(Comic taken from Comics.com, Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis)

Can you relate to this comic?

The Pearls of Swine comic in the Sunday paper on May 23, 2010, made me laugh.  This happens to me so often when I sit down to be “productive” on the computer.  I have the best of intentions when I start up the computer.  I tell myself I will only check my email and then begin my writing for the day.  But just like in the comic, I end up clicking on a link, checking Facebook or searching the internet for some random thought or idea I had.

Now getting back to the blog topic of the day…the comics.

I typically never read the comic section but as I was putting away the paper, I noticed a section that had educational websites for kids.  I decided to take a few minutes and see if they were ones I could use with my children.  (Yes, checking out these sites led to other searches and links that were not relevant to my work.)

Tip of the Day:

You will most likely find great resources in unlikely places.  Always be watching!

Websites found in the comics this past Sunday:

BBC’s: A History of the World

Calculation Nation

4Kids.org

Is change a good thing?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no.  Sometimes it is done out of necessity.

My Big Little Brain blog is in need of a change.  Nothing drastic, nothing flashy simply a change in how I present activities to my readers.

I have become more aware of copyright laws in the recent couple weeks.  I realize that although I do cite my sources, I am not obtaining permission from the publishers and/or authors to publish their activities on my site.

My goal has always been for this to be an educational site.  I am not looking to make money on this but rather give parents tips and ideas to do with their children.

In order to adhere to copyright laws for educators, I will be making the following changes to my site:

1.  I will remove the Google Ads.

The main reason I had them on the site was to offset the cost of the yearly hosting fee.  Google does not send a check for ads until an individual has reached $100.  At the rate I am going, I would receive a check in 2015.  I am not even exaggerating.

2.  Some of the previous activities will be removed.

I will be busy editing the site and removing any activities that are from a book to which I do not have the publisher’s permission to post on my site.

3.  Future activities will have a link to the activity instead of step-by-step direction the the Big Little Brain site.

4.  Initially, there will be a decrease in the  number of weekly posts.

As I work to clean things up on the site, I may have fewer posts during the week.  I typically try to post five days a week.  I will give it my best shot but am not making any guarantees.

I truly hope that my readers find this site helpful and useful.  I do my best to provide educational activities for families to use.  I did not intend to deprived publishers and/or authors of income by posting their activities on my site.  My intent was the opposite.  I hoped by making readers aware of various books, they would visit the sites more often and potentially buy the books.

There will be no new posts on the Big Little Brain this week, due to site maintenance.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Hopefully things will be worked out soon.

Thank you!

Are you looking for a new educational site for your children?

Since we do not give our children a great deal of time on the computer, I do not actively search for new sites.  Our kids have a few educational sites which they enjoy and therefore they simply go to those sites when they have computer time.

Lately I realized it was probably time that we added some new sites to the mix.  Like I said I don’t typically search out educational sites.  However if a parent recommends a site that their own children enjoy, I usually take a look at it.

The most recent sites I was made aware of are iknowthat.com and starfall.com

iknowthat.com has activities for preschoolers through grade six in a variety of subject areas.

One thing I do not like about this site is the advertisements on the side.  I do not like having to worry about what my child may click while playing.

Starfall.com is designed for beginning readers.  The activities work with letter recognition and phonetics to help preschoolers and early elementary aged children develop and/or strengthen their reading skills.

(more…)

Friday’s Discussion Topic:

Are parents setting a bad example when it comes to technology?

In the past I have discussed how children today are overloaded with technology.  From watching too much television to playing video games for hours.  But what about parents?  Are we using technology too often and setting a bad example?

This week I went to a carnival at my daughter’s preschool.  Kids and parents were playing bingo, doing crafts and playing musical chairs.  As I stood watching my child march to the music, I started to notice a number of parents playing with their phones.

As my daughter was marching in a circle she would smile or wave each time she passed by me.  I felt sorry for the children who marched by their parent with a smile, only to find their parent not paying attention.

I also feel sad when I see parents talking on the phone when they pick up their children from school.  Shouldn’t they be taking the time to ask about their child’s day?

I admit that I am not perfect.  I admit that at times I am checking email or talking on my cell phone when I could be playing with my children.  However when I volunteer at school or take my children to a school activity, I make sure that they have 100% of my attention.  I make sure that they know I am there for them and that their activities are important.  I also make a point to not talk on the phone when I drop my kids off and pick them up from school.

What are your thoughts on technology in today’s society?