How to Help My Child With School Assignments

How to Help My Child With School Assignments 0SHARESShare The education system is getting tough day by day where children task sheet (To-do’s) always remain full with daily homework, assignments, weekend projects, unit and midterm test preparation. They remain under stress to finish off their work on time. Often children do not understand concepts in the first time with feel lack of personal attention in the school classroom. At this time they got stuck to finish off their assignments and wish to get one-to-one academic support who gives answers to all their queries and doubts. Online tutoring is becoming very popular way among students and parents with flexibility and availability that it offers. Your child can ask Math tutoring anytime any day right from their home. The online tutors will give hands-on support to your child in all kind of daily homework. May homework comprises of learning a chapter from the textbook, problem solving worksheet, essay writing of any other skills that need practice outside the school. Online tutor improves your child skills and abilities by revising chapters learned in the school classroom. Online tutoring companies offer tutoring and homework help in all subjects to K-12 students. They offer fun based learning with activities like games, quizzes, mock test, flashcard, and lot of other resources pulled out from internet. It builds interest in your child to learn most tough and boring subject at very comfortable level. Your child will show definite progress when he completes lessons on time clarifying all doubts. So if you find your child sitting unhappy on his study table with bagful of school assignment and homework, hire an online tutoring service. It will be one stop destination for all your academic help. [starbox id=admin]

The Magic of Music 8 Musical Phenomena Explained [Infographic]

