The Apple Camp is basically a free 3 hour workshop for kids ages 8 to 12 on iPhoto, GarageBand, iMovie, or iWork. Did I mention one of my best parenting tips: Free? The workshops are offered at your local Apple Store and you must preregister.

I signed my kids up last year but for some reason our session was canceled. We could not fit an alternate session date into our schedule but Apple was very accommodating and sent the kids some T-shirts and patches anyway.

I will be signing them up again this year.

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Many of you will recall the ApplyWise College Admission Counseling Giveaway that I offered here at Parenting Tips at NeenMachine.com not too long ago.

Parents of teens know that the competition for getting into college is tough. Today’s kids are talented, intelligent, and well rounded individuals. These teens are all competing for a limited number of spots at the nation’s top universities. In addition, the admissions process is tedious and time consuming. In a child’s already busy life, carving out time to learn and absorb the procedures is difficult. Some guidance is much appreciated.

Enter ApplyWise. Dr. Kat Cohen, the founder of ApplyWise realized that there was a need for a strong yet affordable college admissions counseling program that college bound kids could complete at their own pace on their own time. Applwise was created to address this need - you can read a full review of this excellent college admission counseling program here.

The good news for today is that I have an awesome coupon code to offer you! Now through Father’s Day- June 15 2008 the entire 12-pack ApplyWise college admission counseling program is on sale for only $99. Keep in mind that this package normally retails for $299 - so this is a $200 savings off the retail price. To take advantage of this offer, shop through this link: ApplyWise and use promo code MDFD in the shopping cart page.

Act fast - this offer disappears on June 15,2008!

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I recently had the opportunity to try out an innovative new product - Think Blocks. This is not your ordinary set of children’s building blocks but rather a toy designed to encourage conceptual thinking and build a child’s mind.

Here is a picture of a set of Think Blocks if you haven’t yet seen them:

According to the Think and Thrive website Think Blocks develop thinking skills in the followning areas:

ThinkBlocks are designed to teach four essentially important thinking skills: (1) contrasting between similarities and opposites or “distinction making”; (2) understanding part-whole structures or “systems thinking”; (3) recognizing interactions, associations, and cause and effect or “relational thinking”, and; (4) learning to see things from different points-of-view or “perspective taking”.

There are several unique features of Think Blocks that are found on other toys.

• Smaller blocks nest inside larger ones.
• Each block is magnetic.
• Blocks can be written on with dry erase marker.
• One side of the large and medium blocks is reflective (has a mirror type sticker)
• Magnetic tiles enhance the flexibility and scenario creation.

The central concept is that the smaller blocks easily nest inside the bigger ones. Thus you can explore relationships between just about anything. The large block can be a fores, the medium blocks can be plants and animals that are found in the forest, and the smallest blocks can be the food that plants and animals need. This short video shows how ecosystems can be learned with Think Blocks:

The possibilities for learning are not only for children and home. Businesses and organizations can also benefit by this visual form of learning. Presentations can be enhanced when concepts are shown, rather than just read.

Schools are another organization that will find Think Blocks to be a useful learning tool. I shared the Think Blocks with my son’s second grade teacher. She felt the blocks would bring a subject to life especially when working with small groups of children or even with special education requirements. She also mentioned that Think Blocks would be an excellent tool in a homeschooling environment.

As a parent, I like the Think Blocks and all that they have to offer. My older children used them to help conceptualize homework assignments that they were having difficulty with. The following video from the Think and Thrive website shows how Think Blocks can be used to teach basic multiplication and division concepts:

My younger children enjoyed playing with the Think Blocks and using them for grouping and creating imaginitive story lines.

If there is a downside, it would be that initially the play is very adult driven. The Think and Thrive website has a lot of video tutorials showcasing the different ways in which these children’s building blocks can be used to stimulate thought. But parents need to get involved and provide ideas and patterns. As the children become accustomed to using the blocks they will begin to take over and come up with their own ideas.

The Think and Thrive site states that the Think Blocks are appropriate for ages 4 to adult - but I found the smallest blocks to be tiny enough to pose a choking hazard to babies and children that still put items in their mouths. Just a little something to watch out for.

More information about Think Blocks, children’s building blocks for the mind, can be found at the Think and Thrive website.

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For everyone else, visit ApplyWise.com to find out more about their College Admission Counseling offerings. This is a top notch program that will be beneficial to high school sophomores and juniors that are college bound.

Each lesson is tailored towards the success of the student in all areas from college applications, to SAT’s, to campus visits, and interviews. And the Dashboard program that is included is an excellent tool for both students and parents to keep the entire process organized.

To purchase a series of counseling sessions elsewhere would cost in the thousands. The ApplyWise program retails for only $299. And the founder of ApplyWise is Dr. Kat Cohen who is universally recognized for her work in the college admission counseling field.

Thank you to everyone that entered the contest and good luck in your collegiate endeavors!

