Tornado Boy is a big fan of pencil puzzles. He’s been doing dot-to-dot puzzles and word searches for the better part of a year. He recently discovered puzzles that teach you how to break a secret code where each symbol in the puzzle stands for a letter. The one above was on our coaster at a lunch at Red Robin restaurant. His writing is a little hard to read because he was using a crayon and the space is pretty small. The answer is “Chili Chili Cheeseburger”.

I love secret code puzzles because they promote several things like handwriting practice and problem-solving. Tornado Boy loves them because they’re fun! We have a couple of pencil puzzle books that have secret code puzzles in them. You can also check out a few at Squigly’s Playhouse.

Check out what other kids are playing at Childhood 101 and to see what other kids are working on for math, check out Math Links at Joyful Learner.

©2012 One Little Room.... All Rights Reserved.

We recently found the game “Stardoku” on Gudli Games. It’s a computer-based kids version of the popular game Sudoku. It uses colored stars and either a 4X4 or 6X6 grid, depending on how difficult you want the game to be for the child. It got my wheels turning. I knew that I could easily use the concept to make a fun hands on game.

First, I created the following 4X4 and 6X6 grids – feel free to click on either to download it as a pdf file from 4shared:

Click the picture to download the size grid that you're interested in as a pdf file.

Edited to add: The following instructions are for the 4X4 game, for the more challenging 6X6, use six each of six different colored markers.

For our test game, I just printed the grid out in black and white. I later went back and printed it in color on cardstock and I am going to laminate it for durability.

Second, I selected four colors of 2X2 Lego Duplo bricks to use as the games pieces. You’ll need four pieces of each color to play. If you don’t have Duplos, any small marker in four colors can work. You could also print out the 4 copies of the numbers 1 through 4 if you want to make the game more like traditional Sudoku.

Rules of the game:
Each color may only be used once in each row or column, or four square group (each of the colored corners). Once the puzzle is complete, there should be no duplicates in each area.

Setup:
Place some of the colored blocks on the grid, at least 4 to get the child started building out the puzzle. There are some grids available on the internet that show template patterns. When you’re first introducing the child to the game, you may want to start by having only one color missing in each row so that they see how the patterns work. I started Tornado Boy with 4 blocks on the grid. He works the board independently now, usually recognizing pretty quickly if he has created a duplicate in a row. Here are a few pictures of his game play:

The board setup.

Placing the first couple of blocks.

Getting Closer!

Victory! Such a boy!

Tornado Boy really loves this game. I think I may try to move him up to the 6X6 grid this week, though it is a much bigger challenge depending on how many squares are filled in to begin with.

Check out what other kids are playing at Childhood 101 and to see what other kids are working on for math, check out Math Links at Joyful Learner.

©2012 One Little Room.... All Rights Reserved.

I sort of laughed when I saw that the Homeschool Village had “What About P.E.?” as their question of the week. Physical education is definitely not optional in our house because my boy needs to RUN. I picked him up from camp the other day and the first comment that I got was “Wow! He has a lot of energy!”. I gave that one a hearty laugh and said “Really? I hadn’t noticed that!”

When you have a very active child, you sometimes need to get creative with schooling. I need to make sure that he has the opportunity to get that energy out or things can rapidly go down hill. We try to incorporate movement into our lessons whenever we can. I posted about our “Math Mat” early this week. That’s a perfect example of how we use movement to learn. Here’s Tornado Boy learning more about addition:

We love to dance if we can’t get outside. One of our favorite songs to “shake it” to is Get The Sillies Out from Yo Gabba Gabba.

Another indoor option for us is the Wii. We like the “Outdoor Challenge” game. The mat that comes with the game is split so that two people can play at the same time. Tornado Boy and I love to battle each other in the game where you sprint and jump over logs. We can also play cooperatively in some games. He is a worthy opponent and it always makes us laugh. This game has been helpful in teaching him sportsmanship. This game and the Wii Sports Resort are also good for showing that practice really helps to improve your game.

Tornado Boy has done some organized sport classes in soccer and gymnastics. He’s going to give t-ball a try in the fall. He’s not really a natural athlete, but we think it’s important for him to learn about team dynamics and to have some fun while being active. We’ve been long time members at our local kid’s gym. I’m very sad that he’s going to age out of their classes soon. Not only have we enjoyed them, but their “open gym” time has been a great option for us when the weather isn’t the best for being outside – like during the oppressive heat this summer.

