The Reading Lesson was [...]]]> I love reviewing reading programs more then any other curriculum. I don’t think there is only one right answer. I think every child is different and different programs will work better for different children.  I was very excited when I was contacted to review “The Reading Lesson”.

Product

The Reading Lesson was created by husband and wife, Michael Levin, M.D. and Charan Langton, M.S. because they hadn’t found a program to teach their own two children to read that they loved. Their daughter Nina Levin, CEO now runs the company.

You can purchase the “The Reading Lesson” book alone and use it as a stand alone program or they have several additional products to help enhance the program. For my review, I received the following products…

The Reading Lesson book- There are 20 lessons in this book. Each lesson has between 15-23 pages in it. The suggested speed is, for children under five, one page per day, for children 5-6, 2-3 pages per day and  for children over 6, 3 or more pages per day. The lessons are not scripted. Each lesson has a few paragraphs of teacher instruction, sound introductions, new words, short stories for the child to read, and a few worksheets here and there.  The cost of this book is $27.95

Reading Lesson Animated CD, The storybook CD, and the Writing Lesson CD combo pack- The Reading Lesson Animated CD follows along with the lessons in the book.  They are interactive. The Storybook CD has 40 short stories for your child to read to go along with the lessons. The cost is $49.95

The Sounds of Letters DVD- This DVD teaches the sounds of letters through animations. It is 44 minutes in length…The cost of this DVD is $14.95

Verbal Math Lesson 1- There are 31 lessons. Each lesson has 2-5 exercises followed by word problems. Each Exercise has several questions, such as “Count up to 5 forwards and then backwards”. They get more difficult as you progress through the book, such as “Count backwards from 40 by 2″.  Topics covered are Zero, Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Place Value and Skip Counting. It is intended for children ages 4-7. The cost of this book is $14.95

Verbal Math Lesson 2-  There are 29 lessons. Each lesson has a several exercises followed by word problems. Each exercise has several questions, such as “Which number is larger, 54 or 45?”. They get more difficult as you progress through the book, such as “Count up from 31 to 55 by adding 4 (35, 39, 43, 47,51,55)”. Topics covered are Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division. It is intended for children ages 7-8. The cost of this book is $14.95

There website has several samples and freebies…

Experience

The Reading Lesson- I used this program with my 5 year old son Nathan starting at the beginning. I new that with his personality, we would need to take things very slow. We did one new page a day and repeated the previous page as review. This worked really well. As far as reading programs go, this is hands down the most low maintenance, easy to use program I have ever tried. Some pages take as little as one minute. He enjoyed these lessons because they were so fast. Although the program is super easy to use and gets major points for that, I didn’t feel like my son was really getting it. It jumps very quickly from individual sounds to sounding out words without any instruction on how to do this. Their website does state that the first 7 lessons can be hard for them to grasp, and to just stick with it. But that is nearly half the program. I would have liked to have some exercises in there to help him learn to blend sounds together.

I also used the program with my 8 year old daughter. She struggles with reading, so we started with lesson 10 and used the book as a reader. She also did the online activities.  She was able to blow through the lessons and I think it was great practice for her. It helped build her confidence as well. She preferred the online activities over the book.

“The Sounds of Letters” DVD was not a huge hit for my 8 year old or my 5 year old, but my 1 year old likes it a lot.

Unfortunately, “The Writing Lesson” came as a blank DVD-ROM. I tried contacting the company to have it replaced, but didn’t hear back from them. We didn’t really miss it though.

Verbal Math Lesson- I actually didn’t realize that I would be receiving these for the review. I just have to say that I am sooo glad that I did! They are my favorite part of the entire program. My kids love math, but they are not fond of writing math. These are a great way to teach math without making them dislike it. I just keep going until they seem to be getting bored and then we wait for another day. It is amazing how much math you can teach without using paper!

Verdict

Overall, we liked the program. If you are looking for something very simple to use, you definitely want to check it out. You can print the first two lessons out and use them with your child to see if it is a good fit for you. Although the extras are fun, I do not believe they are necessary. I love that it is a family owned business. I will be purchasing the 3rd Verbal Math Lesson book. I am giving “The Reading Lesson” 3 1/2 stars (almost 4 stars), but I give the “Verbal Math Lesson” 5 Stars!!

