Gotta Catch Them All - Pokemon Go!

 We are a pop culture loving, video game playing, movie watching family.  That being said, we prefer games that allow us to play together.  We are drawn to trivia games like You Don't Know Jack and Scene it?, as well as group games like Mario Kart, Peggle, Mario Party and Super Smash Bros.  So when Pokemon Go! was announced we were both wary and intrigued. If you haven't yet begun you journey to be a Master Pokemon trainer, Pokemon Go! is an augmented reality gaming app that gets you outside to track down Pokemon.  

Now while only one of us is really into Pokemon, the game drew us all in fairly quickly.  By the second day of playing, we were planning a trip downtown to see if we could find rare Pokemon.

Hanging with his non-digital brethren. 

Our favorite part of the game (besides collecting them all) is that it gets us outside and moving while also keeping us engaged with each other.  On our walk downtown, our youngest worked as the spotter, letting us know each time the phone vibrated when a Pokemon was near and our oldest directed us towards better areas to track them down.  All said and done, we walked over 6 miles together tracking down elusive Pokemon.  Six miles of laughing and hanging out as a family... Just keep track of where you are so you don't stop traffic trying to catch a Pikachu.   

Pokemon Go is available on both iTunes and Android. 

Explore Another Planet! - Google Mars

Google Earth has changed the way we look at the world around us.  The ability to search, locate, get directions and see it from the street has both made the world a little bit smaller and given rise to an interesting version of hidden picture where people look for strange items in the satellite and street images.      (http://www.mapofstrange.com/ ) But now the good people at Google are setting their sights on a new planet to explore - Mars.  Using Google Earth you can change the settings to explore the surface of Mars including satellite images and ground images.  So if you feel inclined to explore but can't bring yourself to leave the house, turn you attention to the skies....from your very own couch. http://www.google.com/earth/explore/showcase/mars.html

Modern Treasure Hunting – Geocaching

Signal the Frog - Official Geocaching Mascot

The world around you is full of hidden treasure. Geocaching is an outdoor treasure hunting game in which you us a GPS or GPS-enabled device to locate hidden containers called caches.  The containers come in every shape and size, from a huge treasure chest to micro containers as small as my thumbnail. The larger containers usually have an assortment of toys and tchotchkes that you can trade with and all of them have a log to sign to show that you have found it.   The best part about Geocaching is that you probably already have the tools you need to do it.  If you have a Smartphone there are several great apps that you can use to get started: NeonGeo , GeoBucket , and the Groundspeak Geocaching App available for iPhone, Android and Windows 7 phones. You’ll also want to create an account at Geocaching.com. There are both free and paid accounts, with the paid account giving you access to more caches. Beyond the traditional cache, there are multi-caches, puzzle caches, travel bugs and more… but I’ll post more on those later.  Happy Hunting!

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

 

As a work from home dad I'm constantly searching out new ways to interact and entertain my boys.  Tablets have opened an entire new world in the ways we can present, educate and and amuse our children.  There are literally thousands of apps, in both iTunes and the Android market, that are geared toward children and their parents.  My favorite type of App to use with my three-year-old are the interactive storybooks. Out of all the available books, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore happens to be our current favorite.  The incredible story about a man who becomes the proprietor  of a library of flying books began as an Oscar winning animated short and was adapted into an interactive app.  The art and animation is beautifully done and each of the pages has a hidden feature to find and play with, which the three-year-old loves. The app is currently only available on iTunes, but hopefully Android tablet users will be able to enjoy it soon as well.

www.morrislessmore.com