Wild Retreat Blog

The 7 Best Storytime Strategies for Learning Literacy

adonn — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 10:24:23 +0000

Most parents know that reading to your child for fifteen minutes every day is one of the most important activities you can do with your preschooler to help her succeed in school. But what you may not know are some of the secrets teachers use during storytime to teach important early literacy skills to their kids. Well we’ve got a slew of sneaky teacher tips to share with you the next time you read with your child. Try a few of these simple ideas as you read books for the first time (or the hundredth time!) to help promote beginning literacy skills with your little bookworm.

* Left to Right This may sound simple, but running your fingers under the words as you read has many valuable lessons for young readers. The left to right and top to bottom orientation in the English language is not natural to young children.
* Working With Words If your child is inquisitive, she may naturally ask the meaning of words she doesn’t recognize. Reading is a wonderful opportunity to expand your child’s vocabulary as most picture books contain some words that your child may not know.
* Point Out Punctuation Although it’s not necessary for her to know what an explanation point, question mark or period is before she starts to read, being familiar with these common punctuation marks will help her feel more comfortable in the world of print.
* Letter Hunt For a fun alternative to just reading a book, give your child a specific letter to hunt for on each page. Give her a magnifying glass and tell her she’s a letter detective! Begin with the letters in her name to pique her interest in the activity.
* Sight Word Search If your child’s a little older, you can begin to help her recognize some simple sight words found in most books. The ten most common used words in the English language (ranked by frequency) are: the, of, and, a, to, in, is, you, that, it.
* Make a Prediction Before you read a new book together, look at the cover and ask your child what she thinks the story will be about.
* Check for Comprehension After you have read a story for the first time, ask a few questions to see how much she remembers and understood.

The Amazing Donostia, Spain

adonn — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 10:05:42 +0000

Rarely in traveling do expectations and reality intersect, but they certainly do in Donostia Known to the Spanish as San Sebastian, this coastal gem lies on the Northern coast of Spain, mere kilometers from the French border, at the foot of the Pyrenees and at the heart (or stomach) of Basque country. Wide stretches of sandy beach, cobblestoned old town and sultry weather draw both the European jet set and backpacker crowds alike, where they happily mingle over tapas (pinxtos) and wine.
The Old Town is the focus of most tourists’ attention, and for good reason. Stone streets cover about six square blocks, lined with tall and narrow buildings, open only to pedestrians and service vehicles, and full of open air tapas bars, shops and pensions. Our first few attempts to find a pension were met with silence as no one responded to the doorbell, but finally we found a simply appointed place called Pension Amaiur Ostatua, with a large room and small iron balcony overlooking one of the pedestrian thoroughfares.
The old section sits on a small peninsula, with curved bays and expansive beaches on either side framed by broad promenades. We were there off season, so it was quite peaceful, but you could picture the thronging, bronzed, scantily clad masses that descend upon the city during the warmest months. A funicular on the far end of the main beach takes you up to a vantage point with stunning views of the bay dotted with sailboats and tall white buildings stretching out from the coastline. I have never been to the French Riviera, but that was the first thing that sprang to mind overlooking Santander.

Concentration Improves Memory

adonn — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:26:42 +0000

Can concentration improve memory? Yes, concentrating can increase the amount of information encoded in the brain. Concentration enhances the basic memory mechanics by creating a healthy, vibrant and energetic brain. Most of my readers want to add additional skills to enhanced brain encoding methods and functionalities of the brain.Combining basic memory mechanics and concentrating creates the perfect chemistry. You are deeply encoding information in the brain, which makes recalling important and relevant information faster.
First I highly recommend practicing the basic memory mechanics, which are enough: (1) water-10 glasses per day (2) sleep-6-8 hours per day (3) consumption of memory foods, vegetables and fruits (4) consumption of memory vitamin-supplements with memory foods, because vitamins cannot assimilate and digest alone.

Stay at The Harbor Hotel and Residence

adonn — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 09:52:20 +0000

If you’re looking for posh accommodations in the heart of Dubai, you won’t find any better options than the Harbor Hotel and Residence. The hotel is one of the Emirates Resorts, a world leader in luxury accommodations. You’ll find an incredible array of the best service, the best rooms and suites and the pampered experience that you demand. Located on Dubai Marina, you’ll also find easy access to luxury cruises, the best upscale shopping and much, much more. An incredible spa and fitness center are available, as well as world-class dining. Dress code is required in certain parts of the hotel.

For a place to catch up on business or catch up with friends. For mornings spent in cafés, reading emails, watching the world go by. For lunchtimes spent pool-side sampling Mediterranean cuisine, hosting clients, enjoying family. For afternoon work-outs, post-conference call, pre-sunset swim. For evenings when it’s dinner at home, with friends or just you. The Harbour Hotel and Residence offers guests on business the convenience of a fully-equipped business centre, open 18 hours daily. The centre features a six-person meeting room, glass-enclosed PC stations with full internet access, printing facilities and a private telephone exchange (PABX). Our executive boardroom which comfortably seats 14 people comes complete with teleconferencing facilities, wi-fi, projectors and the latest in audio-visual equipment. If you have faxing, typing or translating requirements, we also provide a secretarial service on request. All rooms also come equipped with high-speed internet access.

