I don’t which subject my daughter loves more these days: reading or math. She devours books just as veraciously as she does numbers, so I’d have to say it’s a toss-up. (Wish I could credit my genes for the math, but I’ll have to settle for helping shape her into a wordsmith…). In the meantime, trying to keep up with her fascination with all things binary is not as easy as introducing her to a new author or making frequent jaunts to the library. What’s a a numbers-challenged mom to do? For kids who love a good math fix, especially during these last few weeks of summer vacation, Math Slam will motivate them to test their skill set. At first glance, it’s an electronic handheld [&hellip
The Smart Walnut Archive
It was right there as I rounded the corner, practically impossible to miss. As I pushed my shopping cart past the sunscreen display, spiral notebooks, ballpoint pens and pocket folders competed for my attention. That’s right: back-to-school shopping is nearly upon us and before long, school districts will be updating their Web sites with a laundry list of classroom essentials. But in this information age in which we are thinking twice before making any kid-related purchases, selecting which items to stock our kids’ desks is no longer a no-brainer. You’d have to be living under a rock not to know about toxic substances like PVC lurking in plastics, especially in kids’ products. To make your job as a conscientious consumer a little easier comes a [&hellip
For most parents (and grandparents), the name Spock is best known as a respectable pediatrician who’s a trusted resource on everything from pacifiers to potty-training. In our home, Spock is only synonymous with one thing, and that’s Star Trek. If ever I thought never the twain shall meet, I was pleasantly mistaken. For Trekkies new and old comes a brand new picture book that goes where no baby has gone before. . I let my husband, a self-proclaimed fan of the show (who doesn’t consider himself a Trekkie, mind you), take a peek at Star Trek Book of Opposites. After thumbing through the pages after a long day at the office, he smiled knowingly at the pairing of opposite photos taken straight from the classic TV [&hellip
As a work-from-home mom, I sometimes miss the workplace environment: the camaraderie with my office mates, the feeling of accomplishment after a productive day and yes, even the day-old doughnuts (sigh…). After all, the incessant chatting of two little girls can’t outdo the IT guy who could talk a blue streak while fixing my PC . Whenever I need a little slice of the adult world, I tune into one of my favorite sitcoms, “The Office.” I can’t decide which character I enjoy the most–the ingenious Jim or the persistent Dwight or any of the others in between. And since I just learned that Jenna Fischer’s real-life pregnancy will be incorporated into the character of Pam, I’m as pleased as punch…and it’s not just because [&hellip
I nearly knocked over a display of back-to-school stuff at the grocery store the other day. I couldn’t believe that pails and shovels were quickly being usurped by notebooks, crayons and pencils…oh my! With Labor Day nearly six weeks away, September is actually sooner than you might think (sorry to be a spoilsport!). Because we’ve always got an eye turned to the latest kid product trends, we took a look at what’s big in writing for the coming season. Does your kid have dry erase markers on her school supply list again, the same ones she’s forever needing to replace because someone forgets to put the caps back on and they dry out? Well, the smart folks at Crayola have come up with a solution [&hellip
My 7-year-old is zipping through a bunch of books this summer with a mission in mind: She’s trying to earn enough minutes so she can take advantage of our local library’s summer reading club contest. If she logs enough time, she’ll score tickets to a juggling show. To this 7-year-old, there’s nothing as thrilling as live entertainment…unless, of course, it’s a new Wii game. My hope is that once the show has come and gone, she’ll still be just as excited to keep reading, especially when we head out on vacation. To help keep kids on the go psyched about books, PBS Kids and JetBlue are running a Soar With Reading program that provides traveling families with plenty of incentives for hitting the books. Just [&hellip
I must confess: In my younger days, I was a closet geologist. One summer on break from middle school, I became infatuated–no, make that obsessed–with all kinds of rocks and minerals. After a stint as a nature camp counselor, I could proudly rattle off the difference between sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic. I knew my quartz from my graphite, and eventually became a collector of many treasured finds. And no, it wasn’t because I was hoping to score a big, fat diamond someday. Now, I get to impart my learned wisdom (or whatever is left of it) to my daughters. Since studying rocks is hardly considered “sexy,” I love when I can stumble upon a educational product that can get my own juices flowing and, in [&hellip
My 7-year-old has her own tape measure; I kid you not. Maybe it’s because she expressed an early interest in home improvement, thanks to her handy father, and wanted to covet her own tool. When she’s not assisting her dad around the house, this tape measure has become a useful tool for her math homework when she can’t seem to locate her MIA ruler. This ingenuity got me to thinking about inventive ways to make math fun, and so I stumbled upon Inching Along. This clever board game makes the chore of using a ruler repeatedly a little less tedious. Set against a camping-themed backdrop (just in time for summer), Inching Around has its players move around the board as they draw cards and solve [&hellip
One of my all-time favorite things to do with my daughters? Read. After a long day that starts with getting to the bus stop on time, and ends with a fresh bath (most days!) and a clean pair of PJs, the idea of sitting down with a good story is an experience I relish and one that I find both engaging and calming. (It’s a great way for me to wind down before bedtime, too!). I began reading to my girls shortly after they were born and home from the hospital; we have tattered copies of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and “Goodnight Moon” as proof. When my fussy, younger daughter wouldn’t stop crying, I would take a book in my shaking hand, clear my throat [&hellip
I’m a stickler for anything that gets people to pick up their pens (or pencils) and write, so that’s why I’m excited about a contest targeted at aspiring children’s book authors. To help commemorate National Literacy Month, MeeGenius!, a new reading app for iPhone/iPad users, is inviting authors everywhere to submit their unpublished children’s stories for review from now until 5 p.m. EST on October 31, 2010. Entries will be judged by three celebrated novelists–Laura Dave, Jane Green and Allison Winn Scotch–along with MeeGenius execs. Ten finalists will be chosen in November and will have their stories posted on MeeGenius.com. Four runners up will receive an e-book publishing contract and iPod Touch. The grand prize winner will earn an e-book publishing contract, along with an [&hellip