Me: “Hey Dad, just wanted you to know that you do a great job of letting us just ‘be’ who we are.”

Dad: “Thanks.  My own parents did not meddle as I chose my path.  I am sure they were paying attention, and growing up with them instilled values, standards, joy, deep confidence, and a humble sense of value—even greatness—in ourselves.  Yet, at times for all of us they stepped in to help when we needed it–like guardian angels.”

Me: “You are truly MY guardian angel.“

Seeing the way my father has gracefully navigated the turns of my and my siblings’ lives, these words are reminders of his deep-rooted wisdom.  Grace and this kind of wisdom come from allowing all those in our lives to “be” and trusting that the universe is unfolding exactly as it should.

This conversation was inspired by an article I sent him this morning from DailyOM called Allowing Our Children To Be.  Here are a few touching excerpts from the article:

• On the one hand, successful parenting requires that we love our children, and most of us love in a very attached way. On the other hand, it also requires that we let go of our children at the appropriate times.
• Letting go in any area of life requires a deep trust in the universe, in the overall meaning and purpose of existence.
• Remembering that there is more to us and our children than meets the eye can help us …even when we feel overwhelmed by concern and the desire to interfere.
• This allows them, and us, to fully realize the greatest gift parents can offer their offspring —independence.

Love you, Dad!
p.s. Jim Turner has approved this message (but not this last image!), tehehe

From reaching higher levels in HyperBlast and constellations on your star chart to raising your very own Space Griffin, there are so many ways for you to improve your rank in the I.S.P.  Start the New Year with your Blaster B.F.F.s and get ready to take on some new challenges around the Space Station. Encourage your kids start the year with a trip around the game because there is a whole world of adventure awaiting them!

To create a diorama you will need to start by finding a small container like an old shoe box. This will be the stage for the scene you will be setting up. From there, you will need to pick a topic that your kids can use as their focus. Topics can include scenes from real life like memories from a family vacation or scenes from a favorite story, game or movie.

Materials

- A box (Preferably a shoe box)
– Stickers
- Beads or other small embellishments like glitter
- Acrylic paint
- Construction or craft paper
- Glue
- Small figures or toys

Instructions

1. Prepare your box: You can either paint over any existing designs on the box (exterior and interior) or cover them with craft paper. Feel free to use any color, but don’t forget to consider how the color will work with the rest of your scene.
2. Add your background details. With dioramas it is best to work from the back and move forward. This will help create a better sense of depth. You can paint your background setting or print images to paste into the interior of the box to give your scene a little more context. In the example above, you will find that we used an image taken from the streets of JumpStart, New York.
3. Insert figures or objects into the scene. For this, feel free to use pre-made toys or figurines that you might already have around the house. And, if you have a little more time on your hands, you can even fashion small paper cut outs to stand up like a pop up book. We used small figurine versions of our pals, Frankie and Skipper.
4. Add in any finishing touches that might help tell the story of the scene. In the example above, you might see that we used glitter to help emulate the glistening quality of snow and a piece of sparkly paper to create the icy area where the smaller penguins are skating. There are even a few snowflakes fastened with thread to the top of the box to give off the look of snowfall.

Give this fun family activity a try with your kids and you might be surprised at how creative they get with each story or scene. When looking for creative teaching tools, what other activities or crafts do you like to turn to?

Planetary Resources, an asteroid mining company based in Washington, wants to be at the forefront of finding usable resources in the solar system. More specifically, the company wants to explore asteroids for natural resources and precious metals. Asteroids are rich in useful and necessary resources such as nickel, iron, water, and platinum. The interesting and innovative part about Planetary Resources’ plans is that they intend to use an unmanned robotic spacecraft to do all of the mining and exploring they want to do in space.

Does this company’s explorative work inspire your Blasters? If your kids had the chance to go into space and explore, what would they do? Get your Blaster thinking about space exploration by building their personal outer space diorama! Help them use their imagination and pretend that you are in space with them, on some distant planet. Create a diorama to replicate the scenery of the planet, and get creative! Here are some directions:

Materials you will need

-          Empty shoebox (with the lid)

-          Construction paper, paint, stickers, and any other decorative items

Directions

1. Cover the inside and outside of your shoebox with black construction paper or black paint. Make sure to also paint the lid. Please see picture below for an example.
2. Place your box inside the box’s lid, as demonstrated in the picture below.
3. Create a surface at the bottom of your box using construction paper or some other material. This is supposed to replicate the surface of a planet.
4. Add whatever elements you would like in your box. You can foreign planets, alien monsters, and even some planets and stars in the background.

