Matchstick

Author: Matt

  • Robot Turtles board game

    [amazon_link asins=’B00HN2BXUY’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’e6f31b11-3fe2-11e7-ac5f-47259560c847′] This is a clever game that got a lot of media attention when it came out, touting its ability to teach STEM concepts, specifically logical thinking. The box says for ages 4 and up but I don’t think 4-year-olds are able to grasp all the rules of the game,…

  • Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! board game

    [amazon_link asins=’B003G9QEGG’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’ba76799a-3fe0-11e7-a4e5-7b688ea79bac’] This is based on a book by Mo Willems. None of us were familiar with his stuff until after we got the game, but that didn’t matter. The box says it’s for ages 3 and up, but the rules are too complicated for our 3-year-old. However, the board and…

  • LEGO Life magazine

    LEGO has a free magazine that comes out 5 times per year. In some ways the thing is one huge ad, but the puzzles and activities (mazes, code-breaking, etc.) are pretty fun and our 6-year-old looks forward to it coming in the mail. The cost is free, but you do have to sign up for…

  • Ask magazine

    [amazon_link asins=’B0160CLMWQ’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’69160609-3fde-11e7-b716-27b6d77d64cf’] I had never heard of Ask until we got it as a gift. It’s somewhat in the same vein as Ranger Rick, but with a much snarkier tone. There is Marvin, a raccoon character in Ask, but unlike Rick, Marvin is a bit of a jerk. There are no…

  • Ranger Rick Jr. magazine

    [amazon_link asins=’B003I7HS5M’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’60c5fd88-3fdd-11e7-9c35-19d322f914de’] In this digital age, tangible media like postcards and magazines are special for children. I like magazine subscriptions as gifts because they continue being a part of the child’s life for months later. Ranger Rick Jr. is the version of Ranger Rick for younger kids and comes out 10…

  • Wallace and Gromit

    [amazon_link asins=’B003V8II2A,6303521517,B002RZ0V6E,B003V8IH26′ template=’ProductGrid’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’8d406508-3fd9-11e7-98d4-7d9ab68c2887′] I remember seeing “A Grand Day Out” at an animation festival around 1990, and then seeing “The Wrong Trousers” and “A Close Shave” a few years later. I was so thrilled by them (not least by the incredible chase scenes toward the end of ‘Trousers’ and ‘Shave’) that I…

  • Moo Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton

    [amazon_link asins=’067144901X’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’6f4a8572-3fd8-11e7-afe3-432baad77e90′] It’s hard to know what books will resonate with a child, but this one sure did. Even a year or two after first reading it, our four-year-old still pulls it off the shelf and wants us to read it.

  • Smithsonian Folkways Children’s Collection

    [amazon_link asins=’B000001DOB’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’bd3df570-3fc9-11e7-98b0-394ac395dc6c’] This was a Christmas gift and a surprise huge hit with the kids. We had it in the car for a long road trip to their grandpa and nana’s house and we ended up playing it over and over and for weeks later. It is one of very few…

  • LeapPad Ultra

    [amazon_link asins=’B00CS1WDBI’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’cda524b4-3f5d-11e7-9c2a-4d2b722af7c0′] We got this second-hand. It’s pretty expensive and we wouldn’t have bought it new. The kids love it, to the point where we have to confiscate it when screen time gets out of hand, and we can use it as a bargaining tool. It’s basically a computer tablet, like…

  • Flip-Track Mountain

    [amazon_link asins=’B0070C4D86′ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’11faf55f-3f5c-11e7-a0ea-8f7f873a0f9b’] We got this used and it may be ‘out of print’ now. It was an enormous hit with our two-year-old and remained so until he was 4 or 5. The tracks don’t fit with any of the other track-based toys we have, and some of the plastic fittings have…