3 Clues to Use When Choosing Educational Children’s Media

~:: by Angela Santomero of Angela’s Clues ::~

I’ve made it my mission to create “hit” shows for children that are truly high quality and educational. In all of my shows, I’ve researched and created them with a vision and a curriculum to teach…kindergarten readiness skills for Blue’s Clues, reading skills for Super Why and socio emotional skills for the new Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.  Now, I’m happy that it’s important to parents that they know how to navigate the slew of content that’s out there and what it is that they should look for.

The truth is that just because a show or an app says it is “educational” doesn’t mean that it is.  To me, it’s  just like how the beautiful, healthy little avocado often gets overlooked because it sits on the grocery shelves with no packaging that screams out, “I AM NUTRITIOUS!”

So, how to spot the avocados of children’s media?

Here is the first of a series of posts for the incredible Bonbon Break that begins to discuss how we can dig deeper to look at kids content in a new way.

So, how do I know if a show is appropriate for my child?  

Here are my 3 clues:  

Clue#1:  Viewing a show is like inviting someone into your family room
Using age guidelines is one way to determine if a show is appropriate for your child but not all children are the same cognitively and emotionally. A show that would be interesting to one child may keep another child up at night. To this day, my girls haven’t watched the wolves scene from Beauty and the Beast because of how frightening I thought it would be for them.

Look at the show as a whole and make sure that you are okay with the language, visuals, messages and the goals before you allow your kids to watch or play. Are the characters the type of kids you want your children to hang out with? After all, you just let them into your house!

Simply “because all of the other kids are watching it” should hold little, if any, weight.  Discuss what “appropriate” means to your family and set rules/limits together so that (at this stage of the game) your kids can grow up at the pace in which you feel is appropriate for them.

Clue #2:  Treat the characters like your child’s new bffs
Maybe its because I work in television, but the characters are very real to me!  In truth, our kids model what they see and hear.  So, are these characters truly funny or sassy?  Are they witty or rude?  Are they good role models?  Is being “smart” cool to them?  Would I want to have dinner with them?  I remember when Fonzie took out a library card…it made all of us want to run to the library and as a result, the number of new library card applications has never been so high across the nation.  Now, that’s cool.  Fonzie was in my head when creating Super Why where I truly wanted to celebrate how cool reading really is…

Clue #3:  Feed their brain.  No matter what the venue.
Yes, we all like to be entertained, but if your child is going to dedicate half an hour or more viewing a program, let’s get something beneficial from it. It should be able to entertain AND educate in a smart fashion. And in terms of humor, what kind of humor is it?  Truly silly and harmless?  Or hurtful, finger pointing silly?  I love to hear my girls laugh, but never at someone else’s expense.

<:: See more of Angela’s Articles on Bonbon Break ::>

ABOUT ANGELA: Angela has been changing the way children watch TV for over 15 years. She is a Founding Partner & Chief Creative Officer of Out of the Blue Enterprises LLC, overseeing all creative development with the vision to bring educational entertainment to a whole new level.

Angela Santomero is the Lead Creator, Executive Producer and Head Writer for Nick Jr.’s landmark preschool show Blue’s Clues. Malcolm Gladwell referred to it as “One of the stickiest TV shows EVER made” in his book, The Tipping Point. Her ability to integrate education, entertainment & active participation helped make Blue’s Clues a breakthrough program. Currently, Angela is the Creator, Executive Producer & Head Writer of the Emmy-nominated and #1 ranked preschool show, Super Why!, which helps build literacy skills through fractured fairytales & interactive games. She recently unveiled her latest, (the Mister Rogers’ spin off) Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood this week. She presently hosts PBS’ The Parent Show at PBSparents.org.

Angela is a Peabody Award Winner for Outstanding Children’s Programming, a Gold & Silver Parents Choice Awards recipient & has been nominated for over 35 Emmy Awards. Her blog, AngelasClues.com, approaches Parenting from her vantage point as a successful childrens’ media creator, to assist parents with the most important job of all!

