Category Archives: Educational

Coding is Fun with the Think & Learn Code-a-pillar at Best Buy

Back when I was pregnant with Joey and the doctors were concerned that there might be something wrong with his brain, I always joked that the only thing that would be wrong with it is that it would be too big because he would be born super smart.  Little did I know back in 2013, that I would be correct.

Joey, who is now on the verge of turning 3, is definitely advanced for his age. He can count, knows the alphabet, can recognize all the numbers, most letters, uses words that most of our older children don’t, retains everything he sees, hears or does, and so much more.

Since we discovered that he has a love for learning and for technology, we have done our best to supply him with toys to feed that craving. He has tablets, ereaders, handheld game devices, books, puzzles, blocks and more. One of Joey’s new favorite toys is his caterpillar, as he calls it, which is the Think & Learn Code-a-pillar from Fisher-Price, available at Best Buy.

Coding is Fun

The Fisher-Price Think & Learn Code-a-pillar makes coding fun for preschool kids ages 3 to 6.

Joey loves to take his code-a-pillar apart, redesign it and set it in motion and then follow it around.

Originally, I was worried that Joey wouldn’t be able to connect the pieces or figure out just quite how to work things, but I should have known better.

I love watching Joey play with it and figure out all the different ways to make it work. He is my little problem solver and I swear I can see the gears turning in his head.

Learning Through Play

The Fisher-Price Think & Learn Code-a-pillar is a great way for kids to learn about technology and coding.

What Does the Code-a-pillar Do?

  • Encourages experimentation while developing important skills
  • Including skills like sequencing, critical thinking, reasoning, discovery, memory, problem solving and experimentation.
  • Learning fun in endless directions
  • Kids can configure the segments to reach targets they set up throughout the room. Toy includes 1 sound segment, 3 straights, 2 right turns and 2 left turns. 2 destination targets and 1 motorized head.
  • Motorized head and segments features lights
  • Fun character sounds and blinking eyes to bring toy to life. Each segment lights up as the action happens.

On top of all of that, it makes learning oodles of fun and keeps kids busy!

Get It At Best Buy

You can find the Fisher-Price Think & Learn Code-a-pillar at Best Buy soon for $49.99!

History in Your Town

I love to learn new things.  I find myself constantly searching things on the internet, exploring new things in books and magazines and even getting out and exploring new things in our town.

Since school is going to be out soon, I find myself once again planning for things for our family to do for the summer. This year, we decided to take a few day trips and at least one overnight trip. Of course, since we will be traveling through our state as well as a neighboring state, we will definitely me checking out the historic landmarks and maybe even take in a museum here and there.

Most towns and cities have a historical society (check with your local library) and they can point you in the right direction.  

We love to hit up the local museums and love it when they change out some of the exhibits that feature local artists and other local history. 

Do you like to get out and explore the history that surrounds you?  What is your favorite place to visit?

Traveling Restrictions with Homeschool?

There are many people that love to travel, and having children does not have to put a damper on their travel abilities. Some parents begin traveling with their children not long after birth, while others wait until an age they are able to participate. With online education available, children are capable to travel with their parents year round without missing essential assignments. There is no longer the need of having to wait for school vacations to travel to far off destinations, eLearning makes the possibility of going today real.

Checking State Standards

Before making any plans for traveling, parents want to ensure they are following standard for their home state. It is important to not have any issues with truancy, this is a time for enjoyment. If planning on leaving the country, check the laws of homeschooling with the US Embassy. Better to be safe than sorry, being sure all everything is checked. After getting the go-ahead for traveling while receiving online education, children are able travel with all over with their parents.

Online Education When Travel is Essential

Online homeschool is a great way for students to receive their education that are unable to attend a traditional classroom setting on a daily basis due to travel responsibilities. These students may be athletes or artists that find travel to be a necessity of their daily life. They may find with their demands of travel, it is difficult to stick to commitments of reporting to a physical school or adhering to conventional schedules. With eLearning available right at these children’s fingertips, they are able to receive the same education as if attending a traditional classroom.

