Education

Q&A with Neylan McBaine of Brain Chase Productions

May 14, 2015 by The Motherhood

This spring, The Motherhood has been working with the team behind the Brain Chase Summer Learning Challenge, along with a large team of mom influencers, to spread the word about this fun and interactive online summer learning option. Recently, we asked Brain Chase Chief Marketing Officer Neylan McBaine to share her thoughts on why Brain Chase is a unique, effective option for families.

Keep reading to learn what she has to say!

In your opinion, what sets Brain Chase apart from other online summer learning options?

Brain Chase brings together two things that are found in quality and quantity apart but are rarely combined effectively: education and entertainment. Singular successful examples last generations in our memories: Schoolhouse Rock, Where In the World Is Carmen San Diego?, even Sesame Street, to name a few from my own childhood. But Brain Chase takes that pairing into both the digital and offline worlds. By offering the best online curriculum resources on the web and motivating kids to use them by crafting a massive global treasure hunt, Brain Chase offers kids a framework in which they can learn from the best while not suffering the drudgery and nagging parental figures that accompany so many other options.

What was your family’s experience participating in Brain Chase last summer (before you were hired by the company)?

My three daughters are not particularly computer literate, so I am always looking for ways to introduce them to resources and sites online that will expose them to the best of what the internet has to offer. For me, one of the best parts of participating in the program last summer was seeing my kids become fluent on Khan Academy and myON in a structured, motivating environment. This year, Brain Chase has added Rosetta Stone and Google Books as curriculum partners, so we’re looking forward to becoming familiar with those this year.

While I might have appreciated seeing them become more familiar with the web’s “healthy” resources, their favorite part for sure was the adventure tools that came through the mail from the Grayson Academy of Antiquities (the fictional employer of our heroine, Mae Merriweather). They received a very cool decoder ring, a compass and seeds that revealed a secret password on their leaves when they grew. This year’s adventure tools are just as cool: a decoder medallion, a sundial and a mystery tool – but I know what it is and it is delightful. It’s magical to see kids receive a package in the mail that looks like it comes from an exotic adventureland and then figure out how to use something like a compass that is foreign to them today but directed our civilizations for thousands of years! (Apparently, the kids weren’t the only ones who love these tools.)

How have parents and kids reacted to the idea of Brain Chase in general?

We joke in the office that Brain Chase is an “and then…” product: “So, it’s a summer program that’s online … and then there are real adventure tools … and then there are animated episodes … and then there are clues to a riddle … and then there’s a real buried treasure … and then there is a $10,000 prize…!” Parents and kids both become more and more intrigued when they learn about the extent of the program and all of the magical online and offline components. Overwhelmingly, when a parent grasps the full concept and the tremendous value we’re offering over five weeks, they can’t believe how fun and productive and flexible and useful the program is. We have some seriously devoted fans! The kids love the idea of the animated show and the real buried treasure, and parents love the fact that they won’t have to nag their kids about doing something productive with their inevitable summer screen time.

What is the most important thing you would like people to know about Brain Chase?

Brain Chase is unlike anything else parents are familiar with today, so it requires a bit of education to understand just how comprehensive our value is. On the education side, we’re researching and curating and partnering with the very best curriculum providers on the web, most of which are expensive as stand-alone subscriptions. With Brain Chase, kids will get seven weeks of access to Rosetta Stone, for instance (the kids can access Rosetta Stone for two additional weeks after our program ends to continue with their work), which is not a cheap resource. We’re also providing streamlined log-ins to each curriculum partner and a dashboard where the student’s work on each site is tracked. We’re providing a motivational framework so the child won’t have to be nagged to do their work, a place where kids can become familiar with the “superfoods” of the web and not just the “junk.”

On the entertainment side, we have an original animated series featuring our own characters, and the episodes are packed with clues to the location of a real-life buried treasure. The adventure tools we send in the mail are essential for completing the weekly education challenges but also for solving the global treasure hunt. All of that makes for an amazing value when you compare it to those components separately or to any other five-week summer camp, and when you consider that our program can be done from anywhere, at any time.

As a parent yourself, what do you most love about the Brain Chase academic offerings?

