So much of childhood has become sedentary with the advent of video games, the internet and other forms of portable entertainment systems. You may argue to what extent but the fact remains - there are a lot of options for our kids not to go out and play. And why should they? There are so many immersive video games that are through-backs of “cops and robber” and other games of yesteryear that prompted kids to run around all afternoon.

One viable option is paintball. It is an update on an old theme. It allows those kids to play through there aggression and work as a team, to role-play and use there wits and imagination while working up a good old fashioned sweat. The nature of it allows kids to play spyder paintball in a group with more tactical missions or just all out run and gun style, either way they will get a good workout. This of course assumes certain thing regarding equipment and safety.

Like most activities, paintball requires proper safety equipment (much like skiing, football and other sports). If kids don’t wear the proper safety equipment or they wear it improperly they of course can be hurt. Assuming they are suited up properly, it can be a good time had by all, maybe even dad too.

   

This thing has mud flaps for miles! This thing is so cool looking! Its low center of gravity and wide stance make this as safe as it is beautiful. It has a working headlight, to boot!

Modeled after the classic 1934 Van Doren design. This graceful tricycle is made of handcrafted steel and features chromed trim, a supple leather seat, a charming battery-powered headlight, adjustable handlebar and seat, and durable steel spoke wheels with solid rubber tires.

(Via BackToBasicsToys.Coom)

   

Blokus is an excellent spatial game for the whole family that has won awards around the world for Best Mind Game. In an effort to pull the kids (and maybe some of the adults) away from the different screens in the house (i.e. computer screen, television screen, et al.), my wife and I are constantly in search of different types of board games to bring the family together. Blokus falls into a nebulous board game genre of “abstract strategy” games since there are no soldiers or missiles to stockpile and attack with but there are plenty of “offenses” taking place as each player tries to command the board.

Each player begins the game with an assortment of geometric shapes. One player has all the red shapes, one has all the green shapes, etc. Players take turns deploying pieces to a grid-board in such a way that the piece touches a same-colored piece at one or more corners, but not along any edge. Once the board is mostly filled and no one can make a legal play, the game ends and the person whose remaining pieces have the smallest total area wins. Pretty simple, premise. Reminds me of a couple different ways you can play dominoes - which is another favorite game at our house.

In short, if your child understands what it means for two shapes to touch at a corner, and to touch along an edge, then your child will be able to grasp this game. Sure as the board shrinks you may need to help guide them as to what their options are - but I think it’s fair to say that happens with most board games (yeah, and before you know it they’re beating the pants of you!).

Games last about ten to fifteen minutes so even if you have young ones with limited attention spans you maybe able to go two out of three if they start beating the pants off you. This game offers ample opportunity for kids to learn and exercise strategic and tactical thinking skills. The game’s biggest drawback is that it plays best with four players, but you can play with two players by doubling up colors, or with three players by using a neutral color.

(Blokus Via FunAgainGames.Com)

   

Zid Zid Kids has delightful costumes will inspire flights of fancy and hours of fun!

Beautifully crafted and stitched, the capes themselves are a work of art - abstracted forms and the fantastic zid zid palette create a peacock and giraffe. don a printed paper mask for full effect!

(ZidZidKids Vis A Vis Romp.Com)

   

This Lego Planter (above) was inspired by this Science & Sons designer planter (below)…

…he didn’t want to shell out $150 bucks for so he did his rendition in legos and to that, I say - kudos, my boy. Sweet, mod’-planter.

(Via BobBlog.Com)

   

Have you ever tried to make origami but could never understand the directions? Have you run out of cool ways to make a paper airplane? Or you want to see how the Pro’s do it? Or have you just run out of craft and activities and need some inspiration? The folks over at ActivityTV.Com have done a great job at creating a site filed with video tutorials for a number of great kid activities.

Find lots of fun activities for kids, with video instructions and printables. There’s a great selection of craft ideas including gifts, games, and holiday items. Learn easy magic tricks, or try the fun and easy kid-friendly cooking recipes. Check out the simple, safe and fun science experiments or very cool paper airplanes. Other categories include cartooning, cheerleading, juggling, origami, jewelry, puppets, and more. Just follow along with the step-by-step videos.

Some of my new favorites is LegoTV, where you can see some of your favorite lego characters in actions. Of all the Instructional Channels available I’d have to say puppets section is my personal favorite. Banana Buddies. Running Rabbit. Shoe Box Monster. Come on, we’re talking about a screaming good time here.

So the next time you wake up to one of those impenetrable raining spring mornings or you just run out of tricks to pull out of the proverbial mom/dad hat, check out Activity.TV and see if they help spark some kind of fun.

(Via ActivityTV.Com)

   

My oldest son is three and a half. He doesn’t particularly like the swings. He is wary of ladders. He’s flat footed. He’s cautious and we love him for it, nonetheless. It was suggested to us to have him try gymnastics and we did reluctantly. Boy have we been surprised at how much he fully enjoys his classes at the Josephson Academy of Gymnastics (J.A.G.). The instructor-kid ratio is nice and low. They seem to keep the kids constantly engaged with good pacing and direction. Our son loves it. It’s located in the Hayden Tract of Culver City between Jefferson Boulevard and National, off Higuera.

The gym itself is an expansive space (over 24,000 square feet) with classes ranging from babies (Bears and Cubs, Frogs and Tadpoles) to toddlers (Camels, Elephants, Kangaroosand Joeys) through school-aged dance and gymnastics classes. For the younger kids they have parent/kid classes as well as classes with no-parent involvement. Of course they have a cafe style waiting area for the parents the tikes tumble around on the floor.

Parent Tip: If you do sign your kid up for a class and you stick around to watch, go upstairs to get a great bird’s eye view of the gym floor. Downstairs experiences heavy traffic and it gets kinda crazy.

Related Sites:
The Josephson Academy of Gymnastics
Meta-DAD Review @ Parentography

   

Ever since my wife and I moved to a coastal area, she has had this funny fantasy that our boys will have fond memories of going to surf camp and will become wonderful surfers. I initially laughed because, well just because it sounded damn funny, especially coming from the east coast (northeast, that is) where the surf is - well - cold, very cold and not very high.

But on second though, and by second thought I mean - remembering my scary military-style “throw ‘em in the pool” and see if they can tread water swim lessons at the local YMCA - I think trying one of the nearby certified surf summer camps may be a good thing. Because unlike those community classes of yester-year there seems to be a concentrated effort on safety in these types of programs and most of the ones that I’ve seen have a very low student/teacher ratio.

We’ve looked into it a bit and it seems like quite an adventure for kids, teens or the whole family. A lot of these places also teach about rip currents, UV exposure, CPR, ocean safety, first aid, and life guard classes as well as a lot about local marine life. You know - all that stuff parents like to think their kids are soaking up.

   

Whether your a veteraned RC Car Guy or a newbie like myself looking for for some type of Introduction to RC Cars for Beginners it is always helpful to have resources when your car breaks down or you want to experiment with what you have. For those of who have broken an antennae or lost a spring while trying to service your kid’s toy check out Presnukhin.Com, they have some pretty good tips and tricks.

   

Here’s a great opportunity to spend some quality time with the kids, perhaps learn something and save a few buck in the process. Here are some PC Kits you can custom order online for a fraction of what they cost in the stores. They include plain English (gosh, I hope so!) instructions with lots of illustrations and full manufacturer warranties.

You can also get upgrade kits to increase your ram or replace your CPU. All you need is a screwdriver and we can help you save $100’s. The basic kit comes with a 2.2G Core 2 Duo, 2G SDRAM and a graphics card option - that’s a pretty good start and it’s definitely a kit with room to grow.