Science Center Wonders

Kids Can Earn a Free Book This Summer from Barnes and Noble

Here's How It Works:

1. Kids read any 8 books.

2. Kids use the Summer Reading Journal to tell us their favorite part of each book. A parent/guardian signs it when it's complete.

3. Children bring their completed journal to a Barnes & Noble store between May 29th & September 2nd, 2008.

4. We'll give them a coupon for a FREE book! They choose from a list of exceptional paperback titles.*

* Eligible books will be listed on the coupon. Choices must be made from eligible stock. No special orders. Limit of 1 form per school-age child (grades 1-6), please. Incomplete forms will be ineligible for free books.

Educate your children about safety and crime prevention

A fun and entertaining way to educate your children about safety and crime prevention.

Drugs, bullies, gangs, strangers - the potential dangers facing kids these days are numerous. You want them to be safe, but it's not always the easiest thing to sit them down and give them advice they're going to want to listen to (or remember). So why not try teaming up with McGruff the Crime Dog?

Parents and kids have been looking to McGruff for almost thirty years for facts and tips about safety and crime prevention - now you and your family can look to McGruff.org. The site is loaded with fun interactive games and stories, videos, downloads and advice, all featuring McGruff and his nephew Scruff, helping show your children how they can stay safe. There's even a section with information for parents and educators, so you can reinforce everything your kids are learning from the crime-fighting hound dog.

You don't have to teach your kids about safety alone - let McGruff give you a hand!

Visit McGruff.org

StudyJams! a new online learning experience

StudyJams! is a new online, subscription-based learning experience for kids in grades 3-6. Developed by Scholastic, StudyJams! is dedicated to helping kids learn math and science in ways that are fun, relevant and rewarding.

StudyJams! was designed to introduce and reinforce key math and science concepts. Whether your child needs help to better understand a challenging topic or simply wants to learn more about a subject they already enjoy, StudyJams! can help. StudyJams! was created in conjunction with leading educators nationwide and all of their content is based on state curriculum standards.

Every kid learns in a unique way. That's why we they multiple learning paths to match different learning styles. By using videos, interactive lessons, karaoke, music and more, StudyJams! empowers kids to learn the way that works best for them. All the while, the StudyJams! Crew — RJ, Mia, Zoe and Sam — are there to guide your kids through every topic.

Kids love StudyJams! because on top of being fun, with each Jam they complete they earn Jam points. Jam points are redeemed in the recording studio, where kids can create their own original music. When a song is finished, it can be downloaded as an mp3 file and shared with friends.

They make it easy to sign up and even easier to use. When you sign up for a "parent account", you get three "child accounts". Each child account has its own username and password (created by you), so each child has a unique and personalized learning experience. With the parent account, you can monitor how your kids are doing.

StudyJams.com is fully password-protected, ensuring that your kids will always be safe on StudyJams!

Visit STUDYJAMS!

The Next American Idol

I was trying to keep my almost 3 year old daughter occuped - she loves to sing :)

http://www.gather.com/viewVideo.jsp?id=11821949021862185

Free Children's Nutrition Website - Games, learning

Nourishinteractive.com is devoted to helping our children become nutritionally aware. Our kids are bombarded everyday with ads promoting empty calories and high sugar foods. We want to empower children to make healthier choices. Nourish Interactive is a website that provides parents and children with a variety of tools to learn the key elements of nutrition. We designed the website so that every tool and article has a parents' version and a child's version. This way parents and children can work together to make nutrition a key part of their everyday lives.

Nutrition is extremely important for our children's development and long-term health. Unfortunately, there are many indications that kids are not eating the nutritionally balanced meals their bodies need. We need to start teaching children about the importance of nutrition at a young age before they have formed their habits. We can't rely on the schools because they are too busy with reading, writing and math. We know the internet is a growing part of everyone's lives, so why not take advantage of some of that time and have children learning about nutrition.

Nourish Interactive.com offers two key areas:

1. Free features:

• A valuable resource for children's nutrition
  
• Free interactive Tools that parents can use to assess their child's current nutritional status and take steps to improve it
  
• Free games for children to play that help promote positive messages about nutrition and drive healthier choices
  
• New topics monthly for both parents and kids

2. Free Sign Up for the Online Nutrition Game:

• In order to access the complete game, you will need to create a free account. This account is required so that we can track the child's test scores and send parent/teachers progress reports.
  
