Living Montessori Now

Montessori Inspiration for Parents and Teachers

Creating Memories Together on Skype

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Welcome to the August Carnival of Natural Parenting: Creating With Kids

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared how they make messes and masterpieces with children. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

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Skype Screen Share of Photos from Our South Dakota Family Visit

Skype Screen Share of Photos from Our South Dakota Family Visit

Anyone who knows me is aware that I love to take photos of my family. You won’t find me at a family gathering or on a trip without a camera. When my kids were young, I carried a compact camera in my purse. For family trips, I now carry a larger camera with me.

Both my son and daughter enjoyed going through photos with me when they were still at home to help me pick out the best photos. My daughter loved to  create digital scrapbooking projects with me. I wrote a post about our digital scrapbooking: Help Your Child Create Unforgettable Cards and Gifts through Digital Scrapbooking.

Even though Will and Christina are both grown, married, and living in another city, we can still create memories together – online. Of course, when they’re home visiting, it’s fun to go through photos on my computer and in our photo albums. When we’re apart, we share some photos through Facebook … but our favorite way is through Skype, which has free voice or video calls anywhere in the world via computer.

Creating Memories Together through Skype Screen Sharing and Online Photo Albums

It’s always more fun to sort through vacation photos with someone. Christina and I found we can do that together on Skype. I enable the screen share so Christina sees my computer screen even though I’m in Colorado Springs and she’s in San Diego. Then we just go through the photos together.

After we’ve picked out our favorite photos, I do any necessary editing and upload them to an online Picasa album. (Flickr or another online album would work well, too.) I send the album link to family members so that they can enjoy the photos and download any of my photos they want. UPDATE: Here’s my latest way to quickly create scrapbook pages to share in my online albums: My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software.

A Brief Video Intro to Skype

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1mflr-kQlk[/youtube]

Creating Memories Together through other Experiences on Skype

Christina on Skype

Christina on Skype

  • When my daughter lived in England, she and I spent many happy hours talking on Skype. My daughter had a Skype cell phone, so we were able to talk for free even if she wasn’t at her computer.
  • We used the video capabilities of Skype especially if my daughter wanted to show me a new outfit, hairstyle, or ice dance costume. We still do that.
  • Now my daughter and son-in-law live in California, and Christina and I sometimes watch shows like Glee or Touched by an Angel together on Skype. Christina plays a DVD or show through video streaming on her computer, shares the screen with me, and we enjoy a special time watching a show we both like.
  • Christina is a Zumba instructor, and I get private Zumba classes (or semi-private classes along with my daughter-in-law, Chea) on Skype. Christina turns on the Skype video, leads the class, and I join in. I love Zumba, and those are my VERY FAVORITE Zumba classes!
  • I have no doubt that Skype will be extremely important when I have grandkids!

Don’t Miss Out on Creating Memories Like These

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p32OC97aNqc[/youtube]

Educational Uses for Skype

A number of sites offer lessons for homeschoolers in everything from music to karate via Skype.

Here are lots of other ideas for using Skype educationally, many of which are appropriate for both school classrooms and homeschools:

50 Awesome Ways to Use Skype in the Classroom from Teaching Degree.

Have you used Skype educationally and/or to create memories?

Linked with The Mommy Club Resources and Solutions

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Carnival of Natural Parenting -- Hobo Mama and Code Name: MamaVisit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

