Reading Eggs

Many children struggle learning to read.  On the other hand many kids know how to read but lack the skills to comprehend what they have read.  This in turn makes it difficult for them to recall facts and answer questions to show what they have learned from what they read. Have you tried program after program to help your child learn to read or enhance his or her reading skills with no success?  Here’s something that just may appeal to your children.


Reading Eggs is an online program for children that is fun and interactive. It is designed for beginning or early readers ages 4-8, with another level called Reading Eggspress for readers ages 7-13 who can read chapter books and beyond to encourage fluent reading.  Reading Eggs makes reading fun and interesting through games, songs, golden eggs, rewards, and activities.  “The reading eggs program is all about bringing out the best in each child. It supports each child’s learning by offering individual, one-on-one lessons that allow children to progress at their own rate”.

The price to get started depends on which subscription you choose.  Monthly subscriptions are $9.95 (side note from site: Refunds are not available for recurring monthly subscriptions. If you choose to cancel, you must do so 7 days prior to your renewal date to avoid additional costs.).  A six month subscription is $49.95 (note from site: you can get a special 50% family discount, with any full price 6 or 12 month subscription purchase.).  A yearly (twelve month) subscription  is $75.00. For any other questions you may have please visit their FAQ page.


Since my son is already a fluent reader he spent all of his time in the Reading Eggspress section of the website.  This “unique learning environment is designed to boost reading and comprehension skills. “This world is perfect kids who already know the basics of reading but who still have much to learn about reading, writing, spelling, and comprehension. The learning focuses on building reading fluency and comprehension, spelling, vocabulary, and a range of writing skills including grammar and punctuation”. Upon entering there will be a page that loads up and you will see an image like the one above.  There is a spinning world that has a stadium, library, apartment & mall, and comprehension gym to choose from.  My son usually heads straight for the library to read a book.  He likes getting on here everyday just to pick a book to read.  After nearly an hour I have to ask him several times if he’s finished yet.  He keeps saying “no not yet I’m concentrating”.  That’s a good thing to hear and I love that he enjoys the time he’s spending on a learning program.


After your child reads his or her choice of book, there’s a quiz to take at the end. They have to pass the quiz in order to get gold eggs and a trading card.  The golden eggs are like currency and can be exchanged for games and other items at the mall to decorate their apartment or dress up their avatar.  To try out a sample lesson from Reading Eggs go here.  Reading Eggs have many products to go along with their reading program.  Be sure to check them out here.

My son’s comprehension didn’t improve using this program and he attempted answering questions the best he could on the quizzes at the end of each lesson.  He didn’t earn enough eggs to do anything or trading cards but that didn’t bother him.  He enjoyed reading books he had never read before so that’s a plus.  To hear what others thought of Reading Eggs stop by and visit the crew blog.


Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. I was not paid to write this but received Reading Eggs free of charge to review, and give my honest opinion.

BeeYouTiful!

Feeling beautiful makes one smile and feel so good inside. I love opportunities to pamper myself and use products that help me look and feel my best. Have you met a woman that doesn’t want to feel beautiful? O can't say that I have. So why am I talking about feeling beautiful?  It has to do with this next review I’m about to share with you.


Beeyoutiful is a company that specializes in providing men, women, and children with health and beauty products that are made with all natural ingredients.  They “believe that each individual is responsible for their own health”. Their “goal is to eventually carry every natural product that they use”.  Beeyoutiful wants to aid others in obtaining and maintaining good health.That’s why their “mission is to do good to all men”.  Click here to read more about them.  The owners are believers in Jesus Christ striving to act according to what this means to them.  To read more about their values go here.


One of the items we were blessed to review is Beeyoutiful’s All natural peppermint Lip Balm.  This lip moisturizer is the same size as a regular tube of chap stick.  It’s not your ordinary chap stick though. I use this stuff daily and I love the way is feels on my lips.  When I first put it on I can smell the pleasant peppermint scent and feel a little tingle on my lips.  You can’t taste the peppermint like you would other flavored chap sticks you get at the store.  You’ll find there is no taste if you happen to lick your lips. The smell doesn’t last long after applying, but the moisturizing effect lasts longer than regular chap stick I’ve used.  I usually only have to put this peppermint balm on once or twice a day.  The price for this lip balm is $3.00 and it also comes in an orange scent.  The great thing about this is there are only 4 ingredients that can all be pronounced.  The ingredients are Grapeseed oil, Shea Butter, beeswax, and peppermint essential oil (orange if using the other one).  These ingredients nourish and heal the lips as they are moisturizing them.


