The Celiac Kid -- A Review

The Celiac Kid is a delightful children's book about celiac disease. Written from a child's perspective, this book explains celiac disease in simple terms that a child can understand. 


Written by Stephanie Skolmoski, the book begins by explaining that the boy with celiac disease is a "regular kid" who likes to do regular kid things. The only thing his body can't do is handle gluten. He has to be careful about what he eats so that his body can stay healthy. Luckily, the people who love and care for him are there to help. It explains how his body works and how he can work around special occasions with his own special treats.


Illustrated by Anneliese Bennion, the book has simple colorful drawings to help tell the story. The child telling the story is a Super Smart Celiac Kid and is portrayed with a star on his shirt and a super hero cape. What I like best about the pictures is that all of the children are smiling.


I loved the positive aspect of this book. It didn't just dwell of what The Celiac Kid can't do, it also said what he can do.


For more information on how to get this book for yourself, go to DesignAbility Books or Amazon. 


Disclaimer: This was a review of my experience with the product described. I tried to give a complete and honest assessment. In order to review the product, I received a free copy of the book with no additional compensation. This in no way influenced my review of the product. The opinions expressed are my own and were not affected or edited by anyone prior to publishing.


The grass is green. It’s good to be
 





date Thursday, March 31, 2011
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Hubcaps and School Pictures




Last week on my Tiny Talk Tuesday, I said, "It has been a while since I've posted any of my Tiny Talk Tuesdays. I hope I remember all of them to share with you." Well, I forgot to tell you two of them.


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On the princess' birthday, Prince Charming was teasing her about not having a present for her. He was seated on a bench and she was standing on it beside him. She had one hand on the back of his head, had her head side-by-side against his, and was stroking his beard on the other side of his face. He was denying that he had a present and she was gently insisting that he did. I was laughing at the whole scene. Prince Charming said, "I'm going to miss this when you're married." To which the princess replied, "Daddy, I'm only five!"

****


While we were at the Civil War Era school, we saw a bush with beautiful pink flowers on it. One of the other moms gardens a lot. So, I asked if it was a Camellia. She said that it was and the prince said, "It's not a chameleon. That's an animal."


****


Fast forward to this week:

We were in the local "mart" getting a few things. As we walked past an aisle, the prince stepped in a few feet and said, "Look Mama, hubcaps." That would have been a great find for him ... had we been in the auto department. However, we were in the kitchen area, and he was looking at drip pans for an electric stove.


****


The princess was watching a cartoon about school pictures this week. I knew the show was okay for them to watch and just listened from the other room. When the show ended, the prince said, "Mama, can we have school picture day?"  Then, I said, "Sure. We can have school picture day." Then, I thought, "with all two students in your school."


****


I'm linking to Tiny Talk Tuesday so you can see what other cute things the children are saying. 


The grass is green. It’s good to be
 

date Tuesday, March 29, 2011
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Big IQ Kids -- Review

Big IQ Title Banner
Title: Big IQ Kids Website

Target Ages: Grade K - 8
Format: on-line
Price: free or fee-based based on programs options  
You can learn about the options here.


From the Big IQ website:

BigIQkids Programs
Spelling: With a over 30,000 word dictionary, SpellingTime comes pre-loaded with 40 lessons for K-8th grade appropriate word lists. Or, as a parent or teacher, you can easily enter your own word lists and SpellingTime will automatically create a week’s worth of lessons, quizzes and tests around your own list with the goal of achieving 100% on the Friday spelling test.
Math: You can set up a child's lesson to mirror what they are doing in their current curriculum. For example, if the child is on double digit addition and single digit multiplication, the program can focus on just these two areas providing invaluable practice and reinforcement that is certain to provide them with the tools to ace their next test. Or, BigMathTime can automatically generate grade specific and subject specific lessons as per your requirements.
Vocabulary: With an extensive library of elementary through SAT prep words, BigVocabTime comes pre-loaded with word lists OR, as a parent or teacher, you can easily enter your own word lists and the program will automatically create a week’s worth of lessons, quizzes and tests around your own list with the goal of achieving 100% on the week’s vocabulary test.
U.S. States: Every elementary student will be confronted with the need to know their US State facts to mastery. BigStatesTime is the ultimate tool in learning the state's location, capital, spelling, abbreviations and general state facts. The program allows parents/teachers to add additional facts which will be included in the child's lessons and the program culminates in a “State Mastery Exam” that, if passed with 100% mastery, awards the child a State Master Certificate.
Big IQ Kids
The Queen's Assessment:
We used the Math, Spelling, and U.S. States portions of this site as a supplement to our regular curriculum.


In the math section, I was able to customize the worksheets. I determined which percentage of each operation, which fact family to work on, and how many problems were on each sheet. While doing the online worksheet, the student is given an immediate feedback as to whether the answer is correct. If incorrect, the correct answer is given. The prince liked doing these worksheets. He liked to watch the "thumbs up" signs to indicate a correct answer. I liked that the ability to customize the sheets. I would have liked to be able to work on more than one fact family at a time. The prince would even groan if he had what appeared to be all of one fact family.


