Games for kids

Most parents do not have enough time and even for those who have, do not know the proper techniques on how to nurture their children to unlock their individual gifts, creativity, thinking and learning. We have noticed parents buying many books – activity books, mazes, word search, puzzles for their children to do. Many of these books end up in the shelves collecting dust or the children just doing the first few games for kids in the pages of the books and then they get tucked away in the book shelf forgotten.

Parents told us their concerns and worries –

• my child has no imagination
• my child has poor memory
• my child does not like to read books
• my child does not know how to think
• my child hates math
• my child is too quiet
• my child does not know how to read
• my child loves computer games more than books
• I do not know how to teach my child

Fun learning using games for kids, is smart learning and children must enjoy and have fun while learning and this has been our main focus in all our programs. We have witness children whom we have nurtured grown into individuals who are able to discover their own gifts and talents and knowing how to think and learn creatively and how to have fun while learning.

“Mind Power Series” is well grounded in research and practical experience of working with individual children ranging from 4 to 7 years old and we would like to share with you the strategies which we have been using to help them develop their -

• individual gifts and talents
• thinking skills- information processing skills, creative thinking skills, reasoning skills and drawing skills
• individual creativity

 

Games For Fun Kids - Mind Power Series

Fun Math Games, printable English worksheets, creative and fun Brain games to train your child to think like a genius. More than 360 fun activities for children to play and learn with teachers and parents.Click Here!

Phases of Memory - Learning your lines

The phases of Memory

Memory is the retention of information over a period of time through storage, encoding, and retrieval. For something to be considered memory, you have to take it in, store it, and then retrieve it for use in the future. Memory is a very complex things and it can let you down sometime especially when our trying to remember something, especially during an important test in your life. Also memory can also cause some confusion, especially when two people experience different events. For example, if two friends went on a trip and one said scenario A happened while the other says that scenario B happened then It could lead to lots of confusion. I think it’s fair to say that most individuals have experienced frustrations when they can’t recall someone’s name or a place that they visit. It’s obvious that memory is not installed like data is in a computer; human memory is a little more concrete. The initial stage of memory is known as encoding, in which the information is processed for storage. When you are listening to music, or watching television you are encoding information into memory. Some data gets into memory practically effortlessly, while other requires some extensive time to get in there. How information gets stored into data is an interest in psychologist because it tends to vary from individual to individual. When we start encoding we use selective attention which means that we focus on a specific situation while ignoring everything else. It’s like showing undivided attention to a specific factor.  Although our brain is magnificent, and is more powerful than a super computer it does has its limits, and it can’t pay attention to everything at once. Divided attention also has an impact on memory, which means that people try to pay attention to too many different things at once.  When researchers measure divided attention they have participants to try and remember a list of materials, but they are asked to perform an additional task at the same time. Participants that focus their attention on one single event as opposed to trying and remember numerous of things simultaneously perform a lot better. However simply paying attention to something does not guarantee success with remembering it. Encoding is processed in three different levels. Levels of processing is known as encoding information from shallow to deep and the deeper processing produce better results than the shallow.

• Shallow level: Includes the sensory or physical characteristics of stimuli that are analyzed.  For example, we might detect some shapes of printed characters, or detect the pitch of a particular sound.
• Intermediate level: The stimulus is recognized and is given a distinct label. For example, we will identify an object that drives on the road as a car.
• Deepest Level:  Includes information that is processed semantically which means in terms of its meaning. When we get to the deepest level we make associations with things which mean that we are more likely to remember it in the future.

