Educational Toy Magazines

Magazines serve as the mirror of all the current trends and contemporary events, consisting of articles, and discussions reflecting all the regular aspects of a chosen topic, or area of discussion. Moving on the same lines, educational toy magazines also serve the same purpose concerning the market and emergence of new toys. These magazines also can serve as a guide for the first time parents, who are confused about which toy to buy for their child, or which toy has become one of the most popular educational toys, on the shelf.
Various toy magazines inform about the different educational toys, prevalent in the market with a full description about their entertaining functionalities, with the educational aspect hidden behind them This is particularly helpful because, it is not always possible for the parents to visit all the stores and check all the toys to decide on one. A magazine, in this case, can be very useful in providing an overall picture of the market. The magazines list the various price ranges and discount offers classified by store names and time periods.
The magazines often employ consumer goods critics and thus, when it comes to the toy business they announce any discrepancies or harmful results observed by using any of these toys. They conduct surveys and report all the issues related to any particular toy. This in turn acts as a guide about the banned and harmful toys, and warns the parents against buying them. Most of these magazines contain editorial columns written by the directors of reputed toy companies, which assure and inform customers about the companies and the toys manufactured by them. Often these columns include discussions about ways to improve educational purposes of toys, and how they can be best utilized by the parents.
A number of educational toy magazines are available on the market, dealing with various aspects of these toys and guiding the parents on the best ways to use them for their children. However, it is advisable to compare and check at least two magazines, instead of relying on any one completely and going by its conclusions when making a major purchase or decision.

Whole Sale Educational Toys

Every parent wants his or her child to learn fast and grow up to become efficient and smart. Educational toys offer the best ways to help a child learn and have fun simultaneously. Parents who purchase educational toys for their children can save a lot of money by buying them at wholesale prices.
A wholesaler buys toys in large quantities from the manufacturers or importers. He sells smaller quantities to retailers, who in turn sell them to customers. Typically, wholesale rates are offered only to retailers who purchase the toys in bulk. However, there are times when a wholesaler sells these toys directly to the end user, namely the parent or teacher. There are a number of educational toys available at wholesale prices throughout the year. They are generally old stock that the wholesaler would like to dispose of quickly to make room for new models. Consequently, the wholesaler is inclined to sell them at cheaper rates.
The sale of educational toys at wholesale prices also happens during summer breaks or during festivals. When parents or teachers buy educational toys in large quantities, cheaper rates are offered to them.
There are many companies offering educational toys on the Internet at wholesale rates. People can easily access the websites that offer brand name toys or locally made toys at reasonable rates.
The most popular educational toys now offered at wholesale rates on the Internet are kid's laptops. These laptops are a good buy, because they make little kids computer savvy at a young age. Children really enjoy having their own laptops just like their parents, and have fun gaining lots of useful knowledge through their laptops
There are also other electronic learning toys for kids of all ages that provide a complete learning experience. In the past, many parents were hesitant to buy educational toys for their kids because the prices were really exorbitant. The availability at wholesale prices has proved to be an incentive for parents to buy educational toys.

Should Students Learn A Musical Instrument Or Play Educational Video Games?

Do you think that educational video games could improve your child's grades? Do you think that educational video games could teach your child "non-gaming" skills required to achieve success in life?

There is certainly a movement going on in the direction of implementing educational games into the classroom. For better or worse, it will be showing up to a classroom near you. I just don't want you to get excited just yet.

In this article I will discuss a study done by the DimensionU Gaming Suite, which is becoming a very popular educational video game that schools are beginning to implement in their classrooms. I will then draw a comparison to another "supplemental activity," which is learning a musical instrument in order to give you a perspective on how to improve your child's education.

DimensionM is the Math video game of a larger gaming suite called DimensionU that covers other subjects such as Science and Reading. Below you will a read the summary of the study that DimensionU posts on their website.

Case Study: Pender County Study (UNC Wilmington)

Conducted in 2008, this study looks at the effects of DimensionM in the setting of a rural middle school of roughly 500 students, where only 63.1 percent of students were either at or above grade level on state-mandated End-of-Course testing for math.

• Mean scores increased from 46% on the pre-test to 63% on the post-test
• Male and female students demonstrated equitable gains

Not bad. The results are certainly encouraging, though after reading the in-depth report, (which I downloaded off their website), I was not as excited as I was when looking at the summary above.

Never Judge A Book By Its Cover

My opinion is that the summary is very misleading. They make it sound like they did the study on 500 students. Look above again. Isn't that how you interpret the first sentence of the study? In actuality, they did the study on 34 students as it states in the full report. Is it me, or is that a big difference? I don't know about you, but I don't like being misled.

The truth is that out of 500 students in that particular middle school, only 63.1% of the students were at or above grade level in their end-of-year exams in Math. However, the gaming study was experimented on only 34 of the 500 students. In the full report, these 34 students were all below-average in Math.

Now, let's look at the first bullet point of the study above. I don't like the use of the word "mean." The word sounds too scientific and covers up the real meaning of the point. Instead of "mean scores," I would prefer "average scores" in this context. We're not looking at any complex data here. It's simply the average pre-test scores of the children before they began the "remediation course" or "gaming course" which I prefer to use.

It's also important to point out that the students who participated in the study were below-average students with failing grades in Math. So certainly, there would be plenty of room for improvement by having an hour of "supplemental" activities every week for 7 weeks as the full report states. The results were that the average pre-test score went from 46% which is clearly a failing grade, to a 63% which is also a failing grade, though greatly improved.

The second bullet point is true and backed up in the report. Both boys and girls improved equally on average.

So What Else Is Wrong About This Study?

