Daddy Mojo used to teach. Being an ex educator he’s interested in many things about education, such as teaching policies, best practices and bureaucracy.
Baby Mojo is just 16 months but he loves to interact with the iPad. We’ve found a couple great apps that help teach him basic words and phonics. Verbally, we’ll teach him the sounds of the alphabet, but when he sees the letters we’re teaching him the phonetic pronunciation. All of these apps are free, but some of them may have additional aspects that you pay money for.
Continue reading Daddy Mojo’s favorite free iPad apps for toddlers
Sometimes we stumble across a story so ridiculous that we hope its content and motivation was typed by a room full of monkeys. Alas, such a story popped up on The AJC about Georgia Senate President Tommie Williams who is proposing that middle school students in Georgia receive an iPad, in lieu of text books. Continue reading An iPad for every student, in the 45th ranking state
Growing up in the 80’s had certain peaks and valleys. For me one of those peaks was watching Pee Wee’s Playhouse, the kids’ show that adults could love starring Paul Reubens. Children could enjoy the visuals and the simple jokes while adults (see: college students) enjoyed the sublime humor or played it later as a drinking game. Continue reading What Pee Wee’s Playhouse can teach Parents
Both mom and I have been reading to Baby Mojo since he could open his eyes. It started out with Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Ten Little Ladybugs and an assortment of other hardback books. We have many more non hardback books, but quickly discovered that he would either eat them or destroy the pages. Continue reading A parenting tip for maintaining the baby’s library
Preschool art education program at The High Museum of Art, Thursday, April 1 from 11-3. You can get all the details, as well as, tickets here.
Years ago I made a vowed never to buy anything directly from an infomercial. The only time I strayed is when I bought the Sham Wows and in that case I went to their website; also it was a gift for somebody, so technically that didn’t count.
I’m sure that some of the products advertised are well made and things that the family can genuinely use. The untimely death of Billy Mays has certainly helped ease any temptation that I had to order directly from the television. Say what you will about that particular advertising medium, but that man could pitch a product like nobody’s business.
My current favorite infomercial is the Booty Pop. It’s so surreal that you have to look twice at the television to be certain you’re seeing what you think you are.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4EvVErNhVE&feature=player_embedded]
If I were being totally honest with myself (and isn’t that purpose of a blog?) then I’d also be on my keyboard right now ordering those teach your child to read DVD’s.
As a former teacher I want to teach my child to read at the earliest age possible, but there is just something about that product that makes me uneasy.
The clips that I saw on television looked instantly dated. I want Baby Mojo to know what a how much bread it takes for the far out box social. The teaching principles they talked about seemed sound, but my infomercial ban and that uneasy feeling won out.
I’m still teaching Baby Mojo to read, just a bit more traditionally, with basic Dr. Seuss books, some flash cards and the occasional tickle break.
My brother-in-law did lean into me about the flash cards. Granted, Baby Mojo is very young, he likes to hold them and that’s about it. However, if this early immersion gives him a quick start so much the better.
If anybody has a positive child reading program story I’d love to hear it. Not that it would definitely change my mind but it would certainly give us something to think on.
The other week I was at a coffee house meeting some people for work. I brought along Baby Mojo because it was around his nap time.
The diaper bag, my favorite new accessory, had the staples, a bottle, change of outfit, wipes, diapers, snacks for Dad, a toy for Baby and my book from library.
I arrived early because I wanted to A. Leave the house, B. Relax and C. See if the change in scenery would lull Baby Mojo quicker than usual. Thankfully, the new environment did just the trick and I got a soda, doughnut and waited for everybody else.
One of them arrived shortly thereafter when I was reading. “Wow, is that a library book? I haven’t been to the library in ages. You never see them anymore!”, she said. I wanted to reply with something smarmy like ‘yeah, since they don’t have The Jersey Shore available yet I don’t go either, this is my wife’s book’.
However, sensing that I was in a different demographic then her, I wisely reconsidered my retort.
Libraries do rock, but there is an age, i.e., after college and before parenthood, that people never and I mean never set foot in them. We’ve been frequent visitors to our local library and they have loads of resources that can help children and families.
They sell books too. It’ll probably be on the first Saturday of every month, check with yours to see when they sell overstock or slightly damaged books for .50 and up. Also, twice a year your local county may have a huge book sale with thousands of books and media. Either of these choices is an excellent opportunity to set up your own ‘library’ at your house.
If you’re thirst for books needs immediate attention here are some tips that we’ve discovered.
-Independent book stores. These are great places to troll because they too will sell gently used books. Granted they’ll cost just a bit more than the library sales, but they’ll be far cheaper than new.
-Yard Sales. Unfortunately these are seasonal and require much more effort to locate. However, once you get there the sellers can be highly motivated.
-Consignment Sales. Usually these are dozens of families, a neighborhood or a church that pool a very large supply of clothing, toys and books. These can be great, if you plan accordingly. Our plan is to go early on the first day and early on the last day. On the last day most of the merchandise is 50% off, so you can be a bit less picky about what you get. It’s the opposite on the first day as you’ll pay full consignment prices, but you’ll get first selection. Also, take a stroller, that way you can keep your baby mojo in there and use the storage space for stuff you want to buy.
Our own Baby Mojo likes pop up books and any book that has photos of construction, tools, animals or the outdoors. Read aloud and shop well!
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