Family Game Night Strikes Again!

We were thrilled to find out our family would once again be reviewing a game from Northstar Games. We enjoyed our experience with Wits & Wagers several months ago (and still enjoy playing it), so, we anxiously awaited the arrival of a new game from Northstar to add to our game arsenal. Say Anything did not disappoint us in the least.  We have had hilarious evenings playing Say Anything.  The makers of Say Anything say this:

Say Anything is a light-hearted game about what you and your friends think. It will get people talking, laughing and having fun in minutes. Enjoy it with three to eight family members or as an hilarious party game with adults. So dig deep into your heart or just come up with something witty - this is your chance to Say Anything!

We have played with as few as three and as many as six players.  It is really difficult to get our entire family at home at the same time these days!  I must admit, it is just as much fun to play with a few players as with many players.  The really fun part of this game is that players get to "lobby" for their answer to be chosen as the favorite.  Say Anything is easy to learn.  Basically, on a players turn, the player selects a card and reads aloud the question on the card. All of the other players write down their answers to the question on the provided dry erase cards.  Cards are placed face up in the center of the table and players lobby for their answers as the one in turn is secretly choosing his/her favorite answer.  He/she indicates the favorite answer on a color coded wheel (each color corresponds to a player) and places the wheel face down while players make their wagers.  Players wager on which answer they think was chosen.  The answer is revealed and players receive points based on whether or not they have wagered on the correct answer.  The player who wrote the correct answer also receives points.  After each round, points are recorded on the dry erase scoreboard, and the turn passes to the left.  The rules say to allow play to continue until everyone has had two turns, but, we usually erase the scoreboard and keep on playing.  Say Anything is geared toward ages 8+.  Adults as well as children enjoy playing.  This game would be a great ice breaker at a party because it really helps people relate and have fun at the same time.  I highly recommend it as an addition to any family game collection.  It is sure to be a classic!
Say Anything  comes with 60 question cards covering 360 different topic, 6 dry erase pens and 6 dry erase cards, 1 SELECT-O-MATIC-6000 (a wheel with a spinner which is used to indicate the "correct" answer for each round), 12 player tokens, 1 dry erase score board, and 1 rules booklet.
Say Anything is available for purchase for $19.99 at various retailers both online and in physical stores. To find a place near you to purchase Say Anything, visit the storefinder on Northstar Games website, here.  To read other reviews by TOS Homeschool Crew reviewers, visit the main crew blog page, here. Happy game playing!!!

Brand New Giveaway!

Visit the Brand New Giveaway section of this blog for information about the giveaway I am having for the next 10 days.  You don't want to miss out!!!

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Always IceCream!

Woo hoo!!!! Can you hear us cheering for Always IceCream?  We have been privileged to access and use the Always IceCream educational website for the past several weeks and have enjoyed it thoroughly.  This is the first educational website that our daughter has begged to play.  She has had so much fun with it that it has been a majority of her curriculum.  Through the Always Ice Cream program, our daughter has been reviewing basic operations in math, grammar skills, vocabulary, science, Bible, history, geography, typing, and Spanish.  She absolutely loves the program.  Everyday, when she logs in, there is some type of fun activity to do to earn a few scoops of ice cream.  In this program, ice cream scoops are currency.  They are awarded for correct answers to questions and other activities.  Scoops can also be assigned and awarded by parents through a parent account linked to the child's account.  This is a great feature.  Parents choose tasks such as "cleaning my room" and select the number of scoops to award when this task is completed.  So, not only is Always IceCream an educational program, it also can be used as a chore assignment and reward program.  Scoops can be exchanged for access to other games or to purchase a virtual pet and accessories for the pet.
       The questions that are asked in the different subjects increase in difficulty as girls progress through the different levels.  Scoops are not lost for incorrect answers.  If a question is answered incorrectly, the correct answer is shown and that question will be rearranged and asked again later in the level.  Girls are able to move at their own pace through the levels. Our daughter was so excited to complete all of the levels in different math topics!  The great thing was, there was something else for her to progress to once she completed a topic. 
     Always IceCream can be used as reinforcement for an existing curriculum or, with a few supplements, could be used as a majority of your curriculum.  It is a very thorough program.  Always IceCream is very secure and is constantly monitored for safety. (Read the Always IceCream safety policy here.) Your child's personal information is never visible to anyone.  Girls are able, with parental permission, to become friends with other girls on Always IceCream for the purpose of chatting and messaging.  We have not used this feature yet, but I have not heard anything but good things from those who have.  I have felt completely comfortable leaving our daughter to work on the program with little to no supervision at times.  I have seen nothing but wholesome, fun content.  The website is colorful, easy to access, and actually really inexpensive.  Subscriptions range from $.99 for a monthly subscription (after an initial $4.99) to $99 for a lifetime subscription.  The program is geared towards girls ages 7-12.  Our daughter is 11 and has loved it.  I have really appreciated a program geared to young girls that isn't trying to "grow up" young girls.
Always IceCream is innocent, fun, and educational.  I give this site one of my highest recommendations.  To read other reviews about Always IceCream, visit the main crew blog page, here. To visit the Always IceCream website and investigate some of the features for free before you decide to purchase, go here.
**I was not compensated in any way by Always IceCream or TOS in exchange for this review.  The honest opinions expressed are my own.**

