Want one of the eight available vouchers? This year we’re offering more ways to get one. Just do one of the following:

• Post a message to the “2009 CanvasOnDemand Vouchers” thread on the SNHParents message board.
• Send a message to @snhparents on Twitter that includes the #SNHP25 hashtag
• Become a fan of SNHParents on Facebook and post a message to the SNHParents Facebook page

The vouchers are good through April 1, 2010.

Happy holidays!

By Tracy Lee Carroll

The world keeps getting smaller. Back when my eleven year old daughter was in Mrs. Stone’s second grade class at World Elementary in Nashua, she was assigned a Flat Stanley project. For those of you who have not yet met Flat Stanley, he is a young man (as told about by Jeff Brown) who had a bulletin board fall on him and flattened him to be only about a half an inch thick. Because of his flatness, he could travel quite nicely in an envelope anywhere in the world. The project was to create your own “Flat Stanley” and send him off to somewhere and have someone take him about, show him a good time and have him write back about his travels.

My daughter made her flat friend, Flat Bobby and I utilized my extensive Flickr network to enable Flat Bobby to circumnavigate the globe. The official project was only supposed to last a few weeks, but my daughter’s project is still ongoing four years later. Flat Bobby has traveled extensively in the United States, Mexico, China, The Philippines, Egypt, Germany, England, The Netherlands, The Bahamas, and Canada. He has sent home many photographs of his adventures as well as trinkets he’s collected. The most wonderful thing of his adventures is my daughter and I learned how small the world really is and how many wonderful people there are in it. We have made lasting relationships with people so far away and learned about their cultural differences while learning that we all have the same basic desires and needs in life.

That was the beginning of my eyes being opened to the possibilities of using Web 2.0 technologies to create pathways for students that were not available to children just a few short years ago. What an opportunity to get kids talking and collaborating with people all over the world! Bringing these ideas and thoughts one step further, I volunteered in my daughter’s fifth and sixth grade classroom last year to teach them about blogging. The idea was to create a Ning network that would be totally private. This satisfied nervous parents’ concerns about their children posting things publicly on the internet. Within the Bridges Ning network, the hope was to get other schools around the world involved and each school group would have their own private area as well as access to the common area in which to share ideas and conversations. The project got off to a great start but due to timing issues, never realized its full intentions.

Due to the project’s huge success in its beginnings, the school has hired me this year to work with both the fifth and sixth grade students to not only continue the project, but to expand upon it. I’ve been given the go ahead to publish a public blog with the kids as well as continue to work on Bridges. To start the year, we have spent the first two weeks going over internet safety and security issues while our relocated computer lab was being set up. The next two weeks have been focused on writing and typing up bios for each of the children. As our lab is no online in a very small capacity it is going to take us a little time in getting all the pieces online and running smoothly, but we are all excited about the possibilities and plans to bring these students online and reaching out into the world. I look forward to sharing more of our story with you as we move along and hopefully soon, I will be able to provide you with a link to our new public sites!

If you would like to contribute in any way to what we are doing or just say hello, you can contact me at tracylee (at) tracylee (dot) com. For more information on Flat Stanley, visit www.flatstanley.com.

About the Author:
Tracy Lee Carroll has held many positions, but her favorite is mother to four wonderful children for 27 years. She is currently opening doors into the world for fifth and sixth graders as she guides them through the waters of getting to know the internet while teaching them the skills they need to be safe. Sharing this knowledge combines two of her greatest passions: working with children and the amazing resource that is the internet.

Tracy has been an art teacher, as well as someone who can claim to have built one of the largest websites single-handedly in the days of the early frontiers of the online world. She has also owned her own graphics design firm and helped produce major magazines and adwork while living in New York. Yes, she is a native NYer, but has lived here in Southern NH long enough to call it home.

These shoes look like they were designed by a three-year-old. Which is very cool, because they were!

Back in June I took a look at the new Vans custom shoe creator. And while I really liked the available options, I was a bit disappointed by the 5-7 week delivery window. But since Vans had kindly provided the shoes, I took my chances and ordered a full size up for my three-year-old daughter.

The shoes arrived just under five weeks after I placed the order. Of course, I was a bit too optimistic in my estimation of how much my daughter would grow in that time and the shoes are still too large for my daughter, but that’s certainly not Vans fault.

The quality of the shoes is excellent and seems identical to off-the-shelf Vans. The colors and fabrics match what we saw on the website during the design process and the seams and gluing are fine, with no loose edges or threads.

Unfortunately, because of my size-guessing failure, I’m unable to comment on their durability. However, I can comment on showing a preschooler the real shoes that she designed on a computer: It was awesome! She was extremely excited and can’t wait to show her friends when she grows into them. Is that worth the premium price of the custom vans? I would say so.

I’m still not fond of the 5-7 week estimated shipping time, but all in all, we had a lot of fun playing with the custom shoe designer and the end result met our expectations. If you’re looking for a cool pair of shoes, and don’t mind the wait, check out shop.vans.com.

RT @griffintech: Please consider buying this case, if not for you, buy it for a friend http://bit.ly/CELxd

I’ve never met Dave, but I know through his tweets that he works for Griffin Technology, makers of some cool iPod accessories. Based on that I followed the link, expecting to see Griffin’s latest product. Instead I found a blog post about Griffin and inkswell donating some custom iphone cases to the Molly Fund.

I also learned about Molly Rowlee, a five-year-old who lost her life to Lymphoma this past July, just five months after she was diagnosed. I hadn’t heard of Molly before today, but her story hit me really hard, not only because of her age, but also because the Rowlees live in New Hampshire, not too far from where my wife and I are rasing our three-year-old daughter.

It’s strange that it took a guy from Nashville to let me know about a worthy cause in my own backyard, but that’s what happened. From the beginning, I’ve wanted SNHParents to be a place where families share the best of New Hampshire with each other. It seems only right that it also be used to share ways we can help those in need.

