Keroppi Smart Parenting Review

S M A R T P A R E N T I N G

BEING GREEN
I was in college before anyone ever suggested I use a daily calendar to deep track of assignments, dates, and projects. Children today are luckier: With the encouragement of this delightful program, kids aged 7 and up can get a jump-start on this helpful habit, learning two of life's most important skills: writing and time management. The Day Hopper takes three very practical items--a personal journal, an address book, and a calendar--and makes them fun. Here's how:
The Journal: By rewarding the author with sound effects based on the words in his text, the journal encourages children to write (and to draw--there's a colorful doodle pad to the left of each page). Even 12 year-old Laura got a kick out of hearing all the wonderful sounds coming from her story. She kept writing and editing, writing and editing, just for the fun of it. Any teacher will tell you that the only way to become a good writer is to write-often. This software just may do the trick.
The Address Book: With this fun project, kids learn to organize their own directory, compete with name, address, phone number, birthday and special notes like activities shared, communal teams, and popular teachers. Our 8 year-old son, John, learned how to organize this information so it could be easily retrieved. And when he was laid up at home for a week with the flu, he was delighted to see how easily he could chase down friends for information on homework, Cub Scouts, and his sports schedules. It gave him a feeling of independence to go to his own file to get the names and numbers he needed, and taught him the value of having all the information in one neat, organized place.
The Calendar: This wonderful tool allows kids to enter reminders for each day's activities, and then view them by the day, week, or month. I encouraged our seventh-grader to use the calendar not only for noting after school activities, but for planning progress on long-term school projects and tests. Her personal calendar now paints a clear picture of when she is booked solid with activities and school work, and when she has a few moments to breathe. It's important for kids to learn early on that if they plan their time properly for the things they must do, they'll have more free time for the things they want to do. Using this calendar is an easy and fun way for them to get organized.
My children so enjoyed the Day Hopper that they have continued to use it on their own, without any prompting from Mom. That's probably the best endorsement of all.

B I G T O P
W E L C O M E

S M A R T P A R E N T I N G
	`BEING GREEN` I was in college before anyone ever suggested I use a daily calendar to deep track of assignments, dates, and projects. Children today are luckier: With the encouragement of this delightful program, kids aged 7 and up can get a jump-start on this helpful habit, learning two of life's most important skills: writing and time management. The Day Hopper takes three very practical items--a personal journal, an address book, and a calendar--and makes them fun. Here's how: The Journal: By rewarding the author with sound effects based on the words in his text, the journal encourages children to write (and to draw--there's a colorful doodle pad to the left of each page). Even 12 year-old Laura got a kick out of hearing all the wonderful sounds coming from her story. She kept writing and editing, writing and editing, just for the fun of it. Any teacher will tell you that the only way to become a good writer is to write-often. This software just may do the trick. The Address Book: With this fun project, kids learn to organize their own directory, compete with name, address, phone number, birthday and special notes like activities shared, communal teams, and popular teachers. Our 8 year-old son, John, learned how to organize this information so it could be easily retrieved. And when he was laid up at home for a week with the flu, he was delighted to see how easily he could chase down friends for information on homework, Cub Scouts, and his sports schedules. It gave him a feeling of independence to go to his own file to get the names and numbers he needed, and taught him the value of having all the information in one neat, organized place. The Calendar: This wonderful tool allows kids to enter reminders for each day's activities, and then view them by the day, week, or month. I encouraged our seventh-grader to use the calendar not only for noting after school activities, but for planning progress on long-term school projects and tests. Her personal calendar now paints a clear picture of when she is booked solid with activities and school work, and when she has a few moments to breathe. It's important for kids to learn early on that if they plan their time properly for the things they must do, they'll have more free time for the things they want to do. Using this calendar is an easy and fun way for them to get organized. My children so enjoyed the Day Hopper that they have continued to use it on their own, without any prompting from Mom. That's probably the best endorsement of all.