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PBS Invention Contest

Looking for something fun to do with kids of all ages this summer?

Fenway News Online reports that Design Squad, the PBS engineering reality competition series, is offering kids a chance to get in on the action this summer.

The 2010 Trash to Treasure Competition challenges kids, ages 5-19, to recycle, reuse, and re-engineer everyday materials into out-of-the-box inventions. Three winners will win a trip to Boston to see their designs built and appear on an episode of Design Squad.

Twenty-five finalists will be featured on the series website and will receive a Design Squad t-shirt. Entries will be accepted through September 5, 2010. For more information go here.

Photo by PBS.

Check out Learning and Laughter with Louise and her favorite Back To School Products:

And the Award Goes to…..LEARNING AND LAUGHTER WITH LOUISE!

BEST BACK TO SCHOOL PRODUCTS AWARD - 2010

CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT PRODUCTS RECEIVE LOUISE’S 2010 LEARNING AND LAGHTER AWARDS!

Dear Parents,

Summer is here and many of you will be traveling with your babies and toddlers. Thought you would enjoy this article.

15 Tips for Traveling with Your Little Ones

If you are planning a summer trip with your baby or toddler, make sure to plan ahead. Here are fifteen sure-fire ways to make traveling easy and fun.

1. Before your trip, visit the dollar store and stock up on coloring books, paint with water books, and age appropriate toys for your toddler. And save them for a trip.  There is nothing better than something new!

2. If you have a small video player, stock up on age appropriate movies for your little one. Baby Einstein has some great videos for a younger baby.

3. If you can plan your plane schedule around your child’s nap-time, your trip will be a breeze.

4. When traveling on a plane, feed the baby while the plane is taking off and landing. This keeps the Eustachian tubes open so the baby’s ears won’t hurt.

5. When traveling on a plane with a toddler, it’s sometimes difficult to sit still during take-off and landing. Give him a sippy cup and some goldfish crackers and play a counting game with the crackers. It will be fifteen minutes of fun, instead of fifteen minutes of tantrums.

6. Always take a change of clothes, extra diapers, wipes and socks for your baby or toddler. Spills happen in the blink of an eye.

7. Remember to take a change of clothes for yourself on the plane. There is nothing worse than meeting the family smelling like formula.

8. Bring lots of healthy snacks for your toddler whether you are traveling by car or plane. Buying them at convenience stores can get very costly.

9. Bring extra formula for your baby when traveling. One spill could result in lots of tears.

10. When staying in a hotel, bring along the lullaby CD that you play at home. Most hotels have CD players or you can request one. There is nothing more comforting than the sounds of home.

11. And don’t forget to bring your toddler’s favorite lovey and bedtime book along.

12. Try and stick to your bedtime rituals while away the best you can. Consistency makes everything easier.

13. If your toddler has a difficult time falling asleep in a different crib or bed, let him listen to your Ipod. He will be snoring away before you can count to ten.

14. If you are staying in a hotel and are going to hire a sitter for the evening, ask that she come and meet your children a few hours before you leave. It is worth it not to have that dreaded phone call to come back.

15. Don’t forget to bring along extra batteries, photo card for your camera and protein bars for you.
 
Have Fun and Happy Traveling!!   

Blythe Lipman is the president of Baby Instructions. She is passionate about babies, toddlers and their parents. After working in the field for over twenty-five years, she wrote her third award-winning book, HELP! MY BABY CAME WITHOUT INSTRUCTIONS which is available at  www.babyinstructions.com  and all major bookstores . You can hear Blythe’s weekly radio show on Mondays, 11am EST @ www.toginet.com  Blythe is available for in-home, video and telephone consultations. ©Blythe Lipman 2010

This post comes from Mashable www.mashable.com.

Rebecca Zook is an online female math tutor who has been helping students get math into their brains for seven years. She blogs about learning at Triangle Suitcase.

We’ve sorted the contenders from the pretenders and found five genuinely fun ways to help your kids learn math this summer. These unique technologies go way beyond the world of flashcards, and use surprising tools including rap music, adaptive technology, psychological research and wailing guitar solos.

They’re fun. They’re easy to use. And they aren’t lame.

Multiplication Hip-Hop for Kids

Have you ever wished your kids could learn their times tables by rapping? Well, the wait is over. A remix compilation like no other, Multiplication Hip-Hop for Kids sets the multiplication tables to popular hip-hop songs. Each track starts with an inspiring intro (e.g., five seconds in the style of Mystikal: “Too fly to slip and slide, because we don’t cry, we multiply”) before launching into a times tables rap.

Unlike any other math learning tool, Multiplication Hip-Hop for Kids includes not just one, but two rap versions for most of the times tables, so your kids can learn their 11s either in the style of Lil’ Wayne, or set to 2 Pac’s “How Do You Want It.”

