Byron's Games Maestro Mastery - Explore the Composers Review #ComlimentaryProductReceived

 

Disclaimer: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

My family had the privilege of trying the Maestro Mastery - Explore the Composers from Byron's Games for this review to use in conjunction with our own curriculum at home. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

While having an extended stay in a hospital a 6 year old boy named Byron was inspired by Mrs. Ellen Donovan, of the Family Life Center and the Olympic games that were going on at the time. To pass the time, he created his first board game, Continent Race. He wanted to help other kids avoid boredom during their hospital stays and brush up with their geography skills. Now Byron's Games has 3 games: Continent Race, Math Sprint, and Maestro Mastery. They also have the Connections stationery kit, Trailblazers Oasis Blanket, Trailblazers Travel Pillow for Kids, Kids Golf Set, The Family Journal, and 100 Kids Books - Scratch-off Poster, products.

Maestro Mastery - Explore the Composers is a great game for learning about famous composers. Byron created this game to help kids learn 52 masters without monotonous memorization. There are 52 cards with music masters, from medieval musicians to more contemporary composers. Each card has names and depictions, country of origin, years lived, fun life facts, and music era (Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Contemporary.) This card game is for ages 5 and up, you can have 2+ players, and a game takes about 30 minutes.

You can enrich your child's musical learning with Byron's Games online listening tool and educational ebook that go hand-in-hand with this game. The online listening tool features your composers' compositions, providing to music to develop your player's ears. Since the memory cards don't have room for all the facts Byron's Games made a companion ebook called Maestro Mastery: Learn and Explore Great Composers where the lives of the 52 composers featured in the game are explored in more detail.

 

Game Contents:

• Instructions
• 104 matching composer cards (2 decks with 52 color - coded cards each)
• 1 music timeline card
• 1 poster to continue learning and hang on the wall
  

How to Play:

1. Start with one deck only (unless playing with a large group).
   
2. Lay one deck (52 cards) face down in rows and columns.
3. Take turns going clockwise around the table, turning only 2 cards over at a time to find a matching pair.
4. State each composer's name and make sure all players see the cards, before flipping them back over.
   
5. Once a match is made, the player reads the composer card aloud (Composer's name, years lived, country they are from, era of music, and the text description). Adults can help younger children read their cards.
6. The match is laid face up on the table in front of the player who made them, grouping matches by era of music, (e.g., Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Contemporary). The eras are color-coded and can be found in the upper right-hand corner of each card.
   
7. Once you match all maestros, the player with the most matches wins. This is the overall winner.
   
8. The player with the most matches in a specific era also wins. This is the era winner. (There can be multiple era winners.)
   
9. The winner of each era reads aloud the era's description from the music timeline card. Read in chronological order. Again adults may assist in reading.
   
10. As each era's time-frame and description is read, go around the table for players to call out and lay down the composers they have within that era.

Optional Listening and Extra Challenge:

Optional Listening: A website is included in the instructions to enhance learning. On this website you can hear a sample of each composer's work. You can make this fun by doing this during game play when a match is made or alternatively after the game has ended. Extra Challenge: After multiple games and gets more familiar with the music selections you may play a sample for the group to place in which era it is from. You can also lay 3-5 different composer cards, face up and have one person play a selection from one of them for the players to guess who it is by.

● Increases concentration and cognitive function
● Augments attention to detail
● Increases vocabulary
● Maximizes memory 
● And more!

 

Maestro Mastery in play with three players.

 

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:

It has been cold outside and so my kids have been playing a lot indoors. We have been enjoying a lot of board games, card games, and puzzles. One of the games that we have been playing on these chilly days is Maestro Mastery - Explore the Composers by Byron's Games.

 

Maestro Mastery in play with two players.

My daughters, Teela and Zari, who are ages 12 and 10 have been playing this game with me. The first time we played we just did it with one deck and 3 players. A different day Teela and I played together with the other deck. Teela won both times as overall winner and the first time Zari won as the era winner and Teela won as era winner the second time. The third time we played we played it with the optional listening website. It was fun hearing the music of the composers, but some of the links wouldn't play because it said that the video was unavailable because it was private or that an error occurred. Hopefully they go back and fix those.

 

Maestro Mastery optional listening.

 

All in all we liked Maestro Mastery - Explore the Composers. It is a great game to learn about who some of the composers were and stuff about them. I love that it is educational and teaches while playing. I would recommend this to families that homeschool and others that are looking for games that teach as well. This matching game is great for family game night and music education.

 

Follow Them on Social Media:

• Facebook: https://facebook.com/byronsgames 
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/byronsgames
• Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/byronsgames
  
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqc5skcLby7XPMPubub8CRw
• Hashtags: #hsreviews #byronsgames #maestromastery #musiceducation #playmatters #playtolearn #classicalmusic #familygames #familygamenight #musicforkids #gamestagram #gamesofig #kidsgames #kidinventors #boardgames #musicgames #gameschool #gameschoolers #roadschool #homeschool #learningathome #homeschoolmom #homeschoolkids #learnandexplore

BUY IT

You can purchase Maestro Mastery - Explore the Composers on Amazon.

Read other homeschool curriculum reviews for Byron's Games Maestro Mastery - Explore the Composers...

