It's my Birthday, an exciting new venture ...AND a Giveaway!

Can this day get any better? First off, I love birthdays! It's just so fun to have a cake...especially a big round, fudgy, chocolate one from Costco....hint hint to my hubby! Plus, it's a great excuse to indulge in such a delicacy! I also think chocolate just makes you feel young and makes the world go round! K....be prepared for a nice long post! It's only because we have such exciting news to share! Next up:

The past year has been nothing short of craziness. We have been trying to build up a new business - Inception Learning. We actually did come up with the name before the movie Inception came along. I guess great minds think alike! Christopher Nolan....we have the same ingenuity! :)  Our product is called Abacus Prodigy. We have since developed an electronic Abacus keyboard - Soropad that will be connected to our online digital platform. There, kids ages 3-8 (we be continually expanding to fit ages 9 and up) can learn Math with a strong Abacus foundation, along with a full Math curriculum, using top problem solving techniques from China, Singapore, and Korea! Our site: www.abacusprodigy.com will incorporate virtual tutors, practices, games, music, animations, videos, and assessment tests. We're still fixing a minor glitch on Mozilla Firefox. So for the next few days, it's best viewed in Google Chrome. Doesn't most of everyone use Chrome anyways? Maybe this is the PC vs. Mac talking in my head! lol... It's definitely exciting as we have been HATING the school system for a very long time. I think in Asia, it was way too academic and here-way too much focus on play and sports. I feel there's needs to be a good middle for the children to be well-rounded and be academically, physically, and socially capable! Hopefully, our products will help close up that gap! I believe that Math should be fun!!!  Why not? It can be fun solving difficult problems. Math also teaches children to solve problems creatively...which I feel is SO important in everything we do nowadays! Yes! Creativity is a MUST. The great thing about Abacus learning is that it teaches children conceptual skills at a very young age. I see the kids who have gone through my program approach things in a very different light. I LOVE the innovative spirit such kinds of learning helps instill in young children!!! 

Plus, we'll also be launching our ONE Revolution campaign the next few days! Stay tuned for that one! You'll LOVE it!

Our new Facebook page is also up: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Inception-Learning/128128180594552. Please please please do help us spread the word through your very own Facebook, twitter, blogs, emails, whatever it is!!! Keep following our Facebook and blog as we will keep launching new and exciting things the next couple weeks and months!

If you become a fan, you get entered into our Giveaway! Plus, if you refer a friend to be a fan, post this on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc... you get an additional entry for each thing extra you do! So basically if 10 friends of yours become fans, you will get 1 entry plus 10 additional ones. Please comment on either our blog or Facebook page to let us know what you did to help spread the word to ensure your entry! The Giveaway will end May 15...which equates to PLENTY of chances for you to have multiple entries!  Here's what you stand to win:

A Melissa and Doug Wooden TOY Abacus

Waiting for Superman DVD, which comes with a $25 DonorsChoose.org Giftcard

1 REAL Soroban/Abacus Instrument

On a side note, I would be lying if I didn't admit that starting a business takes up a lot of time and energy - both physical and mental. It's also been difficult juggling as a mom, wife, and starting a new venture. The nice part is I get to do this with my husband which definitely makes things easier. We take turns doing developing the business and taking care of our sweet boy Talon. Talon definitely gets a great amounts of attention of both momma and da-da because of this arrangement. We get to work from home too so that helps with the juggling! In addition, I was recently called to my church's women's organization as a secretary! Talk about double duty! But, I know with hard work and sacrifice comes great blessings! As tired I am by the end of the day, it is so exciting and fulfilling to know that Abacus Prodigy will help a great deal of kids start LOVING Math! 

WHY The Railroad Classrooms?

I started private tutoring little kids from ages 3-14 during my college years simply for the extra cash to tide me through. The tutoring generated results in the childrens' confidence and of course success in school and my pool of students grew. Through the years, I have been astonished by the lack of quality of teachers both in the public and private school systems. I had a student's teacher tell his parents that he should not be reading at a higher level (He was a second-grade student reading at a fifth-grade level) as it iwas bad for his mental growth. I had another student's teacher (and this was at an expensive private school) grade her essay's grammatical part as perfect, even though 1/3 of it was wrong. I had a student whom I had taught Japanese mental arithmetic to and who was exceling in his math class when the teacher claimed that he was not using mental math but instead was cheating and that he should use the traditional way of counting his fingers instead. These are but a few examples of the poor quality of teaching we see in many schools all around the country. It boggled my mind and worried me for when the time would come when my own kids will enter the school system. When I had my baby, I wished I had all the funds in the world to start my own ideal school where not only would children be challenged academically but they will also be able to experience an all-roundedness in sports, arts, and other special-interests. I researched a million schools throughout the world and realized that such a balanced school does not exists, at least not in my standard. As such, I decided to start spreading awareness of the need for quality education through blogging about the latest educational news, tools and products that will help your kids excel in their own way and right.

As seen on the right sidebar of my blog, the inspiration of "The Railroad Classrooms" came from my favorite book Totto-Chan. The founder -Sosaku Kobayashi- created a school where classes were taught in old railroad cars. The children had a list of subjects and tasks they had to go through everyday. However, they were free to choose which subject they wanted to study first and were guided by their teacher. Soon, the kids figured out what subjects they were most interested in and often challenged themselves in those areas. Music was also incorporated into their schooling. As a result, most of the kids who graduated from the school (Tomoe Gakuen) became well-established in their respective fields. If you get the chance, I highly recommend this read! It is an easy and whimsical read that both adults and children will love. You can purchase it at either Amazon or Barnes and Nobles online.

Do visit The Railroad Classrooms often. This blog will be updated every other day, if not on a daily basis, and will be chockful of juicy educational information for your kids. If you have any questions, would like to guest-blog or would like your child's talents be featured in The Railroad Classrooms, please do email me at THERAILROADCLASSROOMS@GMAIL.COM! Cheers!!!