Do you have a small space at home? Do you have multiple kids of different height? Do kids fight for desk space for their homework or art projects? If you answer yes to any of these questions, read on. Recently, my husband decided it is best for him to work while standing. Not sure how long this “work while standing” last, therefore, not ready to purge the old desk designed for working while sitting down, he’s been stacking up books… Read more

In today’s world, many parents (myself included) are sending kids to after school classes, summer camps, … hoping that kids will learn something that are missing from school. But one thing we forget while sending kids to these extra curriculum activities is there are a lot we can do right at home. Today we put together these cool STEM (science, technology, engineer, math) activities for kids that you can do in your kitchen. Kitchen science activities have always been our… Read more

I have introduced several apps teaching kids computer language and coding, including some free apps. Each app has pros and cons, and each app has its target users. Today I have another free coding app teaching kids coding. It is called Daisy the Dinosaur. It is designed by the same developer of Hopscotch, which is also a free app teaching kids coding. What are the differences between Daisy the Dinosaur and Hopscotch? First they both are very intuitive to use… Read more

A while ago, we did a color mixing with Arduino coding and electric circuit. That activity is designed for older kids who already have programming experience. Today we share a fun activity for kids who have no computer coding and electric circuit experience. Kids can use RGB color codes to color a picture drawn in Microsoft Word. This is a digital way to learn about colors. Kids learn basic coding concepts that computers talk in a special language “code”, we… Read more

Best coding learning websites and apps that are designed for kids! Computer coding is becoming a more and more essential skill for today’s kids. Even if they are not planning to become a computer programmer, it is important for them to know how computers work and be more comfortable when interacting with digital machines. I am glad to see many organizations recognize the need and developed fascinating tools teaching young children programming. Amazingly, many of these learning tools are free, some… Read more

Computer coding is essentially a language that computer uses. When we think about helping kids learn computer coding, we automatically think we need a computer first. But in fact, there are many ways to learn computer coding without a computer, as many thinking and coding approach can be learned in different activities off-screen. Today we share some off-screen activities that teach kids computer programming. Learn Computer Coding without a Computer Unplugged Activities for Computer Coding Skills One of the important… Read more

I like to be able to change the screen orientations when I use iPhone or iPad. Depending on what you are doing, sometimes it is better using portrait orientation, sometimes it is better to use horizontal screen. However, if a child is using the device for a extented time period, say watching a movie or a video, especially a young child, he/she may not be able to keep the device still, making the orientation changing all the time, and then… Read more

Learn computer programming with coding toys. What a fun idea! Have your kids started learning computer programming? Computer coding or programming is basically the language we use to talk to computers. Since computers will be an essential part of the future world our kids going to be in, it is important for today’s children to have fundamental knowledge of how to communicate with computers. For some very basic concepts, they can learn coding through cool activities without using a computer… Read more

Do your kids like to use your phone or tablet like iPad to take pictures and videos? Kids love make movies! Let them. They can learn stop motion animation, storytelling, art and music, … and have fun. Today we share movie-making video-making apps that allow kids to create movies or presentations with videos. As most of them are so easy to use, young children like preschool kids should be able to use many of them. Movie Maker Apps Kids Love… Read more

We always love toys that let you build and move. When the team of Tinybop told me they launched a new app Simple Machines, I had to check it out. Like the other apps from Tinybop, this is an exploratory app for kids to get hands on and to play with the simple machines in the app and to figure out how they work on their own. It is not just teach kids what simple machines are. Instead it uses… Read more

Have you ever tried to teach kids computer programming? In my experience, computer programming is essentially another language, a language you use to communicate with computers. Just like any other languages, the earlier you start teaching kids computer language, the easier it is for them to be fluent at it. We introduced several apps teaching kids coding or programming. Hopscotch is one of my favorite.  Today I am introducing another free resource Codecademy. It is a website of free coding lessons… Read more

Have you tried 3D animation? Many scenes and characters in movies and video games are results of 3D animations. Today every one probably have seen some 3D animation effects. What is more, if you have used a presentation tool, like PowerPoint or Keynote, you probably have some experience creating 3D animations. Most presentation tools let you add certain animation effects, like the image dancing on the screen, or flying into the screen. But most of these presentation tools have limited… Read more

Have you visited Instructables.com? Every time I stopped at the site, I find something amazing and interesting. Even if I am not looking for something to make, I can always get cool creative ideas from the designs on the site. I am so glad to find out that they have free apps for Apple, Android and Windows devices. It just makes search for ideas a lot easier. If you have not used Instructable before, it is a website with tons… Read more

Who like the movie Frozen? If you have an Anna and Elsa fan at home, you may want to try this coding program, that kids will learn coding with Anna and Elsa. It is a free coding program from code.org that teaches kids the basics of coding. With the program, kids not only learn fundamental coding concepts but also learn to love coding. At least, they won’t think coding is mysterious. To access the free program, you just need get… Read more