The Magic of Music 8 Musical Phenomena Explained [Infographic] Suzy S. Have you ever thought about how awesome music is? The joy of performing and listening to music forms a universal language that connects us across cultures and across time. And yet despite how universal the experience of music is, there’s still a lot we don’t know about its effects on our bodies and minds. In fact,  the famed anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss once said  that music is “the supreme mystery of human knowledge.” Mysterious though it may be, scientists have discovered some interesting theories for the most common musical phenomena that we all experience. For example, why do songs get stuck in your head?  Whats the effect of music on memory? Check out the infographic below to discover  8 musical phenomena, and continue reading to find out more! Share this Image On Your Site pstrongPlease include attribution to TakeLessons with this graphic./strong/pbr / pa href=https://takelessons.com/blog/magic-of-music-z15img src=https://takelessons.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Earworms-Other-Musical-Phenomena-Infographic-2.png alt=8 Musical Phenomena Explained width=720px border=0 //a/pbr / p 1.  Why do songs get stuck in my head? Whether it’s a commercial jingle or an overplayed radio hit, youve likely experienced having  songs stuck in your head. Scientists refer to this phenomenon as an earworm, and they don’t know all that much about it. For one,  its difficult to study: a song popping into your head can happen at random times. Moreover, it  often happens when your mind is zoned out and focused on a repetitive task. As you can imagine, these are not conditions that are easy to replicate in the laboratory! What we do know: several scientific studies have shown that one of the biggest contributing factors to experiencing an earworm is listening to a song over and over in a short amount of time. Other studies suggest that the shape of your brain plays a part. Ok, but how do you get that song OUT of your head? Other music may serve as a useful distraction, but one of the best cures  may be to give in and listen to the song again. 2.  Why does  my voice sound different on recordings? You’ve lost your phone (again), so you borrow a friend’s to call your own. It’s ringing did you leave it on silent? You let it ring through to your voicemail, when all of a sudden whose voice is that? Scientists believe  this phenomenon is because of  the mechanics of your  ear. When you speak, you hear your voice in addition to vibrations from your vocal cords passing through your throat and mouth into your inner ears. These vibrations are typically low frequency, which is what youre used to hearing. When you record your voice, you only hear the air-conducted sound   which is why you might think you sound higher-pitched. Test it yourself:  As youre  speaking out loud, curl both hands behind your outer ears and pull them forward. This will allow more air-conducted speech sounds into the ear, changing the volume and timbre. For the opposite effect, try plugging your ears to hear only the bone-conducted sounds. 3. Im bad at singing am  I tone deaf? Not everyone has the courage to sing in public. Some even fear that if they so much as open their mouth, everyone in the room will cover their ears and glass will shatter! But there’s a difference between being truly pitch-challenged and having an untrained singing voice. The inability to follow a tune or to differentiate between pitches is called  amusia, and researchers say it  occurs in about one out of every 20 people. While brain scans have revealed some differences between people with amusia and people without, it’s hard to say which came first. It’s possible amusia is wired into the brain at birth, but it’s just as likely that a lack of musical training is to blame. Are you really tone deaf?  Learn more and take the tone deaf test. 4.  Why are some people so bad at keeping rhythm? Similar to the inability to hold a tune, some people find keeping rhythm a challenge. But before you try to excuse yourself from the dance floor citing auditory arrhythmia, keep in mind that the actual scientific condition of being “beat deaf” is even rarer than amusia. In one study, researchers found only two people to be  truly rhythmically challenged, out of a group of hundreds. These beat deaf individuals had no trouble tapping out a beat in silence, but they couldnt synchornize their movements with sounds.  Scientists think this is due to an abnormality in brain connectivity and internal biological rhythms. Bad at rhythm? Here are some great tips  to improve from Easy Ear Training. 5.  Why do I get chills when listening to music? Ever felt chills while listening to a specific song? Youre not alone! Scientists call this  musical frisson. It’s little surprise to scientists that the experience involves dopamine release, the brains feel-good chemical. What did come as a surprise in this scientific study was that the emotional climax of a song was not actually the part responsible for musical frisson; it seems the anticipation of emotional release during the tension-building moments matters just as much as the eventual resolution in giving us that tingling feeling. What song gives you the chills? Jeff Buckleys Hallelujah is one of our favorites. More songs here. 6.  Why do certain artists and songs bring back memories? There are many experiences that prove  the connection between music and memory. Listening to music can make you think of  a time or place, and it can  make you feel  nostalgic for a past relationship. Similarly, music  has been shown to deeply affect those with Alzheimers disease. Despite significant research into the subject, there’s still a lot we don’t know about the connection. Its challenging  to study, since music blends emotional experiences with text and meaning   and these are stored differently in the brain. Emotional experiences are encoded as an  episodic memory, and text and meaning is encoded as  semantic memory. This is why sometimes you remember the title or lyrics of a song, but not the tune, and other times you remember the tune, but the words never make it past the tip of your tongue! Music can also help you learn other subjects faster! Check out the research (and our playlist)  here. 7.  Does music really help you exercise? Many people rely so much  on music when exercising that when their  phone or iPod runs out of battery, they are completely thrown off and can’t even complete their workout. And many professional athletes rely on a particular playlist to pump them up. A recent scientific study  on workout music reveals several explanations for this phenomenon. First, music serves as an important distraction from physical pain and fatigue. Second, music can trigger  your “rhythm response”  your body cant help but move to the beat! This keeps your movement consistent and helps you use energy more efficiently. Whats the BEST workout music, though? Check out this playlist from Fitness Magazine. 8.  Why do I love listening to sad songs? In addition to energizing us, music can lead to deeply personal emotional catharsis. Psychologists  pinpoint the release of the hormones oxytocin and prolactin as one reason we keep coming back to sad songs in particular. These hormones, involved in social bonding and nurturing, are also part of romantic attachment. Emotional identification with sad songs is an important part of our ability to empathize and bond with others. What are the best sad songs to listen to? In  a Rolling Stone readers poll, Eric Claptons Tears in Heaven topped the list. So there you have it 8 musical phenomena that connect many of us. Whether you’re enjoying 400-year-old classical music, learning how to sing or play music, or jamming to the rap album that dropped last week, we all get an equal chance to participate in the many mysteries of music. Post Author: David H. David H. writes freelance psychology articles out of Milwaukee, WI, and has a passion for presenting a psychological perspective on any number of different topics. A veteran instrumentalist and a Tenor 2, David enjoys car singing and playing improv jazz in his free time. Need Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher

Tips for Improving your Workplace Communication - Introvert Whisperer

Introvert Whisperer / Tips for Improving your Workplace Communication - Introvert Whisperer Tips for Improving your Workplace Communication Effective communication is vital to both the overall efficiency and culture of the workplace. The state of these two things depends on a balance across four different types of communication: verbal (in-person) communication, non-verbal (body language and facial expressions), phone conversations, and written communication. The words we use and the messages we send are only one small part of the puzzle- the way we choose to send our message can make or break the effectiveness of communication. Lean on these tips to better understand the four types of workplace communication and how you can leverage them to your career advantage. Verbal Communication: Be Choosy about What You Say Online If you can help it, always choose to communicate in person. Being selective about what you say in person and what you feel you can say online for the sake of time will help to save a lot of confusion down the line. As the workplace becomes technologically dependent, communication via online chat, mobile phone or additional smart device is increasingly more tempting. Although pinging someone across the office can be more time-efficient, wires can be crossed and negative interpretations of intended messages can arise. There are many benefits of opting for traditional face-to-face communication within the workplace, including the ability to create a more engaging and collaborative environment, address sensitive situations in a concise and empathic way, or eliminating misinterpretations of tone that could otherwise arise through online interactions. Reserve this type of communication for collaborative meetings discussing broad themes or decisions regarding a project. Reserve online communication for small notifications about the projects progress or collaborative editing done to a document. Take advantage of a unified communications offering to sync all of your digital communications platforms. This will help improve the response rate and boost overall efficiency. Non-verbal Communication: Practice Empathy Sometimes the strongest messages we send aren’t the ones we’re actually saying. A study conducted by UCLA found that up to 93 percent of communication is determined as either effective or ineffective on the basis of nonverbal cues. Throw in the fact that nonverbal communication is personal the way an individual communicates through eye contact, gestures, or tone is based on preference, upbringing, or culture- and there can be a lot of potential for miscommunication. Practicing empathy is a great step when being more mindful about nonverbal communication in the workplace. Empathy is split into two parts: emotional and cognitive. Emotional empathy is the ability to feel what another person is feeling. Cognitive empathy is the ability to understand what another person is feeling, and this is specifically important in effective workplace communication. Being mindful of your cognitive empathy will allow you to recognize when a coworker is uncomfortable or upset and, using clues from your understanding of the situation in relation to their response, will guide you in seeking out a solution. A great way to practice cognitive empathy is through active listening, which utilizes eye contact, nodding, and facial expressions to convey that your coworker’s ideas are validated. Phone Conversations: Smile on The Phone If you have a love-hate relationship with the phone, you’re not alone- Yes, I love to text on it, but do I have to speak on it? Can’t our client just message me their questions? Phone calls can be a tricky form of workplace communication. It’s more immediate than an email, allowing an individual to hash out a situation more quickly. However, much like an email or an instant message, it strips away the face-to-face quality of communication that delivers important nonverbal cues needed to decipher the tone and intent of a message. It is still possible to convey a friendly disposition when delivering messages via phone. Smiling while on the phone may seem pointless as no one can see you, but this small change can convey a positive tone over the phone and even boost your mood! Studies suggest smiling triggers a positive feedback loop in your brain that releases mood-enhancing stimulants. Having a positive mood while communicating over the phone can help maintain a conversation void of tension. Additionally, being mindful of enunciation while on the phone will help avoid tension on the other end of the line, helping the recipient of your message understand your intentions clearly. Email: Prevent Them From Reading In-Between the Lines Written communication is by far the most dangerous, as it is the most easily misinterpreted. Whereas verbal communication has the help of nonverbal cues like body language or inflections to help convey the true meaning of a message, written forms like email or instant messaging has only words to rely on. The words you write represent your attitude, abilities, and attention to detail, so it is vital for your writing to accurately and concisely convey these as its permanent medium allows the recipient to reread, analyze, and reinterpret. The good news about written communication- you have time to write thoughtfully and edit before sending it. To prevent sending muddied messages that warrant your recipient to read too carefully into your intended meaning, follow eight-steps to mitigate risks and communicate effectively. Taking a moment to think critically about your audience will help you craft an email using language that won’t offend. Take extra precautions and send a draft to a trusted colleague to peer edit. It may seem silly to have someone monitor an email, but the additional eyes and five minutes may save you a lot of reputation management later on. Allow Your Communication to Advance Your Career Effective communication is not the only key to maintaining a positive workspace but also denotes a true leader. If you are entering the work sphere looking to climb the ladder in your career, mastering soft skills like communication will help set you apart from the rest of your workforce. A report published by iCMS Hiring Insights found that 94 percent of recruiting professionals believed an individual with strong soft skills position themselves for promotions. Even more surprising, an individual with strong soft skills will be more likely to receive a promotion over someone with more experience but weaker skills like communication. This is because 58 percent of employers feel soft skills are more important for higher leadership than in entry-level positions, encouraging them to promote an employee demonstrating these qualities in order to get the most out of their abilities. Taking the time to foster your communication skills within the professional space can and will boost your car eer! About the Author: Brynn Pearce is a business communications follower that is always interested in exploring different workflows. She is a big advocate for efficiency and incorporating best practices into all work environments. Go to top Power-Influence-Office Politics: it comes down to your Strategic Relationships and understanding of how you build each one of these elements. I want to help you accelerate your career by connecting you with your Free Instant Access to my video that outlines all of this and meaningful actions you can take today!  Start watching now by clicking here! Brought to you by Dorothy Tannahill-Moran â€" dedicated to unleashing your professional potential. Introvert Whisperer

