History Unit: Maya, Aztecs and Incas

To end the year's history units we moved on to some of the Ancient Americas civilizations, the Maya, Aztecs and Incas. While we did them separately, a lot of our resources overlapped, so I am going to just do one blog post.

The Maya

Books:

You Wouldn't Want to be a Mayan Soothsayer

Secrets in Stone: All About Maya Hieroglyphs

Aztec, Inca and Maya

Rise of the Halfling King

Find Out Maya, Incas, Aztecs

Geronimo Stilton Back in Time

Activities:

• We looked at some Maya Math from Maya Archaeologists. Archer found it really interesting.
• He did this Maya Number System worksheet from Dig-It! Games
• He made a Maya calendar wheel
• The same file that had the Maya calendar, also had some Maya and Aztec flipbooks, so he put together those (his little sister cut up the cover when we weren't looking).

Videos:

AZTEC

Books:

Aztec, Inca and Maya

Find Out Maya, Incas, Aztecs

Luna and the Treasure of Tlaloc

So You Think You've Got it Bad? A Kid's Life in the Aztec Age

You Wouldn't Want to be an Aztec Sacrifice!

The Princess and the Warrior: A Tale of Two Volcanoes

Activities

• He put together an Aztec flipbook
• He colored this Aztec reader and these Aztec coloring pages

• We used air dry clay to make a sun mask.

Videos:

IINCA

Books:

Time Travelers Inca Town

You Wouldn't Want to be an Inca Mummy!

Puzzle Adventure Stories: The Inca Adventure

20 Fun Facts About Machu Picchu

Find Out Maya, Incas, Aztecs

Aztec, Inca and Maya

Late Lunch with Llamas

Run, Little Chaski!

Activities

• He colored  these Inca coloring pages and Inca reader

Videos:

 

Pergola Board Game Review

Pergola

Players: 1-4

Play Time: 4560 minutes

Ages: 10+

It’s hard to beat the hopeful, revitalizing nature of spring and Pergola is a game that definitely captures the spring vibe. It releases May 30th, but I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy!

Gameplay

Players are trying to create the best gardens. You can grow buttercups, hollyhocks, magnolias and lavender, which can attract bees, butterflies, ladybugs and dragonflies to your garden. 

On your turn, you select a gardening tool, gaining the resources pictured on the handle and the action based on its placement. Actions include fluttering insects to more advantageous locations in the garden; picking up leaves for extra insects; moving your water drop down the cascade for insects; and hopping your frog meeple to lily pads on the pond which can attract the coveted dragonflies. 

Each plant and insect scores differently depending on number and location. You can also earn honey pots and cascade bonuses letting you score even more with some of your garden features. Since there are only 15 turns per player, you cannot possibly maximize all the different types of points, instead having to choose your strategy. 

Thoughts

This is definitely one of the most gorgeous games I own! The artwork by Karolina Kijak is absolutely beautiful, the components are so well made and the overall organization is incredibly well thought out. Heck, there’s even a handy image on the inside of the lid showing how to pack everything up. I also love that the rulebook included some real life facts about each of the plants and insects in the game.

I also truly LOVE the gameplay. While initially, there’s plenty to learn, once you do, gameplay feels very relaxing. Someone might take the tool you want or beat you to a higher point dragonfly, but there’s really no direct conflict. Instead, players are focusing on maximizing the points in their own gardens. I like that each plant and insect scores uniquely, really making you think about what to collect and where to put it. Placing the little insects on my flowers is just so enjoyable that I don’t even care if I’m winning, the process is satisfying enough. Winning is nice, though.

Solo Mode

Even though I prefer multiplayer games, I’ve also tried a few solo games of Pergola. The modification to the game is minimal and incredibly easy. I can set up and play in less than half an hour. I really like that the back of the rulebook has a variety of solo challenges including scores to try to beat. I think it has really opened me up to solo versions and I might explore some of my other games that include them.

*The game was kindly gifted by Asmodee but all thoughts are my own.