For us, P.E. is a requirement of every day life.

©2012 One Little Room.... All Rights Reserved.

We’ve had our Math Mat for a few months and the better Tornado Boy’s math skills get, the more I like it. This is such a great learning tool for him. The games are short and active – darn near perfect for my little whirling dervish.

This is someone else's not so whirling dervish - I didn't get around to taking pictures this time. Besides, mine would be blurry since TB doesn't stop moving!

The mat is an electronic toy that has three math games, each with two levels. Here’s how they work:

• Numbers & Counting, level 1: The game calls out a number from zero to ten and the child has to step on the number as fast as they can.
• Numbers & Counting, level 2: The game calls out patterns, the child must step on the next number in the pattern. Example: 3,2 – they must step on 1.

• Addition, level 1: The game gives addition problems that add up to 10 or less, the child must step on the sum.
• Addition, level 2: The game calls out a problem with a missing addend, the child steps on the answer. Example: “1 + what = 3?” Child must step on 2.

• Subtraction, level 1: The game gives subtraction problems that equate to 10 or less, the child must step on the difference.
• Subtraction, level 2: Find the game calls out a problem with a missing term, the child steps on the answer. Example: “5 – what = 1?” Child must step on 4.

The game increases in speed as the child answers more questions. They can answer a maximum of 20 questions at each level of the game.

One drawback to the mat is that the child really can’t stand in the middle of the mat or they’ll hit the game function buttons. They need to run around the outside of it which seems a little less natural and takes a bit more time. We have definitely found that this is a great way to work on memorizing addition facts. It’s fun and can be used by more than one child if you want a little competition. It really seems much more like play than work.

As much as I like the Math Mat, it would be super easy to replicate the functionality (and even expand the capability) with some chalk in your own driveway. Just draw the numbers (as high as you’d like) as a grid. Then you can call out the problems as you like – any type, and with answers as high as the numbers that you draw. This definitely could be useful for things like multiplication as well. Add some music and a timer and you’ve got a fun, homemade learning game.

If you want more information about the Math Mat, here are the instructions for it.

To see what other kids are working on for math, check out Math Links at Joyful Learner.

©2012 One Little Room.... All Rights Reserved.

We’ve been playing Tic-Tac-Toe for quite some time. I’ve found that it’s a great introductory strategy game that can teach your child to be aware of both the “offense” and “defense” sides to games. I like playing it outside on our driveway with chalk. Don’t get stuck just using X’s and O’s. This is a great opportunity to have your child practice any letters or numbers that they are working on. In this game we were using 9′s and 10′s.

We had a lot of fun at a museum this week getting to play a super-sized version of Tic-Tac-Toe using ocean animals – crabs and starfish. We also were able to use a huge Connect 4 board – similar in concept to Tic-Tac-Toe, but you have to get 4 in a row and have more territory to defend. Fun Stuff!!

Tornado Boy “dumping” the Connect 4 board before we played:

Check out what other kids are playing at Childhood 101.

©2012 One Little Room.... All Rights Reserved.

This little game started by accident when I told Tornado Boy that he was going to get to go to C-A-M-P last week. He really had a lot of fun trying to guess what word I was spelling, so I made it into a game. I quickly figured out that he could handle just about any three letter word; so I moved on to longer words. I had fun watching him try to identify the word sounds and make the combinations in his head.

Our toughest word was S-T-O-M-P – which Tornado Boy decoded as stamp. I have a feeling that I’ve created a monster and the days of Tornado Dad and I being able to spell things to each other are quickly coming to a close!

Tips for helping your child to be successful with the game:

• Break longer words up into syllables and help them meld them together.
• Use this as a chance to reinforce any phonics rules you may be learning. This is a great chance to work with things like silent e.
• If we’re at home and Tornado Boy is unable to figure out the word in his head; he will use magnetic letters to create the word and then tell us what it is.

The nice thing with this game is that you can truly play it anywhere. It’s a nice diversion if you’re stuck waiting in line at the store or in traffic or the like.