For more information on parenting, kids & media, join Angela over on her blog at Angela’s Clues or via Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest.

 

This original post was written for Bonbon Break Media, LLC

by Angela Santomero

The post 3 Clues to Use When Choosing Educational Children’s Media by Angela Santomero first appeared on BonBon Break.

<<Click HERE to vote for Kathy as BlogHer's Voice of the Year>>

If You Take a Mom to BlogHer

~:: by Kathy Radigan ::~

If you send a mom to BlogHer, she is going to have to pack her suitcase.

While she goes through all her carefully selected outfits for the blogging conference, she is going to realize that she desperately needs a new pair of shoes.

Before she goes to the store to get her new shoes, she will do a load of laundry because her kids have run out of clean underwear since she has been so busy working on her blog that she hasn’t done much laundry (or cleaning, or dusting, or anything else domestic).

After she puts the laundry in the washer, she is going to pass the hall mirror and notice that she totally forgot to get her hair cut or her roots done and she is leaving for BlogHer tomorrow.

As she goes to call the hair salon to see if they can squeeze her in, she is going to see her computer and decide to quickly check her email.

An hour later she looks up and now really panics since she has less than two hours before her kids get home from camp so she needs to head out…NOW.

When she turns on the car she is going to notice that it’s almost out of gas.

As she waits on line for gas, she gets a text reminding her about an orthodontist appointment that her son has on Friday.

After she pays for the gas, she is going to pull the car over so that she can cancel the appointment because when she made the appointment she forgot that she would be at BlogHer and she fears her husband is not ready for the executive move of going to the orthodontist with all three kids.

Finally getting to the store, she is going to notice that she has only a little over an hour before the kids get home from camp.

Fearing that she will be late for the kids, she runs to the shoe department .

While running to the shoe department, she is going to trip and fall on the floor.

When she gets up from the floor, she is going to notice a dress that she knows is much better for BlogHer than the five she has already bought weeks ago.

While paying for the dress, a scarf and a pair of earrings that the sales lady convinced her she must own, she is going to get a call from the hair salon with good news; If she can be there in 15 minutes she will be able to go to BlogHer with hair cut and colored.

Now extremely happy, she quickly leaves the store determined to go to BlogHer with great hair.

On the way to her car, she is going to realize that she only has a half hour before the kids come home from camp.

She is going to quickly call her own mom to see if she would be able to pick up the kids from camp.

Thrilled that her mom can pick up the kids, she puts her packages in the car and quickly gets to the hair salon.

When she gets to the hair salon, she is going to have to spend most of the appointment apologizing for the sorry state of her hair and the fact that it’s been more than a few months since she has had the time to get it done. After all, she is busy with her site, which is why she is going to BlogHer to begin with.

Thrilled that her hair is done and feeling very good about herself, she gets back in her car and heads home to happily find that her mom has fed the kids and gotten them all ready for bed.

Feeling a little guilty that she hasn’t see the kids all day, especially since she is going to be away for a few days, she takes the time to read everyone a few extra stories and gets her sweet brood of chicks happily off to sleep.

She takes a big breath, marveling at how she got everything accomplished that day.

And that is when she is going to go in her room and see the shopping bag that holds all of her new purchases, and she notices that her suitcase is still on the bed, waiting to be packed.

As she starts to pack everything that she so carefully chose for BlogHer, it is going to dawn on her that…

She still, desperately, needs a new pair of shoes.

ABOUT KATHY: Kathy Radigan is the CCO and Cofounder of Bonbon Break. Her first love was acting and singing which she pursued until the desire to pay her bills became stronger. She left her job as an assistant in a Venture Capital firm when she and her husband had their first child in 1998 and has been enjoying and immersed in the raising of their three children ever since.

