Marvel Avengers: Infinity War Hero Vision Iron Man AR Experience

Hasbro has a new product on the market that will probably catch the attention of children, teens and adults.   The Marvel Avengers: Infinity War Hero Vision Iron Man AR Experience  will allow the user to battle like Iron Man using the Hero Vision Iron Man mask.    This movie-inspired, 1:1 scale mask features a brand-new experience from Hasbro that combines traditional role play with Augmented Reality (AR) technology.   All you have to do is download the HERO VISION app, place a compatible device (iOS 10, 11: iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone7, iPhone8, iPhoneX, Android 7: Google Pixel 1, Samsung S7, Samsung S7 edge.) inside the AR goggles, place AR markers around the play area, put on the AR mask, and then get ready to see digital images from the hero’s world in front of kids’ eyes. Collect Infinity Stones sold separately to unlock power-ups in the App.

So one rainy day while my daughter was at summer camp, one of my boys asked if he could try it out.   He placed the AR markers somewhere in the living room and proceeded to try the Hero Vision.

He really enjoys it and continue to use it to advance in the game.

Here’s some images from Hasbro to give you an idea of what you can see in the mask using the app.

My seventeen years old son tried it as well but he find it annoying to hear the app giving him instructions all the time.  I told him it was like when Tony ask his computer questions and it answers back to him.  In the latest movies, it is more interactive and will comment on what is going on around him.

Then my girl came back from camp and wanted to try it out.   She reacted to the voice as well but not as much and enjoyed playing with the AR.  I suspect she will ask again to use it this week.

So far the experience with the Marvel Avengers: Infinity War Hero Vision Iron Man AR Experience has been a good one.  I still have one child who has not tried it yet but he is serving at summer camp all the month of July before we go on vacation.  

This toy is definitively something out-of-the-ordinary.   The kids have been using my iPhone to try it out and I found that the battery drain rapidly.  So I personally limit the usage to 30 minutes.   I find it is just perfect for them and for me.

Note the mask is not intended to provide protection for your smartphone.

I have great news for my readers – Hasbro Canada has offered one Marvel Avengers: Infinity War Hero Vision Iron Man AR Experience as a giveaway!  Follow the instructions below to win it.  The winner will have 24 hours to respond to my email before I move to the next person. I want to give the mailing address of the winner to my contact at Hasbro before I leave on vacation. 

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Marvel Avengers: Infinity War Hero Vision Iron Man AR Experience is available for purchase at your favorite toy store, even on amazon.ca and amazon.com.

 

Disclaimer: Thanks to Hasbro Canada for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Young Scientist Club Owl Kit

Ever since my daughter has read the book series “Guardians of Gahoole” she has been fascinated with owls.   She was delighted to learn that during my unit on zoology for homeschool coop the older kids will be dissecting an owl pellet.  However, the place where I ordered them would not send real ones for the kids to dissect.  Instead we ended up dissecting some that looked like the real owl pellets.  It was a disappointment but the kids were able to experience the dissection and learned quite a bit about owls.

So when I got the opportunity to review some products from The Young Scientists Club I was delighted to be assigned the Owl Kit which is part of the Set #10 – WH-925-1110 from the Young Scientists Series.

Each set in the Young Scientists Series contain three complete science kits (3 manuals/3 supply bags). You can decide to complete the sets in order to experience the ultimate in science adventure. However, the sets can also be done individually. The Young Scientists Club recommended to start with sets 1, 2 or 3 for kids ages 5 to 8 years old and for children ages 9 to 12 it is recommended to start with set 4 and up.

Each set comes in a specially identified envelope which contains all you need.

For the owl set, here’s what was included in the envelope.

Four experiments are included in the kit.  The first one was about dividing the animals from one of the pages by groups – herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores.  The second experiment will guide you to make a simple food chain.  Experiment three will guide you to build up a food web using all the animals except the ones used during the second experiment.  Finally, the last experiment was the one my daughter was looking forward to – the owl pellet dissection.

