Connecting Families with HomeTeam™ & A Giveaway!

Growing up, my grandmother lived just upstairs from me, in the same house as my family.  I have such wonderful memories of the time spent with my grandma.  Whether we were playing card games, board games or reading a story together, it seemed that my grandma always had time for me.  I am positive that I wouldn't be the avid reader I am today if it weren't for her.  But times have changed.  Even though my kids' grandparents live a little over an hour away, I want them to have the same sort of relationship that I had with my grandma.  Thanks to the wonderful technology available today, my kids keep in touch with their grandparents mainly through texting.  Which is why I am so excited about Panasonic's new app, called HomeTeam™.

HomeTeam™ provides a way for loved ones to connect, no matter how far apart in miles - or age!  Different generations can find common ground though playing games and reading stories, all while chatting through the app.  I think, as parents and grandparents, we all learn that we truly get to know our kids by sharing in a common activity and the natural conversation that happens during that time. Rarely do I get a thoughtful answer when I ask my boys, "how was school?", but they do open up much more when we, say, cook dinner together.  Just asking cold questions doesn't really provide the same sort of connection.  With HomeTeam, grandkids and grandparents have something to do together and the connections happen more naturally.  In the picture below, you can see what the screen looks like while my 9-year-old son is playing a game of Mad Libs (his favorite!) with his grandmother.

With HomeTeam, you can read books together, just as I did with my grandma all those years ago.  For emerging readers, you can each take turns reading a page.  For younger kids, the grandparent can read the story to the child.  With more than 100 titles to choose from, the app has many great books and will also help you choose age appropriate books.  There are classics, like Curious George, as well as the latest popular book series.  As a former teacher, I know any opportunity to engage in reading is a great one.  I love how this app allows grandparents to help a child be more successful in school and build healthy reading habits from a young age, all while building lasting memories.

You can also team up to play games together.  From classic games like Checkers and Tic-Tac-Toe to exclusive HomeTeam games, there are lots of family-friendly options. The kids will have fun while learning basic math skills, vocabulary, science, logic and more.  And the very best part is the connections that will happen even when you are far apart, bridging distance and generations.

This is a sponsored post, but I would be sharing this fantastic app even if it weren't.  I believe connections with our loved ones are the most valuable assets we can ever hope to acquire, more valuable than pretty houses or fancy cars.

HomeTeam™ is available in the App Store and Google Play 3/24/15.

Which feature of HomeTeam are you most excited to use?  Tell me in the comments for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card.

Entry Instructions: 
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older (or nineteen (19) years of age or older in Alabama and Nebraska). Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 2 business days to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 4/15/2015 – 5/17/2015
Be sure to visit the Panasonic HomeTeam brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!