ThinkPlay STEM Junior Xtra from Timberdoodle Review

Today I want to share with you the ThinkPlay STEM Junior Xtra set from Timberdoodle!  This set is geared for children ages 4-8 and F and G (ages 4 and 7) are simple loving it.

A close up of our tub.  I love that this durable tub holds everything and makes storage a breeze.  It's also labeled nicely which brings me joy.

 

Opening our set!

Our Spiral Bound Guide Books

I love that they lay flat and the laminated pages are sturdy.

A close up of the pieces.

 

You can see how the pieces connect above, you line them up and they kind of slide and lock together.

 

There are also special Xtra connectors.  These pieces are specially shaped (like t's and r's) and allow children to change the direction of their builds.  

 

This 400-piece set (squares, triangles, wheels and Xtra connectors) is extremely durable and I love that it comes with a plethora of project ideas within our guide books 🙂.  Our guide books have easy-to-follow photographs with step-by-steps on how to build each model.  The boys can easily follow the pictures.  As children progress through the book, the models increase in difficulty and shape.  The first creations lay flat while the later creations are 3-Dimensional.  The boys can play and build independently and they love showing me their creations as they complete them.  I also love seeing their "out of the box" own build ideas as well.

Some of the boys builds

 

Above you can see the boys following the picture to build their frog.

 

In some of the easier builds, the photographs are to scale with the blocks pieces.

The finished frog side-by-side with the build page.  It shows them which pieces they will need and the quantity as well.  As the builds get more complicated, the pages have more steps and photographs.

 

Basically, prior to their builds, kids will find the correct number, shape, and color of pieces that they will need.  The boys really appreciate that the pieces connect easily and stay together for sturdy structures; however, they also disconnect easily so builds can be taken apart and rebuilt or the pieces can be used for other constructions.

Above you can see the build steps for the flower, a more complicated structure.  These photos are not the same size as the actual build structure.

G with his flower!

I love this one, it truly looks like a vase or pot with a large flower.

 

 

Above you can see all the build ideas from just one of our guide books.  In this book kids are shown how to build a teddy, chair, swimmer, rocket, clown, lady, man, small plane, helicopter, butterfly, bird, sail boat, dinosaur, pig, bear cub, elephant, car driver, flower, soldier, plane, road roller, drummer, lion, turtle and spider.

 

 G loved building Teddy.

One of the many cars...

This set is great for fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, cognitive/creative thinking, problem solving, spatial skills, and so much more!  The possibilities of what they can build and create are truly endless.

 

 

The boys combined numerous builds to make this "crazy creation" as they call it.

A close-up of one side, I love the lion coming off the front and the wheels on the back - so fun!

ThinkPlay STEM Junior Xtra is part of Timberdoodle's PreK Curriculum Kit.  This set is a great hands-on resource to have in our homeschool and the younger boys are truly loving it!

 

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received the ThinkPlay STEM Junior Xtra set in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

Little Wonders Preschool from Wisdom Wonder Project 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.}

 

This is G's last year of "official" preschool.  He has been using the Little Wonders Preschool from Wisdom Wonder Project this month and loving it!  The Little Wonders online subscription bundle has curriculum for three levels - Preschool, Junior K, and Kindergarten.  The program is designed around childrens' developmental stages and books.  We have access to all 3 of these levels for a year, which is awesome, so we can pick and choose the best path for G!  I absolutely love this feature.  Our bundle includes Literature, Block Play and Little Masters (Art).

Regarding Literature, this curriculum includes material for 4 picture books each month so you will use one book each week.  These books are not included within the curricula so you will need to own them or have access to a library.  

 

We were able to find 3 of the 4 books used for September's Literature at our local library!  We couldn't locate Planting a Rainbow so we were flexible that week and used other books that we already owned.

Reading Peter's Chair

 

Rosie's Walk was one of G's favorites.  He loved answering the questions about the book and enjoyed pretending to be Rosie and what she might be thinking.

Above you can see G enjoying the past the mill sensory activity.

 

Swirl by Swirl was a lot of fun too.  G still looks for spirals everywhere we go!
 

G making dough spirals inspired by Swirl by Swirl.

The Little Masters (Art) focuses on one book and one famous artist each month. Student will be exposed to various elements of art and they will have a space to create and practice it.  September's book is The Line by Paula Bossio (another shout out to our local library for having this) and the artist for the month is Andy Warhol.

The Line by Paula Bossio

G had a lesson on the color wheel.

G mixing color while painting - he loved making green!

Above, G is making dots on his paper with Q-tips.

Now, his dots are going for walks.

Similar to The Little Masters, The Block Play aspect of this curriculum has one book per month as well and focus on experiential learning.  We weren't able to find September's book of the month at our local library but I was able to locate a cute online adaptation video of it so G was able to watch it.

 

The Block Play book for the month of September is Changes, Changes by Pat Hutchins.

The Block Play section has so many fun activities to discuss and do together this month.  It has a vocabulary section to discuss with your student - words like under, over, below, etc. to help improve their directional skills.  It also has mapping activities where students can build a city and then make a map of their city.  They will use their blocks to stamp shapes into dough.  

 

 

 G absolutely loved this activity.

They will build a house from blocks as well as other creations inspired by them.  They will also see just how high they can build a tower until it tumbles.

G building a tower until it falls!

While I haven't shown you everything, I hope that you have a good feel for this program.  G is really loving it!  It's engaging, enriching and just plain fun.  I appreciate that he is enjoying learning.  I'm also impressed that these books were all new to us.  We read a lot and I was pleasantly surprised by this fact.  We are both looking forward to October's curriculum and books.  If you are looking for a hands-on, engaging curriculum for your young students, I'd highly recommend Wisdom Wonder Project!

