Clued In Kids - Review

I LOVE a good treasure hunt.  I mean, who doesn't?

Clued In Kids let's you have the fun of putting on a treasure hunt for your kids without having to do all the thinking and work for clever clues.



We got to try out a few version of the treasure hunts for "kids of all ages".

First we got a series of ones that help kids with their multiplication tables.  It has 5 treasure hunts and each one focuses on a different number.  2x,3x,4x,5x, and 6x.  They are called Multiplication Dragons.



The other fun one we got to try is the Gluten Free Treasure Hunt. 



I asked to try this one specifically, because someone special in our lives.....




.....has Celiac Disease and we are still trying to figure out what things we can feed her that doesn't have gluten. 

But, we still aren't sure what we can feed her, so, having some things on hand that she can actually consume will be a good thing.  Having a greater understanding, by my littles, of what things they can offer her is good too.  I am sure she is getting tired of them saying, "Do you want ____________?  Wait!  Does it have gluten?" 

And, now, if she turns them down, they will understand the "why" behind her answer and not just have their feelings hurt.  So, this fun little 12 clue treasure hunt even taught me a little bit about gluten and why some people's bodies respond the way they do when they eat it.

One of the clues in the Gluten Free treasure hunt said:

The wheat we eat today is not the wheat our grandparents ate.  Through cross-breeding and genetic engineering, since the 1950's scientists have been changing wheat to make it hardier.  It is estimated that 5 percent of the proteins found in wheat today are new to the human body.  This may be another reason why more people than ever are having trouble digesting gluten. 

Interesting fact, isn't it?

You can read a little bit about the creator (Helen Bertelli) very personal reasons for creating her Gluten Free treasure hunt and the Happy Tummy treasure hunt.

Now, for the treasure hunts themselves.  

It is super easy to start.  All you do is download your hunt and print it.  There are 2 clues per page, so you just cut the page in half.  Then, you read where you need to hide them.  Hide the clues...including their treasure.  Keep the cheat sheet for yourself.  Hand the kids the first clue and off they go.

They are awesome for numerous reasons. 

 (Ready for their first clue)

The first being.....seriously.....who doesn't like a treasure hunt? 

Right. 

Nobody. 

Second, as a mom, I love having treasure hunts for the kids, but I don't always like the mental work required to create clues and figure out the best place to hide them. 

Third, even if I do get to that point in my treasure hunts, I don't think I have ever "taught" my kids anything (I do come up with a pretty clever rhyme here and there, though!). 

Fourth, the prep time for a Clued In Kids treasure hunt is minimal.  Minimal, I said.  Because not only do they have all the clues ready for you, but they also tell you exactly where to hide them.  They are even smart enough to know that you might even forget where you hide a clue and provides you with a little cheat sheet as a reminder for yourself, in case the kids get stuck and need help finding the clue. (And, for the record, yes, this happened once for me....so the cheat sheet came in very handy!)

 (Big brother explaining to V-girl how to spot the pattern in the jewels)

They advertise the set up time as being 8 minutes.  I would agree with that for your first treasure hunt, but the time decreases once you get the hang of it, and aren't as nervous about screwing it up!  So, we are down to about a 5 minute prep time here at our house! 

I also really appreciated the "Tips" section.  The one that came in the most handy was writing a kid's name on top of different clues, so there wasn't squabbling about who got "to do" the clue when they found it.  In my case, I was afraid A-man would beat everyone to the clue and have it figured out before S-girl and V-girl caught up.  So, I went through and put his name on the harder clues and the girls' names on the easier ones.

It worked great.  There were almost no fights.  The biggest fight was  one time when there was a hidden picture and they were all trying to figure out what it was....which meant that they all wanted to be the one holding it.  They ended up ripping the picture.....which resulted in a lecture from me on working together.  We pieced the picture back together and moved on.

 (They were still cooperating at this point.....)

