Timberdoodle: BrainBox & Hot Rocketz (Coupon Code)

Mel's Thoughts:
Timberdoodle, home of all things educational, including homeschool curriculum and educational games and toys, has sent us two more great products to review.  This time they sent us the BrainBox and a Hot Rocket.  Let's start with the wonderful BrainBox.

BrainBox is a sort of trivia game based on short-term memory and good observational skills.  It's a great way to help your child develop his learning skills.  BrainBox comes in several different varieties, including My First BrainBox, BrainBox World, BrainBox USA, BrainBox US Presidents, and BrainBox Animals.  We chose to receive BrainBox USA.  The box that the game is stored in is just a gift size, square box with a slip-off lid.  The whole box is very sturdy, so that makes for great storage if your kids are a little rougher on things, as I know my boys can be.  When we opened up our box, in one compartment was an hour glass, as well as a diamond shaped dice.  Then in a separate compartment, we had all our game cards, all 55 of them, including 10 questions on each card, totaling 550 geography facts you and your child can learn together. 

Here's how you play.  Your child picks a card and has 10 seconds to look at the picture side of the card and try to memorize the facts he observes.  When his time is up, he hands the card to you or to another player, and he rolls his dice.  The number he gets on the dice is the number of the question you or the other player has to ask him.  If he gets the question correct, he gets to keep the card; if not, then the card goes back in the box.  Then it's the next person's turn.  Whoever has the most cards at the end of the game wins. This game can be played with 1 or more players, and it's meant for ages 8 and up.  All of the cards in our box correspond to a specific state or U.S. territory.  This is going to be a great learning tool not only for school, but for us to get to know more about our country.  I say "us" because I think with homeschooling, I have learned so much right alongside Jacob, things I never knew or had forgotten.  It's so amazing and exhilarating to learn and learn some more.  You can order BrainBox for $17.00 from Timberdoodle, which to me, is a very good price, for something that is going to last a very long time and provide much learning experience that is both educational and lots of fun.

Now the other thing we received from Timberdoodle was Hot Rocketz.  Now this toy is a winner with Jacob; I haven't tried it with Jaden yet....I'm not sure how he'd do with the bungee.  This can be an inside or outside toy, and it's made out of foam, so it floats, meaning it'd be fun at the pool too.  It's a very simple design.  It is shaped like a rocket and has a red bungee cord inside with a handle on the outside; you grab the handle and pull, letting go as you watch the rocket launch through the room.  These babies have been known to soar 100 feet.  Although we haven't gotten ours 10 feet yet, I'm sure we will, as Jacob is having a lot of fun figuring out how to make it go farther.  Hot Rocketz are for ages 4 and up.  You can get Hot Rocketz for $1.95 from Timberdoodle.    

Timberdoodle has graciously offered to give our readers a coupon code for a free Hot Rocketz with any order placed by Monday, December 21, 2009.  When you place your order with Timberdoodle, just add the Hot Rocketz to your order, and insert this coupon code- mfreerocket - at checkout.  With Christmas coming up, BrainBox would make an excellent present, and Hot Rocketz an excellent stocking stuffer, at least, in my opinion.

Melissa J.'s Thoughts:

Timberdoodle Review from mama buzz on Vimeo.

(Disclosure: We were provided BrainBox and Hot Rocketz, free of charge, by Timberdoodle, in association with MamaBuzz.)

Timberdoodle: Stories from History Graphic Novels

Melissa J's Thoughts
 
I would never have thought about it, but putting history into graphic novel form is a great way to help kids learn history! That's exactly what the Stories from History: Graphic Novel Set of 10 from Timberdoodle does!  At $16.95 (when it is listed for $69.50) the entire set is a very worthwhile purchase!  Even I, who does not care all that much for history, enjoyed reading through these.

Books included in the set are:
Elizabeth and the Spanish Armada
The Life of Christopher Colombus
Gladiators and the Story of the Colosseum
The Life of Julius Casear
The Race to the South Pole
The Discovery of T. Rex
The Life of Anne Frank
The Life of Leonardo DaVinci
The Building of The Great Pyramid
Pizarro and the Incas
Alexander the Great


All the books are 48 pages in length, short enough to keep a child's attention but jam packed with enough information to pack a proverbial historical punch! There is so much information contained in one book, it can be worth a history text book chapter.


