educational reviews Archives - Page 2 of 3

Go on an Animal Adventure with Animal Trackers Club!

September 17, 2014 by Emilee Evans

As a homeschooling mom I absolutely love discovering fun products that are educational and fun. I think any parent can appreciate that! I am particularly drawn to that not only offer an educational opportunity but really help draw out our kids’ creativity as well!

Disclosure: I received a two month subscription to facilitate my review. Regardless, all opinions are my own and those of my family.
Animal Trackers Club offers an educational monthly subscription box for children ages 3+. Kids get to go on a Safari adventure with Bode Bear. Each adventure starts with the Introduction to Animal Trackers Club, which includes a Safari Lunch Box, an African Safari Information Card, Cover and Ring for the Safari Animal Photo Collection, Savanna Art Project, and Savanna Animal Cards Activity. Each additional month, your child(ren) will receive information and activities based on a specific animal.
For our review we received the introductory Animal Trackers Club pack and the Zebra pack.

Introduction to Animal Trackers Club

The introduction to Animal Trackers Club is really a great kit. Our kids love the lunch box, and I love how it opens the door for future animal packs. For example, the I particularly love the cover and ring for the Safari Animal Photo Collection. Each month when you receive a new animal pack you get a picture to add to the ring!
Plus, you get introductory activities right off the bat! It has great educational information, which I always love. In fact, we have used activities from our Animal Trackers Club during our homeschooling day a few times already! The Savanna Animal Cards can be used for a variety of activities, and they offer plenty of ideas!
I think what I love most, though, is that it is ideal for a such a wide age range. All three of our children (ages 4, 6, and 8) have benefit from and enjoyed various activities! Our preschooler may have gone a little overboard with the Savanna Art Project, but he surely had fun doing it!

Zebra Pack

The Zebra Pack includes a couple of activities, an information card, a zebra play figure, mask, magnet, and photo card. Our kids were so excited! Not only did we learn more about the zebra, but they got to have a lot of fun, too! They all have been having a blast with their play figure and mask!

I love that the activities included in the Zebra Pack are varied. Not only did we learn about zebras, but the kids got to practice their Math as well. Although this little Math activity is better suited for younger children, I still has our older children do it as well because I’m always a fan of reinforcing Math skills – even basics!
$Animal Trackers Club Zebra Math Activity$
Plus, they got to do a fun Art activity as well! I can’t believe we’ve never used Magic Nuudles, but they are sooo fun! You simply get them a little wet, stick them on the paper, and voila! This was such a fun activity, and the kids got to practice their fine motor skills!

Overall, we’re definitely happy with the Animal Trackers Club! We enjoyed both kits, and I think it’s great for homeschooling parents and any parents with young children ages 3 and up! I love that they offer the opportunity to receive these great educational kits each month for just $11.95 plus $3 shipping!

For More Information:

Visit the Animal Trackers Club Website
Connect with Animal Trackers Club on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest

Having Fun Constructing Numbers With Learning Resources

September 3, 2014 by Emilee Evans

As a homeschooling mom, I am particularly fond of activities that are both educational and fun! Plus, if our kids can work on multiple skills in one activity, that is a bonus! I think whether you’re a homeschooling parent, teacher, or a parent encouraging your children’s education, these are features you can appreciate! This is why I appreciate Learning Resources.

Disclosure: I received Number Construction to facilitate my review. This post contains affiliate links. Regardless, all opinions are my own.
Learning Resources offers a variety of hands-on educational products for young children. They make finding the best products for your children easy by offering shopping by Age, Grade, Category, Brand, Teacher Resources, and more. As a mom of three special needs kiddos, I love that they also have a Special Needs category that is broken down into both Skill Development and Learning Styles. I love that they recognize children with special needs have different needs!
For our review, we received Number Construction.

