Fun

Magic for Dads & Kids

tony — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:57:22 -0700

by Brian McGovern

Searching for a fascinating hobby that you can share with your child? Looking for a hobby that can help your child develop social skills and may promote a strong desire to read?

The hobby of magic can do wonders to promote an outgoing personality even among the shyest children. When a child learns how to impress other kids with amazing magic it gives them more self-confidence.

As your child's desire to master magic grows you'll be happy to find that he or she will be eager to read books and magazines about the topic. There's always more to learn.

The art of magic is a perfect hobby to share with kids. Children are fascinated by magic and any father who can do a few cool tricks is one cool dad indeed. Here's a stunt that will amaze and amuse that doesn't take a lot of practice.

The French Drop

Here's an easy bit of sleight of hand that you can use to vanish coins, balls or other small items. Give this a little practice and you'll be able to make things disappear and reappear like magic.

Hold the object between your thumb and index finger of your palm up left hand. Move your palm down right hand towards the object. You're going to move your right thumb right underneath the object. (see youtube video here)

You're going to pretend to take the object into your right hand. What really happens is you let the object fall into the palm of your left hand. Let the object fall into your hand just as you pretend to take it away. Practice doing this in a mirror to make sure that no one can see the object in your palm.

Hold your right hand as if it really contains the object. If you're pretending to hold a ping-pong ball make sure your hand is not held flat. Let your fingers bulge as if they really held the ball. Stare at the right hand with intensity. All your focus must be on the hand that allegedly contains an object. Your audience will naturally look in the same direction as you do so don't peek at your left hand.

Move your right hands up and down as you wiggle your thumb and fingers. While your audience is distracted by this motion let your left hand drop to your side. Make a slow tossing motion with your right hand and pretend to follow the object as it vanishes in mid air.

Pause for a beat and reproduce the object from your pocket or from behind someone's ear or even your nose. Practice this stunt in the mirror for a few minutes and you've got a trick you can use when ever you want to create a bit of fun.

Magic kits make a great birthday gift. Be sure the tricks it contains are appropriate for the age of your child. Encourage your child to practice and rehearse before they try to trick their friends.

Give it a try! You may really enjoy taking your child to magic shows, visiting magic shops and even attending conventions and lectures sponsored by local magic clubs.

Hijinx is a professional magician in New York.

Trekaroo: Visiting NYC with Kids

tony — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 07:58:29 -0700

Next, Meryl Pearlstein, the author of Fodor’s Families: New York City with Kids Guidebook tells us Where Families Should Go in NYC when the Weather’s Bad. Check out her blog – Travel Food Notes. That’s where I found out about a new foodtruck in New York that’s selling my favorite… Cupcakes!

Next, if you’re looking for tips on traveling to NYC, Tony Chen’s got you covered with 13 Things I Learned Visiting NYC with 2 Young Kids. Tony’s a blogging dad extraordinaire at SavvyDaddy, a content-rich website and online community for dads. His mantra… my kids rock my world.

Lastly, local mommy expert Carol Cain, the fabulous woman behind her blog NYCityMama shares her Must-See New York City attractions and reviews
of various places around town with Trekaroo. I’m a rookie behind the
camera lens, but you should definitely check out her pictures at NYCityMama.

More Resources for New York City:

Next week, we’ll be heading to the Left Coast to the fine city of Los Angeles.

The Trekaroo KidsMobile is
a blog carnival with a twist. It’s designed to provide a unique
opportunity for mom and dad bloggers to be featured on Trekaroo while

1) expressing their unique point of view

2) getting a web of link exchanges.

Join us for one of our next stopovers.

Getting Ready for Soccer

Philmundo — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 07:52:26 -0700

by Phil Stott

With the fall soccer season starting any day now (if it hasn't already), I thought I'd take the opportunity to offer a few words of wisdom on outfitting your child. Hopefully they're not too late and, even if they are for this year, there's always next season!

