Homeschool Curriculum & Supplements: Hints, Tips, Tricks…

Archive for: 2010

#0007 – Homeschool Conferences: Special Offers and Amusing Problem

Conferences can be a blast, but what if Timberdoodle didn’t make it to yours? Where do you find the conference-specific special offers from us? Grace will show you exactly what to expect! If you are part of planning a conference, don’t forget to contact us to provide free catalogs for your attendees!

Behind The Scenes

  • We were so impressed with the gracious and helpful coordinators at this, our first conference of the year. If any of you are located in the Bellingham area, you may want to check them out: http://www.whatcomhomeschool.org/
  • Because of the conference we didn’t preshoot this session, and now I have one more reason to try to do that. None of us noticed the aircraft flying over during the shoot, and it was too late to redo…
  • Despite our attempts to verify door size before making the trek to this conference we were alarmed to find that our display shelves couldn’t quite fit even through the backup door. This crew volunteered to disassemble the door and carry the carts up for us. There was a brief moment of horror though when they realized we’d brought not one or two, but three of these monster shelves!

#0006 – Imaginets: Fun Preschool Thinking Skills Magnetic Kit

Parents of preschoolers know that it can be a challenge to keep these restless winds entertained in a productive manner. Imaginets does just that, while building fine-motor skills, problem solving ability, an ability to follow directions and interpret patterns. Imaginets’ brilliantly colored magnets stick securely to the wooden case which doubles as a white-board.

Behind The Scenes

  • We emailed a couple local families with young children to see if any of them would be interested in reviewing Imaginets and sending us video of their kid(s) using it. Judah & Cohen’s mom responded literally within minutes, and we couldn’t be happier with the results. Don’t you agree?
  • Judah did a terrific job of introducing himself but my favorite part is Cohen’s introduction. “Me, 2.” So cute!

Imaginets - preschool magnet set

From Our Store
In our rush to teach our children how to read and do math, it is easy to overlook the importance of teaching our children how to think. That is akin to putting the cart before the horse, as thinking skills are a vital part of reading and math. If we neglect to teach our children how to think we make education a more arduous process than it needs to be… Read More About Imaginets Or Buy Some Here. (Retail: $29.95, on sale for only $19.95 at the time of this post.)

#0005 – Geocards: New Geography Game

Geocards are brand new to our warehouse and website! The jumbo, sturdy flashcards are a terrific way to learn some of the features of the states/countries with easy to learn games. We still think Geopuzzles are the best way to learn locations, but if you’re ready to learn more, Geocards are the next step!

Behind The Scenes

  • Daniel’s children Jotham and Rachel helped us review Geocards when we first pulled them out of the box, testing out most of the games.  On the Friday we wanted to film Geocards for you Daniel brought Jotham to work for the day making it a perfect opportunity to give you a clear demo!
  • It was such a beautiful day that we couldn’t resist filming outside the office – we even have crocuses coming up here! However, despite our windscreen you’ll hear a bit of wind in the last few moments of the vodcast – I didn’t hear it until I was working with it in post. Oh well, that’s Washington for you!

Geocards USA

From Our Store
On a snowy afternoon in Wisconsin, GeoToys founder and president Bob Galinsky came up with Geocards: a set of five games to reinforce geography facts. This father who invented the GeoPuzzles to help his three children learn geography had discovered another exciting way to introduce additional essential geography details to young children… Read More About Geocards Or Buy Some Here. (Retail: $12.99, only $9.95 a set at the time of this post.)

#0004 – Bubber, part 2: Make A Fake Thumb, Plaster Footprint & More.

We’ve loved Bubber since the first time we touched it, and we’re not alone in that – our Bubber tray was a highlight at every conference where we demonstrated it. But sometimes it is easy to think you’ve exhausted all possible uses for a non-drying art manipulative.  If you’ve ever thought that way about Bubber I’m sure you’ll enjoy seeing all these new ideas using Plaster of Paris from our local discount store. We cast a footprint, nameplate and fake thumb – but truly the possibilities are endless.

Behind The Scenes
Abel is known in our local fire department for his fast-paced movements and boundless energy. We can’t wait to show our friends the end of the video as he cleans the Bubber. Of course, it is on fast-forward, but we think they’ll feel it is the most accurate depiction of him they’ve seen! Looking for more ideas? We ran out of time to show all of ours. What about using a jar to mold dishes for your daughter to decorate and use for pretend tea parties? If you have a human body model, recast organs and let your student paint/label them. Footprints don’t have to be limited to small feet either – use Bubber to cast footprints of family pets or even those realistic tigers in your toy box!

Kids Play With Bubber

From Our Store
Bubber is an amazing new product imported from Sweden; contrary to its playful name, Bubber is destined to become a workhorse in the educational market. Bubber is an excellent source for tactile stimulation, improving gross- and fine-motor skills in a satisfyingly gentle way… Read More About Bubber Or Buy Some Here.

#0003 – Bubber, part 1: Model with it. Carve it. Clean it up. Eat it?

Bubber has always been difficult to describe. Soft as a marshmallow – but not sticky. Fluffy as a cloud – but you can carve it. More crumbly then Cheetos – but cleanup is easy. Now we can finally use more than words to show off this unique art product! Not only that, but we’ve included starter ideas for when you receive your Bubber in the mail!

Behind The Scenes
We were shocked, appalled and intrigued when Nehemiah spontaneously decided to taste the Bubber. I still can’t watch the end of this video without grinning at the results! Interestingly though, a rewind through the footage showed Nehemiah tasting the Bubber earlier in the filming – just to make sure he could palate it?

Bubber In Colors

From Our Store
Bubber is an amazing new product imported from Sweden; contrary to its playful name, Bubber is destined to become a workhorse in the educational market. Bubber is an excellent source for tactile stimulation, improving gross- and fine-motor skills in a satisfyingly gentle way… Read More About Bubber Or Buy Some Here.

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