Monster Math Review and Giveaway!!!

I was so excited to receive my monster package in the mail... not as excited as Ryleigh... because...well... what 4 year old doesn't like mail? Anyway...right from the get go this book caught my attention...the packaging was so fun and the box looked like a monster had taken a (pretend) bite out of it...

You Can Count on Monsters written by Richard Schwartz is a great way to learn prime numbers and factoring from 1-100. There are monsters for each prime number... which really catches the eye... Each Monster has something that relates to its number, but sometimes you have to look hard and count to find it.

Ryleigh and Braeden are a little too young for this book, but I will definitely use it when they are older. It is fun to read and the pictures are great!

You can purchase You can Count on Monsters for $15.99 on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
Learn more from a fun and informative feature of You Can Count on Monsters on NPR!!

The GIVEAWAY :
Two readers will win a copy of You Can Count on Monsters. 4 chances to enter: (Leave a comment for each separate one- and include your email!!!)

• Tell me which monster you like the best from here (Required Entry)
• "Like" The Ramblings and Adventures of a SAHM on Facebook (link is on your left)
  
• Post a status on your Facebook with this link:)
• Publically follow The Ramblings and Adventures of a SAHM via Google Friend Connect
  

Winner will be randomly chosen on June 12, 2011 11:59 PM EST. Please reference Giveaway Rules at the top of the page before entering. Good luck!

*I received a free copy of this book to review- however, all opinions are my own.

TOS Review : The Curiosity Files- Puffer Fish

I was recently sent The Curiosity Files Puffer Fish E-book Unit Study, from The Old Schoolhouse to review. This was my first experience with The Curiosity Files, and I cannot wait to start our next unit!

This is such a FUN unit study for kids ages 8–13 (but totally adaptable.... my preschool class is made up of 3 &4 year olds)... The idea behind the subjects in this series is to really delve into areas that the kids would not usually be learning about...(genius!)

Each unit includes :

• Bible study and memory verses
• Math, history, and geography investigations
• Literature and suggested book list
• Writing, spelling, and vocabulary activities
• Beautiful copy work pages (manuscript and cursive)
• Science observations, projects, and experiments
• Discussion questions
• Art, crafts, drawing, and coloring pages
• Lapbook and notebook pages
• Internet resources and video links
• Complete answer key
  

Here are some of the activities that we enjoyed this week....(some were slightly adapted to make them more preschool friendly)

The girls had a great time using the puffer fish pages to make patterns.... I cut the pages in half so they could lay the puffer fish out 6 in a row...

The unit included a measuring lesson... although the girls have started measuring this year, they only do to the nearest inch...(so we had them just do the exercise to the nearest inch... only slight adaptation needed)...Here Ryleigh is copying a bible verse...an excellent way to practice her handwriting....The girls practicing their ordinal numbers....We ended our week by making Puffer Fish... who doesn't love a good art project?

I really liked that the unit included so many subjects and activities... it made my planning and prepping much easier! The only downfall that I found was that we wished it had more preschool activities... the girls had so much fun with the ones that were included.

Currently there are 10 different titles in the series:

Blue Diamond
Dung Beetle
MRSA
Puffer Fish
Red Tide
Zombie Fire Ants
Blue-footed Booby
Cicada Killing Wasp
Quicksand
Platypus

(You can view samples of each from Here)

To check out for yourself The Curiosity Files, (and you really should!) visit The Old Schoolhouse, the E-books range in price from $1.00 (they are on sale right now!) t0 $6.95. (And you can get a discount if you purchase a bundle).

*Please note- although I was not paid for my review, I did receive a free copy of the E-book (and so glad that I did!)... These are the honest opinions I had while reviewing this product....