Tin Can Robot #GiftedProgramProjects

My Mom has a migraine right now so she let me make this post about the project that I did from the Gifted Program that I am in. In my class, there are two of us who are in the Gifted program and we always have fun when we go there on Thursday.  I love it because  get to do things that our other classmates doesn't do in our regular classroom just like these projects.

Our teacher in the Gifted class  gave us  the tin can robot  kit and we brought  one can to build our robot.  

I had so much fun doing this because I learned how to  put screws and other  cool stuff around the tin.

I name my  robot Crush Crush and my friend named hers Cherrie Cherry because she brought a cherry can.  Crush crush can walk.  We put battery in it so it can operate when you turn the switch on.  My Mom  recorded a video when I  was letting  this walk, she said that she will update it  when she feel better  later.  Thanks Mom!

Another project that we did is this 55-pieces 3D puzzle foam kit that we assembled into the subject that we chose. Before we made this, we did a research and made a short report about it, the history and other important facts.

Mine is the Empire State Building and my friend's  was the  Statue of Liberty.  Building this project is fun but tricky.  I tore up a couple of pieces because they were hard to  insert into the holes but I  hot glued them back  when I brought it at home.  

Based from what I read, The Empire State Building  has been named one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Timeline of EJ's Life

We helped Mr. Burrito in making his Time line project, Wednesday of last week.  Doing this project is so much fun.  The only thing that  is hard is choosing which picture to use as we have so many and they are  only allowed  one photo for each year.  

Mr. Burrito was very determined to have it done last Wednesday although it wasn't due till Friday so we helped him  do it.  His timeline includes:

• 2007 - He was born in Weirton Medical Center
• 2008 - We were in Korea
• 2009 - We visited the Philippines for the first time.
• 2010 - We are back in West Virginia
• 2011 - We went to Disney World
• 2012 - We explored other   cities in West Virginia including Chester.
• 2013 - We went to Texas, Lake Eerie in Ohio, and a  roadtrip to Black Waterfalls.
• 2014 - Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh and Doquesne University

Ms. Burrito or Rylie's Timeline is  much colorful  than what we did with  the little Mister.  He is a boy so we thought of making the design a simple one.  He was proud  of his timeline.

The Best Way You Can Help Your Child do Well in Their SATS

Helping your child through the stress that exams can bring can be tough. You want them to do well, but you definitely don’t want to be one of those ‘pushy parents’ that doesn’t allow your child any free time away from the revision papers. There are some very simple techniques you can try though, so read on to help your child do their best in their SATS:

Helping With Revision

The only thing that will help your child do well in their exams is planning. By helping your child to make a clear revision plan, you’ll help them to feel more in control of their work. Here are some great tips:

• Create a revision timetable for each subject.
• Break your child’s revision time into smaller chunks to help them better digest important information. Hour long sessions with little breaks at the end of each one are usually effective.
• Make sure your child has all of the materials they need. This could be essential books and other materials; you could even hire a tutor to help your child excel in certain subjects. MathsDoctor.co.uk supplies quality maths tutors at great prices, for example. 
• Make notes short and sweet by using postcards and flashcards as prompts.
• Buy your child new stationary, including highlighters and coloured pens to make the information more interesting.
• Go through notes with your child yourself, and then listen as they revise a topic.
• Time your child doing practice papers. 

Supporting Your Child

• As revision and exams can be so stressful, it’s important that you make home life as stress free as you possibly can. It also helps if other members of the household are aware that your child is under extra pressure, so allowances should be made.
• If your child has study leave in the run up to their exams, you should try to be home with them as much as you can so you can share breaks and ease their worries. 
• Healthy snacks and nutritious food will help fuel your child’s brain ready to take in all of the information. Encouraging a little exercise can help too, by getting them away from the computer and books for a while. 
• Try not to nag your child or make any demands when it’s time for their exams. Arguments are counter productive!
• The day before the exam, make sure your child goes to bed early and get’s a good nights sleep. Discourage late night cramming sessions! You should also make sure they eat a good, healthy breakfast on the morning of the exam. 

Bribes and Treating

Some children are bribed to do well in their exams, and offered gifts or money to do well. This isn’t a good idea, as it gives the idea that the only worthwhile reward for hard work is money! It also tells your child that you don’t trust them enough to work hard on their own. This can affect your child’s sense of self worth, and also make them grow up expecting something for nothing. 

Encourage your child to do well for their own sake. However, feel free to treat your child at the end of their exams, with perhaps a trip to the cinema, a theme park, or something else everyone can enjoy.

The tips above will keep your child motivated and ready to get some amazing grades on their exams!

