Telestrations!

Last night Luke and I got to Scope together to share Telestrations with the world - but most importantly, with Uncle Ryan. :-)

Bazaar. Can't Stop.

Did that post title get your attention?  Well, I do hope so because I've got two great board games by designer Sid Sackson to share with you.  I just Scoped on these, so I'll be embedding the Katch replays down below.

Both of these games are excellent for a variety of age levels (my six-year-old enjoys them both ... all the way up through hubby and me!).  But one thing that has made them an especially good fit for our family is that they are easily accessible regardless of reading ability.  These are not "little kid" games.  But even struggling readers can play without hindrance because there is little or no in-game text.

The first game I Scoped about was "Can't Stop".  This is a press-your-luck, dice-rolling game.  Players roll four dice, make combinations and race to the top!



All of the pertinent info is in the scope except that Periscope froze up on me before I could finish, so I had just one more thing I wanted to share.  This game has been such a hit with so many of the children in our family that we actually have the problem of more people wanting to play than we had pieces for.  The game comes with four colors of player pieces.  Thankfully, my husband was able to order two additional player colors on-line, so we now have enough pieces for six players!

You can purchase the game from Amazon, but extra pieces can be found here.

Also, as I mentioned on the Scope, you can actually make a DIY version of this game. Free printables are available here.

(Be forewarned ... both of these links will take you to www.boardgamegeek.com ... it might be a bit overwhelming for the uninitiated!)

Then I jumped on again and did a quick Scope on a second Sid Sackson game "Bazaar".



I think I mentioned everything I meant to mention.  Except.  Yes, I totally forgot about one of the main components of the game: the die!

At the beginning of each turn, you can choose to make a trade using the exchange options on the market cards or you can roll the die.  There are five colors of "jewels" in the game.  The six-sided die has one side for each of the colors, and then a "magic lamp" symbol which is basically a wildcard.  So not only is there player choice in the jewel exchanging, but there is player choice when you roll the magic lamp and have to decide which color jewel to choose to reach your goal!

I hope that you are able to check out and enjoy one or both of these games.  They are not "brain-burners" (meaning if you have limited brain cells left in the afternoon or evening, they are still very do-able) but they are lots of fun and a good challenge for kiddos and parents alike!  Enjoy, y'all!

This post is part of the "Living" Board Games! series.

Guest Scoper!

Recently I've gotten to know fellow homeschool mama Andi Gould via Instagram and Periscope and have thoroughly enjoyed watching her Scope board games with her kiddos.  Today I got permission from Andi to share some of her board game Scopes with you here on my blog.  (Imagine me jumping up in the air and yelling "Woo hoo!!")  If you like what you see, you can ...

Find Andi on Periscope: @appleandigould
Find Andi on Katch: @appleandigould
Find Andi on Instagram: @appleandi
Check Out Andi's Blog: A Nest Full of Squishers (Isn't that a great blog title??)

(Note: Andi has tons of other wonderful and helpful information to share, such as tips on helping kids to pare down toy collections, information on participating in Nature Pal Exchange, which she helps to manage, and a tutorial on how to fold paper airplanes!  Check out her blog or Katch account for more good fun!!)

One of my favorite game Scopes Andi has done recently is this one on Clue Jr.  Apparently there are several versions of this game available and Andi did a fair amount of research to choose the one that came most highly recommended.  What I love about this version of Clue is that it eliminates the need for cards (which, it seems, are almost impossible for younger players to keep sufficiently private as to not ruin the game).  Instead, secrets are discovered by means of a red-colored magnifying glass reminiscent of the secret-code book that my brother and I loved when we were kids!!

I hesitated to share this because apparently it was published in the 1980's and Andi's copy was located at a second-hand store, but it seems to be available (used) on eBay, so if it looks fun, see if you can snag yourself a copy!



If you catch up with Andi on-line, please tell her I said "Thanks!"

This post is part of the "Living" Board Games! series.

Board Games for Little People

Tonight I scoped with Hazel, my three year old and Henry, my four year old.

Hazel and I talked about Zitternix, which is one of our favorite dexterity games.



