exploring TV..long
Kiersten Pasciak
Someone posted about not wanting to watch the TV shows with her kids
because she dislikes TV. While I understand the sentiment, I think
it is important to know what your kids are watching and what they
like about it, especially if you are trying to strew things around
for them to enjoy.
My son has been loving Pokemon for months. At first, I used the show
time as a way to get things done. Eventually I started to watch with
him and learn the characters and get the jokes. I was amazed at the
details he noticed. Then I looked for books and movies at the
library/book store that he might enjoy. We explored the internet and
found a Pokedex (which got him reading by first letters and sorting
them by type, he was mesmerized) I got him a few plastic toys which
he played with and held imaginary "Pokemon Battles". I began to
battle him (verbally, you give commands) and his sister joined in.
Not much fun for me as his Pokemon always won!
Lately, we have made up card games with Pokemon themes to give me a
fighting chance :) I printed out pictures of the characters and made
40 playing cards out of recycled cereal boxes. (glue picture in
middle, add values 1-10 in corners) We started out with "WAR", but
it wasn't challenging enough for them. I did get to see that my son
knows what numbers are bigger than others, though. And that he knows
all the Pokemon names without needing to read them. And that Emma
knows most of them though she rarely watches. We made it more
interesting by adding coins into the mix. You get as many coins as
the number on your card (now called Hit Points) and throw down.
Highest number of "heads" wins. Both kids can count out the coins,
count the heads, and verbally "battle" at the same time. They are
starting to make up their own rules for games, like 3 on 3 battles,
etc.
I found a site online that has great resources for TV images and
theme stuff. I printed off her BINGO "call sheets" for the cards I
made. We have also made the Kid's TV BINGO game which has images
form Nick Jr. and PBS.
She also has dominos and coloring pages and crafts to make for
seasonal or TV themes.
http://www.dltk-cards.com/bingo/
Perhaps for the mom dreading TV, she could offer some related games,
imaginary play, dress up, computer games, etc. that involve similar
characters or themes that her kids will enjoy.
Here, we are into making games because the kids like to play when
they get to decide on the rules and when it is something interesting
for them. My son actually plays WHOLE games of the ones we create,
whereas he dislikes most "packaged" games because he doesn't like
the rules or they are boring. It is also hard to find "battle games"
at a level for a 4 year old.
Our first game was a kid D&D game we created with cards laid out
face down in a path. You roll a die and move along, picking up the
card you land on. There are cards to cast spells in battle, move
forward or back, gain defense with shields and cloaks, gain
offensive power with swords or axes, gain or lose HP's by eating
poisoned mushrooms or drinking magic potions, and of course many
BATTLE cards. "Battle" consists of dice rolling to determine if the
hero (the player) beats the current monster (drawn from a card pile)
We use bubble dots on the hero and monster cards to show HP's and
cross them off when "hit". The goal is for the hero to make it to
the castle at the end of the path without losing all his hitpoints.
The game is always different and it can be played cooperatively or
competively. It can also be expanded at any time. This evolved from
stumbling upon my husband's dice collection from his D&D days. The
kids loved all the different shaped dice! Jacob tries to play D&D
with his dad on the computer, but it is a bit too tricky for him, so
this was a perfect fit for us. He loves coming up with new monsters
or treasures, etc. It makes it "his" game.
Maybe some of this will offer up some options for expanding on TV
(or video games for that matter)
Kiersen
mom to Jacob 4 1/2 and Emma 3
because she dislikes TV. While I understand the sentiment, I think
it is important to know what your kids are watching and what they
like about it, especially if you are trying to strew things around
for them to enjoy.
My son has been loving Pokemon for months. At first, I used the show
time as a way to get things done. Eventually I started to watch with
him and learn the characters and get the jokes. I was amazed at the
details he noticed. Then I looked for books and movies at the
library/book store that he might enjoy. We explored the internet and
found a Pokedex (which got him reading by first letters and sorting
them by type, he was mesmerized) I got him a few plastic toys which
he played with and held imaginary "Pokemon Battles". I began to
battle him (verbally, you give commands) and his sister joined in.
Not much fun for me as his Pokemon always won!
Lately, we have made up card games with Pokemon themes to give me a
fighting chance :) I printed out pictures of the characters and made
40 playing cards out of recycled cereal boxes. (glue picture in
middle, add values 1-10 in corners) We started out with "WAR", but
it wasn't challenging enough for them. I did get to see that my son
knows what numbers are bigger than others, though. And that he knows
all the Pokemon names without needing to read them. And that Emma
knows most of them though she rarely watches. We made it more
interesting by adding coins into the mix. You get as many coins as
the number on your card (now called Hit Points) and throw down.
