The Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 Kids is the tablet that grows with your child. With intuitive Kids Mode, parental settings and a great selection of preloaded apps, it’s the unique tablet for kids that parents will love.

After the best apps for kids? Let me tell you firstly, my household is one that has a strong culture of video games. My husband is a gamer. I knew this while we were dating, I knew this before I got married, I knew this when I said my vows to him at the altar on our wedding day. Four kids later, he is still a gamer. It is who he is, and I love him.

I find gaming a polarising topic; you either love it or hate it. I have known and spoken to parents who have laid down strong boundaries regarding gaming. Eg limiting gaming time to 15 minutes a week, if any at all. I understand the feelings and rationale of people who belong to this side of the fence. (I’ve heard my own father’s laments about this over many, many years).

I, myself don’t play games. I find it way too stressful. I perpetually feel the need to restart the game after any little failure in the game, (a terrible habit from years of piano practicing and my control freak ugliness). However, after watching and hearing my husband and kids game, I have witnessed the rich narratives great games offer; the characters, developments and plots are honestly just utterly engaging.

It’s been awhile since I first watched this TED Talk by Ali Carr-Chellman about gaming to re-engage boys in learning. I find myself agreeing with her on so many points: they (boys) are playing video games and we need to meet them where they are; we need to put ourselves into boy culture and stop demeaning it.

I also agree with Ali’s call to design better games for learning. Most apps for kids are still basically fancy flashcards. I think there’s a place and time for these. What we’re all waiting for, are more apps for kids, that have depth and rich narrative.

What are your favourite apps to re-engage boys in learning?

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Before kids, I didn’t mind being the subject of a photo or video clip. Now that I’m a mum, I am definitely more comfortable behind a camera, than in front of it. There’s nothing more humbling that seeing photos and video clips of yourself taken by your kids… while you are ungraciously eating, sleeping or breastfeeding in front of the TV. (Goodness me, is that how they see me?! Such an unflattering angle. Just look at my chins!)

I am ever, ever so grateful that the world has not seen any of those photos or video clips. My mind screams in horror at the potential of such sharing – especially via my public social media profiles!

Are there other parents who share my underlying fears of the potential mistakes kids could make when using technology? How do you set rules and limits so that so that they can use technology safely and within reasonable boundaries? I’m still figuring this out. I now have a password lock on my phone – but that’s useless when I unlock it for them so they can use my phone.

Imagine my utter delight (and relief) when I first switched on the Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 Kids and was greeted by the Kids Mode. This very special tablet has been designed, so that on top of the standard mode for adults, there is an intuitive Kids Mode built in and designed for kids aged 3-6. The very clever parental settings help parents stay in control of which apps kids use (and purchase!), and the amount of tablet usage each day.

What I would give for such great parental settings across all types of technology!

Smart Apps for Kids 3-6 Farm 123 from Pauline LessonsLearntJournal on Vimeo.

Safety and reasonable boundaries aside, the Kids Mode on the Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 Kids also comes preloaded with some of the best smart apps for kids that I have seen to date. Yep, preloaded. You don’t have to purchase or download these best selling kids apps. They come, set up ready to go, out of the box. No fussing about with this and that, looking and loading, waiting and telling kids… just a minute … one more minute… okay… look over there while I figure this thing out.. (grr!!).

Here are some of our favourite smart apps for kids aged 3-6 years old, that are FREE on the Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 Kids. All come preloaded, ready to go, out of the box, (except for Learn to Write English which is free from the app store).

A very special mention about this particular app, because it is simply brilliant. Pettson’s Inventions (1 and 2) is all about building inventions to solve a problem and make something happen. It’s utterly engaging – (*cough* and not just for kids).

Smart Apps for Kids 3-6 Inventions from Pauline LessonsLearntJournal on Vimeo.

Now for the icing on the cake, the GALAXY Tab 3 Kids comes with a unique protective and colourful rubber bumper to keep the edges of the tablet protected. That’s one less thing to shop for.

Hand on heart readers, I am a Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 Kids convert. I love it. Right now, there’s a special cash back promotion on offer. If you purchase a Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 kids tablet between 27 February and 30 April, you can get $50 cash back^.

$100 Google Play Voucher Giveaway!

To share the excitement of my new found love, we will be giving away a $100(AUD) Google Play voucher*. For your chance to win, leave a comment on this post sharing:

“How would the GALAXY Tab 3 for Kids fit into your life?”.

^ Terms and Conditions apply. Please visit www.samsung.com/au/promotions for full T&Cs
* This is a game of skill and entries will be judged based on creativity and originality. Open to Australian residents only. Entries open 9:01am AEDT on Monday 14 April 2014 and close 5:00pm AEDT on Friday 25 April, 2014. Terms and Conditions apply. Please click here for full Terms and Conditions.

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The solar system; Earth and Space. This has been a subject of scientific curiosity for the Twin 5s for some months now. We live in Sydney, and it’s rare for us to have those clear, dark nights when you can really see the stars. I guess that’s what happens when you’re smothered in city lights.

Still, on nights when my kids are still up, a fair time after sunset, they look up at the night sky and are over the moon – at the sight of the moon; and when they catch a glimpse of Jupiter – boy, oh boy, are they an excited bunch.

