KidDesktop is a kid friendly Windows desktop alternative providing a safe PC learning experience without allowing access to inappropriate files, programs, or Internet content. This blog provides information parents and teachers can use to help children get the most out of their computer experience, including updated information about KidDesktop and reviews of kids’ websites and kid friendly YouTube videos.
Don’t wanna hear about
Christina or Charlie Sheen
Wanna celebrate Theodor Geisel
By using my bean
Gonna read with the kids
And of course the Lorax!
As we read and we rhyme
‘Bout oobleck and green foodstuffs
It’s all just sublime.
‘Cuz it’s Dr. Seuss’ birthday
Tell Mayzie and Marvin K Mooney
Get your Fox and your Socks
And read like a badaloony!
*An old blog post about Dr. Seuss and Read Across America can be found here. Happy reading, Everyone!
I was so excited to see that Christylez Bacon performed at Reagan National Airport last week!
I wrote about Christylez a year and a half ago after the kids and I saw him at Wolf Trap’s Theater in the Woods, and we were all blown away by his talent! Apparently this performance is part of a new, lunchtime concert series at Reagan National and Dulles airports, in recognition of Black History Month. Check out the photos here and here – by Mark Gail for The Washington Post — and the article. Yay, Christylez, and how lucky for anyone traveling through National that day!
Anyone see this performance?!?!
If your kids are like mine, they love listening to music! My boys like all sorts of music, from the plethora of kid-bands to popular music from the radio.
Recently the boys have been asking if I would add videos by some of their favorite singers onto their YouTube playlist. Now, I like Lady Gaga as much as the next person, but I don’t think my kids are ready to see her video for Telephone…or some of her other songs, for that matter! Luckily, a bit of YouTube-research turned up several videos that only have the lyrics, including this one of the boys’ favorite Lady Gaga song:
(And, as an added bonus, my 6-year-old can practice his reading while hearing the lyrics at the same time!)
Some other quick searches turned up lots of other songs with the similar format. Of course, use your discretion — sometimes you might find the thought of your child(ren) reading the actual lyrics WORSE than them seeing the video in question!
My second grader recently came home very excited about reptiles, although not in the way one might expect an 8-year-old boy to be excited about snakes, lizards, and turtles.
It turns out that some 3rd and 4th graders are pushing a campaign to give the Commonwealth of Virginia a state reptile. They tell us that Virginia has a state beverage (milk), state bird (Northern Cardinal), state dance (square dance), and even a state fossil (chesapecten jeffersonicus). All this, but apparently NO STATE REPTILE!
Whether to help solve this great injustice or merely because I want to encourage my kids’ participation in a great opportunity to vote for something, I am adding this website to their KidDesktop. The 3rd and 4th graders plan to write to their state delegate at the end of December, 2010, so if you want your kids to participate too, you need to do it soon!
Oh, and that website again? It’s http://virginianeedsastatereptile.wordpress.com. 
Yes, I’m a bit obsessed with these time-lapse videos (see here and here). What can I say? They are really cool to watch! It helps that both of my kids are really into science, and these videos are a great way for them to see — in action — some of what makes up the vast realm of the scientific. I also think that videos such as these can help any child become interested in the world around them. Just one more reason to watch them with your children!
This week I want to highlight two videos, both of which show the potentially darker side of that natural world. The first is a time-lapse video of a thunderstorm. Fear of thunderstorms is relatively common in young children (older ones, too, not to mention the occasional household dog or cat!). But this storm — seen from a distance — shows the power of nature in a particularly non-threatening way. Watching those thunderclouds move from one side of the horizon to another is down-right hypnotic. And several cameo-making shooting stars just serve to add to the visual experience.
The second video is of the Simi Valley fire, which consumed several thousand acres (Wikipedia says 7,000; the YouTube note says 25,000) outside of Los Angeles in late September of 2005. Parents definitely need to use their discretion in deciding whether or not this video would be a good one for their particular child. Obviously, children who have experienced a fire or a fire evacuation will be much more sensitive to this video than other children. But older kids who follow the news may have heard of recent fires in Colorado and California (or in other places), and might be interested in this video. For those with an interest in the dramatic, the music accompanying this video adds a great touch. Budding astronomers will also enjoy seeing stars, planets, and the moon rising over the flames.
Oh, OK, I can’t resist adding one more video. This one is of the Aurora Borealis. (Here’s a good link for info about the so-called “Northern Lights.”) No warnings on this one. Just…enjoy!
