We had a great time at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last month. A few things we thought would interest parents of preschoolers include an inflatable cube for use with the iPad and Art Rage painting and sketching software. We still love GeoPalz!
ArtRage offers a 30 day free trial on its website (http://www.artrage.com/index.html) for those wanting to create digital works of art in layers of painting and sketching.
The decorative pedometer by GeoPalz allows kids and their families to earn points through physical activity, track them online at http://geopalz.com/ , then trade the points for fun items like Frisbees and jump ropes to baseball bats and footballs!
Spring is a great time to make things, and the Internet has thousands of ideas. The first place to visit is Make Magazine, which has a pagejust for kids.
You can make ice cube crayons or a giant spin art machine (pictured above). Another site isYoungMakers.org, where you can meet other kids who like to make things, and share expensive tools. By the way, don’t use any tool without your parent’s permission.Read More
Singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (out of tune and at the top of our voices) can be fun, but with some time, patience and creativity we can provide, valuable music education time with our preschoolers.
Mommy blogger Erin is a musician. She has created the website Dibble Dibble Dee (http://www.dibbledibbledee.com/), a site for parents and educators interested in nurturing musical kids. The topics are geared for all different ages, from baby to teenager. She began by starting a music based play group called Music with Friends which has spilled over to Dibble Dibble Dee. She has posted lesson plans and other activities for parents to “Make Music Everyday” with their preschool children. Check out the website for lesson plans for “Songs to Dance to”, “Moving Our Bodies”, and using rhythm instruments!
Shaking maracas has never been more fun!
App to Consider
Magic Piano by Smule From Bruno Mars to Mozart, play the hottest songs effortlessly on the #1 piano game. Get free songs everyday and enjoy the largest catalog of songs in any piano app. Turn on the new game mode to unlock achievements and free songs, or just relax and play your favorite tunes. Join the over 5 million Magic Piano players and experience the fun of playing piano - no practice needed! Available on iTunes
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The "iPad Effect" is Starting. Can you Spot it?
In this issue of CTR, we feature an article by Chris Crowell called 40 Kindergarteners and 1 iPad. In the article, Chris documents how the iPad completely changed how he designs lessons. One day, on the way to the library, he followed his class with the iPad camera. He then reviewed the footage with his class, and was able to show them how they were respecting other children in the school when they followed rules. In this case, he was able to take an abstract concept, and make it much more meaningful to the children. They say a picture is worth 1000 words. In the case of the iPad, it seems like 100,000.
What do Elton John, Lady GaGa, and Mozart have in common? They all started playing the piano when they were four years old. Let’s learn more about this magical musical machine, with 88 keys.
Milk can do more than induce a giggle fest inspired by who has the best milk moustache. To learn a few things and to share with your child, head on over Milk Matters.
You will meet Bo Vine, a very healthy friend, who will guide your child through activities to learn why milk matters for health. Play CowBop or print a coloring book featuring Buddy Brush who teaches us about the link between calcium and good oral hygiene.
App to Consider
Toucan Toucan’t This humorous storybook with imaginative wordplay will be enjoyed by children and adults alike! The comical story accompanied by bright, engaging illustrations and ANIMATION will guarantee that this book is bound to be read time and time again. Children love being able to run their fingers over the text to hear the story and touch any word to hear it said or spelled. They will happily spend hours coloring in the book and they can record themselves as well. This is the - perfect gift for your children and, even better, it’s great learning too! This app is available for download on iTunes.
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One iPad and 40 kids
I’ve been testing apps lately in a local Kindergarten classroom. To do so, I've let the teacher borrow a fully configured iPad 2, stocked with dozens of hand picked apps. So guess which app he uses the most? The camera. The iPad's large clear screen makes it easy to quickly capture and review video at any time.
Here's a quick example of how it's already become a valuable tool. Any teacher knows the stress involved when it comes to moving a class of kids down the hallway, say to lunch or to gym. You want your class to be on their best behavior, in part because all the other teachers are watching. One day, Chris (the teacher) followed the kids with the iPad, video camera running, Later, the class reviewed the footage and could see when things became a little rowdy and talk about how to avoid the problem the next time. No lecture or stern look required.
My AOTM (App of the Month) is LEGO Life of George, which lets you test your pattern matching skills under the pressure of a stop watch. See how it works, at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grNO42UK5q8. The app serves as your blueprint, timer, progress tracker, and -- most interestingly -- your judge. The $30 kit contains 144 Legos and a special cardboard grid that lets your camera to "see" and then rate your project work. How? It uses special scanning software called EyeCue (see www.eyecue-tech.com) that works with the grid. There are 12 levels, each with 10 models to build so there's plenty to do. In addition to the Game Mode which can be played alone or against one competitor in a pass-and-play format, it is possible to design and capture your own models to be saved in a scrap book.
Have you ever been to the beach and watched the waves come crashing to shore? Water is very strong, not only can it knock over a sand castle, but it can generate power. The power that creates the electricity that turns on the lights in your home could come from water!
How can we turn water into electricity? A river is blocked by a dam or a wall, and the water is held back. The water builds up pressure because it wants to move, and the more the water is backed up, the more the pressure builds. When the water is released through special gates, it spins the blades of a giant turbine. The turbine is connected to a generator that spins around and makes electricity. The water passes through the turbine and flows back into the river on the other side of the damn.
