Learn CODING This Summer

Let's CODE This Summer!!☼

Not travelling anywhere this summer; Can’t keep your children away from technology for too long?? No worries; don’t take their Ipads away; instead engage them in some fun filled computer coding activities. CODING is the base, the ABC of all computer languages. I know what you are thinking “How can you make a child learn CODING at this age?" “Why so early?"

To answer that, let me open you up to a certain fact:

Estonia, the birthplace of SKYPE. A small country with a population of 1.3 million. It is the first country where the government has launched a nationwide campaign to teach kids how to code, ageing 7 to 19. The brainchild Ava Lauringson said “We want to change the thinking that computers and programs are just things as they are. There is an opportunity to create something, and be a smarter user of technology." She also stated that " In Estonia, kids are walking around in pampers and ipads, so we see that there has to be some logical movement with tech". Step aside highschoolers, the elementary schoolers are the new coders.

I remember when I was introduced to computer programming in my university, I soooo hated it. It all seemed like rocket science. That's because I didn't get enough time to strengthen the basics of computer logics at an earlier age. The new CODING APPS have come as a blessing to the millennial generation. I wish I had those during my aeon.

Being a tech savvy mom; I introduced my son to CODING when he was 6 years old. It was just an experimental move.  For him it was just another game on the IPad. He loved it and soon it became his favorite game.

I quickly downloaded a couple of free CODING APPS and we were set. I was on my way to teaching computer logics and trouble shooting skills to my lil one.

The new Tech Guru in making!!

There are a whole range of FREE CODING APPS you can download from the apps store.

Here's a list of seven recommended coding apps to start with:

- Bee Bot

Platform- iPad

Cost- Free

Age- 4+ yrs

About- Bee Bot is a fun interactive game developed with 12 levels. The levels are set in a garden scene and the kids have to give directions to the bee to reach its destination. This app helps kids improve their directional and basic programming skills.

https://www.bee-bot.us/

Bee Bot has also introduced exiting new robots for young children.These robots are easy to operate and understand up to 40 commands. They also have the Pro Bots, the big brother of Bee Bots which require higher programming skills. Bee Bot offers a complete range of material including curriculum, accessories and mats to make learning easy and economical.

- Daisy The Dinosaur

Platform- iPad

Cost- Free

Age- 5 To 7 yrs

About- This cute little Dinosaur app teaches basic coding to kids. Students can easily drag and drop command boxes to perform various functions. They grasp the basics of objects, sequencing, loops and events by solving this app's challenges.

- Cargo Bot

Platform- Web

Cost- Free

Age- 10+ yrs 

About- This is a highly addictive app that teaches kids to think like programmers. Elementary kids may need adult assistance first. Young programmers may find the implementation quite challenging, and just like in coding, a working solution may not be the optimal solution. Scores depend on how concisely the program runs. 

- Kodable

Platform- iPad

Cost- Free

Age- 4 to 11 years

About- Kodable has an award winning curriculum which is much more vigorous. It encourages you to think like a programmer in kinder garden,to become a Java Script writer in 5th grade. I would suggest parents to introduce this app to kids only after they get enough practice on other apps.

- Scratch Jr

Platform- web

Cost- Free

Age- 5 to 7

About- This programming language created by the MIT team,is my personal favorite. This  programming language enables kids to create their own interactive stories and games. Kids snap together blocks to make characters perform various actions. Scratch runs on both iPad and Android tablets. There are teaching guides and community forums that help getting started easily. There is a guide to ScratchJr. Written by app creators Professor Marina Umaschi Bers and Mitchel Resnick of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab, this new book is an easy-to-use, hands on resource for parents and educators alike to teach children how to code with ScratchJr.

- Hopscotch

Platform- iPad

Cost- Free

Age- 10+ years

About- Hopscotch is another favorite. A fun to learn programming app that is extremely easy to follow and will take you to a world of wild and magical imagination. I personally would recommend every child to try this app. You can pretty much make anything with this app.

