We love the simple premise of Family Talk and Grandparent Talk — card deck games with questions that provide the perfect spark for conversations among family members and peers. The games include 100 diverse question cards clipped together and small enough to bring anywhere where it might be helpful and enjoyable to pass time or become lost in memorable conversation. The questions have been developed for ages four and up — the younger set will need help reading the cards, of course. In Family Talk, questions are as simple as, “What is your favorite color?” or can get as detailed as, “What is one of the most important things your parents taught you?” Grandparent Talk is designed to help deepen intergenerational relationships among family members and keep family history alive. Questions range from: “Did you have your own bedroom growing up?” and “Who was your favorite teacher and why?” to “Are you afraid of anything?” and “What do you think about kids today?” Writing about this makes me want to turn back time to play this game with my own grandparents. Both games (as well as a Family Talk 2 version) come in the portable clip format or in a tabletop jar format. The Founder of Around the Table Games is a working mom who enjoyed learning all she could about her grandparents and great grandparents — and who knows how today’s busy lifestyles can prevent us from enjoying these types of valuable interactions. The games are great gifts for kids and their families, or for yourself — to keep at your home for when your grandchildren visit. Your “talks” will never be the same again!
| Buy Now |
to learn more at our trusted vendor's website |
Poppo is an excellent game for young children who are learning to read or learning their letters, as well as for older family members who simply enjoy fast-paced fun. Poppo is named after its “poppers” — colorful flower-shaped bases with clear bubble-like domes, each containing an eight-sided die with selected letters and a red star “wild” mark. When your grandchild presses on the dome, the die pops in the bubble and displays a letter. The game works this way: you pick a card that displays a simple word as well as a picture of it, then spell that word by pressing on the poppers and finding each of the letters as fast as you can. As you can imagine, kids love to pop the poppers, and before they know it, they’ve spelled a word! Poppo can be played solo or with multiple players split into teams, since the game comes with 2 sets of poppers. With multiple players, team members take turns spelling words as fast as they can and collect as many completed cards as they can. When playing solo or in teams, a timer is used, and if the word is not complete when the timer is up, the card goes back in the deck. What makes this game so accessible is that the 100 cards are 2-sided, with 1 side showing a nicely illustrated picture of the word, and the other side showing both the illustration and the word spelled out below it. So the game can be played by children who only know their letters and are still learning to recognize them — or it can be played by emerging or early readers, who can view the picture, spell the word themselves, and then use the poppers to find the letters for that word as fast as they can. We appreciate Poppo’s versatility, as well as the creative design of its components and quality of its materials — all three of these things can be hard to come by. My own little letter and word fans (ages 3 and 5) give it a big thumbs up, as do many school systems throughout the U.S. Poppo has won plenty of awards, and like many of our recommendations, it’s a great intergenerational activity, so enjoy some poppin’ good fun with your grandchild!
| Buy Now |
to learn more at our trusted vendor's website |
My Heritage Book is a meaningful personalized children’s book that helps you share your family’s heritage with your grandchild. Much research, work and heart have gone into these beautifully illustrated and descriptive pages, which can be personalized throughout with your grandchild’s name. Each book has an introduction about Americans originating from different places, and space to fill in a family tree and special family traditions. Also included is a letter from you, the person giving the book as a gift and keepsake to your grandchild. Over 50 countries have been researched (a list is included on their website), with more being added constantly. You can choose up to four countries to be discussed in each book, with each country being given an equal number of pages. There’s a sample book on the website that includes pages and illustrations on Italy and Columbia, to give you an idea of the writing and illustrative style, as well as the reading level. There’s even a glossary included at the end of each book! Of course, nothing beats time together with your grandchild, discussing your family’s heritage in person — why not use this as a discussion piece during those special visits. And if you can’t be with your grandchild as much as you’d like, My Heritage Book is a creative way to help strengthen connections whether you’re in the next town or another time zone.
| Buy Now |
to learn more at our trusted vendor's website |
Giggles Computer Funtime for Baby$24.99 at Amazon.com |
We tested this Giggles Computer Funtime software with babies (its intended market), as well as toddlers and preschoolers, to see how they like it. It was a big hit with all three groups! This is due to the expertly designed, entertaining graphics that are set to a variety of kid-friendly music that you can select for baby, or that a toddler can select for herself. There are three packages to choose from (ABC’s & 123’s, Shapes, and My Animal Friends), each featuring 14 activities and more than 50 songs. When your grandchild hits any key or moves the mouse, something fun instantly happens. For instance, in ABC’s & 123’s, when you hit a key, a number or a letter immediately pops out, floats up, or somehow appears. Cause-and-effect relationships are introduced in all of the activities through these instantaneous visuals, as well as zany little sounds that indicate that a key has been pressed and that something fun has “happened.” In an ABC’s & 123’s Activity called “123 – What Do You See,” babies and toddlers are even passively (and age-appropriately) exposed to some basic counting principles, whereby the number 3 may appear on the screen with three adorable little bugs. As a grandparent or parent of a baby (6-24 month old), you’ll certainly appreciate how engaged your grandchild is, sitting on your lap at the computer, having fun and simulating something he or she sees mom & dad (and you) doing all of the time. You’ll also appreciate the fact that your important computer files are protected and safe while the Giggles software is running. Babies can press several keys at once and nothing but more onscreen fun happens! And the music choices are also appealing to both children and grown-ups, from very recognizable kid favorites (toddlers and preschoolers will boast that they “know that song!”), to classical, jazz, and even cowboy music. This software has won too many awards to mention — you can’t go wrong with this gift purchase, whether it’s for your own computer time with your grandchild, or for time at home with parents. Go ahead and “Get the Giggles!”
| Buy Now |
to learn more at our trusted vendor's website |
Our young mechanically inclined son has been aching to learn more about electronics and how things work. Snap Circuits Jr. are a perfect fit for him and other children like him, who enjoy building, creating, and learning. Snap Circuits electronics kits have been a huge hit with kids and parents since they were introduced a few years ago. Although the recommended age is 8-12, younger children (like our son) still love the projects but need some assistance from an adult. What makes Snap Circuits so accessible and fun for most children is that the electronic components are neatly packaged within Lego-like blocks that are easy to manipulate and seem more like “play” and less like “learning.” Yet learn they do! Children can configure the 30 Snap Circuit pieces to build a.m. radios, burglar alarms, doorbells, and other electronic gizmos. Most importantly, the kit is safe, powered only by 2 AA batteries. And who can resist the price? It’s a wonderful value considering the hours of delightful learning it provides. We weren’t surprised to find that the kit has won several awards, including the National Parenting Seal of Approval and Dr. Toy’s Best Children and Educational Products awards. Larger kits that enable more projects are also available.
| Buy Now |
to learn more at our trusted vendor's website |
