Chicago Museum of Science & Industry - FREE Days

For those of you in the Chicagoland area like me, keep in mind that the Museum of Science and Industry has lots of free days in January (January 12th through 31st), in celebration of their 75th anniversary.

You’ll still have to pay to get into the Star Wars exhibit though, but you can sit inside a life-size replica of the Millenium Falcon!

via Chicago Homeschool Habitat

Dangerous things you should let your kids do

“Gever Tulley, founder of the Tinkering School, talks about our new wave of overprotected kids — and spells out 5 (and really, he’s got 6) dangerous things you should let your kids do. Allowing kids the freedom to explore, he says, will make them stronger and smarter and actually safer.” See the video here.  Via Parent Hacks.

Here are the six things:

1. Play with fire.
2. Own a pocket knife.
3. Throw a spear.
4. Deconstruct appliances.
5. Break the DMCA.
6. Drive a car.

Watch the video to see why you should let your kids do these dangerous things.
See also The Dangerous Book for Boys and the Daring Book for Girls.

 

14 Educational Games to Teach Your Kids About Business

eMoms at home lists fourteen educational games you can use to teach your kids about business.  Here’s a summary:

Board Games

• Monopoly - “the grandfather of all money & investment games”
• KidsWealth Money Kit - “teach kids to manage real money in a safe, structured, and supported manner”
• Stock Rush Game - “all the basic principles of trading used in the real world”

Computer Games

• The Sims 2: Open for Business - “build businesses with the characters you have created”
• Zoo Tycoon - your “own completely free-form zoo”
• Roller Coaster Tycoon - “classic management strategy game” - note that there is also a series of Roller Coaster Tycoon books written in Choose Your Own Adventure style
  
• Fairy Godmother Tycoon - “the chance to the power behind the world of fairy tales”
• My Horse Farm - “Spend your money wisely, make good decisions, and train your horses to become world-class champions.”
• Restaurant Empire - “all the challenges of building and operating a restaurant franchise through a unique blend of business-simulation and RPG gameplay”
• Lemonade Tycoon 2 - “juices up business simulation!”

Also included in the post are a couple Pretend and Play items for younger kids, and a lemonade stand and lemonade maker to put your kid’s skills to use.