Fun Reading Games for Road Trips

Going on a holiday is always great fun, but getting there is another story altogether. Being stuck in a vehicle for many long hours is enough to get anyone cranky, and it’s even worse when there are restless kids on board. How does one keep everybody happily engaged and enjoying the time together? Many parents talk of using the opportunity to play fun travel games and have interesting conversations as a family. Some of the favorite travel games, like Road Sign Bingo, are just pure fun while others like Odd or Even have an educational element to it. Here are five fun reading games that you can play on your next road trip to have a blast with the family.

By Florida Memory [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons

1. Category ABCs – Category ABCs is a fun travel game that is suitable for all ages, and provides phonics practice for young kids. To begin, players agree on a category, like animals, places or food. Then, the first player calls out an item from that category that begins with the letter ‘A’. The second player continues by repeating that item, and adding an item from the same category that begins with the letter ‘B’. Each player repeats the list of items called out so far and adds one more item starting with the next letter of the alphabet. Players who mess up the order or forget items are out of the game. This reading game is also great for improving memory.

2. Billboard Alphabet Hunt– The object of this travel game is to find the letters of the alphabet in order on the billboards or signboards that you pass. Sounds easy? Not so quick. Each board can only be used for a single letter. The game can be played in several ways to adjust the difficulty level. Everyone can play together, working on finishing the alphabets once, or you can play as individuals to see who can get through the entire alphabet the quickest. This reading game is great for kids who are practicing letter recognition.

3. Roadside Alphabets – A variation of ‘Billboard Alphabet Hunt’, ‘Roadside Alphabet’ is about finding objects that begin with the different letters of the alphabet. Starting with the letter ‘A’, players try to find objects that begin with the different letters of the alphabet, in order. This reading game can be played as a group or as individuals racing to see who can get through the entire alphabet the quickest. The game helps with practicing letter sounds.

4. License Plate Words –This is a great reading game for older kids, and helps practice spellings. One person in the car calls out the letters from passing license plates, and the others take turns thinking of words that contain those letters in the same order. For example, the caller might say ‘CSN’ and the player can respond with the word ‘cushion’ or ‘cruising’.

5. Backwords – This reading game may sound like spelling practice, but it’s a lot of fun! One person in the car calls out words and the others take turns spelling the words backward. It’s a lot more difficult than it sounds, and gets everyone racking their brains sounding out words and revising their spellings.

These travel games may not sound like reading games at first, but they get players practicing letter recognition, phonics and spellings all of which are crucial to reading fluency. They’re also a lot of fun, and are pretty effective in keeping young travelers thinking about something other than how much longer it’s going to take to get to their destination.

Reposted from http://funkidsgames.beep.com

Forget Online Games, Play Some Real World Games

Summers are a good time for kids to put away their devices and homework. Kids need to switch off from online games and explore non digital activities. After all human beings are a part of nature and it’s important to stay plugged into a system that we are part of. Being in touch with nature regulates well-being, keeps the senses sharp and gives kids a sense of cyclical continuity. 

By Bev Sykes from Davis, CA, USA (Flickr) [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Many of the modern day lifestyle problems that kids have developed can easily be sorted out with a massive dose of Vit-N. Here are 5 summer activities for you to explore:

    

     1. Get the kids to explore the geography around where they live. Take the kids out to parks and open spaces close to home. Let them feel the soil and grass under their feet. Open up a map and talk about the contiguity of land. Spot rivers and other water bodies close by. Wade through the water and throw pebbles in. Talk of the source of drinking water.

     

      2. Spot our fellow creature in the world. If you live in an urban jungle watch out for birds which have found new nesting places. Help kids understand the importance of our little insect friends. Teach them to observe plants and insects. Spot the caterpillars, butterflies, wasps, bee hives or the many other signs of nature in our concrete hubs. In case you need to learn more to get your kids interested, many universities put out a lot of information about our fellow creatures on their departmental sites. There are a lot of dedicated scientists/commoners who love sharing their information on virtual and real world spaces. 

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      3.  Get kids to photograph the same things through various parts of the day. When they see the same scene/thing photographed under various conditions of light, they understand the impact of the Sun, and how we fit into the astronomical world.

         

      4 . Try Hapa Zome, a craft activity. Get the kids to collect leaves and flowers in various colors and shapes. Lay them out on a piece of clean white cotton cloth with no starch. Spread a piece of tissue on the plant matter and hammer gently on it. This will help release the pigments onto the cloth. Peel the plant matter off to see the prettiest of designs. Kids can hang their piece of art on the wall or on the refrigerator at home.          

     

     5. Run a scavenger hunt in a park. This can be an intensely fun activity in a small neighborhood park. Make lists of things to be found. Distribute it among the groups. Help the kids find them. This will help them explore the park in ways you had never imagined. Give clues which will make them look for things from different perspectives. E.g. Spotting an owl home or a type of ant nest in the ground. 

      Well, enjoy the summer before the cold sets in. It's a great time for kids to also adopt some eco-friendly practices. Rejuvenate and bond with your kids. Go on and have a good time. 

