It's back to school
time already and hi-tech gadgets and great websites can make our jobs,
as parents, much easier! Here's a few suggestions for ya.
One of THE most amazing tools I've ever seen is the Pulse Smartpen by Livescribe.
This little pen will change the way you take notes, forever. Inside of
this pen lives a computer that records live audio and then links it to
what you write down. When it's time to review your notes all you have
to do it tap the pen on the note in question and the audio that was
being heard at the time will play out of the pen's built in speaker!
Not only that, but this pen can be connected to your Mac or PC and turn
your handwriting into text that can be shared with other students.
With this pen you will never miss a word.
Now for an issue I'm facing, 4th
grade history questions! I'm helping 5 kids with their homework this
year, OK, the 3 year old doesn't count, but the 5, 7, 10 and 15 year
old do, and I'm scared! Thank goodness for Verizon's Thinkfinity .
Verizon has teamed up with National Geographic, the Smithsonian and
teachers all over the country to create this fantastic resource for
homework help. There are thousands of FREE, teacher approved
interactive activities, videos and games that kids can use to help with
things like book reports and science fair projects. Again, the beauty
of this site is that all of the material is safe and teacher approved
so parents know it's the best place for help to go. Check it out at
ThinkFinity.org/BackToSchool or take a look at the video HERE: http://thinkfinity.org/tour/
A trend I'm seeing in great learning tools for kids is making a toy
that combines learning and fun wrapped up in a gadget that looks like
something Mom and Dad use. That's exactly what my son loves about these
Learning Laptops from Oregon Scientific. The PC trainer and the Barbie
B-Smart do an excellent job of giving kids a grown up feeling lap top
packed solid with games and activities just for them. The Barbie
B-Smart has over 80 games and activities in math, spelling, logic,
memory and even Spanish! I love being able to hand my son his own "big
boy" computer, complete with mouse pad and headphones, and watch him
play and learn the layout of a keyboard, something that's going to be
essential to his education.
Lastly, another online resource for all of us parents out there that
need just a little bit of help during this somewhat hectic time. The
trusted name of Disney has put together Family.com as a complete
resource for all kinds of parenting tips and information that can make
our lives easier. Sections include Parenting, Food, Travel, Coupons,
Games and more. I watched a video on "How to eat on $60 a week" and
learned a lot! I also found the "Stay At Home Mom's" group to be a
welcome bunch of people with really interesting topic discussions. Got
a college bound student in your life? Even if they're still crawling
it's never too early to start saving so make sure to check out the
"$2500 College Saving Sweepstakes" to see how you can win! Go ahead,
use this survival guide resource to help get through the day because,
let's face it, we can all use a little help.