There are still some "unknowns" about this study and educational video games in general. One is, (and the full report acknowledges), that we still don't know what the results would be of the games on standardized test scores. A second unanswered question is, How would the skills attained through educational gaming be useful in non-gaming situations? And thirdly, What are the cognitive processes used to employ these games and how can they be or could be applied to develop other academic and life skills?

I have one more big question about these games, since they claim to have an instructional component to them. DimensionM has an instructional section where students can go to in order to learn the material necessary to move on to the next level in the adventure. They must master the material to advance forward in the game.

I would like to know, if the game asks the exact same question in every level, so that the student can guess and use the process of elimination in order to move to the next level. If that's the case, what are the students actually learning? They would just be memorizing answers if this is the case. Unfortunately, I don't have the answer because there is no information regarding this issue in the full report.

Is This An Attack On Educational Video Games?

If you've read this far, you may infer that I'm attacking DimensionM and other educational video games.

I am not attacking educational video games in general. I am personally in favor of some supplemental activity to improve test scores. Clearly, scores can improve with the implementation of this game. What I am attacking, is the misleading studies that put this game and others in a more favorable light than they should be.

I would like to know if this game would improve the already above-average students' grades in Math. I would like to know if this game can only improve a failing students grades to barely passable levels, or can it make a good student "great." I'm thinking about how our students can compete with rest of the world and not just trying to help the below-average ones.

What is the difference between two students that take the same exact class with the same teacher and one fails and the other gets an A? Is it about the parents and the home environment, or something neurological or chemical? Can gaming solve all of these problems?

A New Interactive World

The full report also claims that most students are surrounded by 6 hours of interactive media everyday and are evolving into learning only with interactive media. I have a very hard time accepting this. Where is the child getting 6 hours of media from? At home? Well, the parents need to limit that time, moderate it, and control it ferociously.

I don't know of any geniuses or great minds throughout history that have developed their intellect by playing educational video games. The intelligence of mankind has not "evolved" with the advent of gaming.

An Ancient Interactive Tool For Learning

I get frustrated sometimes when I see the excitement when a new technology emerges that makes life just a little bit easier. Though I see the benefits and potential for educational video games, my view is that we already have an activity that we can use not only as an outside-of-the-classroom activity, but one that already has the scientific data and countless brilliant minds that have made use of it to their benefit.

I'm talking about learning a musical instrument, and learning how to play and read music. If you've ready my articles about Leonardo Da Vinci, Galileo, Albert Einstein and Steven Spielberg, then you know that music has an enormous impact on the development of an intelligent mind.

Below are three case studies and their summarized results found in three nationally recognized research organizations.

• The Journal For Research In Music Education In 2007 Found That Elementary School Students In Top-Quality Music Programs Scored 22% Higher In English And 20% Higher In Mathematics Than Their Non-Musical Peers. June 2007; Dr. Christopher Johnson, Jenny Memmott


• The American Chemical Society Found That Nearly 100% Of Past Winners In The Prestigious Siemens Westinghouse Competition (High School Students) In Science, Math, And Technology Played One Or More Musical Instruments. The Midland Chemist (American Chemical Society) Vol. 42, No.1, Feb. 2005


• In A National Report By The College Board Documented That Students Of Music Continue To Outperform Their Non-Arts Peers On The SAT. In 2006, Students Of Music Performance/Music Coursework Scored 57 Points Higher On The Verbal And 43 Points Higher On The Math Parts Of The SAT. The College Board, Profile of College-Bound Seniors National Report for 2006

The Differences Between Learning Music & Educational Video Games

If you read the summaries above, you may be thinking, "well, you just gave us the summary of the results just like DimensionM did and you didn't go into the full in-depth report." That's true. And that's why I listed my sources at the end of each study for you to read yourself. I encourage you to read the studies and see for yourself. However, I don't know of too many people who would refute the cognitive benefits of music education. If anything, there are many people that are unaware of the benefits.

Below you will see two lists: one that summarizes just some of the scientific data found on the affects of studying music, and the other that summarizes the data found in the DimensionM study above.

Students Of All Grades/Abilities Involved In Music Education

• 22% Higher Test Scores in English
• 20% Higher Test Scores in Math
• Nearly 100% of winners in Science Competitions
• Score 57 points higher on Verbal SAT
• Score 43 points higher on Math SAT

Below-Average Students Involved With DimensionM Educational Video Games

• No Data found for Test Scores in English
• 17% Higher Test Scores in Math
• No Data found for winners in Science Competitions
• No Data found for affects on SAT scores

Am I Being Unfair?

I will admit that I was a little unfair towards the DimensionM study because I compared several studies of music against one study of an educational video game. But, there are other case studies done by this gaming suite that provide similarly overly-hyped results. And all of the gaming suite studies were done on only below-average students while the music case studies were done on students of NOT just below-average students, but of all averages high and low.

I would also add that the music case studies were done by independent organizations that had no product that they were trying to sell. There was no special interest. On the other hand, the gaming studies using DimensionM were done by the same company trying to market its own product. Certainly, the facts would be sugar-coated. There's no other way to see it.

Parents & Teachers: The One Thing You Should Take Away From This Article

Clearly, I have basically weakened the merits of DimensionU, one of the leading educational video games in the market. If this game or another is available to your child as a supplemental activity to help raise poor test scores, I would do it. Yes, I said to do it. It can't hurt as long as it remains "supplemental."

I would highly recommend that you try to get your child started in learning a musical instrument as soon as possible. The reason is because it takes time to develop the cognitive skills that come from learning music that will then translate to good grades and academic enthusiasm. The sooner the better.