One of the benefits of soccer-and it's something that's struck me more than once in the 20+ years I've been playing the game-is that you don't need much in the way of equipment. Once you've got a ball, some cleats, and a pair of shin guards, you've got pretty much everything the pros have. Having said that, it's still possible to spend way more than you need when outfitting a child for the coming season. Part of the aim of this guide is to make sure you don't do that.

The ball

Those of us who have been playing the game for a while know the difference between a 32-panel stitched leather ball and the top-flight, seamless synthetic numbers the pros use (with this being the current holder of the "daddy-of-them-all" title). A 5-year old learning the game will not. A 12 year old who's been playing the game for a few years might know the theory, but it won't matter; the top-of-the-line technologies only benefit the best players in the world. How much truer do you want a shot that only travels 30 feet to fly?

Aside from the cost, the major thing you want to keep in mind when selecting a soccer ball for a child is size. Adult-sized balls (no giggling at the back!) are marked with a 5, with size 4's being appropriate for those between 8 and 12. Under 8's, meanwhile, will probably fare best with a size 3.

The cleats

It's difficult to know what to recommend with cleats, because once you achieve basic functionality, the rest is about personal style. The kids' models I've seen range as high as $80, but there are perfectly serviceable models out there for as little as $15. Just make sure they fit-a cleat that's too big will only impair your child's ability to control the ball (because they won't be able to feel it). Also, be sure to find out where they'll be playing the majority of their soccer-turf fields require a very different cleat than a soft grass field. But don't be pressured into buying a whole new pair of cleats for a single game on a different surface-turf shoes will work just fine on grass provided it isn't too slippy, while running shoes also work in a fix for turf.

Shin guards

The cheapest thing you'll have to buy, but essential for keeping your child's legs safe from all those other flailing limbs out there. There's really only one choice to make when picking a shin guard: ankle guards or no? As someone with a history of ankle problems, I like the extra feeling of security I get from the models that have an ankle guard attached to the shin portion. It also stops the shin guard from moving as much when you run. Best bet: get your kid to try a couple of pairs on and see what they like-some will be put off by the additional bulk around their ankle, or the strap on their foot.

Extras

Times have certainly changed from when I was learning to play the game. Back in the day, you took your cleats to games in a grocery bag inside your school backpack, and hoped you remembered your shin guards into the bargain. These days, there are specially-designed backpacks that even have carrying pouches for the ball-perhaps the only "must-have" additional item I've come across, if only to ease organizational headaches for parents. That's not to say, however, that there aren't other things that would be a good idea. A cheap ball-pump is a must, as are the thickest-soled socks you can find-in soccer cleats you need all the cushioning you can get. All the costly practice aids out there, however-the balls on strings, the boards to bounce a ball off, the goal for the back yard-can be replaced by one simple thing: the side of a house and a touch of imagination.

Corn Dogs!

Toby — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 10:22:13 -0700

Greetings Dads,
Found this is Gourmet: http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/2000s/2009/10/corn-dogs
These look darn tasty and your kids will love them.
Cheers,
Toby

Chef Dads

Post-vacation resolutions

Philmundo — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:34:43 -0700

by Phil Stott

Here's a tip I just learned on vacation: if you want to get to know your kids' personalities, spend two weeks in a car with them. Having just got back from a road trip with my 20-month old daughter, I'm blown away by just how much of her own little person she's become-and mostly while I've been too busy working/commuting/doing other stuff to notice.

Crossing from New Jersey back into New York on the final day of my family road trip was something of a bittersweet moment. While part of me was ready to get back to work and the order of my day-to-day life, another part of me could have kept going in the car for weeks longer. (Admittedly, there's a little more of me to go around for all those feelings after the trip-despite packing a cooler and vowing to stop at supermarkets for fresh produce as often as possible, the lure of the fast food outlets often proved to be stronger and easier than the desire to get off the highway and find a healthier alternative.)

The part of me that wanted to stay in the car is the family-loving part of me. I learned so much about my daughter, and about how she interacts with my wife, and what she likes and dislikes, and her own little sense of humor, that I could happily have spent much more time there wrapped up in that little cocoon. And that's despite a lot of things: the kids CD's that we set to repeat one song over and over (made worthwhile when Maeve spontaneously serenaded us with three verses-who knew there was more than one?-of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" right as we were crossing back into Long Island); the challenge of finding and storing something as basic as fresh milk; the interrupted nap times that come from living out of a car; the constant schlepping of the Pack and Play from the car to a hotel room and back again.

