The Perplexus Original

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"Easy to play. Hard to master."

This is a quote taken from the back of the box. And my family agrees. The Perplexus Maze Original
is a maze ball around the size of a basketball. It is meant for children six and older. (They make the
Perplexus Rookie too, which is for younger children.) It has a little silver ball that the player tries to move around on a track without letting it fall. It is colorful and inviting; making children want to pick it up immediately. (I'll admit, the grownups like it too.) It is portable and quiet, making it easy to bring on trips. It sells for approximately $25, however, I have been able to find it for about $15.

Ideally, you would want to buy this game for children over six. It requires that a child be able to count up to 100. The directions on the box are in three languages, English, Spanish, and French; but any child who can read numbers can play it. This puzzle is fun for all types of kids. However, since it is challenging, you would want to monitor the frustration level. My nine year old son has Asperger's Syndrome and he had approximately the same frustration level that my five year old son had. They both kept having to start over and would get mad. Then, they would pick it back up again and start over. They literally could not put it down! "I have to do this mom!"

At first when we got the box, we didn't read the directions and just started moving it around. I then picked up the box and read the directions on the back. It was then that we realized that you needed to count in a certain order. My older son, immediately liked it better when I told him this. My 5 year old still prefers to play it without the numbers (fine with me.) I tried to play it too, but the numbers were hard for this old lady to read. Once I moved into better light, I found this game to be really fun. 

I then began to wonder what would happen once my sons mastered it. Would it then collect dust? So, I went to the Perplexus webpage. I was happy to discover that there were several ideas for both single player and multi-players; as well as Freestyle. It's nice to know that I will be able to teach my kids other ways to play.

As a mom of a special needs child, I would recommend this product for several reasons. First, it is easy to use and does not require major gross motor skills. Even my toddler was able to move the little silver ball along the track for a little while. Second, the design of the ball makes it easy to hold. There is a little bar around the outside of the ball that serves as a handle. Furthermore, I especially like that it is mentally challenging; allowing the kids to work through their frustrations in a fairly controlled environment.

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Lesson Plans - Week 3

And the 3rd week of plans is now available. The dinner menu is all from Can You Stay for Dinner? This website has healthy, low-fat meals. I can not say if they are tasty, as I have not tried them yet. I'll get back to you on that. Just go to the "Weekly Mommy Plans" at the top of the page.

I just started the plans this week. So I just finished up the 1st week of plans. I have to say, it's going pretty well. I'll admit, I didn't get to everything. My downfall seems to be exercise. Grrr. I really need to make that happen. Plus, I have been having a hard time getting to some of the cleaning duties. I really need to get better at keeping the toddler occupied. Too much time is spent trying to keep him from scaling furniture or defacing things with the pens he has somehow gotten from the baby-proofed drawer. (He might be a spy one day.)

The photos on here are highlights of this week. I am taking pictures each week. You'll notice in the 2nd week of plans, I have started a scrap-booking project during learning time. I will let them use the photos from the previous week to paste in their books. They will write about what we did. The 9-year old will write on his own, but the 5-year old will dictate his sentences to me. They will get to add sticker to the page afterwards. We think I may only be able to stay at home for a year due to finances. So, this is the year of Mommy and I want to make sure they remember what we did.

Water Fun

Vegas in the summer is about as close to hell as you can get. Unfortunately, 6 months out of the year requires us to be inside. I hate this! Kids should be outside playing! The only way that this is going to happen is if we play water games. Here are the top five water activities that I found (besides the pool). The links will take you to lists that offer other activities as well.
Bouncing Balloons Game sounds like a blast. Basically what you do is have the kids bounce a water balloon on an old sheet. The trick is getting them to catch it back on the sheet. My kids would love this!
Frozen Feet sounds hilarious. Fill a kiddie pool with ice and  have the kids race to remove the ice to fill their own personal bucket. The person with the most ice wins.
Jump Rope on the Sprinkler seems like an easy set up. All you have to do is turn on the sprinkler and have the kids twirl the jump rope through the spray.
Freezing Water Tag is a variation on freeze tag. The "It" person runs and sprays others with water using a spray bottle. When someone is sprayed they have to freeze. The last one to be sprayed wins.
After reading the above activities, I realized that I didn't really pick good activities for my toddler. So, this one is for him. Break the Ice requires some prep work. Make large ice cubes using plastic bowls or pans. Hide little plastic toys in them. Let the kids use plastic hammers to free the toys.
So why are you still sitting here on the computer. Get your kids outside! (I guess that goes for me too.)