Here’s what to do:

1. Pick up a few rolls of masking tape if you don’t already have some around the house.

2. How to make a ramp: Use a flattened gift box, the back of a notebook or the face of a cereal box and lean it on top of a stack of books. Adjust the height of the books as needed during play. (Note– each player makes a separate ramp.)

Games to Play:

Game 1: See who can roll the tape the furthest. Each player uses a separate ramp. This way, each player can make unique adjustments to the ramp based on a particular strategy. The player who rolls the tape the furthest scores a point. Now roll again. The first player to reach ten points wins. (Variation: see what happens if you tape coins to the inner circle of the roll of masking tape.)

Game 2: See how many turns it takes to knock down a target. To play, set up an empty paper towel roll approximately six feet away from your ramp. Place three or four pennies under one edge of the paper towel dispenser so that it will fall down easy when struck (because it’s leaning). Another good target is a ‘T’ made from leaning two playing cards together. Player one rolls as many times as necessary to knock down the target. Now it’s player two’s turn. The player with the fewest turns wins.

Game 3: Same as game two, except each player rolls ten times. The player who is able to knock down the target the most times wins. (Variation: try rolling twenty five–even fifty–times each.)

Game 4: Place a target on the floor approximately ten feet away from your ramp. A penny makes the perfect target. Each player rolls once. The one who comes closest to the target scores a point. The first player to score ten points wins. (Variation: the player who scores a point gets to choose a new location for the target.)

Game 5: Place a piece of string on the floor approximately five feet away from your ramp. Each player rolls once. The player who rolls the closest to the string without going past it scores a point. Roll again. The first player to score ten points wins. (Variation: For added challenge, tape a few pencils to the floor to create bumps in the road.)

Rolling masking tape down a ramp offers plenty of old fashioned strategy games. The games invite trial and error problem solving, the use of a ruler, and simple counting procedures. The games also invite your child to invent new ways to play. Don’t be surprised to wake up to find your child has made an elaborate tunnel and is busy practicing. Best of Luck!

Marble games are an excellent way to strengthen your child’s ability to focus on a single activity. The games are filled with strategy, easy to play and lots of fun. One of the great benefits of marble games—if you play them regularly–is that they encourage your child to practice by herself. This promotes self-motivated learning and builds your child’s confidence in her own abilities. Here are several games your child can play on her own:

Game One – Walk the Dog

To play this game you need three marbles and an open, carpeted area (a 6′ x 9′ rug works perfectly).

1) Sit on one end of the play area.
2) Directly in front of you, make a triangle with three marbles. Space the marbles approximately six inches apart. (Figure 1)
3) Shoot the marble that is closest to you through the other two. (Figure 2)
4) Now you have a new triangle. Again, shoot the marble that is closest to you through the other two.
5) Continue with this procedure.
6) If you are unable to shoot the closest marble through the other two, or if you shoot your marble off the side of the play area, you are disqualified. Start over.
7) The objective is to make it to the opposite end of the play area in as many turns as possible. (The more turns it takes you, the more control you demonstrate.)

(Strategy: Try to keep the triangle small. The bigger it gets, the more difficult it is to complete the next turn.)

Game Two – Count the Clicks

To play this game you need five marbles.

1) Shoot one marble a foot or so away from yourself.
2) Shoot a second marble and try to hit the first marble. If you do, count that as one click.
3) Shoot your third marble. Try to hit or cause the target marbles to collide. Count the clicks and add it to your total.
4) Shoot your fourth marble. Count the clicks and add it to your total.
5) Shoot your fifth marble. Count the clicks and add it to your total.
6) Remember your score. See if you can beat the score in your next game.

(Strategy: Try to shoot softly so the target marbles stay bunched together.)

Marble games offer good old fashioned fun time after time. Wonderfully simple in nature, these games are easily adapted to all skill levels. Best of all, marble activities invite countless variations, so it should come as no surprise when your child announces that she is inventing a new game. (Again!)

When the first recess came, I decided to apply the concept behind the kids’ story, Stone Soup. First we needed a train–something easy and familiar that would gather attention. Kids fell in line behind me and the line grew longer. We wound through the playground, around a tree, over a swinging bridge, through the sandbox. All the kids had a sense of purpose.

