Environment guide

Where do I start?

Always start with the essentials. If you intend using the cell phone in the car it is important to purchase a hands free car kit. In many states it is illegal to drive while on the cell phone unless you have the car kit or ear piece installed. Pricing will vary depending on the manufacturer but of all the accessories this is the most important and could be a life saver to you and other road users.

Leather covers are a good protective for your cell phone screen and I urge any person who works in the building industry or similar to purchase a cover. Just like a watch face your cell phone face will scratch and crack quite easily and especially for those who carry their phones while doing manual labour.

Cell phone keypads are ideal to protect the actual buttons on the cell phone. Once again they are not very expensive and are ideal for manual workers. They are simple to install but check with the cell phone manufacturer just in case they have recommendations.

Antenna’s or boosters are ideal for people who travel such as sales people or any person for that matter who travels from state to sate. Different area’s have different signal strengths and remote regions tend to have a poor signal. The booster is cheap and can help with the signal and stop the annoyance of dropped calls.

For Fun

If you are looking for cell phone accessories for fun you have plenty to choose from. Changing face plates is very popular and not expensive to do. There are endless amounts of face plates to buy from exotic colors to movie themes etc.

Ringtones are by far the most popular accessory to add to your cell phone. The ringtone industry is as large as the actual cell phone industry. Be careful when choosing ringtones, once you sign up to download many companies do not tell you that you need to unsubscribe if you do not wish for any more downloads to be sent. Each download is accompanied with a price and if you forget to unsubscribe you could be in for an unwanted expense. Apart from that ringtones are fun and ever changing.

Can you only buy brand named accessories?

All cell phone manufacturers will recommend their own brand accessories but shop around. You will find equal quality third party brands. Remember some of the well known cell phone manufacturers have these third party companies make their accessories only to badge it as their product.

Cell phone batteries:

It is always a good idea to have a second battery on stand by. Batteries do not last forever and many people get caught out when their battery fails to charge. A spare battery is ideal if you are using your cell phone as your main point of contact or if you simply cannot do without your cell phone on a daily basis.

Can you get third party batteries?

Yes you can but of all accessories I do not recommend buying third party batteries unless recommended to you from a friend who has tried it. They be up to 30% cheaper than the branded types.

Data Cables

Cell phones today are becoming more and more like computers with all the different functions available. You can upload your phone information such as notes or photos to your home computer but you do need a link or data cable to do so. Data cables are not expensive but are generally forgotten about until the last minute.

Overview

Accessories are widely available on the Internet and you can expect to get good discounts online. Remember to check with the manufacturer of the cell phone for recommendations on products such as car kits and antenna’s etc but you will be wish to compare prices with the third party companies who will offer similar products with equivalent warranties.]]>

When William the Conqueror, conquered England in 1066, his armies quickly erected wooden palisades (a fence of stakes or iron railings forming an enclosure or defence) establishing a presence in the former Saxon kingdoms. Many of these fortresses were constructed on sites that had previously been fortified in pre-Roman times, then by the Romans themselves and lastly by the Saxons who established the first kingdoms there.

As times became less turbulent and settled, the Normans became integrated into every day life and were eventually accepted by the local populace. These wooden palisades slowly began to disappear, to be replaced with stone. Any new fortifications built from that time onward were constructed entirely from stone.

In Europe, this manifested into a design consisting of a single tower and outer buildings.

In the mountains there was no shortage of rocky hilltops on which to build these new bastions. In the lower lying areas, however, islands and peninsulas were much sought after for their ease of defence.

In the British Isles the Normans began to dig ditches to create a small hill or mound when one couldn’t be found to build on. These mounds became the first “motte and bailey” castles, some of which were built on top of old Iron Age hill forts.

A “motte” was the conical hill of dirt that was built as the main defence for the “keep”, which was were the Lord and his family resided and sought refuge whilst trying to govern their surrounding territory. The keep was basically a tower with one room per floor and usually contained 3 to 4 floors.

Later, a walled area known as a “bailey” began to appear around the keep with another at the base of the motte. Its function was to help protect the keep’s support functions which grew up around the original tower: grain storage, wood and metal workshops, military barracks, wells, chapels and sometimes a garden or a great hall where formal functions and meetings were held.

Over the intervening years, the design and style of British castles would appear in various forms throughout the castle building era.

Eventually, the motte itself began to be replaced with stone and a new style of British castle began to appear. These castles were built without the motte altogether. The tower keep, however, remained.