Byron's Games Math Sprint - The Mental Math Game Review #ComplimentaryProductReceived

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

My family had the privilege of trying the Math Sprint - The Mental Math Game from Byron's Games for this review to use in conjunction with our own curriculum at home. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

While having an extended stay in a hospital a 6 year old boy named Byron was inspired by Mrs. Ellen Donovan, of the Family Life Center and the Olympic games that were going on at the time. To pass the time, he created his first board game, Continent Race. He wanted to help other kids avoid boredom during their hospital stays and brush up with their geography skills. Now Byron's Games has 2 games: Continent Race and Math Sprint, the Connections stationery kit, and Trailblazer products.

Math Sprint  - The Mental Math Game is a great game for helping with math mastery. Byron originally created this game for a local game inventor challenge. It too was inspired by the Olympic games, especially the running events. All you have to do to advance your piece is to solve a subtraction, addition, multiplication, division, or word problem. It is a race against other players to solve the problem first. There are also different skill levels with 3 race lengths and beginner to advanced level cards. Each color coded athlete playing piece has a profile picture with different hobbies and interests to go with it that you can pick from. This gives the players to have something they might relate to in the game. This math game is for ages 7 and up, you can have 2-8 players or teams, and a game takes about 30 minutes.

 

Game Contents:

• Instructions
• 258 cards: 92 Addition & Subtraction, 106 Multiplication & Division, 30 Wild Cards, 30 Challenge Cards
• 1 marker
• 1 running track board
• 10 dry erase cards
• 8 runner playing pieces

How to Play:

1. Base on the age and level of your group, determine which card types to include in the draw pile, shuffle those into a deck, and place them face down in the middle of the board. The challenge cards should not be in play when playing with younger kids.
   
2. Select your runner piece.
   
3. Choose the race distance: 100m (shorter game and beginner level), 200m (intermediate level when have a bit more time to play), or 400m dash (advanced or older players or when the group has more time to play).
4. Line your piece up on the starting line on the board running track where the race distance is you are running and pick one of the lanes numbered 1-8. The Coach should be in lane 1.
   
5. Each player takes a turn being the Coach going clockwise, draws a card, and reads the math problem aloud or the adult or oldest can be the Coach the whole time.
6. Each time a player answers a question correctly they can move their runner forward 2 spaces.
7. If there is a tie in answering correctly, both players advance 2 spaces.
8. If a player doesn't answer the question correctly they don't move.
   
9. The first player to get the correct answer advances and is on the way to the finish line!
10. If the Coach draws a Wild card, then  the Coach moves his/her piece as directed.
11. If a Coach Tip card is drawn the Coach reads it aloud so all players can learn.
12. If playing with a large group you can play in teams instead of individual players. Teams can discuss quietly and raise their hands when their team has the answer.
13. Use the blank dry erase cards and dry erase marker to make up your own problems or work out solutions.
    

 

● Improves your kid's reasoning and logic skills
● Helps kids practice processing, analyzing, and calculating
● Boosts your own mental math abilities
● Provides precious time for you and your family to grow together

 

Zari, Teela, and I playing Math Sprint.

 

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:

It has been cold outside and so my kids have been playing a lot indoors. We have been enjoying a lot of board games, card games, and puzzles. One of the games that we have been playing on these chilly days is Math Sprint - The Mental Math Game by Byron's Games.

My daughters, Teela and Zari, who are ages 12 and 10 have been playing this game with me. I was the Coach in the first game we played. Teela chose the yellow playing piece which is Mary Matherina, Zari chose the green piece which is Mya Marcher, and I chose the blue piece which is Crystal Reaction. I liked Crystal, well, because she shares the same name as me and seems to like science. Zari and I started on the 100m level and Teela started on the 200m level. At first we shuffled all the cards together, but then Zari was having trouble with the division problems, so we took all those cards out so that we could level the playing field. We should have just picked out the appropriate cards to include in the game with all the wild cards to make it fun and unpredictable and make it a acceptable number of cards--not the entire deck.  Zari still didn't like that it was a math game because she doesn't like math and Teela was dominating the game because she was faster at getting the answers. Next time we play I think that I will play with Zari and be on her team so maybe she will have a chance at winning or maybe she can play with a friend that is at her same level.

All in all I liked Math Sprint - The Mental Math Game. It is a great game to brush up on your math and also help with learning new math skills for younger students. My kids had mixed feelings about the game and this is probably not going to be a game they turn to on their own off of our game shelf. I love that it is educational and teaches while playing. I think that I would still recommend it to families that homeschool and others that are looking for games that teach as well.

Follow Them on Social Media:

• Facebook: https://facebook.com/byronsgames 
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/byronsgames
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqc5skcLby7XPMPubub8CRw
• Hashtags: #familygamenight #kidinventors #gamesforkids #byronsgames #exploreyourworld #mathgames #homeschoolgames #mathsprint #learnandexplore 

BUY IT

You can purchase Math Sprint - The Mental Math Game on Amazon.

Read other homeschool curriculum reviews for Byron's Games Math Sprint - The Mental Math Game...

Edushape Magic Brix in Motion Review #MagicBrix

I received this product free to facilitate this review.

Magic Brix in Motion is a great travel set of 55 building blocks that interlock together with little plastic nubs. This set also comes with a board so that your child has a flat nubby surface to attach their creations to while on-the-go. This has the same pieces that you know and love in any Magic Brix/Travel Brix set, plus some new shapes that add more motion to your child's creations. These are easily washable and grip-able. You can easily store all the pieces in the box they come in. This box also comes with a handle to easily carry the pieces with you. You can take this set on: planes, trains, and automobiles. It can go with your child to the park, playground, Grandma's house or at home! Great for encouraging: creative thinking, hand-eye coordination, tactile sensory development, visual sensory development, socialization, fine motor skills, and logic & reasoning. Perfect for both boys and girls. Great for little architects, engineers, tinkers, and artists! Great for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) lessons. Recommended for ages 3 and up because of some small pieces and possible choking hazard.