Your child can customize their diorama with different components. Encourage them to use their imagination, and maybe they can even draw inspiration from when they play Math Blaster! Tell us what you think about this craft, and let us know about any cool ideas your Blasters had.

December 20: Santa down the chimney? No Way

In this illustration Mary shows us a little girl, right at that age where doubt and Santa begin to come together, measuring the chimney with a yard stick. And her conclusion? No way…

Over time I have heard many explanations for how Santa gets into the houses of every good girl and boy. Some believe that Santa can shape shift; say, become an owl, swoop down the chimney, returning to his human form once safely in the house. Others say that Santa, like a mouse, can squeeze through the tiniest of holes in the roof. The laziest explanation that all of us have heard a time or two is that Santa just lays his finger against his nose and he is now down-here from up-there. Let’s face it; none of these theories are very convincing.

After many years of study I think I have the answer. I think Santa uses a transporter, the first of which we saw on Star Trek in the 1960’s, when travel from one physical space to another was as simple as “Beam me up Scottie.”

You scoff, but look at all the other things we first saw in Star Trek that are now accepted as an every-day modern convenience. We may not call it by the same name, but the flip style Tricorder Kirk used to communicate with his crew is now the data-ready iPhone of today. The information gathered and presented by hand held devices called “personal access display devices” on Star Trek closely resemble the touch screen tablets most kids have glued to their fingers. Voice activated computers are common place today, though no one has perfected the Star Ship Log computer’s ease of operation. And that earpiece first worn by Uhura at the communication console on the bridge is now used by the general population to chat while driving, shopping or taking a bath. .

So Santa using the transporter to “come down the chimney” isn’t really that farfetched. He simply dissolves into sparkles on the roof of your house and reanimates in your living room; toy bag and all. That was easy. But, while we’re on the topic Santa’s technology doesn’t’ have to stop there.

Throughout the year Santa can tap into spy satellites to monitor who is naughty and who is nice. Using “my house from space”, the North Pole computers can pinpoint stops on Santa’s route in plenty of time for the elves to enter those addresses into a GPS system just like the one found in my Honda.

On Christmas Eve Doppler radar can ensure a smooth ride for Santa by providing him up-to-the-minute weather alerts. And in case of last-minute bad behavior the elves monitoring the naughty and nice intelligence data can transmit this new information to Santa’ Bluetooth in real-time so that not a single naughty child is visited.

Now I’m not sure that Santa uses a personal Star Trek transporter, but clearly that’s a lot better theory than the finger-nose thing children have been fed for so long. And if Santa is smart enough to use Tricorders, GPS, and Doppler radar, isn’t it possible that he has never been seen by mortals because he is also employing that mother of all technology, the Star Trek cloaking device?

I’m just sayin’…

Join your fellow Jumpeez and your favorite Madagascar characters as they cruise around in this awesome new attraction. Enter the ride by walking in through the opening in the Bumper Car gateway, as shown in the picture above.

As soon as you walk in, you will be in the driver’s seat of your very own bumper car! Steer your Jumpee’s vehicle in the path of one of your Jumpee pals or one of the Madagascar zoo animals, and you will bounce right off their car. Bounce around in this fun arena for as long as you want. Then, to exit the ride, simply click on the arrow at the bottom left-hand corner.

Try taking some cool screenshots outside of the Bumper Car ride! Take a photo of your fellow Jumpeez bouncing around inside the ride, and then join in the fun yourself. Let us know what you think about the Bumper Cars in Coney Island!

December 14: All the happiness you can handle. 

Mom dresses us extra warm. She tugs on my scratchy wool leggings with a grunt; I have almost outgrown them. (And not a minute too soon for me) As she gets her own coat, Betsy helps me wrap my scarf and buttons my coat. It isn’t easy with me bobbing up and down with excitement; tonight we see Santa.

Dad sighs in frustration as he checks his watch for the third time annoyed by the wasted the time it takes for the three “women” in his life to prepare to go anywhere. He has been waiting in the car, warming it up.

Leaving the car running he steps just inside the door to hustle us along. He doesn’t have to tell me twice as I waddle into the kitchen sweating through three layers. My mittens which are clipped to my coat to prevent losing them for a fourth time this winter, dangle at my wrists and with a flourish he slips them onto my hands before sweeping me up and depositing me in the car. One down, two to go.

Betsy jerks the door open and folds herself into the back seat with as much grace as three layers will allow. She is just as excited as I am to see Santa, but is approaching the age when doubts arise. For tonight though, she has her list of what she wants, just like the one I have secured in my coat pocket for easy access.