The ditch that had separated the “motte” from the bailey became a moat (a deep, wide defensive ditch surrounding a castle or town), either dry or stone-lined, or filled with water from a nearby river or lake. These Moats became a significant part of the castles design.

In the 12th century, the Crusaders began their travels to the Middle East in the name of god, encountered a differing style of castle to that which they had become accustomed to. One of the most popular style of castles encountered had curtain walls with mural towers: palisades but with towers along its length from which to fire on attackers. This developed into concentric walls, giving the besieging army multiple obstacles to overcome just to get into the castle. The tower keep sometimes became part of the wall in this type of fortification.

The advent of gunpowder and the development in weaponry, i.e. muskets and cannon from the 13th to 15th century, saw the rapid decline in the importance of building castles for defence, and yet again, another change in design. Castles had to be built with thicker and thicker walls. Eventually, evolution caught up. Not being able to keep abreast of technological advancements in fire power of the era, the defensive capability of these great castles was severely diminished, causing them to become obsolete.

In the 18th and 19th century British castles were built for very different reasons. The Aristocracy, who were nostalgic for the past, had the most wonderful and splendid castles built for their pleasure. The most passionate of these builders was (Mad King) Ludwig of Bavaria in the 19th century and his fairytale castle - Neuschwanstein.

I hope you enjoyed The Evolution of the British Castle – A short history

If you want to find out about more of the histories that lie behind some of Europe’s most picturesque, mysterious and notorious castles? Unravelling the legends and myths behind some of their most celebrated and not so renowned castles in a voyage of discovery and adventure…!

Then pay a visit to my website at Guide to Castles of Europe.

There you will discover the history and myths of some of Europe’s most famous castles: Windsor Castle, TheTower of London, Dracula’s Castle and Blarney Castle (the home of the Blarney stone) to name a few.

I look forward to sharing in your experiences and discoveries that you have made from your journeys around Europe, visiting her many picturesque and unique Castles. Send me a message with your tales and I will post them on my website, so that the world can discover these hidden treasures too.

Best wishes and have a great day!

Stuart Bazga

© 2005 by guide-to-castles-of-europe.com. All rights reserved.

You may copy or redistribute this article in its entirety including all links]]>

There are many misconceptions about homeschools. Some people think that children who are homeschooled miss out
on socialization, learning opportunities and that their parents are radicals. More often than not, soccer moms start homeschools. The average homeschooling parent has
a college degree and is simply looking for a better way of education their children.

There are many methods that parents can choose from when starting a homeschool. The methods include eclectic, Charlotte Mason, Christian, classical, Montessori, unit studies, natural learning and Waldorf education. It may take a parent or child a year or more to decide which category they fall into. Many parents find that they take the eclectic method approach because they can combine several methods to teach their children.

The Charlotte Mason method is defined as an applied philosophy, which is individualized by the family to best suit their child. Charlotte Mason stated, "The duty of parents is to sustain a child’s inner life with ideas as they sustain his body with food." Ideas children have are as important as the lessons found in books. Lessons are kept short and children learn by doing activities and by reciting what they have learned back to the teacher. There is no grading or competition in this type of homeschool. This method also focuses on humanities, unedited literature and a favorite of all children, free afternoons with no homework.

The Christian method is simply teaching children classically but with emphasis on teaching Christian moral values. This method is a favorite among parents that don’t want to send their children to parochial schools but don’t approve of public schools that appear to be anti-Christian.

The Montessori method builds on each previous lesson so that a student masters each aspect of their education before moving onto the next. This is also a form of child-led education. The three principles of a Montessori education are observation, individual liberty and preparation of the environment.

The Unit Studies method used in homeschools integrates all school subjects into one theme or topic. For example, if a child shows particular interest in butterflies then all aspects of schooling could be applied to this unit; math, science, English and history.

The Natural learning method is child-led learning. The child’s interests determine which direction the learning will take. This doesn’t mean that the child designs the curriculum; rather you can expand upon topics of special interest when teaching.

The Waldorf education method is gaining in popularity in homeschools. Its basic tenets are to balance academic subjects with artistic and practical activities. It also teaches that children should enjoy learning and there is no need for competitive testing and grading. Central to the teaching are classes, which are considered expendable by public schools. These include music, art, gardening and foreign languages. Children also learn practical activities such as knitting, toy making and sewing.

