Azul may be the most gorgeous game we’ve ever featured as a game of the month! Azul, made by Plan B Games, is a tile placement game in which players race to earn points by completing horizontal and vertical lines of tiles on their “wall.” The stunningly colorful game design was inspired by azulejos, a…
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Best Chapter Books in Translation
As noted on my list of picture books in translation, reading books from other countries exposes children to a wide range of literary styles. It is also fair to say that non-American children’s literature has a certain je ne sais quoi that enchants and delights. In addition, the books on this list make enormously gratifying…
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Games that Get Kids Moving and Thinking
Board and card games at the table are fun, but kids need to MOVE! It’s no secret that many kids benefit from moving their bodies while learning. What’s more, combining gross motor skills and fine motor skills activities enhances the benefits of both and can boost executive function skills just like some of our favorite…
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Fantasy Books for Kids – More Than Just the Usual Fare
Are you looking for some good fantasy books for kids that aren’t the usual recommendations? If you have a child like mine whose favorite genre is fantasy and has read almost everything on the library shelf, you probably are. Or maybe your child is a reluctant reader and has very particular tastes? You’ve come to…
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Teach Kids to Share with the Sharing Ball
How do you teach kids to share? That’s the eternal parenting question. There is a lot of standard “teaching kids how to share” advice out there. I usually goes like this: Praise good sharing behavior. Play turn-taking games Create rewards for sharing But, teaching kids how to share is not really as easy as reading…
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Favorite Children’s Picture Books in Translation
We love reading children’s books in translation. Most of the children’s books that reach our shores from elsewhere come from Western Europe and we try to get our hands on as many as we can. Picture books translated from other languages tend to have a different “flavor” than American picture books. Once you start reading…
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Talk Like a Pirate Day Coloring Page
Avast, ye! It’s time for a pirate coloring page! Just in time for Talk Like a Pirate Day! Celebrate talking like a pirate with these cute (yes, pirates can be cute, who knew?) pirate mice on the high seas from children’s book illustrator and author Melanie Hope Greenberg. Talk Like a Pirate Day occurs every…
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Kids Books about Voting and Elections
Democracy is only as strong as its citizens. Teach your children about the importance of fair and free elections with these children’s books about voting and elections. These books will share with your kids the crucial role ordinary people play in a society when they exercise their civic responsibility and participate in elections. This book…
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How to Teach Kids to Stop Slamming the Door – the Easy Way!
If your kids are anything like mine, they slam doors just a little too often. No, they are not teens expressing their displeasure at the rules. They are young kids just going about their life, entering and exiting rooms like normal people. I’ve noticed that slamming the door seems to be a way of life….
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Children’s Books About Remembering 9/11
It’s strange, sometimes, to think that children who witnessed 9/11 and its immediate aftermath are now adults. The horrific events of the day seem so recent and I imagine we all remember exactly what we were doing when the news of the towers falling reached our ears. Finding a way to talk about tragic events…
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