And when Jérémy is not pouting… he makes these HUGE eyes.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
365 Project–Day 117
Friday, April 29, 2011
365 Project–Day 116
Dominic at the Elections activity earlier this week…
Thursday, April 28, 2011
365 Project–Day 115
These days every time I try to catch his cute face, he does this….
Gomu
Gomu – Eraserland
by Spinmaster
Travel in time with me… back in the 1980s. Yikes! I was younger, lived in the province of Québec, going to school and loved everything that was new when it came to pencils, erasers, papers and so on... I collected pins, badges, cool pencils and erasers. When something new was coming out, I would more than likely buy it. Meanwhile, in Northern Ontario, my future husband decided to start a little business in the school yard. Back then the new Staedtler eraser has come on the market. His parents owned a store in town and he decided to grab a box and sell them in the school yard for 25 cents. Even the teachers would buy from him. He recalls having a stack in his locker and selling them to almost everyone in the school. But soon his little lucrative business came to an halt because everyone had one. What should he do now? At that time, Staedtler has come out with erasers with different packaging. Not wasting one minute, my future husband grabbed some and started selling them as collector’s erasers. *grin* If only he knew what would be coming many years later….
Gomu is the collectable eraser that is bursting with fun! With over a 100 different Gomu to collect, from pets, gadgets, music and the zoo, there is a Gomu for whatever you’re into. Discover ultra-rare Gomu’s with a surprise in every pack and take them apart to mix and match for your own unique characters.
Get in the Gomu spirit and bring them to school for trading and swapping with friends. You can also discover how rare your Gomy is using G-Points. Each eraser has a different Gomu point value. Gomu points let you know how rare your eraser is. The higher the point value, the more rare the eraser is. The Gomu collector tool gives you information on every eraser so you know just what your collection is worth. Collect and swap to maximize your total Gomu value. Each time you open a Gomu you have the chance to find one of the Ultra rare Gold or Silver Key erasers.
Gomu is the coolest collectable around! It’s not just an eraser, it’s Gomu!
We received a variety of packs of Gomu. They come in single, three and six packs. These cute erasers are interesting in a way as it has a special shape in itself. Seeing these brought back memories to me as I remembered drooling (okay not quite drooling but wanting) to have the latest cool eraser I had seen in a store. But I most be honest and see that back then the erasers were not as cool as these. To be honest, I think it will attract the attention of girls more than boys. But if I was younger and had such an eraser, I am not sure I would want to use it… I mean how can you “destroy” such a cute eraser by using it if I made an error on a page?
But what’s good an eraser if you don’t use it? So I think that most kids would probably collect them more than anything else. I wouldn’t be surprise if in 10-20 years from now, some collectors would find the Gomus in the memory boxes…
I think this product is innovative and will attract some attention for young girls. However, I am not impressed with how easy it is to separate the parts of the Gomu. I think I would have preferred that it would have been a little bit harder to do so. If a kid is using the Gomu to erase, some of them would easily come apart while erasing. Bottom line is that even though the Gomu is an erase and will indeed erase an error on a page, this product is more geared toward the collecting market.
My only concern is that it is well known that many schools are not permitting collectable items on their ground anymore. So I doubt that kids will be able to exchange or trade their Gomu at school. But that doesn’t stop kids to trade elsewhere (on the street, at home or at the park).
The Gomu erasers are adorable, small, fun and innovative. I will surprise my own kids in September by putting some in their pencil box as well as in their stocking at Christmas. It is also a great way to encourage a child with proper behaviour or to lift the spirit of a child who is sick or discouraged.
The single pack is sold for 99cents, the 3-pack for 2.99$ and the 6-pack for 4.99$.
Gomu is geared for kids age 6+.
Check www.gomu.com for more details.
Disclaimer: Thanks to SpinMaster for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
365 Project–Day 114
Math assignment for my oldest son – he had to calculate the square footage of our driveway! *grin*
Tag Reading System
Tag Reading System from Leapfrog
About the product
Learn to read, love to read with Tag - the amazing touch reading system that brings stories to life like never before! Now the #1 best-selling reading system, the Tag Reader is loved around the world with more than 28 awards in 6 countries. As children touch the Tag Reader to the pages of specially printed storybooks, words talk, pictures sing and stories live out loud, engaging children's senses to make reading a rich, fulfilling experience. And, with more than 40 books and games based on favourite TV, movie and classic tales, the Tag library has something for every reader!
