Friday, October 28, 2016

Sarah Rosedahl Books Review



Sarah Rosedahl is artist, author, and illustrator for Sloggers Rain Boots and Garden Shoes. She loves to draw and paint farm animals and birds. Living in Vermont on a small farm, she gets inspiration from wildlife and agriculture of Vermont's Lake Champlain Islands. She loves to paint in watercolor, acrylic, and mixed media. This is one very talented lady!

Sarah is also the author and artist behind the coloring books: Difficult Chickens, Difficult Sheep & Friends, and Chickens! Illustrated Chicken Breeds A to Z, as well as the Chickens! Illustrated Chicken Breeds A to Z book. These have such fun illustrations! I have admired her work on the Sloggers and love this set of books! The color books have pages printed on one side to prevent bleed through to the next page. Now you can get the newly redesigned covers! The interior illustrations all remain the same as before. I love the whimsical nature of the pictures. I have greatly enjoyed the fun and lighthearted details of these coloring book and love to put color to the pages. The pages are pretty enough to frame as well.

Orpington begins to take color in Difficult Chickens Color Book.

Difficult Chickens is an intricate coloring book that is inspired by the Chickens! Illustrated Chicken Breeds A to Z books and Zentangle designs. These decorative pages are home to 26 breeds of chickens that are alphabetically organized from A-Z and two chicks. Since I keep my own chickens I have started collecting fanciful chicken things. This is a lovely addition to my collection.

Llama in the Difficult Sheep & Friends Color Book.

For the lover of ruminants, camelids, bovids, and more, Difficult Sheep & Friends is a fun, elaborate coloring book that has great appeal for all ages. I especially love the whimsical interpretations of all these neat animals. This includes 26 sheep and fiber-producing animals that are friends of the fiber arts trade. I love all things yarn myself and I have two llamas! Sheep breeds include: Border Leicester, Cheviot, Icelandic, Lincoln, Merino, Oxford Down, Rough Fell, Rambouillet, Scottish Blackface, and Shetland. Friends include: Alpaca, Angora Rabbits, Angora Goat, Bison, Bactrian Camel, Cashmere Goat, Highland Cow, Horse, Llama, Muskox, Old English Sheepdog, Pygora Goat, Vicuna and Yak. Great for adult coloring enthusiasts everywhere.

Orpingon to color in the Chickens! Illustrated Chicken Breeds A to Z Coloring Book.
  
Chickens! Illustrated Chicken Breeds A to Z Coloring Book is a great addition to the set. It has 40 pages of chicken breeds, decorative chickens, friends and foes to color. These are mostly the outlines of the chickens and other critters. It shows a picture and specific breed or animal name on most pages. Although there are a few with designs on them, these are certainly not as intricate as the Difficult Chickens book. I love how you can either match the colors to the actual breed, design your own chicken or other animal with Zentangle art, or just color the animals how you want. The sky's the limit. Great for chicken lovers everywhere!

Zari found the Orpington in the Chickens! Illustrated Chicken Breeds A to Z book.

Chickens! Illustrated Chicken Breeds A to Z is a great children's book. It has pretty colorful illustrations that are accompanied by the breed of the chicken and fun facts about them. Some of these fun water-colored illustrations are the same as the ones on the Sloggers Rain Boots and Garden Shoes. I was eggstatic to get this book and I love to look at the many different varieties. Some are even rare breeds! So pretty! My favorite has to be the Orpington because we have a Buff Orpington that we named Buffy and she is one of my daughter's favorite chickens out of our 11.

Zari with our Buff Orpington March 2016 when she was a chick.


BUY IT


DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received these books for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Middlebury Interactive Languages Elementary Spanish 1: Grades K-2 Review


My family had the privilege of trying the Elementary Spanish 1: Grades K-2 from Middlebury Interactive Languages for this review to use in conjunction with our own homeschool curriculum. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

Middlebury Interactive Languages offers online world language courses for students in a classroom setting or homeschool. They offer courses in Spanish, French, Chinese and German in elementary, middle and high school. Course levels range from introductory through advanced. These courses are for one student to do and are yearly subscriptions that go a semester (about 6 months) at a time. Each semester for Middle School & High School consists of 18 weeks (90 days) of content. Each semester for grades K-2 consists of 35 days of content. Each semester for grades 3-5 consists of 45 days of content.

Elementary Spanish 1: Grades K-2 is one of the courses from Middlebury Interactive Languages. Other than Spanish they have Chinese and French for grades K-2. Elementary Spanish 1: Grades K-2 has twelve units total. Units one through five and seven through eleven have six lessons each. Units 6 and 12 are review for previous lessons. When your student finishes an activity it will automatically check mark it to show you where your student is in the program and what activities have been completed. There are Authentic Stories, Course Vocabulary (in both Spanish and English) & Songs and Translations as PDF files to download and print out. The lessons consist of: an introduction, parts to explore, warm ups, practices, speaking labs (these need a microphone), stories, find and color, review, where is/which has, coloring pages (to download and print), culture, songs, worksheets (to download and print), vocabulary, unit summaries, and quizzes & tests. Some lessons have places to click, drag and drop, interactive videos, videos to watch, and click to listen activities. There are places where the child can click to hear what is being asked or said. This is wonderful if the child doesn't read yet. If you start from the Home/Dashboard instead of the Table of Contents you can continue the course from where your student left off and see where your student is supposed to be in the course.

Above: Table of Contents, Below: Home/Dashboard (notice check marks indicating finished work)
  
Contents of Elementary Spanish 1: Grades K-2:
  • Unit 1: Greetings
  • Unit 2: Numbers
  • Unit 3: Family
  • Unit 4: Colors
  • Unit 5: School
  • Unit 6: Review of 1-5
  • Unit 7: Body
  • Unit 8: Animals
  • Unit 9: Calendar
  • Unit 10: Food
  • Unit 11: Descriptions
  • Unit 12: Review of 7-11

Zari watching Las manchas del ocelote for learning greetings in Spanish.

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:
The Elementary Spanish 1: Grades K-2 program is a totally immersive Spanish language study. My daughter Zari who is in Kindergarten was able to do this even though she isn't reading yet.  We worked on this about 2-3 days a week or when ever we had some free time. She did fairly well with the instructions and understanding what to do. I love that it teaches the basics.

