Hi All, 

Good morning.  Today is the first day of the second full week of school for school kids in and around the Farmingdale area.  Some might have started later or earlier making this not exactly the first day of the second full week of school...but close enough.

Anyway, with school in session, brains are starting to go into overdrive and hum with reading, writing and arithmetic. Yep - the fall semester is underway and getting into full swing.

With that all said, I found an interesting website to help get those brain waves moving and jumping and hopping - all in the hopes that school will be easier. 

Introducing...Mental Floss...so, you ask...what exactly is Mental Floss?  Great question. The site bills itself as "an intelligent read, but not too intelligent. We're the sort of intelligent that you hang out with for a while, enjoy our company, laugh a little, smile a lot and then we part ways. Great times. And you only realize how much you learned from us after a little while. Like a couple days later when you're impressing your friends with all these intriguing facts and things you picked up from us, and they ask you how you know so much, and you think back on that great afternoon you spent with us and you smile."

If you really, really want to learn more about Mental Floss, click on this link which takes you to the 'About Us' page on the site. 

That all said, there are 5 links that appear on the top banner of the page.
1. Amazing Facts - the Amazing Fact generator generates, well, amazing facts...fun stuff. In a flash card sort of way.  

2. Big Questions - answer the 'big questions' in life like 'Why Do Shells Sound Like the Ocean?' and 'Why Are Baseball Seasons 162 Games Long?' and more...

3. Videos - lots of videos hosted by John Green...as the site proclaims, 'Join host John Green as he makes a rapid trek through everything you really need to know about science, pop culture, and history.  Check back every Wednesday for a new episode of the Mental Floss List Show!'

4. Lists - list for every occasion. Examples of lists include '30 of the Best Parents in Literature',

5. Quizzes - again, a quiz for every occasion.  Examples of quizzes include 'A Simpsons Guest Star Quiz', 'Ikea or Cheese?' or 'The Name Behind the Initial'.

So there you have it...a fun, tongue-in-cheek entertaining, pseudo-educational website.  Did I mention that Mental Floss is fun?   

Enjoy the site!

Regards, 
Stu

Back To School = Tests, Term Papers, Reports, Exams and more...

Hi All,

Well, its September and that means its back to school time once again.  And with the beginning of school comes exams and tests and term papers and reports and more...

Sorry guys and gals - its just the way it goes.

But wait...today's post is all about how to do better when you take tests, exams and quizzes, mid-terms, final exams and more!

So, without further ado....here are a bunch of websites that will help you do better on your tests, exams and quizzes during the new school year!

From a website called Study Guides and Strategies comes this entry titled, Ten Tips For Terrific Test Taking.  On this page are 10 very simple tips that will gear up your test taking skills for the new school year.  Pay attention to item number 10: 'Decide on and adopt study strategies that work best for you.'  Great advice for everybody taking an elementary school quiz, a junior high school test or a final exam in high school!

From a website called TestTakingTips.com comes a set of entries on varies aspects of test taking.  For example there are links to 'Test Taking Tips', 'Study Skills and Tips', 'Note Taking', 'Cramming Techniques', 'Reducing Test Anxiety' and 'Test Taking Tips For Parents'.

Each entry is chock full of advice and tips and suggestions.  The site is well worth your time and effort to take a look-see...For example, the link from 'Test Taking Strategies, Skills & Techniques' breaks out test taking tips further.  There is another section for 'Test Preparation', another for 'The Test', and a third section for 'Post Test'. At the bottom of each page is tips for specific types of tests - like multiple choice, essay, true/false, oral, short answer, quantitative/math tests and open book tests.  Links are attached in the prior sentence for your use...

Finally, I've linked to a few of the better known test preparation organizations so readers can get input from these teachers...

Princeton Review
Princeton Review - 3 SAT Tips and Advice

Kaplan Test Prep
link to State Standards and Testing and Test Taking Strategies For State Exams

Good luck on your exams, test, quizzes, mid-terms, finals...you get the idea.

Regards,
Stu