"Pizza Party" review and giveaway!!!

Being a part of the Download N' Go review team has been a blessing for our family since we love unit studies and we were given this unit to use in exchange for our honest opinions in a review. So the chance to review this unit called "Pizza Party"   ~  it sounded like to much fun to pass on...

I have done three Download N Go unit studies now, each geared toward kindergarten through fourth graders and I am still as impressed and happy with "Pizza Party" as I was with the very first one we did...

Pizza Party is a 112 page unit study designed for K-4th graders as a 1 week study. It's the ease of having everything at my fingertips (literally with the laptop), and the lapbook minibooks (which I printed before we start) make it an easy and wonderful experience for both me and the kidlets...

Once again, with Pizza Party, I am amazed at all the information included...Which even though these are created to be 1 week studies, they could easily be turned into more with all the info and activities included...Notebook sheets, lapbook pieces, worksheets, it's all here.



Just enough info there without having information OVERLOAD on each page. I have done units in the past where when I opened the document to use it, I would literally "freak-out" over the googolet of information with all the choices or I would be so disappointed when there was barely enough to get started with... With units like those, I immediately become discouraged and end up not using them...But that's certainly not been the case with Download N' Go units...The way the information is put together is streamlined and very effective.

Our five days of cheesy fun began with:

Day 1: Pizza—What Is It?
Day 2: The Story of Pizza
Day 3: Types of Pizza
Day 4: The Science of Pizza
Day 5: Let’s Have a Pizza Party

We kicked off our week with dinner at our local Pizza Hut... My kids ordering their favorite "Pepperoni with thin crust"...



Now,  when we begin any unit study,  I always skim through everything on my own before beginning it with the kidlets, and make a list of pages to print. This is more for my sanity than anything else ... Then we start, with the kidlets beside me at the laptop, watching all the fun videos that are linked with just a click...and one of the good things about the videos is that there is no distraction from other things on the pages like with YouTube because the videos are embedded at the Download N' Go site...This is a plus for those parents who like me have children that sometimes have a hard time concentrating on one topic...

Another thing included that I really like is vocabulary~ not only are you given  daily vocabulary words, but there is also more advanced words included so that this is truly a unit study that can be done with several grades... and the online dictionary and additional reading info make it easy for kids (especially 3rd-4th graders) to find the answers and definitions and be able to help their younger siblings in the search...  In fact, everything you need is right there...the book lists are great, but you don't need anything else but the download of this study to complete it and learn... But I have to say that my 7yo DD absolutely loved the story of "Pizza Pat" and begged for her own copy... So, if you need one after doing this study, this is where I bought ours... (who was I to deny a lil' girl a book she read absolutely everyday of the study)...

I like the way science and social studies are combined and interwoven... after spending a week with "Pizza Party" ,  my kids can not only locate Italy and it's major cities, but can tell you what the weather is like in the north or southern-most parts... The included outline maps made finding Italy and other countries around the world, where pizza is a favorite, easy and fun... Whether they were on an adventure with Marco Polo on the Silk Route or just finding the birth place of pizza, I know my kids remember things so much better when they have to find and locate places for themselves... And one thing I will never forget is all the crazy toppings found around the world... I can honestly say that I have never craved mayo & potato pizza... "THANKFULLY"... but it is quite the rage in Japan...

We even touched a lil' on some easy Italian with some worksheets I added and got from here  ...For math, we worked on fractions, using a "Tuzzles" Pizza Fraction Puzzle that I had bought last year, but never got around to using til' now...       Playing with the "Tuzzle"

and a game from Learning Resources called "Fun with Pizza Fractions"... (it's 7 games in 1 box)

           DS playing a game of fractions...

I really liked how art was brought into this unit with a study of Leonardo Davinci and Michangelo... we visited Galileo and even had the opportunity to bring out our Galileoscope to use one night... The kids discovered the music of Vivaldi and took turns creating their own musical masterpieces at the keyboard one afternoon... which the kidlets loved even though it didn't do much for my headache...

DD made a pizza craft using some styrofoam peanuts, felt, and construction paper...She loves making up her own thing!! *LOL*

                                                                            

Our family took a visual trip to Italy by watching a Rick Steve's travel video that we got from our local library that toured the cities of Italy.  I must say though that I loved it much more than the kids did...Their favorite episodes were Naples and Pompeii. You can check out the video here . Then we capped  our evening off by making homemade pizza. The kids loved playing with the dough and dinner is always better when you make it yourself. This is the recipe for an easy, quick dough that we used.
                            

and finally ~ YUMMY!!!                         

So, are you wanting to let your kids travel to Italy and never leave the comforts of your own home? Are you wanting to let your children's minds wander as they bite into every cheesy morsel of information? Well, don't hesitate to ask me more about this unit... Now you ask, where can "I" get more information on Download N' Go and  where can "I" order this yummy study?  I am so  glad that you asked that! Download N'Go is having a special this weekend on Saturday and Sunday with Pizza Party being on sale for $5...Yes, I said it...Only $5 for a week of learning and fun... You can also purchase other Download N' Go units here for only $7.95 each.

I also have been allowed  to offer the chance to win a giveaway copy of the "Pizza Party" unit study~ you have 3 different opportunities to enter:

1. Leaving me a comment on this review


2. Become a follower of my blog


3. Go to Download N' Go and let me know which unit you like best in the comment section of this review

Good Luck and don't forget to celebrate National Cheese Pizza Day this Sunday, September 5th.