To provide guidance about how to protect your child’s identity before a data breach happens, I reached out to Ian Bednowitz, General Manager of LifeLock. Ian is a well-known expert in the identity protection space whose previous positions Bain & Company and eBay involved protecting consumers from identity theft and fraud.

How to Protect Your Child’s Identity Before a Data Breach Happens

Guest post by Ian Bednowitz, General Manager of LifeLock

About the California ETS Data Breach

Using a single compromised login, someone spent nearly four months copying files from a site ETS used to share test data with the state. The files cover enrolled over the past three school years, along with some records of former students going back to 2006. More than 5.7 million children attend California public schools this year alone.

If your child was one of them, you probably have questions. If your family lives somewhere else, you should have a few too.

That being said, the most common reaction I hear to exposure of children’s data is “my child doesn’t have anything to steal.”  This is a misconception, as a child’s identity is highly valuable to a fraudster.

Why a Child’s Identity Is Worth Stealing

To an identity thief, a child is the perfect mark: no credit cards, no loans, no history and, best of all, no one checking. A stolen child’s identity can be used for years undetected.

Most families find out when their teenager applies for a first credit card or apartment and gets turned down. Javelin Strategy and Research reported roughly 1m cases of child identity theft in a year in their last study, and roughly 2% of all identity theft reports to the FTC have victims are minors.

The details in this breach add a second risk. An email that mentions your daughter’s special education services or your son’s lunch program will feel legitimate, because it knows things a stranger shouldn’t. That familiarity makes the scams that follow a breach so effective, and it’s why the coming weeks call for extra care.

What the Files Held

The stolen files read like the forms you fill out at the start of every school year: your child’s name, birth date, home address and state student ID number. For many students, the files also noted details families share with almost no one outside the school, including a disability, eligibility for free lunch, unstable housing, English learner status and test scores.

This information is like pieces of a puzzle that criminals put together over time until they have enough of an identity profile to victimize a child.

If You Live Somewhere Else

The weak point here was a vendor, and every school district in the country relies on them: testing services, homework apps, attendance software and cloud storage. Few parents know which companies hold their children’s records, and those companies answer to the schools that hire them.

Schools owe families a clear answer about which vendors hold student data, and they should require safeguards like multi-factor authentication before handing any of it over. Reports trace this breach to one compromised login, exactly the kind of attack multi-factor authentication exists to stop.

7 Things to Do to Protect Your Child’s Identity This Week

The good news: the most effective protection is free, and most of it fits into one afternoon, somewhere between homework and dinner.

1. Put your child’s credit on ice

This is the most important step. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are required by federal law to let parents freeze the credit of a child under 16, free of charge. The bureau creates a file in your child’s name and locks it right away, so no one can open new accounts with it. Have your child’s birth certificate and Social Security card ready, along with proof of your own identity and address. Teens 16 and older can request their own.

2. Make sure there’s nothing to find

A child should have no credit file at all. If a bureau finds one, ask what’s in it right away.

3. Read the junk mail

A preapproved credit card offer addressed to your 10-year-old is a red flag, however flattering. So are collection calls or IRS notices in your child’s name, and a benefits application denied because someone already claimed your child.

4. Be skeptical of anyone who sounds like the school

In the coming weeks, expect emails, texts and calls that appear to come from your district, a testing company or a tutoring service. Never confirm personal details through a link or an incoming call. Call the school back at a number you already have.

5. Use your rights under FERPA

Federal law lets you opt out of releasing “directory information,” such as your child’s name, address and phone number. Ask your school for the form each fall, and ask which outside companies receive your child’s records.

6. Read the breach notice closely

If you received one, it explains what was exposed and any free protection being offered. In California, ETS is covering two years of Experian IdentityWorks; for children under 18, the enrollment deadline is March 19, 2027.

7. Act quickly if something looks wrong

 If you find accounts you didn’t open, file a report at IdentityTheft.gov and with your local police.

Our kids will grow up with their personal information passing through hundreds of systems they’ll never see. We can’t control every one of them. We can make sure that when a breach like this one happens, a stolen name and birth date lead a thief nowhere. A credit freeze you set up this week may be something your child never knows about, and that’s exactly the goal.

Huge thanks to Ian Bednowitz, General Manager of LifeLock for sharing his expertise in this guest post. No compensation was received for this content.

The post How to Protect Your Child’s Identity Before a Data Breach Happens appeared first on Tech Savvy Mama.

      

Other posts you may enjoy

• How to Protect Your Child’s Digital Privacy at School
• How I Taught My Tween to Be an Upstander After Bullying in the Baseball Dugout
• How the Junga App Helps Parents Raise Good Kids

 

When I was little, advent calendars were part of our holiday tradition. Starting on December 1, my brother and I would open a little door that revealed a small piece of chocolate. I loved opening a door every day in December, with the final one being opened on Christmas Eve.

Even with a college junior and recent college grad, the tradition of advent calendars continues but have branched out from the chocolate ones. I’ve sent my daughter face mask advent calendars and ones for a beauty product a day when she was in college. My son has enjoyed a different coffee for his Keurig on December days before flying home for the holidays.

Best Advent Calendars for All Ages

This new guide features some of the best age-appropriate advent calendars. There are 12- and 24-day ones for preschoolers, early elementary ages, tweens, teens, and college students. You’ll also find ones for adults towards the end of the list!

The ones for preschoolers through teen are designed to keep brains working, fingers busy, and minds learning as they eagerly anticipate the arrival of Christmas. Advent calendars for college students are designed to provide a joy in the days leading up to finals as they eagerly anticipate winter break.

Since I started my gift guides, the list of best advent calendars for adults has exploded exponentially so I purposefully curated this year’s list into a very short list of ones you’ll want to gift yourself.

Be sure to order now to have in time for December 1 to enjoy the tradition of advent calendars in your home!

Advent Calendars for Preschoolers

Magna Tiles Advent Calendar ($39.66)

The Magna Tiles Advent Calendar combines the fun of an advent calendar with a favorite toy and STEM learning as the holidays approach. 34 holiday-themed Magna Tiles, including a Santa, conductor, 10 decorated square microMAGS, 3 decorated isosceles triangles, and a microChassis that rides on the track inside the back cover of the package. Magna Tiles’ first ever advent calendar is sure to be a hot item among preschool families! Best for ages 3+

Christmas Countdown from Workman Publishing ($9.99)

Preschoolers will love counting down to Christmas with the Countdown to Christmas advent calendar. This fold-out calendar features 25 festive and fun sticker activities. Best for ages 4+

Countdown to Christmas Wooden Advent Calendar from Melissa and Doug ($23.99)

Preschoolers are naturally excited about Christmas coming but this darling Magnetic Tree Advent Calendar from Melissa & Doug incorporates numeracy along with the holiday. Kids will love hanging each of the 24 ornaments on the tree as Christmas nears. The shining star can be placed at the top on Christmas Day. Best for ages 3+

Hot Wheels Advent Calendar ($26.99)

The Hot Wheels Advent Calendar features 24 days of surprises to get your car enthusiast geared up for the holiday season. Behind each door lies either a super cool 1:64 scale Hot Wheels car or a holiday-themed accessory kids will love. The front panel converts into a playmat on which the vehicles and accessories can be used to inspire creative play, exploration, and storytelling skills in kids. Best for ages 3+ 

Advent Calendars for Elementary Ages

Mechanical Ornaments Calendar from KiwiCo ($49.95)

This 12-day advent calendar gives kids a hands-on introduction to simple mechanisms like levers, gears and linkages as they build their own ornaments. Best for ages 5+

Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty Santa’s Reindeer Advent Calendar ($86.16)

Crazy Aaron’s tactile Thinking Putty is always a favorite sensory toy but is even more fun in advent calendar form. This year’s Thinking Putty Advent Calendar is designed for kids to build a brand-new custom putty every 3 days using a shimmering putty base, festive mix-ins, and holiday charm.  When Christmas comes, kids will have 8 totally unique putty designs of their own to squish, stretch, bounce, pop, tear, and sculpt. Best for ages 5+ 

Santa’s Railroad Advent Calendar from KiwiCo ($49.95)

Countdown to Christmas with 24 days of projects! Every day for 24 days, kids will love opening an envelope to reveal a new creation to build, decorate and add to their snowy scene. Their winter railroad will be complete just in time for Santa’s arrival. Best for ages 5+

Around the World Advent Calendar ($17.99)

This 24-day advent calendar allows kids to circle the globe as they count down to Christmas and meet people from around the world and complete a fun, holiday-related activity inspired from that culture. Each day’s window includes a figurine that can also be used as a tree ornament and a card with a DIY craft, challenge or activity inspired by that country’s holiday traditions. Best for ages 5+

Snowy Sports Ornaments Advent Calendar from KiwiCo ($49.95)

For 12 days, kids can slide, twist, and click together ornaments to create a gingerbread figure skater, a ski-jumping reindeer, a gnome that’s into curling, and more! Make and hang one new build each day and you’ll tree will sport a whole team of 12 tiny winter athletes. Best for ages 5+

Christmas Village Advent Calendar from KiwiCo ($49.95)

Elementary ages will love building a festive holiday village one day at a time. Each of the 24 numbered envelopes contain everything needed to build and customize a new feature of their Christmas village, plus extra supplies to add a personal touch. Best for ages 5+ 

Space Rocket Advent Calendar ($26.99)

Elementary aged space enthusiasts will love opening a door to find a new space vehicle to assemble each day. Vehicles include a lunar Rover, space shuttle, space station, lunar Probe, lunar sample return probe, manned space craft, rocket, orbital shuttle, and more plus 12 of the small models can be assembled into a large space rocket and space station. Pieces are also LEGO compatible. Best for ages 8+

Advent Calendars for Tweens

12 Crafts of Christmas Advent Calendar from Petit Collage ($25)

Slide open a drawer to reveal a felt or pom-pom activity. Inside the calendar is everything they’ll need to make twelve holly-jolly decorations like a candy cane ornament, a fluffy Christmas pudding, an adorable snowman, and more! Included are 23 pre-cut shaped felt pieces, 6 bundles of colorful yarn, 4 colors of embroidery thread, a child-safe needle, a wooden pom-pom maker, and string to hang your creations. Simple, easy-to-follow illustrated instructions for how to complete each craft are also included. When the season is over, tuck each ornament back inside the drawer for storage. Best for ages 9+

Emotional Support Plush Advent Calendar ($29.99)

A new emotional support plush toy each of the 25 days leading up to Christmas provides a great mental health boost for tweens. Daily surprises come in the form of emotional support plush Fries, Gingerbread plush toys, and plush Nuggets. These, along with a few new favorites are all dressed up in and ready for the holidays. Best for ages 9+ 

Winter Wonderland Advent Calendar from KiwiCo ($99.95)

Tweens will love counting down to Christmas by unwrapping a new gift each day to engineer a new part of their winter wonderland. Create a battery-powered conveyor belt to help sledders climb a hill, connect Christmas lights to decorate mini cottages, and build an ice rink where skaters can leave real tracks. After the holidays, buildings double as storage to pack away this snowy scene for next year. Best for ages 9+

LEGO Countdown to Christmas Puzzles from Chronicle Books ($24.95)

