The Wolfe Pack {Reviews+Resources+Suggestions=Support for the Discerning Homeschool Mom}

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Game Review: SCRAMBLED STATES of AMERICA {Geography}

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{This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for details.} 

The Scrambled States of America is available on Amazon HERE.

{I purchased this game myself. All opinions are my own!}

 

My kid’s understanding of STATE GEOGRAPHY is well beyond mine but we still love to play this board game, The Scrambled States of America. Or maybe that is WHY he likes to play it with me, haha!  Either way, I also enjoy this game. It’s marketed as “the whimsical, mad-dashing GEOGRAPHY game” and we would agree. It is fun, funny and fairly quick. And, of course, it is educational! 

But, it’s not quite as educational in the area of GEOGRAPHY as The Game of the States, because it does not spend nearly as much time and energy focusing on the actual GEOGRAPHIC locations of the states. But, it does still hold a lot of educational value. Read on to see just how and why we recommend playing  The Scrambled States of America…

 

In addition to reviewing the

FUN FACTOR and the

EDUCATIONAL VALUE,

I will also include info on the

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT,

TIME COMMITMENT, 

CLARITY LEVEL

and an OVERALL SCORE. 

NAME: The Scrambled States of America

PUBLISHER: Gamewright

CATEGORY: History

SUB CATEGORY: Geography

TIME COMMITMENT: Moderate {30+ minutes}

PLAYERS: 2-4 

AGES: 8+

HOW TO WIN: Be the player to collect the most state cards!

CLARITY LEVEL: ♥♥♥♥♥ The instructions are very easy to read, and more importantly, they are easy to follow. After we read the directions once and then started playing, we never had to go back to clarify anything. Easy peasy!  CLARITY LEVEL SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

FUN FACTOR: ♥♥♥♥♥ With a tagline that includes “whimsical” and “mad-dashing,” FUN is to be expected!  We’ve played this game several times and we are never disappointed in that area. It’s always FUN and never frustrating.  FUN FACTOR SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

EDUCATIONAL VALUE: ♥♥♥♥_ As mentioned above, The Scrambled States of America does not do the best job teaching your kids the GEORGRPAHICAL location of each state. It also does not do a stellar job at teaching your kids about each state {other than nickname, shape and capital}. If you are wanting a game that hits those harder, check out The Game of the States. But, what it does do is expose your kids to each state in a silly, whimsical way. It’s actually great for kids younger than the listed 8-years-old because it relies so much on the picture of the state found on each card.  Playing the game gives kids a fun and firm exposure to the state shape, nickname and capital along with a decent introduction to the GEOGRAPHICAL location.  EDUCATIONAL VALUE SCORE: 4/5 ♥♥♥♥_

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT: ♥♥♥♥♥  It comes in a small, sturdy box that I love! The plastic insert is also sturdy and has held up even after years of play. The cards are both high quality and very colorful. It comes with four little maps, which could benefit from being laminated, and a small “book.” The book explains the background of the game but is not necessary by any means. And it’s really just a stapled packet so if your kids are rough at all, that’ll probably be the first casualty of the game. The directions are printed on a tri-fold of paper. You may not need to reference them often but you also won’t want to lose them because they don’t appear anywhere else.  ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

OVERALL SCORE: ♥♥♥♥♥ Though this is not the top game I suggest for learning state GEOGRAPHY, I do highly recommend this game! It is fun for several ages and levels and does a very good job of giving kids a fun and basic introduction to some state specifics.  OVERALL SCORE: 95% ♥♥♥♥♥

If you are ready to play “the whimsical, mad-dashing geography game,” you can grab The Scrambled States of America on Amazon HERE.

If you want something that focuses solely on memorizaing state capitals, this States and Capitals Memorization Practice Pack does just that! 

If you want to look more closely at HOW to play  The Scrambled States of America, check out the rest of this post….

 

STEP ONE: Make a pile of red cards and a pile of blue cards. Place them both in the middle of the table so all players have access. 

STEP TWO: Give every player a map and five blue cards. 

STEP THREE: Each player makes a line of their cards in front of them face-up. 

