TOS Review: Wits & Wagers Family

My kids are always excited when we get a new game, and it was no exception when Wits & Wagers Family arrived in the mail.

 

Once we got the box open (the lid is rather tight-fitting), I was pleased to see that set up was quick and the directions were easy.  Each person chooses a set of "meeples" and corresponding little white board, and then the players take turns reading questions, which all have numbers as the answers.  Everyone writes their guess on their white board, then they are laid out in numerical order.  There is one extra board that has "1" printed on it, in case you think the answer is less than the lowest guess.  Players then place their meeples on the answer or answers (you can choose up to two) they think are the closest without going over.  Points are awarded to whomever guessed the closest, and whomever chose the closest answer.  I thought the questions were well-rounded, as there were some that were fairly easy because I knew the correct answer, but yet there were plenty where I didn't have a good idea.  We did skip a few, because we got several "How many songs on this Disney singer's cd?" questions in a row, and just got tired of them.  I don't recall coming across any that I felt were inappropriate, but we have not gone through the whole deck of questions yet.

My favorite part of this game is that play is quick, easy, and fun.  It only takes 15 points to win, and at least one player generally wins several points per turn.  I like that if I only have maybe 1/2 an hour, we can play a round or two and the kids are happy that I played a game with them.  My least favorite part was that there were no erasers in the box for the little white boards, but we just kept our paper towels in the box after the first time.

The box says that the game is for ages 8 and up.  Based on the fact that my 10 and 11 year old did not know most of the answers (or really have a very good guess, to be honest), I'd say that I probably wouldn't play this game with kids younger than them, though anyone that can write and has a good concept of numbers could play.  The game is also specified for 3-10 players.  There are 5 white boards, so if you have more than 5 players, you would need to form teams.  I think that you could play with way more than 10 players if you're going to do teams, and don't see any reason why Wits & Wagers Family couldn't be used as a party game.

Wits & Wagers Family is produced by North Star Games.  Other games by North Star include Say Anything and the regular version of Wits & Wagers.  There is a "find a store" feature on the website - I live in a pretty rural area, and the nearest store was an hour away.  There is also an option to buy it through Amazon, if you click on the "Games" tab.  Prices will vary based on the retailer - it was listed for $15.00 on Amazon when I just checked, but that could change any minute.

Over all, I think Wits & Wagers Family would make a great Christmas gift, especially if you give "family" gifts to extended family and friends.

***Note:  I received my copy of Wits & Wagers Family for free to review through TOS Homeschool Crew.  All opinions are my own.

TOS Review: Always Icecream

Always Icecream is a cute and fun educational and social website for girls ages 7-12 years old.  The main part of the site is the educational games, which cover language arts, math, geography & history, science, music & art, computer skills, foreign languages, Christian education, and life skills.  Super Girl tried it out, and one of the things she liked about it were that you earn "scoops" (their version of currency) when you play the educational games.  "Scoops" can be used to buy things for the house you create for your "Mini Me" in "MiniWorld", and also to feed your virtual pet.  The virtual pet was also a hit with her, as well as being able to design her own items for her house.  Girls also earn virtual medals when they level-up in the games, and there are educational videos to watch, too.

What I like about Always Icecream is that it is big on parental controls.  You can actually choose which subjects your daughter is allowed access to.  For example, if you don't want your daughter using the Christian education section, you simply log into your parent account and uncheck that box.  There is a section of the website where girls can interact with each other through moderated chat, and also through "social games" like watching each others pets and buying art work from each other.  The "Learning Community" is optional, and I chose not to allow Super Girl to use that part of the site right now.  I allow my children to use "safe chat" sites, where they can only choose preselected phrases, but I did not feel ready to allow more open communication with people I don't know, even if they're supposed to all be young girls and a moderator is watching.  I do like that if I choose to let her use that option, the site is designed to teach her to keep herself safe online.  I have to say, though, that my most favorite part of the site is that there are ABSOLUTELY NO ADS!!!  My children do play on a few game sites, and I have never cared for the fact that one click takes them somewhere else.  I don't have to worry about that on Always Icecream!  Another really nice thing is the report you can view by logging in or via email which details your daughter's activity and progress on the site.  You can see what games she's played, videos she's watched, things she's bought or created in MiniWorld, and (if you've enabled the community aspect) who she's been interacting with.

Always Icecream can be found at www.always-icecream.com.  There are different pricing options, including monthly at $4.99, yearly at $29.99, and lifetime at $99.99.  There is an option of a free trial, which looks like it is good for 12 days.  I like the site enough that if my daughter had gotten really hooked while using a free trial, I would have considered getting a one-year membership as a Christmas gift for her.

**Note:  I received a free lifetime membership to Always Icecream for my daughter in exchange for my review through TOS Homeschool Crew.  All opinions are my own and my daughter's.

TOS Review: Visual Latin

The latest product I have to tell you about today is Visual Latin.  Every year when I make out my wish list for the coming school year, Latin is on it.  Every year, it fails to make the budget cut, generally because our budget for schooling is very small.  When I had the opportunity to review Visual Latin, I was very excited to finally be able to introduce Latin to my children!