Each graphic novel follows a similar format. Immediately the reader is provided with a "Cast of Characters" who explains the key figures the book centers around. Then, an overview of the book is provided in "Contents". Once into the main part of the book, key facts are presented at the top of the graphic illustrations in boxes, short, to the point, and very concise. Then, as most comic books and graphic novels do, those facts are played out with full color illustrations that have character dialogue.


Each book then wraps up with pages that contain important dates, miscellaneous facts, a glossary, and even an index of key facts within the book--all of which would come in great for review and test purposes for homeschooling families.


Mel's Thoughts:
The Stories from History Graphic Novels set is any little boy's dream, but any mom's dream, as well, at least for this mom.  Every time we go to the library, where does Jacob head?  You got it, straight to the comic/superhero section.  Now I've been able to point him in the direction of some truly educational comic books with real heroes and figures from history.  How awesome is that?! 


This set includes the following 11 titles:
Pizarro and the Incas
The Life of Anne Frank
The Building of the Great Pyramid
The Life of Julius Caesar
The Life of Christopher Columbus
The Race to the South Pole
Gladiators and the Story of the Colosseum
The Life of Alexander the Great
Elizabeth I and the Spanish Armada
The Life of Leonardo Da Vinci
The Discovery of T. Rex

Meant for ages 8-14, or grades 3-8, this set of graphic novels is particularly useful for supplementing any history curriculum.  It helps the lessons and historical figures in the curriculum to come alive before the child's eyes.  Each book has a listing with descriptions of the central Cast in each story.  There is also a Contents section.  Most of the books, but not all, have a section in the very beginning, that helps the reader to put together where the story took place.  It introduces the reader to the place and setting of the facts in that particular story, with maps that are filled with borders, sites, trails, conquests, etc.  The end of each book has a detailed Timeline and a Did You Know? section, as well as a Glossary and Index.  I particularly love the Glossary section because it helps to explain terms and serve as a reminder to Jacob of what certain places and who certain people were.  It's a really great resource to flip back to, if needed.

Timberdoodle has mentioned that page 13 of Gladiators and the Story of the Colosseum and page 26 of The Life of Leonardo DaVinci may need a little white-out, depending on your family's modesty standards.  

I do highly recommend this set of novels for any history student or history buff.  The set is significantly discounted with Timberdoodle, being lowered in price from $69.50 to $16.95.  Of course, you can buy each book individually, but the set is a considerable bargain.  I am hoping to especially use these with our history curriculum, as we have been studying ancient history and will soon be starting to study medieval/Middle Ages history.  Timberdoodle also offers other homeschool curriculum and homeschool supplies.

(Disclosure: We were provided these products, free of charge, by Timberdoodle, in association with MamaBuzz.)

Timberdoodle: Typing Instructor for Kids

Melissa J's Thoughts

Timberdoodle has done it again!  A product geared towards children has provided much entertainment for me. :)  Maybe entertainment isn't right. Maybe "challenge" is the word I want.


My two year old is too young for their Typing Instructor for Kids program, but you can be assured I will be using it with her once we begin homeschooling and hit that age where she can learn that skill! In the meantime, I'm using it to hone my own typing skills - -yes, even though it's a kids' version.


With a parrot as the guide, and his friend, Toby Typer, kids will be taken through an adventure that teaches them how to type. Think of a map. Each place on the map has new typing skills to learn and games to master, before they can move on to the next place on the adventure map. It is all done in animation and I think young children will be attracted to both the animated characters and the drawings throughout the adventure.

There are two levels that can be chosen, "easy" and "not so easy". I started out with "easy". I also started out with the default program, which not only teaches the typing skills of home row, lower row, and upper row, it also allows children to test out those skills with games after each teaching lesson. If parents don't want their child to have the games between lessons they are able to choose a non-game format instead. They also can choose to go lesson by lesson instead of having the adventure part of the program, automatically advance the child's progress once goals have been met.


