Archive for June, 2010

by Kerry Haggard a working mom to the two most beautiful boys that ever there were. Until June 2010, she had never heard of the off-sides rule. Now she kind-of gets it. Follow her on Twitter at @KerryHaggard.

Our family has never been as sports-mad as my dad was when I was growing up. But my husband rekindled his interest in Premiership League soccer earlier this year, and Daniel, our older son, has been particularly keen too. Since the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named-for-fear-of-FIFA’s-ire started, it’s been interesting to see how his awareness has grown, and how things penetrate the consciousness of an impressionable young boy.

For example, he can pretty much sing, word for word, K’Naan’s Waving the Flag – as can many of his friends. There’s a version on YouTube that spools the flags of participating countries while the song is playing and me sitting reading the country names as they come up means that my son, age 5, can identify most of the flags on sight, on the clip and when we’re driving around. It was one of the five songs he chose for his birthday ring at school – Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika was another. He can sing the WHOLE of that too, by the way!

He can recognize various teams by their kit, and the two teams that he was ‘for’ were South Africa and Brazil. He also only talks about the FIFA World Cup – how’s that for successful branding?

Matthew, age 2, saw just a part of my official Bafana Bafana shirt, and shouted ‘soccer kit!” His favourite toy at the moment is a soccer ball, and blow me down if he doesn’t do a damn fine job of kicking it. He gets very excited when he sees a Zacumi, and recognizes the weird creature all over the place – from the Oriental Plaza to Montecasino. Matthew’s favourite World Cup song is Waka Waka, which we have to watch several times each morning. And yes, he sings along, kinda, and he even does the actions.

We have soccer games up and down the passage, and each boy represents a team – at their own suggestion. Let’s not go into the state of my passage now, though…

So what does this mean, this veritable display of indoctrination in my children? To me, it means that they’ve been caught up in the excitement around one of this country’s biggest achievements. The mood of elation and optimism has been infectious everywhere, right into nursery schools. The sense of pride in what we have achieved is surfacing in the places we’d least expect.

All that I wish now is that we all hold onto this spirit of pride, of optimism, of action, of determination, so that the exciting world that my boys are living in now, will be with us for generations to come.

by Sheena Gates,  a writer, movie watcher, workaholic girlfriend.  She lives somewhere between her house and her boyfriends (but mostly her boyfriends) in Jozi.  You can read her blog here or find her @SheBeeGee on twitter.

My boyfriend and I don’t have kids, probably because we’re still children at heart ourselves.  So it was no surprise when Jon suggested on Saturday morning that we go see Toy Story 3.  I was a little sceptical at first, “but shouldn’t we rather stay in bed and rather watch the movie when it’s out on DVD?” did not escape my thoughts, let me tell you.

An hour later, popcorn in hand and sitting down in the movie cinema, I had my goofy 3D glasses on and I was giggling away at the opening scenes of Woody, Buzz and crew and I remembered why I love pretending to be 12 years old.  Kids’ movies are just so much fun, and Toy Story 3 does not disappoint.

Andy is now an all grown up, car driving young adult off to college and has forgotten about playing with his toys.  Woody and Buzz Lightyear, his trusty old favourites are trying to convince the rest of the toys that their job is to still be there for their owner, even if that means being stuck up in the attic until Andy has children of his own one day.  Of course, Toy Story wouldn’t be Toy Story without some form of mishap or adventure, and soon the toys find themselves accidentally on the curb, heading for the big, scary toy-squashing rubbish dump.

Woody jumps in to save the day and suddenly the movie really kicks off.  With new characters brings new villains, and in this segment of the trilogy, the villain happens to be an old, cuddly teddy bear smelling of strawberries.  Another new addition to the storyline would be Ken and Barbie.  Oh my word, they bring such comic relief their intelligence questioned and more particularly, Ken’s sexuality being totally compromised, which definitely leaves the adults reeling with laughter at in-jokes that were made specifically to go over the kids’ heads.

The character development and story line is believable, it sucks you in so that you’re on the edge of your seat, cringing when necessary, and hoping against hope that our heroes will once again come out successful and happy survivors.

