My guys are into numbers lately. My eldest, especially, is big into number crunching and playing with the calculator. He spends a lot of time on, well, time.

Just last week I had a funny “aha” moment when his brother asked to play Star Wars Legos with him first thing in the morning. He said, “Well actually I need fifteen minutes to eat my cereal and stuff.”

His brother, not quite four, innocently inquired, “Well how long is that?”

Little Math man responded by saying, “Well, it is 15 times 60. You know, 900 seconds.”

I was dumbfounded, then I ran to check to see if he was right. I knew that my brother-in-law had given him a calculator to play with over the summer, but I had no idea that he was sooo into math. When I asked him about it he told me, flat out, that he wanted to go to a school that taught only math and soccer. So, I decided to check out some good websites for budding mathematicians, stuff that he would really get into and seem like a lot of fun and a small bit technical too, to challenge him a small bit. (more…)

Got a corn-allergic kid? How about educating him or her with an online game show?

The University of Illinois Extension has a game called the “Great Corn Adventure“ hosted by Zea Mays. It is part of a collection of educational games for kids.

Lovely Ms. Mays takes the viewer on a tour of the corn world, starting with the Native Americans in the valley of Tehuacan in Pueblo Mexico in 5000 b.c. (more…)

This topic idea was born out of necessity in our house. My very precocious 4 year old has run the gamut on dangerous and costly experiments, always conveniently performed in the space of 90 seconds or less. When he finally stopped up my toilet with an entire double roll of toilet paper I decided it was time to stimulate his devious mind with something a bit less destructive than an inch of water splashed across my tile floor and a pipe so stopped up we needed a plumber. I powered up the computer and began to show him the ropes. Within a few weeks he had a basic grasp of dragging, dropping, clicking, and closing. Together with my boys, and with the help of a few other moms, I have compiled a list of the top ten websites for preschoolers and their parents that do more than just entertain, they educate too! (more…)

No one likes to wait in line. It is right up there with getting a root canal or having blood drawn. Long lines and international flights have got to be the two most irritating places to find yourself trapped when you are in the company of bored and irritable children 5 and under. Nothing causes a parent sweaty palms more than idol minds, fidgety fingers, and restless legs forced to stay put and keep quiet for a half-hour or more.

Here is a quick and simple list of things you can do to keep the whining at a minimum while you’re waiting: (more…)

As a mother of three very young and inquisitive little boys I am guilty of hiring the electronic babysitter while doing laundry, making dinner, and talking on the phone. And I am sure if I did an informal telephone interview with other mothers I would find this to be true for most everyone. I know that excessive T.V. watching without adequate interaction will cause verbal delays. That’s just common sense. We don’t just plop our kids down in front of the television for hours on end and then just walk away. So in lieu of the recent Baby Einstein shake up I thought I would take a moment to jot down a few very successful non-television activities that my boys and I have done together this summer. They both have busy little minds and are often easily bored so I have to get creative quite often to keep them occupied.

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Long car trips with little children can bring stress levels to the brim, which is not something we need when we are taking a holiday from our hectic day-to-day home and work schedules. Kids need a holiday as much as their parents do, but that doesn’t mean abandoning their regular schedule and hitting the road like a band of hippies.

The most important thing to do is plan plenty of activities both in the car and along the way that will help pass the time. Simple car games like “I spy with my little Eye” and the “A, B, C” game are a great way to keep kids from getting bored and irritable after too many hours in the car.

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