In the end, there were several factors that have made me glad to get back to my daily life. Diet, as alluded to above, is one of them. Structure (for me, but especially for Maeve), is another. And, having not seen much more than 10 minutes of news per day and having had no internet access at all for much of the vacation, I was eager to get back to a state of feeling connected to the wider world. Whether that makes me a bad parent or not, I don't know; all I do know is that I need a certain amount of "adult time" to keep me from feeling like my brain is turning to mush, and 17 straight plays of "Wheels on the Bus" doesn't quite do it for me.

Like all good vacations, then, I've returned refreshed, and with some new goals-both for my work and my family life. Driving through Indiana, Southern Ohio, and West Virginia (we took the long way home from Wisconsin) and seeing signs proclaiming that the latest section of road work was being funded by the stimulus bill has made me more grateful than ever to still be in the same job I had before the recession started, and I'm determined to take advantage of the new opportunities presenting themselves in my office as the turnaround begins (assuming it's the real thing, of course).

It's on the family front, however, that I've realized I have most work to do. The older Maeve gets, the more I realize that I want and need to be involved in her life, and in learning and shaping who she is as a person. Having been introduced to facets of her personality that the hours I work hadn't allowed me to see before, I'm determined not to turn into the guy who only has time for his kids two weeks every year. That's going to involve me taking a long look at my priorities and making some tough choices and sacrifices, but the more time I spend as a Dad, the more I'm coming to realize that that's exactly what sets the good ones apart from the great ones.

Daddy I Want

stublandford — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:15:43 -0700

Again our cast of characters -

Me (The Daddy)
The Bean: Age 7
The Butterfly: Age 5
The Loving Understanding Wife

About an hour after I'd finished Daddy I Want to go to the Beach, I was supposed to take the Bean and the Butterfly to eat at our favorite (read closest) Mexican restaurant, La Parilla. This usually involves the girls eating cheese dip for dinner; however, recently The Bean has started eating refried beans. Go figure.

In the book, the main character (Lily) won't go to the beach until her sandals, her Mermaid Barbi, her swim goggles, etc are found. By the Daddy. Lily waits and paints her toes while the Daddy looks high and low for Lily's belongings (she doesn't feel the need to help).

Lily is based loosely on The Bean. However, in this instance, it is The Butterfly's turn at bat.

Get this: I announce that it's time to get in the minivan (the convertible is in the shop, I swear.) The Bean is all excited. She dashes to the garage and proceeds to strap herself into her car seat (yeah, they grow up so fast, but it can be very convenient).

But The Butterfly throws a fit. She doesn't like the dress she's wearing. She wants the one that Grammy got her. She shrugs when I ask what it looks like.

So we go through her closet and the laundry room. I don't have a clue what I'm looking for, but somehow we find it.

Get your Crocs, I say. Let's go, I say.

No!

Crocs are stupid. I want my sandals. SANDALS!!!

Stop me if this sounds familiar.

The Butterfly proceeds to sit on the floor and not help. So The Bean (she's come back inside wondering WTF) and I do a room-by-room search for sandals.

We finally find them and go off for a wonderful meal of beans, cheese dip and Margaritas.

Savvy Daddies Worldwide

Get them to the breakfast table (but Mom might be PO'ed)

Toby — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 05:27:43 -0700

Greetings dads,
Last night we were set to do some SMORES, but the wheels came off the wagon. Since I make mine with Reese's, there were many in the kitchen this morning. As a serious pancake chef, I always need to perfect and improve my chops. I thought, why not melt some Reese's on top of the cakes?
I set the oven at 170, prepped the pancakes as usual, and as I took them off the griddle, set them on a platter and placed a third of a cup on top of each one to melt. YUM!
Enjoy and Cheers Dads.
Toby

Chef Dads

5 Great Road Trips for Kids

Philmundo — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:54:47 -0700

by Phil Stott

In my last couple of posts I've covered a couple of subjects related to taking kids on a (relatively) pain-free road trip: planning before you go, and in-car entertainment systems (otherwise known as using your imagination). Here, then, is the concluding part of the series-five destinations that are more than worth the journey, even if the young 'uns scream all the way there.

