It’s a strange kind of Summer this year; with so much time spent home learning in 2020/21 and no SATs and GCSEs for the second year in a row, the idea of lost learning has reared its head. This idea, mixed with the news stories about slow recovery in the education sector and the usual ‘summer slide’, it’s easy to see why parents are concerned.

The good news is, while U.S. studies find students lose one month of learning over the summer months, this is down to the fact that the US school break is 11 weeks compared to 6 weeks in the UK. And while higher losses were measured for maths, much of the data around the summer slide is inconclusive.

What is of more concern in the UK is a study from the Institute for Fiscal Studies. In this study, the amount of daily schoolwork secondary pupils completed at home during last year’s lockdown declined the longer they stayed out of the classroom.

All schools have been working on a catch-up plan, but beware, says DR Dan O’Hare, co-chair of the BPS division of educational and child psychology, of talking too much about lost education to your child. “The notion that children need to catch up or are ‘behind’ at school due to the pandemic puts them under even more pressure to perform academically after what has been a challenging and unprecedented time for everyone,” he told the PA News agency.

So as parents, what can you do? Firstly, there is a multitude of ways you can help your child this Summer without putting them under pressure.

• Look at their yearly report, as this will show you what areas need more focus. Alongside this, compare their annual reports to see if there is a wide discrepancy. Perhaps your child needs to revise a little more or get extra help with knowledge gaps (understandable during home learning), or learn to express themselves more clearly in tests. Locate the gaps with the help of their teachers and then ask them what kind of help they would like.

• Whether your child is struggling or not, one area most pupils tend to slide in is Maths. Solve this by going over all topics from the last year and past papers. Just twice a week during the Summer can make a difference to the Autumn term.

• For children making the transition to secondary school in September, revising Year 6 work is vital. Many secondary schools will be using CAT exams (see below) in the autumn term, especially as there were no SATs this year. Working with a Tutor can also be helpful and allow a child to express more clearly areas they feel unsure about.

• The Cognitive Abilities Tests (CATs) are used in most secondary schools to test general intelligence and stream in Maths and English. However, you cannot revise for these tests as they are designed to assess a pupil’s ability in three different areas: verbal (thinking with words), quantitative (thinking with numbers), and non-verbal (thinking with shapes and space). They do not test a child’s knowledge but focusing on consistent learning over the Summer will help your child feel ready.

• Make sure your child reads through summer. News articles, fiction and non-fiction will all increase their vocabulary, literacy skills and essay writing techniques. If your child isn’t a reader or bored of reading, try and entice them into new reads or older reads. Try the Book Trust for ideas.

Impacts and Benefits of Online Home Tutoring

“Life is more fun if you play games”. As individuals belonging to the 21^st century, we live in a world that is fairly different from the one that used to exist at the time of our parents or elder siblings. Today, the concept of playing games for mental strength is foreign to us as we’re addicted to the world of social media and Netflix.

Do you recall playing different games on the computer back as a kid when you had fixed screen timings? We’re sure you used to have a lot of fun. If you would like to cherish and re-visit those memories again, then we have a solution for you.

Mentioned below are top ten memory games which you can try out with your friends, just for fun, to keep a check on your mental strength:

1. Word Finder

How about we start with an easy yet fun game that we used to play in our childhood as well? Do you remember those weekend magazines with word finders that you used to solve with a pencil, all in one go?

If you’re good with words and have the skill of spotting them quickly, you’ll love this word finder game at Unlimited Gamez MO Word finder games help you improve your memory along with language learning. If you want to feel smart, then you should definitely give this game a try. You can start playing at the most manageable level and then move up to medium and hard levels as soon as you get the knack for it.

2. Sudoku

When you were young, did you ever come across a weird game that included numbers, and you couldn’t figure out what kind of game it was? Well, that’s Sudoku for you.

Sudoku is a popular number placement game that helps improve short-term memory. You have to keep in mind a sequence of numbers to complete the Sudoku puzzle while mentally calculating the following number in the box.

This game requires heavy concentration, which is why many people give up in the end. If you’re interested in playing, we recommend you try out the easiest levels of this game. Then, you can always look for the difficult Sudoku puzzle levels.  If you’re looking for a way to introduce kids to a word games that are more simple in nature, introduce them to Wordle.

3. Crosswords

Crosswords are one of the most popular games. Trying out different crossword puzzles is always a delight as they are a classic brain trainer and improve your vocabulary.

Were you aware that around 50 million people solve crossword puzzles every day? Sounds fascinating, right?

Crosswords puzzles are a great invention to keep your brain and mental strength active and sharp all the time. They help boost your memory and are an excellent solution for people who have dementia and Alzheimer’s.