And though many times tables learning tools stop at the 10s, Multiplication Hip-Hop for Kids goes all the way up to the 12s, which means your kid will be more prepared for multiplying dozens than you ever dreamed possible.

With syncopated rhythms and high production values, you and your kids will feel proud to blast these tracks this summer while cruising around in your spinners.

Price: You can download the complete MP3 collection for $24.95, which includes the study guide and 13 bonus multiplication video games. Or, download the MP3 albums individually from Amazon for $8.99 each.

Rockin’ the Standards

If your kid is more of a rocker than a rapper, try Rockin’ the Standards, the educational rock sing-a-longs created by veteran elementary school teacher Tim Bedley.

This ruthlessly kid-tested, surprisingly listenable MP3 album includes skip counting songs for the 3s, 4s, 6s, 7s, 8s, and 9s, as well as succinct, memorable songs about math concepts like angles, perimeter, place value, and area.

Most of the tracks are set to familiar tunes, so your kid can skip count their 9s to a hard-hitting version of the “Hokey Pokey” or their 6s to a highly-electrified version of “Row Row Your Boat,” interspersed with air guitar-worthy solos.

Ages: 2nd through 6th grade.

Price: You can download the entire album for $2.99 from digstation. It’s also available from Amazon for $8.99 or iTunes for $9.99. Download the lyrics for free here.

DreamBox Learning

In this online program, kids choose from among 500+ math games while exploring a virtual adventure park full of pixies, pets, dinosaurs, and yes, pirates.

Even though it looks like it’s “just a game,” DreamBox learning works as a stand-alone math curriculum, unlike most math computer programs. Many of the games use colorful visuals to illustrate the concepts behind them, or let kids use on-screen manipulatives to build the problems.

DreamBox’s adaptive technology also sets it apart. Based on your kid’s answers, DreamBox adjusts the difficulty, number, and type of problems, as well as feedback, pacing, and hints to individualize the learning experience.

Ages: K-3 (4th and 5th grades in development).

Price: $12.95 monthly for one kid, $19.95 monthly per family.

KidCalc 7-in-1 Math Fun

Do you wish you could give your kids a talking calculator that animates whatever mathematical operations they enter into it? Or flash cards that, when you flip them over, use animation to illustrate the math problems on the other side? Were you hoping to spend only 99 cents? Look no further than KidCalc 7-in-1 Math Fun.

This iPhone and iPad app for kids ages 2 through 10 uses animated lessons, flash cards, and puzzle games to teach number recognition, number tracing, counting, and sorting, as well as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Your kid can choose between six themes including sports, springtime, outer space and birthday (with candles and cupcakes).

Unique one-touch age-based settings let you configure the appropriate skill level. Not to mention, it’s currently the only math app that lays out long division problems the way they’re taught in school. No wonder it’s been on the top 100 list of iPhone apps for eight consecutive months!

Brainology

While there are many computer games in the world, Brainology is the only one that’s been developed by leading motivation psychologists Carol Dweck and Lisa Sorich Blackwell. This interactive online program boosts kids’ math scores by dealing with their underlying mindsets about intelligence.

In the program, two cartoon characters, Chris and Dahlia, receive brain challenges from a floating, talking brain orb. Then, with the help of cartoon neuroscientist Dr. Cerebrus and his brain laboratory, they discover how the brain works.

At key points, the animation sequences pause and your kid gets a chance to conduct interactive “experiments,” reflect on what they’re learning in their e-journals, and play games that reinforce what they’re learning about the brain. At the end of the four-level program, kids attain the status of “Brain Master.”

It’s not specifically about math, but Brainology teaches kids basic neuroscience to help them learn what may be the ultimate lesson: We’re not limited by what we already know, because we can grow our intelligence!

Ages: Middle and high school.

Price: $99 per student for home use. Sibling and bulk discounts available.

Know of any other educational websites, apps, or downloads that are great for learning math? Share them in the comments below!

Big Announcement: Join Me in Supporting Goodwill’s Donate Movement!

I am so excited and pleased to announce that The Clutter Diet® is partnering with Goodwill Industries International to launch the Donate Movement! Visit donate.goodwill.org to see all of the details. I am in Tacoma today serving as their national spokesperson and ambassador of the movement, speaking at the launch event and doing a radio media tour, and soon you’ll see our Public Service Announcement commercials airing all over the country.

You can get a sneak peek now on YouTube! We have three PSAs, one featuring me and a bunch of stuff popping into my outstretched hands… and the other two explaining more about the choices we make about our stuff and the impact they have.

