Frog Juice – game review

Frog Juice. Sounds gross, which I think is part of the appeal to my sons. It’s not really yucky though, it’s actually a very clever and unique card game. The Frog Juice game from GameWright has won a recommendation from the National Association for Gifted Children. The game box bills it as “A Clever Card Game of Spells and Concoctions for Ages 8 and Up”. Frog Juice is for two to four players. The game takes a few minutes to learn, and about 25 minutes to play. It’s part chemistry, part magic, part math, part strategy, and all fun. All … Continue reading →

Family Fun and Education with Trivia

Trivia is fun but it can also be educational. Even if you don’t know some answers right away, you’ll learn them as you go. Every family member can add to his or her basic knowledge through trivia. Remember, not all questions necessarily have to be about “trivial” subjects even if they are not facts that are necessary to know in the course of a day. “Trivial Pursuit” is cited as the most popular game in the world. It was hot when it first came out and is still quite popular, as it continues to expand, but we can make up … Continue reading →

Secret Codes and Spies

Kids love to play spy. My boys drool over all the fancy spy toys at the store. Those toys are fun, but you don’t need special toys to be a spy. Spies do need undercover disguises though. Dig through the dress-up box. They might also like some sunglasses, a flashlight, and one of Dad’s hats. And spies need secret codes for their messages. (Don’t tell them that they are reading and writing, and using logical thinking skills.) You should tell them that coding and decoding messages is a science called cryptology. One of the simplest codes is to write words … Continue reading →

Amazing Animal Trivia – Game Review

For Christmas, my eight year olds received The Amazing Animal Trivia Game. They love animals, and have really enjoyed playing the game. It’s a cross between a trivia game and Memory. Only you don’t have to just find two cards that match, you have to find three. On the board, ten sets of three matching animal cards are laid face down. At the start of the turn the player gets to flip over one card. They then roll the dice, and try to answer a trivia question about animals. Questions are either True or False, or multiple choice. My children … Continue reading →

Family Games = Fun!

I began selling toys a few years back. Through all the parents I’ve met and seminars I’ve attended, I can see how playing with your children is a great way to create a closeness and open up communication. But when your children get older, they no longer want to play with toys. However, they never outgrow games! One of the best ways to create a parent/child bond is by having family game night. Since my son Alex, 6, is growing up so quickly, we have begun playing games two to three times a week. Though we sometimes include Billy, we … Continue reading →

An Anytime Anywhere Game

I’m usually good about planning activities ahead of time. But sometimes we end up waiting much longer at the doctors than we had planned, or flights get canceled, or the restaurant is packed, or the movie is sold out and we have to wait for the next one. And so, we are stuck—waiting, with nothing to do. Here’s a game to play that takes no special equipment and can be adapted for small children all the way to adults. Take a few things out of your pocket or pocket book, or the restaurant table. Examples are a few coins, a … Continue reading →

Whoonu – Game Review

We hope that our holiday time with families will be filled with laughter and a sense of love and belonging. Sometimes though, there are too many age gaps between cousins for them to get along. Sometimes the grandparent and grandchild who only see each once a year feel shy with one another. If you need a perfect game for family get-togethers, Whoonu is it! Whoonu is a play on the phrase ‘Who Knew’. This game is from the inventive Cranium company. They recommend the game for ages eight and up. But anyone who can read can play this unique game. … Continue reading →

Card Games: Go Fish

Go Fish is a game that is far older than I am. I remember the first time I played Go Fish with my grandmother and it was a great deal of fun. This past weekend, I sat down with my daughter and for the first time we played Go Fish together. We were playing with Dora playing cards to give her some familiarity with the cards and my husband sat with her on her side for the first couple of rounds to give her some backup support if she needed it. Needless to say, she loved the game – we’ve … Continue reading →

Learning to Read: Sight Word Games

Sight words are a great focus of elementary education and for kids learning to read, sight words are very important. There are a lot of ways to help your child learn their sight words and to remember them and at this age, the more fun it is, the more likely you are to engage and hold their interest. So in that vein, here are a few sight word games that I play with my daughter. Sight Words Race Use a timer that will buzz or ring and set it for 1, 2, or 3 minutes and hold up the flash … Continue reading →

Make Up Your Own Family Game

Instead of pulling a game out of the cupboard that you have played a million times try making up your own family game. It could be a board game, card game, or a thinking game. Oftentimes making up the game can be just as fun as playing it. So gather around the table or in the family room and get creative! Here are some ideas to help get your imagination started. Travel Game Make up your own travel game. Choose a starting and ending destination. Then get a real map, download, or draw your own, and draw squares connecting your … Continue reading →