Also, the benefits of learning music are more scientifically conclusive than educational games. I would not get too excited or fixated on the idea that video games can improve your child's test scores in Math. Games have a long way to go before they can compete with music.

3 Exhibitions for Education and Learning in Europe

Europe, which is known for the emphasis it places on the development of the education sector, hosts several exhibitions related to learning and education. The following are three popular education fairs and exhibitions held in key cities of Europe.
1. International Education Fair, France - The World Educate Business Association (WEBA) organises the International Education Fair, one of the most prominent exhibitions for training and education in France. This education exhibition aims to provide a platform for people seeking and offering services related to education and training. A wide range of colleges, universities, institutions, computer schools,, business schools, career guidance centre's, hotel management institutes, schools of fine arts and student publications participate in this exhibition and reach out to people seeking fresh educational opportunities. The trade show, which is held in Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, is ideal for students hunting for special courses, academic programs, or training.
2. The Language Show, England - The Language Show, which is held in the Olympia Exhibition Centre in London, England, is the Britain's premier education and training consumer exhibition for learners and teachers of languages and for all those who are interested in the study of languages. The exhibition displays several learning methodologies such as evening classes, distance education, CDs, software, self-study programs, tapes, TV and video courses, overseas property and multimedia courses. The event presents a great opportunity for language learners and teachers to get motivated learn new things and meet new people.
3. ABCD Italian Education Show - The ABCD Italian Education Show is meant exclusively for those in the education sector such as school executives, teachers, trainers, students and educators. The event showcases the best educational services and products such as school hardware, e-learning, traditional teaching methodologies and books. The event has already completed seven successful editions.
4. Access MBA Series - The MBA series is an exhibition which travels top a number of major cities throughout the year and includes shows in the likes of Dubai, Paris and Riyadh. Many of the worlds top MBA programmes and schools are represented.
5. Education and Careers Expo - This Hong Kong show which takes place annually is a key show for those interested in education in the Asian region. Taking place in the HK Exhibition and Conference Centre, this show attracts many key Hong Kong companies in addition to several companies worldwide including from the U.S and from across Europe.

Ideal Gifts For Babies - Educational Toys

With so many baby gifts that are available to choose from, it can be a bit tough to select an appropriate item for a baby. Usually, baby gifts are given during a baby shower, and mostly given are practical items that parents would need for their upcoming child. One of the most popular are clothes, however, tend to have a short life span, as the child will eventually outgrow them. Choosing ideal baby gifts is important in a sense that they can help develop the child's mind. This is where educational toys are often the right choice.
A good choice of baby toy can last for a long period of time, as well as can also help develop the mental growth of the baby. There are so many toys to choose from, but they are not made the same. Those that are educational or development, when extendedly used will give a massive advantage to the little one. They have a vital role in the child's cognitive development as well as to enrich the child's logical, social and problem solving skills. Another best thing about educational toys are they are relatively inexpensive, which means that people on tight can definitely avail them.
There are various types of educational baby toys to choose from. People can choose a specific type they want. For example, if there are some indications that the child is showing creativity at an early age, it would be ideal to buy him/her toys that can help cultivate such skill. This can also be applied to a child who is showing an ability when it comes to logical thinking. These signs can be very evident at an early age of the child, so why not support his/her skills and/or talent and give developmental toys that can give a great help?
Choosing the right educational toy for the baby may also involve looking at the attributes of both parents. For example, if the mom and dad both have good ratings when it comes to academics, then it might be that their child inherits that edge, therefore it would be a smart idea to a developmental toy that can help develop the logic and problem solving skill of the child. On the other hand, if the parents are some what artistic, choose art-related toys for their baby.
Aside from toys, there are also other innovative baby items that make developmental tools to enrich the child. They could be convertible baby apparel like clothes or jackets that can transform into a toy, pillow, or etc. These types of baby items can make great gifts for baby showers, as they are not only practical to use, but also work to help develop the child's mind.
Some of the most popular educational toys for children include personalized baby books, board games, musical instruments, and toys that generate moves and sound. These baby gifts can be purchased online at reasonable prices, and most of them can be personalized with a child's name, monograms, or etc., making them personalized baby gifts for baby showers, christening, or baby's 1st birthday.

Educational Software - Fun and Easy Way to Learning

Educational software is very common nowadays that it can be found in almost every school and every house with a computer. Why? You ask, because teachers and parent use educational software as another way of teaching children basic things in life. They learn English, Math, Science and other subjects through their computer. But they do they just read or listen to what they see on the computer screen? No, they have fun while learning their lesson, so this is like hitting two birds with one stone.
The mixture of fun and learning is a big plus when you want your children to be knowledgeable and it is the main idea for the development of the many types of educational software. It is software where children can appreciate the different subjects that are also taught in school. They see Math in a fun way when they solve a calculation and they either win a prize or something happens that is totally cool and they would want to see it again so they solve for another.
When they learn science they see the cooler side of it rather than the dull, there are games that help you learn the different combinations of color to make other colors or you learn the different part of a plan by going inside the plant itself. History was always a challenge to learn but with these educational games for the computer you can actually go back in time, what better way to learn history that going to the place itself.
The most popular educational games are those with famous cartoon characters and TV shows like Blues Clues, Dora the Explorer, Sesame Street, Arthur and man more. The children get exited when they see their favorite character on screen helping them so this will really pump them up and truly pay attention to the lessons. This makes it fun for children because it feeds their imagination. Who does not want to see a dinosaur or run around in a trunk of a tree at the size of an ant?
But this technology is not limited to children and even some adults use these programs to either learn the cultures of other places or to enhance ones self. The most common is when adults use it to learn other language, there programs that teach you how to speak proper English, Korean, Japanese or Filipino. Others use it to enhance their skills like when they play typing games, find the correct answer or question games. Today the most popular educational games are those about memorization and observation, parent want their children to have good memories and also develop a sharp eye and mind.
Now that these learning programs are now becoming rampant, is this good or bad? The good news is children are eager to learn because they have fun doing it and the bad news is they are starting to become dependent and find normal classes boring. This should not be the case and it is the teachers obligation to also make their classes fun, we should not allow machines to be the only things that can teach our kids. If educational software can do it, so can teachers.