Families that are just starting their homeschools are going to have fun deciding which method best suits each individual child. Parents may choose one method for a child and a different method for a second child. Each child learns differently and that is the beauty of homeschooling children.

To stay abreast of the current trends, information and resources available for homeschool parents, teachers and students subscribe to Homeschool Success News.

If you need an online tutor, courseware or wish to offer your services as a paid online tutor contact our TutorBug website

Magic Learning Systems also provides excellent products to enhance the homeschool experience for teachers and students.

Dr. J. Elisha Burke
Editor, Homeschool Success Newsletter
jeb@homeschooltutorpro.com

Copyright 2005 Burke Publications All Rights Reserved
]]>

In a natural scenario, the conception of a baby occurs when the ovum, travels from the ovaries, through the fallopian tube to be fertilized by the sperm of the father during sexual intercourse. From this point on, the fertilized egg will travel down towards the uterus and during the process division of cells will occur until it reaches its final destination at the wall of the uterus. However, in the cases of block fallopian tubes, the eggs are unable to travel from the ovaries to the uterus and conception cannot happen.

Developed in the United Kingdom by Dr. Patrick Steptoe and Dr. Robert Edwards, the process of in-vitro fertilization involves removing eggs from the ovaries of the mother and combining them with the sperm of the father in a lab environment. The fertilized egg is then placed back into the uterus of the mother after 3 to 5 days and will remain there to grow till birth. Because of the low success pregnancy rate of this procedure, a few eggs are placed in the uterus to increase the odds of success. With this process, statistics have shown that the rates of multiple births have increased where 24 percent of the in-vitro fertilization births have produced twins.

The first test-tube baby, Louise Brown, who was born on the 25th July 1978, marked hope for other infertile couples to have a baby through this procedure. However, many others were concerned about the ethical issues surround this. One major area of concern was the fact that as the egg is located outside the womb for a few days while the cells multiplied before being put back inside the uterus, the health issues affecting this baby is unknown. Indeed, research has been shown that test-tube babies have a higher chance of birth defects and low birth weight, and researchers still have not been able to determine the reason for this.

Other issue of concern is that through this procedure, some of the eggs fertilized in the lab are later discarded. Does this procedure mean that the researchers are actually killing potential people? How is the line drawn in this case?

Then there is also the issue of commercial opportunities for eggs and sperms to be bought and surrogate wombs to be rented with the purpose of creating babies. This process of embryo transfer to another mother, not necessarily the same woman who had provided the eggs, is known as placing the embryo in a gestational carrier. This procedure has been becoming increasingly common through technological advancement, which has made couples including women with uterus problems, have a chance in having their baby.

Test-tube babies have really brought changes to the way in which babies are conceived and have given much hope to many who have had problems having babies through the process of . However, the downside of this are the ethical issues behind the procedure, with which still poses a big question mark and with which is still opposed by many factions.For more details on cell,

molecular and human biology

please visit http://www.biology-online.org/tutorials/1_cell_biology.htm]]>

One of the most famous events at Lancaster castle was the Pendle Witch trials of 1612. During the reign of King James I, he passed laws which forbid any act of “making a covenant with an evil spirit, hurting life or limb, injuring live stock by means of charms or procuring love”. All of these acts were subject to the death penalty.

The trial was centred on two families in which five of their members were accused (Elizabeth Southern, Anne Whittle, Ann Redfern, Elizabeth Device and Alison and James Device). Another five from the same locality (Jane Bulcock and her son John, Alice Grey, Alice Nutter and Katherine Hewitt) also stood accused. While awaiting trial, 80 year old Elizabeth Southern passed away in her cell.

The trial began in August of the same year and was presided over by Judge Bromley and Judge Altham. Lord Gerard and Sir Richard Hoghton were in assistance.

The prisoners were deprived of any counsel and could not call witnesses. On top of the original ten another ten defendants, also accused of witchcraft (The Samlesbury witches, also from Pendle along with Isobel Robey from Windle, near St Helens and Margaret Pearson, the Padiham Witch) were to stand trial.

In total, 20 people stood accused and their ages ranged from 9 years old to 80 years. The evidence produced stemmed from idle gossip, false accusations and rumours.

