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My Tweets
Archive for the 'Games' Category
Contents
Posts
Computer Fun For Kids – Spore Creature Creator
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008Guest blogger, Jason Pomerantz, of Fiddle and Burn, writes about technology for kids.
Will Wright, creator of Sim City and The Sims, is one of the most successful contemporary game designers. His key insight has been that it’s more fun to build than to destroy. A new project of his, The Spore Creature Creator, captures that spirit wonderfully, and even very young children can enjoy experimenting with it.
The best technology for children is the kind that lets them create things themselves. Everyone loves playing games, but it’s even more fun to build your own imaginary worlds. That’s why many popular games these days include level editors and object creators – tools that let the players themselves alter the structure and experience of the games. Such features encourage users to be active participants in building universes.
Sim City and The Sims did perhaps more than any other games to promote player participation in world building. Sim City is all about laying out your own urban metropolis and The Sims prominently features building design and home decor.
For the past several years, Wright has been working on an even more ambitious project called “Spore“, which is currently scheduled to be released in September of 2008. It’s still a little unclear exactly what Spore is all about, but it seems as if it will be a “life simulation game”, in which the player guides a species from its origin as a single celled organism, through its development into a high tech, interstellar civilization.
The Spore Creature Creator is one part of the game that has been released already. A free trial version can be downloaded, or a full version can be purchased for $9.95.
The Creature Creator lets users create their own animals from scratch. It begins by presenting a floating torso, which can be stretched and rotated into various shapes. Then a range of body parts can be selected, like mouths and eyes and legs, all of which can be attached to the torso wherever the user likes. These parts can also be stretched and twisted in a variety of ways. (The trial version offers a limited collection of body parts. In the full version the selection is much wider.)
Once all the parts are in place, the creature can be painted various colors and decorated with a selection of spots and stripes.
My six year old daughter Lila had a lot of fun deciding the best places for feet and a snout and picking the proper color for her new child, which she named “Seek”.
When she was done, the game let her save it and we switched to “Test Drive” mode. Here she put Seek through her paces in a large circular arena. She could click on the floor to make Seek walk to that spot. She could click icons representing various actions and emotions and Seek obediently pantomimed her selection. There’s nothing quite like watching a six year old’s bizarre creation do a Sumo pose or a Raver Punch.
In Test Drive mode you can also save pictures of your creations, which is how we got this image of Seek:
Another feature of the game is the “Sporepedia” which lets you share your creature with the world. Lila and I haven’t tested that yet, so we can’t say how it works. But it sounds like it will be fun to let others play with our creations and to experiment with theirs.
If the rest of Spore is as much fun as The Creature Creator, it looks like Wright has another hit on his hands.
Two Book Series and a Game that are Great for Kids who Have to Wait
Friday, April 4th, 2008In my last post I mentioned that sticker books are a good way for kids to pass time on a plane. They’re also good for doctor appointments and any other situation where kids have to wait.
My daughter particularly loves the series of sticker books put out by Barnes and Noble. Each book is on a different subject and has 200 stickers. The books also give facts about the subject. They can be about Dinosaurs, Horses, Bugs, Pets, etc. Your child has to find where in the book the sticker belongs. Younger kids may need your help. It can be a fun activity to do with little ones. I’d say these books are good for kids from 3 to 8 years old.
Here are links to a couple of the sticker books my daughter enjoyed doing:
You can buy some of these sticker books at Barnes and Noble’s online store. Though they have a larger selection in their actual retail stores.
The other series of books that are wonderful when you have to wait is I-Spy. In the I Spy books, you search for specific objects in a sea of many objects. You can see what I mean if you follow through the “search inside” link on one of the books below. Both of my children have enjoyed these books. They’re particularly good to do together while waiting in the doctor or dentist’s office. They’re good for kids aged 4 to 10. (They have simple board book versions for younger kids.)