Edushape manufactures quality children's toys and products that promote developmental learning through play. These toys and products help build Gross Motor, Language, Musical, Social & Emotional, Fine Motor skills and much more. Their main focus is for children ages Birth to 5 years old.

What Is Included In the Magic Brix in Motion set:

• 55 Brick Pieces: These are great for open-ended play just about anywhere. They are made from sturdy, soft, and flexible plastic. Two new shapes help create motion! They come in bright colors of yellow, green, blue, pink, purple, and orange. The colors and details of individual pieces may vary from the illustrations.
• 1 Travel Board: Use this to assemble creations to so they won't topple. This is 6"x8" or 15x20cm. Additional boards may be purchased separately.
• 1 Booklet: This shows 10 pictures of things your child can build with the Magic Brix in Motion.
• 1 Box: Sturdy cardboard box opens up to store all the pieces in. Closes securely and has a handle for easy travel.

What We Thought:
The Edushape Magic Brix in Motion set is great for learning more about motion. We used these to teach about Newton's laws of motion in our homeschool. We love the two new bricks: one is used to make things spin or roll forward and one has a joint to make the pieces rotate. The one that spins or rolls you can either wind up the opposite way to make it spin and pull back and let go to make it roll forward. We had fun watching the video above to see these new pieces in action before we constructed our own builds.

This set is also wonderful to take on trips. We love how fast it packs up to bring wherever. The box was the perfect thing to bring them in and had extra room for more bricks too if needed.

The pieces come in a lot of different shapes, sizes, and colors. There aren't just square or rectangular bricks either. There were some that let the blocks attached to them spin, rotate, or roll. My girls made the wind mill from the picture and after it was wound it turned on its own which was cool. We just had to really reinforce the base of it or hold it because the force of the movement made it tipsy. Teela made the triangle from the booklet with the bendy, rotating pieces. We even made the plane that you can pull back and it will go forward on its own if put together correctly. Some blocks had more surface area than others which made building a little more challenging because of how and where they interlock together. We also loved the bright colors the bricks came in.

Teela and Zari playing with the Edushape Magic Brix in Motion.

We liked how simple these were to put together. The pieces are safe and don't poke you while playing with them. My daughters didn't get frustrated at all by building their own things. I did wish that the little booklet of design ideas, which only had pictures of finished creations, had instead step-by-step instructions of builds. Some of the builds proved to be difficult just by looking at the picture to put together, even for me and so I ended up making up my own that was similar. Also, since the colors of the pieces in the booklet didn't match the ones we had it proved a bit confusing for my youngest who is 7 to put together the builds from the pictures. We also found that if you stack the pieces too high or if they are top heavy, they still topple even if attached to the board. Both my daughters still had a lot of fun building things of their own design though with this set.

We highly recommend the Edushape Magic Brix in Motion for ages 3 and older. I like that they are easily cleaned which is a plus and that they are a fun toy for the imagination. These are also well made. I see them lasting a long time. We also love that you can combine other sets of Magic Brix or Travel Brix with this one so you can make a larger collection of bricks to assemble from.

BUY IT
You can purchase this from Simplicity ABC.

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!

Edushape Travel Brix Review

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

Travel Brix is a great travel set of 32 building blocks that interlock together with little plastic nubs. This set also comes with a board so that your child has a flat nubby surface to attach their creations to while on-the-go. These are easily washable and grip-able. You can easily store all the pieces in the box they come in. This box also comes with a handle to easily carry the pieces with you. You can take this set on: planes, trains, and automobiles. It can go with your child to the park, playground, Grandma's house or at home! Great for encouraging: creative thinking, hand-eye coordination, tactile sensory development, visual sensory development, socialization, fine motor skills, and logic & reasoning. Perfect for both boys and girls. Great for little architects, engineers, tinkers, and artists! Recommended for ages 3 and up because of some small pieces and possible choking hazard.

Edushape manufactures quality children's toys and products that promote developmental learning through play. These toys and products help build Gross Motor, Language, Musical, Social & Emotional, Fine Motor skills and much more. Their main focus is for children ages Birth to 5 years old.

What Is Included In the Travel Brix set:

• 32 Pieces: These are great for open-ended play just about anywhere. They are made from sturdy, soft, and flexible plastic. They come in bright colors of yellow, green, blue, pink, purple, and orange. These colors and details of individual pieces may vary from the illustrations.
• 1 Travel Board: Use this to assemble creations to so they won't topple. This is 6"x8" or 15x20cm. Additional boards may be purchased separately.
• 1 Booklet: This shows 9 pictures of things your child can build with the Travel Brix.
• 1 Box: Sturdy cardboard box opens up to store all the pieces in. Closes securely and has a handle for easy travel.

Teela and Zari playing with the Edushape Travel Brix.

What We Thought:
The Edushape Travel Brix set is wonderful to take on trips. We love how fast it packs up to bring wherever. The box was the perfect thing to bring them in and had extra room for more bricks too if needed.

The pieces come in a lot of different shapes, sizes, and colors. There is even some that let the blocks attached to them turn around and around. My girls made the wind mill from the picture and it really turned which was cool. There aren't just square or rectangular bricks either. My kids made the cat from the picture and it has triangle ears. Some had more surface area than others which made building a little more challenging because of how and where they interlock together. We also loved the bright colors the bricks came in.

