Box of I.D.E.A.S.

Box of I.D.E.As. (Ideally Dynamic Enrichment Activities) is a company dedicated to making learning interactive centering around a specific subject area. Your child will be drawn into critical thinking and knowledge through activities and a variety of fun topics.

Box of I.D.E.As. is packed with 10 or more activities plus additional ideas for going deeper into an area of interest. Each box has been thoroughly researched and includes web links.for further exploration. Box of I.D.E.As. can be used in multiple ways: as a supplement to a normal history program, it can be used for a homeschool group activity. or just a fun break from normal school work.

Box of I.D.E.As. currently has five topics available for study. They have World War II Pearl Harbor, Eleven (featuring eleven different subjects focusing on the number 11), Salt, Quilting and Laundry. They have many more boxes planned and coming soon. Each Box is available in two different formats, a physical box or a PDF download. The physical box  includes everything needed to complete the study printed out and ready for use.The PDF download includes all modules in separate files ready for printing at home. The cost for a physical box is $79.00 and the cost for the PDF download is $49.00.  The boxes are designed for students ages 9-16.

ClarkClan  Thoughts

We were given a PDF download of the World War II Pearl Harbor study. The cost for this specific product is $49.00 and can be ordered from Box of I.D.E.As.  I found this to be easy to download and had no problems opening the files. I liked how the files came in as separate files and were well labeled. This has made it easy to print off each module as I need it without wading through previous modules.

When I open each module on my computer, the first page contains the contents of the module and printing and cutting instructions for that PDF. I found this page to be of great use to me after the first module I opened and printed off without reading anything. I realized later that I had printed things front to back that should not have been, I printed pages I did not need to and it generally was hard to use. Once I went back, read the first page and realized it specifically told me which pages to print, on what kind of paper and if it should be printed on the front only or front and back, things went very smoothly.

Each module contains anywhere from 7 to 14 pages. Not all of these need to be printed out. Following the instructions, some pages can be read straight from the computer. I found this to be helpful, since internet links are provided for further study and we could then easily look up the sites. Other pages are printed for student work and then others are printed on cardstock and cut apart for games.

I used this box mainly with Ben (10) and Rebekah(9). Ben has been very interested in World War II all summer and has been researching on his own through books he picks up at the library. He was very excited to get started. Rebekah is not nearly as big a fan of studying World War II, so she was just along for the ride.

The first module begins with a study of Pearl Harbor before becoming a Base. It talks about the black lipped pearl that grows in the harbor, the natives and then the exploration by Europeans, Americans, and others. After reading the page of information, then researching on the web using the link provided, the activity page was measuring pearls with an included paper ruler. The game was an endangered Animal Match.

Each module runs along the same lines as the first. A page of instructions, a page or two of information to read, extra web links to explore. Then a pencil and paper activity and finally a game of some kind. I found that the activities were more suited to Ben’s 5th/6th grade level than Rebekah’s 4th/5th grade. But that could also be due to the subject matter being extremely interesting to Ben, but just okay for Rebekah. Ben’s favorite game so far has been the Pearl Harbor Timeline game. We have played that multiple times he likes it so much. And the best part is he is remembering the sequence of events about the Attack on Pearl Harbor, “The Day that will live in Infamy”.

Recommendation

I would definitely recommend Box of I.D.E.As. to other families. We have had a great time with it. I found the age range of 9-16 to be fairly accurate. My 9 year old had some trouble with the math activities, but Ben at 10 could do them with help.  We did not do all the writing extensions included as they would have taken a lot of time and help from me. If I were to use this with my 15 year old daughter, I would definitely have her doing the writing assignments to make it more in depth for her. I liked the mix of “book work” and “hands on activities” included in each module. My kids looked forward to getting the pencil and paper activities done so we could play the game for that module.

I reviewed the PDF version of this product. This was not a huge deal to me, as I have a nice laser printer. But, I wanted to mention that there is a lot of printing that will need to be done, as well a lot of the games are printed in color. Many cards are actual pictures, so if ink costs are a factor, looking into the physical box may be a better option. A nice feature of having the PDF is that you can print off as many copies as you need for how many students you have. With the physical box, you can purchase extra student modules for $4.00. These include all consumables so you can teach more than one child.

Many of my Schoolhouse Review Crew members reviewed Box of I.D.E.As. The two topics up for review are the World War II physical box and PDF version and the Salt physical box and PDF version. Click on the Crew banner or here to read what others had to say about the product.

Disclaimer: As an Independent contractor for The Old Schoolhouse and member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I received a PDF copy of Box of I.D.E.As. World War Two Pearl Harbor for free from Box of I.D.E.As. in exchange for my honest review of their product. All opinions given are mine and/or my children’s.