Highest number of "heads" wins. Both kids can count out the coins,
count the heads, and verbally "battle" at the same time. They are
starting to make up their own rules for games, like 3 on 3 battles,
etc.
I found a site online that has great resources for TV images and
theme stuff. I printed off her BINGO "call sheets" for the cards I
made. We have also made the Kid's TV BINGO game which has images
form Nick Jr. and PBS.
She also has dominos and coloring pages and crafts to make for
seasonal or TV themes.
http://www.dltk-cards.com/bingo/
Perhaps for the mom dreading TV, she could offer some related games,
imaginary play, dress up, computer games, etc. that involve similar
characters or themes that her kids will enjoy.
Here, we are into making games because the kids like to play when
they get to decide on the rules and when it is something interesting
for them. My son actually plays WHOLE games of the ones we create,
whereas he dislikes most "packaged" games because he doesn't like
the rules or they are boring. It is also hard to find "battle games"
at a level for a 4 year old.
Our first game was a kid D&D game we created with cards laid out
face down in a path. You roll a die and move along, picking up the
card you land on. There are cards to cast spells in battle, move
forward or back, gain defense with shields and cloaks, gain
offensive power with swords or axes, gain or lose HP's by eating
poisoned mushrooms or drinking magic potions, and of course many
BATTLE cards. "Battle" consists of dice rolling to determine if the
hero (the player) beats the current monster (drawn from a card pile)
We use bubble dots on the hero and monster cards to show HP's and
cross them off when "hit". The goal is for the hero to make it to
the castle at the end of the path without losing all his hitpoints.
The game is always different and it can be played cooperatively or
competively. It can also be expanded at any time. This evolved from
stumbling upon my husband's dice collection from his D&D days. The
kids loved all the different shaped dice! Jacob tries to play D&D
with his dad on the computer, but it is a bit too tricky for him, so
this was a perfect fit for us. He loves coming up with new monsters
or treasures, etc. It makes it "his" game.
Maybe some of this will offer up some options for expanding on TV
(or video games for that matter)
Kiersen
mom to Jacob 4 1/2 and Emma 3
Deb
--- In [email protected], "Kiersten Pasciak"
<kjl8@...> wrote:
into Star Wars) - they have various things that actually shoot
(small plastic projectiles), object is to knock down your opponents
players. Each figure can move a set number of "clicks" (audible
click click click sounds) - number is marked on the figure - in any
direction. All 3 figures in play move on each turn. Then 2 of the 3
can 'attack' whichever of the other player's 3 figures chosen
(attack 2 different figures or attack the same one sequentially).
When a figure is knocked over, it is picked up and a marking on the
bottom is checked to see if it is white (it's kind of a roller wheel
that goes from black to white at variable intervals so it's pretty
random). If it is white, the "special power" on the bottom applies -
for example if disguised Han Solo gets knocked over and his marker
is white, you can put the other Han Solo figure into play from your
backup figures (if you have him). Other than reading the "Special
powers" there's no reading, adding, or other skills needed that
would be beyond a 4 yr old. Battles tend to run maybe 15 minutes or
so, depending. Oh, each player picks their "teams" based on the
point values of the figures - we play with 150 points worth of
figures (some figures are worth more than others) - so there'd be a
little adding involved (almost fogot about that), although we often
end up picking the same exact assortments each time so we know that
if we pick figures a,b,c and d it adds up to 150 without consciously
adding them.
If you can find it, there's a Bionicle board game where the board
gets built puzzle piece style as you play. Some reading involved to
determine the "special powers" of the various objects and all.
Mostly dice rolls and moving around the board collecting things.
Battle Ball by Hasbro is sort of "extreme football" on a board with
dice and really ugly figures (monster types - cool for kids I
suppose lol). Once you've gone over the rules, there's no reading.
There's a basic game and the advanced game - basic is just as fun,
just doesn't have some of the more complex rules. Different figures
use different dice to determine their moves (the dice are color
coded to match the base of the figure so it's easy to tell which die
goes with who). Object is basically to get the little football thing
(looks like a Monopoly piece) across the opposite goal line (like
football). Your opponent can "tackle" you by coming up to a square
next to you and you each roll your appropriate die - low number wins
UNLESS certain figuress get a 1, then they lose. The square where
the losing figure was (loser gets removed from play for the "half")
gets marked with what looks like a bomb crater piece and is not
usable (gotta find a path around it). The advanced rules include
passing and fumbling and such.
Check online for Lego BrikWars - you build houses and such with your
Lego collection and then use the Lego people as your "warriors".