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Easter Tot School Activities

I can't believe it is almost Easter! We have been doing some themed activities, I just forgot to post about them! Here is some of what we have done!

Easter beginning letter matching from Tot Schooling. This is the first time she's done this type of activity, so I only gave her 6-7 cards at a time. She did really well, though! We will have to continue with this type of activity!

Bunny pattern block template. This was a good size for her. Too much bigger and I think she would have lost interest.

Shape tracing. She's not great, but she likes it. She'll get there.

Some spring themed wooden puzzles.

Easter play dough tray.

Easter egg word family. This was another activity we tried for the first time. She did fantastic for her age and pretty well overall. Definitely needs more practice.

Sensory bin with little bunnies. 

Easter Vocabulary Cards

Easter Egg Pattern Matching Activity

Butterfly gear puzzle

Easter pin punching. We hadn't done this before, either, but she did great! She seems to like fine motor activities.

You can print the Easter Resources Here

 

Leaf Board Game Review

 

Leaf

Players: 1-4

Play Time: 30-45 minutes

Ages: 8+ 

If you were to ask me my ideal game, I would say cozy tile laying, cute animal/nature theme, plays well at 2-3 players and plays in under an hour. Leaf, designed by Tim Eisner and published by Weird City Games definitely checks all those boxes!

Gameplay
In Leaf, you are the wind guiding leaves to the forest floor. Depending on the connections you make between your leaf and the ones already played, you may get cards, grow mushrooms, advance the sun, gain animals or move your squirrel further up the tree. Multiple connections grant multiple actions, so you need to place your leaves with care. Whoever balances these actions the best by winter has contributed most to the health of the forest and wins.

Thoughts

I love how this game takes something very simple, like placing a leaf tile onto the table, and makes it very strategic by making you think about the type of leaf, how to orient it and the colors you’re touching. It takes a cozy tile game and elevates it, without taking away the coziness. Having multiple ways to gain acorns (points) means there are no bad turns, but you definitely need to optimize your turns to win. It seems to strike the perfect balance of a relaxing game you can play on a weeknight without feeling overly light.

The theme is wonderful and familiar, while still feeling unique. The beautiful artwork by Angela Rizza unifies the various components as well as makes this animal game stand out amongst the others. The hedgehog is totally my favorite! All of the components are nicely done. And there are TUCK BOXES! Tuck boxes within tuck boxes! (I'm a sucker for organization

*Game provided by the publisher for review, but the thoughts are all my own!

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Animal Anatomy Puzzle

We own a few Got Genius Games that we enjoy and my middle son really enjoys puzzles, so when I had the chance to try one of their animal anatomy puzzles, I jumped at it!

What is neat about these puzzles is that on one side, they are just a cool looking shaped and detailed animal puzzle. If you flip it over, it shows the inside anatomy of the animal. They also come with fact sheets and a labeled diagram of the anatomy image.

Archer picked the turtle puzzle, but there are other animals too! We might have to get him the tiger, frog or fish to be able to compare anatomies! I also think it would be neat to get their human body puzzle and compare them side by side to see similarities and differences.

The pieces are thick and sturdy and the illustrations are detailed and vibrant. I also really liked the Velcro closure to keep the box shut!

*The puzzle was kindly gifted to us, but all thoughts and content are my own.

Homeschool Science: Space Unit

For science this year we are doing units based on the Next Generation Science Standards for 1st grade. We usually do more than just what the standard says, but try to hit it at minimum. There are two space standards, but they're pretty simple, so we just broke out all of our space books and kind of divided them into two sections and read some with the first standard and some with the second.

Section 1:

Standard: 

1-ESS1-1: Use observations of the sun, moon, and stars to describe patterns that can be predicted. [Clarification Statement: Examples of patterns could include that the sun and moon appear to rise in one part of the sky, move across the sky, and set; and stars other than our sun are visible at night but not during the day.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment of star patterns is limited to stars being seen at night and not during the day.]