So take a minute and read about Molly. If you’ve got an iPhone, consider getting one of the custom cases. Thanks to generosity of Griffin Tech and inkswell, the entire purchase price benefits the Molly Fund.

Don’t have an iPhone? Make a donation or just help spread the word.

Flagship Cinemas Derry 12
10 Ashleigh Drive
Derry, NH
Movie Hotline: 603-437-8800

Summer 2009 Schedule*

• 6/30-7/02:  Space Chimps
• 7/07-7/09: Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium
• 7/14-7/16: Alvin & The Chipmunks
• 7/21-7/23: IGOR
• 7/28-7/30: The Longshots
• 8/04-8/06: Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa
• 8/11-8/13: Kung Fu Panda
• 8/18-8/20: The Tale of Despereaux

*All titles and showtimes subject to change. Seating is limited.  For more information or for camp scheduling please call Flagship Cinemas Derry 12 at 603-437-4130.

There are two participating theaters in New Hampshire:

Hookset 8
100 Technology Dr.
Hookset, NH
603-6216-7177

Fox Run Stadium 15
45 Gosling Rd.
Newington, NH
603-431-6116

This summer’s schedule starts today and includes:

• 6/30-7/01 – Space Chimps (G)
• 7/07-7/08 – Horton Hears A Who (G), Inkheart (PG)
• 7/14-7/15 – Wallace And Gromit (G), Igor (PG)
• 7/21-7/22 – Charlotte’s Web (G), Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)
• 7/28-7/29 – Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (G), Star Wars: Clone Wars (PG)
• 8/04-8/05 – Kit Kittredge: American Girl (G), Kung Fu Panda (PG)
• 8/11-8/12 – The Tale Of Despereaux (G), Journey To The Center Of The Earth (PG)
• 8/18-8/19 – Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: Veggie Tale Movie (G), Bee Movie (PG)
• 8/25-8/26 – March Of The Penguins (G), Evan Almighty (PG) (Fox Run Only)

Tickets are available on the day of the show and seating is first-come, first-served so you may want to get there early. Visit Regal Entertainment Group for more information.

Ok, enough 80’s references. Today Vans bills itself as the “original skate shoe manufacturer since 1966″ and designs products for and supports action sports including skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing and BMX.  And while the company appears to have offered custom shoes at retail locations from the beginning, now anybody can order them via the Vans website.

We jumped at the opportunity to look at the shoes because:

1. I was curious to see what my 3-year-old would create
2. Creating custom anything on the web appeals to the geek in me
3. My daughter goes through shoes faster than anyone I’ve ever seen

We started our shoes by selecting one of three styles at shop.vans.com/custom:

• Era -  $60
• Slip-On – $45-60
• Old Skool – $70

All are available in sizes for men, women and boys, but only the Slip-On is available in youth and toddler sizes, so that’s the one we chose.

After selecting a style, you start your design with a solid black or white shoe or one of a variety of pre-existing designs. Once you’ve selected your starting point, you can mix and match options for the following:

• Top, Side and heel(48 solids/patterns each)
• Vamp binding (20 colors)
• Foxing (black or white)
• Foxing stripe (20 colors)
• Elastic gore (black or white)
• Collar lining (black or white)

Don’t worry if those names don’t mean anything to you. The image of the shoe updates as you hold your mouse over each option so you can easily see how your choices will look before selecting them. You can also view your shoe from the side, top and back. Finally, you can change your choices at any time, even after you’ve added your custom shoes to the cart. This last bit is a particularly nice feature if you (or your child) change your mind just before ordering.

My daughter and I had a blast playing with the shoe designer. We spent a lot of time mixing the patterns to create some very, umm, “original” footwear. But the folks at Vans wanted us to check not only the shoe designer but also the shoes, so we settled down to design something my daughter would actually wear. Her favorite color is pink, so her first creation was a solid pink shoe. It may have been a “custom” pink shoe, but it was still just a pink shoe.  After playing around a bit we swapped out some of the pink for some purple and added a star pattern and we were set.

And that’s where we hit our only snag: Our new shoes were listed as “available in 5-7 weeks.” This seemed to be the case for all the shoes we tried to create.  In today’s “get it now” world, 5-7 weeks seems like an eternity. In a toddler’s world, it could mean a completely different shoe size. I’m not sure if this is the normal time for custom Vans, or if it’s because this is a new service, but it’s definitely something to be aware of if you’re ordering your custom shoes as a gift.

After taking a gamble on ordering a full size larger we gave the shoe one last look and submitted the order.

Overall the process was simple and we had a great time playing with the shoe designer. I would have liked the ability to upload images or pictures to print on the shoes, but there are still lots of options to mix and match. The custom shoes are more expensive than the retail Vans ($45 vs. $27 for the toddler Slip-Ons), but I could see these being a great gift not only for kids who already like Vans, but also those who want to express their creativity. Plus, there’s no Spicoli. But then again, you have to bring your own pizza.

We’ll be reviewing the shoes themselves once they arrive, so stay tuned.

So far we’ve found schedules for free family movies shown under the stars in Manchester and Nashua. Both schedules are on the SNHParents calendar, but I’ve also included them below. I’ll add other schedules to this post (and the calendar) as I find them.

Manchester, NH

Downtown Film Fest
Veterans Park, downtown Manchester, NH

Area opens at 6:30 and show time is approx: 8:30. Films will be shown on a new 40-foot screen.

• 7/16 – Madagascar 2
• 7/23 – Hotel for Dogs
• 7/30 – Journey to the Center of the Earth
• 8/6 – Kung Fu Panda

Sponsored by  Southern New Hampshire University, The Sausage King of Nashua, BOSE Professional Sound, Community Events, Mayor Guinta’s Office and Intown Manchester

Nashua, NH

SummerFun 2009 Plaza Pics
Greeley Park Bandshell, 100 Concord St., Nashua, NH

Pre-movie entertainment starts at 7:30 with the movie following at dusk.