My daughter was excited to start.  But this excitement turn quickly to a comment about the smell and how it was gross to touch it.   I told her to get a mask to isolate the smell from her nose which she promptly went to get.  And then I encouraged her to pursue the dissection as planned.

Tweezers are included which could help you to open the pellet and start “digging” for the bones.  At some point she asked if I could help her doing it.   I jumped at the opportunity because I had never done this before.  It take patience and gentleness to find all the pieces and avoid breaking them.

As we continue digging in the owl pellet, we came to the conclusion that there was more than one animal in there.   Owls would eat rodents, shrews, moles, and birds.   The more we looked for remains, the more we realized that this particular owl had a special taste for rodents.   We found a few skulls belonging the the rodents categories.   My daughter also proceeded to try to build the skeleton of one rodent.

 

In the end this was a great experience and I am very pleased with the fact that they have sent a real owl pellet.  We could feel the fur and the bones as we searched the owl pellet.  If you desire you can also bleach the bones but we decide not to do this.  The instruction book also contains some information on owls that the child can read.

It was a fun kit to do on a very humid day.   We had a great time finding the bones and trying to identify them.   It is a great way to get your kids to do something out of the ordinary and learn some fascinating things about owls and the kind of animals they eat.

The Young Scientists Club kits are available on their http://www.theyoungscientistsclub.com/retailstore/retail-youngscientist.htmlor on amazon.ca and amazon.com.

  

Disclaimer: I received this kit for review purposes from KidStuff PR and Young Scientists Club. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Lost Kitties!

We recently got a special package to unveal from Hasbro.

What are the Lost Kitties?  Check the videos below…

Unvealing the Lost Kitties

Full view of the Lost Kitties

Lost Kitties can be found at your favorite store!

Disclaimer: Thanks to Hasbro Canada for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Keeping a Nature Journal

Keeping a Nature Journal – Discover a Whole New Way of Seeing the World Around You
Written by Clare Walker Leslie & Charles E. Roth
Published at Storey Publishing

About the book

Experience the splendor of nature with fresh eyes! Featuring an inspiring portfolio from Clare Walker Leslie’s nature journals, this guide offers easy-to-learn techniques for capturing the world around you in pictures and words. Encouraging you to make journaling a part of your daily routine, Keeping a Nature Journal is full of engaging exercises and stimulating prompts that will help you hone your powers of observation and appreciate new aspects of nature’s endlessly varied beauty.

My Thoughts

I have been doing bible art journaling for a few years now and as time goes by I am always eager to learn new techniques on drawing.   I have been seeing this particular book numerous time through the years but never ended up getting it.   I got the opportunity to review it and I have learned quite a bit while reading and trying the techniques presented in the book.    This is the 2nd edition of the book and in includes 32 pages of color portfolio from Clare’s latest journals.   Most of the rest of the book is black and white drawings. 

This book will open up a whole new way to look what is going on around you.  Personally, I find it peaceful and relaxing to sit down with a sketch book and draw.   The book is divided into four parts.  Part One will guide you on how to get started.  And please do not give me the excuse that you are not skilled whatsoever in drawing.  I, myself, is the perfect example in how someone can develop the skills and draw better.  I remember when I was in high school and I disliked my art classes.   It was always difficult for me that year to get better….  But unbeknown  to be the genes in my body would blossoms when I would be in my…. wait for it….. FORTIES!   Yes you have read this right.  I have learned to enjoy drawing and painting in my forties and as I am at the edge of turning fifty next year, I am looking forward to see how this journey will develop itself in the years to come.

Part Two will provide plenty of tips and tricks to draw through the seasons – whether you decide to do an ongoing journal or specific season journals.  Part Three presents the new selection of pages from Clare’s journals this time in color.   Finally Part Four is giving you a lesson on how to enjoy and develop the skill of nature journaling.  You cannot miss the examples and techniques presented.  One thing I will tell you is that practice makes you better as time goes by.  So do not hesitate a minute and grab this book, a sketch book and pencils to practice drawing.

