Home Maid Simple

Tag: education

  • Kids Academy: Educational Apps for Kids

    Kids Academy: Educational Apps for Kids

    *This is a sponsored post on behalf of Kids Academy and Sverve*

    I was doing some relaxing the other day, when I came across the Iphone App 123 Tracing  from Kids Academy. Since I’ve been working on numbers with Princess R at home, I decided to give the free download a try.

    App Developers Continue to Help Teach Children Important Skills
    Kid’s Academy, one of the most successful developers of apps for kids has released what might be their biggest app yet. 123 Tracing is an excellent educational app designed for younger students. This cute game helps kids trace numbers and get in the habit of writing and forming these letters that they will use the rest of their lives.
    The free version of the 123 Tracing app is live and available to download via iTunes, Google Play and Amazon.
    Kid’s Academy is all about helping children learn verbal, writing and math skills in an easy and fun manner. Apps such as 123 Tracing and Bingo ABC have been top-50 educational apps in the App Store, and Kid’s Academy has also brought the well-known stories and nursery rhymes The Three Little Pigs and Five Little Monkeys to life with interactive apps. The simple interfaces of the apps allow children to take the reins and play on their own, but the sing-a-longs and other activities are perfect for parent or teacher engagement, as well. Research has shown that singing along with nursery rhymes has cognitive and physical benefits for children. Not only are children learning new words and the context in which to use them, but strengthening tongue and mouth muscles at an early age will help with pronunciation skills.
    About the Kid’s Academy Company
    Kids Academy is an early childhood education start-up specialized in development apps for major mobile markets: App Store, Google Play and Amazon. The rapidly growing company is bringing value through education for children aged 2 to 6 teaching kids numbers, upper- and lower- case letters, word-letter associations, phonics, and spelling, and brings them endless fun and excitement through play activities.  Founded in the end of 2011 with the first application released in July 2012, Kids Academy has six nice apps and recently reached 2 million downloads. The apps developed by Kids Academy received dozens of positive reviews and were top rated by Children’s Technology and Parent Reviews. Interactive ABC by Kids Academy was featured by The Guardian in mobile tech review.
    For more information visit
    Website    Facebook    Twitter 

    As you can tell, Princess R is pretty enthralled with this one, and I may have lost access to my phone for a bit today while she traced her numbers. 

  • What is Craftsy?

    What is Craftsy?

    *The following post contains affiliate links. Thanks for reading Home Maid Simple*


    Craftsy



    You may have seen this ad on my sidebar, or heard me mention Craftsy before. Spellcheck likes to tell me it’s no such word, but it could mean the escape to knowledge and learning that is practical in your life today!


    What is Craftsy?

    Craftsy is a worldwide craft community offering online classes. It also has a patterns marketplace where independent designers can sell their patterns; a supplies shop with great deals on yarn, fabric, and class kits; and a projects section where members share pictures of their latest craft successes. With over two million members and counting, Craftsy has something for just about everyone, in categories ranging from quilting, sewing, knitting, painting, photography, cooking, and more. 

    Recently Craftsy has added a wishlist to your profile, so you can add classes you’d like to take to a quick to find list. It would be perfect to share with anyone wondering what you want for the holidays!

    Online Bread Making Class





    Behind the Scenes: The Making of a Craftsy Class

    Before filming even begins, hours and hours are spent determining what content will be covered in each class, and how to best teach specific techniques to the camera. Instructors work with an instructional designer to create an in-depth outline of each lesson, and decide how to best prepare props or “step-outs” that show what your project should like at different steps. Instead of a scripted class, instructors follow their outlines on camera to create an authentic and engaging teaching experience. 


    Most Craftsy classes are filmed in one of five Craftsy studios in Denver, CO, assuring that every part of the production process goes off without a hitch. They fly in instructors from all over the world to spend several days filming, then spend several weeks turning hours of footage into a two to three hour class experience that has been watched, rewatched, and reviewed by industry experts. The final result is an HD-quality video that takes you in-depth into specific topics in any given craft category- from cooking and fine art to sewing and knitting. 


