Review of Aquarelle Monet

Our summer has been amazing and we are really enjoying relaxing and being laid back more than we ever have before. Even though it is summer, we still like to incorporate what I call fun learning especially anything to do with art. Today's review falls into that category perfectly. We were sent the Aquarelle Monet set from Timberdoodle to review. We thought it was the perfect way to pass a hot summer day!

The Aquarelle Monet set includes the following items:

• three pictures on thick card stock with beautiful landscape scenes from Monet's line of water lillies
• washable liquid watercolor paints
• a standard pipette plus a sturdy dropper (love that Timberdoodle added the sturdy dropper because they felt the one included did not hold up well - I agree!)
• paint palette
• a double ended paintbrush
• a color mixing guide

I found myself really interested in the name when I first saw this set and loved the fact that it included landscape scences from Monet's line of water lillies.  Aquarelle is a style of painting using thin, typically transparent, watercolors.  I explained that to my daughter before beginning the fun. 

Getting started is really simple and easy - all you need is water!  The color mixing guide makes obtaining the color you want even easier.  Sarah really enjoyed mixing her own colors using the guide and playing around with her own combinations.  

The pictures have a wax lining that remains clear as you paint over them giving such a fantastic dimension to your painting and really making it easy to make a great water color painting. 

 

Here are some of our finished projects.  We experimented with adding just a little water to the picture after we finished and liked the effect it left too.  It was so fun to play around with - we had a blast making it our own.  

I didn't realize before hand that many of Claude Monet's final and most famous pieces feature the water lilies in Giverny. So, not only was this a fun activity it sparked our interest into finding more about the artist as well. 

Aquarelle Monet is recommended for ages 8 and up but with a parent's help in mixing the colors I think it would be okay to use with younger children.  The great part is the paints are easily washable because we dripped some ourselves as we were mixing and had no problems at all with clean up.  We would highly recommend this fun activity! This set currently sells for $28.50 and can be purchased here.

This set is also a part of Timberdoodle's 4th Grade 2016 Curriculum Kit.

**I received a free copy of this product through Timberdoodle in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

Review of Economics For Everybody

Economics - admittedly a word that scares me. Especially as we approach an election year, I want my children to understand the flow of how our country works and that is definitely not an area of expertise for me! I know I need to learn more about Economics as well and I am so grateful for those who share their wealth of knowledge. Today's review, Economics for Everybody from Timberdoodle is one I am greatly thankful for.

Economics for Everybody takes a somewhat complicated subject and breaks it down so students can understand how the world was formed and how God ordered us to be productive in it. The set includes a 2 DVD set and 200+ page study guide. The DVDs include the topics lasting for over 4 hours of teachings with a fun unconditional twist from teacher, Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr. There are 12 lessons in total with Lessons 1-5 introducing key economic principles; Lessons 6-10 explaining the relationship between theology, philosophy, and economics; and Lessons 9-12 examine the application of economics in real-life system.

1. And God Created Economics - Stewardship in God's Image 
2. The Economic Problem of Sin - Law, Liberty, and Government 
3. The Path from Work to Wealth - Production, Property, and Tools 
4. The Route From Scarcity to Plenty - Money, Markets, and Trade 
5. The Role of the Entrepreneur - Capital, Calculation, and Profit 
6. A Tale of Two Theologies Part 1 - From God to Politics 
7. A Tale of Two Theologies Part 2 - Economic Philosophies and Education 
8. Government Intervention - Basic Principles and Education 
9. The Two Mysteries of Monetary Policy - Inflation and Depressions 
10. The Welfare and Corporate States of America - Cost of Redistribution 
11. Economics Has Consequences - The Real Effects of Sin 
12. Kingdom Economics

All lessons begin with what Scripture says and then applies those principles to how our country is to be run and shows examples of when those principles are not followed the destruction and downfall that occurs. There are so many principles taught in this series that I had never even thought of and I was glad that I was going through the lesson with my son. You are never too old to learn. For instance, I had never even had the thought that ultimately studying economics helps us to fulfill the Great Commission.  I also appreciated the fact that there is a warning that some lessons could bother younger children. 

I also really loved the combination of the book and the DVD together. The DVD teaching brought the lessons to life with fun animations and comparisons with cartoon clips and even Charlie Chaplin. (see photo above for a few clips)

The book included several great bonuses not available on the the DVD. Each lesson began with the message introduction, Scripture reading passages (another favorite), and learning objectives. It also included the lecture given on the DVD in an outline format which is perfect to show students great note taking techniques. That is an area that we are currently working on with my high school son. It also included multiple choice questions, short answer questions, discussion questions, and additional resources to further enhance your Economics study. The multiple choice questions did include the answers but the other questions did not. I know these are open ended questions but would love to have seen some examples of answers to those questions as well.

The suggested schedule for middle and high school students was to complete one lesson per week which is how we are tackling the lessons.  However, I did watch all the videos beforehand hoping to gain a little insight as we went through the study together. I would highly recommend this resource to high school students and adults.
This set currently sells for $42.25 and can be purchased here.

