TOYS

by Papa

Kid A's Wishlist

What does an 8 year old boy want for Christmas? We brought a camera to Toys R Us to find out.

FAMILY VENUE RECOMMENDATION

by Papa

The Museum of Flight

www.museumofflight.org

9404 E Marginal Way S
Seattle, WA 98108
(206) 764-5720

Rates: Adults - $14, Children 5-17 - $7.50

Recommended Age: 8+

Birthday Parties: Yes

We've been to the Museum of Flight twice in the last couple of months.  Once, taking some extended family from out of town and once, for a birthday party.  Kid A isn't particularly interested in planes, but definitely enjoyed exploring the area with his friends.  In addition to the main exhibit area that's filled with planes, there's an area that covers space exploration and there's an area that shows the engineering side of planes.  There are also a couple of rides that you will need to pay extra for.

GIFT IDEA

by Papa

Title: Homemade Gift Card Set

Recommended Age: 6-10

One year, for Christmas, we made Kid A a set of gift cards that he could redeem throughout the year.

He loves getting to choose what restaurant we will eat at for lunch or dinner.  So, we have a Dine Where You Like card.

He also loves his screen time, like most kids his age do.  We only allow him 20 minutes of screen time Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (except during summer).  With a 30 Minutes Screen Time card, he can increase his screen time (still only on the weekends) with no questions asked.

Finally, we all love boba, and he always asks if he can get some.  So, we added a One Boba Drink card.

FAMILY GAMES

by Papa

Title: Money Money Money

Summary:

A lot of kids are interested in money at an early age.  This game teaches them how to count money in a fun way.  Kid A invented this game after receiving a play money kit as a gift.

Recommended Age: 6-8

What you will need:

• A set of play money
  
• The set should have a good amount of all the different values:

-10 dollar bills
-5 dollar bills
-1 dollar bills
-Quarters
-Dimes
-Nickels
-Pennies

• A stack of note cards
  
• A white sheet of paper
  
• Player pieces (you can borrow them from a board game that you own like "Sorry" or "Monopoly"
  
• A small ball that anyone can hold in their hand
  

Instructions:

1. On the white sheet of paper, draw a table with the number of players as the amount of columns and between 10 and 20 rows.  This will be the board.
   
2. Label the bottom side of the table as Start and the top side as You Win.
   
3. On each note card, write an amount of money.  Try to make the amounts under $20 and make them all vary for different degrees of difficulty.
   
4. Shuffle the note cards and turn them face down in a pile.
   
5. Place the player pieces on the Start row of the board.
   
6. Distribute the money evenly.
   
7. Take turns flipping a note card over to show the amount.
   
8. All players get the amount showing from their stash.
   
9. The first player who puts the correct amount from their stash and grabs the ball wins the round and gets to advance one row on the board.
   
10. Once someone grabs the ball, all players stop and check if that player did indeed get the correct amount.  If you grab the ball and you don't have the correct amount, you move back one row.
    
11. The first player to get to the You Win row wins!
    

Optional Instructions:

If you want to give the younger children a better chance, you can have the player who turns over the note card roll a set of dice.  The amount shown is the amount all the players except the young child needs to count to before accessing their money stash.  You can use multiples of the dice number if you need to make the amount of time higher.

BOOK REVIEW

by Papa

Title: Peter and the Starcatchers

Authors: Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Recommended Age: 8-12

Pages: 451

Read-Aloud Time: About 3 weeks (20 minutes a day)

Rating: 8/10

Peter and the Starcatchers is a great read for both kids and adults.  Even when you know how everything turns out at the end of the book, getting to that point is a quite an adventure.  I had never read the original Peter Pan story.  I only knew what the movies Peter Pan, Hook, and Finding Neverland wanted me to know.  So, I don't know if this prequel is accurate for how it all began, but it didn't really matter.  It was easier to just imagine the characters as completely new ones.  Instead of the comical Captain Hook from the Disney movie, this one was quite serious and nasty.  Instead of the cocky and slightly annoying Peter Pan, this one was brave and selfless.

Favorite Thing: Kid A and I got a kick out of the way that Molly and the porpoises spoke - especially when Molly wasn't saying what she thought she was saying.  We also really liked Mr. Grin for some reason.  Maybe it's the name.

Least Favorite Thing:  I think the Tinkerbell introduction could have been cut and saved for another story.  I guess I'm skeptical that a bird can turn into a fairy from starstuff.  She seemed tacked on at the end to make the story all tidy.  Also, the description of the food the boys were given on the boat was pretty gruesome.  It gave me a bad taste in my mouth which, I guess, is the point.

Questionable Material for Kids:  There are battles with sailors, pirates, natives, and sea creatures that result in blood and, of course, the loss of a hand.

FAMILY GAMES

by Papa

Title: The Backwards Word Game

Summary:

Someone says a word pronouncing it backwards.  The other person guesses what the word is.  For example, if you say "T-A-B" the answer would be "Bat".  This is a great game for kids to learn what letters make what sounds and gives them practice imagining the word in their heads and reading it back.

Recommended Age: 4-6

What you will need:

• Nothing! 
  

Instructions:

1. Take turns who is the speaker and who is the interpretor.  If you have a more than 2 people playing, go around in a circle with the last interpretor switching to speaker.
   
2. You can stick to 1 syllable words for younger kids and move up to multiple syllables gradually.
   

FAMILY GAMES

by Papa

Title: Geography

Summary:

This game is taken from Cam Jansen and the Catnapping Mystery by David A. Adler.  Cam and her friend, Eric, play this game as they walk around town with Cam's parents.  One player says the name of a place (country, state, city) and the next player has to pick the name of a place that starts with the last letter of the previous place.

Recommended Age: 8-10

What you will need:

• Nothing!
  

Instructions:

1. Take turns saying the name of a place.  The name of the next place has to start with the last letter of the previous place.  For example, if the player before you says "Seattle," you have to come up with a place that starts with the letter "e".
   
2. Some letters are more difficult to start with than others.  If you get stumped, look at a map or a globe for some suggestions.  It's a great way to learn about more geographical places.