The Adventure Guides Program

    New Member Information for the Adventure Guides Program (for children aged 4-12)

    What Is the Adventure Guides Program All about?

    The objectives of the program are:

    Fostering companionship and setting foundation for positive, lifelong relationships between parent and child

    Increased understanding of one another

    Expanded awareness of spirit, mind and body

    Great memories

    Fun!

    Parent and Child Will Be Joining…

    The nationwide affiliated(隶属的) program sponsored by local YMCA's and part of the National Council of YMCA's

    A smaller group of families called a "circle"

    What Is the Time Commitment?

    Program runs from October to May (ending with the Memorial Day Parade)

    One "circle" activity per month (one circle decides on fees and dates)

    Additional all participant activities (scheduled by Wilton Family Y) —additional fees and registration required.

    Outing Dates: To Be Announced

    What Do I Do Now?

    Registration is on-going. Registration forms are available online under "Registration".

    You will be notified by the Wilton Family Y of which "circle" you and your child are in and who your "circle" leader is.

    You will be notified by your "circle" leader as to when your first parent/child "circle" meeting will take place.

    Fees:

    Participant: Full Child or Family member $110. 00 / Program member $200. 00

    Sibling(兄弟姐妹): Full child or Family member $75. 00 / Program member $150. 00

    Adult: Family member FREE / Program member $125. 00

    Wilton Family Y Contact Information:

    Geoff Malyszka Teen Director 762-8384 ext. 224

    E-mail: gmalyszka@wiltonymca. org

    Kim Murphy Early Childhood Ed. Director762-8384 ext. 214

    E-mail: kmurphy@wiltonymca. Org

    If you are a teacher, join Youngzine and sign up your class for free today! Youngzine is an online News Magazine for school age children. It provides an educational, entertaining, yet safe way for kids and adults to get the latest news from around the world.

    Many educators have said that Youngzine is a perfect complement to academic material, and can be a great resource for teachers and their classes. Learning through current events not only makes students more aware of what's going on in the world, but also helps absorb concepts better.

    Moreover, Youngzine now provides a safe “blog” environment for classrooms—a constructive, creative and controlled way for teachers to create classroom assignments (任务) and push for discussions on current events!

    Youngzine provides special features just for you. If you sign up as a teacher:

    Each of your classes get a “Classroom Code” that identifies the students in that class. For each class, you get a “Blog” where you can post assignments and have students respond. You can include specific articles and quizzes in each assignment.

    For each of your classes, you get to see a foil report of each student's activities just by going to your classroom tab (标签): their comments, assignment, responses, points and quiz results.

    If you are a teacher of homeschool, when you and your students share a computer, it requires each of you to log in/out separately. If it is inconvenient, you can use a single account in your class on Youngzine.

    It only takes 2 minutes to get started:

    JOIN YOUNGZINE (if you haven't already done so) and SIGN UP YOUR CLASS!

    If you have any questions or comments, let us know—we'd love to make this work for your class.

Black Box Thinking

—By Matthew Syed

    This book is a new approach to high performance, a means of finding all edge in a complex and fast-changing world. It is not just about sport, but has powerful implications for business and politics, as well as parents and students, in other words, all of us. Drawing on a dizzying series of case studies and real-world examples, together with cutting-edge research on small gains, creativity and courage, Matthew Syed tells the inside story of how success really happens—and how we cannot grow unless we are prepared to learn from our mistakes.

Map Stories

—By Francisca Matteoli

    In the book, the author tells 20 surprising stories on the geography of the world and, using beautiful maps from all countries and times, she explains the birth of the most magical places on Earth. The book is a journey through space and time, and a lesson about the world as it is and our place in it.

Making it up as I Go Along

—By Marian Keyes

    It is a funny look at the absurdity of modern life and recognizes that we are all clearly making it up as we go along. It includes Keyes, guide to breaking up you're your hairdresser, and her warning about the dangers of fake tan（古铜色）.And there is some secret truth about writers, or at least about Keyes.

Mog and Me and Other Stories

—By Judith Kerr

    Judith Kerr was born on June 14, 1923 in Berlin but escaped from Hitler's Germany with her parents and brother in 1933 when she was nine years old. Judith went to 11 different schools and worked with the Red Cross during the war. For the past 30 years, she's worked as an author and illustrator of children's books. Come and play with everyone's favorite family pet, in this huge board book collection of stories especially for younger readers.