3 Unusual Mother's Day Gifts

The National Retail Federation says the expenditure on Mother's Day celebrations could touch USD 21.4 billion! That's a lot of money and when combined with facts about Mother's Day, it would astound quite a few. In fact Anna Jarvis the founder was actually lobbying for a stopping the celebration as it had ended up as a commercial celebration rather than a sentimental one. 

By Sam Pullara (Flickr) [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Mothers appreciate the simpler things in life and really enjoy those gifts which have some personal effort going into it. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Bed in breakfast
2. Lots of sleep
3. Boring chores all taken care off

Most mothers would love these especially the second one if there are younger kids involved. Here are 3 unusual mother's day gifts:

1. Get a gift subscription:
After reading this article it seems to be a great idea to buy a subscription for a virtual pet game, as a mother's day gift. Easy to buy, a game that can be enjoyed at leisure by both mother and child, simple to play and most importantly a gift subscription that can be enjoyed long after Mother's Day celebrations are over. 

2. Buy a set of pots with organic vegetables
Caring for plants which are already grown is fairly simple and something a busy mother can do. Alternatively you could get her a desert terrarium which actually requires minimal care. Beautiful to look, alive and something that will last a long time. 

3. Doing an activity together
Mothers like spending time with their kids when they are not in charge. Then they can enjoy them without the responsibility of caring for their needs which can get tiring on an everyday basis. When kids are young mothers like to spend time by themselves. That's a treat, but as they grow older they enjoy spending time with the kids! So kids can pick an activity which their mother might enjoy with them. 

On a simpler scale kids could surprise their mum with breakfast in bed and more importantly with a cleaned up room - without her asking them to! Now that would definitely be a memorable Mother's Day gift!

Happy Mother's Day. 

4 Good Online Resources for Art

Keeping kids interested in science is important, but the exposure to art is also very important. Parents need to use science worksheets to help kids keep pace in school, but they also need to encourage the kids to enjoy art. It's a modern construct to divide subjects. Leonardo da Vinci was a man of both science and art. When many scientists speak, they speak of beauty, balance, harmony and other such things which are are also found in nature and art.

24.FriendshipMural.TidalBasin.SW.WDC.14April2013 by Elvert Barnes

Kids need to have an exposure to art. They must enjoy random doodling, coloring, drawing with sticks, drawing in air, seeing shapes in clouds etc. Nature is full of science and art. The beauty of flowers lies in its petals which might follow the Fibonacci sequence. The tall tree will have the most ingenious way of pumping water from the ground to the topmost leaf in the tree. Even on a hill, trees can stand upright with the help of their roots holding together. It's for us to understand the science behind the beauty of tall trees reaching up to the sky or holding roots together for stability.

The science behind a lot of these things have been understood by people who have had well rounded childhoods with art, science and math playing their parts out. Learning to marvel at the simple things builds an innate sense of wonder in kids. Art plays a crucial role in freeing up the mind and allowing it to see beyond the obvious.

Here are 4 good online resources for art:

1. Red Ted Art

2. The Artful Parent

3. Babble Dabble Do

4. What We Do All Day

Three of these blogs have activities for both science and art. These blogs are for parents of younger kids and has loads of resources for parents who might be short of time. Take your time to go through and pick appropriate activities for your kids.

Art with younger kids is also about enjoying the process. The end result might not be much to others, but the exposure and process helps kids. Art can also be calming. It could also be a way for kids to express their inner self. It may be many things, but at it's simplest it's also good bonding time between kids and parents. Have fun!

Keeping Kids Interested in Science

S.T.E.M has become S.T.E.A.M in many places. Yes, parents, teachers, administrators and educators are all talking about these things. There's a big push on getting kids interested in Science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Art is the newest entrant to this acronym. At the younger ages where the streams are not differentiated, many kids like science. As the kids grow, their interest in science wanes. The reasons are many. One of the biggest reasons is that it stops being fun. As simple as that. A good teacher who's deeply involved in teaching can keep the kids interested in science.

Do you Play? by Fabrizio Sciami

Three things that can be done to keep kids interested in science:

1. Teachers must innovate

With changing technology, teachers have started using it to keep the kids hooked on science. Many teachers who are interested in learning new thing have actually learnt to gamify parts of the curriculum. They get the kids to play the games and develop an interest in what is being taught. Other teachers use educational science games in the classroom. As many teachers make their own worksheets, a new space where teachers can pay teachers to use their worksheets has been created. Some teachers take the kids out of the classroom to the real world for observation. They get the kids involved in noting down their observations and exchanging information with others to understand the larger picture. 

2. Parents must be kept involved

There was a time when the work of schools and parents was completely separated. Nowadays schools make sure parents are fully involved. Results are sent automatically to parents. They come into school for discussions about a child's progress and the collective goal is to get the kids interested in learning. In fact many schools have started libraries on school premises where parents and kids can spend time together reading available books. Most importantly teachers need to be aware of the home environment kids go back to. If there are problems which teachers or the school can help with, in a child's best interest the school needs to step forward and help to the best of their availability. Parenting in the digital age might be hard for many parents, but all that they must do is remember that even in the digital age, the real world matters.

