Mobile Kids: Games for the iPod Touch

Lego Photo let's you take any photo and render it in Lego

One of my favorite travel toys for the boys is the iPod Touch. I do worry about too much screen time, so when we aren't traveling the devices tend to disappear or run out of battery.

However, before any long trip I evaluate the games they have, read reviews, and download new games. The boys have had iPods for over two years -- since they were two and three years old -- so many of the preschool games are no longer appropriate for a soon to be kindergartner and first grader.

My boys also have completely different personalities. My first grader Xander's favorites are Teach Me (last year Kindergarten and we just downloaded First Grade). He also loves Word Bingo and Math Bingo. Both games can be set at the right grade level.

Xander also loves games. His favorite is Connect 4 (in any medium). He likes other classic games like Checkers and Tic Tac Toe too. He also likes modern games including Cut the Rope, Doodle Drop, Angry Birds, Sneezies, and Smack that Gugi.

Caleb has only has a mild passing interest in his iPod. He would rather be playing with toys or running outside -- on a long flight or car trip I feel the same way!  More than Xander, he likes the photo decorating applications like Lego Photo and PBS Kids Photo Factory.

When it comes to games he gravitates toward sport-themed games. The challenge is finding games with a sport-theme that can be navigated by a four-year old. His college-aged cousin introduced him to X2 Soccer -- which I don't think he knows how to play, but he likes it. I also just got him Air Hockey and Batter Up Baseball. He thinks Air Hockey is fun, but Batter Up will take some practice -- the screen isn't very sensitive so you need to be fairly smooth with your flicking action to get the batter to swing. I suspect the barrier to entry may be too high for this to become a favorite.

Caleb also likes matching games and puzzles. Shape Builder and Monkey Preschool Lunchbox have been favorites. Alas I think he'll outgrow these shortly though.

We are heading to Michigan on Friday, the iPods are loaded up. Hopefully between new games on the iPods and the new books on the iPad, the boys will be entertained during our long flights and potential road trips.

Mobile Kids: The iPad and Interactive Books

The boys love Photo Booth too, and thus this master piece from our iPad

A couple of weeks ago I finally got an iPad. A beautiful 32 GB iPad 2. Our iPad is for the family, but really for the boys. So I've started to amass quite the collection of kids applications, specifically interactive books for the boys. We also have a couple of kids films on it -- Rango and the Princess and the Frog.

I've shied away from games. The boys both have an iPod Touch and they have quite a few preschool and kindergarten games on them. I wanted to ensure that what I put on the iPad could be experienced together, versus the solo, internal nature of the iPod Touch.

First off, everything is more beautiful on the iPad. My photography looks better, movies are breathtaking, but a well thought out eBook is where the iPad shines.

Visually my favorite right now is The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by Moonbot Studios. The boys love it too. I read that it wasn't appropriate for younger kids, but the review is inaccurate. My boys love books like Peter Rabbit and can deal with fairly sophisticated story lines. The Fantastic Flying Books has no violence, and the story is very sweet, so I'm not sure why the review I read would assign this to 9 year olds and above.

Speaking of Peter Rabbit, Pop Out! The Tale of Peter Rabbit, the interactive book from Loud Crow Interactive is beautiful. It was the first book that I downloaded, and the boys first interaction with the iPad. Squashing berries is a joy. They also like Jack and the Beanstalk from Ayars Animation with its hidden dancing eggs and its secret games.

I've also invested in some Dr Seuss and Toy Story and Cars 2. These books are less interactive, and more books with movement (they move your eye across the page from left to right with music and then read the text). Toy Story also includes some film footage. The books are nice, but the more interactivity, the more the boys return to the story again, and again. Although Caleb loved the movie Cars 2 and spends a lot of time with this interactive book, because it is Cars 2.

We are getting ready for an early August trip to Michigan, so I will definitely be looking for more interactive books for the iPad. I'll update you on what I find with part 2 sometime in September.

