Upcoming Film from Angel Studios: Homestead

I have an upcoming movie to share with you, Homestead!  David and I were so blessed to watch an advanced screening.  

About the film:  Based on the best-selling book series Black Autumn, Homestead: The Movie launches an epic post-apocalyptic journey, hitting theaters on December 20th. This intense family survival drama follows Jeff Ericksson, an ex-Green Beret, who takes on the role of head of security at “The Homestead”—a fortified compound designed for survival in a world teetering on the edge of collapse. As society unravels, Jeff’s resilience and leadership are put to the ultimate test, anchoring the gripping story that unfolds. Don’t miss your chance to experience this powerful tale.

You will definitely want to keep this movie on your radar to see!  And good news - even though Homestead doesn't hit theaters until December 20th, you can purchase advanced tickets!  And did I mention there is a 300K Homestead giveaway for early ticket buyers, don't miss your chance to win that as well!

Enjoy the trailer below!

Also, get to know some of the actors as they explain more about the contest.  I always love getting to see people in the real world.

Disclosure:  Huge thanks to Angel Studios for sending me an advanced screener of Homestead.  All opinions are my own.  For Giveaway *** LIMIT OF FOURTEEN THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED (14,100) ENTRIES PER PERSON/EMAIL ADDRESS. *** NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. PURCHASE OR PAYMENT DOES NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING. The 300K Instant Homestead Giveaway is open only to legal residents of the 48 Contiguous U.S. States (VOID in AK and HI) & DC, 21 or older.  Void elsewhere and where prohibited..  Promotion starts 10/17/24 and ends 12/22/24. To enter, visit https://angel.com/homesteadgiveaway . Sponsor: Angel Studios, 295 W Center Street, Provo, UT 84601.  Subject to complete Official Rules at https://bit.ly/HomesteadSweeps.

Timberdoodle IQ Gears

I want to share with you today a fun game from Timberdoodle, IQ Gears.  IQ Gears is a one player game recommended for kids 7 and older or 3rd grade and up.  Even adults will enjoy getting their brain in gear!

What's included in our game?

Our set includes the compact game board with transparent lid, 7 puzzle pieces with gears and a booklet containing 120 challenges and their solutions.  The 120 challenges increase in difficulty from Starter, Junior, Expert, Master, and Wizard.

 

Above you can see the 7 different colored gears pieces and their various shapes.  Also notice the big wheels on the side of our game board, these are important.
 

How do you play?

Simply try to fit all the gears on the game board.  When the solution is correct, the pieces will connect and the big wheels on the side of the game board will spin together!  That's it.  Challenges begin easy and progressively get harder as there are five levels: Starter, Junior, Expert, Master and Wizard.

 

First 8 challenges at the Starter level 

You can see that these challenges are easier as they give you the outline shapes of every piece in the puzzle.

So a player will choose a challenge from the booklet.  The challenge will show them which puzzle pieces to place on the game board and where to place them.  Players will continue to play pieces on the game board.

 

 They are finished when all pieces fit and they have created a connection between the big gears (wheels) on the right and left of the game board (see above diagram).

 

A player needs to pay special attention to the placement of the gears in some of the challenges, especially when setting up the board to begin.  This can be seen in the Expert challenges above.  This does not apply in the Starter challenges.

 

The Master challenges only show the position of all the gears, you have to figure out the position of the full puzzle pieces.

F was my first to play IQ Gears

F double checking to see that he has the solution correct!

G was next to play.

G is trying various combinations in the photo above as he works one of the Expert challenges.

 

If you have previously read my blog you know that we really enjoy Smart Games and own a plethora of them.  Smart Games encourage concentration, planning, problem solving and flexible thinking and we 💕 them.  It's so great to have a selection of creative and quality single player games in our home and IQ Gears fits right into the mix.  I also love that they are relatively inexpensive and make great gifts!  If you are looking for a new single player logic game, we highly recommend IQ Gears.  It's fun and makes you think!

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received IQ Gears in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

College Care Package (Out of the Blue)

I remember when I was in college I loved getting mail!  I sent B a fun "out of the blue" care package this week and it was super fun to put together.

I packed fun items that all had blue color or packaging.  It included gum, beach note cards, nerd clusters, hot cocoa mix, fruit snacks, jolly rancher ropes, stickers, Trolli, Mike & Ike, popcorn and a fun book to take church notes.  We love you B!!

I'm always looking for fun themes to send so if you have any ideas let me know!

Veterans Day

 A huge thank you to everyone who has served our country past and present!

Operation Christmas Child Box Ideas

 

Every year the kids enjoy picking out items for our Operation Christmas Child Boxes, we have done it for many years.  It's a fun activity the kids enjoy coming up with new gift ideas and ways to bless others during the holiday season.  This year we filled up 4 boxes, 2 for girls and 2 for boys.

D chose a girl age 10-14 and above you can see what we put in her box - a few journals, markers, toothbrush, washcloths, bandages, tissues, socks, several sets of bracelets, key chain, compact mirror, comb, calculator, mini flashlight with batteries, hair ties, scrunchies and clips, sunglasses and a fun balancing bird.

 E also chose a girl age 10-14 and above you can see what we put in her box (very similar to D's box) - a large pink journal, markers, toothbrush, washcloths, bandages, tissues, watermelon socks, bracelets, necklace, key chain, compact mirror, comb, calculator, mini flashlight with batteries, hair ties and clips, sunglasses and a fun balancing bird.