Image Credit: Flickr

Bookends and Hangers that Kids Adore from KIDorable

You guys probably know by now that we love Kidorable products right?  I remember the very first time that we got the new  bookends  from Kidorable, we were  smitten of how they were designed.  It definitely  encourage you to  organize the books and return it from the shelf when you are done  reading.  Then last Christmas, we  added another set of bookends for Mr. Burrito's books and  tried their very pretty and durable set of hangers.  The hangers were for the  little Miss so of course, the Mister  was like "How come I did not get any hangers?"  Oh boy, you can never win with these two.

Anyway, I  got them another set of   bookends and they both adored the ladybug design.  Even my Husband  loved it.  They recently bought additional books during the book fair at their school so this  would really  help them arrange  their books orderly and neatly.  You can buy this from their website for  $30.  This  would make a great gift kids who  loves to read books.

To settle the little Mister's jealousy about her sister's  pretty hangers, I got him 2 sets of Space Hero Hangers.  Between my two kids, it's the little boy who is more organize.  He make sure to hang his coat and  put away his shoes and bag when he arrive  from school.  I have to tell my daughter  a couple of times before she would change her school uniform.  Sometimes she thinks that I love her brother more than her because I keep reminding her what to do.  Parenting is never easy, don't you think?

Anyway, my son was really delighted to see that he has his own hangers now and he  absolutely adore the design of it.  This hangers  are available in two sizes and you can buy it for $20 each set.  Kidorable have many products that kids would really love to have.  They have raincoats, rain boots, umbrellas, hangers, bookends, and more.

Disclaimer: The author of this blog was NOT financially compensated to write this review. Opinions expressed is not in anyway influenced by other factors. The product/s mentioned above was provided for FREE for evaluation purposes.

Scary Situation

When my children came home from school  yesterday, they told me about the lock-down that the school did earlier.  I asked what was it about because we never had a word from the school about but  none of  the two could tell me so I was puzzled.  When we went to the school this morning, I found out that reason they  locked the school down yesterday is because of the robber that was on the loose in the area.  

Scary situations  like that frightened  me   but glad that the school did the right thing.  The theft who robbed  different establishments  yesterday, killed himself last night before the police can get to him.  What is happening around the world these days makes you scared all the time.  I am always afraid that  something will  happen to our kids in school.   

Pyramid Style Intellective Magic Pearls Toy

I received my last two  products to review from Tmart.com  last week.  One of it is the Pyramid Style Intellective Magic Pearls Toy, one of the many  Brain Teasers toy that  you can buy at TMart.  This Pyramid pearls will exercise a  child´s practical ability and hand-eye-brain coordination ability.   It can explore child´s intelligence and bring him or her plenty of fun.  This is a  perfect present for your any child  from ages 6 years old and up.

If you are  searching for a good way to make your child smart, this is a good choice.   This Pyramid Style Intellective Magic Pearls Toy can meet your demand. With moderate difficulty, it is well designed and suitable for the intelligence development of your child. It can cultivate child´s intelligence, imagination and creativity as well as hands-on skill. 

This is also a good  parent-child bonding as you can help your child when he is having difficulty with the  toy.  The colorful design and the cute pearls will surely attract your child's  interest.  Just be mindful that this is for  kids 6 years old and above so your close supervision is needed if you have a small toddler around, this can choke your baby if swallowed.

Disclaimer: The author of this blog was NOT financially compensated to write this review. Opinions expressed is not in anyway influenced by other factors. The product/s mentioned above was provided for FREE for evaluation purposes.

TwirlyGirl

"It takes a Twirl to Raise a Girl"  is  the slogan from  TwirlyGirl  and I just love it!  Having a daughter is a wonderful thing.  I have a friend and an enemy  lol.  Kidding aside, having a daughter is  awesome!  I can't even imagine myself without  our precious little lady.  She's my baby doll whom I can dress up most of the times.  Trying on clothes is one of the many things that we both enjoy doing when shopping at the mall.  She gets very excited when I tell her that I have a dress for little girls like this one.  

She was so thrilled when I handed her  the packaged that I got from TwirlyGirl.  She did not know what it is as it was beautifully wrapped in a pink cloth.  She thought I was pulling a prank on her even though it was  the day before April Fools.  I told her to open it and see.  

She absolutely love this Can Can Dress  with a Bubble Gum Petal Shine print.  The material is so soft and  comfortable on her skin.  When she put it on, I asked her to make a twirl and she was like "Whoa, this is so cool, I love this!"

We even use the wrapper as her hair accessory.  She can't wait to wear this on their free dress in school and that wouldn't be until the end of this month so she just have to wait.   

This dress is very well made.  I can till that this would last very long because they used  4 thread overlock stitching.  You don,t have to worry about ripping off the  stitches or something like that.  All  the clothing at Twirly Girl is proudly manufactured here in the USA so it is high quality.  You might raise your brow when you see the price but I tell you, it is worth every penny you will pay for with their dresses.

