I frequently have people ask me how G studies for geography, and I never have a good answer. He uses tons of different resources - atlases, encyclopedias, online sources, books, audiobooks, videos, map work with Dad, and other resources - so there are far too many to list. (If you're really interested, you can look at our geography bee website, GeoBeeUniverse, to see an incomplete listing under "Resources.")
When they ask, I usually hem and haw and finally just shrug and smile. But one thing I tell them that we did a lot of early on was play games.
We have a number of online geography games listed on our "Fun Stuff" page on GeoBeeUniverse (one of G's favorites is Traveler IQ Challenge), but these are by no means all. There are tons of great options online; it just takes some digging to find the best.
Take Off! was a perennial favorite. We came back to this game again and again. The map (playing board) was beautiful and durable, and the kids loved the tiny little fleets of jets. One thing we all liked about it was that we could play cooperatively.
The Borderline games were some of our favorites.
Unfortunately, they seem to be discontinued in some places, but Rainbow Resource had Borderline World and Borderline Europe. We have USA and World and played them many, many times. One of the great things about this game(s) is that it's only a bit bigger than the size of a deck of cards, so it's portable. Perfect for tucking in your bag to pull out while waiting in line with cranky kids.
Wendy's comment on my post yesterday on cooperative games got me thinking about some of our favorite books. These four books not only were big hits with the kids (meaning they sat down and read them and used them) but they also were my texts for a co-op class I taught a while back.
This is simply a great book. In our co-op class of the same name, we made bows and arrows, go-carts, water bombs, secret inks, and lots more "boy stuff." And the girls liked it too, of course. That was the biggest class in the history of our co-op, if I'm not mistaken, and it was great fun.
Another simply great book. Along the same lines as Dangerous Book, this one has lots of similar - but different - projects, not all girly. We made cootie-catchers, friendship bracelets, and god's eyes; we played tag and jump rope; and we made bandanas and saris.
These two books are great too and are in the same vein as the Dangerous and Daring books.
There is a bit of overlap between the books, but not enough to worry about. The Best at Everything books are smaller and more portable, but the Dangerous and Daring books have great illustrations.
These days they have lots of other extensions of these books, but we've definitely gotten our money's worth out of these four.
Last night, while I was making dinner, my children coerced H into playing a game with them. That’s not an easy task, and I was impressed by their guile. The game of the evening was Cranium, which is a long-time favorite in our house, although for whatever reason it doesn’t get pulled out too often.
That got me to thinking about other games that my kids have enjoyed and even (don't tell!) learned something from.
We tend to play games in a cooperative manner when possible, not because I insist, but because the kids like to collaborate on solutions. The games I list here easily translate into cooperative games, by playing with cards showing or by having everyone contribute to a solution. I have lots more, but I think I’ll start with these.
This is a fantastic game and one that my kids played to death. I still think it’s a great game, even after hours of playing it (and that’s saying something!). One of my favorite stories regarding this game happened a number of years ago. The game involves a set of tiles with pathways on them, and the tiles get shifted each turn. On each turn, a player’s goal is to make his/her way to an object following a pathway on the tiles. But since the tiles shift, you have to reevaluate the board every turn. I remember staring at the board for minutes on end, ploddingly following tile after tile to find a viable path, when G walked over, looked at the board for approximately 6.5 seconds, and said, "Oh, all you have to do is go here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, and then you can get to the bag of gold." Gee, it was so obvious. Why didn’t I see it?
This creative game is a fun and painless way to learn world geography. Because of G’s interest in geography, we ended up with a lot of geography games, and this one was one of the most ingenious. The goal is to get your fleet of jets to circle the globe (actually a long map) before anyone else’s fleet. Each country has a selection of paths that your jet can fly, and the roll of the dice determines what paths you can take. This game is great because it allows everyone to give input into the best route, but the winner is largely determined by chance (a must if you have children of different ages and abilities playing). Just about any age can play this game with the help of an adult, because so much of it is spacial. It was one of the games that showed my kids that they were way better than me in the knowledge-of-geography department. (Well, that’s not that hard, actually.)
This is a simple little game targeted to young children. It’s a cooperative game by nature, and it’s surprisingly engaging. I figured my kids would lose interest in it after a few plays, but they played it on and off for years. It’s basically Concentration, but with a twist. The kids’ goal is to figure out what’s behind the Secret Door without running out of time first. One of the nice things about it is that it’s frequently winnable, but the kids lose often enough to keep it challenging. That balance is a hard line to walk, which most games for young children aren’t able to manage and thus end up boring.
Games play a big role in our homeschooling, so I'll try to do better at posting some of our favorites over time. Stay tuned.
"Be strong!" my darling daughter says, hugging, then kissing me on top of my head (and then punching me in the arm while growling).
Era, my virtual friend (and after this, I use the term loosely) tagged me to make a list of "7 Reasons I Am Awesome." That was a month ago, and I've been putting it off. So let's just get this thing over with.
First, my kids' list of "7 Reasons I Am Awesome" ...
1. I have awesome kids.
2. I have an awesome cup that says, "You can't scare me. I have kids." and a give-away Star Trek glass.
3. I homeschool 3 awesome kids.
4. I'm an awesome multi-tasker: I empty the dishwasher and talk on the phone at the same time.
5. I have an awesome nickname, "Mama-Girl."
6. I hold the awesome family title of "Gross-Out Queen."
7. I play awesome games, like chase the kids, hit like a girl, the arthritic dumb giant, let's scare G, and calling the cat.
Now, for my own, not nearly so entertaining list ...
1. I'm imperfect. I'll gladly admit it to anyone who's dumb enough to stand still and listen. You might argue that that's not a reason to be "awesome," but I beg to differ. I see myself as a shining example of what not to do. Besides, who wants a perfect parent? Think of the pressure!