3. Take the Kids Out into the Real World

Kids need to spend time in the real world out in nature. They need to feel the grass under their feet and the sun on their faces. We are a part of nature and we should learn more about the world around us. Every bodily sense is challenged out in nature. It helps kids develop better and with fewer sensory problems. When they handle flowers with their bare hands, it's easier for them to understand natural dyes. When they swim in water, they can understand liquids better. When they see things fly in the wind, they understand how things have to be lighter than the wind to be carried away. Things learnt naturally are better understood by kids. Every chance there is, kids must be taken out into the Great Outdoors.

Keeping kids interested in science is easy if certain things are kept in mind. Always remember kids are natural learners and their curiosity helps them learn more. 

3 Games for Halloween Parties

As Fall sweeps in, kids and parents get an opportunity to enjoy some Fall activities. Now, Halloween's around the corner, and that means it's time to pull out the mothball covered costumes from the cupboard! Air them and try them on. Kids have a tendency to shoot up; make sure the costume fits them well. Not too short, not too long, not too loose and not too tight, or you won't hear the end of it!

Halloween by Srdjan Jovanovich

It's good to plan for some Halloween games. You could pull out Halloween games from the Net, or get inventive if you have the time. People enjoy them and it's a good way to get people to gel together. Make sure groups have a good mix of kids and adults. Organize for some Halloween finger food and spooky drinks for kids. You are all set for the party now. To add some fun, here are three games you could try:

1. Halloween Telephone

The good thing about this games is that it requires zero preparation. Everyone sits around in a circle. The first person whispers something Halloween related into the neighbor's ear. Then the whisper is passed on. It's great fun to see what the last person has heard and compare it to what the first person said. If little kids are there, the urgency to pass on the message can morph it into something totally different. 

2. Pumpkin Jigsaw

This requires some preparation. Trace out a large pumpkin on thick card stock. Trace out jigsaw pieces and cut it out carefully. Make sure pieces are distinctly different. Get the teams to assemble the pumpkin and time them to decide who's the fastest.

3. Pull Out Pairs

Using slightly thick card stock, get the kids to trace out shapes related to Halloween like pumpkin, conical hat, a cape etc. They should be smaller than your palm, and need to be in pairs. Now drop them all into a box. Blindfold the guests and ask them to feel around in the box and pull out items in pairs. If you have prepared just one box, then teams take turns to pull out the pairs. Time the teams and the one which finishes fastest is the winner. 

Well get everything ready, and you are all set for a great Halloween party. Have a great time!

Let the kids play with their food

Parents always caution their kids to not play with their food, and here we seem to be doing the exact opposite. Well, please be reassured that kids are not being encouraged to throw food around. This is actually aimed at getting kids to explore the food they eat.

Pizza Apprentice by rootseven

Why is it important to know food

There's an old joke about a child being asked if he knew where the milk he was drinking came from. The child nodded vigorously and said it came out of a box!

Well, if there is such a disconnect it does not bode well for the kids, or their parents and caretakers. Kids need to know where their food comes from so that their place in nature's life-cycle is understood by them.  Kids need to understand the interconnectedness of life, the dependence and the beauty of how things fit in real life. This helps kids stay rooted to the reality of life. Without food we die. If we know how our food reaches out plates, we at least arm kids with enough knowledge to go looking for more information. The bond between humans and food is ancient and changing. Hunting might have been one of the earliest professions, but then agriculture became a dominant profession which over time became something in which the entire family was involved. Historically, food has been the platform from which many other professions have spun out of.

Playing Games
Kids learn very well when they learn via play. Here are three important traits kids develop with play. There's a reason why parents encourage kids educational games in this digital world that we live in. When games are leveled, they actually play the same game and up the levels gradually. If we can get kids to play with the same enthusiasm in the real world, they can actually touch and feel as they learn.

Here are a three games kids can play:

1. Blow them away
Halloween's around the corner. Involve the kids in picking and carrying home a pumpkin. Once it's cut, get the kids to scoop out the seeds and dry it. Make sure no stringy stuff is attached. When you have a nicely dried pile which can fill an adult's cupped palms, all's ready for the game.

Get the kids to sit around a smooth surface, say a table top. Clear up the space. Pile up the seeds in the center. A kid blows on it and picks up seeds until they disturb a neighboring seed, which is when the next player gets a turn to do the same. The winner is one who can collect the biggest pile as the central pile disappears.

Not only does this improve the child's motor skills, it also helps the kids understand how plants grow their seeds, where they keep them and how they disperse. The more parents and caretakers talk about the vegetable/fruit they are dealing with, the more the kid absorbs. E.g., In this game kids can actually understand how drying seeds make them lighter and how blowing on them can disperse the seeds.

2. String them up
Pile up a bunch of beans in the center of a table. Divide the pile between the players. Teach everyone how to string beans. Get the kids to string it from one end only. Make sure it stays attached. Hold up the string and see how a flimsy fiber can hold up the entire bean. The game is string them at one end. Then gently use the fiber of one to tie it to the other. Keep doing this and holding it up. Whoever has the maximum number of beans on the first strung bean, is the winner. If there's a tie, the players add more beans and the winner is one who has the most hanging together.

