LeapFrog Academy® from LeapFrog® Review

{Disclaimer:  I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review.  I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.}

We were blessed to receive a one-year subscription to LeapFrog Academy® from LeapFrog® for F and G!  This interactive, online, learning program is designed for children 3-6 years old.  There are over 2,000 games, eBooks, activities and more!  Children can play on the go!

Learning Adventures covers curriculum for PreK - 1st grade and includes subjects like math, reading and science.  I really appreciate that it tracks your child's learning progress and provides extra practice in the areas they need help with, such a cool feature.  

I set G up on the Introduction to Pre-Kindergarten (ages 4-5) and F on the highest level Introduction to Grade 1 (ages 6-7).  Both boys enjoy this program but G has played the most of the two.  It's part of his "school" and he begs to play.

In this program, students move along their map or world by completing activities and games.  These activities are specifically designed for their level and as they continue on their journey, they build bridges (see above) which allows them to access even more of their map!  It's colorful and fun and G enjoys it.

There are also many options for activities outside their map.  One section that G particularly loves is art!  There is so much to do here.  G loves to build things, sort things, and color things.  There are so many fun activities and games to partake in.  He can also play games, puzzles, music, videos and more.

Above you can see G's dashboard.

When he selects art, here are a few of his choices.  The hearts show the activities that he likes the best.

The boys have both enjoyed earning certificates along the way!

One of F's certificates.

I really like that LeapFrog Academy® helps students with problem solving skills and creativity.  If you are looking for an educational program for your 3-6 year old, we highly recommend it.  They also have a free trial available!

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Postman Observation Game from Timberdoodle Review {1st Grade Curriculum Kit}

Today we are going to take a closer look at another one of our thinking skills components in our 1st Grade Elite Curriculum Kit from Timberdoodle, Postman Observation Game or the Observation Postman Game (I think both are correct).  This month we have been focusing on thinking skills so you can check out our previous review for Smart Cookies.

 Our new game

 Postman Observation Game Contents

What's included in our game?  Our game includes 8 puzzle pieces (that make up the gameboard), a deck of 80 cards, and 40 little postcard or letter playing pieces (inside the bag above).

A closer look at our postcard/letter playing pieces - we call them postcards and letters in our home interchangeably.

A close-up view of the back of our postcard playing pieces.

How do you play?  Assemble the board pieces together, arranging them with a space in the middle.  There are numerous combinations available so your board will look different every time you play.  Give each player (up to 6) the same number of postcards/letters.  Shuffle the cards and place them in a pile face down near the playing board (we like to place them in the middle of the board where the space is after dividing the postcards).  The youngest player gets to turn over a card from the pile.  Everyone searches for the house specified on the card.  The first player to find it gets to place their letter on that house.  You continue play until one player has delivered all of their letters and is declared the winner.  If a player delivers a letter to a wrong house, they just simply take the letter back.  This is how to play in a nut shell!

 One variation of a set-up of the board.

I want to note that some cards allow for delivery of more than one letter, this will be denoted on the card.  Also, there are 5 types of cards that are distinguished by color and progressively get harder (green is the easiest and red is the hardest).

• Green Cards = find the same house that appears on the card (matching)
• Blue Cards = find the house that meets the specific requirements on the card (description)
• Yellow Cards = find the houses related to the characters on the card
• Brown Cards = find the house that meets the specific requirements on the card, there is more than 1 solution
• Red Cards = follow the instructions on the card to find the correct house marked with a red arrow

 Above you can see a green card next to the match.  A player would place one of their letters on this house.

 You might think that the red circle above is the correct house for this blue card but it's not.  You have to look closely to see that it needs another window.

Above is the correct house for this card, it is blue, has two chimneys and has six windows.

 Above is an example of a character card with the 3 Little Pigs.  You are looking for their 3 houses.  Three letters will be placed this round, one on each house.

 Above you can see one of them.  I won't spoil the other two.

 Above you can see an example of a brown card with one of its solutions circled in red.  There is another house that meets this criteria as well.  So two letters will be placed this round - one on each house.