3 Crafts to Promote Literacy Skills This Summer

3 Crafts to Promote Literacy Skills This Summer Since summer is typically dedicated to rest and relaxation, improving your students literacy skills may not be on the forefront of your mind. The summer months, however, provide a unique opportunity to incorporate literacy skills into activities. Using crafts to promote literacy this summer can encourage your student to keep their mind active and sharp, while participating in fun and engaging activities. Crafts that encourage literacy skills include creating comic strips, incorporating theater activities, and designing menus. Looking to both engage your student and maintain the fun of the summer months? Keep reading to learn three crafts to promote literacy skills this summer: Summer literacy craft #1: comic strips A comic strip craft can be a great way to encourage literacy practice this summer. Read a favorite book together, and then have your child recreate the story in the form of a comic strip. This employs their visual skills and improves their comprehension skills as they translate what theyve read into their own version. You can also have your student create comics that extend the storyline of one of their favorite books or characters. Additionally, they can create their own stories altogether. Regardless, visit the local library or bookstore and have your child pick out examples of comics and graphic novels that will get them excited for reading and creating. [RELATED: How to Enhance Your Students Experience with Literature] Summer literacy craft #2: readers theater Readers theater is a performance technique in which actors read directly from the script, without memorizing lines. This is a great opportunity for your student to improve their fluency and vocabulary, while also having fun and utilizing their creative side. Essentially, the goal of this activity is to read the words of the story in the moment, using creative ways of acting out the dialogue. Your child can craft props and costumes out of everyday materials to further illustrate the story they will be telling. You can access scripts for free online, or you and your child can create your own. Acting out words and passages can help students further grasp vocabulary concepts they may have previously found difficult. [RELATED: 4 Tips to Prevent Summer Slide] Summer literacy craft #3: book design Young students can benefit from projects that involve writing and illustrating because it provides the opportunity to gain a firmer grasp of the meanings of everyday words in a creative and engaging way. There are a plethora of written materials your student can create, including: A menu for a pretend restaurant A newspaper of household events or happenings Encourage your child to be creative when it comes to selecting materials for this project. They may choose to create the illustrations from watercolors, paints, oil pastels, or a variety of other creative methods. If your child comes to you for help with a word, help them sound it outbut dont give them the answerin an effort to let them come to the correct conclusion on their own. [RELATED: How to Create a Summer Reading Program For You and Your Child] To help create a healthy balance of fun and learning for you and your family this summer, try these crafts focused around literacy skills. It can be a great benefit to teach your student how learning and creativity intertwine. Any topics you want to know more about? Let us know! The Varsity Tutors Blog editors love hearing your feedback and opinions. Feel free to email us atblog@varsitytutors.com.

