It’s a rare thing to go to an art museum and see a fine art exhibit perfectly suited to kids. When we went to see Alexander Calder: The Paris Years 1926-1933 at the Whitney Museum of American Art, it was packed with kids. This may be bad news for some art fans, but it’s great for arty parents.
While it’s not a hands-on show, as Olive was hoping it would be, it’s full of Calder’s toys and circus sculptures, all of which are completely joyful. The best part of the show were the videos playing throughout, showing the movement of the sculptures. My favorite is this video of Calder performing his circus pieces (Whitney gets major points for making this available on YouTube):
Another great feature is that kids get a sketchbook as they enter where they can draw what they see. It’s full of activities to do in the exhibit: “FIND a sculpture or a drawing of an animal in the galleries. DRAW a picture of that animal.” Olive plunked right down in the middle of the gallery and started drawing. I was a very proud art mama.
For older kids, I recommend reading The Calder Game before or after you go, to feel even more connected with the artist’s work.
Also, don’t miss the William Eggelston show while you’re at the Whitney. With a few exceptions of male nudity and videos with profanity, this show is wonderful for kids as well. My favorite photograph from the exhibit says it all.
A know-it-all 5-year-old who spends a lot of time in cars or on the subway: Leapster L-Max Learning System ($67.49 at Leap Frog)
A know-it-all 10-year-old who spends a lot of time in cars or on the subway: Professor Layton and the Curious Village for Nintendo DS ($24.99 on Amazon)
The 4-year-old yogi: Gaiam Yoga Kids Silly to Calm ($15.00 at Gaiam)
The aerospace engineer of tomorrow, today: The Klutz Book of Paper Airplanes ($11.53 on Amazon)
A family who is about to spend a winter cooped up indoors (this one is a gem, sure to be appreciated): a family membership to an art museum, kids museum, aquarium, science center… you get the picture. Here’s a sampling of family memberships in the NYC area:
A 4-year-old book lover who has been known to enjoy a little TV now and then: the ultimate box set, Scholastic’s Treasury of 100 Storybook Classics ($89.99 on Amazon)
A junior shutterbug, too young to have the real deal, but old enough to capture amazing images: Fisher-Price Waterproof Digital Camera ($52.37 on Amazon)
The 8-year-old who watches Top Design and whose really knows how to pull a room together with a splash of color: John Burgerman Colouring-In Wallpaper (£40.00 per roll at Nineteen Seventy Three, via Neatorama)
4. The kid who you know will grow up to be a foodie, but for the time being can be trained to become your kitchen’s sous chef: Paula Deen’s My First Cookbook ($13.40 at Amazon)
5. An emergent reader who could get into some awesome scatological humor: The Tra-La-Laa-Rific Captain Underpants Collection, Volume 1 ($19.96 at The Scholastic Store)
1. A 9-year-old who is getting a Wii for the first time and needs to start fresh with the best games for the platform: last year’s supreme Super Mario Galaxy ($36.99 on Amazon)
2. A rambunctious 5-year-old who needs a serious energy release indoors in the winter (and outdoors in the other 3 seasons, for that matter): Hyper Dash ($19.99 at Amazon)
3. A preschooler born to hipster Brooklyn parents who abhor television but love a good book for their precious child (oh, Brooklyn parents… I kid, I kid.) But seriously: Lane Smith’s The Happy Hocky Family Moves to the Country (paperback is $6.99 at Barnes & Noble)
People often ask me gift ideas for really specific kids, so I’ve decided to hop on the holiday gift guide bandwagon with both feet and offer up some suggestions. For me there are few pleasures greater than giving a gift that someone will love. Without further ado, here’s what I would buy if I was shopping for…
1. The baby that won’t leave Mommy alone at her computer and wants to sit and bang on the keyboards: Giggles Computer Funtime for Baby ($19.99 at Leveractive)
2. The precocious child who snidely refers to Harry Potter as “kid stuff”: Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials Box Set ($23.66 on Amazon)
3. My daughter, Olive, so that we might free up some room on our DVR: Yo Gabba Gabba!: The Dancey Dance Bunch DVD ($12.99 on Amazon)
4. The 4-year-old that has so many toys, you can’t bear the thought of adding another to the collection: Too Many Toys by David Shannon ($11.55 on Amazon)
5. The 10-year-old that has so many video games, you can’t bear the thought of adding another to the collection: a Gamefly.com gift certificate ($22.95/month - $275.40/year at Gamefly.com)
This is going to be gift guide week here at Media Macaroni, so check back every day for more ideas. If you have a particular kid that you’d like a gift idea for, leave the details in the comments!
