uDraw and Box Tops for Education

I know a lot of my homeschool friends love using the uDraw tablet from THQ.My Princess certainly does!

My friends at THQ have asked me to let you know that they have teamed up with General Mills to help support America’s schools through its newly introduced eBoxTops® “Click & Earn” Box Tops for Education® program.

From now until December 31, participants who simply view a uDraw commercial and answer a quick survey here

and earn three eBoxTops® credits toward their designated school, no purchase necessary.

According to General Mills,the Box Tops for Education® program has earned America’s schools more than $400 million since the program started in 1996, including $59 million last school year.More than 90,000 K-8 schools are enrolled in the program and each school can earn up to $60,000 every year.

“THQ has always been a proponent of helping children and supporting education,” said Martin Good, executive vice president, Kids, Family and Casual Games at PlayTHQ^®. “We are delighted that uDraw, our drawing and gaming device that encourages creativity and appreciation for the arts in kids, is the first interactive video game product to be featured with the Box Tops for Education® program. This is a great beginning to what we hope to become a long-term partnership with General Mills.”

Check out worldofudraw for more information about uDraw and the current uDraw games.

Stop SOPA Censorship is NEVER the answer

Censorship .

What an ugly word. To many pf us living in my region, this is something that used to happen.

Not part of our daily lives. Something they do in China. Not in the United States.

Today, Congress held hearings on the first American Internet censorship system.This bill can pass. If it does the Internet and free speech will never be the same.Join us to stop this bill.

Think this won't affect you? Censorship affects us all.

Under this bill it will become a felony with a potential 5 year sentence to stream a copyrighted work that would cost more than$2,500.00 to license, even if you are a totally noncommercial user,e.g. singing a pop song on Facebook.Thousands of sites that are legal under the DMCA would face new legal threats.

People trying to keep the Internet more secure wouldn't be able to rely on the integrity of the DNS system.

How does website blocking sound? Under this bill the government can order service providers to block websites for infringing links posted by any users. Read more here.

I am asking all of you to take action on this.

Out and About

 We have been home since Sunday morning when I woke up sick, but today was Homeschool Soccer,
so off we went.

Princess did not want to play soccer,

 but she wanted to play with her friends.

It was nice to be out in fresh air, even if I was freezing for most of the day.

The kids did not look cold.

We had a nice warm lunch when we got home.

Don't Let the Pigeon Run This App !

This past Friday, Princess and I took the train into New York City

to attend a luncheon announcing the new Mo Willems app...

Don't Let the Pigeon Run This App!

Princess was delighted, because she has been,"waiting her entire life"(yes, all 9 years!)

to travel into New York City .

The luncheon was held at the Magnolia Bakery. It was too crowded to get pictures inside worth
posting. (Sorry my cupcake loving readers)
Held by Disney Publishing Worldwide, we enjoyed checking out the new app as we ate lunch.

Princess was disappointed to see there were no children her age, and had started to complain until she started playing with the app. She loved it!

Then Mo Willems himself came in and told us a bit about the app.There have always been a long list of things the Pigeon can't do- drive the bus, stay up late, eat a hot dog. With this interactive app the list will continue to grow as children decide what the Pigeon will try to do next. Mr. Willems played a lead role in the design,writing,and illustrating of the app.He also gives voice to the Pigeon and, in the app's drawing tutorial, he guides children in the exploration and illustration of their own pigeons.With kids in creative control, the app brings new surprises and an enriching reading and playtime experience each time they play.

Mr Willems talked about putting a lot of thought into finding a way to use the technology as an interactive tool for children.

 "Interactivity has always been a key to the Pigeon books," said  Mr Willems,

"Don't Let the Pigeon Run This App!" takes that interactivity to the point where the child is not only the audience, but the author as well.. I can't wait to see what awesome ideas kids will come up with.They're going to put the Pigeon through the wringer!"

Features of “Don’t Let the Pigeon Run This App!” include:

• A fully animated storytelling experience inspired by the award-winning children’s book series;
• A starring appearance by the Pigeon, voiced by Mo!
• Three unique storytelling modes so that readers can enjoy limitless one-of-a-kind Pigeon stories;

• Read-along option;
• Ability to personalize the content with readers own voice;

• Shake the Pigeon to start the stories;
• A Pigeon drawing tutorial with Mo;

• “Favorite stories” section where readers can create their own personal libraries.
• Don't Let the Pigeon Run This App is available for $6.99 from the App Store

 He took questions and signed books and posed for pictures.

 We received some lovely gifts for attending as well. This great tote bag .

 It was filled with Mo Willems products (which Princess really enjoyed on the train ride home!)

My only regret at attending? Now Princess knows just how close we live to New York City.

"Now we can go all the time!"

Can't wait. ;-)

Giveaway winner

We put all your names in a hat

The winner is Shana!!!

I hope you enjoyed the craft show with Ava.
Princess and I didn't get to attend due to the storm that blew in Saturday.
Snow in October?!? Who expected that?
Thanks to everyone who participated.