Frugal Family Fun

Being stuck at home can be frustrating, especially young kids. While at-home, online education has been a tremendous blessing in terms of academic advancement during the past year of the COVID-19 Pandemic, no education is complete without arts and humanities education. And I should know. As one of my own degrees is in Art History. The hours and days spent exploring art museums, living history museums, and children’s museums are amongst my favorite memories of my youth. Particularly my teens years studying in France and visiting museums like the Louvre, Rijksmuseum, and Bayou.

Luckily, children around the world will be able to browse these hallowed halls in the digital era. As many museums have put their collections online or created virtual tours. Google Arts & Culture, and its namesake app, has digitized the collections of numerous museums, from the Van Gogh Museum to New York’s MOMA. As well as foundations, including The Mona Lisa Foundation, the premier patron of fine art museums in Zurich, Switzerland, known for its patronage of children-centric collections including the Isleworth Mona Lisa.

While tastes are different, and art appreciation is subjective to culture and experience, and not every gallery or space will appeal to every child, there is still plenty to enjoy. So whether you need a trip to the aquarium or scope our King Tut and the gang, here are some virtual museum tours your kids will enjoy.

The Louvre

The Louvre may be closed, but many of its greatest treasures can be seen online. The landmark’s virtual tour takes you to some of its galleries, including into the basement ruins of the building’s original moat, which dates back to 1190 and the Egyptian antiquities from Napoleon Bonaparte from the pharaonic period. As well as the museums crowned jewels, including the Mona Lisa.

The British Museum

Ever wanted to see the Rosetta Stone or a real-life mummy? The British Museum has you covered. Their virtual tour is interactive, with artifacts searchable by era, region or type, and you can discover all sorts of interesting objects, including a bank check from Barclays and an ancient Egyptian papyrus poem.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

New York’s Met Museum’s MetKids is an online-only experience features a time machine, where you can search by time period, idea or location to uncover objects and artwork from the museum’s various rooms. There’s also a “Big Ideas” search tool allows kids to look into topics like inventions, fashion and battles. Including dozens of videos and interactive maps of the museum that allows you to check out various exhibitions around the building.

The Van Gogh Museum

If you love Van Gogh, then be sure to spend an afternon with your little one’s exploring the digital collection from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Particularly impressive in this digital collection is Almond Blossom, one of Van Gogh’s best-known patenting created during his trip to Japan.

Boston’s Children’s Museum

The Boston Children’s Museum welcomes online visitors into its exhibits sharing everything from science instillations to colonial American history. Making this museum a great supplement to early American Studied and Social Studies curriculum at home.

The Smithsonian

Whether your looking to brush up on your at-home paleontology trivia or see a real-life indoor castle, a virtual tour of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. is not to be missed. With a myriad of integrative videos, activities, reading, and interactive audio and visual experiences kids of all ages will find something to enjoy at the Smithsonian online. Make sure to check out the virtual tours of both the Smithsonian Castle and the Hirshhorn Sculpture Gardens.

Also, check out the Smithsonian museum’s National Gallery of Art. Hosting thousands of items and paintings online via Google. You can explore the current exhibition Fashioning a Nation to learn about American fashions from 1740 to 1895, or search through the various periods, from baroque to modern art. Favorites include Vermeer’s Woman Holding a Balance, Cassatt’s Little Girl in a Blue Armchair and Gauguin’s Words of the Devil.

The Uffizi Gallery

Lover of Renaissance-era art? Treat yourself, and the kiddos, to the Florentine Uffizi Gallery virtual tour. can be explored on Google Arts & Culture, and there’s a lot of art to see. Most of the works are from the Renaissance, with an emphasis on paintings by Italian artists. You know, turtle-power masters like Da Vince, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello. Including Italian history and its impact on European history.

Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre

Fan of James and the Giant Peach? Then be sure to check out the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, located outside London, before having a marathon day of reading The Witches or The BFG to your kids. Search through the exhibits and learn about the picturesque countryside of Buckinghamshire, the inspiration for many of Dahl’s best-oved works.