- Tynker

Platform- iPad 

Cost- Free

Age- 9 to 11 years

About- Tynker helps individuals experiment with visual blocks and eventually progresses towards other computer languages. you can design games, build apps and make incredible projects.

Let the kids keep their iPads and Tablets, let them explore a whole new world of CODING. A world that has become a necessity, majority of fields today require coding somewhere or the other. Let us also help our children become proud young programmers!!!!!

THE CURIOSITY CLUB

There's a new place opened in SOBO !! Nope not another restaurant this time. It's called "THE CURIOSITY CLUB". The Curiosity Club offers STEM (Science, technology, Engineering and Math) programs to children in the age group of 4 to 10 years.

LITTLE ABOUT STEM
  STEM is an amalgamation of all four fields to create a way of thinking which can be applied to both learning and teaching. Everything we do in our daily lives involves STEM, be it switching on the light bulb (science), playing games on the iPad (technology) , engineering something with blocks or doing simple math like addition and subtraction.

Every child has a curious mind, and it is extremely important to satiate their curiosity at the correct time, to expand their true potential. "STEMMING" is the way to answer a child's curious questions; it involves facing new challenges, developing team building skills, strengthening problem solving abilities and gaining trouble shooting competency.

Having given birth to a reasonably disquisitive child, I realized it was highly imperative for me to keep him productively BUSY. Though we attended mother toddlers, I always felt the need to fill in the gaps. I needed a program which was more personalized to quench his tremendous thirst for learning. Since there weren't many places offering such programs, that became the start of "STEM MOM IN MAKING". That would be me!! As a STEM coordinator and a mother to a 9 year old, I totally testify for STEM programs. I have no idea if my son is going to grow up to be a scientist, a techie, an engineer or a mathematician, but if he enjoys any of this, then I definitely want to encourage him to luxuriate in it. STEM enables you to learn a certain topic through multiple mediums.

THE PLACE TO BE:

One such destination that answers all your child's "WHYS? WHATS? WHENS? and HOWS?" is THE CURIOSITY CLUB - The first of its kind STEM based activity center in South Mumbai. The founder, Yuti Jhaveri, graduated with a Masters' degree in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University (USA) and after a seven year stint handling investment and portfolio management, decided to pursue a career where her passion lied. Intrigued by the scope of alternative practices in education, supplemented by her background in engineering and finance, an added experience of being a mother to a toddler, Yuti decided to introduce this revolutionary approach to teaching children in Mumbai through The Curiosity Club.

WHAT IT OFFERS

• THE CURIOSITY CLUB offers a variety of weekday and weekend programs, under the guidance of highly skilled professionals.
•  Great quality products such as LEGO and Fischertechnik are used in their courses. Through guided building and experimentation, children learn to explore on their own, apply what they have learned, make predictions, test new approaches, how to share and come to a final conclusion.
• My favorite is their DIY corner. You can select an activity you wish to make and DIY under guided supervision. They have LEGO blocks, Fischertechnik kits, board games, Smartivity kits, and several books, all related to STEM. The DIY corner gives the children a platform to explore topics they like on their own. It's like a playcentre, but for the mind.
• Children are encouraged and trained to participate in competitions such as the Junior First LEGO League (JR. FLL). 
•  It is also the perfect destination for STEM themed birthday parties and play dates too! 
• The Curiosity Club is all equipped to take these millennials into a more powerful economy flourishing in science and technology.

Engaging your kids in STEM at an early age benefits them to build a much stronger and healthier foundation for the future and also an overall long term academic success. 

Click on the site below to know more about THE CURIOSITY CLUB:

www.thecuriosityclub.in
  

WAIT, I HAVE SOME GREAT NEWS FOR YOU!!

 KIDSBEANSTALK AND THE CURIOSITY CLUB ARE COLLABORATING TO BRING YOU HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE:

GO AHEAD FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE STEPS AND WIN A FREE WORKSHOP FOR YOUR CHILD RIGHT-AWAY!!!!

