Our Current Read-Alouds ~ The Underland Chronicles

For the past few weeks the kids and I have been reading together a lot. A LOT. There have been some stretches where we will read a few hours. Or we’ll grab a short snippet of time here and there ~ where ever we can!

A series that has had us all captivated is The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins {moms with older kids may recognize her name from the Hunger Games book}. We borrowed the first book from the library and after 1/3 of the book I went ahead and purchased all of the books to keep on our shelf {Amazon had a lovely 4-for-3 deal!}.

Currently we’re reading Gregor and the Prophecy of the Bane. Two of the kids have been sneaking the book off to read ahead. We’re just about ready to wrap it up and I’ll be honest and tell you that even I am enjoying it. Even though there are rats and cockroaches and bats. Big, giant creatures that live under our world {shudder}.

A little over a week ago we lost power for the evening and we all snuggled up under blankets in the living room with a lantern and read together. That night {and the fun} is burned in my mind and just makes me smile when I remember the kids all laughing at what was happening in the story and their cries to start the next book immediately as we finished the story.

I love that the kids are so excited to be read to, want to race ahead to read the next book, and are SITTING STILL and really listening!! Typically, I have a hard time staying awake {even when I am the reader}, but this has infused some caffeine into me as well. I’m having fun using different voices for characters, helping the kids catch the subtle humor when a line is delivered correctly ~ so many little things! 

What have been some of your favorite books to read along as a family? We’re going to need more when we finish up these books! :)

 

 

 

Visit these great companies!

• Grapevine Studies ~ stick figure your way through the Bible
• Time 4 Learning ~ online education for PreK to 8th grade

 

How to Read Kindle Books without a Kindle Device

Many days I post any free Kindle books I’ve found on my Facebook page. Frequently though, readers comment that they wish they could read the books ~ but they don’t own a Kindle.

Guess what? You do NOT need to own a Kindle to download the free Kindle books or to read them! How wonderful is that news?

Reading Apps for the Kindle

While I LOVE my Kindle e-reader that was purchased a little over a year ago, Amazon offers several other options for reading the books without owning a Kindle device. Here are a few:

~ Kindle app for your iPad, iTouch or Droid
~ Kindle for your PC or Mac
~ Kindle Cloud Reader 

Why I Love My Kindle

Aside from the convenient size of my Kindle {it fits in my purse with room to spare}, the biggest plus for me is the lack of backlighting. I have a hard time falling asleep after too much ‘screen time’ and the fact that it is much like an actual book page helps me out so much. In the summer, the text also shows up great in bright sunlight. 

Looking for a Kindle E-Reader?

If you are in the market for a Kindle there are several different options available for you to choose from, ranging in price from $79 to $189 with free s/h {I’d recommend the ones on the low end!!}. Although I have a Kindle without the special offers, I actually added them to my Kindle because they occasionally have some great deals.

~ Kindle e-reader w/ Special Offers {$79} or Kindle w/ wifi only {$109}

~ Kindle Touch w/ Special Offers {$99} or Kindle Touch w/ wifi only {$139}

~ Kindle Keyboard 3G w/ Special Offers {$139} and Kindle Keyboard w/ wifi and 3G {$189}.

~ Kindle Fire with backlighting {$199}

Note: There are other options for the Kindle as well, these are just a few of them.

Looking for Free Books for the Kindle?

On my blog No Ordinary Moments, I have a widget with the latest free Christian books for Kindle to release as freebies.

 

Although I check daily and pull books off when they are no longer free, please be sure to check the price before you add it to your cart.  New books are updated daily on my Facebook page, but you may want to visit my blog at least once a week since I will be update it several times a week!

Note: Many of the Kindle freebies are also available as free downloads from Barnes & Noble for Nook readers also. I just typically spend most of my time on Amazon {ahem}.

 

 

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All About Reading Level 1 Review

You all ~ the wait for All About Reading Level 1 program has been so amazingly worth it.  We loved the All About Reading Level Pre-1 program and this is a wonderful next step in the reading process with Kaleb!

      

Program Basics

 

All About Reading Level 1 is a program for beginning readers. It picks up where the Pre-1 reading program ends ~ when children know their uppercase and lowercase letters as well as letter sounds and are ready to put the sounds together to make words. If you aren’t sure where to start your child, you can use the Reading Readiness Checklist to help you decide.

All About Reading focuses on phonological awareness, decoding skills, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary and lots and lots of reading practice. Similar to the other programs from All About Learning Press, the Teacher’s Manual includes step-by-step directions, so there is no guesswork in what you need for each lesson or how to teach the concepts covered.

Each of the 49 lessons include hands-on practice using letter tiles, word cards, fun games, and activity sheets to go along with the day’s lesson. Lessons can be tailored to meet the needs of your child ~ review concepts as often as you need to in order to know that they are being retained.

