IQ SIX PRO ~ A Timberdoodle Review

If you enjoy puzzles

get ready to have fun!

With 120 challenges IQ Six Pro is a cognitive skill building brain game. IQ Six Pro is part of   Timberdoodle's Ninth-Grade Curriculum Kit. This puzzle game helps to develop your child's visual-spatial skills through logical building steps. The recommended age for IQ Six Pro is 8 and up. The price on the Timberdoodle site is $11.99. 

The set includes:

1. a two sided puzzle board 
2. 12 colorful, hexagonal puzzle pieces
3. 1 puzzle booklet with 120 challenges with solutions

IQ Six Pro is fairly small and fit in the palm of my hand. The product dimensions are 5.71 x 3.94 x 1.14 inches. It is a great game for home, on the go, traveling, and sharing with friends. 

The IQ Six Pro has 120 puzzles to solve. There are 36 2D puzzles on the black board, 36 2D puzzles on the butterfly board, and 48 3D pyramid puzzles. The solutions for all of the puzzles are included in the booklet. There are 5 levels of difficulty: Starter, Junior, Expert, Master, and Wizard. 

 

This is the 2D butterfly board. There are 36 puzzles to solve on the butterfly board. 

The black board is for 2D puzzles as well as for building the 3D pyramid puzzles. You can see the shape of the pyramid in the center of the board. 

My 19-year-old sat and worked through many of the various puzzles and was fairly good at them. She did not want to tackle the pyramid levels. 

My mother is always excited when I get a new game to review. She loves games. She sat and worked through several of the beginning levels of the 2D puzzles. She commented that grandpa would really like this game. I need to send it home with her so that he can play with it. He fractured his back about two weeks ago and this would be a great way to pass some time. 

Look at my mother's concentration. 

My father-in-law loves puzzles. When they came to town I handed him this game. I explained what to do and he did one of the puzzles and then handed it back. He was not too sure about it. About 5 minutes later he asked for the IQ Six Pro back. He then sat and worked through more puzzles. He said the game kind of grows on you. My father-in-law is in his 70's. 

This is the outer, outside board of the IQ Six Pro. After completing each puzzle you are left with a beautiful, colorful butterfly. 

Isn't the finished butterfly puzzle beautiful?

My 14 year old worked through puzzles in all of the various challenges. She liked the butterfly board the best. She gave up on the 3D pyramid puzzle challenges. She is not one to sit and really take time to figure something out if it takes too long. 

I am trying hard to build this pyramid.

Okay, not quite a full pyramid but I am proud my attempt.

I worked through some of the 2D puzzles and was determined to solve the pyramid puzzles. It took me a long time to figure out how to place the pieces based on the instructions. Once I figured the first one out I felt a bit more confident. That was until the puzzles introduced blank spaces. You have to figure out the pieces that go in those places. The pyramids are 6 layers high. Pieces can be placed horizontally or at an angle. A piece many only take up one layer of the pyramid or several layers. There is only one solution for each puzzle. 

Pyramid SUCCESS!

My 22 year old was determined to solve the pyramid levels. She said that after figuring out the strategy of successfully building the first one the subsequent ones were easier. Of course the greatest challenge in building the pyramids as you move up in levels is the blank spaces that you have to figure out for yourself. 

The only drawback of the game is that when you are finished playing you cannot just place the pieces any which way and close the lid. You have to place the pieces strategically in order for them to all fit. I simply go the the Starter Level, Number 1 which is fairly easy to solve. 

My daughter is a part-time nanny. The 10-year-old boy loves to read, play games, and do quiet activities. My daughter brought IQ Six Pro over to let the him try it out. He immediately got hooked. My daughter texted me after he had been playing for an 1 1/2 hours and said that he didn't want to stop to do another activity. He was even able to tackle the pyramids! He told my daughter that he wanted to get the game. She sent me the following pictures. I called my daughter and she had me on speaker. I told the him that he could keep the game until tomorrow and he was so excited. 

This is 1 1/2 hours into playing and still going strong! 

