NW Kid Chaser

While often I hear mothers jokingly refer to themselves as taxi drivers (shuttling children between school, piano, sports, and play dates), I don't often hear them talk about the trials and tribulations of grocery shopping. But wait...  I can't be the only mom who has to restock the refrigerator shelves on a never-ending basis. How do you do it?

I do love to eat, so grocery shopping isn't a bad gig. However, I have been know to complain that the payoff of this chore can be less than rewarding. To break it down clearly, this is what happens to all the food I buy each week:

best part of this app is the ability to share the grocery list with other members of the household. That means... my husband and I can work off the same list. (He adds 'Coconut Milk' and it shows up on my phone. I mark off 'Water bottle' and it deletes from his phone.) The app also lets us share multiple lists, so we've added 'Grocery', 'Hardware', 'Sports', and even 'Library'. Now, when we are out and about, we don't have to worry about forgetting the list. The list is with us (on our phones- updated) at all times.

It took me a while to get used to carrying my phone in-hand while traveling up and down the grocery aisle, but I like the ability to organize the list by aisle and mark things off my list as I go. Now, I just need need to find the setting that will remind me to eat a few raspberries -- before the boys devour them all as an after school snack. 

Page plus uses Verizon phones on the Verizon network, but at an amazing no contract price. We've purchased the pay-as-you-go plan of 100 minutes for just $10. Minutes stay activated for a 120 day period. All activation/payment is done through the web from the comfort of your own home and customer service 'live chat' is fast and easy. We've been thrilled with the quality of the plan - six months in and we haven't had any problems.

Of course, knowing me, you realize the privilege of a cell phone also came to my son with a list of specific responsibilities. Following the lead of many other moms on the web, I drafted a unique contract with my son that met our needs. Any 'air-time' over the basic minimum is his responsibility, which means he has been very, very careful about giving his number to friends. With every text from (or to) him costing him half a minute of 'airtime,' he has selected just one friend to share his number. In fact, the only time he has really used his phone is to call me about a canceled basketball game or a change in pick-up/drop-off schedule.

I, on the other hand, have used the text message function to send a variety of messages to him:
  - "Your report card came and I'm so proud."
   - "Tough game today. Sorry about the loss. You do a great job of hustling on the court. Your dribbling skills are getting better too!"
   - "Dad and I sure love you."

My sweet boy no longer fits on my lap and is too old for butterfly kisses, but he deserves to be reminded of my love. I'm thinking that love note texts are the 2.0 of lunch box notes, right? This Kid Chaser will do whatever is needed to keep the lines of communication open for a long, long time.



 

My oldest son spent a bit of time this summer reviewing a few math concepts that he'll need to know for the coming school year. His teachers generously lent us the math book, but I found the books filled with more 'practice problems' than actual explanations and so turned to the web for more resources.

Jackpot!

   Designed by classroom teachers for grades 3 through 12, this fabulous resources offers video tutorials for both Math and Language Arts. The easy to understand videos (which follow a predictable pattern) offered great instruction in the area of probability. I'm eager to explore the other areas as well.

     Free of charge and 'deep' with videos, guided practice, and coach commentary, this video jackpot is a well organized and helpful resource for summer practice AND school year learning for students, parents and classroom teachers!

After talking with my boys about 'not believing everything you see' on the world-wide-web, I shared with them the following videos:

After the giggles stopped, we talked about all the 'advertisement' techniques used to make the videos seems so 'real'. Slick videography, a well-known logo, and guest expert
giving commentary that makes you want to believe.

So, how do you know what to believe on the web?

This conversation is one more step on the road
to raising critical consumers in the digital age.

June 4th was the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

That same day, I caught an NPR report that told about
the rise and fall of this related photo:

If find it fascinating to contrast the two 'worlds' of internet access. In America, anyone can post anything to the web and in China, censors monitor the web so closely, a posted picture can last only 60 seconds.

Talking to my children about this topic, we discussed the "web" as a source of information and communication. How do you find reliable information on the web? Who can you trust to tell you the 'real' story? What steps should you take as a critical 'consumer' in this digital world?

