| Happy Friday folks! Four things this week: a free cheat sheet for Google's newest AI tool, a free course that started a heated debate among teachers, a new head-to-head comparison on the blog, and a new family project you can try this weekend. In this week’s email: - 5 things your kids can do with Nano Banana 2 (free PDF)
- The free AI course that sparked a heated debate
- New: Synthesis Tutor vs Khanmigo
- New project: Restore old family photos with AI
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| 🎨 5 things your kids can do with Nano Banana 2 Google quietly updated Gemini's image generator this month. It's called Nano Banana 2, it's free, and it's genuinely impressive. I went through dozens of examples from creators testing it and picked the five that my kids (ages 3, 6, and 8) would get the most out of. We're talking turning crayon drawings into CGI renders, time-travelling with family photos, and one that got a right laugh from my kids (expression percentages on Dad's face). Everything works inside Google Gemini with a free account. No upgrades, no signups, no credit card. I put the full list with prompts and age ranges into a PDF so you can try them this weekend. | |
| What's on the list: - Restore old family photos - upload a faded photo, get a sharp full-colour portrait back. Great for sparking conversations about family history.
- Turn drawings into “real” images - your kid’s sketches become cinematic 3D renders. Best for ages 5-12.
- See how things change over time - watch an apple decompose, a dog evolve, or your house age 100 years. Sneaky science lesson.
- Time travel with your photos - what would you look like as a Viking? An Egyptian pharaoh? In the 1800s? History without anyone noticing.
- The expression changer - set emotions by percentage. “40% crying, 60% fear” on Dad’s face. Chaos guaranteed.
All prompts included in the PDF. Each one takes about 30 seconds to set up. Download the free PDF → | |
| 🎓 I shared a free AI course for kids. Teachers and parents had strong opinions! Earlier in the week I posted about Anthropic's new "AI Fluency for Students" course on LinkedIn. It's free, 30 minutes, and teaches a framework called the 4D model: Delegation, Description, Discernment, Diligence. The idea is to use AI as a thinking partner, not a shortcut. The post got a lot of traction, but the comments were more interesting than the course itself. Teachers and parents split into camps: - “Keep kids away from AI entirely” - some believe kids should spend their formative years on creativity and originality, not AI fluency.
- “These courses are just corporate cover” - a PhD lecturer argued Anthropic is displacing responsibility with a training course that acts more like a legal disclaimer.
- “Teach how it works, not just how to use it” - one commenter made a sharp point about Black Box AI vs Glass Box AI. If kids don’t understand what’s under the hood, fluency is just button-pushing.
- “Kids are lazy anyway, this helps” - the pragmatic take. Meet them where they are.
- “Just signed up!” - a literacy specialist signed up on the spot after seeing the post.
My honest take is I tried it with my 8-year-old. He lost interest in two minutes. It's pitched at 16+, not primary school. I wrote up what actually works for younger kids instead. | |
| 🧮 Synthesis Tutor vs Khanmigo: best AI math tutor for kids I tested both AI maths tutors with my 6 and 8-year-old for three months. Synthesis Tutor ($119/year) uses visual puzzles and voice narration, perfect for ages 5-8 who can't read fluently yet. Khanmigo ($44/year) teaches through Socratic questioning across every subject, better for 9+. My verdict: we use both, one per kid. Read the full comparison → | |
| 📸 New project: Restore old family photos with Nano Banana 2 Want the full step-by-step for idea #1 from the PDF? I turned it into a complete family project with prompts, tips, and what happened when we tried it with our kids. Try the project → | |
| That's it for this week! Which of those five Nano Banana 2 ideas are you going to try first? Hit reply and let me know. I read every single response. Niall | |
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