If you love crossword puzzles and could spend all day solving them, you’ll be happy to know that there are many ways to do crosswords. You can download an application on your phone or tablet and choose the crossword topics that are gripping and challenging to solve.  If you’re ever stumped, CrosswordZone provides offers answers to daily crossword puzzles.

4. Scrabble

Are you spending most of your time playing action games like the call of duty? If the answer is affirmative, you need to try out a new game to enhance your mental strength.

We’re sure that you must be aware of scrabble; after all, it is one of the most well-known games that many people play all around the globe. If you’re looking for ways to improve and keep a check on your mental strength and memory, then Scrabble is a classic option.

It enhances your brain development and vocabulary by encouraging you to compete with players and create unique words. The better words you come up with, the higher your score will be.  If you are stumped or want to become better at coming up with words, use a word unscrambler to see the multiple possibilities available from any group of letters.

You’ll be astonished to know that playing a game like scrabble increases the size of your brain, delays brain degeneration in the elderly, and makes you more competent and competitive.

5. Chess

One of the most intellectual and analytical games around; you wouldn’t want to miss out on chess. When playing chess, many new players hesitate to take part as it seems complicated and demanding.

Chess is all about relying on your memory and carefully picking your next move. If you know how to do that, then you’re good to go.

You’ll see that with time and experience, you will become a pro at chess, and all the strategies and tricks will be at your fingertips.

Moreover, chess improves brain function, cognitive abilities, deepens focus, and boosts the planning skills of a person. Aren’t these benefits enough for you to put aside your fears and at least give the game a try?

6. Card Games

Card games with numbers and patterns are exercise for your brain.  Uno is one of those popular games.  Let’s be honest. How many times did you forget to yell out “Uno” when you had one card left, and then everyone forced you to pick another one?  One of the most common card games amongst adults and children, it is a great game for the brain as it pushes you to remember every rule at each step of the game.

If you’re looking for something unique, the golf card game is a fun way to pass the time with in a new way using a standard deck of poker cards.  As per golf card game rules you can increase the level of difficulty and challenge by playing with four, six, eight, nine, or ten cards.

Just like chess, card games help develop strategic thinking and emotional intelligence. It is a good option for mental stimuli and promotes brain health.

7. The Tray Game

We’re already excited as this one’s a personal favorite for many of us. If you can’t recall it, then no need to worry as we’re getting right into the details.

The tray game is a classic memory game that is all over the Internet for the past few years. It includes a setting where there are a bunch of things, and you have some seconds to peak at them. Once the time is over, you’re supposed to guess all of the present items in the tray.

Does it sound stressful? Yes, it’s de-stressing and a lot of fun to play once you are smitten with the game. Trust us when we say that it’s the opposite of stressful.

8. Jigsaw Puzzles

Do you remember dragging your parents or siblings to the nearest stationary or toys shop so you could get your hands on the latest puzzle pieces?

No matter your age, completing Jigsaw puzzles is always fun, especially if you have someone to compete with. They are a fantastic option for improving and strengthening your mind along with sharpening your memory.

Thanks to the Internet, there are multiple types of Jigsaw puzzles that you can choose from, along with the difficulty levels. If you have trouble concentrating, you can start with the smaller and easier puzzles, and once you get the hang of them, you can move onto bigger ones.

9. Solitaire

Another prominent card game, Solitaire, is a one-person game known as a card puzzle. It helps increase the mental activity in your brain and promotes brain sharpness. The objective of the game is to use all of the cards in a particular sequence and arrangement.

While many people are confused about Solitaire rules, all you need is some skills and patience, which many people lack when playing games.

Playing Solitaire for an extended period helps develop cognitive function, memory improvement, and good mental strength.

10. Brain Teasers

Brain teaser games include different puzzles that get you thinking about what the answer might be. To solve these games and get the answer, you need to develop different strategies and think differently than you usually do.

Brain teasers can be like a riddle which means that they develop your learning ability and problem-solving skills. If you include brain teaser games in your everyday routine, you’ll notice how your thinking process and mental capacity have improved and expanded.

Final Thoughts

With the years passing so rapidly right in front of our eyes, it’s vital that we take some time to remain sane and healthy. At such a time, playing memory games can be a wonderful opportunity to spend time, relax, improve your mental strength, and memory skills also help students study.

Do you think playing memory games is important for brain health? If you play any memory games, don’t forget to share your experience with us in the comments below.

Author Bio:
About Michelle Joe: Michelle Joe is a blogger by choice. She loves to discover the world around her. She likes to share her discoveries, experiences, and express herself through her blogs. You can find her on Twitter.

