Showing posts with label Curriculum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Curriculum. Show all posts

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Dark Seeker

Dark Seeker 
Taryn Browning
Synopsis: She's the Seeker. He's the hunted. What's at stake could kill them both...  For 17-year-old Seeker, Janie Grey, ridding the Baltimore streets of the undead is an inherited duty passed down from her Cherokee ancestors. Seeker Training Lesson #1: Never trust the undead. After her father’s tragic death, Janie creates her own life lesson: Love isn’t worth the risk. Both lessons are easy to follow until she encounters the flawed Kai Sterdam. At first, she believes he is the hybrid she is trained to hunt. But, when he has human traits, she determines she doesn’t know what he is. As Janie’s intrigue over who Kai is pushes her deeper into his mysterious past, she discovers a shocking truth that is even more harrowing than the evil they are up against. It’s a secret Kai wants to keep hidden, especially from Janie.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Uglee Pen is back!

Remember when we received UG Lee Pen earlier in the year?  We received the black ones and thought it would be great if they made it in other colors.  Guess what?  They now have WHITE!


The Uglee Pen was developed by Dr. James Lee, a physician, after years of hand cramps from taking notes in medical school,Dr. Lee developed the Uglee Pen, the worlds most comfortable pen.  The UGLee Pen is good for everyone who writes (even just a grocery list), and is especially helpful to people who experience pain and discomfort when writing, for example those with arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, etc.,. It's also the best writing utensil  for children who are learning to write and are developing fine motor skills, as well as helpful for special-needs children who find holding a pen or pencil properly difficult. And for high-school and college students who have to take copious notes, this pen helps keep hands and fingers from cramping.

 We loved that the gripper is so soft and makes it easier to write.  I did find that the ink will not write on certain types of paper, which is a downer for teachers.  Who knows what type of paper we will receive with all these budget cuts! 

Want your own?  Check out the website to order !



I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

NNAT2 Test book!


Photo: The-Test-Tutor.com
The Test Tutor: NNAT2 practice workbook. The NNAT2 is a test given to children ages 5 to 17 as part of a gifted/talented program admissions process.  As a General Education and Special Education teacher I can see even more reasons to use it!
Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (second edition)—NNAT2 uses progressive matrices to allow for a culturally neutral evaluation of students’ nonverbal reasoning and general problem-solving ability, regardless of the individual student’s primary language, education, culture or socioeconomic background.  


What do teachers use the NNAT2 to evaluate students?
  • General ability in the entire student population
  • Students of limited English skills from diverse cultural backgrounds
  • Gifted and talented students
  • Non-English speakers, intermediate English speakers, and students learning the English language for the first time
  • Students with limited motor skills, hearing impairment, and minimal color-vision impairment
  • Students whose economic or social circumstances have limited their acquisition of knowledge and verbal skills 
What I liked about this series is it only takes around 30 minutes to administer! Plus, almost any education professional can use it: bilingual educators, testing coordinators, gifted & talented teachers, special education teachers, functional life skills facilitators, counselors, & school psychologists. 


I received the workbook to try out and it can easily be made to use with as a whole class exercise, 5 minute warm-ups, or a bell ringer.  If you are not really sure what a 'Bell Ringer' is then you are in luck!  In the first 5 minutes or the last 5 minutes of class you have your students sit down, collect their thoughts and complete an activity.  I would use my projector,  an overhead camera, or for specific students a copy of the question(s) you are giving out.  The thing I liked most about the NNAT2 book is it is spiral bound, which makes it extremely easy to manipulate and use.  I hate when workbooks are in the thick binding, which often wears out and pages disappear.  With the NNAT2 workbook you will always have the pages in a neat and orderly manner. 

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Sustainable History and the Dignity of Man

Synopsis: Sustainable History and the Dignity of Man is a new philosophy of history. This volume outlines how sustainable history is propelled by good governance, which balances the tension between the attributes of human nature - emotionality, amorality and egoisms - and human dignity needs, such as reason, security, human rights, accountability, transparency, justice, opportunity, innovation and inclusiveness. The author proposes minimum criteria for good governance that are sensitive to local cultures and histories but meet certain common global values to ensure maximum and sustainable moral and political cooperation. Using an ocean model of a single collective human civilisation, the author argues that we should think in terms of a common human story that is comprised of multiple geo-cultural domains and sub-cultures with a history of mutual borrowing and synergies. The author argues that, today, all geo-cultural domains must succeed if humanity as a whole is to triumph. This collective triumph will also depend on reason and a recognition that a great deal of knowledge is indeterminate and may be temporally, spatially and perhaps culturally constrained, as is outlined in the author's new theory of knowledge: "Neuro-rational Physicalism".
 
