Challenging Websites

Here Are Some Websites That Aren’t Junk Food

BY BRAD AND PARKER KAVA

Sometimes I want to scream when I see my 6-year-old on the iPad. He watches some of these YouTube videos with people who sound like they are just screaming nonsense.

But lately he’s found some educational games we can do together—and they are challenging for both of us. He’s better at some of them than me because he’s been brought up playing computer games. It turns out we play together and make a great team.

1. BRAIN TEST: TRICKY PUZZLES (POKI.COM)

This one is my favorite, because every one of these tricky tests makes you look at things in a new way and they get harder as you advance.

For example, on one of the beginner’s screens it asks you to feed the cat and has some food for it. My logic told me to drag the food over to the image of the cat… but it never worked, no matter how many times I tried. The first grader had better luck: he dragged the food over to the word cat in the question --and voila!—it worked.

Another of the simpler ones asks which month is longer, May, March or February. I was stumped, but the kid wasn’t…. February has more letters in it.

Then it gets more advanced: “My widowed granny has three children. They are all married with at least one child. My aunt has three nephews. What is the minimum number of chairs we need for dinner?”

I’ll let you figure that one out.

In short, this is a blast and something we can do together as equals.

The company that makes the game, Poki, is based in Amsterdam and has more than 300 developers and 50 million players a month. It’s free if you bear commercials, or you can pay to play without ads.

2. AKINATOR EN.AKINATOR.COM

Did you ever play 20 questions, the game where someone thinks of a famous person, object or animal, and others have to guess the character using the fewest questions possible?

That’s the game that the French company, Elokence, came up with in 2007 and it’s one kids can play alone or with a parent. It’s a blast watching the program figure out your secret and it’s surprising how quickly it can do it.

Not only does it guess your answer quickly, but it tells you how long ago someone else in the world tried the same mystery.

We really have fun trying to stump it and watching the questions it comes up with to narrow down the choices and solve the puzzle.

“I like how good it is and that he can actually guess your character,” says Parker, 6, who discovered the app on videos of other people playing it. It’s fun in the car or at the kitchen table.

3. DHAR MANN VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE

Seventeen million subscribers have found this series of videos, which each have a moral lesson for kids. Dhar Mann is a serial entrepreneur who has had mixed success and some controversy, but Parker loves these videos and they have good, if simplistic, moral messages, mostly involving kids in elementary school.

His video “Kids Make Fun of Boy with Autism: They Instantly Regret It,” has been seen 56 million times and is a heartwarming lesson. Other videos include one about being adopted.

“I like how the bully reacts,” says Parker.”I like to see how they learn their lesson.”

Teens Have Chance to Volunteer on Trails

Throughout January, Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship will host “Teens on Trails Month”, a series of free, youth-only trail work events across the county to get kids outside and involved in the magic of trail stewardship.

SCMTS is a nonprofit trail stewardship behind popular trails in parks like Wilder and Pogonip, and their team has deep expertise in building and maintaining trails throughout the region. These Teens on Trails events will fill up fast.

At each event, students will learn about native species and ecological functions, get involved in trail maintenance activities, and connect with SCMTS’ professional team to learn about career opportunities in the outdoors. They'll also earn community service hours, have fun and win some prizes.

Students do not need to have any prior trail work experience in order to attend. They simply need to show up in sturdy shoes and long pants, and bring their own water and a good attitude. SCMTS staff will teach students all they need to know.

Spending time in the outdoors can transform a young mind, and ignites a sense of adventure and connection to nature. Kids will learn all about trails, make new friends, and win some awesome prizes. They’ll also learn about nature within the Santa Cruz Mountains and find inspiration to become caretakers of this land.”

On Martin Luther King Day of Service, January 16, SCMTS is hosting a larger Students’ Dig Day event and celebration at DeLaveaga Park. Dig Days are SCMTS’s flagship events, where the entire day is catered and there is a raffle at the end. Dig Days are typically six hours long, making them the perfect event for the weekday school holiday.

At the end of January, all participants will be invited to an ice cream social to celebrate their hard work.

These events are free to attend. Check out the list of events at santacruztrails. org/tot.

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Saturday, Jan. 7 at Arana Gulch

Saturday, Jan. 14 at University Connector Trail

Monday, Jan. 16 MLK Day of Service Dig Day at DeLaveaga Park

Saturday, Jan. 21 at Watsonville Slough Trails

Saturday, Jan. 28 at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park