Sesame Street's materials for kids with an incarcerated parent

Though the incarceration of a loved one brings about many challenges, it also provides an opportunity to show your child how much you love and care for him. Your love and support are the most important things to help him cope with this difficult change. Here are some tools to help you navigate some of the transitions and challenges that a parent's incarceration can bring.

As part of their "Little Children, Big Challenges" project, the Sesame Street people have produced an excellent module for helping kids cope with having a parent in jail (available in English and Spanish). The module includes some really good videos, a downloadable storybook, activities, and tips for caregivers and providers. The materials are beautifully and sensitively made, and Sesame Street deserves praise for taking on such a difficult and important subject.

Lovely tribute to the inventor of the phenakistoscope, an early animated art form Joseph Plateau invented the phenakistoscope in 1832 and revolutionized visual media by paving the way to modern animation. This lovely tribute repurposes some of his most famous works. Here's how to make your own, which kids can do with a little help. Image: YouTube / kleshaproduction READ THE REST

Fun home experiments with supercooled water MEL Chemistry shared a nice overview of some fun tricks kids can do with supercooled water, like dipping a frozen grape and watching the crystals form before their eyes. If you really want to up the enthusiasm, tell them they can learn to make ice and snow like Elsa from Frozen: Image: YouTube MEL Chemistry READ THE REST

Watch this cool demonstration of an Ames window Host Deane Hutton from Australia's vintage children's program The Curiosity Show demonstrates the optical illusion called an Ames window. The trapezoid is named after American ophthalmologist Adelbert Ames Jr., who first demonstrated the phenomenon. Ames is probably better known for the Ames room: Ames rooms have been used in a number of music videos and […] READ THE REST

The UniLid is a one-size-fits-all cover that'll guarantee you never buy plastic wrap again Be honest. How many plastic lids are stashed away in your kitchen? No, seriously…how many? Go ahead and check that black hole of a cupboard down there and find out. We'll wait… Was the number up over 20? Over 30? More? Now the second question is…could you even guess at which containers actually fit half […] READ THE REST

Pianu Pro turns learning the piano into a game and it's on sale for over 40% off Music is hugely liberating. And whether you love rock, classical, country, rap or any other genre, there's a real sense of accomplishment when you can sit down in front of a keyboard and hammer out a note-perfect version of a favorite tune. Of course, the only way to get to that point is usually after […] READ THE REST