 And an example of a red card and the correct solution as well.

Postman Observation Game is geared for ages 3-103 (so it's multigenerational and almost everyone can play) and works for 2-6 players.  It is such a beautiful game.  I love the muted colors and tones and whimsical feel of the houses on the board.  This game definitely tests your observation skills as well as your response time.  I always find out how strong the competitive genes run in our family with games like this 😉.  You have to look carefully at ALL the details and be the fastest to deliver all of your mail to win!

 Above you can see E, F and G playing a round.

 Happy Kids

I really like that there are some very similar houses (on purpose) so you need to pay extra attention to those little details.  I think this is a great game as it helps strengthen visual sharpness and memory!  We are really enjoying this game and I'm glad to add it to our homeschool resources.  It would also make a fun and unique gift for a broad age range.  Postman Observation Game is a part of our Timberdoodle's 1st Grade Curriculum Kit and we definitely recommend it!

The backside of our gameboard puzzle pieces.

I have an idea for this game too!  I feel like the backside of the gameboard puzzle pieces are underutilized.  They could be used to create another scenery to play the game.  For example, it could be a different arrangement of the very same houses (so you can use the same cards) but maybe at nighttime.  There needs to be a clear distinction between the two sides so a daytime and nighttime works well but it could be something else too.  You would definitely vary up which houses are next to each other.  This would be an even greater challenge to find the houses.  Just a thought.

 

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.

Smart Cookies Game from Timberdoodle Review {1st Grade Curriculum Kit}

Today we are going to take a closer look at one of the thinking skills components in our 1st Grade Elite Curriculum Kit from Timberdoodle, Smart Cookies.

Our new game!

I have said it numerous times, our family loves games and I especially love educational ones like Smart Cookies!

Everything in the game.

What's included in our game?  Our game includes 1 playing board (3 x 3 tic-tac-toe style grid), instruction booklet, puzzle booklet with 64 puzzles and their solutions, and 9 cookies.

 Our cookies

There are 9 cookies in 3 different shapes (square, triangle and circle) and 3 different flavors or colors (red, blue and yellow).  This is important because these are the factors that are needed to solve each puzzle.  I also want to note that our cookies have a great feel to them and the kids adore playing with them.  They are perfect for tactile learning.

How do you play?  In this single player game, a player uses visual clues and logic principals to place the nine cookies on the playing grid in the correct location.  There are 8 evolving levels/sections, that gradually becoming more challenging as new concepts are introduced.  At the beginning of each of these sections, you will find explanations for the new types of clues you will see.  The clues you are given represent a simple logic statement whether positive or negative.  It will give you information on where cookies must go in the grid (positive) or must not go in the grid (negative).  Because the puzzles evolve as you play, I would recommend solving them in order.  You will most likely find the first few puzzles too easy as they basically tell you where to place every piece but I think it really helps for you to solidify how the clues work if you solve them in order - it helps prevent confusion.  And the "easier" puzzles are perfect for younger kids.  I also want to note that each puzzle has only one unique solution!  Let's dive into a puzzle.

 Above you can see steps 1-4 for Puzzle 17.

 Likewise, above is steps 5-8 for Puzzle 17.

Our final solution for Puzzle 17.

 

 Our solutions booklet proves that we got the correct solution.

G does really well with the easier puzzles.

 

Smart Cookies is geared for ages 6-99 but even G (who will be 4 in a few months) can play it with a bit of help.  Smart Cookies is a perfect hands-on introduction to logic for younger players.  I appreciate that it has a vast age range and that it can be played and enjoyed by everyone in our home (including me!).

 F helping G play Smart Cookies.

F really enjoys our game and he is pumped that this was in his curriculum kit!

 

 D working on Puzzle 26.

What do we think?  We really love this game!  The only think I would change (and it's minor) would be to have the pages in our puzzle booklet laminated.  This booklet is used a lot and it would just increase its durability, especially when younger kids are playing the game.  That's it though 😉. 