   

{playing letter sound bingo}

Each lesson takes about 20 minutes to work through and then another 20 minutes of reading to your child is recommended. We usually divide up our time and read at different points during the day, instead of doing it all in one block of time.

 

Sight words are incorporated in to the program {so far Kaleb has learned ‘the’ and ‘a’}. They are treated as ‘Rule Breakers’ and given special treatment. :) Kaleb has loved this part of the program, to the point that he came running into my bedroom early one morning and woke me up when he found ‘the’ on something that he was playing with ~ ‘It’s a rule breaker!!!’

And the moment you want to do a happy dance {and actually do??}. When your child picks up a book, sits down with you and reads a real, honest-to-goodness story to you for the very first time. It just makes a mommy’s heart happy and there is much rejoicing to do!

 

 

I have also been using the program with Zachary {2nd grade} to help increase his reading fluency. Reading has never been a favorite part of his day, but his fluency has already greatly improved in the weeks that we’ve used it and it’s also built up his confidence in his reading abilities. He’s on the ‘fast track’ through the program, but part of his motivation has been seeing his younger brother start doing things that he was more recently complaining about {grins}.

Quick tip: Not sure if you should start out with All About Reading or All About Spelling? While the two programs go hand-in-hand, children generally move ahead more quickly in reading, so I recommend starting with All About Reading first.

 

The All About Reading Level 1 Kit comes with the following items: {Regularly $107.70, currently on sale now for $99.95}

• Teacher’s Manual 
• Student Packet {includes word cards and an Activity Book}
• Run, Bug, Run! reader
• The Runt Pig reader
• Cobweb the Cat reader

         

You will also need a Reading Interactive Kit to complete the program. Choose between the Deluxe Reading Interactive Kit {$48.95} or the Basic Reading Interactive Kit {$28.95} ~ or buy the pieces individually. The reading kits are a one-time purchase and will be used in all levels of the program.

Quick Tip: If you currently use any of the All About Spelling programs, the letter tiles are the same, so you may only need a few additional components to complete the kit.

A Few More Thoughts…

One thing that we all look at is the initial price of the program, and while it is a bit more, it truly is worth it. Here are a few of my thoughts on it:

• The bulk of the components are non-consumable {only the Activity Book and the smiling star stickers cannot be used again}. This means that you can use the program with children coming up through the ranks or eventually re-sell it to another mom.
• The program is completely laid out and lessons are scripted, so you can just relax and not worry about planning!
• Minimal prep-work. The word cards are perforated, but need to be torn apart and the letter tiles need to be assembled with magnets. Once that is done, you can grab your manual and go.
• The ‘Go Ahead and Use It One-Year Guarantee’. You and your child have a full year to try out the program! If you find that the curriculum does not meet your needs, simply return the materials at any time within one year of purchase for a full refund of your purchase price.

I can honestly tell you all that we have all of the products from All About Reading and All About Spelling, use them daily, and love them tremendously. Their curriculum is one of the first that really got me excited about teaching and I KNOW that they are getting solid teaching using the programs!

 

Visit these great companies!

• Betty Luckens ~ educational and fun felt sets for children
• Weekly Homeschool Planner ~ manage and organize your homeschool day, year after year

 

Disclosure ~ I received parts of the program for review in exchange for my honest review. I already owned several of the components and have been using products from this company and love using them with my family. I was not paid for this review.

All About Reading Level Pre-1 Deluxe Giveaway ~ a $120 value!

The new All About Reading site has been launched and to celebrate, All About Learning Press is offering one of my readers an amazing giveaway ~  the All About Reading Level Pre-1 Deluxe Package, a $119.95 value!!

You are going to LOVE this!!

All About Reading Level Pre-1 was designed for children in preschool and kindergarten to prepare children for reading. It focuses on the Big 5 Skills {the five fundamental pre-reading skills}: letter knowledge, phonological awareness, print awareness, listening comprehension, and motivation to read. It includes reading activities, cds, crafts, and SO much more!

Read my in-depth review of All About Reading Level Pre-1 here.

{We love Ziggy, yes we do!}

Here’s how you can win…

To enter all you have to do is tell me ONE of the three extra components that is in the All About Reading Level Pre-1 Deluxe Reading Package. That’s it! If you already own it, enter anyway ~ you can bless a friend if you win! :)

If you’ve been wanting to buy it, but worried you might win it ~ buy it!! If you win, I’ll refund your money!!

Want to earn a few extra entries? Give yourself an extra entry for each of the following:

• Subscribe via email to Homeschool Creations {that’s me}
• Visit All About Reading on Facebook {tell them I sent you over!}
• Send out a tweet or a note via Facebook {you can copy/paste the message below}:

Enter to win a Deluxe All About Reading Level Pre1 Package from @marierippel & @jolantheerb ~ details here: http://bit.ly/q5yKsu

• Click on the banner below and grab the free activity book to see JUST how cute Ziggy is {if you’ve already downloaded it, give yourself an entry}.