I was inspired by one of the examples found in the book.  The tree presented looked as though it was a spring or summer image.  However, I decided to change it a bit and create a more late fall/winter image.   I am quite pleased with the result.

Another thing that I think is great for this book is that at the end of the book you can have a suggested scale for teachers to assess nature journaling skills.   As a homeschooler I think it is fabulous to have guidance of this sort because it can be difficult to grade assignments.  

This book is definitively a great resource to have if you desire to develop a new skills, if you desire to be better at drawing, if you homeschool, or if you do bible art journaling (because like it or not nature is perfect to illustrate verses!).  

The book Keeping a Nature Journal is available to purchase at your favorite bookstore, even on amazon.ca and amazon.com.

 

Disclaimer: Thanks to Thomas Allen for sending me the above mentioned book for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

The Beginner’s Guide to Dehydrating Food

The Beginner’s Guide to Dehydrating Food – How to Preserve All Your Favorite Vegetable, Fruits, Meats, and Herbs
Written by Teresa Marrone
Published at Storey Publishing

About the book

This essential companion for putting your food dehydrator to work features instructions and techniques for drying all the most popular fruits and vegetables, along with meat and herbs. You’ll learn to dry fruits and vegetables at their peak, giving you an easy and economical way to stock your pantry with apple rings, mango slices, banana chips, dried soup beans, tomatoes, and much more for year-round enjoyment. In addition, drying guidelines for specialty items like meat jerky, fruit leather, dried herb and spice mixtures, backpacking meals, and even baby food round out this friendly handbook.

My Thoughts

We have purchased a stackable-tray dehydrator a few years ago.  Our goal was to be more versatile in storing food and explore the possibility of dehydrating food.   We didn’t know how to do it properly and got discouraged…  We kept the dehydrator and used it sporadically when drying nuts which make them crunchier.  But when I stumbled on this book my interest in using the dehydrator more often and for a variety of food got sparked again.   I was delighted to receive this book to review and was not disappointed with what it had to offer.

The book is divided into three parts.  Part One will introduce you to the techniques for drying food at home and the different methods and equipment that can be used. Part Two will show you how to dehydrate the fruits and vegetables, the herbs and spices as well as meat and poultry.   This section will go through detailed explanation for each food included like mangoes, or watermelon, asparagus or peas and so on.   For each food item presented in this book, you will learn how to prepare it, how to verify if the dehydration is done, how much it will yield, how to use it.  You will also discover which drying methods are the best for the food in question.

The third section of the book will encourage you to make the most of your dehydrator.  You will learn how to make leather or candied fruits.  You will also have a whole chapters with recipes using the food you have dehydrated.

You do not need a dehydrator to make this book a great reference in your kitchen.  Why?  Because the author also gives instruction on hos to dehydrate using your beloved oven or in the case of herbs, how to dry them in the air.

I wanted to try something new – no nuts this time…   A friend had given us some rhubarb and there was quite a bit of it.  I quickly checked in the book and rhubarb did have some instructions.  So I followed the instruction on how to cut my rhubarb stalks.  And programmed the dehydrator to dry it.

It took between 6-10 hours to dry the pieces of rhubarb.

Once dried, you can store it in jar for future use.  You can rehydrate them for sauces, pies, or other cooked dishes by simply pouring boiling water using the ratio suggested in the book.  

What I particularly like about this book is that for each food item presented in it, you can visualize the before and after because a picture is include for each.    That way you know exactly what to expect when drying your food.   It is a great book to own if you like doing these kind of things.   I think it has tremendous potential for any household.   I am looking forward to use this book more often during the fall season.   It can be very useful as well if you decide to purchase riper than usual fruits and vegetables from the market at a reduce price.   We often take advantage of this for peppers or avocados.   Having this book opens up new possibilities for us.

 

Disclaimer: Thanks to Thomas Allen for sending me the above mentioned book for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Smithsonian Maker Lab Books

DK has published some very neat book on science in partnership with the Smithsonian.  Each of the books contains some fun experiments that can be done at home.   I had the opportunity to review two of these books.

Maker Lab – 28 Super Cool Projects offers step-by-step activities appropriate for kids ages 8–12.  Each activity is ranked easy, medium, or hard, with an estimated time frame for completion. Each of them also require only household materials that your children can use to build an exploding volcano, race balloon rocket cars, construct a solar system, make a lemon battery, and more.   The book contains four sections: Food for Thought, Around the Home, Water World, and The Great Outdoors.   Each of the experiments included in this book will open up the world of science for your child.

Maker Lab Outdoors – 25 Super Cool Projects contains projects that focus on Earth and the environment, plants and animals, weather, water, and physics, bringing science learning home and into the backyard. Young scientists can build a wormery and learn about compost, crack rocks with water and learn about freezing and thawing, build and launch a water rocket to see Newton's laws in action, and more.  Through the pages of this book you will have the possibility to explore nature in ways that are mind blowing.  The child will be encourage to experiment with nature watch, with the world of weather, with water power and with earth and sky. 

  

My Thoughts

What I like about the DK books is that not only does it gives the instructions to complete an experiment but it also explains the science behind it.  Both books also have incredible photography to illustrate the experiments.  A step-by-step comprehensible instructions and detailed explanations make these books a must for fun activities to do with your kids.   There are even explanations on how it works and real-word science tidbits to make the child realize that you can find the reaction of the experiment in the real world.

One of the book also contains experiments done with food – like the baked Alaska for example.  It is an amazing way to make the child to make food and also discover the science behind it.   Seeing the instructions makes it possible to do it without worrying to mess it up.   It is a more difficult experiment for sure and I would strongly suggest the presence of an adult when doing it but reading the science behind it will encourage you to do a little magic trick for your family one evening.   A cool magic trick if you ask me.  Your kids won’t believe their eyes when the ice cream won’t melt when you put the cake in the oven!  Not only will you be able to explain why the meringue acted as an insulator for the ice cream but you will be able to tie this to the awesome explanation why igloos do keep the warmth as well.

These books are also great to keep your kids busy during the summer months or during PD Days or holidays.    Nothing can build more memories than to spend time with your children doing quick and fun experiments and discover why it does what it does.  

And if these two books are not enough, DK also has published a Star Wars Maker Lab which contains 20 amazing projects.  This specific book will teach your budding Padawan how to become a Master of science, in both the real world and the Star Wars galaxy. Using clear step-by-step instructions, the book guides home scientists and makers through each exciting experiment–from making Jabba's gooey slime or a hovering landspeeder, to an Ewok catapult and a glowing Gungan Globe of Peace. Each experiment has fact-filled panels to explain the real-world science as well as the Star Wars science fiction from the movies.

 

These books are available at your favorite bookstore, even on amazon.ca and amazon.com.

 

 

 

Disclaimer: Thanks to DK Canada for allowing me to promote their books. I was not monetarily compensated for this post . Please note that the post was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Ant-Man and the Wasp adventure

Last Friday, July 6th, we had planned to go to the Landmark Theater in Kanata to see the movie “Ant-Man and the Wasp” with our whole family.   We enjoy seeing the new super-heroes movies in theater so we splurge a bit and bring our kids to these movies.   We arrived for the 1145am showing.

The movie was going on when suddenly the screen when blank and emergency lights opened in the theater.  We were literally about 15-20 minutes close to the end of the movie.   After waiting 15 minutes or so, we decided to checked on the website for Hydro and saw that there was an

issue in the area we were located.  The theater is smack in the middle of the bottom section on the photo below.

We decided to leave and request some free tickets – the theater was already giving some away.   We were disappointed but we needed to go to our campground from the week-end and could not wait until 330pm for the outage to be fixed as mentioned on the twitter account of the Hydro company.

So we drove and as we got closer to our destination, we jokingly said “What if the theater in Renfrew had the movie starting at 1pm? We could arrive where we were at when we were at Landmark.”  So hubby said that if it was the case, he would go in and offer to pay a reduce amount for us to see the end of the movie.