Educational Plush Toys for Kids

Child-care professionals are one in telling parents that educational toys are very important if they want to take care of their kids' mental growth. Of course as a parent, you want to take care of that development because you know that it's very important if you want your kid to reach his full potential. However, it's a huge challenge if you don't know what you're doing. You can't expect your little toddler to sit down and listen to you talk about "boring" things. This is why child-care experts advise parents to use educational toys. This way, you'll instantly grab the attention of your kids.
You just have to make sure that you're going to buy fun toys. Fortunately, there are a lot of available fun toys like stuffed toys. However, they're not really educational compared to popular educational toys like building blocks and the likes. Of course, stuffed toys do a great job of helping kids with their emotional development and in a way, physical development as well. Those two together with mental development are the three basic things that you have to ensure if you want your kid to reach his full potential.
Wouldn't it be awesome if someone can come up with educational plush toys? Think about it. If someone can do that, then the emotional, physical and mental developments of kids are taken care of. Now, wouldn't it be more awesome if that person is you?
Yes, you could be the one who'll release these toys. Sure, there are already a few educational plush toys in the market right now but the demands greatly outweigh the supplies right now. This is especially true since there's a huge demand for educational toys. So right now, the industry is looking for new players. All you need to do is come up with a great idea for it. You can take a look at the present educational toys and get inspiration from them. For example, take a look at the Kushies Zolo Boa Stacking Rings. It's like the usual stacking rings that are very popular with kids. But the manufacturer thought that it would be better to make the material plush. This way, it's softer and it's more comfortable to hold and kids would be more encouraged to hold and squeeze them.
Squeezing them also opens up a new possibility for learning. These educational plush toys emit animal sounds when squeezed and that's a good way of introducing your kid to animal sounds. At the very least, it's a good way to teach your kid "cause and effect". Soon enough, he'll find out that squeezing the soft and fun toys will make them emit entertaining sounds!
Obviously, this toy is perfect for the auditory development of kids. But since it's fun to look at, it will also help take care of the visual development of kids. You can keep that in mind when you're trying to come up with ideas for educational toys. You have to know that you already have a huge advantage going for you since stuffed toys are already fun to look at. All you need to do now is turn them into better educational plush toys by inserting features that can help develop kids in more ways than one.

Think About This - Self-Education

"The United States, a Republic composed of individual Republics, will best maintain a disposition to liberty and justice by each being composed of an autonomous populace; only a people united by their differences may be indivisible."

Education: It has many designations--pedagogics, teaching, learning, inculcation, et cetera, yet it has only one true purpose; to draw out knowledge, or more precisely, draw out the ability to achieve knowledge; two separate aspects of the same primary term. Unfortunately, the former is quite rampantly mispracticed most of the time without any attention to the latter.

On the most part, popular education is the science of memorization, or, applied knowledge. If you sit back and merely absorb what is offered to you by someone else, you will enjoy all the advantages of a popular education. You will be taught what you must know and remember to fit into society, make money, and keep up with current perceptions of erudition; and in the end, this is all you will have. Simply because this is all that may be conveyed and gained by such means. I will admit, such things are helpful to us, yet the ability to achieve true knowledge, which is considerably more significant, is left aside; perhaps because it is more complex and time consuming within a typical classroom atmosphere.

First of all, the conveyance of the rudimentaries of self-education may only be possible if apperceived by the resident pedagogue. If not, even the best intentions would be exhaustive and futile.

True knowledge, as true education, cannot be applied or given from one person to another as a baton in a relay race; true knowledge must be personally reconciled within the mind. Although the knowledge itself may be universal, the processing of it is quite unique to the individual. Therefore, the only person who may utilize such unique processing to its zenith is the individual involved; hence the necessity of self-educating.

I am not advocating homeschooling here, I am pointing out the requirement of self-education, even in the event of attending an institute. You see there is a distinct difference between homeschooling, which is learning at home, and self-education, which is learning on your own, not necessarily alone, but on your own.

In any event, the task must ultimately fall to the student.

Your education is not the responsibility of any other person but you. Although you may be assisted through the process of your learning, you are the one who must actually make sense of it all, retain the acquired knowledge in proper perspective, and apply it when most useful throughout your life. Furthermore, self-education never ends, or should never. It keeps the mind virile and maintains perpetual conation.

What I am attempting within this article, is to inform the otherwise uninitiated abecedarian of her/his personal obligation; this invisible necessity of life, which, if unaware of, would not be immediately missed and perhaps never known.

The rewards of self-education are varied and considerable. Once you are well practiced in the art of teaching yourself, you will acquire {unless already achieved} self-confidence. Self-confidence is one of the cornerstones of character. With it come self-respect, self-reliance, and an independent spirit.

When you consider the brief and insignificant span of life we all have within the World we know, it could be argued that our own education, or, the ability to teach one's self, is the single most important achievement for us to accomplish after procreation. Still, the most important area of procreation is the education of those conceived...Perhaps then, they go hand in hand; without the one, there is no chance for the other, without the other, the one would be in vain.

I previously referred to self-education as a personal obligation; although the act is personal the requirement is not just.
This leads us to the meat of my immediate ambition.