We liked how simple these were to put together. The pieces are safe and don't poke you while playing with them. My daughters didn't get frustrated at all by building their own things. I did wish that the little booklet of design ideas, which only had pictures of finished creations, had instead step-by-step instructions of builds. The flower proved to be difficult just by looking at the picture to put together, even for me and so I made up my own. Also, since the colors of the pieces in the booklet didn't match the ones we had it proved a bit confusing for my youngest who is 6 to put together the builds from the pictures. We also found that if you stack the pieces too high or if they are top heavy, they still topple even if attached to the board. My daughters still had a lot of fun building things of their own design though with this set.

We highly recommend the Edushape Travel Brix for ages 3 and older. I like that they are easily cleaned which is a plus and that they are a fun toy to take traveling. These are also well made. I see them lasting a long time.

BUY IT
You can purchase this from Amazon.



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!

Kong Wobbler Toy for Dogs Chewy.com Review

We received a large Kong Wobbler from Chewy.com free to facilitate this review.

The Kong Wobbler Toy for dogs is a great way for your furry friend to play. This treat dispenser has a small opening that when pushed, rocked, wobbled, or rolled can release a reward for your dog. The Kong Wobbler will keep your puppy dog occupied for hours. It is a wonderful toy for playtime providing both mental challenge and physical activity for your dog. Not only is it an engaging activity for your dog it is also entertaining for the whole family to watch the Wobbler in action.

Kong Wobbler Features:

• Easy to fill and clean; twist open dispenser; top unscrews from base
• Dispenses food and treats for hours of fun; prevents rapid eating
• Use as a mealtime feeder for dogs that eat too quickly and scarf food
• Entertaining wobble action
• Give IQ-building fun time to your doggy genius
• Made of FDA food-approved high strength plastic polymer
• Recommended by vets worldwide
• Dishwasher safe; top shelf
• Comes in two sizes: Small (fits ½ cup of food) and Large (fits 1 cup of food)
• Large measures 7 x 6 x 10.5-inches; suitable for dogs weighing 25-pounds or more
• Small measures 6-inches tall by 4-inches wide; suitable for dogs up to 25 pounds
• Made in the USA
  

How to Use:

1. Twist off top to open.
2. Fill Wobbler dish with dry dog food, small Kong snacks or your dogs favorite small treats making sure your dog notices you doing so. Make sure the snacks or food is small enough to fit through the opening easily.
• For treat dispensing fun, add a handful.
• For mealtime feeding, feed normal amount, up to 1 cup per filling.
3. Twist top on tightly.
4. Encourage dog to rock Wobbler to dispense reward. Let them sniff the opening. Demonstrate to them how to push it until it dispenses some treats. Make it fun and exciting for your dog. They will quickly learn to use their nose and paws to move the Wobbler around. When they get the toy to dispense treats, praise them. Repeat as many times as needed. (for better motivation use toy when dog is hungry)
5. Discourage chewing.

Chewy.com is a great place to find items for your dog or cat. They have a great selection of food and treats, bowls and feeders, health and wellness products, flea & tick products, toys, cleaning and potty training products, grooming products, leashes and collars; beds, crates and gear, litter, etc. They conveniently ship 200+ brands of pet food and other stuff direct to your doorstep, anytime of the day. They have competitive prices and offer free 1-2 day shipping on any order of $49 or more. They have 24/7 customer service, just call and ask your question(s). Chewy.com is also dedicated to supporting non-profit organizations that help animals in need.A portion of sales are donated to these great causes.

Prince playing with the Kong Wobbler.

Our Thoughts:

We received the large sized Kong Wobbler for our dog. We used this treat dispensing toy with our large dog, Prince. We followed the directions and waited when he was hungry to try the Kong Wobbler out. He was fairly interested in the whole process and what we were doing. We tried some small treats at first that we had around the house that would easily fit through the opening. The toy was simple to fill.

We then showed Prince the Wobbler in action and how it worked. He got pretty excited when it released the treats onto the floor. Then he decided it was his turn to try and nudged it with his nose. It wobbled back and forth and he jumped back in enthusiasm. It was highly enjoyable for the whole family to watch! My daughters were giggling uncontrollably at the sight.

The Kong Wobbler is a great toy for dogs! It helps your pup get both physical and mental exercise. We recommend the Kong Wobbler to anyone with dogs. Chewy.com is a great place to find the Kong Wobbler and other great items for dogs and cats!

BE SOCIAL
Website: https://www.chewy.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/chewy
Twitter: http://twitter.com/chewy @chewy
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpWl2nwLDQQI4TTa1kJgxrg
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/chewy
Instagram: http://instagram.com/chewy


BUY IT
Get the Kong Wobbler at Chewy.com. The large is $15.91 and the small is $13.49. (prices are accurate as of the date of this post)

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received product for free to facilitate my 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.

Edushape Marbulous Marble Run Review

The Marbulous Marble Run from Edushape is a fun marble maze toy that will help your child's imagination zoom. This fun, action-packed marble track set is loaded with extra marbles so there is no need to purchase them separately. The sturdy colorful plastic tracks fit together a lot of different ways so that the child can build a different track pathway every time. It is so much fun loading the marbles and watching them twist, turn, and roll down the track. Develops fine motor skills, socialization, spatial relationship, logic & reasoning, hand-eye coordination, visual sensory development, creativity, imagination, and more. Includes 80 pieces and 20 marbles. Compatible with all Edushape Marble Runs and more! Appropriate for 4 years and up; $39.99

What Is Included:

• 80 Pieces: including bells, spinning pieces, bases, straights, tunnels, slides, shoots, etc. These are sturdy plastic and have vibrant colors.
• 20 Marbles: These are colorful glass cats-eye marbles.
• Instruction Booklet: has different designs that you can build from start to finish. These designs range from easy to hardest and more complex.

