Computer Expert

The last thing I will claim to be is a computer expert, but luckily, the required activities for girls to earn their Computer Expert patch are not terribly involved.

This is one of three patches that I felt would be best for the girls to do individually, rather than as a group, as the activities lend themselves nicely to a little one-on-one time with a parent or guardian.

The first step is to paint or draw with an art program.  We actually completed two of the three choices here:

Paint or draw with an art program - Paint a picture
 
http://www.onemotion.com/flash/sketch-paint/

Make a connection - Here is my card

With Grandparents Day just around the corner, we took advantage of the opportunity to create a card for our more tech-savy grandparents.

Sites like American Greetings and Hallmark offered the best selections, however, they did not appeal to my thrifty senses.  Instead, we settled on Care2  After you create a card, they offer you the opportunity to make a donation to a variety of causes, however, that's not a requirement. 

Find some cool facts - All about animals

This step, Find some cool facts, gave us a chance to teach each other.  Cathy showed me the various web sites that she uses through the school library to search for information.  In turn, I showed her my favorite internet search engine, Google.

After our recent trip to the National Zoo, we chose to learn All about animals, choosing the Giant Panda.  The National Zoo is one of just four zoos in the United States to have Giant Pandas and currently features two adults and a one-year old cub, Bao Bao.

This steps requires that you learn five facts about animals that we could share with our friends.  Other choices included Hometown history and Online art walk (this would have fit in nicely with the Painter patch the girls earned last year).

Take a trip online - Road trip
 
Since my brother and I had just been talking about a summer trip to Isle Royale National Park, it seemed like a good time to introduce my daughter to Mapquest.  We plotted the drive to and from Houghton, MI - one of a handful of locations where you can catch the ferry from the mainland out to what I affectionately refer to as 'Isolation Island'.  Driving distance... roughly 930 miles.  More than 15 hours.  $150 in gas.  I am horrified just thinking about it.

After that, we downloaded Google Earth and explored our neighborhood and elementary school before moving on to recent vacation destinations, favorite amusement parks, and other more prominent locations.

Have more computer fun - Game on!
 
The final requirement for this patch was actually the easiest one to complete, especially since it's a just about every-day activity here at our house... visit child-friendly game sites and play three games.  My little girls spends more time on the Disney Jr. web site, playing with Mickey & friends, Handy Manny, etc.