Friends, I hope this list of virtual museum, gallery, and scientific centers will help you and your little ones continue to explore all that is wild and wonderous in this great big world. Then, one day, when the world again makes since, be sure to plan trips to see your most-favorite virtual tours spots. Now I want to ask, which tour are you most excited to see? Leave your thoughts below.

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Lifelong learning is one of the most important things out there both for an individual’s ability to succeed on just about any given path, and also for their ability to lead a fruitful and fulfilling life.

As a general rule, the learning habits that are acquired in childhood will tend to have a significant influence on how people engage with learning throughout their lives. But, of course, there are also more immediate and direct reasons why it’s a good thing to get your child actively and positively engaged with their education from an early age.

Perhaps one of the best things that anyone can do in order to help a child adopt a more positive attitude to learning, in general, is to take steps to make the learning process more fun in and of itself.

Here are a handful of different ways that you might be able to make learning more fun for your kids.

Use well put together worksheets that your kids can feel accomplished for completing

Worksheets, if done right, can be an excellent source of motivation and a sense of accomplishment for your child, compared to many other forms of learning.

With an interesting and well constructed worksheet such as those offered by Studentreasures Publishing, your child can benefit from having a clear outline of what they need to tackle at any given moment, while additionally always being able to “see the finish line” as well.

Kids will naturally tend to feel a sense of pride and accomplishment when they have completed a worksheet and can see the evidence of their progress right there in front of their eyes. It’s also straightforward to come up with ways to reward your kids for completing a set number of worksheets as well.

Help to nurture and encourage their natural interests

Every child will tend to have certain natural interests – things that they find fascinating, and they want to find out more about, without having to be told to by a teacher.

Unfortunately, these natural interests can be squashed or subverted by imposing too much structure, rigidity, and formality on the overall learning process. If your child is naturally fascinated by outer space, you should do what you can to nurture and encourage that interest by – for example – providing them with the resources to investigate more about the topic on their own time, in a way they are likely to enjoy and find natural.

Educational novels, picture books, encyclopedias, and so on, can all be very positive in this regard. And if your kids develop a set of positive associations with the learning process in one domain, there’s a good chance that this will carry over to a more general interest in learning.

Make sure they get a good grasp of the fundamentals

Perhaps one of the most important things you can do in order to ensure that your kids are able to enjoy the general learning process – and even to have fun with it – is to make sure that they get a good grasp of the fundamentals.

A lot of frustration in education comes about because the fundamentals, in any particular subject, weren’t properly grasped or understood – meaning that there is a constant confusing game of “catch up” that has to be played down the line.

On the other hand, if your child understands the fundamentals and basic concepts behind anything well, then the learning process will likely be more fascinating and less stressful and confusing as a whole.

There simply won’t be the same sense of wild desperation when it comes to trying to figure out what’s going on.

Look for ways to make the learning process more active and engaged

It’s always  worth keeping in mind that, as human beings, we are meant to be active and engaged – both physically and otherwise – when it comes to navigating everyday life.

There’s good evidence that regular physical exercise actually makes us better at learning and incorporating information on the one hand, and many great writers and scientists over the ages have reported that some of their best insights have come to them when walking, or otherwise being physically active.

If the learning process for your child involves essentially sitting in a room and trying to memorise lists of facts by rote, it’s quite unlikely that they will find the process very fun.

Instead, look for ways to make the learning process more active and engaged – both physically, and also in terms of more practical exercises and experiments.

Whether you are throwing a party or updating your playlist, there are so many options for modern music and electronic music for celebrations and weddings. Music from Indie labels and even podcasts, including Benjy Grinberg, that share so many ways to find the right genre of music for your next event. Here are four great dance music styles to consider:

Techno

‘Techno’ is a music genre all of us tend to know of and hence dance beginners frequently presume it’s among the very most dominant dance music genres. Truth be told, that is not really true. Techno is a little sub-genre. It’s hardly any mainstream popularity and is challenging to break into. But this definitely does not mean you cannot appreciate it! 

