This post is sponsored by UL Xplorlabs My 11 year old, Thomas, is fascinated by fire. He’s been building campfires since his Cub Scout days and as an older Boy Scout, he relies on them to cook meals, for warmth on chilly days, and he loves making s’mores to end a day of camping. Thomas…
STEM
Boeing Tour: Road Trip from Seattle to See Planes Being Built
Seattle has a reputation for being gray and rainy and while all stereotypes about the city were shattered with blue skies and sun on previous trips, Thomas and I stepped off the plane to steady rain coming from stormy skies that set the stage for our 72 hours in town. We were in Seattle for…
Review: Meet Meccano M.A.X. Interactive Robot with Artificial Intelligence
This post is sponsored by Spin Master Parents looking for a hands-on way to encourage their tween and teens towards STEM learning will love that Meccano M.A.X. incorporates building and the trend of artificial intelligence with the lifelong skill of programming into one very cool robot. With a vision of building a better tomorrow by empowering…
Announcing the Tech Toy of the Year Toy of the Year Award Nominees! (w giveaway)
With Halloween behind us and Thanksgiving around the corner, the holidays are on the horizon. While your kids are pouring over glossy catalogs, transfixed by YouTube unboxing videos, and listening carefully to a friend share details about their new favorite toy, The Toy Association has been busy compiling the hottest holiday toys for their annual Toy…
How to Teach Kids to Code with Let’s Start Coding
This post and giveaway is sponsored by There’s no doubt that there’s a need for today’s generation of kids to develop confidence in and mastery of STEM skills as we look towards the kinds of jobs that will be a part of their future but one challenge that many parents face is getting their kids…
4 Life Lessons Kids Can Learn from The Magic School Bus Rides Again
“Seatbelts everyone!” Those two words begin every class adventure with Mrs. Frizzle of The Magic School Bus. What started out as a favorite series of books in classrooms around the country became an animated series on public television stations. Now the brand new animated The Magic School Bus Rides Again inspires kids to learn about the wonders of…
Cubenizer: Ultimate Kid Fantasy Combines Gaming, STEM & DIY Maker Skills to Create Your Own Candy
This is a sponsored post These days my kids are all about making. They love visiting our local maker space where they’re only limited by their imagination. The two hours a week they spend at the open workshops has transformed the way they think and problem solve and it’s always fun to see them bring…
Virtual Field Trip: Testing Corning® Gorilla® Glass at the Corning Incorporated Sullivan Park Research & Development Campus #LearningThroughGorillaGlass
This post is sponsored by Corning® Gorilla® Glass “I’m really sorry, Mom,” Emily said as she carefully picked up pieces of a drinking glass from our kitchen table. “When I knocked it over on the table it just broke. The glass must have already been abraded.” Abraded isn’t usually part of a teen’s vocabulary but on…
5 Components of Successful STEM Programs for Middle Schoolers
Thank you Capital One for sponsoring this post. How do you introduce kids to coding in a way that will keep them interested in learning the meaningful skills that they need for the jobs of today and tomorrow? You invest in their education like Capital One has done with its Future Edge initiative. Last week,…
11 Minecraft Gifts Your Gamer Will Love
This is a sponsored post Minecraft may be a world that we parents wish our children weren’t so familiar but there is value in our kids building and exploring new worlds through this family friendly game. The act of placing blocks, going on adventures, exploring randomly generated worlds, and building amazing things (like the simplest…