Dr. Nayef R.F. Al-Rodhan is Senior Scholar in Geostrategy and Director of the Programme on the Geopolitical Implications of Globalisation and Transnational Security at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Geneva, Switzerland.


This book weighs a whopping 3 pounds! Yes it is intimidating from the onset, but you will ease into it.  It has a lot of amazing information/ideas and is separated in sections to make it easier for a reader, even one who is new to this type of genre. The first section is a review and/or introduction to various theories and references to a book we recently reviewed called Emotional Amoral Egoism.  The second section is distinctly different.  Dr. Nayef R.F. Al-Rodhan believes we can create a justice for all type of existence.  As the world is now, justice for all in the world is a Miss America dream.  If we are relying on his theory from Emotional Amoral Egoism, we realize that this happens because of humans being self-fulfilling.  Some countries rely on 'justice' by killing without thinking - how is this really called justice?  Finally he focuses on the scientific part of things, which is the authors specialty! He discusses ideas such as gene therapy and nanotechnology.   Big ideas for such a small world! Be sure to check out his website.  I highly recommend this book for philosophy, history, and science people!

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Emotional and Amoral Egoism

By: Dr. Nayef R.F. Al-Rodhan
Synopsis: The enduring assumption that human behavior is governed by innate morality and reason is at odds with the persistence of human deprivation, injustice, brutality, inequality and conflict. This book offers a fresh look at human nature and universal security by proposing a new general theory of human nature, "emotional amoral egoism", and a specific theory of human motivation that draws on a wide range of philosophical, psychological and evolutionary approaches to human nature as well as neuroscientific research. It argues that human behavior is governed primarily by emotional self-interest and that the human mind is a predisposed tabula rasa. The author argues that most human beings are innately neither moral nor immoral but rather amoral. Circumstances will determine the survival value of humankind's moral compass. This insight has profound implications for the re-ordering of governance mechanisms at all levels with a strong emphasis on the role of society and the global system. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the substrates of human nature and its universal security implications in relation to identity, conflict, ethnocentrism, xenophobia, morality and global governance.

Dr. Nayef R.F. Al-Rodhan is Senior Scholar in Geostrategy and Director of the Programme on the Geopolitical Implications of Globalisation and Transnational Security at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Geneva, Switzerland.

First, if you are saying what in the world is she taking about?  Do not fear!  Well, unless you have flashbacks to Ethics and Theory while at college ... This book is extremely well written and poses many questions for the reader.  The main question I picked up on was the entire concept of humans being born with a Tabula Rasa - A Blank Slate! When you compare people, whether they grew up in the same area in the world or not, certain decisions they make are key to what they will grow into as an adult.  As the author states,  we are prone to certain things from our genetics and the environment we currently live in.  Basically we are more emotionally driven than anything rational.  Dr. Nayef R.F. Al-Rodhan explains humans are self-fulfilling, looking out for number 1, when making any type of decision.  Depending on where one grew up, the environment has a key element in this area.  

This would be a great book to use in a Ethics and/or Theory class.  It is around 240 pages, sold on Amazon, and should be a college read!  Be sure to check out his website for more information.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Kristin's Gifts~Smart Blocks Review


When I teach, I always look for manipulatives, which are hands on materials, that would enhance the topic I am teaching as well as provide some type of independent learning.  With Smart Blocks you receive both!  I love that the blocks can be used for mathematics, as well as reading, writing, spelling, and grammar.  Lovely, isn't it?  

First thing is first - If your child likes to stick random things in his/her mouth be aware that these are small enough to choke on. Break them of that habit before they come to school - no one likes  a kid who eat random stuff and ruins it for everyone.  

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Multiply and Divide with Sticks and Steps~Review~

Multiply and Divide with Sticks and Steps

Teach This Easy Method in Just 5 Minutes

Author: Maureen Stearns, B.A., M.S.
96 pages, Trade paperback, line illustrations throughout, For ages 5 and up, 8.25 x 11
ISBN: 978-0-9726908-5-0 $14.95
Pub Date: January 1st, 2011
Published by: Enrichment Books
Distributed by: Available at bookstores, Amazon and online.

As a Special Education teacher I am often faced with math difficulties, in both the students and parents.  I implement a home letter to inform the parents what is going on in the classroom and a bit of review on topics that we will come across in case they (the parent) need help! Trust me, this is important!  If you have a little one who is just starting school ask the teacher for a parent letter - especially if the district is using a set math curriculum.  

