Dino's and Robots from Christian Books

It was just an average Monday, except on this Monday, my curriculum order came in from Christian Book for my Kindergartner and 2nd grader.

We couldn't wait to open the box and of course I knew the two things they would want to do first.  Of course they didn't jump right to the books, but instead the two learning "toys" I got them.  I got Peter a Squishy T-Rex.  He is fascinated with anatomy and dinosaurs.  So I saw this as the best of both worlds for him.

The hardest part was waiting to open it.  I didn't want the box to be opened with out me and the parts being lost.

This dino came with some of it's parts put together.  Like the internal organs here were already in place, they just had to be put in his body.  Now that he has taken it apart and put it back together several times, I think I might challenge him by taking it all the way apart, every tiny piece.

Along with this "toy" came a book all about T-Rex.  We have only read the first 2 pages and absorbed and talked about all the information.  Like did you know a T-Rex has it's eyes on the front of it's skull instead of the side like horses and cows.  This allow for better depth perception which would be required to catch prey.

Next was the Air & Water Pressure Robot Kit.  This one stood out to me because it is a robot, which Lachlan loves, but it uses air and water pressure to move instead of electricity.  We had just been studying Isaac Newton with our Mother Goose Time curriculum.  Gravity and the laws of gravity.  It was there that we talked about force.  So I thought this would tie in well.

 I have to say, this toy thrills me.  There are directions to build three different robots - an inchworm, a dino and the robotic arm.

The robots move using a hydraulic system.  You use two medicine syringes and one tube connecting them.  You put 5 ml of air in one and none in the other.  When you push down on the 5ml of air in one syringe the plunger gets pushed out in the empty one.  First they have you use air and note how it feels squishy or soft.  Then you fill the syringes with water and note how it feels more firm and more powerful.

You can see our inchworm moving here.  

I would have never thought of Christion Book.com for homeschool curriculum.  My Mother in Law forwarded me an email that promised free shipping and at least 30% off for their big back to school homeschool sale.  I thought, okay, I will check it out, but I doubt they will have everything I need.  I started searching for my curriculum, first math, yep they have that, then science, yep.  They had everything I wanted to buy this year for the boys and at the best prices I could find.  These two learning toys I did not have on my list, but I just had to keep looking after I got everything else checked off.  I got what I needed and more.