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Jan 29, 2010

Game Review: Can You See What I See?

written by katrina · 6 Comments

I love to play boardgames. And in my ongoing quest to play more boardgames, I’ve found that one effective strategy is to force invite my children to play games with me. With C(11), it’s pretty easy — he’ll play any number of fun games with me as long as he’s in the right mood. But it’s a little harder with L(3). Not because he doesn’t want to play games, but because there are very few fun games that are targeted at the preschool crowd. (Please don’t mention Candyland to me. I have banished that game from my home after one too many endless episodes of it.)

However, with persistence, we’ve managed to find a few gems suitable for preschoolers, the most recent one being Can You See What I See? Finders Keepers Game, a Gamewright game based on the popular Can You See What I See? (and the similar I Spy) book series.

Read on to learn more about it.

Can You See What I See?

Can You See What I See? Finders Keepers Game is a quick, fun little game that takes the concept of the I Spy books and turns it into an engaging card game accessible to even the youngest of gamers. The box says it’s for ages 4 and up, but L. was playing this game at just over 3 years old (and I think that even 2-year-olds could have fun trying to find and match objects in lieu of playing the full game). One game lasts about ten minutes, and the game accommodates 2-6 players.

At the start of the game, each player receives 12 Keep Me cards (fewer if you’re playing with 5 or 6 people). Keep Me cards are rectangular tiles containing an I-Spy-esque collage of cute and colorful objects. Players arrange their cards in front of them so they can easily see them all.

A face-down draw pile of Find Me cards is placed in the middle of the table. Find Me cards are square tiles, each containing one object.

During each round, one Find Me card is flipped and placed face-up on the table. Players examine their Keep Me cards to see if any of them contain the object on the Find Me card. If a player finds that object on any of his or her cards, they flip over those Keep Me cards and keep them face-down on the table for the rest of the game. Once everyone has flipped over their matching cards for that round, a new Find Me card is turned over and play continues with players searching their Keep Me cards for matches with the new Find Me card.

The first player to find matches for, and flip over all of his or her Keep Me cards wins the game.

Simple, right? Right. Perfect for the little ones.

The rules also include a more advanced game for older kids that involves score-keeping and requires a little more thinking, so it’s definitely a game that can grow with your kids for several years.

Why do I like this game?

  • Well first of all, I have to admit that I’ve always been a fan of the I Spy and Can You See What I See? books, so any game based on them is going to score some points with me. I love how they encourage kids to concentrate and really examine a picture. And watching a child get that feeling of accomplishment when they find all the objects on a page (all by themselves) is priceless. The Finders Keepers Game does all of that, just in game form.
  • The games are short. Ten minutes? I can handle that. In fact, when L. and I play Can You See What I See?, I find that I’m happy to play multiple games in one sitting. I’d rather play 3 or 4 games of Can You See What I See? Finders Keepers than one game of Cand– the game that must not be named.
  • It teaches little ones some of the basic principles of gameplay, which will come in handy in many areas. Though the game involves simultaneous play (so there’s no real “taking turns”), kids still learn about order of play, structure, organization, observation, and winning & losing.
  • It’s a game the little kids like. Just as in the I Spy books, the pictures in Can You See What I See? Finders Keepers are engaging, bright, interesting, and fun. A variety of objects keep the kids intrigued and also lead to conversations about the objects and their uses/features.

In summary:

Can You See What I See? Finders Keepers Game

Number of Players: 2-6
Time required: 10 minutes
Ages: 4+ (though Callapidder Days says you can go younger)
Where to buy: Available at Amazon.com
Callapidder recommends it: As a perfect “first game” for preschoolers.


Disclosure: Gamewright Games provided me with a free review copy of Can You See What I See? Finders Keepers Game.
Filed Under: Games/Game Reviews 6 Comments
Jan 25, 2010

The Week in Words

written by katrina · 12 Comments

Melissa from Breath of Life is starting a new carnival today: The Week in Words. The idea is simple. Participants post quotes from whatever reading they did that week — any quotes that stood out to them, touched them, made them laugh, whatever. And the source can be any kind of reading — blogs, magazines, books. As long as it’s something you read this week, it counts.

Here are a few quotes that caught my eye this week.

Victory in anything, from war to football, is founded in training and discipline. Nothing worthwhile is gained by sloth and wishful thinking. It’s not the will to win that counts, but the will to prepare to win.

– James Scott Bell in The Art of War for Writers

There is something better than settling for a vague, diminished, distant understanding of who Jesus is, what he has done, and why it matters. It is seeing him more clearly and following him more closely…There is something better than expecting to get everything we’re hoping for here and now. It is a willingness to wait for all our deepest longings to be fulfilled in heaven…There is something better than pursuing our own dreams of security and passion and significance. It is finding our security and passion and significance in God’s dreams for us.