• 7/10 – Journey to the Center of the Earth
  Pre-movie entertainment: Mad Science demonstration
• 7/17 – Tale of Desperaux
  Pre-Movie entertainment: Stories by Mrs. Susan
• 7/24 – Kung Fu Panda
  Pre-Movie entertainment: Demo by Anctil’s Martial Arts
• 7/31 – Madagascar 2
  Pre-Movie entertainment: Wildlife Encounters (live animals)

We’ve added the big events to the calendar, but be sure to check out the full schedule for lots fo great (and free) family activities.

So while I encourage her curiosity, I also realize that TV, and to a lesser extent, computer time can have negative effects on young children. But other than the standard “no TV before two-years-old” recommendation of the American Pediatrics Association, what do we really have to worry about?

Fortunately, this subject has become the subject of greater study as the number of electronic distractions in our lives increases. Of course, I’m not saying that we should ban all electronic entertainment from our children’s lives…I’m not even sure that’s realistic. But it does make sense to be aware of the risks.

If you want to learn more, you may want to check out a free screening of “Consuming Kids,” April 29th at the Marlboro College Technology Center in Brattleboro, VT.

I know a lot of tech-savvy parents are SNHParents regulars. What are your thoughts on how much screen time, computer or TV, that’s right for your kids?

Additional details from the press release follow:

Press Release

April 2009

Film Screening of “Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood”

Brattleboro – The new documentary “Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood”, will be shown on Wednesday, April 29th at the downtown campus of the Marlboro College Graduate School. Co-sponsored by Know Media, Healthy Media Choices and the Windham Child Care Association, this film will be shown at 7:00 and is open to all. The film is not recommended for viewing by children.

“Consuming Kids” is a Media Education Production that targets the multi-billion-dollar youth marketing industry and takes a close look at the effects such marketing is having on children today. “We decided to show this film so that parents and other child care-givers could learn to make their way through the challenges of commercialization”, says Robin Rieske, coordinator of Know Media. Rieske also adds that although the American Pediatrics Association recommends no screen time before the age of 2, “marketers love to make parents feel guilty if they don’t feed their kids a steady media diet of TV, computers, and so called ‘educational’ videos”. As Mary Pipher, author of Reviving Ophelia states “This powerful, disturbing and heartbreaking film has the power to change the way we treat our children. It is the best possible parent education product. I recommend it to schools, universities, churches, mosques and synagogues.”

The film showing will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A with members of Know Media, Healthy Media Choices and Windham Child Care Association. The discussion will include helpful tips on navigating the media culture with children. For more information about this event, please contact Robin Rieske at Know Media, (802) 258-2402. The film is free to the public. Donations are accepted to cover costs.

A light refreshment will be provided.

Calendar Event :

Wednesday, April 29th, 7:00 – “Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood” –which takes a close look at the effects such marketing is having on children today. Film screening –Marlboro College Technology Center in Brattleboro. Donations accepted. (802) 258-2402. Know Media.

Mary L. Rothschild, Director
Healthy Media Choices
www.healthymediachoices.org
Brooklyn, New York
Brattleboro, Vermont
Host: The Healthy Media Choices Hour
Tuesdays 1pm ET
Streaming at www.wvew.org

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Leslie Poston, the founder of Uptown Uncorked social media and business development consultancy and a co-author of the upcoming Twitter for Dummies, will be teaching a lunch and learn session for parents or guardians who want to know how to keep their kids safe on the internet.

Topics will include:

• How much should you watch?
• How do you recognize signs of trouble?
• What is the etiquette for being in your child’s “Circle of Friends” without intruding or damaging your relationship?
• What does an online predator look like?

To register or learn more, visit kidsafe1.eventbrite.com.

Actually, let me clarify that: I don’t have a problem with flying, but I really don’t like airlines or airports. After frequent trips, I’ve learned to expect things to go wrong and try to do everything to reduce the hassles caused by the inevitable delays and cancellations. For example, thanks to my wife, we now pack a change of clothes for everyone and enough books and toys to keep our daughter busy, no matter how short the trip is supposed to be.

But you don’t think about some things until after they happen. For example, a few years ago United Airlines lost our car seat and stranded us at the airport with no safe way to get our 21-month-old to our destination. Although we were able to get her to our relatives and eventually got the car seat back, we swore we would do everything possible to avoid letting that happen again. Unfortunately, it seemed that this meant taking the car seat on board with us on all future trips. Not a big deal, but I wasn’t looking forward to moving between gates with carry-ons, a toddler AND a car seat. Plus some car seats won’t fit some plane seats, or even being allowed aboard by some flight attendants, something you typically won’t find out until you’re boarding.

But then we found CARES. To put it simply, this is the harness of your car seat, without the actual car seat.* Made of the same material used in seat belts, the harness weighs about 1 lb. and stores neatly in its own carrying pouch. See that picture to the left? That’s CARES in its storage pouch sitting in my daughter’s regular car seat. Which one would you want to carry through an airport?

CARES is FAA-approved for children over one-year-old and 22-42 lbs. and shouldn’t require special documentation to use on US flights (see the CARES website, www.kidsflysafe.com, for international information). But if you’re nervous, the CARES website  also includes links to FAA documents you can print out just in case. Before our trip I also printed the relevant pages from our airline’s website and highlighted the parts that mentioned CARES  to cover all the bases. See, I told you I didn’t like airlines.

Before our trip we watched the instructional DVD and practiced putting CARES on a chair. Installation is simple: you slide a loop around the back of the seat, tighten it, and run the seat’s lap belt through the bottom loops on the CARES belts. That’s it! Once everything is in place, you have a nice 4-point harness.** It takes just a few minutes, but I recommend trying it a few times at home so you know what to expect before you board the plane.

After four flights I can definitely say that CARES is awesome! Yes we had to arrange for a car seat at our destination, but it was worth it to avoid lugging a car seat around the airport. Plus our daughter loved having her own “special” seat, and stayed happily buckled-in except when we she stretched out to snuggle against us while sleeping.