FutureSchool.com allows students and parents the enjoyment of travel while receiving their online education in both math and English courses. Students become prepared to take the next step forward of college with the superior program offered.

 

Brighter future for graduates taking diploma of accounting online – and why you should too!

 The head of regional analysis of the New York Fed recently conducted an analysis with Richard Deitz, a senior economist, and they found out that accounting and finance graduates tend to do much better than those who took more general majors in college.

That’s why new college graduates looking for their first full-time job have reason to be optimistic. After years of depressing and dreary years, the job outlook brightened considerably. And despite the improbability about the strong point of the economy, recruiters, on-campus career specialists, and economists remain largely upbeat about prospects for this year’s graduates.

With this, the question falls on the accessibility of such courses. One good highway that is increasing in popularity over the years is online learning. But is it for you?

Online education offers many advantages and benefits while still giving courses and programs of high quality. All levels of degrees and certificates are available online. Here are the positives to pursuing your education online:

What’s it all about?

Online schooling has now become the most popular alternative to attending a university or college. While not every school or program imaginable has an online equivalent, a large number of them do, like diploma of accounting, education, counselling and others. And although online students don’t get to experience face-to-face learning, there are still many advantages and benefits to online learning, which is also known as e-learning or distance learning.

Financial Savings

The most obvious, a student can typically save more money online since most online programs cost less per credit hour, aside from having the benefit of no transportation expenses. Students with children may also study at their home and save on the cost of daycare. A student can also reduce the total course time if they devote more time in their learning schedule.

Convenient Schedule

Adults who want to return to school might be working full time, aside from having a family to take care of. For these people, taking the time to drive out to class while working is not feasible. Online learning allows the attendance of class wherever the individual has access to the internet. In many cases, online learning is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so a student can participate in his/her class whenever it’s convenient.

Additional Learning

Learning online can also provide many supplementary benefits beyond just financial savings and convenience. An independent approach to distant learning will teach students to be a more effective time keeper. Through online learning, a student can develop the technological skills required in their future careers. Whether it be diploma of accounting, education, counselling or others. Some skills include advanced internet research, speed typing, and software programs. These skills are necessary to be considered digitally literate, and learning online will greatly strengthen these skills.

In summary

You don’t need to commit years, spend a ton of money, or limit your time convenience to learn, master, and attain a diploma. Nowadays practical learning and personality development are two powerful credentials that you may acquire at home to secure a job and your future.

Educating at Home

As I have mentioned in the past, I like to do whatever I can to encourage my kids to learn. I am constantly on the hunt for new things for them to do and explore. This is probably why our house is overflowing with books, activity sets, craft supplies, electronics and so much more.

There are so many tools available today that educating our kids at home has become pretty easy to do. Since the little ones aren’t old enough to attend school yet, I love to teach them little things here and there to help them get a jumpstart. When it comes to the other 3 kids, all of these extras at home help them in other areas as well.

One of my favorite things to do with the little ones is check out different apps on the iPad. Both Ellie and Joey love to play on the iPad and since Santa was super generous this past Christmas, we have iPads and gift cards to keep us pretty set for a while.

Ellie creating music and having fun on the iPad.

There are so many apps available in both the App Store and Google Play for free that you can continuously introduce them to something new. Fun apps for preschoolers for us are those that introduce them to music, early math skills and letters.

The kids continue to amaze me with how much they know when it comes to using the iPad. Ellie can navigate it so well and find all of her favorite things to do without any assistance. If she didn’t need a password to install an app, she would be downloading those like crazy as well. 

Alexander loves to use his iPad to play Skylanders, Minecraft, Math Blaster and so many other things including a few programming and coding apps he was introduced to at school.

Technology and my kids continue to amaze me every single day.

Are there apps that your kids really enjoy? What do you do to encourage your children to learn at home?