Matchstick

Author: Matt

  • FunBrain

    I don’t think I’ve ever seen an ad for FunBrain but they have been around since 1997 and are one of the best sites for safe, educational games and videos for kids. Their target audience is pre-k through grade 8. The site is free to use although it pays for itself via ads. The ads […]

  • Schoolhouse Rock

    [amazon_link asins=’B00005JKTY’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’51a85cf2-424e-11e7-a6ad-49cc3733402e’] [amazon_link asins=’B00000DGSW,B00000DGSW’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’5c994f03-424f-11e7-a947-b91f18b3e938′] Schoolhouse Rock was a big part of my childhood. ABC would show the ~3-minute cartoons during ad breaks on Saturday mornings. “Conjunction Junction” was probably the most memorable for me. But then the 70s ended and the series was mostly unavailable until Disney […]

  • Doc McStuffins

    [amazon_link asins=’148472187X,B0087NJ7WE’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’afd9c35d-4181-11e7-95a2-dfad8c6ad370′] I first heard of Doc McStuffins from a joke Nick Offerman told about the ubiquity of the character and the show’s theme song. And I couldn’t relate directly, having never seen the show, but I had had similar experiences with other shows, such as Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood or Caillou, […]

  • Richard Scarry’s Best Mysteries Ever!

    Richard Scarry invented many memorable characters, including Huckle Cat and Lowly Worm, that lived on in cartoons and educational CD-Roms even after his death in 1994. This book seems to be based on the animated series, “The Busy World of Richard Scarry” and was written in 1998. It does not include the standard Scarry characters, […]

  • The Giraffe, the Pelly and Me – Roald Dahl

    [amazon_link asins=’0142413844,0060536209′ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’fba9c34e-415d-11e7-af4e-bbde547c84f8′] This is a Roald Dahl story I hadn’t heard before, certainly much less-well-known than “James and the Giant Peach” or “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. It also doesn’t have the undercurrent of terror and threat of violence that most Dahl stories have. Some animals have a window-washing business and […]

  • Philadelphia Chickens

    This is a unique book. Sandra Boynton (most famous for desktop calendars and coffee mugs with phrases such as “Don’t Let the Turkeys Get You Down”) wrote a musical and got performers (Kevin Bacon, Eric Stoltz, Meryl Streep, etc.) to sing the songs on the included CD. The CD is about 48 minutes long and […]

  • How to Be a Viking

    [amazon_link asins=’0316286354′ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’35c7f0d6-4159-11e7-b641-19802752ab98′] This book introduces the character of Hiccup, who went on to have more adventures in the better known series, “How to Train Your Dragon”. It’s a fun, but serious story of a little boy who is thrust into the world of adults (specifically tough viking men) and has to […]

  • Geckos Make a Rainbow, Geckos Go To Bed

    We bought these two books when we lived in Hawai’i and were standard bedtime reading for our two-year-old, even after we moved to the mainland. They were precious enough to lug with us. The drawings are fun and there is enough Hawai’ian imagery and references for the stories to feel a bit ‘exotic’ to some […]

  • The Giant Jam Sandwich

    [amazon_link asins=’0395442370′ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’9bff1d42-4156-11e7-8aad-69df16bb08d0′] This is a classic that our kids asked for again and again, even taking it to kindergarten for show-and-tell. The illustration style is unique and appealing. And the text, written in verse, makes it easy for children to follow along: Bap gave instructions for the making of the dough. […]

  • PBSKids.com

    This is a site as well as two apps, one for videos and one for games. There are no ads and they are completely free. Just make sure to support your local PBS station, which helps fund them. The videos and games are or/for characters/shows such as Daniel Tiger, Peg and Cat, Cyberchase, Curious George, […]