How to Prevent Infections in Cardiac Devices

adonn — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:18:02 +0000

Bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, the ‘superbug’ behind MRSA, can be a major problem for patients who have a medical implant, such as a replacement heart valve or pacemaker. Bacteria are able to form colonies – called biofilms – on the implanted device, which can lead to wider infections such asendocarditis, a bacterial infection of the heart.
Research led by scientists in the Department of Biology at the University of York has shed new light on how these “biofilm” structures are formed. Biofilms help the bacteria within to avoid attack from the immune system and antibiotics. Often the only way to tackle the resulting infection is to remove the affected device, which can be a difficult and invasive process.
The team from the University of York, led by Professor Jennifer Potts, included British Heart Foundation-funded PhD student Dominika Gruszka. They found that the bacteria release long, thin protein chains to connect with other bacteria or mesh with other bacterial products. The chains have a highly unusual repetitive structure which could not have been predicted and provides important clues to how they might work.

The Colorectal Cancer

adonn — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 10:24:04 +0000

The colon is the part of the digestive system where the waste material is stored. The rectum is the end of the colon adjacent to the anus. Together, they form a long, muscular tube called the large intestine (also known as the large bowel). Tumors of the colon and rectum are growths arising from the inner wall of the large intestine. Benign tumors of the large intestine are called polyps. Malignant tumors of the large intestine are called cancers. Benign polyps do not invade nearby tissue or spread to other parts of the body.

Benign polyps can be easily removed during colonoscopy and are not life-threatening. If benign polyps are not removed from the large intestine, they can become malignant (cancerous) over time.
Most of the cancers of the large intestine are believed to have developed from polyps. Cancer of the colon and rectum (also referred to as colorectal cancer) can invade and damage adjacent tissues and organs. Cancer cells can also break away and spread to other parts of the body (such as liver and lung) where new tumors form. The spread of colon cancer to distant organs is called metastasis of the colon cancer. Once metastasis has occurred in colorectal cancer, a complete cure of the cancer is unlikely.

The New Huawei E586 MiFi mobile Broadband Modem

adonn — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 09:11:31 +0000

It’s essentially a simple portable device that provides its users internet access via a 3G data connection on the go. In many ways it is similar to that of 3G on your smartphone, the advantage of using a MiFi is that it enables more than one WiFi enabaled device to use the same connection at the same time.
The Huawei is lightweight (90g) and no bigger in size than the palm of your hands. Its always been made to a reasonable standard with a nice matte touch with a glossy front finish. The Huawei E586 is extremely easy to use and requires only a few steps to get started. Once you’ve inserted your SIM, you’re ready to go. There are only two buttons on the modem, the bottom one being the on/off switch while the top one being the button for revealing WiFi network details.
Though small, the E586′s display shows useful info such as how much data you’ve used in total, reception, remaining battery as well as how many devices are connected via WiFi.

The Motorola DROID RAZR

adonn — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 09:27:59 +0000

After years of trying to build a smartphone worthy of reinventing the world famous RAZR brand, Motorola finally launched a handset it deemed to be deserving of the moniker last November. The DROID RAZR was released on November 11th and was a marvel compared to the flip phone it modernized. At $500 on contract, the original RAZR touted a 176 x 220-pixel display, 5.5MB of internal storage, a VGA camera and support for data speeds up to 48Kbps.

This new version of the iconic handset packed a 4.3-inch AMOLED display, a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, an 8-megapixel camera, 16GB of internal storage and blazing fast 4G LTE connectivity into a slender case only 7.1 millimeters thick. While the new RAZR was well received by consumers, a few complaints surfaced following the smartphone’s launch and poor battery life was among them. For users willing to trade the RAZR’s slim profile in exchange for a bigger battery, however, Motorola and Verizon Wireless launched the DROID RAZR MAXX earlier this month.
There is no question that the MAXX version of Motorola’s sleek handset took care of battery life, but is the giant 3,300 mAh power pack enough to make Motorola’s DROID RAZR MAXX one of the best Android phones on the market?

Watch “Trespass” Movie

adonn — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 09:56:17 +0000

In a private, wealthy community, priority is placed on security and no exception is made for the Miller family’s estate. Behind their pristine walls and manicured gardens, Kyle (Nicolas Cage), a fast-talking businessman, has entrusted the mansion’s renovation to his stunning wife, Sarah (Nicole Kidman). But between making those big decisions and keeping tabs on their defiant teenage daughter (Liana Liberato), Sarah often finds herself distracted by a young, handsome worker (Cam Gigandet) at their home. Nothing is what it seems, and it will take a group of cold-blooded criminals led by Elias (Ben Mendelsohn), who have been planning a vicious home invasion for months, to bring the Miller family together. Kyle, Sarah and Avery will take the ultimate risk to make it out with their lives – and their family – intact.
In fairness, no actor knows what a finished film will look like. But if they were initially offered a script with any resemblance to the one Joel Schumacher has frantically directed here, both Cage and his costar, Nicole Kidman, should have been smart enough to move swiftly on.

Making Money Through Mobile Phones

adonn — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 10:28:24 +0000

Generating traffic is absolutely essential to building a business. Mobile advertising is set to be a key driver for driving huge traffic and getting consumers to start to buy things on mobile. Today any retailer understands the fact that any form of media advertising encourages consumers to reach for their mobile and read it within a few minutes.
Mobile Internet is like the Internet starting all over again but this time though the screen may be smaller, but the opportunity is three times bigger. There are more Mobile Phones than automobiles, credit cards, land-lines, computers or TV Sets on the planet today. Mobile Marketing is not the only driver for the growth in coming days, but the way consumers are using mobile phone to access media has changed dramatically over the past few years.

You will find people carrying their mobile phone with them wherever they go, and your messages can be in their hands in just moments. You won’t have to wait for people to get around to checking their email from their computers after many hours. No need to worry about being stuck between hundreds of spam messages in a inbox. With Mobile Marketing methods you’ll have direct access straight to the people you want to reach.