I’m so excited to be able to contribute to the Family Game Night postings here at ITKM for the fifth installment. Haba‘s “Keep it steady!” is a game similar to the old “Pick Up Sticks” game from when we were little. You bunch all the colored sticks together and place the wooden ring around them to stand them up. You get it all steady and then it’s time to play! With 2 – 4 people, you simple roll the dice and whatever color you roll is the color stick you have to remove from the ring. Be careful though! The sticks will be wobbly and you’ll have to choose wisely in order to not send the entire bunch tumbling over.

We brought the game up to my parents place in northern Arizona, so it was fun to be in a different home and keep the TV off! We all sat around the kitchen table and our three year old was absolutely LOVING this game. Although, I swear she cheated a few times and said she rolled a yellow stick (the skinniest of all the sticks) when I thought I saw blue come up (the thickest). It was so much fun and she loved to play head-to-head with my hubby and I. Winner would get to play the person who sat out the game before. It never seemed to get old and the pieces are made of thick, durable wood. This game is guaranteed to last a lifetime. It’s the perfect game to leave in the game room for generations to come. You can purchase your own “Keep it steady!” game by Haba here.

Rolling her dice……..carefully concentrating while picking her stick…..OH NO, it fell!!!

Special thanks to Haba for providing a sample game for review.

Time for family game night again!  Today I am bringing you my 4th installment… Arranging Game Corner to Corner from Haba.  This brightly colored wooden game is quite a bit like Tetris in shape forms.  This game is all about imagination; what can you build?  My daughter is quite into building things right now with blocks, mostly castles since we’re in princess land.  I thought this game would be perfect for her and her age group.  Haba recommends this game to ages 3 and up.  The parts are quite small, so I’d keep an eye out on the little ones.  The game includes 62 wooden pieces of two shapes of wood, an “I” and a “L”… getting Nintendo flashbacks?

First, my daughter just did some free playing, sorting the pieces by shape and color.  Then lining them up, stacking them, and making small “castles”.  She got a little frustrated when pieces started falling so I helped her make the flat house.  Haba gives you several ideas of what to make from animals to windmills.  It was fun to do it together, helping each other.  This game would be great for kids who have issues with “winning and losing”… or for only children.  As usual, Haba brings us another safe, quality game, made in Germany.  You can purchase your own “Eck an Eck” or Corner to Corner game here.

Special thanks to Haba for providing a sample game for review.

For our third installment of family game night, we have a Haba game called Animal Upon Animal or Tier Auf Tier.  This wobbly stacking game is super cute and perfect for kids ages 4 and up.  The parts are quite small so keep them away from little ones who like to shove foreign objects in their mouths.  It requires some delicate hand-eye coordination and problem solving thinking.  First you place the crocodile on a flat surface, as it is the first animal of the pyramid.  Each player (up to 4) selects 7 different animals for their stock pile.  The game begins with a human balance test.  The child who can balance on one foot the longest, like a flamingo, gets first turn.  They roll the die. You will either roll a dot, two dots, a crocodile, hand, or question mark.  The marking on the die determines how many animals you (or another player) must stack on top of the existing pyramid.  The person who stacks their animals first wins.  If a couple animals tumble off before a winner is announced, those animals are sent back to their owner.

This is a simple and straight forward game that requires fine motor skills, and a little skill.  I’m a big fan of balance games as my toddler grows more and more agile.  Forcing her to take the time to lightly place an animal in an appropriate spot gives me great pleasure.  This is a quick game anyone can play, taking only 15-20 minutes to play. This wooden game is crafted in Germany.  Purchase your own game here.

Here is how our game went:  The stacking started out pretty well, building higher and higher.  My daughter chose to make a lot of high-risk  moves, sometimes leading to a tumbling animal tower.  But all in all, it was a lot of fun.  She was reminded of one of her favorite songs from Yo Gabba Gabba, and started singing, “keep trying, keep trying, don’t give up, never give up…”

Thank you to Haba for providing a sample for review.