Here are a couple of the ones we have:
If you forget to bring the book with you, you can play the I-Spy game while waiting. One of you says, “I spy with my little eye…” and then you give a hint about something you see in the room and the other person has to guess what it is. For example, if it’s a calendar, you can say, “I spy with my little eye something with a lot of numbers on it.” Then if the other person guesses correctly, they’ll say, “A calendar!” Then it’s the other person’s turn.
Feel free to let us know in the comments below about anything you do with your children, students, or grandkids to pass the time when you have to wait.
-Mama Lisa
A Spanish Song for Breaking the Piñata That’s Popular for Las Posadas in Mexico + a Video
Saturday, December 22nd, 2007Last year I wrote about the importance of the piñata in the Mexican celebration of Las Posadas. Las Posadas is a popular holiday in Mexico that’s celebrated before Christmas. Mexican people sing songs called Cantos para romper la piñata (Songs for Breaking the Piñata), while their children try to hit the piñata.
Many people have asked me the tune to these piñata songs over the past year. Happily, I just found someone singing one on YouTube. Here you can watch it below. The lyrics are listed first in Spanish followed by an English translation…
Dale, dale, dale,
No pierdas el tino,
porque si lo pierdes
pierdes el camino.Hit, hit, hit,
Don’t lose your aim,
Because if you lose it,
You lose the way.
The Dreydl Song and an Easy Way to Make Potato Latkes for Hanukah
Thursday, December 6th, 2007Mark Bittman at the NY Times makes an alternative to latkes that’s called potato nik. He learned it from his grandmother. It’s easy and that’s the point! You simply use your favorite potato pancake recipe (click the link to see mine). Instead of cooking them individually, Mark cooks them as one large pancake. He coats the bottom of the pan with oil and pours in the latke batter. Once one side is cooked, he slides it out onto a plate, and covers it with another plate. Then he turns it over and slides it back into the pan to cook the other side. Once it’s done, voila! It’s ready to be eaten. Much quicker than individual pancakes. You can watch Mark prepare his Potato Nik to see how it’s done.
Serve latkes with sour cream and/or apple sauce. I’d recommend trying my recipe for homemade applesauce to have with it. Yum!
If you’d like to teach your kids a Hanukah song here’s a link to The Dreydl Song and the rules for the Dreydl Game.
-Mama Lisa
Can Someone Help with a Sicilian Hand Game Possibly about a Lamb?
Monday, October 29th, 2007I recently received this question:
My grandfather used to play a hand game with me where he held my hand and with his finger made a circle in my palm, then put each of my fingers down, starting with the pinky. I can only say it phonetically as I do not speak Sicilian:
Catcja funtanedja
chifigi pecoredja
quisto lu fersja
quisto lu scorcha
quisto lu coche et
quisto lu mange
um um um um umIn English I think it said:
Here’s a little pond
The little lamb comes to drink
This one catches it
This one cuts it
This one cooks it and
This one eats it
Um um um um um.Can anyone give me the actual words in Sicilian and tell me if I am right about my English translation?
Please comment below, if you can help out…
Thanks in advance!
-Mama Lisa
Can Anyone Help with an Italian Rhyme Where You Caress the Cheeks (Possibly about a Mouse)?
Monday, October 29th, 2007Miss Fanelli wrote:
Hello, I’m looking for any help I can find in possibly identifying what I think to be an Italian Nursery rhyme/ paddy cake game my Grandfather used to play with us kids. Our family has long since been uprooted from Italy, but being the eldest granddaughter I have felt responsible for holding onto what traditions we could. Now as I’m about to wed and most of my friends are having babies I realize we’ve lost something here. Anything you can think of would be great, places to look for more information, names of traditional paddy-cake style games that Italians play, anything at all would be much appreciated. The following is what I remember.
When I was younger my Grandfather would play a version of ‘paddy-cake’ with me. He would take my hands into his, and while reciting some poetry (of what might very well have been gibberish), he would move my hands so that I caressed my cheeks, then I would caress his. Back and forth he would move my hands until a part in this ‘poem’ where he would say “Ah no!”, at this part my hands would always land on his face – followed by a line where he would say “Ah gooy gooy gooy gooygooy!” and I would wind up gently patting myself on the cheeks. As a child the delight was that I could never win; if my hands where over his this time, or if we started on his cheeks instead of mine, I was always the one getting my cheeks patted.