There is also an option to change the settings, in which you can change from the default words-per-minute goal to your own goal. This is where my own challenge came in. I was attempting to move beyond the child's goal to mine--just a mere 80 wpm. Think I could meet that, even on the home row? No, I couldn't! And I type for a living!  (Though, it's harder to type letters fast as you see them, than it is actual words in my opinion--or is that excuse?)


The only critiques I have of the program are, the introductory animation moves slowly and it made me impatient. I just wanted it to get to the point. Also, Toby Typer is a boy, but has a girl's voice. That just didn't match for me, though perhaps, children won't think twice about it.


Most computer software in a store like Staples can run $50 on up into the $100's. I was shocked this was less than $25!  It is an awesome program that any parent would do well to invest in for their child!

Mel's Thoughts:

Timberdoodle is well-known for their wonderful homeschool curriculum and homeschool supplies.  After using Typing Instructor for Kids with Jacob and then playing some myself this afternoon, I feel like I need more practice definitely!  I thought I knew all there was to know about typing; evidently not, if I can't even reach my normal 80+ WPM, just doing the first basic letters.  For some reason, I find it easier to type whole words, so when I started out just doing basic groups of letters within close proximity to each other, I found myself getting mixed up and needing to work harder.  I actually had to lower my goal WPM....which I then was able to slightly raise back up later, since I was doing better.  This has to be one of the most unique typing programs available. 

I found the program to be very interesting and colorful.  It definitely caught Jacob's attention when he sat down to work on his first lesson.  At first, getting into the actual lesson was a slower process, since we had to go through how to use this program with Toby Typer and his parrot, Lafitte.  I noticed if I clicked off the Typing Instructor page to look at my email or go to another webpage, the character stopped talking and started over again when I came back to Typing Instructor.  It gave careful instructions, and the program even has a User's Guide in pdf form, which is really helpful when trying to figure out how to get started.  The very beginning starts out teaching your child what kind of typing posture is best as well as hand/finger placement on the home row. The installation process was super easy, although each program from Typing Instructor does have certain system requirements you want to be sure you have before ordering. 

As the program moves along, the student is focusing on conquering five different sections of Typer Island, until at the very end, he conquers the castle and rules it.  As he moves along in the default program, he will do a lesson, a game for reinforcement, and then a challenge, or test at the very end of each lesson.  Jacob and I worked on the first lessons, involving The Wild West.  The Wild West focused on the home row of keys on the keyboard.  The student can set his own goal WPM, lowering or raising that goal as he moves along.  At the end of each lesson, game, or challenge, it will actually show him how he did with an accuracy percentage, WPM, etc.  There is a progress map available to show which parts of the island he has already conquered and completed.  As the student moves along, he will uncover certain treasures that he can add to his collection; this part really made it fun for Jacob.

The student doesn't automatically have to do the default setup.  If the teacher feels he'd do better without games, for instance, she can set him up on a custom program, taking it step by step.  With Jacob, I'd tend to stay with the default program, as the games would give him a welcome break.  If he needed more review, the program would automatically keep him back in that section until he did well enough to advance.  I do like the feature that allows me to add in my own lesson plans and music, though.  I also love the fact that this program uses dictation, in which the computer reads to the child, as the child types back what it's saying.  The child can also practice typing stories at the Story Lagoon.    

Priced at $8 right now, Typing Instructor For Kids is a definite bargain and one I would probably purchase in an instant.  I feel that this will make a great addition to our homeschooling curriculum and offer a break to both me and Jacob on those days when we just need some fun.  The characters throughout the lessons are fun and kid-friendly, and I am definitely impressed with the quality of this program.  The only qualm I would have is that as I was playing one of the games, the program had a slight delay, but it quickly picked up and carried on, so it wasn't too much of a hindrance.  I definitely give this program a thumbs' up for any family who wants to learn how to type better.  This particular program is meant for grades K-7th, and they have another Deluxe Version for grades K-12.  The more I think about it, the more I love the idea of Jacob learning how to type before he starts having to do research papers later on.  Any person would benefit from using this program, though, no matter the age.  I hope to use it myself for further practice.  Maybe I can get reviews and articles typed up even faster.:)

(Disclosure: We were provided with this program, free of charge, by Timberdoodle, in association with MamaBuzz.)

