Enrichment Items & Trusted Resources - Reviews

[terrylee66]

Oh my goodness, I don't think I have ever seen my son so excited as he was yesterday when his schoolwork for 2014/2015 came in. It was so heavy! He insisted on helping me with it and just couldn't wait to dig in! He was looking through all the books and loved looking thru " A trip around the world" books. Looking at languages and activities, he is so excited!

I also purchased Rush Hour (enrichment activity) and at first I was thinking this doesn't look all that exciting. Well my son begged to open it and play. He played with it for two hours sprawled along the kitchen floor! He insisted his older sisters (14, 19 and 23) try it. The 19 year old did and gave up after about fifteen minutes. He had given her one of the hardest cards to do, LOL.

I am so pleased that I purchased early so I can familiarize myself with the TM and have time to get various supplies. I love the way the TM is set up, will be so easy to add the things in that I need to plan.

So very excited and I am hoping to get some time this afternoon to look through it some more. My older children were excited about the recipes and different cultures as well. Just goes to show your never to old to learn!

Terry M CT

[terrylee66]

I was excited to see this post as I felt as of yesterday (box day) I could contribute to one of the enrichment items you listed. Rush Hour! As I said in a post about box day yesterday, this game was/is a hit with my son (11). He played with it yesterday for 2 hours and I could really see the wheels churning as he had to figure out how to maneuver the pieces. It doesn't look like much at first but boy you can really see that "logic" skills kicking in! It's made very well and all the pieces (even the board) fit into the included nylon/mesh type bag. I haven't tried it yet, but plan on giving it a whirl, hopefully I can do a level above my son, lol.

All in all, I highly recommend Rush Hour!

Terry M CT

[Blessedbyfive]

Keva blocks are also a hit with my 5 and 7 yr. old boys. Looking at them, I didn't think they would be, but they actually get very creative while building with them. A worthwhile investment for 2 kids who I consider hard to entertain!

[Bandy]

Thanks for sharing

I appreciate hearing how the enrichment items are working for your kids, glad to hear they are being enjoyed.
I thought the Safari Rush Hour looked really neat, and the Keva Structures, too.
Terry, it is so neat hearing the fun you are having with Safari Rush Hour

Thank you, Julie in MN, for the info about the Kisses From Katie, and I didn't realize it was for a 7th and up grade kid, that's good to know.

[extrafor6]

We all love Big Book of things to Spot with a 4 and 7 year old. Also, Kisses from Katie is a personal favorite of mine. I plan to have my 11 year old daughter read it next year. And you didn't ask, but we LOVE the Brinkman CDs...if your kids like things live Adventures in Odyssey, they will love Brinkman too.

[Bandy]

Thank you, extrafor6, I was absolutely wondering about the Brinkman CDs and was going to ask about them. You were reading my mind
My dd loves the Adventures in Odyssey Cds, so I'm glad to hear they are similar.
Thank you

[kidswife]

I have bought at least 35 copies of Kisses From Katie to give away. It is a great book! I haven't read the others.

[hsm]

Thanks for this post! I have a similar post going and these items weren't on my radar...they are now. Going to get Rush Hour and Kisses from Katie for my 7th grader (and me). My son plays Rush Hour during occupational therapy and it is a great game and he loves it! I don't know why I didn't think to get that too. Wow- my cart is going to be full with as many enrichment items as curriculum

[Bandy]

Thank you, kidswife, I've ordered Kisses from Katie. Looking forward to reading it

hsm, my cart was full, too. Lots of great enrichemnt items to choose from

[hsm]

I just want to put a plug out there for this book. I had debated purchasing it so I got it from library to read it first to see if I liked it. Oh my, it is wonderful! I will definitely be purchasing this book. I am about a third of the way through it and I am loving it. Katie is so inspirational, she makes me want to do something amazing for God too. I would recommend this as a great book for 7th and 8th graders doing ECC. It's a great book to along with Africa. I am having my 6th grader read it for Africa, but she has to wait until I am done

Thanks for sharing this hsm.
Do you think this book would be appropriate as a read-aloud for a younger crowd?
Thanks.

Hmmmm, I think it depends on the child. The book does talk about the severe struggles that Ugandan children face and there was a brief mention of the of the Lord's Resistance Army, a group of rebels that kidnap women and children and force them to do unspeakable things. It talks about all the struggles she encounters such as starvation, orphaned children, disease, etc. You could summarize/skip over parts. I could maybe see myself reading it aloud to my 3rd grader, carefully, with a lot of discussion, but she is very sensitive to the pain and poverty in the world so it might be hard for her to hear. Now that I think about it I might wait a bit for her to read it, but that is just my opinion based on her level of sensitivity. I guess my advice would be to pre-read it and determine if your children could handle it. Maybe someone else who has read it can give their opinion too.

