The Presidential Game Review

When you can play a game with your kids and learn at the same time, that is a win-win situation.  The game we had the opportunity to play was The Presidential Game.  It gives kids the chance to see how the electoral college works (sort of).  The goal of the game is to be the political party with at least 270 of the 538 electoral votes.  It is geared towards kids 11 and older and can be played by two or more players.

In our family, there was pre-campaign fighting over which political party they would each belong to, so we switched it up each time we played.  The first time we played, we followed the directions to the letter.  We decided we would only play for 10 weeks, which is only 10 turns for each political party.  The game can last 30 weeks (or turns).  Teams choose whether to campaign or go fundraising.  Fundraising can only occur in four states: New York, Florida, Texas, and California.  These are the states with the most electoral votes, and they are marked like a dollar bill instead of a solid color.  Each party has three dice they roll on each turn.  When fundraising, at least half of what is rolled must go to the fundraising state that was chosen before the roll.  The rest of the chips can be put anywhere else.  After the turn is over for the fundraiser, that party draws a politics card.  Some of these cards give your opponent chips to place; some give your own party chips to place.  Sometimes you can choose where to place them; sometimes you are told where to place them.  My kids LOVED fundraising so that they could draw a card and, hopefully, gain more chips.  Some of the cards were funny, and my kids would say, "What does that have to do with anything?"  It gave them an idea of some of the ridiculous things people get caught up in during the political process and how seemingly minor infractions can cost a state.

The party that chooses to campaign rolls its three dice and distributes chips equivalent to each die to any three states they choose.  We constantly vied for control of California until once when 11 chips were placed on it.  This all but guaranteed the other team would control it at the end of the game.  No politics card is chosen when campaigning.

The first time we played, we used the score card as the directions indicated. Each time a state was "won," we would add that to the total.  If we had taken it away from the other party, we would subtract that state's electoral votes from our opponents.  It just got too cumbersome to try to remember all the additions and subtractions on each turn for each party.  If there were more spaces on the score card, it might not have been as difficult.  We decided that the next time we played we would not use the score card at all but would simply add up each party's states at the end and see who had gained the most electoral votes.  This made the game go so much faster, and my kids enjoyed it A LOT more.  Their competitive spirit really came out, but they were learning as they were competing.  My boys, especially, seemed to really enjoy this game.

Included with the game is an "Electoral WebMap Calculator."  Using a password that is on the instruction sheet, you can record the results for each team on a map on the computer which then keeps a running total of the electoral votes each team has.  We did not use this map since it was just as easy to simply count our totals at the end, but I could see how kids would really enjoy using it while playing the game.

This game sells for $35 on the The Presidential Game website.

College Prep Genius Review

College Prep Genius is a company devoted to helping high school students succeed in their future.  Jean Burk, a homeschooling mom, teaches students how to prepare for college.  One step in this approach is scoring well on the standardized exams, which can earn giant scholarships.  Her own children received full scholarships to college.


High School Prep Genius is a broader-scope preparation guide to college.  It begins with students in 7th and 8th grade.  Ms. Burk presents information for every stage of junior high and high school that will make the path to college easier, by being sure that important tasks are taken care of as soon as possible and not at the very end of 12th grade.

For only $29.95, High School Prep Genius is an extremely valuable tool for the college-minded student.  The first chapters also make it a valuable tool for those who want personal success, not just those going to college.  Ms. Burk discusses personal development, developing your interests, figuring out what your beliefs are, gaining financial independence, and building a strong support system.  These ideas are good for anybody, and she presents them in a very professional and caring way.  It seemed a bit strange to me, in a book about preparing for college, to have a chapter on eating correctly and getting enough iron and calcium.  I suppose, though, a student who reads this and attends college will have in the back of their mind somewhere that they need to eat healthy to succeed and do well in school.  They will, hopefully, remember this and eat well.

The introduction to this 440-page book which is written for both the student and the parent contains a timeline from 7th through 12th grade.  It instructs the student to create a College and Career Notebook to keep track of the important information like grades, activities, awards, information about colleges, etc.  Jake spent one afternoon making 14 tables to place in his notebook.

  When I asked Jake what he thought about this book, he said, "It is very informative.  It is full of great tips on what to do in high school to prepare for college.  It also gets you ready for what you are going to face in college."
I like that this book is written to both the student and the parent.  Each chapter ends with a few pages that are a "Guide for Parents."  This book helps the student to think about his/her own life and the steps they will need to take and the responsibility that should be theirs in their future.  It seems like Jake has more of an understanding now about the path he needs to take through the rest of high school.  It certainly takes some pressure off of me as his parent to be sure he is doing what he needs to do when he is aware of what he needs to do and takes ownership of it.
Some of the other chapters in this book are: Academic Development Effective Studying Tests and Papers Getting Organized High School Mechanics Going Beyond the Basics Future Development Choosing a School Standardized Test Prep College Applications Paying for School College Essentials
There are appendices which include: How to Build a Homeschool Transcript Talent Searches Great Books to Get You Started Reduce Test Anxiety Through Relaxation Techniques Admissions Terminology
There are special instructions for homeschooling families in various chapters.
The "Going Beyond the Basics" chapter discusses getting involved in other activities besides basic academics.  It encourages involvement in classes at community colleges, community centers, private lessons (including music), internship opportunities, honors program classes, AP courses, dual enrollment, International Baccalaureate program courses, volunteering, community service, and summer jobs.
Even though this review is about the High School Prep Genius book, I would encourage you to take a look at the College Prep Genius website.  There is information there about classes to help prepare for the SAT, both live and DVD.  There is a comprehensive SAT prep collection that includes DVDs, workbooks, textbooks, vocabulary books, etc.
Take an opportunity to read some of the testimonials as well.  They are amazing!
I look forward to having Jake finish reading this book and then having Nate, who is finishing up 7th grade, begin reading the book and taking ownership of his own school career so that he'll be ahead of the game when it comes to entering college.