Time after time it seems that people memories improve when they make associations to stimuli that are used in deep processing as opposed to tuning into just the physical characteristics.  For example, you are more likely to remember someone face if you make some type of association with it as opposed to remembering how the people look.  You could attach a meaning to it or correlate the individual to a famous person. Likewise you could associate a famous individual with a friend of yours not is not a celebrity by any means.  Next, cognitive psychologists or the psychologists that studies the thinking process realize that there is more to memory than just deep processing. There’re a lot of layers of memory so to speak.  While were still on the topic of deep processing, the more extensive the processing, the better you will remember something. Elaboration is defined as the extensiveness of processing at any level.  Rather then just remembering a definition, you should come up with a deep concept of the word by thinking of examples that relate to the word his is a strategy that is used often of Kaplan’s Sat flashcards. On the front it has the word, and on the back it has the definition followed by a sentence that uses the definition properly. The primarily reason that elaboration is so successful is because it helps makes something distinct in your mind.  Just think of an event that you remembered in your life. A one that I think that affects people living today is the World Trade Center event. Most people most likely remember where they were and how they first heard the news. The people that were in the event and survived most likely have a hard time forgetting about the event and can most likely remember the sounds and all of the imagery very clearly. Speaking of seeing things clearly, imagery is a very important aspect of memory. To make memories extremely powerful it is important to use mental imagery. An example of using mental imagery is remembering where you placed your remote control once you finished watching television last night. Some psychologists believed that using mental imagery is so powerful, because people will tend to remember images more then words. It has been proven that images can help individuals learn a foreign language. However, how intricate storage is just don’t determine how well it will get encoded. Storage refers to the ways that information stays in storage for a long period of time.  We remember some information for years, and some we forget within a minute or possibly less.  Sensory memory is a type of memory that holds information in a sensory form for an instant. It is extremely high in detail but the information is quickly loss. Think of the sounds you hear when you’re getting out of the car, or the sound of a bird singing. These are some common examples of sensory memory.  Next, short term memory is information that is usually contained in storage for 30 seconds, or less there are some other strategies used to keep it in storage longer.  Some ways that you can improve short term memory is by chunking and reversal.  We all probably have experienced with rehearsal which is the repetition of something, usually a number. If we have to remember a telephone number then an easy way to do this is to keep repeating the number. Likewise you can try and remember long numbers by chunking them. For example, look at this number and turn away and try to repeat it. The number is 7835677876. How did you do? Don’t feel too bad if you did poorly. However, you could have done better if you’re chunked or grouped the numbers together. For example rather than trying to remember this big blob of 7835677876, you can chunk in into 783-567-7876. Well, look at what we got it looks similar to a phone number.  This is an example of how chunking can b helpful in helping individuals remembers content.

You`re acting funny

You’re acting Funny

Every since civilization started many people have been suffering from psychological disorders such as sadness and strange and awkward behavior.  There have been many of scientists that have tried to figure out the cure for them and treat these disorders.  Classifying psychological disorders have their roots back far in ancient times with the Romans and the Egyptians.  Even today, classifying psychological disorders follow a medical type model.  However, classifying psychological disorders is not very easy and is harder than it sounds and is very controversial.  Even though the classification system has disadvantages, I think it’s safe to say that the classification system outweighs the disadvantages.  It provides a means of effective communication between psychologists.  Also, the classification system can help psychologists make predictions such as the probability that a disorder will occur and about the individuals that are more likely to develop a certain mental disorder and about the rules for treatment.  To help make classifying psychological disorders easier the American Psychiatric Association came out with the first system of grouping psychological disorders in the United States in 1952. This manual was known as the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).  The 1994 edition is the most current version that I’m aware of and includes 17 major classifications and describes more than 200 disorders.  The DSM had undergone changes and probably will go more in the future which shows the advancement in knowledge of psychological disorders over the years. The DSM-IV has added and dropped categories from its manual which has caused some major controversial by psychologist you relied heavily on those techniques. An important feature of the DSM-IV is its multi axis features. It has five axes to accurately diagnose an individual with a mental disorder by characterizing them in terms of a number of factors.  The five axes of DSM-IV include:

Axis I:  Every diagnostic category except for personality disorders and mental retardation.

Axis II:  Mental retardation and personality disorders.