We had no trouble using it on the planes and the only questions we fielded were from other passengers curious about CARES. This must be a common occurrence as the CARES package includes several small information cards you can hand out.

On most planes, the CARES belt fits underneath the tray table of the seat behind you. However, on some you’ll need to run the belt over the seat tray which prevents its use. The DVD mentioned this and we did come have a few flights with this issue. In each case,  we just asked the person behind us to tell us when he wanted to open the tray so we could loosen the belt a bit. However even if the person behind you isn’t cooperative, you should still be able to use the CARES during takeoff and landing when seat trays are required to be closed.

At $75 (plus the costs of purchasing/renting a car seat at your destination), CARES is expensive, but it’s worth it if you frequently travel with your children. You can also find people renting CARES on eBay for around $14 for a few weeks. This is another option, but not one I’d recommend unless you’re very comfortable with the person from whom you’re renting.

**Unlike a typical car seat, CARES doesn’t have an anchor between your child’s legs. While not a safety issue on planes, it does mean that your child can slip out from underneath the harness if she tries and could be an issue if your child squirms around a lot.

At first glance the Fortamajig doesn’t look like much more than an 8′ square piece of lightweight, ripstop nylon and while that’s accurate,  this is definitely a case of less being more. Arranged around the Fortamajig’s outer edges are 24 adjustable Velcro loops so you can easily attach it to just about anything. An additional 9 Velcro loops on the surface further extend the attachment options. Velcro not long enough to fit your plans? No problem! Just connect one or more of the six additional Velcro straps where you need them. Unlike blankets, the lightweight Fortamajig is easily supported so it can span longer distances without drooping. There’s also a door and a window, both with Velcro to keep them closed if  they don’t fit your design. And because it’s made from the same material used to make tents, it’s also durable enough to be used outside. Check out the Fortamajig gallery for examples of both indoor and outdoor forts.

My daughter and I decided to try the Fortamajig out in the dining room. This idea wasn’t met with much enthusiasm from my wife, but when she saw that the Fortamajig was so light (under 2lbs) that it wouldn’t pull down the chairs she gave us her reluctant blessing and we proceeded to create a variety of tunnels, forts and caves. Fortunately, my wife wasn’t around when my daughter decided to climb the fort’s roof, pulling some of the chairs down to the floor. Luckily no toddlers or chairs were harmed and we simply adjusted our design and continued playing. When we were finished, we just disconnected the Velcro, stuffed the Fortamajig back into its bag and put the chairs back under the table.

The Fortamajig is available in two models, a $70 single layer and a $90 reversible dual-layer. Both come in a variety of colors. The Happy Kid Company also sells the $90 Fortamajig Connectables, a set of eight panels with Velcro connectors that can be used on their own or along with the Fortamajig (buying them together will save you $20). Yes, the Fortamajig is more expensive than a blanket, but comparing the two is like comparing a Leatherman Tool to a butter knife. The Fortamajig’s durability and flexible design allow it to do so much more than a blanket and also make it more likely to engage your child’s imagination. That’s definitely worth at least $70.

About a year and a half ago my husband and I talked about how we could probably get our daughter potty trained within the first few months of turning two. To that end, we’ve had the Boon Potty Bench in our bathroom for probably close to a year. I think somehow we thought exposure to a potty chair at 1 3/4 years would pique her interest and thus magically lead to a potty trained child. I’ve since come down off that cloud and understand that she will be potty trained when she wants to be potty trained and I’m okay with that. I can’t bring myself to put her on the potty every 30 minutes, have her run around naked, or let her wet herself to prove some kind of point to her (she still thinks it’s fun to rub yogurt all over her face!). Besides, who is really being trained when I do that anyway?  So we have decided that three is a good age to really start potty training in the official sense. While there are tons of differing opinions on this topic, this is what we are comfortable with.

So while the formal potty training has yet to be implemented, we have introduced the potty to our now 2 3/4 year-old daughter and she uses it “as the spirit moves her.” During this phase we’ve found the Boon Potty Bench very useful for a couple different reasons.

First, when the lid is closed, it serves as a bench so kids can use it to stand up at the sink. Ours is placed at the end of the bathroom cabinet so she can stand on it to brush her teeth or just hang out with us.

Second, as a potty it’s simple but functional. The height seems comfortable for her and she’s able to get on and off easily. It’s also very stable, so if she moves around at all it can’t fall over. But perhaps best of all, it’s simple to clean with a “drawer” that pulls out and can be emptied and rinsed out easily. There are also two storage compartments, one with a toilette paper holder.

But recently I found another reason why I love this potty bench. It doesn’t have the distractions that appear on other potties. While visiting Grandpa’s this past Thanksgiving, my daughter used a potty chair that had all sorts of bells and whistles (literally). While my daughter sat on this potty a few times, she never used it for its intended purpose. Instead, she just played with it. She would “flush” the toilet over and over to make it say “You flushed the potty!”  She also enjoyed spinning the “toilet paper” lever, causing it to sing out praises for that as well. I don’t know about you, but these are things we are trying to discourage at our house. I can appreciate positive messages that encourage a child when they are successful, but there is a limit. Besides, I think my husband and I can out-sing and out-praise a potty chair any day.

Overall these potty toys, as I call them, probably won’t cause irreparable harm. But if you’re looking for something functional and simple, I would definitely recommend the Boon Potty Bench. It—and a lot of patience—should get your through your potty-training!

But these toddler traits aren’t a problem for the $40 VTech Kidizoom digital camera. Available in blue or pink, this toddler-tough camera features a two-handed design with non-slip handles to help children hold it properly. The handles also seem to help cushion the camera during the inevitable drops. Although our first sample stopped working (ironically while I was the one using it), the second one has taken a beating and continues to work fine. Included with the camera are a USB cord, audio/video cable for connecting the camera to a TV, software CD (Windows only), wrist strap, two interchangeable faceplates and a manual. The camera can be connected to a PC or a Mac, but only comes with Windows photo software.

