You What? uKloo!

Friday, 6 December 2013

uKloo (pronounced You-Clue) is a fun, engaging, early reader treasure hunt game for kids ages 4+. It was created by Doreen Dotto who has 2 boys that were reluctant readers and tried to avoid doing reading homework. She wanted to create a fun way to get them engaged in reading with a bonus of being active while doing it!

So what exactly is uKloo and how do you play it? The game comes with 4 sets of cards (3 reading levels and a set of blank dry-erase cards). You set the cards up in various locations throughout the house according to what is on the card. Once they find one card it will tell them where to find the next card and so on. The last hiding spot reveals their surprise.

The surprise can be anything you want it to be. A dollar store toy, a certificate to get ice cream, a sticker, a card from mom or dad, a lollipop, etc. It doesn't have to be complicated at all!

Examples of each level of the reading cards from early readers to more detailed readers:
1) Look beside the milk
2) Find it in your helmet
3) Search on the bed under your dad's pillow

For early readers there is also a poster of all the words that are used on the card. If a child gets stuck on a word they can refer to the poster that has a picture with each word to help them figure it out. The poster is also sorted by verbs, preposition, helper words, and nouns. The words in each category are also listed alphabetically.

My kids love this game and frequently ask to play it. Sometimes I use it as an incentive when Kayla is a bit slow getting ready for school. I'll ask her if she wants to play uKloo when she gets home and that usually perks her up! She even tried telling her aide as school about a game she was going to play at home, but he had no idea what she was talking about.

They both enjoy running around to the next spot and seeing where that card is going to take them ... and wondering when they are going to find their surprise!

Here are 2 quick videos of each of them playing the game.

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

A short clip of Kayla. I had a couple more video clips of her reading her cards and finding her surprise, but they've mysteriously disappeared from my phone ... coincidentally after Kayla was looking through the videos!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

uKloo has won 9 awards (3 from Dr Toy categories), is available in Canada, US, and International, and available as a free app.

uKloo2 - Riddle Edition Treasure Hunt Game for ages 7+ was recently released and that is on my to-get list for Lucas's birthday. While Lucas does have fun with the Early Reader game, the Riddle Edition will be more challenging for him and I'm sure he would enjoy figuring out the riddles to find the next clue.

Disclaimer: I received a uKloo game for free to review, but all opinions on the game are mine and my children's!

comments | | Read More...

Family Resemblances

Thursday, 21 November 2013

I've always thought that Lucas looked quite a bit like my brother Michael when he was a toddler.

I don't have a lot of nice, clear quality pictures of Michael from years ago, but here are a couple.

 A sampling of pictures during Lucas's toddler years...

But then Joe's mom shared this picture of Joe as a kid.

My first thought, "Wow that could be Lucas!"

Kayla and Lucas both thought this was Lucas, "Who am I playing with?"

I showed this to my mom and she said, "Where was this taken and who is Lucas with?"

My sister realized this was an older picture and therefore not Lucas, but her response was, "That's not Lucas! That's Michael!" Ha!

And seeing how I think he resembles my brother, he must somewhat resemble me too when I was a baby.

comments | | Read More...

Put Some Wiggle in That Ziggle

Saturday, 16 November 2013

Thanks to House Party's Chatterbox feature my kids received an early Christmas present.

The Radio Flyer Ziggle is the fun way to get the wiggles out and provides for outdoor (and even indoor!) fun activities. 

When I first pulled it out of the box I sighed thinking it was going to be cumbersome to put together. By the time Joe got off the couch to help me, I pretty much had it all done. It really was pretty easy to assemble! The seat is adjustable to grow with your child, but unless I missed something, the only way I could see to adjust it was to unscrew it and put it on the next setting. It would be nice if there was something you could click together to move the seat forward/backward instead of having to unscrew it ... but other than that ... no complaints!

The suggested age is 3-8, but since Kayla is a little on the smaller size for a 10 year old she is able to comfortably use this too. Her legs are a little bit long for it, but for now she can still fit without her knees hitting the handlebars.

It doesn't take much for kids to figure out how to use it - you just move the handlebars back and forth and just wiggle!

It glides smoothly and easily and when you can gain some speed you can drift into 360 degree spins.

Joe and I both commented, as we were watching Kayla and Lucas try this out, that we wished there was one for bigger 'kids' because we wanted to try it out too!

Lucas' review, "That was amazing!" Kayla thought it was pretty easy to use and she liked it too.

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

comments | | Read More...

Sticky Love Notes

Thursday, 7 November 2013

Unbeknownst to me Lucas found the "sticky notes" on the computer. He proceeded to type up 2 notes and was excited to show them to me.

I know he's just starting to learn typing at school; he's told me about learning some of the home keys starting with F and J.

So I know he's not adept at typing away on the computer; he doesn't know where all the keys are yet. I wonder how long it took him to type these 2 notes using the 'hunt and peck' method.

I'm glad that he's so secure in the knowledge that he is loved!

 

comments | | Read More...

The Day After

Friday, 1 November 2013

Another October has come and gone. Another 31 for 21 finished.

Thanks to everyone for participating in the annual blogging challenge for Down Syndrome Awareness Month.

I know some people express that it gets harder every year to blog every single day in the month of October; especially about Down syndrome specifically. I know it feels like you've come to a point where you've said (blogged) all there is to say about Down syndrome.

But please don't be discouraged. From the beginning (Tricia) said that every single day didn't have to be a post that was Down-syndrome related; and that still stands today. The point of the challenge is just that - a challenge to yourself to blog every day. If you miss a few days - it's ok! - the blog police are not going to come get you!

And even if you feel like you've said all there is to say - just remember, you never know who all is reading  your blog. Every day there is a possibility of a new family getting a Down syndrome diagnosis and they might stumble across your blog. You never know who you are reaching. You never know who might come away from your blog that day with a better understanding of life with a child with Down syndrome.

Maybe it's time to change the name to National Down Syndrome Awareness and Acceptance Month. I know there is some consensus in the Down syndrome community that awareness has been raised and we don't need to raise anymore awareness; that people are aware and what we need to be advocating for is acceptance.

I agree about acceptance, but I'm not so sure the intentions behind awareness have been fully met. Yes people are aware of Down syndrome. They know of Down syndrome, but there are still stereotypes. There are still misconceptions. There are still negative and false assumptions about people with Down syndrome.

For the new parent receiving the diagnosis of Down syndrome are they really aware of what that means today? Or do they still have an outdated image in their mind of what Down syndrome was years ago?

Has the right kind of awareness been raised outside of the community? The kind of awareness that paints a more accurate picture of the capabilities of people with Down syndrome? Or are people still not aware about Down syndrome until they have a reason to be - until they have a loved one with Down syndrome in their lives.

I don't claim to have all the answers, but I don't think we can totally stop the campaign to raise awareness either. I think we need to expand that campaign from awareness to include acceptance though. Hmm... should I start a change.org petition to get "Acceptance" added on to that monthly designation?

Since today is also the day after Halloween here are a few Halloween pictures of The Supergirl, The Pirate, The (not-so-bandwagon) Red Sox fan, and The Civilian!

 

comments | | Read More...