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The NJEA convention in Atlantic City was a huge success. Educators from all over NJ gathered together to share and expand their fund of knowledge. Answers In Motion exhibited with 18 Thumball designs available for purchase and the attendees were exuberant about bringing Thumballs back to their schools.

Thumball earned excellent feedback from caring and dedicated teachers, counselors, SLPs, ESL experts, presenotrs and parents happy to find a simple yet effective learning tool. One teacher reported that Thumball "saved my morning meeting time" explaining that her opening lesson each day is now filled with language expansion and focused attention as students particiapte eagerly and appropriately with Thumball.

We want to share the good vibrations from this event with a gift. Twenty percent off your entire order at http://www.prestostore.com/catalog.php/catch32ball Enter NJEA in the discount code box in your shopping cart.

Fat Brain Toys Chooses Thumball as A Winner!

4 inch Thumball has been chosen as a winner in the 2010 Fat Brain Toy Awards which means that visitors to Fat Brain Toys have chosen it as the best-of-the-best in specialty toys, games, and gifts. It is a honor to be recognized by a top notch educational toy retailer like Fat Brain. They offer the best toys for learning and family fun and we at Answers In Motion are thrilled to be part of their family of products. Using smart toys like Thumball at home and in school help students to develop focused attention, problem solving, social skills and healthy life styles. Thanks Fat Brain and thanks to all our customers and friends.

Enjoy Creating A Lifelong Love of Reading in Infancy

This article from parenting.com got it so right.
http://www.parenting.com/article/Baby/Development/Raise-a-Baby-Bookworm
Easy to understand and easy to implement ideas really will create a foundation of language skills and a love for literacy. Five Star Article!

The Real Vegas

A trip to Vegas is often a trip to "The Strip" where you can find amazing hotels, quality restaurants, world class entertainment, night clubs and of course casinos. It is a sight to see and many different kinds of experiences can be had in "Sin city".

We only go to Vegas on business trips for our company Answers In Motion (2010 ASD trade show) but we try to fit in at least one fun and interesting thing to do. Last year it was the amazing production called LOVE, a Beatles tribute by Cirque du Soleil...in a word, FANtastic!! This year we got to see the real Vegas, not the strip or the town or the shows or the buildings but rather the Vegas of millions of years ago.

A short drive out of town and you will find desert with Joshua trees(a plant actually, in the lily family!). With a well educated native at your side(thank you Robert!!) you can learn to recognize the layers of rock and landmarks of days gone by when mammoths roamed the land or ocean covered the desert floor. Now drive up to higher elevation and see first the scrubby pinions and junipers.

A very short scenic drive and you will be enfolded into cooler temperatures, tall pines and stunning vistas in the Spring mountains of NV. Did you know skiing is available from Oct to April? Picnic groves are easily found and hikes from simple to expert can be had. The air is so clean and fresh and the pace is lesuirely, as far from the lights and sounds of the strip as you can get but only 45 minutes away!

We are fortunate to know Robert, a lifelong NV native turned tour guide and all around great person. He has taken us to Red Rock Canyon and Mt Charleston one of the tallest peaks in NV and generously shares his vast knowledge of history, the flora and the fauna of the area. It leaves you with a new connection to the place called Vegas beyond the famous man made playground.

When you venture out West to try your luck for fun or business, do yourself a favor and contact Guided Vegas Tours...ask for Robert. http://www.guidedvegastours.com/index.html A simple walking tour of the Strip or a day or night adventure into the real Vegas of desert, high desert or mountain landscapes and you will be a winner every time.

Thumball Loves Teachers

It's officially "Back To School" time and you know what that means! 15% off your Thumball™ order! Enter BTS1011 in discount code box(does not apply to sets). Great way for students to get acquainted with Who Are You Thumball. Want to develop student's character and encourage self reflection? Try Virtues and Values, Emotion Mania and Best, Worst First Thumball designs. We salute the fine educators committed to lifelong learning and improved communication for all.

