Word on the Street Junior- The Wacky Tug of Words

A few weeks ago I received a copy of Word on the Street Junior from Pamela of My First Games. This game is unlike any other games which we have reviewed so far. Published by Out of the box this game is aimed at testing the players prowess in spelling based on the categories which they have drawn from the card pile.

Designed for 2-8 players this game is recommended for Ages 8 and up. Each player has to draw a card from the pile and decide on the word to spell before the timer runs out.

The players are grouped into two teams (A and B). They take turn to move the alphabets used to spell the words to their side of the board and win the game when they manage to move 8 pieces of the alphabet off the board.

The timer starts when the card is pulled from the pile. “An Animal found on a Farm” was one of the cards which Doggie boy. By the time the timer ran out he had come up with the words-cat, dog, cow, sheep and hen. We decided on the word “sheep” and move the letters s,h and p one step right while the letter e was moved to the right twice.

The game needed a lot of thinking and strategy to be win. We were not able to clear 8 tiles off the board as it got extremely difficult spelling out words when most of the vowels were removed during our early “captures” on the board.

The boys gave up after some time as it was getting too difficult to form words without the vowels around. It clearly takes a lot of skill to get the non vowel alphabets off the boards first before the vowels.

My thoughts

I asked Pamela on how to play the game and she mentioned that you could still use the vowels and letters that were captured which were off the board. However I feel that it would be hard to calculate how well the kids fared in the game. After discussing with R we decided to leave the vowels in the next time we play the games with the boys instead.

I find that it is an excellent game to stimulate a child’s interest in spelling. It also helps indirectly build up their vocabulary which would aid them in the understanding of comprehension and writing of compositions.

You can get a copy of this game online from My First Games. It retails for $45.90. However for the readers of Dominique’s Desk you are entitled to a special discount..

Use the Coupon code “DOMDSK-WOTSJ30” to buy Word on the Street Junior at a special price of S$30. While stocks last, or up till 14 August 2012, whichever comes first.

Usual delivery charges apply. Only valid in Singapore.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of Word on the Street Junior from My First Games for review purposes. All opinions are 100% my own.

August 3, 2012

Guest Post : Craft With Your Child Today!!

Dominique Guest Post, Parenting and Kids

Hi, my name is Adora and I am mum to 2 lovely girls, Poppy and Calla. I also run a crafts-for-kids business, which teaches kids to use either recycled products, or items easily found in their homes. I’d like to say that I intended for all this to happen, but I only started crafting with my firstborn when she was about 1.5 years old, as a way to entertain her inquisitive nature. I slowly invited her friends over for group crafting sessions, and it evolved into a business.

When I tell people what I do, I often hear things like “But I don’t have the time” or “I’m not creative enough”. It doesn’t take a lot of time to sit down with your child to create something. You can do the following craft, for example, in less time than the duration of an episode of Dora the Explorer:

Paper plate ladybug craft, done with Poppy, aged 2.5 years

You’ll need:

1 paper plate

1 piece of red paper

1 piece of black paper

Glue

A stapler

Paint

Instructions

1 – Trace outline of plate on red paper then cut out the circle, and fold into half and cut into 2 semi circles

2 – Paint centre portion of plate yellow

3 – While plate dries, cut out 6 small circles and stick them as dots on red semi circles

4 – Cut out “legs” and stick them on side of plate (when child is not looking, reinforce with staples)

5 – Cut out black semi circle as “head” and stick on plate

6 – Stick on wings, overlapping a little on the top where “head” is

Crafting is a great way to bond with kids; you can also incorporate many hidden lessons and values during that time. For example, through the ladybug craft, I managed to reinforce certain things with Poppy, like shapes, colours, and numbers.

The great thing about craft is that you can often opt for variations to suit older or younger kids. For example, through the ladybug craft, younger kids can learn about shapes, colours and numbers, with the help of their parents. Older kids can cut out the shapes on their own, and draw on and colour the dots instead of cutting and pasting.

One craft that I like very much is this home-made night lamp. Store bought ones are really pretty but also way out of our budget. So we made this one afternoon, when Poppy was about 3:

Home-made night lamp

You’ll need:

One piece of hard plastic (we used A4 sized OHP plastic)

Double sided tape

Paints

Markers

Instructions

1 – Cut and paste one stripe of double sided tape along the short end of plastic

2 – Draw out sea creatures (fish, seaweed, seashells, starfish) with marker

3 – Invite child to paint the drawings. Set aside to dry

4 – Turn plastic over, and paint blue all over. Don’t worry about ‘painting over’ the fish because that’s on the other side. Set aside to dry

5 – When dried, simple roll into a cylinder and fasten with double sided tape. Put small battery operated candle in the middle and enjoy your work of art

One thing I realised through my many craft sessions is that parents tend to want to do their kids’ crafts for them. If we don’t watch episodes of Chuggington and Little Einstein on their behalf, by the same logic, we shouldn’t be taking over their crafts. Set aside enough time for them to explore the different kinds of materials, take the time to explain the steps to them. Don’t treat it as a chore, but something enjoyable for you too.

Don’t be put off be the mess; there’s nothing a layer of newspaper and a good vacuum cleaner can’t fix! If you’re concerned about your lack of creativity, don’t be. Simply search for “Crafts for _________ year olds” online, and you’ll be spoilt for choice with the number of ideas available. Have fun!

About Adora

Adora is mum to Poppy, 4, and Calla, 3.5 months. She tackles meal-time mayhem, kitchen disasters and playground politics on a daily basis. In between breaths, she writes for parenting magazines on a freelance basis and runs a crafts-for-kids business. She enjoys cheap chocolate, smelling her baby’s neck, and would really like a good night’s sleep. Adora blogs at http://www.gingerbreadmum.com