25. November 2008 by Shannon.

I am NOT artistic. 

Not by ANY definition… I can see art and appreciate it, I can marvel at people’s natural creativity… but I am no artist myself.

I’ve often wondered what would become of my children (when the Bigs were toddlers and pre-schoolers) with this mother-of-theirs who, although she would stay at home and read loads of stories, who would encourage them to play creatively… yet she shuddered at the mere thought of play-doh, and finger painting just put her into a state of desperate panic.  But I guess God got the final laugh on that one, I have two VERY artisitic teens, and two Littles who are following in their bigger siblings’ footsteps.  ALL of them (probably even Chaeli at only 3 year old) far exceed mom’s artistic abilities.  Sigh.

But how am I to encourage their artistic development? 

Well, Diane at Spears Art has created a very logically laid out CHRISTIAN art program.  This is almost like a art devotional… it’s amazing!

Okay, just to give you today as an example. 

My daughter’s friends came over this morning.  So I decided to include them in the “lesson”.  I didn’t have the Littles at home (they are visiting their aunt while our renovations are in the throes of chaos) so it was just an 8, 12, 13 and almost 15 year old (who could have done the highschool lesson for today, but he liked the style that we were doing in the Grade 8 lesson so I let him join in… *grin*).  We were learning about trees and their uses, and what similarities there are between trees and people.  We read from the book of Romans and discussed the fruit of our lives are like the fruit of a healthy tree, and how all our actions can be an act of worship to God when we look for ways to glorify Him.  Then we drew “pointilism” trees.  now, the younger girls kind of varied what they were doing - but they got the point (haha, pun intended!). 

My son got right into it… he’s almost 15, and as all teens will look for a way to either “high tech” it (we call it “lazy it” around here, grin!), he discovered (after doing it by pen) that he could make a pointilism picture on the computer using “Paint”.  I was impressed with both efforts. 

My daughter (13) put her all into her picture, and although the realism isn’t there as much, the concentration she spent and the enjoyment she got out of the “style” of drawing was worth so much to me… she felt so accomplished, and loves the way it looks.  She said “it looks real, like it has movement in it”.  I wanted to post a picture of it but she’s such a perfectionist.. she says she’s “not done yet”… so I’ll have to come back and add that later on.  But she loves this program… she’s done such nice art work and feels so good about learning art with “God in the middle” that I’d have to say, this is truly a blessing to our homeschool!

Spears Art Studio has two programs.  One is for K-8 and the other is for High School.  The K-8 one is the one I am reviewing right now, although Ev will most likely be reviewing the HS one later on… after he’s gone through it a bit more.  Each week there is a lesson (although it should be mentioned that some of the “holiday oriented” stuff ties into the American holidays… not so much the Canadian - I’m thinking of this week, about Thanksgiving… we were done that over a month ago… but it’s easily adjusted, you just do a different week in it’s place… it is  your art course, play with it and make it personal!). 

The CD with lessons plans for 9 years of art courses is only $39.95 (shipping included!!!)  - that’s less than $4.50 a grade!!!  Yes, you’ll need materials, but most of the projects use very low cost materials… like kraft paper, or construction paper, or drawing pencils… nothing too “out there” - even for non-artsy me! :o) 

The high school program is an art survey course,  and it is only $29.95 (yes, shipping included!).

One of the most delightful part of the course is a wall-sized mural (yes, you can scale it down, but why not go big?  It’s more fun!) of Noah’s ark that “journeys” through the year… well, I won’t give you more details than that, because I think it’s a fun thing to learn for yourself…

So why not head over to www.spearsartstudio.com and check out this amazing art curriculum?  If I … art-challenged me … can do it, I know you’ll love doing this with your kids too!  Praise God for such inspired people as Diane Spears!

Blessings!

ps: I have finally got permission from my daughter to post her pointillism picture here… I think hers is so nice!

As a review blogger,  I am provided a free copy of the book, curriculum or product to test and use in order to write an honest review. I receive no other compensation and the opinions I share are my own and not influenced by the company in question.

Posted in T is for Teaching | Print | 2 Comments »

24. November 2008 by Shannon.

Today is short and sweet.