This helps kids understand how strong fiber can be. While playing this game, the players can discuss the varieties of beans, how seeds grow inside and even about the varieties where the seeds can be eaten, but the seed pod has to be discarded.

3. Pile Them High
How high can you pile okra? Keep adding to the stack to make a high pile. Alternatively divide the okra and ask the players to pile them up. By playing with okra, kids can explore their interesting structure and texture.

As you play with the kids, they themselves come up with ideas to explore other fruits and vegetables. It's great fun to explore the well packed pomegranate, the beautiful colors of the citrus fruits, the color of the beets and the long shelf life of the potatoes. While these games are played, a lot is learnt by kids which we do not actually teach; like the smells, the oxidation, the slime etc.  Go on, let the kids play with their food.

10 Fall Activities Kids Will Love

Time flies and summer is turning to fall. Temperatures are dropping, leaves are changing color and we are half way through the school vacation. This is a time when kids tend to reduce their time outside the house and this converts to more time on devices, perhaps playing some dragon games or Mensa games.

Parenting in the digital age is hard. Kids get bored very quickly, but if kids are exposed to nature from a very young age, 'bored' will not be a word they use frequently.

Straw Bale Maze - Avala Valley Barn by docent joyce

To keep kids interested in spending time outdoors, here are 10 fall activities for them:

1. Jump onto leaf mounds
This is that time of the year when you can find plenty of mounds of leaf. The kids will love diving into them. Just make sure they are not allergic to dust. Take pictures. Rake them up. Arrange the mounds and run around them. Jump over them. Try and make trails. Destroy the mounds. Just make sure you are not leaving people upset by messing with the mounds.

2. Try some leaf beating
Hapa Zome anyone? Grab some leaves. Cut out clean pieces of thin cotton cloth. Place the leaves on the pieces of cloth. Take a hammer. If metallic, wrap in a soft cloth. Great if you have a rubberized hammer. Gently beat on the leaf keeping it steady. Once every part of the leaf has been beaten, peel the leaf off and admire the beautiful design the released pigment has made. Want to add some color? Try the same with flowers.

3. Create a leaf shower
Gather some plastic or cotton bags. Fill it with leaves. Hide behind doors, on window sills and other high places. When someone passes, empty the bag on them! Watch the beautiful leaf showers. Try it on your pets. Make sure you have a camera ready. Get some great shots.

4. Craft faux pumpkins
It's the pumpkin season. Eat them, carve them, grow them, harvest them and make them. Make them?! Yes, you can. Make pumpkin shapes using paper, cloth or any other waste material. Wrap them up in an orange length of cloth. Or, even better, use any colorful piece of cloth. Don't forget to add a stick representing a stem on top. If you have dried pumpkin stems go ahead and use them.

5. Journey through a corn maze
Oh, these mazes can be such fun. They could be proper hedge mazes or mazes made of bales of hay. For younger kids the maze walls could be low to give both parents and the kids a level of assurance. Older kids could have walls towering over them. Some farmers design beautiful elaborate mazes. Families can have some memorable times at such places.

6. Go pumpkin picking
This can be great fun. Get multiple generations to go along. You can have a wonderful day out, seeking out the best pumpkins. Too big or too small, you just have to find the right one for your family. Don't forget to take pictures. With the rich colors around, every picture will look memorable.

7. Try some baking/cooking with pumpkins and spices
As fall is the best season for pumpkins, pull out some simple recipes and try your hand. Get the kids involved. If you have picked a pumpkin, and it's ready to be used, go ahead and use it. Want to carve it out before using it, go ahead. Just make sure you keep the pumpkin clean. Get the kids involved in the process. Perhaps they can organize the spices or mash the pumpkin. If you are baking cupcakes, maybe they could measure or spoon it into the molds. Keep the kids involved.

8. Have a movie and pumpkin seed night
Pick a movie. Play it. Spread some paper and heap a pile of roasted pumpkin seeds. Get the kids to shell them. Make sure they don't hurt their nail beds. Shell it for the younger ones. It can be great fun. Enjoy!

9. Go on a fall art trip
Take the kids and some supplies out into the open. Get them to try their hand at any art activity they wish to explore. Painting, drawing, coloring with crayons, making a mural on the ground, arrangement of colorful leaves, string up leaves or staple them in long strands to hang on walls. The idea is to get creative and let the kids experiment.

10. Go on a fall trek/bike ride
Pull out the bikes, trainers and all. Got babies? Strap them on. Find a nice safe trail suitable for kids on bikes. Go on, bike away. Make sure the kids are not too tired. Carry enough water and a couple of light snacks. If you want to go on a short hike, do so. Make sure the paths are kid friendly. No water logged or slippery paths. Take a lot of pictures. These are times which families will remember for many years to come.

Fall's a beautiful period to be outdoors. The richness of colors lasts just a few weeks. Take advantage of the crisp weather and enjoy the last few days of school vacations.

