Two New Bike Vids Up!

With little in the way of inspiration for new Educational vids, I put up a couple of videos on bicycle repair.

When I bought the new bike a few months ago, it came equipped with what are called "Presta Valves" on the tires.  They are the only thing about the bike that I don't like.  So, after a little research, I figured out how to convert my wheels to accept normal or "Schrader" valves.

Here's that video:

One of the things I don't like about the Presta valves is that it is difficult to put Slime tube sealant in them.  It's not impossible, but it sure isn't easy.  With that in mind, I thought I'd demonstrate how to actually do that.  Here's THAT video:

And, if you're wondering what Slime is... it's pretty awesome stuff.  Check it out:

You see, I know this stuff works.

I've posted before how & why I started making these seemingly boring videos.  I've also talked about the successes I've had.  Today, I received more evidence that these silly little videos I make actually do work.

At 7am, we had our first parent/teacher conference with my 1st grader's teacher.  She had nothing but nice things to say (of course,) but we prodded her for more info.  He's doing well, but HOW well?

Mind you, they school year just started less than two months ago. He's still early in his 1st grade year.  But, she showed us on a chart where he is with reading (almost 3rd grade level.) She showed us where he is with writing (late 2nd grade level.)  She showed us where he is with math, science, critical thinking and a few other "key performance areas."  Without exception, he's way ahead of his class.  They haven't started the formal "gifted" classes, yet, but says he's a shoe-in for them.

Hearing her bragging on him was one thing, but it wasn't until I saw examples of his classmate's school work on the wall that I started to understand just how far ahead he has gotten.  On the wall outside the classroom were the results of a "research project" they had to do (yeah, first graders are doing research, now!)  It was a very simple project with a picture of some type of weather (rain, sleet, sunshine, hurricanes etc,) with a few sentences describing it below.

Most of the kids' work were the type of thing where you try to decipher what the kid was trying to write. "Hrrcans are yuje stroms."  Some of the letters are backwards, some are perfect, and some are impossible to figure out what they're supposed to be.  Our son, the little genius, had perfectly written sentences that clearly described what sleet is.  The punctuation was perfect, zero spelling errors, and the sentences actually flowed quite nicely.

Seeing this, I actually felt a tinge of guilt in that I realize just what a disparity there was between the bottom of the class and the top.  Inadvertently, we'd made that challenge a bit worse for the teacher.  I'm not saying my son is a super-student, but just that he's clearly at the top of the class.  There was at least one other kid who seemed to be around the same level our kid is.  But, if I were to choose between having my kid at the top or the bottom, I'd have to say I'm quite pleased he is where he is.

Plus, it must be said that the videos aren't ALL he ever had for preparation. We did plenty of other school work with him over the last few years, too.  Now, he loves school, enjoys his homework, and seems to be off to a roaring start for his education.

Here they are, again... check 'em out!  My Educational Videos

100!

No, I don't have any new videos up.  Boo!  Hiss!  I know I know.

That being said, I'm pretty stoked that my Youtube channel now has 100 subscribers!  That's pretty awesome!  If you're a subscriber, THANKS!

Here's the link...

Roopull's Giggling Brains

I have created a 2nd Youtube Channel for my non-educational videos.  There's not much on it, yet, but I plan on fixing that ASAP.  I suppose I'm learning a bit about "brand management," and me ranting in my car probably doesn't fit well with "Giggling Brains."

There's a comment window below.  If there's a type of video you'd like to see, let me know!

Reading Road Signs!!! New Video Up!!!

I mentioned a few days ago I was collecting pictures for my next video, and I've finally managed to put it all together. I was rather surprised at what a challenge some pictures were to get.  I mean, where can you stand to get a picture of a 55mph speed limit sign?  Luckily, traffic jams were my friend!

I also mentioned I'd ask my 6 year old to play piano for background music in this video, and he was thrilled to do so.  There are four very simple songs playing softly in the background, and they're all his!  Well, they're public domain songs he played for me.  I think he'll get a big kick out of hearing his music on Youtube. Hopefully, it'll further stoke his joy of playing.

In the process of snapping all these pictures, I got plenty of those speed limit signs.  That gave me another idea for a video.  How about one counting by 5s using speed limit signs?  I have most of the images I'll need, so it shouldn't be long before that one is up, too.  I think I'm just missing 20, 40, 50 and 60 for me to have them up to 65. If I can't find actual pictures, I'll just photoshop the ones I already have.

As always, I welcome your comments & suggestions!
Plus me on Google+, share me on Facebook, like the videos & subscribe so you can get updates!
Thanks!

Guns & the Beach!

This weekend, we took the family down to Tybee Island, Georgia for a couple of days of relaxation.  While there, we visited Fort Pulaski and got to see a little demonstration of how a Civil War era soldier would load & fire his rifle.  It was pretty nifty, and I thought it'd make for a decent video for my Youtube channel.  While it's not educational in the style of my other educational videos, it's certainly a tool that could be used to stoke interest in American History.

The next day, we got footage of the sunrise coming up over the beach... quite relaxing!!!
If I manage many more of these relaxing videos, I'll need to start a playlist for them!

New Video Idea!

In the back of my mind, there's almost always an undercurrent of thought looking for ideas for new videos for kids.  I know that everyone reads most words by sight, not by sounding out the words.  For example, when you read the word "STOP," you don't look at the ST combination, sound it out, add on the AH sound for the O and then finish off by adding the P sound at the end.  No, what we do is recognize the basic shape of the word.  This is how we can read as quickly as we do.  We actually read several words at a time, piecing together - not individual words - but whole sentences.

That is the basis behind "sight words" or "frequency words."  Kids need to know them just by glancing at them, not actually reading them.

As I was driving along with my 3 year old in the back seat, I remembered some of the first words either of my boys learned to read.  They were the words they see from their carseats as we drive along!  STOP, YIELD, SCHOOL BUS STOP AHEAD, SPEED LIMIT....

With that, I had the idea for my next video!

I had another idea floating around in the back of my head for my next video, as well.  My 6 year old has been taking piano lessons for a few months, now, and has gotten pretty good (for a 6 year old, anyhow.)  It's going to take me a few days to gather all of the pictures I need for the video, and in that time, I'm going to see if there's a "public domain" song he can play for the background music!


Like I said, I'm always looking for new ideas, so if you have an idea that you think would fit in with the  educational videos, let me know in the comments below!

Thanks!

New Video! The Numbers to 30 in Spanish!

This one is pretty self explanatory.  Looking to expand on some of my other very basic videos, I decided to do one for the numbers to 30 in Spanish.  Obviously, knowing a little Spanish can go a long way in America, today!

I was wanting something a little different for the background of my videos, so as the remnants of Hurricane Isaac blew over Georgia, I laid my camera on the ground facing the sky.  I had to speed it up a bit so you could see the movement, but I like the results.  Tell me what you guys think!

Plus, I'm always open to suggestions for new videos!