Can I ask that you join me in praying for mothers?  I know it’s not a holiday or anything like that, but I’ve recently spoken to a friend who has been forced to seek the sanctuary of a local women’s shelter.  She was fleeing an abusive husband.  She has her two young children with her.

This is not where she wants to be raising her children.  No mother should be faced with the challenges she is facing right now.

Husbands are to love and cherish their wives, as Christ loves and cherishes us… why can’t some men get that?

Please, as I am praying for my friend, can you join me and pray for mothers everywhere who are facing challenging situations?  Whether it is a child who is ill, an abusive husband, a medical need, loneliness, or especially those strong women who are facing the whole parenting challenge on their own because their child’s father is not in the picture (whatever the reason).

If you comment and add your prayer request, I will add it to my Pray For list… and we can pray in confidence that the Lord hears us as we gather together to pray as one.

Blessings

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19. November 2008 by Shannon.

Media Angels is one of my favourite websites… Felice Gerwitz is an incredibly knowledgeable teacher of Creation Science.  I am a creationist.  I say it boldly and proudly.  I believe that those scientists who have deluded themselves into believing that science has “proven” there is no God will be sorely disappointed come the day of reckoning.  I pray for them, that they will stop being “willfully ignorant” of the Truth.  I read somewhere online… (and I’m sorry to the author, if you are he, please let me know so I can credit you properly) The Truth is hardest to see when you believe you already have it.  I think it was in reference to apologetics, but I believe it applies to Science as well. 

Media Angels is a website is a valuble tool for the parent teaching their children the truths of Creation Science.  There are so many free resources, and articles of interest and now there are even MYSTERY NOVELS!  I know how much I would devour Nancy Drew when I was a “Tween”… and these teach important lessons that equip our kids with the knowledge they need to stand up for what they believe when faced with the members of the ”church” of Evolution (after all, if believing in God takes faith, wow… I can’t imagine the mountain of faith it must take for those evolutionary scientist faced daily with evidence for God’s wonderful creation). 

Christina, Felice’s daughter, decided while she was just a young teen, that she wanted to write a novel.  Felice was daunted, confessing that she didn’t know anything about writing novels… yet her motivated daughter assured her that they could “find out”… and out of that came the Truth Seekers Series of novels.  Action packed and full of examples of how real kids can glorify God while standing up for what they know to be His Truths, the Truth Seekers head off on an adventure not soon forgotten!

I was asked to review the first book in the series, “Missing Link: Found!”.  After having read it myself, and realising that although I found it entertaining on a young level, I asked my 14 year old son to read it.   These were his comments:

 ”The Missing Link book was exciting but I found it to be somewhat unrealistic because there were lots of scenes that didn’t make a lot of sense or were irresponsible of the kids - and at the end it all seemed to come together too easily.  I think this book would be good for younger kids than myself.  I like that another homeschool has a book published but probably woudn’t want to read any more of the series.”

Now, mystery novels are NOT Ev’s genre… he’s a fantasy fan (which makes the above comment about being “unrealistic” even funnier to me… LOL!) - so dragons, griffins, warriors and elves are more his “thing”.  SO… to be completely fair, I asked my friend’s daughter who is also 14 but is not such a die-hard genre fan, and enjoys reading all styles of books (she loves the Dear Canada series right now).  Katherine said:

“This book is very good for those who really like mysteries that are not to hard to get in to.  The end of the story is more or less predictable, but it’s interesting too.  I like the fact that this book actually makes you consider God in everything that happens to us.  Not many authors do that enough as they should.  I hope my mom gets more of the Truth Seekers Mysteries for us.” (she’s also sharing the book with her 13 year old sister, so I may be adding in Angelik’s thoughts too… and when we get it back, I’ll get my daughter who is also 13 to read it and tell me her thoughts… so check back in a month and I’m sure I’ll have even more opinions!)

Reflecting on it, I think that I will most likely be picking up the rest of the 3 book series at only $22.00 US, that’s a wonderful gift under the tree… maybe I’ll get the set for my un-churched neices as well!  I think it’d be a great series to have available, not only to get the kids talking and thinking, but also to use as a resource (there is THAT much Good Science in the series!!). 