Become Math Pro at your School Take Help of Online Math Tutors

Become Math Pro at your School Take Help of Online Math Tutors 0SHARESShare You can secretly work with online math tutors and become a math pro. This is the stuff heroic tales are made of. The Kung Fu fighter who trains in the back yard or the Gladiator who trains with prisoners and in the end conquers the world. You can be the Math pro of your school with dedication, sincerity and hard work. Remember you are lucky to have an internet connection and a computer to make use of online math tutors. Surf the net and you will find many online math tutor. The secret to you success lies in using the resources made available by these generous online math tutors prudently and judiciously. Listen to your online tutor and then immediately use the lesson learned to solve math problems. These are available from the same source. You can access these online math tutors and practice for long periods till you are confident you can solve any problem. It is guaranteed that soon you will be the Math Pro at your school. [starbox id=admin]

Learning Accounting Sows the Seeds of Responsibility

Learning Accounting Sows the Seeds of Responsibility Learning Accounting is a subject that gives you tons of money and miles of experience in your career. Any accountant possesses a bachelor’s degree. It upgrades his skills in the subject every now and then through up-to-date certifications for lucrative job prospects. Doing CPA and CISA is adding to the qualification of an accountant for more career opportunities. Duties of accountants in their career! Accountants have major portfolios of business transactions on hand. They are required to perform duties such as examining related records, preparing financial reports, completing tax returns, and consolidating accounts. They play a major role in evaluating the financial condition. It plays major role in part of a business or organization through records and reports. They are expected to apprise the management or practitioner of any important event. This may affect the organization in the future through their analysis and evaluation. Learning Accounting A Serious Job Learning accounting is not just for filling columns. It is also for students that they should have an awareness of their major deals in doing the subject with forecasts of their future responsibilities. Responsibilities as employees in any prestigious business organization. For, accounting is a very important event in a business organization whose prospects depend primarily. It also depends on informed decisions that are based on the recommendations of an accountant. Online Accounting Tutors train students in their key roles as accountants. This also helps them get into the crux of Accounting concepts with in-depth knowledge. This prepare themselves for the serious responsibilities they need to shoulder in future. They showcase the underlying threads of connection in Learning Accounting concepts through proper real life examples for the benefit of students. Accounting homework help An essential need for acing the subject Tutors help reinforce your subject skills while you are doing accounting. Having a problem with a tutor is easy as they show you how to face the problem and manage time to complete it in the exam. Help from accounting homework online sites makes things easy and comfortable for you with basic insights about the topics involved. Accounting Learners! Kind Attention to These Tips Please Students complain that the course is tough and they need to invest much of time in solving problems and tallying balance sheets.   Your kind attention, Accounting learners! Here are a few tips for you to minimize your struggles and maximize your ease in Learning Accounting on your own. Try to look at Accounting as a technical language. It has its set rules, specific terms, methods and approaches for students to follow. Think in Accounting terms. First, understand those terms and you can even memorize them for keeping them on your finger tips. For, without the basic knowledge of those terms, you cannot prepare a profit and loss statement, an income report or a balance sheet. Use logic and analytical reasoning to approach Accounting problems. For, all these problems require you to use your brain with a sharp focus on numbers, figures and the way they are incorporated in columns for bringing out answers. Understand that Accounting has a set of rules which you are to fit into concepts you learn. Try to understand the underlying threads of connection among the concepts.  So as to arrive at conclusions and decisions without ambiguity. Online Accounting Tutors help you learn Accounting topics without room for confusion. It is very easy to  solving Accounting problems when tutors train you in methods. Try Accounting homework solutions with online tutors Accounting is a threatening one for many students when they are not sure of the basic principles of the subject. Online Accounting Homework Help from experienced tutors is the real help for such students. When they struggle with problem solving, producing financial reports, understanding concepts in-depth and many such tasks in Accounting homework. For better results and clear insights in topics try Accounting help online.