I am not afraid to admit that the ending, although totally predictable, had me in tears of joy and just the right amount of wanting more without feeling dissatisfied.  I also love the fact that they’ve left room enough for more movies in the franchise to come.

All in all, I’d give it a 7 out of 10.

One tiny little bit of criticism; the 3D element of the movie only really shows in the first five minutes of the movie.  I’m sitting here on my bed now trying to think of when else in the movie I noticed it and I’m drawing a blank.  So, honestly, I’m not sure it was worth the hundred and forty bucks we paid, when we could have easily seen Toy Story 3 for half that price and not missed out on any 3D effects, but still enjoyed the movie.

by Nikki Bush, a self-confessed parenting adventurer and mum to two boys. She is also an inspirational speaker, best-selling author, game designer and toy judge.   Her company is called the Bright Ideas Outfit.  Play and connection fuel her work.

Being able to pull fun ideas seemingly out of thin air sets you up as a hero in your child’s life story.  Make sure you have thought it through and have all the necessary ingredients, bits and pieces on hand before suggesting something. It doesn’t have to be complicated – the simpler the better.  Kids love it when they know you have a plan, and in our materialistic world they are still impressed when you create fun out of nothing, particularly if you share the experience with them.

So, during the very long Soccer World Cup school holidays, take a few minutes every second day to create a “making fun out of nothing experience” which also doubles up as a connection experience between you and your child.  Inspire your child by being fun to be with.

WEEK 3

Here are three ideas for this week which are simple to do and don’t require much in the way of specialised equipment or ingredients.

PAPER LACE MAKING

This fun activity can be used for a purpose, such as making ‘lace’ place mats for the dinner table tonight or to decorate gift tags or cards. It can also just be a doodling activity enjoyed by young and old alike. Paper lace making is creative and great for stimulating fine motor control and eye-hand co-ordination. And, if a special someone lives out of town, why not let your child post his / her creation as a gift. The simple experience of posting a letter is and adventure for a young child.

You will need:
* A4 paper (white or coloured)
* Scissors (blunt-nosed for preschoolers)

What to do:
1. Fold the A4 piece of paper in half.
2. Fold the paper in half again (now you have quarters).
3. Using your scissors, cut triangular notches out of the folded sides of the paper. Vary the size so that you create a different design.
4. Cutting rounded shapes is a more advance activity for the older child.
5. The full A4-sized piece is easier for the younger child to use. Older children may wish to use smaller pieces of paper.
6. Why not glue the coloured lace work onto a white or black piece of paper to show off the design.

STRIPEY JELLY

Now here is a very simple but impressive and yummy dessert to make with packets of jelly. It’s also the antidote to instant gratification because your child has to wait patiently for each layer of jelly to set. They will be quite fascinated and the wait will be well worth while. Alternate plain jelly layers with creamy jelly layers for an attractive effect. If you really want your child’s efforts to be appreciated, serve when you have guest around to witness the masterpiece.

You will need:
* Four packets of different coloured/flavoured jelly (or as many as you like)
* 250ml cream
* Boiling water
* Cold water
* Clear glass serving dish or a jelly mould
* Mixing bowl
* Measuring jug
* Spoon

What to do:
1. Make up the first layer of jelly as per the instructions on the packet. Normally dissolve the jelly powder in 225ml of boiling water (parents of younger children need to help with the hot water). Stir until all granules have dissolved and the liquid is clear. Add 225ml cold water. Stir and then pour into the glass serving dish or jelly mould. Place in the fridge to set. This takes 2 – 3 hours.

2. Choose another coloured jelly. Dissolve the jelly powder in boiling water. Now, instead of adding cold water only, add half cold water and half cream (110ml of each will do fine).

3. Gently pour the creamy mixture on top of the first layer of jelly and carefully transfer the dish or mould back to the fridge to set. The creamy layer sets quicker than the clear jelly layer.

4. Make another clear jelly layer and finally top with a creamy layer. You now have a wonderful stripey jelly that is absolutely delicious!

COLOUR-CHANGE FLOWERS

This experiment is so satisfying because it provides results very quickly. You can do it with any white cut flowers (I used iceberg roses from the garden). A good experiment to prove that plants drink water and that water travels upwards from the stem to the petals.