My Grandfather was Italian and from what I know his Grandfather was the one to move our family to the states from Italy. As I said above this might just be a poem in gibberish, but my father and members of his generation believe it might have been an Italian nursery rhyme about a little mouse. We have no clue as to the spelling of any of this so for the moment I’ll take my best shot at it phonetically. It sounds like this…
Ah moo-zha-zhill.
Ah-gazhty- a- ta
Ah-goosh-ti-ta.
Ah- ya-tia-ta.
Ah no
ah gooy gooy gooy gooy gooyLike I said this is a rough English phonetic spelling of something that as far as I know was in Italian. Then again Grandpa made it harder still by always changing the words or adding a line or two so that I always wound up clapping my own face. The long and short of it is this is about all I know…. any suggestions?
Thank you for your time
Miss Genevieve C. FanelliIf anyone can help with this nursery rhyme, or if you have any suggestions to help find it, please comment below.
Thanks!
-Mama Lisa
The Simpsons Movie and Inuit Throat Singing
Wednesday, August 1st, 2007We brought our kids to see The Simpsons Movie this past weekend. It was like watching a decent, extra long episode, that looked wonderful (much better than on a TV screen). I wouldn’t say it’s a movie you have to go out and see. But if you’re a Simpsons fan, you’ll probably enjoy seeing it on the big screen.
There was one scene (and I’ll try not to say too much about the movie in case you want to see it yourself) in which Homer has reached an all-time low. He happens upon a Medicine Woman who engages him in Inuit Throat Singing. Through the singing, Homer is supposed to have an epiphany (definition: “an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure”*) about his life.
It was fun to watch, but actually, Inuit Throat Singing wasn’t normally used to help people find themselves. Rather, it was used primarily by Inuit woman as a game to amuse children and to help pass the time in the winter while the men were away for long periods of time hunting.
The most common way it is done is that two women face each other. They put their arms on each other’s arms. They take turns “singing”. The singing is really a throaty sound – which involves the breath, sounds that come out of the throat and the regular voice. Some of the sounds that are made are meaningless and some are actual words.
Below you can hear an example of Inuit Throat Singing.
The video of the Inuit Throat Singing is mesmerizing. I don’t know if the process leads to having an epiphany, but it seems to have a meditative quality to it.
Many thanks to Clint Cora Leung at Free Spirit Gallery for allowing me to post his video. Clint sells contemporary Canadian aboriginal art on his site.
*Source: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
-Mama Lisa
Can Anyone Help with a Canadian Song “”Yoki and the Kaiser”" – Possibly with Korean Origins
Friday, May 4th, 2007Patricia wrote:
Wondering if you have heard the words to a 50’s skipping game we played using elastics?
I believe it was originally a Korean children’s game and the children of missionaries brought it back to Canada in 1939. Original words:
Rioyun, Kaiyo, Yaku navide etc.
This song was taught to commemorate the victory of Russian-Japanese war of 1905 and written by a Japanese poet (After this war, Japan occupied Korea).
The words we sang as children here in Ontario were:
Yoki and the Kaiser, Yoki addy ay, Tamba, so-ba, Sa-du, say-day. Yoki in the Kaiser, Yoki allee-ay, Kick him in the so-po, Sa-du, sa-day!
We had no idea what we were singing!
Patricia
Ontario CanadaIt just so happens that Bill Conrad had asked me about this song last year. Here’s what he wrote:
In Montreal, in the 50’s, girls used to celebrate Spring with skipping ropes and elastics. While playing the elastic game they sung a “ditty” that went somewhat like this,”Yolem a Kaiser,Yokem addiay….” Do you know what I am referring to? Bill Conrod
I’m not familiar with this song. If anyone else can help out with the lyrics, meaning or origins of this song (or of the original song it comes from) please comment below.
Thanks!
Lisa
PS I have one question for Patricia and Bill: Does skipping ropes with elastics mean playing Chinese jump rope?
