Larnaca: site of U21 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships 2014

Cyprus returns to the world stage of international beach volleyball this year when it hosts the FIVB U21 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships. The 14th annual double-gender age group event will be held from July 22 to 27 in Larnaka as the FIVB now has an unprecedented four age-group World Championships for beach volleyball held annually.


While the Cyprus Volleyball Federation has hosted several FIVB Challenger and Satellite events, this will be just the second event held in Larnaka as the city presented the 2012 FIVB U19 World Championships which were won by a men’s tandem from Poland and a women’s duo from Lithuania.

Larnaka is the third largest city on the southern coast of Cyprus behind Nicosia and Limassol. It has a population of 72,000 and is the island's second largest commercial port and an important tourist resort. The island's largest airport, Larnaka International Airport is located on the outskirts of the city to the south. The city is well known for its picturesque seafront, which includes rows of palm trees. Larnaka Marina is one of the four official entry points, by sea, to Cyprus.

The age-group FIVB World Championships have historically seen many of the young stars of today building their experience level to advance up the ladder in international competition. This year’s 2014 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour for professional athletes will include 10 FIVB Grand Slam events, a new FIVB Grand Slam Final and at least nine FIVB Beach Volleyball Open events.

The format of all the FIVB Beach Volleyball international tournaments – whether pro or age group FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, FIVB Beach Volleyball Grand Slam or FIVB Beach Volleyball Open – are the same, featuring pool play followed by single elimination knockout rounds.

Minor Illnesses: When Should I Keep My Child Home From School?

                     

As parents, we’ve all been there. Yesterday your child was down and out with a fever, this morning he’s done a complete 180 and is raring to go. So do you allow him to go to school or keep him home? It’s not always an easy decision, as there are many gray areas when it comes to minor childhood illnesses.
 If your child has one of the following symptoms, it’s best for her to take a sick day:

• Fever

Many schools have a rule that your child needs to be fever free for 24-hours prior to returning to school – without the aid of fever-reducing medications. This measure helps to ensure that your child is feeling better and no longer contagious. Most schools define fever as anything higher than 100.4.

• Diarrhea

It would be difficult for your child to attend school if he is having to run to the bathroom multiple times per day or even per class. Diarrhea can last up to a week or longer, so plan to keep him home until the stools are controllable and more formed. Keep in mind that diarrhea is highly contagious, and the best form of prevention is hand washing.

• Vomiting

This scenario is pretty straightforward. If your child is vomiting, she should not go to school until she has been vomit free for 24 hours. Again, the viruses that cause vomiting are highly contagious, so hand washing is key to preventing the spread of the illness.

• Cough/Congestion

Minor coughing is usually not a problem. However, there are cases in which coughing and nasal congestion should warrant staying at home, such as:

- coughing/blowing nose so much that your child won’t be able to pay attention
- coughing/blowing nose so much that your child will disturb the class
- coughing and also feeling tired with a poor appetite

• Sore Throat with Fever

A sore throat can be a sign of a viral or bacterial infection. And if your child has a fever along with the sore throat, you should keep him home. It could be strep throat and he should be evaluated by a doctor. If he has a sore throat with cold symptoms, it is most likely a viral infection and can go back to school whenever he feels better.

It's World Book Day - Giveaway's & Offers

For amazing offers & Reading Lists log onto 

www.worldbookday.com

World Book Day is a celebration! It’s a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and (most importantly) it’s a celebration of reading. In fact, it’s the biggest celebration of its kind, designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and marked in over 100 countries all over the world.

On 6th March 2014 children of all ages will come together to appreciate reading. Very loudly and very happily. The main aim of World Book Day in the UK and Ireland is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own. That’s why we will be sending schools (including those nurseries and secondary schools that have specially registered to participate), packs of Book Tokens and age-ranged World Book Day Resource Packs (age-ranged into Nursery/Pre-School, Primary and Secondary) full of ideas and activities, display material and more information about how to get involved in World Book Day.

4 WEEK FREE TRIAL 

with 

www.readingeggs.co.uk

Reading Eggs makes learning to read interesting and engaging for kids, with great online reading games and activities. Children love the games, songs, golden eggs and other rewards which, along with feeling proud of their reading, really motivate children to keep exploring and learning.