Blessings!

As a review blogger,  I am provided a free copy of the book, curriculum or product to test and use in order to write an honest review. I receive no other compensation and the opinions I share are my own and not influenced by the company in question.

Posted in W is for Websites | Print | 1 Comment »

17. November 2008 by Shannon.

Okay.. once again this is a review of something that you might think may not be related to M is for Mom - but bear with me… IT IS!

Trigger Memory System, the author of Times Tales (which I will be reviewing soon, one thing at a time…) has also put together probably my absolutely favourite parenting tool EVER -  Clean n’ Flip Charts!!  Now, these charts are a meager $7,95 (or if you want not the whole set of Clean n’ Flip charts with a wipe off marker and everything it’s only $29.99) but believe me… they are worth their weight it GOLD!  Anyone who knows FlyLady (and I do, and had to unsub because I just couldn’t keep up with her incredibly organized email reminders) knows that the key to an organized house is A SYSTEM.  THIS is the System of Systems to bring peace to our homes…

Okay.  Background.  Right now our house has three bedrooms.  I have four children… two boys (almost-15 and 6) and two girls (13 and 3), and since Tony and I would like to have a bedroom too (we pay the mortgage after all, I think we’re entitled!) that leaves our children to share rooms.  And even though the Littles might not mind sharing a room, I think the Bigs might. *wink*

Well, I’m big on mentoring and all that jazz, and my older daughter is definately “getting” the whole “encourage your little helper” thing… my older son is not (sheesh, men, even young ones!).  So… we have battles, almost daily, over “the mess G made of my room!” (uh, OUR room?).  So… we’re planning on splitting the rooms into four rooms… but that’s not going to happen this year (2008)… so we need to find a system to make this bedroom-sharing thing work and brotherly love to not fall by the wayside. 

And along comes Clean n’ Flip!

Now, I didn’t want to “dictate” so I simply handed the chart to my oldest son and whispered to him, “Here, this might help.. why not get him into this like a treasure map/adventure thing…” (it’s not really - but it did lead them to a special treasure… keep reading!).  So, well-armed, my soon-to-be-15 year old called his little brother and said, “LOOK WHAT I HAVE! (excited tone) Let’s go follow the directions and see what happens!”.  G came running… “What?! What?!” and off they went on their adventure…

I wish I had a “before” picture to show you… I was too ashamed to take one… but here is Greyson doing “Step 4″ (he told me proudly as I dashed for the camera…). 

And here is Ev and G putting away the books in the pile…

Both boys were working together - AS A TEAM!  It was incredible to see… no fights, no “MOM.. G is not cleaning!!!” or “MOMMY!  Ev is yelling at me!!!!!”… instead, for that short time… there was brotherly love, team work, and LAUGHTER.. yes!!! Laughing… they thought it was FUN! 

When they were done Ev and G did find a wonderful treasure…

A Clean Room!

Have a blessed (and hopefully peaceful) day!

As a review blogger,  I am provided a free copy of the book, curriculum or product to test and use in order to write an honest review. I receive no other compensation and the opinions I share are my own and not influenced by the company in question.

Posted in M is for Mom | Print | 1 Comment »

14. November 2008 by Shannon.

This is DEFINATELY a FANTASTIC moment for me - my son, Ev, is following in my webdesign footsteps!!!  I feel so .. wow, there are hardly words!  (don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll find some soon! LOL!)

Have you ever heard of Motherboard Books?  So many homeschool parents (heck, even school parents!) are trying to figure out how to teach their children USEFUL computer skills (yes, we all know they mastered the computer games while still in their diapers, ugh!) - and Phyllis Wheeler over at Motherboard Books has written some wonderful step by step books to teach kids just that!  She has a fabulous course on basic computer science, and also a book called Let’s Make a Webpage!  That’s what Everett used today (yes, you read that right, TODAY… meaning, in ONE DAY… not only did he create ONE page, but he made another I just haven’t had a chance to post online yet!). 

Wanna see it???  Huh? Huh? 