• I had trouble finding a lab for tracking the movement of the sun that I really liked. I ended up having him build a tower in the window and then drawing the shadow at three different times in the day. Sadly, clouds came in for the last time, so there wasn't much shadow. We were able to talk about the patterns and he could predict what direction the shadows would go at different times of the day.

• Books:

The Moon Book

If You Decided to Go to the Moon

Magic School Bus Takes a Moonwalk

What is the Moon

Moon's First Friends

Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years

The Sun is Kind of a Big Deal

Sun! One in a Billion

Barefoot Books Solar System

Solar System: By the Numbers

Going Around the Sun: An Engaging Astronomy Book for Kids with a Fun, Musical Twist

Magic School Bus Our Solar System

Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System

Postcards from Pluto

Science Comics: Solar System

Magic School Bus 3D Solar System

ABCs of Space

• While we read about the moon and moon phases, we also made them out of Oreo cookies. I just printed the sheet from the internet. A lot of websites have it.

Solar System Floor Puzzle

• Videos:

Section 2:

Standard: 

1-ESS1-2: Make observations at different times of year to relate the amount of daylight to the time of year. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on relative comparisons of the amount of daylight in the winter to the amount in the spring or fall.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to relative amounts of daylight, not quantifying the hours or time of daylight.]

• I broke out a lamp and a ball in a dark room to help demonstrate how the amount of sunlight affects the seasons (Similar to this demo). I was able to ask him questions along the way to think about how the sun affected day/night and seasons.
• Books:

See Inside the Universe

The Skies Above My Eyes

Glow in the Dark Space Sticker Activities

How Do You Burp in Space?

How Do Satellites Stay in Space?: A Book About How Satellites Work

Meteors

Little Comet

Living in Space

24 Hours in Space

Wow in Space

The Planets: Musical Books

Professor Astro Cat's Space Rockets

Stars! Stars! Stars!

Star Stuff

Star Gazers

Watching the Stars

What Makes Day and Night (actually read during section 1)

• We played Gravity Superstar (you can read my review here)

Videos:

 

Unlock! Kids Irish Folklore Game Review

Unlock! Kids Irish Folklore

Players: 1-4

Play Time: 20-60 minutes

Ages: 6+ 

My husband and I have enjoyed escape room style games for years, but I had never tried one of the kids versions until recently. We have now completed all the stories from Unlock! Kids Irish Folklore, so I thought I would share our thoughts.

Gameplay:

The whole Unlock! series play as escape style puzzles you're trying to solve. You use cards and some other components to find clues, leading you to more cards and objects until you complete the entire puzzle. The kids version has no words, just numbers to find. There are also some additional hidden numbers which lead you to star cards, giving you points at the end rather than advancing the story. This box has three different adventure decks with two stories to solve each. The difficulty increases as you progress through them. There is also a hint book and an online walkthrough for if you need a little help.

Thoughts:

My 6 year old, who can sometimes be a reluctant game, absolutely loved playing these! He would have done multiple stories in a day had his sister's naps allowed it. He loved combining the objects with the cards to uncover new cards as well as finding the hidden numbers. 

The components were so nicely done. I was impressed at the creativity and variety that came out of games centered around regular cards, translucent cards and some cardboard pieces. Sometimes we were building three dimensional objects and sometimes combining cards in unique ways.

The illustrations were beautifully done, telling a story in a unique way. However, the lack of words was a mixed blessing. It makes it more accessible for non readers and it really lets the artwork shine, however, there were a few spots where, even with the online walkthrough, I wasn't sure how they arrived at a particular solution. That didn't seem to bother Archer in the slightest. 

We both really enjoyed the experience together and will gladly play other adventures from the series in the future! In fact, I liked it so much, I got an adult version of the Unlock! game to play with my husband and teen!

Game provided for content creation purposes on my Instagram account, but the thoughts are entirely my own. I also enjoyed it enough to find it worth sharing on here.

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