Thank you to who?Comics for sponsoring this post and encouraging my child to read biographies in comic book form! Please click here to learn more about the app. And follow who?Comics on Twitter for updates
I know there are a good deal of iPad apps out there that will better stimulate my children’s minds, I just have not yet explored. (I’ve added that activity to #549 on my to-do list.)
However, I do read to and with all three of children daily. Bring on the frozen Trader Joe’s nuggets, the bakery-ordered birthday cupcakes, even online games with burping candy, but I hope that the reading every single blessed day will somehow get me a passing grade when mothering report cards come out.
So when the Clever Girls asked if I would check out the Who?Comics biography iPad app for children, it seemed a worthwhile activity to share with Charlie (eight, in second grade) and Eve (nearly six, kindergarten). My husband Chris and I use the iPad primarily to read newspapers, magazines and books, as well as research the new headway made daily by app developers. Why not involve the kids in also using the iPad similarly?
Official Who?Comics description:
Read about the lives and achievements of some of the greatest people in history, both past and present, in a 150 page long comic book form.
These comics are educational and fun to read. Instead of boring plain text, give your children a new, enjoyable reading experience that is light and easy to read in comic book form. But even before the children can start, parents won’t be able to stop turning the pages, too.
Who?Comics series contains the life stories of 10 of our greatest leaders of today and 19 historical figures of the past. Read and learn about the amazing lives of Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, Steven Spielberg, Joanne Rowling, Barack Obama, Warren Buffett, Stephen Hawking, Nelson Mandela, Jane Goodall, Bill Gates and much, much more.
You can even collect badges easily as you read the comic books and even try to find and collect hidden badges for each great figure.
Who?Comics provides a fun badge collecting experience that both children and parents will enjoy. Everyone can get caught up in the fun of badge collecting and eventually discover and develop their new found reading habit.
The who?Comics app costs $9.99 on iTunes. There are two free biographies included in this price, Bill Gates and Oprah. Additional biographies to store on your who?Comics bookshelf are $4.99 each. or you can buy the entire set of biographies – 30 titles – for $29.99.
Charlie was intrigued by the notion of learning history comic-book style. This was his first experience with a graphic book that was not a superhero or Super Diaper Baby. He chose J.K. Rowling’s biography as our first Who?Comic to read together. He’s a huge Harry Potter fan, and he has been intrigued by the idea that one person thought of all those stories and spells and fantastical names and plot twists. Although the comics are geared toward children age 8 and up, Eve heard us reading the comic in the other room and she jumped in the bed with us too. The J.K. Rowling was a great story to “hook” Eve since the beginning involves young Joanne “Jo” Rowling’s imaginative childhood and her little sister.
My kids loved reading this 150 page biography together. I read aloud, they read along with me and looked at the graphic manga-style drawings (podotree, the developer, is based in Seoul). I thought the fictionalized dialogue was a bit cheeser at times, but my kids responded to the dramatizations. I think they will better remember the stories because of the funny jokes and awkward lines. I have no idea how much of some of the lesser plot items in the biographies are based upon research, and which items were filled in by the authors in the spirit of items gleaned from interviews and other biographical sources.
But then, most of what I know about Mark Zuckerberg I learned from The Social Network, so who am I to judge.
Since I let Charlie choose the first Who?Comic, I chose our second and selected the biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. I thought this biography was appropriately meatier. Charlie and I read this one without Eve, although I believe it was not too much for her. But reading about Dr. King one-on-one allowed Charlie and me to have some solid older kid discussions about civil rights, segregation and race. I read this one solo before involving Charlie, because I wanted to ensure that those topics were handled with age-appropriateness while not glossing over the severity and horrors of segregation and discrimination. I also wanted to see how Dr. King’s assassination was handled in pictures, and I believe it was portrayed accurately but not sensationalizing the violence. (The accompanying picture shows Dr. King wincing and falling as a bullet non-gorily enters his cartoon body.)
In summation, I think this is an entertaining and educational app. The proof for me? The kids enjoyed this app even more than me.
Thank you again to who? Comics for sponsoring my post. Please click here to learn more about the app. Visit Who? Comics for updates. I was selected for this opportunity by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own. #CleverWhoComics #spon
Friends of the Library Montgomery County (FOLMC) is this year celebrating 30 years of supporting, protecting, and defending the Montgomery County Public Libraries. To start off a year-long anniversary party, they are hosting a free, but ticketed concert by Hot Peas ‘N Butter. You may have seen these guys and heard their groovy family songs on Noggin and Jack’s Big Music Show, and they are the recipients of Parents Choice Awards for kids’ music for three years running.
Hot Peas ‘N Butteris a unique children’s musical group that incorporates elements of traditional Latin music, Afro-Caribbean rhythms, jazz, folk, and rock. By combining an interactive, invigorating approach to performance with mature, multicultural music, Hot Peas ‘N Butter has developed a distinct way of inspiring care and creativity in kids and adults alike. – Hot Peas ‘N Butter website
The free concert will be held on Saturday, January 28 at 11am at the Germantown Library. Free tickets are available only in advance in person at the Germantown library branch beginning Tuesday, January 24 at 5:30pm. The Germantown Library is located at 19840 Century Blvd, Germantown, MD (map and directions).
