Reader Erin was kind enough to send me some pictures of the musical PVC pipe set she made with her older daughter and her daughter’s friends, based on my Musical Pipes post. They gave the set to her younger daughter’s school—which is a great idea, since I admit it is a little large to keep […]
Having just undergone the thrill of bringing my son to his four-year-old physical (complete with three injections), I offer you my list of ways to pass the interminable time between when the nurse shows you in and the doctor shows up. My preference, because I’m one of those who doesn’t carry a handbag and my
Looking for an engaging, non-branded online game for your young ones? Try the Tiny Drum Machine. Not a “kids’ game” per se, it nevertheless entertained my four-year-old for better parts of this afternoon. It’s a simple music-making program where you can specify notes and tempo or let it randomly entertain you. There are five variations,
This Saturday, June 23, is the annual Great American Backyard Campout (GABC), an event sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation “for families, youth and individuals to camp out in their backyards or local parks and to discover the fun of being in the great outdoors.” For those with young children, it’s a chance to try
Lots of people seemed to like the PVC Pipe Construction Set I wrote about a few months ago, including Parent Hacks, GeekDad, and the FemiKnitMafia (whose son got one from us as a present). My partner, ever the engineer, thus set out to build another PVC creation, a musical pipe set inspired by those of
A spokesperson for Ewa Sowinska, Poland’s ombudsman for children’s rights, has said Sowinska won’t pursue a proposed investigation into whether the Teletubbie Tinky Winky “promotes homosexuality” because he carries a purse. I’m rather disappointed. While I don’t really believe same-sex attraction can be “promoted” (despite the free toasters), I do think it is good for
The Family Pride Coalition is asking people to vote for their favorite among the ten finalists in the FPC Family Drawing Contest. The artists are ages 3 1/2 to 12, and clearly enjoyed depicting their families on paper. Feel awkward judging children’s art? Have your own child select the one she/he likes best. Or vote
My preschooler has loved Blue Man Group, the offbeat musicians and entertainers, ever since he saw an exhibit featuring their PVC-pipe instruments at the Boston Children’s Museum. (Yes, we have something of a PVC-pipe obsession around here.) He loves to watch the video clips on their Web site, but his latest interest is their new
Today is the start of the WNBA preseason, giving me a needed dose of women’s-sports watching to tide me over until Wimbledon starts at the end of June. I am, as it happens, hopelessly inept at actually playing basketball (and softball, for that matter), but am finding I have to raise my game this year.
My son and I went to his first Music Together class in our new area today. We’d done Music Together for over two years before we moved, and I knew it was a program I wanted to continue. Not only did we have a fabulous teacher back in New York, but I liked the pedagogy