You will need:
* A few white roses or carnations work well
* Two glasses
* Water
* Blue and red food colouring

What do do:
1. Half fill each glass with water.
2. Put approximately half the bottle of food colouring in each glass, making the water in one red, and in the other blue.
3. Now place a flower in each glass and wait to see what happens. Within 1 ½ – 2 hours the flower should have a blue or red hue and then the edges of the petals should start changing colour.

Have fun!

For more ideas of games to play with your child these holidays click here for Nikki Bush’s Top 20 recommendations, and here for Week 1 of Making Fun Out of Nothing ideas and here for Week 2.

provided by Diane Vaubell, a work-from-home-mom to 2 small picky, vegetarians. She is an amateur blogger with obsessive addictions to food, photography and online social networking. Visit her blog or catch her on @dirott

This is the first of many dishes made for me by a good friend. When you taste a soup as good as this, you know the friendship is bound to last…it has to!

This soup is incredibly nutritious, filling and comforting – absolutely perfect for chilly Winter nights. The soup can be liquidised and it presents a great opportunity to sneak in vegetables and legumes for little picky eaters.

Liquid for this soup comes from stock, milk and the can juices from the sweetcorn and butter beans, so don’t be tempted to add additional stock – it will dilute the flavours – rather double-up the recipe to serve more.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 onion, diced

1 potato, diced

1 green pepper, seeded and diced

3 tall sticks of celery, sliced (keep leaves for garnish)

1 clove of garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons Sunflower oil

2 teaspoons margarine or butter
(note: too much butter and oil will make the top of your soup oily – use sparingly)

600ml vegetable stock

300ml milk

1 can of butter beans (keep can liquid)

1 can of sweetcorn kernels (keep can liquid)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

1. In a pot, saute the onion, potatom green pepper, celery and garlic in margarine and sun flower oil for about 10 minutes.
2. Add stock and bring to the boil. Then cover and simmer for 15 –20minutes.
3. Add milk, butter beans (with liquid) and sweetcorn, (with liquid). Simmer for 5 or so minutes.
4. Remove half the soup from pot and liquidise till smooth. Alter this amount depending on how thick and chunky you like your soup.
5 Return liquidised soup the pot and re-heat.
6. Serve soup with chopped celery leaves on top

by Joy Robyn Dembo, married, with an 18 year old son and a 25 year old daughter.  Addicted to the www, particularly Twitter. Recruitment Response Handling Consultant and Freelance Copywriter, vegetarian and animal lover.  Here’s her blog.

Ingredients:

1 x pkt of  Woolies butternut OR lentil & barley ready cut soup veggies
6 – 8 Telma vegetable soup cubes
1 pkt thick veggie soup (Royco, Maggie, Knor etc)
Salt, pepper, garlic salt, vegetable spice, garlic and herb spice, Aramat

Method:

1. Boil veggies
2. Add stock cubes, at intervals (2 @ a time) and stir well
3. Mix half a pkt of the veggie soup into half a cup of  cold water and add to soup mix
4. Simmer until thick and yummy!
5. If you need to, add the remaining half a packet of soup, mixed into half a cup of cold water

NB! Once you add the powdered soup mix, keep on a medium to low heat to prevent the soup from scalding.

by Melanie Minnaar who works in corporate marketing communications and is currently enjoying her maternity leave.  Mother to ‘archangels’, Michael and Gabriel,  wife to an IT consultant she is an information-junkie,  hooked on news, technology and online social networking. You can tweet her @MelanieMinnaar

These are my favourite winter soups.  Both are Chinese recipes – very tasty and equally nutritious. I buy my Chinese ingredients at Yat Kee Chinese Supermarket in Derrick Avenue, Cyrildene. They don’t take credit cards.  There is also a good Chinese supermarket across the road from Rivonia Primary School down Rivonia Boulevard in Sandton.  The Hot-and-sour Soup may be too pungent for the Littles, but the Chicken And Sweetcorn Soup will be a treat for adults and children alike. Leave a comment, I’d love to hear if you enjoyed these recipes or not. Enjoy!