After popping in 4 AA batteries and taking a quick look at the menus, I handed the camera over to my daughter. With a little bit of guidance she was able to begin taking pictures. And although the binocular eyepieces may be easier-to-use than a standard viewfinder, she preferred to use the 1.8″ LCD screen on the back.

A joystick on the back is used to navigate the simple menus after clicking the “Mode” button. However, moving the joystick without first pressing the button either browses previous images (up/down) or cycles through cartoon graphics that can be added to the image (left/right). This is a great idea, but the joystick is a bit too easy to hit by mistake and many of our first pictures had a cartoon Viking helmet in the middle of them because our daughter accidentally hit the joystick just before taking a picture.

Photo Quality

Photos taken with the Kidizoom will never be confused with those take with a more advanced digital camera. The Kidizoom doesn’t perform well in low light and is susceptible to motion in all but the brightest light. This leads toward “blotchy” or blurred photos in many cases. However, given the $40 price, I can’t fault the quality of the Kidizoom’s pictures too much. Still it’s something you may want to consider before purchasing. I’ve posted a collection of my daughter’s photos on Flickr to give you an idea of the Kidizoom’s image quality (as well as the things a toddler considers worth photographing). VTech also has a gallery of customer photos on their site.

Ironically, the weaknesses of the Kidizoom may actually help your child take better pictures as she gets used to working around them. In the last two months I’ve noticed that my daughter is choosier about her subjects and seems to bet getting the hang of holding still after she presses the shutter button. Both of these skills will serve her well when she is ready for her next digital camera.

Additional Features
The Kidizoom camera includes several features that will interest older children, including:

• Photo Workshop: As I mentioned earlier, the Kidizoom only includes Windows software. However, the camera’s built-in Photo Workshop allows you to add frames and stamps to your images, duplicating much of the software’s basic features. You can also add animations or voice memos (up to 10-seconds) to photos, but the animations can’t be saved and voice memos can only be played by going back into the Photo Workshop.
• Games: 3 simple games (Tic Tac Toe, Matching Pairs and Rotation Puzzle) are accessible from the camera’s menu.

While neither of these features is reason to buy the Kidizoom, they do add value to the camera. There’s also the movie mode I mentioned earlier. Although the movies are noticeably low quality, this is a nice bonus and a feature that appears unavailable on other toddler cameras.

Software
The camera comes with VTech Photo Editor, a Windows-only program that is an expanded version of the built-in photo tools. The software includes a larger selection of stamps and frames and the program can be used with any BMP or JPG file, not just those taken with the Kidizoom camera. The software can also increase the resolution of the Kidizoom images to 2.0 Megapixels, but don’t expect any drastic improvement in image quality.

Conclusion
The rugged Kidizoom is a great first camera for toddlers who are old enough to be interested in taking pictures, but still not ready for a “grown-up” camera. As long as you don’t expect the same photo quality you would get from a $100+ digital camera, it’s a great deal, particularly when you consider the fun you’ll have seeing the world through your child’s eyes.

“In these tough economic times, even the smallest acts of kindness go a long way towards helping our neighbors,” said Traci Bisson, owner of The Mom Entrepreneur and creator of the blog. “All NH residents are struggling this season, but the majority still want to support their neighbors any way they can.”

If you haven’t made your holiday donations yet, or even if you have, give the site a look and see how you can help.  Thanks to the recent financial downturn, many of us might be tempted to cut back on our usual charitable giving, but this year our neighbors could our help more than ever.

McCarthy writes about her experiences starting from the decision to have a baby, through the birth itself.  Her insights not only struck a cord with me as I recalled my own experiences, but also cracked me up.  Soon-to-be moms or new moms will find solace in McCarthy’s honest interpretations of what a real woman experiences in pregnancy, birth and new mommy-ness.  What to Expect it is not (she even has a disclaimer), but sometimes the best medicine you can get when you’re struggling with change (and boy do babies put you through the change wringer!!) is to hear someone’s not so perfect stories and impressions of child rearing.  Don’t get me wrong, McCarthy is clearly a loving, wonderful Mommy—but she’s real, and that makes her advice more credible to me in some ways.

McCarthy’s isn’t the only book of this kind.  It falls into the same category as The Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine or Jenny McCarthy’s Belly Laughs (and yes the similar names struck me as quite the coincidence as well).  I will suggest The Parent Trip to friends and colleagues who will appreciate this genre and McCarthy’s wit and wisdom.  Now, if only she would write a sequel about living with a toddler!

Actually, let me clarify that: I hate removing outlet covers.  And while it’s not something you need to do every day, there’s one chore that always seems to involve removing at least one cover: vacuuming.

In our household, I’m typically the one who vacuums. And by that I mean that I’m the one who helps our daughter push the vacuum along the floor until I can distract her with the dustbuster long enough for me to actually clean the carpets. This also means that I’m the one who has to remove the outlet covers.  I don’t have long fingernails, so I usually use whatever is handy to pry the cover off. I’ve been known to use the vacuum plug, a screwdriver, a pen, and even an emery board (don’t tell my wife about that one). They all worked, but none were as easy to use as the WedgEZ. Ok, I know you thought of grade school pranks when you read that, and maybe milk even sprayed out of your nose. But this isn’t that wedgie.

WedgEZ is a simple tool that does one thing and does it really well: remove outlet covers (What, you thought I was going to say it did something else?). Available from www.wedgez.com for only $3.99 (3 for $9.99) plus shipping and handling, this hook-shaped piece of plastic pops outlet covers off quickly and easily. You just insert the tip behind the plug, rock the WedgEZ toward the wall, and the plug slides out without any bent plugs, dented walls or swearing. The WedgEZ even has clips to attach it to your vacuum’s cord so it’s always right where you need it. It’s even covered by a 100% replacement guarantee if it breaks.