Timberdoodle: Puzzleball Globe

Mel's Thoughts:
Timberdoodle is a great company full of homeschool supplies and homeschool curriculum.  Once again, we received a wonderful product to review, the Puzzleball Globe.
The Puzzleball Globe is a 96-piece puzzle that is different from any other we've ever done.  It actually fits together in a round 3-D globe, resting on a small base piece that comes with the puzzle.  It's a very handy thing to have not only for geography, but for a cold, rainy day.  It's also a great substitution for a video game on said cold, rainy day (just stating from our experience). :)

Yesterday Jacob and I spread this puzzle out all over one half of the kitchen table.  The first thing we set up was the rectangular guides that snap into place; then you add the larger circular pieces to them, fitting them into the proper place.  This setup serves as a guide for the child while putting the pieces together.  At first, that part confused me, but I quickly figured it out and was able to show Jacob how to use it.  He already had it pretty much figured out before good ole Mom, though.:)  I thought this puzzle might be a challenge for Jacob, but he actually did really well with it.

He was going to town on it, and he has it halfway done, with a little help from Daddy who couldn't resist working on it before we got home from karate last night.  It is hard to resist working on if left out.  Anyway, Jacob started out by taking out the starter piece that was separated in a little bag.  Each piece has a number and an arrow on the back, signifying which piece to add next and in which direction, which makes it a lot easier to put together or to doublecheck yourself if you'd rather use the picture side of the puzzle.  I think Jacob was using both as he snapped pieces into place.  Using the picture side is a bit more of a challenge, but it would make for a great geography lesson/supplement.  The pieces are not your ordinary puzzle pieces.  In order to form a round globe, they are curved pieces, and they are plastic, not bendable.  This means that they are very durable, which I love as a mom to two hard-playing boys.  There are 96 pieces in all.  Best of all, it uses no glue.  I found that the pieces stayed together pretty well, especially once you got it going and had it resting on your surface.  At first, I had to be more careful, but once we got it going with 5-6 pieces (which I did help Jacob with), it stayed together much better.



This puzzle makes for a great supplement to any homeschool curriculum.  It would be great for kinesthetic learners and to build fine motor skills, as it gives tactile stimulation.  The globe itself is very attractive to young minds with its bright colors and animals that decorate the surface. 

The Puzzleball Globe is best suited for ages 6+, and it's available on Timberdoodle for $12.75.  This is definitely a worthy price, in my opinion.  This would actually make a really great Christmas present, one the whole family could enjoy together.

Melissa J's Thoughts

I'm a sucker for jigsaw puzzles, especially unique ones.  This puzzle globe from Timberdoodle is geared for children but provided plenty of amusement for me as well. :)  The first thing I noticed when I was opening the package was how sturdy the puzle pieces are.  I was expecting the usual cardboard ones and was wondering how they would form a ball. Or styrafoam that my daughter could get her hands on and snap in half. But these are firm, plastic pieces that are pretty much indestructible. 

Not only are the puzzle pieces sturdy for wear-and-tear sake, they also help the puzzle stay firm as it's being built up. The click into place firmly but not so hard you struggle to put them into place.  

The beginning directions confused me. I couldn't understand what the two rectangular pieces were about with the accompanying circles, but then I figured out they were a guide so I would know what the puzzle was supposed to look like. It definitely helped. :)

This is a great way to teach geography, especially to children that learn through hands on experience. Seeing the round shape of the world, with the countries in relation to each other, is sure to stick in a child's mind more than a flat map will. Not to mention, as they build the puzzle, the animals that are pictures on the different countries will also sink indelibly into their brains. I can't think of a better learning tool for $12.75, than this puzzle. 

It may be a bit hard for the age group it is proposed for, but I don't see a harm in that. In that case, it will require parents to help their children out with it, and what's wrong with that? Fact is, parents can probably use a geography lesson as much as their child does!
 


