Denise Graab's Blog

There are now over 100,000 individuals and companies following Education.com’s profiles on Twitter, the free social networking and micro-blogging platform that helps you “discover what’s happening right now, anywhere in the world.” On behalf of Education.com, I extend our sincere gratitude to all who are connecting and engaging with our organization in this way! (more…)

One year ago today, Education.com launched JustAsk to help parents get their toughest questions answered by their peers and other experts. Since then, thousands of questions have been asked and answered across a wide range of topics, and there are now tens of thousands of JustAsk visitors benefiting each month from the insights and information being shared absolutely free of charge.

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Grand Prize Winning Photo

As 2009 came to an end, so too did Education.com’s Activities Photo Contest. Over the 100 days of the contest, members of the Education.com community uploaded hundreds of photos featuring the start-to-finish elements of Education.com activities.

Some of the photos showed supplies, others the finished product, and many included happy and active children having fun learning. There were seasonal shots with autumn and winter, as well as holiday activity pics from Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Participant families did art and science projects, cooked and counted, crafted costumes, practiced reading and writing, explored sounds and gardening, and more!

There were so many wonderful pictures shared, it was truly difficult to choose each week’s winners. In all, there are 100 winning photos showcased, which you can view by clicking here.

Contest prizes included: children’s guitars from BerkeleyWind.com; Kenny Loggins’ “All Join In” CDs; Putumayo Kids “European Playground” CDs; Bill Harley “Wash Your Hands” CDs; and for a limited time only, VTech’s V.Smile Motion Active Learning System. Thank you to all of our prize sponsors for your generous contributions!

So which photo was selected as the best of the 100 winning photos, earning its submitter the grand prize package? That would be this one (also featured above), which was uploaded by Education.com member, “salfam” and features her son doing the activity, Button Math: Have Fun with Buttons. This family will now receive a $500 gift certificate to Shutterfly; $250 cash from Education.com; and one non-splurge item from the 2009 Education.com Gift Guide.

Congratulations to all of the winners in the Activities Photo Contest, and thank you very much to every single member who has uploaded photos! You have helped other families understand the steps of Education.com activities better, while demonstrating your photography talents and showing how fun learning can be. Your children may also like seeing their projects displayed on Education.com.  

While the contest may now be over, you may still upload your activities photos in the comments section of any Education.com activity page. Thanks for participating and sharing!

V.Smile Motion™ Active Learning System

Thanks to a generous donation from VTech, there’s a new really cool prize to be won in the Activities Photo Contest: the V.Smile Motion Active Learning System!

This motion-activated educational gaming system for children ages 3 -7 combines active play with lessons in math, reading, science, spelling and more.Adaptable for both right-handed and left-handed kids, V.Smile Motion is also compatible with the entire existing V.Smile Smartridge™ library and plugs directly into your TV! Game characters include many of your child’s favorites: Kung Fu Panda, Wall-E, Scooby-Doo, Thomas the Tank Engine, Winnie the Pooh, Spider-Man, Disney Fairies, Pixar’s Up!, Handy Manny, Mickey Mouse, Ni Hao Kai Lan and more. Plus children can use the V.Link to track scores and earn bonus online games at www.vsmilelink.com.

Participating families whose photos are chosen as winners on Monday, December 14 or Monday, December 21 are eligible to win one V.Smile Motion™ (which has an estimated retail value of $69.99).

Whether you’re a professional photographer, seasoned amateur or digital photography newbie, you have a chance at winning in the Activities Photo Contest. There’s no limit to the amount of times you can win, but time is running out. The deadline to join the contest and upload your photos is December 31 (at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern). To be eligible for the VTech prize, you’ll need to upload your photos by Saturday, December 19 (at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern). You can learn more about the Activities Photo Contest (and sign up) by clicking here.

The contest overview page also includes a link to the collection of winning photos, organized by each week of the contest. Will yours be added next?

