I’ve made toys and playthings my niche, so was it any surprise that toys and games have doubled as tools to help my family heal? My husband moans that we have too many toys in this house. And, while yes, that may be the case, it’s also an indication that we take playtime seriously.
In my most recent post over at Time to Play, I shared how playtime is how we’ve been healing with our medical misfortunes. And since every day is a constant struggle (sickness or not) I thought I’d share more details about some of the games and toys I mentioned.
Starlight Foundation
First of all, Starlight Foundation. I had honestly never heard of Starlight Foundation until we stepped foot into St. Clare’s pediatric wing that fateful summer day. As opposed to the outdated toys normally found in doctor’s offices, the playroom at our hospital had a wide range of updated toys. Even though Josh doesn’t play with toys, or couldn’t even sit up on his own at that point, that play room was designed to not only provide comfort for its pediatric patients and their families.
In our case, that playroom brought solace to our big boy who was confused and not willing to separate from mom, dad and sick baby bro. Because our family spent an entire week there, Jack played for hours in that room. He befriended other pediatric patients, challenged them to fierce games of Candyland and never batted an eye at their EEG set up and the electrodes glued and bandaged to their heads.
From exercausers to train tables to Candyland to Legos, the Starlight Site at St. Claire’s had it all. And for that, we, and all of the other families who have to spend time there, are eternally grateful.
Perhaps it was the Starlight Foundation’s intention to provide a fun space for the young patients, but in our case, big brother shared smiles while meeting those young patients.
I applaud the Starlight Foundation for their ongoing endeavors to help kids and families smile despite their circumstances.
LeapPad2
The LeapPad2 which has garnered a bounty of awards for being a tech innovation for kids, has been our most portable and educational device on-the-go. Jack has dropped it, he’s lost it, he’s sat on it and he’s even slept on it, and yet, the LeapPad2 survives long enough for him to feed his pets and create art. Since we’ve had an ipad and multiple iphones and ipads, I’ve always been ambivalent about the LeapPad. As we’ve learned when we’re on the go, this thing is a life saver. He has fun educational games, including Toy Story, Scooby and a few other titles. Beyond the cool titles, the LeapPad2, on its own is a pretty innovative tech device for kids this young. It has a cool camera and video functionality that allows kids to create their own media, on their own terms. The photos I find of me in my best/worst are hysterical and priceless.
Wild Kratts Creature Power app
I’ll have to devote another post strictly for apps, but apps on our iphone and ipad have been invaluable while holed up in the hospital. Jack’s favorite app as of late, Wild Kratts Creature Power, has a few games and a cool camera and stickers feature. The games, Bee Game and Elephant Game, like their show, follows the adventures of the Wild Kratts while educating about animals. These games employ colorful graphics and ios technology that many kids already enjoy. The Bee Game is more straight forward where a bee (one of the brothers) must navigate to successfully pollinate a flower. The Raccoon Game helps the raccoon find food for her babies. In the elephant game, the player has to help the elephants with different kinds of baths. The Bee Game and Pictures and Stickers are definitely Jack’s favorite. Like the sneaky boy he is, he thinks it’s hilarious to snap pictures of us while we’re sleeping…but we won’t go there.
This app is exclusively available for iphone and ipod Touch. We are obsessed with this show, so we can’t get enough of it. There’s a new Wild Kratts math app that I’ll have to share more about once I check it out!