One day, I had a treasure hunt set up, and when they were about 3 clues in, our neighbor boys showed up and wanted to do the treasure hunt too.  I explained to them that they could certainly join in, but since I didn't know that they were coming, I didn't have enough "treasure" (treats) hidden at the end.  They said they didn't care and joined in on the excitement.  They had a blast helping figure out the clues, running from place to place looking for the next clue.  But, even though I had warned them, they were sorely disappointed that they didn't get any of the bounty!  I have promised them that the next treasure hunt I do, I will plan ahead and make sure I have enough treats for them too.

 (The final clue that had the "treasure")

I cannot describe to you the joy and excitement that being on the hunt caused for all the kids.  The big kids and I were also smiling as we watched them tear from place to place.  They had a blast.  They ran from clue to clue...stopping only when they needed to really think or figure something out.  I loved how my older kids took the time to teach/explain to the younger ones how to figure out the answer.  Because, I mean, obviously, V-girl has not studied multiplication yet.  It was interesting to hear them repeat some of the tips and tricks that Rainman and I have used in teaching them multiplication.  Sneaky learning is the best, isn't it?

 (Photo bomb courtesy of J-boy, our neighbor, with his "It Wasn't Me!" t-shirt)

You can try out some of Clued In Kids awesome treasure hunts for yourself.   The Gluten Free treasure hunt is $5.99 and the Multiplication Dragon series is $19.99.  If you sign up for their newsletter, you get a copy of their Homework Reward Treasure Hunt, for free!

We loved, loved, loved the Clued In Kids Treasure Hunts.  Plain and simple.  That is all.

The TOS Review Crew got to try out some of their other treasure hunts, so go take a look at those and what they thought.  There are seasonal ones, holiday ones, sports ones, plus all the educational ones.

New Liberty Videos - Review

One of the easiest ways to incorporate something new into our school day is through a video.  So, we were happy to try out New Liberty Videos DVD called Warriors of Honor - The Faith and Legacies of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.

Videos are especially looked forward to because we are still (mostly) doing the no T.V. during the week thing.  This video is a  documentary and covers some of the major battles of the Civil War, but it also gives some personal insight into the lives of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, including the fact that they were both faithful Christians.

I will admit that is something that I had never thought of before.  I am not sure if it is because I grew up in the North (Minnesota), but there was always the mentality that the North were the good guys and that we were looking out for the slaves.  On the flip side, the South were the bad guys that thought slavery was perfectly acceptable.

But, some parts of this video made me question that belief.  (General Sherman was kind of a jerk.)

Warriors of Honor showed me that it wasn't quite that clear cut, or forgive me....black and white....nor is it meant to "whitewash" the sins of the North.....or the South. 

I watched this with my three youngest, A-man, S-girl, and V-girl.  It is about 80 minutes long, so we watched it in about 20 minute sections.  There was some pretty heavy material in this.  True, historical information, but, some was pretty heavy.

The videos are for "general" audiences.  So, there are probably some people that wouldn't want their children to watch this video, nor would they want to explain some of the content.

Since moving from Minnesota to Georgia, some of these things we have discussed.....in very general terms.....already.  But, I will admit, some of this documentary was difficult to watch....and....explain to the kids.

Once they figured out what were "real" pictures and what were re-enactments, (The still pictures were real and the movies were re-enactments) I had some difficult conversations to have.  There were quite a few disturbing scenes from the real pictures.

Dead men.

Some dead men that looked very, very young.

Not glamorized versions of war.  But, real pictures of the men that fought this fight.  Pictures of men that that were sons, brothers, and dads. 

That little fact right there sort of stopped the kids in their tracks.  That was a real person, not an actor pretending to be dead, but a man that was somebody's dad.....laying in the field....dead.....and was never going to go home and see his kids again. 

This documentary is probably more suited to an older audience, but I am still glad I watched it with the little ones.  They were shocked that there was a war, right at a church.  The Dunker Church in Sharpsburg, MD.  It was a horrible, bloody battle.  My kids couldn't believe that they were just standing outside a church and shooting each other.  The mind of a child, huh?  I had never thought of it that way before. 