New Thumball Catalogs Have Arrived

The new thumball catalog has three brand new Thumball designs inside for more conversation, language development and inter-personal interactions. Fuzzy Dice Designs created a fun, functional and fabulous catalog filled with detailed design descriptions, helpful tips to get the most out of your Thumball experience and sharp images. We are thrilled with the results and know our customers will be excited as well. Thumball Specials for back to school time will be coming soon!

Visit the website to view a pdf of the catalog.

Deficits in Early Infancy May Point to Autism in Pediatrics from MedPage Today:

Research in child development confirms that language and communication skills benefit from early intervention. Identification of early signs in infancy has great potential to identify and treat communication conditions earlier resulting in improved language development.

Can You Hand Me A Towel

Just out of reach
a hazy muffled
“I love you.”
hung in the air

wiping our after
shower mirror
the fog lifted
reflecting 499 pieces

a puzzled
face
forever left
incomplete

Thanks to Alibaba.com for Chance to Show Thumball at ASD

Answers In Motion exhibits Thumball to 30,000 retailers at ASD show in Las Vegas, nation's most comprehensive merchandise show Aug 8-11

Answers In Motion

www.asdsourcebook.com

Thumball is a game that creates conversation

Proof

Proof

A great writer once said
“With inspiration a poem can unfold
but to become great poetry show me the proof.”

more this; less that
reorder, rephrase, recite, replace

review, restate, repeat, retrace
again and again, we chanted:

proof to the North of Grammar and grace
proof to the East for punctuation and space

proof to the South all errors erase
proof to the West format it in place

proof it and praise it to all above
proof it and praise it to all below

the seventh proof turns it and twirls
upward, outward and into the world

denied or dignified; adored or abhorred
hugged, loved or given a shrug

rated, hated, debated
even cleverly imitated; matters not

the mark’s been made, it goes on without you
you may wistfully wish to write it anew

don’t fret, wait it out
be Dickinson about it

if needing reassurance check on it
you will find it over there
in the pudding

Mary Miller Pembleton
July 29, 2010

Live Well

Does your conversation often revolve around symptoms, diaganosis, conditions and complaints? Are you fearful, frustrated by inadequate treatments, confused by too many treatmenst and over use of prescription drugs?

Illness is not a scary monster out there waiting to get you, instead it is inside of you and you have the power to send it packing.Truth be told only wellness is out there and in there and everywhere. Wellness is your natural state. Whether you let that abundant wellness flow is related to the internal vibration which is generated by thoughts and feelings about those thoughts.

New improved thoughts about any condition will create a shift in your body, they may be subtle or obvious, immediate or incremental. Take time to notice them and you will realize you are in control, you can heal yourself. Sure let the MDs help and take your time about all of this. This is not a race.

Abraham(from books by Jerry and Esther Hicks) says "Don't get lost in the diagnosis, the medicine, or in the statistics about what somebody else did about it. If you don't feel good, it's because you're not thinking in a way that allows the Energy to flow....

You could just get really, really mad at someone you love and make every muscle in your body stiff. And you would ask,"Why does my body feel this way?" And we say, because you've had a Vibrational tug-of-war going on...

Stop looking for anything other than your mental and emotional state of being as answers to why you feel how you feel in your body. It is all Vibrational - no exception! And when you get that, then it doesn't matter what diagnosis has been given to you - it doesn't matter - it's temporary."

Wellness is always there, make it easier for it to stay, remove any obstacles(negative thoughts, believing what other people tell you, etc) that impede the flow. Know with unshakable faith that feeling bad and living in a medical drama is not necessary.

Think, speak and act in ways of confidence, clarity and wellness. Practice this new ideal and be amazed by the undeniable results of healthy thinking. Embrace freedom, enjoy wellness and express your true self.

Awesome Thumball Review at www.wired.com

Savvy users of technology will learn about Thumball, the ball for learning and improving inter-personal communication skills at www.wired.com Jenny Williams posted a super review and explained the product with clarity and finesse. Will the mounting evidence that our recent submersion in technology can reduce effective social skills increase readers interest in a fun interactive product that stimulates conversation and positive social interaction. Answer Mania Thumball indicates " Yes! It is in the stars".