If for some reason your family doesn’t win the VTech prize (or the other great prizes in the Activities Photo Contest)…

Here’s some info to cheer you up: there are multiple holiday discounts on VTech’s website, as well as with their retail partners (including Walmart, Target and others). Fans of VTech also follow them on Facebook and Twitter. (You can follow Education.com on Facebook and Twitter too!)

Good luck – we look forward to seeing your family’s photos of the fun learning activities on Education.com!

October will soon be here, and I’m so excited about the fall and winter holidays! The social butterfly in me loves all the parties and bonding, festive decorating and abundant kindness this time of year.

Another reason for that ‘night-before-Christmas’ feeling in my stomach: our family is hosting monthly activities parties, and I can’t wait for them to begin!

• In October: we’re throwing a Halloween-themed party. We’ll set up a spooky beverage bar, serve scary snacks, play a monstrous game of bingo and produce a shadow puppet show. (We may also squeeze a little housewarming in there too, because even with fun, this momma’s a multi-tasker!)

• In November: we’ll host hands-on, educational activities centered around exploring nature and science, learning about Native Americans, and giving thanks.

• In December: it’ll be a family-style birthday bash (for yours truly and other December babies). We may make a dance map to practice language skills (and put a snap in our step), whip up tie-dyed tissue paper, or create snowy salt paintings.

Among the many goodies our holiday party guests will enjoy is an opportunity to win prizes in Education.com’s Activities Photo Contest. By uploading their activities pics as contest entries, they’ll have a shot at winning: children’s guitars from BerkeleyWind.com; Kenny Loggins’ new family CD, “All Join In”; and the grand prize package of a $500 gift certificate to Shutterfly and a $250 cash prize from Education.com!

I wish I could win that grand prize package. Cash is always handy, of course, and I’d use the Shutterfly gift certificate to produce some photo memory books as special keepsakes for our family members near and far. Browsing Shutterfly’s offering, I might also pick up some thank you cards, create a 2010 calendar, or surprise our daughter with a CenterStage Poster of her and the Jonas brothers. As an Education.com employee, though, I’m ineligible to win prizes in the contest, so will have to appreciate the prizes vicariously. I will enjoy doing the activity projects with our daughter, and will upload our photos to help other families understand each activity better as well.

At our holiday parties this year, it may not be the fruit punch, treats or attire they’ll be talking about. Instead, it’ll be the countdown to winning and active flash bulbs that’ll have ‘em abuzz. To all of the activities party paparazzi everywhere: may your happy holidays also be sprinkled with the prizes and fun of the Activities Photo Contest!

NEW on Disney DVD... Handy Manny: Manny's Green Team

This month, Education.com has a special guest for our preschool parents… Handy Manny: Manny’s Green Team — on Disney DVD for the first time!

Bilingual in English and Spanish, Handy Manny resides in the town of Sheetrock Hills, where he owns a repair shop. With a winning mix of imagination and cooperation, Handy Manny and his crafty set of talking tools work together to resolve challenges — whether it be fixing a turnstile at the local library, putting up light bulbs at the downtown movie theatre, helping out at Kelly’s hardware store, repairing the City Hall clock, or any of a whole host of other problems the townsfolk ask Manny to solve. Launched in September 2006, Handy Manny is now one of the top-ranked children’s series on TV, and its biggest fans range from ages 2 to 5.

With the new DVD, “Handy Manny: Manny’s Green Team,” Manny and his tools will inspire your whole family to pitch in, roll up your sleeves, and “go green.” In this special Earth Day episode, they protect an endangered nest of baby turtles, tackle a tricky chandelier repair with an inventive combination of light and mirrors, and share how solar power works. You can order your copy of the DVD by clicking on the ads throughout Education.com this month, or by going here.

After watching the DVD with your child, talk about what you learned. What was your child’s favorite part of the story, and why? What did Handy Manny and his nifty tools teach us in this episode? What can we do to “be green” at home? Then, you and your child can continue the discussion and fun on Education.com, with our Handy Manny: Green Team coloring page or our Handy Manny: Green Team game.

We hope you enjoy Handy Manny and the Handy Manny: Manny’s Green Team DVD this month, brought to Education.com by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.