technology

The Best STEM & STEAM Chapter Books for Kids

I’m so excited to see more STEM and STEAM chapter books (science, technology, engineering, art, and math). The stories on today’s list make STEM enticing to readers. If it isn’t already, that is. Whether or not your kids are even interested in STEM, see what develops after reading one of the book on this list. […]

5 Reasons Why My Kids LOVE Anki Overdrive Fast and Furious Racetrack

We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our Anki Overdrive Fast & Furious racetrack. Like, my kids are addicted. They like how it’s super interactive with technology (their favorite). They love building and rebuilding the track and racing against each other, friends, dad, or the computer — one of the most fun things they do every day! (Yes, […]

Kids Love Sphero’s SPRK+ for Creative STEAM Learning

Disclosure: I’ve partnered with Sphero to write this article. #sponsored #beyondcode Your kids can do SO MUCH with Sphero’s new app-enabled robot that inspires not just coding but also learning STEAM topics in creative ways. SPRK+ from Sphero caught my kids’ attention from the get-go and held it as they began to explore the various […]

Robotics for Kids with Cubelets

I’m so jazzed about Cubelets — they’re a playful way to introduce robotics for kids as well as develop computational thinking (programming skills). Each little robotic block or cube is a mini-program. When magnetically snapped together with another cube or cubes, it creates a robot that can perform more complex functions. Think simple machine into complex machine […]

Learning to Program Empowers Kids (and It’s Easier Than You Think!)

Remember how great MaKey MaKey was for confidence & innovative thinking? MaKey MaKey gave us the idea of programming for kids, to make our own game using Scratch. Scratch is a website from MIT specifically for kids. Kids can program stories, games, and animation. And, it’s so much easier than you might think! Programming for Kids Watch […]

Got Plugged-In Kids? You Better Read This

Even if your kids aren’t old enough to be plugged in, their friends might be and they will be eventually. Now is the time to influence their thinking, behavior and choices about technology and sex, says a new book, Parenting Plugged-In Teens: Becoming Their GPS in a Cyber-Sexual World by Elizabeth L. Clark, LPC. My kids aren’t plugged-in […]

Using Technology to Promote Literacy

Everyone has a cellphone. But not everyone knows how to build reading and writing skills with their kids. (Or, has time to think up new ideas every day.) Which is why I’m very excited about the Pocket Literacy Coach, a new sponsor of Imagination Soup, a company which provides research-based literacy ideas for parents of […]