Adding math talk to story time at home is a winning factor forchildren's math achievement, according to a new research from the University ofChicago. The study from psychologists Sian Beilock and Susan Levine shows amarked increase in math achievement among children whose families used Bedtime Math, an iPad app that delivers engaging math story problems for parents and children to solve together.

    Even children who used the app with their parents as little as once a week saw gains in math achievement by the end of the school year. The app's effect was especially strong for children whose parents tend to beanxious or uncomfortable with math.

    Previous research from this group has demonstrated the importance of adults' attitudes about math for children's math success. For example, a recent study found that math-anxious parents who help their children with math homework actually weaken their children's math achievement.

    The new findings demonstrate that structured, positive interactions around math at home can cut the link between parents' uneasiness about math and children's low math achievement.

  “Many Americans experience high levels of anxiety when they haveto solve a math problem, with a majority of adults feeling at least some worries about math,” said Beilock, professor in Psychology andauthor of Choke, a book about stress and performance. “These math-anxiousparents are probably less likely to talk about math at home, which affects how competent their children are in math. Bedtime Math encourages a dialogue between parents and kids about math, and offers a way to engage in high-quality math interactions in a low-effort, high-impact way.”

    Study participants included 587 first-grade students and their parents. Families were given an iPad installed with a version of the Bedtime Math app, with which parents and their children read stories and answer questions involving math, including topics like counting, shapes and problem-solving. A control group received a reading app that had similar stories without the math content and questions related to reading comprehension instead. Children's math achievement was assessed at the beginning and end of the school year. Parents completed a questionnaire about their nervousness with math.

    The more times parents and children in the math group used the app, the higher children's achievement on a math assessment at the end of the school year. Indeed, children who frequently used the math app with their parents outperformed similar studentsin the reading group by almost three months in math achievement at year's end.

    Princeton University is a vibrant (充满生机的) university. It is the fourth oldest college in the United States and an independent institution that provides undergraduate and graduate instruction in the arts and humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering. As a well-known research university, Princeton seeks to achieve the highest levels in the discovery and spread of knowledge and understanding. At the same time, Princeton is different among research universities in its commitment to undergraduate teaching.

    Academics

    Faculty (教员), including full time, part time and visiting: 1,238 (spring 2016)

Undergraduate student-to-faculty rate: 5:1

    Departments: 36

    Schools within the University: School of Architecture, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs

    Library

    Princeton University Library consists of the Firestone Library and nine buildings across campus. The library's collections include more than 8 million books and impressive rare books, prints and other materials that require special handling. The library's extensive electronic resources include databases and journals, images and digital maps. Exhibitions of the library are free and open to the general public.

    Campus Life

    A vast range of cultural9 educational, athletic and social activities are available to Princeton students. Getting involved in campus life is the quickest way to become a part of the University community, and to create one's own Princeton experience. Campus life activities are built around the concepts of encouraging each community member to display his or her talents and to learn to respect all members of our community.

    Aid Program

    Our aid program is designed to encourage all qualified students—regardless of financial circumstances-to consider applying for admission to Princeton. Any family who feels they may need help to pay for a Princeton education is welcome to apply for aid.

    For more information, please visit: http://www. Princeton.edu.

    The first day my new teacher walked into our school in Spanish Harlem, I burst out laughing. Ron Clark was this young white guy from North Carolina who talked with a funny Southern accent(口音). He said he used to be a singing waiter. I thought, who is this guy? He's a complete joke.

    It was 1999 and I was in the fifth grade at New York City's P.S. 83. I guessed I'd spend most of the year in the headmaster's office. I'd always been a troublemaker. I'd get shouted at, and then the teachers would give up on me. I thought that's what would happen with Ron Clark.

    I was wrong. That first week, I kept laughing at him. He pulled me out to the hallway and said I'd better shape up(表现好). "Tamara," he said, "you're a smart kid. You can do better."

    He told me I was a natural leader and that I'd go far in life if I started studying hard. I was mad at first, but then something happened: I began to respect him. There were 29 students in our class, and it didn't take long for us to realize that Ron Clark was no ordinary teacher.

    Like most teachers, he had lots of rules: Treat each other like family. Don't cut in line. But the real difference was how concerned he was. Mr. Clark ate with us in the lunchroom instead of going to the teachers' day-room. At first, my friends and I were thinking. What is he doing?

    He asked us what was going on in our lives. Between classes, he came outside with us, and we taught him how to jump rope. When it snowed, Mr. Clark, who'd never seen snow before, threw us with snowballs, and we threw him back.