Requires assorted dice (6, 8, 10, 12 sided types). The basic rules
are in a downloadable format online. You can add to or subtract from
the rules at will, and again, there's a basic quick form of the game.
And here's one DS made up called Squirt:
Object: To "squirt" all your opponent's pieces before all of yours
are squirted
Checkerboard set up with 8 checkers on last row of each side "the
camp"
8 Markers "trees" (squares of paper or cardboard work fine) 4
each are placed in the middle of the board "the forest", by turns.
Only one "tree" can occupy a file.
Pieces can move one square in any direction on each turn
You can "squirt" and remove any opposing pieces that are in a direct
line with your piece in any direction, any distance
You cannot "squirt" pieces still in "camp"
You cannot "squirt" using a piece that is still in your camp
You cannot "squirt" through "trees"
You cannot step on a square occupied by a "tree"
When you "squirt" you maintain the space you are "squirting" from
You can move sideways in camp if you choose
You can always move back into camp if you've left camp
If you get across to the other "camp", you can remove one "tree"
Can you tell we like battle games? LOL
--Deb
<kjl8@...> wrote:
>A couple to look for - the Star Wars "Attactix" figures (if you're
>It is also hard to find "battle games"
> at a level for a 4 year old.
into Star Wars) - they have various things that actually shoot
(small plastic projectiles), object is to knock down your opponents
players. Each figure can move a set number of "clicks" (audible
click click click sounds) - number is marked on the figure - in any
direction. All 3 figures in play move on each turn. Then 2 of the 3
can 'attack' whichever of the other player's 3 figures chosen
(attack 2 different figures or attack the same one sequentially).
When a figure is knocked over, it is picked up and a marking on the
bottom is checked to see if it is white (it's kind of a roller wheel
that goes from black to white at variable intervals so it's pretty
random). If it is white, the "special power" on the bottom applies -
for example if disguised Han Solo gets knocked over and his marker
is white, you can put the other Han Solo figure into play from your
backup figures (if you have him). Other than reading the "Special
powers" there's no reading, adding, or other skills needed that
would be beyond a 4 yr old. Battles tend to run maybe 15 minutes or
so, depending. Oh, each player picks their "teams" based on the
point values of the figures - we play with 150 points worth of
figures (some figures are worth more than others) - so there'd be a
little adding involved (almost fogot about that), although we often
end up picking the same exact assortments each time so we know that
if we pick figures a,b,c and d it adds up to 150 without consciously
adding them.
If you can find it, there's a Bionicle board game where the board
gets built puzzle piece style as you play. Some reading involved to
determine the "special powers" of the various objects and all.
Mostly dice rolls and moving around the board collecting things.
Battle Ball by Hasbro is sort of "extreme football" on a board with
dice and really ugly figures (monster types - cool for kids I
suppose lol). Once you've gone over the rules, there's no reading.
There's a basic game and the advanced game - basic is just as fun,
just doesn't have some of the more complex rules. Different figures
use different dice to determine their moves (the dice are color
coded to match the base of the figure so it's easy to tell which die
goes with who). Object is basically to get the little football thing
(looks like a Monopoly piece) across the opposite goal line (like
football). Your opponent can "tackle" you by coming up to a square
next to you and you each roll your appropriate die - low number wins
UNLESS certain figuress get a 1, then they lose. The square where
the losing figure was (loser gets removed from play for the "half")
gets marked with what looks like a bomb crater piece and is not
usable (gotta find a path around it). The advanced rules include
passing and fumbling and such.
Check online for Lego BrikWars - you build houses and such with your
Lego collection and then use the Lego people as your "warriors".
Requires assorted dice (6, 8, 10, 12 sided types). The basic rules
are in a downloadable format online. You can add to or subtract from
the rules at will, and again, there's a basic quick form of the game.
And here's one DS made up called Squirt:
Object: To "squirt" all your opponent's pieces before all of yours
are squirted
Checkerboard set up with 8 checkers on last row of each side "the
camp"
8 Markers "trees" (squares of paper or cardboard work fine) 4
each are placed in the middle of the board "the forest", by turns.
Only one "tree" can occupy a file.
Pieces can move one square in any direction on each turn
You can "squirt" and remove any opposing pieces that are in a direct
line with your piece in any direction, any distance
You cannot "squirt" pieces still in "camp"
You cannot "squirt" using a piece that is still in your camp
You cannot "squirt" through "trees"
You cannot step on a square occupied by a "tree"
When you "squirt" you maintain the space you are "squirting" from
You can move sideways in camp if you choose
You can always move back into camp if you've left camp
If you get across to the other "camp", you can remove one "tree"
Can you tell we like battle games? LOL
--Deb
Maisha Khalfani
Kiersten - your ideas were WAY COOL!!!! And very creative. Once we made up a game about Lord of the Rings. The kids had a lot of fun creating the rules and the game board and everything.
