STEM Robotis PLAY 600 Pets Review {Timberdoodle 1st Grade Curriculum Kit}

Today we are going to take a closer look at one of the STEM components in our 1st Grade Elite Curriculum Kit from Timberdoodle, our Robotis PLAY 600 Pets.

Our Robotis PLAY 600 Pets

 

F was super excited to get started with his kit.

 

What's included?  This set is so neat!  It includes a geared motor (CM-20 with 2-way output), over 50 parts along with an instruction manual to build a bluebird, puppy and cricket.  There are also online directions (via ROBOPLUS Design App) to build a whale, goldfish, polar bear and tank.  So there are 7 pet builds.  The interactive 3D assembly instructions are fun and F enjoys looking at them from various angles.  This set builds one model at a time so you have to unbuild or destory your previous pet to build the next and so on.

 

F built the bluebird first.

And then of course, the bluebird had a great time crawling or rolling around the house.

A close-up of F's bluebird

 

Building the puppy

F built the puppy next.

And a close-up of F's puppy.

The puppy had a great time walking all over the house.  F especially liked the ears and tail.

 

F built the cricket next.

Side view of the cricket

And a front view of F's cricket.

 

At this point, F had built all 3 pets in the instruction manual so he moved onto the ROBOPLUS Design App to build the other designs.

F built the goldfish next.

 

And a close-up...

F gathering the pieces needed to build the whale.

Creating the whale using the App instructions.  The interactive 3D assembly instructions are fun and let you manipulate the design by rotating it, zooming in, etc.

Finished Whale

This set is great for fine motor skills and gives kids confidence in building and STEM.  The pieces are large and easy for young kids with smaller hands to assemble.  This is an entry-level robotics kit which allows younger students to become familiar with some of the fundamentals of simple automation.  I appreciate that no tools are required for F to build these various pets.  I love that it encourages children to imagine and expand on these designs to create their own as well!  This set is geared for ages 6 and up and I think it is perfect for F in 1st Grade.  You will need two AA batteries, which are not included.  Check out the video below to see some of F's pets in action!

Our Robotis PLAY 600 Pets is a part of our Timberdoodle 1st Grade Curriculum Kit and if you can't tell we highly recommend it!

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I will be refunded the purchase price of our curriculum kit in exchange for my honest reviews.  All opinions are my own.

Djeco Cosmos Foil Review {Timberdoodle 1st Grade Curriculum Kit}

Today we are going to take a closer look at one of the art components in our 1st Grade Elite Curriculum Kit from Timberdoodle, our Djeco Cosmos Foil.  This set is geared for kids ages 6-10, or K-5th.

Our Cosmos Foil

 

Inside our Kit

 

What's included in our set?  There are 12 scene cards to decorate (4 different variations), 10 metallic foil transfer sheets in various colors, and tons of space-themed glue stickers to personalize (8 sheets).

 

Above you can see the different backgrounds to decorate.  There are 3 of each background.

Above you can see the metallic foil transfer sheets.

Some of the space-themed stickers.

How does it work?  After choosing their background, kids pick which stickers to adhere to their board.  After the correct sticker application, kids then decide which metallic foil they'd like their sticker to be and gently press it onto the top of their glue sticker.  After removing the foil, what's left behind is a fun, sparkly image.

Applying a rocket ship

Removing the sticker coating.

 Applying the gold foil...

 Applying red foil to a planet...

The rocket and planet!

Adding more touches...

 

F's 1st space board!  What a masterpiece 🙂

This is such a fun, hands-on activity for kids to create and complete.  F absolutely loves the space theme and all the star, planet, astronaut, rocket, etc. stickers to choose from.  He enjoys picking the stickers, choosing where to place them, and finalizing the color.

 

 F choosing an image.

 

Removing the sticker coating, you can see that he chose an astronaut.

Applying foil to his image.

 

Voila!

A proud F with another board complete!

F's 1st set of space boards.

A look at some of the other foil sets available including metal, glitter and velvet.

 

Our Djeco Cosmos Foil is a part of our Timberdoodle 1st Grade Curriculum Kit and we highly recommend it!

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I will be refunded the purchase price of our curriculum kit in exchange for my honest reviews.  All opinions are my own.

World Scrunch Map Review {Timberdoodle 1st Grade Curriculum Kit}

Today we are going to take a closer look at one of the geography components in our 1st Grade Elite Curriculum Kit from Timberdoodle, our World Scrunch Map.