1) The Grand Canyon

Make no mistake about it: if you live in the continental United States and you haven't visited the Grand Canyon, you're missing out in a big way. I'd attempt to describe the feeling of standing on the edge of it and marveling at its sheer size, but "awe-inspiring"-or any other words-just don't get the job done. Worth the trip by itself, it's hard to imagine anyone (kid or adult) whose imagination won't be sparked in some way by one of the most spectacular sights nature has to offer. While it's possible to see it on a day trip as part of a general tour of the Southwest, it would definitely be worth staying nearby (or even in the park) and spending a few days trying to come to terms with the scale of the thing. Bonus for adults: The mountain town of Sedona, AZ is just a couple of hours away. Think spectacular red rock formations, upscale spas, and some great hiking-and plenty of family-friendly things to do to boot.

2) Washington, D.C.

Does it need any introduction? Indeed, D.C. was such an obvious choice for inclusion that I almost left it off the list altogether; no-one needs to be told to go to the nation's capital and show their kids where the President lives, or where the laws get passed, or all the monuments, tombs, libraries and museums, right? In a place with such an embarrassment of riches, the only reason I did include it was to mention that a) hotels will be slightly more expensive and harder to come by and b) both Philadelphia and Colonial Williamsburg are within a couple of hours, and are also great stops on a road trip. The former for loading up on yet more American history, and the latter for, well, the same, but with the added attraction of a period town and a theme park. (Hint: cut costs by skipping the entry fee, especially if your kids are museum-ed out-the fee only allows access to a few of the buildings. Wandering the "town" itself is free.)

3) Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)

Old Faithful. Hot springs. Wolves. Bears. Elk. Yellowstone's really all about timing in what there is to see, but even if you don't come across any of the park's "advertised" features, it's still worth the visit. Of course, there's plenty of hiking, and it has its own Grand Canyon to boot. To make more of a trip of it, meanwhile, the cowboy (or, to be more accurate, cowboy-theme) town of Jackson Hole is a little over an hour away, and is right next to Grand Teton National Park-another worthwhile piece of sightseeing.

4) Florida

Okay, so every child in the country knows that a trip to Florida means Disney World. And Universal Studios. And endless hordes of British tourists-for which I can only apologize on behalf of my country. There's a whole lot more to the state than that, however, with most of the attractions having precious little to do with Orlando. Like the Everglades (think airboat rides, kayaking, alligators, mangrove forests, and much, much more). Or the Keys (scuba diving, more kayaking, pretty much all water sports, in fact). In fact, the state just seems to gets more fun the further south you travel-although that may be something to do with the fact that Jacksonville's in the north. (Sorry Jacksonville!)

5) Wisconsin

So I know this might not seem like the most obvious choice, but it fulfils two key criteria for me. First, I wanted to include somewhere in the Midwest. And, second, my wife is from Wisconsin, and I wanted to keep the in-laws happy! Seriously, though, as an outsider I can report that there's enough to do in the state to keep the average road-tripping family happy for as long as they want to stay. Whether it's catching a Brewers game at Miller Park (tickets almost always available), checking out some of the finest work done by Frank Lloyd Wright, eating the best brats and drinking some of the best beer you'll find this side of Germany, taking the kids to the Wisconsin Dells, exploring the great outdoors at Devil's Lake State Park or getting up north to check out scenic Door County, there's a ton of stuff to enjoy.

