Fun and Games – Bethanne Kim

Cardboard Castles for Kids and Cats

Cardboard boxes. In our home, they are like some kind of fungus that reproduces and spreads everywhere when no one is looking. The adults try to recycle them as fast as possible but the kids and cats want to keep them. What’s a parent to do? Turn them into cardboard castles! If you have large […]

Bethanne Kim 7 years agoFebruary 9, 2022

Featured Fun and Games Short Reads

Cards Against Humanity and Teens

I don’t know if you’ve seen or heard about this card game but “Cards Against Humanity” is billed (on the box) as “a party game for horrible people.” Our teen wants this game and he’s not alone in that. There is no chance – zero – of us giving it to him as shipped but […]

Bethanne Kim 7 years agoFebruary 9, 2022

Featured Fun and Games

Getting Started in Electric Trains

You can name everyone on the Island of Sodor. You know who is emerald green, and who causes confusion and delay. As much as your child loves Thomas and Friends, they are getting bigger and you think it’s time to try electric trains, but you don’t know where to start. Our experience is that it’s […]

Bethanne Kim 7 years agoFebruary 1, 2022

Featured Fun and Games

Why Barbie Isn’t a Terrible Role Model

Barbie gets a bad rap from grown-ups because that don’t understand what little girls instinctively know: Barbie is a 3D paper doll, full stop. And that’s the crux of why Barbie isn’t a terrible role model: She isn’t a role model at all. I learned a lot from Barbie playing with Barbies, but none of […]

Bethanne Kim 7 years agoFebruary 1, 2022

Featured Fun and Games

New Traditions: Family Movie Night

We have a pile of unwatched movies and I bet you do too. They might be physical DVDs or Blurays, or they might be a virtual stack on NetFlix or Amazon Prime, but they sit there, taunting you, year after year. I got sick of it and instituted a family movie night. We take turns […]

Bethanne Kim 7 years agoFebruary 1, 2022

Family Featured Fun and Games Lists Musings

Gift Guide: Adult Coloring Books and Colored Pencils

From baby’s first scribbles to DaVinci’s sculptures, there is a huge continuum in what is art. Most of us don’t progress very far on that continuum, but the new generation of adult coloring books and colored pencils let us feel like we have. The thing I love about it is that no matter what your […]

Bethanne Kim 7 years agoFebruary 9, 2022

Featured Fun and Games

Trains, Trains, and More Trains

When we took our son on his first steam train ride when he was a few months old – to visit the Grand Canyon National Park – we had no idea what we were starting. Naturally, Thomas the Tank Engine was the true gateway to his addiction. For those who don’t know yet, there are many trains on […]

Bethanne Kim 8 years agoFebruary 1, 2022

Featured Fun and Games

Second Run Theaters: Oft-Forgotten Gems

Stop paying $15-$20 or more per person to see the newest stereotype-reinforcing pile of poo from the big studios, especially while it’s still new in the theater! You do have other movie choices. Buying, streaming or borrowing DVDs come to mind, but that isn’t the same as seeing something on the big screen. And no, that doesn’t mean […]

Bethanne Kim 8 years agoFebruary 1, 2022

Featured Fun and Games

Make Movie Choices That Don’t Reinforce Racism and Misogyny

Read this article for more complete details, but the simple reality is that when Hattie McDaniels won an Oscar in 1939 for her role in Gone With the Wind, racism was so deeply ingrained in American life, and in every aspect of Hollywood, that the first black winner of an Oscar wasn’t even able to attend the premiere […]

Bethanne Kim 8 years agoFebruary 1, 2022

Family Featured Fun and Games

National Parks ROCK!

What do you and your family like to do? There’s a National Park for that! Your specific answer really doesn’t matter because there are hundreds of national parks for every possible interest, and they each have special events that cater to even more special interests. I grew up going to national parks and historical sites […]

Bethanne Kim 8 years agoFebruary 9, 2022