(Disclosure: We were provided this product, free of charge, by Timberdoodle, in association with MamaBuzz.) 

Timberdoodle: Police Blockade

Mel's Thoughts:
My husband and I actually sat down last night to try out a game we had received in the mail yesterday with Timberdoodle, a company that specializes in homeschool supplies, homeschool curriculum, and educational toys.  Only this really wasn't any ordinary game.  It was Police Blockade,  a single-player game.....which meant we had to take turns.  Once we started playing it, neither one of us wanted to give it up, though.:)  We did take turns, however.  LOL  Anyway, Police Blockade is a game that challenges the brain in many ways.  It's a "no escape" puzzle game meant for ages 7+.  If you have ever played the online game of Traffic Jam, it kinda reminds me of that....it's a lot of fun!

The game comes with a little spiral-bound "Challenges and Solutions" manual that is full of challenges you can do, ranging from starter levels to expert levels.  I actually tried one of each level, but expert was the only one I could not beat....yet.  The object of the game is to surround the stolen sports car with all your police cars, to where he is blocked in.  Before you start, you set up the board as the picture for that particular challenge says to do.  There are building pieces that have to be in certain places, and then you put your sports car in the designated spot.  Once you have it set up, the game begins.  Now your job is to fit all of the differently shaped pieces onto the board without any empty spots left over.  It is quite the challenge. 

I am really looking forward to using this with Jacob for Thinking Skills.  This one-player game develops logical reasoning, builds higher cognitive thinking, and strengthens visual and spatial perception.  I think it will help him to stretch the boundaries of the way he thinks about things, and I definitely think it might help to build up common sense thinking, as well as give tactile stimulation.  I also love the idea of being able to take this with us when we go places or when we travel.  With a plastic cover that fits over the game board and a wide elastic band that holds it all in place, it would be easy to take with us on our trips to see family.  Plus, it's small and manageable in a confined space.  The pieces are made out of plastic and very durable, which makes me very happy, as a mama to two hard-playing boys. 

We have all enjoyed this game, and priced at $17.75 on Timberdoodle, Police Blockade is definitely worth the price, in my opinion.  It would be something I'd consider getting as a Christmas gift for any children/teens on my list.  It's not only educational and challenging, but it's very fun.  


Melissa J's Thoughts

"I am officially stupid."  These were my words to Mel when I attempted to get through the second challenge in Timberdoodle's little spiral bound notebook that came with Police Blockade. Setting up the car and buildings per their instructions, I breezed through challenge Number 1. "Fun, but not hard" were my initial reviewer thoughts.


Challenge #2 then took me 20 minutes. I'm too red-faced to admit how long they say it should take. After almost an hour at the table, I decided I wasn't going to proceed beyond the "easy" section of the challenges. No sense setting myself up for embarrassing failure. 


My husband came home. He's a brick and stone mason. He rearranges pieces of brick and stone all day long so I thought for sure he's get this in a heartbeat. I was relieved to see he didn't. :)  It took him awhile to think through some of these challenges, though his brain was able to make it work (as opposed to mine). 


By this point, this may sound like a negative review. It's not. This is a great little game!  It makes adults use their brains and is awesome for teaching logical thinking to younger brains. Perhaps if I had a game like this when I was in my brain-development years, I wouldn't struggle with it in my brain-addled adult years. ;-)


Is it worth the price? Yes, it is!  Police Blockade will provide hours of entertainment for anyone that buys it while teaching necessary thinking skills. It packages up neatly for storage and takes up very little space in a game cupboard in relation to the amount of entertainment it gives. It would also make a great travel game, as the pieces set well into the board without any looseness.



(Disclosure: We were provided with this product, free of charge, by Timberdoodle, in association with MamaBuzz.)