The spelling section was great. Again, it was customizable. As the teacher, I was able to delete the built-in words and add words that were in our spelling plan for the week. The prince really liked the spelling. He liked the little cartoon characters that popped up between each question. I thought it was really interesting that no matter which words I chose to enter, BigIQKids had example sentences at-the-ready to use with the lessons. 


The U.S. States was another part that the prince liked. Our history lesson has been an overview of U.S. history including trivia about each state. This gave a review of what we were learning already and an intro to what we have yet to learn.


Another area that is customizable is the rewards section. For each lesson completed, the student can be rewarded with coins to play the available games. I say "can be rewarded" because this can also be turned to a "weekend only" option or turned off all together. I found this as a great motivator for the prince to finish his lessons. He actually had some days where it was all we could do to stay focused to get through the lessons. (He is a 7-year-old boy, after all.) Imagine his surprise to come back and find that he had 9 coins saved!!!  I found some of the games hard to understand, a few were just weird, and one had a naked guy on a bicycle. Granted, ""Naked Guy" was a cartoon and you couldn't tell if he was anatomically correct. BUUUUT: he was still there, and I thought you should know.


Other Homeschool Crew Members reviewed this product. Be sure to find out what they thought at The Homeschool Crew Blog.



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Disclaimer: This was a review of my experience with the product described. I tried to give a complete and honest assessment. In order to review the product, I received a free trial of the program with no additional compensation. This in no way influenced my review of the product. The opinions expressed are my own and were not affected or edited by anyone prior to publishing.


The grass is green. It’s good to be
 

date Friday, March 25, 2011
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Civil War & A Birthday




It has been a while since I've posted any of my Tiny Talk Tuesdays. I hope I remember all of them to share with you.


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Back in February, we were studying the Civil War. Coincidentally, some homeschool friends of ours were also studying the Civil War. They borrowed a chest of Civil War memorabilia and invited other homeschoolers to come for a day of sharing. Homeschoolers were invited to study about a figure during the Civil War, make a poster and speech about that person, participate in a debate about an issue relevant to the war, and have a re-enactment. Unfortunately, the prince had a fever the day before the event. So, we stayed home that day. 


As I was telling my father-in-law about the sickness and the missed event, he mentioned that his great-grandfather was in the Civil War. The conversation went like this:
Father-in-law: My great-grandfather was in the Civil War. He got shot in the back of the head.
Prince (indignantly): That's not fair.
My father-in-law went on to say that the Union doctors put a silver dollar in the bullet hole and put him in prison. We are still trying to determine why they would put a silver dollar in the wound.


Fast-forward to today: The students who made posters took them to a Civil War Era school in our town. The posters will be on display for visitors to see. Since we didn't have a poster, we met them there to see their posters and see the school for the first time. As they got their posters ready for display, we looked around. I pointed out some costumes and such that were on display. We started in the parlor and went to the dining room. When we got to the dining room, the prince became the tour guide. Gesturing to the exterior door, he said, "Mama, this is what they would called the 'back door.' "


I was looking at a poster on top of what I assume was the buffet for storing the precious china and silver. The princess noticed the key in the buffet. She said, "Look Mama. It is just like The Indian in the Cupboard." Yes, it was very similar to the key in the movie and only she would notice.


****


Last week, the princess had a birthday. She was really excited about turning 5. At one point, she asked if she could have some juice. I went to the pantry to get a new bottle of juice, and the conversation began:
Princess: Mama, there is some right there. (pointing to the kitchen counter)
Me: Yes, there is. I did not see that.
Princess: It's a good thing you have a 5-year-old to tell you.

Later in the week, we went shopping. As she trailed behind the prince and me, I kept hearing, '"Wait for the 5-year-old."


****

One day that week, the prince complained of his ear hurting. He kept touching it, and I decided that we needed to go to the doctor. Yep, he had an ear infection. While at the doctor, we saw several cute babies. During the visit to the pharmacy, we saw more cute babies. The princess has "baby radar." She can see them before I realize that anyone is around. On the way home, she said, "Country kids can track down babies by the sounds of their screams ... but not me. I can scream really loud." I'm not sure that it was a logical sentence, but true nonetheless!

****


I'm linking to Tiny Talk Tuesday so you can see what other cute things the children are saying. 


The grass is green. It’s good to be
 

date Tuesday, March 22, 2011
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Happy Birthday Princess

Her fifth birthday and her first John Deere.
Her cupcakes were so easy to make that she made most of them.*
* watch for a post of these directions soon


The grass is green. It’s good to be
 

date Tuesday, March 15, 2011
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I See Sam -- Review

Title: I See Sam Little Book Reading Program

Target Ages: Grade K - 3.6 reading level
Format: books
Price: $150.00 or priced separately  

The Early Childhood Reading sample pack includes:
  • Little Books Sets 1-4 (91 different books)
  • Little Books Instructor's Guide
  • Little Books Placement and Assessment Manual
  • Four Little Books Set Holder
  • Tracking Sheets and Completion Certificates
The Instructor's Guide and YouTube video will help to guide you in using this reading program. 