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So remember, if you or someone you know has a high school sophomore or junior in the house they can enter to win this fabulous College Admission Counseling package for free!

To enter go to this post: Win an ApplyWise College Admission Counseling Program! and leave a comment. Just say something simple like “I’d love to win this!”. That’s it! Easy. But hurry the contest ends today.

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Parents of High School Juniors and Sophomores - Win a full ApplyWise College Admission Counseling Program!

This package is a $299 value and is perfect for college bound students that want to have an edge over the competition. This is a chance to get this fantastic program absolutely FREE!

There is no obligation to buy anything - but you must hurry - the deadline to enter is midnight on March 28, 2008. Visit this post: Win an ApplyWise College Admission Counseling Program! to enter.

All you need to do is leave a simple comment like - “I would love to win!”. That’s it!

Good Luck to all!

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If you are a parent with a child in high school then you are feeling the stress of the college applications process. The entire family tends to suffer as their budding collegian rides the admissions roller coaster. Applying to college is not what it used to be. The competition is tough and helping your child stand out from the crowd is a challenge. I have seen my friends go through it, and although my oldest son is still in middle school I see college on the horizon. Never one to turn down a little help, I was intrigued to learn about ApplyWise, a company that provides college admission guidance.

ApplyWise has two major components, a series of 12 online program sessions in the full program (or six sessions if you opt for the abbreviated program) and the “Dashboard”. The 12 program sessions are online and last for 30 to 45 minutes apiece. They are not live one on one sessions but rather seem more like mini-courses that walk your child through each step of the college application process. The following is a list of what each session in the ApplyWise program covers:

Session 1 - Your Initial Plan
Session 2 - Build Your “Brag Sheet” Resume
Session 3 - Create Your College List
Session 4 - Narrow Down Your LIst
Session 5 - How to Visit Your Colleges
Session 6 - Write Your Activity Essay
Session 7 - Decide When to Apply
Session 8 - Get the best Letters of Recommendation
Session 9 - Write your Personal Statements
Session 10 - Put Together Your Whole Application
Session 11 - Prepare for Interviews
Session 12 - What to do if you are deferred, waitlisted or rejected.

Through the use of interactive exercises, games, and examples your child will narrow in on their goals, assemble their college list, learn interview skills, create a brag sheet, learn which people will provide the best letters of recommendation and more.

Keeping track of all this information is also difficult. The second component of the ApplyWise college admission counseling program helps your child with the organizing. Referred to as the “Dashboard”, the ApplyWise program includes access to this powerful online tool.

The dashboard is a place where your child will keep track of important dates such as testing dates and application deadlines as well as self imposed due dates for intermediate steps. The dashboard also maintains information on the colleges that your child is applying to. This includes general info like college profiles and statistics to personalized info like contact name and notes. On their dashboard, the student will keep track of their progress through the program sessions, they will also be able to create and print essential application documents like their brag sheet. Included here are video Q&A, interactive graphs and expert tips. In addition, students can sign up for email or text message reminders.

But ApplyWise is not only for high school juniors and seniors but also for their parents. This is the part of the program that I really like. At a time when children are asserting their independence in life, it is hard for parents to keep tabs on their kids activities without nagging or becoming overbearing. Tempers often flare resulting in heated arguments. But the college application process is so critical to a child’s future and so complex that parent involvement is a must. The ApplyWise program includes a Parents Dashboard, too! Parents are given their own login to a Parent’s homepage that is linked to their child’s dashboard. Here parents can monitor their child’s progress through the program sessions (1), weekly calendar (2), test dates (3), application documents (4), tasks (5), colleges (6), and more online tools (7).

So now I know you are asking - How much does all of this good stuff cost? Not as much as you may think. The ApplyWise 12 program session is an affordable $299 at the time of this writing. Compared to programs that cost thousands of dollars ApplyWise offers a lot of value. For the $299 you get the program itself and access to your dashboard from the time you sign up through June of your senior year. That is almost 2 years. Another great feature of ApplyWise college admission counseling program is the ability to schedule one on one telephone coaching sessions for an additional cost. If you have more personalized questions or need a little additional guidance you can schedule just one telephone coaching session with a qualified counselor or as many sessions as you need. But the beauty is that you don’t need to commit to a series of sessions, you can purchase one at a time.

To find out more about the ApplyWise college application resource, visit the ApplyWise website. You will learn more about the program and about the founder - Dr. Katherine Cohen who has an impressive background in college admissions coaching and several ivy league degrees of her own. She is also the founder of IvyWise, another admissions counseling company that has an impressive track record for helping it’s students earn admission to the college of their choice.

And just for the record, this post does contain affiliate links. Also, if I have piqued your interest - check back here at Parenting Tips at NeenMachine.com in the next few days for an awesome giveaway! I will be holding a contest where one lucky person will win a full 12 session program of the ApplyWise College Admission Counseling program. Stay tuned for more details.

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