Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day

The 10th anniversary of Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day is on February 24, 2011. Can you help?

And don't forget, budding young engineers would love the Discovery Toys Qubits construction set.

Two models of Parenting

"I got two A's," the small boy said.
His voice was filled with glee.
His father rather bluntly asked,
"Why didn't you get three?"

"Mom, I've got the dishes done,
the girl called from the door.
Her mother rather calmly said,
"And did you sweep the floor?"

"I mowed the grass," the tall boy said,
"And put the mower away."
His father asked him with a shrug,
"And did you clean off the clay?"

The children in the house next door
Seemed happy and content.
The same things happened over there,
But this is how it went:

"I got two A's," the small boy said.
His voice was filled with glee.
His father proudly said, "That's great;
I'm glad you belong to me."

"Mom, I've got the dishes done,"
the girl called from the door.
Her mother smiled and softly said,
"Each day I love you more.

"I've mowed the grass," the tall boy said,
"And put the mower away."
His father answered with much joy,
"Thanks so much, that makes my day."

Children deserve a little praise
For tasks they're asked to do.
If they're to lead a happy life,
A lot depends on you.

~ unknown

Were Dean Kamen & Obama comparing notes?

President Obama, in his State of the Union address Tuesday night, took a page right out of Dean Kamen's playbook when he said:

The quality of our math and science education lags behind many other nations. America has fallen to ninth in the proportion of young people with a college degree. And so the question is whether all of us –- as citizens, and as parents –- are willing to do what’s necessary to give every child a chance to succeed.

That responsibility begins not in our classrooms, but in our homes and communities. It’s family that first instills the love of learning in a child. Only parents can make sure the TV is turned off and homework gets done. We need to teach our kids that it’s not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair. (Applause.) We need to teach them that success is not a function of fame or PR, but of hard work and discipline.

Dean Kamen, founder of FIRST Robotics and inventor of the Segway and dozens of other cool things, has said we elevate sports stars to the level of hero, but why not scientists who make significant contributions to society? "You have teenagers thinking they're going to make millions as NBA stars when that's not realistic for even 1 percent of them. Becoming a scientist or engineer is."

In November 2009, the President remarked in a speech that "scientists and engineers ought to stand side by side with athletes and entertainers as role models, and here at the White House we’re going to lead by example. We’re going to show young people how cool science can be."

I'm all in favor of encouraging kids in math and science. If we don't, our economy is likely to slip even further. I'm not talking about cockeyed schemes of financial engineering. I'm talking about encouraging our kids to pursue careers in science and technology that can find a cure for cancer, make us less dependent on fossil fuels, free us up to invent useful services, or create machines that enrich our lives. In order to design and build those machines, a child first needs to have built things like Marbleworks, needs to have learned to think logically and strategically by playing games like Tactico, to be able to put the left half of a puzzle together with the right half, to have put red ball in the red hole of Hammer Away, to be able to match one pattern to another in Think-it-Through Tiles, to follow schematics like those in Motor Works. It all begins in the earliest days of life when the learning process is set in motion and the connections in the brain are rapidly developing. Parents begin by introducing stories, songs, toys that stimulate the senses and eventually get down on the floor to play with their kids. Every family should be encouraged to have the kinds of toys that foster that kind of interaction: low-tech, high kid-involvement, healthy playthings, such as those offered by Discovery Toys. If you wait until your child is school-age, you will have missed the boat. Won't you instill the love of learning in your child today?

Additional 15% off Discovery Toys Winter Sale

That's right! Discovery Toys is offering, in addition to our Winter Sale, TODAY ONLY, an extra 15% off the 26 items in our sale. Email me to order billietoy@gmail.com or visit my e-commerce site Discovery Toys page before midnight tonight!

Discovery Toys $75 kit -- join today

There's never been a better time to join us in our mission to teach.play.inspire. every child.