STEP FOUR: Each player spends a wee bit of time reading their state cards and familiarizing themselves with the image, name, capital and nickname.

BONUS TIP: To increase the educational value,  they should also find the location of each state on the map.  

STEP FIVE: One player flips over the top red card for all to see. 

STEP SIX: Each player reads the red card and quickly tries to see if they have a state card that matches what the red card says. 

STEP SEVEN: The first player to find a match, slaps their blue state card on top of the red card and shouts the name of their state. 

STEP EIGHT: That player collects the red card and sets it aside. 

STEP NINE: That player also places their blue state card aside and draws a new state card from the pile in the center. 

STEP TEN: Repeat Steps Five through Nine until all of the state cards have been played. The player who plays the most state cards is the winner!

ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE:  There are two types of red cards. The majority are “find it cards” and include directions like “find a state that has seven letters” or “find a state that is purple”. But there are also “go the distance cards” which require an extra step {see directions} but is where the focus turns to actual GEOGRAPHY. 

 

GAME REVIEW: Election Night

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{This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for details.} 

Election Night is available on Amazon HERE.

{I purchased this game myself. All opinions are my own!}

Read on for a detailed REVIEW. 

We use a lot of educational games in our homeschool, especially in areas where my son needs extra work {hello spelling and math!} but I also like to find games that help teach topics that we don’t spend every day working on like geography, general science and the often-confusing ELECTORAL COLLEGE.

This game, Election Night, was designed specifically to teach about the ELECTORAL COLLEGE so I figured this was the perfect time to try it out! 

Read on for a helpful review of Election Night!

In addition to reviewing the

FUN FACTOR and the

EDUCATIONAL VALUE,

I will also include info on the

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT,

TIME COMMITMENT, 

CLARITY LEVEL

and an OVERALL SCORE. 

 

NAME: Election Night!

PUBLISHER: Semper Smart

CATEGORY: Social Studies

SUB CATEGORY: Government

TIME COMMITMENT: Moderate {30+ minutes}

PLAYERS: 2 {or Teams of 2+}

HOW TO WIN: Be the first to claim 270 electoral votes!

CLARITY LEVEL: ♥♥♥♥_ The instructions look a bit overwhelming at first, and frankly, even when you begin to read them, they seem a little complicated. But, they’re not. We decided to read the instructions quickly and then to just start playing. As we played, things made more sense and we were able to reference the instructions as we went. It’s not a speed-dependent game so taking this approach worked perfectly fine. But, it’s probably not a game that a couple of 8 year-olds would be able to figure out on their own based on the instructions alone. SCORE: 4/5 ♥♥♥♥_

FUN FACTOR: ♥♥♥♥♥ This is a rather FUN game! I’ll admit that politics and FUN don’t usually go together in my brain but this game proved me wrong ….at least in one small way.  It’s not like I think much else related to politics is FUN but this was definitely a FUN way to learn about an important topic. My son, who is 13, absolutely loved this game and had a blast trying to strategize how to win. He loved it so much that he asked to play two days in a row! We got a lot of laughs when we realized we must sound like real politicians when we said things like,

“I need to alter my focus and try to take California. I cannot win without California. I MUST MAKE CALIFORNIA MINE!” 
“Ugh. North Dakota is just not worth it. Isn’t there another state I can claim?” 
“I should probably start working on New York…or maybe Florida. I don’t know which. How do I decide?”
“I have absolutely no interest in that state…” as he sacrifices a special card to roll again and try to gain a different state. Poor Wyoming.
FUN FACTOR SCORE: 5/5♥♥♥♥♥