For more information on the program and to claim your special  4 WEEK FREE TRIAL simply visit www.readingeggs.co.uk and register an account and enter the code CYPRUS in the ‘Promo Code?’ box.

Why your child needs to learn how to dress

Why your child needs to learn how to dress

It’s the usual morning rush – you were supposed to be out the door five minutes ago, and your child is still putting on his socks. It’s no surprise that dressing your child yourself seems like the easiest and quickest option.

But your child needs to learn how to do it. The ability to dress yourself builds confidence, independence and a sense of achievement – and once your child has it mastered, it’s one less thing for you to do in the morning!

Getting dressed is about more than just putting on or taking off clothes. It helps your child develop many more skills, including:

1. fine motor skills as she learns to fasten buttons and zips
2. gross motor skills as she stands on one leg to pull on a pair of pants
3. cognitive skills as she remembers what bits of clothing go on first, and builds the patience and attention to finish the task
4. language as she names types of clothes, colours and sizes
5. awareness of time and space as she learns to dress for certain occasions and weather conditions.
6. Teaching your child to dress

Learning to dress requires patience, persistence and practice from both you and your child.
It also involves getting to know the things you have to do to get dressed:

1. picking out clothes that are right for the time of day, the weather and what you’re doing that day – the tutu might not be the best thing for a bushwalk!
2. deciding what to wear – the dinosaur t-shirt or the truck t-shirt today?
3. putting on and taking off clothes and shoes
4. doing up buttons or zips, getting collars and waistbands comfy, and getting socks on the right way around.

• Getting started 

Often very young children will start to be aware of their clothing by pulling off easy-to-remove items such as socks, shoes or hats. Sometimes they’ll then try to put them on again. You can build on this early awareness by naming the items of clothing your child’s taken off and the body part those clothes go on.

You can begin to include your older baby or toddler in the dressing process by giving him a limited choice of clothes, and naming them as you put them on him.

When you decide it’s time for your child to really start learning this skill, it can help to have some easy clothes on hand. These might include:

1. loose, elastic-waisted pants – these are good if your child is also toilet training or can’t manage zips and buttons
2. clothes with velcro or large buttons and button holes
3. jumpers, t-shirts and underwear with logo or pictures on the front to help your child work out front from back
4. clothes that are easy and comfortable for your child to move in.

• Step by step

Getting dressed can have a lot of steps. It helps to break it down into smaller steps – for example, putting on underwear, then t-shirt, shorts, socks and shoes.

Each of the steps in a dressing task can also be broken down, depending on your child’s skill and age. So putting on shorts might be:

1. face shorts the right way (try this at 3½ years)
2. hold onto the front of the waistband (3 years)
3. push one leg at a time through the leg holes while also holding pants (4½ years)

Talking your child through each step lets her know what to do and includes her in the process. In the early stages, simple words or phrases (for example, ‘shirt on’) are OK. You can say more as your child’s language develops (for example, ‘push your arm through the sleeve’).

A good way to teach your child to dress is to break each task down into small steps and teach him the last step first. Once he can do the last step of the task, teach him the second last step, then the third last step and so on. For example, when putting on shorts, you might help your child face the shorts the right way, hold the waistband and put his legs through the leg holes. Then teach him the last step – pulling up the shorts to his waist by himself. Once your child can do this, teach him to put his legs through the leg holes and pull his shorts up. You can keep working your way backwards through the stepsuntil your child has mastered them all and can put his shorts on for himself.

March Competition - Sponsored by dp Sports Club

One of the Coolest Gyms in Cyprus is offering one of our lucky members a free Months Pass which also includes childcare services between the hour 5pm -9 pm.  Simply Answer the following Question...

When did dp Sports Club officially open?

About 

A unique space which opened on the 7th October 2013.With over 2000 sq.meters, the dp Sports Club is the biggest gym and health club in Cyprus. Meeting all standards, the building will make your workout efficient and pleasant. Our well trained personnel is always there to guide to meet and achieve your fitness goals.

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