Friday, December 17, 2010

Tiny Planets (TOS Review)

My husband is a computer geek.  My girls, evidently, have inherited the computer-geek gene, as they love all things related to the computer.  Of course, then, they were excited to hear that we'd be reviewing the Tiny Planets website, an award-winning online community based on space exploration, as part of the TOS review crew.




I first reviewed the website, and decided that it was better suited for my 8-yo than my 10-yo.  The first day I let Puddin' play on it, she was just a tiny bit excited that she'd have something to review that was "just hers" that she wouldn't have to share with her older sister:




The main premise of the website is that Bing and Bong (the main characters) go on various adventures to protect the universe and to teach kids social responsibility and to take care of our own planet.  There are several parts to Tiny Planets for kids to explore.  


Tiny Planets TV includes lots of television episodes which were co-created with Sesame Workshop and which emphasize science education and early learning.  


Tiny Planets Fun in Bong's Corner includes puzzle games, comics and coloring books.   


Tiny Planets Books includes books for younger children with the popular characters Bing and Bong.  


Tiny Planets Learning is for parents, educators and homeschoolers and includes lesson plans and science experiments.  


The My Tiny Planets portion of the website was Puddin's favorite - this is where you complete missions for Bing and Bong, and also where you can create your own planet.


And that's not all - this website contains so much content it can't be described - it has to be experienced by your young space-lover!


You can find more general information about the website and its background at the Parents page. 


You must have a parent account to set up "cadet" accounts for your children.  Much of the site is free, but the parent account allows you to purchase "keys" which will unlock even more content.  I found the price for the keys to be very reasonable - 10 keys for $1.95, 25 keys for $3.95, 85 keys for $9.95, 250 for $25.95, or 600 for $49.95.  I also liked that the website gives you a choice of cadet names so that no inappropriate names can be chosen by children.  Also, the website is ad-free.
  
Puddin was immediately engaged in the website - I had to do very little to help her figure out how to maneuver through the website and play the games - and before I knew it she had befriended lots of other "cadets".  I'll admit I found it hard to maneuver through the games - guess that shows how technologically advanced today's kids are.  


The first day I allowed her to play for a couple hours, and she's asked to play again frequently since.  I think the educational value is better suited for younger children (even though the website states it's appropriate for ages 4-12), but that may be because Puddin' has always been intensely interested in space and has been able to name the planets, in order, since she was about 3.  (One of the continuing arguments in our household is whether or not Pluto is a planet.)  Hence, the space games on this website were right up her alley.




She *loved* the TV shows, especially that gadget-loaded furry white couch (you have to see it to understand!).  But her favorite part of the website was in the My Tiny Planets area where you can adopt your own planet to name and take care of, including choosing atmosphere, landscape, etc.  Pretty cool.


Puddin's only complaint was that our computer evidently isn't fast enough, as she got the "Loading" screen quite a bit. 


Now that I've seen how much Puddin' enjoys the website, I'll probably also allow Punkin' (the 10-yo) to play. While I think the educational content is a bit low for their ages, it's still a very enjoyable website and much better than many of the other websites out there geared toward kids.  I'll probably add it in to my list of "reward" choices for jobs well done.



To see other reviews of this product, click here. For giveaways, other product reviews and other fun things, follow the 2010-2011 TOS Homeschool Crew blog at:
 


Disclaimer: As part of the 2010-2011 TOS Homeschool Review Crew, I received the product described in this review at no cost in exchange for my fair, honest and unbiased (and not necessarily positive) review. No other compensation was received.






Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Wits & Wagers by Northstar Games (TOS Review)

We've loved just about everything we've received as part of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew, but I have to admit we were all excited when we learned we'd be receiving a *board game* to review, especially when it arrived during the Thanksgiving holiday season!  



The box was opened as soon as it arrived.  Out came Wits & Wagers Family, a game I had never heard of from a maker I had never heard of (North Star Games).  Wits & Wagers Family is meant to be played by ages 8+, and by 3-10 players/teams.
 

The game comes with: a scorecard (with circles to color in as you score points); 5 individual white boards and one "1" answer board; five dry erase pens; five sets of "meeples" (one small and one large meeple in colors matching the individual white boards); and a deck of question cards, each card containing two questions on the front, with the correct answers and a bit of trivia about each question on the back).

Easy instructions meant an easy explanation to my girls (8 and 10) who were anxious to immediately play - and play we did!  To play, a question is read (they recommend going through the entire deck by reading the first question on each card, then going back through the deck using the second questions).  Each player writes his best guess of the answer on his white board, and places it face down.  Once all players have guessed, the white boards are turned over and the guesses placed in numerical order (including the "1" card, which is always used). Then each player places his meeples on the guess that he thinks is closest to the correct answer without going over (when I explained this part, my oldest said "Hey, just like The Price is Right!"), which is considered the winning answer.  You can put both your meeples on the same guess or on two different guesses if you're not sure.  If you think all the guesses are too high, you can also put your meeples on the "1" card.