Mom is last. Whether this is because she had to winter proof two kids before she could do the same, or it took a few extra minutes to freshen up her lipstick and dab on a little perfume, I can’t say. The growl building in my Dad’s throat fades as he stares at her for a minute in appreciation, her delay forgotten.

Dad cranks up the radio and we sing along as our Ford makes for the center of town.  As we approach the designated scene of the long-anticipated tree lighting, the sing along and the appearance of Santa, the trees sparkle with colored bulbs. Every lamppost girding Main Street has grown a lighted wreath with a big red bow since I was last here. Now that we were just moments away I could barely contain myself. Bouncing on the seat, Betsy whispers for me to cut it out, a warning I ignore at my own risk.

Every parking place on Main Street is taken so Dad whips onto a side street where he squeezes our Ford between a fire hydrant and a no parking sign. Before the engine is off, I am opening my door ready to bolt. Mom has anticipated this and is waiting right by my door to grab and hold my hand so I can ‘t  make good on my intention.

Whe Betsy and Dad catch up, we cross the cross the street , making a bee line for a large unruly crowd dominated by children. Sill holding my hand Mom leans down and reminds me ito stick right by her; no running off into the crowd. As I opened my mouth to whine that I couldn’t see, Dad hefted me up on his shoulder making me the only one of our family to see the Mayor press the button to bring the tree to life. Like magic the tree as tall as the three-story court-house, comes to life; colored bulbs and huge round red ornaments are scattered here-and-there bobbing in a wind that lifts the tree’s skirts  high enough to see that it shelters no presents.

Disappointed I turned my attention to a door where a gaggle of screeching kids balanced on tiptoes waiting for something; or someone. Which a glance at my Mom and a slight shake of her head I pretended I didn’t see, I dodged through the crowd to the front of the throng just as Santa stepped through the door. Before he even sat down to hear the whispered Christmas lists from each child, he held up a bowl of pennies passing it among the children. Hushed now, small hands reached into the bowl, some taking handfuls and others just one of the proffered coins.

I looked behind me but Betsy wasn’t there so I took enough for two. (I completely forget whether I ever gave them to her or not, which probably means I did not) As the final child took a fistful of the bright copper pennies, Santa’s elves appeared to whisk the bowl away and lead Santa to his throne. As he shuffled past me a strong smell of sugar cookies brought me up short. My stomach rumbled and I realized I was hungry. I looked around for Mom and Dad, but only Betsy emerged from the crowd, taking my hand and situating us in the long line to see Santa.

We crawled along and were only half way to Santa’s throne when Mom and Dad appeared behind us with hot dogs, soda, and chips. We munched as we waited. As time passed, the temperature dropped. Most everyone else had left, but no way were we going to miss Santa. Resigned, Mom pulled her fur-trimmed jacket closer around her neck in a vain effort to stave off the cold.

By the time we reached the head of the line we were cranky and so was Santa. Our feet were blocks of ice and my mittens had failed some minutes ago. Betsy went first, rattling off her list in record time; finally it was my turn. Reaching into my pocket for my list I realized it wasn’t’ where I left it. I searched the pocket and rolled my memory back a bit shaking my head as I clearly remembered that I had taken off my mitten to eat, and must have dislodged the list when I pulled it back out of my pocket.

So I did the only thing I could do. I told Santa the things I could remember and leaned in close to tell him I trusted him to remember the rest. He smiled and nodded and that was enough for me.

It took only minutes in the warm car to fall to sleep, mesmerized by the thump, thump of the tar filled lines spaced evenly between short smooth stretches of the road. The sound lulled me to sleep and the next thing I know I was standing in my room, while Mom tugged off my leggings. Throwing them to the side she murmured that I had clearly outgrown them, and as she slipped on my nightgown that thought made me smile.

As soon as I fell asleep I dreamed of Santa and to my horror I saw him nestling a new pair of scratchy wool leggings into a box, wrapping it in red paper, and attaching a tag with my name on it. I woke with a start, but upon opening my eyes I quickly dismissed the dream. Oh, no, I was filled with the certain knowledge that Santa would never give me leggings instead of the toys.

Tomorrow was Christmas and as I drifted back to sleep my heart held all the happiness I could handle.