Jeff Mills and Carl Craig are a couple of examples of celebrated techno artists. But, what is it that makes this type of dance so unusual? Well, if you are not really into techno, you may turn a song on and believe it sounds all the same. This is because it’s literally the same sound over and over, as it’s based on loops, but modest continuous alterations are added to be able to move the track along. It really is a love it or loathe it music genre, that is for certain, so it is probably better for your playlist than a party. But people who adore it really adore it.

Dubstep

Next up we’ve dubstep, a dance music genre that’s just existed for a comparatively limited time, but has made a gigantic impact! Some famous artists encompass the likes of Joker, Caspa, Skream, Hatcha, and Benga. However, where did this genre come from? 

Dubstep has just existed since the late 1990s, with the earliest ever track being traced back to 1998, although these usually featured as B sides of 2-step garage single releases. It was basically a reaction to the United Kingdom garage scene getting more commercial and radio-friendly. Producers, including Oris Jay and El-B, began to create experimental instrumental remixes, and dubstep was created. 

Dubstep is characterized by a great deal of bass, a tempo of 140 beats per minute, a shuffling feel as well as a syncopated beat. In the early days, dubstep was sparse and dark, nevertheless now you can locate much more rhythmic variants and colorful synths when trying to add dubstep to your dance music playlist. But do be mindful of listening to loud volumes continually. You can learn more about hearing loss online and the impact of this. 

Electro

Now on to electro… arguably one of the most confusing music genres! Why is this? Well, it has transformed over the years. It existed in one form and then transformed into another one. This is not unusual for the world of dance. 

In the late 1970s electro referred to the usage of a sample, the breakbeats, or the electronic drum patterns. Yet, now it’s far simpler to spot what electro is, and that’s mainly because it comes down to using full-bodied synths as its foreground. Lately, there has been plenty of innovation in this genre and it’s likely we’ll see this continue. Artists including Dada Life, Rxxy, and DeepSea supply a terrific place to begin. 

Nu Disco

Finally, we’ve Nu Disco, and this is basically an upgraded disco in fundamental terms. Famous artists contain the likes of Re Dupre, Sterling, Wusel, and July Child. Everybody has heard of good old disco music, exceptionally popular since the 1970s! Therefore, where did the ‘Nu’ originate from? 

It is straightforward… Nu Disco is essentially the old genre with a revamp. Changes have been made to make a disco suitable to today’s dance marketplace. Usually, nu disco has a tempo of anything between 120 and 130 beats per minute. It features vocals, horns, strings, and pianos. If you’re seeking some funky kinds of dance music downloads, nu disco is the go-to music genre. It is a fantastic choice if you’re looking to cater to all ages; it contains that old fashioned vibe but with a sprinkle of the new!

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Shopping online is a fantastic way to save money. There are many different techniques you can use to save when you’re shopping online, and you could save yourself a lot of money. One thing to remember is that not all advice for saving money is as good as the next piece of advice. Some methods for saving might seem like a good idea but they can turn out to be a bit of a disaster in hindsight. There are some things you should do and some that you shouldn’t if you want to save online. Take a look at just a few of them.

Do Look for Vouchers and Discounts

Most online stores will allow you to input a voucher code to help you save money. In fact, they will often send these codes straight to your inbox if you sign up for their newsletter. Some of them will also tell you which codes to use on the website itself. If you’re not sure if any discount codes are available, you can use a browser plug-in that lets you search for any that you can use. It will ensure you’re not missing out on any discounts so you can save the maximum amount possible.

Don’t Buy from Sketchy Sellers

If you search for a product online, you can compare prices from different stores. This will sometimes come up with sellers that have the item you want at a much cheaper price than elsewhere. However, buying from a seller you’re unfamiliar with may not be such a great idea. The availability of gray market watches means you can save money on big brands, but it also means you’re buying from a seller that’s not approved by the watch designer. The best thing to do is to choose trustworthy online stores with secure payment processes and reliable delivery.