All of our academic offerings are entirely flexible and can be personalized to the students’ needs. So my three daughters – 11, 9 and 6 – can each get exactly what they need from the program. With Khan Academy, for instance, my 11-year-old can choose to review fifth grade math or go on to sixth grade math, and my 6-year-old can select first grade math. Similarly, my kids can select different books to read and even different languages to study through Rosetta Stone. What this means is that Brain Chase can be used as a tool to help kids review last year’s work or get ahead for the next year. We’ve had a number of touching stories from parents whose kids used Brain Chase last year to catch up after missing some school due to illness or learning disabilities. I love that part of our program.

Our kids want to know if Brain Chase can come to their classrooms! Any plans to tap the larger education market?

Absolutely! Our summer program will always be our foundational offering, but we’re in the process now of looking for partners with whom we can build after-school programs and expand our product offerings. We’d love to use our existing motivational framework to make additional learning fun in the after-school hours, or personalize the animations and treasure hunt to a specific educational group. We currently have a program where we give teachers $15 for each of their students who registers for Brain Chase, so getting a lot of kids in a class to register for the summer program is a great fundraiser for a teacher or a school.

You can visit Brain Chase here to register!

6 Truths About Failure GoldieBlox Can Teach Girls

April 2, 2015 by The Motherhood

Photo credit: Stacy, Kids Stuff World

The Motherhood is thrilled to once again partner with GoldieBlox, a brand that is helping girls develop an early interest in learning STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) skills. Each GoldieBlox product features a fun story about a girl named Goldie, who has to solve a problem by building a simple machine. The products come with the same pieces Goldie has in the story, so girls can learn and build along with her. We love how Goldie encourages young girls to take risks, try new things and most importantly, never give up.

“The biggest reason for tears in our household are those of frustration. Tears of failure. Tears of being even too afraid to try. And I’ll tell you right now that no amount of saying to my children, ‘You can do it!’ – is going to make them really just try something again that they’ve failed at or were too afraid to try in the first place.” – Tracy, Sellabit Mum

Sound familiar to you? Unfortunately, fear of failure keeps many children (and adults!) from trying new things. Research shows that fear of failure is learned in young girls, not inherent, which means we can help reverse this mindset in girls!

Here are a few truths about failure that a group of awesome bloggers have been teaching their daughters using GoldieBlox:

1. Failure does not mean the end.

“It is so important for her to learn that failure is not the end! It is just a curve in the road. We talked about my failures. I fail all the time! But it gives me the push I need to keep going and try again. She has that same fire. I hope she never loses it! GoldieBlox encourages this too!” – Heather, Living on Love and Cents

IMG_5060-500x333 — Photo by Jennifer, Sweet T Makes Three

2. Failure makes room for creativity and innovation.

“Sweet T hauled Goldie and her zipline equipment to her room for quiet time this afternoon and innovated on her own without my help! She doesn’t know what ‘tension’ means, but she couldn’t get enough of it to make her zipline work so she figured out a way to tie one end of the zipline to her rocking chair and move it around the room to get the tension she needed. I checked on her a little later and she had solved the problem of an unstable rocking chair by placing her giant stuffed Eeyore underneath to stabilize it.” – Jennifer, Sweet T Makes Three

3. Failure’s lessons will make you better the next time around.

“It’s important to me that my daughter knows that it’s ok to fail. Failure is what makes us do even better the next time around. Failure is what makes us be our best.” – Mellisa, Mom Luck

Cakes-assembling-GoldieBlox-Zipline — Photo by Kelly, Texas Type A Mom

4. You can often avoid failure by remaining calm and confident.

“You know, it’s in the midst of trouble that our true character comes out, isn’t it? She began to get frustrated when she put the drum together, then realized the inside parts were not facing the right direction to finish putting it together. She had to tear the outside paper to get back into the drum to fix it. I wondered how this would affect her. Would she be disappointed? Discouraged? ‘Mom, we can just tape it!’ It was a no brainer! Problem solved. No biggie. There’s not much in life that we get right the first time, is there? Figuring out a solution without losing our cool is a great thing to learn!” – Esther, Laugh With Us Blog

5. Overcoming failure is empowering.

“Solving problems can make you feel powerful and GoldieBlox helps them achieve that feeling while having fun.” – Bridgette, Experimental Mommy

