Scratch is a free programming language and online community where you can create your own interactive stories, games, and animations. It’s created by MIT. I had heard of it years ago from the founder of the company who created my first PragmaticMom blog template. His young son was using it to create games. My son was…
Category: Parenting
My blog covers education and children’s books. When I cover parenting issues, it usually contains book recommendations. Parenting topics include academic subjects, summer learning, bullying, special needs, fitness and more.
My Son’s First Fencing Lesson
My son and his third grade buddies have been taking tennis lessons since school started. Now that it’s too cold to play outdoors, they decided to switch to fencing. There is something about little boys and swordplay — my son has been wielding a stick as a sword since he was old enough to toddle….
Nunchaku: My Son Teaches Himself Nunchucks
It was a long winter break and I didn’t plan anything special to entertain the kids. After a week of being mostly house bound, out of sheer laziness I took my kids to check out the crafts store, hoping that a few key purchases would keep them entertained and off screens. My son only wanted…
My Son’s Archery Birthday Party
My three kids had learned archery at summer camp and each of them mentioned separately how much they liked it so I posted a few months back about finding an archery class near us to try out. My son decided to do an archery party for his 9th birthday and that was the perfect opportunity…
FREE Resources on Bullying, IEPs, Dyslexia and More
Today I wanted to share some great resources via the National Center for Learning Disabilities. The best part? These toolkits and e-books are FREE!! Parent Toolkit: IEP Basics for Parents of Students with LD Parent Toolkit: Dyslexia Toolkit School Toolkit: The Truth About Bullying E-Book: IEP Meeting Planner E-Book: Executive Function Around the Clock E-Book: 50 Questions About LD Hope this helps…
Super Easy Valentine Card Craft for Kids
Homemade Valentine’s Day crafts for kids. Here are three: the toilet paper heart card craft we did, and the Whoppee cushion and crayon heart that we received.
From Trash to Fine Art: Upcycled Plastic Sculptures
Turning trash into art is my kind of recycling! We saw these pieces of marine animals made out of recycled plastic at the Monterey Bay Aquarium (where we also loved the jellyfish and seahorse exhibits). Sayaka Gantz made these sculptures out of reclaimed materials that might have otherwise been polluting the ocean. Both sides of her…