Education Toys-How to Use Them For Education

A community services courses is your next big step forward. Learn how to provide effective support, services and care for those in need with practical skills in planning and developing programs, counselling, applying legal and ethical principles, mental care and addiction support, and more. The education toys always come in bright colors,though they have different shapes and sizes, different textures and material, they are always liked by kids,for the most importantly reason is they allow kids to be imaginative and creative. They not just used for fun, but also educational. Lots of toys are designed to help children focus on memory, matching, colors, the alphabet, and imagination. Babies are very interactive and observant, and most of what they learn is from what they see around them.

Most young children,which we call “tactile learners” always learn from life experiences such as taste, touch, and smell. For tactile learners,there are learning toys. Activity tables usually include three of the best tactile learning toys which your child will benefit from. The greatest tactile toys are: an abacus, busy beads, and manipulatives.You can buy the three types of toys together, yet you can also buy them separately. Manipulatives are also easy to make with your own tools which .

Busy beads are designed to improve children’s dexterity skills, or hand and eye coordination. Busy beads are used by moving the patterns of beads around to other areas of the toy. The wires that the beads are on move in different directions, and aren’t vertical like the abacus. Young children can be entertained for hours by moving the beads around; it is a hands on experience. The toy is engaging because the beads make different patterns from their bright colors and different arrangements.

An abacus is used for counting and simple math problems. They are similar to busy beads, but are used mostly for counting. They also look very different because an abacus is a frame with straight wires used to move the beads from one end to the next. This is why they are also called counting frames. The abacus has been used for centuries to teach children how to count and use basic arithmetic. It was invented before there was a standard numeral system. Not only is the abacus a great learning toy for young children, it is still used in different parts of the world by merchants.

Manipulatives are also used to learn basic math, like the abacus. However, you can make almost any item a manipulative. Puzzles are also categorized as manipulatives because children have to use their hands to place the pieces in the correct places. A manipulative is any toy that requires a child to manipulate the toy in some way with their finger and hand/eye coordination.

The Importance of Maintenance For Your Outdoor Lighting System

Most 24 hour electrician Brisbane know also how to install splits systems. Landscape lighting systems require regular routine maintenance. Inside your home, all you need to do is replace light bulbs when they burn out. But in the outdoor environment, your lighting fixtures are exposed to a much different variety of conditions that can render them less effective and leave your beautiful lighting system less than perfect – even inoperable.

It is not an intensive or expensive proposition, (not like the spring opening of the pool) but it is just as important.

Your specific needs will vary with your situation, but generally, all outdoor lighting systems are exposed to dirt, rainfall and irrigation, even snow and ice. The fixtures are designed to withstand moisture, but calcium and lime deposits; hard water scale and dirt will build up on the lenses, dramatically reducing the light output. Because your lights are in the gardens, they are near the plant material, which grows and changes with the seasons, dropping plant material onto and near the fixtures, and can obscure the intended light output.

Often gardeners, homeowners or landscape maintenance personnel accidentally knock the fixtures out of place as they go about their gardening business, bury the fixtures with mulch or debris, blow leaves on top of the fixtures or otherwise compromise the perfect aiming of the light beams onto their intended subjects.

Sometimes homeowners plan to take care of maintaining their lights themselves. Quite often, they’ll change the lamps with models of lesser quality or incorrect beam spreads. Worst of all, they install different voltages than intended for the system or for the individual wire runs or circuits. This simple mistake can truly compromise the functionality of the system and can invalidate manufacturers warranties on the fixtures or transformers.

Be sure to hire trained, licensed and insured installation and maintenance personnel to help ensure that your system is performing at its optimal levels. The best choice is to go back to the licensed electrician who installed your system. If your system was not installed by a licensed electrician – many low voltage systems are installed by gardeners, landscape irrigates and by homeowners themselves – choose a reputable outdoor lighting company that offers a maintenance plan to keep your system looking great and performing optimally. Ask to see their maintenance plan. It should cover all the elements listed below.

With regular service, your landscape lighting system will perform as designed, and enhance your property for beauty and elegance season after season.

ENSURE PROPER WORKING ORDER

Technically, your system functions properly because of proper wattage, voltages, amperages and circuit loads. When these are incorrect, due to faulty installation or changes made after installation, you need a professional electrician with a good meter to determine where the problems lie. Your electrician should test your voltages and amperages, troubleshoot your system and correct these issues to ensure your system is in proper and safe working order.

CLEANING

The maintenance should include cleaning your fixture housings and removing mineral deposits from the lenses. This can be accomplished by using solvents or by scraping them with razor blades. A good lens cleaning can make a big difference to the light output of the fixture – up 30-40%.

Clear away mulch or debris that has accumulated near the fixtures, or on the shields or baffles. Not only can this debris block the intended lighting effects, it can pose a fire hazard in some cases. Keep fixtures clear of debris at all times, and advise your landscape maintenance personnel to refrain from blowing leaves into or onto the fixtures.

ADJUST, RE-AIM & RE-FOCUS FIXTURES

Landscapes are organic and ever changing with plant growth and change of seasons. As plantings mature, it is often necessary to change the aim of the light beam or to make adjustments to the beam spread of the lamp selections. A good landscape lighting maintenance agreement should offer to relocate your fixtures to some degree, improving the appearance of the lighting and enhancing the appearance of the plantings.

ADJUST TIME CLOCKS & CONTROLLERS

Sometimes your system isn’t coming on when you’d like, or your time clock needs to be adjusted for daylight savings or the change in the seasons. Have the lighting professional take care of making these adjustments for you, and leave the programming instructions with you. Do try simple fixes before you call for midnight help.