IQ Six Pro is a great game for the whole family. Whether you are purchasing it for entertainment or as part of your child's curriculum you will not regret the purchase. We have several Smart Games® brand puzzle games from Timberdoodle and my family has loved all of them. Beat the summer heat and give your child a great way to build their problem solving, logic, and concentration skills while still having fun. If you are a homeschooler or are thinking about homeschooling check out all that Timberdoodle has to offer. IQ Six Pro is part of Timberdoodle's Ninth-Grade Curriculum Kit. Timberdoodle has kits available for Newborn through 12th grade. 

The Critical Thinking Co. ™

Disclaimer:  I received this complimentary product through the 

Homeschool Review Crew.

The Critical Thinking Co.™ offers over two hundred books and software in reading, writing, math, science, social studies, critical thinking, as well as test prep. Supplemental workbooks as well as full curriculum options are available for students in Preschool through the 12th grade. Over the past weeks Building Thinking Skills® Level 2 -Grades 4-6 (Ages 9-12). The Building Thinking Skills Series® is the #1 selling Thinking Skills Program in the World! There are 412 pages and 10 chapters in the Level 2 workbook. Critical thinking skills are essential in all subjects as students progress to middle and high school. Level 2 first presents activities in semi-concrete figural-spatial form and then in abstract verbal form. This workbook is considered a full Curriculum. 

The 10 Chapters in Building Thinking Skills® Level 2 (Color) include:

1. Describing Shapes
2. Figural Similarities and Differences 
3. Figural Sequences
4. Figural Classifications
5. Figural Analogies
6. Describing Things
7. Verbal Similarities and Differences
8. Verbal Sequences
9. Verbal Classifications
10. Verbal Analogies

In every exercise students must use critical thinking skills in order to complete what is asked. The wide variety of activities requires students to think through problems from many angles. For example, in Chapter 1 students are shown a shape on a grid and are told that each dot is 1/2" to the next dot. They are to then estimate the square inches of the shape. In Chapter 2 students are shown a half shape on a grid and then are asked to draw and color each shape as it will look when unfolded. In Chapter 5 students are asked to draw a figure to complete each analogy using a dot grid. In Chapter 8 students are given a grid and are asked to follow a set of directions. 

Some of the Level 2 skills that your student will learn are:

Figural-Spatial Skills

• Describing Shapes
• Describing, Enlarging, Reducing, Copying Shapes
• Stacking, Rotating, Folding, Symmetry
• Classifying, Identifying, Organizing
• Analogies and Diagrams

Verbal Skills

• Reading Maps
• True/False, If/Then, Yes/No, Compare/Contrast
• Directions, Orientation
• Writing Descriptions
• Sequencing 
• Analogies: Create, Explain, Association, Type

Here are a few examples of activities. 

Estimating Area

Tumbling (Rotating) Figures

Paper Folding

Complete Figural Analogies

Which Figure Does Not Match?

Describing Solids

Building Thinking Skills® Level 2 would be a great summer enrichment activity workbook to help your child develop necessary critical thinking skills. Maybe your are looking ahead to the upcoming school year for a full curriculum in Critical Thinking. The skills learned are will help students in their reading, writing, math, science, social studies, and standardized tests. This 10 chapter workbook with a full answer key in the back of the book has your covered. My Fellow Crew Members have reviewed many The Critical Thinking Co.™ materials both supplemental and full Curriculum. Be sure to check out all of the reviews that range from Pre-K through grade 9. I would highly recommend Building Thinking Skills® Level 2 for grades 4-6. I would add that younger students working through the workbook may become frustrated with the activities and may need some help. I would also add that as a homeschool parent you may find Level 2 is a great fit for your child outside of the suggested grade range. The Critical Thinking Co.™offers sample page of the Level 2 workbook. You can also browse their site to look at the many levels of the Building Thinking Skills® to find the perfect fit for your child. 

High School Math Live

 

Disclaimer:  I received this complimentary product through the 

Homeschool Review Crew.

High School Math Live offers students At My Pace Courses (AMP) for Pre-Algebra through Calculus. Each level is divided into AMP course A (semester 1) and AMP course B (semester 2). Each semester must be purchased separately. In order to receive full credit for a course your student much complete both semester and complete the final exam within a 12 month period. High School Math Live courses are accredited by Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The AMP courses offered are: Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Pre-Calculus w/Trig, and Calculus. My daughter is working through the AMP Pre--Algebra. 