    I’ve really enjoyed the flow of my 2 current classes Vegetable Gardening and Croissants Class. If I recall from the first video, the gardening class is actually filmed at the instructors garden, not in a classroom. It makes it more personal, and I felt easier to understand.


    What IS the Craftsy experience? 

    Craftsy classes are designed to have all the benefits of an in-person class, with none of the drawbacks. Available online and on-demand, you always have world-class instructors at the tip of your fingers. You can retake the class as many times as you want, and the 30-second repeat feature allows you to watch the same section over and over again until you get every technique just right. 


    Watching a Craftsy class is like having a first-row seat with some of the best instructors in the world. Even better, classes have a 100% money-back guarantee. 

    Try online learning today with a free mini-class from Craftsy! Choose from 23 Free Craftsy Classes ranging from drawing and painting to sewing and quilting, from knitting to cake decorating and more.
    23 Free Online Crafting classes
  • Operation Smile

    Operation Smile

    *This post sponsored by Campus Book Rentals. Opinions are 100% my own*
    Operation Smile is an international charity that physically changes the life of children around the globe by giving them smiles. Let me quote a portion of their mission statement here – 

    “Operation Smile mobilizes a world of generous hearts to heal children’s smiles and transform lives across the globe.

    We believe that all children deserve to live their lives with dignity. And for those suffering from cleft lip, cleft palate or other facial deformities, dignity begins with a smile.”

    Did you know every 3 minutes a child is born with a cleft, and that 1 in 10 of those won’t live to see their first birthday?  That is simply staggering statistics!  Especially when the knowledge to fix these deformities is here. That is why Operation Smile has been working since 1982 to bring smiles around the world. From in country local training to providing access to free, safe surgeries, Operation Smile is working hard to bring smiles around the world that truly change lives for good. Numbers attest to that at 3.5million patient evaluations and over 200,000 free surgeries performed for those who cannot afford this life changing procedure. 

    College Students Can help!



    What am I talking about? College students can barely afford to eat after buying their textbooks and other essential college materials. Well, guess what, you CAN help out Operation Smile, simply by renting you textbooks from Campus Book Rentals. With every textbook rented, Campus Book Rentals, donates to Operation Smile through their Making A Difference Program. This year, they have committed to donating a MINIMUM of 80 surgeries for cleft deformities. Just reading their simple commitment, I can tell this is a company that truly cares, and wants to see a smile on every child’s face.

    Not only will you be able to get your textbooks for less, Campus Book Rentals has a new Rent Back program, that allows you to rent textbooks you already own through them to other students. This can make you 2-4X as much as buy back options!  Learn more about Campus Book Rentals.

    Share your Smile!

    Providing cleft surgeries makes a Big difference, in a Big way. Spreading smiles does not have to always be so large though. A small smile as you pass someone on your walk to school, giving the cashier a smile and politeness can turn their day around, and the simplest yet often overlooked Smiles that happen in the home can change your every day.  So take a moment today, and smile – because you can!
    *I have been compensated for this post. All opinions are my own. Smile!*
  • Osteoblasts to the Rescue #BookTour

    Osteoblasts to the Rescue #BookTour

    Osteoblasts cover Osteoblasts to the Rescue

     

    Merrin and Pearl are at it again! This time these two young Human Body Detectives are exploring the skeletal system.
    With the ability to jump in and examine the various systems in the body, Merrin and Pearl’s adventures are fun stories and helpful tools to educate children.
    In Osteoblasts to the Rescue, Merrin and Pearl navigate their friend, Lily’s, broken arm and learn all about bones.
    As the fourth in The Human Body Detectives series, Osteoblasts to the Rescue can also stand alone as a book that’s sure to inform, engage, and inspire readers of all ages.


    heather m  

     

    Author Heather Manley, N.D.

