Happy St. Patrick's Day

I hope you are wearing green!

Happy Pi Day

Hope you had a chance to have a slice of pie today!  We had cherry, pecan and chocolate silk for everyone to choose from.

Timberdoodle LogiBugs Review

I have had the pleasure of sharing so many games with you recently.  And they have been Smart Games, some of my absolute favorites.  I want to share with you one more from Timberdoodle, LogiBugs!  LogiBugs is a one player game recommended for kids 6 and older or 1st grade and up manufactured by Smart Games.  It's target range is 1st-4th grade.  If your child is less familiar with Smart Games this is a great introductory one.

Above you can see how our metal game board and magnetic ladybugs work together.

What's included in our game?

Our set includes one metal game, 12 magnetic ladybugs (5 red ladybugs with 1-5 dots, 4 orange ladybugs with 1-4 dots and 3 yellow ladybugs with 1-3 dots) and a booklet containing 48 challenges and their solutions.  The 48 challenges increase in difficulty from Starter, Junior, Expert, and Master with each grouping containing 12 challenges.

Our Game

How do you play?

Players will choose a challenge.  The various challenges give hints about the location of some of the ladybugs.  A rectangle with a color means that a player must put a ladybug with that specific color in that location, the dot number does not matter.  A rectangle with a white ladybug with a certain number of dots means that a player must put a ladybug with the specific number of dots shown in that location, the color does not matter.  And lastly, a rectangle with a colored ladybug and certain number of dots means that a player must put a ladybug at that location that is that color and contains that specific number of dots as well.  

Players will then figure out how to place the remaining ladybugs on the game board so that all the bugs of the same color family form a chain either horizontally or vertically.  The ladybug with one dot will also be next to the ladybug with two dots, which will be next to the ladybug with three dots and so on.   Get it?  Each challenge has one unique solution, which can be found at the back of the challenge booklet.

 

Challenge 1: On the top left you can see the set-up for Challenge 1 and under it you can see the solution.  On the top right, you can see our board set-up and under it you can see that we completed the solution correctly!  The ladybugs are in order of dots and stay in their color chains.  Easy Peasy.

G working through a challenge

 

F working through a challenge while G watches

 

I love that LogiBugs is hands-on and great for both visual and kinesthetic learners as is all our Smart Games!  And I'm a huge fan of the travel aspect of this particular game.  Our metal tin is compact and thin and easy to take along or place in a backpack.  The magnetic factor on both sides of the tin with the ladybugs makes it easier for the pieces to stay together and we are less likely to lose them - a win-win in my book.

 

I think this would be a phenomenal game to include in a Unit Study on ladybugs!  Have you ever raised ladybugs?  Years ago we ordered ladybug larvae from Insect Lore and it was so fun.  The kids really enjoyed watching the larvae go through the process of becoming adult ladybugs.  I need to do this again with the younger boys!  This would also be great to have for a ladybug Unit Study.  And on that note, I created a ladybug word search for you to use.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

LogiBugs is another great one player game from Smart Games.  Like its counterparts, it encourages concentration, planning, problem solving and flexible thinking.  And if you have a ladybug lover or want to do a fun unit study, you will absolutely want to check it out!

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

Happy National Cereal Day

 Hope you get to enjoy a bowl (or two) today!

Timberdoodle Smart Dog Game Review

I want to share with you today a fun game from Timberdoodle, Smart Dog.  Smart Dog is a one player game recommended for kids 7 and older or 2nd grade and up manufactured by Smart Games.

Game Contents

What's included in our game?

Our set includes the compact game board with transparent lid, 1 dog trainer, 1 dog, 6 obstacle puzzle pieces and a booklet containing 60 challenges and their solutions.  The 60 challenges increase in difficulty from Starter, Junior, Expert, Master, and Wizard.

 

 

How do you play?

Some dogs tackle obstacle courses easily, showcasing both their agility and intelligence, while for others it can be more of a learning curve.  If you have ever watched dogs run agility courses you know they can be fun and impressive!  With Smart Dog, your child can create a path for their "smart dog" to run through its own agility course.  Smart Dog is visually appealing with it's various bright colors and the obstacles are fun (bridge, tubes, hoop).  Your dog travels in a straight line until an obstacle changes its direction.  As your child creates each obstacle course for their pup, they'll not only be entertained but also be incrementally challenged.  The 60 various challenges increase in difficulty from easy to difficult with five levels - Starter, Junior, Expert, Master, and Wizard.

Above, you can see the first 8 challenges at the Starter level 

These easier challenges show the positions of some of the obstacles.

Above, you can see the last 4 challenges at the Wizard level

These harder challenges only show you the positions of the dog and the trainer.

So a player will choose a challenge from the booklet.  They will place the dog and the trainer on the indicated positions on the game board.  Then, they will place the obstacles on the game board to create a path from the dog to the trainer.  They will use every obstacle only once.  The dog can only move horizontally or vertically from square to square, not diagonally.  The dog's path will follow a straight line until the path is changed by a curved obstacle.  The dog's path can go over empty squares in any direction horizontally or vertically and sometimes it will cross the same square on the board twice but from a differing direction.  The path goes underneath the dark blue bridge.  Each challenge has one unique solution.

The unique solutions for each challenge can be found at the back on your challenge booklet.

Above, you can see the solutions for the first four challenges.

It takes a little getting used to the pieces as you place them on the game board.  I love that Smart Dogs is hands-on and great for both visual and kinesthetic learners!

G setting up Challenge 30

Finished!  G solved this one in under 20 minutes :)

Smart Dogs is another one player gem from Smart Games.  Smart Dog encourages concentration, planning, problem solving and flexible thinking and this one has become a fan favorite with the younger boys.  They absolutely love the idea of training their own dog.  If you are looking for a creative single player logic game, we highly recommend Smart Dog.  It's fun and makes you think and works for a variety of ages.

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

Happy National Floral Design Day

 

Timberdoodle Know Your Body Set 2 Review

I want to share with you a book set from Timberdoodle, Know Your Body Set 2.  As the name implies there is a set 1 of these books as well which cover the circulatory system, respiratory system and nervous system.  This set consists of 3 books that cover the digestive system, renal system and skeletal system. 

The Contents of our books

These worktexts are filled with comics and games to help your student learn and enjoy the journey of health.  Each book is 64 pages and helps present science in a fun and age-appropriate way for younger learners!  These books are recommended for kids 10 and older or 5th grade and up and are published by Know Yourself.  We attend a weekly CoOp and one of F's classes this year is Anatomy.  This book set has been a fun way to dive a bit deeper into a few of the bodies systems and learn more about them.  We started with the Skeletal System Book.

F with our Skeletal System Book

(next to a skeleton he made)

 

 

 Above, you can see F working on a Word Search activity

 

I really like the information pages.  They are colorful, fun and F enjoys them a lot.

A bone matching activity

 We are now moving onto the Digestive System book!

 

F learning about the pancreas

(next to a body we are working on with all his organs)

 

It is suggested to complete 8 pages a week for this 3 book series to finish this curriculum in ~ 24 weeks; however, these books are self-pace so you can work through them as best fits your needs.  If you are planning to study anatomy or are looking for a fun science series for your student, we definitely recommend this set!

 

 

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received Know Your Body Set 2 in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.