Asian Cooking with a Wok

Asian Cooking with a Wok Why Should You Use a Wok? ChaptersThe Advantages of Cooking with a Wok5 Ways to Cook with a WokPreheating Your WokHot Wok, Cold OilThree Recipes for the WokWhich Wok Should I Buy?Whether it’s to cook tasty Japanese food, Thai food, Vietnamese food, or some Chinese food, the wok should be an essential part of your kitchen setup.Do you want to impress your friends with a tasty stir-fry of rice noodles, coconut milk, lemongrass, and tofu?Get a wok to ensure that you get the most out of every ingredient, be it meat, fish, or veggies when cooking Asian recipes!After reading this article, you’ll want to use a wok every day for not just authentic Eastern cuisine, but also Western, which you'll understand is quite different.Why not get cooking tutorials? GiovanniCooking Teacher 4.83 (12) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors HalimaCooking Teacher £12/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors HakimCooking Teacher 5.00 (5) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors VincenzoCooking Teacher £30/h1st les son free!Discover all our tutors GinellaCooking Teacher £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ArronCooking Teacher 5.00 (2) £9/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JoshuaCooking Teacher 5.00 (5) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors FlickCooking Teacher 5.00 (1) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsThe Advantages of Cooking with a WokA wok is a Chinese invention (although it’s used all over the world). The word “wok” just means “an instrument used for cooking”. In China, woks have been used for over 2,000 years by farmers who would usually only have one, as that was all they could afford.When cooking with a wok, you won't really need as much oil. (Source: Stevepb)There are three main advantages to using a wok:Fast: food is cooked quickly thanks to the shape of the wok.Economic: the quicker the food cooks, the less energy you’ll use cooking them.Healthy: you don’t need a lot of oil when cooking with a wok. This means that your food will h ave fewer calories. Furthermore, food that’s cooked quickly retains more of its nutritional value, colour, and flavour.A wok is also easy to maintain. You can just rinse it with warm water. Another advantage of using very little oil or grease.Obviously, a wok is great for cooking Asian food, but it can also be used for plenty of other recipes, too. It’s a good investment and you can find them online, in homeware stores, and in Asian markets.Find out more about cooking classes around the UK.5 Ways to Cook with a WokOne of the wok’s biggest advantages is the different ways you can cook using it.There's nothing stopping you from cooking your usual food in the wok, too! (Source: Hans)Sautéing: This is when you cook cut food quickly for one or two minutes while constantly stirring and mixing the food with a wooden spatula. Make sure that the wok is hot before adding your food so that it cooks quickly. You can easily sauté vegetables, as well as beef and onions, before adding soy sauce or sweet and sour sauce once cooked.Frying: In this case, you’re going to have to add a lot of oil. You can use a wok to fry food, too. Of course, this means that it won’t be as healthy. You just have to boil the oil while making sure the wok is only half full so that you don’t burn it. You can then individually place your ingredients, spring rolls, or prawn crackers into the wok so that they don’t stick to each other and come out crunchy. You need to make sure that your food is dry so that the wok doesn’t spit. This is great for Chinese and Vietnamese dishes.Stewing: You can make dishes with sauces like Peking duck or caramelised pork which take longer to cook. You’ll need, you’ll need to cook at a low heat with the lid on while stirring occasionally so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom.Marinating: you can also leave raw meat in the wok for a few hours or overnight before cooking it. You pair it with a marinade of soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, or hone y, for example. Don’t forget to store your raw meat in the fridge.Steaming: In order to steam, you’ll need two things: a bamboo steamer and a grill. Put the food you want to steam, like dumplings, seafood, meat, or fish, in the bamboo steamer. Put the bamboo steamer on the grill atop the wok and add water to the wok, ensuring that the water doesn’t reach the basket. Cover and cook. Be careful when removing the food as the steamer will be really