EDUCATIONAL VALUE: ♥♥♥♥♥ With a tagline like “Learn your way to the White House,” I had high expectations of this game’s EDUCATIONAL VALUE. And, I’m happy to report, I was NOT DISAPPOINTED! Not only did this game do a stellar job of reinforcing what my son has been learning about the ELECTORAL COLLEGE, but MATH was used multiple times on every turn and in a variety of ways. And for a kid who does not love MATH, but needs the practice, games that offer FUN opportunities for MATH to be used, are a perfect choice! {BONUS: The gameboard is two-sided. One side is used with ADDITION and the other side is used with MULTIPLICATION. So, it’s GREAT for kids of many levels.} Then there’s the entire concept of STRATEGY. I will admit that I tend to shy away from “strategy games” because they take too much time and are usually slow-paced {which, for me, means not exactly my type of  FUN} but with this game, STRATEGY is key {and, thankfully, not too time-consuming.} My STRATEGY was to claim as many states as quickly as possible, even if it meant they were small states with few electoral votes. My son’s STRATEGY was to claim the big states and their bounty of electoral votes. Wanna guess who won? EDUCATIONAL VALUE SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT: ♥♥♥♥♥ Maybe I should be embarrassed by the fact that the way a game, its box and all of the components are organized matters to me. But, I’m not! Organization is important in my home and that trickles all the way down to the way our games hang out on the shelf. I hate when boxes cave in or when pieces are easily lost. But, Election Night ranks 5/5 in this important-to-us category! The box is sturdy and has a strong plastic insert where everything has a designated spot. All of the pieces are high quality, which is especially important because the game requires using dry-erase markers directly on the board. I am sure the red and blue dry-erase markers will eventually wear out but those can be easily replaced. The game board itself is two-sided and very well-made. At first, I was nervous that the dry-erase marks would not erase easily or fully but they did, though I would not suggest leaving the marks on the board for days/weeks/months in between games. ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

OVERALL SCORE: ♥♥♥♥♥ This was a complete hit in our home! Not only was it tons of fun, it was also filled with educational value too. I would highly recommend this to families with kids AND ADULTS of all ages! And though it would be a fabulous choice to play during an election year, it is also a great choice at any time. OVERALL SCORE: 95% ♥♥♥♥♥ 

If you are ready to offer your entire family a really fun way to learn about the electoral college, you can snag it here on Amazon.

If you are needing other fun ways to teach about the ELECTORAL COLLEGE, check out this PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION FACT PACK. It’s a quick, easy and fun way to teach the ELECTION PROCESS to kids of various ages and levels. 

Three More FLAG FACTS You Probably Don’t Know {but should!}

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While doing  research for a Flag Day Resource, I learned some really interesting facts about our flag. I learned so many interesting Flag Facts,  in fact, that there were too many for just one post so I decided to highlight THREE MORE FLAG FACTS. 

Before you read FLAG FACTS 4-6, you might want to check out the first three FLAG FACTS at THREE FACTS YOU PROBABLY DON’T KNOW ABOUT OUR FLAG.

FLAG FACT FOUR: The arrangement of our stars has a really sinuous history.  In 1777, Congress specified that our flag should have 13 stars on a blue field and 13 alternating red and white stripes. But they did not specify how the stars should be arranged. And as new states were added, so were new stars and, therefore,  the arrangement kept changing. And since Congress hadn’t specified an arrangement, flagmakers just came up with various designs.

Between 1776 and 1960, we’ve had twenty-seven different star arrangements including….

and, of course, 

Then there was my least favorite, the 

design of 1859.

Thankfully, somewhere along the line {1912, to be exact,} the specific arrangement of stars, along with other details, were mandated and that gave us a flag that was nicely organized and 

Then, in 1958, as Alaska and Hawaii were nearing statehood, President Eisenhower requested that Americans submit design suggestions on how to arrange the stars to reflect 50 states. Thousands of designs were submitted, including one from a 16-year-old student from Ohio.

Robert G. Heft submitted his design after his high school teacher had turned Eisenhower’s request into a class assignment. Despite the fact that Robert’s teacher gave him a B- for his efforts, his design was selected and it is what we still use today! 

I find that pretty interesting! Few, if any, other 16-year-old kids can claim such an iconic symbol as their own design. 

FLAG FACT FIVE: Our flag is the third oldest flag still in use. The Stars and Stripes is only younger than the flag of 

which was created in 1219

and the flag of 

which has been around since 1572. 

Now, this interesting fact should not be confused with how old the world’s various countries really are, because if you know much history at all, you know the US is considered to be a relatively young country at less than 250 years old. But, as some countries have decolonized, wars have been waged and other countries have changed their constitutions, flags have been changed. 

