Christmas Fun!

Kids are excited about Christmas. Especially when they are young. They love the run up, the excitement, the planning, creating lists and all else that is associated with it. It's also a good time for family to bond, be it over games, food, cooking, travelling or just spending quality time together.

Christmas-postcards-348 by artvintage1800s.etsy.com

This excitement for Christmas is a great tool to play some fun games. Here are 2 simple games based on Christmas:

1. Making Giveaway Bags

Make giveaway bags with the help of your kids. Give each child empty bags and the goodies they need to pack in. Ask them to ready it all and then start the timer. Whoever finishes packing all bags with every item correctly in the shortest time is the winner.

2. The Blindfold Game

Load a bag with pairs of things, be it candy or small toys. Make sure none of these things can cause harm. By turn, blindfold a child and start a timer. Give each child a minute or two (this is dependent upon the age of the children) and see how many pairs of things they can fish out. The winner is one who pulls out the the most pairs within the given time.

The tricks to games is keeping it simple and fun. Simpler the rules, easier it is for kids to slide into these games. 

Three things to do this Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a harvest festival. The earliest recorded religious Thanksgiving Day in Plymouth is from 1623. When the rains came after a two month drought, the colonists gave thanks. Initially it was celebrated along with the Native Americans. The celebration included merry making, drinking and included local produce of deer, corn, roasted meat and shellfish. Yes, nothing to do with turkey and pudding, which is standard fair nowadays. In fact most of our celebratory food was not even available in the 1600s!

Happy Thanksgiving by liz west

Over time, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared two national Thanksgivings. Yes two. One was in August to remember the battle of Gettysburg and the second was in November to give thanks for 'general blessings'.

Today it is a weekend over which families gather, eat, celebrate and bond. Here are three things for families to do together this year:

1. Feast
Yes, a great time to gather and feast together. Seasonal produce like squash and sweet potato are a must. Vegetarian get a tofu turkey, while others get a turkey and use their own recipes to cook it or it could be a store prepared one. Everyone pitches in to cook a part of the meal.

2. Play
Yes, families can gather and play games - board games, outdoorsy games or perhaps some scavenger games, to make it big, noisy and fun. Nothing can be better than playing together for families to come together.

3. Explore
This is a great time to explore your city. Walk, drive or take the bus. Make it multi-generational. Get the older members to show you places you did not know about. Great way to bond with grandparents. Explore parks. Make sure you bundle up. The good time must not lead to unwell times.

Food is essential to human survival. Even after all these years, it feels perfectly natural to give thanks to the bounty that nature gifts us. Tell us how you plan to celebrate this Thanksgiving.

In the Halloween Spirit

Halloween has gone by, but the kids are still having some Halloween Fun. There's candy to eat, images to see and apps to play on. All these years, Halloween meant trick or treating, dressing up and scaring people. Now with the onset of online games, Halloween has it's own set of apps!

Who dressed YOU? by Juhan Sonin

Traditional Fun

Interestingly much of the traditional fun revolved around agriculture, primarily because that was the predominant occupation. Young people pulled out cabbage from the field believing that the shape and taste of the stalk would give a clue about what and how their loved one would be!

Many looked into mirrors and asked the devil to show them the face of their future spouse. Trick or treating was called 'souling'. Kids went from home to home saying prayers for the souls of dead people. In return they got a soul cake, which brought them good luck and the soul, freedom from hell. 

Modern Day Fun

We always find this a good time of the year to brush up on our Halloween facts, play a few games and enjoy colorful Halloween food. Kids (and some adults too) dress up in their gory best to go trick or treating. Older family members pull out old photo albums to see old images of their kids in costumes. Some get into the decorate mode, and we end up with spider webs and skeletons floating around the house. Discussions of the costumes they had stitched or borrowed for their young are aired. It's a time when family gathers, eats and makes merry. Children hoard and hide their candy. Some make deals to exchange their surplus too!

Halloween Apps

As most festivals go, Halloween too has changed over the decades. From a strong Christian festival, it morphed into one where religion took a back seat. Today the morph continues. Kids and adults enjoy Halloween apps and digital games!

Some of the interesting Halloween apps include:

Wonster Words - This helps younger children learn their spelling in a fun way.

Ghost Lens(this one's real fun) - Add ghosts to your images and edit videos to make them look eerie.

Five Nights at Freddy's - Protect yourself through the night with just a flashlight. 

Skullduggery - This one is for those who like skulls and the afterlife. 

Weather it's an app, candy or seriously finding answers about one's beloved, Halloween is all about having fun with family and friends. Tell us how your Halloween was. 

Remembering Columbus

Columbus Day is a good opportunity to explore some geography which is fun, adventurous, understandable and includes dollops of history. Not too far in our past kids have been taught absurd things in history.

 "Viajes de colon en" by Viajes_de_colon.svg: Phirosiberiaderivative work: Phirosiberia (talk) - Viajes_de_colon.svg. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Viajes_de_colon_en.svg#/media/File:Viajes_de_colon_en.svg

The controversy
Just like talking about war with kids is difficult, talking about the deliberate spread of disease is one of the most difficult. How can we explain that Europeans deliberately spread disease among the native populations in the Americas? We abhor the use of bio weapons today, but it was used without remorse to conquer a land and its occupants. After having done all this, it is rather strange to celebrate the finding of the 'New World'. Where was the newness in this well inhabited world?

The Fun Part 
The beauty of history is its multi-facetedness. It shows the advances in sea faring equipment and cartography. The adventures and innovations which came out of these long voyages and the innumerable tales. Kids will always enjoy the fact that Christopher Columbus headed out to find a westward path to the 'Indies'(present day India) and mistook the land he found as Indies. Eventually, this became the West Indies. Working through this story with old maps and drawings from the past ages, can bring alive a bunch of children. Get them to dress up like an old seafarer of that era, and the fun just explodes!

Understanding the damage
As kids grow up, they also understand how a celebration of such days is but the perspective of a few. The Columbus voyage started a huge cycle of exploration and innovation, which laid a strong foundation for growth in many fields. It also laid the foundation for the slave trade across the Atlantic. This was an enormous growth in wealth for a few but created human tragedies and poverty of epic proportions.

Using Technology
Just like we use online games to get kids interested in sports, we should use the available technologies of movies, videos, and apps to develop content which will interest our kids. We must help our kids understand history so as to not repeat it.

4 Great Gifts for Grandparents this Grandparents Day

The kids are real excited. It's Grandparents Day in a few days and this will be the first time they will be staying over at their grandparents' place without us. The two grand generations love spending time together, but the kids have never stayed over. In fact as I said at the beginning, the kids are excited, but much more than them, the grandparents are excited and nervous. Yes, nervous. After having brought us all up, our kids make them nervous!

Kids with Grandparents by Darren Wilkinson

The kids were wondering what to gift them for Grandparents Day. Needless to say, we have been talking a lot about this. I like to categorize the gifts thus:

1. A gift of time

In this age of being busy, time is of enormous importance. As we get busy with our working lives, we sometimes get too busy to keep in regular touch with our parents. But once we have kids, we must make time and get our kids to spend time with their grandparents. The mutual bond of love is strong. This simple gift of time, where grandparents can spend time with their grand kids is priceless. I recall the wonderfully warm times I spent with my grandparents. It's the warm safe place I go to, when I am stressed out. This stay over with the grandparents on their own is a gift of time which both the kids and their grandparents will cherish, but the grandparents will adore.

2. A gift of play

After reading about games from foreign shores, I was talking to the kids about games they had not heard of. In fact I was telling them about games we had played as a child, which are now almost forgotten. They got very excited and spoke to their grandparents about games they played as a kid. This sleepover, they have planned to teach the grandparents how to play online games, while the grandparents teach them games they played while growing up. This gift of play, will not be forgotten easily by the grandparents and I am wondering if the grandparents will turn into gamers!

3. A gift of shared activity

Sometimes it's amazing to see the number of activities my kids enjoy with the grandparents, be it gardening, cooking or painting. Even before going over they have planned activities for everyday. Gran is going to teach them how to make a tie and dye shirt while grandpa has promised teach them how to set up a tire swing. I am now dreading the time when the kids will want to make a tie and dye T-shirt once they are back, though my grandma had taught me and I still have the old t-shirt as a keepsake!

4. A gift of remembering them

This is a gift we can give grandparents throughout the year - a gift of remembering them through out the year, not just on Grandparents Day. They love it when the kids call and chat with them. Sometimes the grandparents call just to ask them about school or a school trip. It is amazing to see the animation on the kids'faces when they chat. I know for sure the grandparents love getting these phone calls - they love being remembered - my parents have vocalized it many time.

These are my gift ideas - what are yours? Do share.

Virtual Pet Games - the reason for their popularity

When you feed this pet, you are merely feeding a bunch of pixels, not a living breathing pet. But the pets adopted on this virtual pet game are very important to their owners. They adopt them, care for them, feed them, buy them toys, play with them, travel with them, get them pet pets - in essence, they nurture their virtual pets. If the pets are not fed, they don't die, they linger on, weak and hungry, pointing to the callousness of the owner.

The rise

One of the earliest digital pet games was Dogz. This was followed by, hold your breath, Catz, Horsez and even a Hamsterz all under the Petz brand. All this happened in the 90s. This was followed by Tamagotchi. These were a huge hit in Japan, but could not sustain their popularity in the US as schools banned them for their need for constant attention.

Jump, People. Stay, Dog. by Gordon

Why were they so popular

Well, they are definitely easier than getting a real pet. Approvals and resources required are fewer, especially if you are a kid! These pets occupy no space and when you need to go away, they need not be physically looked after. Apart from all this, you can nurture them, name them, complain about them among peers, dress them up, play with them, and buy them toys.

A whole world

Interestingly some of these pets occupy a whole virtual world, like Neopets which occupy Neopia. Players on these worlds, have currency they can use to buy their pets food, clothes and toys.

The worry

As these technologically advanced pets become companions to humans, especially kids, the psychological effects of this worry many. People can have programmable affection without really investing time or effort. Interaction with an actual physical creature is always superior to simulated interaction. The worry for many is that people might replace the real with the artificial, because they can invest less of themselves.

The good

Though virtual pets might seem a departure from the reality of the world and some might even call it escapism, it has its pluses. Kids who cannot have pets in the real world, can have one here. People with physical disabilities, can manage these pets far more easily, than the real ones. Short of space, no problem, adopt a virtual pet. In fact many animal lovers feel having a virtual pet, gives people and kids a window into the world of having a real pet. Like a dry run, without the pain of a real animal involved. Compassionate for the a real pet and happiness for the real human.

A few pixels can do a lot of good!

End of Summer Fun

Summer's drawing to a close and kids are starting countdowns. Parents can plan on getting back to schedules they had before the holidays began. As kids take a while to get used to new schedules, it's best to start a few things which will help them sync with school schedules.

Here are the most important you can look at:

1. Sleep schedule

surprised, the kid chameleon tried red by woodlewonderworks

This is the most difficult and important thing. Kids must get back slowly but surely to school week sleep schedules. Their bed time over the summer would have changed, but this needs to go back to what is required. A sleepy child is not suitable for school. For a teacher having a class full of sleepyheads spells big trouble.

2. Eating schedule

Again a difficult one, but if the first one falls into place, gradually hunger cycles will regularize. This is important, for you would not want a child to start her day without breakfast. It also helps to cut down on random snacking during the day. This way the kids get hungry and mealtimes are not difficult.

3. Preparing them for hours away from home

This mostly applies to younger kids, who are not used to staying away from home for long hours. As kids grow older, their friends, teachers and the fun they have at school, keeps them interested and occupied at school. Younger kids, who are in the younger classes, feel the need to get home to their parents/caretakers much sooner. They need the comfort of home.

Well, summer's drawing to a close. make the best of these last few days!

Online Fun other than Games

The kids love playing computer games, but sometimes I actively encourage them to do other things when they are at their computers. Kids can do many creative things using a computer. The summer is when they can explore a billion interesting things that can be found on the Internet. Especially in the hot afternoons.

Kids playing dress-up at a children's fair by Lyn Lomasi 

If you aren't getting any ideas, here are four that I can list:

1. Choose an age appropriate play for the kids. Get the kids and their your friends to play different parts. Help them record the play reading. Make a nice recording of it of it and share it with your families.

2. Ask the kids to go around the house or garden or the block to get some nice images. Then introduce them to a nice collage making software. Ask them to make a summery collage and share it with family and friends.

3. Introduce the kids to homemade toy making. Look for online tutorials for toy making. Try this photo album or this spinning button, for starters. Once all of you are addicted to making toys at home, search for more instructions and get busy.

4. Look at people in their traditional attire. Ask the kids to pick a character they would like to dress up as, with clothes they can find at home. Playing dress up can be great fun!

Have you got any bright ideas? Share it with us!

Virtual Pet Games like Neopets

I must admit, the title of this post is rather misleading. After all, there really isn’t any virtual pet game out there quite like Neopets. The sheer enormity of the site and the nearly limitless options of what you can do when you’re on there is what most users agree make Neopets as popular as it is. I’m yet to find a virtual pet game that can compete with Neopets in size and complexity. However, many old-time users of Neopets have found the website becoming too impersonal and commercialized in the recent past, and are looking for other websites where they can experience some of the original Neopets charm. Embarking on the same quest (Neopets reference intended), here’s what I’ve come up with so far.

“Poogle Side” by Mary-Lynn is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Subeta – A lot of Subeta members are people who have been or still are Neopets users. The consensus is that this is the closest it gets to Neopets. You can adopt a virtual pet choosing from about sixty species, both imaginary and real. The site has plots, quests, mini-games, collectibles, and of course plenty of ways to customize your pet. You can also have a human avatar on Subeta. Site events, regular updates and an active, supportive community make Subeta a popular virtual pet game.  A few of the main differences between Neopets and Subeta revolve around the fact that Neopets is targeted at young kids and Subeta at older users. Therefore the content on Neopets is monitored to keep it appropriate for its younger users. Older users may find the relative freedom on Subeta refreshing. A lot of the plotlines and store items too involve more mature content. Another important difference is the fact that Subeta’s artistic users can sell their artwork on the website for Subeta points or real currency. On the flip side, users may find that the world of Subeta is not as extensive or fleshed out as that of Neopia. The site has fewer mini-games, and they aren’t as flash-y (pun intended) as those on Neopets. Also, some users find it annoying that fighting is an integral part of playing on Subeta, as several plots do not advance if you don’t battle in the Coliseum.

Icepets – Icepets is another virtual pet game that’s doing a good job, but it’s far smaller than Neopets or Subeta. Here users play games, embark on quests, and choose from various fun activities around the site. There are fourteen pet species to choose from here, and one of the main attractions is dressing up the pet and customizing it. Users on Icepets get to change the species of their pets at will, and can save each of their pets’ looks so that they can switch between them whenever they like. As with Subeta, older users appreciate the fact that they can talk freely on the forum without worrying about whether the content is appropriate for younger audiences. The smaller community means that people get heard on the forums, and engage in more personal relationships with each other, which is something that a lot of users appreciate.

Powerpets – Powerpets is a virtual pet game with a difference – it is all about teaching users to be kind and considerate towards animals of all types. The pets on Powerpets are all based on real animals, and you have over sixty species to choose from. Other interesting features include the fact that the map is based on locations in the real world (but places are inhabited by animals) and that the website’s encyclopedia imparts educational information about the pet species available in the game. Like Neopets, the game has plots, quests, mini-games and its very own economy, influenced by the actions of its users. You can also customize your pets by changing their looks. Users get to create human avatars as well. For those who would like to share their creativity with others, Powerpets lets users write stories about their pets and publish them as virtual books for other users to read. The site also holds donations and uses the money raised to fund campaigns geared towards animals.

For some Neopets users, no other website can ever take the place of the virtual pet game that started it all. But for those who are ready to try out other games, they may find a new virtual pet game that is as good or even better (gasp!) than Neopets.

More about Getting Kids to Read

We’ve spoken enough about getting kids to read with the help of reading games, activities, books, plays, etc. Have we ever thought how fun it would be if kids were encouraged to read books which have been successfully adapted into movies and that too good ones? Won’t they be able to relate to the movies and want to revisit the book for a better understanding? Yes, getting kids to read a book first and then watch its big screen adaptation is indeed a great idea. Here are the all-time bestseller children’s books whose movies we love!

100_2771 by abbamouse

The Hobbit

Tolkien’s fantastical world with Bilbo Baggins in it was rendered beautifully on screen. The beloved characters, from the Hobbits and Dwarves to Gandalf and Gilbert, find their due places in the screen adaptation and the audience didn’t have much to complain as The Hobbit has been undoubtedly one of the best book adaptations in recent cinema.

The Hunger Games

Agreed that The Hunger Games is not a book essentially for kids but it’s known to be popular among young adults and older children. The thrilling Hunger Games trilogy was recently adapted for the large screen and it still awaits its third and final sequel Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 in November 20, 2015. The dystopian setup of the movie maybe a far cry for children but the older ones would love to catch a show of their favorite novel on screen and later revisit the book.

Alice in Wonderland

Come Alice and her zany friends from Lewis Carroll’s popular book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland straight into the large screen. Tim Burton’s on-screen adaptation is a vivid take on the eccentric novel with Alice at its center and the Mad Hatter occupying the second most prominent role. Starring Johnny Depp as the hare-brained Mad Hatter, the film is an interesting take on the book though not a word-by-word imitation of the main book.

The Harry Potter Series

Admittedly many had already started expecting movie adaptations of the Harry Potter series as soon as the books started to get published. If your kids loved reading the books, then it’s time you have to encourage the kids to watch the movies. They’ll love the wizardry and magic come alive on screen and Harry embarking on one whirlwind adventure after another with Ron, Neville and Hermione. Look out for the PG rating though that a few Harry Potter series movies are certified with.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series debuted as a comic strip on the web back in 2004 and since then the rest is history! The series now includes five books and has been at the top of the New York Times Best-Seller list for children's books for years now. If your kids have ever wondered what it would feel like to live Greg Heffley's middle-school adventures in real life, then they must watch the screen adaptation of the best-selling series Diary of a Wimpy Kid where the stories come alive. Perfect for reluctant readers, the books and films portray the identifiable struggles of an awkward middle-schooler.

Summer Afternoon Activities to Escape the Hot Sun

Kids playing at summer park by Lisa Suender

Kids love the summer. Come vacations, parents encourage lots of outdoorsy activities - swimming, monkey bars at the park, time on the beach, climbing trees at the park etc. All is fine as long as parents follow some sun and water safety tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Harsh sunlight can burn tender skin on kids.

Here are some activities to keep indoor bound kids engaged:

1. Cooking: Get the kids to help cook. They could tear lettuce, halve tomatoes, make juices, roll out dough, ice some cupcakes etc. This way they have fun and learn about the processes of cooking.

2. Gaming: From summer gaming camps or workshops to playing Massively Multiplayer Online Games with family, kids are spoilt for choice.  

3. Art Projects: Kids enjoy a variety of arts. Even mechanical assembly projects can be artistic. The long summer is a great time to take up a fun project.

4. Catching up on Movies: If the school year has been very busy, the summer is a great time to watch movies, old and new. Kids love laughing over the movies their parents watched - the clothes, the pace, humor, everything.

5. Family and Friends: Summer's the best time to catch up with family and friends. Seeing the local sights, snuggling up to Granny and having her read stories, trying on mom's footwear - oh, the fun can be endless, for there's always something to do across generations.

The whole purpose of summer is to explore - new ideas, projects, food or just new ways to laze!

Gift for Mom’s Birthday – Crafts with the Kids

It’s almost a ritual to sit with my kids and make fun crafts. It’s not just an engagement and bond-building activity between the kids and me but is also a learning experience for all of us. The kids work on their fine motor skills while I become more educated on children’s behavioral patterns and development milestones. I love to get involved with the kids and their crafts and their ‘ritual’ never feels like a chore even after the longest and most tiring of days!

So, when my kids wanted to help with a craft that they wanted me to gift grandma on Mother's Day, I was happy looking up the internet for a suitable craft that mommy could use and the kids would enjoy making. I found many websites with really cool and easy craft activities for the kids. Finally, we decided to make something simple and useful for my Mom.

Paper Clip Card Holder

Used chocolate box

·         Giant paper clips

·         Colored paper

·         Felt

·         Scissors (Kid-friendly)

·         Glue

·         Board pins

Directions

• We drew different shapes and patterns on the opened up chocolate box and cut them out. A few common shapes and patterns that we drew were star, caterpillar, and triangle.
• I had the kids cut out similar shapes from the colored and felt papers and stick them on the cardboard 
  

• The kids applied glue to the back of the cutouts and stuck the paper clips to them. Make sure little less than half of the paper clips are covered.

Here's how it looks:

Afterthought

Speaking from my experience with kids, crafts are an extremely engaging and fulfilling activity for them. They don’t just love the process of getting messy, feeling different textures, and experimenting with colors, but they fall in love with the little masterpieces that they create. There have been times when our kids have asked to see a craft-gift they made us months ago. So, they love it, and we love it too. 

Now, I hope my Mom likes her gift on Mother's Day!

Pet Games, Nature Mandalas and other activities

"Trillium Poncho cat dog". Licensed under CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trillium_Poncho_cat_dog.jpg#/media/File:Trillium_Poncho_cat_dog.jpg

In spring and summer kids can enjoy lots of activities, both outdoors and indoors. With pets, without pets, with family, with friends, in the garden, at the park - oh this list can be long.

3 activities you can enjoy with your pet:

1. Photograph your pet

2. If it's an animal you can run around with, play hide and seek in the yard or at the park.

3. Dress your pet or it's container.

3 pet-related activities without pets:

1. Play pet games.

2. Play with your pretend pets.

3.  Draw an imaginary pet.

3 activities with family:

1. Play board games.

2. Have a picnic.

3. Take each other's photographs and make a collage.

3 activities with friends:

1. Divide into teams and make scavenger hunts for each other.

2. Cook up something and invite your parents.

3. Get some paint and get permission to paint an old section of some wall or find an old 'thing' to paint.

3 activities in the garden:

1. Plant quick growing vegetables.flower.

2. Sprout some seeds in an empty eggshell filled with damp cotton. Pain the eggs with faces. The sprouts will look like hair!

3. Gather leaves, twigs and flowers - create a pretty nature mandala.

3 activities at the park:

1. Take turns to call out a spot in the park and race to get there.

2. Find new ways to play with familiar equipment.

3. Do some tree-spotting.

Can you think of other types of activities?

Apps for Spring

Spring is a season of renewal. Things grow, ideas sprout in our brains, spaces are cleaned and new things are tried out. A time for fun and games, it's a good time to have a handy list of apps suitable for younger kids. If you are exploring on your own, do check out the app reviews on Common Sense Media before you let your kids lose on them.

5 good apps for the spring covering music, art, puzzling, treasure hunts and pets:

1. Treasure Hunt by Photos

This app is all about playing a scavenger hunt game. With up to 20 clues and secret codes, this app will keep your kids challenged for a while. It even requires kids to get up and hunt around as in an actual scavenger game.

2. Pet Games by Jumpstart

Image Credit: http://www.neopets.com/index.phtml

An old favorite, this is a wonderful game where kids can use their imagination to have a pet and nurture it. A good game for kids who are asking for a pet, and for those parents who want to see if their kids can share the responsibility of caring for a pet with other members of the family. 

3. Tales2Go by Tales2Go

A collection of audio books to keep your youngster engaged. This is most useful for kids who prefer hearing a story over reading it oneself. It can also be heard while doing something else or even while traveling. 

