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2020 Lessons: Banana Bread, enjoying the small things in life and making hobbies

21st September 2020 by UBee

Can you believe it’s September already?! I don’t know about you but this year has felt like time has stood still and yet it also feels like just yesterday I was celebrating my best friend’s birthday back in January and the year has gone by in a blink.

I don’t think many of us have still really taken in what has happened with this crazy year of the COVID-19 Pandemic. I chat with friends on Zoom or WhatsApp and we all talk like everything is normal but then we will start talking about a festival we went to last year or a party we had and it really hits home that EVERYTHING has changed this year and life is just so different.

Somethings are going back to normal in everyone’s life. For me, I’ve been enjoying some cinema trips and even had a meal or two out with my family. So those things have been great and they really seem like a moment of just being normal. Then you look in the cinema and half the seats are taped off as not-usable or a waiter brings the food wearing a face shield and you suddenly remember everything is not the same.

But we are getting there. People in my family are back to school and college this week and I have been back at work.

Something I have really taken from the lockdown experience is how doing the small things in life became so important. Did you have the same feelings? Suddenly, making the family meal became the highlight of all our days. More discussion and attention went into the preparation of that meal than ever before! We would be interested in what other people were ‘having for dinner’! I don’t know if you had the same discussions?

I also noticed that a lot of my family and friends suddenly took up hobbies. Things they had always wanted to do but just never got round to it. Or even new hobbies they had never thought of.

I spent some time researching search terms on Google Trends https://trends.google.com/trends for hobby-related words and some of the items people searched for are really interesting. Do you know that searches for ‘learn to draw’, went up by five times during the first week of April 2020 compared to before lockdown began? And if you look up searches for ‘banana bread demo’, were up 500% in late March! So drawing and cooking were certainly on people’s minds.

At U:Bee Online we design our courses to help participants achieve the Skills Section of their DofE Award but even when the Section is completed we love to hear stories of U:Bee-ers who decide to keep using the new skills they now have.

Even though I achieved my Dof E a few years ago now, it still surprises me how much I use the knowledge I picked up while completing my DofE.
There is a new Autumn Edition of BUZZ – the U:Bee Online Magazine out next month and we are always looking for success stories to publish! Maybe you would like to be included in the magazine – please get in touch with us! – Emmaline O’Toole, U:BEE Brand Ambassador

If you have any questions, we’re available on the LiveChat facility on www.ubee.org.uk
Look forward to hearing from you!

U:Bee Online is a licensed AAP (Approved Activity Provider) for The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Achieve your Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award or Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award by completing the Volunteering, Physical, Expedition and Skills Section of your DofE Programme.

Looking for DofE skills section activities? Choose one of the U:Bee Online DofE skills section ideas, to complete your 3 month or 6 month skills section, for your Bronze Award or Silver Award and receive your Certificate and Assessor’s Report.

Completing Your DofE Skills Section During the School Closure

28th March 2020 by UBee

The Coronavirus COVID-19 has affected every part of all our daily lives. We remember the first headlines a few months ago and it seemed to be something that was affecting other countries. As time went on the stories were filling more and more newsfeeds and the virus seemed to be spreading.

We’re not going to say that’s is easy to carry on with normal life, it’s not! Everything has changed, and even more so since we heard that we are now under tighter levels of lockdown here in the UK.

The schools are closed, colleges and groups can no longer open their doors and we are all looking at a period of ‘social isolation’ in our homes. The more we follow the rules, the slower the virus will spread and the sooner we can all get back to normal life. We are helping the NHS workers who are doing everything they can to help the people with the virus.

We know that the story is really big and everything is the country has changed and sometimes we don’t feel able to admit that as individuals we are disappointed that things we had planned for, or enjoy doing have now changed or been cancelled. When you see NHS workers, delivery drivers, supermarket workers, and food producers working so hard to help the country, it can feel selfish to complain about a concert you were looking forward to, which has now been postponed. Maybe you were looking forward to a holiday with your family at Easter and it has been moved to later in the year? Or maybe you were looking forward to your DofE expedition or completing one of your sections?

It’s fine to admit you’re disappointed about plans being cancelled or changed. It’s a normal reaction. Everything will get back to normal in the near future and you will be able to do all the things you had planned.
Before we get to that point in the future, we have to do everything we can to keep active, healthy and busy.