Timberdoodle: I Can Trace & Prismacolor Colored Pencils

Melissa j's Thoughts

We received I Can Trace today in the mail. I'm so excited about it, I'm going to order two more for my daycare kids!  I'll use them in the winter quarter of our pre-schooling. The trouble is, when I went to the pre-school section of their website to order my additional copies, I saw about 20 other things I wanted. . . but I guess that's not what this review is about, is it? :-)

I feel a bit foolish that this book is $13.00, based on how much comes with it. I spent more than half that amount on another similar series this past Fall, only the pages were less than half the size and the book had less than half the amount of pages this particular volume has. I wish I had known about Timberdoodle when I bought that original series. . . .

The majority of pages in the book are tracing pages, which basically consist of colorful pictures with thick, dashed lines that preschool hands should be able to follow in their first attempts at tracing. It starts out simple with just straight lines. For instance, page 1 has a dog, a mouse, a rabbit, and  a bear on the left side of the page. On the right side of the page is their food.  A thick, dotted line joins the two sides. This activity then increases in difficulty, ending with letters that need to be traced.

The book also includes an appendix of samples from Timberdoodles other series, such as I can Color, I can Draw, I can Fold, and I can Paste - which if course, I want all of!

Lastly, the book also has a wipe-page in the back, which your child can use to draw on repeatedly. This is a value all in itself if you have a pre-schooler who loves to draw and is just the cherry on the sundae in my book.

Is this book worth the cost? Absolutely! Take it from a mom who has browsed all there is out there, and even spent money on several products. For the price, this book delivers at least double what other companies are offering.

The PrismaColor 12 piece pencil set I also recieved from Timberdoodle, is listed at a price of just $8.00!  I can't get over that. I've seen poorer quality colored pencils for double that in craft stores. This is a gorgeous set with vibrant, brilliant colors.

Normally, when I think colored pencils, I think weak transfer of color onto paper. Not so with the PrismaColor set. These write as brilliantly as they appear in their compact tin holder. This 12 piece set includes all the primary colors and will be great for children who are developing fine tuned motor skills and moving out of the crayon stage.

Mel's Thoughts:

Timberdoodle is a wonderful company that we've been blessed to be working with.  They carry all sorts of homeschool supplies and homeschool curriculum.  They have products for all ages, and this time we were sent the Big Skills for Little Hands- I Can Trace book, plus a Prismacolor set of 12 colored pencils. 

This book is meant for agest 2+.  I did use it with Jaden, but I think he just needs a couple more months before he'll really understand what he's doing.  He was mainly interested in coloring with his new colored pencils.  He did love the pictures in the book, though.  The book is progressive in nature, meaning that it starts out with simple tracing pictures, like getting the animal or object from here to there.  It will have straight lines to trace and then some curved lines.  Sometimes the child will have to follow a certain color of line, so as to not get mixed up in the tangle of lines....sort of like a maze; in fact, there are a few mazes that challenge the child's thinking as he traces.  As it progresses, the child is able to start tracing different shapes and eventually numbers and letters.  In the back of the book are a few activities from the other Big Skills books, including I Can Cut!, I Can Paste!, I Can Color!, I Can Draw!, and I Can Fold!  There are also suggestions for other things that you can do with your child around the house, to improve his fine motor skills, as well as a School Readiness Checklist.  Another great bonus is the dry erase page in the back, which your child can use to draw on, write on, and then erase, only to start all over again. 

In the front of the book are pages that help to explain brain research and things you can do to help stimulate and develop your child's brain.  There are things to help you with his emotions/senses, language development (which I really need to work on with Jaden), exercise/coordination, large-motor and fine-motor development, and social skills.  I am loving this book because it is something that I can pick a page or two every day and work on with Jaden; then I can expand upon those pages with other activities.  I do think he needs a couple more months, though, before he will be fully ready to really embark upon this.  You can get this book for $10.50 from Timberdoodle, which, in my opinion, is a great price!  That is completely affordable for over 200 pages of activities and helps in teachingyour toddler/preschooler.  It's a great start for fine motor skills, as well as beginning handwriting skills. 


