Archives for Cheap Activities category
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Oh boy, finally the kids are back to school! In honor of this “most wonderful time of the year,” I talk about some of our mini-vacation outings to the water park and the Tellus Museum planetarium. Then I discuss back-to-school shopping and the benefits of our school’s uniform policy. Then I gush about the Parsec awards coming up at Dragon*Con -I urge everyone to visit the Parsec Awards site to check our our newly posted list of finalists! These are some of the best offerings out there in speculative fiction podcasting! And finally, I highlight the pertussis outbreak and encourage us all to get our booster vaccines, and give info about the free pertussis vaccine clinic at Dragon*Con, thanks to the Skepchicks!

Two special treats in this week’s cast -the first being Ben Stirling’s “Precious Moments”-style Cthulhus, hand made for his children. You can get your own, plus other adorable Lovecraft-inspired figures at his site!
The second treat is the song “Close Your Eyes,” by Marc Gunn, from his new albumn “Kilted for Her Pleasure,” which are Celtic-style geeky songs.
Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my NEW voicemail number at 206-337-8533 and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!
Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton
Promo: Marc Gunn’s Irish & Celtic Music Podcast
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Happy Independence Day to the U.S.! I hope folks had a great holiday weekend! We have a number of great voicemails from Tim, highlighting Darcy’s awesome reviews here on the blog, and reinforcing my discussion on recycling and reusing stuff! Then Lizzie calls in to tell us about her babysitting gig and how the parents are cool Brits who let their kids watch old Dr. Who! Then Tim gets me going again on role-playing online, so I gush about DDO again. Finally, I pipe up about our love of Steam for downloading PC games, and Wyatt calls in about GameStop for console games. I hope you guys love the mailbag stuff! I’ll be back next week with another topic after my week at my folks’ home down on the farm.
Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309 and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!
Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton
Promos: The Jesus Geeks (Now Twisted Geeks!)and What The Cast
Posted on 2010 under Cheap Activities, Education |
7
Jun

This adorable astronaut-in-training is the offspring of the talented @ageekmom on Twitter! If you want to go to a NASA Tweetup, let her know! And don’t forget to check out NASA’s Kids Club website for cool info about all of their programs for kids!
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In this episode, we tell you our soap-making adventure, inspired by Geeky Clean, and recommend this as a great easy craft! Here are some pictures of our starting kit and our lovely results! The kids had a blast, and can’t wait to do it again!



Next, we have a voicemail from Mark with the Tickle Me Plant Company, presenting his great product for kids and plant lovers of all ages. I am familiar with these plants, and think that they are very cool and interesting, especially for kids! Then, Doug from Alaska calls in to tell us what he thinks kids are good for, and I agree!
Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309 and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!
Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton
Promos: Dragon Page Cover to Cover and Podculture
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Hi everyone! This time, I have a whole lot of great voicemails from Gary and Tim about a lot of recent topics. Gary tells us about his gardening experience with his kids, bemoans the popularity of SillyBands, and calls me out on using the kids as an excuse to collect American Girls stuff and Galactic Heroes figures. Then I compliment Darcy on the great batch of stuff she sent the kids for Amanda’s birthday, and let her know I swiped the Girl Genius comic (It won a HUGO!).

After that, Tim discusses what kids are really good for, and thanks Darcy for reminding him of his and Jenny’s first wedding anniversary (Congrats to you!). After I wistfully discuss the oil drilling disaster in the gulf, Tim lets us know of a great opportunity to catch Jacques Cousteau’s great documentary on the oceans, “Under the Sea,” on June 11.
Call or email me if you have any opinion on which video game franchises you think need a break, or just need to die. Wyatt has a rant on this subject that I am going to do a special episode on soon, and we would love your opinions!
Don’t forget – you have until June 1 to nominate your favorite podcasts for a Parsec Award! I’m not eligible, so I’m not asking for me – I’m asking for all those other great shows that you listen to and love!
Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309 and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!
Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton
Promos: MilkCartonTV and The Parsec Awards
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This week I present a couple of cool activities you can do with your kids – tye-dyed t-shirts made easy (see pictures for example and the dye used, SEI TumbleDye, which I got at Hobby Lobby ), and gardening in a pot or a spot! Then we have some voicemails from Gary about Legos and Tim about games and the Nintendo Power Glove. Finally, Wyatt calls in again to give us another Xbox Live update!


Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309 and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!
Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton
Promos: The Parsec Awards and Podculture
This week, we had a ton of voicemails that I wanted to let you all listen to! First up, we have Tim, reminding us of Darcy’s wonderful reviews here on the blog! Next, we have a few from Gary, who is catching up listening. He has great ideas and comments about the IKEA store, ear piercing, and science education in elementary school. He also has some comments and questions about Legos and how kids in general play with them! Don calls in with a great source for hypoallergenic earrings and parts, for us sensitive-skinned folks and crafters (like me!). Then Wyatt calls in about Jonathan Coulton on the Rock Band Network, vintage gaming and collecting, news about games on the Mac and an XBox Live update.
Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309 and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!
Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton
Promos: The Chronic Rift and The Seeker Cast
Posted on 2010 under Cheap Activities, Geeky Places, Shows |
25
Mar
In thinking about educational activities for you and the kids this spring, I present a couple of unusual options. The first, the Tellus Museum, is a small museum with a lot of fun stuff to offer for kids. The second is the IKEA store in Atlanta. Both places were interesting, educational, and best of all – FUN!
Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309 and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!
Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton
Promos: Technorama and Slice of SciFi
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Our family vacation this summer gave me the chance to do some really fun, geeky things with the family. Tim and Darcy report on some of the cool places that they went on their vacation. Check out some pictures here on Darcy’s blog. Also on this episode, I play a movie review of “Up” from Gary, and a comment about my interview with Tracy Hickman.
And don’t forget, our friend Doug is at sea on the JOIDES Resolution expedition, and is blogging and Twittering back his experiences as a science teacher witnessing lots of scientists studying the sea floor. Check out Doug’s blog!
Thanks for all the input, and keep it coming! And, if you have some time, I would appreciate a review on iTunes!
Don’t forget to check out the 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast! We have a show coming up on Aug. 18 all about helium and the Sun!
Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309 and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter!
Promos: What the Cast?, Slice of Scifi and The Babylon Podcast
Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton
Posted on 2009 under Cheap Activities, Geeky Places, Shows |
21
Jul

HTGYG Show #44 [34:03m]:
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Our family vacation last week gave me the chance to do some really fun, geeky things with the family, so I decided to tell you about what we did, and I found a link for more really cool places to go on vacation as well. Also, our friend Doug is at sea on the JOIDES Resolution expedition, and is blogging and Twittering back his experiences as a science teacher witnessing lots of scientists studying the sea floor.

Magiquest
Tuckaleechee Caverns
100 Geeky Places to Take Your Kids This Summer | GeekDad | Wired.com
Doug’s blog from the JOIDES Resolution Expedition
Doug’s Twitter
Thanks for all the input, and keep it coming! And, if you have some time, I would appreciate a review on iTunes!
Don’t forget to check out the 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast!
Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309 and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter!
Promos: Great Hites and Carology
Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton