Rummino Review

Here at the NerdFamily House we are huge gamers. To the point that NerdDad and I spend some of our date nights playing board games;). So I was excited when we received our copy of Rummino to review. It is a rummy dominoes game. This game is great because people of all different skill can play it and it can become as easy or as hard as you can make it. So everyone in the family can play it!

The basic game play is just to put down tiles in order to get points. You can get points for a run or a group of the same number. Then the next player can add on to yours or just play off of it! With 1 tile you can change the whole game;). I really like the fact that you have an entirely new game each time you play so it doesn't just become boring strategy.

I think that Rummino would be an awesome family Christmas gift or a gift for just that fun friend. Go check it out and let me know what you think!

(This was an FRN Review)

Prima Princessa Review

Last year I was so pleased to introduce my kids to the Nutcracker ballet. All 3 of my oldest watched it with rapt attention but my oldest daughter (now 6) was mesmorized. See she desires to be a ballet dancer but those lessons are pricey;). That is why I was delighted to have the opportunity to review Prima Princessa presents the Nutcracker.

This is a delightful presentation of the Nutcracker with the addition of some ballet lessons. The San Francisco Ballet performs the delightful ballet while a Narrator explains what it going on. That is perfect for the little ones so you don't have to read the story to them before viewing. It also has young students from the School of American Ballet that actually dance in between acts and in the bonus features to teach a few ballet moves. Some of the things it teaches the kids are glisade and arm positions. On the web site they even have coloring pages to go along with the Nutcracker!

This is so delightful! This is going to be perfect for both all my kids (8-2). My kids are going to love it!!! I already do! This is Prima Princessa's second dvd. Their previous offering is Swan Lake and for just $12.99 they are great investments. So go check out the Nutcracker and enjoy the early start to the Christmas season!!!

This post was written as part of a program for Family Review Network and Prima Princessa, who provided the DVD for review.

Bed Bouquet Review and Giveaway

I admit it, I like my bedroom to smell nice. The problem is that you can't leave candles going all night and the pillow mists can stain your sheets and pillows. Also the mists can also have an alcohol after smell (which drives NerdDad nuts).

This is why I was very interested to try Secret Scentsation's new Bed Bouquet product. It is really rather simple to use. It is a thin little packet that has little vent holes on one side and an adhesive strip on the other. You just place it in between the mattress pad and the sheet. Then stick it to the mattress pad. The amount of smell you desire will effect the placement: more smell put it under your pillow, less down by the foot of your bed. We used the linen scent and it was very nice! They come in 4 scents: Citrus, Lavender & Vanilla, Linen Fresh, Jasmine & White Rose.

Win it!
How would you like to win some of your own Bed Bouquets?

To enter:

* Just leave a comment telling me something you do in order to make your bedroom more relaxing and what 2 scents you would like to try.
* A random winner will be selected and notified on October 30th.
* The winner will then have 3 days to claim their prize.

To earn extra entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra ticket but you must leave a separate comment for each one.

* Subscribe to my feed (if you already do, that counts).
* Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here.
* Subscribe to my Twitter
* Tweet about this!

If you want to see more giveaways pop over to Making Money Keeping Money to see more giveaways on Contesting Monday

This post was written for Family Review Network as part of a program from Bed Bouquet, who provided the product for review and giveaway.

Kinderbach: And We Begin!

I love music! I love the way that they notes interplay to compose the melody. I love how the rhythm can stir your soul and how singing a song can transport you into an awesome mood. But I have a problem that has given birth to another. I have no musical talent. So now you are wondering what my next problem is. Well, I homeschool my kids and can’t teach them music. And for those of you who don’t know, music lessons are expensive ($50 a month or more) and they don’t like to start lessons until 6 years old. Well, I found that frustrating! At the preschool age my kids seem to be little sponges about everything so it seemed to be a waste not to capitalize on it. Then Kinderbach came along.
Aimed at the ages 3-7, I am currently using the Kinderbach program with all 4 of my kids (8, 6, 4, 2). We are about 3 weeks into the program and we are all having a ball! My kids have been learning all about Dodi and don’t realize all the musical knowledge they are already acquiring.
In 3 short weeks my kids have sung, danced, waved their hands and played with the piano. In 3 short weeks they have learned about the piano keys, high/low pitches, rhythm, finger numbering, ¼ notes and even how to play a little song. Not bad for 15 minutes, 4 times a week. Now to be fair, the 2 year old isn’t quite learning it but cut her some slack she is 2;).
Seriously, I have been impressed that my 3 older kids are really learning this. I never had much doubt that the 8 year old could handle it but I see him taking the knowledge out side of just the Kinderbach lessons. I was also confident in the 6 year old but I wasn’t expecting it to help her so quickly in other musical areas. She has been in a choir for over a year but we still struggle with rhythm issues. But after just one lesson that used both walking and clapping to keep time, I am seeing great improvement everywhere! The 4 year old has also done better than I expected. One of the coloring pages was a worksheet on finger number. They had to match the number with the hand that had the correct nail black. I admit, I didn’t think he would be able to analyze it enough to do it but I was wrong. He matched them all.
I can’t wait to see what this next month will hold for us and our musical knowledge! Back to the music! Dodi, Dodi, where do you sleep? Dodi, Dodi, and rest your feet?,..