Visit me at www.discoverytoyslink.com/billieelias
and click on Enroll Now.


click on image to enlarge

Discovery Toys on sale in January 2011, part 2

See next entry for more on sale!
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Shop Here

Discovery Toys on sale in January 2011, part 1

click on image to enlarge
shop here

Scott Stringer's education survey

Many of my readers are parents, and many of them reside in New York City. If you are in that demographic and have a child in NYC public schools, I urge you to take a quick minute to respond to Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer's online survey. He wrote:

"With new leadership of our New York City public schools, my office is eager to hear what parents, guardians, students, principals and teachers think should be the top priorities over the next three years for the Department of Education. To get the conversation started, my office has launched a virtual town hall, "Your School, Your Voice."

After clicking the link below, you will be asked to answer four questions and share some basic demographic information. You will have an opportunity to provide additional feedback prior to submitting your responses. All information will be kept anonymous.

Click here to participate in this virtual town hall: “Your School, Your Voice.”

If you thought Black Friday was good....

Cyber Monday: take 20% off these 20 toys. November 29, 2010 only.

Black Friday is Free Friday!

Get a free toy when you spend $55 or more at my website on "Black Friday" November 26, 2010

Pearl of Wisdom #44

"I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy."

-Rabindranath Tagore, philosopher, author, songwriter, painter, educator, composer, Nobel
laureate (1861-1941)

Learning to learn

My grandmother seemed to know instinctively, although she wasn't formally educated, that attending classical music concerts when she was carrying my father in utero, was a worthwhile endeavor. It must have been beneficial to his brain development, because although he was the firstborn (which we all know gives a child an edge) he also went on to be the first person in his family to attend college, and the first to earn a PhD.

Tom Limbert wrote an article about what parents can do to prepare their child for the earliest days of school. Beyond color, number and letter recognition, he talks about social skills, knowing how to listen, take turns, be resilient. I hope our government officials read Mr. Limbert's article. I hope that parents read Mr. Limbert's article. Society will soon need to recognize the importance of the very earliest years and the impact that parenting has on the most critical time of a child's development. Moms & Dads, if you're waiting for school to do the teaching, you will have let tens of thousands of hours of teaching moments slip by. We each need to make sure that our homes are loving, nurturing environments, enriched with materials that foster the natural learning that takes place when parents interact with their children.

There are some wonderful Discovery Toys games that can aid in this effort. You'll want to consider games and activities that help your child think and learn how to learn, not just memorize facts. Play games that teach your child to take turns, be patient, follow instructions. Busy Pets and Short Vowel Fun are simple 3-year old beginning games. Zingo and AB Seas are good for 4-year olds. Friendship Island and Flip Flop Faces Emotions in Motion (now in French, too!) are both good for associating feelings with the words that describe them.

Discovery Toys announces Holiday shipping cut-off dates

HOLIDAY ORDERING GUIDELINES
This information is to assist your holiday planning.

Hanukkah Ordering Guidelines
(Hanukkah begins at sundown on December 1)

Orders Shipping Ground must be received in-house by Wednesday, November 17

Christmas Ordering Guidelines
(Christmas is Saturday, December 25)

Orders Shipping Ground must be received in-house by Monday, December 13

• Ground orders placed December 13 shipping to AB, BC, MB, ON, PQ and SK are targeted to arrive on Thursday, December 23.
• Allow additional delivery days for AK, HI, Territories, APO/FPO and P.O. Boxes
• Short term backorder situations can impact arrival dates

Discovery Toys October/November specials

Click on each of these specials to enlarge the image.

We have something special for our party hostesses, for their guests and for all of our customers!

Brain-on Learning (not hands-on)

Discovery Toys has always suggested playing with your children; it's the best investment you can make. But, it's not every high school that will have this kind of investment:

"After its expected completion in July 2011, students at the renowned
Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy will be able to move from their
cramped 900-square-foot shop into the $6 million, 12,000-square-foot
building."

Read the full article on how this community is helping students understand themselves instead of solely memorizing facts, or "brain-on learning."