4 Fun Father's Day Activities

Father's Day is around the corner and the mothers want to have a Fathers' Day party! Well, people will come and the food will be ready. Having a bunch of kids around can be entertaining enough, but the kids want to organize some activities too.

By Laubenstein Karen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Significance
Father's Day honors fatherhood and fathers. Different parts of the world celebrate it on different days. In the US it is celebrated on June 18th. Over the decades in the US, the Father's Day celebration has been started multiple times, only to fade away very soon. It did pick up momentum eventually, but it has officially been a holiday only since 1972.

4 Fun Activities for Fathers to Enjoy
Some of these activities might require some prearrangement, but most are simple and kids can be involved. Generally fathers have no complaints about playing online games with kids, but try these activities and they could be fun too. Here are the four:

1. Kids in this activity need to be aged about six or more to really enjoy it. Fathers can sit with their knees folded on a sofa, facing the back. Kids stand behind the sofa. Taking turns, blindfolded kids must identify their fathers by looking at them 'through touch'. They need to identify their father by running their hands on their faces. If a father has more than one kid, they just take turns. The kid who took the shortest time, wins.

2. Older children and fathers can play this game. A balloon has to be tied at the end of a meter long thread. This can be tied to the player's ankle. It's a timed game. Players need to use the time to stomp out other balloons, all the while trying to keep their own balloon intact. The last player with the balloon intact is the winner. Other games can be found here.

3. Team up fathers and kids. Tie their ankles loosely and give each a basket. Take approximately ten palm sized things per team. Distribute them all over an empty floor. Now every pair needs to rapidly pick up things and dump them into a basket. Start the game and give them a minute to pick up things. The one which collects the maximum, wins.

4. This activity is again a father and child activity. It's more fun with younger kids. Smarter to take this activity outside as food spillage can be expected. Turn the tables and get the child to feed the father, but make sure the food is what the child likes! The race is to put a bib around the father, feed him and wipe his mouth clean before the end bell goes. The winning team needs to finish the food.

Well, Father's Day is not far. Try something new and enjoy the celebration.

Facts about Mother's Day That Might Surprise You

Mother's Day advertisements have been bombarding us for a while. Kids are busy picking out cards and gifts. Grownups are finalizing gifts for their mothers. Tables are being booked for a meal. Plans are afoot.

Different Generation, Same Feeling by Mateus Lunardi Dutra

Though Mother's Day comes around every year on 14th May, most of us know very little about it. Here are some facts that might surprise you:

1. Although Mother's Day is celebrated in many parts of the world, it's not always on 14th May. The UK celebrates it three weeks before Easter Sunday, calling it Mothering Sunday and it's usually in the second half of March or early April.

2. Many ancient religions have celebrated Mother Goddesses since time immemorial. Some celebrations were so wild that they were banned by authorities.

3. As Christianity spread, in early 16th century the church encouraged the people to honor Mary, mother of Jesus. Over time this included real mothers.

4. The American Mother's Day has it's own history, completely dissociated from religion. Julia Ward Howe a poet and activist was very distraught over the carnage during the Civil War. She wrote a Mother's Day proclamation and wanted July 4th's celebration to be dedicated to mothers on both sides who lost their sons. This did start on June 2nd, but eventually died out after about a decade.

5. Anna Jarvis wanted to honor her mother's memory. As her mother had taught for 20 years at Sunday School. Anna Jarvis persuaded the superintendent of the church to have a Mother's Day celebration in 1908. In 1914 Woodrow Wilson made it a national observance, after successful petitioning by Anna.

Over the years Anna Jarvis was completely disillusioned by the commercialization of this observance. Ironically, she campaigned to stop this celebration until the end of her life, but failed!

Mother's Day is all about acknowledging the person who contributes so much to a child's upbringing. Well, don't forget to talk to your mother on Sunday. The gifts can wait. 

Easter Activities or Science Games?

All kids enjoy the outcome of a science game or an activity, but not many might be interested in the actual experiment. A teacher or parent can spark an interest in science, by catching their attention with something unusual. Kids have the capacity to be interested in varied things. We just need to give them the exposure and opportunity to grow their interest.

Egg-sitement by makelessnoise

Here's a list of wonderful Easter activities, which are fine science experiments too:

1. Foaming Eggs
Forget kids, even adults enjoy such activities. Great opportunity to talk about bubbles.

2. Eggs with Spidery Cracks
This one is a cool experiment. The end result is visually spectacular and yumm to eat.

3. Walking on Eggs
This one's a favorite of many. This can have great conversation around it.
Can you walk on eggs?
Of course not.
I can.
Show off.
No, really, I can.

And then when the walk on egg shells happens, people are left open mouthed.

4. Egg Drop Experiment
This one is great in offering a challenge to kids who like to try things. It's also a great favorite of museums to try out with kids.

5. Disappearing Egg Shell
A simple experiment, this one needs patience. It's magical the way the shell disappears  when left in the liquid. Nothing much to 'do' in this experiment.

6. Making an Unbreakable Egg
This is super simple, but it introduces kids to reasons why things break. In the case of an egg, it's the thin shell.

So, which ones did your kids enjoy? Do drop us a note. Have a good long weekend!

