Still Shopping for Toys

Christmas toy shopping may be over but there’s still time for last minute Hanukah shopping. Take a look at the Cogno board games for teaching science concepts to kids seven and older.  More fun, not mention more creative, than most educational board games, Cogno: The Alien Adventure Game or Deep Worlds is at the top of my list for my granddaughter Bryttany’s birthday. She’s the only grandkid who thinks science is cool.

According to Denver-based Kazoo toys, Deep Worlds “encourages strategy and critical thinking about space & science in a race through an alien ocean! Avoid ever-changing DiveZone environments, a giant whirlpool and a mysterious trench!” It’s even been reviewed by NASA scientists for accuracy.

If you can’t get to Kazoo in person and your local Borders large enough to carry games is out of Cogno games, you can still get them on-line at Growing Tree Toys or Uncles Games.  Educational Toys for Your Kids is another good source for learning toys including reading, math, and phonics.

Leap Pad for Learning

Probably too late now to get that last minute Christmas gift on-line for your favorite kiddo. But what to do if you’re child was given some money for Christmas or Hanukah, you need to return something that didn’t quite work out, or maybe you’ve got a late December or January birthday and can’t face another trip to the mall?  Check out http://www.educationaltoysforyourkids.com/  I found amazing prices for Leap Frog books and computer games for the Leap Pad Learning System.

There’s no doubt that too much time on the computer isn’t such a hot idea for kids. And some of the stuff that’s out there is truly dreadful. But I love the Leap Frog stuff and so the do kids I know who use it. My New Hampshire grandkids get a new Leap Pad learning toy every Christmas.

When Kids Don't Want to do Homework

Finally got around to checking out ADDitude, a magazine devoted to ADD/ADHD. Found an interesting tip for getting homework done with the least possible resistance.  The authors suggest encouraging homework following a not very interesting task such as taking the trash out, setting the table, or bringing in the mail. They call it “behavioral momentum.” If you let kids do interesting, fun things first, the resistance to homework is greater.

Same idea would work in the classroom. If your class is going to start learning long division after the holiday, introduce it before you do something fun with the class. You’ll find the on-line version of ADDitude at http://www.additudemag.com/

My only complaint with ADDitude is its emphasis on prescribing drugs for ADD/ADHD.  I always suggest that parents and teachers try other things first: cutting out sugar, checking for allergies to artificial additives, less television and video games (more on why in another Blog posting—you may be surprised at the answer), more physical activity, setting firm boundaries, following schedules, and of course, Brain Gym. Teachers and parents have found that some children who do Brain Gym on a regular basis can stop taking Ritalin (and similar stimulant drugs) or at least drop down to a lower dose. You can check out Brain Gym at www.BrainGymClasses.com   Obviously you wouldn’t stop the drug or change the prescription without seeing a doctor first.

Learning the HeartMath Tools

Just got back from Boulder Creek, California and the HeartMath Resilient Educator training. Great fun. The HeartMath center is in the Santa Cruz mountains about an hour from San Jose. Just my kind of place. Made up for getting hopelessly lost on the freeways around San Jose while trying to find the airport in the dark during rush hour. Nearly missed my flight home. (I’d been warned that signs directing one to the airport were few.)

I’ve been waiting for years for the HeartMath folks to let people like me show teachers how to use HeartMath in the classroom. Now I get to do it. Ours was the first class since the pilot last summer. Very exciting to be in on the ground floor of this program.

For those of you who don’t know about HeartMath, it’s a stress reduction program for adults and kids. And backed up by tons of research. They’ve even got a large, well-equipped lab on the property. You can check it out at www. HeartMath.org.  Looks like I’ll be offering HeartMath via teleseminars in 2006.

Abby's Reading Now

Every night before bed, my son Stephen and his wife Kate take turns reading stories to the kids. If there’s plenty of time, each child gets their own story. If it’s late, Andrew, the baby, gets his own story and the girls get a story together.  Picture books, stories with no pictures, new books, classic books so old that I read them as a child. The kids love it. A special time with Mommy and Daddy.  

And now Abby, the oldest, a second grader, reads to herself and well above her grade level.  Grandma’s thrilled.  So’s her teacher whose job could be on the line if Abby and the rest of boys and girls in her class don’t do well on the statewide NHEAIP test.

Seems to me that all the help-kids-read programs in the world won’t do the trick if we don’t show kids how important reading is.  If we don’t read ourselves and read to our kids, why on earth would they want to read?

That said, one of the best programs to help kids with reading is Brain Gym. You can check it out at www.BrainGymClasses.com

No Bratz Hat for Kierra

Spent much of yesterday finishing my Christmas shopping. Kierra, one of the Ohio grandkids, told her Grandpa exactly what she wanted. He was sure Grandma could find it. All the granddaughters are crazy about Bratz dolls. Frankly, they’re not my favorites but who am I to argue with the girls? Well, Kierra wanted a Bratz hat and mittens to match her dolls. If such exists in Denver, I sure couldn’t find them. Shopping was a lot easier when the kids were little. You picked out what you thought was terrific versus what they have their hearts set on.

Finally gave up on the Bratz hat and mittens and got a hat and mittens at Target that I liked. Grandpa thought they were just perfect. Not that he knows any better than I do what a 9 year old wants to wear on her head when Bratz isn’t available.

Then took at look at toys at http://www.educationaltoysforyourkids.com/ Way too much choice here. I suppose the solution is to have Kierra look at the site and tell me if there’s something else she’d like. Shopping on-line beats tromping through the mall in near zero weather!