Another item we were blessed to review is Beeyoutiful’s Tension Tamer (the ultimate De-Stressor!). For $11.00 you get a 0.33oz. bottle of all natural goodness that “reduces pain, relieves tension, and combats a headache”.  It only has 6 ingredients that can all be pronounced. There is also no parabens, no petroleum, no artificial fragrances or preservatives. Tension Tamer is “a great nerve relaxer and pocket decongestant”. When I’ve felt a headache coming on or felt tense I did as the bottle says, “just roll some on your temples, wrists, nose, or neck and relax as your headache and tension disappear”. I have to say it doesn’t always make my headaches disappear (Depending on the intensity of the headache I sometimes took some Tylenol.) but I did feel calm and relaxed as I breath in the pleasant but not too strong wintergreen scent.  This is good to use when laying down to go to sleep too.  It absorbs quickly into the skin so you’re not left with oily or greasy feeling. With the ingredients being natural it’s safe for using on children too.

I love using products with all natural ingredients.  As much as I can afford to I opt for purchasing products like this to use with my family.  I love what Beeyoutiful has to offer and hope to try more of their products.  Other crew mates review different products so be sure to stop by the crew blog to see what products they got to test.



Disclaimer: The views and opinions in this review are entirely my own. I was not paid to write this but received these Beeyoutiful products free of charge to review, and give my honest opinion.

Who Am I?

I have to say I really enjoy the material from Apologia ministries.  My first year on the TOS Crew we did a review on one of their science books and my son has been hooked every since.  Little did I know they would continue to expand on what they offer.  That’s why I’m excited to tell you about one of their products in their “What We Believe” series we received for review.  The series consists of 4 volumes.  The first is Who is God?, second is “Who Am I? (and what am I doing here?)”, third is “Who is my Neighbor?”, and the last volume (will be available soon) is “What on Earth Can I Do?”.
For review we were blessed with “Who Am I? (and what am I doing here?).”  This is their second book in the "What We Believe" series. This is a family-inclusive study of biblical worldview. To my shock when the box arrived from UPS there was more in it then I had assumed.  Not only did we receive the hardcover book, but we were sent the whole set.  The set included the 262 page textbook that costs $39.00, the audio CD that costs $19.00, the Notebooking Journal that costs $24.00, and their coloring book which costs $8.00.  The age group for this curriculum is 6-14.  Because of it’s different components it makes a great “multigrade curriculum for the whole family”.

Who Am I? (and what am I doing here?) is written directly to the student.  The lessons are in a conversational tone.  Who Am I? “helps children understand what it means to be fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of the Most High God”. This study will help them to develop a healthy self-image based on these biblical truths:

* God made me in His image and crowned me with glory.
* He has given me special gifts and a unique purpose in life.
* I can creatively express God's love.
* I am meant to think about beautiful and praiseworthy things, especially God and His Word.
* I must make decisions based on God's truth.
* I can always know the wise thing to do.
* I must cultivate the fruit of the Spirit in my life.
* I am a beloved child of God whose true identity is found in Christ.

The Who Am I? notebooking journal is 247 pages.  It helps students to personalize and capture what they have learned.  Several of the activities they cover are: Think about It, Words to Know, Hide it in My Heart, Word Puzzles, mini books, My Prayer, Praise Reports, I spy! and more.  In the front of the notebook is a lesson plan broken down into what to do each day as you cover the lessons.  The study is set up in 2 week segments to complete.  Some parts are pretty lengthy than others.  Not everything has to be done. The great thing about it is you can set it up to work at your child’s own pace.


The Who Am I? audio CD is in MP3 format.  I find it best to use it on our computers.  It can be used right along with the textbook.  It’s great for auditory learners, slow readers, or other disabilities your child may have.  The book is broken up into 8 lessons.  Each lesson is broken down into 15 or more subheadings.  Click here to see the table of contents.