    I have always been passionate about healthy foods and exercising. Growing up in Toronto, Canada I would exhaust my allowance at the health food store and write school papers on spices and herbs. It was no wonder I found myself studying biology at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. I loved animals as well so I initially focused on wildlife conservation and animal biology, however, with some exposure to naturopathic medicine, this health care philosophy rang true for me. I switched to pre-med and I graduated in 1993. I earned my doctorate at the from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon before moving with my family to Hawaii where I became licensed and continue to practice today.

    Everything I learned in medschool came into fruition when my children were born. I realized the importance of teaching them, by example, about healthy food and lifestyle. Telling them what to eat was not enough, so I created and wrote educational adventure stories that explain the physiological systems in the body. Not only did my kids love the engaging and interactive stories but so did their friends.

    I love seeing kids have fun learning to understand their bodies and how food helps them run faster and be smarter. My focus is on preventative health. I am passionate about encouraging families to seek the value of a simple lifestyle and offering tools to assist them at being proactive and confident in their daily living. I am constantly inspired seeing people make positive changes in their lives. With my website, I am excited to reach more families in a way that will manifest healthy living.

     

    My Thoughts  I was pleasantly surprised by Osteoblasts to the Rescue. I haven’t read the previous books in the Human Body Detectives series, but I definitely want to now. I read this with my 6 and 5 year old. The 6 year old kept her attention, and stopped to ask me different questions on what this meant or that meant, when different bones were mentioned. I felt we got a pretty good layout of the upper human body while reading this, but the best benefit was that my kids got to learn a little something without even realizing it!  Our 5 year old, who paid a little less attention, did have a lot of fun going back through the book to find all the hiding Osteoblasts.  We’ll for sure be adding the rest of the series to our home library so we can continue to learn with the Human Body Detectives!

    Buy It

    *This is an affiliate link. By clicking on it, and purchasing from the site, you are helping Home Maid Simple grow. Thank you*

    *I was provided with a copy of the book for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own*
  • Continuing Your Education without going into Debt #MOOCAdvisor #spon

    Continuing Your Education without going into Debt #MOOCAdvisor #spon

    Thank you to StudentAdvisor.com for sponsoring this post.

    Have you ever thought about going back to school?  Maybe you dropped out because you began your family.  Maybe it was lack of finances, and a desire to avoid debt.

    Education has always been very important to me, but after I met Mark and we began our family, my priorities changed.  Making sure Mark got a good education so he could provide for us and any kids we had was more important than my desire for a formal education.  I knew I was going to be a stay at home mom, while letting Mark take the role of provider.  My natural desire for education however was not going to be satisfied.  So I began picking up less fiction and more educational books. 
    Then one day I heard of a local college offering online classes. I started looking into it, and hoping now that Mark was graduated and in a career I could once again go back to school.  After figuring out the cost even if I could get some scholarships, we just couldn’t get back into so much school debt.  We still had Mark’s student loans to pay off, and credit cards, and cars.  Our family was growing, and we were looking to buy our first home.
    Unfortunately, I just couldn’t justify the financial cost of going back to school.  My thirst of knowledge would not be justified though, so I kept looking at my options.  After our 3 rd Princess was born, I finally came across what is now known as MOOC’s – massive open online course.  I was sold.  You see MOOC’s for the most part are completely free, and you take them on your time.  Finally I had an option to continue my education without putting more financial burden on my family.  Although I don’t receive college credit, I do get to satiate my natural thirst for knowledge! It’s a win win for everyone.

    For more information about MOOCs, please visit StudentAdvisor.com. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

  • BabbaBox from BabbaCo: Activity Box for Kids {2012 Holiday Gift Guide}

    BabbaBox from BabbaCo: Activity Box for Kids {2012 Holiday Gift Guide}

    I love gifts that engage parents and kids to enhance a childs learning. As a mom I know the importance of being the first teacher to my kids.  My very first blog was actually centered around this idea (3 Princesses and a Prince Academy).  I’ve tried a lot of different approaches to teaching my kids, but I tend to skip around a bunch, always coming up with new ideas, and never fully accomplishing what I wanted to.  It’s not really a bad thing, but sometimes it meant I was unprepared for a day, and so I’d skip getting down with them and learning.  We’d go through funks.