  • Family Draw Time Art Show — Kate Wicker shares art (and inspiration!) from her family’s cherished tradition of family draw time.
  • The Rules of Creativity: Learning to Create with the “Non-Creative” — Zoe at Give an Earthly shares how she learned to accept her “non-creative” child and claims that anyone, child or adult, can be creative given the right handling and environment.
  • Creating With Kids: 4 Ways That Work For Us — See how Kristin at Intrepid Murmurings nurtures creativity with her kids through craft projects, outdoor creative play, celebrating the creative process, and setting up “little spaces of beauty.”
  • Creating memories, not things — Mrs. Green from Little Green Blog reflects on life with a ten year old and how ‘creating together’ has evolved from ‘things’ to memories.
  • The Gift of Creation — It may be hot, but Kellie at Our Mindful Life is already thinking about winter.
  • Hidden Talents — Sylvia at MaMammalia describes how providing the opportunity for creativity sometimes means learning to look for hidden talents in unusual places.
  • Creating Joy — CatholicMommy at Working to be Worthy shares how she and her one year-old son create joy for their community.
  • How to do Crafts with Kids — Gaby from Tmuffin guest posts at Natural Parents Network and describes how to keep things simple when doing crafts with kids for magical (easy-to-clean, and tantrum-free) results.
  • Sugar & Spice & Baking on the Kitchen Floor — Carrie at Love Notes Mama enjoys making a mess in the kitchen with her daughter.
  • Young Scientist Makes Purple Potion — Hannah at Wild Parenting loves being a lab assistant for the young scientist in her life.
  • Making a butterfly house — Lauren at Hobo Mama demonstrates the proper way to build a wooden butterfly house with a preschooler.
  • Nurturing Creativity — Amyables at Toddler In Tow shares the enjoyment she feels in nurturing the creativity of her children.
  • Home School Music – Sparking A New Generation Of Musicians — Based on her musical background, Chante at My Natural Motherhood Journey talks about how she creates with and teaches music to her children.
  • Creating (im)perfectly Together — Mudpiemama shares some of the highlights of a summer spent building everything from ships to hoops but most of a lesson on letting go of perfection.
  • Family Soccer Kick Around — When her children wanted to play soccer, Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children helped organize something that would work for her family.
  • Creating Memories Together on Skype — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now tells how you can create memories online with adult children or anyone who lives in another city or country.
  • We’ll always have Halloween: Creating costumes for kids — Jessica Claire at Crunchy-Chewy Mama is not the craftiest mom on the block, but she does make a mean homemade Halloween costume.
  • Let’s Make Juice! — Wendylori at High Needs Attachment shares about the benefits of juicing with kids, as well as a quick recipe.
  • Everything’s Better When It’s Homemade — Amanda at Let’s Take the Metro praises the art of homemade goods.
  • Creating the Opportunity for Art — Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction shares how her family has created an environment conducive to art.
  • 10 Easy and Functional Crafts Preschoolers Can Do with Minimal Assistance — Dionna at Code Name: Mama offers ten easy crafts preschoolers can do while sitting near parents — but they don’t need a lot of parental help. Added bonus: all of these ten ideas double as something functional (gifts, decor, educational).
  • Creating with Kids: Singing Together — Ana at Pandamoly details the important role music takes in her household and provides a quick (and easy!) tutorial for creating fun songs to sing together!
  • Create This — jessica at instead of institutions considers different aspects of creativity including those without an end product.
  • Make Your Own Pocket Bib — A tutorial from Amy at Anktangle on how to make two simple and quick bibs to keep your little one clean at the table.
  • Creating Together in the Kitchen — Despite not feeling “crafty,” Momma Jorje finds a way to create and connect with her toddler.
  • An Artist-Mama’s Perspective — In this post, Shannon at The Artful Mama discusses the differences between her choice of artistic outlet and her son’s, and how they embrace those differences together.
  • Heart of the Home — Jona at Life, Intertwined shares some highlights of cooking with kids.
  • Getting creative with kids — Isil at Smiling like Sunshine shares how much she enjoys watching her daughter getting creative.
  • Creating with Children – The Nature/Seasonal Table — Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama celebrates the rhythm of the natural world with her toddler through the creation of a seasonal nature table.
  • How Involving My Kid Saves My Sanity — The Happy Hippie Homemaker explains how involving her toddler in projects allows her to get more done, while providing valuable opportunities to teach and to bond (added bonus: amazing oatmeal raisin cookie recipe!).
  • In the Kitchen with Kids — Cooking with Real and Pretend Food — Terri from Child of the Nature Isle engages her kids in the kitchen with culinary creations of both real and pretend food.

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. syad wasal says

    I think now every business should have their mobile App’s with out them its difficult to spread the business You’re doing a great job May god bless you

  3. Jess and Brandon says

    Great way to create new memories and to keep them for a long time. Skype it’s amazing for long distance conversation and video calls. Thank you for sharing this with us.

  4. Shannon says

    Deb! Thanks so much for linking up to Mommy Club! You were picked as one of my 3 favorite posts that Linked up to Mommy Club Wednesdays!You can find the link to your post here: http://milkandcuddles.com/2011/08/wednesday-link-up/

    Congrats! I have linked to your blog from mine- hope it gives you extra traffic!

    Thanks so much for linking- and hope you will link up more awesome ideas in the future! HUGS!

    Shannon
    MilkandCuddles.com

    PS. I’m also your newest follower! 🙂

    • Deb says

      Thanks so much, Shannon! I’m excited to be featured! The Mommmy Club Resources and Solutions is a great link-up … thanks for starting it and hosting it each week! 🙂

  5. Chante says

    That was so cool! I know my family has loved getting to interact with Skype! Distances are cut down and bonding can take place. I’m also planning to start some long distance home schooling using the talents of my family to teach our children through Skype! Thanks for sharing this post!

    • Deb says

      Thanks for your comment, Chante! It’s exciting that you’ll be using Skype for some long-distance home schooling! Be sure to let us know what you do with it! 🙂

  6. Carolyn says

    I admire your dedication as a montessori mum.

    I’m having a giveaway. Only five entrants so a good chance to win. Come on over and enter.

  7. Jackie says

    Wow! I did not know you could do all of that on Skype. I’ve actually never used it. (I just saw Oprah use it to interview guests in her last few seasons!) Doesn’t it make you wonder how families who had to separated by long distances ever made it without technology like this and social media?