The lessons are short (about 15 minutes), interactive, and held my daughter's attention. The stories, songs, and  activities are done all in Spanish. If you want to know what the stories and songs are in English you have to download the PDF files. They have vocabulary words and phrases that you are supposed to look out for and learn. They tell you what these mean in English within the program as well as the PDF files to print. We made flash cards with the words and phrases that were being taught.

The stories and songs are fun animated videos that are spoken in Spanish. I liked to read the stories/songs in English to my daughter after they were told in Spanish within the program so that my daughter understood better what was going on. Before I read the English version I would ask her what she thought was going on.

Zari enjoyed learning Spanish with Middlebury Interactive Languages. The lessons are not difficult and after Zari got the directions down on how to use the mouse and microphone within the program she had no trouble with it on her own. She enjoyed working through the online lessons and always was enthusiastic about coming back and doing more.

Middlebury Interactive Languages has a lot of great online foreign language courses that meet multiple grades and levels. I love that they have so many to choose from. I highly recommend this Spanish Middlebury Interactive Languages course to anyone that homeschools or supplements their child's public education at home. This is a wonderful homeschool foreign language course!

BUY IT
Elementary Spanish 1: Grades K-2 is $238 without teacher support and $588 with teacher support for both semesters. You can also find other courses of Middlebury Interactive Languages in Spanish, French, Chinese and German in elementary, middle and high school with course levels ranging from introductory through advanced.

Follow Them on Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Middlebury-Interactive-Languages-141015515949753/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MiddInteractive @middinteractive
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/middinteractive/
Hashtags: #hsreviews #foreignlanguage #bilingualism #languagestudy

Read other homeschool curriculum reviews for Middlebury Interactive Languages...
Spanish, French, German or Chinese {Middlebury Interactive Languages}

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Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Good Fast Eats Cookbook Review


I received this book free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

“Good Fast Eats” Summary:
Ready to eat in just under an hour, these recipes are healthy, delicious, and easy to make! With recipes like Eggs in Purgatory, Moo Shu Pork, and Cajun Spiced Cod, you won’t have to spend a fortune or a lot of time cooking or cleaning up. Your family will love these fresh one-pot meals perfectly balanced with amazing ingredients and spices. Cooking has never been easier or more satisfying!

About The Author:
Amy Flanigan is a food blogger at bellyfull.net, recipe developer, video maker, mommy, dog owner, baseball fan, lover of cookies, and constantly craving pie. She has been featured on Huffington Post, Calphalon (a cookware producer), Babble.com, BlogHer, Macy’s Culinary Council, Skinny Mom, and HerLife Magazine.

Our Thoughts:
The Good Fast Eats Cookbook has a great layout! It starts out with an introduction about why Amy wrote the book and some tips that help get food on the table without the fuss. It then gives a list of things needed to have on hand to make the recipes from within this book in the Stock Up section. After this it has the recipes in these categories: Chicken, Pork, Beef, Seafood, Meatless, Soup, and Sweets. Each recipe has a title, a description, serving size, preparation time, cook time, total time, ingredients, and directions. Each recipe comes with a mouthwatering photograph of the finished dish. At the end there are Cooking Measurement Equivalents, Metric Measurement Equivalents, an Index, Acknowledgements, and a bit About the Author.

This cookbook is great to have on hand when you need homemade dinner in a pinch. Most of these one-pot/pan/dish meals only take 15-30 minutes to complete. The recipes are hearty, comforting foods and delicious desserts that satisfy. The Beef Stroganoff looks very similar to my recipe. I am looking forward to trying the Sweet and Spicy Chicken Black Bean Enchiladas, Kielbasa and Cabbage Skillet, Greek Meatball Pockets with Tzatziki, Cranberry-Almond Chocolate Bark, & Ricotta Blintzes. All the recipes sound so yummy!

BUY IT

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this cookbook for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Defenders of the Family - LDS Book Review


I received this book free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Defenders of the Family Summary:

Defenders of the Family, assemble! God’s magnificent plan for us rests upon the strength of the family. In this engaging children’s book, discover the roles and teachings needed to unite your family, from devoted parents to extended members, all centered on the power of the gospel. Help your children see their families as they can be: incredible, empowered, eternal followers of Jesus.

Our Thoughts:
Defenders of the Family is a fun hardcover comic book/graphic novel written by Benjamin Hyrum White and illustrated by Jay Fontano. This 32 page book shows children and adults alike how to be defenders of the family and stand up for what we as Christian LDS members believe in. I see this book as a simplified version of "The Family: A Proclamation to the World". It also reminds me of a General Conference talk by Bonnie L. Oscarson where she encouraged Latter-day Saint woman to defend marriage, the divine roles of parents, and the sanctity of the home. This book goes into our foundational beliefs surrounding the family and what we should be doing to protect and strengthen this sacred entity.

We enjoyed the fun colorful illustrations. I loved how the defenders wore capes like superheroes and that there were a number of different races and family dynamics shown. Teela, my eight year old daughter, had no trouble at all in reading this book herself and the words get straight to the point.

I highly recommend this book that shows individuals how to be "Defenders of the Family". We all need this book, especially at this time when it seems that the family unit is only being ridiculed or ripped apart.

BUY IT


DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this book for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Friday, October 21, 2016

The Sacrament Is For Me - LDS Book Review


I received this book free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

The Sacrament Is For Me Summary:
The sacrament is the most important part of the Sabbath day-and our week. Teach your little ones about the sacred sacrament and how they can apply it in their everyday lives, from the playground to piano lessons. Help your children start each week right and understand the reason behind the reverence of Jesus’s eternal sacrifice, love, and example.

Our Thoughts:
The Sacrament Is For Me is an adorable hardcover book that teaches small children the importance of this symbolic ordinance. It is written by Jessica B. Ellingson and Illustrated by Chase Jensen with 32 pages. I love how the text is in rhyme and the illustrations are relatable. The picture of the boy pulling his sisters hair with the wheel of his toy car was funny, but I can empathize, being a parent. This book goes through and tells why we take the sacred sacrament, what the water and bread represent and should remind us of, how we should act during the prayers and partaking of the sacrament, and what other things we should do to follow Jesus Christ to receive blessings. Besides taking the sacrament, it talks briefly also about the importance of reverence, the temple, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, remembering Jesus, sharing the gospel, being like Jesus, loving others, serving others, following the promptings of the Holy Ghost, and choosing the right.

