Kid K’Nex Undersea Friends Building Set

Kid K’Nex Undersea Friends Building Set
From K’Nex

About the Toy

Your child can have a blast exploring the ocean with his fantastical undersea friends! With 48 building pieces including blocks, rods, connectors, personality parts, and NEW KID'NEX figures, your child can simultaneously build two giant fish, a scuba diver, swimmer, and other underwater attractions. Building set comes in easily portable box with handle so that you can take the fun with you! Encourage your child's imagination with ten suggested alternate builds.

Features...

• 48 KID K'NEX pieces including blocks, rods, connectors, personality parts, and NEW scuba diver/swimmer figures
• Perfect well-rounded building and playing experience for kids ages 3+
• Includes ideas for ten alternate builds

My Thoughts

Kid K’Nex is perfect for little hands and will entertain your little ones for some time.   This specific set is wonderful to entertain the preschooler in your homeschool while you have to explain other lessons to your oldest kids.    The box contains 48 pieces which can be interconnected together to create beautiful undersea creatures.   You could also teach your preschooler about animals living in the ocean with it.

Two figures are also included in this box to help you child to pretend play as though he/she is swimming with the sea creatures.  

I find the pieces colorful and easy to handle even for little hands.   As usual I am impressed with the quality and durability of the plastic pieces included in this Kid K’Nex building set.

I highly recommend the Kid K’Nex products no matter which ones they are.

Kid K’Nex Undersea Friends Building set is available at any toy store.

Disclaimer: I received the 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.

Smithsonian Rock and Gem

Smithsonian Rock and Gem
From DK Canada

About the book

A fascinating encyclopedic reference on rocks and gems, including their identification, composition, and their use. The many feature boxes cover topics such as the Malachite room in the Winter Palace and the collection of the Hope Diamond and the superstitions surrounding it.

My Thoughts

Since our trip to the Science North in Sudbury last year (Sept 2010), my oldest son has been fascinated with rocks.    He once mentioned that it would be nice to have a book on rocks so he can learn more about it.   *grin*   He doesn’t know that I have this gem of a book in my hands as I write this.   

While at the museum, the kids registered themselves to the science section to learn how to polish rocks.    Each of them worked hard to make their rough rock become a polished one – one so smooth to the hand and nice to look at.  They liked the activity so much that they went back to it on another day. 

But participating to this simple yet fun activity, the curiosity of my kids was picked.   And everywhere they go now, they pick up rocks and show them to me.   We even got some slag – left of rock from the nickel extraction – from my husband’s uncle who used to work in the mines in Sudbury.  

My oldest son, who is ten, keeps asking for a book that will give him more information about rocks.   Well let me tell you that the Smithsonian Rock and Gem is the book for him!   This book will give him all the information he needs to learn more about rocks and gems.    He already started his little collection of rocks.    I suspect that he will enjoy digging into this book to learn more about the different rocks and gems from around the world.

The books chapters are:

Origins – formation of the universe, formation of earth, earth’s crust and collection rocks and minerals
Rocks – rock formation, types of rocks, igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks, metamorphic rocks
Minerals – what is a mineral?, identifying minerals, mineral associations, what is a crystal?, crystal systems, crystal habits, what is a gemstone?, gem mining, gem cutting, native elements, sulfides, sulfosalts, oxides, hydroxides, halides, carbonates, phosphates, arsenates, vanadates, borates, nitrates, sulfates, chromates, tungstates, molybdates, silicates, organic gem.
Fossils – how fossils are formed, the fossil record, plants, invertebrates, vertebrates

Though I will admit that some of the information is not Christian based, I believe it is necessary for my children to be exposed to both side of the coins in the theories circulating out there.   I want my kids to be fully prepared for when they arrive in college/university so that they can stand firm in their beliefs and be able to defend their faith.  

Each rock/gem presented in this book is done so with detailed information about it.   Images always accompanied the text and you will be able to compare your own rocks/gems in your collection with the photos included in this book.  You will also discover where the rock/gem can be found around the world.

The Smithsonian Rock and Gem is available at your favorite bookstore, even amazon.ca.

Disclaimer: I received the 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.

A Lancaster County Christmas

A Lancaster County Christmas
Written by Suzanne Woods Fisher
Published at Revell

About the book

Mattie Riehl was hoping to give her husband, Sol, the Christmas gift they have both longed for--news that a baby was on the way. But as usual, she is disappointed. The holidays bring an acute awareness to Mattie that her dream of a big Amish family isn't likely to become a reality. Will those empty chairs at the table ever be filled?

Then a winter storm raging outside blows an impatient young woman and her husband into the Riehl home on Christmas Eve--and into a much slower pace of life.

Both couples are about to find out if they can weather the storm--and if miracles still happen at Christmastime.

Who is Suzanne Woods Fisher?

Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling author of The Choice, The Waiting, The Search, and The Keeper, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace. Her interest in the Anabaptist cultures can be directly traced to her grandfather, W. D. Benedict, who was raised in the Old Order German Baptist Brethren Church in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Suzanne is a Christy Award nominee and is the host of an internet radio show called Amish Wisdom and her work has appeared in many magazines. She lives in California.

My Thoughts

It has been a while since I read an Amish novel and when I had the opportunity to review this new Christmas Amish novel I jumped on it.    I love Christmas and snow and the cover picture simply spoke to me.    Besides I knew I had enjoyed previous books from the author…

So I embarked on a marvelous Christmas story that had everything in it – mystery, a dramatic event that will happen on Christmas Eve, a couple of funny events as well as wonderful characters but English and Amish.

I am somewhat jealous of the experience  of the English characters are having to spend Christmas with this Amish family.   The story is well written and will grab your heart within the few few pages of it.   To add more to the story, a tense moment where one of the character disappears will keep you on hedge.  The author has a gift of picturing the scene for you so that you can feel almost as though you are witnessing it.    I had tears at times and I even chuckled during the incident of the car rolling itself away…   I could just imagine the whole scene in my head and I couldn’t help but laugh.   Needless to say I enjoy A Lancaster County Christmas quite a lot and would recommend it to anyone loving Amish novels.

A Lancaster County Christmas is available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, even at amazon.ca.

Disclaimer: Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. 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.