The Tag Reader now holds audio for up to 10 books at a time. Simply connect the Tag Reader to your computer with the included USB cable, download the audio for your Tag books and drag-and-drop up to 10 of your child's favourite stories onto your Tag Reader.
While online, you can also discover your children's favourite books and activities, learn about the skills they are exploring and share in their accomplishments by creating a free LeapFrog® Learning Path at leapfrog.ca.
Geared for kids ages 4 to 8 years old.
Our Thoughts
I always loved Leapfrog’s products. We have at home a My First LeapPad and two LeapPad with various books in both official languages. Recently I had the opportunity to product test and review the Tag Reading System. I will be honest with you I have eyed this product before. Now that I have it in my hands, I realize how marvelous this product is.
This wonderful product will help build the confidence in your child while he is learning to read. You can go with the read to me option or go from word to word as you progress in the book. Throughout the book, you will also have interaction with the characters in the story if you click on them as well as games to play. I tried the Tag Reading System with the book included in the box (which presented a variety of titles available) and with Ozzie and Mack which I already had from a giveaway of LeapFrog in the past. I am quite impressed with the pen that allows you to read. It reminded me a bit of the LeapPad that used to be popular in the past (and we still have) but it is not as bulky as the LeapPad system. I love the fact that you can reduce the sound on it as well as the fact that you could put a headset on it. Very thoughtful from the company to have included this option on the Tag Reading System. I know for a fact that my husband disliked hearing such a device while we are driving. Having the possibility to put a headset on it is simply fantastic!
The Tag Reading System can easily be handle by little hands without worrying that it will break. And the buttons are located at strategic places where the kids won’t touch by error. Holding this pen while reading will also encourage them to practice holding a pencil correctly and to follow while reading.
The product also comes with a connection for your laptop. From there you can download a software that will help you manage the books installed on the Tag Reading System. The installation is quite easy to do and you can download the books you need in a minute or so. It is wonderful to have the flexibility of choosing the books that will be available on the Tag Reading System. At this moment I have four items downloaded on the reading pen. These four items takes about 12 megs of space and I still have 19 megs of space available on it. Be careful when you purchase a Tag Reading System as
there are two different models available 16 megs and 32 megs. I was blessed to received the 32 megs product. We also received two Tag books – Spiderman The Lizard's Tale and Fancy Nancy at the Museum. Being Comic books collector, it is nice to have a Tag book with Spider-Man. My boys will love to go through this story for sure. As for the Fancy Nancy, my daughter will love to discover her world with me. I am delighted to have this title on our bookshelves. I have seen the Fancy Nancy at the library and bookstore before but my daughter was too young at the time to be interested in them.
TAG has more than 40 books available. Check their website for a list of all the books including some phonics books. I already know titles I will get in the future; Star Wars - The Clone Wars Rescue in the Sky, I Spy Imagine That!, Fancy Nancy Explorer Extraordinaire, and the World Map. Apparently I will also be able to use it with French books. I have discovered from the LeapFrog Community site that the audio for both French and English books can be downloaded onto one Tag Reader no matter whether you have an English or French Tag Reader. Consequently it doesn’t appear that there is a need for someone to purchase an English and French Tag Reader. I must admit I haven’t tested this part yet.
The Tag Reading System is definitively a wonderful addition for our homeschool. With two kids that will learn to read in the years to come and one that is becoming more comfortable in reading by himself, this product will be used greatly in our home. I doubt that my oldest will find any interest in it, but maybe he will be willing to help his younger sister with it… I also realize that I will have to control the use of this product as I suspect that there will be a fight over who uses it when. Honestly, I don’t mind if my kids are excited about it because I know that it will encourage them to read and be independent in their reading eventually. I can see also how it would help families with special needs children. This reading system will help the special need child to learn at his pace while having fun at the same time.
The LeapFrog Tag Reading System is available at your favourite toy store.
To order directly from Leapfrog Canada click on the logo below.
GREAT NEWS!
I have been offered another TAG Reading System to give away to one of my readers.
To participate, tell me what is the your favourite book of your children and why! This entry is mandatory. Don’t forget to include your email address in the comment.
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Don’t forget to include your email for each steps. No email means I will have to pick someone else. I need to be able to contact you if you win! Random.org will be use to determine the winner. You will have 24 hours to contact me and give me your mailing address so I can send it to my contact which in turn will ship the prize to you!