LEGO lovers and fans of advent calendars will love opening and building 12 LEGO minifigure-shaped puzzles as part of their Christmas Day countdown. Behind each of the 12 perforated windows is a mini jigsaw puzzle featuring beloved Christmas LEGO minifigure designs, including Santa and Mrs. Claus, Gingerbread Man, Frosty, and more! Best for ages 9+

Motorized Christmas Train Advent Calendar from KiwiCo ($74.95)

Build a working train that delivers 12 days of fun! Hook up an electric motor and assemble a locomotive with an engine, two passenger cars, and two cargo cars. Set up the hinged track in an oval, circle, or line. Open a new mini-build each day for 12 days to make your railroad festive and holiday-ready. Best for ages 9+

Advent Calendars for Teens

12 Puzzles in One Box: Twelve Days of Catmas from Chronicle Books ($15.95)

Like a giant puzzle, 12 Days of Catmas is actually one bag of 576 puzzle pieces mixed together to be sorted through and assembled into 12 separate rectangular cat puzzles. It’s a great screen-free activity for teens wanting to put down their phones and maybe they’ll even engage parental assistance! Best for ages 13+

Cookie Advent Cookbook from Chronicle Books ($16.95)

Baking teens will love discovering a new cookie recipe each day, starting on December 1 through Christmas Eve. Peek under the ornament flap to discover the cookie of the day then turn the pages to find the appropriate recipe. Beginner and experienced bakers alike will enjoy simple recipes for beautifully decorated homemade cookies. Familiar and global Christmas treats will create new cookie-baking traditions this holiday season. Best for ages 13+

Crochet Advent Calendar ($22.99)

This advent calendar contains everything a crafty teen needs to get started with crochet. Each day’s numbered drawer will reveal crochet supplies like yarn, hooks, accessories, and project patterns. Beginner friendly patterns provide step-by-step instructions to teach basic stitches while offering fun seasonal challenges for experienced crafters. Best for ages 13+

Advent Calendars for College Students

Sock Advent Calendar ($49.99)

A pair of gender-neutral novelty socks is sure to help your college student start even the most stressful December days with a smile and this is a far more fun way to gift socks than wrapping and gifting them when they come home. Socks fit shoe sizes US 6-12. 

Clue Advent Calendar from Hasbro Gaming ($34.99)

Who killed Boddy Black at his winter gala? As finals approach, stress levels rise, and your college student eagerly looks forward to winter break, give them something to take their mind off studying with the Clue Advent Calendar. Each day they’ll open a daily puzzle to collect clues, and deduce who killed him, where, and with what winter-themed weapon. The daily puzzles are also part of a larger mystery that they can involve friends to help solve, perfect to increase social interaction and reduce stress as their friend group works to solve the mystery together.

Auto Repair Tool Advent Calendar ($42.99)

This practical advent calendar makes a useful gift for car-owning college students. It includes pliers, screwdrivers, tire repair strips, tow rope, warning triangle, safety vest, work gloves, car cleaning brushes, ice scraper and more that fit in an included storage bag. It contains items to help them be prepared for roadside emergencies and detailing supplies to keep their car looking its best. 

Best Advent Calendars for Adults

12-Day Jewelry Advent Calendar from Dune Jewelry ($695, value over $1000)

I was recently introduced to Dune Jewelry and absolutely love this woman-founded small business that handcrafts beautiful pieces from cherished memories of specific locales and places in our lives from a “bank” of over 6,000 authentic sands and elements.

If you’re looking to gift yourself or a loved one a luxurious advent calendar with 12 days of gorgeous daily surprises that will be treasured for years to come, look no further than the Dune Jewelry Advent Calendar. Dune Jewelry has curated 12 special handmade pieces of jewelry in signature styles and metals, along with Dune swag and a few unexpected extras. Featuring designs with sand, earth and natural elements from all seven continents, the calendar brings together 12 days of discovery, meaningful keepsakes and a little wanderlust.

Holiday Movie Advent Calendar (25 pc) from Delysia Chocolate- $89.95

This incredibly delicious 25-day chocolate countdown inspired by classic holiday movies, makes the best gift for chocolate loving holiday movie enthusiasts. Each handcrafted truffle captures the flavor of an iconic scene or memorable moment, with a movie quote and interactive website revealing the film behind each flavor. Flavor combinations are incredibly creative and include:

• Pinstripe Peppermint (The Nightmare Before Christmas) – Layered bittersweet chocolate with smoked salt and peppermint vanilla white chocolate.
• Lime Jello Mold (National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation) – White chocolate with fresh lime, roasted pistachios, and coconut.
• Cheese Pizza (Home Alone) – White chocolate with Italian herbs, Parmesan, and sun-dried tomatoes.
• Sesame Banana Lime (How the Grinch Stole Christmas) – Banana-lime ganache with black sesame praline crunch.
• Chinese Turkey (A Christmas Story) – Milk chocolate with Chinese five-spice cream and a blackberry-hoisin swirl.
• Spiced Hot Cocoa (The Polar Express) – Dark chocolate infused with cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla.
• Raspberry Rose Petal (It’s a Wonderful Life) – Milk chocolate with raspberry purée and rose petals.
• Rosemary Orange (A Charlie Brown Christmas) – Rosemary dark chocolate ganache with a blood orange caramel center.
• Additional flavors are inspired by Elf, Miracle on 34th Street, Frosty the Snowman, and more.

Christmas Countdown Deck from Chronicle Books ($19.95)

If the thought of the holidays makes you feel bah humbug and less than excited, The Christmas Countdown Deck features 25+ festive ideas for creating Christmas magic in an interactive advent calendar form. Each card in the deck features a beautiful photo on the front, playful illustration on the back, clear instructions for each craft, recipe, or activity, and fits in the pop-up stand in the box for display. Ideas include:

• Bake buttery shortbread and package in a cookie tin to gift to friends and neighbors.
• Craft paper snowflakes and beautiful garlands to hang in your entryway or wrap around your tree.
• Serve up a festive cocktail while you set a holiday tablescape and listen to a Christmas playlist.
• Invite birds to visit your garden with a homemade pinecone bird feeder.
• Mix up a batch of festive popcorn to munch on while enjoying a cozy movie marathon.

The best part is this advent calendar is reusable so favorite activities can be done each year for your family to create meaningful holiday memories and traditions.

Bibliophile Advent Calendar for Booklovers from Chronicle Books ($45)

Based on Jane Mount’s beloved bestseller, Bibliophile, this advent calendar features a new themed prompt every day that’s folded like an adorable miniature book. As Christmas nears, the little library shelf inside will get filled with tiny books and the mini keepsake journal can be used to record and reflect on your literary life.

FAVORITE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDES FROM PAST YEARS

2026 gift guides will begin publishing the first week of November. In case you wanted to start your holiday shopping now, here’s a look at last year’s gift guides that are full of great ideas:

• Favorite Advent Calendars for All Ages
• Best Gifts College Students (inspired by my own college students!)
• Best STEM Gifts for All Ages (preK-teen)
• Best Subscriptions Boxes for All Ages
• Best Host and Hostess Gifts
• Gifts for the Best Dogs and the People Who Love Them (inspired by Goldie and Murphy, of course)
• Favorite Gifts for Outdoor Lovers (inspired by our family’s love of skiing, hiking, backpacking, water sports, and National Parks)
• Best Teacher Gifts for Favorite Teachers
• Favorite Ways to Teach Kids to Give Back

Note to PR: If you have a client whose products fit the above categories AND can send a sample to arrive by October 28, I would be willing to consider including it. I am accepting pitches for sponsored product reviews in December. Please be specific about the products you’d like me to consider reviewing. Samples are required for sponsored reviews and gift guides. Thank you!

The post Best Advent Calendars for All Ages appeared first on Tech Savvy Mama.

      

Other posts you may enjoy

• Best Gifts for Hosts and Hostesses
• Best Subscription Boxes for All Ages
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After two hours of playing baseball in the midday sun, I watched my son and his teammates emerge from the dugout with smiles on their faces from their win as sweat beads dripped from underneath the brims of their ball caps. I was folding my chair when the mom who had been keeping the peace in the dugout filed out behind them. I thanked her for her role in the game and she said, “You hear some interesting things in the dugout.” She told me a bunch of the boys were saying “ur mom gay.”

Whether it was directed to the other team, to each other, or being used to test the boundaries as they approach their teen years, it didn’t matter. I was concerned about the teasing context of this homophobic insult being thrown around on the bench. I knew I needed to turn this into a teachable moment in our home.

Rather than have the conversation with my tween son as we were driving home from the game, I chose to wait. I’ve found our best conversations always seem to happen when they’re settling into bed for the night. Their tired, relaxed state lends to honest reflection about the day and this evening was no different.

Rather than beating around the bush, I told my son what I had heard from the other mother at the game. In a sheepish voice, he admitted he had been part of the group saying this while on the bench.

Deep breath.

There are any number of ways I could have reacted to his admission of guilt because I was disappointed. I’ve worked hard to raise a conscientious caring individual who knows right from wrong. What happened?

I know from my background in psychology and education that tweens and teens push the limits in terms of exploring what is and isn’t ok. But boys will be boys? No. Never! That should not ever justify one’s behavior in any situation.

I propped myself up on a pillow so we could see eye to eye. My son knew I was serious even though my voice remained quiet and calm as I asked him if he knew what gay meant. (He did.) We had a conversation about how gay could also mean happy but that it probably didn’t mean happy in the way it was being used by him and his buddies. (He agreed.) Then we talked about how it made him feel knowing he was using words that were so hurtful. (He said uncomfortable.) I asked if he thought this phrase could be a form of bullying. (He did.)

I told him that the next time this happens, he has a choice. I explained how he could be an upstander or a bystander. We talked through some different scenarios and strategies he could use in the future.

Kids of all ages test the boundaries to see what they can get away with. Tweens think it’s cool to emulate what they’re seeing in popular culture and can get sucked in to bad behavior by those around them. It’s also easy for them to hang back and watch things happen without speaking up.

Instead of being uncomfortable with what’s going on around them, our kids need to know they have the power to change the conversation and behaviors of others as upstanders. Empowering our tweens as upstanders encourages them to take the high road and stand up for the things they know in their hearts aren’t ok.

How to Teach Your Tween to Be an Upstander

Photo by Kayleigh Drew Capuzzimati on Unsplash

A conversation about being an upstander versus a bystander is a way to take a negative situation and put some positive learning behind it. Here’s how to have a productive conversation that will lead to some learning, so your child will feel empowered to stand up the next time they hear or see behavior they don’t agree with.

Seize the Teachable Moment

Photo by Sai De Silva on Unsplash

Teachable moments are events or experiences that provide a good opportunity for learning something about a particular aspect of life. These unplanned moments are the best time to have conversations about the hard stuff because there’s an action, behavior, or natural interest that serves as the catalyst for learning. It’s important to seize the moment but also know your child to know when the right moment might be to have this important conversation.

