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Soon enough. At least right now, you know exactly where she is and what she's up to!
So will Little Sir be getting his very own iPad for his next birthday?
Thanks, all! I wish I could take credit for her. She's always been like that. Her name means "knight", and it fits.
Haha - very true, very true.
And that would be a resounding "heck no!!" for the Ipad! Call me old-fashioned but I think he needs to wait a few years before having his own expensive piece of technology!
That's awesome about DD - she sounds like the kind of person I'd like to know. You must've done something right, even if you're not taking credit
We start Sept 7th. She's very excited. Keeps gathering stuff to take for show and tell. I'm glad SirEwag is excited too. How are you feeling? I am a bit queasy in the tummy about it, frankly. Although very happy to have her start on her new path.
Pregnancy - I don't miss the baby in the ribcage at all. Very strange feeling! Glad she's on track. Time will fly from now on, right?
MissFR is an iPad genius. MrFR takes it to work all day but as soon as he gets home she's on it. We have a couple of great Pre K apps. One is called Bugsy's Pre K. It's fantastic. I highly recommend it.
Of course we play bucketloads of Angry Birds, and now have a bunch of Angry Bird stuffed animals. But even though it's an entertaining game, you also have to figure out where to hit the stuff on the screen so it falls over more efficiently. That and she also points out what pattern the birds are in and how many birds are left, that kind of thing. I think they are not so much of a waste of time as they first appear, and are good for developing problem solving skills. Plus - it's really good fun.
I think a lot of screen involving gadgets get way more heat than they deserve. MissFR has learned an awful lot from her TV shows and web games. They're all very educational. She knows way more about lots of stuff than I did at her age.
Sorry, I'll stop ranting now. Saves me from going and ranting in the new tv thread - maybe.
Ha! That's awesome about show and tell!!
I don't blame you for feeling a tad queasy! I'm doing ok right now because I think he will love the stimulation and it coincides with Baby Girl's arrival, so he'll have his own special big boy thing two days a week. Talk to me after I drop him off on the first day, though - I'm sure I'll be a weepy mess!! How many days is Miss FR attending?
Thanks for the app rec! I'll definitely check it out - DS really likes some of the puzzle apps. There are number, letter, animal and dinosaurs with varying amounts of pieces, some of which need to be put together in specific orders. I totally agree with you re: learning games. In my mind, there's a big difference between plunking a kid down in front of the TV for hours and choosing educational screen-time that helps them to develop skills. It's crazy how much these kiddos know so young! DS can name about 25 different types of dinosaurs (though my favorite is "T-Tops" which is short for triceratops!)
On a semi-related note, my sister teaches second grade in a low-income area of NYC and her school received a donation of Smartboards for each classroom this year. She reports that her kids can't get enough of the Smartboard and that it is very helpful in multi-modality teaching, to help the kids with different learning styles. My general thought is moderation in all things and using technology to facilitate, rather than replace, learning, if that makes sense.
MissFR is an iPad genius. MrFR takes it to work all day but as soon as he gets home she's on it. We have a couple of great Pre K apps. One is called Bugsy's Pre K. It's fantastic. I highly recommend it.
Of course we play bucketloads of Angry Birds, and now have a bunch of Angry Bird stuffed animals. But even though it's an entertaining game, you also have to figure out where to hit the stuff on the screen so it falls over more efficiently. That and she also points out what pattern the birds are in and how many birds are left, that kind of thing. I think they are not so much of a waste of time as they first appear, and are good for developing problem solving skills. Plus - it's really good fun.
I think a lot of screen involving gadgets get way more heat than they deserve. MissFR has learned an awful lot from her TV shows and web games. They're all very educational. She knows way more about lots of stuff than I did at her age.
Sorry, I'll stop ranting now. Saves me from going and ranting in the new tv thread - maybe.
The iPad saved me last summer when my 4 year old niece was with me for over a week. We had nothing for a little one. She picked up how to use that thing in a heartbeat.
I can see how Angry Birds could be educational! It's also addicting and frustrating. I played it wayyyy to much last weekend.
I too get tired of the bad rap technology gets. The evils with anything with a screen. It can be a great thing if used properly. I know I've said it before, but.... there are so many things our son has researched, etc. online and that was how he was able to restore his Jeep himself. That's also how he has taught himself to to maintenance and repairs.
I could go on and on but I know I'm preaching to the choir here....
I don't blame you for feeling a tad queasy! I'm doing ok right now because I think he will love the stimulation and it coincides with Baby Girl's arrival, so he'll have his own special big boy thing two days a week. Talk to me after I drop him off on the first day, though - I'm sure I'll be a weepy mess!! How many days is Miss FR attending?
Thanks for the app rec! I'll definitely check it out - DS really likes some of the puzzle apps. There are number, letter, animal and dinosaurs with varying amounts of pieces, some of which need to be put together in specific orders. I totally agree with you re: learning games. In my mind, there's a big difference between plunking a kid down in front of the TV for hours and choosing educational screen-time that helps them to develop skills. It's crazy how much these kiddos know so young! DS can name about 25 different types of dinosaurs (though my favorite is "T-Tops" which is short for triceratops!)
