Friday, August 12, 2016

All About Learning Press- Pre-Reading Level for Preschool

aar-pre-reading-category-header.png
 
 
 
 
This year my 4 year old daughter started the Pre-Reading Program through All About Learning Press.  She already knew her letters and sounds, but I really wanted to make sure she had a good foundation before we started introducing her to more formal reading. 
 
This program does not just teach letter names and sounds, it also teaches 5 important skills called The Big Five Skills.  These are print awareness, phonological awareness, letter knowledge, listening comprehension and motivation to read.  These skills include rhyming, counting words in sentences, syllables and more.  The best thing is they are all taught within a game format using a fun puppet who is named Ziggy the Zebra!

 
 
 

 
 
My daughter looked forward to All About Reading time everyday.
 
We started by singing the alphabet chart, then we did a letter activity and played our special game with Ziggy.  When all done she put a sticker on her chart and had a craft page to share with daddy at dinner.
 
 
Here's a video of my daughter singing the ABC song:

ADD VIDEO
 
The first 26 lessons focus on Capital letters, the next 26 lessons focus on Lowercase letters and the last 26 lessons focus on the sounds of the letters.  There are flashcards, craft pages with coloring, cutting, gluing and painting and activity sheets. 
 
 
 
The teaching touches each learning style for visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.
 
My daughter is solidifying her reading skills in so many ways.
She has gained confidence in knowing each letter and the sounds. 
She has also started sounding out CVC words.
 
We also started this great new free program online called Reading Bear.
 
My daughter just turned 5 and she is excited to start All About Reading Level 1 in the Fall!
 
aar-full-level1.png
 
 
If you are not sure what level your child should use, be sure to access the free placement tests for your child.  And there is always a review at the beginning of each book. 
 




Don't forget to pick up your FREE ABC Summer Snacks Cookbook.  It's so fun to connect language and food!


Wednesday, August 10, 2016

My Kid Made This Challenge (Kids Cook Real Food)


We had a great start to our summer learning to cook with Kids Cook Real Food ecourse.  We have only been able to do two lessons so far which I have shared about here on my blog:

Lesson 1: Spreading and Peeling

Lesson 2: Dull Knife Slicing



If you want to get the FREE knife skills class, be sure to sign up for the #mykidmadethis challenge. 

Then registration will be open for the Kids Cook Real Food Ecourse from August 17-24.  Don't miss out!  But be sure to sign up for the challenge below so you won't miss the registration for the ecourse coming up!

Sign up for the #mykidmadethis challenge
 
Get free downloads of recipes, instructions and shopping lists.
Enter to win for prizes!

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Hal Leonard's Piano For Kids by Jennifer Linn Book Review



Hal Leonard's Piano for Kids is a beginner's guide step by step instruction for piano by Jennifer Linn.  This book has piano study materials and an access code for audio tracks to the songs in the book. 

The book begins with introducing different types of pianos, how to sit, good hand position, fingering and the keyboard.  The first lesson is about rhythm and introducing quarter notes and rests and then half notes.  The next lessons start teaching the notes by letters.  There are pictures of the keyboard and step by step instructions on how to play the lesson.  Some of the music is classical, some from Disney movies and other favorites kids may know.  And with each lesson there is a downloadable audio track available to play along with during the lesson. 

I think this would be a great first book for a new pianist who is able to read and  can follow written instructions.   This is ideal for a parent and child to do together as well.  I was really pleased to see so many familiar tunes and I was surprised to see a favorite that I learned by ear called "Heart and Soul."  I think kids will really enjoy the energy and simple ways this book teaches piano.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Waldmania for review.  All opinions are my own.*