Know the Difference Between a Bystander and Upstander

We know what a bystander is but what’s an upstander? Google’s Be Internet Awesome provides these definitions that are important for tweens to know:

• Bystander: A witness to harassment or bullying who recognizes the situation but chooses not to intervene
• Upstander: A witness to harassment or bullying who supports the target privately or publicly, sometimes including trying to stop and/or report the incident they witnessed

Share How Easy it is to Be an Upstander

Photo by Melissa Askew on Unsplash

Be Internet Awesome wants tweens to know they can turn into bystanders from upstanders by doing any of the following things:

• Finding a way to be kind to or support the person being targeted
• Calling out the mean behavior in a comment or reply (remember to call out the behavior, not the person), if you feel comfortable with that and think it’s safe to do so
• Deciding not to help the aggressor by spreading the bullying or making it worse by sharing the mean post or comment online
• Getting a bunch of friends to create a “pile-on of kindness” – post lots of kind comments about the person being targeted (but nothing mean about the aggressor, because you’re setting an example, not retaliating)
• Reporting the harassment. Tell someone who can help, like a parent, teacher, or school counselor

Sharing these strategies with your tweens helps them realize that simple actions can serve as a way to help others.

Know it’s Ok to Be an Upstander Privately

Since not all kids feel comfortable being so public as upstanders, Be Internet Awesome reminds us to reassure our tweens that it’s ok if they don’t feel comfortable helping out publicly. Let them know they can also support the target privately by doing any of these things:

• Ask how they’re doing in a text or direct message
• Say something kind or complimentary in an anonymous post, comment, or direct message (if you’re using media that lets you stay anonymous)
• Tell them you’re there for them if they want to talk after school
• In a quiet conversation in person or on the phone, tell them you thought the mean behavior was wrong and ask if they feel like talking about what happened.

Kids should know that no matter how they choose to be an upstander, they have both public and private options for reporting. This could mean reporting bullying behavior via a website or application interface, or reporting what’s going on to an adult you trust.

Make the Conversation Relevant by Providing Scenarios

There will be some instances when your tween will know exactly what to do to be an upstander but other times it might be more difficult. Theoretical scenarios help kids think about how they might act in different situations and examples of bullying and harassment from the From Bystanders to Upstanders: Activity 1 (Be Internet Awesome curriculum, page 50-51) are worth discussing. I suggest bringing up one scenario to make the learning more impactful during your teachable moment conversation. Save other ones for dinner conversation or times

Here’s a peek at one of the three scenarios in Be Internet Awesome:

A friend of yours dropped her phone by the drinking fountain near the school soccer field. Someone found it and sent a really mean message about another student to a bunch of people on her soccer team, then put the phone back by the drinking fountain. The student who was targeted told your friend she was a terrible person for sending that message, even though she wasn’t the one who sent it. No one knows who sent the mean message. You…

• Feel sad for your friend but do nothing because no one knows who did that mean thing to her
• Go find the person targeted and ask them how they feel and whether you can help
• Spread the drama by sharing the mean message with other friends
• And your friend get everybody on the soccer team to post compliments about the person who was targeted
• And your friend anonymously report the incident to your principal, letting them know that everybody needs to talk about good phone security and locking their phones.

Additional examples can be found in Be Internet Awesome It’s Cool to Be Kind: Activity 2 (page 54) where you can find three different situations where there are various ways to support a target including:

1. A student posts a video of themselves singing a cover to a famous pop artist’s song. Other students start posting mean comments under the video. What do you do to support the student who posted the video?
2.  A student sends another student a screenshot of a comment your friend posted and makes a nasty joke about it. The screenshot gets reposted and goes viral at school. What will you do to support the student whose comment was screenshotted and shared?
3.  You find out that a student at your school created a fake social media account using another student’s name and posts photos and memes that say mean things about other students, teachers, and the school. What do you decide to do to support the student who’s being impersonated in this mean way?

About Be Internet Awesome

We know that our kids don’t always listen to us but when topics are important, it’s critical that they listen. It’s even better when they engage in meaningful dialogue to truly understand the consequences of their actions which is why I’m so thankful that Google’s Be Internet Awesome has a wealth of resources for parents to teach tweens to treat each other with kindness in the real and virtual worlds.

Be Internet Awesome consists of five areas and during each week in October, I’ll be highlighting a theme that corresponds to these important values:

• SMART: Where we learn to share with care
• ALERT: Where we learn not to fall for fake
• STRONG: Where we learn how to secure our digital stuff
• KIND: Where we learn that itʼs cool to be kind
• BRAVE: Where we learn that, when in doubt, we talk it out

This multifaceted program is designed to teach kids the fundamentals of digital citizenship and safety, so they can explore the online world with confidence. Free materials provide talking points for family discussions and activities that help you create a strong foundation for your kids’ safe, successful use of the Internet.

Free Be Internet Awesome Resources for Families 

This month I’m working with Be Internet Awesome to help you start a conversation with your tweens so they can take simple actions to be an Upstander, rather than a bystander, among their peers.

Each week this month I’m be covering a different theme and here’s a look at past posts and what’s to come!

• How Google Be Internet Awesome Teaches Kids It’s Cool to Be Kind
• 6 Questions Parents Need to Ask Kids to Reinforce Kindness in the Digital World as a way to teach them how to treat others how you’d like to be treated, both online and IRL
• 3 Simple, Positive Actions to Teach Tweens to Combat Bullying
• How I Taught My Tween to Be an Upstander (TODAY!)
• How to Talk to Kids When They See Adults Being Unkind 
• How Kids Can Play Their Way Through Interland to Learn Digital Citizenship

For more information about Be Internet Awesome, visit g.co/BeInternetAwesome.

This post is sponsored by Google and Be Internet Awesome but all opinions are my own.

The post How I Taught My Tween to Be an Upstander After Bullying in the Baseball Dugout appeared first on Tech Savvy Mama.

      

Other posts you may enjoy

• Giving Your Child Their First Cell Phone? Read this first!
• Reinforce Kindness in the Digital World with These 6 Questions
• Best Advent Calendars for All Ages

 

What is Mental Health?

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as a state of mental well-being. It enables individuals of all ages to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), mental health in childhood includes reaching developmental and emotional milestones. This means learning healthy social skills and resilience, a coping strategy that helps kids navigate problems as they occur.

The WHO estimates that in 2019, 970 million people globally were living with a mental disorder, with anxiety and depression the most common. The National Institution of Mental Health estimates 5 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 in the United States has had at least one major depressive episode. 

Why It’s Important to Talk to Kids About Mental Health

According to Responsibility.org’s 2025 Parents and Kids Survey, more than three out of four parents were concerned about both their kids’ stress and anxiety, and mental health. The survey also showed that 59% of kids were worried about stress and/or anxiety and 44% of kids were worried about their mental health.

The numbers don’t lie.

How to Talk to Kids about Mental Health in Age-Appropriate Ways

While mental health might not have been something our parents talked about with us as we were growing up, times have changed. It’s no longer a topic to avoid especially when you talk to kids about mental health in age-appropriate ways.

Even though I’m certified in both Youth Mental Health First Aid and Adult Mental Health First Aid, I reached out to Dr. Maria Navarro, Chief Behavioral Health Officer at dehp Integrative Care in Phoenix, Arizona. She shared  suggestions for how parents can talk to kids about mental health and when to seek help from a mental health professional.

I’ve also included helpful information from Ask, Listen, Learn’s Supporting Mental Health: A Guide for Parents. 

Make Mental Health Conversations Part of Everyday Life 

Dr. Navarro says conversations about mental health should not happen only during crises, awareness months, or on World Mental Health Day. She says children are more likely to share difficult feelings with a trusted adult when an emotional connection already feels safe. Simple habits, like the ones below, create emotional openness over time:

• Family check-ins
• Device-free connection time
• Bedtime conversations
• Shared meals
• Emotional vocabulary games
• Storytelling rituals
• Playtime without correction or instruction

Be Mindful of Language When Talking About Mental Health

The language we use impacts how our kids view mental health and their willingness to talk about it.  Ask, Listen, Learn’s Supporting Kids’ Mental Health: A Guide for Parents recommends parents be mindful about language used when talking about mental health. 

Ask, Listen, Learn has these suggestions on how appropriate language can be used to support kids’ mental health:

• Avoid framing questions about mental health negatively. Instead of saying “what’s wrong?” lead with open-ended questions like “How are you feeling about…?” or “Tell me what happened today when…”
• Model using “I – statements” to describe your feelings. Instead of saying, “You don’t tell me anything,” say “I feel worried that I don’t know enough about how you’re feeling to keep you safe.”
• Choose language that helps kids understand their feelings and emotions are temporary. We want kids to know their feelings do not define who they are. Instead of saying, “You are angry,” say “I understand you feel angry” to emphasize anger is a passing feeling and not a permanent characteristic of who they are. You can model this in the way you talk about your own emotions and feelings. A feelings wheel can be a helpful tool.
• Challenge yourself to replace “but” with “and” when discussing mental health and emotions. The use of “but” can come across as dismissive when discussing emotional experiences. For example, instead of “I know it’s frustrating, but we need to leave now to be on time,” try “I can see that you’re frustrated and it is important that we talk about this when we have more time to explore what’s going on.”
• Be mindful that mental health conditions are often used to describe something or someone in a negative way. Rephrase language that might lead to misconceptions and cause stigmas around mental health. Also avoid making jokes referring to mental health conditions. Instead of saying “he’s crazy,” saying “he may be struggling with his mental health” is an example of more neutral and accurate language to describe an individual.

Share Your Feelings to Model Talking About Mental Health

Instead of forcing children into deep conversations about mental health, Dr. Navarro encourages parents to have repeated moments of connection where emotions can safely surface. Children benefit when mental health is treated as a normal part of overall health rather than something discussed only during crises.

Dr. Navarro suggests starting a conversation by talking about your own feelings or something about your day that got you down.

When parents talk openly about feelings:

• Children learn that emotions are safe to express
• There is no shame about having difficult feelings
• Kids build emotional vocabulary and can better name their emotions
• Parents become trusted emotional supports
• Early signs of stress or anxiety are easier to notice
• Children learn healthy coping skills for life

If you find it hard to talk about your own feelings, Dr. Navarro shared these age-appropriate open-ended questions to start the conversation.

Talking About Feelings with Preschoolers (ages 3–5)

• “What made you smile today?”
• “What felt hard today?”
• “If your feelings were weather, what would they be?”
• “Where do you feel feelings in your body?”

Talking About Feelings with Elementary Ages (ages 8–12)

• “What helps you feel safe?”
• “What stresses kids out the most at school?”
• “What do you do when you feel worried?”
• “Who do you talk to when something feels hard?”

Talking About Feelings with Teens (13+)

• “What pressures are your friends feeling right now?”
• “What helps you recharge mentally?”
• “What makes conversations about mental health hard?”
• “How can I support you better?”

Dr. Navarro’s Bonus Tip:

• Avoid turning every conversation into an interrogation. Small, repeated conversations are often more effective than one big talk.

Use Attachment-Based Conversations to Connect

Attachment-focused parenting emphasizes emotional safety before problem-solving. Children tend to be more open to talking when they feel seen, accepted, safe, and connected, instead of being judged and rushed.

Dr. Navarro reminds parents that validation does not mean agreeing with everything a child says. It’s important to acknowledge that your child’s feelings are real by using these phrases:

Use Play Therapy Techniques at Home

Play therapy, or theraplay, is a play-based approach that strengthens attachment, emotional regulation, trust, and connection through joyful interaction. Dr. Navarro recommends adapting theraplay-inspired activities like creating moments of shared joy, using nurturing touch, and calming techniques before talking support conversations at home.

Create moments of shared joy

Connection lowers defensiveness and increases emotional openness. Shared laughter and eye contact help children feel emotionally regulated and connected. As parents create this interaction in a playful way, it will be easier for children to communicate with them.