Axis III:  Most medical conditions

Axis IV:  Social and environmental complications.

Axis V: Current functioning abilities.

Axes I-II describes the majority of psychological disorders, and Axes III-V is not really needed in diagnosing a psychological disorder but they are there to consider the person’s over all life situation.  For example, an individual may have high blood pressure which is an example of Axis III, which needs special precautions to treatment because some mediation can worsen the symptoms for individuals. The DSM-IV was put together by a number of mental health professionals and included a diverse range of audiences which was something missing in the previous manuals because the majority consisted of mostly white male psychiatrists.  The biggest controversial part about the DSM-IV is that the symptoms are still described in a psychiatric manner. Even though more psychologists have participated in it then ever, it still shows a medical model of diagnosing patients which puts less emphasis on external factors such as environmental effects on mental disorders.  There are some common issues with labeling in the DSM-IV.  Some of the categories for mental disorders are what some people would include to be everyday harmless activities. For example, if someone has a hard time learning mathematics, or writing skills than that could be labeled as a mental disorder. Also, an addiction to some substances like a nice cappuccino from Starbucks would be classified as a mental disorder because the individual will be viewed as having a substance abuse problem.  Furthermore some individuals that do not have a mental disorder may turn out to believe that they do by a simple misdiagnoses.  The term that refers to when people believe that they believe something when it is told to them is known as the self fulfilling prophecy.  Labels can also have harmful side effects on the individual and cause them to lose self esteem when they think that they are mentally ill. A lot of time, individuals will avoid seeking help to avoid these labels because they don’t want people to think of them differently.  The DSM-IV may have its critiques and inaccuracies but it’s still the most comprehensive mental categorizing system currently available. Like mentioned earlier, there are many categories for mental disorders. A very common one that affects close to 19.1 million Americans is anxiety disorders. If you constantly worry than that could be an indicator that you have some type of anxiety disorder. An anxiety disorder is a psychological disorder that can cause a variety of abnormalities in the motor function. Examples of anxiety disorder include generalized anxiety disorder, phobic disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic disorder, and social anxiety disorder. I’m going to discuss generalized anxiety disorder first because its one of the more common anxiety disorders.  Take this case study for example.  Amy is a thirty year old woman and ever since she and her husband have been arguing she has developed a lot of built up tension and nervousness everytime she goes out in public. She feels trembling and usually be perspiring when she comes back from shopping.  These are the common symptoms of an anxiety disorder.  With phobic disorders on the other hand, the individual has an intense fear of a particular object or thing.  A lot of people are informed about some common ones such as the fear of spiders or Arachnophobia, and the fear of closed tight spaces or Claustrophobia. However there are a lot more bizarre ones that people may not be informed about such as Dikephobia or the fear of justice and Geliophobia or the fear of laughter.  A very interesting psychological disorder is obsessive compulsive disorder and the individual has these obsessions to do things in a particular way or order and it is causing them mental distress. For example, they may have a need to get dressed and take their clothes off in a particular manner and if they mess up than they must start over again because they ruined the sequence. These rituals will consume up a vast majority of the individual’s time.  Panic disorder is when the individual has periods of deep fear. This usually doesn’t last too long and some symptoms are the individual will tremble and experience a shortness of breath. Next, post traumatic disorder is the feelings of emptiness and depression an individual will experience after a traumatic event such as after a plane crash or abuse/rape. Even though men and women can experience this disorder is more likely to exist with females. Last, a social anxiety disorder is a fear of being in social situations and being evaluated by others. A classic example is being extremely uneasy and nervous during a job interview.

Finding the real you

Personality and what’s the Real You?