Fine Print

Our family received these products free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received Flowering Baby, LLC One to Two Year Olds from Flowering Baby, LLC as [...]]]> I have never felt the need to purchase a curriculum for a baby, but after reading some reviews on this product, I was intrigued. It sounded really fun and I decided to give it a try.

Product

I received Flowering Baby, LLC One to Two Year Olds from Flowering Baby, LLC as a PDF. Martha Saunders created Flowering Baby for her son with the help of her mother.

There are five books available for purchase, each is used for one year. You will receive a CD with a printable PDF on it. The cost is $30.00-$38.00 each or $132.00 for the entire set. She offers a free sample month on her website.

My review is for the One to Two Year Olds PDF only. Each day you do 1-3 activities such as reading a story to your child, listening to 15 minutes of classical music, helping your child waterpaint, singing a song, teaching them how to “knock” or introducing a word such as “underneath”.

The author was kind enough to offer one of my readers a Flowering Baby CD of your choice free of charge. Enter to win at the bottom of this post. You can also buy it now and receive 10% off your order by using the code “BLOG10″ when checking out.

Experience

Although, I was skeptical at first, I LOVE this product. Xanthe loves every minute of it. Xanthe is my 3rd child, and sometimes I need a little reminder to give her that special one on one time. She is usually in the baby carrier, so it seems like she gets plenty of attention. After doing this curriculum for a few weeks now, I truly feel that it has strengthened our relationship.

Because we started when she was 20 months old, we have been doing more then a day at a time (she begs for more). I will note that the curriculum seems pretty difficult at times. For example, in the 12 month section, it asks you to teach them the name of a few items and then follow an instruction. The instruction was something like “put the spoon under the box”. Sometimes Xanthe didn’t  fully comprehend what I was teaching her. I didn’t worry about this, I just moved on. She still enjoyed the experience and I am sure she picked up on some of it. The author does mention this on her website…

 ”Our program is very academically and cognitively rigorous.  For that reason we want you to feel comfortable to scale back or push ahead, as needed, to suit the needs, desires and abilities of your child”.

Verdict

I love this curriculum so much. I only wish we had started earlier, and used Martha’s curriculum for 0-12 month olds!

Giveaway

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Fine Print

We received this product free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

My Interactive Book of Mormon Stories Volume 1 was created by Natalie Sevents and Illustrated by Andrea Utley. It is a PDF download. The cost [...]]]> I am always looking for ways to entertain my kids during Sacrament Meeting at church. I was really excited when I found this downloadable book.

Product

My Interactive Book of Mormon Stories Volume 1 was created by Natalie Sevents and Illustrated by Andrea Utley. It is a PDF download. The cost is $9.99. You can print it out (includes print instructions) and then turn it into a bound book, file folder games, or stick it in a binder. The pages have removable pieces that add to the story. Each two page spread has a little story, a place to keep removable pieces, and a place to put them in the story.

Experience

I printed out two copies for my kids. I laminated them and bound them into books. I purchased wall putty to stick the pieces on. I originally planned on using velcro, but then I thought about how noisy velcro is!!! I also purchased dry erase crayons (one of the pages involves decoding). It is a great activity for kids anywhere, but is perfect for Sacrament Meeting. My kids really enjoyed it.

Verdict

We loved it!

Fine Print

My family received this product free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Life of Fred: Apples

Fantastic Math Series. My kids love learning math with this book. It is a really silly story about a 5 year old named Fred who is a math instructor at Kitten’s University. You get to go on all sorts of silly adventures with him.

Life of Fred: Apples

Fantastic Math Series. My kids love learning math with this book. It is a really silly story about a 5 year old named Fred who is a math instructor at Kitten’s University. You get to go on all sorts of silly adventures with him.

The Magician’s Nephew

Rylee and I read this series together and now we are all reading it again together now that Nathan is old enough to enjoy it.

We took a break from this series for awhile, but we are back to enjoying it again.

Josefina

Rylee loves all of the American Girl Stories.

How to Draw Life Under the Sea

How to Draw Forest Fairies

Rylee is enjoying these drawing books on her Kindle Fire.

Biscuits Snowy Day

Cute easy reader.

Harry Potter Series

She listens to this series over and over.