If you are trying to decide if an At My Pace Course is right for your child ask yourself:

• Does your child work well independently?
• Is your child highly motivated? Loop
• Does your child need to repeat a semester or maybe even a year of a subject?
• Is your student seeking to gain more than one math credit in a given academic year?
• Does your family schedule or your student's schedule need to be flexible?
• Are live classes just not an option?
• Does your child have the mathematical aptitude to work through a course at a faster than normal rate?
• Does your child need to work at a slower pace because they are struggling in math?

These are just a few of the reasons that parents or students may choose an AMP course. 

So how does the High School Math Live AMP courses work? The AMP recorded lectures are taught by credentialed teachers. Each lesson (lecture) is approximately 35-40 minutes. The book used is Glencoe Mathematics Pre-Algebra. Each lesson has the following sections:

• What You'll Learn
• How (Explaining the New Concept)
• Examples
• Key Concepts
• Check for Understanding (Examples Problems to Work Through)
• Practice and Apply (Student Problems)
• Maintain Your Skills (Review Problems)

The below photo is a schedule that your student can follow. The days column relate to live classes so your student can disregard that. High School Math Live also offers live classes. The lessons are listed such as, 2.5 Dividing Integers, and then there is a column for homework assignments. The page numbers and problems that the student is to complete are listed. 

Each AMP course, which is a semester, has approximately 35 lessons, 35 homework assignments, 17 assessments, and a cumulative final exam. The assigned teacher will send your child's quizzes and tests to your email. You will give your child their assessments and then send them back to your child's teacher via Notes. 

The teacher will explain the new concepts and work through practice problems. The student is able to stop and restart the video in order to work problems along with the teacher to ensure that they are understanding the new concept. They can also stop and back up the video if they did not grasp the concept the first time. Odd numbered problems are assigned so that students can check their answers in the back of the book. If even numbered problems are assigned the answers to those problems will be provided. After completing the assigned problems in a lesson the student should check their answers or you as a parent could do so. Have your child rework the problems that they got wrong before moving on to the next lesson.

The student also has 2.5 hours of tutoring available to them with their assigned teacher for each course purchased. Tutoring sessions meet in a live interactive classroom setting. At the beginning of any given course your student will be assigned a teacher. Your students teacher will email you, the parent your child's quizzes and tests. After your child completes a quiz or test your child will upload them to Notes and your child's teacher will grade the quiz or test and send it back to your child. The teacher will often make notes to your child. If your child struggled your child's teacher may ask your child to make corrections and then adjust their grade after they resubmit their quiz or test. Your child's teacher may ask your child to meet for a tutoring session to go over the quiz or test and then take an alternate form of the quiz or test for a grade. 

The entire teachers guide is included. I have one small issue with this. There are times when you cannot see all of the problems or answers because they are in the curve of the book. 

What is good about having access to the entire teachers book is that if your child is struggling you can have them work the even numbered problems and then in OneNote easily access the answers by clicking in the left hand boxes the chapter and lesson number. 

For all of the lessons there are some problems that are worked out on the OneNote board. 

All problems are worked out and the answers are given for both the study guides and practice tests for each chapter. They suggest that the student choose to either complete the study guide or the practice test before taking the test. 

Here is a completed test. You can see off to the right hand side the teacher wrote notes. The teacher used colored pen to grade. My daughter was given the opportunity to make corrections and raise her final grade. 

Your child will be assigned their own unique OneNote notebook link. This link will remain the same for the semester or year. There is a grade book that lists all of your students grades. Tests count for 60% of the grade and quizzes 40%. The grading scale is:

• A - 90 - 100
• B - 80 - 89
• C - 70 -79
• D - 65 - 69
• F - 64 and below 

My daughter really struggles with math. After browsing the High School Math Live website I decided to give it a go. Unfortunately, my daughter found the teacher lectures to be confusing once she gets to the actual problems and tries to apply the concepts taught. I decided to explain the lessons to her myself and she still found it to be confusing. So, I really do not think that it is the fault of the teacher. For some reason my daughter is just really having a hard time grasping concepts and then applying them. I think that High School Math Live AMP courses are a great choice for math, especially if you as a parent are looking for a curriculum that is student driven. There are so many tools built into the courses to help make students successful and help parents keep up with their child's grades. Be sure to read the experiences my Fellow Review Crew Members had as their children worked through various levels of the At My Pace Courses.