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TKD Purple Belt

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My daughter got her Purple Belt yesterday. We now have all four of us having our purple/purple stripe belts! Tae Kwon Do has been good for us.

Kids and word processors

I am sure that this is covered in plenty of detail elsewhere but as I am with my kids and they are at the point (or close to it) where using a word processor is becoming needed. At school they use program which is an overlay for Word (and the other Office programs). MaxWrite, I believe. What to use? I have Mac, Windows and Linux (Ubuntu). While they use Win XP at school, we are pretty agnostic as far as the use of the different computers/OS. (started) Posting from my iPhone). Ironically, even though they use Windows at school -- they seem to like Ubuntu and Mac OS X more -- or at least gravitate towards those machines.

It is interesting how I can move them around from computers without too much issue. They are comfortable with all browsers -- but FireFox seems to be the favorite. I have them use KidZui most of the time for internet (gets them great content with a high level of control over what what they see). Linux seems to have the greatest amount of easy to access educational software. But KidZui us good also, and I can use on all three systems.

Back to word processors. I do not know if I should use something different than what I have access to, or something even more focused towards kids. I have MS Office and or MS Works on one of the Windows machines, and on the Mac. I have OpenOffice on all three, and I have Pages (iWork) on the Mac. I bet there are other lower-end kid-focused word processing software. I guess the most obvious choice is OpenOffice, it is on each system so would be available no matter what.  It is also somewhat similar in general function to Word. One question for me is whether it is too complicated or bloated. But that I guess would knock out Word also. I wonder if OpenOffice would be too much for a NetBook as far as taking up resources? Probably need to think on this a little more. Any comments are welcome.

TKD Daughter

Here is my daughter getting a Gold medal in of her matches (Napa TKD school tournament) -- (She is the one on the right.)

Kidzui: Cool site for kids and parents #kids #internet #browsing #privacy #safety

I do not think that I mentioned this before, but this site is kind of cool for both kids and parents: kidzui.com -- However, it is a little more than a website. The site is focused on kids 13 and under. You can get it as an application or as a browser plugin. A parent sets up their own account and then sets up accounts linked up to each child. The kids login to the site, and are given a kind of "dashboard" where they can see age and gender appropriate material. You put in age, gender and what types of things that you will be notified about, allow/disallow. The site has items that are interactive, as well as things to read, videos, dress up (they can make their own character), and so on. Each of the kids has their own account which they can customize however they like. I believe that you can set a time-limit so that they can only be on for a certain amount of time, and certain times. I believe there is a way to set it up for a class or a school. If your child wants to "chat" with another kid, it comes to the parent to accept or deny. If they want to go to a site not already allowed it comes to the parent for them to check it out. There is a free version and one that has a monthly fee. We are thinking of upgrading to the fee-based version (homework helper, new graphics, more tools for parents managing the accounts, etc.) They can access their from different computers (since it is done with the web browser you can be on Windows, Mac, or Linux). I try to monitor everything that my kids are doing online. But with KidZui, I have found that I am less worried about them getting exposed to inappropriate content. In any event, I think it might something useful for other parents to see.

Technorati Tags: accountability, children, IM, kids, safety, security, social, values, internet, privacy

What does it mean to be global? # children #kids #values #global #diversity

Checkout LittlePicklePress. Today their new (first) book "What Does It Mean To Be Global? come out. It is a cool children's (ages 3-7) picture book about what it means to be global. Tell them I sent you. I do not get anything direct from this, except that I helped create the ebook version and I think it is a cool book.

Technorati Tags: book, children, eco-friendly, global, integrity, kids, responsibility, values, diversity

Children's Picture Book #children #kids #picturebook

Checkout LittlePicklePress.com on 10/2/2009 or after. Some friends of mine are launching a cool children's picture book about what it means to be global. For those interested I will post a better description and a more specific link after the launch. Tell them I sent you. I do not get anything direct from this, except that I helped create the ebook version and I think it is a cool book.

Technorati Tags: integrity, kids, responsibility, social, children, book, global, values, eco-friendly

Ziva #pet #parrot

Ziva (the caique) was a little put off that we did not add a picture of her. She is the queen bird, of course.

caique, pet, parrot

Mio Pic #parrot #pet

Here is a promised pic of Mio, the new addition to our household.

mio, pet, parrot

Kids Online: Balancing Saftey and Fun, CONFERENCE Oct 12 in SF

Kids Online: Balancing Saftey and Fun, CONFERENCE Oct 12 in SF http://bit.ly/1y6t7

Technorati Tags: kids, safety

Kindle and Childrens Books

Does anyone have experience with Kindle and Kids books? I am trying to figure out if there is a big market for them. Seems like it could be a way to get the little tikes to stay busy, but it is not color and would mommy or daddy let them handle the kindle device since it is a $300-$500 investment (at least) -- however parents do let their kids play with their phones and iPods.

Technorati Tags: ipod touch, kindle, iphone