We can see how this works by making our own turbine. (These directions as well as other fun science activities were found at http://www.squidoo.com/fun-experiments-2)
What you will need:
Scissors
A pencil
Two pieces of string, about 20 cm and 30 cm long
An empty plastic bottle
Directions:
1.) Cut the top off the plastic bottle to make a cylinder.
Use your scissors to make about six to eight holes round the bottom of the cylinder. 2.) Push a sharp pencil through each hole and twist the pencil to one side so that the hole is slanted. Make three small holes around the top of the cylinder. 3.) Tie the short string to two of the holes of the cylinder top. Tie the long string to the third hole. Tie this to the middle of the short string but leave a long end free.
4.) Hold your cylinder under the cold water tap and fill it with water. As the water flows out, it will come out sideways and push the cylinder round.
App to Consider
Sid’s Science Fair engages players (ages 3 to 6) in learning core science and math concepts from classification and identifying patterns to charting and sequencing. Emcee’d by Sid, from the hit series SID THE SCIENCE KID, the app presents three Science Fair games specially crafted for your curious early learner. http://pbskids.org/mobile/sids-science-fair.html
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If somebody handed you a lemon, could you make a battery? You'll be able to after you watch the YouTube videos and other links we found for this month's LittleClickers column.
Our topic, batteries, touches nearly every gadget we use, from cameras to cell phones to hybrid cars. One rather impressive gadget that has a tiny lithium-polymer battery is a pair of Spy glasses, that comes with an embedded video and still camera. Here's a preview at how they work, along with some sample video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK92m5-zEcM. This video was made during one of our weekly informal "Serious Games Testers Club" meetings, in which kids from our town gather to learn about the latest games and gadgets. Next time you get something new, wait to open the box, and gather some kids. It's fun to enjoy that new electronics smell, together. Have a wonderful early fall!
Simulation Games are not just for older children. Preschoolers can participate too. Visit Learn4Good and play Ballistic Biscuit. Players help Camp Counselor Bob get through dangerous waters and avoid the obstacles on his way. Navigation is easy, the mouse is moved left or right in order to avoid collisions.
For a more real life, but still techy experience for your child, visit Storyline Online. The site is sponsored by the Screen Actors Guild and features well known actors reading stories. James Earl Jones is not just the voice of CNN and Darth Vader. He reads “To Be A Drum” by Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson with heart and fun.
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Dear Parents,
DEEP SIMS, DEEP LEARNING: A big day for two twelve year old boys at the Mediatech Foundation in my home town of Flemington NJ. They successfully crossed the Atlantic ocean in a 1927 Ryan aircraft called the Spirit of St. Louis. Not only that, but they flew in real time weather, updated every 15 minutes. It was a day they (and I) will never forget. They were interviewed by reporters, received advice from three commercial airline pilots, and listened to their 95-year-old grandmother recall the actual day that Charles Lindbergh completed the flight. Unlike Lindbergh, these boys used a GPS and Google Earth for navigation, ate pizza, and watched Spongebob cartoons to stave off boredom. They also learned how lucky Lindbergh was --their flight took seven hours longer due to headwinds. We're all familiar with simulations, but deep historical simulations can take the learning a step further, making geography and history come to life. Here's the recipe if you want to do your own flight:
Highly motivated volunteer pilots with permission slips who are at least 12 years of age. They'll need sleeping bags and lots of support.
We used Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A History of Flight ($15 from Amazon.com). It's a four-disk install that runs fine on a Windows XP or better computer; you'll find Lindbergh's airplane listed in the Historical Flight menu. We also used a Thrustmaster TFlight Hotas X USB controller ($35, also from Amazon.com).
Let your pilots look over the weather and decide if they want to attempt the flight in historical conditions or real conditions. If they fly in current weather, the trip can take 40 hours or more and they may encounter more storms. But they don't have to take off in the rain.
As they fly, have them explore YouTube and watch footage from the real flight. It will have new significance. You may also want to discuss Lindbergh's controversial, and sometimes unhappy life after the flight. It's all on Wikipedia. But remember, this adventure is about the 1927 flight.
Make sure your pilots know that crashes are OK (you can set the plane to bounce) and that what they are trying to do is incredibly difficult.
And, if things don't go well, they can always use something Charles Lindbergh didn't have -- a pause button.
A twitter feedset up by one of the parents setup, substituted for a flight log: You can see the feed HERE and this is the Landing! . Let me know if you can pull it off!
EducatorsReinforce core academic learning and develop higher order thinking skills with existing technology resources
Community CentersOffer fun, exciting technology courses and activities for children, adults and families
Preschools / Child CareUse age-appropriate technology activities to reinforce readiness skills and prepare students for Kindergarten and first grade
Parent CenterExplains learning through technology and how you can bring programs to your community
Course DescriptionsGive an overview of our current technology courses for children and adults that may be available in your area
Newsletter Archives
The iPad Cube is an inflated case that houses your iPad, turning it into an art table or a TV. The cube won’t be available from CTADigital.com until March, but you can see video of it in action at 
Singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (out of tune and at the top of our voices) can be fun, but with some time, patience and creativity we can provide, valuable music education time with our preschoolers.
Do you know why ice cream can give you a headache? 
What you will need: 