Additional Information

The giveaway will be open until 8pm EST Sunday, August 28th, 2011. Winner will be announced by Thursday, September 1, 2011. This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only.

All About Reading Program on Lifetime’s The Balancing Act!

Not too long ago I shared my review of All About Reading's Pre-1 program with you all. On June 14th, Marie Rippel was on the Lifetime show The Balancing Act sharing about pre-reading skills and the story of the program.

Below is a little clip of her appearance where she shares more with viewers. Pay attention around 3:38 of the clip for a few familiar faces!! :)

All About Reading also has two FREE activity e-books featuring the Zigzag Zebra that you can download from their site. Be sure to check them out!

You can read my review of the All About Reading Pre-1 program here.

Reading Challenge Charts ~ Free Printables

I’ve shared these before, but we’ll be printing off our summer reading challenge charts soon {and laminating them} to track our reading this summer. We use these with our kids as incentives for them to read on their own or with one of us.

And yep. We give ‘em treats for reading. Sometimes it’s a little something from the Dollar Tree. Or a root beer float. Or whatever is fun at the time.

There are free downloads for the spring, summer, fall and winter months. All Reading Challenge Chart downloads can be found by clicking here!

All About Reading Level Pre-1 Review

A little over a month ago we started working ‘full-time’ on the All About Reading Level Pre-1. I had been anxiously waiting for the release of the program for many months and was really excited to see the completed product.

Why? Because I had fun helping create the ABC crafts for the program!! Last fall, I was sent some sneak peeks of the rhymes included with All About Reading Level Pre-1 and helped put crafts together that went specifically along with the rhymes.

Kaleb and I had fun ‘testing’ out many of the crafts in December, but I can honestly say they are MUCH more fun when we get to do them along with the actual reading program itself!

About the All About Reading Level Pre-1 Program

This reading program for preschool and kindergarten age children focuses on the “Big Five Skills” or five skills that are important for children to have in place before they begin to read. Those five are letter knowledge {recognizing letters and knowing names}, phonological awareness {hearing and identifying parts of words}, print awareness {knowing text has meaning}, listening comprehension, and motivation to read.

All About Reading Level Pre-1 includes an in-depth Teacher’s Guide that walks you through the “Big Five Skills”, providing tips for each lesson in the program along with step-by-step instructions for each letter lesson. The lessons walk through the alphabet letter by letter in ABC order starting with uppercase letters and then move to lowercase letters.

Lessons include poem readings, an ABC craft focused on the letter your child is learning, special games, and many additional activities to do together. There are go-along picture and activity cards that are used with the lessons as well as audio books and a cd-rom too. You can view sample lessons at the bottom of the All About Reading Level Pre-1 page.

There will be future levels of the All About Reading program coming too! The next level is scheduled to release in June of 2011.

My Thoughts

It’s probably no surprise that we are loving the program! One of the biggest hits of all has been including the Ziggy the Zebra puppet in all that we are doing! When Kaleb has his ‘school time’ he knows exactly where the our reading bag is, grabs it and waits for me in ‘our chair’ to do his school time.

Although we’d already worked on quite a few of the letter crafts, Kaleb was even more excited doing them this time around because they tied into something that we had read together and were ‘learning’. One of the biggest hits has been the go-along activities and picture cards that we use with each lesson {part of both packages}.

The ABC crafts are simple to do also {yes, they were planned that way!!}. The majority of the items used in the crafts are things that can be found easily in your house or without difficulty at your local store {yarn, glue, tinfoil, construction paper, crayons, watercolors, salt, etc…}. I put together a basket with all of the supplies that were needed and pull it out when we are working on the letter crafts.

We didn’t have anything like the All About Reading Level Pre-1 to use with our older three children {otherwise known as ‘winging it’}. I pieced together things for them and while they have all learned to read, I LOVE the simplicity of the program and the fact that it is all put together in one place for me to quickly gather and use. The only consumable part of the program is the ABC craft book, so it can be used again with younger children, or multiple children if you want to purchase an additional craft book.

Find Out More

The All About Reading Level Pre-1 Basic package includes {you will need to add your own puppet and index card box}:

• Teacher's Manual (208 pages)
• Student Material Packet
  • My Book of Letters and Sounds Activity Book (192 pages)
  • Picture Cards
  • Letter Sound Cards
  • Capital Letter Alphabet Chart
  • Lowercase Letter Alphabet Chart
• The Zigzag Zebra: a rhyming alphabet hardcover book
• Lizard Lou: rhymes old and new hardcover book
• Divider Cards {to keep Picture Cards and Letter Sound Cards organized}
• "Letter Sounds A to Z" CD-ROM.

