namely game which let them learning through playing to get the most effective way to understand and remember information and helping your child to learn about the world we live in.

I’ve found something like
Miss Weather Dress-Up Set os the game for children who are just learning about the thrill of color forms. The larger pieces make it possible for young hands to peel back the pictures “all by myself.” It also teaches children about choosing clothes based on the weather outside–an activity that preschoolers don’t always like to cooperate with.

Learning Resources World Treasure Hunt Map
This product is for older children and I do not recommend any of the small parts to be given to your toddler, but this is an item that will grow with your child. For you toddler this huge vinyl floor mat is sure to get your child interested in world geography. Colorful and sturdy, the 6′ x 4′ wipe-clean mat is large enough for children to stand or sit on, and can be hung as a decoration when not in use.

Spin & Discover Globe

The Spin & Discover Globe is designed with your littlest explorer in mind. It spins easily with tiny hands and keeps baby learning with animals that press, turn and spin on their home continents.

Bounce with a kangaroo. Swing with a monkey. Or fly around the world again and again in baby’s own airplane are all fun activities for toddlers, and the Spin & Discover Globe gives little globetrotters lessons in colors, animals, animal sounds, and music.

Crocodile Creek “World of Animals” Placemat
Your child will learn about world geography, map reading and animals indigenous to each continent with the World Animal Map by Crocodile Creek. The illustrations are beautiful on this sturdy placemat. Cleaning is easy; just wipe with a damp rag or sponge. The mat measures 11″” by 17″”-plenty of room for eating and large enough to read the map easily.

Seasons Puzzle Set
Puzzles are always great fun activities for toddlers, and you can teach the seasons of the year with these beautiful illustrated puzzles that are made to last. Each picture shows in detail how the weather changes and the appropriate clothes to wear for that season.

Today learning one or another subjects you use, of course, various video materials you need for. Starting to learn something I check out you tube sourse as well for the videos by the theme I need. For instance this is very helpful video – How to learn mathematics where you can get the main ways to understanding the subject.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRwfoyD1v_8&w=640&h=390]

It’s some thoughts on how to learn mathematics, that should also be relevant for this course in Rational Trigonometry and Geometry. The basic idea: `Mathematics is a landscape’. So learning mathematics is not that different from becoming knowledgable about an unfamiliar city or terrain. This is a short break from our usual thread of rational trigonometry!

This video is a part of the WildTrig series, then, no doubt, it’s worth to browse all of them.

1. Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
With more than 20 college campuses set within six-mile radius, there’s little doubt that history-rich, pub-fueled Boston and Cambridge make for great twin college towns (just the Charles River sets the two apart). But Harvard University, in Cambridge, is in a league of its own (and we’re not just talking about the Ivy here).

2. Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, R.I.
Artists and creative souls will surely find inspiration during a visit to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). It is, after all, the country’s leading arts school (dating back to 1877) and artworks (murals, sculptures, mosaics, and more) are heavily displayed throughout the campus (coordinate your visit with one of the annual alumni art fairs, or pop into the RISD|works store to browse original pieces that you can purchase and take home).

3. Sewanee: The University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn.
The latest student survey from the Princeton Review awarded Sewanee: The University of the South (founded 1857) the top spot in the “Most Beautiful Campus” category, and we have to agree. The massive 13,000-acre campus, collectively known as “the Domain,” encompasses the university’s buildings and the town of Sewanee, Tennessee – set 55 miles outside of Chattanooga – as well as large tracts of the surrounding countryside.

4. Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif.
Spanning 8,180 generous acres, Stanford is much more than just your run-of-the-mill college campus – it’s a self-sustaining community, complete with power plant, water system, post office, lakes, and countless picturesque paths. Designed by Central Park-planner Frederick Law Olmstead in 1891, Stanford (located about 30 miles south of San Francisco) attracts more than 150,000 visitors each year who come for tailored, hour-long walking and golf cart tours that cover the campus’s many wonders.

5. Tulane University, New Orleans
Prestigious Tulane University (established 1834) draws a crowd – and for more than just students in search of an esteemed education (in fact, it received more student applications in 2010 than any other U.S. university). Its Uptown campus, set along New Orleans’s streetcar-plowed St. Charles Avenue and opposite lush Audubon Park, welcomes visitors through the neo-Romanesque-style Gibson Hall (dating to 1894, it’s the oldest building on site – stop at its Admissions Center for visitor info or to sign up for a guided tour) to a college campus that covers more than 110 acres speckled with majestic oaks, some 80 architecturally eclectic buildings, and countless complimentary diversions.

7. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Jocks and bookworms equally delight in the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus (set 33 miles west of Detroit), home to both the country’s largest football stadium and old-world-style libraries (along with other structures) that feel plucked straight from the pages of Harry Potter.

8. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.
Not many universities can say they were conceived and designed – from campus construction down to the first curriculum – by one of our nation’s founding fathers and a former president. Yet from the founding of the University of Virginia in 1819 (it’s located in Charlottesville, about 100 miles south of D.C.), Thomas Jefferson had his hands in just about everything.

9. University of Washington, Seattle
Visit downtown Seattle’s University of Washington during the fall football season and you’re in for a tailgating treat: One of two universities in the country where you can tailgate on a boat (the University of Tennessee is the other), a floating community of die-hard Husky fans glides over Puget Sound and Lake

10. Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
There are few more storied centers for higher education than Yale University, whose 300-plus-year history has enlivened its quintessential New England hometown of New Haven, Connecticut (set at a crossroads between Boston and New York City), and turned out some of society’s most successful upper-crust echelons (four of the last six U.S. presidents hold Yale degrees).

Easter eggs! Easter eggs!
Hidden all away;
Let’s go find our Easter eggs,
On this Easter Day.

One of the oldest Easter symbols in the world is the egg. The oval shape of the egg was the same shape for a raindrop and a seed. The egg itself promises new life as in spring, birds, and many other animals are hatched from eggs. In fact, the Persians, Hindus and Egyptians believed that the world began with a single egg. In ancient China, Rome and Greece, eggs were given as springtime gifts.

In Polland and Russia, hours are spent on drawing intricate designs on Easter eggs. In England, members of the royal families gave each other gold-covered eggs as Easter gifts in the middle ages. The most famous Easter egg decorator was Peter Carl Faberge. He designed eggs from gold, silver and other precious gems for kings of Europe and czars of Russia.

These eggs are priceless now and can only be found in museums and private collections. In early America, children decorated their eggs by using dyes made from natural materials like fruit and leave coloring.

It’s very interesting and helpful video which explains visually certain complex things – what is time.
[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OFThORmR-s"]

Have you ever thought why every year, the Day, Feb. 14, people across the world are presenting their loved ones with candy, flowers, chocolates and other lovely gifts. In many countries loving couples celebrate affection and love. Dont you know that the actual reason which stay behind all of this fuss and buss is a kindly cleric named Valentine who died more than a thousand years ago.

The story of St. Valentine has several different versions. In short, according to the legend, Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II. Claudius was impressed by Valentine, and attempted to convince him to convert to Roman paganism.

When Claudius II met Valentine, he was said to have been impressed by the dignity and conviction of the latter. However, Valentine refused to agree with the emperor regarding the ban on marriage. It is also said that the emperor tried to convert Valentine to the Roman gods but was unsuccesful in his efforts. Valentine refused to recognize Roman Gods and even attempted to convert the emperor, knowing the consequences fully. This angered Claudius II who gave the order of execution of Valentine.

Meanwhile, a deep friendship had been formed between Valentine and Asterius’ daughter. It caused great grief to the young girl to hear of his friend’s imminent death. It is said that just before his execution, Valentine asked for a pen and paper from his jailor, and signed a farewell message to her “From Your Valentine,” a phrase that lived ever after. As per another legend, Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his jailer during his imprisonment. However, this legend is not given much importance by historians. The most plausible story surrounding St. Valentine is one not centered on Eros (passionate love) but on agape (Christian love): he was martyred for refusing to renounce his religion. Valentine is believed to have been executed on February 14, 270 AD.

The earliest surviving Valentine is a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was being held in the Tower of London after his capture during the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. “I am already weathered of love (sick of love), my very sweet Valentine.”

Since that over the centuries, the holiday evolved, and by the 18th century, gift-giving and exchanging hand-made cards on Valentine’s Day had become common in England. Hand-made valentine cards made of lace, ribbons, and featuring cupids and hearts eventually spread to the American colonies. The tradition of Valentine’s cards did not become widespread in the United States, however, until the 1850s, when Esther A. Howland, a Mount Holyoke graduate and native of Worcester, Mass., began mass-producing them. Today, of course, the holiday has become a booming commercial success. According to the Greeting Card Association, 25% of all cards sent each year are valentines.

[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v_dKVh2tA4"]

This video shows how to display in three-dimensions, earthquake data associated with an active subduction zone. These visualizations are useful when trying to understand the geometries of plate boundaries.

Here’s the link to the USGS site where you can download earthquake data : http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/epic/