Sticks and Steps is a great book to have in the classroom and to have as a parent!  I always implement Math Facts, which allows me as a Special Education teacher to track the students progress with addition/subtraction and multiplication/division.  You would be surprised how many student do not  understand multiplication when they encounter it in school, even HS students!  It is scary at first for a teacher, but for me it is a beginning.  It allows me to set my own goal for that student - "By the end of the 9weeks I want this student to be able to multiply up to the 9X9 with 90% proficiency."   By the way, that could also be used for Progress Monitoring or for an IEP goal/objective :)  

First I need to say this book would be great for a Bell Ringer.  A Bell Ringer is the beginning 5 minutes of class to get the 'Brain in Motion' and begin to learn.  It would be extremely easy to photocopy onto overheads to use, which I highly recommend.  With some Special Education students it may be appropriate to actually copy a page for them to see in front of them and on the overhead - it often does help!

The supplementary curriculum in this book is great!  It easily allows one to follow along and try their own multiplication.  With sticks and steps it is easy to understand what the Sticks and Steps are.  I would have loved it the Sticks and Steps were different colors, not just light grey and black.  If you do copy on overheads you can use your colored markers to do this!   It is a little longer to do the sticks and step method in division, but once the student/child learns the process and reasoning behind it, they are set.  I loved how you can do LCM (Least Common Multiple)!  When I taught this last year I wish I had this idea.    

Without a doubt I would recommend this to any teacher or parent.   The final words of advice from me for teaching multiplication and division are 'Always give encouragement!'

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Lightning-fast Spanish For Kids and Families


Almost every year my future hubster and I have been fortunate enough to have traveled to the Riviera Maya for vacation.  As Carolyn stated in the book introduction, most people do not get past "mas cerveza por favor!"  B and I have both had 4 years of Spanish in high school, we did learn a lot but then forgot most of it. When I was in college for undergrad I chose to take a Spanish class.  When I signed up it stated TBA or the Instructor and when I went to class the first day it was one of my HS Spanish teachers!  I learned a lot in the class, had to be an example for everyone ... but talking and listening are two different things.  I was great at listening to the conversations and know what they were saying.  While we were on a dive boat in Mexico the dive crew were making jokes and I was laughing.  Our Dive Master was blown away that I could understand what they were saying, but I could only speak a few phrases back in Spanish. 

I love that the author put instructions on how to use the book.  Most people would just jump right in, often trying them then forgetting the words like B and I did in HS.  As a teacher I loved that we can take the lessons and actually use them as quick lesson plans in the classroom.   Carolyn breaks the lessons up and includes various parts that are easily organized for you.  I  actually tried lesson 1 in the room while folding clothes.  It was a hoot! Sean and my dog just looked at and and were wondering why I had a laundry basket and talking in Spanish to them. 

Overall this book is wonderful.  One of my favorite parts was the activities section.  I though the Map Game activity listed was a great resource. In my first 4 years of Spanish we honestly went over all the words listed.  As a teacher these are all activities I would use in and outside the classroom.  If you are planning a trip to a Spanish speaking country this would be a great resource to use before you leave - you can always use it on the airplane too!  If she does get to offer additional resources for Spanish, word flash cards would be great!  Visit her on Amazon to purchase it or read more reviews!

 Additional books available to help you learn! 
• Lightning-fast Spanish For Kids and Families
• Lightning-fast French For Kids and Families
• Lightning-fast German For Kids and Families
• Lightning-fast Italian For Kids and Families
• Lightning-fast Chinese For Kids and Families
• Lightning-fast Spanish Vocabulary Building Crossword Puzzles
• Make Money From Home With A Children’s eBay Business
• And soon to come - Lightning-fast Japanese For Kids and Families


Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Copy-Kids DVD

Copy-Kids is a DVD series designed to get very young children excited about eating fruits and vegetables.  It features kids having such a good time eating fruits and veggies, that when children watch it they want to join in.  Featuring well-known pediatrician, Dr. Jay Gordon, this product is a positive approach in the quest to get children eating healthy from the start.


The DVD is separated into different fruits and vegetables on the main menu: Bell Peppers, Cucumbers, Carrots, Avocado, Tomatoes, Broccoli, Oranges, Bananas, Raspberries, Strawberries, Apples & Blueberries.

From a teachers perspective this is especially made for young children.   When you are introducing various food to children you should always pay attention to what age.  This website, Kids Organics breaks it down into an easy chart for parents and relatives to view.  It incorporates the cop-cat idea that children do, both inside and outside the classroom.  As an adult I thought this was silly, but I was forced to eat my fruits and veggies when I was a little kid.  I do love them, especially Garlic!  When I was younger they always made fun of me and called me a Polish Baby because my Polish Grandma always had garlic in food and it seeped out of my pores.   :)  People still picked me up even with the smell! If they wanted to put another addition out, older children would be more interested in it if there was a catchy tune that they could sing-a-long to.  I would like that as well... :)

From a parents perspective this seemed like a good fit for children.  I think it helps when the child is in the copy-cat stage.  It states to Age 5 on the DVD box, but older children may not like watching it.  However, any young child will instantly want to join in as others have stated.  I wish there was a lot of additional cartoon characters besides the little blue parrot or for it to appear more often.  Another wonderful thing to include would be music or cartoon vegetable people! 

