22 June,2024 10:16 AM IST | Mumbai | Team SMD
Representation Pic
Curated by Arpika Bhosale, Debjani Paul, Junisha Dama and Niyati Raut
Does your kid love to tinker with science and art? Imagine if they could create an aluminium air battery or learn to balance a ball in a stream of air. Exploratorium is a science and art museum in San Francisco that Frank Oppenheimer (yes, the physicist behind the atom bombs) set up. It now runs an online museum where your kid can explore teacher-tested activities that combine arts and science. There are video tutorials and printable guides for each activity, and your kid could create colourful jars of microorganisms, test to see if pure water is colourless, and learn how flashes of light create afterimages that only your eye sees. The website has a growing collection of online exhibits that are immersive and a list of resources - which include other websites and articles - to encourage exploration.
exploratorium.edu
On those carpool rides to the school or even long trips, we have a small hack for you that can not only keep your child busy, but also make them little newsmen and women of their class. American journalist Stephanie Kelma came up with five-minute podcast news updates for her child who was interested in current news called Kidnuz. While reading the New York Times to him, Kelma realised that some of the news, like a frightening/graphic headline was not meant for him. Kelma spoke to her journalist friends and came up with Kidnuz. We find the podcast is perfect as it doesn't overload the child and instead suggests an activity for the child to after they hear it. For example, an older episode talks about Tesla driverless cars and then asks the children to list out three pros and cons of the driverless cars. They encourage them to share their opinion with family and encourage deba te.
Spotify, Apple
PIC/KIRTI SURVEPARADE
This one is for the kids who'd like to cram in even the last minute of revision on the way to school, but can't read on a jumpy bus ride - the app Peech Text-to-Speech Reader can scan any text and convert it into audio that's easy to listen to. The app is also useful for students with dyslexia or low vision, or any condition that make reading difficult. It's powered by AI but the reading voice sounds very realistically human. We tried this app in three different ways - scanned a webpage, a page from a physical book, and uploaded a textbook in pdf format on the app. It worked perfectly in all three modes. Users can also paste a URL directly into the app if they'd like to listen to a full webpage. As an added bonus, the app can read 50 languages.
Just as the cute brand name, the stationery collection at Tiny Mini Mo, might be the best ever. We ordered a bunch of items, and let us tell you, they're totally worth it. Starting with their range of highlighters, which come with a cute unicorn figurine on the cap - the marker's tip glides smoothly on the paper leaving a bright, neat tint over the text. Next is the 3D Eva Squishy Smiggle Pouch - if there is one pouch the kids need this monsoon, it's this. The pouch comes with a waterproof section, keeping your precious stationary dry and ready for use.
tinyminymo.com
We loved the Little Birdie's âBack to School' sections. The website has bags ranging from backpack to art bags, travel pouches and even trolley bags for kids. The one we really loved is the space backpack - it is waterproof and ideal for kids from four to six years of age. It has two compartments and a side net for holding bottles. You can also personalise your kid's bag with his/her name. The snug backpacks will make sure you stand out from the crowd.
littlebirdie.co.in
Tired of throwing away yet another pencil stub after it got too short to use? There is a sustainable way to get rid of the stationary waste without damaging to the environment! We liked the plantable seed pencils from Happy Clouds because each pencil has a bulb of seeds at the end of the lead. Now, we can just plant the stubs and watch the seeds sprout into saplings. There's another reason we are partial to these pencils - they are entirely constructed out of recycled newspaper. This seller also has notebooks made of recycled paper and bamboo pens, as well as sensory play items like playart crayons and finger paint.
happyclouds.in