4. Quell+ by Fallen Tree Games Ltd. 

Puzzle games for youngsters and grown ups. As it's not on a timer, it's a great way to unwind for grownups, and non-pressurizing for youngsters. The challenging puzzles keep the player hooked. 

5. Bloom HD by Opal Limited

This is a combination of art and music designed by Brian Eno and Peter Chilvers. It' works best with headphones and is both visually and aurally stimulating. 

Enjoy these apps this spring! 

All images are courtesy the app store

Baby Talk: It's Not All Goo Goo Ga Ga

Oh, if I could get a penny for each time I felt a jolt of sheer joy when my newborn gurgled, yawned and made indecipherable sounds! It took my daughter all of two months to start her little cooing noises. Until then the only way she knew how to ‘talk’ to us was by crying. She did a lot of ‘talking’ back then. Her coos sounded like little amusing secrets that only she knew about.

This was also around the time when I began to introduce baby activities to help with her development. These included activities that were visually stimulating, engaged her senses and developed her fine motor skills. As I wanted to know what was going on in her mind and cooing didn’t give much of it away, I also made sure I included speech-related activities. 

“Lean Back, Lean Back” by lucidialohman is licensed under CC BY 2.0

At first, it felt like I was the one doing all the work as she stared at me with big wide eyes and slapped at the air. Occasionally, there were murmurs of astonishment and delighted smiles.

That was lesson one – to get babies to learn to communicate, we have to communicate. All the time. Talk slowly and gently while maintaining eye contact. Use exaggerated gestures and facial expressions to keep the baby interested in what you have to say. Babies love rhymes, anything musical. So sing away, sing songs and rhymes, add a few claps (‘If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands...’) and jump around. So what if the world doesn’t, your baby will sure appreciate you, off-key though you might be!

“Geoffrey Snapshots” by tOkKie-Pokie ..puddin' n pie is licensed under CC BY 2.0

While talking, don’t forget to modulate your voice. Vary the pitch, volume and tone. You can also start reading to your baby. They may not understand it but go ahead! I used to read poetry and fairy tales to my little girl. I would repeat them and I knew she was listening because some of them excited her almost as soon as I began.

Start pointing to things when you talk about it. I would do so by dangling her favorite toy and saying ‘Lookeeee, here’s Mr. Mojo Jojo.’ It may feel silly but all normal communicating protocol becomes void around babies. Kiddos love animal sounds – ‘Old MacDonald had a farm…’ was a favorite with my daughter. So be prepared to moo and meow a lot.

“sanchez_baby_shower_1014_0081” by Richard Gallagher is licensed under CC BY 2.0

As they get older, babies start trying to mimic these sounds. Don’t try to correct these sounds. Make vowel sounds and get them to mirror it. Get them to try and blow feathers; it will help them to practice rounding their lips. Talk to them about the mundane details of life. Talk to them about their bath, the flower they are gazing at, the massage you are giving them. They will listen with rapt attention.

It may take about a year before they first start uttering real words but a lot of preparation goes into that. It is the payoff after all the months of being exposed to language, and a milestone that deserves a place in the baby book (and the mommy book)!

Best Penguin Games Online

Penguin games are all the rage among kids, and thanks is due in no small part to their feathery protagonists. Penguins have quite a few mannerisms that work in their favour - their cute waddle, their catchy head bob and the wacky wing-flap come together to make them quite endearing to onlookers. Add to that their unmistakable black and white coat and their dark yellow beaks, and you have one beautiful bird that everyone loves to love.

Perhaps that was why Lane Merrifield and his friends chose penguins to be the main characters in the social game they decided to create for their kids. However, it is unlikely that they knew then how popular their creation, Club Penguin, would become. In just two years, it had 3.9 million users and was soon bought by Disney for a whopping 350 million dollars. While Club Penguin may still be the biggest penguin game online, there are many others that have also managed to hit the right note with their young target audience. Here are a few of the best penguin games online.

 “DJ3K - clubpenguin yellow puffle” by IvanWalsh.com is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Club Penguin – Well, this had to top the list for obvious reasons. The game is an MMO virtual world targeting kids in the age group of 6 to 12. Players use penguin avatars to explore the snowy terrain and play fun games on their own or with other players. Each player gets an igloo which they can choose to customize and invite other players to. They also get to customize their avatars, chat with other players, adopt pets, attend parties and take part in challenges around the island.

Penguins of Madagascar – Now these are popular penguins, perhaps even the most famous of their species. Rico, Skipper, Private and Kowalski have charmed audiences in several movies and cartoons and they now have an entire virtual world to their name. Fans get to join these elite secret agents in a mission to take down Dr. Octavius Brine and his evil henchmen. Interestingly, this game has an educational element to it, with players making use of scholastic and critical thinking skills to help the covert birds on their mission.