After your child is diagnosed with a type of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), you might feel like you cannot do enough to help them. However, your presence and support as a caregiver can do a lot to keep your child in a positive mindset while succeeding in life.

One of the things that parents of children with ADHD should consider is increasing the amount of playtime, outdoor play, exercise play, and play therapy in your child’s life. All around, play can make huge differences in your child’s ability to think, process emotions, and better handle their life.

Why is play so important to children diagnosed with ADHD?

Here are some of the primary reasons that adding more play and activity to your child’s days may help them to cope with symptoms of ADHD more effectively.

Reason #1: Helps Them Sleep

One of the primary symptoms of ADHD for children is over activeness, which is part of the condition that many parents with ADHD are familiar with. Setting your child up to use more of their energy during the day can help them to sleep better. Sleep is vital to children in general and maybe even more important to children diagnosed with ADHD.

Not getting enough sleep makes most people inattentive; those with ADHD suffer this effect even more severely. Overstimulation and too much energy at nighttime can lead to many problems with falling asleep. When children get more exercise, this improves the brain’s ability to sleep at night, even encouraging more deep sleep.

By giving children play exercise time during the day before a set bedtime, you may be able to help them develop a routine that encourages more consistent sleep.

Reason #2: Provides Exercise

Physical exercise is very important for children with ADHD for several reasons.

One of the most fundamental reasons is that children diagnosed with ADHD are more likely to suffer from obesity which can lead to additional health problems later in life. By incorporating play from a young age, this risk can be reduced drastically.

Additionally, exercise and play give children with ADHD a chance to burn off more energy. Things like organized sports and playtime on the playground give children a healthy way to let out their energy. They can hyperfocus on play and exercise.

Adding playtime outdoors, even in the winter, can be particularly beneficial for children with ADHD. “Green time” spent in a natural setting rather than a concrete jungle gym has been shown to reduce ADHD symptoms more.  These activities have big benefits for children:

• Better concentration
• Lowered risk of depression and anxiety
• Improve brain growth
• Improves ability to sleep

Overall, children that struggle with hyperactivity and focus will benefit from adding play and exercise to their lives.

Reason #3: Improves Focus

Some research suggested that children with ADHD may have decreased focus and difficulty planning or controlling emotions due to reduced blood flow in specific parts of the brain.

The Montessori method of education believes that both free and structured forms of play can help to increase blood flow in these brain areas. Active play helps the brain identify structure in the world around them and do a better job of focusing than when play is not encouraged. Riding bikes is one good way for children with ADHD to play; their brain is engaged in unique ways while doing this activity.

Inevitably, children with ADHD will be able to focus on their studies during the day and at home.

Reason #4: Teaches Better Control

One symptom of ADHD often seen in children is the inability to control impulses. Depending on the exact type of ADHD and how it affects your child, their impulsivity can be a major issue in their daily lives.

Play can help children engage with the world in different ways to learn better control of such impulses and their behavior in general. Play gives children a chance to learn about consequences and improve specific areas of their brains without the stress of a classroom environment.

Once those skills are learned, they can be brought into the classroom environment and an improvement in how ADHD symptoms affect a child’s daily life.

Reason #5: Introduces Social Skills

Finally, consider how adding play to a child’s life can improve their social skills. Children that present many symptoms of ADHD can have trouble creating positive social interaction in their daily life.

Playtime, however, creates situations where even children with ADHD can have positive social relationships with other children. Small playgroups, recess, or joining a sports team can be good ways to introduce social skills to a child’s life in a non-threatening way. This opportunity can then allow the child to develop these skills further.

Get Serious About Playtime

Children with or without ADHD can see major benefits from having more playtime in their life. It’s time to make sure that children are allowed this benefit so that they can develop with the world around them more successfully!

With just about every child using the internet these days, combined with the steady stream of new technological advancements coming out every year, the challenge of controlling what your kids do online is not going to get any easier.  Staying on top of online safety for kids is top concern for every parent, but not all take the time to stay informed.

Whether by using mobile devices, watching YouTube videos, taking online classes, texting or chatting on a webcam with friends or family, online gaming or browsing through social media platforms, there are growing number of ways your child is connecting interacting to the internet.   The graph below shows how kids used the internet last year.

Just when you think you’re up to date on the latest security threats, something new comes along.  Often, issues come to light that are not new but no one seems to be focusing on them, such as preventing a session hijacking attack.  Safe Search Kids has your back, so let’s dive in.

Ultimate Guide on Session Hijacking Attack

There are significant benefits your kids will get by allowing them to stay online. The internet gives them exposure to the outside world. Your child will get to learn a lot through the internet.

