Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
And then there were five
Sorry I have been MIA for a few weeks, but I had my baby!!
We are doing well and the kids have fallen completely in love with their baby brother. It has been a smooth transition.
Friday, February 7, 2014
39 weeks (so close!)
Valentine's Day is my due date. One more week to go (or so)! I am ready but not miserable so life is just rocking by ok for me. We do have some little things that need to get done- house cleaning, putting diapers away, getting the changing table upstairs, getting the cradle back, etc. but nothing big.
Yeah, I am exhausted in the picture. I have had a head cold for almost a week now and I am having even more trouble sleeping. Kaelyn loves to pick out my outfit every day and this pink striped shirt is her absolute favorite!
You won't get another pregnancy update until the baby is born, so sometime in a week or two look for some baby pictures!
You won't get another pregnancy update until the baby is born, so sometime in a week or two look for some baby pictures!
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Reading Eggs Review
Both of my kids have been able to check out Reading Eggs! Before I get into my review, here is a quick overview of the program by the company. About Reading Eggs
Reading Eggs provides a comprehensive range of online reading lessons and e - books that teach children aged 3 – 13 the literacy skills they need for lifetime reading success. There are 2 programs within Reading Eggs, Reading Eggs for 3 – 7 year olds and Reading Eggspress for 7 – 13 year olds.
Why Try Reading Eggs?
- 91% of parents have noticed an improvement in their child’s reading ability since using Reading Eggs • Includes over 1500 ebooks
- Compatible on PC, Mac, iPad and Android
- Money - back guaranteed Why Readin g Eggs works
- Developed by expert educators with 20+ years’ experience
- Based on solid scientific research
- The program makes learning phonics and basic reading skills fun for 3 – 13 year olds
- Your child can progress through the one - on - one lessons at their own pace
- Regular progress reports and assessments track your child’s learning
Reading Eggs
Full of educationally sound, fun and interactive activities, Reading Eggs focuses on the most fundamental skill needed in school – reading. Children from 3 – 7 years or older children struggling with reading will enjoy the huge variety of reading lessons, activities and games that make up the Reading Eggs program. In addition to the 120 reading lessons in Reading Eggs there is the Reading Eggs World which caters for children who already know the basics of reading but who still have much to learn about reading, writing, spelling, and comprehension. In the Reading Eggs World, children have their own house to decorate, a big shop and an avatar that can walk and travel to many new destinations on Reggie’s bus. Children are able to choose their own adventure from a wide range of activities and places to go, including the following content:- The Story Factory - this gives children an introduction to creative writing and they can put together stories to enter in a weekly story writing competition.
- Driving Tests - has 15 sight word tests, 15 letters and sounds test and 15 content word tests. Children are rewarded for correct completion with a driving game.
- Puzzle Park - children can access 32 word puzzles and practice sight word recognition.
- Skills Bank - holds 96 spelling lessons that take students up to the end of key stage 1.
- Storylands - this area builds reading, vocabulary and comprehension skills and is perfect for children who have begun to read but aren’t quite ready for Reading Eggspress. It currently includes 20 e - books to read.
- The Arcade - includes 24 arcade - style games to be used as rewards to motivate children to keep learning. They need to earn Golden Eggs to play these so encourages them to work through lessons and educational activities before using the arcade.
Reading Eggspress
Reading Eggspress continues the reading adventure by taking children to a brand new world designed for 7 – 13 year olds focusing on comprehension and grammar. Reading Eggspress provides a unique learning environment where students’ can improve their English language and comprehension skills in a way that is exciting and relevant. The Reading Eggspress program uses a spinning island which instantly engages children. They explore a complete world with a wide variety of both learning and fun experiences. The range of activities motivate students to return regularly to complete lessons, compete against others, earn more rewards and improve their skills. The Reading Eggspress website has an enormous range of learning resources, lessons, motivational games and e - books.There are 4 areas of the Reading Eggspress World:
- Library - the Reading Eggs press Library holds more than 15 00 e - books including illus trated chapter books, full - colo r nonfiction books and a range of classics. Children can search for books by topic, series, author, reading age or book title. New books are added regularly.
- The Comprehension Gym - children complete a placement test when they first visit the Gym which places students at the correct level for their current ability. The Gym holds 200 interactive comprehension lessons over five broad levels fro m years 2 to years 6 with 40 lessons per year level.
- The Stadium – children compete in real time against students from around the world. The exciting head - to - head contest test s skills in one of four areas – spelling, vocabulary, usage and grammar.