The last couple Sundays Zari, my youngest, has had trouble sitting still in Sacrament Meeting. I finally brought The Sacrament Is For Me book with us and Zari stopped being so fidgety. Instead she quietly looked at the pages of this book while the sacrament was being passed. This book would also be great to use with Primary or Family Home Evening lessons that focus around the sacrament. I highly recommend The Sacrament Is For Me.

BUY IT


DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this book for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

MyFreezeEasy 5-Day Make One Freeze One Challenge


MyFreezeEasy is having a 5-Day Make One Freeze One Challenge!!


Here's How the Challenge Works 
  • Step 1 - Pick Your Meal Plan
  • Step 2 - Go Shopping (MyFreezEasy Gives you the Shopping List!)
  • Step 3 - Make One Meal, Freeze One Meal with MyFreezEasy Next Week
  • Step 4 - Enjoy Your Freezer Full of Food!
  • STARTS MONDAY, OCTOBER 24th!!!

Here is a video that explains it in more detail...


JOIN NOW, BEFORE MONDAY! IT'S FREE!


DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I wrote this blog post because I thought you might be interested in knowing this information and taking part of this challenge. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any compensation for doing this post. Affiliate links can be found in this post. Thank you for your support of this blog!

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

The Familyman's Christmas Treasury - Audio Collection Review


My family had the privilege of trying the The Familyman's Christmas Treasury - Audio Collection Digital Downloads from The Familyman for this review to use in conjunction with our own homeschool curriculum. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

The Christmas Treasury Collection is available on 6 CDs or as a digital download. Each story is about 15 to 30 minutes long. These audio stories are great for reinforcing the birth of Christ and the true meaning of Christmas.

The collection includes six Christmas favorites by Todd Wilson and narrated by master storyteller Jim Hodges:
  1. Cootie McKay's Nativity
  2. Captain Chaos and The Manger Blaster
  3. The Stranger
  4. The Bishop's Dream
  5. Harold Grubbs and the Christmas Vest
  6. Gladys Remembers Christmas
We also received two Bonus Tracks: 
  • The Secret of the Snow Village
  • It's Called Christmas

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:

We received  one CD of the set and the digital downloads to everything. These were easily downloaded and played well. I love that I can take these in my car and listen to them while driving too.
 
We first listened to Cootie McKay's Nativity. It is about a town with a nativity mishap. Cootie McKay is called into action to save the town's Christmas even though he doesn't know anything about what a Nativity is or how it has anything to do with Christmas. This story is heartwarming and has some very funny moments that we enjoyed very much and couldn't help but chuckle at.

Next we listened to Captain Chaos and The Manger Blaster. This story is about a little boy who wishes that the story of the nativity was more exciting and that the manger never happened. He has a larger than life "dream" that actually comes true and discovers that you can't have Christmas without Jesus. This story reminds me of A Christmas Carol or It's A Wonderful Life in that it shows what life would be like differently for the characters.

The Stranger was listened to next. I received this one in both CD and digital format. This is about a small town where a stranger comes to visit. This stranger is shunned by the community even as a cold winter storm blows in. The last house the stranger visits he is finally let into and what proceeds is just what this family needed. This has a great message to it of kindness to others.

The Bishop's Dream was a story about Saint Nicholas. I know the story well of the real man who helped children in unfortunate circumstances learn about Jesus and gave gifts in secret to people who were in need to lift their spirits. In this story though Nicholas is just a Bishop and has a very vivid dream of the future. We liked the ending and know that if this story were a true one Nicholas would have done the same thing in the end.

Harold Grubbs and the Christmas Vest is a great story about how Christ can change a person to become a better one. The vest and the items in its pockets has a lot of symbolism and meaning. We think the vest is neat even though it is worn and old.

Gladys Remembers Christmas is a tear-jerking story about a lady named Gladys that lost her mother when she was 6 years old. She doesn't feel loved, hates Christmas, and hates her name. She goes back to the old house she grew up in to find a box in the attic for her father. Memories come rushing back and she is "visited" by her mother. Remembering these things changes her feelings about the holiday and her name.

These audio stories are perfect for the Christmas holiday and family time! They are fantastically narrated and written. We enjoyed listening to these and are excited to listen to the two bonus tracks as well closer to Christmas time. We recommend these Christmas stories to anyone wishing to feel more of the joyous spirit and warmth this special Christmas season.


BUY IT
You can purchase The Familyman's Christmas Treasury - Audio Collection (6 CDs) for only $25.00 or individually in digital download mp3 format for $3.99 each.

Follow Them on Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToddWilsonFamilyman/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/youdadad
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toddwilsonthefamilyman/
Pinterest: https://au.pinterest.com/familymantodd/
Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/107435990705080484154
Blog: http://familymanweb.com/blog/
Hashtags: #hsreviews #christmas #Audio #audiobook #digital #familymanministries

Read other homeschool curriculum reviews for The Familyman's Christmas Treasury - Audio Collection...
The Familyman's Christmas Treasury - Audio Collection {The Familyman} Reviews

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Thursday, October 13, 2016

Family Gravity Media, A Division of Families For Christ Ministries, Inc. Online Christian Filmmakers Academy Review


My family had the privilege of trying the Online Christian Filmmakers Academy from Family Gravity Media, a division of Families For Christ Ministries, Inc. for this review to use in conjunction with our own homeschool curriculum. This is a Schoolhouse Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.


This course is put together by part of a homeschooling family, father-son team: Ken (father) and Zack (son) Lawrence. Since 2004 Ken & Zack Lawrence have worked together learning the film industry themselves and creating productions including; the feature film In His Steps, the TV series Welcome Home Antelope Valley, DVD releases: The Pastor's House, Father-Child Projects, The Courtship Formula documentary, and many short films.With more than a decade of experience under their belts they have created the Online Christian Filmmakers Academy.

