Plus-Plus Big Learn and Explore Review

Have you heard of Plus-Plus?  I want to share with you a fun part of Timberdoodle's Preschool Curriculum Kit, Plus-Plus Big Learn and Explore.  You may remember our review on the Plus-Plus Mini Maker Tube Turkey a few years ago.  Just like their mini counterparts, the Plus-Plus Big pieces all have the same, identical shape.  They have a slightly "rubbery" texture and the pieces slide together smoothly with very little pressure while also coming apart without much effort.  The trick is that they stay together when locked!  You can build in any direction so your creations can be flat or 3D

What's included in our set?  There are 90 colorful Plus-Plus Big pieces, a green baseplate and a guidebook with build ideas.

 

One side of each piece has the words Plus Plus on it, while the other side does not.  I love the variety of colors in our set.

Plus-Plus sets originate from Denmark and are available in two different sizes as I previously mentioned - the Plus-Plus Mini (suited for children ages 5 and older) and the Plus-Plus Big (safer for younger children ages 1 and older).  Timberdoodle has both Plus-Plus Big sets and Plus-Plus Mini sets.  I personally think it's awesome to have both because you can build more things of various sizes.

F and G were both excited to build with this set!

 

Using the guidebook, kids can follow the easy directions to create a number of different builds including a house, a fidget spinner, a rainbow, a person, etc.

 

 Above you can see the directions for a house.

 

The boys' finished house.

Another build idea

 I love this one!

 

F with his rainbow.

Plus-Plus pieces are great for hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.  They can use the guidebook to create specific builds or they can build their own creations.  The boys like to do both!

 

F built a knight for his castle.

G's creation!

The boys built a big fidget spinner and a mini fidget spinner using both sizes of our Plus-Plus pieces.

F's robot turned out pretty cool too.

There are literally endless possibilities when it comes to these pieces and kids will have so much fun constructing their creations.  Plus-Plus Big Learn and Explore is currently included in Timberdoodle's Preschool Curriculum Kit and it is such a fun item for younger kids!

 

 

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received Plus-Plus Big Learn and Explore 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.