You're right - it makes it better to be involved that way.
Maisha Khalfani
Khalfani Family Adventures
http://khalfanifamilyadventures.blogspot.com<http://khalfanifamilyadventures.blogspot.com/>
EarthSpirit Readings
http://www.geocities.com/maitai373/EarthSpirit.html<http://www.geocities.com/maitai373/EarthSpirit.html>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
You're right - it makes it better to be involved that way.
Maisha Khalfani
Khalfani Family Adventures
http://khalfanifamilyadventures.blogspot.com<http://khalfanifamilyadventures.blogspot.com/>
EarthSpirit Readings
http://www.geocities.com/maitai373/EarthSpirit.html<http://www.geocities.com/maitai373/EarthSpirit.html>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Kiersten Pasciak
--- In [email protected], "Deb" <soggyboysmom@...>
wrote:
Thanks for all the ideas!
I especially like the "squirt" game and the lego idea since we have
most of that stuff around :)
I am trying to wean myself off buying so many toys and things and
make more. (our balance here is the oposite of some families- "I"
always want to buy new stuff (even if it is ebay'd or from a thrift
store), the kids generally think we can MAKE anything. Last night,
Jacob decided we should build a car that doesn't polute, LOL.
Thanks again!
P.S. Glad to know others out there have battling youngsters as well.
Some of my extended family say things like "There's enough violence
in the world, we don't need to create more" and try to stop any
rough play, real or imaginary.
Kiersten
mom to Jacob 4 1/2 and Emma 3
wrote:
> Can you tell we like battle games? LOLDeb,
> --Deb
>
Thanks for all the ideas!
I especially like the "squirt" game and the lego idea since we have
most of that stuff around :)
I am trying to wean myself off buying so many toys and things and
make more. (our balance here is the oposite of some families- "I"
always want to buy new stuff (even if it is ebay'd or from a thrift
store), the kids generally think we can MAKE anything. Last night,
Jacob decided we should build a car that doesn't polute, LOL.
Thanks again!
P.S. Glad to know others out there have battling youngsters as well.
Some of my extended family say things like "There's enough violence
in the world, we don't need to create more" and try to stop any
rough play, real or imaginary.
Kiersten
mom to Jacob 4 1/2 and Emma 3
Deb
--- In [email protected], "Kiersten Pasciak"
<kjl8@...> wrote:
only thing we did buy was a couple packs of assorted sided dice so
that both DH and DS have their own sets.
Battle Ball game was $5 brand new at Toys R Us. Often, if you check
Hasbro's website you can find some of their hard-to-find-on-the-
shelf type things.
pick up some pool noodles when they go on sale cheap. Cut them in
half (they'll end up roughly 3 feet long or you can cut them even
shorter, your choice). Buy some PVC pipe at the hardware store,
roughly same outer diameter as the inner diameter of the noodle. Cut
that, or have them cut it, into 3 foot lengths (or whatever length
the noodles are cut into). Insert the pipe into the noodle, leaving
about 6 inches of pipe sticking out for a handle. Use duct tape or
better yet colorful electrical tape to wrap the handle all the way
up onto the noodle to hold things together. We also wrap about 4 to
6 inches at the other end of the noodle as well to help it hold up a
bit better since there's no pipe at that end. Makes a bunch of
somewhat padded "swords" or "light sabers" that give when "stabbed"
rather than impaling anyone. DH came up with this one when we were
getting bruised by the plastic light sabers DS loved playing with.
Now, we still use the light sabers (plastic ones) but his aim is
better and/or we're better at ducking.
--Deb
<kjl8@...> wrote:
>Exactly - that's stuff we have in abundance so it works well. The
> Deb,
> Thanks for all the ideas!
> I especially like the "squirt" game and the lego idea since we
>have
> most of that stuff around :)
only thing we did buy was a couple packs of assorted sided dice so
that both DH and DS have their own sets.
> I am trying to wean myself off buying so many toys and things andThe Bionicle game we got for a dollar or two at a huge tag sale. The
> make more. (our balance here is the oposite of some families- "I"
> always want to buy new stuff (even if it is ebay'd or from a
>thrift
> store), the kids generally think we can MAKE anything. Last night,
> Jacob decided we should build a car that doesn't polute, LOL.
