If you have any little dancers in your family – or anyone else who enjoys Angelina Ballerina – check out Angelina’s website for printable designs and detailed instructions for making very cute – and of course, very pretty – pop-up cards. Your kids may also enjoy the charming printable coloring pages featuring Angelina and her friends.

The STA’s Summer Tips are ideas for projects and activities inspired by your kids’ favorite shows, to help them learn while the TV is on and after it’s off. Look for more tips all summer long, to OutSmart the 150% Summer Spike in childrens’ television viewing.

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If you’re dreading the day your offspring comes home with a big, ugly F, here’s a response you probably haven’t thought of. Maybe you should slap her a high five instead of grounding her until she leaves for college.

Two recent studies of more than 400 students at Ohio State University found that those who did not cheat scored highest in tests of courage and empathy. Because they’re such an overwhelming minority (up to eighty percent of all university students have cheated), the study leaders have labeled this bracket of do-gooders “academic heroes.” And rightfully so: They’ve got strong personalities, can resist temptation, and let’s face it. It takes a lot of bravery to flunk a test by yourself than to copy your friend’s answers and get an A.
BBC News has a bit more about the study’s findings. But if you’re pressed for time, just go ahead and act like you read it. That’s not really cheating. Is it? – Posted by Stephanie Booth

What’s on TV for tweens this fall? Here are a few shows my kids and I might tune into, though the bleeping out makes me pause:

America’s Toughest Jobs:
My kids and I are intrigued by this fall’s new TV reality show, “America’s Toughest Jobs.” If only it weren’t for all that bleeping out. Not that I want NBC to unbleep the four-letter words hurled by the contestants on this program by the creators of “The Deadliest Catch” and “Ice Road Truckers.” But I’d feel better about considering letting the kids watch this series, which puts 13 men and women into some of the most dangerous and demanding jobs in the world, including oil rigging, mountain rescue and monster truck driving, if I knew what was coming. It’s Rated PG, so I’ll be on hand to guide them through it. But only after I first watch the August 25th premiere without them and decide if it’s really tween-friendly fare, no matter what the TV rating. NBC Mondays 9-10 p.m. ET

Opportunity Knocks
I can’t decide if this is “Moment of Truth” for families, or just a nice, wholesome and fun game show I’d let my tweens watch. In this weekly game show, the host shows up at one family’s house with a semi full of prizes. Contestants have to answer trivia questions about their lives, each other and stuff in their house. It’s billed as a show “which challenges family members on how well they know each other,” and it sounds like family game night for really great prizes. The show’s producer, Ashton Kutcher, reportedly tried out the game’s concept at home with wife Demi Moore and his step-kids before launching the show. I’ll check out the premiere, which airs on September 23rd, with the kids. ABC Tuesdays 8-9 p.m. ET

Into the Unknown with Josh Bernstein
I knew I could find something cool for my kids on the Discovery Channel, probably the most tween-friendly channel on TV. I missed the premiere this week, but I will tune in next week to see if this show really does do what it sets out to do: teach history in an entertaining way. Traveler, explorer and educator (and frankly, hottie) Josh Bernstein travels around the world to investigate whether the story of Noah’s Ark could have happened, what really happened to Timbuktu and how King Tut’s father changed the history of Egypt. If only the show aired at a more kid-friendly time, but I will set my Tivo to check out what looks like a fascinating show. Discovery Mondays 10-11 p.m. ET

–Posted by Jen Singer

Calling all Higglytown Heroes fans! Check out this Higgleytown Mixing Colors learning activity at the Playhouse Disney grown-ups’ and educators’ site. With this activity guide, help your child learn the basics about colors and mixing colors with a piece of white bread, food coloring, and some milk. For more Playhouse Disney learning activities, click here.

The STA’s Summer Tips are ideas for projects and activities inspired by your kids’ favorite shows, to help them learn while the TV is on and after it’s off. Look for more tips all summer long, to OutSmart the 150% Summer Spike in childrens’ television viewing.

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French television athorities ban French channels from promoting TV programs to childern. The ruling ordered that warning messages appear on baby channels that are broadcast in France such as Baby TV, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., and BabyFirstTV, which has ties to News Corp.’s Fox Entertainment.

Link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jNXX-uQkaIdgBV1UwbslQwlJQvnAD92M89J00

If you and your family love Veggie Tales as much as we do, check out the Big Idea Activities on the Big Idea/Veggie Tales website. There is a list of “One Child-One Parent” activities and another list of “Large Group” activities – although most of the “One Child-One Parent” activities are good for large groups as well. Our favorites include High Tower, Picture That, and Mayday Message. So go on, try these great games with your kids!

The STA’s Summer Tips are ideas for projects and activities inspired by your kids’ favorite shows, to help them learn while the TV is on and after it’s off. Look for more tips all summer long, to OutSmart the 150% Summer Spike in childrens’ television viewing.

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Just in time for school, PBS is unveiling its overhauled, more user-friendly PBS Parents website, PBSParents.org. To say it’s informative is like saying Sesame Street is “sort of an okay kids’ show.”
On the site you’ll find:

• Info about your kiddos’ favorite PBS KIDS programs

• Educational activities related to each show (and educational goals for each)

• Extensive info about children’s development from birth through the early school years

• New parenting blogs (with even more to come)

We especially liked this new article on how you and your kids can make the transition from end of summer to beginning of the new school year. (It even includes advice from two of our fave parenting experts, Michael Thompson, PhD, author of The Pressured Child, and Lawrence Cohen, PhD, who wrote Playful Parenting.) Look for tips on everything from dealing with separation pangs when you drop your three-year-old off at preschool to responding to your tween’s grunts when you dare ask who he sat with at lunch.

And really. Even though deep, deep, deep down, we already know all these answers, it’s comforting to have someone reiterate them again. And obviously, parenting advice on the PBS website carries more weight than like, what you might find on Nicole Richie’s Facebook page.

See? Now my headline makes sense. – Posted by Stephanie Booth

You probably know that the PBS Kids show Arthur teaches kids important life lessons and is also just a lot of fun to watch. What you may not know about are the many activities on the show’s website that can reinforce and build on all that learning – and not just with life lessons. Check out Sign Design and have fun learning sign language basics – with Arthur himself. For more printable Arthur activities and games, click here.

The STA’s Summer Tips are ideas for projects and activities inspired by your kids’ favorite shows, to help them learn while the TV is on and after it’s off. Look for more tips all summer long, to OutSmart the 150% Summer Spike in childrens’ television viewing.

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We love Oprah! Who else to better help with getting our kids back-to-school ready after they have been up late all summer?

“Regardless of age, regular schedules and bedtime rituals greatly impact our ability to obtain sound sleep and function at our best and the same goes for children. Sleep expert Dr. Michael Breus says establishing and maintaining good sleep habits helps children fall and stay asleep, and awake rested and refreshed.”

Get Oprah’s Bedtime Rules for parents: secrets for a good night’s rest.

Earlier this month, Debbie Bookstaber, who blogs over at the fabulous mamanista.com, generously wrote a great column for us on why parents should relax a little and realize that TV is not the Antichrist. (A paraphrasing.) Her well-argued points and recommendations for wise TV-watching really hit home. So much so that we’re still hearing from parents empowered to admit that their kiddo occasionally eats breakfast in front of Dragon Tales. (Um, that would be me. But the only thing I regret? Oatmeal is so not a good food choice for the living room couch.)
After the jump, feel the love for Debbie.

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