All About Reading-”What Am I?” Review

Product: What Am I?
Company: All About Learning
Price: 19.95$US

This year I was given the opportunity to review All About Spelling Levels 1 and 2 as well as Beehive Reader 1 (soon to be renamed “Cobweb the Cat.”) The Beehive Reader was especially a big success in our house so we were happy to receive the second in the Beehive Reader series entitled “What Am I?”. This delightful reader introduces your child to a whole cast of characters through 10 new short stories. Rob the Robot wrecks havoc on the household that orders him in the mail and Deb the Dog learns that maybe a smelly musk ox isn’t so bad. As with the first reader, the stories are delightful and captivating and the pencil drawn pictures are just beautiful.

This reader correlates with the second level of the All About Spelling spelling program and helps further your child’s reading skills by increasing the story length and enriching the vocabulary included in the text. There are plans in the works to include two readers for each level of All About Spelling (after the first level) and I know that my family will anxiously be awaiting each new addition to the series. These high quality books are a welcomed addition to my homeschool as I know that they will be enjoyed for years to come. There is no doubt in my mind that because of their high durability and timelessness they will be enjoyed by my own grandchildren years down the line.

“What am I?” will be available for purchase for 19.95$US starting on April 1st, 2010. To find out what other Crew Members thought of this reader be sure to visit the TOS Homeschool Crew Website here.

***Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

All About Reading-"What Am I?" Review

Product: What Am I?
Company: All About Learning
Price: 19.95$US

This year I was given the opportunity to review All About Spelling Levels 1 and 2 as well as Beehive Reader 1 (soon to be renamed “Cobweb the Cat.”) The Beehive Reader was especially a big success in our house so we were happy to receive the second in the Beehive Reader series entitled “What Am I?”. This delightful reader introduces your child to a whole cast of characters through 10 new short stories. Rob the Robot wrecks havoc on the household that orders him in the mail and Deb the Dog learns that maybe a smelly musk ox isn’t so bad. As with the first reader, the stories are delightful and captivating and the pencil drawn pictures are just beautiful.

This reader correlates with the second level of the All About Spelling spelling program and helps further your child’s reading skills by increasing the story length and enriching the vocabulary included in the text. There are plans in the works to include two readers for each level of All About Spelling (after the first level) and I know that my family will anxiously be awaiting each new addition to the series. These high quality books are a welcomed addition to my homeschool as I know that they will be enjoyed for years to come. There is no doubt in my mind that because of their high durability and timelessness they will be enjoyed by my own grandchildren years down the line.

“What am I?” will be available for purchase for 19.95$US starting on April 1st, 2010. To find out what other Crew Members thought of this reader be sure to visit the TOS Homeschool Crew Website here.

***Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

Belly Pictures-37 weeks

Full term, Baby!!

Mama is feeling REALLY full of baby right now. It feels like in the past week my belly has gone from lots of squishy areas to hard baby all over!! Yes, maybe the baby moved into a better position BUT I’m thinking a major growth spurt happened, too. I’m pretty sure we’ll have a near 9lbers again this time.

We’ll be heading off in the next 3 or 4 days to Bridgewater in order to have the baby with the midwives. It’s an exciting time. We’ve never really gone on a “vacation” as a family before so we are hoping that we have a little while there just to enjoy the family of 4 before baby #3 arrives but at the same time don’t want baby to hold out ’til last minute either. Let’s face it, the last few weeks of pregnancy aren’t the most comfortable and neither would be traveling home within a couple days of birth. A nice 39 weeks baby (smack dab the middle of our stay) would be much appreciated but really, baby has the final say!

Not really much else to report on the baby front. I may not have internet access while at the retreat (we are debating bringing the computer) so I am not sure if you will get another update or not before wee baby arrives. We will find ways to let folks know when sweet baby comes earth-side.

Until then, I am signing off (besides my million and one reviews due before I leave) and wishing my other pregnant mama friends lovely birthing energy and much love.

Belly Pictures-37 weeks

Full term, Baby!!

Mama is feeling REALLY full of baby right now. It feels like in the past week my belly has gone from lots of squishy areas to hard baby all over!! Yes, maybe the baby moved into a better position BUT I’m thinking a major growth spurt happened, too. I’m pretty sure we’ll have a near 9lbers again this time.