Do You Know of Any Spanish Jump Rope Songs?
Saturday, February 10th, 2007Anne-Marie wrote:
Hello,
My name is Anna-Marie. I am going to participate in a mission trip to the Dominican, and I was planning to bring some skipping ropes. Do you know any songs in Spanish that would go well with this activity? It’s for 5-7 year olds.
Thanks,
Anna-Marie
If anyone can help out with any Spanish Jump Rope songs, please comment below.
Thanks!
Lisa
What’s the Big Deal about the Wii?
Wednesday, January 31st, 2007Wii, Wii, Wii, Wii, Wii! That’s all we’ve been hearing around our house for the past three months. My 12 year old son has been saving up for one since the fall. It reminds me of when I saved up for my first stereo at the same age.
When my son finally determined he had the right amount of money, there were none to be found in the stores. He went on a hunt on the internet. Day after day he’d check different sites that would tell him where they were getting Wii’s in stock. Finally, about two weeks ago, he found out that a lot of nearby stores were getting them in. He got my husband to leave his cozy bed at 7:30 am one Sunday morning, and out they went with my son’s friend, to stand on line for a Wii. Would they be there early enough? Yes! They were! His quest for a Wii was finally over.
Now that my son owns a Wii, he spends as much time as he can on it. Meaning, when he’s not at school, at a club, doing household chores, homework, or letting his sister, father or friend have a turn!
You might think this is a bad thing. You’re probably imagining him sitting there with a joystick, inert on the couch. But no! The Wii is a very active video game. I see him standing in front of the TV with a wireless remote, swinging it like a bat, or a golf club, or a bowling ball. In another game, he’s jumping up and down, squatting down and doing side bends. He looks like he’s doing a workout video.
The Wii seems to signify the change in gaming that finally gets our kids up and about in the middle of the winter in a fun creative way.
What’s more, there are many games intended for play with more than one person. So instead of your kid sitting there in front of the TV alone. S/he can get up and play and move around in the company of a friend.
Admittedly, when the springtime rolls around, I’ll be hoping the furor over the Wii dies down enough that my kids will run around outside a bit too!
Looking for Info on a Russian Game called The Cat and The Mice
Monday, January 29th, 2007Cyndi wrote to me asking about The Cat and The Mice Game. Here’s what she wrote:
My 6th grader is doing a school project on Russian children’s games. He has chosen a game we found on a website called “The Cat and The Mice”. Unfortunately, this site did not give any history of the game and we have been unsuccessful so far.
I found the game at www.estcomp.ro “Children’s Folk Games”. It was listed under another game called, “Game The Bear”. It’s called “The Cat and The Mice” and the instructions are:
Number of participants – 5 or more. One person becomes a cat. His eyes are closed. All other persons are mice.
They turn him and say:They say:
Where do you stand?
He answers:
On the bridge.
They ask:
What are you drinking?
He answers:
The juice
They run away and cry:
Try to find us and catch!!!
They clap, and the cat with closed eyes must catch someone, and caught person become a cat.I believe this was written by a teacher using English as a second language, so I’m not 100% sure about the instructions. I copied them verbatim from the website, so you could see the difference in grammar. What we need now is where/how the game originated, if anyone is familiar with it.
We spent several hours over the weekend looking on the net and at the local library for information. This is all we’ve been able to find. Any help would be very much appreciated.
Thank you!
Cyndi Maddox
If anyone can help with more information about this game, please comment below.
Thanks!
Lisa
The Dreydl Song
Sunday, December 24th, 2006We went to a Hanukah party last night. My mother-in-law, Susan Pomerantz, played The Dreidel Song on the piano – so of course I asked her if I could record it! Here you can hear the tune of The Dreydl Song, with lots of party noise in the background…
MP3 of The Dreydl Song (or click the “PLAY” triangle below).
Here are the basic lyrics in English…
I Have a Little Dreydl
I have a little dreydl
I made it out of clay,
And when it’s dry and ready
Then dreydl I shall play.Chorus
O dreydl, dreydl, dreydl
I made it out of clay,
And when it’s dry and ready
Then dreydl I shall play.Happy Hanukah! Happy Kwanzaa and Merry Christmas!