    • Deb says

      Thanks for your comment, Jackie! There are so many times that I’ve wondered how families survived being in different countries before Skype, etc. Having had my daughter live in a different country definitely made me extra grateful for modern technology! 🙂

  8. Sylvia says

    Wow! You have really taken advantage of Skype in some ways I hadn’t thought of. Brilliant! I recently started using it so my son could interact with my mom who lives far away. We also started using it to chat with friends abroad that we plan to visit so he can get to know them before we meet them in person. As you pointed out, Skype seems to have endless possibilities!

    • Deb says

      Thanks,Sylvia! It’s great that your son is interacting with his grandma on Skype! Skype definitely has LOTS of possibilities! 🙂

  9. Mandy says

    You have inspired me to check into skype. It’s been on my list of things to do. While I have more time before my children leave home, it could be a lovely way to stay in touch with other relatives.

    • Deb says

      Thanks, Mandy! It took me awhile to get Skype after people first recommended it to me, too. Once I did get it, I wondered how we’d survived without it! 🙂

  11. Kristy says

    We use Skype all the time now, mainly with our children’s cousins, aunt and uncle, and grandparents. My son wants to Skype Grandma today to show her his new lunchbox for school. 🙂 I had no idea you could do something like screen share, though! We have not used a group video chat yet, either, though my husband wants to do something like that with family members as sort of a family-story-genealogy-sharing-and-preserving-memories event.

    • Deb says

      Thanks for your comment, Kristy! How great that your son can show his new lunchbox to his grandma on Skype! I love the idea of sharing your family story/genealogy via Skype! 🙂

  12. Mrs Green says

    I LOVE that you do more than talk – I never realised you could do all those things. It’s just like you’re in the same room; watching TV, choosing photos, taking classes – brilliant! Thanks for sharing!

    • Deb says

      Thanks so much for your kind comment! Skype has definitely improved life for my family – makes having loved ones in another city or country a totally different (and MUCH BETTER) experience! 🙂

  13. Jessica says

    As someone who’s used Skype three times, this blew my mind! Thank you! My mom is in poor health, and after my baby daughter just got to know her in this most recent visit, I think Skype is on order for the future. I also enjoyed your scrapbook post. I have only done photo cards and not yet books in Creative Memories but was thinking of doing that for one I want a lot of text with. Do you think it’s overrated or have you not tried it?

    • Deb says

      Thanks, Jessica! I think Skype is amazing for grandparents and grandchildren! I haven’t used Creative Memories, since I’ve just designed and printed out pages that I insert into purchased scrapbook albums. I’m thinking of doing a giveaway of some digital scrapbooking software that has online photo albums associated with it. I could be doing that fairly soon.

  15. Wendylori says

    Wow, I had no idea that skype could do all that – I bet my son would love talking to his grandparents that way! I’ll have to keep that in mind about homeschooling resources too.

    • Deb says

      Thanks, Wendylori! I love lots of uses for Skype, but I think kids being able to talk with their grandparents on Skype is one of the absolute best uses! 🙂

    • Deb says

      Thanks so much for your kind comment, Sasha – and for the blog award! I love what you do, and I’m honored! 🙂

  17. Dionna says

    What a sweet way to continue creating memories over a long distance! My family does Skype, and I’ve been super excited that Google Plus now has a group video chat feature. Thank you for sharing Deb!

    • Deb says

      Thanks, Dionna! The group video chat on Google+ is a great option, isn’t it?! Who would think technology could do so much for families?! 🙂

  18. Ewa says

    I never thought of Skype as a goldmine of possibilities. Thank you for bringing it to the daylight 😉

    It’s very kind of you to link my site to your Facebook page 😉

    Lots of hugs
    Ewa

    • Deb says

      You’re welcome, Ewa! I love your activities! And Skype is definitely a goldmine of possibilities! 🙂

  19. mudpiemama says

    We love using skype to connect with our family around the globe too 🙂 My dad & mum play the violin/piano for my children over skype from Brazil to us here in Switzerland and its so special to them to share the music and see the grandkids! What a cool thing about your zumba lessons!!

    • Deb says

      Thanks so much for your comment! That is SO COOL that you dad and mom play the violin and piano for your children over Skype!!! Love it! 🙂

  20. Lauren says

    Oh, my goodness, what cool ideas! I had no idea you could do all that in Skype. We’ve finally gotten into video calling with Grandma (though it takes forever each time for both of us to remember how it’s all set up!), but maybe we’ll switch to Skype. I like those screen sharing ideas, and the Zumba classes — how cool!

    • Deb says

      Thanks, Lauren! It’s made a HUGE difference for our family! Now that Christina and Tom are in San Diego, that’s also the main way Tom talks with his family in England. I’m definitely a lover of technology! 🙂