Take the U.K. for instance. Obviously, Great Britain is older than we are {considering the fact that we exist simply because we wanted to free ourselves from them} but their flag, commonly known as the Union Jack,  is only 219 years old. Why? Because they redesigned their flag in 1801 when they added Ireland to their “United Kingdom”. 

So, as long as you don’t directly compare the age of flags with the age of countries, the fact that our flag is the third oldest in the world is a fact you could certainly use to impress your friends {or at least look cool when answering Jeopardy questions.} 

 
FLAG FACT SIX: Astronauts didn’t fly with our flag until their eighth mission.  The iconic look of our astronaut’s spacesuits with Old Glory on the shoulder wasn’t a part of our space program until 1965. And considering that the Space Race has been part of the international political climate since 1955, this is a rather interesting fact. 
But what’s even more interesting is the fact that it was an astronaut himself that had the idea. And then he paid for the flag patch out of his own pocket! Astronaut Ed White was scheduled to make America’s first spacewalk on the Gemini IV mission. Realizing the historic nature of the photos that would be taken, he and mission commander Jim McDivitt paid out of their own pockets for flag patches to wear on their uniforms. Recognizing a good idea, NASA then made them standard issue. 
Of these THREE FLAG FACTS, which do you find the most interesting? Leave a comment below and let me know!
 
 
If you enjoyed this post, you might want to check out my other FLAG FACTS post, THREE FACTS YOU PROBABLY DON’T KNOW ABOUT OUR FLAG. 
 

Three Facts You Probably Don’t Know About Our Flag

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Flag Day is just around the corner and if you are anything like me, you probably have little clue what the holiday means.

But, don’t worry. I did a wee bit of research {thanks Google} on the subject of Flag Day {mostly because I did not want my son to be clueless on the subject too} and found the simple answer.

Flag Day is celebrated on June 14th and has been set aside to commemorate the day we adopted our nation’s flag, June 14, 1777. On that day, nearly 250 years ago, the Second Continental Congress adopted the country’s first official flag by resolution.”

This just means that the most important powdered-wig wearing men of the day voted on an official flag. And they did so on June 14th, 1777, so we are supposed to celebrate that fact every June 14th. 

It’s that simple. 

But, my research revealed some other really interesting facts. I learned several things that caused me to wonder why my parents paid good money for a private school education. 

But I’ll just share three of the most interesting things I learned.

 

 

FLAG FACT ONE: The version of our flag that we first flew had Great Britain’s Union Jack in the prime corner spot. 

In order to find this interesting, you have to know two things:

A. At that exact moment in time, we considered Great Britain to be our oppressors and were currently at war to free ourselves from them. 

B. Great Britain’s flag consisted then {and still does} of one big fat Union Jack. 

So, why on earth was it ever considered a good idea to have our oppressor’s flag highlighted on ours? Thankfully, George Washington, who was the commander of the Continental Army at the time, wised up and decided this would be bad for morale among the soldiers and the Union Jack was replaced with stars {one for each original colony}. 

 

FLAG FACT TWO: Despite what any kindergarten kid will tell you, there is no real proof that Betsy Ross had anything to do with our flag. As we all know, Betsy Ross is credited with making the first flag {like the one pictured above,} but there is actually no historical proof that this is the case. There are no records from the Continental Congress, no letters from George Washington, no written correspondence from anybody about Betsy’s role in sewing the first flag. 

So, why are we taught that Betsy Ross had anything to do with the creation of our flag? Because Betsy’s relatives claim that they heard extensive details of the flag’s creation. While the evidence is simply not sufficient to definitively classify it as a fact or a fiction, you can examine that evidence yourself and draw your own conclusions. You can read the testimony of William Canby and the affidavits of Rachel Fletcher, Sophia Hildebrant and Margaret Boggs to decide for yourself. 

 

FLAG FACT THREE: We’re not supposed to be wearing the flag unless it’s on the  uniform of military personnel, firemen, policemen, and members of patriotic organizations.

This means that Old Navy has been doing this all wrong. 

And so have Olympic athletes, 

cowboy boot manufacturers,  

and recent mask makers.