When Kathy and Joe’s youngest child started kindergarten in the fall of 2010 their children’s schools went paperless. Kathy begrudgingly got her first email address and became a full fledged mom blogger a few weeks later. Her site, My Dishwasher’s Possessed, posted a weekly essay for two years. She loved exploring her funny, messy and hectic family life that includes two boys with learning issues, a daughter with significant special needs and a crazed appliance. Kathy decided to unplug the dishwasher this fall in order to fully enjoy her work with Bonbon Break and occasionally throw a load of laundry in! Though she’s happy, her dishwasher isn’t and refuses to even pretend to be a normal appliance.

You can find Kathy on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

The post If You Take a Mom to BlogHer by Kathy Radigan first appeared on BonBon Break.

Earl Grey Tart with Fresh Berries

ABOUT SUZANNE:  Suzanne focuses on food as centerpiece for both everyday routines and special occasions. Each recipe featured on Flour Arrangements, from simple loaves of bread to fondant decorated birthday cakes, comes with a story that blends life with cooking. You can follow Suzanne on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

 

The post Earl Grey Tart with Berries by Flour Arrangements first appeared on BonBon Break.

Whether your summer travel plans involve a trip across country or a night out in the city, be sure to buy a stack of postcards.

And, while you fill out postcards to your family and friends, why not write one to yourself as well.  Write out the highlights from your trip, the things that made you laugh.  Include the moments you want to capture and remember.

Put a stamp on your postcard and drop it in the mail.  Until we meet again, bon voyage postcard.

Your ‘back to normal life’ self {the one suffering from post vacation blues}, will appreciate getting something in the
mail other than the bills from your latest adventure.

Then, instead of tucking your postcard away in a photo album or a box, proudly display it.  Frame your handwritten postcard alone OR include the front side of another postcard from your vacation or use a favorite picture from your trip.

Those memories, the ones that may have faded, are now preserved and showcased.  The trip or adventure may be over but that doesn’t mean the memories have to be as well.

About Amy: Amy, from While Wearing Heels, suffers from a severe form of Crafter Attention Deficit Disorder SO does her blog. She finds herself doing a lot of tutorials. What sort of a tutorial really depends on the week (crafts, hair, home decor, how to extract a bento box cup from your dog after she has eaten one). She likes to share things she thinks are interesting or helpful and hopes to get that across with a few laughs thrown in. Join the good times and ideas with Amy on Pinterest or Facebook.

 [tfg_social_share] 

The post POSTCARD KEEPSAKE by While Wearing Heels first appeared on BonBon Break.

About ten years ago, I woke up feeling as if I had lost my shimmer. I was on the wrong side of the scale and looking less like me, and more like the Pillsbury Dough Boy, which the gynecologist pointed out at my annual exam. She wasn’t saying anything I didn’t know but her words shattered what was left of my esteem and cracked me open. I left my feelings on the floor of the exam room, hauled my battered ego out into the sunshine hoping for a respite from the nothingness growing unchecked within me.

I just made it to my car when the deluge of tears broke the damn built around my fragile self. How long had it been since I had cried? Maybe it was the last time I had slipped my body into a pair single digit sized jeans. When was the last time I felt the heat of passion burning through my veins. When was the last time I was me? I had been running so fast for so long I couldn’t remember. I had misplaced myself.

I sat inside my car unfolding the pieces of my life I had buried behind the wall of me. Women have a tendency of barricading themselves from life. The wall goes up after the first heartbreak as a first line of defense from future miscreants. Its purpose is to prevent heartbreaks, ego bashing, and dream squashing. Mine was no different. I had done a fine job of shielding myself from anything remotely sensitive, but I inadvertently buried my reckless abandonment behind the wall. My passion was withering inside of me and I hadn’t a clue.

I had too much pride to unload my personal sense of loss on anyone, besides who talks about size too big—double digit jeans, lost sparkle, displaced personal passion, and the woman we once were back before “I do”, baby one or more, and un-domestic bliss.

We unload the inconsequential tidbits of our life with friends, but a woman would rather be struck dead before confessing she’s lost her way. Pieces of the story surface after a couple glasses of wine, but a woman is hard pressed to confess she doesn’t have purpose or a clue how to find her way back to whom she once was. Harder to confess and later accept, that the fire in her belly once smoldering, has gone ashen.

