Teachers, Even Superhero Teachers Can’t Do It All!

We all believe in the power of teachers, both positive and negative, on their students. I do think that teachers make a difference – but I cannot put all of my faith in these “superstar teachers” to reform the education system the way that is truly needed, or be the sole reason for my child’s performance this new school year and here’s why:

1.    Limited superhero teachers for the growing number of kids and schools.
The schools that desperately need some sort of superstar superheroes are often unable to pay them and cannot attract the skills into the areas they are needed most to make the change. If with some stroke of luck they do find this superhuman, they do not last and school cannot retain quality, teachers.

2.    Superhero Teachers can fix most problems, but poverty is not one. Location! Location!! Location!!!.

Schools located in poverty and less access to basic amenities, have higher percentages of students living in poverty and have fewer resources available for teaching. They often have a persistent achievement gap and cannot afford superhero teachers to help bridge this cycle, cache 22 situation.

3.    Teachers are normally only temporary fixtures at a school.
All good things must come to an end and superhero teachers are no exception. Teachers good or bad come and go, moving from school to school or on to different careers. As with all things in life they will be at various stages of their teaching career (early years of teaching or nearing retirement) and that do have an influence either directly or indirectly on student’s performance.

4.    First teachers; should not be last teachers; parents need to become more involved.

 Parents are key to supporting, if not inspiring, life-long learning. When parents get involved with their children’s education, they tend to succeed academically and perform better on exams. Conversely, children, whose families are not as involved in their school experiences, are often unable to compete academically with peers.

Superhero teacher or not, I think it is unfair to blame teachers solely for the performance of their students. I agree they play a critical role in shaping the young minds in their classrooms and should they be held accountable for that  O yes! But so as long as some children are routinely assigned the least-prepared teachers, attend schools in disrepair, make do with outdated technology and instructional materials, and have limited access to a broad and rich curriculum, our nation is still at risk.

However, it seems to me that the root of issues in classrooms that tend to cause the most problems for students failure (like poverty and ill-equipped or uninvolved parents) should be the target of any true reform.
Teachers cannot do this alone, there is a lot all parties involved (Government, Parents, School educators/ owner, teachers) can do to help eradicate the profound inequities among schools and students and to fulfill our great country deep need for reform. Are you working at this for this new school year?

Leaving you with this question? I TEACH SO WHAT’S YOUR SUPERPOWER?

Have a Happy new school year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Puzzlextra’s Maths Lessons & it’s All Fun and Games

It’s All Fun and Games at our Maths Lessons   

This blog will introduce Five Games for teaching Math Facts to kids while having fun.

Practice is not what you do when you are good, it’s what makes you good, so Practice! Practice! Practice!

That’s how most students learn their addition facts or times tables.

At our Puzzle challenge club, we teach maths as part of our curriculum and it’s OK to lighten up and add some fun to math-facts learning. 

As phonics and learning the alphabets are fundamental to the ability to read, so knowing math facts is the foundation to future math learning.

The basic for maths are addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. Accuracy and speed are the goals. Work sheets and timed tests and games are all okay and abound in many schools and parents table but what of games! Yes! Games — are often the tools.

This week, PUZZLEXTRA LIMITED – an edutainment company working in Nigeria, with an aim to develop critical thinking skills and cognitive abilities in school learners of all ages, offers you…

FIVE GAMES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS AS THEY LEARN MATH FACTS

Math Dice
This fun math Dice reinforces math facts in a very visual way.  Also have variants – Power dice and Junior for the younger kids

Conceptual Bingo
Adapt the BINGO game to reinforce multiplication table skills. Addresses various maths section – factorization, multiplication, additions 

                                          

                                                             

Equate
This fast-paced team board game, is a fun way to practice math facts. Also have variants – Junior for younger kids

Zingo 1-2-3
This fun math game reinforces math facts in a very visual way ideal for younger kids.

Prime Pack

Adapt a traditional card game to practice math facts. Factors, division and multiplication.

                                                                  

Games –card games, and computer games — actively engage students as they reduce stress and make learning fun

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

 Our products are available on Jumai and key retail stores.