Okay… it’s basic, but it’s a WEBPAGE done by MY SON!!!! (okay, you seein’ the beamin’ with pride Mama yet?? *grin*) www.ratcliffeblessings.com/everett/codeindex.html.  

(I’ll wait while you go look…)

(fingers drumming on desk… hmmm hmmm hmmm….)

OH!  You’re back! :o)  See?? Isn’t it a nice page?  I love it… I love that my son learned to do it all on his own with Phyllis’ very excellent step-by-step teaching.  Ev also said to me that, even though he chose not to add in certain elements that Mrs. Wheeler explained, he feels that he could do so much more now himself just from the confidence he has built by playing with the program.  He says that he also loves that he understands what the code means (he’s always wondered how I make heads or tails of the code I work with). 

I wish you could’ve seen how proud he was to show his Dad what he’d done today in school.  Even my husband was impressed!  Maybe this is going to end up being his “Work.. er Hobby” thing just like dear ol’ Mom!

Let’s Make a Webpage is available at Currclick (it’s an ebook, so your child can even read it on the computer screen as he works… no costs for printing!!) for only $19.99!  Absolutely worth every single cent when you consider it might be a good start in a Kid Business… why not?  The course is designed for kids aged 8-12, but Ev is 14 and got so much out of it (enough to be ambitious enough to be planning several more webpages!)… it’s… well, it’s FANTASTIC!

Blessings!

As a review blogger,  I am provided a free copy of the book, curriculum or product to test and use in order to write an honest review. I receive no other compensation and the opinions I share are my own and not influenced by the company in question.

Posted in F is for FANTASTIC! | Print | 1 Comment »

12. November 2008 by Shannon.

As part of the TOS Crew, I’ve been given the opportunity to review www.puppetools.com - a website dedicated to learning through play, particularly with PUPPETS!  Now, we all know kids learn well from puppets… after all, it is to puppets that Sesame Streets owes it’s incredible (and very long running) success in the children’s education television milieu, right?  So, I was very interested in learning more about this resource.

After checking out the site to the best of my abilities (I”m on dial-up and there are a lot of videos that took forever to play, but I did download a and read a lot of the literature available to members)earlier this week, I made a date to head over to my sister’s yesterday, who is also (very newly) homeschooling my neice. My sister has a educational background of “Educational Resources and Special Needs”.  She is VERY crafty and imaginative on things like that, and even has a “clown ministry”… SO, ya, right up her alley.

I explained what I understood (from watching all that I COULD watch and reading as many pdfs as I could find on the site)… and we set up little tables, and made puppets with a 3.5 year old, an almost 6 year old and a 7.5 year old.  They liked it, I guess.. but it was my neice (at 7.5) that got really into it.  They played with them for about 15 minutes afterwards before heading off to play with other things.  Hmm, it didn’t mesmerize them as much as I initially thought.  I started to wonder about maybe the age range and application of this tool, so…

I made a puppet too!  Yup, UNcrafty me made François la grenouille (Frances the Frog - in french… sorry, bad pun, but I like it.. French Quebeckers are often called “frogs” .. not sure why, but when I was thinking of making a tool to encourage the Littles to try to speak french, a French Frog was what popped into my head.. hehe).  ANYHOW… *ahem*

The kids responded well to him (well, my 3.5 and almost 6 year old, this was after I left my sister’s house)… actually trying to answer François’ questions in french and in learning to introduce themselves in french… but there were a few things I noticed:

1. If you make a body, it will flap and rustle when you operate the “mouth hinge”… kind of annoying, I might cut François down to his face only… not decided yet.

2. Paper quality COUNTS… seriously!  The kids made theirs with construction paper I bought for them to play with (read: not the most expensive kind) and within minutes we had small rips and tears.. (tears as in crying… and tears as in paper.. two birds, one rip.. sorry, stone! LOL!).  We reinforced the hand places with duct tape… which I love, but still, it does make things a little more complicated.  François was made with top quality construction paper.. quite pricey… but he is A LOT more solid and durable… The difference doesn’t show well in pictures, but believe me, it will make ALL the difference in your puppets.