I wish I could say after I cried my last tear I saw the light and my passion recharged, but I can’t. I had commitments and no time to dwell on my loss. I pasted another layer around myself thinking this would fix me, but it didn’t. It would take me another month before the wall of me cracked. I tried plastering the hole but everyday there was a new crack until the wall of me was a mosaic. Something was forcing me to look at myself from the inside, which I hadn’t done in a long while for a good reason.

I was afraid once the wall came down there be nothing inside of me. What if all I was meant to be is what I had become. It’s chilling, when awareness settles over your bare shoulders. I had meant to protect my heart from others but I ended up hurting myself by hiding behind the wall of me.

Women, regardless of the variables—size, color, bank balance, ethnicity, address—assume or forget passion is essential for a full sense of self. We’re clear it’s something to share with a lover, but we fail to recall it’s much more. It’s also the verb and noun of a woman. It’s trouble. It’s spark. It’s heart. It’s the fire in our belly. It’s the smoldering embers of our soul. It’s the essence of a woman required for all the seasons of her life.

And so, it was for me, too. I forgot. I had lost my fire and hadn’t a clue where I left it, and worse, how to get it back. It would take another few months before I found my center. It was right where I had left it, buried behind boxes labeled, former self, wild dreams, thoughts for a rainy day, and someday I will. The smoldering passion that pushed me to discovery and taking risks was also partly to blame for me getting lost inside of myself. When I walled myself in from the world, I accidently hid me from what made me-me.

I restored and rebalanced by writing letters to myself. I also took up walking since it’s the only time I am completely alone, which turns out to be critical for a woman to maintain harmony in her otherwise manic life.  I think of myself as a work in progress and accept that I will be until I am ash in the wind. Living a passionate life is not complicated but it does require taking risks and tearing down the wall, you hide behind.

Where is your passionate self?

About Brenda: She foolishly said I do to a Brit, packed up what she couldn’t sell into a couple duffle bags and headed across the Atlantic. She found a sister in Dorothy, and thought London similar to OZ. Her larger than life-life, left her feeling anxious and elated, empowered and afraid, mostly she felt topsy turvy. To combat the extreme emotions that sweep through her body at least hourly, if not every other minute, she took to writing lengthy letters home on sheets of blue Par Avion paper. After running out of factoids to report, she took to making up stories. It was in the writing where she glimpsed an unknown dream. Much later, after catching a balloon ride back to the states, and settling into yet another chapter of her life, she realized she missed having a reason to write stories. She bought a journal, filled it, another, and another, and finally, she took up writing as a fulltime passion. She is currently shopping her first novel, and has started working on the second. She suggests if you are tinkering with the idea of writing to always—no matter what anyone says—to trust in your voice. Follow Brenda on Twitter.

 

The post YOUR PASSIONATE SELF by Brenda Moguez first appeared on BonBon Break.

It’s summertime! I don’t need to pack a lunch! Well, not a school lunch anyways… there are still day camps, trips to the park, picnics on the beach… and family vacations, which means… road trips!

Eating in the car is not something I usually allow, but I make an exception on long road trips. It’s harder to find healthy eating options along the highway than it is to vacuum the crumbs from the van, and stopping for lunch makes the trip longer too. Instead, I pack snack-type things we can graze on throughout the trip. Munching seems to help with boredom too.

In general, my kids don’t like their foods to touch, so containers with divided sections, like EasyLunchboxes, are perfect for our lunches to go. I also use silicone baking cups to separate them, and the little cups can double as snack bowls in my vehicle’s drink holders. If I do pack anything that needs to be kept cold  I make sure to pack the container in an insulated cooler bag and store it out of direct sunlight until we are ready to eat it. I line the bottom of the tote with an ice pack, and sometimes add frozen reusable ice cubes right in the container with the food, for good measure.