Beyonders

A new series for Rylee from the author of Fablehaven.

Beyonders: Seeds of Rebellion

Fablehaven Series

She listened to this series again.

Chasing Vermeer

Rylee read this again so that she could read the sequel.

The Wright 3

The sequel to: Chasing Vermeer.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

She has listened this book at least 30 times, probably more.

Harry Potter 1 -4

Nathan is reading Harry Potter books 1-4 again. I want him to wait a little longer before he reads the rest.

Greek Myths

Great book about Greek Myths. We have the audible book but we would rather have the paper copy because it has pictures.

Gingerbread Baby

Super cute story. Rylee and Nathan love it. Xanthe has a hard time getting through it.

Elmer’s Colors

This is a cute story about colors. I think it is a little confusing about which color it is talking about, but Xanthe likes it.

Color Zoo

She loves this book, We have read it several times.

Big Baby Book

This book seems so simple, but it has been each of my children’s absolute favorite. Even now Rylee and Nathan listen every time I read it to Xanthe.

What books are you reading? Link up if you like…

SunBreeze has an [...]]]> If I had to pick two items to put in a First Aid Kit, they would be SunBreeze and SunnyDew. My family has been using these products for over 20 years. My husband and I have experimented with them and I thought I would share some of the things they have worked really well for.

SunBreeze has an almost unlimited amount of uses. Please note: SunBreeze feels hot wherever you put it. This bothers some people more then others. My eight year old daughter doesn’t like it, but my 5 year old and 1 year old barely notice it.

Earaches: My absolute favorite use is for Earaches. When I was a child, I used to get swimmer’s ear every summer. It was so painful. The drops we received from the Dr. never helped at all. Finally, my grandmother, dipped a Q-tip into the SunBreeze Balm and rubbed it into my ear. It warmed up my ear and relieved most of the pain. I was able to fall asleep and when I woke up, the pain was gone. After that, each time that I went swimming, my mom would put some SunBreeze in my ear. I never had swimmer’s ear again. Since then I have used it many times on my own children. I have never had to give my kids antibiotics for earaches. I have recommended SunBreeze to friends and they have all had success. Again, I will warn you, SunBreeze gets hot (kind of like icy hot). It can feel uncomfortable. The worse the earache is, the less you notice. My kids used to complain that it hurt. I recommend putting it in your own ear before putting it in your child’s ear. It doesn’t hurt but it is very uncomfortable for a few minutes. It feels hot for about 30-45 minutes. My daughter likes for me to wait until she is sleeping to put it in her ears. But if her earache is really bad, she wants me to put it in right away. I even use it on my babies. The pain from an earache is so much worse then the discomfort from SunBreeze. Usually, the pain from the earache is mostly gone within an hour. I rarely have to give Sunbreeze a second time.

Runny Nose:  We put Sunbreeze on the roof of our mouth or in our nose (it burns a little in the nose) to totally clear our sinuses. You can also just smell it.

Sore Throat: We put a little on the back of our tongue to help relieve a sore throat.

Cough: We rub some on our chest and back and feet to help with coughs. I find it works a lot better if I firmly “whack” the child’s chest and back for a little while to help loosen the phlegm. Not too hard, I don’t want to hurt them. I cup my palm so that it doesn’t slap their skin.

Sore muscles/Nerve pain/Sprains: I rub on any area that hurts and it will make it feel better.

Toothache: My husband swears that this is the best remedy for a toothache. He fills the whole in his tooth with the SunBreeze balm after brushing.

Hemorrhoids: This burns! But it is a relief from the other pain from the hemorrhoids.

Mastitis: The heat is very soothing for Mastitis pain. It is like a hot pad.

Headaches/Migraines: We put on our temples, the back of our neck, our forehead to help with headache pain. Be careful not to get it in your eyes. It burns. The fumes can feel kind of like an onion if it is too close to my eyes, so I lay down and close my eyes if it is bugging me.

Stomach Pain: I rub some on my children’s stomach to help with all sorts of stomach pain.

SunnyDew does everything else.  SunnyDew is a  combination of stevia leaf extract and chrysanthemum flowers.

Small cuts/Sores: We use this instead of Neosporin. It works amazing. It is antibacterial. It has also completely gotten rid of weird dry spots. I haven’t ever had a child with eczema but this would be the first thing I would try on that. I would just squirt it on a couple times a day and see if it helps, it certainly wouldn’t hurt.

