Home School Product Reviews

B. Pop-Arty Beads

A favorite with my boys!

B. Pop-Arty Beads are a favorite with my two boys (ages 4 and 2). I bought another set of larger beads for my toddler, but he can’t connect them as easily as he can the Pop-Arty Beads. My boys connect them in all sorts of ways and will wear them or pretend they’re trains or other things. The beads do smell a bit unpleasant, but that does slowly fade and it hasn’t fazed my children in the slightest. These beads are very popular, but especially with my 2-year-old. I recommend them for an indoor activity on those wet or excessively hot days.

Fun way to learn history

I purchased How to Draw the Life and Times of Abraham Lincoln because it was a combination of history and art. When I got it, I was concerned that my boys would freak out a little because some of the drawings are rather challenging (and art is not our strong point), but they are learning a lot about the presidents and they are having fun with the drawings. Some of our drawings of people look a little unsophisticated, but it’s been fun to challenge ourselves.

Perfect for Young Children

I purchased Little Annie’s Art Book of Etiquette and Good Manners for our two little girls’ homeschooling curriculum this year… they absolutely fell in love with it from the very first day! “Little Annie” is so sweet and whimsical as she demonstrates manners, kindness, and proper etiquette, all while presenting Bible truths and teaching fun art lessons. The book seems mostly geared for girls, but our preschool age son enjoys the art projects as well. I love how these fun art lessons are laced with Scripture! This little lesson book covers everything from how to set a proper table to how to be a gracious friend. Highly recommended.

We have such fond memories of Smencils from when we first started homeschooling. Each boy had their own and they treasured it! The smells last a long time too. When you store the Smencil in the case it comes in, the smell lasts a long time and smells like the first time you opened it. If left out, it still smells, but loses some of its smell over time ~ but they still smell! I haven’t seen these in a long time and was so happy to see them on your site. Will add these to my “wish list” for sure! I know the kids will be thrilled to bring back some fun memories {and remember how excited they were when we first started homeschooling!}.

Michelle

Fun for Multiple Ages

I’ve been looking for craft projects for ages ranging from 2yo-3rd grader. I’m not a naturally crafty person, so I like kits with things already assembled. We have tried the Farm Animals kit. We’ve only made a few animals, but if we do them all, we are supposed to be able to make 10 animals. A little plastic container comes with instructions and lots of different sized pom poms, googly eyes, chenille stems, and 4 foams pieces. The children love making the little animals and playing with them. I couldn’t let them use the hot glue gun, but next time I’m going to try rubber cement. The price wasn’t too bad. Sure, you could probably buy all the supplies yourself for cheaper, but they wouldn’t come with instructions (which you could also probably figure out), but if you were that type of crafty person, you probably wouldn’t be buying this craft, would you? The children enjoy playing with what they’ve made. That gets an “A” in my book.

Actually Works!

I have bought so many pencil sharpeners and been disappointed by them all. But this one honestly is completely different. It actually sharpens the pencils. Previously I was having issues with the pencil lead breaking off completely, or the pencil sharpening but then breaking once the children started writing. I’ve been using this sharpener for a couple weeks now and it’s consistently doing a great job of sharpening the pencils, both regular and colored! I like it so much that I hide it from the children…guess I should just buy them their own! )

I LOVE the Sewing Fun for Kids book! It is a great resource for teaching beginning sewing skills. For those new to sewing, the spiral bound book is very informative and the thick, colorful pages are inviting. Sewing Fun for Kids gives many sewing terms and definitions, as well as thorough descriptions for sewing skills, and detailed instructions for the sewing projects. There are numerous activity pages throughout the book related to sewing that reinforce the terminology and concepts taught in the book. The book also includes nice plastic quilting tools and templates (located in the back of the book) which enabled me to give the book five stars even though the book is lacking a table of contents and/or index for finding sewing projects and activity pages. Sewing Fun for Kids is priced very well and highly recommended!

My boys both love these pencils. When I asked them why they liked them so much I was surprised by their response. They both liked that they saved trees. Right behind that is the yummy smell. I like the feel of the pencil- it’s a bit heavier than your normal pencil and feels nice in my hand. I love the aroma!! Refreshing!

If your child already knows how to use scissors, these (My First Scissors) won’t be necessary. But I kind of took that as common knowledge. I had bought (not from Timberdoodle) a different brand of supposedly easy scissors for my 2 year old (he’s 3 now). They are still not easy for him to use independently. He was so excited when he saw these new scissors. I pulled a cutting page out of our book, I showed him how to use the scissors, and he went over and started cutting paper all by himself! He was so proud! He still needs some practice, but they are so easy to squeeze, he’ll get the hang of it in no time. My 17 month old was so jealous, when big brother wasn’t looking, I let him cut a little, too (with help). Guess what little brother will have in his stocking? (still in the package Child Safety Groups

I purchased holiday smencils two years ago (locally, not from Timberdoodle, because they didn’t carry them at that time). My kids enjoy using them (BTW, that 2 year guarantee~ they STILL smell great). They smell good while writing, and the paper is scented for a bit after writing. they sharpen nicely, write smoothly, and hey! They are made from recycled newspapers. Excellent! IThere are only a couple of things that would improve these (To my frame of mind)~ to include colored leads, and to manufacture them in the US of A instead of China~ These make a great stocking stuffer or little “Twelve days of Christmas” gift.