I try to avoid packing foods that are likely to make a mess; besides the obvious not wanting to clean the car, I also don’t want to arrive at our destination with messy kids. Finger foods with thick dips are a good choice for neat eating.  Even though they are using their hands, somehow my kids make less mess than they do when they bite into sandwiches, getting food on their faces, or granola bars,  dropping crumbs all over. Picking up and dipping little nibbly bits takes more time too, and anything that keeps those little hands and mouths occupied on a long car ride is a plus!

Some of our favourite foods to dip are:

• fruits like strawberries, grapes, & apple wedges
• veggies like baby carrots, broccoli spears, & celery sticks
• crackers, bagel chips & pretzel sticks
• graham crackers (they break along the lines into little rectangles)

and to dip them in, we like:

• peanut butter & nutella
• greek yogurt  (it’s thicker than regular, and less likely to drip)

Skewering foods on party picks is an easy way to keep the lunchbox organized, and for smaller pieces of food, the pick makes a handy dipping utensil. Drink stirrers are great for kids kebabs since they don’t have pointy ends. Bite sized sandwiches on a stick are fun to eat!

2 more factors I consider when packing lunches for the road are are the budget and the trash. Single-serving pre-packaged snack foods are convenient, but they cost more, and make more waste.  And my kids often need help opening little pouches and packets. By buying full sized packages and whole fruits and vegetables then taking a few minutes to prepare them I drastically cut my food costs, and by filling my own reusable containers I eliminate the hassle and trash that comes with individual packaged snacks.

Yep, for long road trips, eating in the car is a go!  Full mouths are quiet mouths, fingers busy filling those mouths aren’t poking their siblings, and full tummies make for happier travelers.

About Cristi: Cristi Messersmith is a busy military wife, and mum to 5 picky sproutlets, 1 with autism. In her spare time she enjoys… oh, who are we kidding, she doesn’t have any spare time! Her blog chronicles her efforts to provide her family with nutritious, affordable, fun trash-free lunches for school and work. Find Cristi on Facebook and Twitter.

 

 

 

 [tfg_social_share] 

The post ROAD TRIP LUNCHES by BentOn Better Lunches first appeared on BonBon Break.

I garden to connect. To connect to the earth and the seasons and the plants. To connect to the process of nourishing bodies directly from dirt to table. But also to connect to the people around me. When I was growing up, my grandparents gardened and their neighbor was a master gardener. I remember my Grandma chatting with him when he brought over extra zucchini and kohlrabi to share with us. I spent many happy hours in my Grandma’s kitchen watching and helping her prepare berries and fruit and then sitting around their long table talking and eating and laughing with my family.

Later, when I met my husband, he and a friend had a huge garden (or small farm really) and they’d sell produce at the local farmer’s market as well as at restaurants around town. I’d go over and hang out, pulling weeds or helping them harvest. We’d have a big tomato canning party at the end of the year. Friends would come over to help chop tomatoes, eat snacks and, most importantly, share their company.

My husband had also created a beautiful garden carved out of a north-facing hillside where the soil was about 70% rocks. He’d hand dug all the rocks out and used them to create beautiful raised rock garden beds. We’d sit out there drinking coffee (him) and tea (me) and talking and he’d poke around, checking out the plants and lovingly hand watering them. Somewhere in the midst of all that gardening I fell deeply in love with him.

Now with kids we continue to connect to through gardening. To each other and also to our kids. Helping them plant, dig, water and, of course, harvest. Much of this is learning patience on our end. And perspective. Reminding ourselves that little feet running through the beds and trampling plants or little hands picking most of a crop before it is ripe are passing irritations, fleeting like young childhood. Reminding ourselves that all too soon they’ll grow before our eyes and we’ll laugh and remember the ‘escapades’ as more funny than frustrating.

And connecting to friends. Many people we met as new parents either gardened or have begun to learn to garden. One such couple started a garden in their side lot a few years ago and offered us space to plant there in return for a little garden know-how and the shared experience of community. We primarily plant tomatoes, squash and melons over there. The deer-proof garden space at our house is north-facing and shaded and doesn’t get enough sun to adequately grow these crops. The kids play with each other while we chat and work and harvest.