HOT-AND-SOUR SOUP

This is a winter staple in my house, guaranteed to clear the sinuses and pep you up on a cold day.  It is very easy – and quick – to make once you have got all the ingredients together. If you prefer a vegetarian option, just remove the meat and use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. It is the pepper that makes this soup ‘hot’ but you may be more comfortable playing around with chilli to get the heat right. It’s more fun sharing a pot of this soup with others – this recipe will serve 4 adults.

Ingredients
* 4-6 dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 20 min
* 115g pork or chicken
* 1 packet tofu
* 50g sliced bamboo shoots, drained
* 1 medium carrot
* 2½ cups stock
* 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
* 1 tbsp light soy sauce
* 1 tbsp rice vinegar
* Salt and ground white pepper
* 1 tbsp cornflour paste

Method
1. Squeeze the soaked mushrooms dry, then discard the hard stalk. Thinly shred the mushrooms, meat, tofu, carrot and bamboo shoots.
2. Bring the stock to a boil and add the shredded ingredients4. Bring back to the boil and simmer for about 1 minute.
3. Add the rice wine, soy sauce and vinegar and season – be generous with the pepper. Bring back to the boil, then add the cornflour paste, stir until thickened.5
4. Pour the soup into individual bowls. Sprinkle the top with sesame oil and garnish with fresh coriander or parsley leaves – and sliced chillies if you prefer.

Notes
1. Sliced canned mushrooms can be used instead of Chinese mushrooms which are quite pricey and not usually sold in small quantities.
2. You can use any leftover meat as long as its shredded.
3. Old Brown Sherry is a very good substitute for Chinese rice wine for cooking purposes.
4. Dried shrimp can also be added here. You will need 1 tbsp dried shrimp soaked for 10 minutes in boiling water, drained and chopped.
5. Before serving you can add 2 beaten eggs to the pot. Pour the eggs in a thin stream over the prongs of a fork. Stir well.

CHICKEN AND SWEETCORN SOUP

This is a foolproof familiar, as classic as ‘Sweet-and-sour Pork’ or ‘Cashew nut Chicken’ – it can even be easily made in the microwave oven. You can ‘Posh’ it up by replacing the chicken with shrimp, or keep it vegetarian by eliminating the meat. Serves 4-6.

Ingredients
* 6 cups stock, chicken or beef
* 1 chicken breast, filleted, skinned & cubed OR 2 cups raw shrimp, peeled, deveined & cut in small pieces
* 1 tbsp cornflour
* 1 tsp ground ginger
* 1 tbsp soy sauce
* 1 can cream-style sweetcorn
* 5 water chestnuts, chopped
* 2 tbsp rice wine2
* 1 cup milk
* Salt and ground black pepper
* 2 eggs, well beaten
* 2 spring onions, finely chopped

Method
1. Mix the chicken with the cornflour, ginger, oil and soy sauce and season well.
2. Bring stock to the boil. Add chicken/shrimp and cook, covered over low heat for about 8 minutes.
3. Add sweetcorn, water chestnuts, sherry and milk. Mix well and season to taste. Heat until boiling.
4. Stir in eggs when the soup is just below boiling point – add eggs in a thin stream pouring them over the prongs of a fork, lower heat and simmer 1 minute longer.
5. Pour the soup into individual bowls and scatter chopped spring onions over the top.

Notes
1. You can use any leftover meat.
2. Old Brown Sherry is a very good substitute for Chinese rice wine for cooking purposes. The rice wine/dry sherry can be omitted completely from this recipe.

by Nikki Bush, a self-confessed parenting adventurer and mum to two boys. She is also an inspirational speaker, best-selling author, game designer and toy judge.   Her company is called the Bright Ideas Outfit.  Play and connection fuel her work.

There are a number of benefits to being a proactive source of magic, wonder and surprise for your children every now and again:

They will respect you

They will enjoy being in your company

They will stop pestering you so much to do things with you because you have taken control and are being proactive in this regard.

So, during the very long Soccer World Cup school holidays, take a few minutes every second day to create a “making fun out of nothing experience” which also doubles up as a connection experience between you and your child.  Inspire your child by being fun to be with.