P.S  Maybe Santa didn’t give me new scratchy wool leggings, but my Mom did…

And, if you have some time to spare during all your family festivities, don’t forget to stop by Math Blaster to wish your blaster pals the happiest of holidays! You might even want to take the time to throw a Pod party or send a few gifts to your B.F.F.s

To help get your creative juices flowing while planning for your upcoming holiday gathering, keep the following suggestions in mind:

- While Parents and other family or friends toast for the night away, have a fun drink setup for your younger attendants to also indulge in, like a combo of cookies and milk or a sweet sip of sparkling fruit cider. Treats like these, can really make the night feel special for kids that might not really understand what they are celebrating, this time of year.

- Depending on the age range of your kids, you may want to consider designating a time to nap in the afternoon to accommodate for the late night ahead. This will help increase the chances of them making it to the midnight countdown without falling asleep.

- Plan games to keep kids and older guests engaged and busy as the night goes on. Kids might appreciate crafting their own New Year’s party hats or creating a time capsule representing their year. You can even plan an activity around friends sharing their plans or resolutions for the year

- You might want to invite your kids’ friends over for a slumber party so that they can keep each other company while you can socialize with their parents and other guests. Keep some kid friendly themes in mind like making it a pajama party for the little ones.

- Plan a fun and festive meal to share with all of your guests. Small finger foods can be the perfect size for your kids to snack on when eating at later times in the night.

No matter what you end up doing, keep in mind that this day is a great opportunity for you to and you family to reflect on the year and all the memories that you have made together. So before we say hello to 2013, let us know what you have in mind for the last big night of 2012.

- The landing of the Mars Rover, Curiosity occurred on August 15th 2012 and opened the door for our study of the red planet and the possibility of life on other planets.

- Endeavour’s journey to the Los Angeles Science Center started with a cross-country retirement tour, beginning in Orlando, Florida and ending with a tour through the streets of Los Angeles on October 13^th 2012.

- On August 25^th, 2012 the world lost legendary astronaut, Neil Armstrong who was the first man to walk on the moon. For his achievements and contributions to NASA’s space program, he was decorated in 17 countries with several medals and honors, including the Medal of Freedom and Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

- Just this past month, Golden Spike a privately funded company, announced plans for prepare for commercial flights to the moon in early as 2020.

But those weren’t the only big developments of the past year. 2012 also brought us the return of SpaceX Dragon, the Tissint meteorite landing in Morocco, and the rare sighting of the Blue Moon. Which of these stories was most memorable for you? For more information on any of these stories, feel free to browse some of our past posts, here on the blog. Or, if there are any other science or space stories that you and your kids want more information on, just let us know!

Anything you want, this newspaper can provide! It contains updates on all of our latest additions and information on where you can find them, while also displaying jokes and riddles submitted by your fellow Jumpeez. The staff even put together some of the answers to the most common questions, asked by Jumpeez to help you better navigate the game. This new version of the JumpStart Times even gives you spoilers on some of our most anticipated additions and a Jumpee article submitted by one of your own, featured right on the front page. And, what is a newspaper without the latest screenshot and Photo-Bomb winners, right? But that’s not all; we have also featured the Hall of Fame winner, so that you can all see where you stand in the JumpStart ranks.

Also, on the second page you are going to want to check out the recent ‘Hotspot’, which is an area in JumpStart that Frankie notices is one of the most popular places or games for Jumpeez like you to be. Just click on the ‘Hotspot’ image (right below the riddles) and be taken there directly!

Don’t forget that your parents are able to submit any questions, pictures, articles, and jokes that you might have to Gaming@JumpStart.com to be featured in this awesome newspaper for all of JumpStart to see. Be sure to get your hands on our first issue and learn all about what is going on in this huge world of JumpStart.

Whether you are on a long road trip or just running a few errands around town, this exciting game is full of fast paced action that is bound to keep you kids attention and make learning as fun as ever. With over 40 levels of play, HyperBlast 2 integrates challenging math problems that can help your kids practice their skills in subjects like addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and even fractions.

Have your kids hop on one of our HyperBlast HyperCycles to race down obstacle filled tunnels and face off with one of our four fearsome alien bosses. To blast them away and level up, they will need to use their math skills to select the correct answers. Check it out today, and you’ll find that HyperBlast 2 HD will have your kids on the edge of their seats. And, there is no better time than now to give the gift of Math Blaster to your kids.

December 10^th: You Better Not Pout-Santa

In this Mary Engelbreit illustration one would expect to see a cranky, pre-Christmas child sulking. The closer you get to Christmas the more our little ones might think Santa is too preoccupied to notice last-minute naughty behavior.