-Lisa
Recipe for Pebernodder Cookies plus a Kids Game called Mouse
Monday, December 11th, 2006Pfeffernüsse is a traditional German Christmas cookie. Pfeffernüsse literally translates into English as pepper-nut. That’s because most traditional recipes for these cookies are spicy and call for pepper. I believe the “nut” part is because they were traditionally shaped like little balls or nuts. That’s where you get peppernut.
These cookies are also traditional at Christmastime in Denmark. In Danish they’re called pebernødder. They can also be found in English speaking countries. In the U.S. they’re called pfeffernuesse.
Laurel Skelton was nice enough to send me a recipe. Here’s what she wrote:
I have several recipes, but some call for baking soda, and produce a fluffier cookie – NOT what I consider classic Pebernodder. Following is the recipe that produces the smallest, nut-like cookie, but it doesn’t call for much spice. So I make the cookies with a combination of the recipes I have, adding spices from the others to this basic recipe:
PEBERNODDER (Peppernuts)
2 1/2 cups Flour
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Butter
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Cardamom
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon White Pepper
Grated Lemon RindTake out butter early to soften.
Sift dry ingredients into large mixing bowl. Add butter and eggs and grated lemon rind. Mix well. Kneed with hands until dough is smooth.
Let rest about 1 hour. Then roll out into ropes the thickness of a pencil, and cut into pieces about the size of a pea. Bake on greased cookie sheet in 325 degree F oven until golden brown (about 10 to 12 minutes).
(I omit the lemon rind, add 1 Tablespoon of Molasses and use the following spices: 4 t. Cardamom, 2 t. White Pepper, 2 1/2 t. Ginger, 3/4 t. Cloves.)
Laurel had asked me about a game that kids play with pebernødder. I posted her question on my blog. The first person to respond said that pebernødder were used like tokens for payment when playing games.
More recently, we got a response by Karin Parnis, who used to play a game called Mouse (Mus in Danish), with these cookies. Here’s what Karin wrote:
I used to play a game called “mus” or “mouse” with my grandmother. You must have at least 3 people to play. You line up 10 or so pebbernodder on the table and point one of them out while the person who is “it” closes his eyes. He can then eat the pebbernodder one by one until he touches the “mouse” and the other players shout “MOUSE”. You keep taking turns to be “it” until you’re sick of eating pebbernodder or until there are none left!
Many thanks to Karin and Laurel for writing!
If anyone would like to share other holiday recipes or traditions, please feel free to comment below or email me.
Lisa
UPDATE: I made these cookies both ways. I found both to be very tasty. My children liked the 1st recipe best, but my husband preferred the spicier ones.
*****
The pfeffernuesse that you see in the US are often made with baking soda and even baking powder. They’re also made into 3/4″ balls before baking – so that they’re a larger, fluffier cookie. When they cool off a little, they’re coated with powdered sugar.
The version above, especially the first version of the recipe, is pretty mild. They’re sort of like a slightly spicy tasting, crunchy, sugar cookie. Yum-my!
In the second version above, you taste white pepper mixed with sweet cookie.
You can tell in the photo above that most of mine came out a little bigger than they were supposed to. My kids helped roll them – so they were all sorts of sizes. But it was a great project to do with kids. For my 5 year old daughter, it was like playing with play dough. It was fun for her, yet she was a big help!
Create Your Own Memory Game for your Kids or Students
Saturday, December 9th, 2006Last week my daughter and I had to create a memory game for her homework using blank index cards.
Memory games usually have cards that have images on them. There will be two cards with the same image – so that each image comes in pairs. All of the cards are placed face down, mixed up and put into a grid pattern. You then take turns going. On each player’s turn, you turn over two cards so they’re facing up. If those two cards are a match you take them off the board, and put them in a pile in front of you. If you get a match you go again. If you don’t get a match, it’s the other players turn. You keep taking turns until all the matches are gone. Whoever has the most matches at the end wins.
