Education Cubes ~ Review & Giveaway! CLOSED

Congratulations Jamie, you won! I have sent you an email!

My long time blogging friend, Jenn from Mama Jenn has launched an awesome new learning idea!! I am thrilled to be a part of her Grand Opening Celebration this month for her new site, Education Cubes. You have probably already seen me feature the Education Cubes in action on my blog and I am excited to share more and giveaway a membership to one of you!

To see ideas already on my blog, click on the images below to be taken to the blog post featuring the idea…

Jenn has added many new inserts recently and I haven't had a chance to print much lately. Here are my favorites that are on my list to prepare…

AND…she made an entire set all based on my Raising Rock Stars Preschool program! I will be printing the 2nd review unit for Krash this week!!

At first glance the idea of cubes and inserts seems simple-but remember that simple is often AWESOME! Just the addition of a cube can turn a once boring review or learning activity into something completely new for a child. As an adult, I could care less if it’s in a cube-but for children, there’s something about the cube that makes it more fun. All 3 of my children love our cubes and our inserts, I highly recommend adding this learning tool to your homeschool!

Learn all about joining Education Cubes here! The membership is only $10 right now! Remember this is not only a membership but also a way to support a fellow homeschooling mom. Jenn is so generous and talented, I am honored to call her friend!

Want to win an Education Cubes membership?

Mandatory Entry…

Visit www.EducationCubes.com and tell me a set of cube inserts that you like after you browse around their site a bit.

After you do that, you can gain some extra entries by any of the following, remember to leave an extra comment for each item so they will count as entries...

1. If you follow/ subscribe to 1+1+1=1, give yourself an extra entry.
2. If you Follow/Subscribe to Totally Tots give yourself an extra entry.

This Giveaway is open for anyone.

I will select a winner using Random.org, so be sure you leave a separate comment for each entry, I will also be moderating comments to check that your entries are valid-please be honest!

Contest ENDS January 30, 2011. Winner will be announced here, and emailed (your email MUST be in each comment/or enabled in blogger). Winner must reply to my email within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen.

Guidecraft Construct-It Review

Guidecraft has amazing building toys. We were sent the Construct-it Early Builder set back in the fall and my kids have been enjoying it ever since!

Once again, the child this toy would normally be intended for {Krash} liked it the least. He definitely likes it, but not as much as Pac Man and Ladybug. The age recommendation is 4+ which means it is perfect for both boys. I don’t doubt for a second that this will be a toy Krash grows into.

Pac Man is my “builder” and seems to naturally enjoy open-ended toys like this. He will follow the plans included sometimes, but mostly come up with ideas of his own, like this wagon…

He comes up with some very interesting creations, my favorite being a beach chair for Phineas ;-).Phineas also got a car…

Ladybug enjoyed playing with {and eventually destroying} all of the creations.

While Pac Man was playing I asked him to give me his thoughts for my review. I asked him to tell me what he liked the best about this building toy, he said that the pieces go together easily and aren’t frustrating to hook together. I also asked him to tell me what he didn’t like about it. He hesitated a bit {because I think he really does like it}, and said that sometimes the pieces fall out and he didn’t like that. He demonstrated how some pieces slip out and then some don’t. I too noticed this and it was a bit frustrating for me also. I wondered if maybe I was “using it” wrong. We are still exploring the set and overall we really enjoy it. I am actually anxious to read the other Guidecraft Moms reviews to get more ideas!

BUY IT!

You can purchase the Construct-it Early Builder set we reviewed here on the Guidecraft site, or here on Amazon.

WIN IT!

Jenn from Mama Jenn is hosting the giveaway this month! Head on over to enter to win, now through 1/21/11.

This product was given to me for review purposes, and I do not have to return the product to the vendor. I was not paid for this post. All opinions expressed in this post are mine.

Skylar and George Washington ~ Book Review

We were sent an adorable and unique book recently to review.  Skylar and George Washington is unlike any book we have, in that it is both a fun picture book and an in depth book with awesome and accurate historical facts!  The book combines digital illustrations and photography in a unique way.  I love the combination of the two.

The book is laid out like this…

You can read just the left side-which is written using a simple, rhyming text. For older kids, the historical information, including many famous quotes, is written on the right side.  Even I learned many new facts about George Washington, making him seem much more real.  I look forward to diving into the book even more as we study George Washington in our homeschool. You can preview the book yourself by clicking here.

We really enjoyed this book and are hoping the author writes more.  What a neat way to learn about history!

Another cool fact-Skylar is actually the author’s dog!  You can see the real dog here in a video where the author, Matt Burgess, explains the book and it’s purpose for your family.

You can order a copy of Skylar & George Washington here on their site…

You can also purchase this book on Amazon!

