I don’t what it is about water board sports but they happen to be very fun and very addicting. It may be because of the unique challenge that lies in each board sport that make it appealing. It may be because of the natural attraction that humans have to the water be it a lake, river or ocean. Or it may be simply being outdoors that make millions of people each year want to hit the water with their different types of boards.

Here’s a list of the different types of board sports that we can all enjoy during the summer months unless you happen to be lucky and live in a warm/hot place.

Surfing: This board sport happens to be the most popular and the most challenging of all the board sports. Once you master this sport it is very fun and very addicting. This sport has been mainstream for quite some time with the top athletes in this sport earning millions of dollars each year from sponsors and competitions. If you’ve never tried surfing then you owe it to yourself to try it once in your life.

Body Boarding/Boogie Boarding: Body boards are much smaller then a surf board and are made out of either fiberglass or wood. Riding a body board is also much different than a surf board. Instead of trying to stand up on the board you lay down on your stomach and paddle with your feet usually with fins, which works best in order to gain speed. Also different from surfing, body boarders try and catch waves that are closer to shore rather than paddle way out into the surf. Body boarding has also become more of a main stream sport in the last couple of decades.

Skimboarding: This sport is very fun and challenging but has yet to break into the main stream sports arena. Skimboarding consists of a board that’s half-way between a surf board (without fins) and a body board. And instead of paddling out into the ocean with your board like surfing or body boarding you run with your board along the sand, then at the opportune time throwing your board down and skimming along the sand into the waves and hopefully catching a wave with your board before you wipe out. Skimboarding is a great, extremely fun sport that almost anyone can try at almost any age.

Wakeboarding: This sport is usually a lake sport which consists of a boat pulling you up and pulling you along much like water skiing, except the board looks more like a snowboard and body board than a pair of water-skies. At first this sport can be a challenge but stick with it and once you’ve mastered the art of getting up on the board, it’s a blast!

Looking for some fun conditioning drills to play with your team? Last man standing is a way to help players become individually competitive while still playing as a team. Here’s how to run the drill:

Have your players drop their gloves. Using just hands makes the play less aggressive. Have players split into groups of 3 or 4. Each player rolls 5 ground balls to the person to their right. Fielder becomes roller as the players move down the line, and the first roller runs to the end to become the last fielder.

Where does the competition come in? Make it a relay race! The teams rush to finish first, because they get the “safety.” Everyone else has to run sprints while the winners watch. Play this a few times to really get your players heart rate up.

Once the kids seem ready to go (and a little tired), switch them to a knock out drill. Have your pitcher throw soft balls at players, who are still gloveless. If they cannot field the ball with their hands they are out. Last man standing, again, gets to sit out the sprint. Players are much more competitive when they know that they can elude sprints, and it’s a real reward for the ones that do win.

These drills can be run at the beginning or end of practice as a fun little way to help players condition for quick sprints from standing positions – a key skill in fielding that surely can’t hurt a player fight his way to first, either.

Reprise, by Simon Plaster, continues his series of humorous and satirical novels about Henrietta Hebert, who has gone from being an investigative reporter to now being a Private Eye. She figures that being an investigative reporter is not that much different, in that she digs up the dirt on the people she writes about, just like detectives discover all sorts of secrets about whoever they are investigating, and she might as well get the credit for solving a crime or mystery that some inept detective would claim. otherwise.

The trouble is that, at the start of Reprise, Henrietta is not getting any bites. That is, not until one day, a fateful knocking at her door and buzzing at her doorbell launches her new career. When Henrietta answers the door, she sees a woman standing there who introduces herself as Dr. Gloria Stern, and she explains that she has been searching for Wynona Sue Lehough, namely, Henrietta’s mother. Though Dr. Stern admits that the last time she saw Henrietta’s mother was three years ago, because she is “downsizing her practice,” she suddenly is concerned about Wynona Sue’s whereabouts and wants Henrietta, listed on old paperwork as Wynona’ Sue’s “next of kin,” to find the so-called missing woman, who has been without her meds for a period of years by then. Unbeknownst to Dr. Stern, right at that very moment, Henrietta’s mother is trying to reach her via her daughter’s “eye-phone.”

Dr. Stern has some rather potentially serious news to tell Henrietta. Based on her knowledge of Wynona Sue’s somewhat flighty and unstable mental state, Dr. Stern says that she believes Wynona Sue likely is responsible for having killed her husband, Henrietta’s step-father, Professor Alexander Lehough. As it’s also been reported that Wynona Sue fired a gun into the floorboards of her house, when her husband of five years plus was underneath the house tending to some of his insect “pets,” that idea is not, in theory, beyond the realm of possibility.