One quiet afternoon, during the school holidays, before the Twin 5s started school, (it seems like a lifetime ago now, although it’s only really been 5 weeks!), I sat down with them and explored the topic of the solar system, together, in a bit more depth.

We looked at pictures of the Solar System. The solar system art prints I found online (links below), were simple and clear, making them useful visual resources. Looking at the art prints, we talked about how the solar system is made of a group of planets, moons and other bodies that orbit (go around) the Sun.

We talked about how the Sun is a star, that makes its own heat and light. We talked about and wrote, the number fifteen million, because that, in degrees Celsius is how hot the centre (core) of the sun is. Mr N had the biggest grin when he saw the number of zeros fifteen million had! It’s such a huge number. He was quite fixated with the cores, of the sun and of each planet (and their respective moons), hence his drawings of the cores in the solar system.

We talked about how Earth is a very special planet because it’s the only planet to have life, as scientists are yet to find life else where in our Solar System. We talked about how earth is the “blue planet” because most of earth is covered with water. Mr M has always had a particular eye for colour and this fact, that earth is the blue planet, clearly stuck with him, as his drawing of the solar system shows.

We also briefly talked about the inner solar system, which has the rocky planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars; and the outer solar system, which has the gas giants, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Lastly – we talked about Pluto – because it was no where to be found on any of the Solar System art prints. Thanks to the videos on Brain Pop (link below), we now know that Pluto is a dwarf planet, with a bit of a wonky orbit around the Sun.

All the above concepts didn’t come about in one short afternoon. Mr N and M have been immersing themselves, independently with the following online educational resources for a few weeks, possibly months now. They are still fascinated with the subject of Earth and Space, and they still search out for information themselves. They still love throwing space facts in my direction – along with a zillion space questions.

That’s what I love about child-led learning. When the right environment is provided, when kids have access to resources, conversations and knowledge about things they are naturally curious about – they learn complex concepts, almost effortlessly, and they continue to question, and want to learn more. 

Do you have a child who is curious about the Solar System, or Earth and Space? Here are six readily accesible learning resources about the Solar System for kids that we have used, in our home to support our children and encourage their curiosity.

Online Educational Resources

• Brain Pop Jr, all the space videos (Earth, Mars, the Moon, the Solar System and the Sun). There’s a yearly subscription. In my opinion, it’s worth every cent and more – (not sponsored, just saying). 
• Study Ladder – various Space interactive questions and videos. There’s a free version and a paid version. We have the paid version. I’m not sure if all the space related content is available via the free version.
• Sydney Observatory Monthly Sky Guides, with Sky Charts showing where the Planets are in the Australian Night Sky.

Solar System Art Prints

• Solar System Art Print by Jazzberry Blue.
• Solar System Print by Brandonriesgo via Etsy. 
• The Solar System Print, Pour one out for Pluto by I Screen You Screen.

More Activities for Preschoolers

Three to Five: Playful Preschool is stuffed to the brim with tried, tested and loved playful learning ideas for preschoolers. There are 25+ ideas for preschoolers, ten printable resources and additional links to over 50 more activities. A great resource for parents. Download your copy here.

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Right next to our driveway lives a colony of ants. Some days, they can be seen busily working. On those days, all three of my boys will squat down, in a row, and just watch the lines of ants, fascinated.

 
Learning how to observe is a very important science skill for children. By making observations, we learn about the world around us. Our observations help answer questions. We use observations to make predictions. Observations lead to further questions and investigations.

 
Here are four tips to help children develop strong observation skills:

 
{ONE} Teach children that to observe something is to pay close attention to something. Use their five senses where appropriate: seeing; hearing; touching; smelling; tasting. Children must be taught they should only touch or taste something if an adult says it is safe.

 
{TWO} Remind children that observing something well means to see things from different angles, places, times and over time. The longer the time you have to make observations, the better the information will be.

 
{THREE} Provide different observation tools like magnifying glasses, microscopes; rulers and measuring tapes; weights and scales; thermometers; stopwatches, clocks, etc. Through practice, children will learn which tools will best help them in their respective observations.

 
{FOUR} Emphasise that recording observations is just as important as making them. When recording observations, use words, numbers, pictures, photos and videos. Experiment recording observations on different types of graphic organisers. It is important to be neat and organised.

Reference:
BrainPOP. (1999-2013). Available from: http://www.brainpopjr.com/science/scienceskills/makingobservations/grownups.weml

 
We recently discovered the Backyard Safari Outfitters collection. They are perfect for encouraging observation skills in young children.

 
My boys spotted the Backyard Safari Outfitter Lazer Light Bug Vac at Target. When I saw the price (around $20), I couldn’t resist purchasing it. Yes, you read that correctly. It’s a Lazer Light Bug Vac. It sucks up bugs and catches them live. There’s a built in magnifying lens that kids can flip over once they’ve sucked up a bug. They can then observe the bugs up close with the built in magnifying lens.

 
Totally awesome right? What I absolutely love about the Backyard Safari Outfitter Lazer Light Bug Vac is that it’s so easy catch and release bugs. All you need to do to release the bug is to flip over the magnifying lens, and let the bugs out.

 
One of our best buys to date.

 
Tell me, what has been your best buy to date? I would love to check it out!

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