SATURDAY SCOOPS
Good habits for homework

Advertiser Staff and News Services

Martha P. Hernandez • The Honolulu Advertiser

For weekends and weekdays, a few tips can make the homework journey a bit easier. Duke University's Harris Cooper, whose research into homework has involved more than 700 students, their parents and teachers, offers these suggestions for parents:

• Be a stage manager. Make sure your child has a quiet, well-lighted place to do homework. Make sure the needed materials (paper, pencils, etc.) are available.
• Be a motivator. Homework provides a great opportunity for you to tell your child how important school is. Be positive about homework. The attitude you express will be the attitude your child acquires.
• Be a role model. When your child does homework, don't sit and watch TV. If your child is reading, you read, too. If your child is doing math, balance your checkbook. Help your child see that the skills they are practicing are related to things you do as an adult.
• Be a monitor. Watch your child for signs of failure and frustration. If your child asks for help, provide guidance, not answers. If frustration sets in, suggest a short break.
• Be a mentor. When the teacher asks that you play a role in homework, do it. If homework is meant to be done alone, stay away. Homework is a great way for kids to develop independent, lifelong learning skills. Over-involvement can be a bad thing.

Cooper has advice for students, too:

• Pick a good time. Try to do your homework at the same time every day, such as right after school or just after dinner. Don't leave homework until just before you go to bed.
• Make time for big projects. Consider spending a weekend morning or afternoon working on projects. If you need special materials, tell your parents about it well before you have to turn in the assignment.
• Do the hard stuff first. Spend more time on the harder work than the easier assignments. If you're having a hard time concentrating, take a short break.
• Ask for help. If your parents are busy and you have an older brother or sister, ask them for help or get your parents to ask them. But only get help if you really need it.
• Pick a spot. Do your homework in the same place each day. Take all the books and supplies, including your snack, to your homework spot — before you start studying.

The Baltimore Sun and the Gannett News Service contributed to this report.

Falsetto contest will give winner a show-biz break

Nine singers will compete — in the upper registers of the human voice — for a record deal with Hula Records, $300 and a weekend getaway for two at the resort.

Na Hoku Hanohano multiple winner Na Palapalai (left) also will perform.

The show starts at 7 p.m.; doors open at 6. Tickets are $15 general, $10 for kids 12 and younger (the contest is an official event of the Aloha Festivals; you'll need a $5 ribbon to get in). Tickets are available at Hilo Hattie stores in Lahaina and Kihei, and Borders Books & Music on Maui. (808) 878-1888.

Persimmons from Maui at KCC market

Here's another sweet treat for Honolulans: Fresh persimmons from the Hashimoto Farm on Maui will be available at today's farmers' market at Kapi'olani Community College. These are different from the better-known Fuyu and Hachiya varieties; they are very sweet, with slightly firm flesh that's orange with brown specks.

Market hours are 8 a.m.-noon. Admission is free.

Choc it up to an experience

Chocolate lovers are in for a treat at "Chocolate," a traveling exhibit that has landed at the Bishop Museum and runs through Jan. 4. The exhibit, developed by Chicago's Field Museum, takes visitors to the culinary delight's source — the cacao tree — and through its many incarnations in history. There's even a look at chocolate from Hawai'i.

The museum is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Admission is $14.95 general, $11.95 ages 4-12, seniors and military, free for members and kids under 4; kama'aina rates available. 847-3511, www.bishopmuseum.org.

Go ahead, judge a book by its award coverage

If you feel like curling up with a good book this weekend, the Hawai'i State Library has some ideas for you in a display of the 2003 Ka Palapala Po'okela Awards announced by the Hawai'i Book Publishers Association yesterday.

The winners of two special awards were honored posthumously:

• Glen Grant, the beloved storyteller, walking tour guide and author of the "Obake" story collections, who died in June, received the John Dominis Holt Award for lifetime achievement.
• Early scholar Samuel Manaiakalani Kamakau was honored with the award that is given each year in his name — the Samuel Kamakau Award for Hawai'i Book of the Year — for his Hawaiian-language book "Ke Aupuni Mo'i," released in a new edition by the Kamehameha Schools Press.

Popular books that won awards include Robert Barclay's novel "Melal"; Cedric Yamanaka's short story collection "In Good Company"; and Stuart Coleman's "Eddie Would Go: The story of Eddie Aikau, a Hawaiian Hero."

A grand show and sale of tea-ceremony implements

Five artists — Carl Fieber, Ed Higa, Ken Kang, Bob McWilliams and Yukio Ozaki — offer a grand variety of ceramic tea bowls and other ceremony implements. Most are for sale.

Exhibit hours are 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays and 1-5 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 2 (closed on Mondays); the exhibit is on the second floor. Admission is free. 532-8700.

Slackertainment at the snack show

The rest of us can relax and browse the food stuff in the arena and the new products in the exhibition hall as the show continues 10 a.m.-10 p.m. today and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. tomorrow. Admission is $5 general, $3 seniors, military and kids 7-12.

Love-a-Dog Month is a great time for a new pet

October is Love-a-Dog Month at the Hawaiian Humane Society, which means it's a great time to find your new four-legged best friend. The $55 adoption fee includes spaying/neutering, a health exam, worming, initial vaccinations, microchip ID, a leash, food and heartworm-preventive medicine.

Go to www.hawaiianhumane.org, click on adoptions and then Pets of the Week for a preview of the irresistible dogs, cats and other animals that need good homes. The humane society is at 2700 Wai'alae Ave.; hours are noon-8 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. weekends and holidays.

Brunch, evening events make Waikiki a must

It's double-your-pleasure-time in Waikiki this weekend as Sunset on the Beach returns today and tomorrow and Brunch on the Beach is staged tomorrow, too.

Sunset, at Queen's Surf Beach, features food, entertainment and movies — "Bulletproof Monk" is tonight's film; "The Italian Job" is tomorrow's.

The Sunset event begins at 4 p.m.; the movie is screened after the sun goes down. Admission is free.

Brunch begins at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow and includes entertainment, including headliner Jake Shimabukuro, and food booths from top restaurants.

Brunch is on Kalakaua Avenue. Look for the artificial grass and big blue umbrellas. Admission is free.