Noodle Soup

21st Century Kids

Everyday technological advances fascinate me. I spent most of my childhood with 13 TV channels, no remote control, no TV recording capabilities, no microwave, and no computer. Instead of a smartphone, I grew up with a wall-mounted push-button (the latest technology!) with a 6 foot, tangled, curly cord that I would stretch all the way to the coat closet for privacy. If I wanted to contact a friend, I called them and hoped I didn't get a busy signal, or worse, the forever ring that indicated no one was home. There were no answering machines or voicemail.

My kids' world is so very different.

Exhibit A: A couple of days ago, Reece and Taite were playing, and he told her, "BRB" as he ran to get something. As in, the text/IM version of "be right back". Which I probably don't need to explain to anyone reading a blog, but just in case...

The thing is, Reece has never IM'ed anyone, and he doesn't have a cell phone. I finally figured out he picked it up from Club Penguin, which is the elementary school equivalent of talking to your friends online, in the form of a technicolor, dressed up penguin. Again, just in case you are among the uninitiated. 

I searched dictionary.com, and guess what? BRB is listed. So are LOL, LMAO, TTYL, and other internet acronyms. I don't know if they are actually included in printed versions of Merriam-Webster yet, because we don't own a recently-printed dictionary...the internet has rendered that need obsolete. I'm sure it's only a matter of time, if they're not already "official" words.

Exhibit B: Today Taite was doing her usual "why do you have to go to work, Daddy?" morning routine. Matt told her he had customers to see, and she said, "You could just video chat with them." It blows me away that video chatting is such a nonchalant part of my six-year-old's mentality. When I was six, that was something only the Jetson's did.

 

Exhibit C: This shirt is part of Reece's back to school wardrobe.

When I brought it home and had him try it on, I asked if he knew what those were on the front. He did recognize them as tapes, but when I asked if he knew what they were for, he said, "Ummm...sound or something?" He has no frame of reference, of course. He has never listened to music on a tape, even though his older brother and sister did. To him, music has always only been on computers, iPods, and CDs. Will his children wear a t-shirt with "old school" CDs or iPods all over it, and have no clue what they were used for?

I am all for embracing technology, as well as celebrating both the similarities and the differences of life "then and now". It's fun to speculate what will come next, or to imagine how life will be different in another 40 years. 

And if the Jetsons continue to be accurate in their futuristic predictions, definitely sign me up for a Rosie the Robot!

Five lessons every kid should learn

1. Be curious, explore, ask "What if...?"

 

2. Be silly sometimes - it's good for you!

 

3. Know how to apologize sincerely when you need to.

 

4. Celebrate the things that matter - big and small.

 
 5. Step up and do your share - volunteer, give back, lend a hand whenever you're able.

 
 

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Nanny McPhee Returns blogging program, making me eligible to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Test-driving the Sharpie Liquid Pencil

Last week, the news of the new Sharpie Liquid Pencil rocked my Twittersphere. I am a self-proclaimed school supply geek with a fondness for everything Sharpie, and I absolutely prefer writing in pencil whenever possible. Yes, I can be a bit of a perfectionist, and the erasability is a factor. But I also love the sensory experience of a pencil - the smell of a freshly sharpened #2, the click-click as I advance the lead of a mechanical, the soft, scratchy sound as I write, the feel of the resistance against the page. So when I spotted the Sharpie Liquid Pencil (supposedly not released until September) at my local Office Depot, I heard a choir of angels sing. Or, that may have just been the muzak mingling with the blip of the register as I made my purchase.

 

The packaging proclaims that the Sharpie Liquid Pencil is:

- Smooth like a pen, erases like a pencil

- Sharpie's Liquid Graphite Technology eliminates broken leads

- No. 2 lead equivalent (comparable to .05 mm mechanical pencil)

- Becomes permanent on paper after 24 hours 

Here's how it fared at my Test Desk.

Pros:

- Liquid Graphite just sounds super cool.

- Writing is not interrupted by the need to sharpen, advance, or mess with those skinny little replacement leads that I always wind up dropping in the groove of my desk and fishing out with a bent paper clip or other MacGuyver-esque object.

- It comes with a generous six eraser refills per package of two pens.

- It *MAY* be a handy option for writing on scrapbook pages - I am awaiting a reply from Sharpie as to whether or not it is considered archival. If it is, then it could be a great compromise between the permanence of a pen and the convenience of erasability. I will keep you posted.

update: According to Sanford Consumer Affairs, "The Sharpie Liquid Pencil is not acid free."

Cons:

- The Sharpie Liquid Pencil is, essentially, an erasable pen that rolls smoothly along the page. Meaning it does not have the sensory elements that make writing with a pencil so satisfying to me.

- It can be a bit "skippy" at times, especially over areas that have been erased. Because it writes with a roller mechanism, there is a slight groove left behind, even after erasing.

- The Sharpie Liquid Pencil lines are very fine compared to my favorite pencils. Even when I write with a pen, I prefer a medium tip, and this is more the equivalent of fine or ultrafine.

- The Sharpie does not allow me to vary the darkness of my writing with more or less pressure, the way a standard pencil does.

- (This one could be the dealbreaker!) I can get pencils in a gazillion fun colors and patterns that express my personality. The Sharpie Liquid Pencil only comes in boring black. Blah! Whatever were you thinking, Sharpie??

All in all, the Sharpie Liquid Pencil is innovative but doesn't entirely live up to my expectations. I will probably stick to my regular pencils for lists and musings and bust out the Sharpie for sketching and doodling, when a finer line is preferable. 

ETA: I think the Sharpie Liquid Pencil would also be a good option for Reece's homework, since he breaks a lot of pencil leads and wastes a LOT of time stalling while he searches for a pencil sharpener.

I grabbed an extra package of Sharpie Liquid Pencils to give away to a lucky blog reader, so you can "draw" your own conclusion. Just leave me a comment telling me your favorite back to school supply, past or present, and I'll choose a winner on Wednesday morning.

The winner of the Sharpie Liquid Pencil pack is:

AnnaMarie!

Returning from blogcation

I took a little impromptu break from the blog over the past month, to immerse myself in summer with my kids.

Here's a little bit of what I've been up to:

Lots of beach days 

(the beach is one of my favorite places to play with my beloved Hipstamatic app)

 
    

 
 
 Cool activities + scrapbooking with the kids, for my Kidding Around class

  
  

   

Making fun stuff for the Big Idea Festival (my projects are up August 15)

Swimming, BBQs, and cousins (sometimes all at the same time!)

   

Drinking plenty of Starbucks iced tea
 

And reading a whole bunch of books

     
 
 
 
 What have you been up to this summer?