WiiU

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Got those today, too...

But for a completely different reason!

So, do the batteries go out quickly?

You should get between 40 - 100+ hours.
Though it depends on how heavily the game uses the motion controls.

I personally take the batteries out when I am done playing to prevent extra drain, but you don't have too.

It's just cheaper to use rechargeable than constantly having to buy regular batteries.

Oh I should tell you the Wii U gamepad gets between 3-7 hours depending on brightness, rumble, and use.
They do sell a bigger battery if you need it.

We are really enjoying Mario Party 10. If we play Bowser vs. Team Mario, all 3 of us (my kids and I) can play together. Thanks for suggesting it! It's really helping me connect with my kids and be more present with them. Thanks.

WiiU Music isn't as fun as I thought it would be. We all like it okay. The kids like the classic jam because they want to play "their" instruments. Also, my daughter will play her actual violin when my son plays a jam. He gets annoyed at her though. The rule I made was that she can only play along IF she knows the song and plays in tempo with it. She knows several of them, so that works out. If she's playing something different, she has to go to another room. I like the handbells, but the kids don't really.

What do you think about WiiU Fit? Are there any games where you play with others or is it really meant to be a solo experience? Are there any other active games we might like?

What about educational games?

(I want to not feel guilty about long hours of game play...)

I'll just point out right now: Most, if not all, educational games (for any console or device) are... pretty terrible. They're really just not what these things are meant to be. That's not to say that skills cant be gotten from gaming, as some can be. In my case, I'm extremely coordinated and my reflexes are downright ridiculous (this helps alot with driving, among various other things), and I can owe that to all of my gaming time; it also gave me my interest in programming and computers. Even if dealing with computers is about 50% using them, and 50% yelling at (fixing) them, hah.

That's not to say that EVERY educational game is bad, as there's the occaisional one that isnt (like the Carmen Sandiago games from a bazillion years ago), but yeah, these machines arent really the place to look for that. They're entertainment machines first and foremost.

I think the main important thing for parents is simply to make sure you understand the content of the game. With MOST games, you cant avoid there being at least SOME violence. And note, when I say that I dont mean blood and such. Even something like Mario jumping on a Goomba could TECHNICALLY classify as "violence". But I dont know any parents that would consider a Mario game bad for their kids (and I myself have played them for as long as I can remember). It's easy to find games that arent going to be any more violent than those (Mario Party is actually a good example). If it looks fun, it really might be fun, and it might be fun for you AND them: just make sure you research the heck outta it first. I really cant emphasize that enough, regardless of just what you're buying. Even if it's something that couldnt be more innocent; you at least want to make sure you arent buying something that'll just turn out to be crappy! Nobody wants to pay the huge price for some of these for something that turns out to be just awful. That's not any fun at all.

I hope I'm not making this sound confusing by screwing up my phrasing here; I apologize if that's the case. It's nearly time for bed for me so I'm a little off...

Also, I'm curious as to what you mean by "active games"?

Active games

What I meant by that was games where the expected game play is that you are standing and your whole body is moving.

Both Scribblenauts games are decent and educational because the game requires you to spell the in order to play.
You have to spell the items in order to summon them, which is required to complete the levels.

Wii Fit U is meant a as solo experience, but it is good at burning calories.
Many of the mini games in it are indeed fun.

Wii Sports Club is a good multiplayer sports game that requires you to use motion controls to play Tennis, Bowling, Golf, Boxing (the worst one), and Baseball.

You can either buy it as a digital download via the eShop or buy the physical version.
It much better than the original Wii Sports.

Samba De Amigo (Wii) is a game were you use the Wii Remotes as maracas and you have to keep to the beat of the latin american music to win.

I think they have a downloadable version of Brain Age on the WiiU eShop. I don't know if I'd consider it "educational", though, it's more like brain teasers and puzzles, but there are a lot of games on it that require you to strengthen your mental math skills.