Even though I’m constantly checking in with my kids to know how their day went, what they’re learning in school, and to keep tabs on always evolving friendships, their brief responses might not be an indicator of how they’re really feeling, especially when it comes to their grades. Like many tweens and teens, they’re are…
Education
4 Unplugged Ways to Celebrate STEM Day Through Play (w LEGO giveaway)
With a daughter who is in her first year of a magnet high school engineering program, I’m often asked about the things I did to encourage her love of STEM. The honest answer is that I did anything and everything! I didn’t go overboard and I didn’t make myself feel guilty about what I wasn’t…
How Kids Can Play Their Way Through Interland to Learn Digital Citizenship
This post is sponsored by Be Internet Awesome When I was a technology magnet coordinator, one of my beginning of the year tasks was to acquaint kids with our school system’s User Responsibilities for Computer Systems, Electronic Information, and Network Security during their first visit to the computer lab. This nine page PDF was filled…
3 Nintendo Switch Games That Inspire Offline Learning
I’m a mom of a tween and teen who is always conscious about the amount of screen time my kids are having but rather than place strict limits on all screens, I recognize the difference between passive and productive screen time. Productive screen time includes using digital devices for learning whereas passive screen time merely…
Teachers & Parents: Nintendo Labo Classroom Program Brings Nintendo Labo to Your School for FREE!
What if your child’s curiosity, creativity, and imagination could be sparked by hands-on learning using a video game platform in the classroom? Today Nintendo announced Nintendo Labo Classroom Program, a partnership with Institute of Play that brings Nintendo Labo kits into elementary classrooms to teach basic principles of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM)….
3 Simple, Positive Actions to Teach Tweens to Combat Bullying
This post is sponsored by Be Internet Awesome “Hi, how was your game?” I shouted to my tween son as I walked in the door from my daughter’s soccer game. For years, Saturdays in our house have been for soccer while Sundays are reserved for baseball which means I rarely miss a game. I love…
5 Mysterious and Spooky Reads for Tweens
This post is sponsored by Disney Book Group and contains affiliate links Sometimes the change of seasons here in the Washington, D.C. area is gentle but overnight we went from summer to fall though I’m not complaining! It finally feels like it’s time for cozy sweatshirts, warm mugs of favorite beverages, decorative gourds and pumpkins,…
How I Taught My Tween to Be an Upstander After Bullying in the Baseball Dugout
This post is sponsored by Be Internet Awesome After two hours of playing baseball in the midday sun, I watched my son and his teammates emerge from the dugout with smiles on their faces from their win as sweat beads dripped from underneath the brims of their ball caps. I was folding my chair when…
Code Your World Kits to Teach Computer Programming at Home!
This 4-H National Youth Science Day post is sponsored by HughesNet One of the best ways to foster an interest in STEM is to expose kids to a variety of different experiences and I love how 4-H has provided engaging activities to introduce kids to computer science and coding with the support of organizations like…
6 Questions Parents Need to Ask Kids to Reinforce Kindness in the Digital World
This post is sponsored by Be Internet Awesome When my daughter was in preschool, she used to come home with sand in her mittens. Each afternoon I’d wonder what she’d done to fill her tiny pink mittens to the brim with sand and she thought it was one of life’s great mysteries too. Tethered to…