I was never a big fan of the kids being toted around in the Radio Flyer wagon.  Sure it’s cute; kids in wagons are cute, but it just was never my thing.  Well Kaiku has certainly stepped up to the bar with their amazing collection on wheels.  I was first drawn in while looking for a shopping cart for my daughters kitchen/market area in her room.  I just refuse to buy a plastic cart, and now I don’t have to with the birch Strollkart:

Now on to the main event.  Kaiku has an amazing wagon that is made from solid birch and has natural rubber tires.  The wagon is actually comfortable and is super heavy duty.  All parts are weather resistant and won’t rust or corrode.  There are soft handles on the sides for comfortable grips.  I can’t wait for a new baby (18 months+) that my older daughter and pull around in the super wagon Zen.  This is one wagon I have no problem tugging my tots around in.  It has a beautiful modern design, is ergonomically superior to it’s predecessors, and these tires can survive a slightly more treacherous landscape or sidewalk.

I might be even more excited about the accessories that go with the Zen.  We have a “street fair” every Thursday right on my street.  It’s a farmer’s market, open air art gallery, and perfect for evening strolls.  This super wagon is perfect for these trips.  And what makes it even easier is the Lightship Basket, which connects on the back end for storage.  It’s the perfect place for your fresh marble rye, persimmons, and other market finds.  There is also a cup holder accessory, which is fantastic for being out in the hot desert sun.

Purchase your own Kaiku products from their online store and enjoy FREE SHIPPING!.  These are heirloom toys that you will be able to use with not only your kids, but your grandkids as well.  Plus your grandkids will be ÜBER impressed with your hip style.

After a year of being potty trained, I’m pretty tired of emptying my daughter’s Boon potty receptacle.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved that potty, but she’s older now and it’s time to move up in the world.  It is time for her to grow up and start using the big potty.  I already have the Bumbo potty seat ready and waiting, but how can she reach it?  She needs a real boost to get up to the potty and finally I have found the perfect step stool.  Kabooster offers a high quality wooden stool that even has handles to help with their balance.   The step stool is the perfect height for my newly turned 3 year old.  She can now climb up and go potty, get down and flush, all by herself.  It’s great for her, as she has gained more confidence and independence, and it is fantastic for me because I’ve been cut out of the clean up equation completely.  The stool has taken on other purposes, as she can easily carry it around by the handles.  She can use it to reach places and things that she couldn’t before, which has been a good and bad thing.  It has definitely taken my house monitoring to a new level, making sure potential harmful objects are WAY out of her reach.  All in all, the Kabooster step stool get two thumbs up from us.

Purchase your own at Kabooster for $49.95.  The stool comes with a 10 year replacement warranty.   No need to worry about the quality though as they are made from superior grade birch hardwood.  Learn about personalizing your stool here.

Peppy Pottier

Staccabees is a wonderful dreidel game that is fun for all families, Jewish or not.  While Staccabees is based on a dreidel, which is a traditional Hanukkah game, there are many other variations of the dreidel top from many different cultures.  In fact, the Greek have their own version of the Dreidel game, called Parta Ola.  It is a spinning top game played during the Christmas and New Years Holidays, even Easter.  No matter your religion or culture, Staccabees is a fun game for any family.  The all natural wooden game pieces and overall simplicity make this game special.  Taking away the plastic, the batteries, and the noise, we can truly see what a family game night is about.  It’s about FAMILY TIME and this game is a great one to add in to your collection.

A stack of cubes, compare to the traditional “pot”, grows and shrinks as the players take their turns.  On the Dreidel is: נ (Nun), ג (Gimel), ה (Hei), ש (Shin), which are Hebrew letters.  Together these letters form a mnemonic for the rules of the game.  In Yiddish, they translate to “nothing”, “all”, “half”, and “put”.  The object of the game is to be the first player to balance all of your cubes on the group’s shared stack.

The game comes in a super convenient cotton bag, great for travel and easy to store.  The game is for 2-6 players, age 6 and up.  It’s a quick game that takes about 20-30 min to play, perfect for busy families.  We all know how long a game of Monopoly can take!  Now you have no excuse for game night once a week.

To purchase this game now, click to the site and enter iknow to receive a 10% discount.

Staccabees is also offering a giveaway to two lucky winners. To enter this amazing giveaway, comment below on what your favorite aspect of Staccabees is.  To see the games full description and FAQ, click.

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GIVEAWAY ENDS January 13, 2010 at midnight PST