Every day is brighter when you can have a little Kodo magic sprinkled into your day! https://kodokids.com/ is full of magic. They have everything you could imagine for natural play, nature play, loose parts play, light exploration, STEM, block play, math exploration, sensory play, dramatic play, pre-literacy skills, and more. The products on their website are full of whimsy and imagination. Any child who comes in contact with these wonderful tools of play is immediately inspired with curiosity and creativity. Everything on https://kodokids.com/ inspires the magic of creativity, learning, and an Epic Childhood!
My children and I have had the privilege of reviewing a few of their amazing light exploration and sensory items. You may recall my previous reviews of the Kodo Light Laboratory. I am delighted to show you a few more of the wonderful light exploration accessories from their website!
Be sure to check out my review if you have not seen it, and definitely check out the Kodo website too!
Live videos from Facebook, if the videos are not showing up in this blog post for you, find them here on the Facebook Group The Ultimate Light Table Guide
Be sure to check out my Pinterest boards, YouTube channel, and Facebook groups as well!
We were delighted to hear that Outset Media is in the midst of redesigning the Professor Noggin's card games. They have already finished 23 titles and sent them to us for review. We have really enjoyed comparing the original look to the new look. I love those beautifully charming watercolor-esque drawings on the original Professor Noggin card game sets, but the realistic photos on the newly designed sets are AMAZING! They really capture the core essence of every card with these new breathtaking life-like photos. I totally love how Professor Noggin has a new look and she dresses for the occasion on each of the newly redesigned card games. I also love how each card has so much helpful detail, like the game number and what the card is about. I also love the new trivia question design. It's all so neat, clean, crisp, and beautiful. I am loving how the cards have that file folder tab look on them and how the boxes match! It was such a great idea to make sure the cards were easily identifiable to which card set box they belong to. This is so helpful for families that like to use several Professor Noggin sets together. There is no question which card goes with which set now that they are so very well labeled! Outset media is has also confirmed that they are bringing back two of their retired Professor Noggin titles. They are currently working on redesigning Extraordinary Women and Famous Inventions, which will be retitled to Inventions and Discoveries! We can't wait to play them! Anyone and everyone can play Professor Noggin's card games. They work in almost any setting!
Homeschoolers
My kids and I truly enjoy incorporating Professor Noggin's card games into our homeschool day, every day! The great thing about Professor Noggin's card games is they are so versatile. You can use them to start your Homeschool day, break up the day with a nice transition into the next lesson, or even to end your Homeschool day. They are also the perfect companion to most any unit study or book that you are reading aloud. Professor Noggin's card games are also great for in the car! The kids can read the questions and everyone can answer! They are also perfect for Homeschool groups and co-ops.
Educators
Professor Noggin's card game sets are also great for Homeschool groups and Homeschool co-ops. Professor Noggin's card games are also excellent for classrooms and learning programs. Kids love trivia, and these sets are not only super fun, but they are also super educational. You could easily work them into your lesson plans! They are also perfect to get your students started at the beginning of the day, right after lunch or recess, before or after tests, or to transition into the next part of your school day!
Kids
Professor Noggin's card games are also great for kids to play together in small or large groups! They can play for points and keep score, or just read and answer the trivia questions for fun! Professor Noggin's card games are great to keep kids busy in almost any setting. They are perfect for Summer time, road trips, plane trips, and rainy days too!
I am also really enjoying the Learning with Professor Noggin Facebook group. I created it a few months ago and it already has well over 100 members. It is open to Parents, Homeschoolers, and Educators.
Have you joined the Professor Noggin's discussion group yet?
Here is a sample of the new card design, click to enlarge
Here is an overview of the original look and the new look, click to enlarge.
I have created five new videos to showcase what the newly designed Professor Noggin's card game sets look like. Please check out my videos below!
Life in the Ocean
Insects and Spiders
Wildlife of North America
Birds of North America
World of Dinosaurs
Outer Space
Countries of the World 1
Ancient Civilizations
Wonders of Science
Reptiles and Amphibians
Wildlife Safari
Earth Science
Civil War
American Revolution
Geography of Canada
History of Canada
World of Pets
The Human Body
Geography of the United States
History of the United States
History of Art
Wonders of the World
Presidents of the United States
I hope that my Professor Noggin reviews will inspire you to add a little Professor Noggin magic to your Homeschool day, Classroom, or Educational Program.
The Wonder.one light table is a really unique light table. This light table is very different than other light tables on the market. It has adjustable height, multiple table tops, and it's quite affordable! What I like best about this light table is that the white is a true white. Many LED light tables tend to show a bit of a pink or blue hue when set to white. This one is a true white! This light table is perfect for home use, child care facility use, and school use. With the table being priced at under $300, it won't break the bank! The height adjustable legs make this table adaptable to children ages 1-12+. It has multiple tops to adapt to whatever your child is in the mood to play! You can play in the light tables inner play surface, or add a table top! The tops we received with this table include clear plexi, chalk(black)/dry erase(white), alphabet/railroad town. They also make a lego top and the reverse side is glow in the dark! The inner play surface is ideal for most all dry sensory play materials such as kinetic sand, play sand, rice, dry pasta, dry fish aquarium pebbles, or any sensory play materials you have on hand. You will need a clear acrylic or plastic bin for messy play and water play. I will link some options below. Another great aspect of this light table is that it is not bulky and it is small space friendly. This table is very apartment friendly size wise, as well as tiny house and small space friendly. They will be adding a mirror option and a sensory kit option on their website very soon. They also offer financing on their website with Affirm. The Wonder.one light tables come in one standard size with three packages right now. They will make custom sized light tables too though, so if you need a larger light table they will create it for you!
