I received lots of kudos for getting to interview Joy Hakim. Maybe this is because most of my friends are geeks of some sort, most homeschool their kids, and we all have read Joy’s books, amazed at how she draws us into learning so easily with her gift of storytelling. I hope you enjoy this […]
Continue ReadingMy kids play educational games on the PC at school and never once have they come home and said they’ve enjoyed that time. The only feedback they’ve ever given is that the games are not fun, but silly and boring and lame. So, when I told them I had some math games I wanted them to check out […]
Continue ReadingMy son turned two this fall. By the time he starts kindergarten in three years’ time, I have no idea how he will be learning. The first computer I was exposed to in elementary school used 5 ¼-inch floppy discs; I’m not even sure he’ll be using a computer by then. Classrooms around the country […]
Continue ReadingWhen I was young and started attending school, my mom got a job in the school cafeteria. The hours worked really well for our lifestyle. I got her at either end of the day, and she didn’t go stir crazy in the middle of it. By the time I was in middle school she had […]
Continue ReadingWhat do you do on your anniversary when you suddenly find yourself with a babysitter on a week night, a few extra hours and cash in hand? Why you sit in Starbucks, drink cider and check out two new games from Looney Labs, that’s what! My love of the card game Fluxx is certainly no […]
Continue ReadingWhen J.K. Rowling released each of her Harry Potter books, young fans flocked to bookstores, stayed up late finishing the books, and then eagerly shared feelings and predictions about future books, characters, etc. with friends. These fans learned everything they could about J.K. Rowling’s fictional world on their own without prompting and in addition to […]
Continue ReadingToday’s children sit more than ever. Babies spend hours confined in car seats and carriers rather than crawling, toddling or being carried. As they get older their days are often heavily scheduled between educational activities and organized events. Children have 25 percent less time for free play than they did a generation ago, and that’s […]
Continue ReadingWe like spending time with people who delight in the same things that fascinate us. That might be playing bagpipes, understanding Civil War strategy, making homemade cheese, or brewing beer. Who doesn’t love talking about a favorite topic? It’s certainly easy to build friendships that way. Shared interests also foster greater enthusiasm and motivate […]
Continue ReadingLegos are internationally cherished small plastic interlocking building blocks and minifigures that can be taken apart and used to build other objects. Over the years, Lego has expanded its creations to include products like gears and pulleys and even electronic parts for constructing programmable robots. As a result, there are popular Lego robotics leagues and […]
Continue ReadingWe’re getting ready to head to Seattle in a week or so. It’s only a couple of hours on the plane, but I always like to have a few tricks up my sleeve to keep Vivienne entertained. So I’m in the market for some new apps to play with. Whenever I do a little refresh […]
Continue ReadingMy mother, the registered nurse, strictly enforced hand-washing, early bedtimes, and other health standards that seemed archaic to her offspring. Even in the summertime I remember lying in bed long before darkness rolled in, listening to my friends laughing and playing down the street. I vowed to be more laid back with my own kids. […]
Continue ReadingLast night my husband (Tim) and daughter (VIP) went to her Spring program which was the grand finale to her last day in pre-school. They brought home a huge keepsake packet to let me peruse through which included everything from a “report card” to art projects. When I had finally reached the bottom of the never-ending stack […]
Continue ReadingTalk about an amazing race. The Iditarod dog sled competition, which started Saturday, stretches more than a thousand miles from Anchorage to Nome, crossing some of the toughest terrain in the world under some of the harshest conditions on the planet. Mushers come from all over the world to compete, but, at its heart, the […]
Continue ReadingGeekMom Amy Kraft wrote awhile back about the crazy-making process of getting her child into the “right” school: My daughter just started Kindergarten at a New York City public school. The process of getting her there began when she was two years old and I started touring schools, fearing that if I didn’t like any […]
Continue ReadingGeekMom is thrilled to bring our readers another column by Kari Byron, the female face on the hit Discovery Channel show MythBusters and host of the Science Channel’s new Head Rush. Kari sends us regular updates on life as a MythBuster Mom. Science is hot right now. Everywhere I travel parents are in a panic […]
Continue ReadingI’ve been a geek all my life, but I hated school. Until college, I learned more watching PBS and maxing out my youth library card every week than I ever did in a classroom. I’m worried that my son will have the same experience – he’s only four years old, but he already loves science […]
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