Tips for making family movie night a success

    We say this a lot, but we think it's worth repeating: It's important to get involved in your kids' media lives - and your kids will love it too.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} what's a good way to stay involved with your kids' media picks and create an opportunity to discuss them? Host a family movie night! Some tips for making it work:

    Schedule it.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Turn off cell phones and avoid multitasking during the show.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you've pot little kids, pre-select a group to choose from. Avoid watching the same movie over and over again. If you've got teens, tell them you'll watch anything they choose as long as they return the favor when it's your turn. Obey a “no complaining” rule.

    Choose a location (场所). Hang a sheet in the backyard, prepare the necessary equipment, and sit on beach chairs to enjoy a classic like The Wizard of Oz.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Talk about it. The next day, make time to chat about what you watched. Kids might be interested in learning more about Hollywood's history.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Talking with kids about how movie characters handled fictional situations can be a way to form your family's values or get kids to open up about their lives.

A. Make it a theme night.

B. Take turns choosing the movie.

C. This can be simple or complicated.

D. Make it a regular date and time and don't break it.

E. Visit the library to follow up on interests excited by the movie.

F. But helping them become wise media consumers can be easier said than done.

G. Or spend the family movie night on the road during vacations or at the grandparents' house.

Five steps to better handwriting

    Some kids love handwriting, but others hate when it's time to put their pen to paper. Maybe they are worried about their handwriting. Are you one of them? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are five steps that really work!

    Get a great grasp

    Try this — hold your pencil at the top and try to write your name. Pretty hard? But when you hold your pencil the correct way, writing is much easier. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Hold it in place with your thumb, and your index (食指) and middle fingers.

    Let the lines be your guide

    Lined paper is your friend! Those lines can help you create letters that are the right size and proportion (均衡). {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Also be sure to fill up the lined space completely. Those capital letters should be from the bottom line to the top one.

    Slow down

    If your writing is hard to read, try slowing down a little. If you rush, it's hard to control where you stop and start your letters.

    Lower the pressure (压力)

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}That makes it harder to make the smooth lines. Try easing up and don't hold the pencil too tightly.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Lots of games require you to write or draw pictures. So even though it's not schoolwork, you're still using the skills you need to control your pen better.

A. Play games

B. Ask for more advice

C. So "a" should be half the height of a capital "A".

D. You've been writing since you were a little kid.

E. Some kids press down really hard when they write.

F. The good news is that just about everyone can improve their handwriting.

G. The best way to hold a pen or pencil is to let it rest next to the base of your thumb.

    Color is fundamental in home design——something you'll always have in every room. A grasp of how to manage color in your spaces is one of the first steps to creating rooms you'll love to live in. Do you want a room that's full of life？Professional？Or are you just looking for a place to relax after a long day？{#blank#}1{#/blank#}, color is the key to making a room feel the way you want it to feel.

    Over the years, there have been a number of different techniques to help designers approach this important point. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, they can get a little complex. But good news is that there are really only three kinds of decisions you need to make about color in your home: the small ones, the medium ones, and the large ones.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. They're the little spots of color like throw pillows, mirrors and baskets that most of us use to add visual interest to our rooms. Less tiring than painting your walls and less expensive than buying a colorful sofa, small color choices bring with them the significant benefit of being easily changeable.

    Medium color choices are generally furniture pieces such as sofas, dinner tables or bookshelves{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. They require a bigger commitment than smaller ones, and they have a more powerful effect on the feeling of a space.

    The large color decisions in your rooms concern the walls, ceilings, and floors. Whether you're looking at wallpaper or paint, the time, effort and relative expense put into it are significant. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. While all of them are useful

B. If you're experimenting with a color

C. Whatever you're looking for

D. Small color choices are the ones we're most familiar with

E. It's not really a good idea to use too many small color pieces

F. Color choices in this range are a step up from the small ones in two major ways

G. So it pays to be sure, because you want to get it right the first time

    Ask fishermen why they fish and you will get a variety of answers. The book and movie ARiverRunsThroughIt tried to answer that question. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    What are mine? Like most fishermen, I love the peace and quietness of most trips. Imagine the still water at your feet, not a ripple(涟漪) on it. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} And everything around you looks soft. A splash(飞溅的水) breaks the calm, letting you know there is a fish feeding there. You are totally alone with your thoughts, almost as if you were floating in an isolation(隔离) tank.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Trying to make a fish think your lure(诱饵) is its food is not easy. Figuring out where the fish is and why it is there is another part of the challenge. And learning enough about them to consistently catch fish is a challenge most of us don't overcome.