When we reached our campsite, a patch of grass, we sat in a circle around a rubber tire, which became our kettle. I told the kids I needed a square meal as much as they did, but we’d need stuff to make a soup. Just our luck, I said, here’s an ear of corn–and I put a stone in the center of the tire. The kids took the cue and scattered across the playground collecting stuff.

They’d come back and drop a tuft of grass in the tire and say, here’s some cabbage. Here’s an onion. I caught a fish. We took turns stirring the soup. A few minutes later I used a make-believe ladle to fill their make-believe bowls, and we ate with make-believe utensils. We traded adventure stories about the pretend hills and forest where they collected things for the soup. Some stories were only one sentence long. Others were longer, but they all wanted to contribute. Not one kid was bored. No one was misbehaving.

The experience taught me how easy it is to inspire kids to focus. It doesn’t take any special resources. You don’t have to be a genius, and you don’t need a bunch of gadgets. It’s enough to remember that a little direction goes a long way.

Here, I believed, was my chance. In my opinion I would be first in every event.¹

Leading up to the event Aram imagines himself winning all of the events, not once, but hundreds of times. You would think the act of imagining success would serve to reinforce Aram’s confidence. Possibly it does, but in the end it makes no difference. Despite the fact that in the beginning of the first event, the fifty yard dash, Aram believes himself to be moving at an extraordinary rate, when he opens his eyes there are three boys ahead of him. As the race progresses, regardless of what Aram intends to happen, his position only worsens. He ends up finishing last, and faces much the same result in all the other events. What happened?

The author does a wonderful job demonstrating that all the confidence in the world is no substitute for practice. It really doesn’t matter what Aram thinks or believes. He didn’t practice.

I think diminishing the idea of confidence is an excellent lesson for parents. If we want our child to perform better in an area–say, mathematics for example, then we need to spend more time with our child on math games and exercises. Of course, it’s easier to try to instill a sense of confidence in our a child–the old “pep talk” comes to mind. On the other hand, it requires effort to set up activities and exercises to help our child to strengthen a skill set. It might require changing our habits, turning off the television, missing a few emails. But in the end, our habits, our routine–the environment that we create for our kids–is immeasurably more valuable than a confidence booster now and then.

After all, confidence isn’t a catalyst–it’s a result.

1. Saroyan, William. “The Fifty Yard Dash.” My Name is Aram. New York: Dell, 1967. Pg 51.

Here are some math games with dice to get you started. They range from simple to advanced:

Highest Number: This game is perfect for kids who are just learning to count. Each player rolls a die. The highest number wins. If there’s a tie, roll again. (Variation: Each player rolls multiple dice.)

Lightning Addition: Roll multiple dice. The first person to correctly state the sum wins. (Variation: If the number is even you must say, “Once upon a time there was a tricky, sticky number named______”[say the answer].)

Lightning Subtraction: Roll two dice. Subtract the bigger number from the smaller number. (Variation: Subtract the larger number from the smaller number, then subtract the sum of the two dice. For example, if 7 and 3 are rolled: 7 -3 = 4, and next 4 – (7+3) = -6. Therefore, -6 is the answer.)

Multiplication Exploration 1: Roll two dice. The first person to multiply the two numbers and call out the answer wins. (Variation: Use three dice.)

Multiplication Exploration 2: Roll three dice. Add the two smallest numbers and multiply the sum by the largest number. First person to state the answer wins.

Multiplication Exploration 3: Each player rolls two dice. Each player may roll up to three times. The objective is to see who can get closest to 20. If you like your first roll, stop there. If you think you can get closer to 20, roll again. If you are unhappy with that roll, roll again. You must stick with your last roll (whether you rolled once, twice, or three times). Now the other person takes a turn. Closest to 20 wins. (Variation: Play on opposite sides of a table with a cereal box between you so you can’t see the other player’s roll until you compare results.)

Dueling Exponents: Roll two dice. Square each number and subtract the larger number from the smaller. For example, if you roll 5 and 3: 5 squared is 25; 3 squared is 9; 25 – 9 = 16. 16 is the answer. First person to state the answer wins.