As with the other novels featuring Henrietta Hebert in Simon Plaster’s ongoing series, much of the fun and humor of Reprise comes from the intertwining complicated plots, romantic, or imagined romantic, entanglements, and numerous recurring characters within its pages. Another of the many fun aspects about Simon Plaster’s novels is that he incorporates song lyrics into his plots, with quotes from the songs relevant to the story interspersed throughout.

Reprise follows suit, the very title of it being a musical term for, as the author puts it,: “a partial or abbreviated repetition or reiteration of material with added ornamentation to decorate a line of harmony: sometimes including contrapuntal compositions called fugues, in which short melodies or phrases are introduced by one part and successively taken up by others in interweaving parts such as common in doo-wop songs.”

Besides quoting from songs such as John Cougar Mellancamp’s “Jack and Diane,” and Johnny Cash’s “I’ve Been Everywhere,” the author utilizes a radio announcer who repeats the words “Remember when… ” followed by his introducing an oldie but goodie like “Duke of Earl.” The theme of repetition for helping to recall memories is one that Plaster uses in the plot of Reprise, as well, bringing into the mix of the present-day plotline several memorable characters from past novels in the series. The book is divided up into five distinct sections, or “Fugues.” These Fugues aid in conveying the repetition theme, and also serve to catch up any readers who might not be familiar with the past books in the series.

Don’t worry, there is plenty of action and romantic entanglements in the present-day plotline of Reprise to satisfy anyone who enjoys reading light-hearted satirical novels. If you are already a fan of the Henrietta Hebert series by Simon Plaster or a newbie to it, you’re sure to get an immense kick out of reading Reprise. I highly recommend you check it out, today, and the other novels in this hugely entertaining series!

There is a beginning to everything. For darkness, it’s dusk; and for sex, it’s foreplay. Just like morning indicates how the day should progress, it’s foreplay that decides how enjoyable the next chapter – sex, will be. Here are some fun foreplay tips that will turn you both on, and get you ready for some steamy sex.

Are you thinking about some action to begin right in the bedroom? Wrong guys, the best part of the foreplay rarely starts in the bedroom itself. How about a nice massage of her legs?? Have you noticed how she cares about her feet — painting toenails, having a pedicure? Women love to pamper their feet. A good foot massage really turns them on, and gets them ready for anything.

Next on your agenda should be a candlelight bath. Nothing can be as romantic, hot and mood setting as a candlelight bath. A candlelight bath together will bring you and your partner closer physically as well as romantically, which in turn will make both of you understand each others’ needs well and take the mutual understanding to a new level.

Talk, talk and talk. You need to perfect the art of talking. The right words at the right place can be the perfect foreplay at times. Just describe how you want her, how and where would you touch her. She will be able to visualize it and get in the perfect mood.

These fun foreplay tips will not only make your sex life more enjoyable but will also strengthen your bonds well. So, follow these tips to get closer to your partner and enjoy a healthy relationship.

Birds are so much fun to study and photograph. That’s why I have started a birding journal or scrapbook. In addition to identifying returning migratory birds, I can add pictures of my overwintering avian friends as well. I love to see and record the transition from their winter coats to their spring and summer frocks!

A bird journal will help you to keep track of when your spring visitors arrive. That way you know when to add a favorite food to your bird feeders. That’s how I will attempt to entice bluebirds to nest in one of my bird houses this year. I noted their arrival last year and recorded it in my bird journal, so this year I know just when to offer their favorite treat-mealworms.

I purchased my inexpensive blank journal at the local craft store. They can also be found at office supply and discount stores. It is a 6″ x 6″ mini scrapbook, and the smaller size is just right to carry with me on hikes, or on vacation, or just anywhere I go. There are plenty of pages where I can add photos as well as record the date, time of day, temperature and weather conditions, number of birds spotted, and where. It is customizable in that there is a place for a picture and title on the cover, which is accessible from the inside front of the book. It is also a refillable book, allowing me to purchase and add more pages as I need them.

Don’t fret if you don’t always have a camera handy. Many times I don’t. In that case, I just write down as many details as I can about the bird’s color, size, identity (if I know it), and field markings like wing patches, leg and beak color, etc. I also note if the feathered visitor was foraging on the ground, perched in a tree, eating at the bird feeders, seen in the park, or spotted as it soared over a field, etc.

