Scratch and Boom! - PKTR 33

School's out! So what are you going to do with your kids? How will they spend their days?

We're here to help.

On this week's show, the PKTR co-hosts tell you about a great online game and yet another fun Wii game.

But first!

We start the show discussing events of the week, like the crowning of this year's NBA champions, the Boston Celtics. Then we talk about bowling from trucks (?). Listen to the show and you'll understand.



Check out the site the kids just can't get enough of:
scratch.mit.edu

Here's the journalist, Warren Buckleitner, whose New York Times article we referenced. We would have never found this site without his help. Read his article. It's worth your time.

It's programming made easy for kids. They click and drag pieces of puzzles that represent commands to program software to make online games. You have to see it to believe it. For kids 10 and up.

Then we tell you a bit about the new Wii game by Steven Spielberg called BoomBlox.

Here's a video of the game:


We wrap up the show first by giving you our WiiFit update - the latest cool creative use of the WiiFit balance board. Then, telling you about a ball of whacks and finally, announcing our PKTR book pick-of-the-week.

Here's a cool one minute video to show you the ball of whacks:



Thanks for listening! Join us again next week on Parents and Kids Talk Radio.

Easy Recipes for Summer - PKTR 32

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Blueberry muffins, banana pancakes, cherry maple syrup. Is your mouth watering yet? You can make them all in under 30 minutes without a mix. Listen to the show and we'll tell you how.

First, we spend just a little bit of time tipping our hats to one of our all-time favorite television personalities. Just had to. Thanks for indulging us...

Then, we'll give you some great ideas for Father's Day gifts (or anytime you need a gift for an adult male). From books to iPods, we'll help you find the right gift for your guy.

If you have a party coming up, we'll walk you through the easy way to make an ice cream sheet cake that looks and tastes like a huge ice cream sandwich.

Delicious and a huge hit with the kids! It allows for many variations, too. You might be surprised when you hear which website we found that recipe on. And it is filled with many fun, kid-friendly summer recipes. Great summer party tips, too!

The best blueberry muffins I've ever made are so easy to make that you have no excuse to rely on those less healthy mixes ever again. Visit AllRecipes.com. You'll find so many great recipes, you'll come back and thank us (or thank them, more likely!).

We also talked about ilovemilkandcookies.blogspot.com. Tune in to find out why. But here's a clue:

Visit their site - it's well worth your time!!

Finally, do you have leftover bananas? Do you go right to your recipe for banana bread to use them? Well, you don't have to anymore. Listen to our show and we'll give you a great alternative.

Join us again next week on Parents and Kids Talk Radio.

Thanks for listening!

Kung Fu Panda Movie! - PKTR 31

NEW GIVEAWAY: Just leave a comment on our blog and you'll be put into the drawing to win an exclusive Kung Fu Panda item from the Parents and Kids Talk Radio Co-Hosts!
See our "Contest Rules and Guidelines" post for more information.
Hurry now before the contest ends.

In this week's show, we review Kung Fu Panda, the Jack Black movie that was released just yesterday, June 6.

In the show, we talk about Master Shifu, Po, and red pandas. As promised, we included some pictures of each of them.

Master Shifu


Po (With Jack Black, The Voice of Po)


Red Panda


Later in the show, we talk about the Wii Fit game and picture books, including Knuffle Bunny and Knuffle Bunny Too by Mo Willems, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff, and Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester.


Thanks for listening!

Join us again next week on Parents and Kids Talk Radio.

Movies and Munchies - PKTR 30

Summer vacation is almost here, so we thought it was a good time to provide our top picks for movies for preteens.

In this show, we'll tell you about a movie that's coming soon to theaters near you, a couple of movies that are already showing and many that you can rent on DVD.

Bridge to Terabithia


The Road to El Dorado


Indiana Jones and
The Kindom of The Crystal Skull


To go with those movies, we'll give you some easy recipes that your tween can make for him/herself.

Thanks for listening!

Kindness - PKTR 29

Have you seen the blog called Acts of Kindness (run by the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation)? It's worth checking out. In fact, we liked it so much that we decided to devote an entire show to its topic.

But first!

On today's show, we start out by talking about the two Davids on American Idol. We called it, ladies and gentlemen. You probably put your money on David A, didn't you? But noooo...he didn't win. Do you remember what we said? Yep, that's right, back in April we first said that we were rooting for him and by May we described David Cook as a star.

But...nobody really cares about AI anymore, do they? And we would never say, "I told you so." So we moved on pretty quickly and started talking about kindness.

Listen to the show and you'll hear Nicole talk about people who've inspired her to be kind as well as all sorts of simple ways to show kindness and why it's important to learn to forgive.

We end the show by expressing a little appreciation for our listeners as well as presenting them with a challenge. Are you going to accept it? If you do, let us know. Drop us an email or leave a comment here.

Thanks for listening!

Join us again next week on Parents and Kids Talk Radio.

Preteens, Online Games and Responsibility - PKTR 28

Club Penguin, DGamer, Webkinz.

Do your kids play any of these online games? Do you play with them?
What do you think of them?

In this show we spend a good deal of time telling you what we think about them.

We start the show talking about, of all things, paninis. You have to listen to understand. Then, we make brief mention of Rachael Ray (yum-o!) and WiiFit.


Thanks for tuning in and join us again next week on Parents and Kids Talk Radio!

Tween Time - PKTR 27

What do tweens think about the world today?

We talk about a variety of topics in this show and check in with our resident tween to get a sense of what she and her friends think.

For example:
Passion? What does it matter? Who has it and why? How does it affect what people do? Do we see people display it on American Idol? Does David Cook have it? Archuleta?

Hannah Montana's takeover by Miley Cyrus. What's the deal?

Politics. Very briefly. Okay?

Blogs by tweens and about tweens. Good idea?

The hottest book series for tweens. Do you know what it is?

Then ... back to passion. As it relates to music programs in schools. Is your school cutting back on the arts due to lack of funding? Let us know!

Have you ever been to that diner that Jerry, Elaine & George frequent on Seinfeld? We ate lunch there and had an experience that could have been right from the show. We tell you a little about it.

That's the show!

Thanks for listening.

Join us again next week on Parents and Kids Talk Radio!