hot.Whether you’re cooking healthy steamed food or frying everything, a wok can be really useful!Don't forget that if you're being healthy, you can steam your food, too! (Source: Pietrozj)You should check out this recipe for steamed crystal dumplings on one of favourite Asian food blogs, too. GiovanniCooking Teacher 4.83 (12) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors HalimaCooking Teacher £12/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors HakimCooking Teacher 5.00 (5) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors VincenzoCooking Teac her £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors GinellaCooking Teacher £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ArronCooking Teacher 5.00 (2) £9/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JoshuaCooking Teacher 5.00 (5) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors FlickCooking Teacher 5.00 (1) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsPreheating Your WokFood is often served quickly in Asian restaurants due to how hot woks are.How long does it take to preheat a wok?Until it passes the water test.Not familiar with the water test?Splash a bit of water into your wok! If the water evaporates instantly, your wok is ready to go!Find out more about cooking tutorials around the UK.Hot Wok, Cold OilOnce your wok is hot, add your cold oil.What type of oil?That’s a good question.You’ll need to use oil with high smoke point.  Your oil shouldn’t smoke at all when cooking.  Peanut oil is recommended over vegetable oil since it has a higher smoke point. Olive oil and butter can’ t be used as they’ll reach their smoke point under the high cooking temperature of the wok.Here's a useful article  on the smoke points of different oils.Three Recipes for the WokTo get you started using your wok, what’s better than a few Chinese recipes?Keep in mind that this is just a taster of what you can do with your wok. You can make chicken curry, Cantonese rice, or even chicken noodle soup, and as you get better, move on to more elaborate and complicated Asian dishes.To start, here’s a pretty easy recipe for stir fried shrimp with cashew nuts.To serve two, you’ll need:200g of raw prawns40g of cashew nuts (these are famous in traditional Chinese medicine for healing your kidneys, since they are similar in shape)1 slice of ginger1 slim stem of spring onion1 carrotFor the marinade:1 teaspoon of Shaoxing rice wine1 egg white2 teaspoons of potato starchFor the sauce:1 teaspoon of soy sauce1 teaspoon of Shaoxing wine1/2 teaspoons of potato starchA pinch of saltA bit of wat erPreparation:For the marinade:lightly beat the eggs while making sure that they don’t form peaks.Wet the potato starch with the water.Add the egg white.Add the wine and season with salt before beating again.Put the prawns into the mix.For the sauce:Mix all the ingredients together with a bit of water and stir.To cook:Cut the carrot and the spring onion into slices and dice the ginger. Pour a bit of oil into the wok and add the cashew nuts. Let them cook gently until golden.Add a bit of oil and then add the prawns. Sauté for 2 minutes. Don’t mix them but stir the wok lightly.Take the prawns out once cooked.Add the ginger, carrot, and spring onion for two minutes. Add the prawns again and cook for another 2 minutes.Add the sauce once thickened and then add the cashew nuts.Serve hot.You can prepare some delicious prawns using your new wok. (Source: Sharonang)The second recipe we’ve got for you is a napa cabbage stew with tofu.To serve two, you’ll need the following:Half a nap a cabbage250g block of tofu1 tablespoon of oil1 tablespoon of soy sauce3-4 slices of ginger1 small onionSalt and pepperPreparation:Cut the cabbage into big pieces and separate the green from the white. The white will be used for cooking.Cut the tofu into large cubesCook the onion and the sliced ginger in a bit of oil for a minute. Add the cabbage white and cook for 3-4 minutes before adding the soy sauce.Add the green cabbage leaves and mix. Once the leaves are tender, add a glass of water a mix well.Place the pieces of tofu on the cabbage without mixing. After ten minutes, mix gently, season with salt and pepper, and let the whole thing stew for another 10 minutes.Ready to serve!Since the last recipe is steamed pork dumplings with rice, it’s not suitable for vegetarians.Here are the ingredients you’ll need for 2 or 3 people:300g of pork ribsA packet of rice cakes for making the dumplingsFor the marinade:3-4 slices of ginger2 garlic cloves1 table spoon of black soy bean soup1 