“Just as there are things you recycle, there are things you donate” (the one I’m in)

“Donations = Chances” showing the impact your donations have

“Think Twice: Donate for Your Community and the Environment” showing the choices we make every day that make a difference

Many people get organized and donate their household items without ever considering the impact those donations are having on their neighborhoods and the world. We want to create a culture of Conscious Donation, and have people consider where they are making their donations of belongings as carefully as they would consider where they are making a financial donation.

Did you know that, according to a survey we just commissioned, we found that for every one item of clothing consumers donate, they have at least 30 more that are ready to be donated? Get organized, get that stagnant stuff out of your house, and use it to put people to work and build strong families and communities! Visit donate.goodwill.org to see the impact of your donations on people and the planet. And if you need help getting organized, you know our expert team can help anybody, affordably, from anywhere… Read more about our Clutter Diet®  program that gives you the tools and support you need at less than the cost of a pizza.

Oh, and PS: I purchased the fabulous red shirt I am wearing in the commercial at my local Goodwill store on Lake Austin Boulevard! 

Look for the Donate icon on Levi’s care tags (and other partners’ products coming soon)! And watch for tweets with the #Donate hashtag!

Thanks so much from Lorie from The Clutter Diet!

What a powerful video to remind you that seat belts save lives!

“Mrs. B., I hope you have a daughter, because you have already raised a son.”  With tears in my eyes and a hand on my eight-month pregnant belly, I hugged my student as he got ready to walk the graduation line.  It is statements like those that make me glad I became a teacher.  The first day I set foot in a classroom, I knew that I was truly born to teach teens.  For the first time in my life, I felt …home. 

The young man who I quoted above came from a broken home.  Although he had a wonderful mom, she had to work around the clock to make ends meet.  When I first met him, he was so angry and had such a chip on his shoulders.  I realized that until we could break through his frustration, English Lit was about the last thing he would be learning.  So I became a mentor, a friend and a tough teacher.  I had high expectations, but made sure there was always a soft place to land.  He knew he could not get away with anything less than his very best, and he delivered.  All he asked for in return, was that I believe in him.  This relationship has forever changed my heart for the better, as have the relationships I have had with so many of my students.  I know that I had a small part in making them better citizens in this world.

Now I am afraid.  I am afraid for tomorrow’s children.  We are facing a National crisis in our education system.  Our funding is literally disappearing and as a result, so are our teachers and mentors.  With 35-45 students in my classroom, would I have time to connect with students like this?  Of course not… so who would?  We are in danger of losing over 150,000 of our teachers if action is not taken, and quickly.  If you are moved, even a little by this story…or have one of your own, don’t sit by and watch as we lose good teachers…or worse…we let kids miss an opportunity to have a mentor truly believe in them. 

So what can you do?  Learn and then Act!  To become more educated on the issues, please read http://www.educationvotes.nea.org.  If you are as concerned as I am, tell your elected officials; I did!  It is an easy process, just follow this link: http://bit.ly/8ZBh8M.  They will be voting soon on the Education Jobs Fund, which could release money to schools this summer and save the jobs of tens of thousands of teachers.  And if you are so inclined, Tweet your opinions with the hash tag #EducationJobsFund.  I have felt so helpless to make a difference lately, but I know we can speak as one voice and do what is right for our kids.  Join me…please.

Hilary

Live Your Brand!

TrademarkU - Leadership through Personal Branding

www.TrademarkU.org
715.326.1213 (m)
715.344.0295 (o)

I was so honored to be selected as the Wisconsin Delegate at Mom Congress because as many of you know my mission is to empower parents, kids and teachers to work together to change education.  Obviously being known as the “Get Ready To Learn Mom” education is near and dear to my heart which is why I am reaching out for your help.  Our children’s quality education is under threat from budget cuts– music and arts programs, bus routes, sports, extracurricular activities, books, crossing guards, special needs, gifted and talented and foreign language programs are all on the cutting block–and teacher layoffs could mean perhaps as many as 35 or 45 students per classroom.  

This is not the answer!   Students need individual attention, not crowded classrooms and fewer educators, to succeed in the 21st century and help keep America competitive. 

The good news is that an education amendment has been added to the pending jobs bill in Congress, which will help schools avoid such drastic cuts.    I am asking that you help me get the word out.  We need to be one voice telling Congress to pass the #EducationJobsFund.   We must let our congressional representatives know how we feel about children’s education as well as support our teachers!  Ask your community to take action now because next week maybe too late!   Have them go to http://www.capwiz.com/nea/issues/alert/?alertid=15045411&type=co to forward a letter directly to their representative to have their voices heard.  More information on this important legislation can be found at http://www.educationvotes.nea.org. 

Here is a sample to share with your social networking sites: 

Tell Congress 2 pass #EducationJobsFund 2 support teachers w/ no cuts in class #education http://bit.ly/8ZBh8M. Vote is next wk. Pls RT!