Simple activities include:

• Hand-clapping games
• Singing together
• Mirroring facial expressions
• Gentle movement games
• Balloon volleyball
• Cooperative drawing
• Building forts together

Use nurturing touch when appropriate

A safe physical connection can help calm the nervous system. Always keep in mind and respect a child’s boundaries and sensory preferences when exercising nurturing touch.

Examples include:

• Hugs
• Back rubs
• Holding hands
• Brushing hair
• Sitting close during conversation
• Wrapping up in blankets together during story time

Regulate emotions before conversations

It’s hard for kids to talk when they’re upset. Since calm bodies support calm conversations, Dr. Navarro suggests doing any of these things before talking:

• Take deep breaths together by blowing bubbles or playing with pinwheels
• Rock gently in a chair
• Stretch
• Listen to calming music
• Sip warm drinks
• Use grounding exercises like touching water, rocks, and grass to feel your feet on the ground

Once emotions are under control and you’ve helped them validate how they feel, you can support them in understanding their feelings. Ask, Listen, Learn recommends taking time to discuss and role play ways they might react to similar situations in the future.

Signs a Child Might Need Additional Mental Health Support

Even if you regularly talk to your kids about mental health in age-appropriate ways, there may come a time when you notice a shift that doesn’t feel right to you or you find your child in a mental health crisis. Recognizing the signs of a mental health struggle is critical.

Ask, Listen, Learn includes behavioral, physical, and emotional signs of a mental health struggle in their parent guide along with helpful information about what to do in a mental health crisis. 

Dr. Navarro wants parents to know seeking support from a mental health professional early is a strength, not a failure.

Resources available 24/7 include:

• 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline- This 24/7 resource that provides judgement-free support for mental health, substance use, and more. Text, call, or chat 988.
• SAMHSA’s National Helpline- A free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service for individuals and families facing mental health of substance use disorders. Available in English and Spanish.

Thank you to Dr. Maria Navarro, Chief Behavioral Health Officer at dehp Integrative Care for her professional guidance and to Responsibility.org for letting me include Ask, Listen, Learn in this post.  As a member of Responsibility.org’s Education Advisory Board, no compensation was received for including Ask, Listen, Learn resources in this post.

The post How to Talk to Kids About Mental Health in Age-Appropriate Ways appeared first on Tech Savvy Mama.

      

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When I taught middle school computer science and engineering, I had a collection of digital tools I used as a teacher with my students and other ones I relied on as a parent. I handed out paper copies of some assignments, but others were distributed and collected digitally through online learning management systems like Canvas and Google Classroom that also served as my gradebook. I communicated with parents through Canvas, my school email, and the Remind app. My computer science students logged into Code.org to complete assignments and my 7^th graders asked to play Kahoot! multiple times each class period.

Why it’s Important to Protect Your Child’s Digital Privacy at School

Photo by UK Black Tech on Unsplash

While we may be able to limit what is being gathered about our kids at home, there’s a lot of personal information being gathered about our kids at school. The collection of digital tools being used for educational purposes means it’s hard to protect your child’s digital privacy at school. Personal information about your child is being shared with their school system, learning apps, sports programs, parent portals, and other third-party services. 

How to Protect Your Child’s Digital Privacy at School

Photo by Thomas Park on Unsplash

It’s hard to know who has data about our children, why they need it, or how long they’re keeping it. 

To dive deeper into our kids and data that might be shared by schools, I asked Raj Ananthanpillai, author of The Trust Crisis: How Big Tech Stole Your Identity—and the New Model That Takes It Back. Raj is the founder and CEO of Trua, a digital identity-verification and screening company and a leading authority on digital trust, identity, and privacy.

The biggest thing Raj wants parents to know is school and other neighborhood apps increase children’s personal data exposure.  

Raj Ananthanpillai

These days a child’s digital footprint and digital identity is being built long before they’re old enough to understand or control them. According to Raj, much of that information may remain in databases for years- and vulnerable to exposure.

Raj believes school apps and the third-party vendors that support them often collect more personal information about children than is needed for learning. These tools gather names, dates of birth, contact details, student IDs, behavior records, health information, device data, and usage patterns. They then share that information with analytics companies, cloud services, tracking tools, and other partners.

Once the data leaves the school, it sits in large databases that attract attackers. One weak password or unencrypted file can expose records for millions of students.

Children’s data is useful to criminals because it has little prior history of fraud. Stolen information can be used years later for identity theft or to build false identities.

The problem is that organizations collect and keep personal details they may not need right away. Raj says this creates stores of data that are hard to protect fully. Each extra vendor or app adds another place where a child’s information is held and another group that can reach it. The result is long-term risk that follows the child past school.

7 Questions to Ask to Protect Your Child’s Digital Privacy at School

Raj recommends parents consider requests for a child’s personal details to protect your child’s digital privacy at school by asking why.

• Why does this tool need this specific information for its purpose?
• What is the least amount of data required for the tool to work? Can a simple ID replace full personal details?
• Who else will get or see the information, and what limits apply?
• How long will the data be kept, and how can it be deleted or fixed when it is no longer needed?
• Is the information encrypted, and does the company collect only what is needed instead of gathering extra data for later use?
• Has the school limited the data shared with the vendor and checked the vendor’s privacy practices?
• Is there another way to meet the educational goal without sharing sensitive personal information?

Parents should ask for clear explanations in plain language to protect your child’s digital privacy at school. It’s ok to refuse to give details that are not required.

Raj says the goal is not to reject every useful tool but to stop handing over a child’s personal information by default.  When only the data needed for a specific purpose is shared, and when people keep control over what is given out, the risks drop making it easier to protect your child’s digital privacy at school.

Raj Ananthanpillai, author of The Trust Crisis: How Big Tech Stole Your Identity—and the New Model That Takes It Back, is the founder and CEO of Trua, a digital identity-verification and screening company. He is also a serial entrepreneur, investor, inventor, and leading authority on digital trust, identity, and privacy. Ananthanpillai has built and grown several impactful tech companies, and his ventures have provided mission-critical solutions for federal agencies, including key contributions to various national security programs such as TSA PreCheck, Fortune 500 companies, and global organizations.

The post How to Protect Your Child’s Digital Privacy at School appeared first on Tech Savvy Mama.

      

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As a mom of a college junior and recent college grad, I know raising kids doesn’t happen in isolation. Fellow parents, caregivers, relatives, and other trusted adults who are invested in your child’s development become part of your village.

One of the challenges of parenting can be ensuring everyone in your village supports what you’re working at home and communicates in a timely manner. Fortunately, Junga connects the many people in your village as you work to raise confident, thoughtful, emotionally aware humans together.

Junga Review: How it Helps Parents Raise Good Kids

Junga is intentionally designed to help raise confident, resilient children by creating consistency among the adults who support them.

About the Junga App

The Junga app helps parents and caregivers turn everyday routines into opportunities for growth, encouragement, and connection. The app and web-based platform is a home-centered parenting and caregiver support tool that supports child development in positive ways. It can be used by families to ensure consistent communication and caregiving between everyone in your village. Junga is best suited for families with kids ages 2-15.

Junga was founded as a personal response by parents of preschoolers who wanted to raise healthy, self-minded, and resilient children.

Junga and the Kazdin Method 

While searching for how to raise “good” kids Junga’s founders discovered The Kazdin Method developed by Dr. Alan Kazdin Ph.D., Director of the Yale Parenting Center and Child Conduct Clinic and innovator in child behavior.

Junga integrates The Kazdin Method and other evidence-based behavioral methods and research-backed social-emotional programs to help parents and caregivers turn daily routines into opportunities for growth and connection. By focusing on positive reinforcement, emotional awareness, routines, rewards, Junga:

• Helps children name and understand emotions
• Tracks experiences and emotional responses
• Sets expectations for positive behaviors
• Supports children through positive reinforcement, rather than punishment
• Reinforces daily routines, chores, and demonstration of values such as leadership, kindness, optimism,
• Uses reminders to support consistent check ins
• Invites other trusted adults to participate
• Keeps caregivers aligned with real-time feedback

Getting Started with Junga

During the time of this review, I used the Junga app for free as a Founding Families member. Founding Families is an early-access period where you can try Junga at no cost before Version 2.0 launches. 

Understanding Junga Lingo

Before getting started with the Junga app, it’s helpful to know the terminology used:

• Junga— Child or person being supported through the app
• Keeper— Parent, caregiver, grandparent/other relative, teacher, therapist, or other trusted adult who supports a Junga
• Circles— Allow Keepers to organize around groups of Jungas for support. A classroom, gym, therapy group, sports team, social group, or other organization can use a Circle to connect multiple Keepers with their group of Jungas.

Note: Since Junga is both the name of the app and the word for the child/person, from this point on Junga will only be used to refer to the child/person. While the platform is both app and web-based, I’ll refer to it as “the app or the Junga app” for simplicity.

Setting Up the Junga App

Junga works on the web, iOS, and Android and syncs in real time the web version available online. After setting up your account with your email and password, you immediately become a Keeper as the adult supporting a Junga.

Next, you’re invited to add a Junga, or child, by entering their name and birthday. A photo can also be added for each Junga.

All Jungas can be viewed in the My Village section of the app. You can also view Jungas assigned to you as a Keeper in the View Keeper section.

Additional Keepers, such as another parent or caregiver, grandparent/other relative, teacher, therapist, or other trusted adult, can also be added easily through the app to become part of a Junga’s Circle. Keepers in the Junga’s Circle can log Tasks or complete an Experience Story with a Junga. More about Tasks and Experience Stories later!

Information about each Junga is shared through the app with all Keepers within the Circle in real time. This ensures Jungas receive consistent communication from all Keepers and Keepers collaborate to consistently communicate for the benefit of the child.

The app generates a shareable link or QR code that can be shared with other adults you’d like to welcome into your Junga’s Circle. There is no cost for additional trusted adults to join a Junga’s Circle.

Using the Junga App with Your Junga

When my kids were little, I used to have to write down notable moments to remember them to share them with my husband after long, busy, and tiring days or my mom who lived across the country and always wanted to know what her grandkids were up to. To say it was an imperfect system was an understatement.

Where the app really shines is in its ability to capture and share moments with the Keepers in your Junga’s Circle. After the quick and easy set-up process, you can immediately start logging tasks for your Junga.

The app automatically provides appropriate Tasks for your child based on their age. For the purposes of my review, I set my kids’ ages as the same as they were when I started blogging- ages 4 and 2.

As a 4-year-old, Emily had the following 20 tasks assigned by the app:

• Bonus Point
• Bravery
• Brush Teeth- Morning
• Clean Up
• Composure
• Cooking
• Creativity
• Exercise
• Good Listener
• Helper
• Honesty
• Meal 1- Breakfast
• Meal 2- Lunch
• Meal 3- Dinner
• Problem Solving
• Reading
• Self-Starter
• Sharing
• Teamwork
• Trash

2-year-old Thomas’s tasks included these 13:

• Bravery
• Brush Teeth- Morning
• Clean Up
• Composure
• Creativity
• Good Listener
• Helper
• Meal- Snack
• Meal 1- Breakfast
• Meal 2- Lunch
• Meal 3- Dinner
• Potty Time
• Problem Solving

Tasks are automatically added due to age but at any time, additional tasks can be added or removed. Being able to edit the list makes logging tasks for your Jungas feel more manageable and lets you focus on things that matter during every age and stage.

