BLOG

“You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read with a child.”

Dr. Seuss had it right when he concluded that there is no age restriction on sitting down with a child and sharing a story.  No matter the age, the mind thrives on imagination and information – Oh, the Thinks you can Think!  This is why the NEA enacted the Read Across America (RAA) program, celebrating its 20th year, on Dr. Seuss’ birthday – March 2nd.  The program is intended to motivate everyone, young and old, to read more by organizing local events and offering a smorgasbord of resources to make reading as easy as One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish!

Let’s face it, In a People House we don’t all have libraries adorning our spare rooms, so if you’re limited on books don’t be discouraged!  There are a ton of online resources to find a plethora of books and activities.  You may also come across some summer reading programs that you and your young readers can make a pledge to commit to in order to keep the momentum going!  Check out the Library of Congress for additional online books not specific to the Dr Seuss or RAA theme for continued adventures for kids, teens, and adults too (because You’re Only Old Once! – okay, we’re stretching it here…)

Do you need some ideas for inspiring the young readers in your life?  Of course, a quick Pinterest search will reveal a ton of printables and activities at your finger tips.  For toddler crafts, my personal favorites are Thing 1, Thing 2 blow painting!  Pull out your favorite book on the adventures of these two crazy characters, like the Cat in the Hat or How Do You do? by Thing One and Thing Two, then have your Little One blow into a straw to turn some watered down paint into crazy blue Thing hair!  Another favorite in our household is Oobleck!  Let your older readers (6+) save the kingdom by mixing this recipe of special slime after reading about Bartholomew and the Oobleck!  If you enjoy these, here are some other activities to check out on a Rainy Day.  If your reading adventures have left you exhausted, then before you Sleep Softly, kick back with some family time and watch Dr Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat featuring Mike Myers, Alec Baldwin, Sean Hayes and Dakota Fanning.

For continued inspiration, you can get a calendar from the NEA that will outline a book a month with diverse topics as well as activities and resources that support the message of neighborhood and community.  Literacy Central has a great set of tools that can help keep the momentum going for continued reading, such as a mobile app that will scan books bar codes to bring up free resources based on that title and they will soon be adding a Literacy Tracker  tool to see how your child’s literacy skills will progress throughout the year!  With all of these resources, you’re bound to be immersed in some fun stories and activities while teaching the importance of reading and exploration to our younger generation.

So what are you waiting for?  Pick up those books and Go, Dog. Go!

Now that Spring is here (as I look outside to 36″ of snow), it’s time to do a little PC cleaning. Saving space on your PC has a lot of benefits. Not only does it mean your machine files stay tidy, it also keeps it running smoothly.

Most users aren’t aware that there are hundreds – if not thousands – of unnecessary and unused files sitting on their PC, just gathering virtual dust. Some are tiny note files, others are larger installation packages, but big or small, you don’t need them and they are a useless waste of space. If you want to give your PC a good clean, follow these tips.

1. Uninstall bloatware and unused software

Bloatware are programs that are already installed on your PC when you buy it but you don’t necessarily need. These can range from free trials of anti-virus software, to DVD players – you don’t really need these at all, so you can just uninstall them.

Are there other bits of software you installed ages ago but don’t use? These could also be uninstalled to free up a lot of space.

To do this, open the Start Menu, select the Settings cog and click Apps. You will see a list of apps on your device which you can install – a word of warning, it’s probably best to keep anything marked as ‘Microsoft Corporation’.

A good way of seeing whether you use something is by looking at the date next to the app’s name; this indicates when you last used it. If it has sat idle for a while, you should consider getting rid of it.

2. Clear temporary files

Your PC stores loads of temporary files which aren’t needed. They’re small, but over time they will build up and take space.

To clear temporary files, search ‘Disk clean-up’. Tick all the options in the list and then click the “Clean up system files” button.

3. Disk defragment

Defragmenting the hard disk is a classic way of keeping your PC running efficiently. The defragment tool basically tidies up how everything is stored on a hard drive – think of it as a librarian putting books back in the right places on the shelves so they’re easy to find.

To defragment your PC, search ‘Defragment’ in the search bar at the bottom of your screen. Select the (C:) drive and click the Analyse button. To defragment the drive, click Optimize.

4. Tidy up your files

It might take a little bit of time, but tidying up your documents, photos, videos, music and more will help.

More often than not, people discover duplicate photos that are just wasting space. Get organized and gain some space.

5. Move files to Cloud

You could go one step further and move your files to a cloud service. This will not only save up a lot of space on your hard drive but will also save them from any potential loss should your PC breakdown.

Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft all offer reliable cloud services.

6. Delete old downloads automatically

Many people forget about files they download and all those little images, PDFs, and other documents can soon add up. Windows 10 has a nifty way of letting you manage this without having to do anything. You can set your PC to delete any downloads that have been untouched for 30 days automatically – however, this only applies to anything in the Downloads folder and it’s always best to check that there isn’t anything you want to keep before doing this.

Listen up egg hunters!  I’m not talking plastic eggs filled with candy delights here but hidden egg-stra surprises for us big kids as we browse the internet.  If you’re not aware of internet Easter eggs, they’re hidden games or graphics that are planted around the web or buried in sites that you can hunt up for a little extra enjoyment.  For instance, Google has a dinosaur game they deemed T-Rex Runner that you can play if your internet connection fails and a page won’t load.  Many people don’t realize it’s a fully functioning game!  Other surprises are just little hidden features that are nice to know, and some need special codes or tricks in order to find them.  If you need a break during your day, try some of these hidden eggs out for yourself!

Google probably has the best sense of humor when it comes to this game of hide and seek.  I already mentioned T-Rex Runner.  If you haven’t already realized all this time that you can make the little guy run and jump, go ahead and turn your Wi-Fi off, open a new Google Search page and you’ll get the “There is no internet connection” message with the dinosaur waiting to entertain!  Press the space bar to activate the game, then jump the cacti or die!

Some other games are Zerg Rush where the little Google O’s will fall across the page eating away at your search results if you don’t click them away in time.  To keep the adrenaline going, hop over to a quick challenge of Atari Breakout, which turns the graphics on the screen into playable tiles.  If you’re feeling indecisive, you can play the Birthday Surprise Spinner where you spin the wheel and Google will pick one of its past doodle games for you to play.  Rinse and repeat by spinning the wheel for endless fun!

Aside from games, there are a few things you can look up for additional entertainment.  Watch your kids’ faces when you pull up a new Google search page with Google Gravity.  All of the elements on the page will plummet to the bottom of the screen as if gravity has been sucked out of the net!  Let the kids have a little fun tossing the pieces around for a while.  If you’re a fun facts kind of person, you can add some new trivia to your life with Google’s hidden fun facts feature.  Just type “I’m feeling curious” in the search bar and refresh as much as your heart desires for new facts!

With Easter being on April Fool’s day this year, I’m sure we will be seeing many more new eggs planted around the net on April 1st!  In addition to the internet, you can also look up android Easter eggs to see what fun surprises your phone has hiding in the depths of its settings!  The next time you need a mind break, look up some of these Easter egg-stra surprises and see what else you can find hiding out there!