The Presents of Christmas Past – Part I
November 18, 2008 
With four kids ages 5-13, we get to do a lot of hands on “testing” of the latest toys and gadgets. Some are big winners and others are such huge losers they are forgotten just days after Christmas. This year the budget is looming large and so my goal is to only buy one or two really *good* gifts for each child rather than lots of random things I impulsively grab because they look cool in the store. Assuming that other families might be sharing that goal this year, I’m going to share some of our “Winners” and “Losers” from the last year. Today I’ll start with Part I, 4-6 Years:
Winners:
Jumpstart World Kindergarten. ($8.19 on Amazon for the first 2 units + $7.95/month for each additional unit – 12 units in all). We actually got this for Zeeb’s birthday in June, mostly because he complained so much about how unfair it was that he couldn’t play R~’s 1st grader version of the game. I love these games. The graphics are really good, there’s a ton of teaching going on, the game automatically sends the parent updates about your child’s progress and it never gets old because when they master one level you can download the next for only $8. They get to play on the computer and I don’t feel guilty because it’s educational! (I still limit them to 30 minutes of screen time though.) Total Winner.
Legos. (Road Construction Set: $38; Ultimate Building Set: $48). Last year I was excited to find that Lego now has simpler building sets for ages 4 and up. Zeeb was growing tired of Duplos and wanted to use the smaller legos like his big brother. The down side is he quickly lost all the instructions so he hasn’t built the things pictured on the box since then. The upside is he builds all kinds of other creative structures on his own. And while I was worrying that maybe these were too small for his little fingers, his kindergarten teacher told me the other day, “The smaller the better” – using the little pieces helps him with his fine motor skills. There’s a reason this toy is a classic – it has major staying power and the more sets you buy, the more you can build. Definite win-win.
Loser:Fisher-Price Smart Cycle ($90).
I wanted to like this thing. I really, really did. I like the concept of excercising and learning while playing a game. And Zeeb is super addicted to the screen, so I thought it would be a big winner. The problems? (1) The batteries – it takes like 4 huge D batteries and somehow it got left on a week after he got it and they all died. Very annoying. (2) The game that comes with it is loud, annoying, and he only has to pedal about half the time – the other part he does with the joystick and there’s no exercise in that. But, we still have it out and he plays it 1-2 times a week (I just make sure to be out of earshot!). And I have additional games for it on his list this year, because I figure we ought to get our money’s worth out of it. Really it’s not a bad toy, but for the price I expected better. And since what I really wanted was a way for Zeeb to burn extra energy in the winter, my money probably would have been better spent on the FirstFitness kid’s exercise bike. The Smart Cycle is not a Total Loser, but if the budget is tight, don’t feel bad passing on this one.
Audience Participation Time: What were the big winners/losers with your kids last year? What tops your child’s wishlist this Christmas?
Next Up: Part II, Ages 6-8.
If I’m Exercising, It Must Be For A Good Cause
November 18, 2008 
In recent years my family has turned into a bunch of fitness nuts. My sister ran a marathon two years ago (and has run a number of half-marathons and other K-type things since). My dad runs like 3 miles every day and has run more half-marathons than I can count. My other sister has always been a fitness nut – she actually did competitive body building in her early 20’s and now her 18 year old son is following in her footsteps. I am the lazy sheep of the family. I could not imagine running 13 miles unless I was being chased by a crazed murderer. (and then, let’s face it, I’d be better off finding somewhere to hide than actually running). And that is not about to change anytime soon.
However, I do like a good walk. In the woods, around the neighborhood, through the mall… take your pick. This weekend I plan to take a nice long walk (5K to be precise) with K~ around The Mall – the one in D.C. And while I’d do such a thing just for the fun of it, this time we’re walking with thousands of other people in the Help The Homeless Walkathon.
Now before you start thinking anything wonderful about me, full disclosure here: We signed up for this to help K~ fulfill her required 5 hours of “community service” for her 8th grade Civics class. But regardless of our initial motivation, I think it will be a really good experience for K~ and I. Neither of us is that excited about getting into DC by 8:00am on a Saturday morning, but I am looking forward to having a nice long walk with my daughter. And it’s an extra added bonus that we’re raising a little bit of money for a very good cause at the same time. (We’ve designated the funds we raise to go to Gospel Rescue Ministries an organization that’s been helping the homeless and those in need in DC for more than 100 years.) I considered posting a link to our fundraising page right here on my blog… but there’s that pesky issue of anonymity. So, if you really want to support us, please, send me an email.
This process of picking a community service project for K~ has made me realize (not for the first time) that I really would like to find more ways for our whole family to get involved in volunteering. So hopefully this walk is just a start. Help me out with ideas – Do you and/or your family volunteer? How did you get started? Do you have plans to give back in a special way this year?
