What is commonly included on most people’s New Year’s resolution list? I would say losing weight, dieting, getting more fit and exercising. Basically, anything that will lead to a healthier lifestyle. Do you have one of these on your New Year’s resolution list?
BooksCloseouts is having a Health and Fitness sale. Selected titles on this topic has been slashed down to a mere 99cents. Here are some books that caught my eye:
6 Minute Morning: Flat Stomach. After 4 kids, I definitely could use some help in this area.
Banish Your Belly, Butt and Thighs Forever. I’m sure this appeals to almost all women. We are the worst critics when it comes to our own belly, butt and thighs.
The Cellulite Solution: A Doctor’s Program for Losing Lumps, Bumps, Dimples, and Stretch Marks. I have stretch marks I want to lose.
Conquering Your Migraine. I really, really hate migraines.
Coping With Diabetes.Yeah, it’s important to get this condition under control.
Energy for Everything. Boy, don’t I need that these days.
Well, if you’re into diets, beauty and health, go check this current book sale. I don’t know how long this sale will last. So, act fast before it ends.
Do your children have spelling tests at school? Do you think spelling tests help your children become better spellers?
According to an article in the Houston Chronicle by Ericka Mellon entitled “Schools take a new direction on spelling“, some schools are getting rid of spelling tests and replacing it with a teaching method known as “word study”. Why is that so? Well, spelling test is more about memorizing words. “Word study” is aimed at increasing children’s understanding of why and how words are constructed. They believe that learning by rote memorization isn’t the best way to go. To be good spellers, children need to learn about letter and sound patterns.
Many parents do not like the idea of “no spelling tests”. What about you? Would you agree or not agree for your children to have spelling tests each week?
As for me, I would prefer a combination of both. Yes, I support the idea that children need to learn how and why letters are combined a certain way to form a word. I also support the idea that children need to be tested to see if they have learned how it works. However, instead of randomly writing down a list of words, I like to put those words to form a story. I guess I’m saying instead of spelling tests, I prefer dictation. So, for example, if I wanted my children to learn the words “cat”, “run”, “this”, and “white”, I would make up sentences for them to write like “This is my cat. It’s fur is white. It likes to run after mice.” If my children are just learning to spell and can’t spell a lot of words yet, then I would do a “fill-in-the-blank” sort of activity.
Tell me what you think about this topic?
p.s. Looking for a fun online spelling program, check out my review on ClickN SPELL. Click here:Learn to spell online program.
My 3 year old son can identify all the alphabets and also knows the sounds that go along with it. I feel he is ready to start reading words. I don’t think he has the ability to blend sounds together yet. For example, if I showed him the letter “C”, he knows the accompanying sound is “/kuh/”, “A” is “/a/” and “T” is “/t/”. But if I were to put it together as “CAT”, he wouldn’t know how to blend the sounds to read the word. That’s using phonics to read.
So, instead of using phonics, I’m starting him off with whole words. This is sorta like the flash card method. BUT I’m not flashing cards to him. This is what I’m doing:
1. Write the word on a card
2. Show it to him, read it to him, have him read it back.
3. Put it up on the wall.
4. Print out simple stories that he is familiar with (taken from his story books) or nursery rhymes that contain the word he is learning. Have him look for that word and color it.
I just started his reading lessons 2 days ago. I started with the word “the”. Very simple and very common. He picked it up very fast. Another word I introduced to him is “is”. To reinforce his learning, I have him point out those words when we read books together. Because these words are so simple to pick out, it builds his confidence and makes him feel like he is a reader.
The holidays are just over. Did you get tons of photographs? Well, don’t let those precious memories hibernate on your computer harddisk. Do a digital scrapbook and display them in a beautiful way. If you’ve never done digital scrapbook before, you may be wondering “How do I do it?” Well, many people use an image editing software like Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro but there’s a learning curve to it. If you want to jump right in and start creating scrapbook pages in a snap, I suggest you take a look at this: Polaroid My Memories Suite, software for scrapbook.
Here’s a page I did with it. It was no trouble at all. I just needed to select a template and then inserted my picture. I also used an embellishment that I already had on my computer. So yeah, it’s very versatile as you can use stuff that comes with the software and also your own stuff.
If you want to see the power and ease of this scrapbook software, check out this video:
The New Year is fast approaching. Maybe one of your goals is to help your young children learn to spell or to improve their spelling.
With my kids, I used both the phonics and whole word approach. I laminated the different alphabets so they could put them together to make words. I thought them how to listen to the different sounds in a word. Of course I started out with very simple words like cat, bat, sun, hit, hot etc…. I also would use their guided reading books and dictate sentences from there. This was more fun for them because it was like writing a story. Sometimes I would create funny sentences for them to spell. I also would write new words like a flash card and stick them on the wall. I would have them read the words 2-3 times in a day. This are just some of the things I did to teach my children to spell.
Children learn best when learning is fun. You can inject some fun into your child’s learning by using ClickN SPELL. It uses the highly effective method of Copy Cover Compare (CCC) approach to learning spelling. Animation and the game like learning makes it fun for young children. Click the following affiliate link for more information: ClickN SPELL
Here is a hilarious video on why spelling is important. You may need it to save a life one day
Are your children glued to the TV or stuck in front of the computer screen? Why not give them something more beneficial and educational to do like fun Christmas worksheets and activities. We are talking about Christmas Games for kids, Christmas Word Puzzles, Christmas Math Worksheets, Christmas Writing Activities, Christmas Mazes, Christmas Cards, Christmas Bookmarks and Christmas Coloring Sheets etc….
It’ll take time for you to search for these activities around the internet. So click here to find a wonderful resource that has many of these activities downloadable as an e-book: WORKSHEETS FOR CHRISTMAS.
Good news! The merchant is offering a 50% discount for this Christmas 2009 season. Instead of $17.97, you only pay $9.00. I don’t know when this offer expires, so act quickly!
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