Principles of Marketing

Professor in a Box has released another great computer-based course for high school students and older.  Principles of Marketing is a dvd course suitable for older high school students wanting to learn about marketing, students desiring to prepare for the CLEP test in marketing, or adult learners wanting to learn about marketing without the exorbitant expense and time of a college classroom.  I wish that we had this course a year ago!  One of our children enrolled in a college marketing class, and the pace was so furious she dropped the class.  If she had been able to go through this dvd course first, I really think she either could have CLEPPed out of the course, or if she wanted to take the course she would have passed it with flying colors!
Using the Principles of Marketing course is simple.  Students watch a lesson on the cd.  To view a sample lesson, you can go here. The sample lesson looks exactly like the lessons student's view on the dvd.  After students watch the video / powerpoint type lesson on the dvd, they are able to complete the homework assignment (also on the cd). Once all of the assignments are completed, students take a test over the lesson.  Everything students need to succeed in the course is provied on the cd. Retailing for $199.99, with free shipping, this course really is a cost effective solution to traditional classroom based marketing courses.  Any student who has an interest in business studies will benefit from Principles in Marketing. 
Here is a brief description from Professor in a Box:
Principles of Marketing, by Julie Pirsch, Ph.D. is a challenging college level introductory Marketing course similar in content to the first marketing course taken by all students in university and college schools of business across the country. Principles of Marketing is also known as Basic Marketing, Introduction to Marketing, Fundamentals of Marketing, Marketing, or Marketing Principles. Any high school level student with basic reading and math skills can handle this course.
This course was created as an elective for high school students interested in pursuing a career in business and for students interested in taking the CLEP Principles of Marketing Exam. On a more formal level, this course provides students with a description and evaluation of the ways in which goods and services are developed to meet customer and consumer needs, and how they are distributed for domestic and international consumption. It examines the economic, government, social, and other environmental forces in relation to the marketing function, placing emphasis on relevant social problems and responsibilities.
For more information about Principles of Marketing, visit the Professor in a Box website at http://professorinabox.com/?page_id=765 .  To read other reviews of this product, written by other TOS review crewmembers, go here.
**I was not compensated in any way by TOS or Professor in a Box in exchange for this review. The honest opinions expressed are my own.**

What do you get when. . .

you cross Scrabble with a Rubik's Cube?  You get Scruble Cube! What, exactly, is Scruble Cube?
This is directly from the Scruble Cube website:
What if you took some of the known playing patterns of some of the most popular word games and puzzles in history and combined them in a brand new, unique format to create the World’s Greatest 3-D Word Game?Well, you’d have the “SCRUBLE Cube™ a patent pending game with over 7.4 x 10⁴⁵(that’s 7,401 septillion)possible configurations that anyone who can spell can play. And all in a portable format that can be played anywhere- anytimeThe SCRUBLE Cube™ is a word game and a puzzle- on steroids!
Wow! Over 7.4 septillion possible configurations!!! We haven't come anywhere near finding that many, yet, but we have been having a lot of fun with our Scruble Cube.  We have been able to play with our Scruble Cube for almost two months now.  I love the portability of this game.  It can go anywhere.  It has been a lot of fun playing in the car.  You can come up with all sorts of variations on the rules (for instance, play a round where all words have to start with a certain letter). As all of my readers know, we are a game-loving family.  Word games are our current favorite type of game.  Scruble Cube is in this category.  I can't say that we always followed the exact rules, or used the timer, but we have had fun and quite a challenge from Scruble Cube.  I have even "caught" our kids playing with the cube and trying to find words without anyone else playing (kind of like Scruble solitaire).  Any game that helps encourage spelling practice and discovery of new words is a great game in my book. Scruble Cube looks like a Rubik's Cube gone wild.  There are 16 squares on each side, each square containing a letter and a point value.   Players rotate the cube and try to find the highest point total word possible within the time limit (an egg timer is included with the game).  When each turn is over, the player tallies his/her score and records it on the score sheet (included).  Directions and suggestions for play are included.  There is a video about the game on the Scruble Cube website.  Both educational and fun, Scruble Cube gets a five-star plus rating from us! Scruble Cube is available for purchase for $24.95 through the website as well as at retail stores.  A listing of stores is available on the website.  For other reviews on Scruble Cube, visit the main Crew Blog page, here.
**I have received no compensation from TOS or Scruble Cube in exchange for this review.  The honest opinions expressed are my own.**