Number Construction is a fun number building activity ideal for Preschool age children ages 4+. Our preschooler (age 4) has recently taken a more involved interest in his numbers, so I knew he would love this. Plus, because of his special needs, I also knew he would benefit from the fine-motor skills he would be working on while building the numbers! I love that he can work on multiple skills at the same time. Our older two children (ages 6 and 8) also wanted to join in the number building fun as well. They said they were “helping” their little brother, but I think they were enjoying it, too! 😉

What we have been enjoying most about Number Construction is it isn’t a limited activity. It consists of 5 double-sided activity cards, and they can be used for a number of suggested activities. In fact, it includes eight different suggested activities! Each card gives step-by-step instructions on how to build each number. Building the number is a great activity in itself! Sometimes I then ask him (or them) to write the number ask him to confirm what number he just built.

The bolts are great for a variety of activities as well. We have mainly used them to place them on the “touch points” of the numbers. Then I encourage our preschooler to count them. It helps reinforce touch points for our older children as well. As learners that benefit from both hands-on and visual activities, this is a helpful activity! Of course, our preschooler has also decided the bolts are great for stacking. I always encourage free play, and he even counts them as he stacks them!

Other suggested activities include group activities, sorting the numbers, deconstructing the numbers, and more. Of course, you (or your children) can always think of other ways to use them as well! Number Construction is a great activity for young children. I would say children from preschool up to 1st Grade could really enjoy them!

For More Information:

Visit the Learning Resources Website
Connect with Learning Resources on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube

Giveaway!!!

Would you like to win Number Construction? This giveaway will run through 9/18/14 at 10pm Central Time. It’s open to US residents ages 18+. Enter the giveaway now!

Are You Ready? {Lakeshore Learning Review}

May 15, 2014 by Emilee Evans

Disclosure: I received the product mentioned to facilitate my Lakeshore Learning Review. Regardless, all opinions are my own and those of my family.

The school year is winding down for many families. So what do you do for summer break? How about a fun learning game to see if your children are ready for the next school year?
Lakeshore Learning has been offering high-quality educational products since 1954. You can shop for products by category or grade/age. They offer so much! It’s been one of my favorite places to shop for educational products, though my husband says I always take too long when I’m in their store! 😉
Lakeshore Learning offers Are You Ready? Game Shows that offers a fun and exciting way to keep children’s learning fresh and help to determine if they’re ready for the next grade level. For each grade level there are 6 different games that let children earn pretend money for every math and language question they answer correctly.

For our review we received the Are You Ready for 2nd Grade? Game Show. Both of our older two children are currently learning most subjects at the 2nd Grade level, but we homeschool year round with a January to November schedule so we can take breaks as needed. So although they’re already learning more subjects at a 2nd Grade level, we’re only part way into our homeschool year, so I knew Are You Ready for 2nd Grade? Game Show would be a great, fun way to build more upon what they are learning and also help me gauge where they are so far.
Are You Ready for 2nd Grade? Game Show is easy to set up and get started! Because it is presented in such a fun fashion, they really enjoy it and yet they are learning so much! Not only are they learning what is one the cards, but they are also working on counting money as well, which is an added bonus! Plus since they’re at the same grade level they are able to play at the same time, too, which adds to the game. It’s another great educational opportunity as they are learning to follow rules and take turns.

The Are You Ready for 2nd Grade? Game Show comes with the questions for the games, game board, score tracker, pretend money and reward coupons. One thing I appreciated is that the money resembles real money. I want them to recognize what real dollars look like and not just the number. I also appreciate the reward coupons because there definitely has to be a prize, and we get to pick what that prize will be! The game board offers a tray for the cards that were answered/completed correctly and one for those that aren’t.
It’s not all just verbal, though! Are You Ready for 2nd Grade? Game Show isn’t just a question and answer game. There are a variety of questions and many can be answered verbally. Some of the questions, though, require more, though, such as drawing a picture. We all liked that it shakes things up a bit and offers so much. They never complain of boredom while playing!
If you think it sounds like just fun and games, though, it definitely is much more. It is fun, and it is presented in a game style, but they are keeping their minds sharp. Plus, as the parent you can go to the Are You Ready? Game Shows page and enter the incorrect cards in the Post-Game Assessment. This pinpoints any areas in which they may need extra help. It also provides FREE printable activities and recommendations on resources that may be helpful to help strengthen those areas.