Consider the probability that a nation of self-reliant people would naturally render a self-reliant nation. Moreover, imagine the United States a self-reliant Republic comprised of such citizens. This is not so difficult a task, since it is how our country actually began.

Now consider the current national problems, and what comes to mind?

1. Rampant self-righteousness.
2. An unwholesome paranoia regarding international affairs.
3. Severe economic difficulties.
4. The general disregard of our national Constitution by our government.
5. A portentous division among the people.
6. The idea that at least four of the above five are due to a highly deficient and overall nonrepresentative government.

These maladies do not give the impression of self-reliance, nor do they indicate a general self-confidence among the individuals involved; quite the opposite.

If you are under the impression that these problems will be resolved on their own, or by other people than yourself and I, think again. This country is our responsibility, every citizen's responsibility. Whatever comes to pass will be a direct result of us, what we do, or, more importantly and precisely, what we do not do. A status quo attitude and the idea that it is someone else's fault, are what have depraved our nation and advanced it to the current precipice. And the delusion that one may simply ignore such responsibility and so not be affected by what is going on is just that, a delusion.

The surest method readily available to us for redressing the current situation may be found in education and reeducation for and of the people. Simply because the many problems the United States are plagued by, may each be traced directly to the people; our ignorance, our disinterest, our lack of self-accountability.

Our Education determines;
1. How we live.
2. How we think.
3. What we do.
4. What becomes of us.
5. How we affect those around us.

Therefore, if we self-educate, we each maintain the best possible grasp on the ever effectuous elements of our life and the World we live in. And, as the above five determinations represent the principal enduring contributions we may offer to God, mankind and our family; self-education should not be taken lightly or for granted. After all, accountability for one's self and one's actions though magnanimous, is not always mellifluous.

Major Benefits of Investing in an Education Franchise Business

Education is a growing sector in India and offers potential business opportunities for those who wish to enter the business world. India has the world's largest youth population which wants to receive quality education with world class training systems. This allows new educational concept to enter the Indian market and become popular through franchising. Just see how KidsZee, Arihant Institute, British Academy For English School, NIIT are doing good business in the education sector and there branches can seen in different parts of the country. This has been possible only due to the concept of franchising.

Starting an education & training franchises business has become quite common nowadays as here the success rate is very high. There are many advantages of starting an education franchise business in India, such as:

High Success Rate: The best thing about investing in an education franchise is that you would be working on an already established business format that has a brand value in the market. This way investors and entrepreneurs don't have to struggle much to market their product to attract customers. As people are aware of the education firm and know about the brand, they won't be hesitating to buy your services. Moreover, it has been found that opening an education franchise business have at least 70% chances of surviving.

Full Support from the Franchisor: Whenever you plan to invest in an education franchise concept, remember that full support will be offered by the franchisor. As a franchisee, an investor will get all the equipments, training materials, instruction manuals, supplies and all the required assistance from the franchisor. This will surely help in starting a business in the education sector.

Marketing Benefits: Along with this, education franchise owners get benefitted from the different types of marketing campaigns started by the parent company or the franchisor. At times, franchisors also offer training to their franchises to help them manage their new business effectively and develop effective marketing strategies. Remember that the franchisors have adequate knowledge on how to operate and manage business successfully and are ready to help investors and entrepreneurs who are willing to take the franchise of their business.

Easy To Target Customers: The biggest advantage of any education and training franchises that a franchisee doesn't have to make many efforts to attract customers. The brand is already well name in the market with a good reputation. For instance a popular education franchise is KidsZee where 250 business partners join them in a year. The reason behind this is that this child education franchise has a brand name and is well renowned for imparting high quality education to small kids.

Financial assistance: It is comparatively much easier to obtain loan in order start a franchisee business. Quite often franchisors finance new franchise owners either directly or by arranging loan through lending institutions.

Educational Toys By LeapFrog

Since 1985, LeapFrog has taken to heart the commitment of providing quality and fun educational toys for children. With a team of experts in child psychology, teaching and technology, LeapFrog has established itself as one of the most sought after and popular educational toy makers all over the world. In fact, in 2000 alone, during the rise of the demand for children's educational toys, LeapFrog's sales soared by a whopping 120%. Imagine how many products it is selling now!
The increase in demand for educational toys, LeapFrog products, in particular, came after parents started to appreciate and realize the value of play brings to their kids' physical and psychological growth. And since most modern parents rarely have time to spare playing with their kids, they try to compensate the learning that may be derived from them by providing them with quality educatioanal toys.
LeapFrog has recognized this growing need and come up with a wide array of toys, each catering to a particular skill set and age group. There is a LeapFrog toy for every infant, toddler and elementary school child out there. In addition, LeapFrog does not only address the educational needs of kids in the English speaking world. It has toys that also come in Spanish and other major foreign languages.
Popular LeapFrog educational toys for infants and toddlers include the Learn Around Playground, the LittleTouch LeapPad Learning System, the LeapStart Learning Table, the Fridge Farm Magnetic Animal Set, the Hug & Learn Baby Tad Plush, and the Little Touch LeapPad Library.
Preschoolers and Kindergarteners can enjoy and learn from toys like the Leapster L-Max Learning Game System (which can be plugged into a television), the Super Saver Teaching Bank, the Math Desk, and the LeapPad Alphabet Bus, just to name a few.
Gradeschoolers aren't left out either. Some of the more popular LeapPad games for gradeschoolers are the Turbo Extreme Handheld, the Twist & Shout Multiplication, the FLY PenTop Computer, the LeapPad Plus Writing Learning System, and Mind Mania Spelling.
LeapPad even has a line for highschoolers! Indeed, every child (and child at heart) has room in the LeapFrog learning curb. Its continuing commitment to helping children learn while at play is unparalleled. This is why LeapPad has remained at the top spot among the world's makers of quality educational toys, and it has never been surpassed since.