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Mail: service@puzzlextra.com

Telephone: 08033149298/08071501361/+447840026549/08063386464

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BRAIN WORTHY GAMES – Quoridor

Puzzlextra Limited, an edutainment company is proud to introduce this brain worthy product to the Nigerian Market.

Welcome to the first board game review, we hope you have been exercising your brains and have enjoyed our products highlights:

This week is all about showcasing one of our board game products ranges for the African brain industry.

Our product of choice is Quoridor, is an elegant game that it can be easily played. It is a clever game of strategy, logic, planning and adaptive, it is an educational game that will sharpen your 21^st century thinking skills whilst having fun doing it.

This is a MENSA award winning product and perfect fits for all ages, as young as 5+

Board Games – Who is this for you ask?

It is ideal for

• Corporate  – The strategic thinking, planning and problem solving skills needed to master Quoridor are enough to make corporate takeover geniuses salivating
• Home – HomeSchooling
• Schools – Inter-house sport events, Interschool competition and could be an new twist
• Family events (Game nights, Gatherings)

 

There are various international study that confirms and shows brain games have lasting benefits – start playing today, Our Students at our Puzzle Challenge day has discovered, that this game offers room for very deep strategy, yet fun strategic discoveries are accessible even at beginner levels. No two games are alike as each game takes on its own personality, as new strategies constantly evolve.

Making a move

Schools – Students can use this product during school indoor recess time and will enjoy the different level of challenges.

It will add a new dimension to spelling and in addition to finding the words, which improve spelling and language skills, players also have to make sure the pieces match.

Skills set: 

All our products have gone through a rigours selection process to ensure that we offer our customers products that meets the 3E’s Criteria– Educational, Entertaining and Exciting.

Quoridor is an excellent educational game from which you learn the following skills: Strategy, Planning, problem solving, strategy formations, & Team Work

What’s in the box?

The game consists of

A Game Board: This is a beautiful crafted wooden board of 81 square spaces (9×9).

Pieces: Prawn (4 different colour); Fences-like pieces, 6(Junior)/8. Pieces de out of Coated and Sturdy cardboard and have different levels, Original, junior and advance tiles.

It comes in Classic Game, Travel (mini) and Kids versions

 

Ready, Set, Play!

The whole game takes five, maybe ten minute to set up, easy to teach and easy to learn. Each player (either 2 or 4), for 2 player set up you get 11 pieces: 1 pawn plus 10 fences.

The objective of the game is to move your pawn one space at a time to the other side of the board.

At the start of the game, the pawns start out in the centre   of the board rather than on the opposite ends

The Winner is the first to reach the other side wins, by applying forward thinking and lots of planning.

Sound simple! But you and your opponent(s) have walls that can be placed. Each turn poses a question: do you move your pawn or do you place a wall to block your opponent’s moves.

On your turn you can either move your pawn one square horizontally or vertically, or you can add a wall. These two choices seem remarkably familiar, elegantly embodying a fundamental political dynamic: to advance our own cause, or to prevent the opposition from advancing

The only caveat is that you must always leave a way through and not completely surround your opponent.

Every game of Quoridor invites you to come up with new ways to play, every time.

Hope you buy this lovely product ! It’s a great educational and family friendly game.

Where to Buy in Nigeria:

Lagos: Mega Plaza, The Hub, Prince Ebeano Supermarket 

East: Eastern Supermarket, Living Source Supermarket, Pentagon

North: Glory Plaza Abuja and Kaduna

Check out our website www.puzzlextra.com, we are also on Twitter and Facebook; you can always emails us at service@puzzlextra.com.

BRAIN WORTHY GAMES – Pathword

Happy New Year All.

Welcome to the first week of the first month of a new year! 2014 is a year of great things, we hope in 2013 you enjoyed our products highlights: BANANAGRAM, EQUATE, RUSH HOUR & RUSH HOUR JUNIOR

This week is all about showcasing one of our bestselling products that enhances core curricula subject English in the African brain industry; our product of choice is the Pathword.  An original idea, if you like Scrabble and Word Search, you will love this game!