My daughters having fun with the Edushape Marbulous Marble Run.

What We Thought:
We loved this awesome marble run! The pieces fit together well and easily, even for my 6 year old. I loved that this set had marbles that already came with it because so many do not. The instruction booklet was mostly easy to understand and comes with pictures for each of the builds in it. Some of these builds were a little confusing because the pictures missed steps in between others, so you had to really try to understand the pictures well to get the pieces together like they had it in the booklet.  My kids loved putting the tunnels, shoots, slides, bases, etc. together mostly on their own to make the ultimate obstacle course for the marbles to shoot down and sometimes they would race marbles to see who would come to the bottom first. This is a great toy for them to play with together. Putting these pieces together they learned that some designs work better than others. I loved watching their faces as the marbles raced down the run and made it to the very end of the track! So priceless! My little engineers love this and so do I! It keeps them occupied and entertained.

I highly recommend the Edushape Marbulous Marble Run! I do not, however; recommend this to smaller children because of small pieces and choking hazards. It would make a great gift for a child 4 and up and is part of my Holiday Gift Guide!

BUY IT


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!

Learning Resources STEM Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set Review #learningresources

Learning Resources STEM Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set is a fun toy that teaches sequencing, coding, and programming. This toy challenges players to sharpen their analytical thinking, critical thinking, logical thinking, and problem solving skills. For ages 5 and up and grades Kindergarten and up.

STEM

• Science: exploring the science of coding and programming with hands-on activities!
• Technology: building and using tools for amazing discoveries!
• Engineering: designing solutions for real-world problems!
• Math: measuring, recording, and comparing data to draw conclusions!

83 Piece Set Includes:

• 1 Robot mouse named Colby: has a switch on the bottom with 3 positions (off and two speeds: normal to use on plastic maze base grid pieces and hyper for use on carpet and other more uneven surfaces). Colorful buttons on top make him do things in the order they are pressed and are: forward (blue arrow that points towards his nose, makes him move forward 5"), rotate right (purple arrow that points right when he is facing away from you, makes Colby rotate right 90 degrees), reverse (yellow arrow that points towards his tail end, makes him move backward 5"), rotate left (orange arrow that points left when he is facing away from you, makes Colby rotate left 90 degrees), action (red circle that makes him either: move forward and back, squeak loudly, or chirp 3 times with lit up eyes), clear (yellow circle clears all coding if you make a mistake or want to do another sequence, has confirmation tone), go (green circle that is the last command to be pressed when the sequence (up to 40 steps) is completed and Colby is set down on the maze). Takes 3 AAA batteries, not included.
• 16 Plastic maze base grid pieces: connect together to form a larger board or any configuration that goes together.
• 22 Plastic maze walls: to be placed around the grids in the crevices so that the mouse can go through the maze to get to the cheese.
• 3 Plastic tunnels: can be placed on the grid or surface for the mouse to go under and through.
• 1 Plastic cheese wedge: to be placed at the end of the maze for the mouse to find. This is magnetic and sticks to the mouses nose when touched by it.
• 30 Double-sided coding cards: have one side with just the arrow and the other side with the mouse and the arrow. These help you plot and track the mouse's path and order in which the code needs to be pressed on Colby for him to get to the cheese in the maze.
• 10 Double-sided activity cards: help you build the mazes from pictures on the cards. These are made in order of difficulty, 1 being the easiest and 20 being the hardest.
• 1 Multilingual activity guide: is instructions and directions for how to play.

How To Play:

1. Pick an activity card with one of the challenge mazes.
2. Build your maze from the picture on the card or just build your own: by connecting the maze grid pieces together and adding the walls, tunnels, and cheese.
3. Use either side of the coding cards to create a step-by-step path for Colby to find the cheese.
4. Program the sequence of steps with the buttons on the mouse.
5. Set Colby down where he is suppose to start in the maze, press go, and watch Colby race to find the cheese.

Teela and Zari playing with the Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set.

What We Thought:
My daughters who are 6 and 8 tried out the Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set. This is a neat toy. It teaches some very important skills and I love that it is educational and that my girls enjoyed it so much. We love bringing this toy out for when we need a break from book work during homeschooling. The girls liked making their own mazes and figuring out what code to program into Colby, the mouse. They also thought that it was funny that the mouse made little sounds occasionally and loved that you could program an action into it to make the mouse do random things. Someday we'd love to get the purple mouse, Jack, that is sold separately, so we can have even more fun with this set and race the two!

The Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set is fun and educational! I recommend it to people that love games, puzzles, and educational toys! This is also a great addition to any homeschool environment. It is a great family centered toy 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!

Zonderkidz A Night of Great Joy Book Review and Giveaway

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

A Night of Great Joy is a Zonderkidz children's book by Mary Engelbreit. It is an adorable hardcover picture book that Mary Engelbreit illustrates with her colorful artwork. The paper jacket of the book is glittered too. The book celebrates the Christmas season as a group of multi-ethnic children puts on the Nativity pageant play throughout its pages.



