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.

Dog parks on Long Island

    For dog lovers, parking dogs sometimes might be a problem. From entertainment facilities to park tips, we've collected everything you need to know before you take your pet for an afternoon of outdoor fun.

    ⒈Amagansett, Napeague State Park

Amagansett, Napeague State Park, Route 27. Dogs are allowed on a leash（狗链）in this undeveloped park, which includes trails, wooded areas and roads. Access to the beach. No water source or public bathrooms.

    ⒉East Meadow, Eisenhower Park

East Meadow, Eisenhower Park, Salisbury Park Drive and Stewart Avenue, East Meadow. In addition to dhaded seating, each run has a water source. Permits are free, but required.

    ⒊Calverton, Isaac Park

Calverton, Isaac Park, on the Grumman Site, within Veteran's Memorial Park. Separated by large and small dogs, this half-acre plot has shade trees, seating and access to the beach. Bring your own water' leashed dog can be walked on some trails; Town of Riverhead residents only.

    ⒋Broolhaven, Robinson Duck Farm Dog Park

Broolhaven, Robinson Duck Farm Dog Park, 2903 Montauk Hwy. This 3-acre park has areas for large and small dogs, but no water source. Large-dog area includes a training course. $18 yearly pass for village residents.

    ⒌Massapequa, Clocks Boulevard Park

Massapequa, Clocks Boulevard Park, off Louden Avenue and Sunrise Highway. At larger than 1 acre, this dog park has lots of room to run and wooded areas for shade. Open dawn to dusk. Water sources are available in both the large- and small-dog areas. It has enough parking and seating. Open to Town of Oyster Bay residents.

    While Black Friday and Cyber Monday help start the holiday shopping season, Giving Tuesday, which will be observed on November 28, attempts to inspire the season of giving. Now in its sixth year, the charitable(慈善的)day uses the power of social media to encourage organizations and individuals to donate funds or resources to worthy causes. Its mission is to bring positive change to communities through giving.

    Though devoting just one day to a worthy cause may not seem much, Giving Tuesday makes a surprisingly significant impact. In 2015,ORGANIZE,an online organ donor program asked people to “Give with your Heart”,by becoming registered donors. Thousands of Americans listen to the cry for help, resulting in one of the largest digital donor drives in US history.

    That same year, the Cleveland Library and the Pratt Library in Baltimore competed to see who could encourage more donations. While the Pratt Library won with a $41,000 acquisition, the Cleveland Library was able to raise a fairly large amount for its programs as well. In 2016, the University of Michigan encouraged students and friends to donate to hourly challenges. They raised an amazing $5.5 million! The university hopes to recreate the magic this year, with a virtual celebration to mark the institution's 200th anniversary.

    Giving Tuesday is not just a US phenomenon, but a global movement. In 2016, 98 countries participated in the event, raising $177 million, a 44% increase over 2015, when 71 nations collected $116.7 million. These numbers can only increase as the day gains further recognition.

    Though donating funds is a great way to help, there are numerous other ways to support your local community. You can give back by volunteering at a nearby nonprofit or food bank. Social media experts can do their share by spreading the information and inspiring their colleagues to get involved. Another great way to celebrate Giving Tuesday is by helping those closest to you, whether that's assisting a family member with chores or helping a neighbor with yard work.

    The siesta competition took place in a supermarket, with plenty of shoppers, screaming babies, talking voices, and footsteps to take the competitors' attention away from their after lunch sleeps.

    Five bright blue sofas were laid out, and five competitors at a time were allowed to take a 20-minute sleep. A doctor measured their pulse to time how long they actually spent on asleep. Competitors earned extra points for snoring (打鼾), sleeping in strange positions, or wearing silly pajamas (睡衣). The winners of each round advance to the next stage in the competition.

    It's amazing that any of those people would fall asleep in the middle of such a busy place, while on couches that they are not used to. Yet, many of them did. They hugged pillows or soft toy bears. They covered their eyes with sleep masks, too. Whatever it took to help them fall asleep fast and stay asleep.

    The siesta is a tradition in Spain that many feel is becoming forgotten. It used to be that people would take a brief nap after lunch every day. This would energize them, and keep them going for the rest of the day. Not to mention the health benefits of a good nap. But, that's all changing. People are too busy making money or watching gossip shows on TV after lunch to care about taking a nap.

    The National Association of Friends of the Siesta wants to bring Spain back to their traditional roots. They are doing this by having the siesta competition. They set up the competition to reward the best sleepers with money. Actually, they were paid to sleep.

    There are really health benefits to a midday nap. We could all learn from this tradition. It's a much better way to get more energy than drinking a cup of coffee. It is also believed that a nap, and in fact a good night's sleep, can help reduce heart disease. The more rested we are, the less stress we feel with day-to-day life.

    In many developed countries, people who have high degrees begin to work longer than those who don't. About 65% of American men aged 62－74 with a professional degree are in the workforce (劳动人口), compared with 32% of men who only finish high school. This gap is part of a deepening divide between the well­educated wealthy and the unskilled poor. Rapid technological advance has raised the incomes of the highly skilled while squeezing those of the unskilled. The consequences, for individuals and society, are profound(意义深远的).

    The world is facing an astonishing rise in the number of old people, and they will live longer than ever before. Over the next 20 years the global population of those aged 65 or more will almost double, from 600 million to 1.1 billion. The experience of the 20th century, when greater longevity (长寿) translated into more years in retirement rather than more years at work, has persuaded many observers that this shift (变化) will lead to slower economic growth, while the swelling (渐增的) ranks of pensioners will create government budget problems.

    Policies are partly responsible. Many European governments have abandoned policies that used to encourage people to retire early. Even the better­off must work longer to have a comfortable retirement. But the changing nature of work also plays a big role. Pay has risen sharply for the highly educated, and those people continue to reap (获得) rich rewards into old age because these days the educated elderly are more productive than the preceding (先前的) generation. Technological change may well reinforce (强化) that shift: the skills that complement (补充) computers, from management know­how to creativity, do not necessarily decline with age.

    For the first time, the World Health Organization has included Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in its globally influential medical compendium(手册), according to an international science journal.

    An article published by Nature on Wednesday said that TCM will be included in the latest version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)set to be released next year. Starting from the 1800s, the ICD has been improved and published in a series of editions, reflecting the advances in health and medical science over time. It serves as the foundation for the identification of global health trends, and the international standard for diseases and health conditions.

    The latest ICD is based largely on the work of the International Classification of Traditional Medicine (ICTM) project's experts from around the world. These experts had been working on traditional medicine research and practices for years.

    China has been promoting the modernization of TCM and pushing for TCM to gain acceptance worldwide. Tu Youyou, a Chinese expert focusing on the scientific study of drugs and medicines, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2015 for her research in TCM. Her discovery has saved millions of lives in developing countries in South Asia, Africa and South America. TCM is sure to grow in popularity globally.

    Though the application of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture(针灸) and other traditional medical practices has been on the rise, there's still a shortage of global classification and terminology(术语) tools for traditional medicine, according to officials of the WHO.

    "The decision is to promote the safe and effective use of traditional medicine by regulating, researching and combining traditional medicine products, practitioners and practice into health systems, where appropriate," the WHO was quoted as saying by Nature.