WEEK 2

Here are three ideas for this week which are simple to do and don’t require much in the way of specialised equipment or ingredients.

EEZI PEEZI PAPER PUZZLES

Making their own puzzles is a fantastic and inexpensive way of keeping children busy and entertained because they can make as many as they like, and they get to choose their own pictures too.  Any bold and colourful picture will do the trick, whether from magazines or personal photographs printed out on the computer.  The number of pieces and size of the pieces you decide to make will depend on the age of the child.

You will need:

1 large photo or magazine picture (A4 or A5 is best)

Cardboard (just normal school project cardboard)

Glue

Ruler

Pencil/pen/khoki

Scissors (blunt nose for preschoolers)

What to do:

Stick the picture onto the piece of cardboard so that the cardboard forms a frame around the picture.

Using the ruler and pencil/pen/khoki draw cut lines onto the picture (please do this for, or help the under 6’s).

For 2 and 3 year olds cut the pictures into two and four pieces.  You can cut them into smaller pieces as your child masters the puzzle.  A six year old should be able to do at least a 24 piece puzzle for school readiness.  As you are working off photographic material here the level of difficulty is higher than if you were working off a clear children’s puzzle picture. Click here for a puzzle age-ability guideline.

As you child masters the use of scissors and cutting accurately along a line, he/she can cut out the puzzle themselves (should be able to do this sometime between 4 and 5 years of age).

Make the activity more challenging for older children by cutting up the puzzles into more pieces or irregular shapes that fit together.  This then becomes more of a problem solving, brain-teaser type activity.

STICK PUPPETS

Now here’s creativity on the run.  Next time your children have ice-creams or ice-lollies, keep the sticks (or ask you GP for a couple of tongue depressors at the next visit, pharmacies stock them too). With a few khoki pens you can create some really fun stick puppets in just a minute or two.  No gluing, no sewing, no cutting.

You will need:

Wooden ice lolly sticks / tongue depressors

Khoki pens

What to do:

Give the ice lolly sticks a good wash and let them dry completely.  No need to do so with unused tongue depressors.

Take your khoki pens and draw eyes, nose and mouth, using different facial expressions on each stick.  Add details such as hair, glasses, a necklace or a tie, etc. (older children can do all this themselves, parents of preschools will have to get more involved).

If you have enough sticks you can create your family for your child to play with, or a bunch of characters for a little play. Write the names of the characters on the back of the puppets to help the puppeteer.

MARSHMALLOW SANDWICHES

Surprise your children with a fascinating, no-bake treat.  They will just love watching you create these Marshmallow Sandwiches.  Do try one first so that you can judge when they are cool enough to eat.

You will need:

Marie biscuits

Marshmallows

Microwave

Microwaveable plate

What to do:

Place a marshmallow on the centre of a Marie Biscuit on a plate in the microwave oven. Cook on high for just a few seconds – watch it the whole time!  The marshmallow will balloon and will almost reach the diameter of the biscuit.

Remove from the microwave and place a second Marie Biscuit on top.  Squeeze gently to make a sandwich with a gooey centre.

Eat while still gooey but not hot enough to burn the mouth.

Have fun!

For more ideas of games to play with your child these holidays, click here for Nikki Bush’s Top 20 recommendations and here for Week 1 of Making Fun Out of Nothing ideas.

by Nikki Bush, a self-confessed parenting adventurer and mum to two boys. She is also an inspirational speaker, best-selling author, game designer and toy judge.   Her company is called the Bright Ideas Outfit.  Play and connection fuel her work.

How often have you said to your child, “Go and find something to play with in your room,” and they have come back saying, “But there is nothing to play with!” even though their room is packed with games and gadgets?  It is true that there has never been a generation of children with so much stuff, and because of this, they have forgotten how to make fun out of nothing.

So, during the very long Soccer World Cup school holidays, take a few minutes every second day to create a “making fun out of nothing experience” which also doubles up as a connection experience between you and your child.  Inspire your child by being fun to be with.