Wonder Boy and Super Girl were unsure what to think when I announced that they'd be trying out Latin.  They'd never really heard of Latin.  I explained to WB that he'd learn to speak like a Roman soldier (because all things military appeal to him), and while he seemed intrigued, his reply was that he thought Roman soldiers spoke "Roman".


I sat them down with the Visual Latin DVD and printouts of the worksheets.  They watched all the introductory clips, then the first lesson.  I checked on them repeatedly throughout the session, and they were definitely very attentive.  They completed the worksheets easily and without hassle.  When I asked them what their favorite thing was about Visual Latin, they said they liked how easy it was.  I asked what they didn't like, and they couldn't think of anything.  Later I was able to sit down and complete the first lesson for myself.  I found the presenter (Dwane Thomas) to be entertaining and engaging.  I was slightly surprised at how easy it was for me to figure out the meanings of the Latin sentences that were presented, but some of that may be due to the one year of Spanish I had in school (I seem to remember a fair share of it).

Dwane gives an overview of why you should learn Latin, and I totally agree with his top three reasons: It opens the door to other languages, it opens the door to (better) English, and it helps you think differently. I already believed the first two things, then I heard his explanation of the last. He tells how the Latin word for "stuff" is impedimentum.  "Stuff" = impediment!  It was a revelation, I tell ya!  

I really like the format of Visual Latin, and can foresee purchasing more lessons for my children to do.  I think they are at a good age for it, though I know others feel children should learn foreign languages much earlier.  I did not find a recommended age on the website, but based on the fact that the lessons involve reading and writing, I'd say that probably about age 8 would be the youngest I'd try these, unless the child was an advanced reader.

Visual Latin is produced by Compass Cinema, and can be purchased at The Compass Store.  The price is $80 for Latin 1, which consists of lessons 1-30 on DVD.  One very lovely thing is that being DVD, it is non-consumable and can be used for all your students once they're ready (and as long as the DVD format is still useable in the future!).

**Note:  I received a free DVD copy of lessons 1-10 from Visual Latin for use in my review through the TOS Homeschool Crew.  All opinions are mine and my childrens!

Christmas Helps For a Busy Season

I don't believe I've said before, but the church we belong to is The Salvation Army.  Mr. Man grew up in it, and my family joined officially when I was 15.  It is the church that Mr. Man and I were pastors in, and are now working on rejoining as pastors.  

If you know anything about The Salvation Army, you know that they do a LOT of social service ministries, especially around the holidays.  With all the planning and work that goes into ministries like bell ringing and angel trees, Christmas really gets going by the beginning of October for many Salvation Army officers.  The most important thing to me during this time is that my children not grow up feeling that the season was "ruined" for them by how busy their parents were and the lack of time spent together.  I know many families see an increase in activities during this time of year, however, whether they are in "the ministry" or not.  I'd like to share some tools that may help cut down on some of the craziness, and even help keep the focus where it should be - Jesus!

Photo Credit:  stock.xchng

• A tool I just discovered last year was The 12-Week Holiday Planner by Sheri Graham and Marilyn Moll.  It starts October 1st (whoops!), and has all kinds of goodies in it like check lists (shopping, cards, gifts, etc), menus, recipes, schedules, gifts to make, and more!  I'm excited to try it out this year!  You can also sign up to be notified of updates to the planner if you choose to buy it!
• On a tight budget?  There are free ones available, too.  The FlyLady has a holiday control journal, which starts before Thanksgiving, that you can print out and pop in a binder.  Organized Home has tips on how to create your own Christmas planner, as well as forms you can print out.
• I haven't tried it, but the Springpad app sounds like a useful thing.  I'm a list-maker (I'm making one right now!), and this seems like just the thing for me - if I had a phone that used apps...  I often have pieces of paper floating around with lists of things I wanted to remember or look into later.  I'm definitely trying Springpad out!
• Jen at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam has a list of quite a few Christmas traditions to try with your family.  I really want to do some of them with mine.  I'd love to try out something she mentions in the "Candy Cane Trail" post - only opening a few presents per hour.  I'd love to slow down the whole morning, and make the kids really focus on what they just opened, rather than flinging off the paper and then moving on to the next present.  It just sounds so peaceful!  And, lastly...
• Do you read A Holy Experience?  If not, YOU SHOULD!  Ann Voskamp has a way of connecting EVERY. LITTLE. THING. to living a more full relationship with God.  One post was about the power going out in their pig barn and her sons working together to keep the pigs from overheating.  Somehow, she found a spiritual application in it!  And, it touched me!  Anyhow, if you sign up for email updates from her blog, there is a link at the bottom of each one for her Jesse Tree Journey, which she wrote with Nancy Rodden.  If I do nothing else this Christmas season, I want to make sure I do this advent series with my family.  We need it.

I hope you've found something in that list to help you out this Christmas season - whether it is a way to stay better organized or an activity to help recenter your family on the true meaning of the season!


**Note:  The link to The 12-Week Holiday Planner is my affiliate link.

LIVESTRONG Day

 My babies and I are wearing yellow today in honor of my brother.  It is LIVESTRONG Day, and my brother is a 25 year old survivor.  It has been one year since his diagnosis, and 6 months since his last treatment.  Today he is only under observation - PRAISE GOD!!!

If you want more information about LIVESTRONG, or want to find help and support for someone with testicular cancer, visit www.livestrong.org.