Literacy and Fun

Literacy and Fun

This is an educational game that will sharpen your literacy skills whilst having fun doing it. This product offers a fabulous linguistic challenge for friends and family friends.

This is a highly recommended international award winning game and a perfect fits for all ages, there are junior tiles caters for ages 5+ too.

Who is this for you ask?

It is ideal for

• Home – Home Schooling
• Children with Special Need
• Schools – Inter-house sport events, Interschool competition and could be an new twist
• Corporate organisation
• Family events- (Game nights, Gatherings)
• English or Literacy competition:  Spelling B, Literacy Challenges, Debating week, Scrabble event/competitions.

Students at our Puzzle Challenge day (see pictures below) have discovered that it all starts off as an easy peazy, lemon squeeze challenge and do incredibly well and then SLAM, it really became a challenge.

  Looking for clues

Schools – Students can use this product during school indoor recess time and will enjoy the different level of challenges.

It will add a new dimension to spelling and in addition to finding the words, which improve spelling and language skills, players also have to make sure the pieces match.

Skills set: 

All our products have gone through a rigours selection process to ensure that we offer our customers products that meets the 3E’s Criteria– Educational, Entertaining and Exciting.

Pathword is an excellent educational game from which you learn the following skills: Literacy , Verbal reasoning, thinking skills, Tile placement, learn success &failure, problem solving, strategy formations, communication, & Team Work

What’s in the box?

 

The game consists of

A Game Grid This is a plastic storage container that doubles as a word-search grid

Puzzle Pieces: Coloured Tetris-like pieces, 6(Junior)/8. Pieces de out of Coated and Sturdy cardboard and have different levels, Original, junior and advance tiles.

Puzzle Book: A Spiral-bound Booklet with 40 Challenges – Beginner to Expert

Storage Bag: To store away puzzle pieces

Ready, Set, Play!

Gameplay and setup is very easy (and one can also easily modify rules for simpler play).

The game begins; choose a Challenge Card, each card tells you what pieces you will need to finish the puzzle, then select the indicated pieces.

To play, you cover the words with the appropriate shape.

You win if you cover the entire grid. Words can be either backwards or forwards, but not scrambled

Super simple in concept, and beautifully designed levels make this game irresistible! If you’re into word games, the spatial challenges will give you a run for your money. Builds vocabulary as occasionally, there are words used within the game that might be a bit obscure for some. A dictionary is important as occasionally, this question comes up during a game…. “Is that a word

According to R. Kimmerer: “With words at your disposal, you can see more clearly. Finding the words is another step in learning to see.”

Hope you buy it! It’s a great educational and family friendly game.

Where to Buy in Nigeria:

Lagos: Mega Plaza, The Hub, Ebeanor

East: Eastern Supermarket, Living Source Supermarket, Pentagon

North: Glory Plaza Abuja and Kaduna

Check out our website www.puzzlextra.com, we are also on Twitter and Facebook; you can always emails us at service@puzzlextra.com.

BRAIN WORTHY GAMES – Game Rush Hour & Rush Hour Junior

Puzzlextra Limited, an edutainment company is proud to introduce this brain worthy product to the Nigerian Market.

Another week has come upon us so quickly, hope you enjoyed our product highlight of last week BANANAGRAM

This week is all about our new entry in the African brain industry, our product of choice is RUSH HOUR

Rush Hour

AND RUSH HOUR JUNIOR.

Rush Hour Junior

This is such an original idea, very well thought out and would suit just about anyone. It’s a shame our Nigerian market had missed out good years for not knowing or having this product all these while.

We all know learning can be done anytime and every time, so it’s good to know this is not a puzzle for kids alone but a perfect fits for all ages

Rush Hour/Rush Hour junior is a simple, great, little mind game that the entire family can enjoy; there are not that many games out there that caters for all age group. Ages from 7 years up to 75 years can play this and with the junior set that age limit has just been lowered to suit 4+.