Penguin Diner – There are several diner games online, where the player races to take orders, serve food to the customers, and generally provide good service to collect big tips. However, the huge popularity of the Penguin Diner game in particular goes to prove how the addition of a flightless bird does good things for kids’ games. Penny the Penguin gets lost on a trek to Antartica and works as a waitress at a local diner to make money to return home. Players assist her in seating the customers, taking their orders, making sure they are served on time and meeting the targets for each day. The money that Penny saves can be used to buy upgrades within the game. With the rising popularity of this penguin game came Penguin Diner 2, Penguin Diner 3, Penguin Diner 4 and Penguin Diner 5. Strangely though, Penguin Diner 4 does not feature penguins!

Flying Penguin games – Interestingly, these games take their inspiration from the very fact that penguins cannot fly! There are several types of flying penguin games. Learn to Fly is a popular one where a lone penguin in Antartica, surfing the internet, is offended to see penguins described as flightless birds. He is determined to change that, and sets out to do research on what prevents penguins from flying and what kind of contraptions and flight conditions would help him achieve the smoothest, highest and longest flight. In Learn 2 Fly, the penguin has become wiser and uses a dummy to continue his research. He has also become quite frustrated, and adds an element of destruction to his efforts to fly.

Apart from these popular penguin games, there are plenty of other penguin games available online. You can even find an entire website dedicated to the penguin flash games on the internet, including several of those mentioned above. Penguins may not be able to fly, but they sure do know how to have fun.

Top 5 kinds of games your kids should be playing right now

There’s no denying the reach and influence that online games have on kids today. While the pros and cons of gaming is a topic of continuous debate, here are 5 kinds of games that parents must encourage their children to play. These games can help develop in kids various traits and life skills such as responsibility, affection, ability to accept victory and loss with equal grace, focus and hand and eye coordination.

Lo que me hace reir 5/30 by Josue Goge 

Candy games

Yes, we’re talking about the king of all candy games, Candy Crush Saga from King.com. The game has become a rage not for no reason. I have seen my friends’ children being handed their parents’ tablets just to keep them engaged. And most often they are either on Candy Crush or playing a pet game raising virtual pets. It’s interesting to see how the toddlers can follow the instructions and continue to advance through levels of the candy game and never get bored. Besides introducing children to colors and patterns, two very significant elements of the game, the candy game stresses more on mastery rather than success, a very useful lesson to help kids through the real journey of life. If your child has still not taken to Candy Crush, then it’s time for you to introduce the colorful game to her.

Pet games

There are a number of pet games online that engage kids in meaningful pastimes. While Neopets allows players to adopt virtual pets and raise them, care for them, and feed them, Moshi Monsters allows players to embark on adventure trips with their virtual pets and explore the magical Moshi world. Children must be encouraged to play pet games as they help them develop their affectionate, responsible, and disciplined sides. It’s always a good idea to acquaint the kids with pets in a virtual setup before they are ready to raise and take care of the cuddly, furry monsters in real life. Join the kids while they play pet games and share your tips and suggestions on their pets’ wellbeing and strengthen your bond with your child.

Car games

Most of us are addicted to car games because they are generally arcade games that let you race against your friends in a virtual space. Their glitzy visuals and realistic graphics take their fun quotient a notch higher. But what makes them more special than the rest and why should you encourage your kids to play car games? To begin with, car games can be great to introduce children to friendly competition. They will learn to compete with friends and accept any loss with a pinch of salt and a win with grace. Besides, playing car games also helps the kids to improve their hand and eye coordination. Parents must encourage children to play the games as it is a good opportunity for them to strengthen their parent-child bond too.

Word games

Word games can be extremely addictive. They are popular among gamers as they can be played for long hours without them becoming boring. They keep the players intellectually engaged, pushing them expand their vocabulary to advance through word game levels. Every child must be playing one of the word games right now to constantly up their vocabulary.

Running games

When we talk about running games, we aren’t just hinting at Temple Run. There are a number of running games like Subway Surfers, Pitfall, Rail Rush, Jetpack Joyride, etc., that are as interesting as Temple Run. Running games require the players to run, slide, jump, and tilt through a predetermined track while overcoming obstacles and solving puzzles. These endless games work on the kids’ patience and observation skills without the little ones even realizing it. The players have to concentrate keenly on the running tracks to locate obstacles from a distance so that they can determine a suitable way to overcome them much before they actually reach them. Get your kids to play a few of these running games today!

Play pet games with children, match candies, and run through a virtual lookalike of the great Angkor Wat and help the little ones develop important life skills in a fun way. Of course, while these games have much to teach the little ones, getting addicted to gaming can never be a good thing. So get your little ones to play these fun games, but always monitor and control he amount of time your child spends playing. 

How can Virtual Worlds Make A Better World for Kids?

Most of us are familiar with the argument that spending time on electronic gadgets damages our relationships and demotivates children to use their own intelligence to solve problems. But how many of us have stopped to think that there can be alternate effects too, and good ones at that. Though the argument seems far-fetched, let’s delve a little deeper and understand how spending time in virtual worlds can actually bring families together and therefore make a better world for kids. Here are a few ways in which virtual worlds for kids can be used to your advantages.