Overall this is a great DVD to pop in while eating snacks, especially the fruit or vegetable that you want to introduce.  We discovered Boos favorites were Peppers and Tomatoes, but being a little Italian, those were a given!   
Running time: 115 mins
Price: $19.95
Available for sale at http://www.copy-kids.com

 Want your own copy to use or give as a gift?  Enter below!

Sunday, April 15, 2012

SmartBones~Review and Giveaway

What are SmartBones?
  • SmartBones® is the next generation dog chew that has all the benefits of a rawhide chew – without the rawhide.
  • SmartBones are the first treats of their kind to be enhanced with vitamins and minerals.
  • SmartBones are safer for dogs than regular rawhide treats, which may cause intestinal blockages. 
  • SmartBones are environmentally friendly, whereas a toxic chemical process is needed to create consumable rawhide for treats.
  • Nine out of 10 dogs prefer SmartBones over rawhide treats.

Still curious? Here is some more information from their website:

Why are SmartBones fortified with vitamins and minerals?
SmartBones chews are produced in a food-grade production facility where each ingredient is formulated and controlled.  During this process, SmartBones are fortified with vitamins and minerals to ensure dogs’ daily diets are nutritionally balanced when combined with eating dry kibble dog food. Rawhide and many other chews don’t include vitamins and minerals. In fact, even though rawhide analyzes as over 80% protein, the protein is of such poor quality that it is what is known as “unavailable protein” and has almost zero nutritive value for a dog’s body. 
SmartBones are over 99% digestible – why is this important?
When a dog eats a treat or kibble, not all of the ingredients and nutrients are actually digested.  Even with some of the higher-quality dog foods on the market, a dog will digest only 85% of this food.  The creators of SmartBones wanted the chews to have a much higher percentage of digestibility, and strived to achieve 99.2% digestibility – a testament to the high quality of the ingredients used in SmartBones.

My Review:
   We never give our dogs rawhide bones.  Dallas does not like them and would hide them all around the house(in couch, under blankets, etc.) so our other dog, Duke, couldn't eat them.  It turned into such a problem that we had banned them from our house.  When I found SmartBones I was hesitant but decided that it was worth a try.  I am so glad we tried these!  Both of our dogs LOVED them!  By loved I mean that they somehow managed to knock a huge box filled of chips, other food and SmartBones off the table and they didn't eat anything but the bones!  Luckily, we still had two bones left and I gave them to the dogs today.  They ate them within 20 minutes!  Duke has a lot of health problems and cannot eat certain kinds of dog food so I loved that they are 99.2% digestible.  Our next Petsmart trip will definitely include SmartBones!

Want more info? Check out their website and Facebook pages.  Or enter to win below!

Monday, April 9, 2012

Pirate Party Pack

How many of us wanted to be Pirates when we were younger? What? Are you serious? I know I was not the only adult ... ahem kid ... who wanted to raid homes for treasures, sing around fires, and sail on a ship!

Before you have your next get together you need to check out this company.  They have party packs for almost every topic, but the pirate life is for me!  The pack was e-mailed straight to me so it was easy as a treasure map with only 5 lines to the X! Printable Pirate Party Games is a ton of fun for all ages!  It not only has stuff for children, such as games for a birthday party, but games for adults as well! The pirate printable pack is great for a wide age range as well as use in a classroom.  As always, use your best judgment and common sense when using this pack - it includes activities for children as well as adults.  Also, who does not love corny jokes?  I am a big time fan of those jokes!

Why did the pirate buy and eye patch? He couldn't afford an iPad!  
The pack includes: 
  • Balloon Pirate Craft For Kids
  • Facebook Pirate Language Game
  • Pirate Mad Libs
  • Pirate Newlywed Questions Game
  • Pirate Placemat for Kids
  • Pirate Poster for Kids
  • Pirate Party Icebreaker
  • Printable Treasure Map Template Pirate Craft For Kids
  • Harrrr-ible Pirate Jokes Game
  • Survival of the Fittest Party Game
  • Pirate Nature Scavenger Hunt for Kids
  • Pin the Parrot on the Pirate game for Kids
  • Shoot the Boot Drinking Card Game
Do you have a little one who loves Pirates and want to get printable already created? 
 Do you want to see want the drinking game really is about?
Sign up for the newsletter because subscribers get 30 pages of printables free for signing up, and enjoy special offers each month. :)
 Enter to win your own below :)

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Incredible Shrinking Bully

 The Incredible Shrinking Bully

By Mona Schmitt

Bart used to enjoy school, but that was before Frank the Tank began bullying him. Every time Frank bullies someone, he gets bigger. Will Bart find the courage to stop Frank, before it's too late? This is a picture book geared toward younger kids, in hopes of sending a positive message and opening a dialogue between kids and parents, educators, grandparents, etc. about bullying. Maybe if awareness starts early, some of the problems can be prevented later. 

