Lots & Lots of Fire Trucks (&Firefighters)-- TOS Review

At first I thought this review was just going to be cool for my boys- my boys are in love with fire trucks!  *Not to mention their grandpa is a volunteer-firefighter...that's pretty cool...they get rides in fire trucks from time to time!*

Marshall Publishing provided us with this review product. We popped in the DVD first (30 minutes long) and the kids enjoyed the songs, safety tips and video of fire trucks.  After the video was over we checked out the Fire Trucks & Firefighters book.  There was WAY more information in there than I expected!  The pictures are on high-gloss paper (124 pages to be exact) and are arranged in an easy-to-read format.  The beginning of the book discussed the differences between rescue vehicles and the firefighter's tools & equipment.  We read about fire fighting facts, fire science basics and prevention & safety tips.  At that point I realized what a great resource this is for any family!

The middle section of the book had a really neat section titled "Words of the Firefighter."  This section included the fireman's prayer, ten commandments for firefighters, firefighter's commitment and the firefighter's pledge.  My boys were eating it up...

The end part of the book was probably my personal favorite.  We enjoyed pics of fire house museums, information on some of the greatest fires in history and cool fire-related websites.  The index of the book also gives links broken down by state, to fire museums.  We know where our next field trip is going to be...The Chicago History Museum & the Fire Museum of Greater Chicago.

And for the music portion of our school day- the lyrics to the sing-a-long songs available at the end of the book!

This review was not only great to learn about fires, fire trucks & firefighters but it rolled right into a science project about fires and how they work.  We'd never had a family-fire-evacutation plan before this, now we do.  Thanks Marshall Publishing...what a great product!

You can pick up your copy of this DVD/book set for $29.95 here.  Children of all ages can benefit from the information provided, all of our children (ages 12-3) gained something from either the DVD or book.

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Lots & Lots of Fire Trucks (&Firefighters), visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

As an added bonus, Marshall Publishing also sent us a DVD about George Washington Carver.  The DVD is more than just a biography, it is a true story of inspiration. The DVD features stunning photography and a superb musical score. A study guide and complete information on George Washington Carver can be found on the Marshall Publishing & Promotions website. The George Washington Carver DVD is available for $19.95.

To order either of these products, or to see what else Marshall Publishing & Promotions, Inc. has to offer, visit their website at www.marshallpub.com. You can also order by calling their toll free number 888-300-3455.

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about the George Washington Carver DVD, visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2011-2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Northstar Games- Say Anything- TOS Review

A second game by NorthStar Games... Say Anything.  Ok, so the title alone makes me smile.  Just because I'm the kind of person who likes to be witty and come up with off-the-wall answers.  **Just a little truth for ya in case you're new here and didn't already know that!**  :)

 This is a light-hearted game about what you (and your friends or family think). It will get people talking, laughing and having fun in minutes.  You can play it with 3-6 family members (ages 8 and up)or as a party game with adults (might I add it can be HILARIOUS with adults).  This game gives you the chance to Say Anything!!

Here's more specifics on the game:
The game has 60 question cards with a total of 360 topics, 6 dry erase pens and 6 dry erase boards, 1 SELECT-O-MATIC-6000 which is a spinner used to determine player order, 12 player tokens, 1 dry erase score board, and 1 full color rules booklet.
Basically, Say Anything is a simple game to play but lots of fun:
1. Each player at his/her turn asks a question from the currently drawn card.
2. Everyone else writes their answer on their dry erase board and turns it face-up on the playing area.
3. The current player secretly chooses their favorite answer given by the other players.
4. The other players choose which of the answers given might be the one the current player guessed and place their tokens on the appropriate
answer boards.
5. Each player gets points based on who selected the current answer and according to the scoring rules.

**North Star Games says that it takes approximately 2 minutes to learn the game and about 30 minutes to play.**

Say Anything Family Edition game sells for around $19.99 and can be purchased from places like Amazon.com, Target and other retail stores.

