Mother’s Day is around the corner! All moms and mother figures deserve to be showered with love and attention, but we know that even the best of us can drop the ball. Don’t worry — we’ve got your back! We’ve put together a list of four amazing last minute ideas for those of you who aren’t quite prepared for Mother’s Day. Keep reading for some great suggestions!
Do you often ask, “How can I make my child pay attention when I try to teach the alphabet?”
Well, there are two main reasons why young children fail to pay attention when adults try to teach them about the alphabet. For some children, the task seems abstract — why learn all those letter names anyway? Other children appreciate that learning the alphabet is very important and this can make them anxious about their ability to succeed. There are other reasons a child won’t pay attention, but fortunately they all have one very easy solution: make learning time playful, easy, and short!
Devote just a few minutes to alphabet learning time, 5 minutes is plenty. Pick a good game to play that focuses on just one or two letters. Don’t worry about any mistakes your child makes. Rest assured that the more you play, the less mistakes a child will make.
Here are some simple letter games you can play anywhere:
Instead of A or B, you might begin with the letters in your child’s name. This will give extra meaning to the games. Stop playing before your child is bored. It is far better for a child to complain that a game is ending than want to stop because it has become boring.
Let us know how this works for you and feel free to share any videos or pictures on Instagram, of your little ones enjoying these letter game. We can’t wait to see!
From recruiters to engineers, and graphic designers to member experience associates, there are so many passionate people bringing #kidpoweredlearning to life here at HOMER. In this new series, we’ll introduce you to the team, one by one.
First up: Chris Gelles!
What do you do at HOMER and what’s your favorite part about your job?
I lead the Art & Media Production Team! You can call us “AMP” since we love acronyms so much.
Oof. So much. I’m surrounded by a brilliant, talented and deeply experienced team. And, where I like to dig in is in brainstorming ways our characters, stories, media in general can leverage our technology to create a unique experience for the kids.
Which interests would you pick in the HOMER app?
Dinosaurs, Robots, science. Do we have monsters?
What were you passionate a
bout as a kid and how has that shaped you into the adult you are today?
Passionate…That’s a good question. Dinosaurs blew my mind (giant monsters that were real!). I loved animals of all kinds. As I grew, this migrated to very science-focused interests. I loved biology and mechanical–anything. Eventually, in my early college years, I tried to combine those by studying biomedical engineering.
But, underneath it all, I could draw. My mom was an art teacher. So, I learned to see shapes in everything. I learned to jot down my ideas, give form to my imagination from a really early age.
Where’s your happy place this season?
This season? Well…I just got married in November. And, I’m still hanging onto happy memories of being in a cabin on the ocean (in freezing cold weather). We had two fireplaces and pretty much most of Cape Cod to ourselves.
Who is your favorite HOMER character?
Tutt. Always Tutt. The trickster, the rascal. The force of chaos.
Tutt is the most fun-loving of all the HOMER characters.
What are your top emojis?
If you could be a contestant on one game/reality show what would it be?
What’s that one that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson hosts? I’d do that one just to say hi to him…again. Fun fact: I went to high school with him. We shared a moment in the Track & Field bus as we traveled to an ‘away game.’ “Hi, Dwayne!”
What does reading mean to you?
Gaining knowledge. Being inspired. Living dreams.
What are the words you live by?
I try to keep up with Gandhi’s “be the change you want to see in the world.” Not sure I measure up to that all the time. But, it’s a worthy goal.
Actually, I looked this up to make sure I was quoting him correctly…turns out the sentiment is a bit more ambitious:
“If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a [hu]man changes [their] own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards [them]. … We need not wait to see what others do.” (cleaned up to be less gender-centric)
Want to learn more about Chris and the HOMER team? Follow @learnwithhomer to see more of what happens behind the scenes in the office.
Let us know who you want to hear from next!
As March begins, teachers and parents across the country are bracing for another season of test prep in their public schools. Even kindergarten teachers feel pressure to show gains on early literacy assessments that prove their students are making progress on critical reading and math skills.
We spent a significant part of our careers in the New York City Department of Education and understand the importance of measuring student progress. As the creators of HOMER, we’re also passionate about keeping a child’s love of reading alive and well.
The following post was published on March 30, 2017 on the Huffington Post Parents site. Happy to share with our Homer users.
Is Your Child a Reluctant Reader? Pull out the Picture Books.