Check out what other kids are playing at Childhood 101.

©2012 One Little Room.... All Rights Reserved.

Check out what other kids are playing at Childhood 101.

©2012 One Little Room.... All Rights Reserved.

I wouldn’t normally want to include a retail game in this blog roll, but I really think that Hyper Dash is a great one. It has a rare combination of physical game play and smarts, so we really enjoy it. It’s also a game that grows with the child.

Hyper Dash consists of one electronic controller and five numbered pucks, each one a different color. You can play indoors or outside. You set down the pucks as spread out (or even hidden) as you want. The game can be played by one player, two player or one or two teams. You turn on the controller, pick a game and then a level to play. The controller calls out the puck that the player needs to touch – either by color or number. Later levels include things like addition and subtraction and reversing play to add to the complexity. The game is advertised for 7-10 year olds, but my 4-year old’s had it for almost a year and loves it. When we first started playing, we just put the pucks in order in front of him. Now we spread them out and mix them up.

The physical aspect of the game definitely picks up if you play outside and spread out the pucks. If you have a playroom or basement, it’s great for rainy day indoor fun, too. We give Hyper Dash two thumbs up!

Tornado Boy Playing Hyper Dash

Check out what other kids are playing at Childhood 101.

©2012 One Little Room.... All Rights Reserved.

This game is a simple one that can be played almost anywhere. Tornado Dad gets the credit for coming up with it in the first place. What started out as a way to pass time while waiting has became a fun game that builds logic, critical thinking and reading skills.

The only material that you’ll need is something to write on. We typically use something like a Magnadoodle for our clues. Below is a clue set on Tornado Boy’s GloDoodle:

The clue giver writes three clues as to where they are and the guesser has to guess where the place is without any further questions. For this set, the Magic Kingdom at Disney World is the desired answer. This can easily be adapted to become a written I-Spy type game where the answer is an object or a person, etc. This could be used for geography review or the like.

For some reason, Tornado Boy really loves this game. If we really want to shake things up, we’ll write the clues in cursive. We’ve been somewhat surprised by how often he can still figure them out.

Discover more fun ways to play at Childhood 101.

©2012 One Little Room.... All Rights Reserved.

Childhood 101 is sponsoring a fun new link up called “We Play”. What a fun way to get creative ideas for your child.

We love music here, and we really love active games as Tornado Boy needs to get those sillies out. I have a CD called “Adventures in Storyville” by the Minstrels of Mayhem. This is a fun kid’s album that contains the Irish folk song called “Rattlin’ Bog”. This song and its accompanying moves are often taught at summer camps. This is a progressive song (think 12 days of Christmas) and during each round of the song, a new item is added to the song. Each new item also brings along a new hand or body motion for it. The longer the song goes on, typically the faster it is sung. The song will definitely challenge the child’s memory and physical dexterity.

I searched around for quite a while the past couple of days trying to find a decent video rendition of it. I only had marginal success with that. Many of the YouTube videos are from Irish Pubs and don’t show the hand motions. I found one home video from an old Minstrels of Mayhem show here. The quality is sort of poor and it’s too jumpy to really be able to follow the motions, but now you know exactly what we’re listening to when we play this game.

The video above is rather long, but it gives a much slower explanation of the motions (these vary widely across versions) that you can do along with the song. This shows how you can sing the song yourself which will allow you to control the pace of the game.

Here are some possible signs to do along with the song:
Hole: put your fingers together in front of you in an open circle
Tree: two hands trace parallel lines starting at the level of your head and heading downwards
Branch: hold one arm out as a branch
Twig: hold up your pinkie finger
Nest: cup your hands
Bird: one hand pointed forward at your face as a beak, the other sticking out behind as a tail
Wing: flap one arm
Feather: trace the path a feather would take as it falls through the air

There are many different versions of this song available, including several available through iTunes. You can also listen to a few versions on Lala. AVOID the version by Authority Zero – it is NOT child friendly. The version by Red Grammer is at a good pace for children. The lyrics vary quite a bit across versions, so you may have to make up your own motions to go along with the song, but it’s a lot of fun. Won’t you dance and play along with us?

Discover more fun ways to play at Childhood 101.

©2012 One Little Room.... All Rights Reserved.