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Say Anything, visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2011-2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Northstar Games-Wits & Wagers- TOS Review

This game is a blast! Our entire family (all 7 of us) had such a good time playing this...there was giggle-after giggle-after giggle-after giggle! Even the 3 year old got in on the fun, she kept stealing the Meeples. What's a Meeple, you say? I'll tell ya. Better yet I'll show ya...see that cute little guy with the shades below? Yep, you guessed it, that's a Meeple! Isn't he cute?  Ok, so he doesn't look exactly like that in the game but he resembles the human-shaped-wooden-playing-pieces.  Did you know that Meeples have been a hallmark in European style strategy games for years? This is the first time they have made an appearance in a party game.  Pretty clever if you ask me. 

Anyway, back to Wits & Wagers Family.  First and foremost, this is a game with family-friendly questions.  No censorship needed. The game is easy to play with three or more people, ages 8 and up. Our 6 year old was able to participate with a little help/teamwork and like I mentioned before- the 3 year old was more than involved.  :)

To play, everyone writes down a “best guess” answer to one of the 300 trivia questions. The guesses are displayed and everyone chooses the guess he thinks is correct or closest to the correct answer. Points are awarded both for writing the winning guess and for choosing the winning guess from among the other guesses.
The Meeples are used to indicate one’s choice of guesses (or for the 3 year old to swipe and run away).

The game moves right along and you're not there playing all night...nor did the kiddos get bored!  Yay!

Available both online and from a variety of national retailers, the game comes with a deck of question cards, a score board, five answer boards, a set of dry erase markers, and five pairs of Meeples. Prices may vary according to retailer but online you can find it for $15.23 plus shipping.  And check this out: "Free Parts Replacement - Don’t let a lost or broken component stop you from playing.  If any of our game component(s) should fail (or even be lost) within the first year of ownership, we will deliver an identical or comparable replacement to your door free of charge!  Requesting replacement parts is a breeze... simply e-mail us the requested part(s) along with your mailing address. We’ll send the parts out within two weeks."  I need to keep that in my mental-filing-cabinet...especially if the 3 year old gets crafty and doesn't come back with the Meeples!

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Wits & Wagers Family, visit the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2011-2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Visual Latin-- TOS Review

If you've been at all skeptical on reading reviews (here or elsewhere)- today is the day you may say, "NO MORE!"  All of the products I've reviewed thus far have been great, but this one takes the cake...mostly because I started out so skeptical myself.  When I received theVisual Latin DVD, I honestly didn't run to open it and begin this review immediately.  The word 'Latin' just seems a little daunting to me, or at least it did.

When I finally did open the DVD and begin to play the intro lessons, I was immediately blown away.  This curriculum is taught by a guy named Dwane Thomas.  Let me tell you that his way of teaching, explaining and overall personality not only impressed me but my kiddos as well.  After watching the 4 introductory lessons we all wanted to see more and jump right in to Lesson 1.  The Introductory Lessons include:
~Why Study Latin?
~Latin Then & Now
~How to Learn a Language
~Stuff You Should Know About Latin

When we got to Lesson 1, we discovered it was broken down into 3 sections:  grammar, sentences & reading (see pic above).  Each section is fairly short (5-8 minutes) and after each section is complete there is a worksheet available to reinforce what was just learned.  Here again, I saw the words "grammar & sentences" and I began to get anxious and I thought, "Oh boy, here it comes.  Here comes the hard stuff."  Nope. Everything was completely do-able and nobody freaked out (that should actually say that I didn't freak out!).  It must be a little something they call "the unique design that really works!"

Our 12 and 11 year olds (and even my 9 year old!) are totally excited to continue on with the lessons.  I can say that we are DEFINITELY looking towards future DVDs to continue our study in Latin (that means Mom too!).  **As a side note when I was going through the intro lessons, one thing that stood out to me was that if one learns Latin other languages will come easier because a lot of the root words have similarities.  I have some Spanish in my background and I was totally able to see how that is true.  I'm very excited to offer Latin to my family as a precursor to learning Spanish in the near future.**

Wanna give it a try?  Go here and try out 6 FREE lessons!  See if you agree with me...see if you're not immediately hooked on Latin!  Visual Latin is available on DVD or as a download so you can take it with you on any compatible device. There are many different lesson bundles available, check them all out here to see if any of them will work for your family.  The single/family DVDs in bundles of 10 lessons each are priced at $30. The downloads will give you a $5 price break on single/family lessons ($25 for each bundle).

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Visual Latin, visit the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2011-2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.