From left to right, top to bottom of Video Lesson Layout: Ken, Zack, Zack teaching lighting accessories, and this video has a download with it.

Online Christian Filmmakers Academy is a online cinematography school that is taught by Ken & Zack Lawrence. This online film academy teaches cinematography which includes: lighting, camera operating, photography skills, directing skills, sound design, and film score composing. Within the training there are videos of Ken and Zack teaching. In the Introduction by Ken we learn that some of the videos might have been updated so as to keep the information up to date and current. In other words you might see a difference in time from one video to the next depending upon if they thought it was necessary to update the videos or not. Even though you do not need to go out and purchase any equipment for this course, it still is great to have some hands-on practice. As Zack tells us, "It is very important to put what you have watched into practice" so that you retain the information better.

Landing Page and Navigation Menus.

This Christian filmmaking course is jam packed with a lot of information! It includes video segments, quizzes and sometimes downloads. The course starts out with three introductions: Navigating the Website, Introduction by Ken, and an Introduction by Zack. There are a total of five modules after that: The Camera, Cinematography, Sound, Pre-Production, and Production. Each module has 5-15 videos which make up a total of 45 fairly short videos (including the introduction ones). Each are 1-22 minutes. They are currently adding quizzes after and sometimes even within a module to see what you have learned in each section (most of these say coming soon). The one after module 1 has 25 questions. When you take the quiz online you will immediately receive the answers upon completion. They will also be adding material to the Bonuses section which currently doesn't have anything. After watching each video lesson it will automatically mark it as completed and each one will receive a check mark beside it in the menu or you can mark it as complete/ yourself. Under each video lesson there is a place to enter comments/questions if you need to. Other students and even the company can then read your comments/questions and respond/answer. This makes it fairly interactive as well. Also the video lessons follow a Christian perspective but are not heavily indoctrinating with Christian theology. You just hear a few Bible verses here and there.

Here is an syllabus of the course modules:
  1. The Camera – how it works and DSLR usage
    • Module 1 Lesson 1 - Introduction to the Camera
    • Module 1 Lesson 2 - DSLRs and Lenses (Part 1)
    • Module 1 Lesson 3 - DSLRs and Lenses (Part 2)
    • Module 1 Lesson 4 - Frame Rate
    • Module 1 Lesson 5 - ISO and Shutter Speed
    • Module 1 Lesson 6 - Tripods and Camera Support
    • Module 1 Quiz
  2. Cinematography and Lighting – working with different types of lighting
    • Module 2 Lesson 1 - Introduction to Cinematography
    • Module 2 Lesson 2 - Color Temp & White Balance
    • Module 2 Lesson 3 - Hard vs. Soft Light
    • Module 2 Lesson 4 - Types of Lights
    • Module 2 Lesson 5 - Lighting Accessories
    • Module 2 Lesson 6 - Using Lights
    • Module 2 Lesson 7 - 3 & 4 Point Lighting
    • Module 2 Lesson 8 - Painting with Light
    • Module 2 Lesson 9 - Framing
    • Module 2 Lesson 10 - Outdoor Lighting
    • Module 2 Lesson 11 - Depth of Field
    • Module 2 Lesson 12 - Jibs and Dollies
    • Module 2 Lesson 13 - Green Screen
    • Module 2 Lesson 14 - Setting Up An Interview
    • Module 2 Lesson 15 - Final Considerations
    • Module 2 Quiz
  3. Sound – capturing the sound in the field and post production
    • Module 3 Lesson 1 - Introduction
    • Module 3 Lesson 2 - Sound Equipment
    • Module 3 Lesson 3 - Microphone
    • Module 3 Lesson 4 - Field Recorders
    • Module 3 Lesson 5 - Location Recording
    • Module 3 Lesson 6 - ADR and Foley
    • Module 3 Quiz (Coming Soon)
  4. Pre-production – preparing to make your film a reality and getting everything you need prepared beforehand
    • Module 4 Lesson 1 - Introduction to Pre-production
    • Module 4 Lesson 2 - The Story
    • Module 4 Lesson 3 - Writing the Screenplay
    • Module 4 Lesson 4 - Pre-production Paperwork
    • Module 4 Lesson 5 - Assemble the Team
    • Module 4 Quiz (Coming Soon)
  5. Production – working onset, with budgets and making your idea a reality
    • Module 5 Lesson 1 - The Crew
    • Module 5 Lesson 2 - Set Hierarchy
    • Module 5 Lesson 3 - Set Etiquette
    • Module 5 Lesson 4 - Directing
    • Module 5 Lesson 5 - The Slate
    • Module 5 Lesson 6 - Filming Step by Step
    • Module 5 Quiz (Coming Soon)

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:
Among a lot of other things, my husband has a background in animation and went to film school when he was younger. He had his own studio called Brian Pictures and he and a friend of his were trying to put together a production called Ohiomation in Ohio where he would be taking students from Ohio schools and putting them through a course to teach them animation and film. This ideally was to create an animated movie about the Wright Brothers first flight and called Kitty Hawk that was to be produced in time to celebrate Ohio's Bicentennial. This didn't ever materialize because of school politics, but he sure did learn a lot on his journey. I know that animation is totally different from learning cinematography and since it was a while ago that he learned about being a director and producing film I thought that maybe he could have a refresher and get caught up with all the new equipment involved.

I love photography and have a small background in theater. I have also always wanted to learn cinematography for myself. I thought that it would become a handy skill to have for vlogging and making fun home movies. I have very little experience in this and so I have instead stayed out of the limelight for the most part. I also thought it would be a wonderful experience to have my boys be taught this wonderful art for their homeschool studies and as an extracurricular curriculum.

Since we have a whole year to finish this whole course we are pacing ourselves. I decided that I would take the course first to get a feel for how involved it was. Since the video lessons are fairly short I was doing about a module every 3 days to a week/week and a half depending how long they were. The second module took me the longest. I expect my husband and boys will go through this quicker.

I don't have any of the equipment that they mentioned in this Christian film course, although like I said above you can take this course without any extra purchases even though you are highly encouraged to get out your own equipment and play with what you are learning as you go.  My camera is an old Canon PowerShot SX110 IS and I have used it for videos before, but I really had no idea what I was doing! They recommend a DSLR or a digital camcorder which my camera is not. I; however, have been wanting a DSLR for Christmas and so this just gives me another reason to get one.

