Figures in Motion (A REVIEW)

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew

We love projects that make the people and the stories we are learning about come alive! What's even better are the projects that I don't have to plan and prep for. Figures in Motion makes this so easy to do with several books to choose from, all containing famous figure puppets to make and play with, and from different time periods. For this review we received Famous Figures of the Middle Ages & Renaissance.

Figures in Motion!

We have used these in years past and have just loved putting them together. This time was no different and we were excited to receive another book full of paper dolls to assemble.   

The cover of the book we received: Famous Figures of the Middle Ages & Renaissance

To assemble these dolls/puppets very few supplies are needed, scissors, hole punch, and wire brads. These can easily be acquired from a local craft store or if you already do a lot of lapbooking or scrapbooking you probably already have them on hand like me! (I received all the supplies needed with this review, but when purchased normally these supplies don't come with the book unless you order them separately through Figures in Motion)

 

Each book comes with full color and ready to color in pages of each doll. The easy to pull out pages are printed on thick sturdy paper so the dolls will last. The lines for cutting are clear and easy to follow allowing for kids who can cut to do it themselves, and the directions are super simple.

Ready to color doll

Full color doll

 

The first doll that my 10 year-old (4th grader) chose to make was Leonardo Da Vinci. He wanted to learn more about him, so that's what we started with. He isn't confident in his cutting skills, so I helped him by cutting out the harder pieces. Then he was able to do the hole punches and assembly himself.

 

 

If you can see on the picture below, the back of the puppet has letters to match the joints, that's how easy the directions are! It also gives a brief description of the famous figure.

 

For the final product you have a fully movable paper puppet to use however you want, little plays, on craft sticks, in a stop-motion movie, whatever the imagination comes up with!

We chose to read some books to go along with our Leonardo Da Vinci puppet. There is a list of suggested books in the Famous Figures book that we checked out from the library. We also chose a few more. 

Our book collection to go with Leonardo Da Vinci's Famous Figures puppet.

 I also plan to store the puppets on a foam poster board with Velcro so they can be pulled off and played with anytime. So far we have 2, as we've also cut out and learned about Elizabeth the 1. And we'll just add in the other puppets we've made from our other Famous Figures in Motion book to this board as well!

Our foam poster board with completed famous figures puppets velcroed to it for safe keeping until they are needed for play or study.

The Figures in Motion books are a fun addition to any homeschool study and make learning really fun for all ages, but especially younger ones. They make a good supplement, or even a starting point for your history studies. So many possibilities with them! If you'd like to see how others used these and even other titles from Figures in Motion, click on the banner below.

Thankful Thursday: pool stuff

Today I'm thankful we were finally able to get into the pool. I'm thankful for all we are learning about keeping a pool and for chlorine and other chemicals we can use to keep it fresh and clean. This kid just kept saying thank you to me today as he was swimming.

LEGO ABCs: D is for Display and Donuts

Here we are the 4th week of blogging through the alphabet. Thanks to all who have participated these first few weeks. I have loved reading your posts. If you're thinking about joining us, please do! We'd love to have more fun ABC posts. This week is the letter D. Co-host Chareen will be posting about Delight Directed Learning and I will be talking about our LEGO displays and LEGO donut creations. 

I realized recently, from my boys' comments, that they were kinda discouraged about purchasing and making nice LEGO sets because they were worried about them getting destroyed or pieces getting lost. That's when I decided we needed to get more organized and have some space dedicated to their creations. They all share a room, so there's not a ton of space in their room, so it has to be in a different place in the house. We also don't have a lot of space in the house, so it had to be whatever was clear like the mantle or the top of a shelf. But, recently we found a shelf that could be cleared and used for LEGO creations, and a space became available in the living room too. It looks pretty awesome and gives the boys a place to proudly display.

Our new LEGO display makes me smile

Each shelf has a little bit of everyone's builds...

The Dots and Cinderella sets

Alex's Hamburger Truck set

One of Alex's space shuttles (he has 3)

Aric's Harry Potter sets

Alex's space station with another of his space shuttles

Alex's Minecraft sets

A shelf for books and unfinished sets.

This of course will have to change over time. I've told the boys that they need to start taking the sets apart and storing them in ziploc bags when they get new sets so we can display new ones. 

We also have a tiny little display and storage in their room. This is where all the free buildng LEGO's are stored and the top of the shelves have a little are to display current things being worked on. It's where they keep their current Mindstorm robots that they are working on and a few other odds and ends. And, yes, our LEGOs are sorted by color. We have been working for about the past year or so (when the pandemic started) to get our big bin of LEGOs sorted. It is so nice to be able to look for the exact color we need.

 

So, honestly I was kinda stumped on D, and running out of time to build some of the extravagant things I was thinking of. I thought a "display" post would be boring, and didn't really accomplish my goal of building something new with the kids each week. Each time I asked Alex if he could think of something to build that starts with the letter D, he said donut. I just wasn't sure we could pull donuts off. Well, Tuesday morning we just gave donuts a try. They didn't come out perfect, but I think they are definitely worth mentioning. We also had a good time building these together. Alex built his favorite, glazed with pink frosting and sprinkles (he gets this when we go to a certain donut place). It's really hard to get a round donut with LEGOs! Especially with the pieces we had available. I built a maple bar with some sprinkles too. Because sprinkles are fun.