This set is also a part of Timberdoodle's 12th Grade 2016 Curriculum Kit.

**I received a free copy of this product through Timberdoodle in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

Review of Extreme Dot to Dots: Spectacular Places

Raise your hand if you love dot to dot pictures! If so, I have a fantastic resource for you. Only thing though - this one is extreme and I do mean extreme! We were sent Extreme Dot-to-Dots: Spectacular Places from Timberdoodle to review and we have all had a blast trying our hand at it.

One of the things I loved most were the famous places and facts included. Part of the fun was looking at the fact and dots and trying to guess what the place was before finishing.

Now, these are not for young children by any means. The pictures are complex and the numbers head into the thousands so these are not for the faint of heart but these are great if you are looking for a fun challenge. Each of the 42 different puzzles contains a minimum of 1200 dots!  I even had to pull out the magnifying glass which really helped me see those tiny numbers. The only part I found a little extra tedious were numbers in a very light font color. I think the light color meant you could skip those numbers without effecting the picture too much but I found it easier to follow the sequence of numbers. Here you can see the clue and the picture about half way through. Can you guess the place?

If you just cannot figure out what the place is, there is a finished answer key in the back of the book to make it easier.

Some of the places you will visit include The Great Wall of China, The Great Sphinx (in case you couldn't tell :), The Grand Canyon, The Eiffel Tower, The Panama Canal, and so many more!

All of the pages are perforated which makes it easier for the whole family to enjoy at once. Stephen and Sarah are both still working on their final projects but they love them too! They have really enjoyed trying their hand at these during our hot summer days.  These would also make a great resource to kick off a history study or as you finish one. This book currently sells for $12.50 and can be purchased here. We think that is a great price for a combination of history and art!

This book is also a part of Timberdoodle's Eighth Grade 2016 Curriculum Kit.

**I received a free copy of this product through Timberdoodle in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

Review of Daily Geography Grade 6

I have another great resource to share with you today that is simple to implement and helps students enhance their geography skills. We were sent Daily Geography Grade 6 from Timberdoodle to review. I used this with an older student who is heading into grade 8 but needed some refreshment on reading maps and especially geography vocabulary terms.

Daily Geography is available in a beginners level and for grades 1-6. Our review will focus on Daily Geography Grade 6. This is another one of Evan-Moor's wonderful quick and simple productions. I loved that lessons can be completed in as little as 15 minutes per day making it so simple to implement into our already full day. If you'd prefer, you could certainly do an entire week's worth of lessons in one sitting. We did that on occasion as well and since I was dealing with an older student didn't find it overwhelming at all. However, it was better for us to break the vocabulary terms down into days since that was a strong area of focus for us. This 160 paperback book contains 36 lessons broken down each week into 5 daily lessons. 

Each weekly lesson contains a page to introduce the weekly concept, a black line map, geography vocabulary terms, student question sheets broken down by days, and an answer key.

Students will learn elements on a map, how to read coordinates, mountain ranges, deserts, and rivers of the world, time zones and so much more. They will be exposed to city maps, tourist maps, ancient maps and taught how to read them, implement them, and even design their own. Included in the back of the book is a Geography glossary with all of the terms taught in the lessons.

All of the pages are perforated allowing for easy copying.  Copies can be made for all students in a single classroom.  There is also a free PDF downloadable file accessible by registering at the Evan-Moor website and using a code available in the front of your book.  The file contains all of the black line maps to make it even easier for you to print for each of your children. 

As I stated earlier, I used Daily Geography Grade 6 with my daughter who will be entering 8th grade in the fall. Most of the map work and questions were a great review for her and fairly easy but the vocabulary terms was where she needed the most review and the glossary was a great bonus for us. This book currently sells for $26.99 and can be purchased here.  If you are looking for a simple and quick solution to complement your history, geography, or social studies curriculum this might be a great fit for you.

This book is also a part of Timberdoodle's Sixth Grade 2016 Curriculum Kit.

**I received a free copy of this product through Timberdoodle in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

Review of Marie's Words

When my children enter the high school years, my mind immediately goes to ACT and SAT preparations. I can't help it! Marie's Words, a visual vocabulary word game sent to us from Timberdoodle has been a great tool to help us brush up on our vocabulary skills. Although I'm using this with high school and middle school students, I can see it as a valuable tool for younger children too. The recommended ages are 5+.

Marie's Words contains 550 vocabulary cards for students to study and play games using. I loved reading the back story behind the design of the cards. Marie Bradvica designed these cards when she was seventeen and preparing for her own SAT exam. The designs on the cards are hand drawn full color illustrations that she found helped her retain the vocabulary memory more efficiently. She then decided to share her creations and Marie's Words was born.

On the back side of the card is the pronunciation, definition, synonyms, antonyms, and a sentence using the word. Cards come in a sturdy card stock and are already hole punched making them a great portable tool as well.

