February 10, 2007 is the next Family Tech!

Classes don't start until Jan 22, so there will be no January Family Tech. The next event is scheduled for Saturday, February 10, from 12:30 -2:30. Of course the theme will center on Valentine's Day.

December Family Tech

A holiday theme marked the December Family Tech, held on December 16.

December Computers

holiday themes were on computer Websites

December Crafts

Everyone created glitter ornaments for the holidays in Gingerbread or Snowflake shapes.

December Games

Kids played with the snowman beanbag game.

Family Website Compendium

http://www.aelweb.vcu.edu/links/adult_learner/links.shtml Literacy Support Center

Here are some family friendly web sites that you can access, compiled by the Literacy Support Center:

Family Fundamentals: These PDF documents from the Michican Department of Education are designed to be printed, copied, and given to parents to use with their children. Specific skill activities are based on student need.
Family Links for Kids and Parents: Find resources for parents, caregivers, and children on this LINCS site.
Family Literacy Activities: This Pennsylvania Center for the Book website offers family literacy activity ideas for helping adults read to their children.
Intergenerational Literacy Activities: The Intergenerational Literacy Notebook, from the Colorado Department of Education, is a collection of thematically based activities for adults and their children to complete together. A majority of these activities are designed for English language learners and are life skills based. Science and social studies activities primarily target the ABE/GED learner.
Literacy is Fun for the Family: These family literacy activities from the Indiana University School of Education focus on instructions for writers. Activities include: Write Me a Story; Make a Biography; Can You Make Me Buy It?; and more.
My Child's Academic Success: Free “Helping Your Child” booklets from Ed.gov website include helping your child in history, science, math, reading, homework, school, and more.
Reading is a Family Affair: Tips from the Illinois State Library Literacy Office on what parents can do to help children read.
Reading is Fundamental: This site provides tips on simple things families can do to help their children become good readers.
Parenting and Families: Resources for parents and families from the Virginia Cooperative Extension.

Kids learned about the first Thanksgiving at the November Family Tech, and made their own pictures out of foam craft to commemorate the first Thanksgiving.  

Andrea and her Mom, learning about giving thanks for Thanksgiving.  

Smile sisters Mariana and Andrea, enjoying cookies. 

Javier and Carlos, checking out Thanksgiving Websites.  

Oscar and Mom on the computer. 

Ring toss competition was strong. Kids also played 'Pin the Hat on the Turkey.' 

Mariana and Oscar having fun. 

Parents and children working on craft project together. 

November 11th Family Tech

Family Tech will be changed to Saturday, November 11th at the AELC. The theme for November is of course, Thanksgiving. I'm sure the little gobblers will have fun!

How cute the kids are dressed for Halloween! 

As usual, the kids had a lot of fun at the Halloween Family Tech Event! 

Even a tiny elephant paid a visit... 

Beth, a Family Literacy Volunteer, helped the kids with the Halloween websites. 

Scooby Doo was one of the little computer users. 

Plenty of treats and surprises awaited the kids. 

Kids (and parents) enjoyed making foam photo frames for Halloween 

It wouldn't be Halloween without Spidey in the AELC. This is actually 'son of Spidey', since the old one was looking quite tattered. Spidey 2 is quite the handsome fellow! We are all ready for the AELCHalloween Family Tech this Saturday.  

Elementary/Middle: Try Science

http://www.tryscience.org/

"TryScience.org is your gateway to experience the excitement of contemporary science and technology through on and offline interactivity with science and technology centers worldwide. Science is exciting, and it's for everyone! That's why TryScience and over 400 science centers worldwide invite you to investigate, discover, and try science yourself.
TryScience is brought to you through a partnership between IBM Corporation, the New York Hall of Science (NYHOS), the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), and science centers worldwide.New interactive content is added regularly to these areas:

Adventure: Thematic interactive experience

Experiments: Hands-on (offline) activities with an online component

Field Trips: Interactive science center features, plus a science center locator

Curious?: Short polls and activities based on a hot topic question, plus related news links

Live Cams: Live views from webcams at science and technology centers worldwide"

It is written in 9 languages (Eng/Span/Portugese/Ger/French/Italian etc) and also has a menu of hands-on science museums in many countries and US states. Live Cams are especially cool. Thanks to Derek's Blog (http://blog.core-ed.net/derek) for the tip.

