Shaping Youth: Freecycling Kids Books Throughout December

Dec. 4, 2010 Black Friday? Cyber Monday? Bah. Other than maybe beach towel joke gifts (silly kilt wraps, hula skirts for our wakeboarding tribe) they didn’t get much outta me this round, as I continue to purge more than splurge. So to continue this “simplify life” theme to FREECYCLE and gift myself some joy this season, I’m passing along a bounty of kids books to you, FREE … [Read more...]

Halloween Media: Fun For Free! Apps, Sendables, Playlists, Games

Update Oct. 31, 2016 Appy Halloween? 2016 freebies include a spooktacular JibJab 'story bot' to insert and personalize wee ones into Halloween kids' books...Our friends at Common Sense Media offer a slew of apps with ages and stages reviewed and noted, and a host of Streaming Scary Movies for insta-atmosphere media fun. For older teens and the selfie crowd, these … [Read more...]

Free Media Finds That Are Priceless Year-Round

Dec. 16, 2009 Got gifts? Not sure when we jumped from “Black Friday/Cyber Monday” to bold-type headlines of “last minute gifts!”---but I’m still holding my own on the ‘haven’t stepped in a mall’ front… So today I’m going to add a few FREE ‘last minute finds’ that are literally and figuratively priceless. To up the ante and make it tougher, I’ll remove the physical … [Read more...]

Free Books For Kids From Shaping Youth’s Virtual Garage Sale!

July 6, 2009 Back to wrap up healthGAMERS Part 3 soon, but today my teen begrudgingly started three hours of summer school---(don’t ask, don’t tell, it was her own ‘deal’ gone awry at 'College for Kids') so I took it upon myself to sort through her ‘giveaways’ of books she agreed to give up for our FREE BOOKS FOR KIDS post to encourage poolside reading, recycling, and to thank … [Read more...]

FREE iPhone Apps Dad Will Appreciate More Than Soap On A Rope

June 19, 2009 Let’s face it, young kids win ‘em over with artsy casts of their little hands, or fingerprinted cards and plates, poems, rhymes, recitals and songs... ...But some tweens and teens start running out of useful ideas once they’ve gifted freebie music mixes, personal playlists, chore chart IOUs to wash the car and all that good stuff. So how can kids dodge the … [Read more...]