Homeschooling Parents, Teach Your Kids To Code!

My coding skills are minimal and basic on a good day. But that does not stop me from making sure my homeschooled kids
are learning important coding skills.

I know that there are many homeschooling parents out there that are not choosing to teach their kids to code.
Some of it is out of fear of teaching a subject matter, they have no knowledge off, for others, it is the fact that they
do not see the relevance. Both of these sides need to be debunked right now.

You see, we desperately need people who can fill the positions that need coding in this country. In order to stay
competitive with other nations, it is important that all of our kids have the skills to secure themselves a good job
and with that help our economy grow. Yes, I am oversimplifying things at the moment, but I am not trying to make a point
about raising the economy one person at a time, but rather giving that one person – your child – the chance to be one
of the successful ones. For that, these skills are needed, skills that as a homeschooling parent, you are responsible for sharing with them. Coding is one of them.

Now, if you, like me, have no idea how to do more than basic coding, how in the world are you going to teach your children?
Simple, invest in a good program, like “Simple Coding”. Just like you would and probably are investing in language lessons and music teachers, you can use Simple Coding to teach them, and yourself this important skill.

Why do I like this program so much?

1. Because they have multiple learning options, like my current favorite the “Game Design Software for Kids“, which is
what my son is working through right now. .Other options are their Summer Camps and in person live classes.

2. It is affordable. There are no hidden fees, high up-front costs, or minimum purchases. You simply buy the program that
fits your kid, and that is it.

3. Online support. With an access to support and a forum, you are not on your own when you are teaching your children.

4. Incentives. Simply Coding gives away scholarships, like their 2016 JavaScript Game Design Competition, that is
currently going on, and ends May 21st.

But don’t just take my word for it, watch these testimonials right here:

Check out the Simply Coding JavaScript Platform details:

• ✓ LIVE MENTOR ASSISTANCE: Unlike other programs that offer you a “how to” sheet and let you go, we offer live chat assistance to make sure you or your child know exactly how to best use our JavaScript software. Also, on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month we conduct an hour of live question / answer with our mentors!
• ✓ SCHOOL APPROVED CURRICULUM and STEM CERTIFIED: The Simply Coding program has been approved by school systems throughout the country, both as part of their course catalogs and as an after school program. It has been in operation in classrooms for the last three years!
• ✓ DESIGNED BY PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMMERS: Our software has been designed based on the feedback of thousands of kids who have helped us test, refine, and perfect our system.
• ✓ CODING EDUCATION: Our educational software is not only meant to teach children how to build games and learn coding, it’s about expanding their critical thinking skills and ability to innovate. Your kid has done Scratch, Khan Academy, Code.org, Codecademy, Hour of Code and now this is the NEXT STEP!
• ✓ WORKS ON ANY PC OR MAC: Unlike other programs that require strict system requirements, you simply need to access our online class via the provided registration access code, create an account and start using our videos and tutorials to receive a solid JavaScript education through creating computer games.

So, dear homeschooling parent, what are you waiting for? Give yourself and your child the gift of coding today!
Disclaimer: I was given the Simple Coding Javascript Platform at a discount in return for an honest review.

Not Just For Families With Allergies: Happy Baby Home Party!

(Disclaimer: The following post contains affiliate links, see Disclosure page for more details)

If you have a family plagued with allergies, or just want to do your part for the environment by using clean, not tested on animal products, then I have an opportunity for you. Seventh Generation is giving away all that is needed to host a Happy Baby Home Party, and all you have to do is sign up for a chance to get selected!

What is a Healthy Baby Home Party?

Seventh Generation’s home parties are powered by people like you who are focused on creating a healthy environment for the next generation. Developed with input from non-profit partner, Healthy Child Healthy World, they are a great way to get together with friends, share helpful information, and make an impact!

Healthy Baby Home Party kits are provided to all selected hosts and are filled with educational info about our environment, helpful tips, a fun game, and samples and coupons from Seventh Generation and other favorite family-friendly brands like  bobble, Plum Organics, and Zarbee’s Naturals.

What is the Application Process?

• Sign up at generationgood.net to join the Generation Good community, or log in if already a member
  • Accept the Healthy Baby Home Party Application offer on your Generation Good dashboard and complete the application.
  • Applicants will be notified by end of March if they have been selected to host a party, via an email to the email address assigned to their Generation Good member profile.
  • All selected applicants will then need to confirm their participation by accepting the Healthy Baby Home Party Mission in Generation Good and confirming their shipping address.
  • 1,900 FREE Party Kits will be distributed in this round.
  • Hosting spots are open to US residents only at this time. Canadian parties are planned for later in 2016!
  • Full terms and conditions are available within Generation Good in the “Healthy Baby Home Party Application” offer.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up today!