Henry and I scoped about Stone Soup and The Secret Door, two cooperative games based on a matching mechanic with a little twist!



These Scopes are part of the "Living" Board Games! series.

Little People Love Gaming, Too!

Hazel playing picture dominoes with her great-grandmother.

One of the reasons we have embraced board gaming is because of how adaptable it is to whole-family, multi-generational interaction.  Granted we haven't figured out a way to involve the fourteen-month-old in board gaming in a meaningful way (i.e. chewing on game components doesn't count and is a cardinal sin in our household!) but we've been surprised at how early little people can participate in a way that feels like participation and not just "go over there and play with blocks".

Want to know how to involve your 3-5 year old children in family board gaming?  Here are just a few suggestions:

• Play little-people games that big people (and medium people) can enjoy, too!  Perhaps when you think of little-people games, you think of games like Chutes and Ladders or Candy Land.  And perhaps that brings to mind cheerful images of you checking facebook on your phone while saying to your preschooler "Go ahead and take my turn for me, honey," glancing over only frequently enough to discern how much longer you will have to wait until the game is over.  These games fail to engage because they do not involve any interaction or decision making - they are 100% based on random chance.  Can it actually be called a "game" when you are really only watching it play itself out, rather than actually playing it?
  
  Perhaps some folks feel that this is the only kind of "game" pre-readers can handle.  Not so, my friend.  Not so at all.  One of the best type of made-for-little-people-but-enjoyable-by-others game is the dexterity game - a game in which the main mechanic is based on balancing or careful moving of pieces.  Other good game mechanics for mixing in little people are memory-based games and matching games.  Hoping to Scope soon on some of our favorites!

• Play team-style.  Even if you are playing a family game, the strategizing or decision-making making may still be beyond the abilities of your 3-5 year old.  But a little person can be on a team with an older person and still participate in meaningful ways.  Begin simple and increase in complexity so that you can ease your kiddos into being self-sufficient game opponents!

1. Have your little person roll the dice, spin the spinner or draw a card for you.
2. Have your little person move your piece on the board, place a card or hand the dice to the next player.
3. Have your child add up the total of a dice roll, count spaces on the board or announce the move or choice your team is going to make.
4. Discuss the gaming decisions with your child to help them see how you decide what to do and what effect your choices have on the game.
5. When your child is ready to be a player in his own right, you might play a round "open handed" - show all of your cards, etc. and discuss what to do (and why) before each move.

The more you game with your children the more adept you will become at anticipating how the unique abilities and developmental level of each child will interact with a game and how to make adaptations so that more kiddos can play. Oh, and sometimes the three year old will just want to go play blocks instead of sitting with you.  That is OK, too!

This post is part of the "Living" Board Games! series.

"Living" Board Games!

I began the discussion here about investigating the concept of "living books" and jumping from there to musing about "living board games".  And I promised that I'd share my husband's brilliant thoughts on that topic, so here's me keeping my promise!

How to tell if you are playing an excellent family board game ...

1. Quality family games are engaging for multiple age groups.  What does "engaging" look like?
   
1. You are so involved that you really want to win, not just finish the game.
   
2. You enjoy the gameplay so much that you'd play again, even if you don't win.  (In family board gaming - typically more than two players - statistics suggest that you will probably loose more often than you win, so games that are only fun if you win won't have much staying power.)
   
3. You are drawn into the gameplay such that even when it is not your turn, it is interesting to watch what other players are doing and what choices they make.  (This is especially enhanced by game mechanics that result in some sort of interactions between players - i.e. the decisions of other players affect you and your choices.)
   
4. The experience of a great board games makes family memories and stories.  You are still thinking about it the next day.  The play-by-play is enjoyable, even on the re-telling.
   
2. Quality family games have excellent gameplay.
   
1. They are built around engaging mechanics or an engaging theme that is supported (or at least not detracted from) by the mechanics.
   
2. They invite analysis ("thinking") but in an organically entertaining way.
   
3. Many of the best family games on the market today do not involve "player elimination" - in other words, all players play to the end of the game.  Winning isn't determined by "last man standing" but by points or other progress tracked throughout the game.  This avoids the scenario where those who fall behind not only don't win, but spend a great deal of "game time" sitting and watching other people finish the game without them.
   