CONNECT WITH US ON: kidsbeanstalk@gmail.com

BOREDOM BUSTERS ON A ROAD TRIP!!

Planning for a road trip with your children this weekend?? That means stocking up on food, drinks and preparing to keep your kids stay put for long hours on the road. Although these road trips are super fun, they can sometimes get quite arduous. It is imperative to keep the children entertained, to avoid them from getting boisterous.

I have a checklist that I refer to every time we plan a road trip, that way every members need is taken care of. However "Entertainment" checklist needs extra special attention. Nope, can't cut loose on that section. I stock up on some ( okay, maybe lots) fun and engaging ideas to ensure its a peaceful journey all the way!

On one of our trips last weekend, I had taken these really cool pouches from "Boredom Busters". "Boredom Busters" offers a variety of activity pouches to keep your kids curious and entertained.These sets are for toddlers and preschoolers ranging from 1.5 yrs to 6 yrs, and focus on teaching  different concepts at a time.  They were a big hit among the young ones in the group, we were amazed to see how engrossed the kids would get in those games. One trip where we had less complains, less tantrums and less disturbance. Not only road trips, you can make them play these at home, parks, restaurants, or play dates, airport waiting lounges or on the planes too. These sets surely bust the boredom out of the children and keep them busy for a good amount of time. These busy bags are challenging brain teasers. Once the kid is finished playing with one set, He/she can put that back into the pouch and open a new bag. Since we had about 6-7 preschoolers travelling with us, I made sure all of them had something relevant to their age.

Boredom Buster Busy Bags have about 35 different products, each bag has one educational activity. These bags are extremely convenient, you can pop them in your hand bags and carry it anywhere.Some of the products that went a hit among our group were:


1) BB41 COLORKU

A fun brain game.

The basic rule for Sudoku apply here too.

Use the colored felt pieces to complete the game.

Skills  they learned while having fun-

Color Recognition and Visual Discrimination – kids need to recognize the colors place them accordingly on the game board.

Problem Solving and Logical Thinking – kids need to focus on logically placing the felt pieces in a way to correctly complete the game.

You can view the video
https://www.facebook.com/boredombustersbusybags/videos/891692420937435

To buy this product click on the following Link:
5% Discount on all the products untill 28/02/2017
Use the Coupon Code: BBBBL5
Shop Link: http://boredombustersbusybags.meesho.com/11

2) BB4-SORTING BUTTONS

This busy bag focuses on color matching and sorting.
Children sort the buttons into the correct color slot.
Add tweezers for an extra challenge! (NOT INCLUDED)

Skills
Color Recognition
Fine Motor
Object Recognition

CAUTION: ADULT SUPERVISION IS NECESSARY.

To buy this product click on the following Link:
5% Discount on all the products untill 28/02/2017
Use the Coupon Code: BBBBL5
Shop Link:http://boredombustersbusybags.meesho.com/6

3) BB6 PAINT PALETTE

This preschool busy bag comes with a laminated paint palette with hand painted spots and corresponding colored pegs to clip on the matching color.

Skills

Color Recognition

Fine Motor

To buy this product click on the following Link:
5% Discount on all the products untill 28/02/2017
Use the Coupon Code: BBBBL5
Shop Link:http://boredombustersbusybags.meesho.com/1

4) BB32- GIVE ME MY COLORS

This bag focuses on color and pattern recognition. Kids place the pom-poms on the correct color section of the caterpillar. The pages are laminated for durability. 

Skills they learned while having fun: 
Patterning and problem solving – Focusing on what comes next after identifying the sequence.
Color recognition and visual discrimination – Kids need to recognize the differences in the colors to replicate the patterns.
Sequencing and directionality – Kids need to focus on placing the objects in the correct order from left to right, these are pre-reading skills!