I bet you are wondering how to buy a Wonder.one light table! You can purchase the Wonder.one light table on their website or on their Etsy!
Additionally, my readers receive $20 off with the code ULTG
Wonder.one on Instagram Wonder.one on facebook #wonder_one_table Bonus! When you buy your Wonder.one lighttable, Wonder.one includes 1/2 lb of kinetic sand, 2 sand molds, and 4 silicone corner protectors! I go into a lot more detail about this light table in the videos below, so please check them out. This is a beautiful light table, I highly recommend it! If you are new to this blog and new to light tables, no problem! You can find out more about how to use a light table and what they are for here on this blog under the hashtag #ULTG
Here are some clear sensory bin options for messy play and water play on the light table. You can put dry sensory materials such as sand or kinetic sand into the inner play surface, but nothing with liquid.
See more photos and videos of this light table shared at:
These books and resources are the best of the best for learning all their is to know about Nature! They are perfect to accomodate any Nature related unit study, homeschool group or homeschool co-op lessons, or whatever Nature related learning you are doing at home with your kids. These books and resources will work for any homeschool family, classroom, or for the Nature loving child in your family! Some of the books are resource books and guides, some are story books, some are activity books, and some are picture books. Don't bypass or discount the picture books for your older children though, almost all the picture books in this list all have very good educational information in them. Many times picture books contain information that is a bit over the comprehension level of the younger children they are intended for. So next time you come across a picture book, check out the content inside. You may be surprised to find very valuable educational facts and information in them!
In this invaluable collection below, I also included Professor Noggin's educational trivia card games and a few Fandex family field guides. They are a fantastic resource. Professor Noggin's card games are a fantastic and fun way to learn about various subjects of study. They are a perfect pairing to any lesson or unit study. I have two blog posts that show you different ways to use Professor Noggin's card games. Stay tuned for more posts about how to incorporate Professor Noggin's card games into your homeschool or classroom day! You can find them here: Why all Homeschoolers should own Professor Noggin's Card Games How I use Professor Noggins card games with Echo Dot for Homeschool
I hope that you will find this list of books and resources to be of great help for your homeschool or classroom! I have been homeschooling my twins since they were tiny tots and I have three grown up children all in their 20's. I give each one of these books and resources my seal of approval. My kids and I have first hand experience with every item on this list. We either own them, have checked them out of the local library multiple times, or have borrowed them from another local homeschool family. In the books and resources below, you will find excellent information that is presented in a great format with tons of gorgeous illustrations and photos. A great number of the books are considered living books. They are perfect for those who are Montessori, Waldorf, or Charlotte Mason Homeschoolers.
Many of these books should be available at your local library. If you are looking to purchase the books, I have provided an Amazon.com link to each book in the photos below. If you are looking to buy these books used, I suggest checking your local library used book stores, goodwill, yard sales, Facebook Marketplace, Facebook used curriculum groups, and Ebay. I do not recommend the thriftbooks website or the brightlight books store because in my experience each book I looked for on thrift books or brightlight books cost significantly more or about the same price as they do on Amazon. What I like about Amazon is that if the book shows up damaged you can get it replaced right away for no additional cost. If you just decide the book is not going to work for you, you can always return it within the time limits of their return policy. I would also like to advise that you take note when searching on Ebay for books. Check the price at Amazon and if you have free shipping for Amazon, it may be more cost efficient. Oh and don't forget to check if the version of the book you are looking at is newer or older. Sometimes you may find a cheaper price on Ebay, but then you find out that the cheaper priced book on ebay is a much older version. You can also check out the stores I have listed in this blog post. Some of them may have discounts, deals, and better prices than other places you have checked. Where to buy Homeschool Supplies and Toys
I have also included several really great nature related games and activities at the bottom of the list as well. It's a long list, but worth the time to check out everything on the list!
These books are such excellent resources. They are some of our very favorites.
Excellent and beautiful books in this section as well.
Professor Noggins are a must! I highly recommend them all! More HERE!
Bees are a very important subject!
Excellent resource books! I love the Animals and Ocean Visual encyclopedia books
These books are super cute and beautifully illustrated
Fandex family guides are amazing! They are so cute, the way they are made too! Each one is a shaped cut out at the top with a beautiful illustration. They fan out to see each one together in each Fandex. There are few other great activity gooks and guides in this section too.
These books are excellent resource books. I especially love the Smithsonian guide books.
I included some nature related poetry books in this section.
The one small square books are great little resources for animal and nature related unit studies. They are not packed full of a lot of information, but still have some great content.
These take along guides are the separated version of two books up there at the top of the list. The Fun with Nature and More Fun with nature books.
I love love love the Nature Company Guides! They are such beautiful books packed with information!
I also wanted to recommend these nature related games, toys, and accessories
OK so this makes 151 items on the list. This product is not sold on Amazon. Think of this as your bonus recommendation!
This is another excellent Nature related item that is great for any kid to have. They are called stick-lets and they are reusable and flexible rubber connector pieces that are for building forts with sticks in nature. You can find them at https://stick-lets.com/They would be excellent with some playsilks or recycled fabric.