Get There By 4s: Roll two dice. Use the larger number for the ten’s value, and the smaller number for the one’s value. For example, 6 and 3 makes 63. Now, get to 63 using four 4’s along with these mathematical operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponent and factorial. For example, in the case of 63: You could say 4³ – 4⁰ + 4⁰ – 4⁰ = 63. (That’s 64 – 1 + 1 -1 = 63). That wasn’t very creative, but it works. Out loud this answer is stated as four to the third minus four to the zero, plus four to the zero, minus four to the zero equals sixty three. Here’s another answer for 63: 4^1/2 x 4! + 4² – 4⁰ = 63 (That’s 2 x 24 + 16 -1 = 63). Out loud this answer is stated as four to the one half times four factorial, plus four squared, minus four to the zero equals sixty three. First person to state the answer wins.

You can see how easily these math games can grow with your child. Another wonderful aspect to these activities is that they invite invention. In other words, if you get in the habit of playing these games on a regular basis, you will find no shortage of ideas concerning new ways to play. And really–what more could you ask for than to have your child inventing math games?

Best of luck!

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Don’t worry, the method is just a fun way of looking at the answers. It’s not going to tell you anything earth shattering about your child or anyone else who plays. First: the basics of playing word association with kids.

On a sheet of paper, make a list of 25 nouns. Keep the items within your child’s vocabulary. It doesn’t do any good to use a word like ‘protoplasm’ if your child has no idea what that is. Have the list ready before you play the game.

Now ask your child if she wants to play a word game. Make sure the TV and radio are off, as well as any other distractions. Explain the rules: you say a word and your child says the first word that comes into her head.

Start with item one, and continue down the list at a steady pace. Write your child’s answer next to the corresponding item on the list. That’s really all there is to the game itself. Since the activity doesn’t take very long, you might look for ways to expand the activity while you still have the luxury of your child’s full attention. You can interpret the results later.

Here’s one way to extend the activity: on a separate sheet of scratch paper write down rhymes for each pair of words. Just put the pair next to each other at the top of the page (like players in a card came). Draw a line under each word. Make a list of rhymes beneath the word. Add up how many items are in each list. Write the total under the list. Add the two totals for a grand total.

Now say something like, ‘Dog and bone will now challenge house and chimney.’ Keep track of how many rhymes each pair of words generates and compare the results. This will definitely extend the length of the game. Keep in mind you can always play half now and half later.

An advanced variation is to see how many new words you can make using the letters from each word. (For instance, chair makes hi, car, hair, char, etc.) Again, put each pair of words at the top of a separate sheet of scratch paper and list the results underneath.

Now, for interpretation. If you want to apply the following method of interpretation to your own word choice answers, then you should stop reading, not this very second but before you get to the method. (I’ll tell you when.) Otherwise your answers will not be natural (no matter how good your intentions are). So, first you need to play word association with a friend or spouse. Have the person write down 25 nouns. You know the rest. Just be sure the answers are written down. Switch roles if you want, so you can compare results. Stop reading here if you want to interpret your own answers.

One method to interpret word association answers is to distinguish between metaphoric and contiguous use of language, as described by Roman Jakobson in the essay, Two Aspects of Language: Metaphor and Metonymy. The method simply provides a unique way of looking at word choice. Basically, a metaphoric choice replaces the word with something similar (or opposite). The answer to football is baseball, for instance. Baseball replaces football. It’s similar to it, but it is something new. A contiguous answer combines the item with one of its elements. The answer to football is helmet, for instance. Helmet is an item within the set of things that goes with the game of football.

In terms of literary schools, Roman Jakobson likens the two types of language use to romantic and symbolic trends on the one hand (in the case of metaphoric predominance), and realistic trends on the other (in the case of contiguous predominance). In my experience, most people provide a predominance of contiguous answers. I suspect the more comfortable a person is with the noun, the more instant is the response to how it works. For example, door invites knob, lamp invites shade, plant invites water. Furthermore, if the person gives an opinionated answer like fun or gross, the answer is also contiguous. So it seems to me the odds are in favor of contiguous answers.

