Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Learning made easier

I recently discovered a site that would definitely get kids interested in learning about what they might consider boring in the classroom. DNA? Can't see it or feel it, they might say. But BrainPop makes it easier to understand.  According to the site, BrainPop was conceived by Dr. Avraham Kadar, MD, an immunologist and pediatrician, as a creative way to explain difficult concepts to his young patients.

With colourful and animated graphics and two rather cool characters Tim and Moby the robot presenting you the facts, your child will be hooked to clicking non-stop to discover the various sections like Science, Math, Health, Social Studies, Engineering & Tech and Arts & Music.

After watching, listening and reading, there are activities and quizzes you can take too.

What's good about this site is that it allows you to register for a free trial before you decide to subscribe. To subscribe, you can choose from the different packages available according to age groups or how you plan to use the programme - homeschool, family, media lab, or virtual school for instance.

It does not require any downloading, installation or special hardware. It is fully compatible with interactive whiteboards, learner response systems, projectors, Macs, and PCs.

You can take a tour of the child-friendly site here as well as see their full list of topics here.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

For the love of noodles

My son loves noodles - be it flat rice noodles or yellow wheat noodles. However, trying to get those long wormy strands into his tiny-sized mouth is always challenging. Until recently, if we're dining at a proper restaurant (versus at a self-served food court) I would request for his noodles to be cut before they are served.

But this is no longer necessary as we're now prepared and ready for noodles of any kind. The solution: a noodle cutter set by Combi. I did not even realize that something like this exists until I stumbled upon it at an obscure baby shop near our place. It may not look like it would do a good job but it works great and we have yet to come across any type of noodles that the gadget can't snip up. Conveniently packed in a small case which fits a spoon as well, we never leave home without it nowadays as who knows what life would serve up! Check out the product here: Combi. It costs around S$6.90 at most children retail stores.