• The online game, "Chef Solus and the Food Pyramid Adventure" game is available both in English and Spanish
  
• Progress reports are available for each level of the game that the child has completed. These progress reports provide an easy way for parents to review the key concepts their child has just learned.
  
• Progress reports are available in English and Spanish.
  
• A colorful certificate is provided for each level completed that can be to printed and posted. It is customized with the child's name.
  
• We also provide activity suggestions that are simple and fun for the whole family.

With Nourish Interactive and the main character, Chef Solus, children will get the idea that nutrition is fun.

Join Chef Solus and Nourish Interactive on a fun nutritional adventure as we work together to build a new generation of nutritionally-minded children.

Visit Nourish Interactive

Boys Level 5 Junior Olympic Gymnastics - Salt City Meet

My oldest son competed in the Salt City Invitational in Syracuse, NY at the beginning of February. He did very well with an All-Around score of 52.6 earning First Place in the All-Around and every event. He took home a trophy, 6 blue ribbons and a big smile. Enjoy :)

Play Time

My youngest son matching animal noises on his ABC Animal Mat. He loves to sit and match letters and noises with this toy.

Level 5 - Boy's Gymnastics - Local Meet

Here is a video of My oldest son from the Upstate Local Meet on January 27, 2008. He did very well placing 2nd All-Around, First on Floor and Vault, Second on Pommels Rings, Parallel Bars and High Bar.

My Twins Before Their 2nd Birthday (March 2007)

This video was taken about a year ago (March 2007), right before they turned 2 ... the first part is of the twins coloring their birthday invitations... the second part is of them reading a book together and the third part they are running and playing.

Ball Pit Fun

My little Country Line Dancers

Overcoming the Force of Violence

Finding redemption and self forgiveness is the difficult task that is revealed through the history and growth of a young boy that ultimately is able to redeem himself as a grown man.

Through the story of “The Kite Runner”, we read and enjoy the deep friendship and bond between two young boys. Hassan proves over and over his loyalty to Amir, while Amir yearns for his father’s approval and love. This bond is ultimately broken by bullies, fear, confusion and the Afghan rules and society. I felt a closeness to each of the characters in this story and felt as though I was struggling to make decisions with them as they were living their lives. I wanted to give them my input especially to Hassan and Amir. In fact, the character development was told in such a magnificent way that one instance took me by surprise.

This is a brilliantly told story and one that will not be forgotten. As an American, I was taken into an unknown culture. I was intrigued by the author’s descriptions of Afghanistan and the various cities and cultural areas. I enjoyed reading about the preparations for and the kite flying contests that occurred in the Afghan winters of past. I was saddened by the treatment of the less fortunate, the abused and abandoned orphans, and the rampant destruction of property and human life by the Taliban.

The foreshadowing in the plotline was woven in carefully so that the reader was not readily aware that this element would appear in the future. In addition, I was pleased to have several of the plot resolutions end in a way that I had anticipated.

I highly recommend this novel and I am looking forward to the motion picture that is in theaters this month.

The Kite Runner
By Khaled Hosseini
Publisher: Riverhead Books
ISBN: 978-1-59448-000-3

College on your Mind? Here is a College Planning Tip

Please click on the following link to read my article:

College on your Mind? Here is a College Planning Tip

My Local Mickey Mouse Club

My Local Mickey Mouse Club :) Little clips from this past week of the twins... enjoy!

Care.com

Parents know how hard it is to find a last-minute babysitter (or a replacement when your regular sitter cancels). Those days are over thanks to Care.com.

Visit Care.com

Go out to the movies this weekend. Go shopping. Catch up with old friends. Or find care you can trust while you're away on business or vacation.

Care.com connects families with trustworthy babysitters, nannies, dog walkers, tutors, and elder caregivers through a variety of family memberships to fit every budget. Read expert advice on care planning through our exclusive editorial content, including articles, resources, and Sheila's Blog, written by Founder and CEO Sheila Marcelo.

Search Care.com by your ZIP Code or metro area to find local caregivers who match your exact needs. Search results include profiles with photos, video interviews, experience, availability, and references, which you can view before contacting a caregiver about a job. Plus, families can request free background checks on any caregiver as part of their monthly membership-unlike anywhere else on the Web!

Once families have hired a caregiver, they can then share their experience with the Care.com community by rating the caregiver and leaving a review. All caregivers are then ranked using reviews, ratings, and other criteria, and will have a basic, Silver, or Gold status.

Care.com is simple to use—just Join, Find, and Connect! Locating safe and convenient care has never been easier.