We’ll be heading off in the next 3 or 4 days to Bridgewater in order to have the baby with the midwives. It’s an exciting time. We’ve never really gone on a “vacation” as a family before so we are hoping that we have a little while there just to enjoy the family of 4 before baby #3 arrives but at the same time don’t want baby to hold out ’til last minute either. Let’s face it, the last few weeks of pregnancy aren’t the most comfortable and neither would be traveling home within a couple days of birth. A nice 39 weeks baby (smack dab the middle of our stay) would be much appreciated but really, baby has the final say!

Not really much else to report on the baby front. I may not have internet access while at the retreat (we are debating bringing the computer) so I am not sure if you will get another update or not before wee baby arrives. We will find ways to let folks know when sweet baby comes earth-side.

Until then, I am signing off (besides my million and one reviews due before I leave) and wishing my other pregnant mama friends lovely birthing energy and much love.

The Critical Thinking Company-Language Smarts Level C

Product: Language Smarts Level C
Company: The Critical Thinking Company
Price: 39.99$US

I am feeling incredible blessed (yes, AGAIN) to have been selected as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew to review material from The Critical Thinking Company. As a relatively new homeschooler, I had not heard of this company that uses both high quality printed workbooks and software to teach children how to look at problems logically and work them out. Along with my order confirmation, I received a link to their product sampler and I was taking a look at it when my son announced “I LOVE it! It is the BEST day of my life!” Shocked, I looked at him and he said, “You just HAVE to print it for me, Mom!”

So I print off the samples and my 4 year old daughter sees the activities at the beginning of the the book and says, “Mom, it’s the best day of my life, EVER!” An argument ensued over who was having the best day and needless to say I knew that this product was going to be a hit in my household!

A (long) couple weeks later we received Language Smarts Level C to review. This grade 2 level workbook teaches a wide variety of language arts topics that help improved your child’s grammar, vocabulary, comprehension and writing skills. Logic activities, rhymes and riddles, and other FUN activities are used throughout the book to encourage critical thinking skills as opposed to just recalling facts. The kids must use what they have learned to demonstrate further problem solving skills and this is what, in my opinion, makes this program a step above other language arts programs out there. At 320 pages long, there are a variety of topics to keep your child busy all year long either as their core language curriculum or as a supplement to the curriculum you are currently using. Most activities were challenging enough to keep my son engaged but, if read aloud, many of riddles could be answered by my younger daughter keeping them both interested in the program (a rarity in this house!)

While the 39.99$US price tag may seem expensive, my husband and I both really liked the thinking skills emphasized in this workbook. Both children continue to be interested after over a month of daily use and look forward to critical thinking time. The only issue we have found with the book, especially in the earlier sections, was the phrasing of some of the questions. There were times that we had to read through the directions a couple times to fully comprehend what was being asked but that is something that we can live with. We’ve enjoyed Language Smarts Level C so much that we are planning on using several of their other workbooks as part of our homeschool for next year!

I encourage you to take a look at The Critical Thinking Company’s website and try out any/all of their numerous printable samples or software demos. There is a lot to choose from but the company really gives you a good idea through their samples what you can expect from their award wining products.

***Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

Fit Mama Friday-March 26th

Well, this is likely to be my last Fit Mama Friday update before I become the mother of THREE! No, no, NO there’s pretty much no chance that I’ll have the wee baby by next week BUT we will be at the cottage where we will be birthing and I do not think that we will have internet access there (what’s a retreat if we don’t actually retreat from anything?).

There really isn’t much of anything to report here this week AT ALL. I deal with facial neuralgia that was doing pretty good though the pregnancy but hit with a vengeance on Monday and has plagued me all week. So basically, moving hurts so I haven’t done much of anything at all. I didn’t walk anywhere and our one outing out yesterday, I ended up sitting in the car. Fun stuff. Good for getting in shape for labour, I tell you!

Food wise, I haven’t been terribly hungry but have started to put on a bit of weight again. I certainly will NOT go over my expected weight gain this time around and that is almost shocking to me. Once baby is out, I won’t have all that much extra to loose (though, I tend to hold on to everything while nursing so I will have to work myself to get back into shape if I intend to do so). I haven’t been having snacks like I planned on doing. I tend to graze when my husband is out of the house but with him home full time now, I find myself only eating at meal times. I still really, really want to do better in that regards as having good energy will be more and more important as that due date sneaks up. I’m thinking some nice cheeses and crackers maybe. My good ol’ standby of nuts isn’t that appealing so finding their replacement isn’t easy. I think I’ll blend up some humus as well for the week.

So, I will be back after this wee baby has arrived and will share a post baby belly shot so I see my new starting point as I get back into shape as the Fit Mama to 3.

Wishing all my other Fit Mamas over at Got Chai? a wonderful month of April. I will see you come May!

The Critical Thinking Company-Language Smarts Level C

Product: Language Smarts Level C
Company: The Critical Thinking Company
Price: 39.99$US

I am feeling incredible blessed (yes, AGAIN) to have been selected as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew to review material from The Critical Thinking Company. As a relatively new homeschooler, I had not heard of this company that uses both high quality printed workbooks and software to teach children how to look at problems logically and work them out. Along with my order confirmation, I received a link to their product sampler and I was taking a look at it when my son announced “I LOVE it! It is the BEST day of my life!” Shocked, I looked at him and he said, “You just HAVE to print it for me, Mom!”

So I print off the samples and my 4 year old daughter sees the activities at the beginning of the the book and says, “Mom, it’s the best day of my life, EVER!” An argument ensued over who was having the best day and needless to say I knew that this product was going to be a hit in my household!

A (long) couple weeks later we received Language Smarts Level C to review. This grade 2 level workbook teaches a wide variety of language arts topics that help improved your child’s grammar, vocabulary, comprehension and writing skills. Logic activities, rhymes and riddles, and other FUN activities are used throughout the book to encourage critical thinking skills as opposed to just recalling facts. The kids must use what they have learned to demonstrate further problem solving skills and this is what, in my opinion, makes this program a step above other language arts programs out there. At 320 pages long, there are a variety of topics to keep your child busy all year long either as their core language curriculum or as a supplement to the curriculum you are currently using. Most activities were challenging enough to keep my son engaged but, if read aloud, many of riddles could be answered by my younger daughter keeping them both interested in the program (a rarity in this house!)

While the 39.99$US price tag may seem expensive, my husband and I both really liked the thinking skills emphasized in this workbook. Both children continue to be interested after over a month of daily use and look forward to critical thinking time. The only issue we have found with the book, especially in the earlier sections, was the phrasing of some of the questions. There were times that we had to read through the directions a couple times to fully comprehend what was being asked but that is something that we can live with. We’ve enjoyed Language Smarts Level C so much that we are planning on using several of their other workbooks as part of our homeschool for next year!

I encourage you to take a look at The Critical Thinking Company’s website and try out any/all of their numerous printable samples or software demos. There is a lot to choose from but the company really gives you a good idea through their samples what you can expect from their award wining products.

***Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

Fit Mama Friday-March 26th

Well, this is likely to be my last Fit Mama Friday update before I become the mother of THREE! No, no, NO there’s pretty much no chance that I’ll have the wee baby by next week BUT we will be at the cottage where we will be birthing and I do not think that we will have internet access there (what’s a retreat if we don’t actually retreat from anything?).

There really isn’t much of anything to report here this week AT ALL. I deal with facial neuralgia that was doing pretty good though the pregnancy but hit with a vengeance on Monday and has plagued me all week. So basically, moving hurts so I haven’t done much of anything at all. I didn’t walk anywhere and our one outing out yesterday, I ended up sitting in the car. Fun stuff. Good for getting in shape for labour, I tell you!

Food wise, I haven’t been terribly hungry but have started to put on a bit of weight again. I certainly will NOT go over my expected weight gain this time around and that is almost shocking to me. Once baby is out, I won’t have all that much extra to loose (though, I tend to hold on to everything while nursing so I will have to work myself to get back into shape if I intend to do so). I haven’t been having snacks like I planned on doing. I tend to graze when my husband is out of the house but with him home full time now, I find myself only eating at meal times. I still really, really want to do better in that regards as having good energy will be more and more important as that due date sneaks up. I’m thinking some nice cheeses and crackers maybe. My good ol’ standby of nuts isn’t that appealing so finding their replacement isn’t easy. I think I’ll blend up some humus as well for the week.

So, I will be back after this wee baby has arrived and will share a post baby belly shot so I see my new starting point as I get back into shape as the Fit Mama to 3.

Wishing all my other Fit Mamas over at Got Chai? a wonderful month of April. I will see you come May!

Wordless Wednesday-Refuge chez Mama Manuscripts

Wordless Wednesday-Refuge chez Mama Manuscripts