Boost your Memory with Brain Exercises

City Harvest, NYC 2015

To sharpen your mental skills try the following exercises.

After Dr. John E. Morley 

http://www.everydayhealth.com/longevity/mental-fitness/brain-exercises-for-memory.aspx

1. Test your recall. Make a list - of grocery items, things to do, or anything else that comes to mind - and memorize it. An hour or so later, see how many items you can recall. Make items on the list as challenging as possible for the greatest mental stimulation.
2. Let the music play. Learn to play a musical instrument or join a choir. Studies show that learning somethingnew and complex over a longer period of time is ideal for the aging mind.
3. Do math in your head. Figure out problems without the aid of pencil, paper, or computer; you can make this more difficult - and athletic - by walking at the same time.
4. Take a cooking class. Learn how to cook a new cuisine. Cooking uses a number of senses: smell, touch, sight, and taste, which all involve different parts of the brain.
5. Learn a foreign language. The listening and hearing involved stimulates the brain. What’s more, a richvocabulary has been linked to a reduced risk for cognitive decline.
6. Create word pictures. Visualize the spelling of a word in your head, then try and think of any other words that begin (or end) with the same two letters.
7. Draw a map from memory. After returning home from visiting a new place, try to draw a map of the area; repeat this exercise each time you visit a new location.
8. Challenge your taste buds. When eating, try to identify individual ingredients in your meal, including subtle herbs and spices.
9. Refine your hand-eye abilities. Take up a new hobby that involves fine-motor skills, such as knitting, drawing, painting, assembling a puzzle, etc.
10. Learn a new sport. Start doing an athleticexercise that utilizes both mind and body, such as yoga, golf, or tennis.

Check also 7-day ultimate body and mind workout

http://www.prevention.com/health/brain-health/how-work-out-your-brain-stay-sharp

Day 1: Take a nature walk

Day 2: Connect with your senses

Day 3: Add in speed

Day 4: Challenge your balance

Day 5: Toss a ball while walking

Day 6: Repeat day 3 - with a friend

Day 7: Repeat day 4 - with eyes closed

Developing Talent by Intelligent Practice

Practice can greatly increase your performance. 

Basia tries to put that rule into an action.

Check her project with dolls https://goo.gl/photos/vvWWhWJpm3Zt2KjU7

By BP

If you're looking to achieve your own personal goals and break through to another level, you'll learn how practice can get you there. To learn more read “Practice Perfect: 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better” by Doug Lemov, Erica Woolway, and Katie Yezzi.

http://www.amazon.com/Practice-Perfect-Rules-Getting-Better/dp/1480563722

This book puts practice on the front burner of all who seek to instill talent and achievement in others as well as in themselves. This is a journey to understand that practice, not games, makes champions.In this book, the authors engage the dream of better, both in fields and endeavors where participants know they should practice and also in those where many do not yet recognize the transformative power of practice. And it’s not just whether you practice. How you practice may be a true competitive advantage. Deliberately engineered and designed practice can revolutionize our most important endeavors. The clear set of rules presented in Practice Perfect will make us better in virtually every performance of life. The “how-to” rules of practice cover such topics as rethinking practice, modeling excellent practice, using feedback, creating a culture of practice, making new skills stick, and hiring for practice. Discover new ways to think about practice. Learn how to design successful practice. Apply practice across a wide range of realms, both personal and professional. The authors include specific activities to jump-start practice Doug Lemov is the best-selling author of Teach Like a Champion. A hands-on resource to practice, the rules within will help to create positive outliers and world-changing reservoirs of talent.

Good Books - “Maisie Hitchins” series by Holly Webb

A thrilling new detective series from the best-selling author.

Maisie Hitchins, the main character, lives in her grandmother’s boarding house, longing for adventure and intrigue in Victorian London. She idolizes the famous detective, Gilbert Carrington, and follows his every case. Together, with her faithful pup Eddie, Maisie is determined to follow even the slightest scent of a mystery and you can be sure she'll find plenty of mysteries to solve.

By BP, 2015

In “The Case of the Stolen Sixpence,” the first book in a series, George, the butcher's boy, is fired for stealing coins from the till. Maisie truly believes that he is not guilty. With her little dog Eddie as the Watson to her Sherlock Holmes, Maisie uses her promising detective skills to unravel the mystery of the stolen sixpence, defend her old friend, and even help a new friend in need. 

By BP, 2015

Visit

http://www.holly-webb.com/ to see Holly Webb new website

http://marionlindsay.co.uk/  to see Marion Lindsay, the ilustrator website

www.maisiehitchins.com to find Maisie activity sheets and more

https://www.goodreads.com/series/111631-maisie-hitchins to find Maisie Hitchins Series in order

http://hmhyoungreadersblog.com/kids/chapter-books/introducing-the-mysteries-of-maisie-hitchins/  

Good Books -“Betsy-Tacy” series by Maud Hart Lovelace

The “Betsy-Tacy” books, like other series such as the “Harry Potter” and “Little House” books, are written at progressively more difficult reading levels as the characters age and encounter more complex situations. The first books are written for children, while those at the end of the series are written for ages 14 and up.

The Betsy-Tacy series

1. Betsy-Tacy (1940)
2. Betsy-Tacy and Tib (1941)
3. Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill (1942)
4. Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown (1943)
5. Heavento Betsy (1945)
6. Betsy in Spite of Herself (1946)
7. Betsy Was a Junior (1947)
8. Betsyand Joe (1948)
9. Betsy and the Great World (1952)
10. Betsy's Wedding (1955)

Maud Hart Lovelace an American novelist and short-story writer.

Deep Valley http://www.betsy-tacysociety.org/deepvalley