Two New Videos!

I have two new and completely unrelated videos up on my Youtube Channel.  The first was done just to amuse myself and friends.  I live in Georgia in the United States.  During this time of year, the pollen from the pine trees gets pretty bad.  How bad?  Check out the video for a little demonstration.

The second video is a remake of my very popular "Counting To Thirty" video that has close to a million views.  That video was made several years ago and, as a result, it looks kinda' bad by today's standards.  I have also learned a little about how to make a good video.  For example, in the original, the audio for each number is a separate track.  I have learned that by making the audio one track throughout, it sounds MUCH better!

Hope you enjoy, and, as always, feel free to comment here or on Youtube, subscribe and give the videos a thumbs up!  Thanks!

New Video! Creepy Barbecue Pit at Stone Mountain Park in Georgia!

If you've been following me on here or on Youtube for any time, you've figured out that I have a pretty wide range of video types that I share.  This one is pretty simple and goes along with my ghost videos, I suppose.  Take a look-see and tell me what you think.

This video did give me the idea to make some videos about the parks here in Gwinnett County (where Stone Mountain Park is.)  Several years ago, voters passed a SPLOST for parks development, and it keeps getting re-upped when the SPLOST expires.  So, we actually have quite a few very nice parks.  I'll be making and uploading those over the next few months as things warm up and the blooming explosions begin.

I'm also planning on making a video quasi-documenting that enormous "Century Ride" I rambled on about in my earlier post.

Feel free to share suggestions for videos in the comments.

My oldest son who was the catalyst into me making educational videos for little ones is now six years old. When he was about 12 months old, I made my first home movie for him on my PC. It was primitive and simplistic, but he liked it. For me, it was little more than a tool to help pre-occupy him while I cat-napped. You see, I was working at night and was getting very little sleep. So, if I could find something that would pre-occupy him for even 20 minutes, I was in heaven!

I had looked at what was already on TV, and while many of the shows for tots are great, I didn't feel like they were what I was looking for. Yes, I admit that I clearly was looking to use video as a babysitter, but I wanted the best video-babysitter I could find. So, I made videos of me reciting the ABC, numbers and what were essentially "video flash cards" for vocabulary words. Mind you, he wasn't even talking, yet.

By the time he was 18 months old, he knew his ABCs and 123s.

Re-read that if you need to. That was huge.


We didn't put him in public school until he was old enough for the 1st grade. We just skipped kindergarten (he knew all that stuff and then some by the time he was 3.) Last night, we had a sort of open house with his teacher to see how he was doing and what they were learning. She covered tons of stuff they're learning, and it was a real eye-opener for me. One thing she said that caught my attention was that by the end of the 1st grade, they would have to be able to read at "level D."

Uh... I had to ask what that meant. So, I was directed to examples of what a "level D" book was. After reading it and sharing it with my son, I had to contain my smugness. This wasn't even close to challenging him, and it's what he's supposed to be working up to! I'm not saying my son is gifted or that I'm a super-dad or anything, but just that this experience underscores the fact that spending a little extra time focusing on educating your kids BEFORE they're school age goes a very long way. My kid is reading at a level well above where he's "supposed to be," is above where he's "supposed to be" in math as well as other subjects. This is not only going to pay dividends for him via direct academic strengths, but also through making school something more fun and less stressful.

Don't wait until you think your kid is "ready" to start learning. If your is old enough to track movement with his/her eyes, your kid is old enough for you to start teaching them how to read. Avoid shows like Curious George or Pokoyo. They don't need all that flash. Just find videos online that are simple and straightforward. The simpler, the better, in my opinion. Sit down with them in front of those videos and make "TV" something you do together for fun and education.

God Bless!

Here are my "eductional videos" in Youtube playlist form.  Enjoy!

Roopull's Giggling Brains

I know some people think I'm bizarre in that I make nerdy little videos for my kids. In the past, I've explained how that came about (just look at the early posts of this blog.) It does back up long held assumptions on my part that I have begun to discover actually have a good bit of scholarly support.
At the behest of a friend, I read an old and short little book called "Amusing Ourselves to Death." It really nailed home for me what TV can do to a brain. I suggest everyone read that book. It's not directed towards raising children, but the message is applicable to them as well as you parents. I'll add a link to the book if I can track it down.

Last week, there was an article in the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics that, again, hammered home how bad stupid TV can be for you and your kids. Mind you, I add the word "stupid" in there for a reason. Obviously, I don't believe that just because an idea is presented on a screen that it is somehow bad.

Here's a link to the super brief summary of the study with the full text available in a link to the top right of the page.

The Immediate Impact of Different Types of Television on Young Children's Executive Function