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Elliot is joined by Avery and Asher to drink some soda and lemonade.

Here is a fun way to get your kid excited about SPACE. Watch the Space Station fly over your house!

Step 1:

Get a notification of when the ISS (Internatinal Space Station) will be flying over your house. It’s really simple.  Head on over to NASA’s SpotTheStation! website and signup for email alerts.

You will get an email like this in the morning, so you can set a reminder on your phone, to tell you when to look up.

 

Email:

From: noreply@nasa.gov
To: Everyone in Your City

SpotTheStation!

Time: Thu Dec 27 6:17 PM, Visible: 4 min, Max Height: 65 degrees, Appears: WNW, Disappears: SE

It will look like a bright star moving quickly across the sky and will be visible for 3 to 5 minutes.  If there aren’t any clouds in the sky it will be pretty easy to spot.

So that was cool, but your child might not be too impressed. It just looked like a fast moving star in the sky.

 Step 2:

You saw the Space Station from the ground, but what does the ground look like from the Space Station. Show them this cool time-lapse video.

Step 3:

Now they might have questions like:

How do they live up there?  What do they eat?  How do they poop?  How do they get home?  What do they do with all the garbage?  How do they sleep?

This video answers all those questions and is pretty cool.

Extra Credit:

Fluids in Space – watch Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor play with some strawberry drink.

Have Fun!

Probably Not!

STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING. Prepare to have your mind blown by the greatest fan video of all time.

Fairytale Garden is nestled on a rarely trafficked path behind Cinderella’s Castle, meandering down toward Tomorrowland. It’s a small outdoor theater and was formerly the home of Story Time with Belle and, more recently, the Tangled Play and Greet.

It was the Tangled feature that first brought us to Fairytale Garden on our maiden trip to Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. Camille was in love with Rapunzel and while she enjoyed the Princess Breakfast and seeing so many characters throughout our stay, the new princess could only be found by waiting in line for an hour at the gates of the garden. The wait was rewarded with a song and dance routine, a wonderful cast of characters (with puppets!) and finally, one-on-one time with Rapunzel.

Rapunzel’s time has come and gone, apparently, and there is a newer princess in town: Merida. The red-haired star of Brave has moved in to Fairytale Garden with her own meet-and-greet opportunity. On a whim, we decided to wait in line to see her during a quick one-day trip to Disney World last month. Camille didn’t enjoy Brave (Howdy Kids Review) as much as Tangled; but she does have a soft-spot for the spunky girl-power Merida and gladly chose to wait in line to see her rather than take in a few more rides on It’s a Small World.

Our wait was just over a half hour and we were hustled into the familiar garden. The floating lanterns from Tangled have been repurposed a bit and vinyl reproductions of the Queen’s tapestries surrounded the facade. There was no pre-meet “activity” this time (a song and dance and craft activity accompanied seeing Rapunzel) but that kept the lines moving quickly. We were surprised to see the same princess-assistant as last time in the garden (always the bridesmaid) but she was delightful and charming. When not in line to meet the princess, kids could practice their archery skills with a bow and arrow for target practice and one-on-one guidance from a kind, funny older woman. One of the best things about these photo opportunities is that the cast members are so nice and welcoming. They make your child feel like they are the only one in the park. It’s a real talent.

The main attraction, however, was Merida. The girls they cast in these character roles are amazing. They see hundreds of children every day and somehow their eyes still light up when your precious comes running into their arms. They ask good questions and listen attentively. They are never distracted by anything else happening around them. For those three minutes, they are only interested in making sure your child is having the best day ever. Her hair and costuming were phenomenal and the accent and attitude never seemed forced. We got our pictures, shared pleasantries and were on our way.

If your son or daughter is a Merida fan, this meet and greet opportunity won’t last long and is a great chance to let them experience meeting a “real life” hero. While it’s probably not enough to justify an entire trip to Orlando, it’s certainly worth waiting in the comparatively short line for the experience.

The key to a good chart is to give the child ownership. Make sure that he or she gets to interact with it on a daily basis. The image at right is a facsimile of Camille’s “Sleep Chart”. For every night that she slept in her room by herself, without coming out to complain about her situation, she was allowed to color-in a dinosaur shape on her chart. When all of the shapes were filled, she was rewarded with a coveted Dinosaur Encyclopedia she had spied in a book store.

Theming the chart was the fun part. It provided regular reminders of what she was working toward. Every time she colored a dino, she would proudly state its species and the facts she remembered about the extinct critter. We made the morning coloring routine a big part of starting our day, always allotting enough time to give praise and watch her coloring performance. When she was done, it was re-taped to her door, where it stayed for the duration of the experiment (and even a bit longer as a continued celebration).

Not every day was successful; but she quickly got the hang of it and the book was hers within weeks. It was especially helpful when coming back from vacations, when routine would be disrupted by the convenience of a shared hotel bed or lenient grandparents.

