I am always on the lookout for fun new ways to expand Jacob’s knowledge and give him an edge when it comes time to go back to school, especially during the summer months. Kids can lose a lot of knowledge during the school break, so I know how important it is to keep up with the learning. At the same time, I didn’t want to rob my child of the thrill of sleeping late and playing all day by loading him up with “summer work.” I really needed to find creative ways to incorporate learning, and Educational Insights has so many ways for me to do that.

July is all about Hot Dots over at Educational Insights, and I was given a Hot Dots Pen along with my choice of two sets of cards. They have tons of cards to choose from, so that was really the hardest part. Jacob is really interested in outer space, so he chose the Astronomy set. He also likes learning about language, and decided on the Laugh it Up Antonyms set for the second set.

How The Hot Dots Pen Works

The Hot Dots Pen is so easy to use, you really don’t even need to read the instructions! I know this for a fact because Jacob ripped the pen package open and lost the directions, so I had to wing it. It’s pretty much as simple as putting the batteries in the pen (it has one of those great screws that can be opened with a butter knife if you can’t find a screwdriver), select a card, and start playing. That last part is the important part. It needs the card to work. Otherwise, you’ll stand there going “I swear I put the batteries in right, why isn’t anything happening???”

Each of the cards in the sets has two sides, and each side has a different question related to the category. While I totally rocked the antonyms cards, I was surprised to get more than a few wrong in the Astronomy categories. My son is already way ahead of me in that subject!

Jake was thrilled to find out just how much he actually knew about the two categories. He got many answers right on the first try, which causes the pen to light up green and offer congratulations. Oh, and yes, I’m aware my kid needs a haircut! I’m working on it!

The Hot Dots Family of Products

Hot Dots comes in both the standard pen for ages 5+, and a Hot Dots Jr. Pen for preschoolers. There are dozens of different sets of cards, including Language Arts, Science, and Math. For the younger kids, the card sets teach patterns, colors, the alphabet, and basic reading skills. There is a card set for just about any skill you can think of. If you order two sets of cards between now ad July 30, you’ll get a Hot Dots Pen free.

Educational Insights also recently  launched their Pinterest site, and they have some great pins for you to check out. Boards features everything from Fan Favorites to Snack ideas.

Giveaway

I will be giving away a Hot Dots set of your choice (either the regular or Jr. version) plus two card sets of your choice for my 12 Days of Christmas in July giveaway, which starts tomorrow. Be sure to come back and enter!