Here at U:Bee Online, we want to help you keep busy and also help you complete one of the sections of your Award! The Skills Section. When you are back at school or college, you will be someway to completing your Award.

We’ve launched a special 25% discount voucher for the rest of this academic year to help more people complete their skills section.

Use schoolclosure25 at the checkout.

Also, we will be launching regular mini-courses which are free for you to use. They are also free for anyone to enjoy, even if they are not completing their DofE. Please tell all your friends to enroll free of charge for a U:Bee Learners Account and they will be able to enjoy the courses as well.

You can already read the COVID-19 Course we have published which gives you all the facts about the Coronavirus COVID-19 and also lots of reasons why you should stay positive and know that this will pass.

If you have any questions, we’re available on the LiveChat facility on www.ubee.org.uk
Look forward to hearing from you!

Positive Mental Attitude Makes For Better Results – it’s a Fact!

14th September 2019 by UBee

What will give you a positive mental attitude? Do you think you could be positive if you believed there is no such thing as failing? Developing study techniques that work really requires you to have some good knowledge about the past techniques that didn’t work for them and how those might be eliminated or changed to be more productive. For instance, if the student has difficulty with time management skills then developing techniques and strategies that manage their time and efforts effectively will only improve the amount of information they are able to retain.

[Read more…]

Memory Tips To Remember – Part Two

7th September 2019 by UBee

A different twist on this is to first organise the notes into sections that make sense, have patterns, are familiar or other ways that will break the information into patterns. Then follow the steps listed in Memory Tips to Remember Part One.

Some information is better memorised in and out of order and for those facts you might try note cards.
The index cards should be thicker so you can’t read through them.
On one side in black ink write the word in all caps. On the opposite side write the concept/definition/idea in lower case letters in another color pen.
Mix up the note cards. Find a quiet place to rehearse.
Spend time testing yourself using the cards. If you answer the questions correctly then put them in one pile, and another if you answered incorrectly and yet a third if the answer wasn’t quite right.
Now pick up the cards that you didn’t get right and go through them until you have them right. Repeat with the third stack of cards.
Now mix the cards up and repeat the testing from the beginning making the same three piles as you answer the questions.
Rinse and repeat until you get them all correct.
Using note cards allows you to test yourself throughout the day, when you may have a spare minute.

[Read more…]

Memory Tips To Remember – Part One

24th August 2019 by UBee

Optimising your memory is a skill we can all learn.

Students, adult learners and employees all have the need to memorise something at one time or another. Students may need to memorise maths facts, poetry, or text for information heavy tests. Adult learners and employees often have the need to memorise facts for meetings or to give presentations. Each of these different memorisations can be done using different techniques. The trick is to figure out which technique or strategy works best for you or for your specific requirements.

Memorisation isn’t nearly as difficult as you might otherwise anticipate. The issue is that most people only try to memorise by reading the same text over and over again.

[Read more…]

Are You Learning With Your Best Learning Style?

10th August 2019 by UBee

Spending hours every day studying, may not be the most effective way to learn.

For many students, high school and college / university, there isn’t enough time in the day to accomplish all of their school work, job and social responsibilities. So they quickly learn that they must study smarter. This means learning to improve the amount of information that the student can absorb in the shortest amount of time possible. By learning some good time management strategies, reading techniques, and learning personal learning style students can study smarter and achieve their goals.

Start by figuring out your personal learning style. Some students absorb more information by reading it (visual), hearing it (auditory) or touching (tactile). It’s important to understand which of these techniques works best for you so you can more easily absorb the material. Most research has determined that students who both hear and see the information will learn it better but when you incorporate the learning style that is yours first you’ll learn even more.

[Read more…]

Learn the Skill of Working Under Pressure! Better Results in Less Time

3rd August 2019 by UBee

There are some basic test taking tips that can be adapted to any test you must take. For instance, before taking any test you should get enough rest so that your mind is functioning best. You must also feed the brain cells with a light, high-protein meal that gives your brain the energy needed to function. Arrive early to the test to get comfortable and relaxed and calm your nerves. Pack the materials you need the night before so you aren’t stressed looking for your Number 2 pencil or eraser. Don’t forget to load fresh batteries in any calculator you are using.

Don’t forget that your mind is a very powerful instrument. If you are able to relax and have a positive attitude about the test you’ll go a long way toward getting the best grade you are able.

[Read more…]

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