Gravity Maze Review

A few weeks ago we received a really fun and challenging new game to play and review.  It's called Gravity Maze by Thinkfun.

This fun logic maze is geared towards ages 8 and up.  Only one person can play at a time, but it's still fun for the whole family.  We had fun helping each other out when they were stumped.

Includes is 1 game grid, 10 gravity maze towers, 3 marbles {2 are extras}, 60 cards with challenges from beginner to expert, and instructions.

Playing is simple.  First you select a challenge from one of the 60 cards.  We started with beginner. Next you set up the towers on the game grid to match the card.  Then you determine where the additional towers should be placed. Last, you drop the marble from the start position and see if it ends in the target tower. If it does, you win!

It's simple, yet fun and challenging.

Thoughts of an 11-Year Old: It is a lot like the game Rush Hour - where you have to get the object from one place to the other following a grid. It is also exciting like Rush Hour - you can actually do things in addition to just switching things around. There have been situations where I have found different ways to complete the challenges. The possibilities are ENDLESS!  I really like it!

Find Out More: You can find out more about the Gravity Maze online at Thinkfun.  It just $29.99 and great for ages 8 and up.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.



Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Our Homeschool Reviews and get our articles right to your inbox!

©2010-2014 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Homeschooling with Heart of Dakota - Week 4

Heart of Dakota: Resurrection to Reformation - Unit 4: The Fall of the Western Empire

Reading About History: Still reading selections from The Story of the Middle Ages and Famous Men of the Middle Ages.  Still not her favorite books. :/

History Storytime: Continuing to read Mystery of the Silver Coins.  We love this series and already have the next book ready to go when we finish this one.

History Project: Funny Bunny created the game "Race to Rome".  We were supposed to make our own game pieces with bread and glue, but after making them last year, decided to skip it this year and use playdoh. :)

Devotional Bible Study: I have been reading aloud "Beautiful Girlhood" and we have been discussing the questions in "The Companion Guide to Beautiful Girlhood".  Chapter 4 is on character building.

Science Exploration: Venus

Science Experiment: How are rocks affected by intenser heating and cooling? {using hot butter}

Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Our Homeschool Reviews and get our articles right to your inbox!

©2010-2014 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Thrifty Thursday

Here are the THRIFTY deals for today!

FREE Apple Playdough Mats and Recipe @ Blessed Beyond a Doubt

FREE Thornton Burgess Kindle Books @ Ben and Me

FREE Printable Minecraft Spelling Cards @ Inspiring 2 N.H. Kids

FREE Breakfast Station Bundle @ Homeschool Giveaways and Freebies

FREE Printable Multiplication Tools @ Blessed Learners

FREE Frozen Printable Math Study @ Inspiring 2 N.H. Kids

FREE Year Round Homeschooling Planner @ Frugal Homeschool Family

Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Our Homeschool Reviews and get our articles right to your inbox!

©2010-2014 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Chewy.com: Nature's Variety Instinct Grain-Free Biscuits Review

Our dog Maisy was super happy to try out a new product from Chewy.com. Nature's Variety Instinct Grain-Free Biscuits with Chicken Meal & Cranberries Dog Treats.

Each delicious, oven-baked biscuit is made with pure and wholesome ingredients that have been carefully selected for quality and nutrition. Instinct Biscuits provide a nutritious and satisfying snack for your dog that you can feel good about.

Just a few things that stood out for me:

• Grain-free and gluten-free
• All natural ingredients
• No added salt or sugar
• Made with probiotics and prebiotics
• Made in the USA

Instinct Biscuits come in a variety of flavors.  We chose Chicken Meal & Cranberries just because I thought they sounded pretty good.

Of course our Maisy Moo loved them!!

Find Out More:  You can find out more online at Chewy.com.  Nature's Variety Instinct Grain-Free Biscuits with Chicken Meal & Cranberries Dog Treats are just $8.99 for a 20-oz bag. Chewy.com has a 100% Unconditional Satisfaction Guarantee. If you're not 100% completely satisfied for any reason whatsoever, return it!  They will accept packages within 365 days of the sale date for a complete refund and pay for the return shipping, as long as the product is not used or expired.

Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Our Homeschool Reviews and get our articles right to your inbox!

©2010-2014 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Wordless Wednesday: Sunset

Funny Bunny took this gorgeous picture of the sun setting after dance one evening last week.



Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Our Homeschool Reviews and get our articles right to your inbox!

©2010-2014 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Homeschooling with Heart of Dakota - Week 3

Heart of Dakota: Resurrection to Reformation - Unit 3: The Goths Enter Rome 

Reading About History:  In addition to Peril & Peace, she's been reading sections from The Story of the Middle Ages and Famous Men of the Middle Ages.  Unfortunately, she hasn't been enjoying them as much as Peril & Peace.

History Storytime:  Finished reading Forbidden Gates and we are now reading aloud, Mystery of the Silver Coins.  LOVE this one!  

History Project:  Parchment that contains Jesus' words written in Greek.

History Timeline:  

Science Written Narration:

Independent Reading:

Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Our Homeschool Reviews and get our articles right to your inbox!

©2010-2014 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

My Student Logbook Review

I am really excited to tell you about this next product!  I wish I had it years ago and I'm just so happy to have now found it!

