Home School Product Reviews

Wee Wedgits have been very popular with our baby! He was 9 months we he received them and he has played with them fairly regularly since. His older siblings enjoy them too. We will probably get a set of regular wedgits once the baby is old enough. My only disappointment with the toy is that they were described as being squishy soft and they are definitely harder than that. This has not deterred my son from chewing on them at all; that is his favorite thing to do with them!

Thinking Putty

Think Again!

Think again! We bought thinking putty as Christmas gifts for our children. It ended up in our daughter’s hair, on the carpet, on the couch…. It was worse than gum! We’re generally careful about where our children play with potentially messy toys, but as this is billed as an item to fiddle with while doing school, we allowed it in our schoolroom, aka family room. Big mistake! We called Timberdoodle to find out how to remove the putty from the carpet and they in turn called the company. We followed all the instructions and while the stickiness is gone, we still have lovely dark stains spotting the carpet. And our daughter had her hair trimmed….

They love it!

I originally bought the putty because it looked like a lot of fun and I needed something for my parents who really NEED nothing. My nine children are all grown and I already had Christmas gifts for my grandchildren that year. I wasn’t sure they would really use it, but they love it! They each set theirs (I bought different colors for each of them) beside their recliner and use it to exercise their hands while they watch TV. It helps keep their joints from being stiff, too. Just a warning-put it back in its container when you finish! It conforms to the shape of its container as it rests. If you put it in something with a small mouth you might not get it out very easily or if you leave it sitting in a ball it might spread out all over your table! Don’t worry though, you can scrape it up with itself and roll it up and start over. It is really addictive as anyone who sits in the chair and happens to pick it up will tell you! I have plans to purchase some for myself someday, but I haven’t needed enough items to make the cost plus shipping a reasonable price for something I just want and don’t need. The price on the item is good, but the shipping cost for just the one item makes it too expensive. Maybe I’ll have to convince some friends to go in with me and buy a case of it!

Thinking Putty is available from Timberdoodle. Check out our shipping special of $4.95 on any order.

We love this book (A Reason For Handwriting D – 4th)! There is just enough cursive practice for a day–a few letters and words–to not be frustrating, there are tips every week, and, best of all, once a week, there is a long (2- or 3- sentence) Bible passage to copy. My son wants to do his best when he writes the Scripture passage, and he no longer complains about doing ‘cursive.’ In the past, it was a chore, he was often frustrated, and he dreaded it; we used a variety of packages that had him scrutinize his letters against the books’ perfect machine writing, and of course he could never match up (who could?). In A Reason for Writing, the book has guide letters but never has him compare his to its perfection. And he really loves to write out a Bible passage on a special page which he then colors, to be hung on the wall. He isn’t one to love coloring, but for this, he does it with pride. We highly recommend it.

Karenlee

Boulder, CO

Mommy of 1; Homeschooling since preschool; Writer.

For the complete A Reason For series and other ways to improve your homeschool handwriting visit Timberdoodle.com.

The Mystery of History Volume III

We have used this series from Mystery of History Vol 1 through Mystery of HistoryVol 3 and love the content. I love being able to teach my girls history, not only with a godly perspective, but also chronologically. I love the author’s efforts to show us how each item studied was part of God’s plan and how each person was prepared and used by God. I also love that she has laid out all the plans for extra activities, extra reading, and also has maps and timelines to make history even more tangible. I do like the format of Vol 1 and 2 better than 3, though. The 3-ring binder was much easier for me to use in the earlier volumes. The newer hardcover book isn’t as easy for us as we move about our church and community or even as we write summaries at the computer. (Timberdoodle doesn’t have anything to do with that, though, that was the publisher’s choice.) Overall, I really love it and can’t wait to see Vol 4!

Theresa

Irvine, CA

Browse the entire Bright Ideas Press line.

Shakespeare Graphic Novels

Wonderful resource! As a literature major, I appreciate Shakespeare in a way my family doe not. However, that did not stop me from insisting our children be exposed to The Bard during their Middle School years. When even Charles and Mary Lamb’s version was a little tough for some of our children, I was becoming concerned. Then I stumbled upon these books (Shakespeare Graphic Novels) – WOW. So much of the original language is included with great pictures (and we know a picture is worth a thousand words!), that after reading a graphic novel, the Charles and Mary Lamb’s Shakespeare for Children became easily understood. Now, watching a rendition of the play itself became enjoyable, rather than the torture-fest the kids insisted it was before. Worth every single penny.

Tacy

PA

Timberdoodle carries over 150 different Graphic Novels.

I have two ‘hands on’ boys who love to build. When I wanted to teach them about simple machines I knew that building the machines would be an ideal way to make the concepts stick. Knex building sets make this easy to do. The set comes with all the necessary pieces, instructions and lesson plans. The pieces are durable and color coded so assembly is easy. The sets are ideal for families teaching multiple ages. My boys are six and nine. They easily built the models by themselves and then performed the simple experiments with my instruction. I plan to use these sets again when they are older because the lesson plans also include formulas for figuring out basic physic problems. Wonderful find. Highly recommended.

Rebecca

Cumberland, MD

Mom, Dad, Grandma, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, college-age and grade-school kids all playing together and having a great time – that’s Bananagrams! I love that the kids are practicing spelling skills and thinking skills and learning new vocabulary almost as much as I love the family bonding. The games are quick and there’s no need to keep score. A homeschooling friend brought this very portable game over one day to play with us. We all loved it so much, we bought one for Grandma for Christmas. She convinced two of her sisters to get their own. My sister-in-law played with us and had to go get herself one. My two college-age sons each have their own. We are definitely a Bananagrams family!

Laura

Kenner, LA

The Adventures of Tintin

My then 11-year-old son, Stephen, who was struggling with reading devoured his first Tin Tin book. He even collected his own funds to order another volume! he introduced a friend to the books and now his friend has more Tin Tin books than he does! What a blessing to see my son motivated to read and stealing every moment to get back to his Tin Tin adventure!

Melody

VA

If you are looking for the complete Tintin Series visit Timberdoodle.com

An incredibly moving book.  Look closely at your adoption in Christ and tearfully consider the deep love the Father has for you by making you His sons and daughters.  I was drawn to this book after the first chapter.  Deeply theological but easy to understand.  Made me consider adoption in a whole new light (both my adoption in Christ and the adoption of my two children).  Every member of the body should read this book; you will be encouraged.  This (Adopted For Life) was Tim Challies #1 book of the year last year.

Kelly

Nashville, TN

I cannot say enough about this program, I’ve used it for K5, 1st and 3rd, and its so thorough, FULL of critical thinking…my K5 little man BEGS to do math everyday, so much so that he’s finished it well before he should! Its so easy to teach new concepts! After using Horizons, Abeka, and Rod and Staff while banging my head daily, this is a breath of fresh air, and I so wish it went up to 6th grade!

Francisco

Nashua, NH