Friday Gratitude: Family, Friends and Favorites

 

This blog post  contains affiliate links. See my disclosure page for more information

Do you have an attitude of gratitude? If you do, congratulations. If you are still wondering how to get one, and you own your own blog, I suggest partaking in the many wonderful blog hops that foster weekly listing of gratitude. Just check out the following list of blog hops that happen every week, connect with us, via their link and post your very own list!

Lexa Cain’s Celebrate The Small Things

Thankful Thursdays by Pepi Smart Dog

Thankful Thursday Link Up

What am I grateful for this week?

I am grateful for having such supportive and well-behaved children. Both of them are kind, loving and self-disciplined individuals who are slowly growing toward adulthood. I am proud to be their mother.

I am grateful for my husband, who work hard to make sure that no matter what happens, everyone is taken care off. He was not given anything by anyone, rather often neglected as the youngest in his needs and pursuits, yet he is the one with a thriving family. That is a testimony to his strength and commitment to us.

Dog Drinking Coffee Poster

I am grateful for all of the friends I have had along the way. The friends who were there to laugh and cry along with me, some of whom are far away, as we have moved and traveled not only throughout this great country, but also overseas. We made connections as far as Europe and as close as Las Vegas, and we cherish every single one of them. Oh, and I should not forget to mention those who I count as friends, even though we never met in person – from a Wedding Organizer in Dubai to a Kindle Publishing Writer in India.

My New Favorite Blanket “Millie Throw In Sky” by Joss and Main

I am grateful for my favorite things: coffee, thumbprint cookies, enthusiastic dog licks, vegan chocolate peanut butter, hiking shoes, flannel bed sheets, soft blankets, and books, always books.

What and who are you grateful for this week? Share in the comment section below, post your own blog post, and link up with us, or write it in your journal. Whatever you choose to do, be grateful!

Blessings!

Claudia

This blog post is also a part of the following blog hops:

No Rules Weekend Blog Party

Inspire me Wednesdays

Be Inspired! 

If You Were Here With Me In Las Vegas – A Weekend Coffee Share Post

Hey there, glad to have you here again for coffee. Do you like this cup? It is one of my own designs, and yes, you can take it home with you.
I hope you do not mind that I will use your visit as an excuse to stop organizing my Zazzle stores for a moment. I did not bake anything this week, too busy, but I bought us some streusel cake.
So this week had been another busy one. I am trying to get ready for a few things, first the above-mentioned stores have to be ready for the upcoming holiday season. I have given them and myself a week to make them just the way I want to. By next Saturday, they better are that way.
Also, NaNoWriMo is only a month away. I want to have the first draft of a book finished by then and use that month to edit the mess I wrote. I say mess because the first draft is always a vomit draft – just a bunch of stuff written on paper – it is the subsequential stages that carve out a true story. Apparently this story will the intro to the town most of my Paranormal fantasy series will be centered in. So the details have to be right at the end. And they will be – hopefully.
Amazon is launching an Etsy-like business section for homemade products, and I am trying to find out as much info as I can. I really love the idea, and will be writing about it on the blog, whenever I get info about it. This will be interesting. (P.S. saw some of the pre-launch selection of some stores and darn they look good – impressive stuff)
If you were here  with me, I would tell you all of the reasons I do not like living in Las Vegas – the gambling in the grocery stores, the groves of homeless people in the parks, just a little bit away from tourist section, the dirtiness of the city, the personal stories of loss and addiction I have been listening to. It is a hard, dangerous city that takes so much out of so many people. On one hand, I see tourists and people with money (as obvious by their clothing, and expensive cars), walking around and partially stepping over people with no place to live. Poverty is everywhere in the US, but I have never seen it so much in your face and seen so many people act as if it is okay. It is not okay. But for me, a temporary resident only here to work for a few months, there is not much I can do. And that is what is killing me. I do what I can, donate where I can, listen to people’s stories and give a kind word or two. As I worry about the content of my next blog post, they are worried about what to feed their children or themselves. It took me a while to learn that I can not rescue everyone – an affliction my husband and I seem to share – so we do what we can to help. I just don’t feel like it is ever enough.

Okay, I’ll stop with the depressing talk, turning back toward my usual more upbeat self, hoping that you enjoyed your coffee, and I will bid you farewell with a blessing of prosperity and happiness, hoping that you and your loved ones will always have what you need, and wishing that you would share with those who do not.