At the conclusion of the three day event, Anne Whittle, Anne Redfern, Elizabeth Device, Alice Nutter, Alison and James Device, Katherine Hewitt, Jane and John Bulcock, as well as Isobel Robey were all found guilty and sentenced to be hanged on the moor above the Town. Margaret Pearson was sentenced to be pilloried on four successive market days at Padiham, Clitheroe, Whalley and Lancaster. Once this was carried out, Margaret was to spend a further year in prison as part of her punishment. The Samlesbury witches and Alice Grey were not found guilty and set free.

Public executions took place at Lancaster Castle right up until the 1800’s at a place called Gallows Hill. The prisoners would be taken from their cells in a cart and pass along Moor lane and Moor gate. They would pause briefly at a local public house where they could take their last drink with family and friends before proceeding to the gallows. People from all around the north west of England would congregate out in Lancaster’s streets to watch these public hangings. After 1800 the hangings were shifted from the moor to a place within the castles confines. It was to become known as “The Hanging Corner”.

Of all the executions carried out, a total of 265 in all, 43 were for murder and other crimes which included burglary, forgery, robbery and cattle stealing. 131 of these hangings were carried out by the one person – Old Ned Barlow. The last person to be publicly hanged was Stephen Burke in 1865.

Between 1788 and 1868, if you found yourself lucky enough to escape the hangman’s noose, you may have found yourself being transported to a new penal colony called Australia. In total 200, 000 people found themselves ship bound to face the uncertainties of a hostile environment in NSW and Tasmania.

As a convict awaiting transportation you were entitled to the “Kings Allowance” of 2s and 6d a week. The government were charged anything from £8 to £12 per prisoner and the escorting jailers received a set fee per mile for each prisoner.
If you could not pay your debts and were found guilty you would have found yourself serving time in the castles debtors’ prison. The castle housed between 3 to 400 debtors at any one time who would be required to work within the prison.

Life as debtors was quite comfortable compared to the other inmates and you would receive in payment for your work 3 ozs of bread, 4ozs of oatmeal daily and 1oz of salt and 10 lbs of potatoes on a weekly basis.

If you were one of the lucky ones who had access to money from friends or family then your stay in prison was even more luxurious. You could choose your own type of accommodation from the 22 rooms set aside for just such people. The price ranged from 5s to 30s and included a fire, candles, cutlery and a servant who did the cooking and cleaning. The lifestyle did not stop there. You were able to buy beer and wine, purchase tobacco and newspapers, buy meat, groceries, fruit and vegetables from the debtor’s market which was held in the castle yard. You could carry on with your profession and have visitors from morning until night.

And you thought life was a hardship in prison!

Until 1902 when the Borstal system was introduced, if you were caught as a child committing an offence you could be expected to be fined or sentenced to five days hard labour. The resulting fine of 7s and 6d meant that for most families their children went to prison and completed five days of hard labour.

Lancaster has not been short of royal visitors during her 800 years. The first visitor of note was King John who held court and received the French Ambassadors and King Alexander of Scotland in 1206. From that point in time there was a steady stream of visitors.

In the 1400’s Henry IV held his court in the castle and it was also patronized by Edward IV. Both James I and Charles II visited during the 17th century. By the 1800’s, Lancaster was a very popular place to visit with nine Royal visits.

The first was in 1803 with Prince William Fredrick of Gloucester. Queen Adelaide visited in 1840 and Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and the Royal children spent time there in 1852.

The most recent royal visitor was Queen Elizabeth in 1999.

Today Lancaster Castle is a thriving tourist attraction, working prison and court room.

I hope you have enjoyed this two part series on the History of Lancaster Castle and when you find yourself in the area, pay her a visit.

Best Wishes

Stuart Bazga

www.guide-to-castles-of-europe.com]]>

Wind power has been harnessed for many, many years. Nobody knows for sure when man started using the wind’s power to grind flour or pump water, but it is thought that the first windmill appeared in the Persian region. From there this windmill technology spread back to northern Europe. Windmills crafted by the Dutch were used primarily to pump water.

Windmills were definitely not the first structures to harness the wind. This award belongs to the sailboat. More than likely, founded in small scale (small canoe with an animal skin as a sail) the sailboat became the only way to cross large areas of water. The sailboat evolved into large ships moving great distances by using only wind as a source of power.

Windmills on a smaller scale showed up in America in the mid 19th Century. The Aermotor and Dempster design were invented and many are still in use. From 1850 to 1970 more than 6,000,000 windmills were installed in the United States. The main application was pumping water for livestock and providing farm homes with a water supply.