Three Important Traits Kids Develop With Play

Play is an important part in the nurturing of kids. It helps all round development in kids. Even if families are different the parenting values they believe in are more or less the same. Most of us want to bring up responsible kids. We were brought up to be responsible, and we want successive generations to be responsible. In a society, people have to be cohesive for a forward movement collectively.

Baby plays in the garden by simpleinsomnia

As family sizes shrink and family types morph, we are marching towards a society where digital devices are replacing many of the functions which involved family members. In earlier times, babies were always in the care of a family member be it a close relative or a far one. Nowadays with rapidly changing families and mores, babies could be looked after within nuclear families, in day care systems, in single parent plus grand parent homes and even single grand-parent homes. Kids did not grow up playing video games and bonding with friends over virtual pet games. They played on porches, in kitchens, back yards, quiet streets, inside parks and even the woods. But play they did. In all kinds of weather. That taught kids and shaped their character.

Here are three important traits kids develop with play:

1. Patience
Play gets kids to be patient. They learn this while building things or playing board games or putting together something. Delayed gratification is good for kids. It teaches them to stay the course even if it takes time. Research has proved they become more successful at a later age. This trait always helps them in their relationships too.

2. Waiting for your turn
This is a super important trait in large groups. If this does not happen, groups are hard to handle. If kids learn to wait for their turn, they also learn not to try and get things out of turn. Board games are a great example of simple play which teaches kids to wait for their turn. However much they itch to roll the dice again, they know they have to wait.

3. Cooperation
What's any group be it a family, friends circle, team, colleagues without cooperation? A group which co-operates survives well and flourishes. Ants are the best examples in nature. They can carry away a bigger creature with team work. The entire process of kids gathering to play, builds cooperation. They play together, build together, dismantle together and even clear up together. When groups are cooperative, in fighting is less and things move efficiently. In fact even eating together is a good way to build cooperation!

Whatever the unit that a child grows up and participates in, these three traits will always help the child stay the course. It reduces the angst children face as they grow up, because these traits help them cope with all kinds of situations through their lives. We must never forget that it all started with play.

The Use of Games in Handling Grief

Grief is one of the hardest emotions to handle, and family support helps immensely in healing. There are many therapies suggested to deal with grief, but sometimes that's not enough and intervention is required. 

Gamer Kid by Laurent Dussimon

Handling Grief
Kids process grief differently. Encouraging them to talk about their loss is important. The loss of a parent, sibling or just anyone they were close to can consume the child. If the adult caring for the child can help, nothing can be better to reduce grief. Here are a few activities too which might help. 

I view games as the cultural competency of the 21st century - so says Kelli Dunlap, a psychologist and a game designer. For psychologists like her games and talking about games is a great way to start a conversation and build trust with the kids they are helping. She uses video games to reach kids who have problems and need psychological help. A large chunk of the population plays video games and talking about games/gaming is a good way to break the ice with kids. 

Old or young, there are many who find succor in just playing video games, be it old favorites or new ones, by just getting lost in a world which they feel reflects their state of mind. Video games can help become a conversation starter as well as the environment when people start the process of healing.

Looking Back, Talking and Learning

New years come, and new years go. That's the nature of time - to march on, waiting for none. We have built clocks and kept time, but humans have not understood time. At least understood it enough to explain to others. There were ancients it's said who knew, and I'm sure there are many in the world who comprehend even today, but as ordinary mortals, we just keep pace with time for as long as possible.

'What then is time? Provided that no one asks me, I know. If I want to explain it to an inquirer, I do not know.’ Saint Augustine, Confessions (397-400 AD)

Now that we have rung in 2017, let's pause and look back. At the year gone by, the good things we have done and at the things we should have done better.

la pioggia by amira_a

Better Parenting

As a parent, it's wise to spend more time with the kids. Playing together and listening to what they have to say improves the bonding between parents and kids. Occasionally we might have to participate in things they enjoy, which we might not enjoy very much, primarily because we need to find common ground. The kids love dragon games, but the parents might not be fond of dragons. The trick is to do things with kids which involve dragons. Perhaps you could find out fun things about dragons to share with them. Try some dragon crafts. Or dragon food for a change. 

Learning from the Year Gone By

Without our realizing it, the kids were spending way too much time on digital devices. We had kept tabs, but when we got a little busy, they found their own way to fill up their time. This year we'll restructure our day to ensure that the kids have more time where one of us can engage them in some activity or drop them to a play date at least. 

Communication

Children get their language skills from parents and caretakers who talk to them. They learn to talk by imitating the sounds we make. At all times, even when tempers are high, the lines of communication must be kept open. They must understand that no fight or argument is worth closing communications with the parents. This keeps them happy and safe. 

Time slips away even as we dither. During the core parenting years the kids must come first, or before we know it they'll be all grown up with traits we might not like in them. As parents we sometimes notice the passage of time by the way our kids have grown, or by the way their pants have shortened! Just as we notice the physical changes in our kids, we must be observant enough about their character growth too. Parenting not only about providing, it's a lot about nurturing both the body and the soul. Next New Year, let's look back in time at a job well done. 