To add Tasks, tap on the three lines (hamburger menu) in the upper right corner of the app. To add additional Tasks, look for Tasks beneath Catalog.

Ready for Bed and Ready for School were Tasks not automatically added to their lists by the app. I added them to both kids’ profiles to positively reinforce good habits at the beginning of a new school year. 

For example, if I wanted to work on kindergarten readiness skills for 4-year-old Emily, I would edit her task list to include:

• Bravery
• Clean Up
• Composure
• Good Listener
• Helper
• Honesty
• Problem Solving
• Ready for School
• Teamwork

For a 2-year-old, I’d whittle the list to the following:

• Brush Teeth- Morning
• Composure
• Good Listener
• Helper
• Potty Time
• Sharing

Logging Tasks for Your Junga

Since the app is designed to be collaborative, Keepers and Jungas are encouraged to log tasks together to help kids grow. Working with your Junga helps reinforce behaviors in a positive way.

To log Tasks, simply tap on your Junga’s profile through the app, tap on the task. Tap the green checkmark if your Junga completed the task or the red square with the person falling to indicate a miss.

There’s also a gray Add Details button where you can type a quick sentence to provide context for fellow Keepers. As tasks are completed, Jungas earn points towards rewards. More on Rewards below!

In addition to tasks, the app also features the Experience Story. Accessible through the waving hand icon in the middle bar just under your Junga’s name, the Experience Story serves as a way to track moods using emojis, stress on a sliding scale, and add details such as who was present, where it occurred, what happened, and more.

Keepers can set a reminder to get a push notification reminder about completing an experience story with their Junga. This helps families carve out time to track emotions on a regular basis with their Junga and is especially helpful in helping young ones learn to name and identify emotions.

Rewarding Your Junga

The app provides the following Rewards for Jungas:

• Extra Playtime- 2 points
• Show- 4 points
• Treat- 6 points
• Movie- 8 points
• Prize Bin- 8 points
• Special Purchase- 100 points

The built-in reward system helps motivate Jungas to be consistent to earn rewards in the form of points. Points are the currency that can be spent by Jungas on rewards predetermined by their Keepers. This system provides Keepers with flexibility to make a system that works for their family to ensure Jungas work towards expected behaviors in a positive way.

Learning Hub for Families

In addition to being a collaborative tool, the Junga app provides helpful information through the Learning Hub. The Learning Hub currently includes Resources, Videos, and the Knowledge Base.

Under Resources, there are two digital flashcard type resources called Learn Emotions and Calming Techniques for Keepers and Jungas use together.

Learn Emotions is designed to help Jungas attach words to how they’re feeling through these simple, child-friendly cards. Each card features the emoji that is found in Tasks and the Experience Story. Learning the emoji attached to the feeling helps create shared language around emotions that are helpful to all Keepers in a child’s life.

The Calming Techniques can be used by Jungas and Keepers when a calm moment is needed. There are directions for Box Breathing, Flower & Candle, 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding, Name That Feeling, Push & Release, and Temperature Reset.

The Learning Hub also contains 15 videos featuring Dr. Alan Kazdin that provide helpful parenting tips for Keepers. Videos range in length from 9-24 minutes, depending on the topic. The Knowledge Base is another name for the app’s FAQs.

These resources can be found by tapping on the three lines (hamburger menu) in the upper right corner of the app. Look for Learn and the Learning Hub will be right underneath.

Summary of the Junga App

Junga combines tasks and rewards with emotional experience tracking, growth insights, and a connected village of Keepers through an easy to navigate app. Age-appropriate tasks serve as a way kids and parents can use the app together to develop responsibility and emotional awareness through daily routines.

It also serves as a powerful communication tool thanks to the ability to connect and align all Keepers (caregivers). I didn’t cover this in my review, but the integrated group messaging system can be personalized for each Junga (child) to provide consistent communication between the adults that support them while maintaining privacy.

Junga works on the web, iOS, and Android and syncs in real time. The company pledges to never sell or share family data and vows to never serve ads, refreshing transparency that is much appreciated in the age of data as a commodity.

This review was written while using the free Junga app as a Founding Families member where you can try Junga at no cost before Version 2.0 launches.

Note: The Founding Families discount is available through the web app, so you’ll need to sign up through the web first before downloading the app and accessing your account from your mobile device. Families who sign up directly through Apple billing will not receive the Founding Families web subscription discount.

Images courtesy of Junga

The post How the Junga App Helps Parents Raise Good Kids appeared first on Tech Savvy Mama.

      

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After the excitement of high school graduation has passed, the reality of leaving home for college sets in. Registering for classes, filling out housing information, waiting to hear what dorm they’ll be in, and who their roommate might be are all part of this next phase of life.

This is all too familiar to me as a mom of a recent college grad and a college junior. I remember when both kids were looking forward to independent life as a college student. Thinking about and shopping for their dorm room must haves was a rite of passage.

Dorm Room Must Haves for New College Students

This post is my helpful guide with everything you need to know to send your child to college. It includes the dorm room must haves that are truly musts, not just things to buy that will never get used!

4 Things to Know Before Shopping for Dorm Room Must Haves 

Thomas is our second and last child who left for college. There are definitely some things I’ve learned since his sister started college 4 years ago. If you’re getting ready to send your first to school, here are 4 quick things to know before you start shopping for dorm room must haves.

1. Check to see what will be provided and is not allowed in dorms

A quick search helped my son find floor plans for all freshman dorms and a suggested packing list. There was also a list of items that are provided and aren’t in campus dorm rooms. This information has been helpful in figuring out what the dorm room must haves really are and what things we shouldn’t bother buying. For example, regardless of what freshman dorm Thomas lived in, his room came with a micro-fridge (microwave/fridge combo) and trash can. When his sister started college, she needed both. 

2. Be practical and think logistically

Whether you’re driving your child to school for drop off or flying can make a difference in your shopping strategy. Parents who are driving can pack more things in a car to bring than parents who are flying and constrained by luggage allotments. If you’re flying, consider getting an airline credit card for free checked bags. I have both a United Mileage Plus and Southwest card to earn miles/points when we fly. Both let me check a bag for free.

3. Shop sales

Target Circle Week and with Amazon Prime Days are great times to shop. Take advantage of these sales by making a list of dorm room must haves and pick up essentials on sale. Students can also sign up for Target Circle College Student Appreciation discount that will get them a 15% off discount for a single purchase once a year when they create a Target account, join Target Circle for free, and have their student status verified.

4. Don’t overbuy

It’s easy to get caught up in thinking that every item on every college must-have list is really a must but honestly, items on every list should be treated as a suggestion. This list included!

It’s best to talk to your college student about what items they think they truly need. If you have any doubts, wait! Will they really use that stick vacuum or those cleaning products you were thinking of getting? Some kids might, others won’t! And since siblings are different, what one finds useful might not be to the other!

Be conservative. It’s better to buy less and order things they need as they go. Plus, everything in that dorm room will either need to be moved to storage or find a place in your house during the summer months.

Dorm Room Must Haves for New College Students 

In the name of being practical and thinking logistically, I’ve compiled a list of items that have been dorm room must haves for my daughter, her friends, and my son.

I’ve broken this list down into 6 different categories:

1. Things to Help Them Study (electronics and desk items)
2. Things to Keep Them Comfortable (bedding and linens)
3. Things to Keep Them Clean and Healthy (bathroom, laundry and first aid supplies)
4. Things to Keep Them Well Fed (kitchen supplies)
5. Things to Decorate Their Room
6. Things to Help Them Make Friends

There are lots of different ways to tackle this list but all decisions should be made with your soon-to-be college student and with a budget in mind. You can choose to:

• Shop all at once, checking items off as you go
• Tackle one section at a time
• Strategically shop sales. Remember: Target Circle Week and Amazon Prime Days are great times to shop
• Give your child a budget to shop then turn them loose to add things to an online cart. Agree that you get final approval before any purchases are made.

Things to Help Them Study

Laptop and/or iPad– My daughter started college with the same Lenovo Yoga laptop she used in high school and quickly discovered she needed an iPad and Apple Pencil for math problem sets and other homework. I recently reviewed a MSI Prestige Laptop and it’s my new laptop pick for 2026!

My advice is to send your child with what they currently have. They’ll quickly figure out if what they have is sufficient for the work they’ll be tasked with in college. By October, Thomas figured out than an iPad would be helpful for his engineering, math, and physics classes. I had the same model one that his sister bought her first year of college. Fortunately, he was more than happy to take it, rather than buying a new one. Getting a refurbished Apple Pencil to go with it also helped save some money. 

Desk lamp– Dorm room lighting is rarely sufficient so a desk lamp is a must. You can go with a traditional desk lamp or a multitasker such as  this compact LED desk lamp has 3 built in outlets, 2 USB ports, and 2 USB-C ports for desktop charging. A clip light is also a helpful for reading in bed when a roommate is trying to sleep. I also really like the Verilux Smart LED Desk Lamp because it features full spectrum LED light for true color along with a sleek, modern design with a USB port.

Charging station– My daughter loves this compact charging tower because it features 5 USB ports and a USB-C port and is small enough to sit on her desk. Apple users might also want to consider a 3 in 1 charging station for Apple watch, Airpods & iPhone. We got Thomas one for Christmas a couple years ago and he uses it constantly. 

Extra-long phone charging cable that will reach their bed – Our family really likes this 2 pack of 6 foot USB-C cords and 3 pack of 6 foot Lightning cords ($6.99 for each pack on Amazon). We’ve bought several packs of these over the years and you really can’t beat the price!

Desk organizers to corral supplies– These don’t need to be fancy. My daughter uses favorite mugs to hold pens and pencils and a set of small rectangular and square bins we found at Target to corral Post-Its, quarters for laundry, etc.

Noise cancelling headphones or ear buds– Chances are your child won’t be going to college without them but don’t forget to pack the charging cable too. If your college student is in need of a new pair, my daughter has always loved her AirPods but a couple years ago, I gave her a pair of Z7 over the ear headphones from Treblab and she’s found they’re better at blocking out sound to help her concentrate.

Surge protector- The longer the cord, the better! Go with a 6’ extension cord or one that’s or 8 feet long to provide power where it’s needed most. Some dorm rooms have lots of outlets, others are sparse. 

Things to Keep Them Comfortable (bedding and linens)

Pillows– If your child loves their pillow, have them take theirs from home and replace it with something new for when they’re home during break. Pillows are also an easy thing to pick up before move-in if you’re flying. You might also want to add pillow covers for allergy and bed bug protection.

Comforter or duvet– A good question to ask is what your child wants and what might they be able to wash easily. Both of my kids use duvets at home but the thought of trying to take apart and put together the duvet for regular cleaning led them to both choose comforters for their college beds.

Bed in a Bag sets are popular choices because they include a comforter, coordinated sheets, and a pillowcase. Target and Kohl’s are great sources for bedding sets or pieces but I recommend shopping early if you’re planning to shop in-store because stores do run out and don’t always restock right away. Also be sure to check the mattress size of your college student’s bed. While many tend to be Twin XL, some might not be and you want to be sure you get the right size comforter and sheets.

Extra set of sheets and pillowcases– It’s a good idea to have a second set for laundry days. Yes, they do actually DO laundry and change their sheets! Thomas figured out that the best day to do laundry was on Tuesday in the middle of the day when many other students were in class!