1) Has the breaker tripped? Reset it

2) Has the battery in the timer expired? Replace it

3) Is your transformer plugged in to the outlet? Replug it

REPLACE & LUBRICATE O-RINGS, SEALS & GASKETS

Some fixtures require gaskets, seals and o-rings to ensure a positive seal against the elements. These become worn with age, and are affected by heat. They crack and become brittle and need to be replaced and lubricated periodically.

REPLACE LAMPS

Maintenance is supremely important with halogen bulbs. Halogen MR-16 lamps are particularly susceptible to performance declines over time.

Tungsten-halogen lamps operate in a “halogen regenerative cycle.” In conventional gas-filled tungsten filament lamps, the tungsten molecules evaporate from the hot filament and are deposited in a thin film on the inside surface of the lamp, reducing the lumen output and efficacy of the lamp in two ways.

First, the deposits of tungsten on the bulb wall builds up a film which reduces light output, and second, the evaporation of tungsten from the filament reduces the filament wire diameter, increases the resistance and conversely decreases wattage, lumens and color temperature.

We recommend replacing all lamps every 2 years, and replacing all lamps in the system if 1/3 have burned out. Any burned-out lamps will effect the operation of your low voltage lighting system. The application of “bulb grease” will help prevent corrosion on the electrical connections, and help improve conductivity.

LED retrofit bulbs can be used in some fixtures as an energy-efficient replacement for MR-16 halogen lamps. Size and shape of the fixture housing determine whether these are appropriate for your fixtures.

TRIM & PRUNE

As your plants grow and mature, they can block the light or obscure the fixtures. As ground covers obtain greater height or extend bloom stalks, they can compromise the intended appearance of the light path. During your maintenance, have your technician trim and prune the plant materials, which affect the light appearance, and add mounting stems to increase the height of ground-mounted fixtures.

Tree mounted fixtures require special attention to ensure that the tree can grow safely without damage and that the wiring is in good condition.

REPAIR & REPLACE FIXTURES

Finally, as with all electrical or mechanical devices, wear and tear, age and the effects of the elements can create damage that requires repair or replacement.

Some fixtures have replaceable elements such as sockets, screws, lenses and stakes, while in some cases, replacing the entire fixture is a more appropriate choice.

Your service personnel should offer choices and convenience for your maintenance plan, and your system maintenance should be customized to your needs. If you have your lights come on every night automatically, use your system often, or have many fixtures, you may choose to have maintenance several times a year to ensure perfect enjoyment of the lighting design. Systems used only for a few hours a few times a week might only need annual maintenance to stay in fine working condition. However often your have maintenance, be sure to have a professional do your work, and always insist upon a written agreement.

COSTS OF MAINTENANCE

Costs are usually determined on an individual basis, and are determined by several factors including the quantity and type of fixtures, accessibility of the wiring and the age and type of system. As with any service, don’t pay in advance.

Starting with a reasonable Service Call fee and hourly troubleshooting charges, you should ask that the service provider give you a detailed listing of the work they recommend, a material pricing list, and a final detail of the work completed. In most cases, your payment will be expected at the completion of service.

Alexandra Taylor is the President and Senior Designer for Elegance Outdoor Lighting in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. She is an award-winning landscape lighting designer, and a professionally credentialed project manager. Alex is a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society, the Association of Professional Landscape Designers and serves on the board of directors for the Association of Outdoor Lighting Professionals.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Alexandra_K_Taylor/631353

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In What Ways Can an Electrician Help You?

Our local electrician Melbourne CBD provide a fast emergency call-out service and can cover any other areas needed. As everyone knows, electrical works are highly sensitive and potentially dangerous. Therefore, whenever there’s an electrical emergency, you should always turn to professional electricians. The bigger question here is – how do you know which electrician is right for you?

Basically, an electrician can work in two jobs – residential and commercial. As the name implies, residential electricians are specialized in fitting a home for electrical wiring and investigating and repairing electrical problems in a home. Commercial electricians, on the other hand, specialize in carrying out electrical installations and repairs for office spaces, retail stores, and other businesses. Now, you have to simply decide whether you want electrical work done in your residence or commercial property and choose an electrician likewise.

Though most electricians choose to specialize in either residential or commercial jobs, it’s not necessarily true for all electricians. Many electricians today are trained and experienced to deal with a variety of electrical problems – whether commercial or residential.

What else can a professional electrician do?

A professional electrician specializes in electrical installation, upgrades, and repair works. Upgrading works typically consists of changing the electrical infrastructure in the home so it can accommodate the property owner’s needs. This can involve installing new outlets, or wiring high voltage outlets so the large appliances and machinery can be relocated. Another major aspect of an electrician’s job is to repair and as such, every electrician should have at least the basic knowledge of electrical troubleshooting in Riverside regardless of where they specialize – commercial or residential spaces. Electrical repairs typically involve repairing malfunctioning outlets, electronic equipment, and possible faulty wiring.

Professional electricians are prepared to respond quickly to reduce the inconvenience of the property owner, as well as to assess any possible dangerous situation. Installation of wiring, circuits, fuses, outlets and any other electrical equipment needed in a residential or commercial property is another area every electrician should focus on in that it is one of the most complex electrical works. A professional electrician will know how to read the blueprints of the property in order to know where to install electrical equipment and work on the wiring.

All things said, every electrician must be licensed and have adequate skills and experience before you enlist them to work on your property. Regardless of whether you need repair of an outlet in your home or even a complete rewiring, it’s important that you look into the credentials of the electrician you’re hiring.

When you choose a licensed and experienced commercial or residential electrician in Riverside to carry out electrical works in your home or office, rest assured you’ll get safe and professional results always.