Rocket Flyer Simulator by Kevin Makice

Sibling bonding

There isn’t much common ground between siblings during their growing years. They are often seen fighting about trivial issues though they eventually outgrow that! In such cases, you can use virtual worlds to bring the bickering duo together. Mutual interest will act as a crucial catalyst to bring them together. No matter what their age or gender, involve them in virtual worlds to allow them to grow a common pastime and bond with each other. They will spend quality time in front of the screen doing something that they jointly enjoy and this will help them strengthen their sibling bond. A few virtual worlds allow avatars to converse with each other that will help the duo to strike up conversations online and continue them in the real world too.

Parent-child bonding

It’s important for parents to get involved with their child’s online activities so that they can ensure their safety. It’s also a chance for the parents to better understand their children – their fascination of a particular kind of virtual world will speak considerably about their likes and dislikes. It’s also a chance for the parents to understand whether the kids enjoy learning any particular subject, do they have a special skill that can be further sharpened, what is their typical way to approach any problem, etc. The child will also reciprocate the parent’s keen interest in his pastime and as a result embrace the parent-child relationship like one between two close friends.

Social skills

Virtual worlds for kids act as a platform for them to interact, communicate, and establish social connections with other players. Most of the virtual worlds have strict social communication guidelines and are monitored at all times, so they are safe. Such environments are conducive to establishing meaningful relationships in the virtual world which can have a positive influence in real relationships too. Some of the social skills that kids can learn from the safe and educational environment of the virtual worlds are patience, courtesy, the need to avoid arguments and other expletives, and how to make the first move in establishing any kind of communication.

An outlet for expression

While many kids can confidently express themselves, others who are introvert may struggle. Most introvert kids find it difficult to express themselves to parents, friends or siblings. Virtual worlds for kids are a place where they can be at total ease while communicating and expressing their own unique personality traits while maneuvering their avatars through various locations and scenes. For example, they can change their avatar’s dress if they don’t like the color, skip a virtual class if they don’t like the subject, sit by the farm and bring up pets if that’s all what they want to do, all of which would have been difficult for them to voice or do in the real world.

Engage the kids in virtual worlds and make a better world for them!

How to Find the Right Games for Kids

With educators taking note of the benefits of game-based learning and giving it their stamp of approval, games for kids tailored for educational purposes are flooding the market place. This makes it important for parents to learn to tell the good games from the bad.

Why is Game-Based Learning Gaining Ground?

We know online educational games come with benefits but what are they? The advantages that educational games have over traditional learning tools are:

“student_ipad_school – 081” by Brad Flickinger is licensed under CC BY 2.0

·         Engaging and Fun – These games ask for a high level of engagement from kids and since these games are fun, kids are happy to stay engaged.

·         Provide Context – When concepts and subjects are not isolated and are presented within context, it makes it easier for kids to make the connections.

·         Develop Real World Skills – Apart from the subject at hand, gaming also helps kids develop real world skills like strategy, problem solving and more, because they use realistic situations that ask for a similar response.

·         Redefine Failure – Failing to make it to the next level does not deter kids from trying again and they don’t take failure as final or personally.

Skill-Building

Kids learn a range of skills while playing games. These skills include:

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·         Strategic thinking

·         Problem solving

·         Hand-eye coordination

·         Team work

·         Increased ability to retain information

·         Persistence

·         Fine motor skills

·         Decision making

·         Quick thinking

·         Creativity

·         Familiarity with technology

·         Cognitive skills

Choose the Right Game – A Checklist for Parents

So, we now know how our kids benefit from games. But how can we make sure we are choosing the right online games for kids?

       

“Done and not done” by Daniel Kulinski is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Here’s a checklist for choosing the right games for kids:

·         Consider your kid’s curriculum and the areas where they might need practice and drills.

·         Once you have identified their requirements, consider the expenses and access. Are the apps or games free of cost? What are the platforms on which they are available?

·         Filter the games and apps on the market based on these factors.

·         Read reviews on forums.

·         Test run the online games and apps to see if they are age and grade-appropriate, enjoyable and easy to play.

·         Take your child’s feedback. Do you see your child struggling? Are they easily bored by the game?

·         Don’t forget to make the online environment safe for kids.

·         Set up a game schedule so that it does not take them away from playing outdoors, interacting with those around them, and ignoring their regular schoolwork.

·         If your kid’s school is technology-friendly, you can chat with the teachers about picking the right games for kids and introduce it to them at the right time so that it helps kids relate to and practice what is being taught at school.

·         Lastly, don’t be a killjoy and do include some fun and silly non-educational games into the mix!

Being proactive about choosing the right games and planning the use of these games will ensure that it will pay off.