I’m not sure how much emery boards costs, but I’m betting it wouldn’t take ruining too many of them to justify buying a WedgEZ. Now if only it had a feature to keep me from losing the outlet covers once I took them off…

Although Jeff took this picture in mid-October, this week’s temperatures have been warm enough for riding bikes, and almost enough to make us forget that we’ll be looking for winter photos soon enough.

Want to see your photo on SNHParents?

These unique lights won’t provide the same illumination as a traditional flashlight, but their rounded, “MSN chat guy-like” plastic bodies allow them to glow with a soft, even light that is comforting in a dark room and enough to light up a nighttime bathroom trip. And thanks to internal LEDs, they remain cool to the touch and can be used safely in and around the bed at nighttime.

TykeLight GloMate
The $20 TykeLight GloMate is powered by an internal rechargeable battery. Each milky white GloMate comes with a saucer-shaped stand that charges him when he is place on top of it. Lifting the GloMate from the stand turns him on and the light from the internal LEDs is spread out evenly by the white body. Additionally, if the power goes out while the GloMate is on the base, he’ll turn on automatically as well.

If that was all the GloMate did, it would be a great product. But there’s also a small button on the bottom that changes the GloMate’s color. You can select a 15-minute blue fade or a solid blue, pink or green that remains on until the charge is gone (up to 10-hours per Mobi) or the GlowMate is turned off. In addition to the solid colors, there’s also a rainbow setting that rotates through the colors, gradually fading from one to another. This last setting is neat and reminded me of the soothing effect of lava lamps.

TykeLight Jr.
Like the GloMate, the $10 TykeLight Jr. glows with a soft even light. However, the TykeLight is powered by 3 AAA batteries instead of the GloMate’s rechargeable battery.

The TykeLight Jr. is available in blue, pink or green and the color is determined by the TykeLight Jr.’s plastic body, not the lights inside, so there’s no color-changing feature.  Three power choices (high, low and 15-minute fade) are set by a button on the bottom. The harder plastic body and the AAA batteries (enough for nearly 75-hours of light) make the TykeLight Jr. a good choice for traveling.

Conclusion

While both lights would be a great nighttime addition to a child’s room, I did like the GloMate more. The color-changing feature was a big hit with my daughter and the GloMate’s plastic body was a bit softer than that of the TykeLight Jr. But as much as I like the GloMate, I do have two minor quibbles with it. First, each time you lift it from the stand, the GlowMate resets to the default blue 15-minute fade. Sure it’s easy to tap the button a few times to get to the setting you want, but I wish it would remember the last one I used.

Second, I would really like to be able to use the 15-minute fade with something other than blue. This seems like an easy feature to implement, so perhaps it will be added to future versions. But for now, if your child likes green or pink save yourself some money and get the cheaper TykeLight Jr. However, if blue is your child’s favorite color, get the GloMate. The additional colors, rainbow mode, and rechargeable batteries are definitely worth the extra $10.

Just under a month ago we took our first extended road trip with our two-and-a-half-year-old daughter. Before hitting the road we asked for tips and trips to help us survive. You delivered and in this post we’ll share the most popular tips. In future posts we’ll share specifics on some of the products we tried while on the road plus share links to online resources.

Have Car Seats Inspected
Sure you may have had your car seat for quite a while, but are you sure it’s installed correctly? Why not plan to have it checked before heading out for a long drive. Check out www.usa.safekids.org for more information and a directory of inspection station.

Allow Plenty of Extra Time
I was surprised by how much extra time we needed. It seemed like we were constantly stopping for one reason or another. Just accept that your trip will take much longer than your GPS or Google Maps says it will, particularly if you’re traveling with young children. And no matter why you’re stopping, be sure to let everyone out of the car as much as possible.

Know Where You’re Going
Again, this may seem obvious, but trust me when I say that the last thing you want to do is get lost during the middle of a tantrum. And there will be tantrums. Even if you have a GPS unit, make sure you have paper maps just in case.

We had a GPS, but we also packed a copy of Drive I-95. This unique flipbook let’s you know what amenities are available at each exit on I-95 from Massachusetts to Florida and also includes information on radar traps, select attractions and more. If you’re traveling on I-95, you need this book, it’s that simple. I’m a huge fan of technology, but when we needed gas or wanted to figure out which exit was best for the next rest stop, this book was simply faster to use than the GPS.

Pack Surprise/Activity Bags
This was the most common recommendation, and one that that my parents used when I was a kid. Basically you fill a bag with small surprises (think dollar store) for each child. These can be handed out at regular intervals or as rewards for certain behavior (”I need you to be quiet for the next 15 minutes while we get back to the interstate…”) Just be sure to choose gifts that can be used in the car. For example, books are a great idea, but only if your child doesn’t get carsick while reading.

Bring a Digital Camera for Your Kids
Many people suggested letting kids use a digital camera to create a record of the trip themselves.  One person also suggested using taking pictures of a favorite doll or toy in various places along the way.

While you may let older kids use your primary camera, you may want to pick up a “disposable” digital camera or find a used one on craigslist. There are also several “kid-friendly” digital cameras available for younger travelers. We took the VTech Kidizoom camera for a test run on our trip and will post a full review soon.

Portable DVD Players are Awesome!
Ok, I could argue about the importance of quality family time, but there were times on the trip when the portable DVD player really helped calm our daughter down. She was most happy with familiar movies, a plus because she could still follow the movie even with the sound turned down fairly low. The low volume allowed us to continue to interact with her while she watched. Of course, you may also want to bring headphones along.

Bring Along Some Good Music
We had a lot of good suggestions on music titles and we tried them all. We’ll go into more details in a future post, but for now let me just say that you want to be sure that whatever music you bring won’t drive YOU crazy. And don’t be afraid to scour your own music library for songs; “Our House” by Madness is now one of our daughter’s favorite songs.