– Nancy Guthrie in Hoping for Something Better
(a study of Hebrews I just began with a good friend)

“Catching a murderer isn’t like recovering a stolen bike,” [Encylcopedia Brown] said. “A murderer can stop a person’s growth in a terrible hurry.”

– Donald J. Sobol in Encyclopedia Brown and the
Case of the Dead Eagles
(which I’m reading as part of the Children’s Classics Mystery Challenge)

Visit Breath of Life to see other participants or to share your own quotes from this week!

Filed Under: Week In Words 12 Comments
Jan 20, 2010

Something New

written by katrina · 22 Comments

For months, now, my mind has been restless.

While part of me is pretty sure I have enough on my plate with just the basic, everyday tasks that come with being a wife, a mom, a volunteer… another part of me is curious, searching, looking for something new.

Something new to learn.

Oh, I don’t want to ditch my wife and mom responsibilities. I’m just looking for a new hobby.

It’s crazy, really. I don’t exactly need a new hobby.

I’d probably do well to spend my time trying to improve some simple life-skills. Such as housekeeping. Or frugality. Or organizing. Or parenting.

It would probably also make sense to focus on one of my existing hobbies, to spend time learning more, increasing my skill level, exploring new aspects. After all, I knit, I crochet, I bake, I write, I play Wii (okay, that doesn’t count). But really, I’m far from an expert in any of those areas. There’s plenty of room for growth and improvement.

Yet, I still feel like I want to learn about and explore something new.

Such as? you ask.

Well, here are some things I’ve been reading about, researching. I’m curious about each one, and could easily dive headlong into any one of them.

1. Computer programming. Yeah, I know, people major in this subject in college. It’s not usually a light hobby on the side. But I’d love to learn the nuts and bolts of programming, and learn to do something fun like build a simple iPhone app. I don’t have to be able to construct an operating system; I’d just like to have some basic level of competence.

2. Website development. On a slightly smaller scale, I’ve considered focusing on the type of computer coding specifically related to websites. I think it would be lots of fun to build a WordPress theme from scratch, and to master enough HTML and PHP and CSS to make a website do what I want it to do.

3. Sewing. Ah-ha! I caught you off guard there, didn’t I? You thought this was going to be a completely geeky list. But no. I’m interested in some non-geeky stuff, too. Here’s a confession: I’ve never, ever used a sewing machine. Not for one single stitch. In fact, with a needle and thread, I can barely sew a button on a shirt. It’s pathetic, really. So I’d like to learn — how to use a sewing machine, how to hem a pair of pants, how to sew a curtain, how to make my kids flannel jammies.

4. Drawing. Here’s another confession: I can not draw a circle. I can not draw a straight line. I have no drawing skills whatsoever. The other day. L (3) asked me to draw Bob & Larry (from Veggie Tales). Bob and Larry are pretty simple — they are a tomato and a cucumber, after all. But could I draw them? Well… I tried. And then L. asked me why I made them so scary-looking. Sigh… I know I’ll never be an artist. But if I could learn some very basic techniques, if I could learn to put something on paper that looks like more than scribbles, that’d be cool.

There are more topics I’m interested in. In fact, if you caught a glimpse of my Amazon.com browsing history, you’d wonder if I have adult ADD. Book after book, topic after topic. But really — there’s just so much out there to learn, and sometimes I want to try it all.

But I think I’m going to make myself pick. I’m going to tackle only one — okay, maybe two — at a time. Now I just have to decide where to start.

What about you? If you were going to tackle a new hobby — anything at all, what would you want to explore?

Filed Under: Etc. 22 Comments
Jan 19, 2010

Back to the land of cold and gray

written by katrina · 11 Comments

So. We’re home.

Oh, you didn’t even know we went away?

Yes, we did. But since I figure it’s not a good idea to announce to the entire Internet that, “We will be gone for the next four days, so our house and all our belongings are left unguarded and vulnerable”…I didn’t mention it.

But now we’re back, so I feel much more free to talk about it.

Last Thursday night, we left the cold northern climate in which we live, and headed for the sunny land of Florida. No Disney World, no Sea World, no Universal Studios. Just a few days with Chad’s parents in their winter home. A few days of warmer weather, relaxation, no school, no housework. Simply, a getaway.

It was delightful.

Initially, I wasn’t sure if it was going to be delightful. For one thing, L (3) is not the best traveler. When he doesn’t have his own bed and his own routine, he tends to, um…fall apart. Often. In addition, this was to be L’s first airplane ride, and I had no idea how he’d handle the idea of sitting still in an airplane for hours. Not to mention the standing in line, sitting in line, and waiting for luggage to arrive at the baggage claim.