    I recently saw an ad for a BabbaBox on another blog. It looked like a lot of fun, so I decided I had to look into them a bit more.

    I tell you what, this is one gift I would love to get my kids!  BabbaCo is a monthly subscription for an activity box, geared towards kids ages 3-6.  Each BabbaBox has a new theme to the box, and is full of everything you need to craft, teach and play with your kids.

    Every Babbabox contains 4 components:

    Create – 2-3 projects that include every material needed to create.
    Explore – a theme based product to engage your child with the world and nature
    Storytell – books to stimulate your childs imagination
    Connect – interactive prepaid downloads approved by the Babbaco experts

    BabbaBox - Activity Box for Kids
    This holiday season give the gift of imagination and exploration. Kids will love getting a new box every month.  

    Check out my Holiday Gift Guide for more great gift ideas and then enter the 2012 Holiday Gift Giveaway.

  • Craftsy Online Classes On Sale

    Craftsy Online Classes On Sale

    Have you ever wanted to learn something crafty, but don’t have the time? There have been so many classes I’ve wanted to take, to enrich my life, and learn something fun and new. As a mom, though, I can’t always get away for those things, or they cost too much, or I don’t live close enough to anything.

    Recently the local college was having a Reupholstery Class. I so wanted to do that, but we had just moved here, and were still trying to get settled.

    So, I introduce to you, Craftsy!  The online classes for all things crafty.  They have everything from sewing to cooking.  And from what I can tell, they are not just basic skills, they come very specialized to what you want.

    For example, you can take a

    After browsing them for days, I think I’ve finally settled on taking a Vegetable Gardening Class. Should definitely help us with our new garden next spring!

    BLACK FRIDAY to CYBER MONDAY
    Online Sewing Class
  • Reading with Scholastic

    Reading with Scholastic

    I just realized I missed the school book fair! I always loved the book fairs in elementary school. We’d go with my mom, and she usually let us pick out a book or two. Of course once we had our own money, we’d buy our own books.
    I went through a Roald Dahl phase and would buy any of his books!  I just loved his sense of humor.

    Not that I need any more books, but they are one of my favorite educational tools. Holding a book between your hands, reading, getting lost in the story. That means learning to read as well. It’s something I want my kids to enjoy, without feeling like it’s a task.

    I’m really excited about Scholastics new Ipad App – Storia. You can download books from scholastic, and they sit on your “shelf” on the app. The kids can pick their book, and it will even read the story to them. Which at my kids age is perfect. There have been a lot of books Mark has downloaded onto the Ipad, and reads to the kids at bedtime. Some of them read for you, but here’s the difference I’ve seen.

    On Storia, the words being read are highlighted, so your child can actually follow along, and learn the words as well as enjoy the story. Of course you can also turn off the automated reading, and read it yourself – another great option.

    Our favorite book so far has been Clifford. It’s a character the kids are familiar with, so it holds their attention. Another great aspect of Storia are the activities. On some of the pages a little lightening bold will appear. You touch the lightening bolt, and activities will pop up.  It’s not just fun and games though, it’s things like “put the story events in order from first, next, last” and “match the characters with their names”.  So it promotes paying attention to the story and what is happening.  They’ve got something for every level of reader too.

    The App is FREE to download (even better, right?) and comes with 5 Free Books! You can download more books from scholastics website.  Here is the big kicker though, right now when you buy certain Kellogs boxes of cereal, you can get codes for $5 giftcards to Scholastic!  We haven’t redeemed any yet, but I’ve got quite a few (Fruit Loops and Krave were on sale…we stocked up). Mark and I have been reading The Hunger Games together, and we need the last book. Guess what? Yep, Storia has it for download! I might just use our coupons for that. 

    I’m not a big electronic fan (hahaha, says the blogger), but I do love this app. I find myself wishing Mark could leave the Ipad home somedays so we can read the books on Storia.

  • Back to School or Back to Testing … Think About It!

    Back to School or Back to Testing … Think About It!

    Your hosts for this weekly meme are
    Today’s Topic:
    Has education become more about temporary results and grades than long term success and knowledge?