Since I love feathers and all their colors, I collect them and add them to my mini scrapbook pages. I find what bird shed them by checking out my field guide. The guide helps me to learn a lot more about the birds I have seen. I can record an interesting fact or unusual behavior I have learned in my journal/scrapbook, too.

My other favorite ‘bird thing’ is nests. They come in all sizes and consist of differing materials, depending upon the bird that built them. So, if I come across an old nest, I take a photo and describe the materials that were used. It’s great fun when I can actually see and identify the birds that occupy a nest.

If it is possible to see what the eggs or nestlings look like without disturbing the nest or its inhabitants, I make a note of what I see in as much detail as possible. Snapping a quick photo is ideal, but only if it causes no stress to the baby birds or the adults caring for them.

Your personal observations can be an important source of enlightenment for anyone who is fortunate enough to open your bird journal at some point in time. It’s a sad fact that over the last 40 years, some of our wonderful songbirds have declined as much as 60%. Your scrapbook will be a legacy to future generations who may never have the chance to see these birds in person.

Birds surround us on a daily basis. Their songs most often are the background music to our days, even though we are sometimes too busy to really hear them. But if you take a little time out of your busy schedule to make room for the wild birds, it will change your whole outlook!

Obesity is a growing problem throughout the globe and both young and adults are equally affected. The reason behind the issue is increasing love for the digital world and ignoring the importance of outdoor play. It sure is difficult to get kids moving at such times when they are glue-stick to screens, but believe it or not, it is worth trying. Not only you can let them move, you can also make exercising fun for them in the following ways.

Yoga

Yoga is one of the best ways to curb obesity and keep your kids healthy and active. You don’t need any fancy commercial playground equipment as you just need a little space and a mat and you are good to go. You must know how to perform yoga and how it enhances flexibility, develops coordination, and improves strength. Let me tell you how you can make it fun!

Let kids mimic animal poses while doing yoga such as a cow, lion, or cat. If that seems hard, you can try making yoga a story. For instance, you would talk about trees in the story and your kids perform tree pose or you tell about a snake and they act like a cobra. They can even move out of their mats for some seconds and make interesting sounds.

Indoor and Outdoor Activities

You can perform indoor and outdoor obstacle courses with them. There are times when you just can’t let your kids go outside whether it’s due to unfavorable weather or exams around. Indoors, you can try a pillow, lining up a jumping rope, cans or bottles, or a hula hoop. Arrange several pillows vertically and ask your kids to jump it 10 times. You can try similar activities with jumping ropes and other items I mentioned.

Now, let’s talk about outdoor obstacle courses! When you take your kid to a playground, set some challenges for him such as taking swing ten times, run and cover the entire jungle gym, climb the ladder or a climbing wall. Ask him to take all these challenges at once and get back to you. Furthermore, you can make obstacle courses on your own such as tying a rope somewhere or using bases of skates.

If you are unable to try any one of these, then try using adult exercises and make yourself an obstacle course. Sounds strange? Well, you can try doing push-ups yourself and ask your kid to jump over you when you are up. This isn’t only safe, but a hell of a fun as well!

Parent-Directed

Kids crave for parents’ attention and take more interest in adult things. Rather than leaving them alone to play, it would be the best if you join them. You can do simple things such as taking a ride with them, playing their favorite music and dance around or play catching balls. What is more, you can also look for age specifications in your gym and take your kids to group classes with you.

Want to try something new for your next ski vacation? Well, there is another type of skiing that you can try and will surely spice up your typical ski vacation trips – monoskiing.

This type of skiing was invented in the 1950s. The set of equipment used is pretty much the same with what is used in conventional skiing. A monoskier skis using a single double wide ski where he or she plants both their feet on the board facing forward and skis using styled ski poles.

For regular skiers who want to try monoskiing, picking up the whole dynamics of it is easy however, it takes some time before they get used to it especially when it comes to balance. Performing stunts and tricks, reaching high speeds, catching air and engaging in traditional cross-country skiing are still possible with monoskiing.

This skiing is actually easier on the knees than conventional skiing, that is why it appeals mostly to skies with weak knees. In monoskiing, the weight is centered between the knees while they move with the axis of movement. Even those who have history of knee injury could still try monoskiing. This type of skiing mainly requires a lot of upper body effort, balancing the work between upper and lower body more equally than in conventional skiing.