I remember my church's Sunday School growing up putting on the Nativity pageant. As children we would play different parts in the play. One year I was a sheep. It was a lot of fun in theater even though I did not have a big part. My family would put on the pageant at home as well. I always enjoyed being a part of it.

I love Mary Engelbreit's artwork! It is whimsical, vibrant, and fun. Her charming illustrations have always given me joy. This is a sweet book for little ones filled with her illustrations. The words in it are simple yet tell the story well of what happened the night of Jesus's birth. This wonderful book is a treasure for the Christmas holiday. It reminds me of the pageants I was in as a child. I love this book and my younger children do too. It would be a perfect gift for Christmas and is great for ages 4-10 and Mary Engelbreit fans.

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You can also purchase the Zonderkidz A Night of Great Joy at Zondervan for $16.99.

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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. Another will be provided free to the giveaway winner. 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.

SimplyFun Shape Whiz Board Game Review

My family had the privilege of trying SimplyFun Shape Whiz 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.

SimplyFun is a company that is dedicated to providing fun products that also teach important skills. These award winning educational games help families spend more quality time together and create meaningful relationships. SimplyFun has games for all ages and and stages, even ones especially for special needs and autism.

My family loves all types of games; whether it be board games, card games, video games, relay races, competitions, etc. We love testing our skill, wit, speed, and strategy. Games are great opportunities to get together with family and friends and have a great time. They help us learn how to: take turns, think ahead, make choices, have consequences for our actions, cooperate, work as a team, and be a good sport. We love family game night because it strengthens family ties & bonds, and builds memories. We also love educational games for homeschool and we always like getting new games to add to our collection because it means a chance to try something different.

My family got the opportunity to try a SimplyFun game called, Shape Whiz. Shape Whiz is a fast paced card game that teaches 2D geometry, shape measurement, and math symbols. It is for 2 to 4 players and is geared towards ages 10 and up. With this board game for kids you learn about all kinds of Geometry: signs and symbols, angles, curves, sides, line of symmetry, parallel lines, polygon, same or equivalent, approximate area, area of a rectangle, area of a square, area of a triangle, area of a parallelogram, area of a trapezoid, area of a circle, approximate perimeter or circumference, perimeter of a polygon, circumference of a circle, and Pythagorean Theorem.

Contents of Shape Whiz

Included in the game's box are 80 Shape Cards, 40 Whiz Cards, and an instruction booklet on the rules of how to play. The Shape Cards have two different sets; 45 total simple shapes (9 blue shapes in 5 sizes) and 35 total complex shapes (7 green shapes in 5 sizes). These have a shape on a grid on the front and shape properties on the back. Whiz Cards tell you a geometry clue and question for helping you to find the correct Shape Card. Whiz Cards are double sided. The instruction booklet has nice color diagrams and helps you with the game play. The main points it goes through and tells us are: what's in the box, game objective, game set up, game play, game end, principles of geometry, and credits.

Shape Whiz Game Objective

The objective of the game and layout is fairly simple. You can play Shape Whiz one of two different ways. You can use both the green and blue shape cards for advanced play or just the blue shape cards for a simpler version of the game. Each player gets a stack of shape cards and puts down three of them in front of them facing up so that you can see the shape of each. Then a Whiz Card from the deck is played in the center of the table. The objective of the game is to race your opponent(s) to find the correct shape from all the available shape cards facing up that matches the geometry clue or question on the Whiz Card in play. Everyone playing must accept that the shape card picked first is a match or flip the card over to check the shape properties on the back to make sure that it is. The first person that gets rid of their Personal Shape Card Stack wins. The games are supposed to be only take about 10-15 minutes.

The above math error we found in the Shape Whiz instruction booklet and the correct math in Google.**

My boys are just the right ages for this game since they are 13 and 14. They have touched on all of these geometry concepts in their math books, but needed some review. Before we started we reviewed all of the instruction booklet. We went over everything including the geometry principles. Right away we found a error within the booklet. On page 7 of the rules booklet, down at the bottom, it says, "Circumference of a Circle: C = 2 * π * r² (π ≈ 3.14)". It is supposed to say Circumference of a Circle: C = 2 * π * r (π ≈ 3.14). **

Also we thought that when it comes to the shapes with curves, the rules for if a shape has sides and how many were a little arbitrary. The game refers to circles and tear drop shapes as having no sides and a half circle/oval as having two. Some mathematicians say that a circle has infinitely many infinitesimal sides. The question, "How many sides does a circle have?", is too ambiguous to have a definite answer. "Side" is a term that, in my honest opinion, should only be reserved for polygons, a plane figure with at least three straight sides and angles. But the booklet does spell out their definition of the words angles, curves, different length sides, line of symmetry, parallel lines, polygon, same or equivalent, and side. Their definition of a side is "a line between two points", so if you go with that definition for the game you are good to go, just remember that some of their definitions don't always apply for some geometry.

Shape Whiz card game in play

My boys are always pretty competitive with each other. At first, arguments broke out over who was first putting their card down and whose card was correct. The shape properties on the back of the Shape Cards were confusing to them sometimes. My boys were over thinking everything which made the game drag out a lot longer than it was supposed to. They were also having trouble reading the greater than and less than symbols out loud correctly. Frustration levels were pretty high and I had to jump in the middle of the game sometimes to play referee. Once they got the hang of how to play better they did calm down and have a better game.

I wish I could say that this game was perfect. I wanted so much to give it a better review, but the math in it is a little flawed. I know that it is hard to please everyone when you are a company. Shape Whiz is a product that still has a lot of potential to be great in my opinion. It just needs a bit of reworking.

