iPad 2 Give-away!

Here is a link to Smart Apps For Kids. They are doing a give-away of 4 iPad 2s. Pretty easy to enter.

http://www.smartappsforkids.com/2012/04/win-one-of-four-ipad-2s-from-smartappsforkidscom.html

National Screen Free Week

April 30th through May 6th is National Screen Free Week from CCFC (Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood). According to CCFC, Screen Free Week is...

"Screen-Free Week is a national celebration where children, families, schools, and communities spend several days turning off entertainment screen media and turning on life. It's a time to unplug and play, read, daydream, create, explore, and spend time with family and friends." (CCFC)

One of my favorite blogs Teach Preschool has a great post about how you can do this with your family. Go read the whole post. She has a checklist to help you figure out just  how much technology is integrated in your life. You may not realize it because we just take it all for granted. It's amazing how easy it is for technology to enter our lives and how hard it is for us to do without it for even a short time.

Deb over at Teach Preschool has these suggestions for using the checklist.

How to use the Screen-Free Checklist with your child

1. Walk around your house or classroom and make a list of each item with a screen (television, computer, lap top, cell phone, toys, games, smart board…)
2. For each item on your list, help your child come up with a simple activity that he or she can do to replace the screen time (read a book, take a walk, build a block tower, paint a picture…)
3. Through out the week, refer back to the list and each time your child “turns off a screen” and “turns on life” – then give your child a check!

Note to Parents
Your child’s screen-free week will be more successful if the whole family will get involved. Make a checklist for the entire family to use throughout the week.

At the end of the post it sounds like she's going to give ideas each day of things you can do away from the screen. I'll definitely be watching because we REALLY need to do this at my house.

Radio for Kids

Are you finding it harder and harder to find music your kids like and that you will allow them to listen to due to content or language? I sure am! My daughter likes a good hip-hop beat but all that music is SO not meant for her 5 yr old ears. There's Radio Disney but I have had a hard time finding much else. Radio Disney has iTunes and Android apps. They are also on your AM radio at 1440.

I recently came across a couple of other options that I'm really excited about and she is too.

This link to the Pandora blog tells you about 6 different kids stations that they have put together: http://blog.pandora.com/pandora/archives/2010/02/childrens-music.html  Pandora also has an iTunes app as well as an app for the Android systems. You have to have an Internet connection but so many places have free wi-fi these days that it isn't hard to get a connection. You can also enter things like "Mickey Mouse" in the search criteria to get a lot of the kids songs that Disney has done over the years.

Minnesota Public Radio also has a neat station for kids. It's only available on their website and through their iTunes app at the moment (sorry, no Android app that I could find) but you never know when they'll get it on the air. It's called Wonderground Radio and has lots of fun music for both kids and adults. You won't hear the Wiggles on this station. :) 


Speaking of Public Radio there is an online Kids Public Radio that looks good as well.


One last app that was featured in my Family Fun magazine. Its called Fanlala Radio This is a profanity-free music streaming service for teens & tweens (or kids who really like that great rhythm). The free iPhone app (that apparently isn't quite ready for distribution yet) that lets kids listen to the artists they love. Upgrade to unlimited streaming for $1.99 a month or $14.99 a year

Family Reading Night (FREE)

Join us this Friday, April 20, for FAMILY READING NIGHT and SLIME TIME!!!
Time:  6:30-8:00 p.m.  (Scholastic Book Fair opens at 6:00 p.m.)
Activities:  Guest readers will kick off the night followed by storybook crafts, games, snacks, and a JUMPER! 
Slime the Directors:  To close the event, leaders from each program will be getting slimed if the kids have met their reading challenge!!  (The Reading Caterpillar has grown so long it has already been on both levels of the church!)Attire:  Feel free to come dressed as your favorite book character!

We hope to promote a love of reading for all ages at this FREE event which is open to the community.  Bring your friends!  See you Friday!

River Hills United Methodist Church
11100 Riverhills Dr.
Burnsville, MN 55337

Pills vs Candy

 
Can you tell the difference between pills, poison, and candy? I got 60% right my first try. UGH! It's easy to see why children accidentally overdose on pills and poison when it all looks alot like candy! Try this game online and see how well you do, then try it with your kids! 

http://www.pillsvscandy.org/ 

List of Apps for Little Ones

Many people have asked what apps we use for home visits with the babies and toddlers and what apps we use in the classroom.

Well, I found a site that creates a list for you. This has been a fortuitous find since there are MANY apps on my iPad and more on my iTunes account at school.

Follow this link to see what apps we use at school at in the homes:  http://applist.me/KrnFYf

Learning iPad app giveaway!

Here is a chance to win a VERY good $50 app for your iPad. Check out the post on the Smart Apps 4 Kids website.


This is from the Smart Apps 4 Kids review:

A suite of well-done games that targets a whole host of developmental skills in a fun way. Impressive but very expensive.

 Injini: Child Development Game Suite can successfully be used with typically-developing children but it was specifically designed for, and tested with, children affected by autism, cerebral palsy, down syndrome and other developmental delays.

Injini is a “Suite” because it is actually 10 learning games in one app: puzzles (90 of them), a balloon game, which helps develop awareness of colors and shapes, eight mini farm-based games, a Find-It activity which works on discrimination skills, Feed the Frog, which is great for developing the fine motor skills, a letters game, and games that focus on matching, patterns, squares and tracing. Most of the games have nine levels, and there are several screens within each level.

There is a wealth of content here...