Do Compare In-store and Online Prices

Is it always cheaper to buy online instead of going to a store? It can be, but it’s not always the case. If you want to make sure you’re getting a better price online than you are in a brick-and-mortar store, you should visit the store so that you can compare. A great trick to use is to tell a customer service representative that you have found a cheaper price either in-store or online. Many brands will promise to match or beat prices so you can save money this way.

Don’t Buy Too Cheap

You have probably heard the phrase “buy cheap, buy twice”. While a cheap offer on a product can be tempting, it can also mean that you receive an inferior product or poor service. If you want to get it right the first time, it’s usually better to spend a little bit more money. It will help you to ensure that you receive a quality product, and it can be useful if you need any extra help from customer support.

You can choose many ways to save online, but not all methods are equal. Before you buy anything, consider your saving methods carefully.

Please note, this post is sponsored by CreationCrate.com. All opinions expressed are my own. Thank you.

If you’ve had the opportunity to scout out many STEM-based subscription boxes online you will have noticed one glaring similarity. Most of these subscriptions are geared towards younger children. But what about STEM-focused activities for tweens and teens? The market until recently has been pretty abysmal.

Which was why I’m again excited to have been asked to review another subscriptions box from Creation Crate, a STEM-based service geared towards kids aged 12 and up. This time the Bluetooth Boombox kit.

What’s the service all about

Creation Crate is geared towards bringing experiential learning to tech-education methods for students and educators alike, in a learning curriculum geared towards helping students learn the basics of engineering, robotics, and computer programing strategies.

Creation Crate includes monthly boxed crates that contain both the hardware of electronics and the programming for each specific project. Like with many other services, because of the programming required, you will also need a computer or laptop to download and use the Arduino software, the software that runs each programming grid. Projects are sent on a relatively simple start and as time goes on students will receive harder boxes as their subscriptions continue.

Each box includes an instruction pamphlet to help guide you through the initial hardware setup, programming instruction, common errors suggestions, and exercises to utilize your finished programming project. You’re also given the URL to their online project support page, extra parts for your kit, and diagrams and instructions for downloading the software for each kit.

Creation Crate Bluetooth Boombox Kit Review

The Creation Crate curriculum kit that we received was Bluetooth Boombox! Which is such a fun project because, in the end, you have speakers that you can play music from your phone, tablet, pc, or other applicable devices. What I liked most about this kit was that all of the necessary components were sent in was the boombox. That allowed for all of the assembled components to fit back neatly into.

Putting this kit together was as simple following the online site curriculum guide, and then simply placing all the jumper wires and terminal blocks together. Which went rather quickly as within minutes its simple to follow the enclosed instructions, as well as the coordinating YouTube videos online, cut out the coordinating sections (using an Exacto knife), and to then attach the components.

Once all of the pieces were assembled correctly, we connected the boombox to various devices, and, of course, the music started playing from the boombox.

This kit was simple to put together, would be great for middle school-aged students and homeschoolers alike, and would also make an awesome summer break project too.

Creation Crate is a great project to keep your children and students learning throughout the warm weather season in new ways that help perpetuate cognitive thought, problem-solving strategies, give insight into consumer electronic creation, and learn about the applied science of sound engineering.

The Creation Crate subscription box is a wonderful gift or project for an older child or student wanting to learn more about electrical engineering and electronics as well. More sophisticated than something like Snap Circuits and Vex kits, learning with these kits will help lay a foundation for future study.

If you have a budding Arduino or electronics master in your house, try Creation Crate to encourage your kids’ interests. If your kiddo is a beginner, come back to this service once they have a new other vex kits under their belt first!

With costs starting at $30.00 each month to teaching kits starting at $200.00 for numerous projects, there’s an affordable price point for everyone on your list! So be sure to check this service out as with Creation Crate projects, you’re putting together a real project – not theory, but an actual working lamp! And I think that’s pretty great!

Friends, now I want to ask, have you tried Creation Crate? If so, please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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