While we haven’t resorted to charts in a long time now, it’s nice to know we still have this parenting trick in our back pockets. Household chores are bound to start any day now…

We’d planned a family trip this summer from our home in Savannah, GA to Washington D.C., and decided to add a little adventure into the mix by making it an Amrak train trip. We were excited about trying something new, and had romantic visions of watching the countryside slip by as we rattled up the tracks along the east coast.

I’m a traveler who likes to be prepared, but as we neared our departure date I realized I knew nothing of what to expect. So here now is a review for the rest of you who seek adventure but like to prepare for what lies ahead.

*As this is the only train trip I’ve ever taken, realize that this review is not that of a seasoned train-traveler, but rather the observations of a newbie just completing her first trip.

(Jump to photos)

Packing

We were each allowed 2 carry-on bags in addition to personal items, and the overhead bins on the trains are much larger than on planes, and easily accommodated our belongings. And no worries about liquids or gels – from what I could tell the only restricted items were actual weapons.

The train was COLD. I had packed one blanket for our daughter and wished I’d packed three. At the last minute I threw in a pillow, which was appreciated when the trip ran late into the night.

The station:

Varies. Union Station in DC was very nice, and much like a medium-sized airport with stores, a food court and the like. By contrast, the Amtrak station in Savannah isn’t much. One benefit of the small Savannah station is that you can park right at the door and there are no parking fees. However, the station is amenity-free save for a small restroom and a vending machine, so come prepared in case you have to wait there a while.

And speaking of a wait…

Our trip began poorly. We arrived at the station around 7:30 am for an 8:20 train, which was unnecessarily early as there is no security checkpoint to cross or terminal to traverse. But 8:20 came and went with no boarding and no announcements. We finally got underway more than 4 hours behind schedule, and without an official word from Amtrak about the cause of our delay. I’m told this kind of delay is unusual and I sure hope so, because it was maddening.

Ok, now that I have that off my chest…

The seats:

Once we finally got on the train, I was pleasantly surprised by the comfort and space of the seats. Because our trip was a longer one, we were in a roomier car. Those traveling shorter distances had less space, but I’d wager we all had more room than I’ve ever had on an airplane.

In our car, the seats reclined and leg rests popped up, providing an easy way to stretch your legs for a bit.

The train:

I loved that there was a dining car. Around the mid-point of the train is a car with tables and booths and overpriced food that you could buy in the freezer department of your neighborhood grocery. But I enjoyed breaking up the monotony of the trip by eating my microwaved meal at a real table with a view of the countryside.

The bathroom:

Of course you wanted to know about that too, right? I even took a picture for you! Each car had two restrooms. They weren’t fancy but were a bit larger than airplane restrooms and served their purpose.

Other perks:

Each seat had 2 outlets, and it was nice to be able to plug up phones, the iPad, computers, etc. along the way. There was wifi in the dining car, but I wish there had been wifi throughout the train. Unlike on a plane, you can use your phone anytime.

Price:

Train travel was cheaper than plane travel. Our two adult tickets were each $50 less than a flight on those same dates, but the big savings come for the kid tickets, which are half-priced.

The Con:

This was no bullet train. Eleven hours is a long time to travel, even comfortably. It’s like flying to Europe, without the Europe.

In Summary:

My romantic visions prior to the trip weren’t false. I enjoyed the rumble of the train on the tracks. I savored the scenery outside my window, watching small towns, cornfields, swamps and marshland pass in a blur. In contrast with plane travel, where you’re screened and belted and told to sit and turn off your tech and don’t move a muscle until the plane comes to a complete stop – train travel was relaxing. Sit. Sleep. Talk. Play cards in the dining car. Whatever.

But the romance wore off around the 4th hour of our 11-hour trip. The trip took about the same amount of time by train as it would have by car. Granted, it was much more comfortable than traveling by car, so given those two options I’d choose train. But the plane ride would have gotten us there in less than TWO hours, which is hard to beat.

Will I take a train trip again? Probably so, especially for shorter, regional travel. I’m not sure I’ll do the Savannah-DC route again, but could see myself extending a New York trip to Boston, for example.

Do I think you should try it? Absolutely, as long as you’re not in a hurry.

Do I wish our country had more high-speed rails? You betcha. If I could combine the comfort of a train ride with a lot more speed, then I’d be the first on board for that.

Photos

Howdy Dad and Howdy Daughter on The Palmetto train

Plenty of room for our luggage, even with our bag extended to its full capacity. You can easily access bags during the ride as well.

Each seat had two outlets, and there were no restrictions on the use of electronic items.

Blankets are a must – the train was cold!

The food was overpriced and microwaved, but being able to eat at a real booth and table in the dining car was a treat.

The dining car is also an excellent place to play card games.

Potty train. Get it? Potty train!

The scenery

Small Town America

Another view from the window.