Open to Canadian residents ONLY.
Deadline: May 15, 2011.
Disclaimer: I have received the above mentioned products for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
365 Project–Day 113
Discovering how the elections work in Canada with other homeschoolers.
Baking and smoking
I’ve been quiet the last few months. I guess I am trying to juggle a course, blogging, homeschooling, and more at the same time.
Winter is gone and spring is here – even though it is quite cold still in our city. But I see the end of the dark tunnel of winter and can hardly wait to smell the tulips in May.
Apart from that, I have finished my first course for the Social Media Certificate I am doing. I got 98%. WoW! I wasn’t expecting this.
On another note, my oven is experiencing some problems. Last week, I asked my oldest to put the croissant in it while I was going to do some exercises. After 20 minutes, I came back up and it hasn’t been done. So I asked him: “Why haven’t you put the croissants in?” He answered that the oven had not beeped to indicate that the warming period was done. I checked. He was right… Grumble.
So I went to dig our invoice and we had an extended warranty on it. So I called. Someone came on Thursday afternoon and it turns out that the element was toast… we got a new one. Great now I could do the baking I needed to do.
On Saturday, I mix my cake and start the oven for the baking. Within 10 minutes, the oven was beeping – code F10 – and smoke was coming out of it. Great! Needless to say the cake wasn’t cooked in the middle and the top was burned.
So I called again.
Monday I received a call from the company which will send the technician. They are baffled. So he is coming this afternoon!
We shall see what will happen with this.
Praying for a new oven… *grin* but I am realist too.
The Respect Dare
Written by Nina Roesner
Published at Greater Impact Ministries
About the book
Ephesians 5:33 in the Bible says that wives shall always respect their husbands, but most women struggle with this concept. Are you one of them?
The truth is that women get married with dreams, hopes and aspirations that are often never fulfilled. More than half of marriages end in divorce in the United States, and many women that stay married are unhappy.
The Respect Dare is a forty-day devotional guide that will take away the mystery that is keeping you from speaking the language of respect with your husband. It provides real life examples from women who have developed closer relationships with God and their husbands. In it, you will learn:
● How to build confidence;
● Methods to positively handle conflicts;
● Keys to better communication;
● How to develop a more intimate connection with your spouse;
● Ways to deepen your relationship with God;
● And much more!
Learn the language of respect and truly connect to the man you married with The Respect Dare.
Who is Nina Roesner?
Nina Roesner, Executive Director of Greater Impact Ministries, Inc., has personally seen "applied respect" change lives through thousands of real stories in the Daughters of SarahTM courses. Frustrated with the media's portrayal of how women are supposed to look, act and feel, she loves to encourage women to awaken spiritually. Passionate about assisting others in their journeys in life, and concerned about the proven negative impact divorce has on children and women's health, she desires to equip women with the communication skills necessary for successful marriage and help them create balanced lives. Nina left a leadership position in the largest training corporation in the world to write and deliver courses for people of faith at a fraction of the cost of what the same high caliber of training goes for in the marketplace. She has seen over 95 percent of the participants grow in their relationship with God and others, all while increasing their confidence. Her courses leave a lasting impact on participants. Nina has over 20 years in the communications and training industry. She has coached numerous executives, managers, individuals, wives, church staffs and pastors around the country and currently provides leadership for Greater Impact Ministries, Inc. as Executive Director. Nina currently speaks to many different demographics on various topics.
http://www.therespectdare.com/
My Thoughts
Love and respect. Two things that goes hand in hand in a marriage. Loving is easy for a woman. But how can you show respect to your husband on a daily basis? This year we will celebrate our 13th anniversary in June and I still have to learn a few things about respect. I admit it freely. I am not perfect. Our marriage is wonderful and we are growing every day. So when I saw this book I decided to email the author and ask if I could review it. She agreed and send me a pdf version of the book. I will also admit that I am not doing it on a daily basis as I should be. But I am learning through it and plan to be a better wife for my husband at the end of my journey with this book.
The book should be done on a daily basis and each day challenges you to a new dare to do. It is also important to understand that we shouldn’t see a difference in our spouse behaviour immediately. Going through this book is for your own behaviour in the first place. Each day contains a little teaching as well as space to write down your own thoughts and prayers. Sometimes scriptures will encourage you, other times you will be asked to sit down and reflect on your own past. Throughout the book, you will also encounter other women’s stories which are there to encourage you and to illustrate the point the author is trying to make. Also, you will conclude each day by writing your own prayer on the subject of the day.
