Our New Hasbro Travel Games

September 19, 2013 by

Bring the “fun” back in games by getting your children off their tablets and phones and setting up good ol’ fashion board games.  I’m sure these classic games would bring back fond memories of wonderful moments shared with family and friends.

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Our family has some new additions to our collection of family games.  They are travel size which makes them very convenient to store and to bring to overnighters. I purchased these four Hasbro Travel games from Lazada Philippines several weeks ago but have played only Monopoly with the two preschoolers.  Still, I’m excited to try the other games with my kids and with my sisters.

 

Hasbro Scattergories Taster

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In love with word games?  This game’s for you!  Pop open the small can and you’ll find a 20-sided die, eight (8) category cards, three (3) pencils, an answer pad, and a sand timer.  Write as many words beginning with the letter on the dice for the categories specified.  Every unique answer scores you a point.  Since it requires writing, it’s not advisable to be played during road trips but would come very handy during long plane rides.  (Price: Php 150.00)

 

Hasbro Taboo Taster

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This trial size version of Taboo is great for long drives and out-of-town trips.  It includes fifty (50) game cards, one (1) mini timer, and one (1) squeaker.  Compared to the full-size game, the words in the game taster are easier to guess.  But that makes it a great choice for those travelling with children and teens.  If you have never played the game of unspeakable fun, this would also be a good and more affordable option for you. (Price:  Php 150.00)

 

Hasbro Travel Monopoly

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This game is suitable for age 8+ but my two preschoolers are able to play it with some changes in the rules. It’s a good way to introduce the concept of money to them.  The set includes a plastic game board that turns into a carrying case when folded.  It also includes Title Deed cards, a Community Chest task card, a  Chance task card, six (6) plastic playing tokens, six (6) plastic get-out-of-jail keys, three(3) dice, thirty-two(32) houses, twelve (12) hotels, and a stack of Monopoly money.  Since all the pieces are small and light, this game is best played indoors and on a flat surface.  If you expect to be cooped in a hotel room for several hours, this would be a great game to have with you.  (Price:  Php 349.00)

 

Hasbro  Travel Battleship

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Ideal for age 7+, this travel version of the classic Battleship makes a great boredom buster for kids who love strategy games.  There are two self-contained trays to hold the red and white pegs and the boats. Like the Hasbro Travel Monopoly, the pegs are too light and small to conveniently play while in the car.  This is best played indoors.  (Price: Php 349.00)

Filed Under: Explorations, Family Fun, for the KIDS, Products We Love

Weekend Discoveries: Pottery-Making and Calamansi Picking

September 17, 2013 by

Weekends are always best spent discovering new things with your loved ones.  Two weekends ago, little Jade discovered how pots are made and, with little Jakei, discovered that calamansi came from small trees.

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An unplanned trip to Calumpit, Bulacan led us to a small pottery shop where we met Nanay Charing.  At 72, she is still hand-crafting pots used in jewellery making.  We found her sitting on a small stool with hands all muddy from the clay she was turning into small melting pots.  When asked why she was still working at her age, she nonchalantly answered that they had a big order to fill and she had to help make the pots.  It’s amazing how she can still handcraft up to 500 of these small pots in one day!  We did tell her that how amazed we were that she could still work all day.  She replied with, “Ganyan talaga, pag banat sa trabaho.”

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It turns out that she was the owner of this backyard pottery shop which she started in 1997.  She had been working in another pottery shop for more than a decade when she and her husband raised enough funds to start their own.  Now, their small shop supplies melting pots to most of the jewellers in Bulacan.  Her story is testament that hard work really pays off.

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Tess Gomez, Nanay Charing’s daughter, and her husband now helps run the family-business.

We went home with a bagful of clay for my Dad’s experiment, with a heart inspired by Nanay Charing, and with a life lesson that made the trip so worthwhile.

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Before heading home that Saturday, Papa and the kids picked some calamansi.  This was the kids’ first time to do so which made the experience an exciting one for my two little preschoolers.

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It certainly was a weekend full of discoveries and I’m hoping that we would have more weekends like it.  How about you, how will you be spending your weekend with your family?

 

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Nanay Charing’s pottery shop is located at Gatbuca, Calumpit, Bulacan. If you find yourself in need of clay or pots for high-temp uses, call Tess Gomez at 0999-4857161.

Filed Under: Explorations, Family Fun

Challenge your Mind at Letter UP

September 17, 2013 by

Growing up, my sisters and I didn’t have electronic gadgets so we kept ourselves from dying out of boredom by playing board games.  Monopoly, Scrabble, Word Factory, Snakes and Ladders, Sorry – we had a gamut of board games to keep us entertained for hours.    We outgrew most of the games but our love for word games never wavered.  Board games eventually gave way to crossword puzzles, cryptograms, and such which also soon gave way to word games apps on our gadgets.   Now, I’ve found an app that would allow us to play together like old times though we now live far apart.  Letter UP, a real-time multi-player game by Hey Snails, is sure to keep us up all night just like when we were young.

Launched only just March of this year, Letter UP has already got me hooked!  I started playing in April and have not let a week pass without playing a few games.  With the increasing number of familiar names I see in the game rooms, it looks like I’m not the only who’s hooked to Letter UP!

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One of the features I love the most in Letter Up is the Chat Function. Now my sisters and I can still chat while playing even when we are miles apart.  Once I even chatted with a player from Malaysia who said that she was playing Letter Up to improve her English.  Now, if they could enable video chatting while playing, this game would be perfect!

