I am really honored and excited to share with you a very unique event that we are participating in called Multicultural Children’s Book Day. Before Christmas we signed up to participate in the 2015 Multicultural Children’s Book Day celebration. By signing up we received a book to review for free.
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I saw a super cute and tiny 8GB voice recorder from Etekcity and WANTED IT but really needed to find a good excuse to use it, lol. We love tech and new tech is always fun. How can a tiny thumb sized voice recorder be a very important homeschool tool? Well, that’s what I am going to share with you!
These are just a few simple ways to use a voice recorder that popped into my head while my younger two sons and I tried it out. (We were making a silly chicken and duck singing recording thanks to Little Bear’s Diva Hen episode)
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We are nerds and love our tech but I am the biggest Science Geek of the family. Upon initial appearance I am just the usual homeschool mommy but I really do love Math and Science. I am also a MAJOR deal freak and uber frugal. I keep my eyes and ears open at all times for free and discounted activities that our entire family can enjoy.
Our local Tech Fest held each February is no exception. Since we are so very frugal, partially out of habit from when we lived on below poverty level wages, we pack food and drinks to save money eating at events. I thought it would be a great idea to share tips for attending a tech fest just in case you are thinking of going.
1. Print a map- Just in case your cell phone hits a dead zone or runs out of battery or the kids use up the battery playing Jetpack Joyride or Brain Pop on the way. Be sure your map includes parking and exactly where the entrance to your event is. Our event is help on a small college campus that has over 20 buildings. You definitely do not want to spend all day driving around to find your event. If you have small children you don’t want to park super far away either.
2. Bring a change of clothes for babies, tots, and potty training preschoolers- Yes, this sounds like a given BUT I know many friends and relatives who do not keep a spare change of clothes with them. Nothing like getting to your event to find out your baby geekling had a major blow-out in his car seat on the way!
3. Pack food and drinks- Be sure to have something for each person to drink and a healthy snack. Even if you only plan to attend for a hour or 2 between meals you’d be surpirsed at how hungry youget when your brain is all fired up learning about STEM! Water, juice boxes, cheese sticks, and nuts are very good options.
4. Extra set of car keys- Just saying this is a very good idea unless your spouse is a professional locksmith. Get a vehicle door key made for your spouse to carry.
5. Special dietary or medical supplies-Now that Eldest is Type 1 Diabetic he brings his blood glucose meter and insulin wherever he goes. Be sure you have what your child or family needs just in case you are away at your event longer then planned.
6. Bring money- Yes, even to free events be sure to have cash in case of pay parking or in the event you need a snack to make it through the day or event.
7. Charge your phone AND bring a charger- You never know how much you’ll need your phone until it’s about to shut down from a dead battery.
8. Bring extra batteries for your camera- Are you wanting plenty of pictures of the event? Be sure to bring backup battery or charger for cameras.
9. Have a plan if you get separated! Make a point to find a place for your children and spouse to go if you become separated. If you want to create an ID for your child to carry and you homeschool you can print one off for free. I share how to do this and what to include on my post entitled: Homeschool Conventions and Lost Children. If you do not homeschool then you can easily create your own ID for your family on your PC.
10. Keep expectations simple- Remember you will NOT be able to see and do EVERYTHING this year unless you attend the entire event and can move about at warp speed. The Tech Fest we attend we just try to get to 1 thing each person wants to do. If I see freebies being given out I tend to steer in that direction before they are gone.
If you need more STEM ideas then check out the entire A to Z STEM series via Little Bins for Little Hands or my H is for Heart RateTec post.
Ever since Princess was heading off to Preschool I have gathered quite the collection of large cookie cutters. We don’t use them for cookies but to cut sandwiches into fun shapes. Shaped snacks are great anytime of year but heart shaped are especially great for Valentine Snack ideas for kids.
Today Big Red is going to share how to make a Heart Shaped Sandwich for Valentine’s Day. Well, I cannot find pictures of our heart shaped sandwiches and we were gone yesterday. I woke up and realized we are out of bread, lol. I promise to share pics of heart shaped snacks later but for now enjoy the Top 10 Valentine Snack Ideas for Kids from some of our Kid Blogger Network friends!
Valentine Pretzel Button Snack from Your Modern Family
Rabbit with a Heart Bread and Hummus Snack from Kiddie Foodie
Homemade Pita Chips Recipe & a Healthy Valentine Snack from Meaningful Mama
Super cute Fine Motor Skills Preparing Valentines Snacks from Little Bins for Little Hands
Need a healthy snack? Look no further then Valentines Day Apples from Creative Kid Snacks.
Valentine’s Day Popcorn from Mess for Less<
Valentine’s Day Snack Mix from Sugar Aunts
Painted heart toast from Messy Little Monsters is a great edible art project.
If you love crispy treats like I do then check out this Heart Shaped Rice Krispies Pops from Simply Being Mommy.
Valentine’s Day Brownie Kabobs are a great hands-on snack that kids can help make shared by Mommy Jenna
Top 10 Heart-shaped Animal Crafts from Artsy Momma
Top 10 Valentine’s Day Handprint Crafts from Fun Handprint Art
Top 10 Valentine Flower Crafts from Powerful Mothering
Top 10 Valentine Fine Motor Play Ideas from Craftulate
Top 10 Sensory Ideas for Valentine’s Day from Wildflower Ramblings
Top 10 Candy Hearts Activities for Kids from Little Bins for Little Hands
Top 10 Preschool Activities for Valentine’s Day from Bare Feet on the Dashboard
Top 10 Valentine Snack Ideas for Kids from Something 2 Offer
Top 10 Valentine’s Day Ideas for Toddlers from Lemon Lime Adventures
How do you explain internet safety to the older and well meaning generation? How do you convince friends and family NOT to use your child’s real name on Facebook or in blog comments? Well, this is how I am officially telling everyone via blog post. I think this sums it up nicely and hopefully without stepping on toes or hurting feelings.
We use nicknames for our children and plan to do so until they are old enough to write and manage their own internet presence and that’s a minimum of 13 per most social media and internet websites.
Dear Grandma’s, Family, and Friends Who Really Know Us,
I just want to bring something to your attention before you get mad or upset. Yes, I blog and often include one or more of my children in my blog posts. Yes, I share pictures of their faces online and include them on Facebook. I have also taken some basic internet safety precautions by giving them nicknames or online personas. Both their dad and I talked about this early on and felt that this was the BEST way to go!
This protects their identity and keeps them “unknown” when they grow up and want to break out in their own endeavors. It will be at that point THEY can let people know that they were so and so featured on their mom’s blog for x number of years or wrote x number review posts for their dad’s blog.
Please refrain from using their real names on Facebook or in blog comments. I will delete your comments without batting an eye. Not because I don’t appreciate your loving remarks but for the sake of our children’s safety and future I feel that this is BEST!
You may not realize that I have over 500 Facebook friends and almost 4K FB Page followers many that I have never met in real life but have collaborated with on blog projects. We also have over 20K people visiting our blog each month and feel that this small gesture of privacy is necessary.
For this same reason I have not blogged about field trips which might identify where we live even though we have done some awesome ones.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
Thaleia