Mattress pad– Dorm room mattresses aren’t known to be the best so both of our kids have foam mattress toppers. I recommend getting at least a 2” foam mattress topper to fit their dorm mattress. For extra comfort, add a quilted mattress pad on top.

You might need to shop for some additional things to help keep your college student healthy and comfortable based on their dorm room and the climate. Consider:

• Fan– This could be incredibly helpful in a dorm with no air conditioning at the start of the year. Since Thomas didn’t have AC in his dorm freshman or sophomore year like his sister did, we sent him to school with a Woozoo fan. He was impressed at how quickly this small but mighty oscillating fan worked to cool his room. Look for them to go on sale at Costco over the summer since they have the best price (usually just under $40).
• Air filter– Chances are your child will get sick in their first semester of college. While some illnesses can’t be avoided, an air filter can be hugely helpful. We sent the PuroAir 240 with him to college. It filters out 99.99% of allergens (smoke, dust, pollen, and common pollutants) quickly and quietly. Because our son was used to having an air filter in his current room, it made sense for him to have one in college to continue to keep allergens to a minimum and keep him healthy. Both kids attend college in states prone to wildfires and an air filter helped remove unhealthy particles from the air in their rooms.
• Humidifier– A humidifier is great for those living in dry climates or at altitude where the air is drier than they’re used to. This wireless humidifier from Hey Dewy is my personal favorite because it’s the perfect size for keeping on a desk in a dorm room.

Things to Keep Them Clean and Healthy (bathroom, laundry and First Aid supplies)

Set of towels (bath and hand towels, maybe washcloths)- 2 sets is sufficient. My son picked out a Threshold set from Target. They’re soft, thick, and oversized so big enough to wrap around his body and maintain modesty when going to and from the shower.

Shower caddy– We ordered this one from Target because it has a handle for hanging, drain holes at the bottom, and is usually on sale for $7.

Shower shoes/flip-flops– A must for traveling to and from the bathroom and wearing in the shower.

Toothbrush & toothpaste, shampoo & conditioner, soap or body wash– My advice is to get what your child is used to. Now isn’t the time to try something new that might make them break out in a rash because they discover it doesn’t agree with their skin the first time they use it. If they’re used to an electric toothbrush, think about where they’ll plug in the charger. Space is limited so you might want to consider a regular toothbrush or one from Quip because it’s super compact and operates on a AAA battery.

First Aid Kit with cold/flu supplies- A compact first-aid kit with band aids, antibiotic ointment, alcohol wipes, hydrocortisone cream, cold/flu meds, and Narcan, are handy for your child to have on hand when they’re not feeling well or to help a friend in need.

I personally love The College Student First Aid Travel Kit that is the brainchild of Beth Palmer Stewart, Certified Nurse Practitioner with who has worked with children, adolescents, and young adults and is the mom of 2 college students with another on the way! This comprehensive, well organized, and affordable kit contains over 30 different medications, ointments, creams, drops, tools, and wound care items. It’s great to have on hand because the first time your child gets sick at school is miserable for them and leaves you feeling helpless.

Beth also offers a Ultimate College Student First Aid Kit. This incredible well-organized toolbox that contains all the same things that the Travel Kit does but double the amount of all medications. Extra medications including a Hangover Kit, double the amount of all ointments and creams, extra wound care products including more Band-Aids® and blister care items, eye care products including emergency eyewash and red eye drops, splinter removal kits, and hand sanitizer to help stop the spread of germs. She also offers Narcan, an essential for kids to have on campus in case they can help a peer in need.  I absolutely love what Beth has put together in both kits that help college students have the what they need to feel better fast without leaving their room. Just be sure to send a get well soon care package to let them know you’re thinking of them and replenish used supplies as needed

Laundry supplies- Don’t make laundry any more arduous than your child might already think it is. A backpack style laundry bag is easy to carry and store. Instead of bulky bottles of detergent, go with detergent sheets like  Spot laundry detergent sheets. They take up a lot less room in a dorm room, are lighter, and can be tucked in the front pocket of the laundry bag so they’re always there. Plastic hangers (Thomas also liked having heavyweight hangers for hanging pants due to limited drawer space) can easily be picked up from Target before move in. Don’t forget to leave them with a roll of quarters because you never know when the laundry machine card swipe system will stop working. The swipe card system didn’t work when my daughter started her freshman year and was really glad to have a stash of quarters to do her first couple loads of laundry.  

Uber or Lyft Gift Card- We never want our kids to feel unsafe or stuck so make sure they always have a safe ride home thanks to an Uber or Lyft gift card. 

Things to Keep Them Well Fed (kitchen supplies)

Fridge and/or microwave- Check to see if this is something that will come with your child’s dorm room. If not, it’s a good idea to wait and order it along with other dorm room must haves you’ll send to their college mail room so you can apply the one time 15% Target Circle College Student Appreciation discount.

Microwave-safe plates and bowls- When our daughter started college, she bought two plastic dinner plates and two cereal bowls for 50 cents each from Target’s Room Essentials line.

Utensils- It’s not a bad idea to have a couple forks, knives, and spoons on hand. Random extras from home, a relative, or the local thrift store are good enough. Target also has sets of 3 knives, 3 spoons, and 3 forks for $1 each.

Snack containers- Before your college student moves in, grab a few Ziploc bags in different sizes from your stash at home them to have on hand. Also send them with some plastic food storage containers from your kitchen or get them this 6 piece Rubbermaid set from Target.

Comfort foods– While they’re probably on a meal plan their first year, it’s always a good idea to have a few comfort foods on hand to make them feel better when they’re not feeling well or are super stressed. Our daughter likes to keep these items in her room: Instant soup or Cup of Noodles, microwavable mac & cheese, oatmeal cups, a few packets of hot chocolate, and tea bags. Both of my kids liked having a clear plastic storage container for food storage in case of bugs. 

Things to Decorate Their Room

Your child’s dorm room is a blank slate. Before they think about how to decorate, try to figure out what the walls are made of and how to attach items to the wall surface. It’s also a good idea to remind them that they’re sharing their space and their roommate might not have the same taste as them. Here are some things that are helpful for decorating a room:

• Posters, flags, tapestries, etc.
• Command Strips and Command Hooks for hanging items without damaging walls- I like to buy the big packs from Costco and bring a bunch in a Ziploc bag to move in. Thomas quickly found out Command Strips didn’t work on his dorm’s brick walls and says Gorilla Tape is a must have!
• Area rugs or carpets– Even if dorm rooms are carpeted, an area rug picked up during move in days can personalize a room and make it feel more like home.
• Pillow made in the likeness of a pet– Leaving behind a beloved pet can be hard but your student can take them with them in the form of a pillow!

Things to Help Them Make Friends

Meeting new people and making new friends can be a daunting task for some kids. Sending them off with these things will help foster connections in their new environment.

Doorstop– This small item is incredibly helpful for move in and invites others to pop their head in and say hi during the year.

Bluetooth Speaker– Nothing draws people in like music and the bigger the sound, the more inviting the space becomes! My daughter got a compact Bluetooth speaker as a gift from friends before she left for college and she uses it all the time. Thomas has always loved big speakers so he prefers something larger like the HD77 or the newly redesigned Treblab HD-Max Speaker for sharing music with friends. The HD77 is a more compact speaker but the HD-Max has a ton of features he loves including incredible surround sound for 20 hours on a single charge, RGB lights, a carrying strap, and built in powerbank to keep phones charged while streaming favorite playlists.

Dominos gift card– Never underestimate the power of the smell of pizza! Consider leaving a Dominos gift card tucked away in their dorm room for them to find after you leave with a note that it’s to be spent on dinner with friends. Or email one to let them know you’re thinking about them.

Tool kit– It’s helpful to have a small set of tools on hand even if your child is not a DIYer. This could be helpful in adjusting a mattress height, securing lofted beds, measuring a space for a rug, etc. Since not every student thinks to bring tools, your child will be known as the helpful one as they lend items out to others.

Things to Help Them Keep Track of Their Stuff

Mabel’s Labels– Mabel’s Labels aren’t just for little kids! We’ve been using them for years for keeping track of our family’s things and this still holds true for our college student. Before they head to school, get them a new personalized label set with labels in different sizes. Go old school with a Back to School Combo featuring a favorite icon or go with cool designs on the Middle School Label Pack.

AirTags– AirTags have so many uses for college students. They can attach one to their keys, put on in their luggage when they travel to and from school, affix it to the bottom of their skateboard, tuck one in an instrument case or backpack if they’re prone to leaving things behind, or their car in case they lend it to a friend and need to know their ETA. Get a 4 pack of AirTags and if your child doesn’t need all 4, send 2 to college and keep 2 at home.

For perspective, both of my kids go to school out of state. We bought some items at home that we packed in checked luggage, online ordered a couple things that were picked up at the college mail room, and other things were purchased before move in. During the summer, items are stored in a shared storage facility off campus.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask it in the comment section. It’s an exciting time that can be a roller coaster of emotions and I’m happy to help as you get ready to send your child off to college!

Affiliate links are included in this post. Samples were received to facilitate this post but no compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

The post Dorm Room Must Haves for New College Students appeared first on Tech Savvy Mama.

      

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About The Playground at The National Building Museum

Developed with New York-based design practice, Snarkitecture, The Playground is the largest indoor installation in the Museum’s history. It reimagines the familiar playground through inventive design and extraordinary scale. Scaffolding, birch plywood, cork, rope, and other materials take on new purposes through nine distinct activity zones.

Navigating The Playground at The National Building Museum

Rather than dictating how visitors should move through the space, the installation encourages each person to chart their own course. While there, you’ll experience how thoughtful design transforms ordinary materials into extraordinary experiences. 

The Hill serves as the centerpiece of The Playground. Layers of birch plywood become a sculptural landscape with slides, tunnels, and places to gather. From there, visitors are invited to continue exploring the installation’s eight additional activity zones:

• Navigate a 100-foot Obstacle Course
• Climb a 15-foot Climbing Wall
• Unwind in oversized rope hammocks
• Shoot hoops at the Sport Court
• Wander through the Wavy Walls maze
• Dig through the Dig Pit, a construction-inspired play space filled with natural cork

One of the installation’s most distinctive spaces is the Adventure Yard. Young builders are invited to imagine, construct, test ideas, and collaborate with real materials and tools to explore the fundamentals of design and making. The space encourages creativity, problem-solving, and confidence through hands-on exploration. It also demonstrates the built environment is not just something we inhabit, but something we can help shape.

Nearby, the Tot Spot offers the Museum’s youngest visitors an age-appropriate place to discover, climb, and play. 

While there, take note of the selection of materials that is central to design of The Playground at The National Building Museum.

• Industrial scaffolding frames spaces for gathering and recreation
• Cork, a renewable material more often associated with construction and manufacturing, fills the Dig Pit, inviting visitors to dig, build, and imagine
• Layered birch plywood shapes The Hill and Wavy Walls
• Recycled flooring provides a durable surface throughout the installation 

Is The Playground at The National Building Museum just for kids?

No! The Playground is designed for visitors of every generation! Immersive environments, thoughtful design, and opportunities for open-ended exploration make it a great place for all ages to visit! 

“Playgrounds are where so many of us first discover the joy of exploring, creating, and connecting with others,” said Aileen Fuchs, President and Executive Director of the National Building Museum. 