The game can be played with words as well as pictures. My daughter’s homework assignment was to use blank index cards to make a sight word memory game. The object, of course, was to help her learn some sight words, by playing the game. The words were: a, go, I, love, no, the & you. I had to write each word on two different index cards, so they made matches.
After I prepared it, we played the game. We kept it home and played throughout the week. At the end of the week we sent it into school – so the kids could play there. My daughter can now read all of those words!
I think this is a great idea. It makes a game out of learning. You could use this idea for teaching many different concepts. It could be colors. It could be uppercase letters or lowercase letters. It could be used to teach other words. The list is endless.
My only problem is that my daughter has an excellent visual memory. So when I play memory games with her that have a lot of cards, the competition’s tough, and I often lose! Maybe these memory games are good for adults also – to help us exercise our failing memories!
Pool Games and Chants
Wednesday, July 19th, 2006Troy, over at SongStreet wrote to me last week about pool games. Here’s what he had to say…
We were talking about swimming games and Devon and Tanja mentioned Marco Polo which I had never heard of.
The most popular game we used to play (in Canada) when I was a kid was Hen Rooster Chicken Duck. A very simple chant where everyone “ducks” under the water on “duck”.
Hen Rooster Chicken Duck sounds like a great game for kids as it gets them to hold their breath and put their heads under the water.
Marco Polo is another pool game that’s popular in the states. One person is “It”. They close their eyes and say “Marco” and everyone else in the pool has to say “Polo”. That helps the person who’s “It” identify where the other people are. He has to catch one. Then that person is “It”.
Many thanks to Troy for sharing Hen Rooster Chicken Duck with us.
If anyone else knows of any other pool games, songs or chants, please share them with us in the comments below.
Thanks!
Lisa
UPDATE: You can find out about another pool game called “Sharks and Minnows” in the comments below!
UPDATE #2: Troy over at SongStreet gives some good ideas in his lastest blog post about how to turn these games into “dry” classroom games.
Question about a Game Called “Pfeffenusse” or “Pebernodder”
Friday, May 12th, 2006Here’s a question I received about a game played with a pepper nut cookie called pfeffernüsse, pfeffenusse or pebernodder…
I have no idea if that is the way you spell it, but it is a little spicy cookie, shaped like a ball and about the size of a pea. I think it might have originated in another country (Germany maybe?), but the Scandinavians adopted it. I have several recipes for it… but here is my question:
My Dad said there used to be games you played with them. Do you (or does anyone) know anything of these?
Thanks,
Laurel
I found out that these are Christmas cookies. They’re called pfeffernüsse in German. They also seem to be called pebernodder, peppernotter or perrarnotter – in various Scandinavian languages (I welcome help with the names!).
If anyone knows about this game, please comment below. I’d also be happy to post a recipe for them.
Thanks!
Lisa
UPDATE: Come visit my later entry where I post the Recipe for Pfeffernüsse, Pfeffernuesse, or if you prefer, Pebernodder, Plus the Rules to the “Mus” Mouse Game That’s Played with these Cookies!
Some Games to Play With Schoolchildren
Wednesday, May 10th, 2006Check out Troy’s (SongStreet) blog post about how to make, and play, a game called Gone Fishin‘ and another one about a game called Finger Faces.
Troy’s colleague Devon talks on his blog about another fun game called Freeze Dance.
These guys sound like every kid’s dream teachers. You can tell they love their work and make it fun to learn!
Great Site for Chess by Email
Tuesday, May 9th, 2006In the past I’ve mentioned how much fun it is to play Chess with your children.
If you also enjoy Chess, I’d recommend checking out SchemingMind.com. I’m thoroughly enjoying playing online Chess there.
Unlike many online chess services, which require both players to be connected at the same time, Scheming Mind specializes in email games. You make a move and then your opponent responds when he or she is ready. It’s ideal for parents who are constantly interrupted!