Play Games
Ok, this may seem obvious, but how many of us tend to focus on the destination rather than the drive. Our 2.5 year old was quite capable of playing “I Spy” and we had a blast. If your kids are older, try the Alphabet game.

If your kids require a little more stimulation, consider age-appropriate travel games. For example, games like iPlay’s Tote-Along Travel Game and imaginetics magnetic Travel Picture Bingo are more involving than simple verbal games, but much more family-friendly than  portable video games. Just be sure that whatever travel games you choose are actually car friendly: Nobody wants to deal with a game that has to end because a piece is lost or the board gets bumped.

One last “game” suggestion that deserves mentioning is letting kids use Colorforms on the car windows. What a great idea! I didn’t know you could still buy Colorforms, but it looks like there’s a whole range of products available, including travel sets.

Avoid Sugary Snacks
The only thing worse than a cranky kids strapped into the back seat is a hyper kid strapped into the back seat. So be sure to pack snacks that are nutritious but not loaded with sugar. Finding snacks that fit the bill and are also car-friendly proved much harder than we though. Sure, we had fruit and crackers, but we also wanted some variety. We took along some Fruitabü organic smooshed fruit (think healthy and MUCH less sticky fruit roll-ups) as well as a selection of Snacktrition nut products. Due to our daughter’s age, the later wound up being enjoyed by my wife and me. And while I liked all of them, the Snacktrition cashews stood out from the others. They are simply the best I’ve ever had, especially the salt and pepper flavor.  They’re also a great source of nutrients and are “health baked with fiber,” but when they taste this good, who cares!

For drinks we brought fruit juice to mix with water (does anybody buy the pre-cut juice?) as well as Horizon singles milk. The later are shelf-stable (no refrigeration required), single-serve milk boxes available in plain, vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate flavors.  Unfortunately our daughter proved that while she’s good at drinking from a box, she’s even better at squeezing or shaking the liquid all over herself, so it looks like we’ll be using sippy cups on the road for a while still.

Have Fun!

I originally added this so I’d have a nice neat list of ten items, but it really does have a purpose. Put more than one person in a small space for an extended period of time and it’s very likely nerves are going to get frayed. If there are family members in the group, then it’s guaranteed.  Making sure that there are fun things for everyone on the trip will help keep everyone happy. Just remember to enjoy the time you have and stay calm through the rough spots.

I’d like to thank everyone who submitted ideas, including:

• Chris Cochran – California Office of Traffic Safety
• Meagan Farrell- cleartheclutterprofessionalorganizing.blogspot.com
• Shel Horowitz – www.frugalfun.com
• Lisa Kothari – www.pepperspollywogs.com
• Lisa “Chase”  Patterson & Joan Vokes – www.justanswer.com
• Jenny Reed – www.ourcruiseplanner.com
• Sharon Silver – www.proactiveparenting.net

Have more travel tips to share? Please add them below.

The Origami is also made of 90% recycled materials and features daytime running lights, a pedometer and an onboard LCD to provide status information. And it could be yours for just $650.

I’m all for using technology where it makes sense and I really like the fact that it’s made mostly from recycled materials. And I know that there other similarly-priced high-end strollers. However, I don’t think that’s enough to justify $650 just to avoid opening and closing the stroller. I can think of a lot of other things I would buy with that money.

Would you buy it? Some videos to help you decide:

[Geekbrief.tv]

Of special note: this bargain-priced MP3 player features a shake feature to select a random song—just like Apple’s new iPod Nano.

By providing access to this information, the service hopes to help New Hampshire residents quickly find critical information without resorting to calling 911 for non-emergencies.

Visit www.211nh.org to learn more. On the site you can also view the list of available information. Click on “Find Help” in the menu and you’ll see the following major categories:

• Basic Needs,
• Consumer Services
• Criminal Justice and Legal Services
• Education
• Environmental Quality
• Health Care
• Income Security
• Individual and Family Life
• Mental Health Care and Counseling
• Organization/Community/International Services
• Target Populations

There are a variety of ways to search the categories, or you can enter your zip code and browse for resources specific to your community. Using the browse feature, it took me less than a minute to find the state office responsible for day care licensing.

With access to important information literally a few button presses away, 211 New Hampshire is a resource that all New Hampshire residents should know about.

SNHParents is looking for photos to feature on our website. If selected, your photos could be seen by our members and other website visitors.

What Kind of Photos?
We’re looking for photos that show how great this region is for families. Photos of family activities, your kids near local landmarks, pretty much any photo showing local family life, particularly current photos (seasonal, holidays, etc.). We’re also looking for photos of the destinations in our directory.

The only requirements are that any photos you submit must be family-friendly and belong to you.

How to Submit Your Photos
If you have a photo you’d like to share, please do one of the following

• Flickr Users: Submitting your photos couldn’t be easier! Just tag them with “SNHParents” That’s it! See, I said it was easy.(If you’re not a Flickr user, but want to learn more, I recommend this video from Commoncraft)
• Everybody Else: Please e-mail your photos in JPG format to and include “photo” in the subject. I know you have to do a bit more than the Flickr users, but it’s still pretty easy!

What Happens Next
If we select your photo, we’ll contact you through Flickr or by e-mail before we use it so we can get your approval for our planned use and go over attribution information.

If you don’t hear from us right away, don’t worry. As we bring new stories and resources online, we’ll keep checking Flickr and the e-mail submissions for photos we can use. So while we may not have a spot for your photo today, there’s no telling what tomorrow might bring.

We’re looking forward to seeing your photos!

Those two words bring back childhood memories. Whether it was a trip to visit my grandparents or the mother-of-all road trips to Disney World, the time spent in the car was almost always as memorable as the time at the destination. But somewhere along the way, the thrill of the road trip disappeared as I grew older. As a teen it just wasn’t “cool” to spend that much time with my family (if I could go back and smack my teen-self upside the head I would). Now as an adult, I’d rather keep travel time to a minimum so I can spend more time with my family at our destination.