You may be tempted to assign procedural, inside the box vs. non-procedural outside the box thinking to the two types of word choices. There are too many variables to form that conclusion. For instance, someone who is really good at something–playing the piano, for example–is likely to compliment the word piano with one of its prominent features. That would be a contiguous answer. Overall, in terms of general language usage, Jakobson says, “In manipulating the two kinds of connection (similarity and contiguity). . .an individual exhibits his personal style, his verbal predilections and preferences.” ¹

The important thing is just to have fun with this activity. Kids are generally tickled by the idea. It gives them an opportunity to play with words, so to speak. Furthermore, using the answers to play rhyming games is a wonderful way to increase familiarity with words and the sounds they make. If you keep score, the activity also provides exposure to simple addition, as well as exposure to the concept of less than, greater than (when comparing totals).

Best of Luck – have fun!

1. Jakobson, Roman. “Two Aspects of Language: Metaphor and Metonymy.” European Literary Theory and Practice- From Existential Phenomenology to Structuralism. 1st ed. New York, New York: Dell Publishing Co., Inc., 1973. Print.

- black marker (not a fine point)
- coins
- white paper
- newspaper
- tape
- crayons

There are two ways to do this art project. The first method is the easiest. It uses closed composition. Closed composition keeps objects within the borders of the paper. If you take a photograph of a vase, for instance, chances are the composition will be closed–the vase will be contained within the borders of the photograph.

Project 1 – Balloons: Closed Composition

What to do:

1) Tape the four corners of a white sheet of paper to your work surface. If you’re using an 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of paper, turn it sideways so the width is greater than the height.

2) Place five coins at varying heights on the upper half of your paper. Careful not to put any coins too close to an edge.

3) Allow your child to use a black marker and, starting at the bottom of the page, make a line traveling upwards, and then make a loop or circle around the first coin. Have your child do this without lifting the marker from the surface of the page.

The object isn’t to trace the outline of the coin, but to use it as a reference to make the loop or circle.

4) Repeat step three for each of the coins.

5) Allow your child to color in the balloons using crayons (or watercolor–just keep the brush on the dry side if you are working on normal household paper, then brighten the colors by doing more than one coat).

6) Remove tape from paper. BE CAREFUL–peel tape AWAY from your paper to keep it from tearing (think of the paper’s corner as an arrow indicating which direction to peel the tape).

The second project uses open composition. Open composition does not contain objects within the borders of the paper. If you point a camera out your living room window, for instance, chances are the composition will be open–some objects, trees, etc. will be halfway off the photograph.

Project 2–Balloons: Open Composition

What to Do:

1) Tape a sheet of newspaper to your work surface.

2) Tape the four corners of a sheet of paper to the middle of the newspaper. Be sure to turn the paper sideways to allow more horizontal work space.

3) Place seven coins on the sheet of paper. Three coins will be located near the middle. One will be exactly on the left border. One will be a little under the top border and one will be a little above the top border. The last one will be on the right border.

4) Allow your child to use a black marker and, starting at the bottom of the page, make a line traveling upwards, and then make a loop or circle around the first coin. If the coin is near the edge of the paper, allow your child to make part of the loop off the paper (and onto the newspaper). Have your child do this without lifting the marker from the surface of the page.

5) Repeat step four for each of the coins.

6) This step is optional: Now, remove the art work from the newspaper and tape it to a new sheet of newspaper. Why do this? Because it will include your child in the process. Rather than have your child “surprised” by the result, it will help her to understand the working process of open composition. How does it do this? Because she’ll see that some of the loops are only half loops before she colors them.

7) Allow your child to color in the balloons.

This art project allows kids to practice making circles or loops by using objects (coins) as a guide. To create variety in size, use different sized objects–for instance: cheerios or milk gallon lids. The project also exposes kids to the idea of open and closed composition. An advanced variation of this project is to draw the balloons freehand, without an object guide. Once your child is comfortable making freehand balloons in both open and closed composition, she’ll be ready to apply the concept of open composition to any art work.

