Education, Kids, Non-seasonal, STEM Learning

Build and Code Your Own Tablet with Kano

What projects do you have planned with the kids this summer? We are building and coding a tablet! That’s right, we will build our very own tablet that will be touchscreen and download apps and play on it with or without a keyboard. With Kano, making your own tablet is easier than you think.

The booklet comes with easy-to-follow illustrated instructions and the parts are sturdy and brightly colored to match the illustrations as you move along and build and code your own tablet. My son had his box opened and was connecting pieces in minutes.

The best part is that they get to touch the pieces, connect the board, buttons and bits. They learn how a tablet works because they understood the reasoning to each step.

If you get stuck they have a great help section with solutions to any problem no matter how small or big.

Once the tablet is built there are a few things you can do. You can code your own games, music and art in Playground Mode. You can even hack Minecraft and do more advanced coding with real Javascript or Python.

The Story Mode app brings an in-depth look at how his computer works with challenges to complete and level up. The apps have hundreds of hours’ worth of coding challenges and games. Also, you can also download apps from the Kano app store like you would with any tablet.

To really turn their tablet into something spectacular, try the Harry Potter Coding Kit where you can build a wand, learn to code and make magic in the Harry Potter app. Available in the Kano store.

The Pixel Kit is fun as well because you get to make and code dazzling lights as well as build art and animation on a pixel box using a Kano app for help.

2018 Holiday Gifts, Education, Reviews by Anthony, STEM Learning, Toy Reviews

Kiwi Co. The Glow Lab STEM Science Kit

Kiwi Co. The Glow Lab STEM Science Kit

2018 Holiday Gift Guide Feature: The Glow Lab

The Glow Lab is one of the project kits from KiwiCo and will be a hit in homes. In this lab kit you get everything you need to complete 3 experiments: fluorescence, phosphorescence, and chemiluminescence. It is rated for ages 14+ but I tried it (supervised) with Anthony who is 10 1/2 and here is a video below:

At Kiwi Co there are STEM kits and projects for ages 3-teens! The most popular choice are the Kiwi Crates. These are monthly subscriptions you can send once or every month for years. Pick an age (you can change that age at anytime) and they get a new kit every month and the longer you order your subscription for the more you save and even getting science kits sent for under $20!

kiwi

If a subscription service is not your thing, then you can shop their kits by age and category.

Shopping for Science Kits

Available at Kiwi Co along with more science its for all ages.

Need more gift ideas? Visit the 2018 Holiday Gift Guide!

STEM Learning, Summer, Toy Reviews

Celebrating the End of Summer with Fun and #NationalSlinkyDay

I have partnered with Alex brand for this feature

Celebrating the End of Summer with Fun and #NationalSlinkyDay

Let’s celebrate the end of summer in a classic way! August 30 is National Slinky Day! This toy from the past, but still available today will be celebrated so remember to share you stories and fun slinky videos and photos from the past and present using #NationalSlinkyDay.

Who can resist the fun of tossing a slinky in your hands or down the stairs? We have the classic Slinky, but you can find many other varieties at AlexToys/Slinky

Below are the Alex D.I.Y. DoDats. They have a name and unique colors and your child has the skills needed to create these fun do-dads to hang from anywhere. The backpacks are a fun place to hang their creations.

Series 1 is available now and there are 6 to collect!

These are a lot of fun for the sports fan! These Break Away Ballz are a 3-D puzzle in itself, but as you bounce it the break away happens and inside is a fun surprise!

break away ballz

Watch Anthony bounce ‘em and break ‘em! Smash the 5in. foam ball to reveal the 2in. bouncing monstrosity inside!

If your at a local retailer, look for the fun Alex Toys available. Don’t forget to check the toy AND craft isles as Alex Toys are sometimes found in the arts and crafts section because the creativity is very prevalent in many of their products!

Education, Holiday Gift Guide 2017, STEM Learning

Pet Me Multiplication and Division Math Board Game for Kids

I have partnered with Logic Roots for samples and feature

Logic Roots Pet Me Multiplication and Division Math Board Game

Anthony is in the 4th grade and knee deep into multiplication and division, They have been working on dividing 2×4 digits and multiplying large numbers as well. Having tools to practice at home is crucial. The first week of class he was so bummed when he kept bringing home homework papers filled with 1×1 multiplication problems. “Mom! This is easy. Why do we do like hundreds of these problems every week?”

Last week as he was doing his multiplication homework I reminded him about how upset he was wit the redundant work he had the beginning of the year. “The reason you did those over and over again was to make multiplying 1 digit at a time easier. Now that you are multiplying 3-4 in one problem it makes it faster and bit easier to learn to solve.” Now he got it.

division practice

It’s a lot of work sorting out those long division and multiplication problems at this age. Pet Me is here to help. It makes it so much more fun to practice math then those boring white sheets of papers with letters in black to solve with a pencil. He still has to do his homework sheets but just before bedtime we do our “fun” learning time.

math game

Pet Wonderland is full of adorable puppies, kittens and parrots. The theme of the game is a walk in the park. You will win many hearts as you feed them and meet them all. The goal of the game is to win the most hearts. It is about dividing food and love up equally.

Other players check the math and make sure each player is distributing evenly to the animals they encounter. Then sometimes you get an uneven equation and have remainders left over. It is all about landing on spots where the animals are not already adopted (fed) and claim them with hearts earned.

Pet Me game

Pet Me is one of several math games by Logic Roots and is great for ages 8+. There are more choices for this age and younger. You can find math sheets too for age-appropriate and subject practice.

You can buy on Amazon too!