WEEK 1

Here are three ideas for this week which are simple to do and don’t require much in the way of specialised equipment or ingredients. The first two activities will also be reusable in the weeks to come:

SQUEEZY PAINT

This is really fun and adults love it too.  The “paint” is easy to make up and lasts for about a week in cool weather or if kept in the fridge.  Because it has salt in it, when it dries it sparkles and has a three-dimensional effect (it is raised).  Painting with squeezy bottles is great for developing finger and hand strength for hand-writing, as well as fine-motor co-ordination.

You will need:

3 x plastic squeezy bottles (same ones as used for tomato sauce and mustard)
3 x different food colourings
350g cake flour
350g salt
Water
Bowl
Spoon
Jug
Paper

What to do:

Place flour and salt into a bowl.

Add water slowly, mixing to a paste the thickness of crumpet batter.  It must be able to be squeezed out of the bottle.  It should not run out without having to squeeze.  It will thicken up slightly as it stands in the bottle over time.

Divide the mixture into three different bowls.  Now add 2 – 4 drops of food colouring into each.  Mix well.

Using the jug pour different colours of “paint” into each squeezy bottle.

Now they are ready to use.  Allow paintings/designs to dry in the sun.  They may need to be left overnight.  The paint will only sparkle when fully dry.

RAINBOW CRAYONS

I don’t know whether the melt down process or the end product is the most exciting part of this activity, but regardless, it is a fabulous way of using up broken or left-over bits of crayons.  It’s also a good lesson for your children about how to be thrifty with waste.

You will need:

Left over or broken bits of crayons
A muffin tin
Non-stick cooking spray
Oven

What to do:

Heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Remove all paper from crayons.

Grease the muffin pan with non-stick spray.

Place pieces of the crayons into the muffin pans.  Mix your colours if you want a rainbow effect, or keep colours separate eg. All green pieces together.

Place the tin in the oven for a few minutes until the crayons have melted – keep an eye on them.

Remove the pan from the oven and let the crayons cool completely before removing them.

Now use them to create works of art.

CRUNCHIE BUBBLE BARS

If you have a sweet tooth then this recipe is for you!  It’s also a no-bake recipe so it’s quick and fun to do.  Your child will need supervision when melting the butter and marshmallows on the stove or in the microwave.

You will need:

1 ½ cups marshmallows
60g butter
2 ½ cups Rice Crispies
½ cup hundreds and thousands
Medium to large saucepan
Metal spoon
Baking tray
Baking paper

What to do:

Line the baking tray with baking paper or foil.  Grease lightly or use a non-stick cooking spray.

Place marshmallows into saucepan with butter.  Melt over a low temperature.  Remove from heat.

Pour in Rice Crispies and hundreds and thousands.  Mix well with large metal spoon.

Spoon mixture into baking tray, spread and flatten.

Place baking tray in the fridge to cool and set. Then cut into squares or rectangles and store in the fridge.

Have fun!

by Nikki Bush, a self-confessed parenting adventurer and mum to two boys. She is also an inspirational speaker, best-selling author, game designer and toy judge.   Her company is called the Bright Ideas Outfit.

During the next few crazy weeks of 2010, make time to connect with your child through play. Whether it’s a quick 10 minute game or a 30 minute one, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you want to share the play space with your child for a while.  If you engage in this way playfully with your child on a regular basis, they will also be okay when you say, “Not now sweetie, because I have some work to do.”

Here is a short list of some of my top 20 game recommendations that would be great “bridge-builders” during the long Soccer World Cup holidays.  I have chosen them specifically because they:

are quick and easy to play (no three hour marathon sessions here!)

have no extra long and complex rules – the simpler the better

are both entertaining and educational

are games to play ‘together’ – with you and your child, or as a family – we are after a connection moment that builds your relationship, not just a few minutes of stimulation for your child.

For more information about the games listed below  click here.

2 – 4 YEARS

1. Mega Peg ‘n Play (R145.00)

A fabulous giant pegboard with large plastic shapes.  Great for matching, stacking adn first stage threading (threaders have a plastic needle on the end for easy use) - a must for all preschoolers.

