Heather Swain's Blog

[image error]Thanks to Katie at the blog “What Mama Wants” for her very kind review of PLAY THESE GAMES. I love the image of her kids making their own bowling tournament in the yard. Hurray for summer family fun! 

My wonderful friend, Margi, who grew up in Zimbabwe (where kids knew how to entertain themselves!) taught me how to make this super cute Roly Poly Oppy Poppy Bead which wobbles and bobbles as it rolls down a half-pipe track.

Materials:

2″ x 4″ piece of aluminum foil
marble
small metal tin (like one that hold bandages or breath mints)
long carboard tube
scissors

Center your marble on one of the long sides of your foil piece then roll it up.

When you’re done rolling you will have formed a tube with the marble in the center.

 

Tightly pinch the open ends of the tube closed so that you have the rough shape of a giant pill.

 

Put the foil covered marble inside the metal tin. Close the lid and shake vigorously. The harder and longer you shake, the better your Oppy Poppy Bead will be.

Open the tin and remove the bead which will now be smooth, shiny and perfectly pill shaped.

Next, make a half-pipe track for your bead. Use scissors to cut your cardboard tube in half long ways so you have two long open half pipes.

Prop one end of one half-pipe track on the edge of a chair of coffee table. Set the Oppy Poppy at the top of the half pipe and watch it wobble end over end down the track.

For extra fun, make another bead, grab a friend and set up the half-pipe tracks side by side for an Oppy Poppy Roly Poly Derby!

 

A big thank you to Paula Day at Copperfield Book Review for taking the time to write about PLAY THESE GAMES! Paula says, ” If it’s a rainy day, or if you just want to get your kids away from their video games for a while, you’ll enjoy skimming through this book to find something fun to do together.” I couldn’t agree more!

Bonus, you’ll find tons of great ideas on this site for your own summer reads while the kids are off playing games.

 

Marcie over at the To Read or Not To Read blog gave PLAY THESE GAMES 5 Willies (as in Willie Shakespeare, that is). How cool is that?

“I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks.” I’m quoting The Bard here, friends.

But best of all, she quoted Phineas and Ferb in her review, too…dude, Shakespeare and Ph & F in the same post…awesome!

Check out her other great reviews, contests, and giveaways for plenty-o-reading fun.

Special thanks to Viviane Crystal over at Crystal Book Review for her kind words about PLAY THESE GAMES! Viviane says, “Heather Swain has put together 101 games that range from the simple to complex but which are guaranteed to involve everyone who want to have fun!” I love the idea of people hanging out being goofy together, kids and grown ups alike.

Check out all the other great reviews on her blog…this English teacher reviews tons of books in many genres so you’ll never wonder what to read next!

Many thanks to Candace at Candace’s Book Blog for her great review of PLAY THESE GAMES. My favorite line, “There were other things that I immediately got excited about because it’s so simple (I like simple!) that I was smacking myself for not thinking of it already!” Ha…nothing like making people want to smack themselves. Check out her blog for this and other great reviews of children’s and YA books for tons of good reading fun this summer.

 

When my wonderful editor Meg asked if the kids and I would like to come into the Penguin studio to make a how-to video, we jumped at the chance! (I think Beanie and Budgie were mostly excited that they would get out of school early.) We had a great time making the button catapult.

 

Heather Swain: Crafty + Cheap + Eco-minded = Making Toys and Games

Shouts to the wonderful blog My Friend Amy for running an interview about PLAY THESE GAMES, which you can check out here:

http://www.myfriendamysblog.com/2012/05/heather-swain-crafty-cheap-eco-minded.html

On Amy’s site you’ll find tons of great book reviews to keep you happily ensconced in summer reading while you’re kids are off playing games. “I’ll be right there, honey…just as soon as I finish this chapter…”

Happy reading!