A Stable Beginning

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Friday, January 7, 2011

007 ~ 365 Birthday cake inspiration

I am attempting to make Mikayla’s 8th birthday cake with marshmallow fondant that I saw on Tracy’s blog. Since the uneven bars are her favorite apparatus they will be my main focus. So far so good, the cake is coming along :-)

TOS Review ~ See -N-Read

Do you have a child just learning to read or one that has trouble staying focused? Do you sometimes get a bit distracted while reading yourself? Well, See-N-Read may just be the product to help you out. See-N-Read has been researching for over three years in the fields of reading, dyslexia, and visual and cognitive processing and has created a special tool to help the reader stay focused and on task.

The See-N-Read has a clear window to help readers see and concentrate on one section of reading at a time without loosing their place. This helps to eliminate the frustration in new readers and old readers alike and also helps to increase fluency and comprehension. I was able to use the See-N-Read with my preschooler while reading to her. It is a great tool to separate the words so she can begin to recognize the sight words we are learning.

Do you frequently make marks or notes in books? See-N-Read also has a Memorymark tool made from the same material as the reading window,but it has a reading window that is cut out. This cut out makes it perfect for highlighting or underlining text in a nice, neat fashion.

See-N-Read and Memorymark are both available in two sizes:

$2.99 for a book sized 3 1/2” x 5” ~ for small books and chapter books
$3.49 for a document sized 3 1/2” x 8 1/2” ~ for large books and documents

The company also makes an eSee-N-Read for use on the computer. It sells for $29.99 and is compatible with Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Vista, Vista 64, and Windows 7 operating systems. There is also a Mac OSX version coming soon. All products can be found at the See-N-Read website.

We enjoyed this tool and I foresee many years of usage from this product as my two youngest learn to read in the years ahead. To see what other members of The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew thought, click HERE.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse 2010-2011 Crew and as such received a copy of See-N-Read in exchange for a thorough and honest review. Though I am compensated with free products, I am not compensated in the form of cash for my reviews. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but are not influenced by the company or the free product provided .

Thursday, January 6, 2011

006 ~ 365 The red nosed reindeer

On our way to co-op this morning we were greeted by this GIGANTIC Rudolph. I literally pulled the van to a screeching halt in the middle of the road. I don't think this picture does it any justice, It was as big as the house! Now the girls have decided this Rudolph needs to grace our front yard… ummm NO!!!