Early Lingo-A great way to help teach your child a foreign language.

June 28, 2013 by 2 Comments

Disclosure: The below mentioned DVD from Early Lingo was provided to me to help facilitate my review. All opinions are my own and honest. I am disclosing this in accordance to FTC Guidelines. Please see “Disclose” tab for more information.

Early Lingo

 

Learning a foreign language in the world we currently live in is extremely important. I was impressed with the Early Lingo program.

About Early Lingo:

Early Lingo was created by Caryn Antonini, a graduate of Georgetown University School of Languages and Linguistics. As a new mother, Caryn wanted to give her child the advantages of learning a foreign language as an infant and all the subsequent benefits it would bring to her child later in life, [Read more…]

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Choosing the Right School for Your Kids When You Relocate

June 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Moving to a new city can be something of an adventure for the whole family, what with the prospects of meeting people and discovering fun, new places and activities in the local environs. But as adults are well aware, this period of upheaval can also be extremely trying for children, who tend to thrive on stability and routine. Even young kids have already become familiar with their home, their school, and other often-visited locations. They know the doctor and the dentist, their teachers, and other adults in your support network, and they’ve established a peer group. For older kids it can be even harder since they’ve likely been going to school with the same group of kids for years. Leaving all that behind for the unknown can be a shock to the system, no matter how great you make it sound. But you can help them to transition to their new living situation by taking pains to select a school where they’re going to find acceptance and success. And here are a few things you’ll want to consider in the process.

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Chances are you will find yourself in a certain district when you move, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to confine yourself to this small geographic area when it comes to choosing the best schools for your kids. Often there are ways to get your children placement within other districts. For one thing, you might want to do something of an exploratory foray into local schools before you settle on a house. Some school districts are bound to be more desirable than others based on academics, class sizes, extracurricular activities (sports, art programs, etc.), feeder programs (which schools they feed into), and other factors, so you need to do your homework before you settle on your new living accommodations. It could save you from a lot of headaches when it comes to getting kids into the choice schools in your new city.
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How Beneficial Are AP Courses for Your Kids?

May 24, 2013 by 2 Comments

If your child happens to go to a school that offers AP classes, we strongly recommend that you encourage them to try and take a few. That’s because what AP stands for is “Advanced Placement” and by having them enroll into those kinds of courses, it can prove to be beneficial to your child’s academic future and on some levels, even your own wallet. Here’s how.

AP classesAP classes prepare your kids for college-level courses. One hope that virtually all parents have for their children is that they will go to college following their high school graduation. That is one of the main reasons why taking AP classes is a great idea. Due to the amount of calculating and critical thinking that is required while writing essays and solving various AP-level problems, many high school students are well prepared for the academic demands of college life.

AP classes look great on college applications. Everyone knows that even if you do have a desire to go to college, you still have to be accepted and a big part of that process includes filling out a college application. Due to the fact that schools literally see hundreds of them each semester, one way to stand out is for your [Read more…]

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Around the World – Fun filled Trivia for the Globally Minded

May 24, 2013 by 2 Comments

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Geography, Culture & Customs, Language, People & Places around the world! Test your knowledge and have fun doing it! The Trivia kids game Around the World is jam packed with fun!

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Here’s my take on the game from the moment we got it. It’s a lot in a box, it seems overwhelming for kids at first ( this game is for ages 8+) Each stack of cards is for a different category and are all color coded. While it looks like a lot, it’s easily kept neat and the kids picked up on how to play it after a few rounds. This is a game pretty much for children who already know names of Countries and places, People, some Culture as well as Geography plus more. It’s very difficult for the kids who don’t know much about these things and it’s not as fun for the younger ones so I really suggest keeping this for the older kids. You can learn a long as you play, so far my kids and their friends
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What to Expect When Your Teen Enters High School

May 17, 2013 by 1 Comment

Children entering adolescence undergo all manner of changes; physically, mentally, and emotionally speaking. And watching kids go through this transformation can be difficult for many parents, especially considering that teens begin to turn to their peers for advice and support during this time, breaking away from their parents in an effort to establish an independent identity. But aside from the changes inherent to adolescence, parents will also have to cope with the fact that their young teens are entering high school, an environment that is not only demanding academically, but that also embodies hazards associated with peer pressure and the desire to fit in. So what can you expect when your teens enter high school? Here are a few things to prepare for.

