How To Grow Your Geek: Parenting and More! » Education

HTGYG Show #77: Voicemails – Recycling and Gaming

susiethegeek — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 19:39:19 +0000

Sponsor: Try GotoMeeting free for 30 days!

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

Future Astronaut hard at work training!

susiethegeek — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:44:11 +0000

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!

HTGYG Show #73: Voicemails – Gardening, Girl Genius and Jacques Cousteau

susiethegeek — Fri, 28 May 2010 20:17:55 +0000

Sponsor: Try GotoMeeting free for 30 days!

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

HTGYG Show #71: Gardening, Tye-dying, and Voicemails

susiethegeek — Fri, 07 May 2010 21:31:28 +0000

Sponsor: Try GotoMeeting free for 30 days!

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!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: The Parsec Awards and Podculture

Science Rules! Neil Tyson and Bill Nye!

susiethegeek — Thu, 06 May 2010 03:50:30 +0000

Cool pic from Neil Tyson’s twitter @neiltyson

HTGYG Show #70: Nova, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and The Pluto Files

susiethegeek — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 21:24:52 +0000

Sponsor: Try GotoMeeting free for 30 days!

In this episode, I review the classic PBS series “Nova,” and discuss some of my favorite episodes, which leads me to talk about GalaxyZoo, the Astronomy Cast, the 365 Days of Astronomy and Pluto. Which then leads me to discuss the book “The Pluto Files” by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and the Nova episode based on it. Also, you can follow Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Pamela Gay and Mike Brown on Twitter!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: The Parsec Awards and Podculture

HTGYG Show #68: Darcy’s Reviews, Legos, IKEA, Vintage Gaming and new games for the Mac! (Voicemails)

susiethegeek — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 19:48:01 +0000

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.

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: The Chronic Rift and The Seeker Cast

HTGYG Show #66: School Project and Science Fair Fun!

susiethegeek — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:00:11 +0000

Sponsor: Try GotoAssist Express free for 30 days!

In this episode, I discuss school projects and science fairs. Amanda recently had to create a diorama of the Battle of Bunker Hill, and I coordinated our elementary school science fair, so the whole family was involved in helping the kids learn how to tackle big projects like these without freaking out, and helping us parents learn how to not do the whole thing ourselves or die trying! Special thanks to Blake Smith of the MonsterTalk podcast, and Jamie Chambers of SignalFire Studios, creator of the Serenity, Battlestar Galactica, and Cortex roleplaying games, for being some of my wonderful judges for the science fair!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: The SeekerCast and SofaDogs

A New 365 Days of Astronomy Episode from Susan and Amanda!

susiethegeek — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:37:09 +0000

Today, Amanda and I have a new episode up for the 365 Days of Astronomy. In honor of the anniversary of the discovery of Helium, we give you a quick history lesson on what we know about that element and our solar system’s star, the Sun.

Please check it out!

Our “365 Days of Astronomy” Podcast episode is up today!

susiethegeek — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:10:36 +0000

Title: Pluto – The Planet that isn’t a Planet Anymore

Beginning with a convoluted discovery in 1930, then being named by an 11-year-old girl, Pluto got off to a rather non-traditional start as a planet. It continued to be largely uninvestigated until only the last few decades. It became the subject of much debate when it was demoted to “dwarf planet” status in 2006, which caused much hullabaloo in the scientific world as well as with schoolchildren. Pluto continues to be unusual within our solar system, as it is now classified as a dwarf binary planet with Charon. I will discuss this history briefly and get insight and commentary from my daughter Amanda, 8 yrs old, and my son Kevin, 6 yrs. old, on this captivating little planetary body and its trials and tribulations.

Check it out at 365 Days of Astronomy!

HTGYG Show#12: Involvement in Education

susiethegeek — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:53:02 +0000

Today, I am sending you a rather rambling but sincere monologue about education. This morning, I read a great commentary on CNN.com about involvement in education. I was actually planning to talk about this subject, and this propelled me to do a whole program about it. I discuss volunteering in the classroom, presenting your interests, learning about school policy, and my general ideas about what should be covered in schools, especially at the elementary ages. I also wanted to give you the links to the National PTA website, where they have tons of resources for parents and teachers.

Please let me know what ideas you have, and what your schools are doing. I know that some of you out there are teachers as well, and I would love to hear your opinions as well!

I also would like you to send in your comments and opinions on the topic I would like to cover soon – when do you expose kids to different levels of action in tv, movies and games, and how much do you let them watch or play such programs? Please tell me what you do in your home, and what works for you.

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. You can also see our super cute t-shirts, mugs and bags at our Zazzle store link, if you are interested. I love the logo so much that I thought it would be great on shirts, etc.!

I would also love your comments, family stories and questions!

Promo: Dragon Page Cover to Cover

Logo Art by Tim Coffey

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton
Sound effects and other music courtesy of pacdv.com