We also received the Prismacolor Colored Pencils, a set of 12.  These are so nice, that I'm tempted to keep them for myself, although I know that my children will greatly benefit from them.  There is also a color shading stick included with the set, and the minute I saw this, I thought of Jacob's map work and all the shading in of oceans that he has to do.  This will make it so much easier.  We love colored pencils, especially for history and mapwork, because they just provide a much neater appearance for tedious work.  I also love the idea of Jaden using the colored pencils, because it will help to start him out early on, holding a real pencil and learning how to use it. 

The Prismacolor set is so nice; it comes in a thin tin case, with these colors included:
PC903 True Blue
PC909 Grass Green
PC912 Apple Green
PC916 Canary Yellow
PC918 Orange
PC924 Crimson Red
PC932 Violet
PC933 Violet Blue
PC935 Black
PC938 White
PC945 Sienna Brown
PC946 Dark Brown 
You can get this set of colored pencils for $8.00, which, in my opinion, is also a fantastic price for something that will be of great use in our homeschooling ventures.  Even if you don't homeschool, they are wonderful for any kind of activities you do or even for journaling, as Melissa J. was telling me earlier. 

Either way, if you have a young child at home and are in need of great stocking stuffers or just a great present, these items might be just the thing to keep him busy on those cold winter days that sometimes lead to cabin fever.

(Disclosure: We were provided with these products, free of charge, by Timberdoodle, in association with MamaBuzz.)

Timberdoodle: Upturn Game

Mel's Thoughts:
Timberdoodle is an amazing company that is just full of great educational toys, games, and homeschooling materials.  We recently received the game of Upturn in the mail.  It's a game for ages 6+ (or as soon as they can recognize double-digit numbers), and you can play with 2-4 players.  The sturdy box it comes in is very nice with storage dividers inside and a drawstring bag to hold all your number tiles. 


As we were setting it up to play, it almost reminded me of Rummikub in a way.  I very faintly remember playing that with our neighbor, whose house I used to clean, as a teenager.  Dan, Jacob, and I were able to play, and we each got one standing tray to organize our number tiles on.  We each got seven number tiles.  Included with the number tiles were arrow tiles, numbered penalty tiles, twin tiles, skip player tiles, and jokers. We picked a number tile from the bag and laid it on the table, and then whoever went first got to pick the direction we'd be going at first, up or down (number-wise).  For example, if that first tile was a 35, then Jacob might go first and place a 41 tile down, stating that we were going up.  Then, as we went along we could change the direction of the game, we could skip players, or we could stack tiles up on the other player's rack with our penalty tiles.  The twin tiles were my favorite, because if you got a twin tile, say 99, and the last tile laid down was a 45, you could lay down anything between that 45 and 99 because of that twin marker, all in one turn.  When you got down to one tile, you had to yell out, "Upturn!"; if you didn't, you would be penalized by having to pick up 3 more tiles to add to your rack.  Whoever got rid of all their tiles first, won the game!  Jacob actually won our first game....  I know this may be totally confusing until you actually play the game, but just know that we had a lot of fun with it.  Games are nice, with our family, because they are something we can sit down with and be in the moment together.  Even Jaden sat there with his coloring book and was content to just be with us.


It's actually a great game that I may use some in math with Jacob and even Jaden later on because it would help give practice on greater than/less than concepts, recognizing double-digit numbers, etc.  It has a great mental/strategic aspect to the whole game.  You can find Upturn on Timberdoodle for $25.


Melissa J's Thoughts

If you had told me a week ago, that I thought $25 was worth a game that involved numbers, I would have thought you were nuts! But Upturn is definitely worth the purchase price. For a person who hates numbers, I sure enjoyed the game. My husband, who hates games, even commented, "This is kind of addictive. . ."

We did find it a bit difficult to get into the groove in the first two games, just because different tiles have different signs on them and we had to keep looking at the directions to see what they meant. But by the third game, we were on a roll and I was disappointed it ended so quickly. 

Although the game doesn't use advanced math skills it still helps kids use their numbers-knowledge to figure out which numbers fit into the ascending and descending series that are going on.  

I didn't get a chance to try this out with actual kids, since we had to cancel our game night because of illness, but I already have plans to take it to my in-laws for Christmas to play with my nephews. In fact, I think my mother-in-law will even enjoy it!  