The suggested game that comes with the cards has you place several cards on the table (how many is up to you) and take turns trying to define the word using only the illustration. If the player answers correctly, they keep the card. The player with the most cards wins. The other players serve as the judge to decide if the student's answer matches the definition.  If a student does not answer correctly, the card is turned to the definition side and no longer in play.  At first glance of the cards, it may be difficult for younger students to guess the definition but after reviewing them more than once it does become easier.  

You could also assign a set of words each week for your student to complete and learn through out the week and test their knowledge at the end of the week. I loved that the cards are numbered so you can easily place them back in alphabetical order.

Another great way to utilize these cards for the entire family would be to pick a card for a word of the day.  You could quickly review the previous words before adding a new one to keep the words in the student's minds.  You could also do more than one word a day if you are trying to get through the words at a faster rate.  There are lots of fun ideas to use these cards to help students build their vocabulary.  These cards currently sell for $36.95.

These fun cards are also a part of Timberdoodle's Fourth Grade 2016 Curriculum Kit.

**I received a free copy of this product through Timberdoodle in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

Review of Easy Grammar Ultimate Series - Grade 8

Summer has been great but it is now time for us to start adding back in some of the basics. It's not our official start back to school but school nonetheless. I like to begin back reviewing the basics - the 3 R's as they are often called. We were recently sent Easy Grammar Ultimate Grade 8 from Timberdoodle and it fits perfectly for our simple start. We will also be able to continue using it throughout the upcoming school year.

Easy Grammar Ultimate Grade 8 contains 180 lessons that can be completed in 10-15 minutes or less. The pages are reproducible if you would like to use them with more than one student. Lessons are meant to be completed daily. We used the digital format last year for Sarah but I really love that I don't have to print out the pages each week to prepare this time. The whole year is right there waiting for me!

Each lessons follows the same format but also builds upon the previous lesson. The lessons are designed to be simple to use and follow for the student no matter their previous grammar experience. We are required to annually test our students in NC and we usually do that with the CAT test. Sarah's scores have improved in the Language Arts portion of the test and I really think it's because she is constantly reviewing grammar daily. We found that before, she would have learned a concept but during test time if we hadn't reviewed that particular item such as comma usage, her test scores dropped. Using Easy Grammar Ultimate Grade 8 helps her to get the constant repetition she needs for mastery.

Each lesson follows the same format and is divided in to five parts including capitalization, punctuation, grammar concepts including parts of speech, comma usage, phrases/clauses, etc, and finally sentence combining. I'm not sure why but Sarah's biggest struggle area was the sentence combining. It's an area I would not have thought of on my own to teach her so I am so thankful it was included. Students are also given age appropriate sentences containing history, geography. literature, and more.

I love that the books are written for the students to be able to complete independently. Students can also check their own answers which are included in the book. Sarah still prefers for us to go over answers together so that's what we do usually first thing every morning.

Again, the concept is pretty simple but we have found more times than not that simple is successful! The use of daily grammar activities has helped Sarah gain confidence in her annual test scores as well as her writing. This workbook currently sells for $28.75 for a full year. There are different books for different grades. I think it's perfect for middle school and high school because it takes up so little time. Scroll down on this page to see sample pages. This book is also a part of Timberdoodle's Eight Grade 2016 Curriculum Kit.

**I received a free copy of this product through Timberdoodle in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

Review of Puzzleball Globe

Today's review was the perfect summer activity for us. Timberdoodle sent us this 3D PuzzleBall Globe to review.

However, your puzzleball globe doesn't start out that way, of course. It contains 180 puzzle pieces and a display stand. There is no glue required to assemble this puzzle - only willing hands are needed!

The puzzle pieces are made of a sturdy plastic. Each piece is numbered making this puzzle so simple to complete for younger children. We found that the pieces snap into place fairly easily. They have a curve to them which eventually helps to form the finished globe. The only tricky portion is when you reach the top but I would not really call that part difficult at all. It is recommended for ages 8 and up.

Ruler shown in picture is not necessary!  I just think it happened to be laying on the table when they began assembly.  :)

We found this to be the perfect summertime project because it was simple and fun. Not only that though. Now, we have an actual globe that we can use when we start back with our "official" school time! We will be studying lots of countries and cultures so this will be the perfect accessory for our studies. 

This was a totally unique product for us as we have never seen any type of 3D puzzle before. Stephen and Sarah had this project knocked out in no time. They are both well above the age level but found this to be a fun afternoon activity for them both. After they finished, we all were discussing how we should have recorded the process for you to show how simple and easy it was. Well, Sarah asked the next day if she could take the globe apart and redo it so that she could record it for you guys. Now, you know this is a fun project when your children ask to do it again! So, here is her time lapse showing just how simple and fast this project can be to complete.

For older children, you could also try putting the globe together without using the numbers on the back. That will be a great review after we learn each country next year too!

This puzzleball globe is currently selling for $24.99 at Timberdoodle and is also included in their 2016 3rd grade curriculum kit.

**I received a free copy of this product through Timberdoodle in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.