FlipStir Puzzle

Today's review from Enlivenze LLC is another fun one!

My oldest (10 yr) loves mind games and puzzles. He's really good at finding solutions and figuring things out. I always say that his engineer's mind is very much like his father's. He learned to solve the Rubik's Cube a year ago and has a record of 41 seconds. He has since learned to solve other cube-type puzzles, as well. The boy loves a challenge. So, when I had the opportunity to choose a FlipStir Puzzle, I picked the Solar System, specifically because it's a level 2 difficulty.

What is a FlipStir Puzzle? It is a self-contained 3D puzzle. The only instructions are Shake, Stir, Solve! Each puzzle has 10 pieces in a tube along with a maneuvering wand. The object is to jumble all the pieces and assemble the puzzle. Easy, right?

Not so much.

All the kids were thrilled once the puzzle arrived. Within seconds, the younger kids declared it "too hard." That was ok; I chose it for the oldest. But when the oldest fiddle with it for a few minutes and lost interest, I was shocked. There it sat, on the counter, all alone.

My husband came home from work and completed the puzzle after just a few minutes (show off, ha). I teased him the next day when I noticed that the entire solar system was upside down though. Therefore, he didn't truly solve it. Obviously. So, of course, he came home, shook the tube all up, and reassembled the puzzle--right side up this time.

  
The FlipStir puzzle has sat on our kitchen counter for the last month or so. Sometimes, someone would pick it up and jiggle the pieces around, and then set it back down looking like the same jumbled mess. Every now and then I'd ask my son if he was going to try it again. And every time he'd show no interest.

One day last week, I left the room for 5 minutes or so while I went to swap the laundry. I walked back up the stairs and into the kitchen. There my son stood with hand outstretched, holding the completed puzzle.

"What? How did . . . Did you . . . You did it?"

The boy who wouldn't touch the puzzle for weeks, assembled the whole thing in less than 5 minutes.

  
Shortly after he did it, his 8-year-old sister completed the puzzle, too.

At this point, 4 of us can finish the puzzle. None of the little boys (all younger than the puzzle's suggested age of 7) have done it or have really even tried much for that matter. And I can see why. This game can be frustrating! You use the wand to move a piece, get it almost in place . . . and it falls. Or it won't flip. Or everything else is just in your way. My daughter said, "I wish you could open it up so you can get to the pieces." You know what needs to be done, but getting it to do it isn't as easy. It can be frustrating. In a good way.

Of course, my 2 smarty pants have no trouble at all with it. My son has assembled it many times since last week. We timed him only once, while we videoed. It took about 3 1/2 minutes. My husband can do it faster than that. It takes me . . . much longer, ha.

 Here he is assembling it in super speed, even with a little brother jumping all around. 

The tube itself is sturdy. It's strong enough that I've felt comfortable letting even the toddler play with it. The pieces and wand moving around can be a bit noisy and can also leave marks on the clear plastic tube. But if you're not worried about waking a sleeping baby or getting clear pictures for a review, those things probably don't matter anyway, ha. 

Since the Solar System is a level 2 puzzle, the pieces have wavy edges. There are also the options of the Statue of Liberty and the Periodic Table. The level 1 puzzles have straight edges and include Rainbow Colored Pencil and a Tyrannosaurus Rex puzzles.

We've enjoyed our FlipStir puzzle. Not only is it challenging, but it's self-contained, meaning no lost pieces around the house! It's small enough that you could take it in the car for trips or while waiting for an appointment. It would make a great present for Christmas, birthday, or just because. The puzzles encourage focusing, patience, and hand-eye coordination. My kids have already been asking for a level 1 puzzle. With all the benefits of a FlipStir puzzle, I see our family enjoying many of these over the years.
 

You can connect with the company through the following social media links:

FlipStir Puzzle on Facebook and Twitter
Enlivenze LLC on Facebook and Twitter



You can see the other fun FlipStir Puzzles by reading the reviews on the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

Make It Monday: Love You To Pieces Card

We are so prepared. We've already made Leighton's Fathers Day gift for next year! 

What? You think 11 months in advance is too early?

 

Surely this can't be the card we made him 4 weeks ago. Right? Right???

Let's say we did give this to him a month ago and I'm just now sharing it. {ahem} Hypothetically, of course.   

You'll need pieces from a puzzle that you don't mind sacrificing. If you don't have any lying around with missing pieces, first of all, I commend you! Secondly, you can pick up a cheap one from the dollar store. You'll also need paint, brushes, letters (stickers, foam, chipboard, or hand-written.) Depending on your choice of letters, you might need glue, as well. You can make this on card stock, construction paper, or foam (like we did.) It would even be cute on canvas hung up on the wall.

  

Paint, paint, paint those pieces! We had so much fun decorating the silly shapes that we painted far more pieces than we needed for this project. It was neat to see how creative the kids were. I showed them how to paint one to look like a turtle, and their imaginations took off. It is also a good activity to practice their fine motor skills. 

Jake and Alyssa helped me find the letters to spell out "WE LOVE YOU TO PIECES." I hot-glued the letters and the puzzle pieces on the front.

For the inside of the card, I glued these questionnaires that they kids answers about their daddy. I asked them the questions one-on-one so they wouldn't hear each others answers and copy. Even so, it was interesting to see the things they answered the same. Some of their answers are totally wrong, some are completely right, and some are very funny.  

By Jacob, 6:

My dad is 29 years old.
My dad weighs 70 pounds.
My dad is 6-point-something tall.
My dad's favorite color is green.
My dad's favorite food is chicken.
My dad is really strong. He could lift a house.
My dad always says hi.
My dad is the best at working.
My dad's job is to drive a Bobcat.
My dad laughs when I'm being silly.
My dad and I like to go to work. (like this day)
My dad really loves when I obey.
I love my dad because he loves me.
It makes my dad happy when I obey.

By Alyssa, 4:

My dad is 29 years old.
My dad weighs 100 pounds.
My dad is {raises hand in air} this tall. Bigger than Mommy.
My dad's favorite color is green.
My dad's favorite food is anything Mommy makes.
My dad is really strong. He could lift a person.
My dad always says don't play with your gum.
My dad is the best at blinking.
My dad's job is to go to work.
My dad laughs when I be silly.
My dad and I like to play stuff.
My dad really loves Mommy.
I love my dad because he's the best.
It makes my dad happy when I obey him.

By Zac, 2:

My dad is 3 years old.
My dad weighs 2 pounds.
My dad is bigger!
My dad's favorite color is green.
My dad's favorite food is green.
My dad is really strong. He could lift wood to make our bunk beds.
My dad always says to work.
My dad is the best at work.
My dad's job is to make our bunk beds.
My dad laughs when the bunk beds.
My dad and I like to play Buckyballs.
My dad really loves to work.
I love my dad because.
It makes my dad happy when I color.

Happy Fathers Day 4 weeks ago . . . er, in 11 months . . . to the daddy of my babies. We loved you then and we'll love you still. Even though your job requires a lot of you (as shown in their answers) we know that you love us and work hard to provide our every need. I'm so pleased with the daddy you've become and proud to call you the father of my children.