Road Trip: Entertaining the Kids

Philmundo — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 06:29:27 -0700

by Phil Stott

So you've done all the preparations, checked the maps, got the car serviced, and you're pretty much as prepared as you think you can be to spend a few days in the car with the kids. You could be forgiven, though, if you're seeing Griswold family-style mishaps every time you close your eyes, or are having flashbacks to long boring hours spent in the back of the car when you were a kid (it's not that long ago, right?). While the options for in-car entertainment have certainly stepped up a gear or two since I was a kid (let's just say the options on offer back then were such that a fight with a sibling was something to look forward to), I'm not sold on the whole concept of letting kids watch DVDs for the duration of a journey-if you even have it as an option. Sure, they're great for getting a little peace and quiet, but with the whole world passing by right outside your window, it would be a shame for your kids to miss it all for yet another rerun of Ratatouille.

To that end, the 10 suggestions I've listed here for "in-car entertainment" are mostly of the non-electronic variety, and most can be used just as effectively on a trip to the mall as they can to the other side of the country. I'm aware, however, that the list is far from exhaustive. Feel free to make your own suggestions in the comments box at the bottom.

1)      "Pe-diddle"

Everyone knows this one, right? The single best game to play at night, and it can go on for years; trying to be the first to find cars with one head- or tail-light out (and claim it by shouting "pe-diddle"). It might not score high on the list of non-stop action, but the advantage of this one is that you never know what's around the next corner. And it definitely rewards those with an interest in looking outside of the car.

2)      Road bingo

So this one's pretty simple. All you need is paper and a pen. Make up grids (three by three, or four by four are probably enough) and write a random state name in each box-remember to include nearby states that you've got more chance of seeing on plates as you're driving. You can also just give your kids a sheet each and encourage them to write down whichever states they see (highest after a set period of time wins). Completing the full list is probably unlikely, but it would be an interesting challenge/record of your trip. For older kids, you may also want to introduce a rule where only the person who sees a plate first gets to check it off.

An alternative-but one that requires a little more preparation-is to print off picture bingo cards of objects you're likely to encounter. You can find some, plus a ton of other great ideas, at momsminivan.com.

3)      License plate math

One that can be adjusted for all ages/math levels, this basically involves using numbers on license plates to arrive at target numbers, using all the numbers on the plate.

4)      21

Some of you might remember this from drinking games in college, but trust me when I tell you that I've adapted it for use both in classrooms and on road trips, and it works. Basically, it's a memory game where the object is to count to 21, but where numbers get substituted for other things-words, snatches of song, joke challenges, whatever you like. The game goes round the car so each person playing says one number (or its equivalent) in turn. Get it wrong, you're out, and the count starts over from 1 again. Make it to 21, and the person who said the number gets to choose what changes in the nest round. I heartily recommend starting with only one or two numbers substituted out, as a) it stretches the game out and b) it gets difficult fast!

5)      The "quiet" game

Yup, that's right. A game to find out which member of the car can stay silent the longest. Not so much a game as a method of keeping your sanity at times, but highly recommended.

6)      Car color spotting

Similar to license plate bingo, it may be worth having cards made up in advance (or just paper and pens) so the kids can tally what they see.

7)      Cards

One for older kids (and especially useful if you've got more than one, otherwise you'll likely be in the back with them), many a backseat hour can be whiled away with a deck of cards, and the variety of games is almost endless. Also useful for hotel rooms, restaurants, tents and, well, just about anywhere. Warning: be prepared to break up the inevitable disputes if your kids are playing with no adult supervision!

8)      Limerick competitions

You know the rules of limericks, right(LINK)? So why not see who can come up with the best one from the names of towns flashing by you on the signs. Who knows, maybe you'll come up with something as good as this.

9)      I-spy

No, really. I know it gets irritating, but it requires no preparation, no resources, and can last for, well, as long as you can!

10) DVDs.

I know what I said in the introduction, but I didn't say they were a bad thing per se. Chances are, if you've gone through the 9 options above, everyone in the car will be in need of a break. Plus, even the most interested, well-behaved kid needs something fun to look at if you're driving across Ohio!

9 (actually useful) other uses of Ketchup

tony — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:28:14 -0700

Bet you didn't know that ketchup could be used for so many (actually useful) things. Then again, any dad with a kid at least 3 years old knows that ketchup has an infinite number of uses.