After a couple of years of playing with mildly entertaining video games and websites, Claire has now gotten into her first real game.  Her favorite game is everyone else’s favorite at the moment: Angry Birds!  This is a great action/puzzle  game that is often pretty challenging.  We were a little hesitant to let Claire get “into” video games, but I think there are some good things about it.  Angry Birds clearly requires logical reasoning and lots of experimentation.  It also requires patience and persistence, which, in my opinion, are just as important as reading/writing/math.  Personally, I would rather see Claire attacking a tough Angry Birds level than passively watching TV.  Both need to be in moderation, of course.

Claire doesn’t get a whole lot of time to play.  She squeezes in a little time between school, family time, errands, play dates, etc.  She mostly plays in the car when I’m driving her to pick up Molly after school.  Once we pick up Molly, I have to reclaim my phone.  The two girls tend to swap toys and things in the back seat, and I do not want my precious iPhone in Molly’s hands — or mouth, or thrown on the ground — as tends to happen. Claire occasionally plays at home too, but she can’t wander around with my phone or give it to Molly.  Yes, I’m pretty protective of my phone.  I’m trying to nudge her into the free web version.