Kids can practice spelling words or math problems or leave mom a message using the Dual-Sided Dry Erase Board from Crayola. The two sides -- black on one side and white on the other -- double the drawing area. Moms can use the board as a way to keep family schedules organized as the school year gets under way.
The board comes with an 8-pack of Crayola washable, dry-erase bright crayons. It sells for $9.99 and is available at stores.
Share story, family recipe for contest
The Home Instead Senior Care office is sponsoring a Homemade Memories Recipe Contest through Sept. 15. Family caregivers are welcome to dig into the recipe box for that favorite family recipe, and prepare and share a meal with their senior loved one. Enter that recipe and the story about what makes the dish so special.
The contest is part of the Craving Companionship program designed to help seniors stay connected socially and eat more nutritiously. The program and contest offer incentives for families to find time to help their loved ones prepare the foods they've always loved and enjoy those dishes with them.
Home Instead Senior Care network research has discovered that seniors' biggest mealtime challenge is lack of companionship.
For contest details, tips and easy healthy meals, visit www.mealsandcompanionship.com .
Selected recipes and stories will be posted online and in a cookbook that will benefit the nonprofit Home Instead Senior Care Foundation. Details: www.homeinstead.com/greaterpittsburgh .
Safe Space designed to protect valuables
The Safe Space by Master Lock is useful for students who are involved in activities and looking for a place to stash their cell, credit cards or money. Students can attach it to anything stationary, such as a fence or a pole and go to soccer practice without having to worry about their valuables.
The lock sells for $19.99 from masterlock.com or is available at Staples.
Writing problems common in kids with ADHD
Kids with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are more likely to have writing problems such as poor spelling and grammar than their peers, suggests a new study reported by Reuters Health. And, the difference might be especially conspicuous in girls with ADHD. Reading and math problems often raise red flags for teachers and parents, but "written-language disorder is kind of overlooked," says study author Dr. Slavica Katusic, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
AT THE END OF A LONG DAY
"Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site," by Sherri Duskey Rinker with illustrations by Tom Lichtenheld (Chronicle Books, $16.99, 32 pages) is for the 4- to- 8-year-old age group.
Humanizing machines always is a risky business, but Rinker and Lichtenheld combine their talents to make Crane Truck, Cement Mixer, Dump Truck, Bulldozer and Excavator true characters, complete with eyes where headlights or windows might be, and smiles that are part of big plows and engine mounts.
We do not see them hard at work during the day, but at night, after all the heavy loading is finished, after a full day of digging, pouring, and hoisting. "The sun has set, the work is done;/ It's time for trucks to end their fun/ So one by one they'll go to bed/ To yawn and rest their sleepy heads,/ Then wake up to another day/ Of rough-and-tumble construction play!"
Quite a concept -- and it works.