Twirly Girl has fabulous collection of dress for little girls   that they  would surely love to wear everyday.  I am telling you, our 8 year old daughter does love this one that I got for her.  She wore it right away  when it first arrive then I told her that I have to wash it, when it dried, she wore  it again lol.

A dress for little girl like this cost $72 but as I have said earlier, it's worth it because the fabric alone is of high quality and the  craftmanship is beautiful.  They do take pride in making their products.  It was funny when I told her that this  particular style of dress is called Can Can and she exclaimed "Oh my, that's my first piano piece recital song" lol.  She's right, I did not think she would remember but she did.

If you want to see their dresses little girls' collection, visit TwirlyGirl.  I had so much fun browsing and  looking at their selection.  You can change the way you  dress little girls with their   collection into  a more fun and fashionable way.  You can use the code KidsTG to  enjoy a 10% discount, the coupon code will expire on May 1st..  This code expires in May 1st so  while you have time, enjoy the discount before it expires.  Thanks a lot TwirlyGirl!

Disclaimer: The author of this blog was NOT financially compensated to write this review. Opinions expressed is not in anyway influenced by other factors. The product/s mentioned above was provided for FREE for evaluation purposes.

4 Tips for Selecting a Unique Name for Your Baby

When the time comes in an expecting couple’s career to start thinking of names for their future son or daughter, there can be a lot of pressure to pick the perfect name. Naming a baby is no trifling matter. The name that is chosen, whether for a boy or girl, will stay with that child for his or her entire life and have a direct impact on the type of life he or she has. Nowadays, it seems that picking the perfect name also includes picking one that is unique. 

Uniqueness in a name is thought of as both a way to ensure a child’s sense of individuality and personal identity, as well as a way for parents to express their love to their future son or daughter. Giving a child a special name makes parents feel that they will give their child a special life, and this is an important factor. While the popularity of naming children after biblical characters or elder family members has not entirely diminished, it has seen a decrease in recent years. In a culture that is dominated by media and entertainment, the fact that celebrities have a tendency to give their children unique names certainly has some influence on the choices made by modern parents-to-be. 

While uniqueness, in itself, is typically viewed as a good thing, there is also another side to it that should be carefully considered before making a final decision on a baby name. There are varying levels of uniqueness that can determine the manner in which a name is received by the child’s future peers. The right amount of unique, makes a person “special,” while too unique can make a person an outcast. While, this may seem an extreme perspective for something as simple as a child’s name, make no mistake. A name that is deemed “weird,” will most certainly cause your child some difficulty with the other kids at school. It’s important to weigh these factors carefully.

So, if you are a person fortunate enough to be at the point in your life where you are considering a baby name, what’s the best way to go about picking a unique one? 

1. See what’s Popular - When choosing baby boy names or baby girl names, one classic method is to look through baby name books. Now with massive resources available online, a simple search will bring up statistics on all the most popular and current names for boys and names for girls. This can be useful for a couple reasons. This will allow you to find a name that you like without the fear of picking one that is too outdated. On the flip side, you can make sure that you’re not naming your child the most popular name in the year. No child wants to have three or four classmates with the same name.

2. Make a List – This is probably the most important step to take when choosing a name for your future baby. Memory is not a reliable place to store information and, during your search, you will undoubtedly come across a large amount of names that you like. You can even use a system of check marks or ratings to help determine your favorites on the list. The list should be ongoing. You have plenty of time before you have to make that final call. Keep it open-ended as long as you need to.

3. Think outside the Box - If picking a unique name is important to you, lists of popular baby names will probably do very little to help you in your search. Think about the parts of life that you love most. Places you like to visit, activities, philosophies, music or the arts. You never know in what way inspiration will hit you. Keep an open mind.

4. Consider Alternate Spellings – This method has become increasingly popular over the last couple decades. If you are worried about giving your child a name that is too unique, you could simply rework a classic popular name. If you choose this route, be careful not to make the name difficult to pronounce from reading it. This will give your child many headaches throughout his or her life. Try to avoid adding silent letters or interchanging vowels that should not be interchanged. Changing a “C” to a “K” is usually a safe bet. Changing an “I” to a “Y” can also work but should be done with care.

My Little Acrobats

After a few weeks of attending gymnastics, my son did not want to go back anymore. I was once again disappointed that my son did not stick to it. We have been trying to find something that he would like to do but it seems to not work. I mean, I don't want to push him to do something that he doesn't want to do but at the same time, I don't want him to think that he can quit whenever he wants to as life isn't like that. 

He has to learn how to work on something and stick with it.  My husband said that he is still too young, he is right but my point is, when  is the right age for him  really pick what he wants to do as a hobby.  I guess when he is ready, he will let us know.

He does do what he have learned for that short period of time attending gymnastic class though. Him and his sister sometimes do the tricks at our living room.