2. I apologize. Frequently. I make lots of mistakes, including how I parent, and I've gotten really good at apologizing. Again, I see that as setting a glorious example for my kids. Apologizing gracefully is an art, one that I've had plenty of opportunity to perfect. In all seriousness, I'm constantly amazed at how far a heart-felt apology will go when I've done something I regret. My kids are refreshingly forgiving.
3. I listen. Some of my best and most effective parenting moments have been those in which I haven't uttered a word. I'm not quite sure what that says about me, but I do feel that quite a few arguments happen because someone just wants to be heard. I truly try to listen to what my kids have to say. That's been the number one method - by far - of working out problems and disagreements around here.
4. I love to learn and try new things. That's one big reason why we homeschool. I absolutely relish learning something new right alongside my kids, whether it's through reading out loud together, traveling someplace cool, or sitting together while watching and discussing an educational video. I learn so much from - and with - my kids!
5. Closely related to #4, I'm creative and I don't mind getting my hands dirty. I have no problem with letting the kids build a Rube Goldberg machine that spans two stories of the house, scrounge scrap lumber from the garage to build a catapult, or drag out fabric, yarn, and tape to hold an egg-drop contest. I enjoy building, sewing, creating, and inventing (just not cooking). Sometimes these projects stay out for days (or weeks), but this is a kid-friendly house and I don't aspire to be in Architectural Digest.
6. I love being silly and laughing. You'll frequently find me chasing, joking, and just plain playing with the kids. Anything to get a laugh. I didn't win the title "Gross-Out Queen" for nothin'!
7. I love my family with a fire that's frightening. Woe be it to the poor soul who tries to harm one of my children (even if it's another one of my children) - the Mama Bear rages with ferocity. (I guess that's the other meaning of awesome: inspiring awe). I'm fiercely loyal to my children and my husband. There's no place I'd rather be on this earth than surrounded by them. I adore each one of them individually.
All in all, if I'm at all awesome, it's because I'm surrounded by love and joy - and people who allow me to be who I am.
Today my kids learned to do the "bridge" when shuffling cards. I can now rest easy, knowing that my children accomplished something over the summer. Whew! At least the learning portion of the summer is behind us!
My kids have immersed themselves in cards recently, and we frequently have four decks going at once. The kids think it's so nice to be able to do something with each other, without actually having to do what the other one wants (at least for solitaire).
Does anyone have any good suggestions for books on card games, primarily on solitaire or two-person games? We have Hoyle's Rules of Games and it's good. But I'm looking for a book that focuses on card games, specifically ones that kids can play by themselves.
Cards are an amazing invention. After rediscovering them with my kids this summer, I marvel again at how brilliant those people were centuries ago to create this little stack of paper (then wood, I think) and that it can be used in so many myriad ways. I need to read up on the history of cards. It must be a fascinating one.
Ooh ... unit study!
Oh wait ... after that bridge thing, we'll need to hold off until fall to learn something else.
I enjoy every stage of my kids' lives even more than the one that came before. I loved the baby stage, with their warm, fuzzy smells and their soft coos, but it was hard, hard, hard. I remember that time with a mixture of rapture and revulsion. I was rarely clear-headed since I was so sleep deprived, and my kids were all closely spaced, so I was insane for a good number of years. Along with the glowing cherubic faces are harsh memories of piles of diapers (we had all three in cloth for a long period), horrendously painful breasts, and days where my biggest success was being able to pee in peace at least once.
Then we moved on to the toddler and preschool years. I loved that stage even more. The kids were mobile and starting to become self-sufficient. I mean, they could actually talk! And walk! How great was that? My days of lugging a kid in each arm, with one screaming from across the room were over! But I still had to wipe butts and dig boogers out of noses, so it wasn't all cherries and sunshine.
Then school age. How delightful, the joys of watching my children happily swinging their lunchboxes as they trotted off to school. They began to attend birthday parties and had real playdates (not fake playdates, which were actually mom playdates). But with that came birthday parties (definitely a love-hate relationship I have with those), homework, and having to play CandyLand and Chutes and Ladders until I wanted to puke. Still, I loved that stage even more. I was beginning to see my children develop their personalities.
Now, with my youngest in elementary and my oldest in middle school, life is brilliant. I've always tried to talk to my children as equals, but now they can actually respond to me as equals! I don't have to explain the meanings of jokes as often, and they can get their own breakfast (or lunch or dinner), and they can discuss the situation in Somalia or the stock market crisis and know what they're talking about. I'm seeing the beginnings of the adults they'll end up being, and it's a beautiful thing.
And ya' know what one of the best things is? I'm not playing CandyLand anymore. Tonight my oldest, youngest, and I huddled around the computer and played physics games. We laughed and cheered and clapped.
Behind their backs, I looked at my boys with delight and wonder, and I marveled at how I ever got to this point.
Yup, I can't wait to see what the next stage brings.
Wingin' it, flying by the seat of my pants, white-knucklin' it, hanging on the edge of my seat ... (hmm, maybe I can come up with more cliches to describe my parenting style). I have opinions ... mostly about parenting - especially attachment parenting - and education, but sometimes about other things. Raising kids with respect, treating those around us with respect, approaching life with joy--what's better than that?
My wants are simple - a life with love, respect, joy, wonder, learning, closeness, and laughter. Staying attached to my kids and holding them dear, being close to my husband, and having my family as my foundation - that's all that matters. Well ... that and dark chocolate and red wine, of course.
, which is a long-time favorite in our house, although for whatever reason it doesn’t get pulled out too often.
and it's good. But I'm looking for a book that focuses on card games, specifically ones that kids can play by themselves.
Posts