I am enjoying my time going through this book as I know that I can grow on this issue of respect. Please don’t think I am disrespectful all the time. Not so. But I know I can do better and this book is helping me to identify the places where I can be a better wife for my husband. Already I am more aware of where I should make an extra effort even if I am tired at the end of the day.
I think that every married woman should go through The Respect Dare. It will be a blessing for you and for your marriage.
The Respect Dare is available at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca.
Disclaimer: Thanks to the author for sending me the above mentioned product in pdf format for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.
Skeleton–Eyewitness DVD
Produced by DK Canada
About the DVD
Here is an original and exciting new look at the fascinating natural world of ponds and rivers. Stunning real-life photographs of fish, water beetles, frogs, underwater weeds, and more offer a unique "eyewitness" view of the natural history of plants and animals that live in and around freshwater habitats. See how a trout develops from its egg, how a dragonfly nymph changes into a dragonfly, what plants look like under the water, and how waterbirds camouflage themselves. Learn how a frog catches its food, why a caddisfly makes a case from sticks and shells, and why kingfisher eggs have no camouflage markings. Discover how to distinguish the difference between toad spawn and frog spawn, how underwater nests are made, how a salmon climbs a weir, which insects can walk on water, and much, much more.
Our Thoughts
This dvd is a wonderful addition when you are studying the human body – more specifically the bones. Not only does it covers the bones in our body but it will give more information about the bones of animals as well.
Guided with a human skeleton you will see a eyewitness book brought to life. Mind you not everyone would like to show this dvd to their kids just because of the creepy skeleton walking around. But my kids didn’t had any problems watching it and it was a good review of the lessons learned on the bones in our body at the same time. The only negative points I have from this dvd is that evolution mentioned a few times and tarot cards as well as the Mexican Day of the Dead celebration. So I stopped a few times and had a chat with the kids about what we were seeing and talked about our beliefs in God and what he says about tarot cards and evolution.
As I mentioned before I want my kids to be exposed to other belief system so that they are in better shape to defend their own faith later in life. We don’t go too deep in this kind of information but at least they are aware of it. Still even with the mentions of these issues, the dvd very informative on the skeleton of every living creatures. It demonstrates the importance of it as well as gives a ton of information about the bones. I was impressed with the quality of the video as well as with the information on the skeleton presented.
Skeleton – Eyewitness DVD is available at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca.
Disclaimer: Thanks to DK Canada for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.
Monday, April 25, 2011
365 Project–Day 112
Learning the time with the MUS clock!
Winner of Glo Premium
And the winner is….
Congratulations to Julia. She commented the following.
I know for a fact that Julia is homeschooling her kids as well. This will be a wonderful addition in their homeschool and family life.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
365 Project–Day 111
I can’t see any eggs…. *grin*
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Exploring the World of Biology
Written by John Hudson Tiner
Published at Masterbooks
About the book
DISCOVER THE WORLD OF LIFE AS GOD CREATED IT!
The field of biology focuses on living things, from the smallest microscopic protozoa to the largest mammal. In this book you will read and explore the life of plants, insects, spiders and other arachnids, life in water, reptiles, birds, and mammals, highlighting God's amazing creation. You will learn about the following and so much more:
For most of history, biologists used the visible appearance of plants or animals to classify them. They grouped plants or animals with similar-looking features into families. Starting in the 1990s, biologists have extracted DNA and RNA from cells as a guide to how plants or animals should be grouped. Like visual structures, these reveal the underlying design or creation.
The newest book in our Exploring series, Exploring the World of Biology is a fascinating look at life - from the smallest proteins and spores, to the complex life systems of humans and animals.
My Thoughts
Through this book, I got renewed with my love of biology. I had a biology class while I was in high school – a long time ago – and every now and then I hoped to find a book that will cover the basic of biology for my kids when they come in age to study it.