I loved the pictures!  My favorite picture in this book has to be when Frank snot rockets on some kids locker.  It is totally gross but so funny! This story is age appropriate and can be used in most grades K-9th.  If you wanted to adapt it to use it in higher grades you could, just use different activities to enhance the point of the book. 

If I were to use it in a classroom I would read the book, discuss bullying, and finally have them create their own book about a time when they were bullied.  People of all ages love to draw, even if they say they do not - trust me.  For some students it would be difficult to get their experience out , but telling people about it could mean healing from it.    The story follows a child from getting picked on, learning how to start up for himself, and finally standing up to the bully to protect another.  A part of the book I was unsure of, it had the main character state if it came down to it he would hit Frank, which would be totally against any bully curriculum I have taught.  I would probably have a discussion on if hitting back was the right thing to do or not.  Overall it is a cute book that you can use to discuss bullying and how to overcome it.  I've included this in various curriculum packets dealing with making friends and standing up for yourself.  
This would be a great resource to keep in a classroom ... 
 ALL teachers should enter to win a copy below to keep in theirs :) 

Monday, April 2, 2012

Hollywood Stories Book Tour ~Review & Giveaway~

Hollywood Stories: Short, Entertaining Anecdotes About the Stars and Legends of the Movies!  By Stephen Schochet

Genre: Film/History/Humor
Synopsis: At high noon on a cold November day in 1974, sixty-seven-year-old John Wayne faced off with the staff of the Harvard Lampoon on the famous campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The students had issued their challenge by calling the beloved American icon a fraud. Wayne, who had his new movie McQ to promote, responded by saying he would be happy to show his film in the pseudo-intellectual swamps of Harvard Square. After the screening, without writers, the former USC footballer delivered a classic performance. When one smart young man asked where he got his phony toupee, Wayne insisted the hair was real. It wasn't his, but it was real. The appreciative underclassmen loved him and after the Q and A session, they all sat down to dinner. Later Wayne, who was suffering greatly from both gout and the after effects of lung cancer (sadly the Duke only had five years to live), said that day at Harvard was the best time he ever had.
-------------------------------------------
The author is a professional tour guide in Hollywood, so we know he has heard some great stories!  From telling them to his audience day after day, Stephen Schochet decided to write them down.  Gosh, I am glad he did! The book contains many intriguing tales about actors, actresses, directors, and stars.  Just think of TMZ online, or ENews!

I know Hollywood stars are just ordinary people, but being a compulsive visitor of TMZ I was intrigued by the premises of Hollywood Stories.  Where else can you hear stories first hand of all the movie stars, both good and bad, without traveling to the West Coast and paying for a tour guide? 

If you YouTube Hollywood Stories, Schochet you will be amazed at what comes up!  I began by watching the news interview and then fell down the rabbit hole and watched all the other clips.  Wonderful!  

One person who I absolutely love to quote, Marlyn Monroe,  was a hoot!  Stopping a 'ceremony' in order to offer a suggestion is something I would do, even asking if my friends boobs could be put into the star instead of hands!

Schochet writes in a manner that is personable and extremely easy to read.  It makes me picture myself driving around in the bus with him in wonderful California with my big sunglasses and super high stiletto heels.  The next best thing to being in California and in the sun is being in Pennsylvania in the rain... right? :(   The book is filled with short stories, so it was easy to read about a few stars, goggle more about them (I constantly research random information), and pick back up! I read in other reviews that others did not like it because it had a lot about stars from the 50's.  To me that time is mysterious and something that intrigues me!  The author makes some people out to be "not nice" as I hoped, but to each his own!  If I had paparazzi chasing me I would probably do outrageous things myself, tip in nickles, or rely to much on others - GO GET MY COFFEE minion! (:

Overall, I liked this book.  It was a fun read and for someone who loves the gossip websites, I appreciated it! It was a great read while working on my tan and drinking a sangria :) I highly recommend it to others! 