(The Dunker Church, photo courtesy of the National Park Service)

Yes, I had to have some difficult discussions about slavery, government involvement, and, even how Christians can be fighting a war on opposite sides....and still think they are doing the right thing. 

I found a lot of interesting items through this documentary that I either never learned....or forgot once I passed the test.  Things like the war was really more about a clash of cultures, not necessarily North vs. South.  That the South believed in independence and didn't want the government too involved in their lives, whereas, the North embraced the government. (hmmm....maybe I do belong in the South)

I found it sad that 17% of the soldiers from the North and 33% of those from the South died during the Civil War.  Sad.

I really enjoyed the narration, that shared their actual words.....usually from letters written to wives or children.  It really gave a glimpse into their hearts and thought processes during this historical time period...and made them very human.  It also made me sad for the loss of good, old fashioned letter writing!  (Make sure to pay attention to the end of the movie where a Union soldier describes his meeting with General Lee after the Battle of Gettysburg.)

This DVD also has bonus segments on Slavery (not just black people), Sam Davis (Brave...and the letter to his mother.....sigh....)and The Palmyra Incident (Uggg....horrible).

I have a confession to make.  We have lived in Georgia for 5 years.  We have lived in the same town for that whole time.  This statue has been there the whole time.  We were in our town for the scarecrow contest, just happily strolling along looking at the funny scarecrows local businesses had put together for the contest.  We had to walk through the center of the square, to get to some of the entries......and there he was. 

General Robert E. Lee.

I have noticed it, but never paid  much attention to it.

 

To our Confederate soldiers,
Those who fell in fiercest fighting and sleep beneath the sod of every Southern state.  Those who have passed away in the after years of peace, and whose ashes now hallow old Henry's Hill sides, Those who like a benediction, still limp in our our midst.  May God preserve forever in our hearts, their memory and in all minds, a knowledge of their motives and their cause.

It was interesting.  It sort of brought it all home that the Civil War was real.

That real battles happened near where we are living.

People died.

It was real.

It is real.

The Civil War wasn't such a black and white issue.

Warriors of Honor  was a good supplement to our school.  It would be a GREAT addition to a Civil War unit.  While it will be most greatly enjoyed by your older children, especially those truly interested in history, even the ones who are bored by history will be able to find items of interest in the movie.  It really made this Northern girl rethink a few things.  It really did.

You can get a copy of Warriors of Honor for $19.95.  

There are other videos available that other TOS reviewers watched.  Take a look at what they thought of the other New Liberty Videos.

This is the perfect movie for history buffs. 

One Thing That I Like About NOT Homeschooling

I have discovered one thing that I like about NOT homeschooling my oldest two kids anymore.

It is......getting their report cards.

Not just the fact that I didn't have to grade all the tests and papers and then do the calculations to determine their grade (yes, we do that stuff in our homeschool). 

My favorite part of getting their report cards, isn't even their grades.  However, I am proud to say that they are both getting straight, honest to goodness, A's.  My favorite thing is actually reading the comments from their teachers.

I mean, I think my kids are totally awesome, most of the time, anyway.



But, to hear the things that their teachers say about them....especially when those things are good....is awesome.

Makes this mom proud when a teacher says that they are always in the best mood after your kid leaves the classroom because of what they do and say (and, I might add, they aren't just the class clown, because they actually got an A in the class too!)  Or that they are just plain and simple doing "amazing" work. 

My heart is happy when the word "stupendous" is used or when the teacher notes that it is evident that your kid has a "shrewd intellect" and now that they are participating more in class discussions that their opinion is respected by the whole class.

That my dear friends, is something that you don't get to see when homeschooling.  A real picture of what the world is seeing from your kids when they are away from you.

I am still a huge advocate of homeschooling.....and LOVE that I have gotten to do it for all of my kids until 9th grade.  If any of the other 4 kids want to continue homeschooling through high school, I will make that happen and it will be awesome.

But, I have to say, hearing teachers say incredible things about my oldest children has been awesome and unexpected blessing for me.