“This installation reminds us that public spaces have the power to bring people together, spark curiosity, and create lasting memories. We hope every visitor leaves with a smile, a sense of possibility, and a deeper appreciation for the role that thoughtfully designed places play in our lives.” 

Whether climbing, creating, gathering with friends, or simply taking in the space, every visit to The Playground offers a different experience. 

Visiting The Playground at The National Building Museum

The Playground at The National Building is open daily through August 30, 2026. Timed tickets are included with Museum admission and may be reserved in advance through the National Building Museum website.

Come for The Playground and enjoy the other things The National Building Museum has to offer this summer. Before you go, check out the full calendar of programs and special events for adults, teens, children, and families including:

• Hands-on workshops inspired by the installation 
• Permanent and special exhibitions
• Late Nights featuring live music, food, and drinks for adults
• Weekly story times, Building Readers Club events, STEAM Saturdays, and drop-in artmaking activities for kids 

The National Building Museum provided me with free tickets to attend The Playground but no compensation was received for this post. All opinions are my own. Images courtesy of The National Building Museum.

The post The Playground at The National Building Museum: Awe-Inspiring Intergenerational Play Space Now Open appeared first on Tech Savvy Mama.

      

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31 Ways to Keep Summer Learning Fun to Prevent the Summer Slide

What is the Summer Slide?

Rather than one at a playground or a water park, the summer slide is when students can experience a decline in academic skills when not in school. It has consequences for both families and classrooms. After studying 800 American parents and 200 teachers, data from Prodigy Education showed that when learning was paused for summer, nearly half of students lost academic ground. Research from NWEA, a nonprofit providing educational assessments, found students can lose an average of 1-2 months of reading and math progress during summer months. 

Prodigy Education data also revealed:

• 45% of their students showed noticeable summer learning loss after the break
• 80% of teachers had to reteach previous material
• 67% of teachers stated the need for reteaching disrupted planned lessons

Ways to Keep Summer Learning Fun 

“It can be challenging for parents to strike that balance of giving their children some much-needed fun and downtime over the summer, while also ensuring they’ll hit the ground running when they return to the classroom,” says Dr. Joshua Prieur, Director, Educator Enablement at Prodigy Education. “As a parent – and also a former assistant principal – I know I’ve felt this pressure personally.”

Prieur believes summer should be a time for fun and recharging but there are always ways to gently incorporate learning and skills practice. His biggest tip for parents? “Don’t simply turn summer into more school. That can lead to burnout and resistance, which becomes counterproductive when they go back to school.”

There are many ways to keep summer learning fun and here are my 24 different ideas to keep kids motivated to learn when they’re not in school.

Make a Summer Bucket List

Summer in our house was always a balance of structured and unstructured time. Weeks with camp provided structure and other weeks where my kids were home, time was less structured.

During these weeks, we found ways to keep summer learning fun by crossing things off our summer bucket list. We went on outings to museums, spent afternoons at the pool, or met up with friends. We engaged in cooking or gardening projects and took public transit to explore museums in nearby Washington, D.C.

Creating a bucket list, provides structure to your unstructured time. By making a bucket wish list with your kids, you’re setting summer goals to achieve together.

Even though my daughter will be a college senior next year, she’s home working at an in-state internship for the first summer since starting college. Even before her school year ended, she was texting me fun things she wanted to do this summer.

Using Apple Notes app, I created a shared note for us to add things via our iPhones. It’s full of museums to visit, performances to see, trips to take, and new restaurants to try before she heads back to school for her senior year. I honestly love that she had the idea of making a bucket list for this summer just like she always did as a kid!

Do Something Learning Related Every Day

There are ways to build learning into daily routines,” Prieur says. “You just have to know where to look.”

Having a simple goal of doing something learning related every day makes the achievement visible and celebrated because as  David Smith, CEO of Silicon Valley High School explains, “children need that sense of progress and achievement. Without regular academic milestones, parents need to create alternative ways for kids to feel successful and engaged.”

Goals could include:

• Going to the library to choose a new book. Two new titles I’m loving for summer are Whiz Kids: Human Body and Factopia. Factopia is full of 400 crazy connected facts verified by Encyclopaedia Britannica while Whiz Kids: Human Body is a new interactive children’s board book that explores inside the human body.
• Learning a new word in a different language. Mudpuppy’s  Spanish to English Ring Flash Cards make learning on the go during the summer months easy.
• Listening to an audiobook
• Planting something in the garden and observing its growth
• Use gross motor skills to play at the playground with a friend
• Visiting an amusement park and talking about the physics of roller coasters
• Do a puzzle. Try Completing the Puzzle, a sustainable puzzle subscription that combines fun, learning, and eco-conscious living in one monthly delivery. A subscription includes a return-and-swap model so families can enjoy new puzzles each month without the clutter! When purchasing puzzles, look for ones by Mudpuppy, particularly their Plant Anatomy Science Puzzle Set, Wild Food Chain, Animal Anatomy and Map of the World Geography Puzzle. Mud Puppy’s puzzles are gorgeous and integrate STEM and other important academic topics in a visually appealing way. 
• Write a letter. Nothing motivates kids more to practice writing than fun stationary. Personalized stationary with their names, notecards with favorite characters, or choosing one from a rack at a local store can help get them started. I’m also loving the LEGO Stationary Creativity Set. ($26.99) Build, color, and create with the included gel pen, three markers, two sticky note pads, 25 coloring sheets, and a 10-piece LEGO duck build. Attach your duck to the markers for interactive play. Eco-friendly packaging makes it a perfect way to inspire young creators to write more!
• Interact with the world around you through immersive experiences. If you’re looking to inspire new learning about the world around you, I absolutely adore Enlightened Generation, a screen-free multisensory box of items curated by topic. Each box helps kids learn about wonders of the world like the ancient geoglyphs of Peru’s Nazca Desert, Moai Of Rapa Nui, and more— through a storybook, an activity, and a wearable item inspired by each destination. Each box is a treasure trove of items you’ll want to have in your home as you work to raise globally aware, curious kids through playful, hands-on, and meaningful cultural learning.  Best for ages 3-10
• Pursue creative ventures in the visual arts. Created by Matt Ross, founder of School of Rock, One River School of Art & Design is a visual arts program that recreates authentic art studio experiences. It spans painting, drawing, digital design, photography, and sculpture. Taught through the lens of living artists rather than traditional academic-only techniques, it operates more than 15 locations across New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Texas, Illinois, and Oregon.

Play a Game

There are so many  games that make learning fun, especially during the summer. Word games, card games, and even handheld games are highly portable ways to sneak in some everyday learning and learning on the go during summer travels. Here are some ideas of games that are fun and easy to pack, play poolside, or at home while enjoying the AC on a hot day.

• Word game- My First Bananagrams (ages 4+) or classic Bananagrams (ages 7+) are word-building games help kids develop a love of word games and word play in age appropriate ways
• Handheld game- Flipside is a fast-moving electronic handheld matching game that requires kids to beat the blocks. Kids flip to find the color then slide to match the lights in a game that requires quick reflexes and teaches spatial reasoning, color recognition, and memory skills. Best for ages 8+
• Card games- Bluey’s Card Game Series brings the fun to family game nights, flights, and playdates thanks to decks that feature two games in one. Choose from Bluey Charades, Bluey Crazy Eights, or Bluey Go Fish. ($4.99 each, best for ages 4+)
• Take on a building challenge. I was recently introduced to StickiKubes ($19.99) and was instantly addicted to sticking them together to stack them and build shapes! These mini stacking cubes stick to any surface (except fabric), letting kids create custom designs in 2D and 3D. Made from a safe polymer, they’re easy to clean (just rinse and they’re sticky again!) and come in 4 vibrant colors. With 125 cubes and a convenient storage tub, the fun never ends! Best for ages 4+

Use Screen Time as Learning Time

According to a study by Prodigy, 3 in 4 teachers recommend an online education platform for summer learning. Rather than unlimited device access, Smith suggests creating specific windows for educational content, creative apps, or video calls with distant relatives.

Use apps to track books read, learn about physics, journal daily, or master a foreign language. Free websites can be used to create personalized study plans for summer work or engage in interactive learning through online quizzes.

“Parents also shouldn’t feel bad about allowing their children some extra screen time, especially on days when children have been outside a lot and need some time to recharge,” Prieur advises. 

Here are 12 apps and websites that serve as great ways to keep summer learning fun.

Apps:

• Keeping track of books read with the BookIt! app. Kids in grades K-6 can work towards monthly reading goals set by parents and earn a free pizza from Pizza Hut each month in June, July, and August when they meet them.
• Using Duolingo to learn new words in a different language. Duolingo streaks are a fun way to keep users motivated to keep learning throughout the summer.
• Discovering physics in the real world using the Playground Physics app from the New York Hall of Science. For example, kids can record motion they see on a playground and watch the paths. Older kids can apply physics learned through class and perform calculations.

Online tools and websites:

• Exercise your creativity through The New York Times’ The Creativity Challenge. With 5 daily activities, each is designed to help you practice creativity or interact with it to make your mind more limber.
• Engaging AI learning tools like Brainly to help middle and high schoolers create a personal study plan for summer work and upcoming SAT and ACT tests
• Watching BrainPop animated videos to learn about any number of topics in the most fun way thanks to Tim and robot Moby
• Fostering language development through word puzzles like Wordle, Spelling Bee, and the New York Times Mini Crossword. My college-age daughter and her friends engage in daily NYT mini crossword battles to see who can finish the fastest!
• Digital journaling using the Journal app on iPhone which encourages kids to write daily
• Practice standards aligned math and English in a fun way thanks to Prodigy. Game-based learning will keep kids practicing curriculum-aligned math skills while playing a game they love.
• Interactive Kahoot or Quizlet quizzes. Kids are used to using these tools in the for classroom learning but they can continue to be used at home during the summer to test knowledge.
• Challenging your child with coding through Code.org where projects can be completed in as little as 15 minutes or can be multi-step, multi-day projects depending on their age and interest.
• Helping your child understand current events in an age-appropriate way through The Juice. I love that articles in The Juice are written by journalists and educators so they’re short, interesting, about things going on in the world kids are hearing about and tailored to different grade levels. The Juice also has videos, infographics, quotes, and games that not only aid in comprehension but keep content fun and engaging.
• An Outschool class can be a great way to use screen time as learning time. There are thousands of fun and unique, interest-based classes on Outschool so it’s easy to find something fun, affordable, and engaging for every child in your family.

Get Creative and Learn Real-World STEM Concepts

Fostering creativity through crafting is one of the best ways to keep summer learning fun while teaching real-world STEM concepts in hands-on ways. These 8 tools that can inspire young makers this summer but please note that some require adult supervision, depending on the age and skill level of your child.

Clixo

Clixo is an award-winning flexible magnetic building toy that promotes building, creativity, STEM, and open-ended toys. The flexible and strong pieces combine the magic of origami with the power of magnets to let kids build an infinite number of creations in 2D or 3D, empowering creativity and confidence. 

Through its ingenious, research-based design, Clixo enables kids to learn science, spatial, and tactile skills from turning flat 2D shapes into 3D objects. The pieces also encourage experimentation, enabling kids to turn abstract concepts and creative ideas into tangible reality. Elements in the design also involve certain constraints, which help foster soft skills like creative thinking, patience, and persistence. Clixo is a great toy for the summer that also ensure kids keep learning as they play. 