 

Matt has provided my readers with a generous discount code for those of you who would like to order 2 or more copies.  Use the code 1+1+1=1 to receive 23% off when buying 2 or more!  What a unique gift to give, especially to another homeschooling family!  Look for the discount code box on the order form to enter the code…

Thanks Matt for providing our family with this awesome book free for review!  We greatly appreciate it and are continuing to enjoy the great book!

33MILES Today & Christmas CD Giveaway!! CLOSED

Congratulations #10 Autumn ~ You Won!!!

A few months ago I got an email from a reader of mine. She casually mentioned that she was married to someone named Chris Lockwood. I knew I recognized the name and emailed her back to ask her if it was Chris Lockwood from 33Miles {a Christian band I love}? It was!!! I have been a long time 33Miles fan and so has Pac Man. Even Krash LOVED one of their older songs “Thank You” when he was about 2{he still does}. He would belt it out in the car, where we kept their CD!

I was thrilled to learn that 33Miles had a new CD, Today, coming out and I was offered review copies and a copy to give away to one of my readers! This also includes their awesome Christmas album too!!!! So, even if you aren’t a 33Miles fan {how could you not be though}, the Christmas album alone is simply beautiful!!! I am always collecting Christmas music and just love having this as a part of my playlist.

I am currently listening to the Today CD while typing this and I am in love. I have been mostly listening to the Christmas CD for obvious reasons {and I LOVE it}, but I have a feeling that after Christmas, Today will be on a LOT. Pac Man loves 33Miles too and thought it was SO cool that a reader of mine is married to one of the band members!

33Miles is a Christ focused band with amazing talent. I love Christian music that is wonderfully written and preformed but mostly gets the Message right. Christ is very obviously the center of their work. You can read a bit of background information about the band here, and also listen to samples of their music. Here is their touring schedule in case any of you are blessed enough to live close and see them in person. I would love to worship with them if they ever come close to me! They even have a blog too! I loved this quote from Christ Lockwood…

“We need to regroup and refocus, to unplug from all the distractions that keep us from
living like we know who we are,” Chris explains. “Despite our circumstances, we are
people of faith. And like all those listed in the ‘Faith Hall of Fame’ in Hebrews 11, we
have to live today as citizens of heaven. They didn’t receive the fruition of all they
believed in, all they’d struggled to accomplish. But they kept the faith because they knew
they were meant for the world to come. That should be our goal: to live with eternity in
our hearts.”

BUY IT…

You can buy the Today/Christmas Album combo for only $10 right now on their website!!! I recommend this option, so you can get both for that low price. If you can’t wait and want to download, you can find Today here and Believe {Christmas} here on Amazon. You can here great samples of the music on Amazon too.

WIN IT…
I am excited that one of you will win this awesome Today/Believe CD combo set! I am going to leave the contest open for just a few days so the CD can get in the mail to the winner before Christmas so you can enjoy the beautiful Christmas music in time!

Mandatory Entry…
Just leave a comment telling me you’d like to win! Pretty easy huh? After you do that, you can gain some extra entries by any of the following, remember to leave an extra comment for each item so they will count as entries...

1. If you follow @1plus1plus1 and @33Miles on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway, give yourself an extra entry. Feel free to copy and Tweet this: @1plus1plus1 is hosting a giveaway for @33Miles, enter here http://bit.ly/dEiA96 to win a copy of their new CD set! Ends12/12
2. If you subscribe to /follow 1+1+1=1, give yourself an extra entry.
3. If you visit www.33MilesOnline.com and browse around a bit, give yourself an extra entry telling me something you learned about the band or any other fact you find!

This Giveaway is open for USA only!

I will select a winner using Random.org, so be sure you leave a separate comment for each entry, I will also be moderating comments to check that your entries are valid-please be honest!

Contest ENDS December 12, 2010 {11am}. Winner will be announced here and emailed (your email MUST be in each comment/or enabled in blogger). Winner must reply to my email within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen.

DaySpring Christmas Cards {Review}

I was given the wonderful opportunity to review beautiful Studio DaySpring Christmas cards this year! I usually make my own cards but was ecstatic to have this opportunity to use a beautiful design by DaySpring.  I was able to see MANY DaySpring products, including their gorgeous cards, while at the Relevant Conference back in October.

Here is the card I chose {with our family info deleted}…

I got the 5x7 flat card and included our family information on the back!  I was VERY impressed with the quality when the cards arrived in the mail.  I usually do my own designs and have them printed myself, I am so glad I had this opportunity to use Studio DaySpring this year!!!!

If you are quick and order TODAY {11/30} you can get 30% off using the code SUPER30!!!

Play This Way ~ U-Play Mat Giveaway

Congratulations #19 ~ Lauren, You Won!

Play This Way Every Day was started by Dr. Jen ~ a pediatrician AND a mom of 2 sets of twins! Talk about experience, huh? Wow, I was impressed when I read her about page!

Play This Way Every Day was founded in 2008 with the goal of enhancing interactive floor play between toddlers and parents.

