Now that the school year is fully in swing, and all the "What did you do this summer?" show and tell conversations have been had, I'd like to tell you a little bit about a fake summer camp that I created this summer for my two kids who were going ...
The Smartest iPhone Case Ever
The Smrtcase Glide for the iPhone 3G / 3G S has an integrated cardholder for a your most frequently used cards. It has this clever sliding design so that you can easily swipe your Metrocard without fumbling. The cool design allows you to stash your credit card, ID, etc, for ...
I really like this simple solution for turning Mason Jars into travel mugs. I like to reuse jars for all kinds of things, but when you want to take your drink on the go, the large mouth can get splashy. If your kids are a bit older too – meaning they have graduated from the “I will throw cups across the room for fun” stage – this is could be a sippy cup solution as well.
What a simple and brilliant idea. I hope they sell millions of them.
Nothing beats the smooth whoosh of plastic wheels against a track, the satisfying feeling of a successfully landed jump or loop-to-loop. When it comes to toy cars, even the crashes are beautiful. But something happened on the way to the races. Kits from the major manufacturers got very complicated. Even the “basic” kits seemed over-engineered with motors, lights, and sound effects. And because the kits are so complex, its harder to customize and reconfigure the tracks – some of the pieces are only a few inches long. That’s why I like BluTrack – they come in seamless stretches of up to 100 feet long. While the 100ft set is a whopping $165, you can get an 18ft kit for $40. They even encourage using grandpa’s head as a jump.
Did you ever really listen to the sound that dozens of screeching metal chair legs make when a classroom full of kids change classes? For most folks, this is just ambient noise that can be easily filtered out and disregarded. For those kids who wear hearing aids, however, this sound becomes an awful high pitched roar. This was just the experience of a 1st grade friend of ours who came home one day after school complaining to her parents about the ‘terrible noise that went right into her brain’. It turns out that hearing aids which are usually a huge help, are not very good at handling such a high frequency sound.
To fix this problem her Dad (and Mom too) gathered up some old tennis-balls, cut an ‘x’ in them using a sharp knife, and installed them on all of the chairs in the classroom. Just like that, their daughter (not to mention the rest of the kids in the class) had a quieted classroom. And the teacher was thrilled too!
This is a great low-tech, low-cost solution to a common problem. You can easily make your own tennis-ball chair leg covers or you can purchase them on line at a few places including here.
Been enjoying this beautifully shot short by filmmaker Jason Wingrove. It captures all the wonderment of a little girl’s first day in her new home. There are new toys, a tea set, even fairies! Wasn’t really expecting things to turn out quite the way they did.
As of now, inventors Peter Seid & Phu Nguyen, who are self-professed robot lovers, have funded the project more than twofold with two more weeks to go. And its understandable. Romo is inexpensive ($78 backers get a fully assembled Romo), cute, and is a good mix between plug and play and some of the more complicated and time consuming robot kits out there. Its an opportunity to talk about robotics and the programs that they use to run.. All while supporting a cool project.
Let’s home Romo looks and acts as well as they expect it to. It’s definitely a winner. Romo looks like a gateway project for other smartphone-controlled robotics. I’m looking forward to seeing Romo in action as well as the next thing Romotive has up their sleeve.
Another great roundup of books from Children’s librarianista Susie Heimbach. In this clip, she shares some spooky and fun books to get kids in the Halloween spirit. Why? Because Halloween isn’t just about getting amped up on sugar – its also about sharing slightly scary (yet age appropriate) stories with your kids. Susie has some great pix for your book lovers and early readers.
My friend Laura came up with this brilliantly simple idea for a rock climbing themed cake. Playmobile climbers, M&M holds and frosting safety lines. And what rock climbing cake would be complete without a zip line? Yep, a couple of tinkertoys and some twine for that one. What a great idea. Even though it looked incredible, it actually tasted even better than it looked. Belay on? On belay? Chocolate on? On chocolate!
This electronics kit requires no soldiering and is a perfect way to introduce kids to electronics. The components are designed to be snapped together with small magnets to make all kinds of contraptions and devices. The $129 starter kit includes a button, potentiometer, a pressure sensor, LED light, a vibration motor and more. Young inventors can easily create things just by snapping the components together. Its a great way to introduce kids to basic electronics. As the kids want to do more complicated circuits, they an snap together other littleBits.
Here’s a great little video they made to explain littleBits.
