Carson Dellosa Educational Games Review and Giveaway

My thanks to Carson Dellosa for sending us 3 games to review!

A long time ago, my husband and I designated Thursdays for “game night,” and it’s something that we and our oldest children look forward to each week. We might just crack open a deck of cards for a couple of games of Battle; on other nights (when the baby is happy and the toddlers have fallen asleep early) it might be something more involved like Monopoly, Risk or Agricola.

Carson Dellosa Publishing sent three educational games our way to ring in a new year of homeschooling, and so we’ve spent the past month giving them a whirl! We received Deep Sea Rescue, What Time is It, and a box of Tangram Puzzles.

Deep Sea Rescue: This game is unique because the game board can be assembled any way you like; just match up the bubbles to make a path from start to finish. Game play consists of moving along the path and answering general knowledge questions that will align roughly with grades 3 through 6. Subjects covered are math, reading, science and social studies, and up to six can play. The boards and movers are very colorful and the ocean theme is vastly appealing. Plus, it all fits nicely into a small box that’s easy to store and has a stretchy elastic band to keep it closed securely. At just $12.99, this is a great buy! My 4th and 5th graders really liked it. The only snag we encountered was that Joseph (my oldest) got discouraged several times when the questions were too hard, or about things he hadn’t learned yet. So I would definitely recommend an adult playing along; that way you can either screen questions, or explain the answers to ones they don’t know.

What Time is It?:  With four different game boards to choose from and lots of easy-to-read clock cards, this game went over very well with my preschooler, Benjamin (5 and just about to start Kindergarten). Game play is quick to learn. Players draw a card and if it shows a clock, then they say the time out loud and then place their mover on the matching game board space. Some of the cards have simple directions like “move ahead 3 spaces.” If your child is just starting out with clocks (like Ben) you can use the game as a teaching tool rather than a practice activity. The only thing is, I wish the cards were a bit sturdier. They are laminated but thin, and with a lot of usage from the K through 3 types, I can see them not lasting very long. What Time is It? retails for $9.99 and is targeted towards ages 5 to 8. It comes in a compact and very sturdy box for storage.

Tangram Puzzles: This is designed so simply that I didn’t even have to explain what to do. Benjamin (5), Catherine (9) and Joseph (10) jumped right into arranging the colored geometric shapes onto the pattern cards, and it kept them quite busy for a while. A month later, I’m happy to say they still get the Tangram Puzzle set out to play with, so it definitely has staying power. Even my toddlers, Susanna and Samuel, can “play” this game simply by arranging the Tangrams on the table in whatever way they please. I like that everyone can have fun with this set! Tangrams help to build skills in copying, matching and problem-solving. The set contains 48 different puzzles with two sets of plastic Tangrams (red and yellow). Retail is about $23.50. It includes a box for storage.

 

We’ve found some great things to brighten up our homeschool from Carson-Dellosa: this spring, I purchased the ABC train punch-outs to edge the bulletin board, and some informational charts to hang on the wall.  Some of these full color, laminated charts cost less than a dollar each!

The selection of books, puzzles, games, manipulatives, posters and other fun school stuff is so HUGE at Carson Dellosa that I could easily spend hours on the website. It’s a great resource for teachers, homeschoolers and parents, and the prices are extremely reasonable.

Back to School Clearance is going on right now at Carson Dellosa! You can save up to 80% on over 500 products. Plus, free workbook samples and live chat are always available on their website.

More exciting news:  One lucky reader will win ALL 3 games that I reviewed. That’s over $40 worth of games for your family to enjoy! The entry form is below. CLOSED