St. John the Evangelist in Silver Spring Preschool and K-8 Open House: Thursday January 12 from 8:30am – 11:30am. Please come, tour the school, meet principal Sister Kathleen Lannak I.H.M, meet some teachers and see others in action, and visit with current school parents. Discover our enthusiastic small community with a large heart and a faith-based, academically-challenging education. The preschool (3 year-old-half-day and 4-year-old full-day and half-day programs), full-day kindergarten and grades 1-8 will all be featured. Located at 10201 Woodland Ave in Silver Spring at the intersection of Wheaton, Kensington and the SS.
St. Raphael Open House Doubleheader!: Open House for St. Raphael School 9-10 a.m. Jan. 11; Open House for St. Raphael Nursery School 10:30-11:30 a.m. Jan. 11. Guests are welcome to visit for a presentation highlighting all St. Raphael School/Nursery School has to offer, followed by a tour of the facilities. SRS is K-7 for 2012-13 and specializes in tailored academics through differentiated learning and small-group instruction. SRNS has programs for 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds and 4-Plus (Pre-K), as well as extended-day offerings. Before-Care and After-Care also available. 1513 Dunster Road, Rockville. 301-762-2143. www.straphaels.org.
The Arc Summit Academy in Gaithersburg:Thursday, January 12 from 5 to 7 pm, Friday, January 13 from 10-11:30 am, Saturday, January 14 from 10 am to 1 pm. The Arc Summit Academy is an innovative preschool with a Maryland State Department of Education approved educational program for children 2-4 years old. Open Houses will provide an opportunity to learn about the range of learning opportunities available to children. Reservations recommended. Contact Eileen Coyne, School Director, at 301.984.5777 x3315 or eileenc@arcmontmd.org. The Arc Summit Academy follows MCPS for weather related closings. Reschedule dates are the exact times on Thursday and Friday of the following week if an Open House is cancelled due to inclement weather. Parents are encouraged to bring their preschooler. Individual tours can be arranged by contacting the School Director.
Glenbrook Co-operative Nursery School Open House: Wednesday Jan. 18 and Thursday Jan.19; tours are given from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. (the last tour each day begins at 11am). (Note the two-year-old class does not meet on Wed. if you would like to observe in action) Classes for 3 year olds and 4 year olds meet both days. Children are welcome to attend as well if you like. Tours are hosted by current parents, so you will have a chance to meet and speak with current families as well. For you or someone you know who is thinking about preschool, cooperative nursery schools are a perfect opportunity to be involved in your child’s first school experience. The school is located at 10010 Fernwood Road (at the corner of Fernwood and Democracy) in the Bethesda United Church of Christ. (The school is not church affiliated.) For more information, please visit www.glenbrookschool.org, email membership@glenbrookschool.org or call (301) 365-3190.
Thank you and we hope to see you at our Open House!
What are you doing New Year’s Eve? The A Parent in Silver Spring crew will be attending a family-friendly board game marathon (Apples to Apples, anyone?) with the kids at our amazing neighbors’. Chris and I have decreed NYE amateur night in DC and surrounding suburban hot spots, and besides, after 12 New Year’s together we have spent our share of twelve-thirty-ones drinking champagne from a bottle while dancing on a speaker (OK, that was just me). We had our wild date night on December 26 when the crowds were festive but less panic attack-inducing, and Grandma was in town for free babysitting.
Besides, there is no one else we’d rather ring in the New Year with than our three beloved babies. I bet some of you feel the same. So pop open the Martinelli’s and read on for ideas for your own kid-centric NYE parties!
10:00am-2:00pm on December 31, free with paid admission, free to members. For the fourth year running, this fab family-friendly museum is celebrating New Year’s at noon so the little ones can be part of the fun. Music by Milkshake, crafts, hats and noisemakers, snacks, science and more! Details.
Instead of hitting “the club” (really, why is there always a “the” in front of club? is there only one?) with a bouncer, why not hit an alcohol-free family event with a bounce house? About.com DC has the scoop on all the local First Night celebrations in our area.
Rockville just opened on December 28, and Silver Spring’s outdoor ice rink is perfect for kid beginners. Both feel festive and festivus-y, without the huge lines of the Scuplture Garden Ice Rink (though you can’t beat this downtown DC rink for it’s beauty).
For our family, Christmas is sacred and the perfect time to tell you all how much we love your kindness and support. Thank you for reading, commenting, suggesting, following and supporting this site. May you and your children have the most blessed of holidays!
Love,
Jessica, Chris, Charlie, Eve and Alice McFadden – The A Parent in Silver Spring Family
Our Christmas photos were all taken by the incredible Marian Lozano, whose session was SUCH a gift. And of course Marian captured our most wonderful Christmas gift of 2011: Becoming a family of FIVE!
Thank you to who?Comics for sponsoring this post and encouraging my child to read biographies in comic book form! Please click here to learn more about the app. And follow who?Comics on Twitter for updates 
In summation, I think this is an entertaining and educational app. The proof for me? The kids enjoyed this app even more than me.