But that isn’t the subject of today’s calendar illustration; nope, it’s a bedraggled Mom finishing her Christmas shopping just three days before the big day. I don’t know if it’s fair to call her expression a pout; it’s more like a grimace.  After all she isn’t sitting on a sofa with her lip thrust out and a frown on her face.

This Mom is standing on a street corner laden with bags and packages, belching toys out of a hole in the bottom of one and clutching the other to her side. With bright red cheeks, snow boots, and a double wrapped scarf, she stands in a puddle into which a brightly wrapped gift has just fallen. Her situation is dire and it’s hard to see how she will gather up her packages and stumble a little ways down the street to her waiting car.

I went Christmas shopping with a friend on Saturday and because she is buying presents for small grandchildren, I had a chance to watch harried parents circling the store tossing toys by Crayola, American Girl, Mattel and Lego into an already filled cart. The look on their faces as their purchases were rung up looked a lot like Mary’s shopper for December 10^th.

The desperation born of looking for the elusive toy their child just has to have, the sticker shock when the clerk rings them up, the balancing act required to cart their booty to the cart, the determination to slam the overstuffed trunk and the hours of wrapping left to do is etched on their faces. But can this really be called pouting?

Christmas shopping has become something of a blood sport. As I stand watching, one mother snatches the last of the hottest toy off the shelf just as another distraught Mom raises her hand to place it in her cart. The loser of this competition wears her resignation all over her face. She might as well pack it in now, because she will be searching several other stores for the toy before she sleeps. Clearly she isn’t pouting; I’d put her closer to a complete tear-filled breakdown.

Sure, the narrowed eyes, hunched shoulders and tight lines around a downturned mouth could be pouting, but I read that expression as “I am exhausted; please make this be over.” Whatever you call it, I don’t blame them one bit. No one appears to be having any fun. What drives them on seems to be the fear of capturing the sullen pout of little Johnny or Janie in the Christmas morning pictures when the “must have” that Santa was to bring does not appear under the tree. How could Santa hold a tiny little pout against her?

Having thought this through I am certain that the “You Better Not Pout,” so famously attributed to Santa, was not meant to apply to mothers. After all, his shopping list is significantly longer and I can only imagine his expression at 2 PM on Christmas Eve. Despite all of the jolly belly stuff, are we really sure that what Santa is chanting as he makes his rounds is “Ho-Ho-Ho” not “Oh-Oh-Oh?” I didn’t think so.

December 8/9: We shall light a candle of understanding in our hearts which shall not be put out.

I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Maybe it will come later, the flame of understanding rekindling once the shock wears off, but as for today my heart is completely dark; twenty children and six teachers are dead in a small New England town.

I will be reposting a piece I wrote about the latent fear a mother must feel when sending her children to school each day. I placed myself inside the mind of one woman whose children had not been touched by the madness of an armed murderer; one of the lucky families. Her children are, for the moment safe.  It seems almost prophetic now. But then we have been moving inexorably towards a tragedy of these obscene proportions for some time.

Since the time I wrote that entry there have been three mass shootings culminating in the Sandy Hook massacre. As the news of the tragedy unfolded I, like most people across the world could think of nothing else.

Ann and I were doing our annual baking on Friday, a domestic task which usually takes all of my concentration. But around 1 PM the background noise of the TV became the focus as we began to see video emerging of a mass shooting in a Connecticut school. We watched in horror as the story unfolded, just as millions did around the globe.

Tiny kids, looking forward to the holidays anticipated the day’s 1^st grade project, building a gingerbread house. But that was not the lesson plan of a gunman armed with a semi-automatic assault rifle, several loaded semi-automatic handguns, and mega ammunition clips filled with armor piercing bullets. As a result the lesson of the day was that violence does not respect age or innocence.

In the next days and weeks more will become known about the town of Sandy Hook, the lives taken, and the gunman, but we already know all that we need to know. No one in America is safe when mental health treatment is being defunded and gun laws make weapons of mass destruction widely available and background checks sporadic.

I watched a documentary about guns, gun ownership, and the 2^nd Amendment some years ago. In it the man who played Moses in the Greatest Story Ever Told recited the mantra of the NRA when asked about gun control; “from my cold dead hands” he said with a familiar steely eyed grin.