Each short book begins with practice of sounds and words that will be used in that book. After the story, there are words to practice before moving on to the next story. In certain books, there is also a "Looking Back" assessment that will review sounds and words from previous books. Each book also has margin notes to remind the teacher to give positive praise and to ask questions to make sure the student is understanding the passage he read. You can get a free sample book here.

The Queen's Assessment:
Having never used a formal reading program, I didn't know what to expect with this review. 

It was very easy to use. The placement and assessment manual was very helpful in helping us determine with which set of books to start. The prince originally tested lower than I thought he would. After a couple of books at that level, I re-assessed him and placed him higher.  

We both loved this program. The prince enjoyed the stories, and I enjoyed watching him read without complaining. We made it part of our regular school time and not something that we would get to later in the day. Many times, he would choose to do reading as his first subject of the day. I've also noticed that he is attempting to read bigger words in everyday life  ... without being prompted. 


The prince did not like the "Looking Back" assessments. I think this had more to do with his not liking "timed" events. He could read fine and often finished before the allotted time with few or no errors. 

I'm already thinking about when to start the princess on this program. Right now, she is learning some 3-letter words and trying to read books and papers that are meant for much older students. I think I feel a summer school project coming on!





Other Homeschool Crew Members reviewed this product. Be sure to find out what they thought at The Homeschool Crew Blog.

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Disclaimer: This was a review of my experience with the product described. I tried to give a complete and honest assessment. In order to review the product, I received a free trial of the program with no additional compensation. This in no way influenced my review of the product. The opinions expressed are my own and were not affected or edited by anyone prior to publishing.


The grass is green. It’s good to be
 

date Monday, February 28, 2011
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Math Rider -- REVIEW

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Title: Math Rider Computer "Game"

Vendor: Math Rider
Target Ages: anyone needing to learn or sharpen basic math facts
Format: downloadable program
Price: $37.00   with a 30-DAY MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE

I have been looking for something that will give the prince some math practice without being all worksheets and flash cards. I was so glad to get the chance to review Math Rider. This fun computer-based game gives students a chance to practice basic facts of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The game is set up as a student riding a horse through the MATHLANDS on a quest for various things. In the way, are hurdles that must be jumped. Each hurdle has a math equation attached to it. For the horse to successfully navigate the jump, the rider has to solve the equation before the rider gets to it. The computer responds to the student. If the student is answering quickly, another hurdle will appear. The faster the student answers, the more points he receives. There are bonus points for answering a certain number of equations in a series and for answering all questions quickly.


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The Queen's Assessment:
Like I said, I was really looking forward to this review. I thought the prince would jump at the chance to do "computer games" instead of worksheets.  


Our first attempt at Math Rider was met with excitement. We tried for one session. He made it through 2 parts of the first quest. Remember how I said the computer responds to the speed of the answers given? Well, once the horse reaches the hurdle, the next problem is presented. This proved to be a challenge for the prince. During the third part of his first quest, the computer actually suggested that he ask for help. I think he gets a little anxious about timed events. Add to that a struggle to get the right answer, and he was frustrated. 


So, we took a break for a couple of weeks and focussed just on getting the basic facts right with worksheets, flashcards, and a homemade game. I studied the simple user's guide for Math Rider, and found out how to re-set it to start at the lowest level. When the prince came back to Math Rider, he was much more confident and was able to continue. He found that he was getting extra points for answering quickly and that made it all the more fun.


A report of progress is listed at the top of each quest as you go. In addition, as each ride is completed, a series of bars is presented to show how the student did. The green bars are for problems completed with no problems and red bars are for problems missed. The student can click on the red bars to see which problems they should work on. By just rolling over the bars, a window will indicate if you were slower than your previous time answering that problem. 


At the starting point, there is a map of how far the rider has gone on the present quest. There is also a cue for practice runs, and a progress report. Again, parent/teacher and student can see which problems need more practice.  


When our review period is over, I will seriously consider using this for more math practice. We do have subtraction, multiplication, and division to get to.


You can find a video of the game here.

Other Homeschool Crew Members reviewed this product. Be sure to find out what they thought at The Homeschool Crew Blog.

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Disclaimer: This was a review of my experience with the product described. I tried to give a complete and honest assessment. In order to review the product, I received a free trial of the program with no additional compensation. This in no way influenced my review of the product. The opinions expressed are my own and were not affected or edited by anyone prior to publishing.


The grass is green. It’s good to be
 

date Friday, February 25, 2011
comments 0 Comments
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