Category Archives: education

Artemis Fowl: The Series

I have found one of the best books series’ for kids I think is around so I thought I’d share it with you guys. It’s called Artemis Fowl. These books are about a Maniacal Sociopath who is a major criminal. He has stolen and earned through shady deals over 2 million dollars. Did I mention he is 11 years old? One of the reasons I thought it was a good time to write about this book series is that there is a movie coming out in June! On June 12th Artemis Fowl is coming to Disney+ and I am super excited!

This book series is all about this kid who discovered that fairies are real and they have been living underneath us this whole time. Thousands of years ago there was a great war between the Mud men (us) and the fairies and instead of getting wiped out they went underground and were forgotten by history. Until Artemis Fowl decide he was going to prove they were real and rob them blind.

I love these books because they are an excellent mix of fantasy and science fiction that I love. The only thing cooler than a race of fairies that have awesome magic is a race of fairies with magic that are so technologically advanced that you can buy a nuclear power source that lasts forever and is smaller than a battery. 

I love this book series because of its incredible blend of many different genres and the way that it does it seamlessly.

10 Fun & Educational Youtube Channels & Playlists

10 fun and Educational Youtube

Youtube is a fun and scary place. There are so many things there that it is hard to sift through the cat videos for something of substance. That is why I did some sifting for you! Here are 10 fun and educational Youtube channels and playlists perfect for any homeschool family or nerd!

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego! Nothing like a great nerdy throw back! A user on Youtube (Bubblebear83) has put together a playlist!!!

TED talks to watch with kids is a playlist that TED has put together.  Some great talks!

Doodling in Math Class by ViHart is one of my absolute favorites! We have been watching her since before she was working for Khan Academy. She is NerdPie’s favorite;). 

Mathemusician Stuff is another great ViHart play list. I love music and math, need I say more?

Crash Course is a series done by the VlogBrothers. It is a ton of subjects and super entertaining. My kids and I really like it. It is probably considered high school level but all my kids watch most of them. 

Crash Course Kids is just like Crash Course but aimed at elementary aged kids. 

Space Time is done by PBS Digital Studios. It is really fun, interesting, and well done. And who doesn’t love space?

PBS Game/Show is obviously done by PBS. It is all about video games and that is inherently cool. It isn’t a review show but actually about gaming and video games. Like things like How old is Virtual Reality.

It’s Okay to be Smart is the last PBS show on my list. Joe Hanson hosts it and talks about science and life. 

Life Noggin is another science in life channel. They talk about things like sleepwalking and science of super powers.

Bonus: This isn’t a playlist but a grouping. Remember Eureka? It was a math series on PBS back when I was a kid. It is cartoony and mathy and awesome! Check it out! 

Yes, Youtube can be so educational! So check out some of these great lists! And what awesome educational faire do you watch on Youtube? Let me know in the comments. 

10daysbutton This is part of the 10 Days of Nerdy Fun!!! Make sure you hop over to see what other great post of nerdy fun that will be shared! 

 








Fun around the Lego site

Misfortune's Keep(Edited)

Do you like playing with Legos and want more bricktastic action? There is lots of special features, games and videos that I’m going to lay out to you right here right now. This post will tell you my favorite things and why I like them.

1:Watch product videos and mini movies. For almost every product there is a product video. The product animations using the pieces that you get in the sets. Plus it has a descriptions of all the moving pieces. My favorite is set number 70605 Misfortune’s Keep. It has hidden cannons, disc shooters and the pirate jet taking off from the launchpad. It also has four-armed djinn Nadakhan possessing the soul of famed teacher Sensi Wu. 

2:Play different games of different types. There are many games, some I haven’t tried, that go along with the lego stories. My favorite is called Skybound. The evil Djinn Nadakhan is stealing parts of NINJAGO Island to rebuild his realm of Djinjago in the sky. Playing as Jay you must battle him and his gang of SKY PIRATES to rescue Zane, Nya, Lloyd, Cole and Kai to take back the stolen lands and rebuild NINJAGO.

3:Watch short stories on Lego city made by  other kids. On Lego city you can watch Fan Created Videos made by other kids. They make it using the LEGO Movie Maker app. These use Stop Motion Animation to animate the app.