4. Usually they include some kind of catch-up mechanic, reducing the likelihood of a "runaway winner".  When the person in the lead is more easily able to make progress, the gap between the winner and the losers grows rapidly and those not winning become increasingly disinterested in playing.  Some games include special end-game scoring or bonuses so that it isn't really clear until the last minute who will finally triumph!
   
3. These days, excellent family board games have high quality components.
   
1. Board game manufacturers have learned that the tactile experience of playing a board game is very important.  Part of the enjoyment of board games is the physical movement of aesthetically pleasing bits and cubes and the handling of sturdy cards and dice.
   
2. Sturdy boards, thicker cards and solid - perhaps even wooden - bits and player pieces make for long-lasting board game life and playing time!  Family versions of games often have larger cards, larger tiles and larger, sturdier player pieces.

This description of the experience of an excellent family board game can be found on the new page "Living" Board Games!.  In addition, you can check that page for links to related posts.  Upcoming discussions include Scopes on board games we love, tips for adding in little people to the family board game experience, and how to tell if a game will work for a non-reader or early-reader!

Does It Draw YOU In?

Recently I've been inspired by several mamas I know to read more about and learn from the writings of Charlotte Mason - a pioneer in educational thinking, especially as it relates to the role of the mother in the development of her children.  One of the ideas I've been exploring is the concept of Living Books.  The Living Books Library wrote about What's in a "Living Book" or Why We Collect the Books that We Do and another post, complete with examples and illustrations, called Is New Always Better?.

Leah Boden, host of "The Charlotte Mason Show" on Periscope and blogger at "Living Soul Deep" wrote Can You Tell your Truth from Your Twaddle? Shedding the Light on Living Books  and What is a Living Book?.  Boden points out that, though tastes and interests vary between families and children, there are certain characteristics that can help one identify a "living book" when reading the first two pages:

Here are a few questions to ask during your two page test:

1. Does it draw you in?
2. Does it engage the emotions?
3. Do you want to read on?
4. Could you narrate from the section you’ve read?
5. Is the writer passionate about what they are writing about?

I came across this same line of thought as it relates to teaching children how to write.  Julie Bogart, owner of Bravewriter.com and Poetryteatime.com and author of The Writer's Jungle: A Survivor's Guide to Writing with Kids talks about the story behind the development of this material in her blog post In Defense of the Writing Process.  She says that as she examined other writing curricula available,

The manuals I read showed “sample paragraphs” that weren’t even well written (organized, yes; but dull, lifeless).

In her Periscope The Secret to Breakthroughs in Writing with Your Kids, Bogart says,

So many writing programs had really crummy model paragraphs to go with their assignments.  I was looking at them and it’s like “I didn’t even enjoy reading that paragraph.  How in the world can that be a good model for my child?”  If you don’t like the model paragraphs in your curriculum, don’t use that curriculum!  It means that they haven’t actually understood that writing is for readers.

All of this reading (and listening) has been very informative, refreshing and delightful.  I feel inspired to seek out excellent and enriching reading material for our family enjoyment.  But it occurred to me that we do our children a great service when we teach them to seek out and identify the beautiful and the excellent in any field of study ... or even a field of entertainment!

Our family is an avid board game family.  This isn't simply because we like to play board games (though we do!).  It stems largely from the fact that my husband is a board game enthusiast, perhaps even (if I may be so bold) a board game connoisseur!    He not only enjoys buying and playing board games; he enjoys following the board game industry, game designers, game publishers and reviewers and the history of board gaming.

We have had many a conversation about the excellent, high quality and engaging board games that are available to those who know where to look for them, as compared to the sort one typically finds on the shelves of department stores.  I cannot tell you how many times I have heard or read comments from parents talking about consenting to play a board or card game with their children, and then putting up with it as long as they can stand it for the sake of quality family time.

Although I can't claim that enjoying and investing time in family board games rises to the level of importance of embracing excellent reading material or developing your own voice in the writing process, there are some parallels!  If you are struggling to make it to the end of the board game, if you dread being asked to play it and if you think that board games in general are something one must endure in order to make kids happy, you might not have experienced a really excellent family board game!  Why not set before your children board games that are well-designed enough to engage you?

