REVIEW: Elecrow Industries has created four children’s STEM toy sets. I’m digging into the Explorer Kit for 8+ year olds with assistance from my visiting resident grandson, PB. I’ll also report on one of the kits that has projects that require coding, the Inventor Kit. What is it Crowbits are Science Technology Engineering & Math …
NEWS – I’ve been fascinated by all things magical since I was a kid. I think it started after watching Tony Curtis in the 1953 Houdini movie. One year for Christmas I received an Adams Magic kit and I still have a book of magic tricks that my uncle got me one year for my …
The Ellusionist magic kits will turn anyone into a magician Read More
REVIEW – Computer programming is often hard for young students to appreciate with abstract assignments. It is also historically less compelling for girls because of stereotypes and influence from peers. The imagiLabs imagiCharm is a fashion accessory that makes Python programming tangible and sharable. I have one to review. Read on to see what I think! …
imagiLabs imagiCharm review – A programmable charm for kids Read More
NEWS – As a teacher, I periodically spend an afternoon looking for new apps that I think might help me do my job or my students learn stuff, and I today I found one called Space. Space is a spaced repetition flashcard system. If you’re not familiar with spaced repetition, it’s basically a system where …
Space: A sharable flashcard system featuring spaced repetition Read More
NEWS – I don’t know about the rest of you, but when I was a kid, my parents didn’t have a lot of money which meant that we didn’t have a lot of toys. At least not the toys I really wanted, like LEGO. So my sister and I made our own models and miniatures …
Cardkits are models of paper that challenge your model making fingers and mind Read More
ARTICLE – When my kids’ school moved online last year, like many parents and families, I was overwhelmed. And seeking information. And craving a schedule. One simple thing we did in my house was to start watching CNN10 together every morning. It’s a 10-minute news summary that replaced the longstanding CNN Student News. That way, …
REVIEW – There are many types of STEM experiences available for kids that support curiosity, creativity, imagination, fine motor skills, etc. I have reviewed a few in the past, and now I get to test and review the UGears Differential Educational Mechanical Model Kit. What is it? The UGears Differential Educational Mechanical Model Kit is …
UGears Differential Educational Mechanical Model Kit review Read More
REVIEW – Being the mother of two children and also working with elementary students for a living, I am always in the market for educational learning tools that can be used at home and/or in the classroom. With so many of our toys and activities linked to screen-time, I am always interested and attracted to …
NEWS – In a bid to preserve our global sanity (and maybe do a bit of product promotion), Nikon is hosting several hours of on-demand photo training during our National Stay Home time. Currently set to expire at the first of May, you have less than a month to get in lessons on creating better …
REVIEW – The toys and tools that are available for kids today are much more advanced than when I was a child. My kids who are 4 and 5 years old do schoolwork and homework on tablets and also play several games that are way more sophisticated than anything that was available in my time. …
NEWS – If you are looking for an activity to stimulate the minds of both children and adults alike, these interlocking plastic discs are the answer. Building with the Viahart Brain Flakes is one of our favorite STEM center activities. Students love building individually and in teams to master challenges. The possibilities for creativity are …
Every teacher’s favorite “brain break” activity, The Original Brain Flakes Read More
ARTICLE – Perhaps you’ve heard by now about the student loan debt crisis. According to a Forbes article written in February 2019, about 45 million people owe a total of over $1.5 trillion in student loans here in the United States. That just blows my mind. If you happen to have high school-aged kids or …
Use ModernStates.org to test out of a year of college for free! Read More
REVIEW – My children are now at the age where they have become interested in the clocks on the wall in my home and the watches I wear. They pretend that they can tell what time it is which is quite amusing, but also their actions tell me that it is time for them to …
REVIEW – With two young children in school, I have been getting more involved in buying STEM gadgets, devices and educational toys for them. It is great to be able to give them the ability to explore their imagination and creativity and with today’s children, computers, coding, and Artificial Intelligent/Smart devices have become the norm. …
NEWS – Getting kids into creative pursuits is always a good thing. If your kids have any interest in learning to code, iRobot has a new product, Root, to get them into coding, starting at age four or five. Root offers three programming modes: Level 1: Graphical Coding. Graphical blocks teach essential logic skills of …
Give kids a jump start on coding skills with the iRobot Root Read More