Happy Campers

On our first camping trip as a young couple, Jonathan and I spent a week with over planners.  Well intentioned, the other couple planned every meal, every activity and every second of our trip. It drove us nuts. It could be as a direct reaction to that, or our general laid back nature, but when it came to packing for camping trips we tend to take a "wing-it" approach, especially in the food department.

At times this has gotten us into trouble, where we drive around super hungry and cranky  -- at other times it gave us an opportunity to visit local towns and buy our ingredients fresh. Either way, once you camp with kids a "wing-it" nature needs to be curtailed. When little kids are hungry they need to eat.

Our previous camping trips, were short and near civilization. One night in the tent, and twenty minutes from the nearest pizza parlor.  With our Lassen trip we were looking at two nights camping, and we had to plan for every meal.

I'm thrilled to report that our planning worked without being overly annoying or inflexible. We had the right amount of everything. The first thing we did right was to pack plenty of snacks that could add up to a meal. By this I mean carrot sticks, peanut butter crackers, granola bars, pistachios, snack cheese, sandwich fixings, etc.

We also planned all seven meals, including two dinners, two breakfasts and three lunches. Our dinners were easy-to-grill items like hotdogs. Our breakfasts were basic things like cereal, bacon and coffee for the grown-ups and cocoa for the kids. (I think next time we'll figure out how to do pancakes one morning).

I also remembered a dish bin, dish towel and dish soap (the illusive dish soap I almost always forget) for easy clean-up.

Still one of our best decisions was staying at a KOA, with clean and working showers, conveniently located water for the campsite, as well as trash cans.  All of this added up to a wonderful trip.

The boys had a blast camping... we all can't wait to go again. Maybe next time for a week. Our camping check list is located here.

The Extra Mile to Burney Falls Near Lassen National Volcanic Park

To think if not for the snow in Lassen, which closed many of the trails, we would have missed Burney Falls. That would have been a bummer.

Burney Falls was incredible. A Hawaiian style waterfalls that dumps 100 million gallons of water a day - it is not California's highest or largest water falls, but it is spectacular.

After spending the morning at Lassen National Volcanic Park we drove the 45 minutes to Burney Falls. We ate our lunch in the picnic area, and then took the boys on the the mile or so hike around the falls. The trails lead to the base of the falls, with awesome views.

The map described the trail as moderate, but it isn't. Even a novice hiker can make the trek no problem. Our boys didn't even complain about the distance before we reached the end. The positive attributes of the hike were extensive. From great lookouts to volcanic bolders, it was very cool.

Any trip to Lassen would be incomplete without a trip to Burney Falls.

Lassen Camping Trip: Volcanoes, Warm Weather and Snow Play

On June 28 it rained in California. This was a big deal! On record it had never rained in California on that day. And it rained all day. Rain in California means snow in the mountains.

Our trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park was complicated and complimented by the June 28 snow. In Lassen they were contending with 30 foot snow drifts, which meant that much of the main road through the park was closed, and many of the hiking trails. The ranger told us the reason was the warm weather, it was in the 70s, contributed to avalanches at higher elevations. It was recommended that we walk a mile or so in on the neatly paved, but closed roads.  Considering our boys patience for longer hikes at this age, it wasn't a big problem. So although they didn't want cars on the roads, the closed road became our hiking trail.

We stayed at the KOA in Shingletown 30 minutes from the North entrance to Lassen.  The North side had far less snow, so more was open. On our first day we explored this area of the park, and on our way home we visited the South area of the park. This required maneuvering through country roads and small towns to drive around the circumference of the park -- it took us about 90 minutes.

Lassen is an exceptionally beautiful park. The volcano blew in both 1914 and 1915, and today there is still bubbling, acidic water underneath the dry cracked ground in the sulfur works. In the area you also can see volcanic rocks that traveled as far as 30 miles from Lassen. The road let us get close to much of the what the park has to offer, but it will be worth it to visit in September when snow is not a problem.