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Thursday, April 28, 2011

The Curiosity Files: A review

Are your kids curious about the bizarre things in God's creation like the Puffer fish, Blue Diamonds, Dung Beetles or Quicksand?

      Have they ever giggled at the name Blue footed Booby?

                           Would they love to know more about Zombie Fire Ants?



If so you can take them on an adventure with Professor Ana Lyze as she and her research “spy” team specialize in the obscure, the abnormal, and the bizarre. 

Sounds like fun huh?




I was given the opportunity to review The Curiosity Files™- Puffer Fish e-book which is part of an amazing series The Curiosity Files produced by The Old School House.

If you are looking for a unit study that can be adapted for various ages, this is a great study.  It is designed for 8 to 13 year olds but I easily adapted it for my 7, 5 and almost 4 year old.  Because it is an e-book you can either print out the whole book (85 pages) or do what I did and print out the parts that I used with the kids.

This unit study covers everything you could ever want to know about puffer fish from how puffer fish puff to how they are prepared as a delicacy in Japanese restaurants!

The authors have done a fantastic job of tying together several subjects to make a complete learning experience for your kids.. and you!!

Here is a peek at some things you will find in this e-book:

  • A Bible study and memory verses
  • Math, history, and geography investigations
  • Literature and suggested book list
  • Writing, spelling, and vocabulary activities
  • Beautiful copywork 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

When I first opened the book I knew my kids would be interested but I didn't know how much they would LOVE learning about the puffer fish.  We spent about 45 minutes each day during group time reading facts, looking at the internet links included, completing some of the fun worksheet activities and doing some of the crafts.  We only used it for one week but we could have  spent a lot more time and dug much deeper.  After the first day one of the kids said "I wish we could do this all day!"(We will definitely revisit it again in the future.) 

Each section easily kept their attention and it was simple for me to pick the activities that were suitable for their age/ grade level.

I will undoubtedly be exploring the other titles in the series to work into our school year whenever we need to add some excitement to our normal routine!  They would even be great for summer activities for those of you who are not homeschooling.

The studies are very affordable, offering 9 downloadable e-books in a bundle for $46 ($49 on CD) or or separately from $1 to $6.95 per study.  They also have a Facebook page where you can connect with other families using the studies, ask questions and be informed of new titles added.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

Disclosure: I was given this product for review purposes only. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for stopping by my blog!! I am looking forward to reading through yours, as a fellow homeschooler! Nice to meet you!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good review : ) Stopping by from the TOS Crew (from NZ).
    Blessings,

    ReplyDelete

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