When I was in MBA school we had to run a company and before we closed out/signed in it would always give us a DID YOU KNOW.... so here is mine! DYK Beverly Hills Cop was really to be Sylvester Stallone and an action movie?  I love that it is was Eddie Murphy because that movie is great!   To keep up on more stories, learn of additional books, or just to be a great fan follow Stephen on Facebook !  I highly advise everyone to join Goodreads!  I keep my books on my "shelf" so I remember what I was reading ... it often gets lost in the jumble of everything in my house!                                                   
PS.  A sample can be DL here :) or enter below for your own!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Taste of Snow ~Review & Giveaway~


"The Taste of Snow" 
By Stephen Masse

Teacher Review
There were so many great and unique elements of this book!  I am a sucker for YA books and this one was wonderful.  As I was reading it I quickly felt like part of the family and was interested in the girls next move.  When Nicole and Ashley were picking out a Christmas Tree they were talking to Saint Nicholas, Santa to the kids in the USA, and Krampus.  I was thinking who in the world is Krampus and why have I never heard of him?  Well it turns out I am slightly glad because if my parents knew about this when I was a kid I am 100% sure I would have been in deep trouble.  Krampus is basically the one who could tell if the children were bad - he wore a devilish outfit with horns on his head and chains hanging around him.  To me Krampus was the Devil!  Good - Saint Nicholas, Bad - Krampus.  Anyway, Stephen Masse does a wonderful job of adding detail to paint the magnificent picture in my mind of the plot, setting, and the characters.  As I read I always "See it in my mind" and tell my students the same thing.  If you personally make a movie with the book then it will stick with you forever.  

Another element I loved about this book is how many connections the author, Stephen V. Masse,  made with stories that were told by the father/grandfather and how it related to the girls lives.  Masse seems like a natural storyteller, within the book and with the book itself.  There were many times I wanted to Google things to see if it was real because they sounded wonderful!  Spoiler - The story of the American soldier, the priest, and the German Army.  Another connection that I loved, especially as a teacher, was the chapter pictures.  The picture always led to what was in the chapter and could be great when used for prediction! 

 I wish the book would have
Table of Contents with the chapter names - When I teach with a book such as this, I usually have the students look at the table of contents and estimate how much time they will need to dedicate to finish the book - with the class or on their own.  For Special Education students it is a relief to see how much they finished and to keep track of it by his/herself.  

Final Thoughts
Overall this would be a WONDERFUL book to use in a classroom, give as a gift, or to read by yourself/as a family!  It includes many elements that are needed to create a proper story - amazing character development, Masse paints the picture of what is happening with great attention to detail, and finally the fish hook!  A fish hook to me is the mystery that keeps us reading and wanting to know what will happen.

What is this about? 
When winter arrives in the Austrian Alps, eleven-year-old Nicole Kinders is given a candy cane by the mysterious shopkeeper, Boznik, who tells her that the candy cane is magic. After her first taste, it seems the whole world becomes more colorful, more delicious, and more dangerous. A quarrel between students on the tram home from school leads Nicole to intervene, beginning a frightening series of events that threaten Nicole. She finds herself losing the joy of holiday preparations, and realizes that the vexing secret she keeps is influencing every part of her life. She finds no help from the magic candy cane, and decides she must return it to the shopkeeper.

Stephen V. Masse was born in Boston. He wrote his first practice novel at age 13, handwritten into a composition book. His children s books are Shadow Stealer (Dillon Press, 1988) and Short Circus (Good Harbor Press, 2010). In addition, Masse wrote A Jolly Good Fellow, winner of the Silver Medal in the 2008 Independent Publisher Book Awards, as well as Honorable Mention in the 2008 New England Book Festival for best books of the holiday season. 


Check out the author's website for more pictures and information!  Did you know the story came from a story he made up in real life?  You have a great imagination Stephen!

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Being Human YA ~Review & Giveaway~




Book Title: Being Human by Patricia Lynne
Genre: YA Paranormal

Short Synopsis: For Tommy, there is only one thing he needs to do: survive. Only surviving isn't that easy. He has no human memories and Vampire Forces is determined to turn every vampire to ash. The only human he can trust is his twin brother, Danny. Tommy just wants to survive but he'll discover there's more to life than simple survival.

Our review! 
What would happen if you woke one night and had a hunger for something? Yeah, we know we do this with chocolate and other strange things ... but blood?

One night Tommy awoke not knowing what was going on, where he was or why he wanted that copper, metallic flavor that is our sustenance of life.  Patricia Lynne has wrote Being Human in a way that grabs the readers attention (I tell students it is the Hook) and lays the story out in a way that we cal follow and piece together (I tell them that is the Worm). 

The book is broken into parts.  he parts are stages in life that one has - high school, college, family, etc.  Although it was great to see what Tommy and Danny were like throughout life, I still wanted to know more.  I have a very inquisitive mind, kind of like Tommy except I remember and he does not.  I wanted to know more about what happened when Danny was in college, what are other vampires really like, do they all act like Tommy or are they mean like some he has met? Often writers leave the questions remain so we think more about it and it often attracts us to another book! Which to me leaves me wanting Patricia Lynne to write another book about one of the characters she has wrote about that was a main part of the plot.   Please.. will you?  :)

I would definitely see this being read during DEAR time and have some type of activity to finish the book.  I would focus on the student creating his/her own story if they suddenly were turned into a vampire and where they would go to continue living.  Vampire stories for young adults were a hit and will remain to be, so getting this into a classroom and doing a book talk would be extremely easy.  I see not only girls loving to read this book but boys as well.

