Cat - The Cat in the Hat: History Trivia for Party Games

The Cat in the Hat is the perfect book for a rainy day party read. "The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house. All that cold, cold, wet day." Written by Dr. Seuss, the story was the first of many tales concerning the title character, The Cat in the Hat. The familiar story tells the tale of Sally and Conrad who are left at home while their mother is in 2A. The children are unable to go outside to play due to the fact that it is raining. The Cat in the Hat knocks on their door out of the blue and they let him and his side kicks, Thing 1 and Thing 2 in. At first the kids are amused with the antics of the Cat and his friends, but then things begin to get out of hand and the children recognize that things are going very badly. The book was published by Random House in 1957 and became a cornerstone in their ""Beginner Books" series. Dr. Seuss wrote it specifically with a restricted vocabulary of just over 200 words so that children would have an easier time of reading this book on their own. The Cat in the Hat is one of the best children's books ever written for one basic reason; it's fun! Kids of all ages know and love the story of The Cat in the Hat and therefore it is a perfect idea for a party theme. Whether you are planning a birthday party, or a rainy-day play date, The Cat in the Hat is an easy theme to plan around. Invitations can be written in Seuss-like rhymes while other party accessories are easily obtained an online party accessory specialist. Oh the thinks you can think and the fun there will be, when you take my advice and have a Cat in the Hat party! Mrs. Party... Gail Leino is the internet's leading authority on selecting the best possible party supplies (http://partysupplieshut.com), using proper etiquette, and living a healthy life while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. The Party Supplies Hut has lots of party ideas with hundreds of free coloring sheets, printable games, and free birthday party activities. Over 100 adorable Party Themes (PartyThemeShop.com) to fit your birthday celebration, holiday event, or "just because" parties is at the Party Theme Shop. Party themes include cartoon characters, sports, movie, TV shows, luau, western, holidays, and unique crazy fun theme ideas. Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gail_Leino Cat - How To Make Your Pet's Bad Behavior Extinct Like a Dodo We all know that Consequences can be used to train new behaviours and reduce existing behaviours. But what about non-consequences? Extinction is the process of not reinforcing a previously reinforced behaviour. It involves identifying what the reinforcer is for a target behaviour and removing it. For a dog who likes to 'counter-surf', i.e check out the kitchen counters looking for food, the reinforcer is easy to identify - FOOD. To solve that sort of problem we need to use extinction. Whenever there is food on the counter, the dog must be doing something else or must be otherwise unable to come into the kitchen. He might be in a crate, or outside, or the kitchen door may be shut, or my favourite - we trained our dog to lie quietly in a designated area and shared a little of the food to reinforce this more acceptable behaviour instead. That way we both got what we wanted and our dog learned a better way to behave in the kitchen. When we're not cooking, or unable to supervise our dog, we must leave kitchen counters clean. We put away any food, and maybe even wipe the benches clean. That way, when our dog comes to check out the kitchen counter he will find nothing, and therefore the behaviour will not be reinforced. In the short term, the behaviour will get worse. Then it will get better. Then it will go away. Beware the gambler's curse - Variable Schedules of Reinforcement. This is where we forget one time to clean our benches and our dog finds some food. A Variable Schedule of Reinforcement makes behaviour very resistant to extinction, that is why addicted gamblers will spend every last cent on a poker machine that ultimately gobbles up all their money, paying out only occassionally to keep the gambler addicted. You can still extinguish behaviour that is on a Variable Schedule of Reinforcement, but it takes longer to do. A common problem is when family don't follow the rules and leave food out on the bench while the dog is unsupervised. You will need to explain extinction and Variable Schedules of Reinforcement so that they understand how important it is. Often it is simply a lack of understanding or communication that results in lack of co-operation. So how can you apply Extinction to your pet's behavior problem? First - identify the reinforcer. Second - remove it. If you can teach an alternative behavior or provide a more acceptable outlet for the unwanted behavior, then it may speed things up for you. Another example. Many people complain that their dog raids their rubbish bin. The reinforcer in this case is usually scraps of food or something smelly to play with. How do we remove the reinforcer? We could buy a more secure bin with a lid. We could put the bin in a cupboard. We could move the bin to another room and shut the door so that the dog can't access it. Any of these options will work, it depends on what suits you and your lifestyle the best. You may have to make a compromise, but that is just part of owning a pet. The joy and companionship they bring more than outweighs the small inconvenience of compromises like these - more so when you come home to a loving pet who has NOT spilled rubbish all over your yard or eaten tonight's dinner, I'm sure you will agree!