Our World Scrunch Map

Our World Scrunch Map out of original packaging

Our map is 36 x 24 inches and is made with both water resistant and tear resistant material!  I love the details and colors and how durable it is.  This is especially important because little hands are using it.

 

F holding up our map!

 

Our one sided map is super convenient because it is extremely portable and easy to put away.  You can literally bring it with you anywhere, unlike a traditional wall map, where you have to be in the room to utilize it.  And instead of having to fold the map in the correct orientation, you simply scrunch it up into a ball and stuff it into its drawstring carrying bag, also making it easy to store.  I must admit that as someone who likes to put things away neatly, this was a stretch for me at first but it is super easy for smaller kids to wad up this map and put it into its bag - that's what it is designed for!  As you can imagine after being wadded up this map will not be pristine, there will be wrinkles.  And that's okay.

 

F showing me where we live (Texas).

I love that my little ones can use it and put it away.  It's such a great educational resource to have on hand.

Check out Timberdoodle's short video below to see more about this World Scrunch Map.

 

 

Our World Scrunch Map is a part of our Timberdoodle 1st Grade Curriculum Kit and we highly recommend it!

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I will be refunded the purchase price of our curriculum kit in exchange for my honest reviews.  All opinions are my own.

Science in the Beginning Set Review {Timberdoodle 1st Grade Curriculum Kit}

Today we are going to take a closer look at the science components in our 1st Grade Elite Curriculum Kit from Timberdoodle, our Science in the Beginning Set.  Our set includes the textbook itself, the Helps & Hints booklet and the lab kit.

Our textbook and helps booklet

Our Science in the Beginning Lab Kit

This elementary science curriculum is recommended for ages 5-12 and is the first book in the Berean Science Series which teaches science chronologically (we have previously reviewed the 4th book in this series - Science in the Age of Reason).  I have been using this science curriculum with E (3rd grade), F (1st Grade) and G (PreK) and it has been wonderful!

This series is Christian based and this book begins just as it infers - at the beginning with the six days of creation.  If you do not want a curriculum with a Christian worldview, this would not be a good fit for you as students are consistently reminded of our Creator.  I personally love this!  Science in the Beginning contains 6 Units, one for each day of creation and each unit is broken into 15 lessons (90 total lessons).  Students are introduced to an array of scientific topics including light, energy conservation, the properties of water and air, solar system, zoology, etc.  This curriculum is very experiment heavy and the kids absolutely love this.  The kids are so excited to do their science program every week and I cannot tell you how excited that makes me!

Using a candle and CD to show how white light is a mixture of many colors.

Above, the kids are learning how radiant energy can be changed or converted into thermal energy.

Another experiment highlighting the conversion of radiant energy into thermal energy.  We used a magnifying glass and the sun to catch a small scrap of newspaper on fire.  The kids were amazed!

Showing how two batteries supply more electrical energy and give off a brighter light than just one battery (and a wad of aluminum foil).

While the Helps & Hints booklet isn't necessary it is super helpful to have as it contains answers for the review exercises as well as hints for you to make checking, correcting and explaining easier - there are tests and test solutions for those who want to use them.

Because this curriculum is very hands-on, every lesson has some sort of activity, so having our prebuilt lab kit is super helpful!  It contains most of the necessary lab supplies that you may not have on hand at home like a blank CD, small mirror, magnifying glass, fluorescent spiral bulb, magnesium sulfate, 9-volt battery, cork, clay, cupric sulfate, iodine solution, pipette, etc.  It does not have everything (you will need some common household items and food items) but I think it does a great job of having the harder to find supplies.

Because I am using this program with E, F and G I really appreciate that the lessons conclude with questions and activities for younger, older and oldest students.  This works well with varied ages and is perfect for how we are using it. 

I actually used some of my Doodle Dollars (a fabulous Timberdoodle perk 😉) to pick up a Science in the Beginning Student Notebook for Older Students for E to use.  It is too much for F and G but is a great addition for E to use.

E's Science Notebook

Here is a close up version of her Lesson 4 page.

The kids and I are really loving this program.  I'm really looking forward to working through this book in its entirety.  This Science in the Beginning set is part of our Timberdoodle's 1st Grade Curriculum Kit and we highly recommend it!  If you have older students tagging along in the program consider getting them a student notebook to challenge them further.

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I will be refunded the purchase price of our curriculum kit in exchange for my honest reviews.  All opinions are my own.