As I began to mull over these thoughts, an idea took shape in my mind.  I shared  my musings with my husband and I asked him to brainstorm with me about the concept of "living" board games.  How would one go about describing or defining beauty and excellence in a family board game experience?  What he said delighted and surprised me; it was an inspiring encapsulation of what it looks like to enjoy a true masterpiece of a board game.  In the next few days I will be putting up a new page on the blog entitled "Living" Board Games!  I'll include Matt's description of how to recognize an excellent family board game.  And in that space, we will collect posts about wonderful family board games, including tips on how to use them with a wide range of kiddos.  Who knows - I might even be able to convince my husband to 'Scope with me!

"Wrong Chemistry" with Mr. Right.

New Directions ...

I originally began this blog as a way to process out loud about our homeschool math experiment.  I will continue to blog about that as interesting things pop up.  But since I've laid out the basics, now I'd like to start a few new threads.  Here's what's been rattling around in my brain ...

Finding Beauty in Phonics

Recently, I listened to Sarah Mackenzie interviewing Andrew Kern.  Andrew Kern was encouraging moms/parents to be about the business of opening the eyes of their children to beauty, to be intentional about regularly putting beautiful things before their children.  Sarah Mackenzie asked "What would you say to a busy mom who says she doesn't have time to put beauty before her children because she has to teach math and phonics?"  Kern's response?  "I would say that math and phonics are beautiful!"

We've already been growing in our understanding of math as something beautiful to engage as a topic of conversation and to enjoy.  Recently, in my efforts to make more one-on-one time with my new reader and with my struggling reader, I've rediscovered the joy of uncovering new and curious things about this language that we read, write and speak.  I'm hoping to share little nuggets of interesting information and also ideas for phonics "investigations" with your kiddos.  I am hoping that this series will be of use to a wide range of folks - mamas of the littlest littles who want to prep for teaching pre-readers to older elementary kids who want the chance to dig deep into why English does what it does!

Math in Real Life: Board Gaming

Call me a snob if you like, but I'm not a super huge fan of "math board games".  In my experience (though I'd be happy to find a counterexample) most math board games put a higher priority on "educational" content and a lower priority on balanced mechanics, gameplay and replayability.  Plus, I'm not convinced that playing "educational board games" really counts as "living math" ... or perhaps it does, but only to the level that word problems count as "living math": something created to resemble real life for the purpose of teaching a math concept.

I'm not against word problems.  And I'm not against educational board games.  But what I really love to do is to play board games - real board games that were made primarily to be fun to play - and to engage with the children about how our understanding of mathematics facilitates our ability to play well and to make good choices in the game.  Our family is somewhat of a board gaming family so this is already a passion of ours and I want to help the children explore how math relates!  Want to join us in this exploration?

Mama as "Marriage Counselor"

Sure, academics and thoughts about academics take up a big portion of a homeschool mom's brain.  But for anyone (homeschool mom or not!) who has more than one kid, sibling interaction is a big part of the day and guiding them is a big part of a mom's job.  Over the last couple of years the Lord has really been re-formatting my thinking on this and my role in helping siblings to navigate disputes has shifted from the role of a "judge" to that of a "marriage counselor" - helping each person to know how best to love another with whom they live side-by-side, share space and possessions, clean up after and to whom they have a life-long commitment!

I certainly don't claim to have any kind of "silver bullet" that will "fix" sibling problems.  In fact, that really isn't my goal in my own home.  Rather, my goal is to use the "sticky spots" that commonly arise to teach my kids lessons that will have broad application throughout the course of their lives - lessons on how to know and understand their own hearts and on how to love others, even when those others are acting like enemies.

And ... Scoping!!

In addition to blogging here, I'm also hoping to start "Scoping" on Periscope soon on each of these three topics.  If you have a smartphone, you can download the Periscope app and follow me @hswotrainingwls (if you're on your phone you can click the link to find my profile).  I'd love to see you there and to have your interaction and input.  (Of course, I'd love to have your interaction and input here, too!)