But Mr. Heston, in all of these incidents of mass murder, it is not the NRA member whose hands are cold and dead; just this year alone there are 88 innocent people who now lay cold and dead instead. Among them were:

Twenty first grade children and six educators shot and killed in Sandy Hook,

Two Christmas shoppers shot and killed at an Oregon mall

Twelve patrons shot and killed at an Aurora theater

One shot and killed in a nightclub in Tennessee

Three students shot and killed at a rural Ohio school

Two shot and killed at a psychiatric hospital in Pittsburgh

Two mourners shot and killed at a Florida funeral home

Seven students shot and killed in Oakland California,

Five patrons shot and killed at a health spa in Georgia

Two men shot and killed in a hate crime in Oklahoma

Five diners shot and killed at a coffee shop in Seattle

Three players and fans shot and killed at a soccer tournament in Delaware

Six worshipers shot and killed at a Sikh temple in Milwaukee

Three students shot and killed at Texas A & M

Five co-workers shot and killed at a signage company in Minneapolis

Three women shot and killed at a salon in Wisconsin

These were the powerless, doomed by the culture of violence in the US. In fact, America ranks 12^th in the number of shooting deaths per year in the world, exceeded only by a handful of notoriously lawless countries in South America, Mexico, and South Africa.

Still not convinced that guns kill people? On the same day as the gun massacre in Sandy Hook that left 26 dead, a man attacked and knifed 22 kindergarten children in China. Though some were badly injured and all no doubt traumatized, none were killed. The outcome would have been far different had that man been armed with a semi-automatic handgun rather than a knife.

So where is my candle of understanding which shall not be put out? I’m afraid that it will be not be warming my heart anytime soon.

To help get your kids excited about the season, consider starting a family tradition in decorating the following areas of your home. Research the history of these acts and you might find that traditions like this are a great way to get your little ones together to create fun holiday memories -

Exterior: Try going beyond the simple task of lining your house with lights and look to small details like hanging winter wreaths or other holiday symbols like bows, bells or frosted pine cones  on doors or from windows. You might even settle on a theme for your home’s look and use lawn ornaments or other figurines to help set a scene or tell a festive story. Some people even use music to set the tone for the twinkling of their lights.

Dining table: As your family gathers around the table, this holiday season, set the tone of by creating meaningful centerpieces or menus that will make your next shared meal a memorable one. Incorporate garland, tree ornaments, candy canes and other festive items to remind your guests about what you are celebrating. Set these types of meals apart by dressing up the table in winter themed colors and warm the room up with decorative lights or candles.

Mantels / Banisters: Hang winter stockings, lights, tinsel ornaments or green garland to make these statement areas really pop with holiday spirit. Seeing items like these around the house can help kids stay excited for the activities and celebrations that accompany this season.

Window Dressings: Decorating your window sills can show those in your neighborhood how much you value the holiday season and the memories that it can bring. It is common for people to position central decor pieces like a Christmas trees or lit menorah for Hanukkah in areas where they can be most visible.

And, do not be afraid of getting a little creative. The practice of decorating for the holidays has a long history, so there is a ton that can be done to make this tradition special to your family. If you have not already decked the halls of your home, give these tips a try and let us know what other ways your try to spread holiday cheer around your home and neighborhood!

Meteoroids are a collection of various particles in space, and they can be as small as grains of sand or as big as boulders. When meteoroids pass through Earth’s atmosphere, the path they are falling in can be visible to humans — this is called a meteor. A meteor shower is an event that occurs in space when meteors are seen “falling” from a particular area in the night sky, which is why meteors have nicknames like “shooting star” or “falling star.”

The most recent meteor shower seen is called the Geminid Meteor Shower. According to scientists, the Geminid Meteors originated from the constellation of Gemini. Another interesting fact about the Geminid Meteors is that they were supposed to be the best meteor shower show of any during the year.

Meteors showers can be displayed in different ways. Particularly strong and abnormal meteor showers are called “meteor outbursts” or “meteor storms.” Also, although it was mentioned before that meteors range in size, it is lucky for Earth’s inhabitants that most meteors are no bigger than a grain of sand. When meteors actually hit the earth’s surface, it is then called a meteorite, just as we talked about with our Moroccan Meteorite post.

If you and your Blasters missed this meteor shower, there is no need to worry — there are meteor showers all year round! Some of the more famous meteor showers include the Perseid Meteor Shower and the Leonid Meteor Shower.

Go online with your child and research about the different meteor showers that happen throughout the year. Learn more about this fantastic celestial spectacle, and perhaps you can grab a telescope and watch the next one together!

December 7: A girl’s best friend is her mother.

My Mom was born on December 7^th, now Pearl Harbor Day. Of course, the event that marked the dawn of the Second World War would occur some years after her birth. I wonder what it was like to live more than two thirds of your life celebrating your birthday on the darkest day in American history.