Blessings!

P.S. Please check out all of the other wonderful people who write as a part of the “Weekend Coffee Share”. Give them some love!

A Moment Of Gratitude – A Celebrate The Small Things Blog Post

Las Vegas aerial view taken from a blimp by DanitaDelimont
Poster is available via Zazzle

It is time again to join Lexa Cain for her weekly blog hop “Celebrate The Small Things” You can join this ever-growing list of gratitude practitioners there. Remember, when you look close enough, you will always find something to be grateful for.

This week I am grateful that our move is now in it’s final stages, and we are actually getting on the road on Tuesday. I am looking forward to finally moving out of here, and toward the West, something we all have been looking forward to for a while now. Las Vegas, here we come!

I am grateful that I am getting better at moving efficiently and in a more organized manner. This will come in handy in the near future again, our stay in Las Vegas is limited to about 6 months. So, basically as soon as we unpacked, we are going to re-pack. I better have that down to a science by then!

I am grateful that I have chosen to take the next few days off, and that I am flexible enough to do so. It is so much harder when your schedule is dictated by a typical job. I am glad that I am in charge of my own schedule.

I am grateful that found some baby pictures of my daughter, I did not remember we had. Somehow they got mixed in with some tax papers (I don’t know how that happened), but they are adorable, and put a smile on my face. I can’t wait to tease her with them later on today.

Speaking of pictures, going through all of our stuff, I also came across my own basic training pictures. Now there is something to scare the kids with. Is it a bad thing to be grateful for having been hurt bad enough in basic training to receive a medical discharge? Well, I am, because it brought me to this time and place, something that might have never happened would I have actually been physically able to stay. I guess it is possible to be grateful for torn ligaments and improper medical treatment after all. Was not that much fun when it happened, though.

What are you grateful for this week? I hope you take the time to write a blog post, and join the hop, or create a list in your journal. Gratitude is a practice that should be held sacred by everyone, no matter which spiritual background or the lack thereof  one comes from.

Have a great weekend!

Claudia

P.S. I will not be a part of next weeks hop. Monday will be the last day I will be on this blog until end of June. See you in July!

The Tea – A Flash Fiction

 

“The Dreams In Which I’m Dyin'” by Samantha Aplin 

 

“Soon”, she said to the impatient child, stirring the tea, the clouds of steam rising above the slightly cracked cup, slowly allowing the brew of roots to cool to a consumable temperature.
She tried not to frown, her eyes filled with a sorrowful smile as she nodded reassuringly at the little one.
This would have to make due for now, no breakfast available to fill their empty stomachs, but at least, the heat the tea brought would allow them to move about in the bitter cold.
For a moment, a flicker of despair rushed across her face, but she caught herself, adjusting it back to the well-practiced facade she had worn now far too long.

Copyright Claudia H. Blanton 2015

The above image is by the talented Samantha Aplin and is available on RedBubble. Please support independent artists, thank you.

The flash fiction was inspired by Lillie McFerrin’s flash fiction prompt “Steam”, and the #1word blog hop prompt “Soon”.

Daughter – A Haiku

greatest gift received
you’re closed eyes, sweet smiling yawn
my heart in your hand

Copyright Claudia H. Blanton 2015

To all of you Mothers out there, Happy Mother’s Day from all of us at Avalon Media to you.

Holding Onto Hope – A Poem

the sound of a fight
echoes through the dreary house
no longer refuge

from where can I steal
a little sense of peace, lost
somewhere in the dark

Copyright Claudia Blanton 2015

Transient

Undead was such an uncaring word. Zombie was not much fun either. There are better labels I would choose for myself if anyone that mattered would listen. Who did not matter where my sisters, who thought I was way out there, and well I was pretty cool, after all I still had all of my fingers and most of my hair. Transient was more descriptive of our state, technically a state between states, which, thanks to my crazy family had spread through the world like wildfire.

Claudia H. Blanton 2015

The Gift – A Five Sentence Flash Fiction

Returning to the place, where she had been abandoned, was supposed to bring her closure of some kind, but instead it brought her only an empty feeling of nothingness. The bare steps of the large church where cold, bare and a stark contrast to her childhood, adopted by the kindest people she ever met, or could imagine. There was no trace of her, the one, who had given life, but nothing else, no sign of love, no care, no connection. Glancing back at the two people, waiting at a short distance for her, to find her own way, she was glad, she had been left behind.

Copyright Claudia H. Blanton 2015

This post was inspired by the Five Sentence Flash Fiction Prompt “Abandon”