Gardening invites connection through sharing with others. Sharing the extra produce sure, but also seeds and extra starts and cuttings, bits of advice or tales of past disasters and triumphs. Sharing meals outside, admiring the flowers and the ‘oh so fresh’ food pulled straight from the ground. It’s a rare gardener who doesn’t want to share their experience of gardening. A rare gardener who doesn’t try and bring others into the fold. So indulge me while I share our garden with you, at least in photos. Because I’d like nothing better than to swap stories and tips with you, share some fresh made pesto and send you home with a baby herb cutting or some strawberry runners. But…photos are good too.

We live in Napa, a Mediterranean climate, which means we can easily garden year round, everything from stone fruit to citrus. It’s hard not to garden in such a growing climate. But only in the summer is it hot enough to grow tomatoes outside of a green house. I adore tomatoes. The sweet-tart cherries, popped directly into the mouth or tossed into just about everything. The thick, meaty canning varieties slow roasted with olive oil and herbs and pureed into a sauce. And the heirloom beefsteaks. Ah the beefsteaks! Knobby, striped, cracking apart at the stem with their deep, rich flavors. I could eat sliced beefsteaks with buffalo mozzarella constantly for months and not grow tired.

My immediate family does not share my adoration of raw tomatoes. Crazy, right? So this year we only planted a few Brandywines for me. The rest are canning tomatoes. Lucky for me, our friends planted about a dozen different heirlooms so I’ll get to indulge my obsession. My canning tomatoes are already ripe (unlike the beefsteaks) so in return, our friends have been sharing those with us.

The garden also has a huge patch of corn and sunflowers planted by our friends. My daughter’s favorite vegetable, besides fresh peas, is corn on the cob so she’s in bliss. And I’ve been taking every chance to photograph the sunflowers with their gorgeous colors.

In our home garden, the panache figs are growing nicely. We should get quite a few this year. This fig tree was once a tiny cutting given to my husband years ago by his first gardening instructor. It resides in a wine barrel and has grown to be a rather large tree over the years. The kids (and the ants) keep a sharp lookout for any ripe figs so I’ll have to be extra vigilant if I want to get some for myself…

Kids and gardens. It can be enough to make my heart melt watching them play amongst all the plants. My daughter’s pride in the plants she grew herself. My son’s self-assigned watering duties he takes so very seriously. I love having them tag along to help me pull our garlic crop from the dirt. Or harvest herbs to dry.

It can also be enough to make me want to pull out my hair or just sit down and throw up my hands and laugh. Like when they’ve learned to climb up into the pear tree and pick most of the tiny, green baby pears. At least a few escaped that fate. I’m guarding them and admiring their stunning beauty as they slowly ripen. This tree was here when we moved in but rather neglected. Composting, fertilizing and regular watering have encouraged it to produce large crops of incredibly good pears. I was never really a fan of pears before but this tree has totally changed my mind.

And of course, living in Napa, we have grapes. We grow several varieties of table grapes (nope, no wine grapes). Grapes love it here. They swarm along the fence and reach up into the tree tops. Only vigorous pruning keeps them from overtaking the surrounding areas. If you do any hiking around Napa, you’ll notice abundant California wild grape vines in amongst the trees almost everywhere.

The only catch to picking an abundant harvest come late summer is making sure the birds don’t devour all of them first. Ok, and the kids. I expect they’ll give the birds some stiff competition. I see a few bunches up out of little hands reach so there is hope that I might, just might, get a few to enjoy myself. But, after all, gardening is just as much about sharing as it is about receiving.

I hope you too are finding some time this summer to connect through gardening, perhaps with little hands eagerly working and playing alongside you. It’s been a pleasure showing you around.

About Amber: Amber Nelsen is an herbalist and mother to two who enjoys teaching others how to grow, identify, and wild-harvest plants for food and medicine. Amber and her family maintain a large permaculture garden full of herbs, fruit, vegetables, and medicinal mushrooms.

The post GARDENING TO CONNECT by Rowan and Oak first appeared on BonBon Break.