Raddish Kids

Cooking is one of the best ways to practice real-world STEM learning in a practical and tasty way and Raddish Kids keeps kids learning while school is out. Raddish Kids’ hands-on cooking approach provides a STEM learning experience that makes everyday meals fun, engaging and educational. Made for families and kids ages 4 – 14,  cooking (including global cuisine) and baking kits nurture a healthy relationship with food and family.

All recipes are high-quality and chef-designed so meals are more than just exciting for kids, they’re dishes that parents actually would want to eat!

Chompsaw from Chompshop

When my kids were younger, cardboard was their building material of choice because it presented endless possibilities. The only tricky part of building with it was cutting. Cardboard is too thick for normal scissors and depending on the age of your child and your comfort level, a box cutter isn’t always a great idea. Chompsaw by Chompshop to the rescue!

Unlike scissors or box cutters that fall short when crafting with cardboard, the ChompSaw features a rapid hole-punching mechanism that cuts through cardboard easily but poses no risk to little hands. Its built-in metal guard and lack of exposed spinning parts ensure that fingers, hair, and clothes remain safe, so kids can build freely and parents can rest easily. I wish this existed when my kids were younger! It would have opened up young engineers’ ability to design and build the coolest projects out of cardboard! 

xTool F1 Ultra Dual Laser Engraver

There are many benefits of using laser cutters as teaching tools, such as empowering kids to create through hands-on-learning while inspiring future entrepreneurs. The xTool F1 Ultra Dual Laser Engraver can help kids develop a wide range of STEM skills along with ones in art and design. It fosters creativity, problem-solving, and interdisciplinary learning through hands-on laser cutting, engraving, and coding. As kids engineer prototypes to engrave wood, acrylic, leather, or metal, they learn about material science and how the properties of the materials respond to laser cutting and engraving 

Cricut Maker 4

The Cricut Maker 4 is a smart cutting machine that writes, scores, engraves, foils, embosses, and more. It can cut over 300 different kinds of materials so it can be used for a wide variety of projects, like simple stickers and cards to more complex items like personalized apparel, wood decor, and even jewelry. 

Kids start by brainstorming design ideas, drawing shapes using the Cricut Design Space software, and learning to translate their ideas into digital designs. Experimenting with colors, fonts, layouts, and different materials like vinyl, paper, cardstock, leather, and wood keeps interest high as create unique and personalized projects. Using different materials and tools teaches basic design principles like balance, contrast, and scale and there’s nothing more rewarding than seeing designs come to life.

Cricut EasyPress 3

The Cricut EasyPress 3 is a heat press machine that can be used with a Cricut cutting machine to create various iron-on projects. Working with iron-on vinyl, applying the base materials, and using the EasyPress 3 to apply an even amount of heat requires dexterity and hand eye coordination. It also helps foster creative thinking, imagination, ability to follow instruction, organizational skills, patience, and concentration. Save $120 on the EasyPress 2 – 12×10 for $119. Valid through 6/30

Ohuhu Honolulu Plus Series

For STEAM enthusiasts, I highly recommend Ohuhu ‘s Honolulu Plus Series. Ohuhu makes high-quality art supplies that empower people of all skill levels and backgrounds to freely explore and express their creativity in an affordable way. Their Honolulu Plus Series features dual tip markers with a flexible rubber brush tip and chisel tip in sets of either 24 or 35 vibrant colors. The amazing colors blend seamlessly for clean, crisp, and smudge-free artwork, especially when used on Ohuhu Mix Media Pad for Multiple Techniques. I love that the tips or the markers are color coded so it’s always easy to find the right marker for your artwork and the ink is refillable for a lifetime of sustainable creativity. 

Clawlab

Clawlab combines textile art and technology to elevate the tufting experience for seasoned textile artists and newbies alike. As tufting rises from niche craft to a celebrated medium of self-expression, especially among Gen Z and young creators, Clawlab’s Tufting Gun and Tufting Frame are functional and thoughtfully designed for modern makers. These products aim to inspire, empower, and streamline the tufting experience across art, fashion, and interior design by empowering creators and eliminating common frustrations in the tufting process.

If you’re looking for more ways to keep summer learning fun with STEM, the USA Science & Engineering Festival Lesson Plan Library features lesson plans for teachers and free videos for students wanting to learn more about science topics.

Samples were received to facilitate this post but all opinions are my own. Affiliate links are included in this post.

The post 31 Ways to Keep Summer Learning Fun to Prevent the Summer Slide appeared first on Tech Savvy Mama.

      

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World Cup Activities for All Ages

For the first time since 1994, the World Cup is being held in the United States. Whether you live near one 11 host cities, are a fan of the game, or are new to soccer (or futbol), the World Cup can serve as an incredible teachable moment. Use the excitement and news to keep kids learning in fun ways this summer.

Below you’ll find free age-appropriate World Cup activities for all ages from The US Soccer Foundation, PBS Learning Media, and more. The list includes great resources that are perfect as summer learning plus lots of high-quality video content produced by trusted names in education.

World Cup Activities for Preschoolers

Learn How to Play Soccer

Soccer is the most popular game in the world and for kids who want to learn how to play, this video from KidVision, is a great way to start. Your preschooler will be World Cup ready thanks to Penny and PBS’ KidVision who will introduce them to a coach, a team, warmups, and how the game is played in this 8:30 minute video. Best for grades PreK-K

Learn About Country Flags and Their Symbols

Chances are your child can recognize the flag of the United States but what about other countries’ flags and their symbols? Watt and his friends learn from the City Island Flag how the symbols on flags have meaning in this 3-minute animated video. Best for grades PreK-2

Learn About Cultures Around the World with PBS Kids!

As soccer fans unite worldwide, PBS Kids has a fun collection of short educational videos that share cultures around the world with preschoolers. Learning through food, dance, and stories help inspire global citizenship in the youngest ages. Best for grades PreK-2

Read Picture Books About Soccer

Julie Yeros, the creator of Globe Trottin’ Kids has put together a fantastic list of picture books for soccer loving kids on her World Cup Activities for Kids post. It also features soccer games and world flag printables plus fun ideas for using them during the opening and closing World Cup ceremonies.

World Cup Activities for Elementary Ages

The Science of a Soccer Ball Kick with DragonflyTV 

How do soccer players kick the ball the length of the field? Dana from DragonflyTV seeks to find the answer to that question in this 6-minute video that explores: If your legs are bigger, can you always kick the ball farther? Spoiler: Just having a big leg doesn’t send the ball across the field. This video explains why a combination of leg mass and speed is needed for the most effective kick and provides two things to try to improve soccer kicks. Best for grades 3-8

Printable Activities from FIFA Toronto

As one of the host cities, FIFA Toronto has put together a 28 page printable PDF full of creative and engaging activities that integrate health, PE, math, language arts, visual arts, and personal planning. Designed for grades K-6, there are World Cup activities for all ages.

• Kindergarten- Grade 2: A playful introduction to soccer with coloring pages and easy-to-follow activities like draw your team jersey, math with soccer balls, and coloring mascots.
• Grades 3-5: Interactive games to stimulate creativity from writing cheers for your favorite team to developing math skills and learning good habits. I really liked the creativity and open-endedness of the activities that include Create Your Own Cheer and Soccer Shopping Challenge that provides a clothing shop price list and a $2,500 budget to dress 18 players on the team.
• Grades 6-8: Dive deeper into the world of soccer with advanced challenges, goal-setting activities, and problem-solving tactics. The Quick Kick Quiz is designed to test knowledge of the game, math word problems, and figuring out soccer themed words using emojis.

The free downloadable PDF allows you to print out the whole activity booklet or specific sections. Best for grades K-8

What is Sports Physiology? with Science Trek

Knowing how to be able to play and move safely while avoiding injury is important when playing soccer. This video teaches kids about the role of sports physiologists and how these scientists work to improve athlete performance to keep them healthy. Best for grades K-5

US Soccer Foundation’s Activity Workbook

This fun free activity booklet features World Cup activities for all ages. The various activities get kids moving by teaching soccer fundamentals like skills, player positions, formations, and styles of play. Additional activities go beyond game play to help kids learn about the confederations, traditions, iconic players, and global fan culture.

Printable activities include:

• Create Your Soccer Passport– Personalize your passport while building soccer skills, practicing self-care, and exploring soccer playing countries and culture
• Soccer Themed Bingo– Get kids moving and practicing soccer skills as they follow prompts in each square to achieve bingo
• Learn About Soccer Countries– Cut out flashcards to learn about soccer teams around the world
• Create Your Own Soccer Team– create a team after learning soccer fundamentals
• Learn Soccer Laws– Explore laws of the game with activities

At the start of each section, there are helpful instructions about on how each activity works. Each activity is targeted at either ages 8 and up or ages 7 and below. Younger children can participate in activities geared toward big kids with some support from parents or caregivers.  The free downloadable PDF allows you to print out the whole activity booklet or specific sections. Best for grades K-5

Teaching About the World Cup Through Food with PBS Learning Media

One of the best ways to teach about different countries is through food. With Cabo Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan competing in their very first World Cup this summer, learning about their match day meals is a perfect way to explore culture, geography, and community.

This 2-minute video from PBS Learning Media helps elementary ages explore Cabo Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan through national dishes that bring fans together, both on a special game day and year-round. After watching, check out the Relish collection to learn about more dishes that tell the story of who we are and where we come from. Best for grades K-5

World Cup Activities for Middle and High Schoolers

How to Curve a Soccer Ball Backward Using Science with Physics Girl

World Cup players are experts at executing free kicks that curve through the air. Physics Girl takes to the field to explore an aerodynamic phenomenon called the Magnus effect that explains curve balls in soccer and other sports in this 3-minute video. Best for grades 6-12  

Explore the Challenges of Creating Walking, Soccer-Playing Robots with NOVA

Middle and high school students who are fascinated by sci-fi and engineering will enjoy this excerpt from NOVA scienceNOW that explores the challenges of creating a humanoid robot that can walk and play soccer. Join New York Times columnist, David Pogue, on a visit to a laboratory that studies how people walk using sensors and an optical motion capture system. Learn why developing soccer playing robots help engineers tackle challenges in robotics such as robot vision, autonomous decision making, and bipedal walking. Best for grades 6-12

Remembering Pelé’s Legacy and Global Impact on Soccer with PBS News Hour 

Brazilian soccer player Pelé is a legend who was the face of the game for decades. Well known for having shaped soccer into the “beautiful game,” this 8-minute video from PBS News Hour looks back at his incredible legacy. Best for grades 6-12

Meet Hani Haybe: Founder of Street Soccer Twin Cities with Muslim Sheroes of Minnesota

If you have a skill, why not share it with others! That’s exactly what Hani Haybe did when she founded Street Soccer Twin Cities. Her organization offers East African youth an outlet to connect through a shared passion of soccer. Best for grades 6-12

The 2014 World Cup Was a Win for American Soccer Despite U.S. Loss with PBS News Hour

How well the United States does in World Cup competition may not matter when it comes to gaining new fans. In 2014, 22 million people watched the match against Belgium on a workday. This shows that regardless of how the US men’s team does this year, World Cup matches always have the power to attract new fans to the sport. Best for grades 6-12

This post was inspired by an email from PBS LearningMedia. All opinions are my own and no compensation was received for this content.

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