UPDATE: **I did contact SimplyFun and they have given me a new PDF copy of instructions with the circumference error fixed. Those of you that already have the game can get a new PDF version from the company or just fix the error in your own booklet.

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If you do decide to purchase Shape Whiz, you can for $24. If Homeschooling you can join SimplyFun's program for Homeschoolers. Save 15% on every purchase for a year for just $19, receive 2 FREE games when you join and get access to other great benefits and specials.

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Just Pretend Kids Tutu and Fairy Wings Review and Giveaway

Just Pretend Kids Monarch Butterfly Tutu and Fairy Wings in Wrap

I received this costume for free to facilitate this review. I was also given an opportunity to do a giveaway for my readers for free as well.

Halloween is around the corner and the hunt for great costumes is on. Just Pretend Kids has an adorable collection of tutus, fairy wings, bodysuits, wands, headdresses, headbands, hairpieces, tights, legwarmers, and other accessories to complete the look that are a must have for any little girl. They also come in a range of different designs: from fruit to insects to flowers to mermaids to fairies, you have a great selection to pick from. They not only have those items, but they also have many other costumes like: furry animals, princesses, queens, mermaids, brides, witches, etc. Just Pretend Kids has infant romper costume sizes in 0-6 months to 6-12 months, toddler sizes in animal costumes for 1T-2T and 3T-4T, toddler sizes in fairy costumes for 2T-3T and 4T-5T; and kids sizes from size 2, 4, 6 and 8 in some costumes. They also have whole themed party boxes with a costume to match that come with everything you need to host a wonderful party - from invitations to tableware and decorations too.

My daughters love to dress up regardless of whether it is Halloween or not. They love to pretend that they are someone or something else. I think their imagination is wonderful. I love watching them play.

3 year old Zari wearing the tutu and wings.

We received the Monarch Butterfly Collection tutu and wings to try out and the packaging was well thought out. Inside the box the wings were separately wrapped inside their own bag so that they would not snag on anything. Then they were placed in a larger bag with the tutu. As soon as I opened the package and showed my daughters they wanted to try on the lovely costume.

The tutu and wings are perfect from the back.

The Monarch Butterfly Collection Tutu is a lovely bright orange tulle skirt with a black bow, orange butterfly, black pom pom, and orange polka dotted black ribbon embellishments. The skirt has an elastic waist so it fits both my daughters well. My daughters both had fun twirling in it.

6 year old Teela wearing the tutu and wings.

The Monarch Butterfly Collection Wings are the black and orange color of the Monarchs' and bejeweled with orange jewels and glitter. On closer inspection the black sparkly paint on the wings was a bit smudged on the left wing and some was where it wasn't supposed to be when you see them from the front. We had to adjust the bands that go around the girls' arms so that the wings would stay in place and fit better. My daughters were happy enough with these new wings though. With them their imagination took flight.

From the front you can see the black paint on the left wing.

You can get the whole Monarch Butterfly look with Just Pretend Kids. They have Monarch Butterfly Collection Boppy, Monarch Butterfly Collection Wand, Monarch Butterfly Wand, Monarch Butterfly Collection Tights, Monarch Butterfly Legwarmers, Monarch Butterfly Headpiece, Monarch Butterfly Collection Bodysuit, Monarch Butterfly Alex Bodysuit, Monarch Butterfly Ruffled Tutu, Monarch Butterfly Collection Tutu, and Monarch Butterfly Collection Wings.

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Prize: Win Just Pretend Kids Tutu and Fairy Wings (winners choice).

I am trying out Rafflecopter on my blog. Please click on this post link if you do not see the script for it 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 product for free to facilitate my review and an opportunity to giveaway some free too. 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.

Baby’s First Book Blocks by Dan Stiles

We received this product free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this post. Thank you for supporting this blog.

Dan Stiles is a local author and artist that lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and daughters. He has done many things including  fabric, books, posters, t-shirts etc. His silk screen prints and other things are very colorful and stylized.

Baby’s First Book Blocks by Dan Stiles are 4 wonderful chunky board books that comes in a boxed set for babies that combine books and blocks together. This mini series will grab your baby's attention with its bold colors, diverse shapes, and intricate patterns. They help babies expand their visual and tactile awareness. I love that these books help babies grow and develop basic motor skills like: play-grasping, stacking, sorting, and turning pages. Since they are board books they will stand up to baby drool and little hands that might want to rip or tear things better than regular books. These are the perfect size for little hands to hold and grasp. I like that the Baby’s First Book Blocks has images in both black and white and colors. I love that these books have a dual purpose and are a fun way to play with baby. These are great for ages 0-3. My 3 year old daughter, Zari, likes them a lot! I highly recommend them!


DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate my 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. This post contains affiliate links which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and make a purchase.

Invent It Board Game

I would like to introduce y'all to a unique board game called Invent It. This game is great for anyone looking to plug into their creative, imaginative, inventive, nerdy or entrepreneurial side. It is great for homeschoolers, teachers, parents, families, children, or really anyone who likes to play board games. My husband's cousin, Ross, designed this game. Please go check it out on Kickstarter. Your support in backing this project will help with the production tremendously. Thanks!

"Unleash your inner genius with this unique game! Invent, build, draw & describe your invention with healthy competition, trivia & more!"

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER:  This is a shameless plug for my husband's cousin. 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 posting this. I did, however; back the project myself and would love it if you would do the same. Thank you for your support.