The good news is, this type of skiing also caters to the interests of disabled skiers which enables them to feel the thrill of the slopes.

Empowering disabled people

For this disabled people, monoskiing opened the doors for them to hit the slopes and be active in sports. For paraplegic skiers, they uses different types of ski designed to different kinds of abilities.

A monoski has a chair with a ski mounted onto it which can be controlled with the upper body alone. This type of ski has been developed for skiers with multiple leg amputations, spinal injury resulting to paralysis of the lower body.

Another type of ski is called a bi-ski, which is similar with the monoski but the seat is mounted on two skis. This is designed for those skiers whose legs are intact but have restricted control due to multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, or spinal chord or brain injuries.

A four-track is another type of ski designed for those who lack good lateral control, and use two skis with outriggers. Another type is called the ski bike, originally designed for able-bodied but is successfully used by leg amputees who are able to wear artificial limbs while skiing.

Monoskiing does not only serve the cravings of skiers who would like to try something different during their ski vacation. But it also empowers those who are disabled and help them achieve success in this sport despite their situation.

Western Dragons typically are thought of as evil, fire-breathing beasts. Their reputation as evil may have been influenced by the demonization from the Church, and their fire-spewing capability.

As promised, your eight easy ways to remember the Western Dragon:

1. Both Chinese Dragons and Western dragons usually live in water, especially oceans and rivers. Apep and Tiamat are two examples of water dwellers. Some also are thought to spew water, like the French dragon Gargouille, and the Devil Dragon from the Book of Revelations.

2. There is a theory that dragons evolved into fire-breathing abilities due to a large internal bladder, or sac, filled with methane. The Dragon had a metal-type “flint” in its throat, and when it belched in self-defense was able to ignite the methane and ‘breathe fire’.

3. Dragons have the ability to fly because their wings are huge and capable of providing lift. Their frames are not composed of solid bones, but are hollow and cartilaginous; light, like plastic.

4. Like the Eastern, or Chinese Dragons, Western Dragons also have the reputation of wisdom. Ancient Greek stories tell us that Pythonesses learned from Dragons.

5. The common theme of a Western Dragon’s diet is either animals like sheep and goats, and also young maidens (virgins). Perseus and Andromeda include this in their Greek Mythologies, and Hercules saved a maiden from a Dragon. St. George (from Europe) also tells of maiden sacrifices from Europe.

6. Dragons make great guardians. Ladon guarded the Golden apples at Hesperides,and Tiamat’s Dragon guarded sacred tablets. It was a dragon that guarded the golden fleece from Jason, and the Golden Apples at Hesperides were protected by Ladon. So your dragon figurines perched on a castle or your dragon holding a ball are likely Western Dragons.

7. Not only were Dragons considered guardians, but actual greedy hoarders. There are mythical stories of greedy men who were turned into Western Dragons.

8. In appearance, Western Dragons have a long neck and tail, horned heads, scales like body armor, forked tongues, and varying colors. Their feet are clawed.

Following are various Western Dragon categories:

Amphitere:

Dragons with feathers, or plumes. Examples include the Egyptian dragon, Buto, and the South American dragon, Quetzlcoatl.

Drake:

An old English term for a dragon. A fire breathing dragon was called a fire drake.

Guivre:

A Guivre has four legs, two wings.

Lindworm:

A dragon with two legs, and no wings.

Wyrm:

a dragon having no legs or wings, like a snake. As an aside, this is the French name for a Guivre.

Wyvern:

It represents pestilence and war. It has two wings and two legs. Common Dragons will have two wings and four legs.

There are many great Dragon stories; are Dragons real? The funny thing is, almost anyone can say what they think a Dragon is, even if it exists only in Mythology. But lots of people can’t describe mitochondria…and we all have them!

What is your opinion of math? Math, you say? What do I care about math? I had to take it in school, but I am beyond that now. Math no longer applies to my life. On the other side of the coin, there are those that find math to be exciting, exhilarating, and the time of their lives. It does apply to their lives and they can’t wait to use it. This second opinion, however, is the minority. Most people find that math is work. It is confusing, complicated and totally unnecessary. Is this you? The problem with this kind of thinking is that it isn’t true. Math is necessary, from the simplest addition and subtraction to more difficult geometry and physics. Math applies to life and we cannot live without it.