There was nothing dark about my Mom. She was a delicate blond, quiet and reserved; careful to keep up appearances. As a Christian Scientist she lived within a religion that stressed an abiding love of community so strong that members worked together to heal their sick.

She was close to her parents, if maybe a bit overwhelmed by the force of her mother’s personality and musical gifts. She was the center of an extended “family” of friends, none of whom had children. As an only child in a world of adults, she learned poise rather than pranks, and grew up more inclined to read rather than rebel.

That is until she met my Dad. As something of a bad boy, he was not an obvious match for Mom.  My Grandfather expected her to marry the son of one of his Skull and Crossbones pals. With the cache of belonging to generations of the elite lifeguards on Atlantic City beaches, members were more accomplished in athletics than high school jocks, more suave than regular Joes, and more popular than the most “in” members of the in-crowd.

Though she dated some of the anointed ones casually, by the time she was interested in something more, the Skull and Crossbones Club members were off to war. So she was still very single when she met a GI from Manasquan New Jersey. They had little in common other than natural chemistry, a childhood shaped by proximity to the beach and a love of dancing. Luckily, all of these could be found in abundance in Atlantic City in the waning year of the war. They eloped just before Christmas within months of their first meeting. They may have been an unlikely couple, but they celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary together and renewed their vows in the year prior to her death.

Mom and I were alike in many ways, making it easier for us to connect. I didn’t have to ask for what I needed, she just knew. Though she wanted me to be a more vivid, more accomplished reflection of her, I never quite managed it.  I guess I’ll never be sure, but I think she forgave me for that. It’s what friends do.

Some of the most popular places for winter vacations include China, the Cayman Islands, Brazil, and Canada.

In China, thousands will be flocking to the month-long Harbin Ice Festival where you’ll be able to find intricate ice sculptures of dragons and palaces. Your kids can even take slide around ice and go ice-skating in their free time. The festival begins on January 5th and is a must-see for people who love creativity in all forms. To see what the Ice Festival has to offer, all you will need to do is take a train from the larger cities of Beijing or Shanghai.

However, if you are not a fan of the cold, you can always head to warmer climates this holiday season by traveling to a place like the Cayman Islands. While having some fun in this sun locale, you can immerse yourself in sun, diving, snorkeling and even explore the beautiful marine life.

As expenses tend to pile up during the holiday season, international travel may not be in everyone’s budget. Consider going on a road trip to the nearest state and discover places and new cultures in an area a little closer to home. There is so much for your family to see and learn when you step out into new parts of the world.

Holiday travel is a great experience that can bring your loved ones together during the winter season. Whether you choose ice sculptures or snorkeling with turtles, there’s something for everyone when you are traveling around the world. What places do you consider great winter vacation spots? Let us know in the comments below!

Materials you will need:
-         White paper (or colored paper if you prefer)
-         Scissors
-         Ruler

Directions:

1. Start things off with a square piece of paper. If you do not have pieces of paper that are exactly square, use your ruler to cut out a square. Make sure that all sides of the square are equal in length. Also, you can use whatever colored paper you desire.
2. Fold the paper in half diagonally. Fold the paper in this direction so that you can make a triangle.
3. Next, fold this triangle in half. Make the pointy corners meet.
4. Fold your triangle into thirds. There is a picture below that shows how your folded paper should look like after you have folded it into thirds. Try and make the sides match up.
5. After you have folded your paper into thirds, cut the bottom of the folded paper along the line that is shown in the picture.
6. Using your scissors, cut out straight and curvy lines into the folded triangle. Use varying cutting patterns so that you can get a creative design out of your folded paper.
7. Unfold your paper and take time to admire your creation!

After you and your child have cut out creative snowflakes, why not decorate them even more? Use some glue, glitter, stickers, markers, or paints to make the snowflakes colorful and festive. Let us know what you think about this craft!

Now, that dream is as close as ever to becoming a reality. As companies like Richard Branson’s much talked about Virgin Galactic are actively accepting reservations for future trips into space. Depending on your chosen package, deposits for Virgin Galactic flights can range anywhere from $200,000 to $1 million.  However, with the rate at which technology has been advancing in this field and with the development of new spacecrafts, there is now more than one company making waves in the market of commercial space travel.

More recently, Colorado-based start up, Golden Spike has made headlines promoting their plans for privately funded commercial flights that would take people from earth all the way to the moon. With the first flights scheduled for as early as the year 2020, the company prices each trip at about one and a half billion dollars. The plan was announced by CEO, Alan Stern, a former director from NASA on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the last moon landing, which occurred in 1972.