On a semi-related note, my sister teaches second grade in a low-income area of NYC and her school received a donation of Smartboards for each classroom this year. She reports that her kids can't get enough of the Smartboard and that it is very helpful in multi-modality teaching, to help the kids with different learning styles. My general thought is moderation in all things and using technology to facilitate, rather than replace, learning, if that makes sense.
Yes, I completely agree. I think people have it in their heads that tv and computer games for kids are like cartoons from the 70's and first person shooters from the 90's. All that stuff is nothing like it used to be, for preschoolers, anyway. I say use the technology to your advantage, don't be using the old condemnation-before-investigation technique of judging people's choices.
We're going to preschool 3 half days advancing to 5 once she's comfortable with it. She's going to go to K at public school and I don't know if it's going to be full or half days or what they've decided - but I don't want it to come as some big shock to her system. LSE (LittleSirEwag) is a year younger, no?
Yes, I completely agree. I think people have it in their heads that tv and computer games for kids are like cartoons from the 70's and first person shooters from the 90's. All that stuff is nothing like it used to be, for preschoolers, anyway. I say use the technology to your advantage, don't be using the old condemnation-before-investigation technique of judging people's choices.
We're going to preschool 3 half days advancing to 5 once she's comfortable with it. She's going to go to K at public school and I don't know if it's going to be full or half days or what they've decided - but I don't want it to come as some big shock to her system. LSE (LittleSirEwag) is a year younger, no?
to the bolded.
Aw, no wonder you're queasy!! That makes a ton of sense though, to get her used to attending this year so K doesn't come as a huge shock. I'm guessing it will be harder on us than on them! Are you totally excited for when Miss FR comes home spouting off new fun facts??
We're using the ramp up method with DS, too - starting with 2 half-days and moving to 3 depending on how he adjusts. I love that the preschools are willing to work with families and kids' adjustment rates. LSE () just turned 3, so we have 2 years of preschool before we head off to K. I'm more interested in getting him used to listening to teachers and following classroom rules than anything else, at this point. I also don't want him to be bored during my "adjusting to having two" period with DD - a couple of my friends are going back to work and some of the kids have opposite school schedules, so we are going to be a bit shy on play dates for a bit.
Morning all. Amazing what a good sleep will do for your dispositon...
We had a massive electrical storm last night. I was counting the lightning flashes and they were coming every other second. Continuous thunder. Lots of rain and high winds and trees and power poles down. A true AZ monsoon.
Thank you to Aconite for starting my computer day off with a belly laugh.
Congrats! Is the newly-minted kindergartener excited?
nervous but excited. He said he liked his first day. 2 days/week (starting today) he's there all day. YAY for me! So today was another "first", riding the bus and going to the morning enrichment class.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aconite
On a brighter note about 20-somethings...
My daughter is studying overseas this summer. Her update today said "I will be cutting off most of my hair tomorrow for a charity event to benefit sick kids in XXXX. They've been trying for over a year to get a girl to do it, so here I am. A man is going to donate 25,000元 on top of what has already been raised just because I am doing it...which makes me feel awesome!"
I think that's about $3800 US. How cool is that?
very cool!!
I'm sitting here waiting for the house cleaners to show up. I hate waiting. They've been here as early as 8:30 before, but here I sit at 9:45 still waiting. I leave when they get here, so my day is kind of dependent on them showing up.
I've heard that video game players develop much better hand-eye coordination. I know that ds's typing speed has improved since he started playing MMORPGs. And it's an easy way to occupy a house full of teenaged boys (and they actually consume far less soda or snacks when they're playing, because they need their hands).
Aw, no wonder you're queasy!! That makes a ton of sense though, to get her used to attending this year so K doesn't come as a huge shock. I'm guessing it will be harder on us than on them! Are you totally excited for when Miss FR comes home spouting off new fun facts??
We're using the ramp up method with DS, too - starting with 2 half-days and moving to 3 depending on how he adjusts. I love that the preschools are willing to work with families and kids' adjustment rates. LSE () just turned 3, so we have 2 years of preschool before we head off to K. I'm more interested in getting him used to listening to teachers and following classroom rules than anything else, at this point. I also don't want him to be bored during my "adjusting to having two" period with DD - a couple of my friends are going back to work and some of the kids have opposite school schedules, so we are going to be a bit shy on play dates for a bit.
That's my main focus as well. Plus it's amazing how during the year between 3 and 4 how much MissFR has become ready to have actual friends of her own, not just kids she plays with on a casual basis at the park or whatever. I think that's important too.
Morning Dew and Hopes!
(wow - that sounds like something on some inspirational display plate in somebody's kitchen).
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I'm glad SirEwag is excited too. How are you feeling? I am a bit queasy in the tummy about it, frankly. Although very happy to have her start on her new path.
MrFR takes it to work all day but as soon as he gets home she's on it. We have a couple of great Pre K apps. One is called Bugsy's Pre K. It's fantastic. I highly recommend it. 
Saves me from going and ranting in the new tv thread - maybe. 
to the bolded.