You can choose to play fast games or “leisure” games, where you only have to make a move every three days. You can challenge people by their rating or even by the country they live in. I’m playing games with people from all around the world! They even have Chess forums in French, Spanish and German.
My 11 year old son also enjoys playing there. (We often play against each other through Scheming Mind.) He has a lot of fun with all the Chess variations they have. In particular, he likes one called Atomic Chess. Whereas I prefer standard Chess.
What’s more, it’s free for the basic services!
Happy Scheming!
Lisa
January 17th, 2006 Marks 300 Years since Ben Franklin was Born
Monday, January 16th, 2006Ben Franklin (1706 – 1790) is an amazingly interesting character! He made tremendous contributions to the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. He also invented the lightening rod, bifocals and the wood stove. One of his favorite pastimes was Chess. Here’s what he had to say about it…
The Morals of Chess
The game of chess is not merely an idle amusement. Several valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired or strengthened by it, so as to become habits, ready on all occasions. For life is a kind of chess, in which we have often points to gain, and competitors and adversaries to contend with, and in which there is a vast variety of good and ill events that are, in some degree, the effects of prudence of want of it.
By playing at chess then, we may learn:
1) Foresight, which looks a little into futurity, and considers the consequences that may attend an action; for it is continually occurring to the player, “if I move this piece, what will be the advantages of my situation? What use can my adversary make of it to annoy me? What other moves can I make to support it, and defend myself from his attacks?
2) Circumspection, which surveys the whole chess board or scene of action, the relations of several pieces and situations, the dangers they are respectively exposed to, the several possibilities of their aiding each other, the probabilities that the adversary may make this or that move and attack this or the other piece; and what different means can be used to avoid his stroke, or turn the consequences against him.
3) Caution, not to make our moves too hastily. This habit is best acquired by observing strictly the laws of the game, such as, if you touch a piece you must move it somewhere; if you set it down you must let it stand. And it is therefore best that these rules be observed, as the game thereby becomes more the image of human life, and particularly of war in which, if you have incautiously put yourself into a bad and dangerous position, you cannot obtain your enemy’s leave to withdraw your troops and place them more securely but you must abide all the consequences of your rashness.
Once kids get old enough, Chess is a great game to play with them. When they’re first learning, spot them a few pieces. That is, begin the game leaving off a queen and a rook on your side. Do your best to beat them with that handicap and you’ll have fun even against the most inexperienced opponent. As they get better, spot them less, maybe just a knight or a bishop. Eventually, they’ll be able to play you even, and that’s a great feeling. Nothing makes a parent prouder than losing a game of Chess to their young child!
January 17th is Franklin’s 300th birthday. Happy Birthday Ben!
Chanukah Song – “I Have a Little Dreidel” and The Dreidel Game
Wednesday, November 30th, 2005The Dreidel Song is very popular at this time of year. Dreidels are tops. Here are the lyrics…
I Have a Little Dreidel
I have a little dreidel
I made it out of clay,
And when it’s dry and ready
Then dreidel I shall play.Chorus
O dreidel, dreidel, dreidel
I made it out of clay,
And when it’s dry and ready
Then dreidel I shall play.It has a lovely body
With legs so short and thin,
And when my dreidel’s tired
It drops and then I win.Chorus
My dreidel’s always playful
It loves to dance and spin,
A happy game of dreidel
Come play now, let’s begin.Chorus
Children are often given dreidels for Hanukkah. Dreidels are tops that have four Hebrew letters on them. One letter is on each side of the dreidel. The letters are nun, gimel, hay, and shin.
The Dreidel Game
The dreidel game is usually played using chocolate in the shape of a coin, often wrapped in gold foil. Each player puts a coin in the “pot”. They then take turns spinning the dreidel. The letter the dreidel lands on will determine what happens next.
נ – Nun = nothing happens
ג – Gimel = you get the whole pot
ה – Hay = you take half of the pot
ש- Shin = you put a coin into the potIf the pot ends up being empty, each player has to add a coin. If someone loses all their coins, they’re out of the game. Whoever gets the most coins in the end wins.
Happy Hanukkah!
-Lisa
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