4:Look at the cool sets available. On the Lego site there is information and images for every set. Click on Products, choose an image, look on the top, and click products again. There are so many products to look at. You can also look at Lego sets on Amazon.

I hope this post has filled you in on the fun you can have on Lego.com. I hope you can have as much fun as I always do. 

 

10daysbutton 

This is part of the 10 Days of Nerdy Fun!!! Make sure you hop over to see what other great post of nerdy fun that will be shared! 

 








10 Math Card Games

10Math Games

It isn’t shocking that math skills are built by repetition. It is also well known facts that we remember having fun and if we are learning at the same time, we remember that too! In that spirit here are some fun math games to play with your kids! All you need is a standard deck of cards. You will have learning and quality time! Can’t beat that!

(Continue reading at NerdFamily Things)








The Broken Window Fallacy

I am amazed how many people buy into the broken window fallacy. And if you want to see people buying into the broken window fallacy just look at Federal support programs. Another example is the Occupy people who trash storefronts and expect their student loans to be forgiven.

Do people not understand that money is liquid but there is only so much? Had you heard of the broken window fallacy before?








Code is a Tool

Today this talk from the Evo conference was shared with me. Maya Bisineer did a great job of talking about how code is a tool that we need to teach our children, especially our girls, so they can use it to make their dreams come true. I couldn’t agree more!

But the lack of coding and teaching coding is just evidence of a problem in our society. People just throw their hands up when they can’t do something that would give them what they want.

I mean how prevalent is it that people say how they can’t cook and how much they hate that they can’t cook? Rather than learn and equip themselves they don’t try because it isn’t their passion. But cooking is a skill that gets you something and that something can change everything.

I think that is why my passion is equipping people! I want to make people feel that they can learn how to do just about anything they desire to do! Be it homeschooling, cooking or just playing with technology.

We need to be willing to learn the skills and how to utilize tools to help up express our passions and change the world! And we need to pass that onto our children. And I agree with Maya, lets start with coding!!!








Avoid the Illusion…

I assume that our local CSU is not unique. I assume that they all have budget issues and crazy hiring policies. So it is hard to not look at the recent hiring of Carole Brown-Welty as Dean of Graduate Studies at CSUFresno with a lot of cynicism.

For those who don’t know, she is married to the President of CSUFresno John Welty. The announcement of her hiring was made only 1 week after her predecessor announced her departure. Apparently Provost William Covino didn’t conduct a search or look at other qualified options.

So, I am off base? I think President Welty should have insisted on Covino conducting a full search, even if his wife still got the job. Just to make sure that it was done right? I remember hearing a lot as a kid, “Avoid the illusion of an indiscretion”. But here is seems that they didn’t care how it looks. So was this straight up nepotism? I am just a hater?








Time and Influence

So I am reading the new biography of Deitrich Bonhoeffer, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, and they were talking about the influence the children’s 2 Christian nannies had. They were talking about the importance of the nannies’ faith to Bonhoeffer’s mom and how they helped to form the children’s faith.

I started thinking about how important it is to really contemplate who you bring in to influence your kids for 8 hours a day (like sitters or nannies) or even how much we ponder whose homes we will allow our children to visit.  Of course that led me to thinking about school. We examine and re-examine who we bring into our homes but many are completely  complacent to allow the school to chose who will be influencing their kids in the schools. Now I have heard from many people how they have good, Christian teachers this year but not last, or may be next year it may not be good.

Would you employ a nanny agency that would maybe let you choose your first nanny but every so often was going to change nannies and you wouldn’t get a say? Of course not! You want control over someone who will be such an integral part of you child’s life. Why don’t people have the same outrage about the schools being run that way?

Is it because the government has told you that you don’t have the right to? And what do you think about that?








Cosmic Mysteries in Your Kitchen

By User Zeimusu on en.wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons

People worry that you can’t really teach your kids science without a school lab. Well, try these on for size;)!

You can simulate a white hole in your kitchen sink. Wired has a great article on not only how to do the white hole but a great break down of what it really is.

Then you can pop over to OrbitingFrog to read how to measure the speed of light. All you need is a microwave, a microwave safe square (or rectangle) dish and marshmallows or chocolate chips! It is an awesome experiment!

So go, learn and have fun with science!!!