Good not Great, more like a quick easy addition to Geography Lessons
593052
Its a small easy workbook I ordered to add to our homeschool lessons. I don't know how much my son will really learn from it, but it will help pad his lessons I suppose. The pages are really thick and almost glossy, so this isn't a book you can tear out pages as you go. I found a few pages that I had to write in additional instructions. Like it says FIND the following on the map. Compass Rose, Legend, Ect. But as a workbook a student might be doing independently there needs to be evidence the kid found them, so I wrote in circle the following.
4278070
I bought this game to play with my small groups of students who need to work on developing their vocabulary.  The game takes a while to explain and can be a bit confusing for middle school aged students.  My high school students seemed to understand the directions better, however, some of the easy (green) cards were difficult for them.  I have resorted to using the cards to review synonyms with my students, without actually playing the game.  Hopefully with some more practice, my students will become more familiar with the game and grow to like it better.
3964410
This is a math game, thats easy to learn and relatively quick to play. We are a family who tries to have a weekly game night, and while this was a little above our 5-year-olds head  there is supposedly a color combo method for younger kids, but we all found that more confusing than just helping him with math, which he quickly got bored with  our 9-year-old could easily play with us.

The idea is that you use your need to get your two pieces together to a place where they equal 101, exactly, using addition, subtraction, multiplication or division. (Mostly addition and multiplication.) You can also knock other players back to zero by tactically landing on the same square they're occupying.

The knocking back element means this game can last 20 minutes, or two hours, depending on how determined others are to sabotage. We had three players and and with two pieces per player, it was almost always possible to knock someone back if you used the right combination of math + the bonus cards you collect for landing on red squares.

We mostly enjoyed it but my son gave it a mixed review, because it does get repetitive very quickly and definitely feels strongly educational  Rather than a fun game that just happens to use math. Definitely more exciting than a worksheet, but lacks enough elements  the only strategy is sending others back to zero  to make it highly repeatable.

It was a decent game, but it isn't one I think that will be getting pulled out regularly.
3236194
Young students of geography and travel love a good map and one that is worth considering as an addition to your childs bedroom wall is T.S. Shure Pictorial Map of the World. This map is laminated for durability with rivets in the corners for easy mounting and re- mounting plus stickers for added fun.

With this map, kids get a general idea about the world around us and its many wonders. The countries are not depicted in their precise shapes but they are close enough that it shouldnt matter. On each continent and within each country, the map highlights some of the landmarks and points of interest. This is fun for kids who like to find places they have already visited and attractions already seen as well as find new and interesting places worth visiting in the future. With the added stickers, children can identify places they have been, first flight taken, first ride on a ship, places they want to visit, etc.

This map is a good deal of fun for kids and I like anything that helps improve knowledge of geography, since this is an area where people are sorely lacking. But I must deduct one star from my rating due to some of the inaccuracies. Im not talking about the shapes of the countries I described above- this doesnt bother me too much because I realize it was intended more as a cartoon and not meant to be precise. But the placement of some countries and boundaries are inaccurate and not becoming of what should be an educational tool. One good example that I noticed right away is Cuba- the map shows Cuba as situated north of the Tropic of Cancer. It is, of course, south of the Tropic of Cancer and it should be shown this way on the map, but it isnt.

