Walls & Warriors Review {Smart Games}

I have an amazing game to share with you today from Timberdoodle, Walls & Warriors.  This single player game is designed to challenge both kids (8+) and adults.  And just like our other Smart Games, we are fans!

What's included?  This game includes a game board, 4 red knights (which are the enemy knights), 3 blue knights (which are your knights), 4 unique walls, a high tower (blue roof top), and a challenge/solutions booklet.

The red and blue knights have a circular base so they easily sit on the game board.  I like that they are detailed.

The walls are durable and easy to maneuver.

 Challenge/Solutions Booklet

 

The challenge and solutions book contains 80 challenges with 5 levels of difficulty - Starter, Junior, Expert, Master, and Wizard.  The difficulty increases with each level and every challenge has only one correct solution.  The answers for each challenge can be found at the back of this booklet.

 

How do you play?  A player begins by choosing a challenge and setting up the game board as indicated in that challenge.  At the Starter level, players are given the position of one or more of the walls to help give them a feel for the game as they proceed to more difficult challenges.  The goal of the game is to position the walls so that the red knights are kept outside and the blue knights and high towers remain within the ramparts - that's it in a nutshell.  I want to note that the walls need to fit  in the indents of the game board.  If it doesn't fit, it's not in a valid position.

Let's dive into the very first challenge!

Above you can see the set up for the 1st challenge.

Given how easy the set up is, you should be able to quickly get to the solution above and solve this challenge.

There are no red or enemy knights in this challenge so you only have to enclose your blue knights!  Let's look at a more complex challenge now, Challenge 33 in the Expert level.

Above you can see the set up for Challenge 33.

The first few walls are placed.

The next wall...

And the placement of the last wall leads you to the solution!

Walls & Warriors is part of Timberdoodle's 12th Grade Curriculum Kit and we are beyond excited to have it as part of our homeschool resources and games!  Be sure to check out our other Smart Games reviews including Asteroid Escape and Zig Zag Puzzler.

 

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  Timberdoodle sent my family Walls & Warriors in exchange for our honest review.  All opinions are my own.
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24-Hour History 5-Book Set from Timberdoodle Review

I have a fun book set to share with you today from Timberdoodle, the 24-Hour History 5-Book Set. Our set includes The Attack on Pearl Harbor (by Nel Yomtoy), D-Day (by Agnieszka Biskup), The Assassination of John F. Kennedy (by Terry Collins), The Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr (by Terry Collins), and The Apollo 11 Moon Landing (by Nel Yomtoy).

 

Our new history books!

D loves graphic novels so she was the first to grab them!

Each book takes a focused look at an important day in US history, hence the 24-Hour History name, and is 48 pages in length.  The books are easy to read and the graphic illustrations are engaging and students see how key events in history have a lasting impact, even through today.  I really appreciate that each book ends with a summary or conclusion, timeline, cast of characters, glossary, a find out more section and an index.

 

Specifically the days in history that this set examines are:

December 7, 1941 (The Attack on Pearl Harbor)

June 6, 1944 (D-Day)

November 22, 1963 (The Assassination of John F. Kennedy)

April 4, 1968 (The Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.) and

July 20, 1969 (The Apollo 11 Moon Landing).  Now I am going to share with you a few sneak peeks into our books.

A peek inside The Attack on Pearl Harbor book.

The Apollo 11 Moon Landing book is one of our favorites!

E reading about The Apollo 11 Moon Landing.

 A peek inside The Apollo 11 Moon Landing book.

The cast of characters in D-Day.

The find out more section in The Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The glossary in The Assassination of John F. Kennedy.

 

The 24-Hour History 5-Book Set is part of Timberdoodle's 4th Grade Curriculum Kit and we are excited to have it as part of our homeschool resources!  If your kids enjoy graphic novels like mine do, they are really going to appreciate this set.

 

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  Timberdoodle sent my family 24-Hour History in exchange for our honest review.  All opinions are my own.

NatureGlo's eScience MathArt & Science Course Bundle 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 all know that our family loves Science!  I was super pumped to receive a one year online access to NatureGlo's eScience MathArt & Science Course Bundle from NatureGlo's eScience to use in our homeschool this year.  We have access to 25 fantastic courses created by Gloria Brooks.

 

 

Above you can see a sample of our courses

 

I love seeing all the zoology options!

These aren't all the classes but I think you get the idea of the variety.

 

My older kids all completed the Invertebrates: Insects of the World class above so this is what our review will focus on.  On the right hand side you can see all the lessons in this course as well as our course progression bar.

 

The kids watched the video lessons on our TV in our schoolroom.  The lessons had several power point components that were very well done with fabulous slides and illustrations with Gloria teaching right alongside the slides.

We downloaded the study guide for the kids to complete during their lessons, that's what you see them filling out.

Above you can see the kids journal pages that they completed for an insect of their choice to study.

 

I pulled out some of my specimens from my Entomology class that I took in college.  Above you can see some of my dragonflies.

B checking out a dragonfly.  She was impressed by how much detail you can see in their wings.

 

As we worked through the lessons, our progress bar increased.  This is a great visual cue for how much of the course you have completed and how much awaits!

 

The Science Connection - Insect Interactive is neat.  The kids can click through the interactive activities to learn more about specific insects.

 

Here are a few of their choices.  Above you can see that we are clicking on Insect predators.

You can click on the boxes to get more information about the praying mantis.

It's very easy to mark the lessons as complete as your progress through the course.  You can see the button above.  You can easily see the previous lesson and next lesson as well.

This course also had an art connection and included a few crafts for The Blue Morpho Butterfly.

 

A close-up of the Butterfly that A completed.

Our course concluded with looking at the mathematical patterns and properties of a variety on insects.

Again, I pulled out some of my college collection for the kids to study.  Here are some of my beetles.

D looking at the various patterns and colors on the beetles.

 

 

You can see by our course progress bar on the top right that we have now completed this course.

After completing our course, we received an achievement!  You get digital rewards as you complete each course.

What did we think?  This course was very well organized and easy to work through.  The kids really enjoyed it and learned a lot about Insects!  This curriculum could work well for relaxed homeschool families as a standalone curriculum.  It's absolutely perfect for our family as a supplemental program!  I love that these courses are geared for a broad age range (10-18) and really encourage curiosity and learning!  The kids are learning about topics that interest them while also being exposed to math, art and science - I appreciate this!  So, what are we diving into next?

We plan on starting the Bubbleology course above, it looks neat!

Want to know more?  Be sure to click on the banner below to visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog to read even more reviews of NatureGlo's eScience and get a peek into some of their other courses.

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