For one thing you can expect the demands of the curriculum to increase. Whereas kids in elementary and middle school are often subjected to rote learning, those at the high school level must begin honing comprehension and reasoning skills. In short, they’ll be required to think. So whereas essays in younger years may have consisted of book reports or a letter detailing their summer vacation, they’ll now have to learn the five-paragraph essay structure and deliver work that shows more than the ability to regurgitate information. They’ll have to exhibit intuition, innovation, and independent thought. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. [Read more…]

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5 Ways to Teach Children to Be Global Citizens

May 10, 2013 by 1 Comment

global citizen kidsWhat is a global citizen? It is someone who has an understanding of and appreciation for the
diversity amongst cultures and countries, who values the contributions that all of us make, and who
strives to ensure peace and equality for all. But it is also a person who takes steps to do less harm
through his or her own actions, not only to other people, but to the planet and its many inhabitants.
Global citizenry implies personal, social, and environmental responsibility of the highest order, and if
you want your kids to grow up to be global citizens, here are a few ways to set them on the right path.

teach your kids to be global citizens

  1. Pen pals. One of the best ways to help your children understand the size and scope of the
    world we live in is to get them interacting on a personal level with kids across the globe. And finding
    international pen pals is a lot easier these days thanks to the internet. Organizations like Students of the
    World, International Pen Friends, and InterPals Pen Pals all have websites through which your children
    can safely sign up for pen pals. And the best part is that many sites offer not only the ability to write
    letters back and forth, but also to communicate via email or chat in some cases. It’s a brave new world
    out there, and these forums provide safe platforms for your kids to interact with their peers around the
    world.
  2. Festivals. Depending on where you live (such as a metropolitan [Read more…]
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5 Fun Educational Vacation Destinations for Kids

May 5, 2013 by 3 Comments

Late spring and early summer are the times of year when families making preparations to take vacations together. And while it can be great to go to cities that have amusement parks or to take a cross-country road trip in an RV, when you have children that are elementary school age, it can also be a good idea to take them on a vacation that can be as educational as it is entertaining.

educational travelIf you’re in the midst of planning your next trip and you’d like a few ideas on some educational vacation destinations to visit, we have five that both you and your kids will enjoy going to this year:

Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum (Seattle, Washington). If you live around the West Coast, then you might want to take a trip to a place that has become all the rage among museum lovers. The Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum is great for children who are already showing signs of being a future artist or musician. There are artifacts from artists like the Beatles and Nirvana, kids are able to play instruments at the Spin Kids Station and in the Sound Lab, they can even record their own mini-CD. Plus the Science Fiction Museum that’s located on the second floor offers all kinds of interesting exhibits too.

Hyatt Regency Tamaya (Bernalillo, New Mexico). One place [Read more…]

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What to Do If Your Teenager Says No to College

May 4, 2013 by 8 Comments

Every parent wants their kids to obtain a higher education. There’s no two ways about it: teens that fail to reach their academic potential and earn a degree can pretty much look forward to a life of thankless, low-level jobs or a very long climb to middle management. Ouch. The Richard Bransons of the world are few and far between, so if your teens think they’re going to become overnight successes based on their incredible and innovative ideas, well, 99.9% have another thing coming. But what can you do if your teens decide that they simply don’t want to attend college? Once they are adults you can’t force them to do anything. But you can try to change their minds, and if talking, cajoling, and bargaining don’t work, there is one other option you might want to consider.

What to Do If Your Teenager Says No to CollegeBelieve it or not, one of the best things you can do for stubborn teens is offer an ultimatum. Will this make you the bad guy? Yes. But hopefully it’s a price you’re willing to pay in order to give your children the best that life has to offer. Your job as a parent, first and foremost, it to ensure that your kids are self-sufficient so that when you’re gone they can fend for themselves. The world is not an easy place and no one will love your kids like you do, or give them as many chances. So if you haven’t [Read more…]

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