Volunteer Beth Heuretz works on a computer Website at the September Heroes Family Tech with a young participant.  

At the September Family Tech highlighting Community Heroes, the kids show off their freshly fingerprinted fingers. Thank goodness for the invention of Wet Wipes! 

Kids learned about their community using maps and figures that highlighted places like the library, police and fire stations. Special thanks to the Aurora, IL Police Dept. for sending over pencils, rulers, Jr. Police badges and coloring books and crayons for the kids. 

The littlest techies enjoyed the Web sites on community heroes.  

The September Family Tech featured Cadet Vanessa Escutia showing kids about fingerprinting and fingerprinting them for their parents to use in an emergency.  

Next Family Tech Date: 9/30/06

The first Family Tech of the year will be held Saturday, September 30, and the theme will be HEROES. Police and fire departments along with other community heroes, will be highlighted. A police cadet will take children's fingerprints for parents. The time will be 12:30 -2:30.

Child and Volunteer Holly 

FYI: Informational: Tentative Family Tech Dates

The following Saturdays are tentatively scheduled as Family Tech dates. They are:

Sept. 30, Oct. 28, Nov. 18, Dec. 16 in 2006
Jan 27, Feb.17, Mar. 17, Apr. 14, May 5, June 9 in 2007

Pre-teen and Teen: Safer Networking Sites for Pre-teens and Teens

The July online issue of Converge! includes an article on safer alternatives to online networking sites such as My Space and Facebook. The listed sites have additional safety features such as the need to provide a parent's email address or profiles that can only be accessed by confirmed friends. The best safety feature is still parental involvement and monitoring. The address of the Converge! article is http://www.convergemag.com/story.php?catid=231&storyid=100129, but an excerpt with the safer sites is copied below:

"Whyville, which features roughly 1.7 million users, is an online virtual world in which users, most of whom are 8 to 15, must manage money, balance their diet, and participate in activities ranging from science and math to art, civics, and economics. Users create a virtual character with real-world abilities and can communicate with others in this virtual setting. Children must provide a parent's e-mail address when registering for Whyville. When children complete their registration, an e-mail message is sent to the parent, notifying him or her of the new registration.
Christian social-networking site MyPraize's safety features include optional profile fields, so users can decide how much personal information they reveal. First and last names are not required, and an additional section is being created that will inform parents which safety precautions are available on the site.
FAQQLY, which launched in April, provides users the option of making all personal pages viewable only by confirmed friends. The site's central feature is a "Personal FAQ" page where friends can get to know each other better through Q&A sessions. "

Early Learning: Free Software for Young Children

From techlearning@news.techlearning.com eZine, July 2006
http://www.techlearning.com/
PDQ (Professional Development QuickTips)
Free Software for Young Children Early Learning:

Marianne Wartoft from Uppsala, Sweden has been developing educational shareware programs since 1995. Now these wonderful interactive programs are available as freeware at Marianne Wartoft ab. Minisebran offers early learning games for 2-6 years olds, including doodle drawing exercises and very simple games to get to know numbers, letters, and the keyboard. Sephonics includes seven different exercises for practicing English pronounciation and the phonetic alphabet, including a phonetic memory game to relax between the lessons! There are also exercises where you learn to match a sound to a phonetic sign, transcribe from phonetic text to ordinary text, and much more! (British English) Selingua is a vocabulary training program with six different exercises for practicing vocabulary and verb inflections, including a crossword exercise. Users can also add their own words to the dictionaries, which already have more than 2000 words in each of the following languages: English (both American and British), German, Spanish, French and Swedish. She offers other freeware for other age groups, and all work on PCs. In order to run Minisebran, you need Windows 2000 or Windows XP. You also need the Microsoft .NET Framework to be installed on your computer, but if you are running Windows XP, it is probably already installed.

Enjoying the day,,,at Family Tech Where in the World...June