Preschool Rocks Curriculum Bundle Educents Deal and Sand & Water Sensory Activities Review

My girls, Zari and Teela, playing with water in the Sensory Table.

We received products free from Educents to facilitate this review.

Right now Educents is having a deal for the Preschool Rocks Curriculum Bundle! Get 19 Downloadable Products (982 pages) for only $29.99 (regularly $106)! That's a discount of 71%!

If you are doing Preschool with your little ones you should really check out this bundle on Educents for the awesome savings! These instant downloads cover letters, sounds, numbers, counting, colors, shapes, phonemic awareness, math, literacy, and much more! You will get printables, games, centers, and interactive activities you are sure to love! This is great for preschool teachers, homeschooling parents, and/or parents looking for supplemental activities.

I got to download the Sand and Water “Sensory” Table Task Cards and More by The Fun Factory for this review for free. These activities encourage imagination, observation, exploration, discovery, higher level thinking, problem-solving skills, building vocabulary, scaffolding learning, and small motor building. Retail price of $5 and 25 pages are included.

When Tatiana was still with us we received the Sand & Water Table we have now from a wonderful donor and now good friend of ours. Because Tatiana was blind she needed sensory activities to desensitize her of less desirable touch sensations: like gooey, sandy, or wet things. She was a bit tactally hypersensitive, but finally got to love bath time, eating yogurt, and the beach. It was a process of trial and error with the Sensory Table, but we are so very glad we had it to help her. I also made up a website of activities for totally blind babies, toddlers, and children while she was still alive to share what things worked well for my daughter.

The activities and ideas in the Sand and Water “Sensory” Table Task Cards and More are great to help you think of more ways than just water and sand to use with the "Sensory" Table. Some of the activity cards are categorized according to season, holiday or theme. I love themed activities and think that they are wonderful in teaching because they make learning more fun. These cards can be easily printed onto card stock and laminated for use over and over again with the table. We loved the hands-on ideas of filling the table with things to find and match with words or letter. The table could be used much like one of those eye spy games. We also loved the ideas of using small brooms/dustpans and mops so the littles can clean up their own messes when they are made. They also had ideas on what to use if you don't have a commercial sensory table. My kids love playing with the sand & water sensory table. It is great because you can use it so many ways. It is so versatile. You can also use it both indoors and outdoors too. I can't wait when the weather gets nice so that I can fully incorporate these into my homeschool lessons!

Downloadable Files Included in the Preschool Rocks Curriculum Bundle

• A Dab of Learning
• ABC and 123
• ABC Necklaces
• Frogs & Toads Letter Matching Game
• Getting Ready for Kindergarten
• I Can Read the Alphabet
• Kitty Cat Numeration & Ordering
• Letter Books
• Math Game and Math Centers
• Mega Sorting Bundle
• My Personal Information
• Name that Shape Geometry Games with Shapes
• Preschool Math
• Real or Not Real
• Rhyming Mega Bundle
• Sand & Water Sensory Table
• Time to Rhyme

Go get this deal at Educents now and save up to 71%! Click on the Educents button below and find the Preschool Rocks Curriculum Bundle deal! Hurry! It is only here for a limited time!


DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received products for free to facilitate my 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 and promo. Affiliate links may be present in this post. Thank you for supporting my blog.

GeospacePlay Jumparoo Boing! JR Pogo Stick Review

It takes a lot of concentration to pogo.

We received a GeospacePlay Jumparoo Boing! JR Pogo Stick free to facilitate this review.

I try to have lots of options for my kids to stay active and busy especially in the summer when the weather is nice and they can get their wiggles out outside. We all love the outdoors! Summer is a blur of camping trips, hiking, biking, playing water sports, building outdoor forts, gardening, etc. We visit a lot of parks, fairs, festivals, zoos, museums, etc. during the summer. When we are home my kids get bored easily, but I try to keep it fun with a variety of activities they can always turn to when they can't think of something else.

GeospacePlay has a bunch of cool toys that were engineered to be awesome and just for kids. They have flying toys, sports and active play, remote control, water toys, novelty and more. They have: foam rockets, water rockets, water cannons, stilts, pogo sticks, hopper balls and LED jump ropes, just to name a few of their neat looking toys. These are all great for summer vacation gifts to keep your kids active and make summer a blast!

We just received the new GeospacePlay Jumparoo BOING! JR Pogo Stick and it is a great outdoor activity for smaller kids. It is just the right size for my son Jaedan at the moment, although I'm sure he will grow out of it soon and then it will be handed down to his sisters. It is sized shorter for smaller kids from 40-80 lbs. This pogo stick is perfect for smaller children and beginners. It bounces up to 24" with practice. Like the entire Geospace family of BOING! Pogos, the rugged metal spring is completely encased within a steel housing for safety. This pogo stick has comfortable foam grips on a T-handle and rugged rubber type non-slip tip and non-slip foot rests. Ages 4 & Up. Dimensions: 37 x 10.25 x 2.75

You can also use this pogo stick with their 99 cent app called Boing-O-Meter for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. It measures max air time, scores how many bounces, and shares with friends.

This was our very first pogo stick for the kids and my oldest, Delbin, was a bit jealous because he has been wanting one for a while now and is too big for this particular one. Jaedan has had a lot of fun on this pogo stick and loves to take it out on the pavement to bounce. I made a short video of him bouncing on it :)

Here, see it in action...



DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received product for free to facilitate my 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.