Online Christian Filmmakers Academy is a exceptional course! It is very thorough in teaching you a strong foundation in cinematography. I highly recommend this for anyone that would love to learn all about the art of making motion pictures. I think this online film school is also perfect for the an extracurricular art and is perfect for homeschooling or supplementing education for public school.

BUY IT
You can purchase a full year of the course for $299 at the time of this post. You can get $100 off until November 30th, 2016 by using Coupon Code: FALLCREW16 at checkout. It includes a 30 day no questions asked money-back guarantee. The one year membership is good for your entire family and can be used by multiple students within your household. You can get tips and free video lessons on the Christian Filmmakers Academy Facebook page.

Follow Them on Social Media:
Hands-On Film Camp Facebook: www.facebook.com/christianfilmmakerscamp
Online Christian Filmmakers Academy Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChristianFilmmakersAcademy  
Hashtags: #hsreviews #christianfilmcamp and #onlinefilmcamp

Read other homeschool curriculum reviews for Online Christian Filmmakers Academy...
Online Christian Filmmakers Academy {Family Gravity Media}

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Tuesday, October 11, 2016

MyFreezEasy MyFreezEasy.com Freezer Meal Plan Membership Review



My family had the privilege of trying the MyFreezEasy.com Freezer Meal Plan Membership from MyFreezEasy for this review to use in conjunction with our own homeschool curriculum and family/farm life. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family. Affiliate links are in this post. Thanks for supporting this blog.

Erin Chase, $5 Dinner Mom, is the brains behind $5 Dinners, $5 Meal Plan, Grocery Budget Makeover, FreezEasy, and now MyFreezEasy. She puts out a free weekly email newsletter that I subscribe to where she shares recipes, tips and tricks for getting the grocery budget under control. I have loved these valuable emails and delicious recipes throughout the months. I also follow her blog where she posts recipes, coupon matchups and deals, printable coupons, and more to help save you and I money. Her Grocery Budget Makeover I cannot really vouch for myself as I have not taken this 10-week course, but from reviews I have read it sounds like it really works in cutting your grocery spending in half. FreezEasy is her freezer cooking meal plans that will help you prepare 10 delicious meals to load into your freezer in under an hour. MyFreezEasy is new. It is similar to Basic FreezEasy, but gives you even more control to personalize the plan.

The MyFreezEasy Premium Annual Membership gives you access to the online program and website for a whole year. Each month members have access to all eight meal plans to download: Traditional, Gluten-Free, Slow Cooker, Clean Eats, 20 Meals, All Chicken, All Ground Beef, All Pork Chops. The majority of the months meal plans have 5 recipes that have been hand-picked by Erin for that month. With these plans you make two of of each meal to freeze so that you get a total of 10 meals. These premade meal plans are all set for only 4 servings...so if you need more or less it is wonderful that MyFreezEasy Premium plan has the opportunity to Build Your Own Meal Plans unlike the Basic FreezEasy that only lets you purchase premade ones.



Along with the freezer cooking plan downloads you get a number of bonuses. First, you can also get a overview of the program by going to the How MyFreezEasy Works Resources and Instructions page which includes a how-to PDF, a Favorite Side Dish Recipes E-Cookbook to download, and a link to the Freezer Cooking Workshop videos to get you started. You can also download printable labels for each meal plan (that she recommends be printed on Avery #6874 sticker paper). Each month, they release highlights & tips videos for all 8 new meal plans, along with 1 assembly instruction video for the Traditional Plan in the Video Library. These assist with the production of making the freezer meals.

From the Build Your Own Meal Plans area you could select the recipe by three different aspects on this page: Type of Protein, Cooking Method, and Dietary Preferences. In each of these search categories they have the recipes further narrowed down. In Type of Protein you could pick from Chicken Recipes, Ground Beef Recipes, Other Beef Recipes, Pork Chop Recipes, Other Pork Recipes, Seafood Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes. In Cooking Method you could pick from Slow Cooker Recipes, Dutch Oven or Saucepan Recipes, Baked Recipes, Skillet Recipes, Grill Recipes, and One Dish Meals. In Dietary Preferences you could pick from My Favorites, Gluten-Free Recipes, Dairy Free Recipes, Gluten Dairy Soy-Free Recipes, Paleo/Whole30 Recipes, and Top 8 Allergy Free Recipes.

MyFreezEasy: 1. Search Categories, 2. Select Your Recipes, 3. Print/Download Your Meal Plan

Once you select one of these categories you can pick from the recipes listed in that certain one. You can click on each recipe title to see a popup of the actual recipe and also choose the serving size (2, 4, 6,or 8) in the drop down menu. You can then either drag and drop 5 recipes you want to prepare in the drop box or add them to it with the + sign from the popup of the recipe. You can go back to the main menu and select a different category as well for more recipes. You can also clear the whole drop box list or drag the recipes you don't want out of the box one by one. After you have selected 5 recipes total for the My FreezEasy Recipes drop box with the correct serving size you can hit the Review and Print button. This will take you to another page to see the 5 that you picked for one final look over before you press Print My Meal Plan and Print Labels (which actually downloads 2 separate printable PDF files onto your computer). You can also select Email which emails you the Complete Shopping List by Recipe with handy check boxes beside each item to take with you to the grocery store.

Each meal plan PDF for 5 recipes is laid out for easy instruction. Each one has the Recipes, Shopping Lists (Complete Shopping List by Recipe, Complete Shopping List by Store Section/Category, Freezer Meal Prep Day Shopping List by Recipe, and Freezer Meal Prep Day Shopping List by Store Section/Category), and Assembly of Meals (Assembly Prep Instructions and Meal Assembly Instructions).

Each recipe is laid out well. At the top of each recipe you have the title, yield, active time, cook time, and a small summary. Then it goes into Ingredients for Single Meal, Cooking Directions for Single Meal, Assembly Prep Directions for 2 Meals. Under that there is Freeze & Thaw Instructions, Special Notes, Dairy-Free Modifications, and Gluten-Free Modifications for each recipe.