Alex's glazed donut with pink frosting and sprinkles

Maple bar with sprinkles. I don't think I've ever had a maple bar with sprinkles, but I wanted it to look more like a donut. 

That wraps my letter C post for Blogging through the alphabet! Please join co-host Chareen and me as we blog through the alphabet and link-up below:

• Desiree @ Our Homeschool Notebook: Page with list of all current ABC posts

• Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses: D is for Delight Directed Education

Also, I have updated my last post C is for Creation with the 3rd and final build of that set if you'd like to

see how that one came out.

**Rules for linking up:

1. Your post must be family-friendly. We have the right to remove any posts that are inappropriate. 
2. When linking up you agree to give us permission to share your post or a photo in any future blog posts and social media shares. 
3. Please link back to the host or co-hosts blog, and use the image if you want. 
4. If you can, check out a few other posts in the link-up and leave some comment love. 
5. Please, make sure your posts relate to the alphabet or blogging through the alphabet in some way. Evergreen content (past posts that relate) is also welcome. 
6. The link-up will be available for one week for each letter. 
7. Last of all, have fun. If you can’t join for one week, don’t stress. Just join next time, and enjoy!

Teaching Textbooks (A REVIEW)

 Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew

We have been using Teaching Textbooks for many years. So many years, in fact, that we've been able to see it evolve first from books and CDs (2.0), then to the online web-based version (3.0, and no longer available), and now to their newest online/app version (4.0). I feel like we've grown right along with them!

When we received this review it was still the 3.0 version, but it was right before they were getting ready to do the big switch over to Teaching Textbooks Math 4.0. The switchover, for our family, had it's hiccups with figuring out the new program, getting all the apps installed for the different levels and devices, and figuring out log-ins, but overall it was very smooth. I think Teaching Textbooks did a great job with that and with the new program. 

To give a little background, the 3.0 version was an all online web-based program that was easiest to use on a computer and had to have an online connection at all times. The 4.0 version is an app that can be used not only on a computer but on most tablets, phones, and devices, and can be used offline for up to 6 lessons. All progress is saved on the Teaching Textbooks server, so you can access information for all students on any device through the parent portal. Students can also work on their course on any device (as long as it has the app for their level on it).

My son's Algebra 1 home screen. He has access to all the things a student needs, wallpaper backgrounds, sounds, the e-book version if he needs it), and the grade book.

There are some great benefits to using this new 4.0 version, it's easier to use for both students and parents, new features, and a fresh new look. But, it still has all the classic fun things like animated stickers, hints, and sound effects for the kids to enjoy.  

Like I said earlier, it took us some time to get used to, but I love how it looks and feels now. I like that it gives a course average in the grade book (I used to have to figure that out on my own), and I like how easy it is to navigate. All the information for your student's course is quickly and easily accessible. That's a good thing because I have to check my 9th grader's Algebra 1 course progress constantly, sometimes several times a day. I can do that on my own laptop while he's working on it on his own computer.

The grade book gives the scores for each lesson and test. I also love that the date that the lesson was worked on is included now. No more sneaky high schooler trying to pull a fast one on mom!

 

Teaching Textbooks is a great all-in-one math curriculum. With each lesson, there is a lecture, and then the students are guided through the problems one at a time. There are usually about 20-25 problems per lesson, with about 5 practice questions at the beginning to warm up. There are also tests after about every 5-10 lessons. It is self-grading, and gives lots of explanations and hints for each problem, so a lot of chances to get the problems right.

Lesson introduction page.

While I focused primarily on Algebra 1 in this review, I also received Math 4 and Math 7 for my other 2 boys. These levels are very much like Algebra in how they function, but since they aren't high school level the features like the stickers and the wallpaper are geared toward younger kids and middle schoolers, and there are math buddies they can choose from. These "Buddies" are fun little animations that join the student through the lessons. 

The buddies page included in the younger (non-high school) courses. This is an example from Math 7, a middle school math course.

All of the Teaching Textbook courses come with a year time frame to complete. If something comes up where the student can't work for an extended period of time, there is the ability to pause for up to 3 months. When enrolling in the course you can choose the start date, and the countdown starts then unless the course is paused. There is always a ticker in the grade book to show how much time you have left in the course. 

I think it's clear that I, as a mom and homeschool teacher, think Teaching Textbooks is great. My kids have done really well with it, and it has helped them understand concepts pretty well. If you'd like to see what others have to say about this math program click on the banner below!

My Weekly Notebook: Baseball, frubber, and the pool

Life this week...

We had some beautiful weather this week. It was even warm enough to open all the windows and get the fans going for a few days! Then the week ended with rain and a little bit chilly. The rain is so nice after some warmish days. The spring weather in Oregon is never dull.