In the late 19th Century, the first windmill to generate electricity was born! This was the Brush postmill in Cleveland Ohio, and the year was 1888! The rotor was approximately 17 meters in diameter. This windmill had a gearbox with a high spin ratio attached to a DC generator.

By the middle 1920’s, several small scale systems were found across the Midwestern plains and used to supply farms with electricity. These systems generally had a 1 to 3 kilowatt output.

1941 saw the largest wind generator to date. This generator’s capacity was 1.25 megawatts. It was known as the Smith-Putnam machine. The rotor measured an astonishing 175 feet in diameter.

Today, many wind turbines are in operation from small scale residential systems that are affordable to the homeowner to large scale wind turbine farms that are used to supply a large amount of electricity to utility customers.]]>

The Internet is a virtual classroom. You can read about any topic you desire. You can take online tests and quizzes to track your progress. You can access free worksheets and lesson plans. The amount of information can be overwhelming. Let’s take a look at the advantages of different virtual classroom resources.

Online Reference Resources:
Reference resources include information from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and any scholarly journal or publication. The advantage of this information is that it is credible, well respected academic information. It is like having the entire library in your computer. Instead of flipping page and page trying to find your information in heavy, dusty books, you can easily search the electronic versions with keywords.

Online Activities:
Online activities can extend learning outside of the traditional classroom. You can check out websites for museums and places all over the world. Need information about England for your next geography report? You can search for British history in the reference resources and then experience England’s attractions through online travel adventures. You can view pictures of Britain’s landmarks and attractions.

Online activities in math and science involve puzzles and science projects. Have a blast solving logic or number puzzles. Learn more about science by checking out online science experiments. Many websites have step-by-step instructions for science experiments using items you can find in your own home. Become a mad scientist in no time flat.

Online Tutors:
Sometimes, no matter how much information you read, you still don’t understand a topic. For example, you have read about how to solve a long Algebra problem, but keep getting stuck on one step in the problem. You need one-on-one help with a live person. You’re in luck. Many homework help websites offer live tutors. You can connect through a website “whiteboard” and ask them your questions in real time. You can also submit questions to forums and have a tutor e-mail you an answer.

The Internet provides a virtual classroom that you can access from your own home, school, or library. The virtual classroom never sleeps, so you can find an answer to your question any time day or night. The Internet classroom is waiting. Are you ready to be its student?]]>

The driving forces behind the online education phenomena are convenience and demand. Two reasons you can obtain an education and “have it your way.” How are the terms demand and convenience important to online education? Let’s take a look. As we take the opportunity to explore the up-trending in online education you will easily see why these terms are important to it, and why so many Americans are turning to classes offered via the internet to fulfill there educational needs.

Demand. Demand here implies that a need is being met. This is important because without the need for online education programs they simply wouldn’t exist. Schools are adding online educational opportunities at a rate of 10 to 15 a month. That’s quite remarkable considering

10 years ago, distance learning via internet was scoffed at. Neither educators nor students are laughing now! Hundreds of students are completing their e-classes online in virtual class rooms each month, they are obtaining an actual degree their own way, and upon doing so, receive their diplomas and transcripts as proof of their hard work.

Numerable online programs are awarding their students with earned authentic degrees that they will utilize to gain employment or improve and increase the wage they currently receive from their present employer.

Convenience, the second force that makes online education work is no less important. Because colleges online are so convenient, Americans can have education their own way, and students from all walks of life can be reached.

Distance learning degrees are available to the stay at home parent, the single parent, the working parent, working class men and women of all ages, and home bound men and women as well. If you are unemployed or under employed distance classrooms are just the thing for you. Did you think of anyone who wouldn’t benefit from an online program? An online degree can make a difference.

Today, potential students are not limited to community classes, universities housed on large campuses, or night school. The anywhere, anytime convenience of education online is waiting for you. Online degrees aren’t limited in subject content, either.

Virtually any subject you wish to study is becoming increasingly available on the internet. Do you have an interest in a foreign language? Have you ever wanted to study the arts or sciences? Is computer technology your field of interest? What are you waiting for? The market is right for you, employers are looking for someone like you, and there is a program that is convenient enough for you.

Now you can see how online degrees have become so prevalent. First, we need them. And, secondly, we want them. So many of us in today’s world require a user friendly way to obtain additional education, that it just makes sense. Investigate what an online degree

can do for you. Search for a degree that interests you. Then see what everyone is talking about. Receive your online degree today, get your education and have it your way.]]>

The latest mobile phone’s are smaller and slimmer than ever before and come crammed with features including 2 megapixel digital cameras and MP3 players.

