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Design with Legos

This has got to be one of the best free software programs out there! Read on to learn all about it, including where you can get your own copy. My oldest son is crazy about Legos. He can spend hours designing and building creations. Little block people with yellow heads get to drive sleek vehicles such as a laser-powered space ship, or fortify themselves behind elaborate high tech fortresses. Sometimes his visions are so complicated that he attempts to put them down on paper first. That is why I know that this free software program will have him jumping up … Continue reading →

100 Days

Today is the 100th day of school for my child.  To mark the occasion she and her classmates were asked to bring in 100 of their favorite items. Yes, the assignment that parents from coast-to-coast dread each year. It’s even more dreadful when your kid reminds you that she needs said items two hours before they’re due. So, you run around like a nutcase looking for 100 what to cram into a Ziploc bag? Cheerios, LEGOs, coffee beans… blood, sweat, tears? When all is said and done, hopefully you remember to snap a photo of your kid holding up his … Continue reading →

Don’t Eliminate the Entertainment Budget

Often, when times are economically tight, as they are now for most of us, the entertainment or fun budget is the first thing to go. Just because there is less money available, doesn’t mean that there has to be less fun. Do Put Something in the Budget for Entertainment Designate some amount for family fun, even if it is only limited to $20 a month or even less. Budgeting for entertainment sends the message that family fun is important, even when it isn’t expensive. If you create a zero-based family fun budget you may wind up indulging anyway, and blowing … Continue reading →

Scratch

My son wants to be a video game programmer. Either that, or a Lego designer. He can’t decide which, and who knows, maybe he’ll design games for Lego. He recently found a program online which has nearly taken over his entire life—he absolutely loves it. It’s called Scratch, and it’s a site where older children and younger adults can program their own games. Scratch was developed by MIT as a tool for educators to teach design skills, mathematical concepts, problem solving, and how to reason systematically. It’s used by kids as young as eight (and I would imagine, some who … Continue reading →

Toy Invasion

Is there a room in your house that doesn’t have a single toy in it? Yesterday I realized that the only place in our home that has not been infiltrated by my preschooler’s toys is the laundry room. And that room only qualifies as the “winner” if I don’t count the tiny pile of plastic animals I extracted from my daughter’s pockets the other day. The jungle creatures have temporarily set up residence on top of the dryer. The rest of our abode looks like the inside of a daycare facility. There are piles of plastic dinosaurs in the hallway, … Continue reading →

Edventures Online

This is one of the best kept secrets of the kid-friendly website world. It is a subscription service, but I have to say I think for what you get it is well worth it. We are enjoying our free trial right now but when it is over, this will definitely be added to our curriculum. What It Is The best way to describe Edventures is that it is an online, project based learning resource. Essentially, for one account, you can sign up to ten children to use the website. (I really like this aspect because many subscription based websites charge … Continue reading →

Computing Week in Review: February 25th Through March 2nd

It has been a busy week for us here in technology-land. We’ve taken advantage of the free Lego Designer and have continued to discuss making money with your website. Here at home, we updated our own family website, although it is really just for fun. Here is the Computing Blog week in review for February 25th through March 2nd February 25th Computing Week in Review: February 18th Through February 24th Would you like to make money with your website? It isn’t that hard to do. This past week, we started a series that will show you how to do just … Continue reading →

Lego Speakers (and More) for Your iPod

If you want to dress up your iPod, you might want to consider one of the hottest technology gifts out there this season. It is an itty-bitty desktop speaker that works with your iPod Classic, Nano and Mini. The speakers resemble Lego blocks and come in all sorts of bright colors, such as yellow, pink, green, white, blue and black, There is even a new speaker that is a bit large and resembles a stack of blocks in red, white and blue. The super compact little stereo is said to have great sound for its size; the speaker was even … Continue reading →

Mixing Up Toys

It used to drive me crazy when my kids were little and they would mix up all the different “types” of toys in their big, elaborate, imaginary games. I went to a lot of trouble to create and label separate bins for legos, blocks, play food, etc. and then my kids would mix and match when they actually played with the toys. Turns out that all that mixing and matching actually makes for smarter, more creative kids! My need for organization not withstanding, mixing up “media” or “genre” is actually a good thing and helps kids develop problem-solving and higher-level … Continue reading →

St. Patrick’s Day – How to Trap a Leprechaun

St. Patrick’s Day is coming! That means two things – that leprechauns will soon be on the loose – and that my boys will be busy designing traps to catch them. Did you know that if you build a trap for a leprechaun that sometimes they will leave prizes behind, even if you don’t catch them? Years ago, my oldest son learned about this in preschool and came home determined to catch a leprechaun. Their trap hadn’t worked at school, but the leprechaun did leave behind some gold wrapped chocolates. My son spent hours building the trap. He was delighted … Continue reading →