Well…. we arrived on main street.  Usually we turn to go to our campground before the theater but we see the sign.   And guess what….. the movie had indeed started at 1pm.   And there was a parking spot in front of the theater on the other side of the street waiting for us.  Hubby and one of our boys go in the theater.  He asked if he could pay a small amount for us to see the end of the movie and explain what happened.  The lady at the OBrien Theater in Renfrew allowed us to go in for free so we can see the rest of the movie and the fun part during the credits. 

The best part is that when we sat down it was about 5 minutes before the movie stopped at Landmark so we were able to catch the part that we had missed earlier in the day.

And after checking later that day for the outage – it was not fixed until 530pm and it happened because some trees fell on the lines due to high wind.

We were blessed by this lady at the OBrien Theater and are thankful for her willingness to let us see the end of the movie.

Many thanks from our whole family.  You have made our day on July 6th, 2018!

The Slime Book

The Slime Book – more than 30 amazing recipes
Published at DK

About the book

Includes more than 30 borax-free, simple, safe, homemade slime recipes-from basic slime to edible, textured, glow-in-the-dark, and color-changing slime.

Kids will be mesmerized and "slimerized" by the book's gloopy, gooey, colorful slime recipes. The easy-to-follow recipes all use inexpensive, accessible, and safe everyday products.

Create monster slime with googly eyes, prepare for an eruption with volcanic slime, or tuck in to yummy edible chocolate slime. All the projects are shown with clear step-by-step images and a vibrant picture of the final slimy stuff. The science behind each slime creation is explained through fact boxes.

Recipes include cornstarch-and-water slime, fluffy slime made of shaving cream, gloopy slime created from shampoo and toothpaste, stretchy slime containing PVA glue, edible slime made with marshmallows, glitter slime, sand slime, magnetic slime... and more.

Making slime is currently one of the most popular trends for children, with some homemade slime videos reaching 30 million views.
+ With 30 recipes, it includes more variations than any slime book available.
+ All recipes use safe, readily available ingredients.
+ Science information boxes keep an educational element to the book without detracting from the fun.
+ Ideal for children ages 5-9 who are new to the slime trend or who are already obsessed with slime and looking for new, funky recipes.
+ Parents looking for a slime or activity book will like the safe, easily accessible ingredients and knowing that their child can play safely.

My Thoughts

Let take a trip back in time for a second or two.  Remember the 1970s?  That is when I was a child and I remember the time when I got the new toy from Mattel called Slime.   It was gooey and disgustingly green.  It will ooze between your fingers and you could make a blob out of it.  And they came out with a purple one as well as some with trinkets in it.   Ahhhh! My mom totally disliked it but I loved it.   Not sure how much it cost back then but it must have been as pricey as the other stuff that is a rage nowadays.   Anyhow, I remember the Slime vividly and when I saw this book I knew it would be a great one to review just for my daughter.   

This book contains over  30 recipes of slime to do based on either clear craft glue or PVA glue mixed with other ingredients like food coloring, glitter glue, beads, and so on.   There are two main sections in this book – Nonedible Slime and Edible Slime.  Wait! What?  Yes there is such a thing as edible slime believe it or not.  And us parents that keep saying to our kids – do not play with your food!  LOL  Oh well… I guess sometimes it is ok to play with the food.

In the nonedible slime section, you will find the basic recipe to make slime but you will also get recipes to make stretchy slime, fluffy slime, see-through slime, serious putty, starry slime, party slime, crunchy slime, smelly slime, glitter slime, popping slime, slime in all sort of colors, gold slime, unicorn slime, metallic slime, sand slime, monster slime, snow slime, fake snot, pompom slime, alphabet slime, winter wonderland slime, dinosaurs in amber, bubbling swamp slime, bubble slime, glow-in-the-dark slime.  The edible slime section will have recipes like the chocolate goo, the bear necessities made out of gummy bears, the striped slime made out of Starburst chewy candies and the “sticky,icky, tasty” slime made out of marshmallow.

