Games for Brains: Machi Koro

Machi Koro

Playing Time: ~30 Minutes

Players: 2-4

Overview:

This is a game that combines card collecting with dice rolling.  The idea that you're mayor of a city and you want to add cool new attractions to your city.  You do it by making money off of different types of public works projects you "build."  It is kind of nice because you can make or lose money on other players turns, so you have something to do regardless of whose turn it is.  Being able to read the cards is definitely helpful, but a non reader could probably still be able to figure it out with a little help.

Brain Value:

This game involves some strategy, such as figuring out how much to diversify your cards and when you should buy new cards and when you should develop attractions.  There's also a little bit of probably/math involved.  He has to know that no one is going to roll a 9, if we're still at the stage of the game where we only roll one die.  Also, it is less likely that someone will roll a really low number if they're using both dice.

Expansion Pack Note:

We had liked this game so much, that a friend of ours got us the Millionaire's Row expansion pack.  While having a bigger variety of cards was nice, it got to be a little much for Xander, especially when we played by the rules that came with it.  We ended up doing a combination of the original rules and the expansion pack rules to make it more fun for everyone.  However, we definitely don't play as much as we did when we only had the original game, mostly because the games end up taking a lot longer.

Click here to check out other board games our family likes!

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Starting Piano

Today I did our first official piano lesson with Xander!  Yes, I know, I'm a little behind, but better late than never, right?  Now of course, I'd set him up with some background since he was little.  Your Baby Can Discover went through some notes and timing, although I doubt he remembers them.  He also loves Trebellina and Suzie's Piano Primer.  Recently he's been playing Piano Maestro on the iPad and has really wanted to learn to play.  What better time than when he's seriously interested?

While I considered doing formal lessons, it just isn't in the budget at the moment, so I will start teaching him myself.  I decided to start with John Thompson's Easiest Piano Course Part 1.  It starts incredibly basically, but I'm hoping it will provide a good foundation.  We might just go through the first book quickly.  I have a couple of Teaching Little Fingers to Play books ready to go for when he's ready!  Tonight we went through the first several pages, and he didn't want to stop.  I figure that's a good sign.

I'm interested to learn what other parents have done to teach their children piano.  Are there apps, movies or books you recommend?

Graduating AAS Level 1!

A while back, I posted about how we adapted All About Spelling for a Toddler.  We didn't do all of the writing, because he wasn't ready and he hated it.  We also only did a couple of lessons a week.  Since that time we slowly started in some writing, although usually only a couple of phrases, not all of the words.  I'm excited to say we are now done with Level 1!  He was so incredibly proud of himself.  I think he called his grandma, grandpa, uncle and former babysitter to tell them he had finished.  

I wouldn't say he's at 100% mastery of every word.  The double "S" at the ends of words are still a little problematic, but he has mastered enough that it would be silly not to move on!

On to Level 2!

I have ordered and sorted All About Spelling Level 2.  (Kind of a bittersweet moment for me, I must admit.  My baby is getting so big, so fast!).  This time through I do plan on using the red dictation cards, since they should be easy enough for him to write.  We'll still have him write some, but not all of the phrases and sentences.  He likes the spelling and hate writing, so I don't want that dislike to transfer over to spelling.  We'll still only probably do 2-3 lessons a week, but I'll keep you updated!

Games for Brains - Sleeping Queens

Updated: August 2024

Sleeping Queens

Play Time: ~10 min

Players: 2-4

Ages: 5+ (box says 8+)

Video Overview:

Review:

I originally got this for my oldest when he was younger and I was just starting out looking for great kids games. He loved it for years. Last spring I introduced it to my younger son, when he was about five and a half.  He also really liked it and wanted to play often. He hadn't been that into games before playing, so I considered it a huge win!

The play of the game is pretty easy, although you can start without the special rules to make it even simpler as younger kids are learning the game.  There is a little bit of math involved, in that if you can make an addition problem out of your number cards, you get to draw more cards.  Also, since you win by either collecting a minimum number of queens or a minimum point value, being able to add the value of your and your opponent's queens is helpful, but not necessary. I like that while this game has some "mean" cards, they're relatively mild and can be blocked. My younger son sometimes struggles with competitive games if he feels like things are unfair, but does well with this one.  It also plays quickly enough, that you can just start a new game in the case of a sore loser.

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Book Series for Boys

Since Xander has been reading since before he was 2 (you can see my post on how we did that here), he now reads insanely fast.  For a while I thought there was no way he was actually reading as fast as he was turning the pages, but he can answer questions about what he reads.  I've also watched his eyes, and yes, they really do go back and forth crazy fast!  