But lately I’ve been thinking about road trips again. Sure, increasing airline ticket prices are a factor, but the thought of spending time together on the road as a family is also appealing. Perhaps my memories of childhood trips are colored by nostalgia or maybe I’m just crazy. We’ll know the answer soon enough because in mid-September we’re driving down the East Coast to visit family.

You can help.

We’re looking for ideas to make our daughter’s first family road trip as memorable as possible. We’d like to hear what tips, tricks and products you use on your family road trips. Post them below or e-mail . We’ll be trying them out during our approximately 20 hours on the road and sharing our experiences.

We’d also like to hear stories from your road trips, either from your childhood or traveling as a parent. Please post them in the comments below.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Featuring teens from New England and around the country, this year’s “Science at the Circus” show is sure to please kids (and adults) of all ages. As the Manchester dates approach, we’re happy to share a review from Rob Williams of Vermont Commons:

I’ve always liked the circus, and, like many, have considered running away to join it from time to time, as the old adage goes.

For those who haven’t seen Vermont’s very own “Circus Smirkus,” it is a unique one-ring show, featuring teenagers trained at the in all kinds of Big Top-related activities – juggling, clowning, tumbling, and hanging by various parts of one’s body from all manner of contraptions suspended from the top of the tent.

Having been to “Circus Smirkus” for five summers running with my kids, I was feeling, on my sixth visit to the “Big Top,” a little less like an open-eyed kid, and more like a long-suffering parent, recognizing many of the names and faces in the program, and knowing that, at the end of the day, much of what I was about to see I’d seen before. This feeling was compounded by the theme of this summer’s “Smirkus” event, entitled “Smirkusology – A Science Extravaganza.”

“Science at the Circus?” I thought to myself? Sounds like a yawn fest, even after reading creative director Jesse Dryden’s breathless program description:

“Circus (he writes) is not an exact science. It is a volatile combination of danger and amusement, with a delicate balance of laughter and awe. Take some young artists with endless energy and astronomical skills. Put their hopes, their hearts and their lives into the ring. Mix in plenty of mirth and mayhem. Coat with whimsy and a pinch of artistry and emotion. Stir in some silly, and magnify it all under the Big Top. Just add an audience and let the chemical reaction inspire. The results are truly magical.”

OK, I thought. But science at the circus?

This slightly-jaded parent couldn’t have been more wrong. This summer’s 21st annual “Circus Smirkus” program may be the best “Smirkus” show to date.

One reason (as always) has to do with the hard-working members of the Smirkus troupe, who somehow manage to keep their energy up for more than two hours of big top fun. And there was some new stuff, too – like acrobatics on this dangling rectangular (sort of) cube structure, and the couple from Cali, Columbia (Francisco Javier Hartado and Leidy Tatiana Zainiga Vidal), who finished the first act with a stunning double display of balancing virtuosity involving a giant circular metal ring (It must be seen to be fully believed).

But there was more going on here than I remember, theme-wise. Seeing clowns dressed in scientific lab coats and glasses proved remarkably amusing throughout the show – a sort of visual cognitive dissonance that made their antics even more goofy – and the writers made some seriously funny hay out of this ongoing visual gag, featuring, for example, a nerdy-looking clown kid pulled from the crowd at show’s beginning who metamorphoses into a “wonder juggler” (complete with shiny jump suit) at the beginning of the show’s second half. New juggling tricks – including a wonderful moment involving 3 clowns juggling the same series of multi-colored balls and some serious fun with unicycles and uber-stilts – kept things fresh, too.

And then there was the sonics of Smirkus. The sounds of the 2008 summer show proved vital to its freshness this time around, and a big “hats off” to music composer Tristan Moore and sound technician Mike Cress for melding sound and story in such a compelling way – gadget noises, robotic and experimental mood music, and sonically-driven sight gags (my favorite involved some out-of-control robot hands, in reality, a pair of over-sized ice hockey gloves) kept audiences howling, and gave the clowns additional support and a sonic “foil” to play off of. Really nifty.

If you missed “Circus Smirkus” in Vermont and are kicking yourself – have no fear. You can catch them all over New England this summer – check out the schedule online at www.smirkus.org. They’ll even be touring in New Hampshire for the first time this year – July 22 and 23 at the Beech Street Elementary School in Manchester. The scientist, the clown, and the kid in you won’t want to miss it!

Anyway, I’ve been using “a first-in, last-out” approach to getting my daughter into the car: I buckle her into her seat before loading anything else when we set out and upon arrival, everything else is unloaded before she gets out.  Generally, this works well and ensures that she’s either with me or buckled into her seat. However, there are times when I have to let go of her hand to set something down or open the car door. Whenever possible, I shield her between the car door and my body, but when that’s not possible I have her “touch the tire” for the few seconds I need to get things settled before putting her in the car.  I know, I know: the tire’s not the cleanest part of the car, but my daughter knows what it is and understands that she’s not supposed to move her hand from it until I tell her it’s ok.

However, I just learned about Parking Pal, a CD-sized magnet that serves the same purpose as my method, but in a manner that’s easier for kids to understand. And it goes without saying that the magnet should be a lot cleaner than my car’s tires.

The Parking Pal is available in several colorful designs featuring dinosaurs, flowers, fish and more. In the center of each Parking Pal is a bright handprint to show your child exactly where to put her hand, a definite improvement over my system (”but dad, you didn’t say which part of the tire!”). Made of heavy material, the magnets are durable, wipe clean and, although they’re easily removed, fasten securely to your car. That last feature is important if you’re like me and forget to take the Parking Pal off the car before hitting the highway.

Sure, you could use any one of the ribbon auto magnets sold in stores, but why not spend the $8 and pick up something that appeals to your child. Actually, for that price, why not pick up one for all your family’s cars?

As an added bonus, now instead of “touching the tire,” my daughter knows to “give the car five!”

You can also find complete program information on the Nashua City Website.