Home School Product Reviews

I can not tell you enough how neat this bag of science truly is! It arrived today, and my two girls ages 9 and 12 were thrilled with what was inside. I carefully took the time to read the very nifty instruction booklet that came with it. Then I went through the supplies to make sure they were all in the bag. We will be starting the first several of these next week in our homeschool. I am certain that these will be very hard not to do all in one sitting!! It is SO NICE to have everything in one bag. The only things you have to add are items that are likely in your kitchen. The girls especially can’t wait to make soda shoot six feet into the air. Sounds super messy, but great fun for all of us. Thanks Timberdoodle. This was our first order, but we will definitely order again

Great, like everything Timberdoodle sells!

Surprise, another great find by Timberdoodle!  I got this (Trucky 3) for my 3 yo to give us something fun and new to do during Christmas break.  He likes it a lot, but it’s a bit hard for him.  I think 4 and up will probably be better.  It’s very nicely made.  The only thing I can say is the games from this company (Smart Games) don’t come with good storage.  With all these little parts, I’m going to need to make a bag or something.  They come in a cardboard tray, but you’ll never get them back in the trucks like they were, at least I won’t, lol.  If you have a child who has done vision therapy and needs more work on visual perception, they’ll find this very challenging and beneficial, even if they’re older.

The Big Bag of Science is a wonderful bargin!  There are so many fun experiments that it is hard to keep the kids to save some for other days.  Some experiments do built off each other so watch out you dont throw anything away that you will be needing.  I would recommend this kit to any parent!

Okay, I am not as impressed with the 3-D Skeleton puzzle as I thought I would be.  The detail is excellent, but the rib cage was difficult to put together and kept falling apart.  Also, it wouldn’t stay on the stand once we (yes, it took an 11 year old and an adult) got it together.  If I had known how it was, I am not sure I would have purchased this item.

This is a great (Engino Mechanical Series – Cams and Cranks) product and I was very surprised at all that came with it!  My 7 yo. son likes to take things apart, fix them and then put them back together.  So this is super perfect for him!  The pieces snap easily and stay together.  He was able to follow the directions on his own with minimal assistance. The companion booklet is very thick with detailed “take it further” and exploring different cranks (remember the early model T?!).  I am looking forward to using all the other sets and really digging in with him once fall arrives.  I can see this lasting for a long time and getting a lot of uses.  One thing is the string, it is super long and can be difficult for him (and me!) to manipulate in place.  The directions are not clear on whether it should be cut or what…But that has not spoiled the family’s enthusiasm on this product.  :) Highly recommend it.

This DVD (Evolution: The Grand Experiment DVD) is an excellent tool for providing children and adults with the biblical perspective on creation. In Evolution, the Grand Experiment, secular scientists acknowledge the obvious problems with evolution. The material accompanies any science curriculum well; we have used it with God’s Design for Life to discuss the amusing historic understandings of spontaneous generation and other flawed concepts of the natural world. Anyone wishing to be informed on the creation/evolution debate should watch this and read the book as well.

I won’t use anything else!

Last year was the first year we tried the (Apologia) notebooking journals, and it was with this one – Human Anatomy and Physiology. I won’t turn back! I used to have the kids take notes and verbally answer some random questions. How boring! This was EXACTLY what we needed to add to complete our science curriculum. My 5th grader remembered SO much more because of this journal and it is something we will keep for review. WELL DONE! I need these for all my subjects!

I used this book last year for my 6th and 2nd graders. It worked beautifully for both of them. I read the lessons aloud to them together, and we did the experiments and activities together. I chose supplemental library books for them at their own levels, and their notebook pages were done at their own levels. My only complaint is that the astronomy section is very light, so I ended up puttting together my own unit using library books. However, since I wanted the majority of the year to be spent on earth science, this was only an inconvenience. We will be using Christian Kids Explore Chemistry this year for my now 7th and 3rd graders.

I have first, second, third, fourth and fifth grade (core curriculum) from Timberdoodle and I love it. I like being able to customize . All my children look forward to school and the faster pace of the daily word problems and geography work great for my busy boys. I don’t like the Story of the world history but its no problem getting something else the Timberdoodle staff is great for your custom order. I’ve tried several other curriculum and this is what we will be staying with!

Window on the World is a great tool when studying geography. It opens one’s eyes too the different cultures, religions, and (my personal favorite) ways to pray for them using beautiful graphics and helpful facts! I’ve loved how it ushers children to look at the world with compassion, and helps them better understand (and see) those they are encouraged to pray for! Although this has been geared for an older child, I had no problem with gearing it down for my kindergartner. The pictures alone bring out some awesome questions (that lead to awesome conversations). The only thing I would change is that it would cover every culture!