Anyway, that means he plows through books!  Because he's graduated to chapter books, we're always on the hunt for new series he likes and I thought I'd share some of his favorites.  Before writing this I, we sat down and organized some of his books and he told me about the ones he would recommend to other kids. This list was the result!  (I should note that he generally reads books between a 1st and 4th grade reading level).

# 1. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle

by Betty MacDonald

Grade Level: 2-5
Xander received three of these for his birthday and has read through them all more than once.  As one of the first chapter series he read, they were a nice transition into chapter books.  Each chapter is its own story, so reading them in order or straight through is not all that important.  It's about a weird lady in town that "cures" children of naughty behaviors.

# 2. Wayside Stories

by Louis Sachar

Grade Level: 3-7
Goodness, it made me feel old when Xander started reading these.  I remember reading these in elementary school (Xander started at 4...).  They were another great transition into chapter books since each chapter is a self-contained story.  They're all of these silly, impossible stories about a school that was accidentally build sideways.
 

#3. Dragon Masters

by Tracey West

Grade Level: 1-3

There are currently only 4 books in this series, but Xander used his own money to have me reserve the 5th.  He LOVES these books and has read each several times.  They're about these kids that train their own dragons and go on adventures.  Xander is pretty fond of the wizard that helps the kids.

 

#4. The Secrets of Droon

by Tony Abbott

Grade Level: 2-5

We picked up the first one of these at a consignment the other day, he sat down and read the whole thing in one sitting.  He then immediately asked for the second.  Since then I think he's read four or five of them from the library (he would have read more if he didn't want to read them in order).  They're fantasy books about kids who discover a portal to a magical world called Droon.

 

#5. The Magic School Bus Chapter Books

by Multiple Authors

Grade Level: 2-5

We both love and still read most of the regular Magic School Bus books we have, so trying out the chapter books seemed like a natural progression.  Xander enjoys learning about science, so he said he really likes these books.  He also likes that he learns facts that I don't know and can show off to me.  These books follow the class on various educational adventures with the help of Ms. Frizzle and the Magic School Bus.

#6. The Magic Tree House

by Mary Pope Osborne

Grade Level: 1-4

Holy cow!  There are a ton of these books, but Xander eats them up, so I guess that's a great thing!  These are about two kids who have a magic tree-house that transports them through time.  They go on many historical adventures.

#6. Flat Stanley Worldwide Adventures

by Jeff Brown

Grade Level: 2-5

Xander has several of these and has expressed the desire to mail himself like Stanley.  They're about a kid who gets flattened, so then goes around the world on various adventures.
 

#7. A to Z Mysteries

by Ron Roy

Grade Level: 1-4
This is a pretty large series of mystery books for kids.  Each one starts with a certain letter, but the stories don't seem to carry that letter.

    

#8. Adventures of the Bailey School Kids

by Marcia Thornton Jones and Debbie Dadey

Grade Level: 2-5

 In each of these books the kids suspect someone of being some sort of monster.  Xander's always had a thing for "bad guys" and monsters, so it works out well.
   

#9. Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew

by Carolyn Keene

Grade Level: 1-4

Ok, so these books are probably more aimed at girls, but Xander enjoys them anyway.  They're Nancy Drew books for kids.  Nancy and her friends investigate mysteries and look for monsters.
  

#10. DC Comics Backstories

by Multiple

Grade Level: 3-7

Just like they sound, these are the backstories of different super heroes.  Xander eats anything up that's about super heroes, so he's already asking for the next one.
 

#11. Secret Hero Society

by Derek Fridolfs

Grade Level: 3-7

Sadly, there's only one book in this series so far, but Xander is a fan and excited for the next one.  It's about Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman as kids going to a prep school.  They end up banding together and solving mysteries.

#12. Eerie Elementary

by Jeff Chabert

Grade Level: 1-3

Xander thinks it is cool because it is silly and a little spooky.  This series is aimed at readers new to chapter books.  It's about a school that is actually alive and the main character has to save the students from it.

 

#13.  Goosebumps

by R.L. Stine

Grade Level: 1-3

Xander has always enjoyed spooky things so we rented the Goosebumps movie last month.  He really liked it and wanted to read some of the books afterwards.  We found one at Goodwill and he read it a few times, so we also got some from the library.  I was worried they might be too scary for him, but he hasn't had a problem.  He seems to particularly like the creepy dummy... maybe because I find it so creepy.

   

Up Next?

I have a couple of series I'm thinking we'll check out next (Field Trip Mysteries, Beasts of Olympus), but I'd love to hear what your kids are reading!  Leave a comment here or on Facebook.