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Educational Toy Companies

The demand for children's educational toys is rising. This is because more and more parents are appreciating the value these products bring to their kids - who wouldn't want something that has learning and play combined into one fantastic product?
In fact, in 2005 alone, while the sales of traditional toys like Hot Wheels and Barbie dolls declined, sales of educational toys skyrocketed, with popular children's educational toy manufacturer LeapFrog seeing its figures increase by a whopping 120 percent.
LeapFrog's most popular educational toy to date is the Leapster L-Max Learning Game System. It is created especially for elementary level children and preschoolers. It carries a variety of games and can easily be plugged into any monitor or television set to play on the large screen. It is a kiddie alternative to the PlayStation.
It is for this reason that toy manufacturers all over the world are upping their ante on children's educational toys and have begun making their own product lines to try to emulate the success experienced by LeapFrog.
Chicago-based toy manufacturer PIL has also come up with toys that are based on popular family movies for its Story Reader electronic book. Some of the films that have been adapted include The Lion King, The Incredibles, and Chicken Little. The product has long term value because children only need to buy the device one time and just purchase story cartridges, thereafter.
Walt Disney Co's Disney Consumer Products, for instance, came up with a new educational game titled "Finding Nemo: Learning With Nemo", which features an underwater adventure that teaches children number and letter recognition in the preschool level. The company has also partnered with V-Tech to manufacture a device that teaches children how to use the phone properly and instills correct telephone etiquette, called the Call 'N Learn Phone.
Another toy company, Warner Bros Consumer Products also teamed up with major toy manufacturers to create educational toys and games based on its popular animated series', like Batman and Looney Tunes. Even Scooby-Doo was not spared from having a Vtech smartridge created in its name; where children are being taught math, logic and spelling, all while going through a haunted adventure at an amusement park.
Toy manufacturers are increasingly realizing the gains that educational toys can bring to their revenues. Thus, their researchers constantly try to develop new products that tickle parents' and children's hunger for so-called combination toys.

Home Schooling is a Popular Education Option

Schooling children at home was not an unusual thing in the not-so-distant past. Settlements were often far apart and children were not often gathered in large numbers. Parents would purchase the textbooks most accepted as "necessary," such as the McGuffey Reader, and both parents would be involved in educating their children. In addition to learning "the three 'R's," students also learned the tasks of daily living and of spiritual and moral growth. Home schooling fell out of favor when people lived in more populated areas and when the federal government began emphasizing public education for all students.

The requirements of Home Schooling should be considered. The federal government requires that certain compulsory education requirements be covered for children attending K-12. Individual states may have other additional requirements. Parents should check the laws before starting to home school.

There can be drawbacks to Home Schooling. Home schooled children may have a reduced amount of age-segregated socialization with their peers. In addition to limited contact with children their own age, home schooled children are unable to participate in organized school sports that encourage teamwork and teach healthy competition with opponents of roughly equivalent age and skill. Children have fewer opportunities to participate in musical groups, concerts, and recitals. Although children can learn an instrument at home, they are unable to participate in school-related parades or events.

None of these things are entirely precluded by a child being home schooled. However, parents will need to work harder to ensure that their children can participate in them should their children be interested.

What are the Benefits of Home Schooling? Home schooled students are not around children of their age group as much as other students; however, most school students have limited interaction during the day. Rather, they interact with their teachers while competing with peers for those teachers' attention. Home schooling is usually conducted in the spirit of cooperation. Students taught together often work together, rather than compete to be the first to find the "right" answer.

Home schooling tends to be safer. Students are not exposed to hazards outside of dangers that exist in any home, unless students are anticipating in scientific experimentation or in rigorous physical education classes. Students do not need to worry about classmates with knives or illegal firearms, nor do they need to face going through a metal detector on a daily basis.

Sports are not a part of the regular school curriculum. Roughly the same percentages of home schooled students participate in after school activities as do their peers. It is also possible that home-based physical education programs are as effective as school-based programs, given that students are more likely to be active for the entire period and are not waiting their turn in class.

Understanding Different Aspects of Early Childhood Education

A child can start learning almost immediately after they are born. They learn that crying will get them held, changed, or fed; they learn that they sleep better when they are in mommy's or daddy's arms. These behaviors are learned and they are a part of early childhood education. It is important to teach your child different things at different stages in their life.
When a child is under the age of one, he or she will go through many changes quickly. These changes include turning over from side to side, reaching for things, holding things, recognizing different shapes, colors, and sizes. They also learn how to crawl, pull up, and eventually stand up and walk.
When a child is placed in day care it is important that this time is spent learning for your child. He or she does not need to learn 24/7 but the activities offered at day care should be positive activities that increase the ability to learn and comprehend. education is just by reading but any experience that helps the child learn is one of the building block in his or her education. Travel, play, learning from parents behavior patterns is also education which impacts the personality and emotional development of the children.
When a child comes home in the evenings and over the weekends, the learning activities need to be enforced so they can be learned more quickly and efficiently. If an activity is not taught to the child all the time they may not be able to hold on to the concepts as easily and this can affect the way that the child develops mentally.
Early childhood education doesn't require that the child sit behind a desk all day in a classroom setting. A child can learn anywhere and at any time. For example, riding in the car, a child can learn to count. You and your child can spot animals in the field or cars going by. You can carry a DVD player with some of the most popular education shows for him or her to watch. When you stop, teach your child the many colors that are around you and no matter where you are the trees are always green, yellow, orange, red, or brown and the sky is always blue or gray.
Once a child is old enough to go to school, you will feel good in the fact that you helped your child to prepare for this time. You created a positive way for your child to learn and he or she has absorbed every bit of it. At night, you and your child can keep a diary of all the things you learned along the way and decide which activity was the most helpful and which was the least. Document the amount of time it took your child to learn something and how has it impacted them in life.