The rules for handling and displaying the U.S. Flag are defined by a law known as the U.S. Flag Code. There are dozens of rules to follow and you can read them in full here, but the one rule I am referencing reads like this:

The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. It should never be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed to fall free.”

There is debate whether this means you can’t make any items that even remotely represent the flag {see the mask above} or whether you just can’t take an actual flag and wear it like clothing {see Shaun White’s photo above.} 

Either way, I found it very surprising since we see dogs wearing flag bandannas, models wearing flag bikinis and advertisements for flag blankets, rugs and tableware all the time. 

Which flag fact did you find most interesting? 

If you want to read more interesting FLAG FACTS, check out this post, Three More FLAG FACTS You Probably Don’t Know {but should!}

And if you are looking for a quick and fun resource to learn more about FLAG DAY, check out this FLAG DAY FACT PACK.  You can snag it for free here {if you subscribe to my newsletter.} Or if you prefer to pay for it, you can head here instead. It’s perfect for kids of nearly every age {and adults will certainly learn from it too!}

Why Our Kids Need to Understand the ELECTION PROCESS {no matter how we feel about politics}

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Whether you are a classic homeschooler whose kids have never stepped foot in a traditional school or you are a reluctant parent facilitating your child’s education at home during this crisis….

Whether you have precious early elementary kids or moody teenagers nearing adulthood…

Whether you detest politics or live and die by Fox News…

Whether you cried when Obama‘s second term was up, voted for Trump in 2016, or have been burning for Bernie for several years, doesn’t matter.  Your kids need to understand the election process. 

No matter what you believe or how you feel about the 2020 presidential candidates, your kids need to understand our country’s election process. 

And here are three simple reasons why…

ONE: KIDS NEED TO UNDERSTAND OUR HISTORY It wasn’t until I started homeschooling my own son that I developed an understanding of the value of our country’s history. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve always been patriotic and knew basic facts about the founding of our country but I never truly appreciated the need to understand our full and complete history. Our history is one of both planning and perseverance, and the process by which we elect our presidents is a testimony to both. The concept of the Electoral College was not accidental. The age at which the president can be elected is not arbitrary. The allowances that different states have to run their elections is not incidental. All of that was planned. And it was all planned for a reason. And our kids need to understand all of it. 

TWO: KIDS NEED TO KNOW THEIR FAMILY’S VOICE IS BEING HEARD Especially in the unprecedentedly uncertain times of today, our kids need to know that we are not voiceless members of a tyrannical society. Our kids need to know we live in a democratic country where every citizen has a say. Understanding the election process not only teaches how we can each use our voice appropriately and effectively, it can also lead to an understanding of the legislative process of our government. We vote to put the lawmakers into place. Our kids need to know that their families have a voice and that those voices are being heard. 

THREE: KIDS WILL VOTE SOMEDAY As adults, we need to recognize that we are raising voters. When I taught a Presidential Election class for our co-op in 2016, we did quick math to figure out in which future election each kid would get to vote. The kids probably felt that four, eight or twelve years away was an eternity, but it really brought home to ME that the responsibility of voting was just around the corner for our kids. I remember my first time voting. I was excited. I was proud. But, I did NOT, in any way, shape or form, understand the severity of that responsibility and all that it entailed. I guess I was more preoccupied with getting the attention of Billy Barry during my US Government class in public school than I was focused on understanding the process by which we elected a president…or even what that truly meant. We are raising voters and it’s never too early to teach them about the election process. 

And, believe it or not, Election Day 2020 is just days away! 

So, whether you are a classic homeschooler or a pandemically-induced parent facilitator…

whether you have First Graders or Freshman….

whether you watch CNN, Fox or no news….

whether you love or hate Trump doesn’t matter. 

Your kids need to understand our country’s election process. 

 

If you’re needing a fun and easy way to teach your kids about our country’s election process, you might want to check out this fun and highly informative Presidential Election Fact Pack.

It’s a very simple, yet thorough way to teach about the Electoral College and the entire process by which we elect our president. I have used it with ages ranging from 6 to 14 with great success and loads of fun!

And, if you are looking for a fun and totally FREE way to track the results on Election Night, check out this Presidential Election Tracker Pack! 

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