There are a few reasons why I would recommend this book, for YA (Young Adults) and Adults.
  1. Easy Read
  2. Plenty of action to keep you interested
  3. Descriptions of characters, physically and mentally, so you can SEE them while you read
  4. Various sentence types, not just simple ones! 
  5. For the simple reason of loving to read!
 Want to know where you can buy Being Human?  Well look below! There are options of e-book or paperback format. 

If you want to keep up with the author, offer encouragement, or get sneak peaks of what they are currently working on follow her on Facebook Twitter or GoodReads!




Wednesday, February 22, 2012

I Am Happy! with Sukey Molloy ~Review and Giveaway

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Mom Blog Society. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.



After the weekend of sickness, Boo needed a pick me up! So I popped her new CD, "I Am Happy! With Sukey Molloy". I instantly thought that I should have tried this sooner!


This is the third CD in the award winning series for children.  Sukey's music is gentle and upbeat, encouraging children to move and dance along.  This 18 track CD is designed for kids 2-5 but I think it would be good for even older children.


Boo really, truly enjoyed her music.  It was also a nice change for me.  The standard children's CD is the same five songs.  These are all original, catchy tunes.  Boo really liked Counting Song.  She has been counting everything is the house lately and I like the it counts in different languages.  She also liked I Saw a Duck and I'm a Baby Hippo.  The CD is about 40 minutes long, perfect for a toddler's attention span! Overall, a big thumbs up!!


Check out Sukey Molloy's website for her other award winning CDs! You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.


And now for the giveway! One lucky person can win a copy of I Am Happy! Open to US and Canada.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Mom Blog Society. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Monday, February 20, 2012

An Alphabet Trip to the Limerick Zoo ~Review~




Your child will enjoy 26 full color illustrations,  read 26 charming limerick poems, and learn interesting facts about 26 animals!



Teachers Perspective:
When I first received this book,  I decided to look at in a way to use in my classroom with Special Education students.  Every year I teach a unit on poetry, for Poetry Month, and because it correlates with the PSSA and PA State Standards.  When I review my materials for my students I look at illustations, word usage, font, space between parageaphs/kines, ability to keep the attention, and how I can use this cross curriculum.  

The font and space are great! It is simple to read, with the animals name is in bold to match one of the main colors of the illustration.  A student can easily use a pencil as a guide or a line reader, like a ruler, to keep track of where they are reading.  When there are different fonts throughout a book students can become confused, but this author keeps the style the same. It also makes it easier for the students to write their own!

The illustrations in the book were cute.  One thing I have learned is that students of all ages love to have a visual to go with the story or in this case the limerick.  I have to say that although this is availabe as a e-book, I would much rather have it in physical form and have the picture and limerick side by side.  I feel it would make it easier for a student to be able to correlate and visualize the animal doing as the limerick states.  If I were to use this with my middle/HS students I would chose to have them as real animal photographs.  If they were real it would be easier for a teacher to use it as a cross-curriculum book and could theme teach in a class - animals of the world for science/portey for langage arts.  

Finally, the word/vocabulary picked by the author used in the limericks is good.  Some words included in the limericks would be difficult for students to read or understand,  so a teacher should always read through and help with vocabulary before sending them on their own.  One could make a list of all the words and create a vocabulary board before jumping into the Limerick Zoo so the students have seen them before.  Many sight words are included in this book, so it would be great to use as a class read before you begin the day. 


Parents Perspective:
The E-book comes with a coloring book that has the same pictures as the Limericks.  Having the same animals available as a coloring page gave me a jump on other poetry books at home.  We loved that we could read an animal a day and then color the corresponding page to show what we learned!  It also helped with rhyming - which is what we are focusing on now!  I just wish the pictures were more of a coloring book page instead of a copy/paste of a image with some color removed. That was the main thing we had a problem with - the images looked like they were just pasted down so it was finished sooner instead of taking the entire page so children can have more to color and changing the background so they did not have a yellow/grey tint.   However, it was nice to have a copy of the Limerick Zoo in the end with all the pages colored so we had our own self-published one though.  

If your classroom or home is Kindle/Nook/iPad accessible,  you can always get it that way!

The author has created a YouTube video describing the book if you wanted to take a look at it!


I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

IPad Book - Elfishki and The Giant Cake ~ Review ~



Interactive book for iPad users!  Great for children between the ages of 5-9.  


Elfishki and The Cake Cake - Visit me! 
Elfishki and The Giant Cake


From a Teacher's Prospective:
I honesty have to say I loved this product!  It was broken down into sections and allowed the reader to check his/her own understanding with questions.  I often do this in class myself for my students to track their understanding, comprehension, and to increase their prediction ability.  By the time my students would come to HS they often forgot or were never taught those main skills. 

