I have been trying to get my kids into Dungeons and Dragons for about 5 years (since my oldest was 10 or 11). The problem is that I grew up knowing next to nothing about D&D and all my attempts at learning how to play left me ridiculously overwhelmed. At the time, I bought a D&D Starter Set ...
Sneaky Sabotage
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This game combines many of my favorite elements. It works well with large groups. It encourages puzzle solving and critical thinking. It's cooperative (for the most part), which generally involves a lower probability that someone will storm out in the middle of the game. It's a little silly and ...
Mysterium
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My goal for the next year is going to be to play more games with my kids. I feel like we used to play games ALL THE TIME and now that my oldest is in high school our variety of games has decreased dramatically. I actually bought Mysterium for my kids a couple years ago, but at the time, I looked at ...
Ungifted
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Now that my older kids are teenagers, I feel like a lot of what we listen to is aimed at young adults to make sure we are capturing everyone's attention. Ungifted is solidly a wholesome elementary/middle school book and yet everyone is my family loved it. I know I have a winner when I look in the ...
Rack-O
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Eventually, I would like to compile a list of the best math games for kids. This game from the 1950's would make the cut. Is it the most fun game that I'm going to pull out in my seventies when it's just my husband and I home alone on a Friday night? Probably not, but you know what? Maybe. It's not ...
Scythe
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It's been a while since we've found a book series that ALL of my kids enjoyed as much as this one. We started this series when they were 8 to 14, but now everyone is a year older. To be honest, the premise of this series is a little gruesome, but as my sensitive child says, "it is NOT creepy." If ...
Finders Seekers: A Review
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Our family is a big fan of escape rooms. In-person escape rooms, ThinkFun versions, Mail Order Mysteries, Hunt a Killer boxes...we like them all. I love that they are predominantly screen free ways to enjoy time together, they promote critical thinking skills, and they are just good, clean fun. ...
Imaginative Photosynthesis Lesson
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Six months ago, as part of my induction process to clear my teacher credential, I had to have a mentor teacher observe me giving a lesson and provide feedback. From Science is WEIRD's free Egan education workshops, which I'm a little obsessed with, I knew that I wanted to do a lesson that was a ...
Minimalist Grammar + Mechanics
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Two years ago, I started my student teaching in high school physics. A year and a half ago, I got my teaching credential and began working part time for a California charter school. Last summer, I decided that when school started in the fall, I was going to try working full time while still ...
Harry Potter Movie Marathon
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Almost 2 years ago, my kids and I spent 10 months re-listening to all the Jim Dale Harry Potter audiobooks. (Between read-alouds, audiobooks, and independent reading, a couple of my boys have gone through the whole series at least 3 times.) At some point during the school year, we decided to set an ...
Michelle has a PhD in Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor's Degree from the California Institute of Technology. 