3. Seeing as my sister has highspeed and I don’t… I decided to check out the site at her end to see if I got “more” from it there than I could here… I’m sorry to say that I wasn’t overly impressed with the qualities of the videos available (guess I wasn’t missing much after all! LOL!).  But I did find one audio/video (not sure if it was the video that had a problem or if it was designed to just be stills to background the audio file… it’s the Grade 5 Part 1 file… not only was the teacher enthusiastic, but gave some really great insights into how this could work in a classroom of older children.  And although there is a recommendation to “watch the kids” - I got nothing from that video, which was poorly shot and didn’t even have an audio track (on either of our computers). 

4. Jeffrey Peyton, the man who is behind this patented hinge, and who is featured in many of the videos and audios on the site, can be rather dry to listen to - which is unfortunate as he is quite knowledgeable and concerned with the eduction of children.  I know that he’s capable of more enthusiasm, as I heard a spark at the end of one of the audios encouraging us to EXAGERATE! *grin* 

5.  As for the website itself, I wish he’d spice it up a bit more, make some better videos… it would be SO easy to do, even just a burst of COLOUR would improve the site dramatically.  I also found the site a little less than user friendly in it’s layout, but I’m pretty picky, since being on dialup means searching more pages means a lot more time wasted.  However, as an educational resource, the site has a wealth of information that would best suited to a classroom teacher, but might not be as useful to a homeschooler.  I guess I shouldn’t predict that, though since every homeschool family is different. 

Wow… I sound like I’m complaining… but I’m not.  Really!  I did learn something about myself and my kids yesterday.. they do respond to puppets, and although I made François out of paper, I’m thinking a fabric puppet of a frog might serve me longer and better… so now I’m on the lookout for this.  I can’t see using this tool all too often, maybe as a literature aid… like having the kids make puppets of the main characters and being able to “play” the story over and over… but it would definately take me leading them in it… and I’m not sure I’m “that kind of Mom” - You know?

So, all that to say, if you are like me and are “creatively challenged”, www.puppetools.com might be just the place to spark you full of ideas, but at .. this isn’t much more than a paper bag puppet using construction paper as a base instead of a paper bag (which gives you a neater and less obvious base, as well as seems just a little “higher end” crafty than a paperbag as well - you know, for the older kids who are very “looks” oriented *grin*). 

However, I think if you are limited to discount materials, for something as flimsy as a paper puppet, I’d probably suggest you to just go to the dollar store, pick up a hundred paper bags for a buck and use that as  a base.  It’d be easier for small hands to do the sticking and glueing and is far more cost effective for me since I wouldn’t need to invest in the expensive construction paper.

And although the site has hundreds of “teacher submitted” images, “student submitted”, and even some printable templates -  I bet my frugally minded friends could google “PUPPET+CRAFTS” and get a million hits full of ideas FOR FREE… but if search engines aren’t your thing (just because I love them doesn’t mean everyone does… grin!) or you are interested in the “educational philosophy of puppets in the classroom” www.puppetools.com would be a great site to check out.  A one-year membership is only $20 US for individuals, or $99 a year for a group membership (like a school or a co-op). 

Blessings!

As a review blogger,  I am provided a free copy of the book, curriculum or product to test and use in order to write an honest review. I receive no other compensation and the opinions I share are my own and not influenced by the company in question.

Posted in W is for Websites | Print | 2 Comments »

7. November 2008 by Shannon.

I had a BLAST!  I wish you had been there! 

I spent yesterday at the Grace Talk Soup Birthday Bash (they are 7 years old yesterday!!) and we played games, laughed and most of all, learned valuble communication skills and lessons.  We even had our Littles playing the “um game” together from all around North America!!  The Um Game is where you have to talk about something for as long as  you can, without saying the word “um” - and well, let me tell ya, Chaeli lost miserably.  LOL!  “Ummmmmmmmmmmmm the cat jumped up on the bookshelf?”  *sigh*  Ah well, she’s cute in otherways - grin!

So, what is Grace Talk Soup?  Well, that’s where you’ll find my friend JoJo Tabares, author of the excellent communication book series “Say What You Mean“, each Thursday morning: Boldly serving up God’s Word with a side order of Grace and Humor!