Great Game Ideas for This Thanksgiving

It's that time of the year when lists are drawn up - for guests, for grocery to be purchased and for listing out ideas to keep the guests busy! A time for friends and family to gather at the end of the year does translate to a lot of hard work, but it can be pepped up with some fun, music and games. The food of course is the pièce de résistance, the preparation of which takes many hours. Some of the guests might help, but there will definitely be a need for some games(not the ones on TV!) especially as children will be around. 

The 87th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Parade by Anthony Quintano

Here are a few ideas for games which can be used as fillers while the turkey cooks:

1. Who's the 'Best' from The Idea Room is a game where people of all ages can pitch in. People can be divided into teams to see who's the best at something silly like who can crab walk fastest or who can stand on one leg for the longest time!

2. Doing the turkey waddle is a good competition for a group which is predominantly young. Party Game Ideas suggests getting an inflated turkey to be held between the legs while waddling . If you can't get an inflatable turkey, try using a pillow or a pillowcase stuffed with soft things.

3. Card Games from Delia Creates are an all time favorite, be it Uno or fun games using a regular deck. As the number of players increase more packs can be added in.

4. An activity card like the one from alpha mom could be handed out to all at home just to have fun. Once done, it would be nice to see who gets and see how many get it all correct. Every person who gets it all correct, gets a gift. It could be a fruit or chocolate bar if you wish to keep it simple.

Well, enjoy your Thanksgiving!

3 great sites for science experiments

Teaching science can be extremely rewarding. When science worksheets get uninteresting, teaching science can happen via experiments. Kids love doing things on their own (with a little supervision and help of course). Learning science this way is the most rewarding for it makes the science real, enjoyable and stays in the mind of the child.

Mad science Invitation 4 by Martin Cron

3 great websites for science experiments -

1. Science Buddies
This site has experiments for kids of all ages. Some of the science fair projects are really good teaching kids to take accurate measurements and going  through data understanding and coming to conclusions. To get some ideas for science fair projects, a short questionnaire checks the child's interests. From popping corn to more complex experiments, this site covers science experiments involving food, biology, chemistry and other fields.

2. School of Dragons
This site teaches science via games and experiments, with characters from the How to Train Your Dragon series. There are some experiments in the lab and many others are quests which use science to solve problems in the Viking world. Most of the curriculum taught is in sync with NGSS standards. There's fiery lava, frozen Arctic islands, flying dragons, prosthetics for man and dragon, growing food, weather and a whole bunch of problems from everyday life. The botanist teaches about plants and biology, Heather helps with lab experiments, while Fishlegs and Hiccup list dragons and their behavior. Watch some of the Youtube videos to know more. Best of all the site lets you hatch a dragon egg and fly it!

3. Science Bob
This guy is fun and this website is a mine of science experiments. Kids and adults love watching these science experiments on TV. Science Bob is a teacher, maker and a TV presenter. Some of his experiments require adult supervision. Many of his experiments have videos we could watch and enjoy. Even visitors to the site can contribute experiments.

Many experiments can be started fairly early in the life of a child. It need not be called an experiment, it could just be a fun activity and it's really good to use ordinary stuff lying around. Science activities must take a child beyond just 'doing' the experiment. It should enthuse a child to try other experiments, get involved with problem-solving, hypothesize, test and try new experiments in spite of failures. Starting from the simple but elegant experiment of floating eggs, to other more complex experiments. Science experiments can be very rewarding. Have fun!

A Game of Filling Pockets

Kids like to wear clothes with pockets. They like keeping little things to play with or eat. Occasionally they are forgotten and then the clothes come out from the wash with muck in their pockets!

Memory Game by Dan Zen

Here's a good way to turn this into a game. This can be played indoors or outdoors and the number of kids can vary from 2-4. Make sure the kids are wearing clothes with the same number of pockets and more or less of the same depth.

Gather small and safe objects. Divide them into as many piles as the number of children playing. Make sure they will all fit into the players' pockets. Draw the start and end lines. Between them draw paths for the players. Now distribute the objects on these paths in a uniform fashion.

Start the race. The kids are required to pick up objects in their path and stuff it into their pockets as they move forward. The kid which pockets all objects and reaches the end line first is the winner.

This game can be played a number of times. To make it more interesting, a parent can be involved in the race. The child can pick and put it into the parent's pockets. Kids enjoy a variety of activities, and such games are always a source of fun. Trust me - this game is simple and enjoyable. Play and enjoy!

3 Tips to Keep Your Kids Safe

One of the primary responsibilities for parents is to ensure that a child has a safe and secure environment to grow up in. In caveman times parents perhaps had to keep the kids from being eaten up or being squashed under the feet of migrating animals. Yes, my imagination is on the wild side today, but it is a fact. What parents have to keep their kids safe from today is very different. We live in an urban area and our kids spend a lot of time indoors. The little time they spend outside, is under the care of teachers, babysitters or perhaps an older sibling or a family member.