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:

We received the MyFreezEasy Premium Annual Membership which gives us access to the online program and website for a whole year! We started the membership back in September and also got access to October's meals this month so far. I made two of each of the 5 meals that I chose for September for the freezer so far. We have access to each month's meal plans as they become available every month. These were easily customized and I really loved that fact.

Freezer Meals -1 that we made for dinner that same night.

Having a family of 6 I couldn't really just go with the premade meal plans because they were all set for only 4 servings. So, I opted to make my own freezer cooking meal plan from the available recipes in the Build Your Own Meal Plans area. For September I made a list of 5 recipes that sounded good to me at the time: Baked Honey Mustard Pork Chops, Ranch Chicken & Baby Potato Bake, Roasted Cod with Pesto, Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos with Mango Avocado Salsa, and Slow Cooker Taco Soup.

I had a few problems with MyFreezEasy...
  1. When I went to change the serving size to 6 I think things got a little jumbled. The canned ingredients didn't really convert well and so when the ingredients lists were read, we had things like: 3/4 x 1 15 oz. can(s) black beans...of which I thought was quite awkward and to me really didn't make sense. Also some of the ingredients in the different sections had different amounts, for example, Slow Cooker Taco Soup for 6 says 1/2 cup(s) beef broth in the Ingredients for Single Meal, but for the Freeze & Thaw Instructions it says 2 cups beef broth. This is inconsistent and quite confusing.
  2. The My Favorites online didn't seem to work for me. I couldn't add any recipes to it by dragging and dropping them into that section and when I hearted them from the popup recipe they didn't seem to go to that section either.
  3. After I baked the Ranch Chicken & Baby Potato Bake I noticed that the potatoes in the dish didn't taste right. From what I am told certain ingredients including raw potatoes need to be blanched before freezing so they maintain their integrity and correct texture. The recipe never mentions blanching and so instead, the potatoes turned out gritty and watery...inedible in my family's opinion. The Ranch Chicken & Baby Potato Bake also took me the longest to prepare for the freezer because of all the chopping of chicken and potatoes (because I couldn't find "baby potatoes"). It also said to get bacon crumbles and I couldn't find these so I made actual bacon and crumbled it myself. This recipe took the longest and was a big disappointment, so I will not be making it again.

Roasted Cod with Pesto (top) and Slow Cooker Taco Soup (bottom)

All in all most the recipes that I prepared and tried were really good. I especially loved the Roasted Cod with Pesto (we made this recipe the same night we put the ingredients for all the recipes together) and the Slow Cooker Taco Soup. These didn't take me long to prepare for the freezer and they were delicious and easy to cook. I am excited to still try the Baked Honey Mustard Pork Chops and the Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos with Mango Avocado Salsa of which were both also very easy to put together for the freezer. I am also excited to try even more meals in the months to come.

The MyFreezEasy MyFreezEasy.com Freezer Meal Plan Membership is well worth the investment in my opinion. Even with its quirks it definitely takes the edge off of finding something delicious for dinner and getting a meal thrown into the oven/crock pot/skillet/grill etc. quickly. The freezer meal prep doesn't take too long either and you can get 10 meals prepared in an hour although I do admit that it took me longer. I highly recommend this to busy parents everywhere.


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Basic Monthly is $7 a month. Basic Annual is $77 per year with 1 month free. Premium Monthly is $10 a month. Premium Annual is $95 per Year with 2+ Months Free!! Get Started!

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MyFreezEasy.com Freezer Meal Plan Membership {MyFreezEasy}

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Wednesday, October 5, 2016

If You Were Me and Lived in… Volumes 1-4 By Carole P. Roman and Awaywegomedia.com Review


We got to try these books for this review to use in conjunction with our own homeschool curriculum. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

We are so excited to share with you about four new books in the If You Were Me and Lived in... Civilizations Throughout History Series brought to you by Carole P. Roman and Awaywegomedia.com. The books we received are:

Carole P. Roman is the author of many books including the Captain No Beard series, If You Were Me and Lived in... Cultures Around the World series, and the If You Were Me and Lived in... Civilizations Throughout History series. She loves combining her teaching past with her love of exploration and interest in the grand world all around us. She also loves sharing history and culture with her readers.

If You Were Me and Lived in... Civilizations Throughout History Series currently consists of 8 books with more to come later. These softcover books take you back through time to visit different civilizations throughout history. Discover Ancient Greece, Renaissance Italy, Elizabethan England, Colonial America, Ancient China, Middle Ages, American West, and Viking Europe. These follow what it would have been like to live and grow up in these places through the eyes of a young person. This makes the books more relatable to children who read them. These physical books cover occupations, food, clothing, recreation, important people, etc.

Zari and Teela enjoying the Civilizations Throughout History Series.

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:
 
The If You Were Me and Lived in... Civilizations Throughout History Series of books are historical non-fiction. We love them for use with our homeschool history curriculum and plan on using them with our unit studies for each historical place. All of these books start out with how the civilization or place looks today, how it looked around the peak of the time period, where it was located, and a short history of the place, civilization, and society. Then they say, "If you were me and lived in..." and goes on to tell: when you would have lived, what your name might have been, what you would be proud of, what you worshiped, where you would have lived, about life in those places, habitat, food, occupations, education, clothing, travel, recreation, politics, currency, and more. We found that these history books were jam-packed with information and fun facts.

The first book in the series is If You Were Me and Lived in...Ancient Greece. This book has illustrations by Mataya Arkova which are done in pastel colors. It has 54 pages and a special section on Gods & Goddesses of Ancient Greece. This book focused on life in Classical Greece in about 350 BC. We thought that it was interesting that both the homes and cities had open fire pits and they kept them burning with coals never letting the fire go out. We also thought it was interesting that they used bread as napkins, then gave it to the dogs to eat. This would be great to use with a unit study of Ancient Greece.

The second book in the series is If You Were Me and Lived in...Renaissance Italy. The illustrations of this book are by Silvia Brunetti and are colorful and whimsical. It has 58 pages and a special section on Renaissance Art and Famous People from the Italian Renaissance. This focused on life in Florence during the 15th century. We thought it was interesting that on feast days the cook roasted swans and peacocks and put the feathers back on when she served them so they looked still alive. It was also very interesting to learn that all stylish ladies painted their faces white with lead powder to look pale and elegant. This would be great to use with a unit study of Renaissance Italy.