Overall, I’m so impressed with the Are You Ready for 2nd Grade? Game Show. It’s fun, educational, and provides a lot of additional resources and educational opportunities. We will continue to use it throughout the rest of our homeschool year as well to offer fun, educational moments and regular assessments.

Coupon!

To get $10 off any Are You Ready? Game Show®, enter code 9141 at checkout or click here for a store coupon! *Expires 7/31/14.*

For More Information:

Visit the Lakeshore Learning Website
Get social! Connect with Lakeshore Learning on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube

Fun Treasure Hunts for Kids!

May 13, 2014 by Emilee Evans

Disclosure: I received treasure hunts in exchange for my review. Regardless, all opinions are my own and those of my family.

Who doesn’t love a good treasure hunt? I know when I was a kid I loved them! Usually we’re so busy, though, we don’t have the time to put into creating everything necessary for a treasure hunt. That’s where Clued in Kids comes in! Clued in Kids offers treasure hunts for kids that are fun and help them learn, too! The clues were developed by teachers and moms with designs from a children’s book illustrator.
Do you know what the best part is, though? They are easy to set up and only require things already in your house! There is nothing fancy or elaborate you have to go out and buy, and it doesn’t take hours to set up. It takes only minutes! It takes around 8 minutes to get everything all set. Then you can turn your kids loose! It is recommended for ages 4 and up, and you can certainly use the treasure hunts with a small group (ideally no more than 10 kids) as well!

For our review we received three Treasure Hunts – a special treasure hunt for Easter, a Pirate Treasure Hunt, and a Princess Treasure Hunt. It was the perfect combination for our family since we have two boys and one girl. They were so excited to go on a treasure hunt!
Because they are young (ages 8, 6, and 4) and are delayed readers due to their special needs, I did have to walk through it with them to help them read any difficult words. Surprisingly, though, they read many of them themselves! That was an awesome moment!
At the end of the treasure hunt, they will receive a prize, which is the only thing I really had to plan for it. Everything else is already done!
The family favorite was the Pirate Treasure Hunt. Our kids love pirates, and the idea of a treasure hunt as pirates really excited them. It’s like finding the “X” on the map! It just fits so well!

So they started with a dot-to-dot, which is a fun start. They also had to find the hidden objects in the pictures, act like pirates (arrrr!), solve word puzzles, look in the mirror to read a backwards clue and answer questions to get to the next clue. The other two treasure hunts are similar, though the Easter Treasure Hunt definitely had the most variety and difficulty. Some math problems in the Easter Treasure Hunt were above our kids’ level as they haven’t learned multiplication yet, so I had to help them through it. It didn’t discourage them from wanting to continue, though! They were having fun!

Each clue also has a line to write their name. If you have multiple children going on the hunt together it is recommended that you write their names on specific cards so there won’t be any arguing over the cards. I thought this was a great idea! We try to take turns naturally, but on the Pirate Treasure Hunt I forgot to write their names first. They got so excited and caught up in the adventure that they forgot about taking turns, and I was wishing I had remembered to write their names on them!
If you happen to not have a specific item in your home, it is recommended that you hold on to that clue, and when it comes up in the hunt simply ask them to do a specific activity to get the clue. Did I mention how easy they make this? I actually had them do the Pirate Treasure Hunt on a whim because they were all having a rough day, and I was hoping it would help. I’m glad it did!
I really am impressed by how fun and educational the Clued in Kids Treasure Hunts are, and I’m so glad we had the chance to try them out! I can’t wait to check out more of them!

For More Information:

Visit the Clued in Kids Website
Get social! Connect with Clued in Kids on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube

« Previous Page

Introduction to Animal Trackers Club

Zebra Pack

For More Information:

For More Information:

*Giveaway!!!*

*Coupon!*

For More Information:

For More Information:

Giveaway!!!

Coupon!