Recommended Resources from
The Front Porch
No one is paying us to list their stuff. We really use these things, kids like them and they make our program better. Last updated 6/30/07.

Books
ART
  • Walter Foster: I Can Draw - Very nicely stepped out into each part of drawing.
  • Any cartoon coloring books - the kids can trace them and learn to draw the characters that way. Way cheaper than cartoon character learn to draw books and those are usually crappy.
  • Recipes for Art and Craft Materials by Helen Roney Sattler
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GROWING UP
  • CosmoGirl Quiz Books - Great for teens
  • Books from Youth Communication (Hooking Up, The Day After etc.)
  • Girlosophy 2 - Love Survival Kit by Anthea Paul
  • What's Happening to My Body? Book for Boys, What's Happening to My Body? Book for Girls  by Lynda Madaras and Area Madaras
  • www.sxetc.org   A good website for teens to find answers to their questions about sex and relationships without having to ask an adult. From Rutgers University.
  • STD Facts - Sexually Transmitted Disease brochure from ETR Associates 
  • A Smart Girl's Guide to Friendship Troubles
  • The Quiz Book  - American Girl
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SCIENCE
  • The Little Giant Book of Science Experiments
  • Petersons' Guides (Wildflowers, Urban Wildlife)
  • Grossology - Any of this series about the science of burping, pooping etc. 
  • DK Visual Dictionary of Science - for adult reference. Take it with you on science trips.
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GAMES
  • Ultimate Playground and Recess Game Book
  • Click here for the games themselves
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HOMEWORK HELP
  • Instructional Fair - We use their workbook for tutoring and to give kids homework when they don't get any.
  • How Math Works - Reader's Digest
  • Algebra Survival Guide and Workbook
  • Flipover Math Story Problems and Algebra - This is a workbook and a box of plastic toys that kids use to visualize math problems. Excellent. 
  • How to Solve Word Problems in Algebra by Johnson
  • Find the Errors (English workbook) 
  • Intro to Geometry - Little Workbook from McGraw Hill
  • Scholastic Explains Math Homework 2nd and 3rd grade
  • Pre-Algebra and Algebra Ready Reference Chart
  • Flash Chart Fractions and Decimals
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READING
  • Story Books - Go to your local library. Tell them the interests the kids have and they will work magic. 
  • Joke Books
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Books We Believe Every Parent Should Be Given Upon the Birth of Their Child
  • Don't Give Me that Attitude - Lists attitudes and give remedies for them.
  • Yes, Your Teen is Crazy!: Loving Your Kid Without Losing Your Mind by Michael J. Bradley and Jay N. Giedd
  • Any Good Development Guidebook or DVD (Like Your Child at Play or Ages and Stages)
  • Raise Your Child's Social IQ - Good for working with individual kids who have friendship problems. 
  • How To Play With Your Children and When Not To by Brian and Shirley Sutton-Smith
  • The Right Stuff for Children Birth to 8
MANAGEMENT (for the Grown Ups on the Porch)
  • The Michigan Nonprofit Management Manual - We used this to set up a lot of the paperwork side of us.
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  • VAST financial policies and procedures - We used this electronic template to make ours. We love electronic templates and encourage more foundations to fund these sort of DIY fill in the blank sorts of things.

Games
  • Scrambled States - They love this game. They learn so much and have a great time.
  • Quoidor - Kids always think it looks boring, then they play and play again. Its great for offense/defense strategies.
  • Mystery Detective Kit - teaches about DNA, fingerprinting and is a fun, quick game. 
  • Uno
  • Family Feud -  team builder for larger teams.
  • $10,000 Pyramid - another great team builder for pairs only.
  • Pictionary - team builder. Never when they are cranky. This one can get ugly!
  • Spoons - a great summer evening card game.
  • Cats in the Corner - Kids stand in four corners of a large sidewalk square. One is in the middle. The other kids change places and try to keep the kid in the middle where they are. If the kid in the middle gets a corner, the kid without a corner is then in the middle.
  • Speed - a very fast card game for 2.
  • Tonk -  a card game our kids like to play.
  • Bingos - Multiplication, fraction, bird, bug, Lingo, Soundtracks - We never give prizes. Lingo can only be played if you speak one of the languages it has. If you play the game 3 times in a row in the same language, the kids will pick up the words. We also vary it by playing for two winners - one who gets bingo, and one who guess the meaning of the words.
  • Clue - Great for deductive thinking
  • Spy Alley - This is like Clue. It also teaches deductive thinking. Its lots of fun. We make it go quicker by letting the kids guess while two of them are in the alley, not just if they land on the guessing space.
  • Mastermind - Another winner for deductive thinking
  • Marbles and Jacks
  • Life - We've seen lots of games that teach life skills, but nothing beats this old favorite.
  • Monopoly - Great to teach about rent, real estate.
  • Tycoon - Great to teach the stock market. Its hard to explain, but once kids get it, they really get into it.
  • Take Stock - This is like Monopoly. Its does not exactly teach the stock market, but gets some ideas across.
  • Pit - This is great for a large group of kids. Its yelling, no one takes turns and its great. Teaches just a basic bit about the commodities market.
  • Legos - a childhood staple
  • Sidewalk Chalk 
  • Blokus (for 2 and for 4) - deceptively simple.
  • Ned's Head - Dig up his nose and win!
  • Boggle - go through the rules thoroughly. This is a confusing game at first.
  • Mancala (for 2 and for 4) - the one for 4 is a very long game. This is the grandpa of backgammon.
  • Backgammon - a good game as long as you keep the diagram of how many pieces go on which triangles.
  • Connect 4
  • Make 7
  • Trouble - this old favorite is mean but kids still love it. We also like the dice are inside the bubble so the kids can steal the dice to gamble. 
  • Sorry - this old favorite is a little mean but kids still love it
  • Parcheesi - the grandpa of Sorry. Has some meaner features than sorry.
  • Old Bachelor/Old Maid - played in equal proportions
  • Candyland
  • Mind Your Manners - Kids should play this often to reinforce their social skills.
  • Go To Press - A grammar game set up like Clue
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Kits
Films
  • The Promise of Play Parts 1 and 3 - We use this film for training our staff in the importance of play. We are particularly fond of the introduction and overview of play and the part about Rooftop School's Friendship Coach.
  • Homemade films - We prefer to make films with the kids, rather than watch movies other people have made. Its lots of fun. Get a couple boxes of old Halloween costumes or for more serious movies, bring out some role plays and just let them go.
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Links
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The Front Porch P.O. Box 24744 Detroit, Michigan 48224 USA

 frontporchdetroit@yahoo.com