At just the age of eleven and eight, my boys had some pretty savvy responses and were engaged and animated throughout the conversation. Here are a few resources you might consider exploring when you talk with your growing 'consumers':

How to Teach Students to be Critical Consumers of Information.
Evaluating Websites.
The Importance of Being a Critical Consumer of Information.

For those interested in taking the full on-line course this summer (which pairs young game designers with professionals), sign-up information is here. Geared specifically for 10 to 14 year-olds, the 6 week course provides access to the main-frame program as well as specific modules that provide more in-depth learning about game design. 

Our family was invited to preview the on-line class for free last summer when it was first launched. My son had a great experience, calling it: 'Awesome!'  I was happy to see him try something new and participate in a new platform.

We give it 5 stars for summer fun!

I’ve blogged before about Freegal.
Yep.
That’s free music downloads from my favorite public library!

Here’s a video tutorial so that you can hear the music today:

   I consider so very few TV shows to be “little-boy-friendly”, but a BIG, HUGE thank you to Grammy who told us about “How the States Got Their Shapes.” When I first heard of this show, I was thinking it was about geography (and it is), but after watching a few episodes I’ve come to realize that this gem of entertainment is also about the people who make up our great nation.

            North vs. South; Democrats vs. Republicans; Sasquatch vs. Aliens: Host Brian Unger talks to folks across the nation about what we have in common and what divides us. Sometimes it is geography, but often it’s something else entirely. I know... it sounds a little odd (and by that I mean unusual). It is. It’s an unusually great mix of random facts, important understandings, geography, anthropology, history and sociology AND it’s funny. Hooray!

My boys and I have been watching and will continue watching. Will you?

 
     Browsing the games available, I gasped when I saw Lemonade Stand. This old-time game was available on the chunky apple computer that sat in the corner of my fourth grade classroom. Now updated to fit the hand-held computer (but still similar in format) this game asks players to become the proud owners of their very own lemonade stand (rain or shine).

    Check the weather; decide just how much sugar you want to use; set your price.  Then sit back and hope sales cover all your costs. On a good day, they’ll be a parade and you’ll sell out of your refreshing drink. On a bad day, the feds may come and close you down for failure to have a business license.

    I like the fact that the game relies on a bit of luck and a bit of strategy – and reading! Of course, at our house it also involved a bit of writing. See the review my boys wrote HERE.

       Watching my son learn how to operate this e-reader, I immediately saw that this device is a natural stepping-stone to a phone, which will certainly lead to a tablet, and then transition into a laptop that he will take to college – EKKKKK!!! (Sorry. Every day that my babies get older, I panic at the thought they’ll someday leave me. Of course, occasionally, I panic that they won’t.)

       With this birthday gift, came money from my sister to purchase a Kindle cover. At first, I thought we’d just head to the nearest tech store to buy a cover. However, my son and I soon learned that local stores only carry the covers made for the latest-and-greatest Kindle Fire. That meant we had to turn to cyberspace for a bit of on-line shopping.

     I thought perhaps we could log-in to Amazon and make a one-click-purchase, but that idea didn’t work as well as I had planned. There are a zillion options on Amazon!

      So... I took this opportunity to teach my son how to navigate through the Amazon "product reviews." It wasn't long before he was flexing his skills as a mindful consumer.

During the process, we had many-a-conversation about:
1) Free shipping (with purchase of $25 or more).
2) Reviews that offer only glowing reviews about every aspect of the product. (“Mom, do you think the seller posted this review themself?”)
3) Nasty reviews that can’t find a single redeeming quality with an item. (“Five people loved this cover, but this person absolutely hated it! Which is correct? Or are they all?”)
4) Confused reviews that go on and on about a product – although not the actual one detailed in the listing.
5) Seller ratings.
6) Return policies.
7) Price comparisons (considering individual delivery and included accessories).

Whew!

    Overall, the online shopping experience was a great lesson for my son.  He used critical thinking and decision making skills AND in the end, purchased a durable, reasonably priced cover.