Dealing With Darth Vader Fears
Seeing Star Wars on the big screen didn’t traumatize four year old Rebecca Angel. Playing through it helped make Darth Vader ok.
Continue ReadingSeeing Star Wars on the big screen didn’t traumatize four year old Rebecca Angel. Playing through it helped make Darth Vader ok.
Continue ReadingSpielgaben set is a beautifully designed educational set that offers countless learning opportunities for your children… but is it worth the splurge?
Continue ReadingNeed some ideas for creative outdoor play before summer? GeekDad’s got you covered.
Continue ReadingGame-based learning can be such a blast. With a new year on the horizon, resolve to add more play to your day with a 31-Day #GameschoolChallenge.
Continue ReadingAmong the biggest of homeschooling perks in my world is the fact that our family is able to play games frequently. We don’t have to try to squeeze in a family game night on an already jam-packed weekend, but rather we can play daily and sometimes multiple times daily if we desire.
Continue ReadingYou meet the eyes of another kid at a grownup party, someone you’ve never met before and might never meet again, and your eyes say, “The kid that is me recognizes and acknowledges the kid that is you: let’s play.”
Continue Reading‘Harry Potter & the Cursed Child’ is a play that forms the latest installment of the Harry Potter series & follows on from the events of the ‘Deathly Hallows.’
Continue ReadingI am a big fan of stealth learning. When children are engaged in fun, hands-on activities, they are often unaware that they are practicing important skills. So much learning can happen through fantastic books, play, and games!
Continue ReadingIt’s rare that I get to review a toy that’s been around longer than every living member of my family. After a few months, the longevity of Lincoln Logs is now mystery. Click to find out more.
Continue ReadingI have one of those kids who understands higher-order math concepts but stumbles over the rote memorization piece of it. He makes careless errors because he’s always flying at full speed, and he hates back-tracking to remedy the situation. We are homeschoolers and, initially, this tendency resulted in heaps of power struggles. And tears. I want my children to love math, and to see the value in it. I want them to grow into adults who feel confident in math. How can we practice those skills without the never-ending battles? Is it possible to make it fun?
Continue ReadingWhat if I told you that you could take your Connect Four love to the next level with an updated game that you can hold in the palm of your hand?
Continue ReadingRecess at school isn’t what it used to be. There is less of it, and there are fewer structures on playgrounds. But sometimes all you need is some blacktop and a few tools: a rope, a stick of chalk, a ball. Sometimes not even that. But you don’t even need to be in school to enjoy some recess time.
Continue ReadingVisit a shopping mall as if it were a post-apocalyptic artifact. Kiss a statues, Use a dream symbolism book to interpret a heritage site. Try these and other Counter-Tourism tactics.
Continue ReadingMinecraft used to just be an obsession for my son. Now it’s a learning experience thanks to the new Minecraft Guides by Scholastic Books.
Continue ReadingMy nephew is an adult, and one of my favorite people to hang out with. One day, the smell of smokey tea took us to another dimension.
Continue ReadingI learned early on not to play games of chance. My name was never picked from the hat, the dice never rolled in my favor, I rarely picked the good cards. I wasn’t oddly unlucky; I didn’t have random horrible things happen to me, but I was not a winner.
Continue ReadingAs someone who makes games for kids to play on screens, I’m not a fan of the Center for a Commercial Free Childhood’s Screen-Free Week, which begins today. I’m all for kids getting more unstructured play, more time outdoors, more time reading, and other good stuff, but the label “Screen-Free Week” forces the wrong conversation that lasts all year long.
Continue ReadingStep on cracks, jump to touch, the floor is lava, what imaginary games do you play?
Continue Reading30 ideas for active summer fun.
Continue ReadingFor nearly a decade, I have suffered from daily chronic headaches. Basically I have had the same headache for that whole time so I am in constant pain. But usually the pain level is low enough that I can ignore it. There are times that the pain gets as bad as a migraine. I made […]
Continue ReadingLook at promotional material for preschool and daycare in your area. Chances are, there’s an emphasis on math, pre-reading, and other academics. And why not? We’ve been told for years that our little ones should play with educational toys and attend enrichment programs designed to boost learning. Well-intentioned parents follow this advice. We do this […]
Continue ReadingToday’s children sit more than ever. Babies spend hours confined in car seats and carriers rather than crawling, toddling or being carried. As they get older their days are often heavily scheduled between educational activities and organized events. Children have …
Continue ReadingToday’s children sit more than ever. Babies spend hours confined in car seats and carriers rather than crawling, toddling or being carried. As they get older their days are often heavily scheduled between educational activities and organized events. Children have 25 percent less time for free play than they did a generation ago, and that’s […]
Continue ReadingMany of our daily conversations are dominated by some combination of these four topics: Our homes, our partners, our children, and our appearance. This is particularly true for women, as social pressures drive us to focus on these things above all else. However, habit can become stifling, and it’s probably not healthy to fulfill any […]
Continue ReadingGather up the kiddies because it’s storytime! Meet Wind, a lonely triangle living on a flat, yet mysterious world. Watch as curiosity compels her to unravel those mysteries and change her world forever… (Warning: Spoilers below the clip!) “Wind and Mr. Ug ” is a shining example of education by stealth. It makes Möbius strips […]
Continue ReadingMy kids are beyond the age of playing with toy cars, but wow. If I had had some of this roadway tape when they were little, it would have kept them busy for days. Simply unroll the tape, stick it to your floor, and viola! You’re all set to race. It’s available in the USA […]
Continue ReadingI’ve been a geek all my life, but I hated school. Until college, I learned more watching PBS and maxing out my youth library card every week than I ever did in a classroom. I’m worried that my son will have the same experience – he’s only four years old, but he already loves science […]
Continue Reading“Mom! I can spell your name!” Look at him: Only four years old and fearlessly riding the wave of the future. Given my druthers, he’d be running around outside with other neighborhood kids, getting dizzy spinning on a swing, or …
Continue ReadingA few months back, I was asked to provide input in the planning phases for a global survey on the play patterns of kids, funded by the folks at Swedish retailer Ikea. To an extent, Ikea sanctioned the report as …
Continue Reading“You can’t play.” “We already have enough people for this game.” “You don’t have the same dolly as us, otherwise we’d let you play.” “Maybe you can play next time.” Some kids hear these type of words a lot, and …
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