Visit Care.com

Book Review: “The Paper Doorway” Poetry by Dean Koontz

I recently gave my 12 year old son the assignment to reflect on poetry that he had recently read. His response was that he could not do the assignment, as he did not like poetry and had never really read any poetry.

My response to him went something like this “but you love poetry, and you recently were telling me about all the great little ‘stories’ you were reading in your Dean Koontz book.”

His response “That’s not poetry, I liked that book. It was full of funny little stories.”

We had a long discussion after about how poetry takes on many forms and brings many different emotions. The emotions that were felt with Koontz’s poetry made my son feel happy. All poetry is not like that and my son did later admit he enjoys poetry, especially Koontz’s poetry.

“The Paper Doorway” is filled with humorous, whimsical poetry for children of all ages. There are wonderful illustrations on nearly each page and each illustration contains a mouse for your child to find.

This is a must have book for all young readers which will expose them to the joys of poetry.

Is “Freaking” Acceptable?

Have you ever chaperoned a high school or middle school dance, either as a parent or as a teacher? There seems to be a wave of obscene dancing that has struck our young people. Are you confused and not sure what I am talking about?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEiDUw9vtng

I have provided a link, it give a little “overview” of the subject without the over-the-top dancing. If you are still confused, you can easily perform a search on youtube and find many more graphic videos on this subject.

Granted, throughout history, some children have always gone beyond acceptable behavior and incorporated inappropriateness into many of their activities. However, as parents and educators, we are responsible for guiding our children and students.

There are many schools that have banned this type of dancing, even gone to the point of not holding school dances and proms because students will not change their behavior. Other schools have asked students to sign anti-freaking pledges before attending school dances.

Where are the parents in this discussion? This appears to be an issue for parents and not necessarily the school system. I am highly concerned that lack of parental involvement is allowing students to believe that this type of behavior is acceptable in public places including school dances.

Messages we send to children

In my house watching TV is a privilege that must be earned with good behavior and completion of all school work and chores. The reward is 1 hr of “screen” time. Our child can choose between computer, TV, game system, or supervised Internet play. Very rarely is TV chosen and as parents, we are elated that this is “given up.”

Pre-teen programming has many issues that send our child into rages. Violence, disrespect for adults, picking on other children, and the list continues. This is just speaking of the programming and not the commercials. The commercials promote a “want” atmosphere with a sedentary life of playing games via “screens”, eating and drinking unhealthy products filled with high fructose corn syrup, dyes, and other substances that a growing mind and body can do without.

Britain is taking a step in the right direction by discontinuing all commercial that promote Junk foods with high fat, sugar and salt. Below are a two UK links on this topic:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=JZGLP4G0WRRVJQFIQMFSFFWAVCBQ0IV0?xml=/news/2006/05/18/nbeans118.xml

http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,1951310,00.html

What lead up to this ban? Who is responsible? We need to bring those people into the US and strive for the same outcome. We would still have to deal with many other issues surrounding poor children’s programming and commercials, but promoting healthy eating for this young generation may enable these young people to live a longer and healthier life.

Many schools are stepping in the right direction by banning junk on campus. Again, Britain is taking the lead and banning all junk foods in all schools across the country.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4287712.stm

Students are still able to bring junk food to school with them. In reality, this problem needs to be more closely monitored by concerned parents who are striving to raise emotionally and physically healthy children.

School Bus Safety

The federal government has recently issued several reports confirming the safety of transporting school children via the means of school busses. My first gut reaction is why was the safety called into question in the first place? We do hear of several bussing accidents a year that involve school children, but we hear of many more vehicle and train accidents than busses. Perhaps it is because of the amount of children that are transported daily by strangers. While attending school, I did ride the yellow school bus and so has my oldest child. I do not envy the job of a bus driver, they must be able to drive their vehicle and at the same time monitor student behavior. This could be another reason why many parents choose to transport their children to school.

Here are two interesting facts from the NHTSA’s report (http://www.nhta.dot.gov/ ):

“In 52% of all crashes involving fatalities to occupants of a school transportation vehicle, the principal point of impact was the front of the vehicle. The second most common point of impact was the right side, followed by the left side.

The most common victims in school bus-related fatalities are drivers of other vehicles, followed by pedestrians.”

What I take from these statistics and information is to encourage my children or any children who rides a school bus to sit in the rear, left side of the bus and to never walk in front of the bus unless waved by the driver. The second part of this statement is common sense for an adult, but perhaps a good reminder for a child.