The All About Reading Level Pre-1 Deluxe package includes the above items and also:

• Ziggy the Zebra puppet
• a charming Activity Box to hold your student's learning cards
• All About Reading tote bag to keep your components organized

This post is included in the Homeschool Curriculum Review Roundup.

New All About Reading Program!!

Tomorrow the All About Reading Level Pre-1 program will be released! Level Pre-1 teaches preschoolers and kindergarteners a very specific set of skills that we call the Big Five Skills. These five skills help young children understand the basics of language and how it works, preparing them to learn to read.

With All About Reading Level Pre-1, your child will play special games, enjoy little crafts, and engage in charming storytime activities--all the while absorbing these all-important Big Five Skills.

To celebrate, they are giving away TWO free e-books for preschool and kindergarten children: In the Kitchen with the Zigzag Zebra and Safari Stories with the Zigzag Zebra.

I’ve seen bits and pieces of the new reading program and cannot wait to see the rest tomorrow ~ but don’t forget to sign up for the two free e-books now!

Book Report Form and Reading Log Printables

With Laurianna reading like a fiend, keeping up with all of the books that she is devouring can be a bit exhausting. Usually she will tell me {in extensive detail} what the books are about, so to help with book summaries and also have her gather a little more info, I put together a book report form for her to use once or twice a month.

The Book Report Form includes room for: book title, author, number of pages, publisher, copyright date, setting, main characters, summary, two vocabulary words, and book rating/evaluation.

Click on the image to download the Book Report Form

I also put together a Book Reading Log for the kids to write down information about the books that they are reading, either independently or together as a family.  The Reading Log has room to record up to 5 books {I print it off double-sided} and the kids can record: book title, author, number of pages, publisher, copyright date, date started reading and date reading was completed.

Click on the image to download the Book Reading Log

Hope these help you out. :)

The Runt Pig ~ All About Spelling’s NEW book!!

You all know that I love All About Spelling dearly and the readers that go along with their spelling program. The Runt Pig is the latest book in their Beehive Reader series that goes along with All About Spelling Level 1 program, steps 14-18.

As with all of the Beehive readers, they can be used independently from the All About Spelling program. If you’re interested in learning more, here are a few other posts I’ve written about All About Spelling and other readers from All About Reading:

• All About Spelling Review
• Cobweb the Cat {Beehive Reader 1} review
• What Am I? {Beehive Reader} review

Off to order my copy right now!!

Audiobooks and Music for Kids

Our family absolutely loves listening to books on CD. If we’re driving around town or on a trip, generally there is some form of audiobook in our car along with us. It’s also one of the rare times that our vehicle experience silence in one way, shape, or form.

Very rare.

We’ll be traveling this month to visit family, so I thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite audio adventures {the ones that even Mommy and Daddy enjoy} with you all. Many, okay ALL, of them have a common thread ~ Focus on the Family Radio Theatre. Love everything that we’ve ever heard from them. You can’t go wrong with these audio adventures.

Chronicles of Narnia is a set of 19 CDs that has radio theatre drama for all of the books in the series. There were so many points in these books that I started crying after grasping the significance behind Lewis’ words. Although I like Aslan’s voice in the movies better {and giggle occasionally at his voice in these because of comparing it to the movie} they are absolutely wonderful and I’m putting them on my own itouch to listen too!

       

The Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables, and Little Women are three that I’ll be loading onto the girl’s mp3 players so that they can listen to them on their own. They have loved reading the books with, watching the movies and really enjoy listening to them too {while the boys would rather listen to Caspian…}.

The kids haven’t heard this one yet, but I’m packing The Legend of Squanto. A new CD will definitely keep their interest and this is one we’ll be listening to this year to go along with our history studies. No reason we can’t get a little school in while we’re driving, right?

The Bible Eyewitness Collector’s set of 36 CDs was our first introduction to Adventures in Odyssey and we were hooked after these!  They start with stories from Genesis and go all the way through the Bible into New Testament times. The stories are sometimes hilarious {the accents are enough to make adults crack up!}.

I have For God & Country on order from Amazon and am hoping that it will get here in time for our trip! This is another one that will go along with our studies this coming year…and the kids don’t know about yet! We had borrowed it from a friend awhile back and enjoyed the few stories we were able to listen too, so I’m looking forward to adding this to our collection.

Of course, we’ll be taking our Seeds Family Worship CDs along with us! We have an extra set that we’re going to be sharing with our cousins when we stop by and visit them {shhhh!!!}. I also can’t wait until their newest CD, Seeds of Character is released!!

Do you have some favorite audio books that you can share with me? I’d love to beef up our personal library with some great ‘reads’!