The correct answer is read (along with the trivia, which we thought was always interesting), and points are tallied for the winning answer - two points for a large meeple placed on the winning answer, one point for a small meeple placed on the winning answer, and one point to the person who wrote down the winning answer.  The first person to reach 15 points wins!

The questions cover a wide range of topics - from things you learned in elementary school (the boiling point of water), to things you've never really given a second thought (what percentage of U.S. kids ages 10-14 own a cell phone).  You don't even have to know the answer - you take a guess as to who might know the answer *best*, or just plain take your chances!

Another plus to this game is that it's quick - no two-hour game sessions with this one unless, like my girls, your kids say "Let's play again!" when you're done. 

My only wish is that they issue an expansion pack of question cards soon, because at the rate we're playing, we'll be done with all the questions before the New Year!

Wits & Wagers Family retails for $19.99 - a bargain in my book, considering all the fun my family has already had with this game.  Click here to buy, or visit your local Target, Barnes & Noble, or specialty toy/game store.  The "Buy" section of the website features a "Find a Store Near You" function which as of the date of this review says "coming soon...," but hopefully will be operational soon.

You can contact the folks at North Star Games here, find out current news about the games at the Insider's Corner, and check out their other fun products here.  Also be sure to visit the "Meet the Designers" section of the website for some cool info on who invested these games!

To say my family thoroughly enjoys this game would be an understatement.   If you're looking for a last-minute Christmas gift, please consider this game! 


To see other reviews of this product, click here. For giveaways, other product reviews and other fun things, follow the 2010-2011 TOS Homeschool Crew blog at:
 


Disclaimer: As part of the 2010-2011 TOS Homeschool Review Crew, I received the product described in this review at no cost in exchange for my fair, honest and unbiased (and not necessarily positive) review. No other compensation was received.


Wednesday, December 1, 2010

The Master Ruler - by Master Innovations (TOS Review)

Fractions.  The bane of many homeschool moms who are attempting to teach them - including, at times, this homeschooling mom.  Sometimes it seems like the girls "get it", sometimes it doesn't.


When I learned I'd be receiving the Master Ruler to review as part of the TOS homeschool review crew, I was intrigued. Honestly, I'd never heard of Master Innovations, Inc. the maker of the Master Ruler along with with several other products (including Master Clock, Master Fractions and Master Angles).  I had secretly hoped to receive Master Fractions (so I could evaluate how it reinforced our fraction knowledge) to review, but was very pleasantly surprised when the Master Ruler arrived - I could also use it for fraction practice!  

My package included the Master Ruler Standard ($9.95), the Master Ruler Metric ($9.95), the Master Ruler Workbook ($15.95) (available in English and English/Spanish, and ), and the Marvels of Measurement poster ($10.00).

The Master Ruler captured my attention immediately - this is a cool little teaching gadget!  Both the standard version and the metric version consist of spiral-bound "layers".  On the standard version, the "bottom" layer is opaque white, with inches marked in red.  Flip over the first see-through overlay and you see blue markings in half-inch increments, but the red inch markings on the bottom layer are still visible. This helps the child relate half-inches to inches. This method repeats on the following three overlays beginning with 1/4" increments (in green), 1/8" increments (in orange) and 1/16" increments (in purple). The inch markings on each overlay get shorter, so that the colored inch markings of each layer are visible at all times.  

I know that was very confusing, so here's a video that will better explain how the rulers are set up and how they work:


You can see other videos on Master Innovation's products here.  You can contact Master Innovations here

My girls loved playing with the rulers and using the workbook. The workbook pages are black/white which usually doesn't hold my kids' attention, but they were so interested in measuring and comparing that they didn't seem to care about the lack of color.  The workbook begins with a *great* reference chart on the metric system which includes a list of similar English measures.  The workbook includes measurement, map skills, scale drawings, area/perimeter, volume, diameter and measurement hints.  Warning - before you give the workbook to your kids, remove the answer key in the back!  My girls enjoyed working through the workbook, and have continued to use the master ruler to measure a variety of items throughout our house (including their feet!).  They now prefer the master ruler to a regular ruler and I agree with them since it's much easier to see the measurements!

The best result of our use of the master ruler is that the girls were able to see the relation between the different increments of measurement - the formerly abstract concept of fractions was made more concrete - a "light bulb" moment!

Genius - pure genius.  I highly recommend it.  This is one of those "why didn't I think of that?" products. 

Another beautiful result - the girls have *asked* if we can get the fractions and angles products from Master Innovations.  You have to love it when kids want to learn. 

To see my crewmates' reviews of this product and other Master Innovations products, click here.

For giveaways, other product reviews and other fun things, follow the 2010-2011 TOS Homeschool Crew blog at:
 


Disclaimer: As part of the 2010-2011 TOS Homeschool Review Crew, I received the product described in this review at no cost in exchange for my fair, honest and unbiased (and not necessarily positive) review. No other compensation was received.