Thank you so much for helping me share this upcoming vote!

Kindergarten is a big step! The social circle is expanding rapidly beyond caregivers, and the child is becoming more aware of self and others. There has been much research on which skills children need to get ready for kindergarten. The Kindergarten Entry Skills project (McIntyre, 2007) surveyed kindergarten teachers and identified skills they look for in incoming kindergarten students. According to the Kindergarten Entry Skills survey, skills include the ability to:

• separate from parents without excessive crying
• manage own bathroom needs
• verbalize needs and wants
• sit through an age-appropriate story without interrupting
• work independently for short periods of time
• follow simple directions
• respect limits and rules
• care for belongings

Ways to Increase Children’s Social-Emotional Competency for Kindergarten:

Familiarize your child with the new school before it starts:

• play at the school playground during the summer
• find out who’s in the class and arrange play dates during the summer
• invite classmates and their parents over during the summer

Get your child excited during the weeks leading up to kindergarten:

• Talk to your child about the positive changes that will occur when he/she goes to kindergarten. Share about all of the fun, new experiences and activities that “big kids” get to participate in while they are in school.
• Let your child assist when purchasing school clothes and supplies. After bringing the items home, let your child talk about all of the wonderful things that he/she will be able to make with the new crayons, glue, scissors, etc.

Provide your pre-k child with reading experiences that discuss going to kindergarten

Reading books about a potentially stressful situation, with a parent, can take the stress out of the situation. Here are a few book suggestions parents can share with their child:

• Ready for Kindergarten by Sharon Wilkins [Zondervan, 2000]
• Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten! by Stacey Kannenberg [Cedar Valley Publishing, 2006]
• Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate and Ashley Wolff

Read, read, read to your child every day! (Reasons to turn off the TV and read with children)

Talk to your children about their feelings: help them name feelings, understand and express them; this affects how children view themselves and others, and helps them cope with stress (Raising an emotionally intelligent child)

Give your child a chore to do during the summer to develop a sense of responsibility and self-esteem

Make sure your child gets plenty of sleep, and establish good routines for going to bed at night and getting up in the morning

Provide your child plenty of opportunities to get outdoor exercise and spend quality time with family and friends

Expect regressive behavior before kindergarten starts: children may rely on previously acquired self-comforting behaviors to help manage any fears

• shyness
• thumb sucking, needing a blanket
• clingy behavior

As school and new classmates become more familiar, self-comforting behaviors will occur less frequently.

Visit SF K Files- a place for parents who are seeking a kindergarten in San Francisco. The site offers up reviews of public, private, and parochial schools, as well as lots of advice and opinions from the community of parents who frequent the blog.

Sara Shaw, M.S., MFT is a Consultant for the Family Service Agency of San Francisco and has a private practice in Pacific Heights (www.sarashaw.com)

Hot Moms Club, Playgroups USA and Trista Sutter have joined forces where pregnant and new moms can enter to win over $17,000 in products via the official campaign website at momtobesweepstakes.com from March 30th - May 30th, 2010.The campaign is launched alongside Jessica Denay’s and Trista Sutter’s hot new release, The Hot Mom to Be Handbook (HarperCollins).

The Ultimate Mom to Be Sweepstakes is one exciting promotion. Jessica Denay, founder of Hot Moms Club and author says, “At Hot Moms Club, we get an opportunity to see today’s hottest products for the pregnant and new mom. When we decided to launch this campaign alongside the release of my new book, we knew that we could award some truly amazing prizes.”

And she was right. Jodi Van Lom, co-founder of Playgroups USA and partner in the Ultimate Mom to Be Sweepstakes agrees. “The campaign is truly amazing. In Jessica’s new book, she gets an opportunity to mention many great products that every mom needs or would love to have. With this promotion, some lucky winners will win some of these products.”

The Ultimate Mom to Be Sweepstakes features over $17,000 in prizes that include 18 years of collection and storage of cord and cord blood from Cord Blood Registry™, a nursery set from Bratt Decor™, the hot new FastFold Stroller from Micralite™, a new infant baby carrier from lillebaby™, a beautiful gift box from Trumpette™, shaper leggings from brand new ShaToBu™, a gift basket with must have mommy lotions and creams from Mustela™, a gorgeous crib bedding set and nursery paint from Serena & Lily™, a kids clothing package from My Vintage Baby™, the latest swaddles for baby from Swaddle Designs™, essential mommy vitamins from Bayer™ Women’s One a Day and the latest Soft Motion™ shoes from Stride Rite™ and fabulous weekly prizes!

Tell all the moms you know and enter at http://www.momtobesweepstakes.com/