Geek Mom

The editors of GeekMom, sister site to Wired's GeekDad blog, offer a range of cool projects and parenting advice centered around raising kids in the tech age.

Stand-up comic and writer/filmmaker Stacy Dymalski learned about parenting the hard way; she became one. After 36 years of childless living spoiled her into believing happy hour was just a normal part of one's daily commute, she moved to Utah (to ski everyday, of course) and within a year got pregnant. (Isn't that what happens to any woman who moves to Utah?) Before she knew it she had two young sons and suddenly sleep won out over midnight comedy shows. Juicy Juice replaced Gray Goose vodka (although they are good mixed). Prada bags gave way to diaper bags. Showers couldn't last longer than a "Bob the Builder" video. Vacations took a back seat to music lessons, and band instruments littered the house like empty beer bottles in a college dorm. And for the first 10 years of her sons' lives she felt compelled to clean up her language (sort of). In between carpools and doing crazy stuff like lobbying for sex education in schools (so our kids don't grow up thinking the missionary position involves a bicycle and a doorbell) Stacy has documented her parenting journey in this delightful collection of laugh-out-loud stories that her children are sure to contest once they're old enough to understand the art of irony and exaggeration.

In the Night Realm, vampires, shifters, weirns, and other night things passing for human prowl the streets... but they still have to go to school! Ailis and Na'ya are pretty average students (NOT losers), but when a shadow starts looming and a classmate gets all weird, they are the first to notice. It gets personal, though, when Na'ya's little brother D'esh disappears-It's time to confront the secrets of the forbidden mansion in the Silent Woods! Join the acclaimed author of Awkward, Svetlana Chmakova, for an outing into her favorite fantastical world full of magic and adventure!

Provides a collection of ideas for science fair projects and family activities, including making topsoil, understanding calories, and building a MacGyver radio.

The hilarious, clever, and much-anticipated follow-up to the breakout hit, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda! It is a dark time at Ralph McQuarrie Middle School. After suffering several Origami Yoda–related humiliations, Harvey manages to get Dwight suspended from school for being a “troublemaker.” Origami Yoda pleads with Tommy and Kellen to save Dwight by making a new case file—one that will show how Dwight’s presence benefits McQuarrie. With the help of their friends, Tommy and Kellen record cases such as “Origami Yoda and the Pre-eaten Wiener,” “Origami Yoda and the Exploding Pizza Bagels,” and “Origami Yoda and Wonderland: The Musical.” But Harvey and his Darth Paper puppet have a secret plan that could make Dwight’s suspension permanent . . . This is the second case file in the blockbuster bestselling Origami Yoda series, written by Tom Angleberger, author of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side, showcasing his proven knack for authentically capturing the intrigues, fads, and dramas of middle school in “a satisfying tale of friendship and just resistance to authority” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). Praise for Darth Paper Strikes Back STARRED REIVEW“Angleberger’s just-as-funny follow-up to The Strange Case of Origami Yoda delves deeper into the mystery of the helpful paper Yoda in a satisfying tale of friendship and just resistance to authority.Pitch-perfect middle-school milieu and enough Star Wars references (and laughs) to satisfy fans and win new ones.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review “In this imaginative sequel…author Tom Angleberger has his finger puppet squarely on the erratic pulse of middle-school life, with its shifting allegiances, squeals, moans and misgivings.”—Washington Post “As with this story’s predecessor, the well-observed middle-school dynamics (and Angleberger’s sharp sense of humor) are greatly amplified by the book's design, which includes faux wrinkled pages, abundant doodles, and other scrawled marginalia. It's a natural step up from the Wimpy Kid series, with more text and narrative complexity, but just as much on-target humor and all-around fun.” —Publishers Weekly “This book is honest, funny, and immensely entertaining. The illustrations and design will engage readers. Based on the positive reception Origami Yoda has received, kids will be clamoring for this sequel. They won’t be disappointed.” —School Library Journal “The Force is with Tom Angleberger in this sequel to his funny and clever novel/comics hybrid, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. A sequel to equal the funny and clever novel/comics debut of the Origami Yoda, as Dwight’s friends try to save him from reform school.—Shelf Awareness “With the same deft touch that made The Strange Case of Origami Yoda a pleasure, Angleberger takes readers through the ups and downs of adolescence.” —Portland Book Review “Darth Paper offers further proof that Angleberger really understands middle-schoolers and the daily dramas that engulf them, while still finding the humor inherent in their situations.—Scripps News

National Book Award Finalist • Here is the unforgettable story of the Binewskis, a circus-geek family whose matriarch and patriarch have bred their own exhibit of human oddities--with the help of amphetamines, arsenic, and radioisotopes. Their offspring include Arturo the Aquaboy, who has flippers for limbs and a megalomaniac ambition worthy of Genghis Khan . . . Iphy and Elly, the lissome Siamese twins . . . albino hunchback Oly, and the outwardly normal Chick, whose mysterious gifts make him the family’s most precious—and dangerous—asset. As the Binewskis take their act across the backwaters of the U.S., inspiring fanatical devotion and murderous revulsion; as its members conduct their own Machiavellian version of sibling rivalry, Geek Love throws its sulfurous light on our notions of the freakish and the normal, the beautiful and the ugly, the holy and the obscene. Family values will never be the same.

Science is the ultimate parenting tool. After all, it’s really all about observing, asking questions, solving problems, making mistakes, and trying again and again and again—just like being a mom or dad! Come along with Lynn Brunelle as she initiates you into the joys of geek-style parenting. A proud geek mom herself—and an Emmy-winning writer for the show Bill Nye, the Science Guy—Lynn has had a love of science from the time she was a child. When she had her own kids, science became like a friend she could lean on for support, helping her make sense of the joy, pain, and uncertainty of parenting. Join her as she infuses her days with science, and shares it, in all its geeky wonder, with her kids.

The wildly popular DIY dad follows up his instant New York Times bestseller with a fresh batch of geeky weekend science projects for the whole family to enjoy. Ken Denmead struck a chord with parents and kids across America with his GeekDad blog on Wired.com, which receives more than one million page views per month. His debut book, Geek Dad, was on bestseller lists and in its seventh printing just two months after hitting store shelves. With The Geek Dad's Guide to Weekend Fun, he keeps the nerdtastic novelties coming, with projects that teach readers how to: •Build homemade robots from scratch •Write and direct simple stop-motion movies •Hack into mechanical toys to add cool electronic twists, and more United by the premise that to really understand science and how something works you must design and build it yourself or remake it better, Geek Parents everywhere will celebrate this latest installment of weekend workshop wonders. Watch a Video