Battle Ball game was $5 brand new at Toys R Us. Often, if you check
Hasbro's website you can find some of their hard-to-find-on-the-
shelf type things.
>BTW another inexpensive fun battling thing is making "boppers" -
> P.S. Glad to know others out there have battling youngsters as
>well.
> Some of my extended family say things like "There's enough
>violence
> in the world, we don't need to create more" and try to stop any
> rough play, real or imaginary.
>
pick up some pool noodles when they go on sale cheap. Cut them in
half (they'll end up roughly 3 feet long or you can cut them even
shorter, your choice). Buy some PVC pipe at the hardware store,
roughly same outer diameter as the inner diameter of the noodle. Cut
that, or have them cut it, into 3 foot lengths (or whatever length
the noodles are cut into). Insert the pipe into the noodle, leaving
about 6 inches of pipe sticking out for a handle. Use duct tape or
better yet colorful electrical tape to wrap the handle all the way
up onto the noodle to hold things together. We also wrap about 4 to
6 inches at the other end of the noodle as well to help it hold up a
bit better since there's no pipe at that end. Makes a bunch of
somewhat padded "swords" or "light sabers" that give when "stabbed"
rather than impaling anyone. DH came up with this one when we were
getting bruised by the plastic light sabers DS loved playing with.
Now, we still use the light sabers (plastic ones) but his aim is
better and/or we're better at ducking.
--Deb
Kiersten Pasciak
Deb,
Loved this part off the BrikWars site...
Rules are for the small-minded and weak. Let a little kid loose
among your collection of bricks sometime, and watch the way he
plays. In his hands, those minifigs will have all kinds of crazy
battles and adventures, there'll be all the drama, death, and
explosions you could ever want, and the whole time that kid won't
have to crack open the rulebook even once. How is it that he's so
much smarter than we are? The answer is that most of us have had a
lot more years of schooling than he has. Wait until he's eighteen,
he'll have become just as slack-jawed and dull-eyed as the rest of
us.
BrikWars has a lot of rules. If the mandatory education system has
had the chance to get its hooks in you, then you'll respect the
authority of those rules, because they're all written down in a
book, and some of them are capitalized. If things went so badly that
you ended up going to college as well, then you'll probably not only
shackle yourself to those rules but also then try to lovingly twist
them to your own ends, weaseling out loopholes and exploits to
cleverly frustrate the other players and ingeniously prevent fun for
the entire group.
If you find yourself engaging in that kind of rules-lawyering and
munchkinism, then you have just failed at BrikWars. Stamp a big F on
your report card, schedule a get-together between your face and the
Hammer of Discipline, and see if you can't spend a little time
afterwards with a couple of five-year-olds to remember the things
you've forgotten about having fun.
The reason BrikWars has so many rules is that it's a lot more fun to
flout a large rules system than a small one. Hopefully you can use
these rules as a springboard for the imagination rather than as
manacles with which to enslave yourself. However, we also recognize
that not everyone is mentally ready to live without the safety net
that a system of rules provides, especially while in competition
with others.
:)
Kiersten
Loved this part off the BrikWars site...
Rules are for the small-minded and weak. Let a little kid loose
among your collection of bricks sometime, and watch the way he
plays. In his hands, those minifigs will have all kinds of crazy
battles and adventures, there'll be all the drama, death, and
explosions you could ever want, and the whole time that kid won't
have to crack open the rulebook even once. How is it that he's so
much smarter than we are? The answer is that most of us have had a
lot more years of schooling than he has. Wait until he's eighteen,
he'll have become just as slack-jawed and dull-eyed as the rest of
us.
BrikWars has a lot of rules. If the mandatory education system has
had the chance to get its hooks in you, then you'll respect the
authority of those rules, because they're all written down in a
book, and some of them are capitalized. If things went so badly that
you ended up going to college as well, then you'll probably not only
shackle yourself to those rules but also then try to lovingly twist
them to your own ends, weaseling out loopholes and exploits to
cleverly frustrate the other players and ingeniously prevent fun for
the entire group.
If you find yourself engaging in that kind of rules-lawyering and
munchkinism, then you have just failed at BrikWars. Stamp a big F on
your report card, schedule a get-together between your face and the
Hammer of Discipline, and see if you can't spend a little time
afterwards with a couple of five-year-olds to remember the things
you've forgotten about having fun.
The reason BrikWars has so many rules is that it's a lot more fun to
flout a large rules system than a small one. Hopefully you can use
these rules as a springboard for the imagination rather than as
manacles with which to enslave yourself. However, we also recognize
that not everyone is mentally ready to live without the safety net
that a system of rules provides, especially while in competition
with others.
:)
Kiersten