Home School Review--Puzzleball Globe from Timberdoodle

Hi Everyone!

I am excited to share a Home School review product with you today!  Recently I was contacted by Timberdoodle and asked if I would like to review several items for you.  Having ordered a variety of items for use in our home school over the past eighteen years, I have always been pleased with items from this company, so of course I JUMPED at the opportunity!!!  So over the next couple of weeks, I am going to be sharing with you our thoughts on the products we tested.

The first product I want to tell you about is the one my daughter was most excited to test--Timberdoodle's Puzzleball Globe.  This is exactly what it sounds like--a ball shaped puzzle that is also a globe!

  

I wasn't sure what to expect, if the finished product would truly hold together and be able to actually be USED as a globe--but I wasn't disappointed at all!

This product is manufactured by the Ravensburger company, which I have come to respect as having high quality in other games and puzzles we have had in our home, and the Puzzleball Globe held true to the standard I have come to expect.

 When we opened up the box, this is what we found:
1)  a simple instruction sheet, which directs you to start  building your Puzzleball Globe from the Antarctica end of the world, then continue in a spiral shape going up

2)  a plastic bag holding the puzzle pieces

3)  two different stands for the finished globe--one if you would like the globe to be able to spin around, and a second bowl-shaped stand if you want to be able to just set it there and pick it up easily to use--this stand is also useful for holding your Puzzleball Globe while building

 

 The first thing we did was I suggested that Alison divide the pieces and find just the first twenty pieces.

And how did she know which were the first twenty pieces?  I'm glad you asked that!  I didn't realize the Puzzleball Globe was made this way before opening the box, but take a look at the picture below to see what helped us:

 NUMBERS!  The underside of each puzzle piece has a number on it, which ended up helping Alison quite a bit as she divided the pieces into piles.

Another thing I hadn't realized, is the puzzle pieces of the Puzzleball Globe are plastic!  And not a flimsy plastic either, but quite sturdy.  And I think the color on the "right" side of the puzzle pieces is beautiful, with bright colors and clear text where words are written.

 And so she began!  The ages that the Puzzleball Globe is recommended for is ages 7-12.  Alison is on the very top end of this age range, having just turned 12 this summer--so I was interested to see if this would hold her interest or not.

Alison is a true puzzle-lover, and does not want puzzles to be what she considers "too easy," so at first she was disappointed to see that there were numbers on the reverse side.  But she soon realized that she didn't "have" to use the numbers, and could simply look at the pictures and assemble the puzzle as she would any other puzzle--and she choose to do this.

However--with 180 pieces in the entire Puzzleball Globe she also was having trouble finding pieces if she was searching through the entire pile of pieces--so she decided on a half way approach, and would use the numbers to pick out the pile of the next twenty or so pieces, and then would turn them all picture side up and only use the pictures to decide which piece went next.

 Soon I started getting questions such as "The Indian Ocean is generally between Australia and Africa, right?"  and  "Where is Ecuador?--Oh!  I just found it!"

 Being the type of mother that I am, I made her stop progress for lunch.  She inhaled her food, and was soon back at it!

 I was impressed with how well the Puzzleball Globe held together--even when we had to leave it for a while.

 And even when Alison--because she WAS putting it together from the pictures and not the numbers--had it put together in pieces extending up and over, it still held together very well!

 I wouldn't say the pieces snap together, but I would say they hold very well together.

Alison was delighted with the Puzzleball Globe, and as she was almost finished she had an idea!

 She wondered what would it look like if you were INSIDE the Puzzleball Globe as the last puzzle piece was put in?  So she slipped out a couple of the pieces, and inserted her little camera which has the capability of hooking up to work with my iPad. . .

 Using my iPad to control the camera, she took a picture as she placed in the last puzzle piece.  Silly girl!  Of course, then she had to take a few pieces out again so she could retrieve her camera!

True confession time:  I AM the type of parent who will purchase something "educational" that is also fun, and give that as a birthday or Christmas present.  This Puzzleball Globe is EXACTLY that type of item--something that will NOT disappoint if a child receives it as a gift--and I then sit back and smile at all the "sneaky learning" that takes place!

And the frosting on the cake for Alison?  When she realized that the Puzzleball Globe actually had the Space Shuttle where it should be on the "Space Coast" of Florida!

Timberdoodle includes the Puzzleball Globe as part of their full 3rd Grade Curriculum Package, which--as a former 3rd grade classroom teacher I think is totally awesome! So if you are looking for a full year curriculum for that grade, make sure to check it out using the above link!

 Having taught in both classrooms as well as our home school, this product is sturdy enough to hold up to multiple children and many many times assembling it!  While the recommended ages of 7 through 12 is excellent, I also would personally not be afraid of using it with a younger child if a parent was willing to help them, and even a little bit of an older child if they are especially interested in maps and puzzles.

I hope you have enjoyed this Home School Review!  Timberdoodle's Puzzleball Globe definitely gets an A+ from our family!

~Susan

Disclaimer:  I received this product free of charge in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions expressed are completely my own.