Exploring the World of Biology is such a book. Geared for students in middle school, it will introduce them to the basics of biology and with it they will discover if they have an interest in learning more about the subject or not. Mind you elementary children can also go through the book with the help of their parents and high school students can refresh their knowledge with it too! Throughout the book, the student will learn more about the hidden kingdom and the invisible kingdom, explore the biological names, discover the world of plants, explore the insects and spiders, learn more about life in the water, reptiles, birds and mammals as well as discover more about the human body like digestion for example. While going through the book, I have read avidly on mushrooms, how Pasteur discovered pasteurization and why he decided not to make money on it, explored the digestion system with Dr. Beaumont and Alexis St. Martin, and much more. I got excited with the information contained in this book simply because I knew it was based on faith.
Each chapter starts with some questions to stir the curiosity of the student. For example, in the Food for Energy and Growth one of the question is What food does the body use for growth and repair? During the reading of the chapter, the student can identify the answer and confirm it at the end of the chapter. At the end of the chapter, a series of questions are asked to which the student need to answer. The answers for each chapter are included at the end of the book. Also, the student can explore more on the subject covered with the fun experiments/activities suggested at the end of each chapter. Some research might be necessary for these extra activities. But I find that learning is done well when the student need to dig for the answers…
I would have preferred having some coloured illustrations/pictures in the book to simply keep the interest alive at times. I find that having colours in a book help to keep the attention. Even though the pictures are in black and white, you can have a pretty good idea of what they represent. This book would be an amazing addition for an homeschool and to study. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in biology.
Exploring the World of Biology is available at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca.
Disclaimer: Thanks to MasterBooks for sending me the books for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.
This Book Made Me Do It
Published at DK Canada
About the book
Brush up on your know-how by doing, making, and exploring just about everything! Activities come in all shapes and sizes, and this book shows you an incredible variety of them, from panning for gold to doing the Moonwalk. Ever wanted to fold origami, tie-dye a T-shirt, or slam-dunk a basketball like a pro? Interested in creating a homemade bird feeder or a flashlight that runs on candy? This Book Made Me Do It shows you how to do all of this and more! Perfect for budding artists, scientists, sports stars, and chefs, these step-by- step projects will provide hours of educational fun, whether you're looking for a long-term hobby, or just a way to spend a rainy day.
Geared for 10-17 years old.
Our Thoughts
Imagine, you’re flying with a friend who suddenly have an heart attack, you have to take the controls to land the plane. You manage do to it without problem. You friend will be taken care of and people around are asking how you did it. “It’s simple,” you say, “I read it in the book This Book Made Me Do It.”
Okay I admit that it is farfetched, but This Book Made Me Do It contains a ton of information on how to do thing like Land and airplane at page 38 and 39. You can discover how to use chopsticks (a big hit in my family has the older boys want to know how to do this), eat spaghetti like an Italian (mommy can do this, so can we!), dissect an owl pellet, climb a rope, make a weathervane, use a lemon as a battery, juggle a soccer ball, hike safely in bear country (especially if you are in Elliot Lake, ON!) and so much more! We even learned how to make an improvised float with jeans! The survive in the wild section made me remember my girl guide years and how we learned to use a compass, build a shelter, learn how to guide yourself in the forest, and so on.
In this book you will find things to do
- to amaze your friends
- about food
- to be creative
- to explore the world
- to survive in the wild
- to be a sport hero
There is even an important note for children and adults concerning safety. For specific activities there will be a safety guidance to read.
This book is very interesting in an homeschool because it contains fun activities to do with the kids. You can entertain them, make them learn something new, do some fun and creative crafts and so on. Part of me wishes we had a garden in the backyard so we can plant some tomatoes, carrots, peppers, and so on. But we have rabbits too… which means a garden at ground level would be problematic. One of these days, I hope to be able to get an above ground level type of garden where I would not worry that my tomatoes, would be eaten by the said rabbits. In the meantime, my kids can learn more about gardening in this book.
My oldest son, Alexandre, wanted to make one of the recipes in the book. So on Easter week-end, he proceed to make hotcakes following the directives. We didn’t have blueberries so instead he took chopped bananas. We had a delicious breakfast with double-smoked bacon and maple syrup.
The only pages we had a problem with were the ones dealing with astrology, reading palms, vampire bites, afterlife and ghost hunt. We couldn’t tear the pages out because some of the had fun information on the other side. We had an easy solution for these… We simply glued them together as these pages disagreed with our beliefs. However, even if you can find that kind of information in the book, I wouldn’t hesitate to get it because it has so many interesting subjects. This Book Made Me Do It would be a wonderful book to have during the summer time when the kids are bored at some point as it will keep them occupied.