Also, I am only a third of the way through the book....

[Bandy]

Thank you. I really appreciate your comments.
For us, I think it would be better saved for an older crowd.

[Yodergoat]

I was wondering about how it would work for an 8 year old doing ECC... maybe I will also hold off on it. But I would love to read it myself! I will check the library tomorrow, but I have a sneaking suspicion that my library will not have this book.

[Kelly1730]

I have this book on my shelf waiting to be read. I think I'll save it to read with my upcoming 7th graders this fall. I love a great missionary story

[ruthamelia]

I see this game in the enrichment items for ECC and I think my kids would LOVE it. However, it says it is for ages 8+ I have one who will be 9 in Oct and then the 6 year olds (who will be 7 in Dec). Will it be over their heads? I don't know that I would be able to play with just my 8 year old and I. The others would feel very left out. I try to get games we can all play. I may get this either way because I know my 8 year old would totally love it. He is an animal fanatic.

Thanks for any input!

ETA - I just noticed this is a single player game. Ha, ha, ha! I'll definitely get it. Anyone want to review anyway?

Don't have the safari version, but it looks identical in concept to the original game.

It is essentially developing thinking and spatial skills. My 10 year old nephew got the original game and did ok with the beginner level challenges. The intermediate level cards are pretty challenging for him, but he still loves the game. I doubt 6 year olds could get very far without help, but they might have fun just playing with it!

[vonfirmath]

We don't have the Safari version. My son has the Rush Hour game (NOT Junior) and spends long hours in his room working through the challenges. he's 6 (will be 7 in August) and got it for Christmas.

[terrylee66]

We have it! We love it, it is a fun "thinking game". My son will play it for hours at a time, and he often gets the rest of the family wanting to try!

Terry M CT

[disneymommy]

I have to say that it's worth getting this even if you have the original!! My kids love it. We have the original Rush Hour game, but this one is much larger and just feels more fun to them with the animals. I was hesitant to spend the money, but my oldest really wanted me to order it (she's 9), so I did, and she is so glad we got it.

As far as younger kids, my 5 year old loves to put the animals in their spots according to the cards. He doesn't try to actually play the game. But setting it up to match the cards is a great challenge for him. Just an idea for littler ones.

[hsm]

Could someone give me feedback on a couple of books I am trying to decide on for my upcoming school year order?

Kid's Multicultural Cookbook
Merriam Webster's Elementary Dictionary

I am on the fence about them and would like some feedback from others.

Thank you!
Amy C.

We have both. We enjoyed the multicultural cookbook last year in ECC, although it certainly was not needed as there are recipes in the TM and book basket books. But, my dd loves to cook so she enjoyed it.

I just purchased the dictionary this year. We really like it. It is great for my 9 year old. Even my older dd uses it even though she can use the older dictionary.

Not sure if that helped, but just wanted to say I don't regret either purchase.

[Yodergoat]

We have also enjoyed the dictionary. We just completed day 9 of ECC, and have already used the dictionary a few times during schoolwork. It is colorful and interesting. But, I'm the sort of person who likes dictionaries...

We don't have the cookbook but have considered it and will be looking to see if there are answers to your query about that!

[TriciaMR]

I am thinking of getting Keva planks for my kids for Christmas this year. I have three kids old enough to use them, 4, 6, and 8.

I'm wondering if one box is enough for all of them to build at the same time? I was considering getting the 400 plank set so there would be enough for all of them to build, but I don't even know if they will like them. They love legos, knex, lincoln logs, etc. so I think this will be a hit as well. Also, are there any good reasons to go with maple instead of pine blocks?? Will the pine blocks still last a long time?

My kids LOVE their keva blocks. I think we got a box of 200 and then a contraptions set. That's been plenty for my 3 kids. As far as the durability? IDK. They've lasted us a few years just fine.

[NJCheryl]

We got them for my sons birthday a few years ago. He was a bit older, he is turning 12 on Monday and I think we got them for his 9th or 10th birthday.

We got 200, and he always feels like her needs more and he is just 1 kid. i would suggest getting them each their own set, or at least 400 for all to share. We have been very happy and they have held up very well.

[lovehomeschooling]

Thanks for the input. I decided to get two sets.