We were sent the entire set {U-Play Mat Professional Edition} to review…

The 4x6 cards slide into the pockets like this…

The size is perfect, because you could easily use 4x6 photos also! I haven’t tried that yet, but think it would be a great idea, especially for family members’ photos!

Here you can see Ladybug with the mat, this photo was taken after we played together one day. She likes to collect all of the cards and hug them as you can see. I let her explore freely after we did some of the activities together.

She enjoyed our play time together but her attention span is a bit short! This will be great for working on that! The images are a tad bit unrealistic {for some of the animals especially, you can see them here in PDF form}, and this was the only problem I had with the entire kit. I tend to be a bit more Montessori minded and go for natural, life-like images when teaching names of animals and items. The images are bright and certainly cute, but the green elephant threw me a tad. Obviously Ladybug didn’t mind that at all and she was very drawn to the images. Krash liked them a lot also. So, it isn’t really a problem, but I wanted to point it out in case anyone else might want to know!

What I loved about the U-Play Mat…

• It is a great way to expose your child to different items you may have forgotten about! There are several things we talk about daily but as we used the kit I realized how many simple items I had not taught Ladybug through natural exposure.
• The mat is awesome, I LOVE the shape and the concept of the pockets to hold the cards. It is perfect for the games suggested in the little booklet that comes with the kit.
• It grows with your child. The ideas seem endless, there are so many ways to expand on knowledge using this simple tool.
• It would be wonderful for children who need extra help; whether with speech, language acquisition {ESL possibly}, attention span, and more. I can see this tool being something certain parents would really benefit from.
• The cards are thick and have rounded edges-which I love. Ladybug is able to freely explore them and they are sturdy and safe.

Overall we are very thankful to have this kit in our home and I think it will be used for many years, especially with Ladybug as she grows.

BUY IT…

Can’t wait to see if you’ll win? You can use this special discount code to receive 10% off and FREE SHIPPING: 1PLUSTEN

WIN IT…
www.PlayThisWay.com is offering a U-Play Mat Starter Set to one winner!

Mandatory Entry…
Visit www.PlayThisWay.com and tell me your favorite feature of the U-Play Mat/Cards after you browse around their site a bit.

After you do that, you can gain some extra entries by any of the following, remember to leave an extra comment for each item so they will count as entries...

1. If you follow @1plus1plus1 and @playthisway on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway, give yourself an extra entry. Feel free to copy and Tweet this: @1plus1plus1 is hosting a giveaway with @playthisway for a U-Play Mat Starter Set! Enter here: http://bit.ly/cEv8QI
2. If you Like 1+1+1=1 on Facebook, give yourself an extra entry.
3. If you Like Play This Way on Facebook, give yourself an extra entry.
4. If you subscribe to /follow 1+1+1=1, give yourself an extra entry.

This Giveaway is open for USA only!

I will select a winner using Random.org, so be sure you leave a separate comment for each entry, I will also be moderating comments to check that your entries are valid-please be honest!

Contest ENDS November 30, 2010 {11am}. Winner will be announced here and emailed (your email MUST be in each comment/or enabled in blogger). Winner must reply to my email within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen.

Guidecraft Animal Train Sort & Match ~ Review {w/link to giveaway}

Guidecraft has amazing learning toys. I am always blown away with their quality and unique ideas. I was very curious about the Animal Train Sort & Match even before I knew I would be getting it for review. I wasn’t sure what to expect and it surpassed my expectations! I didn’t read well to realize that the board the shapes go onto is magnetic-duh. I think I imagined them just laying and slipping around-NOT the case! This toy is awesome!

I was a tad bit surprised to find out which of my children loved it and which one didn’t really care for it too much. Any guesses?

Well, this cutie pie didn’t get the concept, but absolutely loves the toy! She plays with the pieces, we talk about the animals and colors and she loves the magnetic board!

The other kid of mine who loved it…

…the oldest one!!!! Yup, PacMan was certainly not too cool at the ripe old age of 8 for this toy!

So, in keeping my reviews honest and from the heart-I have to admit that Krash wasn’t very fond of this toy. I honestly thought he would like it, but it isn’t a super hero or a dragon, so what could I expect? I DO think he will like it eventually, as he does love puzzles and challenges. We did play with it one time, where I put the puzzle together and then had Krash close his eyes to guess which piece I removed. He DID like that-just didn’t want any part of building the puzzle himself!!!

As a mom and as an educator-I LOVE this learning toy. It has so many learning opportunities and is so well made. You can read more reviews form my Guidecraft Mom team members also-the toy seemed to be a hit with them all!

BUY IT!

You can purchase the Animal Train Sort and Match we reviewed here on the Guidecraft site, or here on Amazon.

WIN IT!

Carissa from My Life on a Taffy Pull is hosting the giveaway this month! Head on over to enter to win from Nov 10th til the 14th!

This product was given to me for review purposes, and I do not have to return the product to the vendor. I was not paid for this post. All opinions expressed in this post are mine.