This puzzle has been used very successfully with Dyslexic children who can learn in a fun, non-threatening way. It is an excellent alternative to screen based games especially when good old NEPA strikes and there are no computer or screen to watch.

It is ideal to keep restless kids occupied during a blackout, in the car, or in a restaurant.

This game is fun and gets your mind going. It is a 1 player game, and is very satisfying when you complete one of the levels.

Rush Hour is easy to take with you, and it’s a good old fashioned puzzle that does not require batteries and there are no annoying beeping noises to be heard.

Who is this for you ask?

It is ideal for schools, corporate organisation, family events, gatherings, inter-house sport events, game nights and home. It can be played by individual pupils or competitively against the clock!

This product is a hit and most famous at our Puzzle Challenge day events.

Rush Hour @ PCD Lagos

Trying to extract one small red car from an every increasingly gird locked car park is a very simple but amazingly frustrating – brings a whole new meaning to road rage!!

Skills set: 

Rush Hr @ PCD in Lagos

All our products have gone through a selection process to ensure that we offer our customers products that meets the 3E’s  Criteria– Educational, Entertaining and Exciting.

Rush hour is an excellent educational game for children, working out the strategy of getting the red car out of the grid by moving other cars really gets them thinking. It is also a logic game that can be played by anyone and any age group.

Using powers of logic, can you extricate the red car from the gridlock?  That is the aim of the puzzle.

It is a puzzle for one player or competitively several players taking turns. It has a simple but engaging game play and in theory it’s for one person to play at a time but we quite often find that one person will play and several more will get involved leading to co-operative puzzle solving and much discussion and scratching of heads.

Communication skills are also developed and sometime not always team building but these are secondary skills sets that occur when the person standing around cannot wait their turn. Lol!!!

Rush Hour real requires you to think – trying to figure out how to work out the puzzle. It’s great fun but also can get quite frustrating as you wonder how a few pieces of plastic can have you so stumped!

This game really makes you think, we would recommend this excellent product when you want to enhance both logic and concentration skills.

What’s in the box?

The game consists of

A plastic box (the size of a desk calculator), with a 6×6 grid on it. There is a drawer holding the puzzle cards.

42 game cards, each bearing a puzzle, starting at the very easy end of the scale and going up to the level of “expert

As the name of the game would suggest a number of vehicles (4 trucks and 12 cars), that fit onto the grid and is the pieces you play with.

Ready, Set, Play!

Rush Hour @ PCD- East

Easy to set up with varying levels of ability suits everyone , the basic idea is to use one of the cards to set up a traffic jam of trucks and cars, these being variously 2 or 3 squares long of the grid, and then to free the red car and let it “drive” out of the gap in the grid.

The cards show in pictorial form how to lay out the cars and lorries horizontally and vertically. To make it easy the pieces are all totally different colours. Once you have the game set up you move the vehicles forward and backwards, but in no other direction, as much as you want until you find the sequence to free the red car.

It is something that older siblings can help set up and then enjoy playing as well as the younger ones. The older siblings can get quite competitive and then try to figure out which game card will cause the most difficulty.

A card can take about seconds or up to several hours to solve, it depends on the complexity of the card and the skill of the player.

Give up! Not advised there are solutions printed on the back if the jam becomes too much for you to handle, first stop and try again.

The set is pretty well made and well worth the purchase price in my opinion, Quality made game for all ages. Not a cheap game but worth the money, when you get all the skills sets attached to it.

It is so tactile and for screen lovers the game is available on i-Pad also but somehow in 2-D, though it is to all intents and purposes identical, is much less involving than having to physically push real pieces around a board.

Ideal for presents both Birthday and with Christmas fast approaching, it is great stocking filler for kids as you will offer something different and educational

Hope you buy it, it’s a great game, have fun.

Check out our website www.puzzlextra.com, we are also on Twitter and Facebook, you can always emails us at service@puzzlextra.com.

See our recent Blog on Partners site as well. http://www.thinkfun.com/smartplayblog/?p=3427

Nigerian Brainworthy Products

Welcome to PUZZLEXTRA blog

WHO WE ARE:  Puzzlextra is an educational resources and edutainment company involved in the production, promotion, distribution and sales of educational resources.