I was so impressed with the tile pieces we used too. I need to add that.  They are sturdy, heavy duty game pieces that I would guess are indestructible to even the most active, mischievous child. 


Timberdoodle is impressing me more and more, with every review I do. Their products are amazing and high quality. Not only that, they teach children through the action of play. As a mother, who encourages both play and education, I appreciate this mix. I love the fact that my child can have a good time, all while learning how to use her educational knowledge. Thank you Timberdoodle for providing such amazing teaching tools for our children!


 


(Disclosure: We were provided with this product, free of charge, by Timberdoodle, in association with MamaBuzz.)

Timberdoodle: Rapelli Game

Mel's Thoughts:

Timberdoodle has provided us with another great product, the Rapelli game.  Rapelli comes in a big orange box, that also has a convenient carry handle.  It is eco-friendly, being made out of 100% bamboo, and it is very sturdy, which is important to me, as a Mama to boys (not a slam to boys, just a fact that sometimes my boys can be a little rough, especially my toddler).  This game is best suited for ages 4 years and up, and it's made for 2-6 players. 

We eagerly sat down to play one night this past weekend.  The game is put together really easily.  You connect the two bamboo halves together, and there are two attached stretchy bands that hold the tower together.  Then each player chooses a color of caterpillar that they want to play with.  My toddler liked this next step the best.  Each player has to push all his caterpillars all the way into a row of holes that are on the tower.  Then the game begins.  There are two dice provided that show what color of caterpillar and which direction to pull the caterpillar out, plus how many notches to pull it out.  Each caterpillar is flexible and a little stretchy....but still quite sturdy.  Whoever gets all of their caterpillars totally out of the tower first, wins the game.  It made for a very fun time.  Jacob loved it.  Jaden loved it when he could get his hands on a caterpillar....and he loved throwing the dice down the middle of the tower and yelling, "Tada!" when he picked the tower up to reveal the dice at the bottom....LOL.  

I really love this game, not only because it's fun to play, but because I can also get it out while we're working on school, and I can set it up for Jaden to work with.  Now, it's got small parts, so he needs to be supervised (due to choking hazards), but he can work at putting those caterpillars in and out of the holes, which helps to work on his fine motor skills, not to mention his color skills and directional/organizational skills.  It could also be a wonderful tool for learning how to count.  When being played, it allows the players to begin thinking about strategy, as well.  So, yes, I definitely recommend this game.

You can get Rapelli from Timberdoodle for $21.50.  In my opinion, it would make a great Christmas present for the children on your Christmas list.  Really, it might even make a great family gift.  


Melissa J's Thoughts

Because I have a 2 year old, I had set up a family to come over to our house to help us review Rapelli - - but they had to cancel because of sickness. So. . . . I recruited my husband to help me review the game. We're in our 30's, but we put ourselves into a child-like mindset--and had fun doing so!


We were both impressed with the sturdy material the game was made out of, as well as how easy it was to assemble and set up. The instructions were easy to follow, and I can see how children in the age group the game was created for, would really get a kick out of the game. How could they not with the cute little worms that are being pushed and pulled with every dice throw?  

The worms have alternating colors on them, separated by plastic pieces that keep them from falling all the way out or all the way in as the game goes on. The only "complaint" I would have, is those plastic pieces to make it sometimes hard to tug out or push the appropriate number of sections sometimes, without going too far. But that is easily adjusted as necessary. 

For parents, it could be the game that never ends. :-)  It reminded me of Chutes and Ladders, in which it can go back and forth for quite awhile. That being said, it's a game kids will love, for that very reason - though I can see younger children being upset if their worms have to get pushed back in. 


Rapelli is a great teaching game and is worth the money!  Not only will kids enjoy the game, it will cause them to use heir counting skills and that is just awesome! I can't wait until my daughter and daycare kids are old enough to understand how to play it. We will be using it for sure, in our homeschool years. Until then, maybe I can get my husband to play it with me again.  ;)




(Disclosure: We were provided with this product, free of charge, by Timberdoodle, in association with MamaBuzz, for the purposes of this tour.)