Patrick Matthews's Blog, page 6
December 7, 2016
Books for friends, from friends
Christmas is hands-down my favorite holiday. There’s nothing better than watchingsomeone discover a new present, of being a part of the excitement, surprise and, yes, I’ll say it, joy.
Actually, there is one thing better, and that’s being able to say “A friend of mine wrote that. I thought you might like it.”
So, in the spirit of that, I’d like to suggest some amazing gift ideas, all written by friends of mine. If you see something by someone you don’t know, give it a try anyway. Just tell yo...
December 6, 2016
Throwing Fingers
Here’s a quick and easy game that I introduced to a class of second-graders to help them remember odd and even. I showed them how to play during class, but the strength of the game is that it persisted beyond class, and ended up getting played both at home and on the playground. Not only that, but I’m happy to report that they can now all spot an odd number without a moment’s hesitation.
Setting up the gameIn theory, you could play this game with as many players as you like, but the practica...
Sticks
Sticks is a game that my kids brought home from school. I don’t know where it comes from, but it’s a great little head-scratcher, andis perfect for when you’re stuck waitingin a line or a doctor’s office or wherever.
Sticks is a 2-player game. It starts with each player holding out their hands, one finger extended on each hand.
The way you win is by forcing the other player to have no fingers extended.
Players alternate taking turns. On your turn, you have to do one of two things:
Touch one...Sparkle Bang!
Sparkle Bang is a game that my kids learned in elementary school, but we play it a bit differently.I don’t know who created the original, but the variant that’s here works great in the car or when you’re out and about.
Setting up the game is as simple as getting people to say that they’ll play. There are no cards or dice or anything like that. The first player says a word, followed by the first letter of that word. The next player says the next letter, and so on around the table, with each pe...
Free Game! If You Had A…
Looking for a fun and easy game to play with your family this holiday? Here’s one that my family has developed over the past several months. We call it “If you had a,” and all it takes to play is imagination.
Start the gameOne person asks a question that starts with “If you had a” and ends with “what would it be?” Here are some example questions to get you started:
If you had a castle what would it be? If you had a birthday cake what would it be? If you had an adventure, what would it be? I...September 10, 2016
Want to be a writer? Listen.
“How do I become a writer?”
It’s a simple enough question, but when askedit by a fifth-grader, I was stumped. At first, I started to go down the cliche path: writers write.
“The answer everyone gives,” I said, “is that if you want to be a writer, write. Just make sure you write every day, and stick with it.”
The boy looked at me with no response, and I couldn’t blame him.What I’d said wasabout as useless as it was generic.Want to be a runner? Run. Want to write software? Write software. Want...