We are an edutainment and learning Resource Company with the aim to support the educational journey of the African student with products that develop smart thinking.

This African brain blog has been set up to discuss our products, the impact we hope to have in the education sector and everything else in between. We hope to summarize the skills learnt by kids during our Puzzle Challenge day held in schools in Nigeria

We know that kids learn best while having fun as it excite their mind but also ignites the brains. Our educational products are new to the Nigerian market hence alien to our homes and schools.

Armed with these facts, we’ve decided to give a summary of some of our award winning international products, so that when next you go out looking for gifts or games in the shops you can look out for these products!

This blog will also highlight how this fits into our daily lives and environments and improves our quality of life; in this blog we will be highlighting the various benefits of how our products/ services will be a great investment in all categories listed below:

School; Home; Fitness & Well Being; Family Time; Corporate & Occasions

 

Our first product we will be highlighting is the BANANAGRAMS

 

Banangrams

BANANAGRAMS– Is fun, simple, educational and also a compact game, it is everything a game should be!

This product teaches language skills, literacy, memory, co-ordination and even listening skills as there are various words to listen out to

Other skills set are built whilst playing the game and this includes concentration, hand and eye coordination.

This also offers delightful family time and use of brain muscles.

One of the beauties of the game of Bananagrams is the simplicity and elegance of the rules

All tiles are emptied and turned over, as soon as all the players have drawn their required number of letters/titles, one of the players will say “Split!”

This is the signal for the players to begin flipping letters and creating words. I won’ spill all the beans (aha!!!) J!!! so you can get your own today and see what other rules apply.

PS: One tip though its rules are a lot less complicated than Scrabble.

Bananagram is a fast game as no player gets bored waiting for their turn and everyone is constantly building and changing their crosswords. It gets much faster and more exciting as the game progresses.

It is also a game of strategy – As each player builds their own crossword in a race against each other, you need to plan and have good foresight as just when you think you are in the lead, your next letter ruins all your plans and before you know it, your opponent has stormed into the lead L!! – am sure no one wants to be in this situation lol, you will find out it brings out the competitive nature of human beingsJ .

It is a recommended game for Educators and can be used in schools to introduce new words or enhance spelling words in a different and fun activity; it is suitable for literacy week/day in school. This product will assist in the preparation of kids for spelling competitions like spelling Bee.

The product ensures kids learn and use words learnt in a fun way, in doing this they build up their vocabulary bank. It is also a fantastic training tool for the firms and corporate bodies.

Pictures of some our kids playing the game at our popular Puzzle Challenge Day (PCD)

Puzzle Challenge Day

PCD @ Banangrams

Kids at our PCD

This game is stored in a banana shaped pouch; it is portable and easy to carry around, which means can be played anywhere and anytime. It is suitable for both young and old and fits all age ranges and abilities, so no one is left out.

Family time together could be dull and with everyone having a busy working schedule, we need something that can include all generation and this product is perfect as it can be played by 3 generations of any family. It is simple, easy to play and there are no silly or complicated rules.

Great as a birthday or Christmas present to any age group –old or young, Can be included in Kids’ birthday party bag and also souvenir at social events (staff meetings and training sessions).

This game helps work out the brain; it teaches spelling and also players learn how crossword works, but this game also is ideal for brain fitness or work out to prevent or improve medical conditions like Alzheimer and dementia.

It is a game kids enjoy & want to play again & again, which has to be a good sign for learning through play.

In summary BANANAGRAMS is an ideal family friendly product that offers fun & games for the whole family. It also meets our 3 E Standards: Educational, Entertaining and Exciting.

Literally…what more could you want? Buy yours today!!!  BANANAGRAMS is a great investment – for a school, family and corporate entity.

Try it out today, buy/order yours today from service@puzzlextra.com

For more information check us out on www.puzzlextra.com. We are active on social media websites, so do show your likes on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/puzzlextra or follow us as we chip & tweet on twitter.