You can view the video

https://www.facebook.com/boredombustersbusybags/videos/900106423429368/

To buy this product click on the following Link:
5% Discount on all the products untill 28/02/2017
Use the Coupon Code: BBBBL5

Shop Link:http://boredombustersbusybags.meesho.com/21

5) BB27- ADD OR SUB

Who said learning basic math operations is boring...
The child can master this skill with the pegs n craft sticks provided.

Skills
Number Recognition
Ordering
Basic Math Operations- Add/Sub
Fine Motor

You can view the video

https://www.facebook.com/boredombustersbusybags/videos/891629210943756/

To buy this product click on the following Link:
5% Discount on all the products untill 28/02/2017
Use the Coupon Code: BBBBL5
Shop Link:http://boredombustersbusybags.meesho.com/17

6) BB11-CLOTHESLINE

This mini clothesline bag contains a small clothesline, 5 outfits and 5 clothespins. The child can clip the clothes to the line and older children can use the matching color clip to clip the correct color article of clothing.

Skills
Fine Motor
Color Recognition

You can view the video

https://www.facebook.com/boredombustersbusybags/videos/891545410952136/

To buy this product click on the following Link:
5% Discount on all the products untill 28/02/2017
Use the Coupon Code: BBBBL5
Shop Link:http://boredombustersbusybags.meesho.com/7

7) BB17-LOCK-KEY

his one was the most popular pouch, the kids had a blast with this activity. The child has to unlock the lock with the corresponding color key.

Skills
Color Matching
Fine Motor

To buy this product click on the following Link:

5% Discount on all the products untill 28/02/2017
Use the Coupon Code: BBBBL5
Shop Link:http://boredombustersbusybags.meesho.com/8

8) BB5-COLOUR CANDIES 

Identifying basic colors is an important activity for toddlers. Children sort the craft sticks to match the corresponding candy.

Skills
Color Recognition
Fine Motor

To buy this product click on the following Link:
5% Discount on all the products untill 28/02/2017
Use the Coupon Code: BBBBL5
Shop Link:http://boredombustersbusybags.meesho.com/12

9) BB31-BLOCKS PATTERNING

This is a brain workout. This preschool busy bag is perfect for those who love to match patterns, and what better than building blocks!

Skills they learned while having fun:
Patterning and problem solving – Focusing on what comes next after identifying the sequence.
Color recognition and visual discrimination – Kids need to recognize the differences in the colors to replicate the patterns.
Sequencing– Kids need to focus on placing the objects in the correct order, these are pre-reading skills!

You can view the video
https://www.facebook.com/boredombustersbusybags/videos/891680980938579/

To buy this product click on the following Link:
5% Discount on all the products untill 28/02/2017
Use the Coupon Code: BBBBL5

Shop Link:http://boredombustersbusybags.meesho.com/20

10) BB28-COLOR WHEEL

This preschool busy bag comes with a laminated color wheel with 12 different color sections and corresponding colored paint pegs to clip on the matching color.

Skills they learned while having fun-

Color recognition and visual discrimination- kids need to recognize the different colors and match and peg it

Fine motor skills and eye hand coordination- kids need to clip the pegs to the matching color section.

To buy this product click on the following Link:
5% Discount on all the products untill 28/02/2017
Use the Coupon Code: BBBBL5
Shop Link:http://boredombustersbusybags.meesho.com/2

What I really liked about these pouches was that, they were reasonably priced, long durability, very age appropriate and not only kept children busy but also taught them different Skills. 

I wonder if they have introduce any bags for the older lot !!!

Go ahead click on the prices above to buy your childs busy bag now! 

Do stop by www.kidsbeanstalk.blogspot.in for more fun and informative posts!!!  

Learn Needs And Wants

Image Source: www.absolutelyrefined.com


In my earlier post "Teaching Financial Responsibilities to Kids" I had mentioned about teaching kids to differentiate between Needs and Wants. Sometimes its a very thin line between Needs and Wants for kids. The other day I asked my son, If you were to win 10,000 rupees, How would you spend it? Give me a list of ten items that you need and wish to buy and ten items that you do not need but still want to buy.  Also keep in mind about savings and charity.