So, with that established, where do we go from here? If math is dull, boring and tedious, how can it matter? Well, the truth is, it doesn’t have to be. Math can be fun, exciting and something to look forward to. How? How can math possibly be fun? Well, have you ever played a game? Sure, you have. Was it fun? Of course it was. Would you ever like to play another game again? If the answer is, “Yes”, then I have hope for you when it comes to math. There are games out there that are just as much fun and teach you all you need to know to succeed in math. Have you ever played Dominoes or Hangman? Have you ever played cards or board games? I know a way to adapt these well-known games to math, and I know a great many more games that do the same thing. You will find yourself having so much fun that you will wonder where the time has gone.

For games that not only will teach you to succeed in math, but will have you having so much fun that you don’t even realize that you are learning, go to:

Teaching English grammar can be hard going – for the teacher and the students. It doesn’t have to be difficult or painful, however. You can teach English grammar using fun learning games and before you know it your students will be more than willing. How does it work, you ask. Well, there has been a movement away from the traditional methods of teaching English grammar through writing, rewriting and worksheets to using a more active approach through games. Researchers have also begun to look at how and why these new methods work.

Four sound reasons to teach grammar with games

1. Arif Saricoban and Esen Metin, authors of “Songs, Verse and Games for Teaching Grammar” explain how and why games work for teaching grammar in an ESL classroom. They say, “Games and problem-solving activities, which are task-based and have a purpose beyond the production of correct speech, are the examples of the most preferable communicative activities.” They go on to explain that grammar games help children not only gain knowledge but be able to apply and use that learning.

2. Additionally, games have the advantage of allowing the students to “practice and internalise vocabulary, grammar and structures extensively.” They can do this because students are often more motivated to play games than they are to do desk work. Plus, during the game, the students are focused on the activity and end up absorbing the language subconsciously. One can also add that fun learning games usually contain repetition, which allows the language to stick.

3. While games are motivating for the students, probably the best reason, according to Saricoban and Metin, to use games is that “the use of such activities both increases the cooperation and competition in the classroom.” One can use games to add excitement through competition or games which create bonding among students and teacher.

4. Aydan Ersoz, author of “Six Games for the ESL/EFL Classroom” also explains more reasons why games do work for teaching grammar. Learning a language requires constant effort and that can be tiring. Ersoz says games can counter this as because:

* Games that are amusing and challenging are highly motivating.

* Games allow meaningful use of the language in context.

Children are more motivated to learn grammar with games

The theory of intrinsic motivation also gives some insight as to why teaching grammar through games actually works. Intrinsic motivation refers to the internal factors that encourage us to do something. Most young learners will not internally decide that they want to learn grammar. They don’t yet understand the concepts of why it’s important to know proper grammar, so these external factors won’t affect them much either. Instead, intrinsic motivation can lead encourage them to play games. If these games are good then they will be learning while they are playing.

Using some movement is crucial because movement helps activate the students’ mental capacities and stimulate neural networks, thus promoting learning and retention. If you have a large class with no space you still have options. Children can stand up, sit down, move various body parts and pass things around to each other. Movement does not only mean children tearing around the playground.

What Kinds of Games Work Best?

When you are looking for games to use in your classroom, don’t just pick something to be a “time filler” which does not have a definite linguistic outcome. These games may entertain the students, but when you don’t have much time with them each day as it is, you want your game to do double duty to get the most out of the time you spend playing games.

Have a clear linguistic outcome for each game. The game can be a listening game to allow the students to repeatedly hear a new grammatical structure in use, or it can be a speaking game to allow practise of the grammar once it has been absorbed through listening beforehand. There are degrees of difficulty with speaking games from basic repetition in a fun context to more creative sentence creation for revision or more advanced practise once the basics have been mastered. The teacher should lead the children through this progression so that the game at hand is always well within the grasp of the students. This makes games fun rather than laborious. It is a mistake to play a speaking game immediately after the new grammar has been presented. Ideally reading, spelling and writing games come after the new grammar has been absorbed and the students can use it orally.

Another thing to watch out for with grammar games is that a maximum of students are involved simultaneously. If you have thirty children you want to avoid a game where only one child is speaking at a time. What are the other twenty-nine children supposed to do in the meantime other than get bored? On the other end of the scale however are games that cause chaos in class and make teachers unpopular with colleagues because of high noise levels. A variety of suitable games are available for you to try free in the resource box below the article.

Now you can stop the eye-rolling and complaining from your students when you even THINK about teaching them a grammar lesson, and have some productive fun.