If you have kids like mine who love hide and seek and treasure hunting, you have to get WheeGo for them. It is hide and go seek to the extreme. Madison absolutely loves it, but because she is only four, we have to help her along.  There is reading involved, and we haven’t learned out to do that yet.

The first thing she loves is that when you are the captain, you get to where a sticker on your shirt that says Caption WheeGo.  The Captain then takes the clue cards and the treasure card out and follows the directions about where to hide them.  The character card then tells you where to find the first clue.  From there, each card you find helps you to find the next clue and so on.  Finally, the last clue will lead you to the treasure where you will find more stickers (which is always a huge plus!  I love that this opens up their creativity, and you can easily make up more cards to keep the game going for older kids.  Each quest is designed to help your child develop sequential thinking skills, build confidence, and reveal the value of self initiation.

This game is an awesome stocking stuffer, and you will be amazed at how much fun you can having playing this with your children!

Do you recognize the two people to the left?  Look very close.  That is what Stephanie and Sportacus from LazyTown really look like!  Hard to believe, I know!  Lazytown is a show on Noggin and Nick Jr. that encourages your kids to get off their butts and be more active!  When asked about the inspiration for the show, Magnus (the shows creator and Sportacus) answered:

Really, when you get down to it, LazyTown is a state of mind. We’ve all been to LazyTown. When we decide to go “veg-out” on the couch, you could say you’re “in LazyTown.” Even me. It’s a place we all go.

In a funny way, LazyTown reflects characteristics that you see in yourself or in people around you. These characteristics are universal: It’s that dynamic of opposites.

For instance, in the show, Sportacus is a driving force. He’s fit, agile, and an amazing athlete who’s patient, kind, and understanding. He encourages kids through example. He doesn’t take the low road. Conversely, his adversary, Robbie Rotten, is all about easy solutions and pulling the group down to his level. Then there’s Stephanie, the lead kid character, a wide-eyed optimist who believes she can make a real difference; while Pixel, a boy character, can conquer every video game, but when the situations are real, he has a harder time.

Just like in real life, nobody’s perfect and LazyTowners are constantly trying to find ways to understand and improve themselves. I guess that you could say that LazyTown explores the opposing forces that we encounter in our own daily lives.

How is that for teaching your children? Most moms and kids that I have talked to like this show. Magnus knows what he is talking about too — he was the Icelandic Men’s Individual Champion in Aerobic Gymnastics in 1992. In 1993, he became the Scandinavian champion, and was the European champion twice in 1994 and 1995. He was voted Athlete of the Year by Iceland in 1994. Adding superhero to that resume just makes it twice as nice (and you know is his shape he doesn’t have to worry about getting term life insurance quotes).

Now, why should you and your children watch this?  It does get them off their butts.  I find Madison and Will dancing and singing with the show when its on.  It has taught my children that there is nothing wrong with going outside and playing.  On top of the activity lessons, there are moral lessons too.  Check your local schedule and see when you can watch it at your place.  You won’t be disappointed!

Guess Who? is one of my most favorite books we own.  This is a book that both my 4 year old and my one year old can definitely use.  The pages are cardboard, so they can take a beating.  The story is quite simple.  Each page has a clue to who the book is talking about.  The character at the end of the book as a purple hate, an orange nose, Asgi shoes, a red scarf, and is white as a marshmellow! Have you figured out what he is yet?   Since the pictures are simple and the only thing on the page, it makes it very easy for your little ones to figure out what the items are even if they can’t read!  Madison (my 4 year old) loves to take this book and read it to herself (and no she doesn’t know how to read yet).  She take the book and makes up her own story with the pictures too.  Guess Who? is pretty short, so it will keep the kids with the shortest attention spans occupied.  I would say this book ranks as a top ten for me.

MarioKart for the Wii has been a great addition to our games. It is a game that both kids and adults can play. The game comes with a steering wheel, but you can also play it with the controller (which at times I actually prefer. There are several races that you can play. You can play against the machine, against up to 4 players, or in a battle.  Using the WiFi connection, you can even play with up to 11 online characters!  You are able to play using your own Mii character or play using some of your favorite Mario characters!  There are so many tracks to do that you can have hours and hours of fun with this game!  Have no worries, you don’t need a Garmin GPS to figure out these tracks either. There are a couple I struggle with myself, but I am looking forward to playing online against some other others when I get really good.  If you have this game, let me know your thoughts, but we are truly enjoying it here!