As I’m sitting here writing this post, sleet is hitting my window and instantly sticking to the sidewalks and roads. The below freezing temperatures and slippery conditions are not ideal driving conditions but serve as a teachable moment to teach teens to be safe winter drivers. Teens love the independence of driving but it can…
How Minecraft Teaches Kids About Social Justice Movements
First Minecraft’s Uncensored Library gave censored journalists freedom in the virtual world and then let kids vote on important issues through Build the Vote. Now through Lessons in Good Trouble, Minecraft teaches kids about social justice movements around the world. Lessons in Good Trouble aims to share how global social justice movements influenced positive changes…
How to Send a Last Minute Valentine Gift Instantly with Punchbowl
I used to be so organized and then the pandemic hit. These days I feel like I’m winning at life if I remember to pick up a card during my occasional shopping trips AND put it in the mail to arrive sort ofon time. I love being thoughtful but since I’m so forgetful these days,…
Celebrating Chinese New Year: Teaching Kids About Lunar New Year & Family Traditions
This morning as I stood at the sink, thinking about our special meal to celebrate the start of Chinese New Year tomorrow, my mind wandered back to my childhood and the traditions I grew up with. As we usher in a new year, I often wonder if I’m doing a good job of imparting these…
6 Ways Families Can Work Together to Be Internet Awesome on Safer Internet Day
This Safer Internet Day post is sponsored by Google It’s the first email I see in the morning as I open my inbox. It’s from an individual whose tone tends to range from passive aggressive to hostile. I take a deep breath and click to open it, not knowing if it will elicit an eyeroll…
How Small Business Owners Can Support Employees During a Pandemic
This is a sponsored post written on behalf of Premera Blue Cross. In 2008 when I started TechSavvyMama.com, I sought out to share my knowledge and expertise about technology and education for fellow parents. I knew how to write and had experience building websites but there were many other things I’ve had to learn as…
7 Ways to Celebrate Reading Aloud Together on World Read Aloud Day
There’s nothing better than coming together over a story, especially this year. The shared experience and connection of reading aloud is so needed because it’s more than just about reading books together. Today we celebrate World Read Aloud Day and the power of reading aloud. For 12 years, World Read Aloud Day has called attention…
7 Reasons to Celebrate World Read Aloud Day and the Power of Story
On cold winter days like the ones we’ve been having this week, my favorite thing to do with my kids when they were little was to gather a stack of books, snuggle on the couch, and read. The Going to Bed Book, Frog and Toad are Friends, The Napping House, and books by Jan Brett,…
How to Teach Kids About Martin Luther King, Jr. and Civil Rights
Years ago when I was in college, a friend and I drove from our New England schools to California. Along the way we stopped in Memphis- home of amazing barbecue, a rich musical heritage, Graceland, the Peabody Ducks, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and the Lorraine Motel. The Lorraine Motel may not have been mentioned in…
Tips and Scripts for Managing Screen Time When School Is Online
We’ve just rounded the corner on the 10 month mark of our county schools being closed. With health metrics not being anywhere close to schools being able to reopen in our area and the first semester coming to a close quickly, parents everywhere are feeling fed up with online school, Managing screen time when school…