I have two more cool, time-lapse videos for you today. Any child who is interested in space will be captivated by these videos. For that matter, so was my space-loving husband!
The first one is a total lunar eclipse, which occurred on February 20, 2008. The filmmaker, Pete Herron, writes about the video: “The image shakes because the moon moves during the night, obviously. It’s hard to keep the moon in the exact same spot of the frame while it’s constantly moving. The sound was from video that I recorded for the purpose of giving the timelapse a more real-time feel to it.” Check out Pete’s website for other cool videos.
(Did anyone else get an ad for the new Twilight movie when they watched this video? I, for one, found that quite amusing. But don’t worry, no ads on KidDesktop.)
The second video shows the earth rising and setting, as seen from the moon. Those images would be interesting enough, but this filmmaker actually introduces the earth-rise/earth-set with video taken from astronauts aboard Apollo 8 on December 24, 1968. Having just made the first human passage around the moon, the astronauts are amazed to see the earth-rise. The remainder of the video comes from 2007, and was taken about the Japanese Kaguya satellite.
Today’s a rainy day here in Washington DC, and I can’t stop thinking how happy everything that grows must be about all this moisture. (We’ve had a hot, dry summer!) This made me think how cool it would be if the kids and I could actually SEE the plants growing amid all this wet stuff coming down. And that led me to the miracle of time-lapse videos and YouTube.
Here’s one of fast-growing corn plants:
And another one of fast-growing bush beans. Also cool, but lacking the fun music of the corn plants.
Last one for now is here. Few kids would say that radishes are their fave foods, but the music is back and it’s really hypnotic to watch these roots grow, even after the stems and leaves have slowed down.
There’s some very cool time-lapse videos out there (as well as a lot of meh ones). They make a great teaching tool, in addition to a fun way to keep the little guys entertained on a rainy day!
We love OK Go, and the new OK Go video is another wonderful one for adults and kids alike!
Like their previous videos — including Here It Goes Again and This Too Shall Pass — White Knuckles includes catchy music and deceivingly simple visuals. But this one also features a classic kid-favorite addition: cute animals. These dogs* are absolutely adorable, from the way they jump, run, and walk around the set to the way they bob their heads in perfect rhythm with one another and the musicians. If your children haven’t seen this video yet, trust me, they’ll love it!
Oh, and for anyone who’s wondering: yes, OK Go did make this video with their trademark “one take.” No pieces of film sliced and diced together here. And, yes, it was verrrryyy challenging! Gizmodo did a great piece on the problems the musicians, trainers, and animals faced, and the excitement of knowing that it all came together perfectly.
* PS Did you see the goat around 2:50?!?!?
I’ve written before (here and here) about some of the great Muppet videos that are available on YouTube.
Then, yesterday my 2nd grader came home talking about how they learned “The Cat Came Back” in music class. His singing and humming naturally took me back to the Muppets skit of that song, and I just had to add it to my kids’ YouTube playlists.
Apparently versions of this song are often used to teach children about rhythm and tempo. It has a strong, well-defined beat pattern: one weak beat, one strong beat. Plus, the silly words make it fun for kids and anyone else to sign along. Still amusing — and educational! — after all these years!
Getting back to Parenting magazine’s “Good Guy Websites,” here are a couple of sites for the writer/creator in the family. As a reminder, these are sites recommended for boys roughly 10-12, although many girls would also enjoy them.
Parenting suggested tikatok.com, where kids can write, illustrate, and publish real books. There is no monetary obligation for joining; costs are only incurred when you order a book your child has written. Hardcovers start at $18, paperbacks at $15, emailed books are $3. The site differentiates between stories for all ages, 8 and up, and 10 and up. For the 8+ age range there are Story Sparks including — but not limited to — “Aliens, Robots, and Space,” Dinosaurs, “Heroes and Villains,” and “Ghosts and Monsters.”
The site looks really interesting, and I think that many aspiring authors would really enjoy playing around on it. I couldn’t help but notice, though, that something about the site made it appear aimed more towards girls than boys.
With that in mind, Makebeliefscomix is more likely to appeal to the testosterone set. The comic book format is a lot of fun and included are both writer prompts and story ideas. The final product is less polished than ones from tiktok, but lack of polish is undoubtedly an important charm for comic books in general. The comics are printable and email-able, so kids can easily share them with each other. Overall I think both sites have their up-sides, but I’d be much more likely to recommend makebeliefscomix to a tween guy.
Who knows, maybe the next Stan Lee is hanging around your house, just looking for a creative outlet!
Back to top