Good luck!

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What You Need:

-spaghetti sticks (regular, not thin)
-Q-Tips
-scissors
-sheet of paper (optional)
-frying pan (optional)
-colored marker (optional)
-masking tape (optional)

What to Do:

1. Cut the end off a Q-Tip.
2. Break a spaghetti stick in half.
3. Place spaghetti stick on a hard surface. Hold one end down with thumb and forefinger. Keep this end held firmly in place. With other hand bend tip back and fling spaghetti stick forward.
4. Repeat step three with Q-Tip piece directly in front of spaghetti stick.

You’ll notice that Q-Tip end flies through the air with surprising zeal. But watch out, if you pull the spaghetti stick back too far, it will break. The fact that your child has to control the tension in the spaghetti stick is what makes this an excellent fine motor skill activity. Here’s some fun games to play once your child gets the hang of the procedure:

Game 1: See who can fling a Q-Tip end closest to the edge of your kitchen table without going over. To play, sit side by side at and take turns. Give a point to the winner on each turn. First person to reach ten points wins the game. (Variation: Each person flings ten Q-Tip ends. Keep track of whose are whose by coloring one player’s pieces with a red marker. Now give points to the top five. That was round one. Keep playing until one player reaches twenty five points.)

Game 2: See who can shoot the most pieces into a frying pan. To play, place a large frying pan on your kitchen table. Sit side by side. Each player uses ten Q-Tip ends. (One person’s are colored red with a marker). Take turns shooting or shoot all at once–whichever you prefer. Count who made the most pieces into the frying pan.

Game 3: See who can shoot a Q-Tip end the furthest. Simply sit on the floor or use a table top as a launch point. (Variation: Use ten pieces each. The winner is the person who has the most pieces in the top five).

Game 4: Fling Q-Tip piece back and forth over a net. To play, fold an 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper in half length-wise. Fold it in half again. You’re left with a long thin rectangle. Crease the top. The bottom will open slightly by itself. Place the bottom on your table top so that the piece of paper resembles a tennis net. Sit on opposite sides of the table and fling your piece back and forth. Whenever a player shoots the piece into the net instead of over the net, the other player gets a point. First player to reach ten points wins. (Advanced: Keep score the same way you keep score in tennis!)

Game 5: See who can reach target area in fewest turns. To play, use masking tape to make a 12″ x 12″ square on your living room floor. Now make a starting point in your kitchen. See who can make it from kitchen to your target area in the fewest turns. If you’re playing on carpet, place Q-Tip piece under a book each time you fling it. (Variation: Make obstacles. For example, place a chair or chest in the middle of the course to create a detour.)

There’s no end to the types of games you can invent using 1/2 a spaghetti stick and the end of a Q-Tip. Try seeing what you can invent using cereal boxes. A circle cut-out in the middle makes a good target. Or placing two cereal boxes side by side a few inches apart makes a challenging opening. (Sit on opposite sides of a table with the two boxes in the middle–see who can sharp shoot through the opening!) You’ll find that these games and activities not only help to improve fine motor skills, they keep your child’s full focus and attention from beginning to end. Have fun!

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Materials:

-empty wrapping paper tube
-tape
-pennies

What to Do:

Step on half of a wrapping paper tube so that it flattens out. (It will partially return to it’s original position.) Place a piece of tape over the very end to keep it flat. Be sure to leave room for the penny to roll out.

Now lift the the tube several feet in the air and deposit a penny. The slot-end should be on the floor in the 6:00 position. As the penny slides down the tube it will begin to straighten up until it is completely upright by the time it leaves the tube.

Fidget #1 –In no time at all you will see your child develop a strong desire to roll the perfect penny every time. Here’s something helpful you can do together: tape the top end of the tube to a chair or stack of books. This will steady the bottom of the tube in the 6:00 position.

Fidget #2 –Periodically re-flatten the bottom half of the tube to keep it in tip-top condition. In other words, if your tube is four feet long, flatten the bottom two feet (by stepping on it). This will allow the penny to gradually stand up as it approaches the bottom of the tube.