    Long Beach, a 28-mile stretch of beach, lies in southwestern Washington, and it is generally called Long Beach Peninsula (半岛). Communities there take you back to old days of a simple and slow-paced life style. Here, visitors can relax and enjoy the good of total rest.

    Bird Watching

    There are different kinds of birds in Long Beach. It is best if you observe them from a distance and do not try to frighten them. The Southwest Loop Trail Map can be gotten through the Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau Office by calling 1-800-451-2542.

    Horses

    A popular activity in Long Beach is horseback riding. Two businesses in the city of Long Beach offer guided horseback tours along the beach: Back Country Wilderness Outfitters and Skipper's Equestrian Center. You may also bring your own horse. Among the adventures offered with horses is a wagon (四轮马车) ride along the beach, a carriage ride through Sea view or Long Beach, a back country (偏远乡村) packing trip, or a sunset ride by horseback on the beach.

    Camping

    RV (娱乐车) and tent camping aren't allowed on the beach, but there are private camp­ grounds and RV parks in the area, as well as Cape Disappointment State Park. Camp fires are allowed within 100 feet of the beach, but must be away from the dry grass.

    Swimming and Other Activities

    Swimming is allowed, but you must be careful. The waters are very cold and dangerous. Surfing is advised only for experienced surfers. Beach driving is allowed at certain spots on the beach. The speed limit is 25 mph. Building sand castles, digging sand to find something, bicycle riding, and flying kites are also popular activities in the area.

    You can find right hotels easily in the area. Enjoy your trip to Long Beach, Washington!

    According to a team of researchers, an animal's ability to perceive(感知)time is linked to their pace of life.

    "Our results lend support to the importance of time perception in animals where the ability to perceive time in a very short time may be the difference between life and death for fast moving creatures." commented lead author Kevin Healy from Trinity College Dublin.

    The study was done with a variety of animals using phenomenon based on the maximum speed of flashes of light an individual can see before the light source is seen as constant. Dogs, for example, have eyes with a refresh rate higher than humans.

    One example of this phenomenon at work, the authors say, is the housefly and its ability to avoid being hit. The research showed flies "observe motion in a shorter time than our own eyes can achieve, "which allows them to avoid being hit.

    Professor Graeme Ruxton of the University of St Andrews in Scotland, who worked jointly on the research project, said in a statement, "Having eyes that send updates to the brain at much higher frequencies than our eyes do is of no value if the brain cannot process that information equally quickly. Thus, this work highlights the impressive abilities of even the smallest animal brains. Flies might not be deep thinkers, but they can make good decisions very quickly."

    In comparison, the tiger beetle(虎甲虫)runs faster than its eyes can keep up, basically becoming blind, which requires it to stop periodically to re-evaluate its prey's(猎物)position.

    Our results suggest that time perception offers an as yet unstudied dimension along which animals can specialize and there is considerable range to study this system in more detail.

Between 1945 and 2000, educators employed a fairly uniform approach. The teacher was the sun in the classroom, and all lessons and activities centered around him or her. Educators stressed the importance of discipline and obedience(服从) within the classroom, and students were expected to follow very rigid standards for behavior and academic performance. The stated goal of this model was to ensure fairness by applying the same expectations; however, the result was that only a few students succeeded while many others were left behind.

When computers and Internet technology entered the classroom a few decades ago, another pattern appeared and progressive educators immediately saw the opportunity to change the way school worked. Instead of needing to focus on the teachers for the vast majority of the day, students could use computers, websites, and even games to learn new materials and improve their skills and knowledge. Not all educators welcomed this shift, however, as some believed it took power and responsibility away from the teachers and cheapened the educational experience for learners.

Over the last decade, two distinct camps of educators have emerged. Tech advocates stress that computers and Internet technology allow students to learn at their own pace in an environment that makes them feel comfortable, while the traditional classroom sets a pace that many learners can't keep up with and often makes students feel uncomfortable. Traditionalists, on the other hand, believe that over-reliance on tech limits students' ability to develop their own knowledge and skills and does little to prepare them for the realities of being adults in the real world.

Regrettably, the inability of these two parties to find an agreement has prevented the growth of our education system. We must learn from what worked in the past while adopting the best of our new technologies to create an education system that reflects our modern world. If we can't get all our teachers on the same page, then we will be at risk of failing future generations.