This Book Made Me Do It is available at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca.
Disclaimer: Thanks to DK Canada for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.
365 Project–day 110
My oldest prepared breakfast!
Animal Life
Published at DK Canada
About the book
Destined to be the ultimate authority on animal communities, Animal Life explores and explains every aspect of animal behavior, including courtship and mating rituals, family relationships and defense mechanisms, hunting techniques and feeding habits. Now in paperback!
Charlotte Uhlenbroek is an accomplished broadcaster, appearing in many prestigious documentaries produced by the BBC Wildlife Unit, and has published two books to accompany these series.
Our Thoughts
I love nature and animals. And being a Christian, I love to discover more about the wonderful creation that God has put out there. But I don’t have the means to be able to travel around the world to go see these beloved animals in their own environment. My solution is quite simple, grab a eye popping book like Animal Life. This book is packed with stunning pictures and interesting information on various animals.
The book is divided in three major sections which in turns are sub-divised:
- Animal Kingdom; What is an animal?, Evolution, Animal history, Classification, Animal groups.
- Animal Anatomy; Skeletons and muscles, Movement, Body coverings, Body systems, Senses.
- Animal Behavior; Living space, Hunting and feeding, Defense, Sex and reproduction, Birth and development, Society, Communication, Intelligence.
I am in awe with the pictures every time I flip through these pages. How can someone go through this book and not realize that our Creator has an incredible imagination? Yes there is information about evolution in the book and yes I do believe that my kids needs to have the two sides of the medals concerning this – they are though about creation but I also expose them on the evolution theory and explain the difference between the two. I want them to be able to defend their faith when they are studying later in life. I don’t want them to be suddenly surprised by what is thought in colleges and universities.
Even with this information found in the book, the rest of it is simply too amazing to avoid the book. For each sub-divisions in the book, you will get tidbits of information on how different kinds of animals live. For example, in the hunting and feeding section, you will have seven pages on scavenging including information on the raccoon ( a lovely animal that we saw walking on our fence last year!) to the spotted hyena. In the migration section, we also learned more about the Canadian geese which visit our area twice every years, the mass migration of the Monarch butterflies, the red crabs of Christmas Island, and other kind of animals migrating every year. My favourite section is probably the senses where you can discover how animals touch, smell, see, hear and taste. It is simply amazing to discover all the different ways to do so.
I have a son who is very interested in anything that relates to animals. Dominic is the child who will take the time to feed all the deer at Marineland, Niagara Falls, ON. He is sensitive to all kind of animals around him. So I am very glad to have this book for him to explore.
Below are some examples of the pages you will find in this amazing book!
It’s breathtaking isn’t it? When you consider the price attached to this book with the information contained in it, it is well worth the money spent on it. You and your kids will have hours of discovery and learning with Animal Life.
Animal Life is available at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca.
Disclaimer: Thanks to DK Canada for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.
Friday, April 22, 2011
365 Project–Day 109
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Easy Grammar Daily Guided Teaching and Review for Grade 2
Published at Easy Grammar Systems
About the book
This book is a teaching text with the Daily Grams format. It contains an introduction to the understanding of language usage and skills, 180 short and enjoyable lessons--one per school day, concepts introduced and reviewed throughout, capitalization taught or reviewed every day, and punctuation taught or reviewed daily. It also includes usage, dictionary skills, sentence combining, etc. The book has reproducible pages within the text and the answers are in the back.
My Thoughts
I have a struggling learner who is very intelligent. We suspect that my son might have the same learning disability than my husband. He will be in grade two next year. This year, I am going through some basic grammar lessons with him by reading to him in another curriculum. But I also know that I want him to go through the same curriculum than his brother so I was curious to look into the Daily Guided Teaching and Review for Grade 2. I was pleased to have a positive answer to my request to review it.
I didn’t know what to expect. My oldest son has started using the Easy Grammar when he was in grade 3 and he is learning well with them. I knew that if there would be too much work in the pages, there were some chances that Dominic would be discouraged and give up. So when I received my copy to review, I was pleasantly surprised at the pages. See the example below which was taken from their website.
Every pages in this book contains about four to five exercises that the child will have to do. With Alexandre I can do more than one page per day. It will be a different story with Dominic, I know it. And having one page per day of school will permit me to pace ourselves in his learning and discover a better schedule for him. But I am encouraged to see how well the pages are designed. Bright and lots of spaces in them will allow him to not see a huge mountain in front of him when we will do his grammar. In each pages, there is a small lesson which I will do with him and explain it more if it is needed.