(KinderBach has graciously given us access in order to write these columns)

Reading and Learning While Little

Recently I have been part of a few discussions about how hard it is to find non-fiction books for young readers. I can say here in the NerdFamily house it has always been a challenge. With our oldest we struggle with a child who can read quite well for his age but at the same time the non-fiction books at that level contain such advanced data that it is hard for him to really comprehend the information. With NerdPie she wants to learn real information but is still really developing her reading ability. Then we have our 4 year old. He can't read but he loves to be read to. I want to encourage him to understand what I am reading so I don't want books that are to hard. With all of these kids it would be a shame to lose this sponge like time.

At my local library I have found a few different series that we have used. Typically what happens is that I find 1 in a series, like it, and then request every other book they put out. So in order to help others, in a way I wish someone would have helped me, here are a few series that I have found. I am not going to really talk about math because I have already posted a bit about some good options here and here.

History:

Spirit of America, Our People Series

Time for Kids Series (they have great history and science)

Headlines from History Series

Science:

Our Galaxy and Beyond Series

Let's Read and Find Out! Series

So there are just a few. What do you use with your early elementary school kids?

My Yoga 2 Go Review and Giveaway!

Life is crazy, exercise much less relaxation is near impossible to schedule. That is why My Yoga 2 Go was created. In the My Yoga 2 Go Practice System you get posture cards, sequence cards, and a plastic holder. With these, you can layout an entire yoga workout.

This is cool for so many reasons! First off, finding the time and money to go to a yoga studio is always a challenge. And frankly I like yoga but not the mediation side. So this allows me to do yoga on my terms! It has sequence cards that enable you to so a set sequence based on your level and purpose (Energize, core strength, hip opening and more). I also really like the fact that is has a full color picture of each pose with detailed instructions. It has all the benefits of having a teacher right there!

It is also very nice that it folds up and can travel with you. Traveling stresses me out greatly so it is convenient that it is light and can hang on just about anything! With the holidays coming up I think this would also be a great gift.

So does this sound as great for you as it does to me? Well, then you can go pick it up at My Yoga 2 Go. I even have a 15% off coupon for you to use! Just use the code "BLOGYOGA" between now and October 31st. Or you could win it here!

Win it!
How would you like to win some of your own My Yoga 2 Go Practice System?

To enter:

* Leave me a comment here telling me a great relaxation tip!
* A random winner will be selected and notified on October 23rd.
* The winner will then have 3 days to claim their prize.

To earn extra entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra ticket but you must leave a separate comment for each one.

* Subscribe to my feed (if you already do, that counts).
* Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here.
* Subscribe to my Twitter
* Tweet about this!

If you want to see more giveaways pop over to Making Money Keeping Money to see more giveaways on Contesting Monday

(This is a FRN review)

Muvee Review and Giveaway!

I have had to come to terms with something. I don't scrapbook and probably never will. I have shoe boxes of pictures and tons of supplies but I have neither time nor talent. I have a phobia about messing with the actual pictures and hurting them. I am way to type A and at the same time cannot draw a straight line. That makes for painful and slow scrapbooking. But my dads are both out of the area and I would love to keep them up to date with pictures of the kids. So enters muvee Reveal software.

You can use muvee Reveal to make shows with pictures, videos and music. It is so very easy. You just click on everything hit play. It is also set up to help those of us who are, shall we say, photographically inhibited. It offers a variety of photo editing options. You can turn up the colors, offset red eye issues, zoom and more! So once you are done building your show you can a few easy options. You can just view it from your computer, burn it onto a disk, post it on a blog or share it!

This is so great! I think this is a great way to create mini photo "album" shows for different events (like Christmas morning) or seasons (like summer vacation). I also really like this because you can have as many copies as you would like, unlike traditional paper scrapbooks. So go check out muvee Reveal!

Win it!
How would you like to win some of your own copy of muvee Reveal?

To enter:

* Go over to the muvee site and then come back here to tell me about the feature you like the best!
* A random winner will be selected and notified on October 20th.
* The winner will then have 3 days to claim their prize.

To earn extra entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra ticket but you must leave a separate comment for each one.

* Subscribe to my feed (if you already do, that counts).
* Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here.
* Subscribe to my Twitter
* Tweet about this!

If you want to see more giveaways pop over to Making Money Keeping Money to see more giveaways on Contesting Monday

This post was written for Family Review Network as part of a program from muvee Reveal, who provided the program for review and giveaway.