The I Spy book series by Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick is amazing for kids of all ages, but you’re missing out if you’ve never tried I Spy in interactive form. The CD-ROMs are incredible. I Spy Fantasy is the favorite in our house. Though it’s meant for older kids, Olive likes to play on my lap or on her own, finding objects we’ve previously found together. I’ll own up to a personal bias here - I was the producer on I Spy Mystery, and dear friends produced the other I Spy titles. But they’re great games, I swear! The latest I Spy titles in the franchise push the interactive envelope. There’s I Spy Funhouse on Nintendo DS, and recently Ultimate I Spy was released for Nintendo Wii.
Ultimate, indeed. I Spy on the Wii is the most interactive it’s ever been. It starts with this mystery machine. What is it? You’ll have to solve the riddles to find out.
There are 40 riddles in the game, and to solve them you find the hidden objects in the picture. The Time Tower is my favorite. You have to set the clock to different times of the day to find all of the objects. The lighting changes are really lovely.
The riddles are also full of mini-games that need to be completed, like rolling a ball through a maze, racing fish through an aquarium, juggling, flying paper airplanes, and playing paddleball. These games make great use of the Wii’s motion capabilities.
The other truly great addition in Ultimate I Spy is the multiplayer functionality. Any unlocked mini-game can be played multiplayer, and even better than that, two people can look for riddle objects at the same time. This is a great way for the younger players to play along.
If you’re game for a clever, thoughtful puzzler, then Ultimate I Spy is right for you. Check out the game trailer here.
For your viewing pleasure, I give you the Media Macaroni YouTube channel where I’ve been collecting the videos we’re hooked on in our house (including most of the ones you may have seen on this blog). What can you expect from this ever-growing video collection? There are some classic muppets to be sure, but there are some other classics as well. Remember this PSA? Olive loves it and constantly asks for the video “where the potato makes you a banana.”
There are videos that border on art like this lovely little duck animation created with origami.
For me, music is at its best when you hear the theme song from Super Mario Bros. played on a theremin.
Also, Olive is learning some French from Flight of the Conchords. Every time she sees disco lights now she says it looks like her French video. What’s that you say? You’re not sure FotC is appropriate for kids? Oh, yeah? Well why was Murray recently featured in a Yo Gabba Gabba guest spot, then?
You can get to Media Macaroni YouTube channel at any time by clicking the MM on YouTube link in the sidebar. Happy viewing!
A funny thing happened on Friday. I was playing games with some work colleagues and we popped in Samba De Amigo for Nintendo Wii, and soon everyone was hooked.
This rhythm game uses the Wii remote and nunchuk controller as maracas. You shake your maracas as the dots hit the circles. It takes a while for you and the controls to get used to each other, but there is a training section that helps. Once you’ve got the hang of it, it’s pretty easy to get into the rhythms of the game. Even the youngest kids should be able to flail their arms around and make good things happen.
Oh, but the fun doesn’t stop at mere maraca shaking. There are poses to strike and dance moves to perfect, and a nice variety of multiplayer options.
The music is unbelievably entertaining. There are all of the Latin music superstars that you might expect (or at least great cover versions). Santana? Check. Gipsy Kings? Check. Ritchie Valens? Check. Miami Sound Machine? Check. Ricky Martin? Check. Wait… both Ricky Martin songs? Check. Then there’s old-timers like Tito Puente and Perry Como. But even weirder are songs that you’d never expect to be shaking your maracas with, like Take On Me and Tubthumping. Who doesn’t need a little Samba Chumbawamba?
This is one of those great titles that’s fun for all different kinds of people to play together, and it’s almost as fun watching people play it. It’s also a great workout. I’ve been playing it for the last hour and I doubt I’ll be able to lift my arms tomorrow.
Hi everybody, just a quick morning update to tell you that I’ve switched the address of my RSS feed. If you’re a current subscriber, you’ll need to switch over to the new address. (Sorry!) And, if you’re not a subscriber it’s never been easier to subscribe! Simply click this button:
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