The Battalion - Social skills affect success

Technology is decreasing face to face interactions.... consciously creating communication opportunities and pro-social skill reinforcement is essential. Let's talk more, inspire others, boost confidence and verbally convey a message with ease. Those that balance effective use of current technological advances with strong inter-personal skills will succeed in the business world of tomorrow.

More Than Just A Ball: Catch A Conversation

Go beyond a game of catch with Thumball. Utilizing the brain-based principles of novelty, motivation, interaction and movement Thumball makes learning more fun! Thumballs are pleasingly squeezable balls with imprinted panels. Throw it. Catch it. Discuss what is written under your right thumb.

Want to improve listening and speaking skills while building vocabulary?

Select Category Mania Thumball or move Your Body Thumball

Need to promote self awareness and discuss feelings in an easy effective way?

Select Emotion Mania Thumball or virtues and Values Thumball

Have to get acquainted quickly and easily?

Select Who Are You for kids and Icebreaker Thumball for teens and adults

Eager to teach youngsters early learning skills?

Select Numbers Thumball, My ABCs Thumball, Animals Thumball
and Shapes Thumball

Want to make a business training or workshop more interactive?

Select Meet and Greet Thumball or Best,Worst First Thumball

Having a get together or family gathering?

Select Entertainment Talk Thumball

Thumball is the only ball that can do all this and more. Improve social skills, learn concepts, stimulate conversation and share memories with Thumball. The premiere tool used by trainers, educators, parents and leaders to maximize communication opportunities
Easy to play! Inexpensive! Fun! Competition free! With over twenty designs there is a Thumball for every age to meet any need. Thumball Gets Everybody Talking!
Catch a Conversation!

Study: Many child care centers low-quality | ajc.com

Study: Many child care centers low-quality | ajc.com
Many excellent points to ponder in this report. Important checklists for any educator or parent to have.

Thumball Helps Today's Most Valued Attributes To Grow

"The post-industrial economy is indifferent to men's size and strength. The attributes that are most valuable today — social intelligence, open communication, and ability to sit still and focus — ..." Hmmmm, can Thumball help with this? I vote YES. Interesting article below but not the "End of Men" but more the evolution of men and women. The key really is to learn to actively listen to others, check that you understood the message, ask questions to expand the conversation and provide an accepting attitude of their opinions. Not easy to do but a valuable strategy to practice.

The Farmer's Market

rolled one by one
to the crooked table's edge
sticky blood oranges
hanging on
one breath away
from free fall
a drop shot
their downfall

no one seems to notice
i don't know how much longer
they can hold on
perched there
on such a very
small
ledge

may push them off myself
save them the humiliation
when with
one good squeeze
quicker than a startled gasp
if the lights go out
eyes close
and they get blamed
for the strange
stinging
flowing into
darkness

Spring Fever Summer Love

only ever lasts about three days
the spring green hue i long to capture
want to crawl inside the new growth
curl up, stay forever

about three days you remind me
the longest I wait
before imagining a problem or
registering some complaint

once young determined buds
a long weekend and we fell
knew all the answers
far from tailored lawns and traffic circles

freed on the cement leaving town
got chills seated in the sun's full rays
hair flying in dandelion wind
blaring down the pike

called you Rexy, to you I was Lou
past the motorcycle bars playing blues
beer specials so cheap you can't imagine
how they make any money at all

to the dune's edge into jellyfish waves
tawny skin splashing
slicing safely in spaces in between
never getting stung, not once

wide salty rimmed eyes
reckless, undressed, burned red
bright lights, were there sirens?
with a wild howl we lept off that train bridge

up early today listening for birds
to call our names
maybe dig up some worms
take out the boat, go fishing

the dew covered garden glows
effervescent lime shoots reaching
through mud and dreams
seeds of teenage madness sprouting

Mary Pembleton
June 29, 2010