Personality like many things in life is sort of concrete and can be difficult to define at times. The basic definition is the relatively stable characteristics that are enduring and distinctive which means it separates people from the crowd.  Psychologists that study personalities try to analyze why people act differently to different situations such as why one person acts shy when they first meet a stranger or while some people are just natural and funny and be themselves.  Some scientists believe that this is genetically engraved and that people don’t have much control over this. Other psychologists believe that it’s the environment has a significant say in the way people act.  The truth is that personality is a multi dimensional topic and requires pieces from various theories because everyone is unique. One theory is the psychodynamic perspective which was discovered by Sigmund Freud. This theory basically states that personality merely exists on the surface and to find someone true personality you have to dig deep in mind. Psychologists who favor this approach believe that personality is an unconscious process, or that the individuals are not aware that they conceited or confident. He was known for his controversial theory that young boys have a sexual attraction to their mother, maybe he was referring to himself with his romantic relationship with his mother who was 20 years younger than his father. A theory about the unconscious mind that makes somewhat sense is when people are having a conversation and calls someone they know a different name. For example, if a woman broke up with her boyfriend and got a new boyfriend and calls her current boyfriend her ex boy friend name it could mean that he is still in her thoughts. Freud also believes that dreams hold important motifs in behavior.  He also believed that personality can be constructed into layers like an ice berg. The part that is buried far below the water is the id or the unconscious aspect. A good example will be children because a lot of time they will act on pleasure without thinking about the end result much. If people would have a strong id personality than this would be a very scary place to live.  People would act on natural impulses rather than conforming to society norms.  The ego is nice to have because it helps people realize reality and help conform to society norms. For example, a lot of people realize that they can’t have their sex and aggression levels high and unmanaged and when they let it go than it usually lead to crimes like rape for one.  Last, the superego also referred as the conscious aspect is the moral decider.  It decided what is right and what is wrong.  A lot of psychologist didn’t follow Freud’s unconscious theory and a psychologist that was heavily against it was Alfred Adler.  He believed that people were motivated by purposes and goals to achieve something in life.  He also believes that people had the ability to be aware of what’s going on in their life and to consciously monitor their day to day events.  He also believed that people try to compensate for things they don’t have. For example, a person that tries to be superior may being doing it for their own insecurities because they will feel better about themselves by bringing other people down. This theory was known as individual psychology, in which states that people are motivated by purposes and to attain goals.  When people attempt to overcome their insecurities this is known as compensation.  When psychologists ignore the unconscious mind they tend to look at the environment more when determining personality, and this is known as the behavior approach. They believe that you can only determine personality by what you see on the outside surface.  For an example, if someone is shy, work hard, and are motivated to achieve something, this is  apart of their personality. This theory was founded by an early psychologist named BF Skinner. He also believed that a person personality can change due to the stress in the environment, so he believed that personality was never consistent.  So a person that is shy can be shifted to someone that is aggressive and out going, and a person that is out going can be shifted into a shy personality all due to their environment. If a person is giving a positive reinforcement for a particular behavior, than it is more likely that it will come up again in the future. A different approach from Freud and Skinner’s theory is the humanist approach discovered by Carl Roger. This approach is a less pessimistic view, and finds the good in humans and believes that humans have the freedom to choose their own destiny.  The central theme in Roger’s approach is self concept which is an individual’s view of their own abilities, behavior, traits, and personality. If a person has a distorted self concept than most likely they will be awkward to hang around and associate with.  When analyzing self concept Rogers talked about distinguishing yourself between the real self and the ideal self. The ideal self is the type of person that we would like to be. If a person has a large conflict between their real self and the type of person that they would like to be than the more awkward or maladjusted they will act. To correct this we should try to focus more on our real self and develop a positive view on it and stop caring about what other people want or expect of us and try to have more positive experiences in our everyday lives.  Another way we can help develop a more positive view of our real self is by a concept known as unconditional positive regard.  This term can be defined by being accepting of different individuals regardless of their behavior which is kind of hard to do.  When a person is being rude, aggressive, or disrespectful, as weird as this sounds they still need support and to be loved.  This doesn’t mean to hug someone after hey punch you, but more like “I don’t like the way you are acting but I still care about you and respect you as a person.”