- Apartment and Mall - children can use their golden eggs to buy avatar clothes and apartment furniture. Within the apartment all the trophies, medals and trading cards children have collected can be viewed and children can also complete a 100 - level quest - style game to expand and refresh learning and earn more Golden Eggs.
Our Experience
Sebastian:"I love it! It is fun and I like to make my house. I have lots of eggs too."
This is a great fit for Sebastian (6 YO). He is reviewing things he has learned with me while also learning new concepts we haven't gone over yet. It is a great way to reward him after working hard in school. He doesn't even realize the games are educational! (or if he did, he doesn't mind)
Kaelyn:
"I like school!"
Kaelyn (3 YO) feels that she is a big girl when she plays Reading Eggs. She is able to play the games all by herself!I love listening to her say the sounds with the games, and singing songs. She loves to play this as well, and I like to use it as a distraction when I need to work with Sebastian one-on-one in school.
What I like about it:
- I can log in and let the kids go to town. I don't have to worry about the games and I know that they can play without my help.
- They are learning! They are learning and they like it. I use Reading Eggs as a reward for working hard in school because it is a great way to have fun without dulling their brains in front of a stupid TV show.
- They are constantly being challenged with concepts.
- I can see their progress
 |
| You can check out their progress and read their stories they write! This is a great way to check in on them. (click on the picture to see it larger) |
Get a 5-week Trial!
Right now, you can get a FREE five-week trial of Reading Eggs by going to http://readingeggs.com/vocab/
About the cause
 |
| *NCCS will earn a minimum of $25,000 from Reading Eggs plus 100% of the donations collected by RTCC participants |
How does the Read - To - Cure Challenge work?
Children sign up for a FREE5weektrialofReadingEggs. From February 3 to March 7 they are encouraged to complete as many books and Reading Eggs lessons as they can. Friends and family can sponsor their reading efforts, with all money raised going to the NCCS. What’s more, there are great prizes up for grabs for the top 3 children who read the most books and the top 3 children who raise the most funds!
Pricing
6 Month Subscription
Our 6 Month Subscription will give your child access to all parts of the growing Reading Eggs website. The cost of the subscription is $49.95.1 Year Subscription
Our 1 Year Subscription will give your child access to all parts of the growing Reading Eggs website. The cost of the subscription is $69 – that’s only $1.33 per week.Add a second or third child at the same time and receive 50% off their subscription price.
To read more reviews, check out Home & School Mosaics.
Three Things Thursday 2/6/14
Today I want to share with you three things that define who and what I am.
1. Catholicism.
Being a Catholic means I am a Christian and I take my faith very seriously. It defines every decision I make and influences my entire day. The biggest thing I try to do is live as Jesus wanted us to live: to love, honor, and serve God in this world so that I may live with him forever in Heaven.My Life Verse: Matthew 22:37-40
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
2. Music.
One day a few months ago, my son told me that I was "made of music." Nothing could be closer to the truth! I love music. I play violin/viola and I dabble with the piano. I am a music teacher; I dream in music; I am constantly singing or humming. Life without music would be empty! We almost always have music playing in our house, because I can't stand the quiet. I hate when people ask me who my favorite artist is, or what my favorite music style is. I love it all! Right now, I am in the mood for Ed Sheeran's I See Fire. When my kids are going insane and I need them to chill out for school time, I put on Faure, my favorite being Pavane, Op. 50. If we want to have a dance party, I might put on a violin cover of Daft Punk's Get Lucky. A couple months ago I was absolutely OBSESSED with Attaboy. My poor kids listened to that song non-stop for months. They are good to me and never complained. My taste is all over the place, and that makes my brain happy."When words fail, music speaks." ~Hans Christian Anderson
3. J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
If you even think you know me, than you would have to know of my obsession with Tolkien's works. I think I have read the Lord of the Rings trilogy half a dozen times, if not more. I have actually read The Hobbit less, maybe only four times or so. The movies, in my opinion, are brilliant. The music is moving and I think Peter Jackson did the books justice. These books are a wonderful allegory to my faith which just makes me love the stories that much more. To be honest, I would add The Chronicles of Narnia in here as well, because C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were very close and their styles are very similar. The Chronicles of Narnia are also an allegory, which I love.Why do I love these series? The stories are amazing. The characters are intriguing. The everything is awesome! I love Middle Earth and wish I could visit it. There is so much in these books that make me lose myself for a few hours while I read. The best part is that when all seems lost and that evil will win, goodness rises from the ashes unexpectedly and the world is saved. Everyone loves that!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