ta blespoon of Shaoxing wine2 teaspoons of soy sauceA pinch of sugarFor the sauce:1 tablespoon of soy sauce1 teaspoon of sugar1 teaspoon of soy saucePreparation:Cut the pork ribs between the bones.Finely slice the ginger and crush the garlic with a garlic press.Mix all the ingredients for the marinade with the pork and let it stand for at least 20 minutes.Put the pork ribs on the rice cakes and place everything in a bamboo steamer on top of a grill. Half fill your wok with water and place the grill and steamer on top and put the lid on the steamer.Steam for an hour at a medium heat.Heat up the sauce and pour over the ribs and rice cakes once cooked.Enjoy!You can find more recipes like this on a number of Chinese cooking blogs. You’ll find loads of different ways to use your wok and cook using a variety of different techniques.In short:“Don’t eat too much fat, sugar, or salt”. With a wok, you needn’t worry too much about this as you can make a variety of balanced meals.You loc k in the flavour and nutritional value of your food: be it peppers, bamboo shoots, coriander, basil, soy sprouts, or spice.A wok can be used to cook in a variety of different ways: sautéing, stewing, marinating, frying, or steaming. You can cook almost anything you can imagine, from a beef stir-fry to banana fritters.Get your credit cards ready! A decent wok can be between £25 and £50.Find out more about cooking tutorials around the UK.Which Wok Should I Buy?A good wok is one of the most versatile pans you’ll find in the kitchen.In addition to being a good choice for sautéing, you can also use it for frying, steaming, and stewing.It’s the most common pan used for cooking Asian cuisine. However, not all woks are created equal.You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to sizes, shapes, materials, and handles.Here are a few things to look for when picking a wok.The Different MaterialsYou’ll have to choose between:Steel woksCast iron woksStainless steel woksNon-stick woksThe Ma nufacturing ProcessSome woks are made from a circular piece of carbon steel before being pressed over a mould. They are cheap, but they’re also completely smooth and therefore more fragile. Spun woks are made on a tower, giving them their distinct shape (concentric circles).More Useful InformationTraditional woks have the shape of a deep bowl so that they can be placed into a circular hole over a flame.The best compromise is a wok with a flat base and gently sloping sides.This means you’ll have a lot of space for heating meats and vegetables at high temperatures while still having a lot of space to work with when it comes to mixing everything together.Here are some woks that come highly recommended:WokAvailable At:Size:Dishwasher Safe:Material:Price:Good Housekeeping Institute Score:Carbon Steel WokJohn Lewis24cmNoCarbon Steel £1898Ikea TolerantIkea33cmNoNon-stick £672Ken Hom Carbon Steel Performance WokJohn Lewis31cmNoCarbon Steel £28.9992Carbon Steel Wok (Flat Base)souschef.co .uk33cmNoCarbon Steel £1583Loft Copper Effect WokMarks and Spencer30cmYesNon-stick £29.5075Find out more about Asian cookery.Check if there is a cooking class london you can enrol on.

2016 NC End of Grade Test Results Announced - Heart Math Tutoring

2016 NC End of Grade Test Results Announced - Heart Math Tutoring 2016 NC End of Grade Test Results Announced 2016 NC End of Grade Test Results Announced September 13, 2016 This month, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) released school-level and district-level results of End of Grade Tests (EOGs) from May 2016. Congratulations to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) on increasing graduation rates and on topping state averages in math, reading, and science tests! Additionally,  86% of CMS schools met or exceeded growth expectations. Across the state, science and math scores increased while third grade reading had a slight setback from prior years. In CMS, about 48% of students are performing at reading levels deemed “college and career ready”, and 53% in math. Ann Doss Helms of the Charlotte Observer summarizes student performance trends and their historical context, with a focus on CMS here. CMS summarizes the data in  powerpoint slides here. Additional narrative from CMS can be found here. Knowing many students still do not have the skills they need to be successful in school and beyond, we charge forward in partnership with CMS and its  vision of preparing every child to lead a rich and productive life. Source: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (link in text above)