If you asked me last year if I missed teaching, I would have said no. Ask me today and I’ll tell you I do. I had no plans to return to the classroom but a strange twist of fate brought me back to teaching and I find myself missing my students more than I ever…
teens
5 Tips for Managing Screen Time During Coronavirus
Coronavirus school systems closures have altered the way we live, work, socialize, and educate our kids. Adjusting to new societal norms hasn’t been easy. We’re coming to terms with the different ways our kids are using screens to learn and interact with friends. If managing family screen time during coronavirus feels like a struggle, I’m…
How to Keep Kids Learning When Coronavirus Closes School
With school systems across the country announcing coronavirus closures, parents everywhere have been left wondering how to keep kids engaged while they’re out of school. Trying to keep kids learning when coronavirus closes school and telework productively while balancing screen time with offline activities can be a struggle. My suggestion? Work with your kids to…
Tweens, Teens & Phones: What Common Sense Media’s 2019 Research Reveals
A lot has changed about technology since I started this blog in 2008. The first iPhone launched in the summer of 2007, giving owners of the iPhone 3G access to 500 apps although the App Store didn’t open until July 10, 2008. Twitter and Facebook hadn’t become part of mainstream culture, let alone the source…
8 Ways to Manage Daily Tech Use to Regain Control of Your Digital Life
This post is sponsored by Google A new year has started and with it comes new resolutions that are often broken. Instead of putting pressure on yourself to make and keep resolutions, it’s ok to be more mindful- especially when it comes to technology use. Managing tech use is no simple task and often taking…
How to Talk About Digital Wellbeing with Your Teens
This post is sponsored by Google In an age when our kids are surrounded by technology, are they mindful about unplugging in favor of their own digital wellbeing? If you doubt that your child even knows what it means to unplug, chances are they know how it feels when they spend too much time connected…
2019 Gift Guide: Best STEM Gifts for Kids of All Ages
The links in this post are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on a link. Every year I say that my STEM Gifts for All Ages gift guide is the biggest one to date and this cone continues the trend. With the huge number of…
2019 Gift Guide: Best Gift for Teens (ages 13+ w giveaway)
The links in this post are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on a link. Mrs. Hannigan may have been surrounded by little girls in Annie, but this year I’m surrounded by teens! I spend part of my day with 13 year olds in my…
4 Lessons I’m Learning from Teaching and Parenting Teens
When my brother and I were in elementary school, one of our favorite games was Life. It simulates one’s adventures through adulthood and even though it has surprising twists and turns as you traverse the board in a miniature car, it never could have prepared me for the many unexpected moments that plagued our family…
How to Teach Coding at Home with Game Changers Kits
This 4-H National Youth Science Day post is sponsored by HughesNet “I don’t understand why we’re not using the computer if this is a computer science class,” one of my 8th grade students groans as he sits down at his computer while I pass out papers. Despite being tech savvy online, the teacher in me…