    Before coming to P.S. 83, he taught at Snowden Elementary in his hometown, Belhaven, North Carolina. His parents were DJs(流行音乐节目主持人)at dance clubs, so he grew up with music and energy. He wanted a life of adventure, he told me, but his mom encouraged him to ask for a position at Snowden when one of the teachers passed away. Mr. Clark ended up loving it. He came to Harlem because he'd seen a TV show about our troubled schools and the lack of qualified teachers. He wanted a challenge. Boy, did he get one.

    Reading can be a social activity. Think of the people who belong to book groups. They choose books to read and then meet to discuss them. Now, the website Book Crossing.com turns the page on the traditional idea of a book group.

    Members go on the site and register the books they own and would like to share. Book Crossing provides an identification number to stick inside the book. Then the person leaves it in a public lace hoping that the book will have an adventure, traveling far and wide with each new reader who finds it.

    Bruce Pederson, the managing director of BookCrossing, says, "The two things that change your life are the people you meet and books you read. BookCrossing combines both."

    Members leave books on park benches and buses, in train stations and coffee shops. Whoever finds their book will go to the site and record where they found it.

    People who find a book can also leave a journal entry describing what they thought of it. E-mails are then sent to the BookCrossing to keep them updated about where their books have been found. Bruce peterson says the idea is for people not to be selfish by keeping a book to gather dust on a shelf at home.

    BookCrossing is part of a trend among people who want to get back to the "real" and not the virtual(虚拟). The site now has more than one million members in more than one hundred thirty-five countries.

    NEW HAVEN, Connecticut—A surprise awaited students in Yale who showed up for Professor Laurie Santos's class. They got slips of paper that said, "No class today." There was only one rule for the students' unexpected free time—They were not allowed to study, but to relax. Since exams and papers were coming up, everyone was tired and stressed. At this moment they were touched. With around applause, nine students hugged Santos, and two burst into tears.

    Yet, cancelling class was not just a break. It was also a challenge, as she was asking them to stop worrying about their grades, even if it was just an hour. One student went to the Yale University Art Gallery for the first time in her four years at Yale. A group of students went to a recording studio and played a new song. More people were outside, and more were smiling. That's why about 1, 200 students were taking Santos's class, called "Psychology and the Good Life," the largest class in Yale's 317-year history. Even non-Yale students had the chance to take Santos's class. It was offered as an online course and she immediately became an Internet hit.

    Skyler Robinson, one of her students, was at a loss for a while about what to do during his break, and then decided to take a nap. "It was a great nap," he commented. Santos designed the class after she realized that her students kept busy through long days that seemed far more depressing and joyless than her own college years. "They feel they're in this crazy rat race. They're working so hard that they can't take a single hour off. That's awful."

    The ideas behind the class are simple. Santos said, "It is the hope that science can help students find peace among all the stresses and difficulties they face at college." The lessons include showing more gratitude, performing acts of kindness and increasing social connections. The students really wanted to learn to lead a happy life in a science -driven way. Santos also noted the psychological happening of "mis-wanting", which led people to work towards the wrong goals in life.

    One week, Santo asked students to exercise. Another week, she wanted them to get more sleep. They worked hard to keep some new habits. Social science research led to many new understandings of how people find happiness. She thinks her class can change Yale, or rather, not just Yale.

Day Camp

Our Day Camp is more than a place where children simply play. We are a group of devoted educators who long to make a meaningful difference in the lives of children. 

Sailfish

Entering 3rd & 4th Grades

Sailfish groups are separated by gender(性别) and enjoy intramural(校内的) sports with a greater emphasis placed on teamwork and sportsmanship. Sailfish group also enjoy all of the aquatic(水生的) activities our waterfront campus has to offer, along with a daily schedule of activities that enrich the mind and body. 

Tadpoles

Entering Kindergarten

This group of campers have their own learning facility(设施) and take part in age-appropriate specials throughout the day. The Tadpoles swim twice daily in our in-ground swimming pool. A certified teacher and counselorsc指导老师) arganize and monitor the day's activities, helping the Tadpoles to prepare for the fun of the upcoming school year. 

Minnows

Entering lst & 2nd Grades

These campers are grouped by gender and have the chance to play sports-centered games, explore art and saence and become acquainted with the excitement of sailing on Stony Brook Harbor. Daily swimming lessons are also included, and trips to the beach are a favorite of the Minnows. Both certified teachers and senior counselors work with these campers to provide a safe and enriching experience. 

Dolphins

Entering 5th & 6th Grades

These campers participate in a wide variety of sports and activities. Same-gendered grouping allows flexibility for the groups to choose their favorite games during meeting times. Dolphins also spend time sailing on the Harbor, swimming in our in-ground swimming pool and participating in adventurous activities.