My boys have a very hands-on learning style so I love finding new products where they can learn and have fun at the same time. Recently, our family had the opportunity to review the Engino Mechanical Simple Machines set from Timberdoodle. 
Engino Mechanical Simple Machines:
Engino Simple Machines set is part of the Timberdoodle 7th grade curriculum pack, but is perfect for ages 9 and up. In this set, your child will learn about the six simple machines along with two more mechanisms (the gear and the linkage):
• Lever
• Wedge
• Wheel & Axle
• Screw
• Inclined Plane
• Pulley
Build 59 working models
The Engino Simple Machines set is designed to build 59 working models, including cars, cranes and all different types of machines. Along with the directions booklet, you also get a 68-page student-teachers book that gives detailed explanations of the different technological principles applied and real life examples. The real-life examples combined with the building, really brings the lesson to life. It’s amazing how wrapped up we get in these lessons with our discussions, but you know the old saying, “Time flies when you’re having fun.”
Along with all this, you also get photocopiable worksheets for 31 activities so that your child can get the opportunity to have a more in-depth experimentation. For those that do test at the end, there is a thorough quiz that you can also download.
See it in action:
Engino Mechanical Simple Machines is as an additional part of our simple machines study. We have studied simple machines in the past, but not like this. We do this four-days a week as part of our regular curriculum and even my five-year old is learning. Before each daily lesson, we all build the machine that we are going to be focusing on. Not only are they learning more about the way the machine works, but they are also improving their building skills.
Overall thoughts:
This is a fantastic addition to any curriculum. I admit that I’m not an expert builder even though I somehow always get stuck with the builds. When I went to attempt my first build with the boys I was a little nervous. The directions were a tad different from what I was used to, then I glanced over at my nine-year old and he had his side built just by looking at the picture and not following the directions. 
So this lets me know that it’s very kid friendly as far as building goes and apparently I was completely over-thinking my side of the build. However, the more we build, the faster we are. Now, my five-year old and nine-year old build and I’m there to guide them. 
I can honestly say that they look forward to doing this daily and if it were their choice, they would leave every machine that we have built put together. It always makes them a little sad when we break it down to build a new one.