Fidget #3 –Tape two pencils in an X position. The pencils should be the same length and have good erasers. (New ones work best.) Now prop the X under the tube with the erasers on the floor. This will help to steady the tube in its optimal position. It also just looks cool.

Penny Games to Play

During the course of tinkering with the penny launcher, here are some games to play:

• See who can roll the furthest penny. Mark the spot with a piece of tape so you can show mom or dad later.
• Pennies vs dimes. Roll ten pennies then ten dimes. See which coins roll the furthest.
• Knock down targets. Simple card houses work great.
• Two people sit on opposite sides of the room, each with a penny launcher. See who can be the first to roll a penny through a central tunnel. Make tunnel out of two stacks of books with a ruler on top.

. . .

Once you’ve got the hang of rolling the pennies, here are some things you can do to jazz up the games:

1) Place a roll of masking tape under the bottom end of the tube. To do this, simply peel back a bit of tape and roll it onto itself. This gives you a sticky lump on top. Now place the end of the tube on top of the sticky lump. Be sure the end of the tube is in the 6:00 position. (Top of tube must be secured to stationary object–chair, stack of books, etc.) Result: penny bounces into action.

2) Make a ramp. To do this, simply tape one end of an envelope to the floor. Now place a book (or rolled up tube of paper) under the envelope so that it slants upward. Place the ramp a foot or so from the bottom of the penny launcher. Result: penny jumps over the ramp and continues rolling upright in most cases.

3) Make bumps. One way to do this is to tape spaghetti sticks onto the floor. Position sticks perpendicular to the launcher. Space them however you see fit. Result: bumps challenge the efficiency of the penny roll.

There’s no end to the variations of penny games to play once you have your launcher ready to go. The games are wholesome in nature, simple to play, and hold your child’s full attention from beginning to end. Best of all, your child will love tinkering with the mechanics of the penny launcher in an effort to bring about perfect results every time.

In a few days our only child is leaving for college half way across the country. We couldn’t be happier for him, and he couldn’t be more ready for the challenges and uncertainties that await. He’ll have all the freedom he needs—freedom to meet new people, form new ideas, establish his own priorities—and most importantly, freedom from mom and dad. In other words, we won’t be the kind of parents who insist on constant communication, email, phone calls, etc. Instead–it’s time to let go. It’s just that simple. Time to accept the reality of those infinitely unpleasant words: empty nesters.

The thing I despise most about the phrase empty nesters is its truthfulness. It’s so direct. So clean. So swift. Once the nest was full, and now it’s empty.

Becoming an empty nester, in part, means seeing an empty bedroom for the first time in eighteen years. It means not hearing his guitar, not cooking for him, doing his laundry, listening to him share a story, a joke, an insight. It means not talking philosophy at the dinner table, not hearing about his day, his truimphs, his anxieties, and best of all—his observations about classmates and teachers. God that stuff is funny. I mean it’s so odd and interesting to hear your child’s reasoned perspective on people’s habits and tendencies: mainly because those observations are being formed for the first time and reflect the accumulation of so many years, so many seasons. But that stuff will be gone. It’ll come to an end in a few days when he leaves.

Another part of becoming an empty nester goes well beyond the empty house. It’s the feeling that it all went by too fast, it’s gone, and there’s nothing you can do about it. I mean, I look at a photograph of my child on a tricycle and ask, where is it? Where is that moment now? How can I have it back? And for some reason, the more cheer and nervous delight that shows through the photograph, the more forceful the feeling of disbelief. How can that time be gone? It was just here. The park, the beach, the zoo, the card games and story books—they were right here.

Have you ever seen a child spread his arms and pretend to be an airplane? You have. Everyone takes notice when kids do that. I’d like to take the pattern that kids make—the weaving in and out, the looping back—and apply it to time. Is that so much to ask? To have the luxury of weaving out of time in order to slow things down, or looping back in order to re-experience something that has gone by? I guess it is. That’s the stuff of make believe, and there’s no point in wishing otherwise.

For what it’s worth—if you have little ones, next time your child asks you to read the same book you’ve already read five hundred times, read it again like it’s the first time. It’ll last longer that way. And you’ll be glad you did.