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Another great thing about Letter UP is that its developers continue to make improvements to make the game more exciting.  When I first played it, each player was given 5 minutes per turn.  A few weeks after, there were additional game rooms that included varying time limits. I play Social (5 mins limit) when I’m doing something else while playing or Blitz (1 min limit) when I’m up for a very quick game.

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screen capture of game last April

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screen capture of game this September
notice how the game has improved which is why more people are playing it now

More and more people are playing Letter UP now.  It really is a wonderful game to play with your family and friends.  It’s also a great way of making new friends who share the same interests as you.  Do give it a try so you can find out yourself why Letter UP has got me hooked. 🙂

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Check out what other players are saying about Letter UP by liking their FB page https://www.facebook.com/letterupgame.  Look for their Smart UPs and Tips UPs also while you’re there.

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Filed Under: Explorations, Family Fun, for DAD & MOM, for the KIDS, Products We Love Tagged With: ,

Hasbro Games to Go! TRAVEL MONOPOLY Fun with the Kids

September 4, 2013 by

If you had 1,000 pesos to spend at Lazada Philippines, what would you buy? I initially wanted to get something for hubby but all the ones I liked were way beyond the budget so guess what I ended up purchasing? Hasbro Games!  It would have been more frugal to have bought more useful things but seeing those board games brought back so many wonderful memories that compelled me to buy the game sets.

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In the cart went a Hasbro Travel Monopoly (P349), a Hasbro Travel Battleship (P349), a Hasbro Scattergories Taster (P150) and a Hasbro Taboo Taster (P150).   I placed the order on a Monday and received them Friday of the same week.  I would have probably received them sooner had it not been for Typhoon Maring.

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We were booked for an overnight stay at the Summit Ridge in Tagaytay that weekend so we decided to take the Travel Monopoly with us.  It was just roughly the same size as my planner and even weighed much lighter. It was small enough to fit nicely in the front pocket of our luggage.  It can actually fit inside a tote bag or a kid’s backpack.

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The Hasbro Travel Monopoly comes with 6 plastic tokens, 6 plastic keys, 22 deed cards, 4 railroad property cards, 2 utility cards, a community chest card, a chance card, 3 pcs of dice, houses and hotels, and monopoly money all inside a compact foldable plastic board.  This specific game board is a UK version so don’t expect to see Atlantic City or Park Place.  And instead of Reading, Shortline, B&O, and Pennsylvania you have Fenchurch St., Kings Cross, Marylebone, and Liverpool Stations.

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The game is designed for kids age 8 years old above so we had to adjust the game mechanics for the little ones.  For one, they didn’t have to collect all properties of the same color to buy houses.  We also didn’t wait for anyone to go bankrupt to end the game (if we did, we would still be playing now :-)).  We set a time limit and whoever had the most properties was declared the winner.

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The Hasbro Travel Monopoly is very convenient to carry but can only be played indoors though.  The plastic tokens are much too light that they can easily be toppled by a gust of wind.  It’s also impossible to play with it inside the car as there are no magnets or ridges to hold the houses firmly onto the board.  I also wish that the set came with a small tray for holding the monopoly money.  I guess we’ll just have to put our creative juices to work and craft a small tray that would fit inside the box.

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It may not be the perfect travel board game but the kids still love the Hasbro Travel Monopoly.  My kids just enjoy throwing the dice and moving their tokens around but it’s actually a great way to hone their basic arithmetic skills (counting dots on dice, spaces, and reading numbers) and to teach them how to count money.  They’re still a bit too young to understand investing and managing their money but they would eventually learn these as well.  Moreover, it teaches them how to take turns and to play fair.  Best of all, we all get to spend some quality bonding time playing together.  If you have kids in the family, I do highly suggest that you take them off their tablets and put board games back on the table.

Filed Under: Busy Bees, Explorations, Family Fun, for the KIDS, Kids At Work, Products We Love, Toys Tagged With: ,

Choosing the Right Swim Lessons for Your Child

August 29, 2013 by

Swimming is an important skill that any child should try to learn at an early age. Multiple options are available for parents who want to sign their child up for swim lessons. From private classes to group ones to a swim team, there are plenty to choose from. The type of instruction that is right for your child will depend on his or her age, skills, and interests, as well as your expectations as a parent.

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My two preschoolers in need of swimming lessons.

Parent and Child Classes

These classes work best for the youngest swimmers, concentrating not so much on swimming itself but rather on introducing them to the water. The parents help their infants and toddlers get rid of the fear of water by splashing and playing. One of the most important steps during these first lessons is for the children to be able to wet their faces without fear. The sooner they learn to do this, the sooner they start floating and are able to progress to a more advanced level.

Group Classes

Group lessons can be a good stepping stone from beginner classes to more serious swimming. Children who are able to float on their own and are not afraid of putting their faces in the water are ready for this setup. Keep in mind that the class should never be too crowded, and if there is a large amount of children, then there should be several instructors present, at a ratio of one instructor per every three students. This ensures the children’s safety, as well as allows each one of them to have sufficient individual attention. If your child is really interested in swimming and takes it as more than just a hobby, you might want to consider private lessons or a swim team, where he or she will be able to swim competitively.

Private Classes

Private lessons work best for children who are either really scared of water or those who want to take their swimming to the next level. Private swim lessons will allow your child to get rid of fear, develop proper stroke techniques, and get ready for a swim team if that is the plan.

Filed Under: Explorations, Family Fun Tagged With:
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