Homeschool this week...

Aric is learning about robotics in his Bookshark science program, and this week his lessons called for him to do this lab of making "robot skin" also known as flubber. This was a really fun lab for him because he is my slime-loving kid, and this stuff uses basically the same ingredients with changes in amounts to get a different consistency. He did 2 little batches.

 

The first batch he forgot to put any food coloring in so it was this clear, see-through kind of flubber. It stretched a little and was kinda fun to play with. 

He decided to make some with some color. He used one too many drops and ended up with a really dark green that also turned his fingers green. Still fun to play with.

Reviews we are working on...

We are still working on our Meriwether Lewis biography. We are enjoying all kinds of activities that go along with it including making a keelboat this week. We also made some cake pops this week to go with a story from another review book we are reading. Posts on both of those to come soon!

Places we're going and people we're seeing...

Alex is playing baseball now, so we're at the park 2 days a week for practice. He's learning all the different positions. This week he discovered he liked being catcher and he is pretty sure he doesn't want to try pitching. Hoping he gives it a shot.

 

He is working on his swing!

What we're reading...

We've been enjoying these "You Wouldn't Want to..." books. This week we read You Wouldn't Want to Live Without Books! by Alex Woolf. It was interesting to see how books have changed over time.

 

Movies we watched...

We watched Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I just realized that I snapped this picture at probably one of the worst moments in the movie.

   

Games we played...

We pulled Creationary out. We haven't played this in years. Probably because it was really hard when the kids were younger. Now that they are older and can make things with LEGO's a bit easier it's easier for them. We were laughing pretty hard by the end of the game. It was a blast. Just for reference, none of our creations looked as good as the ones on the cover.

 

What's working/not working for us...

Our pool is still standing after the long winter, and it still holds water and functions well. We are just trying to get it cleaned out and ready for when it warms up. This is what it looked like when I took the cover off. Yuck! I almost can't stand to look at this picture. 

 

After about a week of cleaning, vacuuming, filtering it out, and lots of chemicals (including many bottles of bleach/chlorine) it's looking much better. There is still a bit of a fog so it's not quite ready yet. This is what it looks like now. I have to scoop out the blossom petals daily that come over the top of our house until the blossoms are all gone. Hopefully, it will be swimmable soon. Although, it's still not even warm enough to swim yet. We are hoping to get the heater hooked up this year.

I'm grateful for...

A table full of lessons and books.

This picture was taken at the end of a full school day. these are the "done" piles for me to look through and grade.

LEGO ABCs: C is for Creator 3-in-1

 

A few weeks ago, over spring break, I bought a new LEGO set for us to work on since we had no plans for anything fun, and nowhere to go. I decided on the Creator 3-in-1 Surfer Beachhouse set because it seemed fitting with my desire to run away to the beach for the week. The challenge would be for the kids and I to build all 3 sets during the week. We even had it figured out who would build which set, but we ended up only getting through the first one, the Surfer Beach House, during the week of Spring break.

We set out to build all 3 ways this set could be built for Spring Break.

Alex and I built the Surfer Beach House together over the course of spring break week, but I think I ended up building a good portion by myself because he was outside playing a lot.

LEGO sets come in numbered bags so that there aren't a ton of LEGOs to sort through as your building, you open one bag at a time.

Unboxing all the pieces and setting them out.

When it's all finished there's a lot of fun ways to play. It opens up and there are some different rooms to put minifigs in. The sea turtles are fun, and of course there are surf boards too. I love the little details.

We left that together for a while, but finally took it apart to build the lighthouse. Aric wanted to build this one, so he did pretty much the whole build on his own. Some fun details on this one too. The ray is the sea life for this one.

We didn't make it to the 3rd build for this set yet. I will leave this one up for a few weeks and then probably take the lighthouse apart for me to build the last one. I claimed that one! This is the first set that we've actually used for all 3 projects. This was a fun set. I really like the 3-in-1's for the ability to build it different ways. There is a whole section of these at the LEGO website.

UPDATE: I have finally made the 3rd build of this set. Here it is! I had fun making this one, love the details. I also wouldn't mind having a little beach house like it too!

   

That wraps my letter C post for Blogging through the alphabet! Please join co-host Chareen and me as we blog through the alphabet and link-up below:

• Desiree @ Our Homeschool Notebook: C is for Creator 3-in-1

• Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses: Charlotte Mason a Round-Up of Posts

**Rules for linking up:

1. Your post must be family-friendly. We have the right to remove any posts that are inappropriate.

2. When linking up you agree to give us permission to share your post or a photo in any future blog posts and social media shares.

3. Please link back to the host or co-hosts blog, and use the image if you want.

4. If you can, check out a few other posts in the link-up and leave some comment love.

5. Please, make sure your posts relate to the alphabet or blogging through the alphabet in some way.

6. The link-up will be available for one week for each letter.

7. Last of all, have fun. If you can’t join for one week, don’t stress. Just join next time, and enjoy!