And finally, the weatherman had told me that Florida was experiencing record cold temperatures this month. Temperatures below freezing. And snow. And sleet. And generally yucky weather. Which I can get plenty of right here at home, thankyouverymuch.

But delightfully, the weather improved, and L. was a trooper. That’s not to imply that he didn’t fall apart. Because he did. But we adjusted and compensated, and in the end, we all had a great time.

What did we do?

  • We rode around my in-laws’ retirement community in golf carts. Oh, actually, they call them “golf cars” there, so I suppose I should be accurate. The kids loved the novelty of the golf cars, and Chad and I enjoyed it too. We went almost everywhere in those little vehicles.
  • We wore short sleeves. Oh, glorious sunshine! It was splendid to be in short sleeves, rather than sweatshirts and fleece and very heavy coats.
  • We spent some time with C(11)’s 3rd-grade teacher, who retired to the same community as Chad’s parents did, and lives only a couple minutes from them. Mrs. M. taught us how to play Pickleball (which I’d never heard of), gave us a glimpse of all the things she’s enjoying these days, and spent several hours catching up with C. and showing him around.
  • We (Chad and I) went on a date. Chad’s parents watched the kids for a few hours on Sunday, so Chad and I went to the bookstore, had a coffee, drove around in the golf cart car, and did some leisurely shopping. Perfect!
  • We did more (went to a classic car show, ate too much, learned about fox squirrels and Spanish moss), but mostly…we relaxed and had a nice time.

Some lessons I learned on this trip:

  • The video-playing iPod is one of the best inventions. Ever. It got L. through two plane rides and several other times when he needed a little distraction or entertainment.
  • A weekend of eating too much food — especially things like crème brulée and funnel cake and a yummy fruity tiramisu made by Chad’s Aunt Linda — will make itself known when I step on the scale on my first morning home.
  • Sometimes a quick weekend away is just what the doctor ordered. Yes, we’re back in the land of cold and gray. But the trip was refreshing and re-energizing, and might just have given me the oomph to make it until spring.

Filed Under: Family 11 Comments
Jan 12, 2010

Two Reading Challenges I Couldn’t Resist

written by katrina · 20 Comments

I admit, I don’t join a lot of reading challenges. I usually host two challenges per year (Fall Into Reading and Spring Reading Thing), and in between those challenges, I’m often ready to enjoy some unstructured, rambling reading.

But there are two reading challenges in the works this year that I simply couldn’t resist.

You already know I like to read mystery books, right? Well, that appreciation for a good mystery didn’t just appear when I was 18 or 25 or 32. I’ve been reading mystery books for as long as I’ve been reading, I think. I clearly remember scouring the children’s section of our public library, looking for something intriguing, something exciting, something…mysterious. And, like other mystery-loving kids, I quickly settled on a few favorite mystery series.

Which is where these two reading challenges come into play.

First up is the Nancy Drew Challenge hosted by Deborah.  Essentially, Deborah is challenging us to read the 56 yellow-spine hardcover Nancy Drew mysteries during 2010. It just so happens that I absolutely loved Nancy Drew mysteries when I was a kid, and I happen to have 22 of the yellow-spine hardcovers in my basement at this very moment.  Initially, I kept them to one day pass on to my daughter, but since it now turns out that I only have sons…well, that plan didn’t work out. However, I haven’t been able to bring myself to pass them on to another family just yet, but I guess that’s a good thing, since I’ll have a good starting point for this challenge.

Confession: I don’t know if I’ll actually get through all 56 of the Nancy Drew books in this challenge. But I’ll start with what I have and see how far I get.

The other challenge I’m excited to be joining is the Children’s Classics Mystery Challenge hosted by 5 Minutes for Books. This challenge is a bit more free-form. Participants can choose the books they want to read — as long as they are mysteries and written for kids. The challenge takes place from January – June 2010, and there will be opportunities to link up reviews or progress reports on the second Tuesday of each month over at 5 Minutes for Books.

Of course, the Nancy Drew books I read will be part of this challenge as well, but I also made a run to the library last week to stock up on some Encyclopedia Brown books. Note: I loved Encyclopedia Brown books. I loved seeing if I could solve the mystery myself, or if I would have to rely on the answers in the back of the book to point out the clues I missed. We’ll see if I’m any more observant this time around.

I might also be able to talk my son, C. (11) into reading some of these books with me (and he already has one or two Encyclopedia Brown books that I plan to borrow during the challenge). In addition, C. recently read The Westing Game for a school book report — another mystery I devoured during my own childhood — and I’m seriously thinking about snagging that one to re-read before June.

So there you have it. Yes, I’m doing plenty of unstructured reading right now — picking up whatever book has been calling my name. But I’ll also be re-visiting one of my favorite genres this year — children’s mysteries. Can’t wait!

Filed Under: Reading Challenges 20 Comments
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