Online school, being stuck at home, and social interactions from screens have become the new norm. Without school, friends, and the routines that they’re used to, kids everywhere could use an escape. The new normal is hard so I’m appreciative of things like Star Stable that lets kids take the focus away from coronavirus and…
tweens
Dear Students, I Miss You!
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…
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…
9 Reasons Your Tween Should Enter the 3M Young Scientist Challenge
This is a sponsored post Identifying problems, coming up with solutions, and a passion for solving problems are characteristics of scientists. If your tween or teen has thought of improving the future of health, safety, mobility, the environment, energy consumption, or the community, they should enter the 3M Young Scientist Challenge! The 3M Young Scientist…
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…
Have Curious Tweens? Here’s Why They Need to Enter 3M Young Scientist Challenge!
This is a sponsored post When our kids were preschoolers, their curiosity was apparent in endless questions about the world and how it works. Sometimes we knew the answers and other times we didn’t, but it didn’t stop them from asking. The curiosity that our kids had when they were little is just as important…
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…
