Some days you need mindless fun. Enjoy.
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Free, Fun…..EDUCATIONAL???
May 1, 2008 – 7:39 pm
Do you have kids at home?
Do they enjoy learning new things from new colors or words, to math and science?
Do you cringe every time your 4-year-old wants to use your computer with his sticky hands or a tippy-cup full of Apple juice?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, please read on for a very important public service announcement from HiTechDads.
Now that I’ve been a dad for a few years, and have VERY curious kids, I have a renewed interest in a program called Edubuntu. I used it once about a year ago, and haven’t had a chance to revisit since then. I think the time is right to revisit it again. Edubuntu is a specialized Linux distribution based on the popular Ubuntu distribution. Some of you may see “Linux” and immediately tune out and think of a bunch of nerdy dorks in a room huddled around a command-line terminal, but I urge you to ignore those thoughts and read on. It’ll be worth it. And if it’s not, blame one of the other HiTechDads on here…I’m new to this blogging thing. 
Edubuntu is a great tool for parents with kids of all ages. It’s designed for ease of use, ease of updating, and educational value to kids/students. Edubuntu is a complete Operating System with an Office Suite (similar to Microsoft Office), Internet Browser (similar to Internet Explorer or Firefox), and loads of educational applications for kids (and probably parents) to expand their learning potential. Best of all. IT’S FREE!
Did you catch that part? That’s right…you don’t have to pay a single cent for it. Zip. Zilch. Zero. All you need is an mid-level PC that has enough hard disk space and memory to load and run Edubuntu. It doesn’t take much. I installed it on an old Pentium III with 512 MB of RAM and a 20GB Hard Drive. Everything ran just fine. For those of you that have no idea what that means, that computer is about 8 years old, designed for Windows 2000, and still ran Edubuntu just fine. That’s the beauty of this, it doesn’t require an expensive top-of-the-line PC to run like Windows Vista or Mac OS X do. Afterall, it’s just a learning PC for kids. Who cares if it’s a little slower than you could deal with on a daily basis. You’re not going to be doing any hardcore gaming or video editing on it anyway.
Unfortunately, as that computer was 8 years old and not in the greatest condition, it didn’t last long before my hard drive went bad on it. I’ve still got the computer, because the kids are getting to the age where they like to use the computer. So I’ll go find a $20 hard drive somewhere and put it in, and have a brand-new educational workstation for the kids. Well, brand-new to them at least.
Anyway, if you’re looking for a way to help the kids learn while entertaining themselves on the computer, look no further than Edubuntu. It’s regularly updated with new tools and applications and it’s based on a Linux distribution that enjoys a wide user and support base. It just doesn’t get any easier…
Oh, and did I mention it’s free?
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A-Traveling We Will Go…
April 28, 2008 – 10:05 pm
In a little over a week, I’ll be whisking my wife, 4-year-old, and 2-year-old away for a long weekend in Florida. We’re meeting my wife’s sister and her family (husband, 2-year-old, and 8-month-old) and have rented a house on the beach. Obviously, with this many kids, we needed to find a house with a lot of rooms, entertainment options, a full kitchen, and of course a safe environment for the kids.
I left most of the work up to my wife, but she found a great place in Florida. Our house has 5 bedrooms, a full kitchen, a private pool and hot tub, and is only 1 block from the beach. At first, the thought of having a pool right in the backyard was a little concerning. However, my wife did a lot of research, and this place specializes in families. They provide a safety gate around the pool and hot tub, baby monitors, high chairs, strollers, safety plugs over all of the outlets, and every other kind of child safety equipment you can think of. More and more rental properties like this are catering to families with small children, as it is a growing market that will always exist.
There are numerous sites/tips out there to help you plan travel with your kids.
A few that we’ve used are:
This site is great. You don’t have to pack diapers, food, bath supplies, etc. You can order everything you’ll need for as long as you’ll be gone, and they’ll ship it all to your destination. Sure you pay a little extra for the convenience, but it’s well worth it. All that stuff can easily fill another suitcase, and with all the new airline rules regarding luggage and carry-on items, it’s just easier and may be cheaper in the long run to ship all of these items. And if you’re going to do that anyway, you might as well have someone do all the packing/shipping for you.
2. Skip the resorts.
You’ll pay way too much and have to wait in line for the same experience that millions of other people have. I’m sure I’ll take the kids to Disney World when they’re a little older and can appreciate it more, but if you want to do something unique, simply get on Google and start searching out your own adventure. It took a couple days of searching to find a reputable rental company, but once we did, we noticed that they prominently displayed the fact that they provided child-proof options for families. The place we settled on was: BeachHouseFL.com. Private houses are definitely the way to go. Think access to a kitchen, dishwasher, laundry…Priceless when you have wee ones who like to be unpredictable at best.
3. If you can, plan your flights around your kid’s nap times, if they’re good sleepers.
As infants, our kids had NO problems sleeping on planes. On our son’s first trip to Texas to visit Katy’s sister, our son slept from takeoff until about 15 minutes before landing, where he cried for 15 minutes straight. Hey, it’s better than crying for 2 hours straight. Direct flights are also key. It’s a little tough for us, living in Iowa, but luckily most of the places we visit are a direct flight away, or a short car-ride away.
4. Airplanes are NOT the place to enforce a life lesson with your kids.
Bribe them, give them a sucker, do whatever you have to do to keep them quiet and happy. There are others around you who don’t want to hear your child screaming for the entire flight. This may sound harsh, but it’s the truth. A happy kid will make everyone around you more friendly, including the flight staff. A kid that’s screaming will only make for a terrible experience all around. One trick we’ve always used, is to pack a couple new toys that your child has never seen before, and bring one out just when he/she’s starting to get fussy. That should keep them happy for a little while. If they start to get fussy again, pull out the second toy.
5. If you’re traveling with multiple kids, keep a separate bag for each child with toys, treats, books, etc.
There’s no guarantee that you’ll be sitting next to your spouse and other children, as some airlines have regulations about multiple lap children in the same row, and you may be required to move quickly. Having a separate bag for each kid will make things easier so you’re not trying to sort through one large bag digging out the items your child will want/need.
Fly those friendly skies…and take your kids…they’ll love it.
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