 

F and G both chose a boy age 5-9 and above you can see what we put in their boxes (basically the same things) - coloring book, notepad, stickers, crayons, dominoes, toothbrush, bandages, tissues, washcloths, toy car, spinner, mini flashlight with batteries, sunglasses and a fun balancing bird.

The boys with their boxes

If you are looking for ideas for filling your own boxes, I hope this gives you some new ideas.

Eat Some Nachos!

Just a friendly reminder 😉

Timberdoodle Game Review: Mantis

I want to share with you today a fun game from Timberdoodle, Mantis.  Mantis is a 2-6 player card game recommended for kids 7 and older or 2nd grade and up so everyone in our family can enjoy the fun!  Games are easy to set-up and fairly fast paced estimated to last ~ 10-15 minutes each.

How do you play?  The video below is a fantastic explanation of how to play Mantis so you definitely want to check it out!

I have been playing Mantis with the younger boys and we are having so much fun!  The first time we played, I definitely tried to "steal" too much so I wasn't able to score enough to win.

F was our first ever winner!  He scored 10 cards :)

 

However, I definitely improved and came back and won the next two matches.  I think the boys improved every match as well.

Mantis is quick and just like many card games you learn a lot every time you play!  I love the fast-pace as it is so easy to make time for a quick game.  If your family likes cards games like we do, you will want to check out Mantis!

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received Mantis in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

Happy Birthday E (And Me)

We celebrated E's 13th birthday and my 47th this month!  E had a few close friends come over and stay the night and we had a fun little family gathering for mine.

E with her cake

David made E a fun cake

And he made me my favorite chocolate cake!

I love the Fall!  I hope you are enjoying the slightly cooler weather, I know I am!

Timberdoodle's Social Skills Activities for Ages 6-7 Book Review

I want to share with you a book on social skills I'm finishing up with G, Social Skills Activities for Ages 6-7.  This book is geared for kids 6-7 years old or 1st - 2nd grade.  Since this is an activities book, it is consumable so if you are wanting to use it with multiple children I would recommend getting one for each of them.

G with our book.

This workbook contains 75 activities or exercised for children to practice various social scenarios, helping them understand right and wrong!  I like that the activities are hands-on and that there is a lot to discus together.  Activity topics include making new friends and being a good friend, playing at your house or going to a friend's house, and etiquette for the classroom, lunchtime and playground just to name a few.

 

 Above you can see an example activity.

I love that the activity sheets are perforated so it's easy to remove the ones that G needs to cut and paste.

G's completed sheet.
 

G completing another activity.

 

As a homeschooler not all the activities were a perfect fit; however, we do attend a weekly CoOp so it was easy to apply them to that day or just discuss proper behavior in multiple situations.  G is a little on the older side for this book but I have really enjoyed having him work through it.  He is a fantastic reader so he has no problem reading the instructions and completing the activities fairly independently.  I like that it includes practical things like using scissors and pasting and I particularly enjoy the conversations we have with the various activities.

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received Social Skills Activities for Ages 6-7 in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

If You Like Apples

A Whale of a Time Review

I want to share with you today a fun book of poems from Timberdoodle, A Whale of a Time.  A Whale of a Time is geared for kids 7-10 years old or 2nd-5th grade.

This hardback book is so fun!  It contains funny poems for each day of the year (366 in total).  I love how it encourages children to listen to poetry while also introducing them to a plethora of poetic styles and forms.  The boys have found the poems to be short and amusing.  The vibrant illustrations found on double-page spreads are fun and engaging and created with various mediums - pen, pain, crayons, digital, etc.

 

Poems from August

 

The boys were exposed to various poems during their school last year so it is fun to pick up on that this year with our new book.  We plan to continue reading a poem a day as part of our homeschool curriculum.  I love that you can just jump in on whatever day it is, no need to wait for January 1st.  Also, you can just read the poem or discuss more in depth as you see fit.
 

 

I like that our book has an organized layout with a monthly index, above you can see the index for August, which is what we have been working our way through so far.  If you are looking for a kid-friendly poetry book with delightful artwork we highly recommend A Whale of a Time!

 

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received A Whale of a Time in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

Hidden Systems Review

I have an amazing hardcover book to share with you from Timberdoodle, Hidden Systems.  Hidden Systems is published by Random House Graphic with 272 pages and is written and illustrated by Dan Nott.  Hidden Systems is recommended for kids 12-18 or 6th grade and up.

One of my absolute favorite books when I was younger was The Way Things Work by David Macaulay.  Imagine my delight when I saw David's endorsement for Hidden Systems, so fun!

Contents of our Book

So, what's a hidden system?  A hidden system is one that powers our everyday life but is something we rarely think about unless it fails.  This book explores 3 main hidden systems: the internet, electricity and water.  Nott's comic illustrations are truly masterful at breaking down large systems into smaller pieces emphasizing how we think about concepts, how they work, the history behind them and even the imagined future possibilities.

If you have ever wondered what's electricity?  What is the internet exactly?  How is there enough water for everyone?  This book is for you!  And even if you haven't, I am fairly confident you will find this book fun, entertaining, and your will learn a bit along the way!

The graphic format of this book keeps it light and engaging.  I like that it encourages the reader to ponder both the past and future of technology.  We highly recommend this thought provoking read.

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received Hidden Systems in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.