One of my favorite parts of homeschooling my children is watching the excitement that happens during a family learning activity. I love the innocent wonder that propels me as their teacher to find those experiences that will allow new and creative thoughts to come about from some of the simplest resources.
Box of I.D.E.As. (Ideally Dynamic Enrichment Activities) is a wonderful resource that provides multi-level learning spanning from 9 to 16 years of age (and beyond). The topics offered by Box of I.D.E.As. such as Pigs, Quilting, World War II, Laundry and more, are introduced to students in a creative and systematic approach.
Each "Box" comes with 10 or more modules that form the basis for the learning steps in each topic. The modules are rich with information and activities to not only bring understanding of the topic being studied, but also to provide fun and exciting learning opportunities that are sure to bring the ideas to life for the students.
Every Box of I.D.E.As. provides:
- portable learning opportunities- great for doctor waiting rooms, travel and vacation, or just an afternoon at the park.
- relevant, fun, and thought provoking information that allows the students to delve deep into the topic being studied.
- numerous activities, games, and exercises that bring to life the lessons being taught.
- additional learning opportunities in the form of web links and enrichment activities.
- topic specific tests that will allow the teacher to gauge the understanding her students have gained for the specific topic studied.
Pricing:
The Box of I.D.E.As. are offered as either physical boxes or PDF Downloads.
Physical Boxes- $79.00/each
PDF Downloads- $49.00/each
Our Experience:
I was so excited when this review popped up on the Schoolhouse Review Crew schedule. I have been looking for some resources to break up the monotony that we sometimes find ourselves in with schoolwork. Month after month of the same kind of studies can bring dissatisfaction and fussiness to our home, so finding some fun to interject every so often can reinvigorate our schooling.
I requested to review the Salt Box of I.D.E.As. as I realized my children were on the younger end of the recommended age bracket and I wanted something that would be simple for them to grasp. We received the "Box" as a PDF download and I must say that it was much more extensive than I had first thought. I figured a study about salt would be fun, but I had no idea what the Box of I.D.E.As. had in store for us.
The Salt Box includes the following modules:
- History of Salt
- Language of Salt
- Need for Salt
- Preserving with Salt
- Producing Salt
- Science of Salt
- The Salt March
- Salt of the Earth
- The Wall that Salt Built
- Very Salty
I was amazed that there could be so much information about salt. So I decided we would start with the History of Salt- to give us a good basis for the study. I love that each module starts with a quote pertaining to the lesson. We used that as a copywork introduction to the module and a way to introduce the lesson.
Each module contains a list of the contents of the module for ease of use, and a guide of printable pages and how many are needed for each student. Then the lesson is taught in an easy to understand language that is rich with information. Beyond the lesson are the extension activities that allow for further research on the topic as well as web links which were a wonderful way to bring the lesson to life for my children.
The main lesson activities follow the web links with options such as games to play, worksheets to answer, and fun printable cards to go with the lesson and add enrichment to the activities. My children really had a blast with some of the games provided with each module and I could see they really were learning some great information as well.
For fun, after we finished the History of Salt module, I let each of my children choose a module they wanted to "teach". Over the following few days, I let them read the information, print out the correct pages and activity cards, and then gave them each a day to share their lesson with the family. They loved taking on the teaching role and it was fun to watch them really get into the lessons on a deeper level.
Overall I think the Box of I.D.E.As. are a great supplement to any homeschooling curriculum. They are rich with information and fun activities and are a great way to introduce specific topics to students. We had fun with our Box and I am now SO much more knowledgeable about salt- it really is an amazing substance!!
Connect with Box of I.D.E.As.:
Disclaimer- I received no compensation for this post. I did receive one Salt Box of I.D.E.As. PDF Download at no charge to assist in my writing this review. The opinions in this post are mine alone and were in no way influenced by outside sources.