Grace Talk Soup is her humor-filled, weekly one-hour commentary on news that affects all Christians with tips and instruction for better communication when sharing and defending the faith in grace. Guests share their inspiring testimony, their ministry and their miracles!

Every episode is recorded live, and is interactive through the Talk Shoe Pod Casting service - which means all the listeners can chat together in the Talk Shoe Chat room (just the people on the call, so it’s pretty safe, but as with all things internet, use your own judgement when sharing personal information).  It’s really not as techy as it sounds - even I could do it! 

So… write it on your calendar… 11AM EST (yes, it stays 11 even in daylight savings) and come join me in the fun at the Grace Talk Soup!!!  Hope to see you there! :o)

Blessings!

Posted in F is for FANTASTIC! | Print | No Comments »

5. November 2008 by Shannon.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… I just found a place to get more books!  DON’T TELL MY DARLING HUSBAND!!!!

heehee…

Homeschool Library Builder has this fantastic promotion for my American friends… Free Shipping!!  The rest of us get 10% off our orders (depending on the size of your order, that could be an even better deal! LOL!).  But wait!  Who are these people??

Homeschool Library Builder is basically a couple of  homeschool moms who thought it would be a neat thing if homeschool moms like them didn’t have to wade through all the “garbage” books out there on every other site, just to find the gems that most of us are looking for in a book.  So they keep their eagle eyes peeled for “common” books in homeschooling circles, snatch them up at a deal, and then resell them on their site to you.  One stop homeschool book shopping!   

Many of the books on HSLB are priced similarly to what you could find by scouring the net.. but Time is Money too… so this way you have one place to go to look first, and when you can sort by CURRICULUM (yes, you read that right… if you use Tapestry of Grace, just use the simple filters to sort out books that are used in that program…same goes for Sonlight, Ambleside Online, and many more!).  Now THAT is a useful tool!!!

Anyhow, this promotion only lasts till November 6th.. so I hope you take advantage of it!  And if not, these crazy ladies always have something exciting going on to “enable” the book-a-holic in us homeschool moms…. *grin* 

Oh, our poor husbands… *wink*

Blessings!

As a review blogger,  I am provided a free copy of the book, curriculum or product to test and use in order to write an honest review. I receive no other compensation and the opinions I share are my own and not influenced by the company in question.

Posted in W is for Websites | Print | 1 Comment »

4. November 2008 by Shannon.

Today I’m going to hand you over to my 14 year old son, Everett, who wanted to write about the Life of Fred Math Texts.  So.. take it away Everett!

Life of Fred is a terrific math program.  the program is laid out like a story, but by the time you get to the very few and easy questions, you will undestand more about the subject.  The books are based on a 5 1/2 year old named Fred Gauss, who teaches at KITTENS University.  He’s really short and really smart.

I’m not a math fan myself, but right now math is my favourite subject!  Life of Fred is much more personal than any math curriculum I have ever seen.  There is even times in the lessons when you, the Reader, are having an imaginary conversation with him, the Author!  Try finding that in something like Saxon!!

Now back to pracical Mom… to fill in the details.  LOL! 

Life of Fred math texts are written by Stanley Schmidt, a retired math teacher down in Reno, Nevada - with a fantastic sense of humour and a love of teaching that is unparalleled.  When a college level Statistics textbook starts out with the word “Tink!” you KNOW it’s gonna be a good ride! LOL!

Reasonably priced between $19 (for Fractions) and $39 (Calculus), each book takes you on an adventure slice in the life of Fred Gauss, whom Everett has already introduced to you.  Each chapter covers oh-so-much-more than simply math… I’ve seen (in the Fractions book) the importance of thankfulness, organizing thoughts on paper (list writing), measurements and conversions, and even “the rules for writing in books”!  and of course, there is Fred… the most endearing math character in the world! :o)

This set of math books is like nothing else out there for homeschoolers.  Even a reluctant reader would most likely be engaged enough to enjoy these books.  So, I encourage you… if the “textbook” approach is not working, if filling in mindless blanks in workbooks is not working… take a look at Life of Fred!!  And tell Stan that I sent you! :o)

Posted in T is for Teaching | Print | 1 Comment »

3. November 2008 by Shannon.

Sometimes we try to “complicate” things.  We get all fancy and involved… when only clear and simple is necessary for success.  I’m SO guilty of that, I tend to try to give “essay answers” to “true/false questions”… it can lead to much frustration and tears.  The same is true I find of many of the “teach your child to read” type programs out there.