Leo and GCompris again by Jaro Larnos

Whatever the fears, its the onus of the parents to prepare their kids to be safe. We need to help our kids understand what to look out for and how to keep safe. Here are three things kids must be cautioned about:

1. Playing with Electricity and Appliances
Our homes run on electricity. Shut down electricity and everything comes to a standstill. Almost. In spite of baby-proofing homes when the kids are young, we forget that tweens can get into trouble too. We do not caution our kids enough. Many a time, kids might try things without adult supervision, which might be very unsafe. There have been many mishaps with kids trying to use the food processor, just to give an example. So it's better to teach kids to handle these things safely rather than stop them from doing so, only to have them go ahead and experiment without knowing how to.

2. Being safe online
Kids might take an eggciting break from virtual pet games, but they do love spending time online. School work sometimes requires kids spending time on the Internet. Other than installing software to protect children or using Commonsense Media to decide suitability of shows and games, it's good for parents to talk to their children about the very real problems of spending time online and sharing information with strangers. It's also a good time to explain to them that long hours on the Net might not be the best thing for them(this is harder than it sounds!).

3. Being watchful when outside 
From a young age a child must know where to find a parent and the parents must be there as promised. If it's a park and your child is playing with other young children in the sandpit, it's okay to walk around the play area from where you can keep an eye on your child. At the same time it's very important to tell the child how she can find you, by walking in the opposite direction, so you can run into her. When and if she comes, you must be exactly there so that there is complete trust built into the relationship from childhood. As kids grow, ask them to be careful about walking home after dark or running across streets carelessly even in the suburbs.

Habits built in childhood last a lifetime. Let's help build them into the lives of our kids. It will serve them well as they grow and take decision on their own. They may crib and complain, but then humor can and should be used effectively to counter them. Sometimes i just say - I'm the parent and hence the Boss! You should try it.

Prevent the Summer Slide - Three Tips

Kids can grasp things quickly when taught well. If they like the subject or the teacher, the interest is all that much more. Some kids take more time to learn, and teachers put in extra effort to get them up to speed with the other kids. Teachers make a lot of difference.

Marc_dormint by Aitor Escauriaza

When summer vacation ends, kids return to school with a loss in learning. As both parents work, it does get more difficult for parents to stay home and help the kids stay on top of what they learnt the previous academic year. Many a time teachers spend an inordinately large amount of time in getting kids to recall the skills they had learnt before the vacation. Sometimes kids lose up to a month of learning in mathematics. Naturally this is an unhappy situation both for kids and the teachers. To avoid such a slide, summer school programs which were started primarily to keep kids lightly occupied in the summer are now moving towards core teaching.

Summer Camps
Summer vacation has been morphing over the last many decades. From being no vacation in the early 1800s (to facilitate planting in spring and fall) it went to being no school in the late 1800s and early 1900s (to have relaxed family vacations and a break from mental taxation). At that point summer camps came into being. They were primarily to help cultivate hobbies. It was completely non-academic and unregulated.

Today many of these summer camps are slowly adding academics. Hand in hand with this, public schools have doubled the summer camps they hold. They are including more of the core subjects. Kids who go to these summer camps, keep in touch with academics thus avoiding the summer slide.

Playing Games
Parents can help with avoiding the summer slide. Play with your kids. Spend time talking mathematics. Read to them. Read plays or books where there are many characters whose parts can be read by each one participating. Most of the slide is noticed in math and reading. Make a little effort to help your kids. It can be fun. One fun way could also be playing educational math games with your kids. Get the kids to do some math or reading worksheets through the summer. Play board games which require math and reading.

Fun yet educational trips
Sometimes kids need to learn outside their usual classroom. One of the easiest places to take them to is a good museum. For bright minds, there are few things which are better. Even better enroll them into a summer program at a museum close to your place. If you have easy access to a national park, make a trip. Stay a day or two. Let the kids see first hand all that they study about in class. Land forms, vegetation and biological systems. If you have a mathematics exhibit locally, take the kids.

Parents can help prevent the summer slide. It requires some patience and imagination. Childhood flashes by very quickly. Before we know it the kids are all grown up and gone. Summer months are the best months to interact with the kids and stop the summer slide. 

Playing versus Watching others Play

Games are not what they used to be. Play is fun and the easiest way to learn something. As we watch kids play, they are actively learning a zillion things, but we only notice them playing. In the interaction naturally built into play, kids learn cooperation, fairness, give and take, competition, handling loss, reading emotion and a long list of things we might not even know about.

Star Wars Trilogy Video Game by Anthony Crider

A big part of playing, be it a spectator sport, a video game or just a game on the street, is watching others play. We watch better players to learn from their game. Occasionally we watch players of a lesser caliber to have some fun or to teach them to play better. There is also a rush in watching a competitive game. Spectators can take sides and root for their teams. Games can also be used to familiarize kids with computers via play.

Watching others play has always existed, but watching an e-league is definitely a big change. It means big money is being poured in. Let's Play videos exist and a huge following has been built up over the past few years. Just like other games, kids learn while watching others play video games. One thing parents need to make sure is that kids are watching age appropriate videos and that they don't get addicted to violence and bad language. One way to ensure this by joining them while they watch. Go on, have some fun!