However, it is also important to note that, while it is recommended that you allow your kids to use the internet, you should limit them and protect them against threats. Just like adults, kids are susceptible to several internet threats.

Session hijacking attacks are common these days, and they are one of the major attacks that your kids are vulnerable to. Most parents are faced with a heavy huddle trying to protect their kids against such an attack. If you are such a parent, worry no more.  This guide is an excellent read that will show you how to protect your children against a session hijacking attack.

Know What a Session Hijacking Is

I bet your child probably doesn’t know what a session hijacking is. They don’t even know if it exists. It happens when an attacker takes over your internet session. For instance, assume your child is using a smartphone to browse through the internet.  They have a favorite educational platform where they can read through various educational articles and undertake several activities. A lot will happen between the time you log in and when you log out.

For instance, hackers can obtain or generate your child’s session ID while the session is in progress.  The attacker will use the session ID to take over your child’s session, steal their sensitive data, distort their progress on educational websites, perform malicious money transfers, among many other evils.

To properly shield your kids against a session hijacking attack, you need to establish the root cause of the problem.  In essence, you must know the types of session-hijacking techniques that hackers could use to target your kids.

Session Hijacking Techniques

Session hijackers usually have a few techniques of choice to undertake a session hijack. They can choose to work with them individually or combine all of them. Here are some of the session-hijacking methods that attackers could use.

1.     Cross-Site Scripting

A malicious attacker can use cross-site scripting (XSS) to trick your child’s device into executing a malicious code masquerading as a genuine code. The XSS attacker will allow the session hijacker to have a copy of the cookie they need to perform a malicious action.

2.     Brute Force Attack

A hacker can hijack your child’s session by literally guessing a session key. Websites or applications that use a predictable or sequential pattern in their session keys are vulnerable to brute force attacks.

Brute force attack was the most dominant session hijacking technique in the past. However, applications and websites are now using randomly generated and complex session keys that offer considerable resistance against brute force attacks.

3.     Session Fixation

Session hijackers can sometimes craft a disguised session to trick your child into authenticating to a malicious server.

For instance, social engineering attacks such as phishing could effectively persuade your kids to click on a link or download an attachment that takes them to an unknown session cookie.

The session hijacker can then use the known session ID to hijack your child’s session.

4.     Session Side Jacking

Session side jacking is where an attacker uses a packet sniffer to steal a session cookie.

Typically, websites use SSL certificates to encrypt data on their pages. However, some websites do not use site-wide authentication, leaving their data vulnerable to interceptions by malicious intruders.

The moment the intruders lay their hands-on session cookies, they can hijack your child’s sessions to conduct malicious operations. For instance, an intruder can target children connected to an unsecured Wi-Fi to read through data.

5.     Malware Injection

Some malware is specifically designed to steal cookies. For instance, when your child is tricked into clicking on a malicious link or downloading an unsolicited file, the malware will scan through the network and traffic to collect session cookies which they can use to hijack your child’s session.

Ways to Stop Session Hijacking Attacks

Any effort to protect your kids against these threats will also help shield them against session hijackers.

Do you wish to know how to prevent session hijacking? The following are some of the measures you can take to protect your kids against session hijacking attacks.

1.     Do Not Allow Them to Use Public Wi-Fi

In session hijacking, unsecured public Wi-Fi could be the culprit that gives hijackers a direct ticket into your kid’s session.

It would be best if you never let your child use public Wi-Fi. There might be a cybercriminal nearby using packet sniffing to try and steal session cookies and compromise the data and online accounts.

2.     Ensure they use a Virtual Private Network

Using a Virtual Private Network will help your kids stay safe and keep hackers outside sessions if installed on the device being used.  A VPN will mask your child’s IP address and keep their browsing activities private.  VPN’s creates a secure tunnel through which all online activities will have to travel. It works by encrypting all data, thereby keeping it safe from hackers

3.     Provide Them with an Anti-Malware Software

Children usually act without contemplating the consequences of their actions. For example, when a hacker sends them a malicious link, they will rush to download the link without giving it a second thought.

The best way to stop malware attacks is to buy them anti-malware software. You should also know some of the tips that will protect them against malware attacks.

4.     Countercheck on the Security of Their Website and Web Application

Parents must be vigilant to continually counter check their kids security posture.

It is also important to educate them on some of the various internet scams they are vulnerable to and how to safeguard themselves against such scams.

Session hijackers might be targeting your child.  It’s a scary thought but with the proper knowledge and tools you can make every online experience a safe and positive one for your kids, as well as yourself.  Spread the word and share this article with friends and family.  Session hijacking is a major security threat than many parents are not aware of.