The third book in the series is If You Were Me and Lived in... Elizabethan England. The illustrations of this book are by Paula Tabor and these cartoon like illustrations are more realistic than the other books. It has 50 pages and a special section on Important People to Know in Elizabethan Era. This focused on life in London around the 16th century. We thought it interesting: that people back then just threw their waste out on the streets, how we might have got the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs.", that tomatoes were considered poisonous so were not eaten, and that chocolate was bitter and only used as medicine. This would be great to use with a unit study of Elizabethan England.

The forth book in the series is If You Were Me and Lived in...Colonial America. The illustrations of this book are by Sarah Wright and they are cartoon drawings of people and things. It has 61 pages and a special section on People Who Influenced the Colonies on the Entire Eastern Seaboard. This focused on life as a Puritan starting in London England and moving to the American Colonies in New England in 1620. We thought it interesting to learn that 32 children made the trip over on the Mayflower to settle the country with their parents, Native Americans taught the colonists how to plant corn with dead fish so it fertilized the ground, and the colonists built homes out of timber, reeds, wattle and daub. This would be great to use with a unit study of Colonial America, Puritans, or Thanksgiving.

The If You Were Me and Lived in... Civilizations Throughout History Series is a wonderful supplement for history lessons in homeschool. These are great to be used with unit studies and wonderful even just by themselves.  My children loved reading these and learning so much more about these times and civilizations. I love how these cultural books teach a huge amount of children's history because they are through the eyes of a child. They are great for children's education!

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You can purchase the If You Were Me and Lived in... series: Ancient Greece, Renaissance Italy, Elizabethan England, Colonial America, Ancient China: The Han Dynasty, The Middle Ages, The American West, Viking Europe on Amazon for about $14.99-$20 per book.

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If You Were Me and Lived in ... {by Carole P. Roman and Awaywegomedia.com}

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Monday, October 3, 2016

Blessing Nephite Children and Holy Ghost - LDS Book Reviews


I received these books free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.


“Blessing the Nephite Children” Summary:
Snuggle up with your kids and learn about Jesus’s visit to the Nephites. This colorful board book is perfectly designed for little fingers and small attention spans. Experience the beauty of Christ’s personal love in the Book of Mormon with your little ones and come to see the ways the Savior reaches out to them today.

Our Thoughts:
This adorable board book is from the Baby Book of Mormon Stories series. It is written by Catherine Christensen and illustrated by Jay Fontano. Jesus's love for all mankind, especially children shows in this book for youngsters. The illustrations are colorful, fun, and cartoon like to hold the attention of little ones. My daughter Zari loved this book. Her sister Teela read it to her and looked at the pictures with her. This book is a great sturdy book for little hands to introduce or reinforce the concept of Jesus's visit to the Americas and His love for all.


“The Holy Ghost” Summary:
Get to know the Holy Ghost, from baptism on! This engaging book provides fill-in-the-blank stories, coloring pages, and other fun activities for your kids to help get them ready to receive the Holy Ghost and rely on Him for the rest of their lives. Come to understand and feel the Spirit, one of the greatest gifts from God.

Our Thoughts:
The Holy Ghost: Discovering Your Extraordinary New Gift I thought that the coming of this soft cover book was very timely as my daughter Teela had turned 8 and gotten baptized last April. The Holy Ghost: Discovering Your Extraordinary New Gift is a wonderful activity 80 page book with fill-in-the-blanks, coloring pages, word searches, dot-to-dots, mazes, games, crack the code, crosswords, and many other fun filled pages. Answer keys are upside down on the pages that needs them and there are also some in the back of the book. This book teaches children the difference between the power and gift of the Holy Ghost. It also answers the questions of who the Holy Ghost is & how the Holy Ghost guides, comforts, warns and protects, testifies and teaches, and sanctifies teaching also how to use the gift. I think that this book is perfect for the child that just got baptized.

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DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received these books for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Christmas Love Letters from God: Bible Stories Book Review


I received this book free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Christmas Love Letters from God, written by Glenys Nellist and illustrated by Rachel Clowes, is a lovely collection of seven beloved Bible stories that focus on the birth of Jesus, beginning with Isaiah’s prophecy and ending with the visit of the wise men. Following each story, the child will find his or her own letter from God. Just lift-the-flap of a small envelope attached to the page to read. Each letter begins with a space in which to write the child’s name, so each one can be specially addressed to the child. This book is written especially for children ages 4-8.

Each story cleverly combines both prose and poetry. The stories start with a title and a scripture. The story is then written in a way children can understand and then a poem follows. The lift-the-flap letter is also accompanied by a special Bible verse, entitled God’s Perfect Promise, on the same page.

The pages remind me of a whimsical scrapbook. The illustrations are adorable and show pictures of Isaiah, Mary, Joseph, Bethlehem, angels, baby Jesus, the Nativity, shepherds, and Wise Men. They show how strong the love of God is towards us in bringing his Son to the Earth.

The personalized messages are a perfect reminder of God's love, promise, and hope for us as we move ever closer to the Christmas holiday season. These letters are a fun way to encourage a young one to discover or rediscover the birth of Jesus through story, scripture verse, notes, poetry, and sweet illustrations. I love this delightful book and all its contents. It is perfect to share with little ones during Christmas to remind us that Jesus is the true reason for the Season!

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You can also purchase the Zonderkidz Christmas Love Letters from God at Zondervan for $16.99.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Family Flora Review and Giveaway



The school year has started and the kids are exposed to all sorts of germs that might disrupt their inner harmony. Even if you are homeschooling like me there are germs at extracurricular activities, play dates, events, and just about everywhere you go. Your kids come home sick and then if your immune system is compromised you could get sick too! Trust me, I know that it is really hard being a sick mom that is out of commission! It is even worse when you and a child is sick! You really want to help out, get stuff accomplished, and take care of your family, but you don't feel good. Keeping our immune systems healthy is key. So, how do you do this? Your gut is your body's largest immune system organ. If your gut isn't healthy because of toxic invaders then you probably feel lousy too! So, if you give your gut an army of good bacteria (flora) then you and your family will be healthier overall.