Now,  when my oldest was learning to read, we had this cute little set of books called Bob Books.  Ever heard of them?  They are small for small hands, simple stories based on “word families” (see more in a minute…).  They were easy enough to offer success, and they progressed nicely to keep him learning.  Problem was?  They got loved to death… Ev slept with his Bob Books… and well, they were not the better for it.  LOL!

Now, along comes this site Rime to Read.  Yup, that’s no typo!  RIMES are words that not only sound alike, they LOOK alike… another word for “word families”.  Word families are simple groups of sounds that work together in many words when just the first consonant is changed.  (you know this already, I know… but humour me).  Such as:

CAT

MAT

FAT

SAT

HAT

BAT

RAT

SLAT

(etc….)

Well, Lynn Klaiman and Dr. Sara Hines, PhD, over at Rime to Read have developed an interactive, DIGITAL reader system similar to the beloved Bob Books that allow children to experience the same fun and excitement over reading success, and use the computer at the same time!  (kids love that kind of stuff! *grin*)   

The best thing about this is that you can also chose to print out the books if you like… so once your child masters the book on the screen, go ahead, print them out a copy that they can “love to death” if they like.  My younger son is so thrilled when I print out the book he knows how to read and he can show off to Daddy what he did “in homeschool” that day.  He loves writing his name on it and feeling like he owns that reading… and I’m not worried about the costs, because he can always go back and read it again on the computer if his copy gets mucked up of forgotten at Gramma’s house.  Best of both worlds! :o)

Currently, Rime to Read has 20 books available to purchase.  Each package of 4 books costs only $9.99 or you can choose to buy access to all 20 for $44.99.  Now, for me this seemed at first like a high cost (oh, btw… Bob Books cost $16.95 for a set of 12 - or a whopping 23.95 here in Canada - and that is just for the basic books, no bells and whistles, and when they get loved to death, that’s it, that’s all!) but when you consider that  you can read Rime to Read’s books unlimited number of times online (with their nifty, engaging page flip technology), and that you can print the books out as many times as you need for personal use (yes, several children in the same family counts as personal use.  No, every child in the whole town does not. *grin*)… it’s worth the money and then some.  Another way to use them as well might be to print out the pages as review/colouring pages (since the drawings are simple line type drawings) for your child’s notebook.  A wonderful record of their learning progress!

As you can see, there are many ways to use this program.  And the Book Team is working with the Web Team to get SOUND into the books too!  Infact, the mechanism is in place now, but of course, as with anything new, it’s in the “testing” stages.  So if you child is stumbling on a word, there is an option to click the word to hear the “rime” read aloud to him/her.  This would be fantastic for independent review… and allowed your beginning reader to feel in control of their learning - even if it is a little thing.  (little kids love “I can do it myself” moments *grin*)

If you choose to read the books online, you should know that the loading time is amazing… even on dialup, the pages only took a few seconds each.  That’s simply fantastic for those of us who are still livin’ in the dark ages.  The page design (online) makes it obvious, even a three year old, what they have to do to turn the page of the story – so they are learning to become independent readers.  There are also even more books in the works, and this company’s customer service cannot be beat!  All very good reasons to check out Rime to Read to get your homeschooler reading!

Blessings!

PS.  I posted this under Mondays are for Mom because these books brought back such sweet “Mom and Child” memories for me… and now I’m enjoying curling up on the couch listening to my younger son reading these words and beaming with pride at his accomplishment (with plenty of High Fives – as is his thing).

As a review blogger,  I am provided a free copy of the book, curriculum or product to test and use in order to write an honest review. I receive no other compensation and the opinions I share are my own and not influenced by the company in question.

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