Matchstick

Category: for 9-year-olds

  • Plants vs. Zombies

    [amazon_link asins=’B003VJKJG2′ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’8ec9d2a2-159d-11e8-ba90-f1c355913de5′] We didn’t even had kids yet when this game first came out. And there is a whole group of elementary school-age kids who can now rediscover what was a huge hit back in 2009/2010. I think it’s one of the great games, in terms of theme, design, and extensive […]

  • Steam Powered Giraffe

    [amazon_link asins=’B0086JZPNO’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’2bb5338a-10e9-11e8-b7e0-d3656075f555′] It has been fascinating to watch this band evolve over the past ten years. From busking at Balboa park in San Diego to a huge theatrical production on a constant nationwide tour. From their website: Steam Powered Giraffe is a musical project from San Diego, California. It was formed […]

  • Minecraft: The Island

    [amazon_link asins=’0399181776′ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’91f8d4e9-f636-11e7-a944-ff7108981ad3′] We have some Minecraft-obsessed people in our house and when visiting the library we always look for Minecraft-themed books for design ideas. We picked up “The Island” not knowing anything about it and the kids lost interest when they saw that there were no illustrations. But I read the […]

  • Good Eats

    [amazon_link asins=’1584797959′ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=”] Watching Good Eats was one of my weekly rituals back in the ’90s, back when the Food Network was an emerging force on television. Unlike the standard TV chef format (cook looks across a counter at the viewer while preparing food), Good Eats’ Alton Brown gets into the science […]

  • Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land

    [amazon_link asins=’B00287Z1F2′ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’b2bea96f-e66e-11e7-bc7b-35986d9cfc05′] This is one of the great Disney shorts from their “classic” period of the 1950s and ’60s. It has Donald going on an adventure, learning about how math is the foundation for music, architecture, nature, and games. It explains the Golden Ratio phi and how simple ratios explain many […]

  • LEGO Scooby-Doo and the Haunted Isle

    My kids didn’t even know who Scooby-Doo was before stumbling across this game while looking for Lego-related apps. The game is rated 10+ but we tried it anyway and I haven’t seen anything particularly ‘mature’ about it and our 4-year-old enjoys it without being scared (and this is someone who is sometimes scared of things […]

  • Once a Pawn a Time

    [amazon_link asins=’B000OT2816′ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’2b38f149-c643-11e7-be85-93fa2b289994′] I’ve heard of chess prodigies as young as 6 and have played chess against 6- and 7-year-olds who knew what they were doing and were even able to beat me (although I’m not a great player). So I was eager to introduce chess to our oldest at that age. […]

  • Star Trek – The Animated Series

    [amazon_link asins=’B000HEWEJ4′ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’3c39339d-b9aa-11e7-98a6-c5b01cd96078′] A lot of cartoons aimed at kids are not very good. They are either insipid, appealing only to toddlers, or have too much adult humor, or are essentially long advertisements. So I sometimes look for older cartoons, hoping that they will transcend, but boy oh boy are they violent. […]

  • Bad Lip Reading Star Wars Songs

    BLR is a YouTube phenomenon. A guy dubs over news clips and videos with silly nonsense and sometimes songs. The songs are very, very good – well-composed, well-performed and sung, and slickly produced. His re-dubs of music videos are better than the originals. Not all of them are particularly kid-friendly, but most are. In 2016, […]

  • Little Robot

    [amazon_link asins=’1626720800′ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’01bcca67-b825-11e7-99d4-65314339f12e’] We got this from the library, which has a lot of graphic novels and other quasi-comic books – a lot more than when I was a kid, but back then the genres were more explicitly separated (novels OR picture books OR comics). Little Robot has a lot of panels […]