Review: Curiosity Files Blue Footed Booby

What has blue feet, dives from 80 feet into the air, and dances for his wife?  The Blue-footed Booby, of course!  What one thing do you need to buy to make a study quick, easy and fun?  The Curiosity Files.

The Curiosty Files are great little studies on all sorts of interesting, unique, and sometimes, downright wierd things.  Animals, bugs, diseases... there are all sorts of crazy evolution-defying critters to learn about in this world!  And Professor Ana Lize is the perfect one to tell you about them!  Written in a friendly manner and chock-full of really interesting tidbits and trivia, there is a lot here for many different interests and abilities.  The text was just great, it had all the information we needed, it was simple and easy to read without being dumbed down, and it was wrote in such a friendly, conversational way that is is completely un-intimidating. 

We received the Blue Footed Booby Curiosity File and all the kids were really excited to start it.  I especially enjoyed how relaxed the study was.  You can plan it however you would like, or if you are in the mood for an easy week or two, don't plan it at all!  This is not typically the way I do school but it was exactly what I needed this week.  It begins with the text- the heart of the study.  Then there are math pages, acitivy sheets, experiment ideas, and lots more.  It includes puzzles to print, such as a word search, and even a few lapbook pieces.

We totally enjoyed the Curiosity File.  There were parts of it that had information that was way over my kids' heads, but it was perfect for the suggested ages of 8-13.  I was actually surprised at how much of this we could do, and I think it is a perfect tool for large families with lots of different ages.  One of the features that we used with much success was the page with word problems for younger ages.  This was perfect for Bop, in first grade.  We also liked the inclusion of hands-on activities, like measuring the 'wingspans' of our family members!  How fun!   

This unit study had a lot about creation, evolution, and why the Blue-Footed Booby turns the evolution theory on it's head.  My kids found this a little confusing, but remember that we were modifying this to suit younger ages.  There were several pages of copywork, which were Bible verses in both manuscript and cursive.  We were able to do quiet a few of the activities and pages, and the kids really enjoyed them.  Baby Girl even colored a picture, in which she was very careful to make the feet blue.  Then she proceeded to color the rest of the bird green and pink, but she got the important parts right, I guess!

The biggest downside to this unit study may be the lack of planning.  If you are a mama who needs to know what you are going to be doing every day of the week, and if you like things all planned out for you, these may not be the unit study programs for you.  However, they would be very easy to plan out so that is not a problem if you are a planner who tweaks everything anyway.  :)

If I had children in the suggested age ranges working on this study, I would just forget the planning completely.  Just sit the down in front of the computer or have it all printed out and ready, and let them go at it.  I think most kids will love these studies enough to be very self-motivated with them.

You can visit The Old School house to find all of the Curiosity Files.  They offer a value pack where you can get all nine units for $49.00 on CD or $46.00 as an instant download.  You can also purchase them individually at the Old Schoolhouse store.

Don't forget to check out the Old Schoolhouse Crew blog for more reviews of this and many other great products!

I received this product free of charge

as a member of The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew,

for review purposes. I promise to be honest

and fair in my reviews, and I received no

other compensation in exchange for my review.

You can visit The Old Schoolhouse Crew blog

to read more reviews on this product.