    My kids have not made it to testing grades yet, so from personal experience, I don’t have much to say on this issue. However, I am married to a school teacher, and am the daughter of 2 school teachers. I have many friends who teach as well. From what I have seen, and read, we have become too focused on testing. Instead of teachers being able to really get down and teach the kids, and help those struggling, while also pushing those advanced, they’ve been stuck just trying to get every kid to pass a test.
    Why? What happened? Well school’s started relying on test scores to get their funding. If scores aren’t good enough, they could lose some funding. It used to be that tests were used as an evaluation as a whole so the teachers knew where to help the kids. What were they struggling with? What did they have a good knowledge of?  No longer. Now it’s an evaluation of how well the teachers must be doing. 
    I see where this may have been a good idea. It would help weed out those teachers who weren’t really teaching, and help push to keep kids at a level they should be at. 
    It’s gone south though. Now it’s all teachers can focus on. The test scores. Teach the kids what they need to know to pass the test, and forget the rest.
    One major problem is that the smart kids are getting left behind now. Even advanced learning kids need an environment that will teach them and motivate them to keep learning. Otherwise, they will get bored, and fall behind the rest of the kids, or become mischievous.
    My opinion is that the money needs to be removed from test scores. A revamp of how teachers are evaluated needs to occur. And kids should be taught at a pace they can really thrive in, whether it’s slowly, or advanced. We need to tailor a little more to every child’s learning need.
    Next week’s topic:
    Is spending too much time on your computer bad?

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  • Continuing Education and changing the world

    *This post is sponsored by Campus Book Rentals*

    I love learning! I was one of those crazy people that loved going to school, having homework, and delving into my books. Since having kids though, I haven’t been able to go back. As much as I would love to, I know right now my time is spent best teaching my kids and helping them grow into little geniuses.  Did you know you can take a lot of free online classes though? I was pretty excited to learn I can take some online courses for free from different Universities around the country. I get to keep learning on my time, and if I happen to go a year without even looking at the site, it’s ok!

    One of the other big reasons I can’t go back is cost. School is expensive. Tuition, books, fees, any extra project materials. it all costs money! If you happen to be going to school right now, how do you pay for it all? I know there are grants and loans you can get. But have you checked into some other options for your textbooks?  I personally think textbooks are extremely overpriced! When I was going to school I was always looking for the cheapest book, no matter what it’s condition was. And then I would just hope that at the end of the year I could sell some of those books back for a somewhat decent price.

    Well, enter in the newest form of acquiring those needed textbooks at 40-90% off bookstore prices! Campus Book Rentals RENTS you your texts! Most of us plan on selling our books back anyways, so why pay full price when you’ll just return the book anyways? (ok admittedly there were some I loved and kept, but not many).
    Just check out the savings on these books
    – Interior Design normally $138 you can rent for as low as $32!
    – Constitutional Law and the Criminal Justice System normally almost $180 you can rent it for as little as $14!!

    I mean those savings are pretty dang awesome!! Besides the savings, here are some other perks to using Campus Book Rentals.

    • Free shipping both ways!
    • You can HIGHLIGHT and mark up your textbooks with no added fees!
    • You can choose how long you want to rent the book for!

    By far my favorite aspect of using Campus Book Rentals is that for every book rented they donate to Operation Smile.  I just love companies that give back to the world. If you don’t know what Operation Smile is, you should check them out. Through donations they are able to provide surgeries to kids born with Cleft lip or Cleft palate – surgeries these kids otherwise could never afford! 
    So if you’re going to school, and trying to save money, please check out Campus Book Rentals and help give back to the world! It’s the simple things in our lives we choose to do that can make a world of difference to others!

    2013 Update
    Campus Book Rentals has rolled out a new initiative called Rent Back. Rent back allows you to take books you already own and rent them out. This provides you 2-4X more than you would potentially make selling your books back to the bookstore. They just keep getting better!

    *I was compensated for this post.  I feel this company has a lot to offer, and is making a difference in the world.