After a considerable amount of pondering, scribbling, scratching, and rewriting  several times. He finally handed me the list. It took me a while to read as the list was pretty LONG. I asked him to sit beside me and while going through each item, we discussed why he thought it was a NEED or a WANT. Wow, they sure have their way of convincing, sometimes the reasoning's are logically so strong; you just cant disagree even though your mind refuses to agree. It got me thinking for a minute!!

Why not make him play some fun games where he could get some practice to make things a lot more clear? Let me share some activities that we played to clear the confusion between Needs and Wants.

1)The Reaching home Hopscotch Game:
 We made 2 Hopscotch tables on the floor with thick masking tape. Drew houses at the end of each table. You need 2 kids at a time, to play this game.We had a bunch of cards with one item written on each card. Each child pulled a card. They guessed whether it was a NEED or WANT. With the correct answer the child moved one step ahead. The child who reached the house first won the game.

2) Let' go to the Supermarket
 I asked my son to go around the house and make a list of items that needed to be refilled or bought.He was allowed to ask people around the house what was needed or had to be refilled. Then we went to the Supermarket and asked him to pick 20 items that we needed in the house, items we could not do without that week (NEEDS). The total of those items could not exceed a certain amount, and if he was able to pick the 20 needed items and save a certain amount, he was entitled for an ice-cream treat. Yes! it can take quite a few hours, so make sure you have enough time before you head to the near by supermarket.

3) Different Countries, Different Needs
 We picked three countries with different seasons going on at the same time. India (Monsoon), USA (Summer),South  Africa (Winter). Then he made a list of things people living in each of these countries would need that particular time. The different clothing, The different Foods and Drinks, The reason why the houses differed in these countries. The different cultural needs of the people, sports, vehicles.

It is important for kids to know that every individual or every household has different needs. It is absolutely okay for people to have different things. If our need of the hour is groceries, then our neighbors need of the hour maybe toiletries. If his friend earns a new toy, No he does not need to get the same thing. And it is OKAY if he does not own the same thing. Surely he has tons of things, his friend doesn't have. This is where we have to ask ourselves, Do I want this? Yes, But do I need it? Is it okay if I don,t get it? Maybe I can just go to his house and share with him. That way when he comes to my house, he can share my stuff. No point spending money on the same thing when its not needed.

On the other hand they also need to know that WANT is an amazing thing, yes I want a lot of things too. Wants make us work hard to achieve our desires. Sometimes I get what I want, and many a times I decide to get it later, or not at all. All of it is OKAY!! It helps us balance our lives, finances and also controls the urge to spend.

4) For the younger kids the printable below is a great practice:

Cut out the pictures from the bottom of the worksheet and ask your child to glue them in the correct box.

Click on this Needs And Wants to download the worksheet for practice:

Once the child has completed the worksheet, go through each picture and ask for a reason why your child has put that item in a particular box. Ice-cream candy, headphones, and the duck toy are WANTS. Its okay if we do not buy them,we can live without them. On the other hand trees give us oxygen, a house gives us shelter, We cannot stay alive without food, and water is used for drinking, washing, cleaning and cooking. These are our NEEDS we cannot live without. Thus teaching them the difference between needs and wants. Once they understand this basic concept of NEEDS and WANTS. You can take other examples like toys, clothes shoes and so on, to discuss whether they need it or want it. Whether its okay if we do not buy it or buy is later.

5) Let's Go Kidzania:
Kidzania has a complete supermarket for kids. That would be an ideal place for kids to explore. take your kids to Kidzania and let them learn on their own.


6) It's Funn to Play Supermarket!
I gifted my niece a supermarket set on her 4th birthday. Its a perfect set with, a cash register, bar code scanner, trolley basket, and a market with fruits, veges, and other household NEEDS. You should also try and get these for preschoolers, it makes learning NEEDS and WANTS a lot simpler. (And keeps them busy hours at a stretch).

Go ahead post a comment and tell me how you educated your child with "The Needs and Wants".