Some of these recipes look more fun to do that other ones.  But each are special in their own way.  I would personally stay away from the fake snot recipe but my daughter is having a Christmas theme at camp this summer and I think the Winter Wonderland Slime would be perfect for it!  I just need to find some snowflake confetti somehow….  

The book would be perfect for this summer to allow you child to have fun in a different kind of way.  And who know…. maybe your child is a budding entrepreneur and will find a way to make this new passion of making slime into a small business.

The Slime Book is available at your favorite bookstore, even on amazon.ca and amazon.com.

 

Disclaimer: Thanks to DK Canada for allowing me to promote their books. I was not monetarily compensated for this post . Please note that the post was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Devotions for Sacred Parenting

Devotions for Sacred Parenting
By Gary Thomas
Published at Zondervan

About the book

Raising children is a sacred calling—and not for the faint of heart. It shapes the parent every bit as much as parents shape their children. In Devotions for Sacred Parenting, Gary Thomas, author of Sacred Parenting, delves deeper into the conversation and contemplates the soul-transforming journey of being a parent.

Many books have been written about how to parent your children effectively, how to become a better parent, and how effective parenting produces better kids. Devotions for Sacred Parenting explores an entirely different reality: how parenting transforms you, the parent. It explores the spiritual dynamics of parenting and why caring for your children is such an effective discipline in shaping your soul and forming the character of Christ within you.

With all new material, 52 devotions explore the spiritual dynamics of parenting. These life-related devotions are creative, fresh, and encouraging, inspiring mothers and fathers to look at parenting from a different perspective—as a holy and high calling from God, and as an opportunity to grow spiritually as you strive to raise godly children. Devotions for Sacred Parenting helps you understand how God is parenting you as you parent your children.

My Thoughts

Let’s face it… Parenting is not easy and sometimes it takes lots of wisdom and patience.   Being a parent require us to be constantly connected to our Father in Heaven whether you read the Bible or pray.  Devotions is also a great way to be nourished as a parent and where you can find tips and tricks to be a better parent.    We have heard Gary Thomas speak about parenting in the past and we really enjoyed his thoughts about this amazing job that is parenting our children.   So when I was able to review the new edition of Devotions for Sacred Parenting I did not hesitate to do it.

Thought many books have been written on how to parent properly and how to encourage your children, this particular book will emphasize on the fact that parenting transform you – the parent.   How can we shape our soul and become more like Christ as a parent is the whole idea behind this book.  The book contains 52 devotions and reflection questions which explores the spiritual aspect of parenting.   Fifty-two devotions to do once a week with your better half – your spouse.  And each devotions concludes with a prayer to say together as well as questions for reflections during the week.  These questions are always great and make you ponder on what you read as well as think of the past week or so in order to identify what you could have done better.

From the first devotion I have read, I was hooked.  This particular devotion titled “God is in the room” opened my eyes to the fact that God is always there (I knew that already but the reality sinked in more in my mind and heart.) and that realizing that will make you realize that how we act, think, behave and speak has a witness at all times.  Because let’s face it – we sometimes forget that He is there with us and tend to act is if He was absent.  But he isn’t.   God is in the room. So if we want our children to be able to acknowledge Him and notice Him we also have to do it as well.  It is funny how our parenting skills changes when our mind shift to the fact that God is ALWAYS with us.  He is in all the rooms you go in, in your car, in your kitchen, in the backyard…. (I think  you get the picture.)  So I have been telling myself this word – God is in the room. – for some time now.  I even plan to make a watercolor with the words on it to put in our dining room which also is our homeschool room.  Seeing it day in and day out will make these words sink in more and more in me and in my children.  

God is in the room.

Simple yet effective words to repeat.  A great way to remember that He is always there with us – no matter what happens.

In a way this book will allow you to discover how God is parenting you to become the parent he intended you to be for your children.   It is a fabulous book that I highly recommend to parents everywhere.   It is packed with wisdom and nuggets on how to be a better parent. 

Devotions for Sacred Parenting is available for purchase at your favorite bookstore, even on amazon.ca and amazon.com.

 

Disclaimer: Thanks to Thomas Nelson for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.