Homeschool Curriculum & Supplements: Hints, Tips, Tricks…

Category: Fidgets

What Is Icosoku? How Do You Play? – Timberdoodle’s Homeschool Vodcast #0026

Since it made the back cover of the Timberdoodle catalog, you know it has to be good; but Icosoku is difficult to explain in print. Watch as Hope shows you how it works, and even why a concept as simple as Icosoku can be so challenging!

IcoSoKu
From Our Store:
Endless possibilities, endless opportunities, endless fun; IcoSoKu is a brilliant mathematical brainteaser with unlimited challenges… Buy Yours Today Here!

Reptangles, Using Turtles For Geometry? – Timberdoodle’s Homeschool Vodcast #0019

A glance at these colorful turtles may not immediately bring geometry to mind, but it would be difficult to find a manipulative better suited to illustrating complex geometric concepts than Reptangles. If rotational symmetries, truncated octahedrons, and lesser rhombicuboctahedrons sound like a foreign language to you, let alone your student, consider adding a set of Reptangles to your math manipulatives. With 80 puzzles included, your child will gain hands-on experience with all of these concepts and more. Even a child you wouldn’t ordinarily consider ready for geometry will spend hours with Reptangles reconstructing the various models and reconfiguring the turtles with all the benefits of a jigsaw puzzle and the fun of building a 3D model.

Reptangles from Fat Brain

More From Our Store:

“Colorful Reptangles by Fat Brain Toys are ingeniously shaped turtles that snap and slide together in over 100 geometric ways! If you want your child’s curriculum to be mathematically rich, with unique opportunities to learn important math concepts while broadening and deepening their spatial thinking skills, Reptangles can be a key addition to your resources…” Buy Your Reptangles Now!

Why Homeschoolers Love Funline Slacklines

A cross between a tightrope and a trampoline, the Gibbon Funline Slackline is an amazing tool for homeschoolers. With a very easy set-up process your children will soon be engaged in healthy outdoor activity, learning to control their body. It is a well-established fact that children need to work their body in order to get the best use of their brain. This used to be a challenge to homeschoolers, but not anymore. Cheaper than a trampoline, the Gibbon Funline Slackline offers a more rigorous workout with its need for careful balance. At the same time, a Gibbon Funline Slackline begs to be used, and your child’s creative abilities will flourish as he attempts all sorts of feats. So what do you think?

Read more or shop now at http://www.Timberdoodle.com/Slackline

Behind The Scenes

  • Testing the Gibbon Funline was indeed a lot of fun. What isn’t shown in the video is all the people standing just outside the frame, watching, commenting, and offering tips.
  • It required a bit more skill than some of our testers expected. So much for the cartwheels they’d planned on!
  • Not everyone had seen the pros before they tried out the Funline. Now they claim that if they’d only known what we were looking for, they could have done it!

Gibbon Funline

More From Our Store:

“Perfect for family reunions, church retreats, homeschool groups or anywhere a crowd gathers. Consisting of only two parts, the Gibbon Funline Slackline is super easy to set up and can be quickly rigged between two trees or sturdy posts. The integrated ratchet lets you easily set the tension just right; keep it loose for lots of bounce or tighten it up some for more stability…” Buy Your Funline Now!

#0014 – Mashoonga Swords

Foam swords? Really? We were skeptical too, until we saw them in use. Mashoongas are amazing foam sabers built around sturdy polycarbonate core tubes that are both lightweight and flexible. Not merely a fast-paced high-energy contest of attack and self-defense moves, Mashoonga’s game rules give it structure, differentiating it from mere horseplay. Mashoonga is a sport that will strengthen your child’s tactical skills, their eye-hand coordination, and build their stamina. When the rules are faithfully enforced Mashoonga is a friendly, safe, yet competitive contact game of ancient combat skills.

Ready to buy? Shop http://www.timberdoodle.com/Swords

Behind The Scenes

  • Talk about funny; shooting this video was absolutely hilarious. Some of us laughed ’til we cried!
  • Until we replayed the footage, no one could agree who’d won the first few rounds. Daniel did, but only by 1/2 a second.
  • The interviews were almost as fun as the contest. We now talk about Look of Death around the office.

Mashoonga Swords

From Our Store:

“Our Mashoonga Sabers Set, surprisingly enough, has been one of our hottest sellers at homeschool conferences. Is this indicative of the stress homeschooling parents feel or the pleasure they anticipate seeing their children off the couch and outside engaged in vigorous play? Or maybe it was because, as one fellow vendor remarked, “I’m tired of getting hit in the knees with a wooden sword…” Buy Mashoonga Now!

#0002 – Thinking Putty: Handwarmer, Therapy Project, Office Tool…

By far our most popular gift for Christmas 2009 was Thinking Putty, we sold literally thousands of tins and even had a custom color made for us. As we’ve used it over the years we’ve accumulated a few ideas that you may not have thought of yet. If you haven’t yet tried burying coins in your Thinking Putty, microwaving it or using it as a rubber thumb, give it a try and then let us know what you think!

Behind The Scenes

  • This edition was filmed in the warehouse, the office and the office kitchenette.
  • Nehemiah graciously agreed to come in on a Friday he was to have off, bringing one of his delightful daughters with him. We were thrilled to get her in a shot!
  • We tried showing each color of Thinking Putty to the camera but with the cheery day we were having and the back-lit approach the colors were too hard to see in most of the shots.
  • Yes, that is a red Cling-Thing on the fridge, and it held the Thinking Putty cans securely throughout the filming!
  • Scarab Thinking Putty

    From Our Store
    Thinking Putty is Silly Putty but enhanced with knock-your-socks-off colors that shift or morph completely as you squeeze. There are even eye-popping glow-in-the-dark versions that will inspire all sorts of electrifying experiments. All versions of the non-toxic, non-gooey Thinking Putty will bounce, stretch, tear, drip, snap, even shatter. Silicone-based, they will never dry out. But the heat sensitive versions will change colors with the warmth of your hands while the swirled colors will maintain their individual colors no matter how many times they are kneaded… Read More About Thinking Putty and Buy A Different Color For Each Family Member.

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