Popular Educational Tours - Five Must-See Cities For Students

There is a picture in a maroon binder somewhere in the world of me standing with a friend in Colombia, South America. I am barely standing in my own strength, being so consumed by my own dramatic feelings of teenage homesickness. I had rarely endured 500-mile youth group trips until then, and here I stood across the ocean and several degrees closer to the equator from everything I had ever known. By the end of that photo album, I'm a new person. I have learned to love a culture so different from my own. I care about another language. I have friends here, I've learned to cross the street bravely and audaciously in the city of Ibague, and I never slam the door of a cab - the drivers really hate that. I have learned more than I could have known I wanted to. Travel is loaded with discovery, and students - in school and of life - should do it as often as possible. The experience I describe above was out of the country, but there are so many treasures for learning right here in the United States. These are five of the most popular destinations for educational tours in the United States.
Philadelphia
This is an obvious one. Our nation's first capital and the site for the Second Continental Congress who famously signed the Declaration of Independence during the American Revolution is also the resting place for Benjamin Franklin and the memorial home of Betsy Ross. Benjamin Franklin was crucial in the industrialization and improvement of Philadelphia. His biographer, Carl Van Doren, said of Franklin's burial, "No other town burying its great man, ever buried more of itself than Philadelphia with Franklin."
Other historical attractions in Philadelphia include the famous Liberty Bell, Valley Forge National Park, and Old City Hall. But don't only visit Philadelphia for the history. This city, which is currently the sixth most populated in the United States, is every bit the modern metropolis. It is home to Adventure Aquarium as well as of course the birth place for the Philly Cheese Steak sandwich. Don't forget to watch National Treasure before you go to both inspire you for some of the historical attractions you will see and to remind you how engaging history can be. And don't miss the Philadelphia Museum of Art where art, history and pop culture converge as your students will no doubt want to attempt the famous run up the steps first immortalized by the fiction hero, Rocky.
Boston
Very similar to Philadelphia in historical significance, Boston, Massachusetts, is also rich with American foundations. Here you can visit Paul Revere's house, the Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Science, or the Children's Museum. You can walk the Freedom Trail, a tour of Colonial and Revolutionary Boston and the famous sites related to America's fight for freedom. In the Faneuil Hall Marketplace you'll find eateries, boutiques, and street vendors crowded with Boston culture. And if you need a quieter tour, consider the traditional swan boats in the public garden lagoon. Boston is nestled in the heart of America's first colonies and serves as an excellent destination for student groups.
Washington D.C.
Don't forget our country's current capital, not that anyone would. Washington D.C. is arguably one of the most visited destinations in the country. Capitol Hill, the Lincoln Memorial, and all kinds of museums of art and science make up this classic American focal point. Arlington National Cemetery is one of the greatest places to visit in Washington D.C., and student groups will never forget the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and its traditional changing of the guard, which occurs every half hour in warm months and every hour in winter.
Most visitors will not feel their D.C. tour is complete of course without visiting the White House itself. In an election year, student tours can be planned for the following year's grand inauguration. What a memory for any student to be there for the swearing in of their new president! But a trip to our capital city in any year will certainly awaken in anyone an appreciation for our government and the branches that work together to uphold it.
New York City
New York City holds ready-made thrills for almost any young person in America. Art, history, culture, science, and commerce all make New York City a prominent hub of activity. The Metropolitan Museum of Art can take two days to fully appreciate. The Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building are famous symbols of American culture, although Top of the Rock - at the top of Rockefeller Center offers a more interactive journey and beautiful view of the city. Time Square has become a more modern symbol of the various aspects of New York City culture, and Broadway is of course famous for live shows and theater certain to dazzle any New York visitor.
Like the other cities, New York City of course offers various tours already designed for you in order to help navigate this overwhelming metropolis. Circle Line Tours does it in a boat ride, Central Park offers one based on popular movies, and the city offers several other walking tours as well.
Orlando
Walt Disney was passionate about "general mass education" and he loved to accomplish the goal through his fantasy worlds designed as showcases for technical innovation, cultural diversity, and sheer arts and entertainment. The parks in this city are more than tributes to popular cartoon characters. They are rich with sights and sounds and service that will thrill students and adults alike. Don't expect to only learn in Epcot Center, famous for its tribute to science and innovation. There is something to discover in all of Disney's theme parks. In this generation, the mere inspiration behind an entertainment giant of such magnitude can shape the hearts and minds of tomorrow's leaders in arts and science.
I will never think of Disney World again without thinking of Randy Pausch, the professor and scientist whose dreams as a child came true when he was offered the chance to be a Disney imagineer. Today, Pausch's lessons from that reality have been included in one of the most inspirational lectures and books of our time about the value of our dreams and the effort it takes to achieve them. Orlando is rich with this kind of inspiration - the kind people discover on their own when you just give them the chance to imagine what could be.
The choices for amazing student tours are really endless, but these are five of the most popular cities for any student group. There is a world for them to see and discover and so many things for them to invent and create. These cities can open the door at least for their inspiration.