Family Flora is a synbiotic, which is different than any other formulation because it provides both a natural prebiotic + probiotic together in one formula that populates your gut with the healthy bacteria needed to successfully battle health challenges while promoting healthy digestion and vitamin and nutrient absorption. Family Flora gives the immune system a fighting chance to win and grow ever stronger. Prebiotics are the essential food that probiotics eat while in your intestine to keep your gut healthy and ready to fight back. Plus, Family Flora's custom formulations are all Non-GMO, kosher, sodium-free, gluten-free and have no artificial flavors or colors.

What Family Flora Does*:
  • Helps support and promote healthy digestion
  • Aids in a regular digestive routine
  • Helps maintain a healthy gut and GI tract
  • Aids in vitamin and nutrient absorption
  • Helps build and strengthen the immune system
  • Maintains flora balance

Family Flora sent us Daily Balance and Junior Daily Balance with a Family Flora shaker bottle. These each come in boxes of 30 packets for a month supply for a single person. These are a daily use product to get the best results. Daily Balance is primarily for adults and the Junior one is a probiotic for children aged 2-14.

Family Flora Daily Balance

Daily Balance is a blend of 3 probiotic cultures (Lactobacillus acidophilus (DDS-1), Lactobacillus Rhamnosus, and Bifidobacterium Bifidum, ) and one super prebiotic culture (Organic Inulin). Daily Balance contains no artificial colors, no artificial flavors or sweeteners. It is Non-GMO, Kosher and sodium free.

Family Flora Junior Daily Balance

Junior Daily Balance, a blend of 4 probiotic cultures (Lactobacillus acidophilus (DDS-1), Lactobacillus Rhamnosus, Bacillus Coagulas (Produra), and Bifidobacterium Bifidum)  and some super prebiotic cultures [Oligofructose (FOS), Organic Inulin (Agave Tequilana), and Maltodextrin (FIBERSOL 2)]. The Junior Daily Balance contains 5 grams of prebiotics to support microbiome maintenance & colonization. Besides 30 stick packs the box has some cute, fun stickers of the good bacteria. These are numbered all the way to 30 so that you can give your child one every day they take the Family Flora synbiotic as a reward.

Family Flora mixed in juice.

My Thoughts:
I took the Daily Balance and I had my kids try the Junior Daily Balance. They come in convenient single dose stick pack of powder that you mix into a cold liquid or cold food. These packets can be easily taken anywhere you go or travel. They also are The powder doesn't taste like anything, but also doesn't dissolve completely, so the beverage or food comes out slightly gritty. This didn't bother me though as I am used to drinking juice with Matcha, Spirulina, or Moringa powder mixed in. I took the Daily Balance during my menstrual cycle. Usually I feel horrible with lots of bloating and major cramps. Taking this actually helped with all of that and I felt so much better, so I would definitely recommend Daily Balance as a great woman's probiotic. My kids didn't mind the taste of the Junior Daily Balance either and after trying it once, readily took it. We all liked having this mixed with juice or yogurt. Family Flora is a great probiotic supplement.

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Get a digital coupon for $3 off any Family Flora Prebiotic at Target.com and try Family Flora to also experience the great health benefits for yourselves.

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Prize: A years-supply of Family Flora.

Please click on this post link if you do not see the script for Rafflecopter below. Also, if there is anything that is wrong with it let me know by emailing me: finamoon AT gmail DOT com I will try my best at fixing it. Thanks for being awesome readers!

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DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The information provided on this blog post is, at best, of a general nature and cannot substitute for the advice of a medical professional (for instance, a qualified doctor/physician, nurse, pharmacist/chemist, and so on). I am not a medical professional, just a mom with a opinion. Even if a statement made about the product is accurate, it may not apply to you or your symptoms. I am only suggesting that you should try it for yourself and see if helps you. People are all different and outcomes could vary drastically.

Learning Resources Mental Blox 360° 3-D Building Game Review


Learning Resources Mental Blox 360° 3-D Building Game is a game of 3-D shapes that the player tries to stack and place in formation to resemble a 2-D picture. These brain-boosting puzzles challenge players to sharpen their spatial visualization, critical thinking, logical thinking, and problem solving skills. It takes concentration, attention to detail, logical thinking, abstract thinking, analytical thinking, and precision to build and solve 3-D shape puzzles from the different visual perspectives and points-of-view. You can play by yourself or with friends or family members for even more fun. For ages 5 and up.

Everything included in the box.

What Is Included:
  • 15 colorful plastic blocks: These blocks are best played with on a hard flat surface is optimal with these so they stack well. These are sized well for little hands to grasp.
  • 40 double-sided cards: These feature the puzzle on the front and the solution on the back. The picture cards show a 2-D viewpoint to be built in 3-D. The cards are language-free so players who do not read yet can still play. 3 levels of play: green cards are easy, yellow are medium, and red is difficult. Top right of the card has a cube that is representative of which point of view or angle is being shown (top, front, behind, sides). Left of the line on the card is all pieces needed t make the build. Right of the line is how the structure looks when completed from the point of view indicated in the above cube. Check accuracy on the back of each card.
  • Activity Guide: This is the instruction booklet. It describes how to play the game.

Teela and Zari playing with the Mental Blox 360° 3-D Building Game.

What We Thought:
My daughters who are 5 and 8 tried out the Mental Blox 360° 3-D Building Game. This game makes them think outside the blox :) My eight year old daughter could do the green and yellow cards without difficulty. She was challenged on the red cards, but quite willing and up to the challenge without giving up. My five year old couldn't quite grasp the concept of the different viewpoints so she instead stacks the blocks in fun ways. Mental Blox 360° is a great boredom buster. It helps expand my kids' ways of thinking. I am quite amazed at how much attention they pour into this game. It keeps them very occupied for quite a while.

Mental Blox 360° is fun and educational! I recommend it to people that love brain games, puzzles, and other games! This is also a great addition to any homeschool environment. It is a great family centered game and wonderful to teach and improve STEM and mental skills.

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DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links can be found in this post. Thank you for your support of this blog!