Here is a sample of how the lessons are structured:

Each lesson opens with an introduction to the main topic.  It’s called “The Big Idea”.  Next are the learning objectives called “What will you do?”.
There is also the “short story” which features characters that are about the same age as your kids who has a different worldview than a Christian does.
The “think about it” has thought provoking questions so that your child can dig deeper into the short story and see if he or she is comprehending what was read.
Included are also “Word you need to Know” which are vocabulary words to write the definitions to.  There’s also the “Hide it in Your Heart” which provides Bible memory verses that your kids can copy into their notebook.
These are just a few that the lessons provide.  To see a sample of a chapter click here.


The Who Am I? coloring book is 64 pages of images that goes along with the lessons.  It’s great for anyone who loves to color or for the younger ones to keep busy while listening to the story being read on audio.  That way they are taking part of the learning experience.

My son was excited about the things he's learning from Who Am I?.  He had first showed it to me in a TOS magazine long before we reviewed it.  I surprised him one day and told him that we would get to have it soon.  He couldn’t wait for it to arrive.  Once the box got here he wanted to check out the contents.  He couldn’t wait to get started on it the next school day.  It takes us a little longer to complete the lessons than what the lesson plans they have already provided.  We could spend all day doing just this curriculum because there is so much to cover.  I just let him do a little each day so he's not overwhelmed with covering too much at one time.  Some parts of it are too advanced for him so we just skip over those.  He was glad it came with an audio CD because just looking at all the reading was a bit too much for him.  All in all he really enjoys “Who Am I? (and what am I doing here?).  He can’t wait to get started each day.  As with other Apologia materials I am very pleased with what they have to offer in the “what we believe series”. Other crew members share their experience so be sure to stop by the crew blog and see what they had to say.


Disclaimer: The views and opinions in this review are entirely my own. I was not paid to write this but received a complete set of of Who Am I? books free of charge to review, and give my honest opinion.

Week of Feb. 13th-17th

To Do this week:

Print lessons for the week
Fill workboxes (nightly)
"Who am I?" continue with Lesson 2 for Bible study
Continue study of "Black people who made their mark in History"
Sequential Spelling Days 101-105
Homophones
Classical Composer- Romantic Period: Antonin Dvorak
Astronomy: Continue w/chap. 13 Stars and Galaxies
Star Spangled Banner: New Jersey
Put up completed work
Pay school tuition, ect,
Write TOS review
Mail out Postcards for State Postcard Swap

See~N~Spell

Does your child have problems with misspelling words when he or she writes?  Do you often find yourself having to grab a dictionary to check the spelling of a word in your writing?  I have something to share with you that just may come in handy for you.


From the makers of See N Read is a product called See-N-Spell. The See N Spell Spelling and Vocabulary Quick Reference Guide “is designed based on the 300+ most common vocabulary words used in the American English language. It helps support correct spelling and language function of the most common words used daily”.


The See N Spell is a 40 page resource booklet. To help writers enhance spelling skills and expand academic vocabulary the guide is broken down into 3 parts:

1. It’s arranged in alphabetical order and organized into the most common language functions for the word.
2. Includes the most commonly misspelled words, arranged alphabetically for quick reference.
3. A section for your own Special Interest Words for quick reference.

This guide is very easy to use because all the words are in alphabetical order. Writers just turn to the page with the letter that the word begins with, scan the page to locate the correct word, then copy the correct spelling.  It’s just that simple.  The recommended ages are 4th grade to adult.  The price for the See N Spell is $9.99.


At the back of each See N Spell is a free See N Read Reading Tool.  It is “a practical remediation tool designed to help readers see, focus, and remember what they read. It reduces word and line- skipping as well as pattern glare (words appearing to move on the page)”.  This in return will help enhance reading fluency and improve reading comprehension. Click here to read more about the purpose behind this handy tool.

My son used his See N Spell when he was practicing his spelling words.  He really didn’t find the words he missed in the guide.  When he would write stories he wouldn’t challenge himself to use more words that he didn’t already know how to spell.  Hopefully as he matures he’ll get more use of it. I like having it around myself so it’s still getting some use.  The Reading Tool is great because sometimes he reads over words due to him reading too fast.  He has trouble focusing when there is too much on one page and the grayed out areas helps keep him on track. Be sure to stop by the crew blog and see what others had to say.



Disclaimer: The views and opinions in this review are entirely my own. I was not paid to write this but received a copy of See N Spell free of charge to review, and give my honest opinion.