The Daily Guided Teaching and Review for Grade 2 covers the following concepts:
CAPITALIZATION: abbreviation, business, closing of a letter, club/organization/team, day of the week, events, geographic places, greeting of a friendly letter, holiday/special day, language, month, names of people, outline, poetry, pronoun, proper adjectives, quotation, school/college, sentence, street/lane/avenue, structures, title of books and other works, title with a name and what not to capitalize.
PUNCTUATION: apostrophe, colon, comma, exclamation point, hyphen, period, question mark, quotation marks, underlining, where not to place a comma or a period.
GRAMMAR AND OTHER CONCEPTS: adjectives, adverbs, compound words, conjunctions, dictionary skills, difficult words, friendly letters, interjections, nouns, prefixes/roots/suffixes, prepositions, pronouns, rhyming words, sentence combining, sentence types, subject/verb agreement, subject identification, verb identification, synonyms/antonyms/homonyms, verbs and more.
I am estimating that it would take us maybe 15 minutes to go through one page. Just enough to start building his knowledge on grammar and be more prepare when grade 3 arrives. I want to give all the tools for him to succeed and discover that he can do it. Having the Daily Guided Teaching and Review for Grade 2 will be such a tool. I know that going through this book will give him confidence to move on when he arrives in grade 3. And without him realizing it, he will start with basic information on grammar and do more complicated things by the end of the year. I am more confident in starting the 2nd grade with him knowing that I have a book that will guide us through the discovery of grammar.
Easy Grammar: Daily Guided Teaching and Review for Grade 2 Teacher Edition is available directly from the website for the price of 24.95. A student workbook is also available for 12.95$.
Disclaimer: Thanks to Easy Grammar Systems for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.
The Case of the Missing Mountain
By Kim Jones
Published at MasterBooks
About the book
A mountain is missing and it?s your job to find out how it disappeared!
Kids, grab your caps and team up with rangers Jack and Jen to solve The Case of the Missing Mountain. Complete the puzzles, master the mazes, and secure the secret codes. Solve all eight mysteries to become an official Mystery Ranger. Your personalized badge & certificate are waiting!
This 80-page activity book for children teaches young earth creation concepts. Author Kim Jones formerly served as a guide at Mount St. Helen’s Seven Wonders Museum. She worked with many other experts to compile the facts for this title.
Our Thoughts
My oldest son loves to learn more about volcanoes. So when I had the opportunity to review “The Case of the Missing Mountain” I didn’t hesitate one second because I wanted him to know more about Mount St. Helens.
What I didn’t expect is how this book was presented. I thought it would be a story explaining what happened to Mount St. Helens. But the book is packed with activities that will make your child dig for the answers and learn at the same time. Pretty ingenious! Alexandre had a blast to decode the problems to find the answers that will permit him to discover more about what happen to Mount St. Helens.
Also included in the book are science experiments. To be honest, the temperature here in Ontario is still a bit cold to do experiments outside. So we have decided to wait a bit until we get warmer temperatures so we can enjoy them more. Personally, I am looking forward to do the leaf animal challenge with the kids while we are camping. It will be a great activity to entertain them for a little while. *grin*
Alexandre, age 9 3/4, reviewed the book for me. He enjoyed doing the mystery challenges.
I like it because it’s Christian and because there is fun activities as well as cool experiments. I particularly liked the funny and weird decoders.
At the end of the book, you can also find some jokes, missions to become an Official Mystery Ranger as well as being able to download a special certificate for the hard work done throughout the book.
See for yourself what the book is all about!
On another note, I would like to suggest that future books would be bind better. The book my son has is falling apart at the end because he opened it so often. Still, even with this little flaw, the book is amazing and will occupy your child for a long period of time.
The Case of the Missing Mountain is available at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca.
Disclaimer: Thanks to MasterBooks for sending me the books for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.
Rebecca St-James CD Winner
I have selected the winner using Random.org.
Congratulations to
She has 24 hours to get back to me with a mailing address.
PJ Tots Winner
This morning I proceed to draw the winner of the PJ Tots from Manhattan Toy.
And the winner is….
Trish has 24 hours to get back to me.
Congratulations!
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