Goldie-Blox-2 — Photo by Allison, Some the Wiser

6. Failure is a part of life, and that’s not a bad thing.

“I love that GoldieBlox wants us to teach our children that failure is okay. Many great inventors and leaders failed, again and again. I don’t want my daughter to ever fear failure because failure can lead to innovation. We shouldn’t let fear of failure stop us from trying.” – Melissa, A Sparkle of Genius

“Knowing that adults don’t do well with failure makes it even harder to teach children about it. But as parents, it’s our responsibility to teach our children about failure. The sooner, the better so we can help them vocalize and overcome their failures from early age when those failures aren’t quite as significant as when they’re older.” – Kelly, Texas Type A Mom

Your daughters can experience Goldie’s stories while learning these truths, having fun and confidently growing in their STEM skills! Use coupon code Spring2015-2b8badcd to receive 20% off of any purchases on the GoldieBlox website. Hurry though, offer ends on April 5, 2015!

What lessons has failure taught you that you want your daughters to know?

Keep Kids’ Minds Active This Summer with Brain Chase

March 18, 2015 by The Motherhood

Every year, kids nationwide look forward to that final bell indicating that school’s out for the summer.

As parents, we’re usually less pleased when our kids begin their mid-year months of “freedom,” because we’ve seen the research showing that kids lose ground academically over the summer (according to a 2011 RAND study).

Help has arrived: Brain Chase, a five-week, summer learning challenge disguised as a virtual treasure hunt to keep your kids interested and motivated to learn, as they search the globe for a real treasure in the form of a $10,000 college scholarship fund.

The first-ever Brain Chase Summer Learning Challenge occurred last year. See how it turned out for the 2014 winners:

You can sign your kids up now for a summer of educational fun! The treasure hunt begins on June 22. Get early-bird pricing until April 15, and use this code to take an extra 15 percent off: MOTHERHOOD15

Brain Chase requires kids to complete weekly structured math and reading challenges on sites like Khan Academy and myON, along with writing exercises that receive feedback from credentialed teachers, in order to unlock original, animated webisodes with a story line featuring a team of kid treasure hunters. Each webisode contains clues to help kids find the location of a real buried treasure (and $10,000 scholarship fund).

Parents get weekly progress reports on kids’ work throughout the five-week challenge, and in addition to the normal assignments, Brain Chase sends three “bonus challenges” through the regular mail. Last year’s challenges required kids to work with a decoder ring, compass and “magic” seeds to solve additional clues.

Based on a survey of last year’s participants, 93 percent of parents say that Brain Chase helped their children stay sharp over the summer, and 83 percent say it was more effective than other summer learning options they were aware of.

You can see the sneak preview for the 2015 Brain Chase Summer Learning Challenge here:

Let the “adventure learning” begin for your kids this year, and share your progress with us along the way! You can sign your kids up here, and don’t forget to use the discount code MOTHERHOOD15.

Disclosure: The Motherhood is working with Brain Chase, along with a team of fantastic bloggers and their intrepid, treasure-hunting kids, on a blog campaign between March and June. Opinions are our own.

GoldieBlox: Making Engineering Accessible to Young Girls

September 17, 2014 by The Motherhood

The Motherhood has partnered with an incredible company called GoldieBlox on a blog campaign with an equally amazing group of moms, whose daughters have received and enjoyed GoldieBlox toys of their own. We also hosted a Twitter party yesterday to learn about encouraging and inspiring young girls in math, science and engineering fields. Sadly:

According to research, the earlier kids become interested in math and science, the more likely it is they will go into those fields as adults. Engineering is one of the fastest-growing job markets in the United States, and it is still a male-dominated field. We can thank GoldieBlox for recognizing and addressing this issue.

GoldieBlox offers three award-winning products – the Parade Float, Dunk Tank and Spinning Machine – that help young girls to learn and enjoy basic engineering principles (and they have several new products available for order now!). Each GoldieBlox product features a fun story about a girl named Goldie, who has to solve a problem by building a simple machine. The products come with pieces to build the same simple machines that Goldie builds, so kids can build along with her. After finishing the stories, they can take the pieces and use their creativity to build a limitless amount of other simple machines while making up their own stories!

Our blogger team members and other Twitter party participants were enthusiastic in their support of the toys.

Do you have a daughter who might be interested in GoldieBlox toys? How do you encourage your kids – boys or girls – in areas they might find challenging?