So, the placement of certain things is a little off, but the rest of the map? I found it nice and my kids loved checking out the countries of the world and marking where they have already been and would like to visit. The map would be worthy of five stars were it not for the oversight described in the last paragraph, but it still has enough going for it to recommend.
2780624
Has plenty of good pictures and does introduce kids to various places, but it does not really serve well as an atlas.  For purposes of teaching the shapes of countries, where mountain ranges are, what the big cities are, and such things one learns from an atlas, this is very poor.  The pages are a bit too busy.  Less would have been more.
169939
National Geographic has been famous for writing about science and far away places (or places close to home) in an interesting manner, accessible to millions.  It has also been rightly famous for its maps and atlases.  This work, which I bought at my local supermarket, is a combination of maps and history.  If it were just for the maps, I would say it's worth a lot, because as usual, they are of high quality and very interesting.  As for the history, it's an attempt to cover the world from Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome and China to the Mayas, Australian Aborigines, and Cahokia.  In a slim magazine-type volume of 111 pages, loaded with (great) photos and some paintings, such an attempt was doomed to mediocrity.  I'm not saying you can't learn anything from it.  Maybe it would be good for kids, but for anyone who has read some history, it's just too brief.  I found a few mistakes and contradictory dates etc.  So, maps=5 stars, "exploring great civilizations"=3 stars.  As for the illustrations, up to the usual great standard.
4357244
Some great examples, but not a lot of depth, quick read and worth the 10 bucks..
4703824
As a geographer, I appreciate a simple book that explains basic concepts simply. I've TA'd Geography classes where college students didn't come with the understanding this book can provide. I'm half tempted to make this required reading if I ever teach an Intro to Geography course! It might be a bit much for the very young (the side bars screw up the lyrical rhythm of Dr. Seuss books), but fun and educational none the less
2479313
This little doohickey contains several games at a moderate spread of skill required. Kids get up and move around, which is something even the best board/card games can't offer.

However, there are several ways it could be made better.
1) navigating between the games is difficult, especially for younger children (even if they just have to wait while a parent does it, but it'd be great if there was a way they could express autonomy by doing it themselves)
2) The disks are easy to lose (I admit, I have no fix for this problem handy)
3) There aren't that many disks, either

Basically, in a 2.0 version of this product, I'd hope to see a simpler way to select games and a bigger stack of disks. As is, it's still entertaining my preschooler pretty reliably.
2252612
I'm a private tutor and am using this with high school geometry students who need a few more problems in a specific area. It is much easier than looking them up on the internet, and sometimes I just have my phone with me and not good reception... so I like the book. The casual format is (I think) designed to make it more approachable (it is designed so it looks like someone hand-wrote the answers). I find it easy to read, but I'm not as keen on the angled comments... not using it between me and a student where I have to angle the book so we both can read it. For a single user (student working alone) it would not be a problem.
3875275
Not much help with memorizing geography. Pretty thin on mneumonics that I expected.
4148369
This is a great tool for learning the locations of all of the countries of South America since all of the pieces are shaped like the countries.  And learning country locations is the first step in a good geography foundation.  I have found that the school systems place far too little influence on geography these days.  So, I decided to give my kids this step up in this important yet often overlooked field.  I later noticed that this product can now also be purchased as a set of all the continents with a good overall discount as well.
3264118
The world is a Class offers some practical insights about what its like to teach abroad.  It's helpful if you are considering trying this.  It's pretty brief and somewhat repetitive, but a quick read and a good place to start an investigation.
3843800
I purchased this book to incorporate in our homeschool language arts for our thrid graer. The book is laid out well and is a great start, but I felt it was lacking and incomplete.

The lessons are extremely short. There are only a few questions for each root word which at this age is really basic. There should be more practice to go along with the lessons. I can however, easily search the web and my paid worksheet sites and see if I can find more items to go with each lesson.

The little charts that show the prefix, root, or suffix and then the meaning is easy to understand and use. It other gives a basis for a child to learn more. The book is basic black and white. I would like to see the charts in color so they stand out more. There is an answer key for the lessons at the end of the book for easy reference. The book is meant to be both the student and teacher copy which is the type of book I prefer as buying two books can be costly.
994962
the stars say it all.  It's okay.  Really nice pictures, but what I've needed it for hasn't always worked out.  To help kids learn general geography, it will work.
37819
We like this book, it's not much of a story, but my 6yo seems to get it.  It does lecture a bit, but it seems to come across better from a book rather than from me.  Good situational tools for primary school age kids.
1183063
This little book is not a bad way to practice some vocabulary, but as crossword puzzle it is marginal. Yes, the words are laid out on the page in crossword style, but most words have only one or two letters that overlap with another word, so if you don't know the right word immediately you don't get much in the way of clues.