2. No Spill Bubbles (R45.00)

3. Zingo (R150.00)

4. Bear Pairs (R75.00)

4 – 6 YEARS

1. Throw & Blow, a fun first boardgame for the 3 – 5 year olds that is versatile (can be played by 1-4 people) and is unique in that it is a speech game – you blow your way through the game! Players must blow their tokens around the board, picking up matching action cards and following the fun instructions such as:  “Lick your lips as if they are covered in sticky chocolate,” or “Meow like a cat.”   Throw & Blow is great fun for everyone. 15 – 20 minutes a game. **Special on this month, click here for details.

2. Flip to Win Memory Game (R150.00) Five to nine years.

3. Zingo (R150.00)

4. Hungry Caterpillar card game in a tin (R120.00)

6 – 10 YEARS

My First Brain Box (R150.00)

An outstanding visual memory game.  Take a look the picture side of the card until the timer runs out.  Throw the dice and answer the question with the corresponding number on the back of the card.  You have to remember what you saw in order to answer the question, eg. how many teddy bears were in the picture, or what colour was the ball?  10 – 15 minutes a game depending on the number of players.

Ducks in a Row (R140.00)

Question Mark Junior (R140.00)

Flip to Win Hangman (R150.00)

10 – Adult

Sketch-a-Story (R199.00) Eight years and up

Think, draw, tell, laugh like hell! One of the few games that really requires you to use your imagination by throwing stories or tales together in seconds.  This two-part boardgame is played in teams of two. One member of each team is the drawer and the other the storyteller (they alternate with each turn).  The storyteller has to come up with a wacky tale using the pictures drawn by his/her team mate.  For a long game move around the board according to the rules.  For a speedy game, times the number of correct words used by 2, 3 or 4 and move that many number of spaces.

Ducks in a Row (R140.00)

Brain Box World / Maths (R150.00)

Number Rings (R265.00)

Indahoo (R150.00)

Smart Ass in a tin (R120.00) Teen to adult (R120.00)

Smart Mouth (R150.00) Eight years and up

Bananagrams (R185.00)

Blokus Duo (R175.00) Seven years and up

Why not join me for one of my playful and insightful parenting workshops in July Beyond the Nappy Bag™, Parenting on the Run™ and Big Kid Fun™. Click here for more information

If you have ideas of great games to play with kids please share them with us.

by Melanie Minnaar who works in corporate marketing communications and is currently enjoying her maternity leave.  Mother to ‘archangels’, Michael and Gabriel,  wife to an IT consultant she is an information-junkie,  hooked on technology and online social networking. You can tweet her @MelanieMinnaar

I try to make dedicated time to spend with my son, Michael, as often as possible. Just the two of us – no daddy – no Gabriel. We were debating options this week when I saw an ad on Jozikids for a puppet show at the Bryanston Organic Market. He asked if it would be a ‘nice’ puppet show versus a ‘scary’ one. I reassured him that it would be the kind he would enjoy and crossed my fingers. (Win for mom too as I love exploring the market!)

Turns out that there was no finger-crossing required as the show was absolutely wonderful and by the show of delight on the young critics faces, it was definitely right on the money.  The audience actively engaged with the puppets spurring each other on to participate in a fun and lively manner.  Some parents also became quite engrossed with the story,  which kept the other adults entertained.

The story was themed around the soccer world cup where a little boy named Vuvuzela did not keep his promise to not kick the soccer ball that he was asked to look after, and did – all the way to the Kruger National Park!  The animals in the game reserve didn’t know what this foreign object was and tried to make sense of it all with hilarious results.  Eventually, Vuvuzela finds the ball and returns it to its owner, promising to keep his promise in future.  There are songs woven into the story-telling which captivated the minds of the children, some very good songs which I really wish I could remember the words to now.

The show lasts about half an hour and is followed by a puppet-making workshop. The audience ranged in age from 2 years to about 9 years of age. Michael left the show asking what the next story would be. And, did I mention that it’s FREE. In Sandton. Bonus!  The only unfortunate thing is that they only put on puppet shows once a quarter – but we’ll definitely be making a return visit for the next one.

Anyone interested in finding out where Spellbound Puppets will be performing their next puppet show, click here