Aletheia Writing Magazine

"Aletheia Writing Magazine is a quarterly publication focusing on the literary and artistic works of Christian teens, ages 13 to 19*." Our oldest daughter was intrigued with Aletheia Writing Magazine when we received it.  She is a writer and is always looking for outlets for her writing.  We were able to examine two issues of this lovely magazine.  After reading Aletheia, our daughter was inspired to create more of her songs, poems, and stories.  She loved seeing the artwork that had been created, too.  Full of stories, essays, poems, artwork, and book reviews all written by teens, this magazine provides an opportunity for teen writers to submit their original works for publication and for teen readers to enjoy submissions of their peers.  The magazine is published quarterly, consists of forty pages, and is available for subscription through the Aletheia website for $26 (including shipping and handling).  Aletheia is perfect for any budding teen writer.  It is a great way to encourage teens to both read and write.  My teen boys were not quite as enthralled by the magazine as my daughter was; but, they would rather read about football than anything, so that wasn't surprising to me.  As with any magazine, the reader may not agree with the content of all of the articles; however, this is a magazine for Christian teens, so the content is geared toward Christians and is clean and wholesome.  It is quite refreshing to allow your child to be able to read a magazine without fear of the content they may be exposed to.  All in all, we enjoyed Aletheia Writing Magazine.  To read other reviews from TOS Homeschool Crew members, visit the main blog post here.  If you would like to "try before you subscribe," you can view the Spring 2011 issue here. 


**I was not compensated in any way by TOS or Aletheia Writing Magazine in exchange for this review.  The honest opinions expressed are my own.**

Book Review: The Fight of Our Lives

The Fight of Our LivesKnowing the Enemy, Speaking the Truth, and Choosing to Win the War Against Radical Islam

By William Bennett with Seth Leibsohn

This book ranks with my favorite reads of 2011.  Ironically, while I was reading this book, Osama bin Laden was killed.  That event gave a different slant to the material presented because the parameters used as part of the premise of the book changed.  Containing eight chapters in 180 pages, Bennet and Leibsohn do a masterful job at presenting clear and factual information about the true war on terrorism we face not only as a nation, but as the world.  Read the following summary of the book (from the BookSneeze website):

Want to know the dirty little secret in the war on terror? Some of us have already surrendered.

Since the dreadful events of 9/11, America has waged an international war on terrorism. But are we prepared to win, or are we practicing surrender? We have foiled dozens of terrorist attacks since then. But while the Fort Dix terrorists were stopped, an Islamist terrorist at Fort Hood unleashed hell on American servicemen. Despite Maj. Nidal Hasan’s shouting “Allahu Akbar” as he pulled the trigger, the official Pentagon report refused to mention Islam or use the word Muslim. And said the army chief of staff, “As horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that's worse.” As William J. Bennett and Seth Leibsohn show, for lack of clarity, conviction, and determination, America is on the verge of declaring preemptive cultural surrender in the war on terror. The Fight of Our Lives will reinvigorate the discussion and embolden those who wish to win the war on terror.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Bennett's book, and learned a great deal from it.  It was really interesting, to me, to be reading about terrorism and terrorist threats while watching the events surrounding the demise of  bin Laden unfolding.  Although he is gone, the war against terrorism still exists.  There are other leaders in place who are just as frightening, if not more so, than he was.  Because of this, I recommend Bennett's book to anyone interested in keeping current and accurate about the situation of our country.  Bennett' s book is available through Thomas Nelson for  $19.99, or through Amazon  for various prices depending on whether you purchase a used or new book.