Although the costs of these flights may not be practical for average citizens, the announcement marks a great opportunity for the advancement of space programs worldwide.  As technology and research proceed forward, we can expect that elite list of space tourists to grow at unprecedented speeds. And in the case of Golden Spike’s plans for flights to the moon,  Neil Armstrong’s iconic words from the legendary Apollo 11 flight seem most fitting as this venture can easily be considered ”one small step for man, a giant leap for mankind.”

It can be challenging to pair science and math fun with the excitement of this festive season. You can spend some time with your Blasters talking about space, science, and math as you make this Holiday Alien Mask craft.

Materials you will need:

-   Colored construction paper

-   Scissors

-   Glue

-   Hole puncher

-   Glitter, stickers, decorations, etc.

-   Ribbon, string, etc.

Directions:

1. Using the colored construction paper, cut out a shape that your child feels looks most like an alien. Encourage them to use their imagination.
2. Cut out eyes at the bottom half of this shape. Also, cut out ears and antennas to put on mask.
3. Punch holes in the sides of the mask so that you will be able to string it through with ribbon.
4. Decorate the mask with glitter and stickers. You can design the front of the mask in your own creative styles.
5. After, use the ribbon or string and tie through the holes in the mask. Use this to secure the mask on your child’s head.

Help your kids dress up in a festive, other-worldly way that will make this a holiday to remember. Tell us what you think about this craft, and let us know how your kids liked it!

Not sure where to start? Relax and consider a few of our top tips for staying organized this season –

• Make a list: Visualizing your goals for the holidays will help you keep tabs on all the tasks you will need to tackle.  Go for the traditional style pen and a pad or simply head to your app store to pick up some of the great new organizational apps that have arrived just in time for the holiday season to your mobile device.  Some of these include, the critically acclaimed app known simply as the Christmas List or basic list tools like the Astrid app.

• Set your schedule: Looking at your list, prioritize your activities. You do not want your holiday season to be overly exhausting for your family. Take on as much as you can but remember not to forget to have fun and enjoy all the seasonal excitement. To keep everyone in your family on task, try using scheduling tools like Google calendar or other online and interactive systems like the popular Cozi Family Calendar.

• Do your research: Use online resources, magazines, and other publications to find the season’s best deals, inspiring décor ideas or even gift items that might best suit the people on your “nice list.” Knowing what you’re looking for before you start shopping is key. And nothing quite seals the deal on a perfect purchase than some simple savings.

• Start early and avoid the lines: During this time of year, it can feel like everyone is out cruising through your local shops and stores.  Whether you are looking for home décor items or general gifts, try to shop online to avoid any wasted time, but be sure to verify expected delivery dates.

Remember, time is key to checking each task off your list this holiday season. Give these tips a try and let us know what other things you do during the holidays to stay on top of all the fun and festive activities that come our family’s way.

This week the mountains of lesson plans, activities, worksheets and projects seem to have gotten out of hand so I’ve been searching for a good system to keep everything organized and handy at all times. For that reason I’ve been researching some great inventory and teaching apps and I’ve come across some pretty great things, so soon we’ll have a Sunday Best Special Apps Edition! Don’t worry, it won’t be all for teachers, we’ll have a little something for everyone! I’m excited to start researching this for you. If you have any suggestions or favorites please share them in the comments below and I’ll be sure to include them!

Now on to this week’s Sunday Best…

For designers, photographers and lovers of all things pretty, Jessica Comingore is an LA based photographer and designer that collects her sources of inspiration in this beautiful blog.

For foodies and DIY fanatics, My Little Fabric is one of those adorable/cute/girly/perfectly crafted websites that have a little bit of everything. You’ll mostly love browsing their beautiful website for inspiration and I’m sure you’ll end up making a thing or two.

For parents who want to buy cool stuff for their kids that seems less like the neon pink plastic they sell in toy stores nowadays and more like the awesome FAO Schwartz/our generation goodies visit Bungalow Kids. Really special toys, arts and crafts supplies, beautiful furniture and decor. Great for parents, aunts, uncles and loving gift givers who want ‘old school’ to be back in business!

Last but not least, something that I rarely post here but I just had to this week, A Thread has beautiful clothes and accessories if you’re looking to buy a special gift this season. Another reason why I love it? With every purchase you make, A Thread donates 5% of the money you spend to a charity of your choice. Gift giving all around which is what Christmas should be right?

That’s all for this week’s Sunday Best! I hope you enjoyed it! Our photo today is yet another one of the beautiful Spanish fall colors. Have a great Sunday everyone!