    The pull of the fish you hook and the efforts to land it without losing it are part of the fun. Struggling with a fish on a rod and reel is very interesting. Good fresh food is another reason why many people go fishing. Getting your own food is another basic need that fishing provides.

    Competition has become a big part of fishing. I like it, where a group of people go out and try to catch fish. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It is nice when you win, but you try to listen and learn from the winner when you are not on top.

    For many years, I had an irresistible desire to go fishing. I could not wait to get to the waterside and try to show my skills against those fish. I was not happy except when fishing. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} However, that strong urge is no longer there. Sometimes I miss it.

A.The challenge of being cleverer than fish is part of it.

B.You must have enough patience when fishing beside a river.

C.The truth is that every fisherman has his or her own reasons.

D.The fog is just thick enough so trees disappear in the distance.

E.As I get older, I still enjoy fishing and all the things mentioned here.

F.At the end of the day, you get to compare how many fish you have caught.

G.That part of the fishing experience lasts for only a few minutes each day.

There comes a time when every parent struggles with how best to discipline their child. Whether dealing with a screaming child or an angry teen, it can be hard to control your temper. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}And the bottom line is that shouting and physical violence never help.

Thankfully, there are other, more effective ways and one of them is positive discipline. We consulted Lucie Cluver, a professor at Oxford University, to explore how it can help parents build positive relationships with their children. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

Why positive discipline? The evidence is clear: shouting and hitting simply do not work and can do more harm than good in the long run.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}The "toxic (有毒的) stress" it creates can lead to a host of negative outcomes. "Parentsshout or hit their kids because they're stressed and don'tsee another way," says Professor Cluver.

The good news for every parent is the positive discipline approach works and here's how you can start putting it into practice.

As parents we often focus on our children's bad behaviour and call it out. Children may read this as a way to get your attention, continuing poor conduct rather than putting a stop to it. Actually, children are eager for praise. It makes them feel loved and special. "Watch out for when they're doing something good and praise them," recommends Professor Cluver. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Part of growing up is learning that if you do something, something can happen as a result. Defining this for your child is a simple process that encourages better behaviour while teaching them about responsibility. Give your child a chance to do the right thing by explaining the consequences of their bad behaviour. Being consistent is a key factor in positive parenting, which is why following through with the consequences is important.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}"You can take a teenager's phone away for an hour but taking it away for a week might be difficult to follow through on."

A. And so is making them realistic.

B. What's really important is to focus on your child.

C. No parent wants to find themselves in such a situation.

D. Calm consequences have been shown to be effective for kids.

E. This can encourage good behaviour and reduce the need for discipline.

F. Repeated shouting and hitting can even negatively impact a child's entire life.

G. And hopefully it can also teach skills like responsibility, cooperation and self-discipline.

Large meals make people full and sleepy. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} We want our children to learn, not falling asleep at their desks, so let's keep those lunches on the lighter side. You can do this if you provide them with a good breakfast.

By working beside your children and discussing what they eat for lunch, you are helping them understand the importance of whole foods and the avoidance of junk foods. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} As they get older, these good habits will stay with them. They will learn that these types of food are beneficial to them. Try to let them see that the food choices they are making will help them feel so much better.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} I know of one family that actually had the food pyramid on the wall of their kitchen and it helped their children pick out what foods they wanted. Everyone got a chance to decide what to eat, but they had to pick protein, vegetables and fruit. Besides, the mother had a book with recipes for healthy foods. All of the recipes had pictures of what the food looked like. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

Unlike today, when we grew up we played outside, rode our bikes, ran around, and the list goes on and on. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} So apart from the above healthy eating choices, you need to plan some activities for your children today other than the television or video games.

A. We didn't have TV or computer games.

B. How are children helped to choose their food?

C. You are helping them make smart informed choices.

D. Think what large meals do to your children at school.

E. What adults eat daily has a great effect on their children.

F. So children knew what healthy foods they should choose.

G. The recipes for children should mainly include healthy foods.