Wisdom Wonder Project also has a Young Scholars program (First/Second Grade) and a Kindergarten Singapore Math program as well.  Be sure to click on the banner below to visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog to read even more reviews of Wisdom Wonder Project including some of their other programs.

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Wimmelbooks from Timberdoodle Review

I have a sweet set of books to share with you today from Timberdoodle, Wimmelbooks Set of 3.  These oversized board books are geared for children ages 2-5 and have 16 pages each.  G has really been enjoying them, he loves books!  We are using them as a component of his preschool curriculum this year.

Our Set!

Our set of 3 includes:  My Big Wimmelbook At the Construction Site, My Big Wimmelbook Cars and Things That Go, and My Big Wimmelbook On the Farm.

Characters in At the Construction Site 

At the beginning of each of our books, various characters are introduced to the reader.  As your child flips through the books, they will look for those same characters throughout Wimmelworld.  They are encouraged to not only find them but to tell their stories in all the following scenes and pages.  I love how each of the characters have a different storyline that unravels as you move throughout the books.

 Above you can see one of the pages from At the Construction Site

And now you can see a few of the characters circled.

Finding the characters is only one aspect of these stories though.  I have always loved search and find type books and puzzles so this is a fantastic element to have.  But, having your kids tell you stories about the characters and seeing their brain working (and their wheels spinning) is one of the true gems of this series in my opinion.

G looking through his Cars and Things That Go Wimmelbook.

Above he is pointing out an "extra" dog.

Finding Dr. Shannon (the veterinarian) in On the Farm.

What's great about these books is that they use very few words and yet, they allow your child to tell a number of stories.  Children are encouraged to discover, learn and even increase their vocabulary as they see things both familiar and unfamiliar throughout each book.  I love asking G what he thinks about the characters and pages of Wimmelworld.  It's fun to hear his thoughts and the stories he creates!  And another great feature, the story can change!  It reminds me of game boards that change every time you play them, these stories can be unique and different every time you read them together.  G is loving them and we highly recommend them!

This set of Wimmelbooks is part of Timberdoodle's Preschool Curriculum Kit.  I am going to continue to use them with G as part of his PreK curriculum this year to increase and build his vocabulary.  Oh the stories he will tell!

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  Timberdoodle sent my family the Wimmelbooks Set of 3 in exchange for our honest review.  All opinions are my own.

PreK Math Starter Kit from Page a Day Math 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.  This post contains affiliate links.}


You know how much I enjoy math so I was stoked to start the PreK Math Starter Kit from Page a Day Math with G (3.5).  This kit is geared for ages 3-5 so he is on the younger side.  These kits are available in both physical books and digital products.  We received the physical kit!

Our PreK Math Starter Kit

G with his Math program.

 PreK Math Starter Kit Books 1-10

This incremental PreK Math program encourages children using the playful Math Squad.  It focuses on 3 main areas:  learning the proper way to write numbers through tracing, mastering counting, and gives an introductory to addition.

The Math Squad consists of 5 dog superheroes - Mo, Zo, Bo, Jo and Flo!

I love the adorable Math Squad and I love how they each speak for a career option in Math - Rocket Scientist, Doctor, Engineer, Mechanic and Designer.

G meeting the Math Squad!

Another thing to note is the smaller book size.  This is great because it makes it easier for little hands to handle and manipulate them.

As previously mentioned our kit includes 10 books.  Each book contains 14 days of math practice (one sheet front and back for each day) with 450 math exercises.  Book 1 focuses on adding the number 1 to each number (0-10), while book 2 focuses on adding the number 2 to each number (0-10), book 3 focuses on adding the number 3 and so on and so on.  Each day is geared to take ~ 5 - 15 minutes or less but it truly depends on your student.  G takes a bit longer but that's because he is on the younger side and he needs to work on his writing skills.  I love that the tracing prompts in this program continue to help G build up his fine-motor skills and I'm enjoying watching his writing improve bit by bit.

I love G's concentration.

This program doesn't use traditional dotted lines for tracing but rather a unique tracing track.  Students are guided where to start by a small dot at the top of each number.  There are small arrows next to the dot that guide students where to go next in properly forming their numbers.

A closer look at the tracing tracks and arrows.

You can also see that often times answers are included in the problems to help students have less stress while learning.  There are always two problems with open answers to be filled in with each new fact learned.  I really appreciate this as G is only 3.

G coloring his first star.

After completing a worksheet, students get to color in a daily achievement star.  If they are working on Day 1 of a book, they will color in one star.  If they are working on Day 8 of a book, they will color in eight stars and so on.

A close-up of G's star!

G's 1st completed page from Book 1

At the end of each book, there is a book certificate featuring the Math Squad that celebrates their book completion!

Fun Book Certificates to encourage kids.

G really likes the Math Squad jokes found on the back of each book.  It is just another fun way to keep him engaged.

Joke from Book 9

Each kit comes with bonus downloads and they are pretty fabulous!  We have flashcards, assessments, progress tracker, handwriting books, and a coloring counting joke book (my personal favorite).  These resources are available to use as needed.

Above you can see a peek at the digital flashcards.  I haven't downloaded and printed them yet but I plan to.

And here is a peek at a handwriting page.

Above is a picture that G colored from the coloring counting joke book.  He did such a good job!

We haven't made it super far into this program as G is really needing to take it slow with his age and lack of handwriting skills but I am so excited with what we have completed so far.  G enjoys it and likes to "practice his numbers".  I'm really looking forward to completing all of our books in the Fall with him.

Be sure to click on the banner below to visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog to read even more reviews of Page a Day Math's PreK Math Starter Kit as well as reviews on their Addition Starter Kit, Subtraction Starter Kit, Multiplication Starter Kit, and Division Starter Kit as well.

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