The thinnest mobile phone around the Motorola RAZR V3, remains a top seller and feature and integrated digital camera, bluetooth and a selection of great games.

Sleek and smooth, the new Panasonic VS6 camera phone has a 16 million colour display to show off the quality snaps taken on its built in 2 megapixel digital camera.

For consumers wanting the latest 3G phone the new Sony Ericsson P990i is a top seller. A high quality video phone including 2 megapixel camera, WiFi, web browser and a QWERTY keyboard.

The Sony Ericsson K750i remains one of the top selling camera phones and includes a 2 megapixel camera with auto focus and flash, FM radio, video recorder, 3D games and high resolution screen.

The worlds first Walkman branded mobile phone the Sony Ericsson W800i is great for downloading and listening to music. A well designed MP3 player and 512Mb memory card combined with the 2 megapixel digital make this phone the perfect choice.

Nokia have a large selection of new handsets available including the N91 mobile jukebox. This stylish mobile phone has room for up to 3,000 of your favourite track along with a 2 megapixel digital camera.

The Nokia N80 is the most advanced Nokia 3G handset ever and includes a 3 megapixel digital camera, MP3 player, games console, mobile office and email. Communicating is made simple with video calling, WiFi connectivity and Bluetooth.

Samsungs popular D500, D600e and X660 mobile phones all feature stylish designs and a packed full of feature sure to appeal to consumers.

Whether the latest handsets packed full of great features or the mobile TV services being offered by 3G providers are the big winners for 2006 it looks set to be a great year for innovations and new products.]]>

Sir William Haley

What is considered a good education for my child (and your child, for that matter)?

Before I can answer this, I think it is important that I first relate what education truly means to me.

Education, I believe is the whole learning process of not only acquiring knowledge but, more importantly for a person to discover more about ourselves as well as the world which we are living in. Thus, it is not so much about learning specific subject content such as Mathematics, Science, English or Moral Education per se but how we can apply this knowledge wisely in our daily lives. More importantly, good education also probes and analyses the process of learning that is unique in every one of us, (including your precious Child).

Ponder over this quote:

”The world does not pay for what a person knows. But it pays for what a person does with what he knows”
Laurence Lee

Being a father, the question beckons-what kind of education do I want for my child?

In all honesty, I want an education which allows my child the freedom to discover, explore and experience this world in her own eyes and to form her own view of it. It has to be an enriching and challenging learning adventure. I also hope that she learns the importance of discipline and enjoys the wonders of Nature in her learning process. Most importantly, it must be able to nurture the positive attitudes in her to be strong, resilient, determined, willing to take on challenges but yet be peace-loving and graceful in the way she treats everyone.

However, I felt that most education system today fail in the task that they are designed to do-to nurture a Balanced Child. There is really nothing wrong with having workbooks, assessment papers, enrichment classes and etc. But are we doing too much of a good thing and destroying our child’s present and future in the process? That’s the crux of the predicament that most children in Singapore, Hong Kong (and Asia in general) are facing. We, as parents, have robbed their childhood!

Whatever happened to good ol’ common sense? Where is the BALANCE in the whole scheme of things? I am not against the idea of sending my daughter for enrichment classes when she gets older, but I will definitely ensure that she enjoys the whole learning process. Needless to say, I want my child to have ample time for fun, play and most of all, family!

Reflect upon this:

“Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush; anxious for greater developments and greater wishes and so on; so that children have very little time for their parents; Parents have very little time for each other; and the home begins the disruption of the peace of the world.”
Mother Teresa

Parents, let’s not be extremists in the things we do for our children. I understand your worries and concerns but we need to seek BALANCE in all things we do. Think about the criminal trials of Michael Jackson and his lamentations of having his childhood robbed. The last thing I want to hear from my daughter when she grows up is that I have robbed her Childhood unknowingly. And unfortunately, I cannot give her Childhood back to her.
Reflect upon this.

So, dear Parents, don’t be too hard on your self. Let’s take stock of what we are doing for our Child and refine the rough edges. At the end of the day, the best education for your Child starts with having Great parents like YOU around them.

“If you plan for one year, plant rice. If you plan for 10 years, plant a tree. If you plan for 100 years, educate a child.”
Chinese proverb]]>