Fungus: It is also antifungus. We just squirt it on toenails or wherever fungus might be.

Yeast: And anti-yeast. This is the only treatment I have ever found to completely get rid of  Thrush. I just squirt a couple drops in baby’s mouth and a couple drops on my breast and rub around. I do this a few times a day until it goes away. It is so nice to not have to worry about washing it off before baby eats. You can squirt it anywhere there is a yeast problem.

Blood Sugar Regulation: A few drops on the tongue and I feel better if I go too long without eating. It is also a zero calorie sweetener that is good for me. Be Careful, a little goes a long way.

That is all the uses I can think of right now, but I am sure more will come to me. As you can see, these are incredibly versatile. I use several other remedies such as garlic, cayenne, onion, rasberry tea and lobelia as well, but Sunbreeze and SunnyDew are my go to favorites. I will do a post another time on some of the thing I use the others for.

How have you used SunnyDew or Sunbreeze? What is your favorite natural remedy?

One final note: I am not a doctor and I am just sharing what has worked for my family. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

I loved the idea of this book. I find the topic of religion fascinating, so I was excited to get started.

There are 40 chapters and each chapter is about 2-3 pages long. As the title implies, each chapter is designed to be read in about 15 minutes. The [...]]]>

I loved the idea of this book. I find the topic of religion fascinating, so I was excited to get started.

Product

There are 40 chapters and each chapter is about 2-3 pages long. As the title implies, each chapter is designed to be read in about 15 minutes. The first three chapters are an overview in religions, titled, What Is religion?, Why Learn About Other Religions?, and Christianity: What Sets It Apart?. After that each chapter goes into detail about specific religions. Some of the religions included are, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Native American Religions, Judaism: Today, Baha’i, Theravada Buddhism, Taoism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Transcendental Meditation.

Experience

When I first received the book I read the overview chapters and then, skipped to the chapter about  my religion… of course. I quickly read through that chapter and found many inaccuracies. After discovering this about my own religion, it was hard for me to believe anything I was reading about the other religions. I wanted to enjoy this book. It was a great idea. The writing was very interesting. I just wish I new whether it was accurate or not. I think the author should have double checked the facts a little better. I cannot say if the other religions were accurate or not, I can only speak for mine, Chapter 36, titled Mormonism.

Verdict

I give this book 1 star, because I didn’t feel like I could trust the author. The concept of the book was great and the writing was fun and interesting.

Fine Print

I received this book from Bethany House free of charge in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are my own.

I have been giving a lot of thought lately about all of the things my family takes for granted. We spend money on things such as clothes and in the same week we are donating bags of clothes simply because we do not like the style. I have been trying to think [...]]]> A little background:

I have been giving a lot of thought lately about all of the things my family takes for granted. We spend money on things such as clothes and in the same week we are donating bags of clothes simply because we do not like the style. I have been trying to think of ways that we can consume less. I decided that I am going to try second hand shopping and see what happens. I have been a little bit of brat about this in the past. I am not a fan of shopping at stores like Ross and Marshall’s because I like to walk in a store, see what they have to offer, grab it and get out of there. I try it on at home and then bring it back if it doesn’t work out. Looking through racks of stuff has never been enjoyable for me. I also typically like to buy things that will last because I do not want to have to shop a lot (not my idea of a good time), so I do not usually buy things from lower quality stores. I am admitting to this so that you can see that shopping at thrift stores is going to be a bit of a stretch for me. But I think it will be a good stretch.

My first trip to a Thrift Store (since deciding to try my little experiment):

It took me about two hours to go through the sections of the store that interested me. I was getting a feel for the layout of the store. I ended up buying about 10 clothing items and some canning jars. The clothing pieces were almost all new with tags on. I was planning on taking a photo before I washed them, but I totally forgot. For now on, I will photograph my finds. I have to say I was shocked at how much fun I had. I normally hate shopping. It was like looking for treasures. Sure there was a lot of yucky stuff, but then I would find something fun and get all excited. I honestly cannot remember the last time I had fun shopping, I cannot wait to go again.

Do any of you have any tips for me? Have you tried this?

Link up if you posted about great finds this week…