Review: The Master Ruler

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew my family and I have reviewed several products lately, most of which had good qualities to them, some great, some not so much, but I have to say that for our family personally, the Master Ruler has opened up a whole new world to us. 

We have a couple of children who love math and who have very little problem learning new concepts, we have one that cried every day when it came to math time until we found just the right curriculum for them, and then we have one that used to be our biggest math whiz, figuring out the answers to problems in a way I couldn't wrap my mind around... until it came to fractions.

When you start getting into all that's involved with fractions it can often times be a bit overwhelming.  So we are just taking our time and doing lots and lots of review until I KNOW he's got it.  (And isn't that one of the best things about homeschooling?  Spending all the time needed to learn and understand a concept before moving on to something new.) 

The Master Ruler is not only perfect for learning measuring but also learning the very beginning of fractions and how one thing can be broken down into several equal parts.  These rulers (we reviewed both the standard ruler as well as the metric ruler) are actually several rulers in one.  The standard ruler is like having five rulers in one: one to measure whole inches, one for halves, one for fourths, one for eighths, and one for sixteenths.  The metric ruler is broken down into three rulers in one: one for decimeters, one for centimeters, and one for millimeters.

The back layer of each ruler is white to provide an easily visible background for each of the other layers of the ruler.  On top of this white base ruler you flip over clear, see-through layers that represent different measurements (as stated above).  Each of these layer's have it's own colored tab for easy flipping and each set of measurements are marked in different colors so each can be easily seen as more layers are flipped over on top.  All ruler layers are bound together with small, hard, plastic tubing-like pieces, sort of like a comb-binding but broken into several pieces.

My children have really enjoyed using these rulers to measure everything they can find to measure.  And even those who have not moved into fractions yet easily understood how one inch can be broken down into two, four, eight, and sixteen equal parts.  I am so thankful for this easy introduction into fractions and know that we will use these rulers over and over throughout our homeschool years.  (Who am I kidding?  I know I'LL be using them for years and years to come!  I mean, really, how many of us never got a thorough education on the metric system and remember how to convert perfectly?  Now I can learn right along, again, with the kiddo's!)

Each of these rulers are $9.95 and can be purchased at the Master Innovations website.  To go along with the rulers they also offer The Master Ruler Workbook for $15.95.  While I would have loved to review the workbook along with the ruler, I was not sent that.  However, I think it would make a wonderful addition and would help make using the ruler the way it was intended a lot more fun.  As a side note, this workbook is also available in an English/Spanish version.

But wait!  (LOL, I love using that line.)  The awesome math helps don't end with the Master Ruler.  The geniuses at Master Innovations also offer the Master Clock for learning to tell time, Master Fractions (YAY for us... I plan on purchasing this for my little fraction-struggling student), and Master Angles (which I also plan on purchasing next year when our oldest starts geometry).  Each of these manipulatives also have coordinating workbooks you may wish to purchase as well.  A Marvels of Measures poster is available and several new learning products will be available soon.  I can't wait to see what they come out with next!

If you'd like, take a look at what other Crew Members thought of these products.  Each of the products I mentioned here were reviewed so if you're interested in any of them you will be able to find reviews on each!

As a last note, I personally love buying from and supporting fellow Christians with their businesses.  I was thrilled to read this on the back of the packaging my rulers came in...

"For many years a teacher was not happy that the lines on the ruler confused her students.  She believed in prayer.  She asked the LORD to show her a tool that would help her teach the children.  One night she had a dream in which she saw herself teaching the children with the help of "The Master Ruler".  The LORD had answered her prayer.  Now "The Master Ruler" is available to everyone."

*As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I received this product free of charge in exchange for my review and honest opinion of it. As a believer and follower of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, I promise you that all my reviews contain only my own honest opinions...'cause He told me to not lie!