The Most Popular Educational Product Types By Jo Lim

An educational product a device or object that can help a student learn something or help a teacher become an effective educator on a particular subject matter. It spans a wide area of academic fields, subjects, pedagogy, student academic levels, attitudes and behavior. There are products made specifically for the teacher, products made specifically for the student and products designed for both of them.
The most common example of a product that is educational can be seen in teaching aids. Teaching aids in essence are things that help the teacher convey a certain subject matter as efficiently as they can. Teaching aids range from pictures regarding certain botanical plants, maps that showcase the geography of a particular continent, videos that graphically represent mathematical concepts via interesting animations and even actual demo devices that present an example of natural physical laws. These products are developed by manufacturers with the help of experienced teachers. This ensures that the resulting products are educational as well as relevant in the modern educational environment.
Students nowadays are luckier compared to their counterparts in the generation preceding theirs. Modern students have the ultimate educational aid, a computer with an internet connection. With a computer and an internet connection, you can access a large library of content online to help you understand a subject, a concept, a principle efficiently and in the shortest amount of time possible. There is also specially developed software that can showcase efficiently a particular subject matter. For example, a projectile application can help students understand the physics of a freely falling body by using a graphical representation of how a projectile flies depending on the set launching force. Graphical representations teach better than compared to just numbers on the board and the teacher's narrative powers and skill of description.
Calculators are also educational products. If a student understands the concept of basic arithmetic, they can use calculators to save a significant amount of time performing summations in a statistic subject. Instead of doing the additions by hand, you can do it in the calculator effectively helping you understand and learn a statistic principle instead of dwelling on doing arithmetic. Aside from calculators, there are also models, charts, experiments and even special books and albums that can help students learn various subjects.
One of the most popular educational product for both teachers and students is the educational video. A well crafted video can grab the viewer's attention and keep it all throughout the course of the video and teach a particular subject matter to the viewer. A video is an aural and visual experience and modern students respond very well to this. A video that shows the hydrologic cycle by showing how water evaporates from seas and rivers, condenses into clouds and effectively falling down as rain is more effective than a teacher drawing figures on the board and trying to describe it.

4 Types Of Popular Educational Toys

Educational toys are becoming a staple in most homes across the world. As parents realise the important of early education, they try to find ways to make it as fun and simple for their children as possible. This is where educational toys come into handy. They are affordable, fun for your children and provide them with the best educational material you can find. We take a look at a few of the most popular educational toys on the market.
Memory Games: One of the most popular toddler games on the market are memory games. These memory games help develop your child's motor skill development and their memory banks. Playing these sort of games with your children are also perfect for strengthening the bond between parent and child. You can use these memory games while you're on the road or at home for fun evening in. You can find memory games with numbers or pictures or a combination of both numbers and pictures.
Puzzles: The preschool puzzles help your children recognize objects and shapes. Most younger puzzles include about nine double-sided picture and word puzzle pieces. The most common puzzles have two distinct ways to play the game. You can either let your child connect the words on one side or connect the pictures on the other sides. You can also let them build each puzzle individually.
Building Blocks:Most educational building blocks have letters, numbers and pictures attached to them. Your child will be able to spell out words or create different situations with the building blocks. It is a lot of fun for toddlers.
Snap Cards: Snap cards are great fun. You need to match the word with the specific picture. When each piece finally connects together, on the other hand side, the word will be in bright, bold colours. This is perfect for children who need to practice their shapes and sounds.
These four games are the most popular educational toys on the market currently. Children absolutely love memory games, snap cards, building blocks and puzzles. If you can find bright, colour, fun, educational toys for your children then make sure you snap them up. You will be able to see an amazing difference when it comes to how far your child actually improves.
Educational toys are a fantastic addition to your arsenal of educational tools for your child and the betterment of their learning and academic skills.

Preschooler's Educational Toys

The demand for educational toys is fast growing, as more and more parents see the value behind these products and children start to appreciate the kind of learning they obtain from them. In fact, the demand for them has surpassed that of traditional toys. In 2005, for instance, educational toy maker LeapFrog's sales surged 120%.
Most of the educational toys toy companies create target preschoolers and elementary school children. This is because the preschool years are the best years to instill learning in kids. Their minds are still fresh and remain relatively unmuddled by the events around them. And because today's modern parent is always out working, and give the benefits educational toys give to their preschoolers, they tend to not mind the price tag.
Here are some of the more popular educational toys that have been designed for preschoolers.
LeapFrog's Leapster L-Max Learning Game System
The Leapster L-Max
Preschoolers and even elementary age kids will enjoy this product because it carries several preprogramed games that are both fun and educational. The device can be plugged into the picture tube of the television so the games can be played on the big screen. Kids can also play games while on the road because of its portability.
Publications International Ltd's Story Reader
Story Reader is an electronic book that may be loaded with all sorts of stories for preschoolers to enjoy. Parents only need to buy story cartridges to be uploaded into the device, so its capacity is virtually limitless. Some of the popular stories that have been featured in Story Reader are The Lion King, Chicken Little, and The Incredibles. It has become so popular that, in 2003, it has sold over 1.5 million units and more than 7.5 million books. Imagine how many it has sold at present!
Fisher-Price and Nickelodeon's Dora The Explorer
These two top children's companies have teamed up to create a new cooking-based educational game that features the popularly cute and bilingual Dora preparing all kinds of dishes kids can emulate.
Disney Consumer Product and V-Tech's Call 'n Learn Phone/Leapfor's Tic Talk
Both of these educational toy teaches preschoolers proper phone etiquette. The only difference is that the Tic Talk deals with the right use of the cellular phone.
Hasbro's Baby Einstein
Nearly all toys under the Baby Einstein line encourage kids to appreciate art, music, language and poetry. The line carries several interactive game devices that preschool kids would definitely enjoy. Its most sought after products include the Baby Bach Touch 'N Play Pipes and the Baby Shakespeare Find-And-Rhyme.