It's called My Student Logbook.  My Student Logbook was created by a busy homeschool family, just like you and I.  They were looking for a simple system to track and log schoolwork each day as it was completed.  Like me, they tried to create their own tracking sheet, and it was too time consuming.  They finally created this easy to use logbook that we are just loving!!


I've been through so many different planners, you wouldn't believe.  They are just not for me.  Too many forms that don't apply to us or forms that are close to what I need but are not perfect.  I've also made my own log sheets, but it's time consuming and last year I printed off way too much paper.

That's why I was so excited to try My Student Logbook!  The idea is simple.

My Student Logbook comes in three options:

* Dated August 31 - July 31
* Dated January 1 - December 31
* Undated

It also comes in 9 different covers, which you get to choose:

There you have it!  You select the dates you want your logbook to go through, the cover you would like, and you are done.  Funny Bunny chose the Golden Vines, which you can see in the larger picture above.

Here is what is included in your book:

* Intro Page
* Setup Instructions
* High School Transcript article
* 6 Checklist Pages
* 53 Weekly Pages
* All About Me Page
* Prayers and Goals Page
* Bible Verses Memorized Page
* 3 Books Read Pages
* 3 Events, Projects, Field Trips, Presentations, Activities Pages
* 3 Test Records Pages
* 1 Year Highlights Page


Here is how you set it up:

* Tear out a checklist page from the front of the book
* Cut off the torn edge
* Fold on the line so the checklist faces out
* Write your assignments or tasks on the checklist
* Tape the checklist to the back of the page with the week you want to start

* Fold the checklist over the front

My Thoughts:  I absolutely love this book and wish I would have thought of something so simple and easy to use!  Funny Bunny has been using it to check off work that she has completed, and it is not only helpful for her to see how much she has left for the day, but also a great log of what she has completed for the year.  I listed all of her subjects on one of the checklist pages and taped it to the back of the first week we started with.  She doesn't do all of these subjects in one day, some alternate, but she can check them off as she completes them.  It sits on the side of her desk so she can easily check things off. Below is a sample from one week.

I like that there are 6 checklist pages included.  If we ever decide to change what she is working on each day, I can tear out a new checklist, write our new assignments, and tape it to the next week. You can also see that our checklist is starting to show some wear.  I just may make a fresh one in a few more weeks.  

Find Out More:  You can find out more online at My Student Logbook.  My Student Logbook is just $15 and the shipping is a flat rate of $5.  It comes in 9 different covers that you can choose from and you can select the 2014-2015 School Year, the 2015 Calendar Year, or Undated.  There is also the option for a PDF download instead of the physical book.  The PDF Instant Downloads are $10 for a Single Use License and $20 for a Family Use License.

You can also find them on Facebook and You Tube.





Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Our Homeschool Reviews and get our articles right to your inbox!

©2010-2014 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Thrifty Thursday

Here are the THRIFTY deals for today:

FREE Educents Bundle @ The Multi Taskin' Mom

FREE Book of James Bible Study @ Blessed Beyond a Doubt

FREE Star Wars Spelling Test @ Blessed Beyond a Doubt

FREE Fall Worksheets @ Educating Laytons

FREE Lalaloopsy PreK Printable Pack @ Meet Penny

FREE Pirate Worksheets @ Educating Laytons

FREE Fall Themed Preschool Printables @ Learning 2 Walk

I hope you enjoy some of these FREEBIES! If you know of any others, please leave a comment below.




Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Our Homeschool Reviews and get our articles right to your inbox!

©2010-2014 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Wordless Wednesday: Morning Nap

Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Our Homeschool Reviews and get our articles right to your inbox!

©2010-2014 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Really Big Numbers Book Review

We recently reviewed a really fun and unique book called Really Big Numbers by Richard Evan Schwartz.

If you are a long time reader of my blog, you may remember our review of another book by Richard called You Can Count on Monsters.  That book teaches about prime and composite numbers, and even though Funny Bunny was just 8 years old at the time, she loved it.  When we actually started learning more about prime numbers, it was the first things she ran to.  We still enjoy flipping through it together.

Well, Richard's new book, Really Big Numbers, is about just that.  Great for children ages 6 and up, this book takes you on a journey through the infinite number system, using crazy and interesting illustrations.

As you get further into the book, it's pretty much more than your brain can comprehend, but still fun to learn about.  You learn about numbers like a googol-plex.  That's really big in case you didn't know.

And it introduces children to numbers they have probably never heard of. Numbers greater than a billion or a quadrillion. Numbers like a quinquavigintillion.  That's a fun word, right?!

Find Out More:  You can find out more about Really Big Numbers at The AMS Bookstore.  Really Big Numbers retails for just $20.

Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Our Homeschool Reviews and get our articles right to your inbox!

©2010-2014 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Menu Planning and Plant Based Eating

A couple of weeks ago I posted that I was beginning another 29-Day Plant Based Eating Challenge.  Today is Day 14, and I have to say, although it hasn't gone perfectly, I'm still trukin' along.

If you have never attempted a plant-based diet and are interested in learning more, here are a few helpful resources:

Engine 2 Diet
Happy Herbivore
Fat Free Vegan Kitchen
Plant Based on a Budget

If you are thinking about starting a challenge or you just want to learn more about eating plant-based, I'd love to hear from you!!




Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Our Homeschool Reviews and get our articles right to your inbox!

©2010-2014 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/