First, I would recommend this to any teacher who has a student that is struggling with comprehension and fluency.  Basically I am saying in normal talk that it allows the reader to follow along with the voice over.  They can read aloud and match the pace (fluency) or follow along and pick out the main details using the guided questions (on the bottom of the pg).  

The second thing I absolutely love about this App is it can be correlated to Common Core standards! When we first started having classes and in-service sessions on this it was extremely vague and there were barely any set materials that fit - we just used our best judgment.  Thank you for actually providing something that we can use!  

Finally, I would beyond a doubt use this as a center activity.  It is extremely easy to use for the child and has multiple adaptations that can link to requirements in a student's IEP.

  1.  Voice over of the story, so your child can listen along with the text. 
  2. THREE(3) Questions on every page of the book  - Guide their own reading comprehension while the teacher is busy with other learning groups.  
  3. Follow up activity!  I always make one of these to be the "Ticket out the Door" and as a finisher before moving on.  This app does it for me :) 
 From a Parent's Prospective: 
My beautiful niece
My niece loved this!! She sat down on the floor and was instantly captivated.  She really liked how interactive the story was.  As the story is being read, you can press objects in the background and they do cute little movements.  Her favorite part by far was the cake decorator!  You can add icing, snails and other gross stuff.  She loved that she could send her creations via email to everyone.  The entire family is now receiving cake creations every time she plays!  Here she is making one her of cakes:





To form your own opinion, check out this 1 min Promo Video of the application on YouTube:
Elfishki and the Giant Cake iPad Book for Kids


Love what you read?  Buy the application in the iTunesStore!  Elfishki and The Giant Cake

****  The newest version, 1.2, is on sale for $1.99 until Monday Feb.  27th!  It is even in Russian if you wanted to expose your child to another language!  We are very excited about the additional languages to choose from - who would not want their child to be exposed young to other cultures?



Teacher Words: 
Fluency : The ability to read, speak, or write easily, smoothly, and expressively.
Comprehension: Understanding  ideas, facts, or meaning *Who, What, Where, When, Why, How (:

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Iris and the Dragonflies ~Review -- Middle School Fiction~





Do you remember sitting in a small desk tapping your #2 pencil waiting for that minute hand to reach 3:00? For Iris it was an everyday occurrence.

Iris is a special girl that has amazing friends, friends that have wings.  Dragonflies are special mystical creatures that have their own woes in this world. While sitting by her favorite creek, Dragonfly Creek, Iris gradually realizes she can understand and talk to the creatures.  When she visits the old country Ireland where her Paternal Grandmother lives, she discovers something that will change her life forever!

Iris makes friends with an amazing group of children, from all around the world! When a big developer tries to destroy the only place Iris loves, Dragonfly Creek, they band together and try to shut down the idea and eventually destruction of the Dragonfly Ecosystem.  Although I want to tell you the entire story,  I know I need to stop now or I will.  I always had (have..haha) the bad habit of doing this, especially when my students caught me of guard with a book I liked!

Being  such a unique child, it reminded me of the trials and tribulations teenagers and middle school students face today.  Being able to fit in, making friends, and wearing the right clothes is part of this book.  Danielis pulls the feelings and thoughts of every preadolescence and adolescent and puts them into Bella,  Iris' sister.  She is constantly screaming and picking on Iris to clean up her appearance and saying she is basically embarrassed of her - another tidbit of sibling rivalry that happens in the real world! They way the author makes the personalities of each character lead to an understanding of the story as a whole.  This story is absolutely enchanting.  It is a mix of adventure and fantasy - all the things we love!

Rosemary Danielis is a very dynamic individual!  Take a look at her website to make your own opinion, but I swear you will think the same.   In the photography page she has a section for Ireland.  When I saw this I automatically linked it to Iris and the Dragonflies and thought of many activities a teacher can use in the classroom - yes I do this with everything in my life.   :)  Because this is classified as YA, you can use it with Middle School or High School.

From a Special Education Teacher's prospective, this book is amazing.  It grasps the readers attention with vivid detail and enough intrigue to keep them hooked.   There are many ways one could use this in their classroom as a read aloud or silent reader during DEAR (Drop Everything And Read).
Some activities you could complete with this book  and link to state standards/CORE include:
1. Tales past down in their family - essay, project
2. Interview grandparent or older relative - presentation, short essay
3. Research your family tree and what country you would visit  - cumulative project
4. If using as a silent reading book, projects

                                
Like Rosemary's Facebook Page!



Visit Iris and the Dragonflies website!




In accordance with FTC Regulations: I receive books and other products at not cost to me, in exchange for my HONEST review. To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.


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