I have an idea as well.  If someone was wanting to put a different spin on this game, I could see this sold in multiple packs so that students could race each other to see who could solve the puzzle in the shortest amount of time.  Just a thought.  I love that Smart Cookies helps develop and strengthen reasoning skills and critical thinking for younger players and older players alike.  Smart Cookies is part of our Timberdoodle's 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.

Continent Race by Byron's Games Review

{Disclaimer:  I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review.  I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.}



You know that we love games!  When we were given the opportunity to review Continent Race from Byron's Games we jumped on it.  This game is for 2+ players ages 7 and up.

 Our New Game

Inside our game

The game comes with 1 world map, 5 continent lists with maps, 205 country cards and 3 wild Antarctica cards.  Let me explain really quick that there are 5 continent lists because North America and South America are grouped together as The Americas and Antarctica is used only as wild cards.

 The World Map

 The 5 Continent Lists

The back of the 5 continent lists has the maps

The object of the game is simple - collect the required number of country cards for each continent.  The first person to do this wins.  Africa, Asia, The Americas and Europe require 4 country cards while you only need 2 country cards for Australia/Oceania.  There are 2 levels of play for this game - basic and advanced.  In basic level play, you only need to collect the required number of country cards for 3 continents.  In advanced play, you have to collect the required number of country cards for 5 continents.

 Country Cards

You may notice that the cards are color-coded (the Europe cards are blue, Africa cards are yellow, The Americas are red, etc.).  This is to help kids catch on quickly and easily!  Also, the cards feature the country name, capital, and national flag.

Mystery Cards

In basic play, you also remove all the orange mystery cards from the deck (seen above).  Unlike the country cards, these cards are purposely not color coded for more advanced play.  Players must figure out what continent these cards belong to and use them to complete their needed continent groups.  In basic play, you also ignore the optional challenge symbol found on some of the cards (seen below). 

Challenge Cards are pictured above.

For advanced play if a player draws a card with the challenge symbol on it, they have the option to challenge one other player to see which one of them can name the most countries from that specific continent.  Each person gets 15 seconds to look over the Continent List/Map and then from memory they must take turns naming as many countries as they can going back and forth until someone gets stumped. The winner of the challenge gets to draw 3 additional cards, which is a huge benefit.  They choose the most useful 7 of their cards and discard the remaining 3 so they continue to have only 7 cards in their hand.

To begin play, everyone is dealt 7 cards.  It is important to note that throughout the game, everyone needs to maintain 7 cards in their hand - no more and no less.  As in most card games, play begins to the dealers left.  During a turn, a player will draw 1 card from the draw pile and discard a card face up, this becomes the discard pile.  Every time a player discards a card they must announce the country name and continent of the discarded card (this really helps learn proper pronunciation and helps promote learning).  The next player then has a choice to draw from the draw pile or choose the previously discarded card.  Players can only choose the card from the discarded pile if they can use it immediately to complete a continent group.  There are 3 Antarctica cards which are wild cards.

Above you can see how wild cards can be used.

A player can use a wild Antarctica card as an entire continent group, or it can be used as a wild card within a continent group.  There are benefits to both uses.  When a player has collected the required number of country cards for a continent, they will place their cards face up on the table and announce the names of the countries within their continent group.  They then draw the amount of cards needed to restore their hand to the required 7 cards and play passes to the next player.  That's it!

Playing Continent Race

C checking out all the countries in Europe.

Playing with David

B was finally able to play!

This game may sound complicated but it really isn't and it's really enjoyable to play.  I love that it helps kids learn or refresh their geography skills and gets them thinking about the world in which we live.  We are really enjoying this addition to our homeschool and game shelf!

I also want to mention that this game was created by a 6 year old kid, Byron, during a month long hospital stay.  I love that he was able to use his ideas and creativity to come up with this game during a difficult time in his life - what a treasure.  Byron's game came to life in December 2018.  A portion of the profits benefit select children's charities, which is super cool.

Be sure to click on the banner below to visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog to read even more reviews of Byron's Games.

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