Ruby's Contribution to the Coop Add On

Our sweet Aussie puppy Ruby thought she would do her fair share in helping in the construction of our coop addition.  Hubby had just dug the trench for burying the fence and it was a pretty hot day out.  She learned what the chickens already know, that digging down in the earth makes for a really nice cool resting place.  It was funny and cute.  It wasn't so cute that she decided to wallow around in the dirt a little rather than just lay there though!  Silly puppy.  Keeps us on our toes for sure.  Love her to pieces but boy is she a handful.

Channie's Visual Handwriting & Math Workbooks REVIEW

If you have a Pre-K to 1st grade student who is working on their letters and writing then you might want to check out Easy Peasy Alphabet by Channie's Visual Handwriting & Math Workbooks.  I am glad we had the opportunity to review this product.  I am using it with my K4 daughter to reinforce her letter writing.  I really could have used it with my son when he was younger. He had such a hard time regulating his letters and lining them up and writing neatly.  He was also always so confused with all the lines. Even though the middle line was dotted and often red in color, there were just too many lines for his vision.  He STILL has problems even now in the 8th grade with his spacing and letter alignment (He is slightly dysgraphic and writing does not come easy for him).

On the back of the cover page is the whole alphabet with
directional arrows for proper letter formation

I really like how they design their paper.  It has 3 levels for forming letters with the middle level (row) being shaded.  The shaded portion is the main level to form lower case letters on.  The upper level allows for capitalization.  The lower level allows for lower case letters below level such as "p" and "q."  Visually I think this works better than just the dotted red middle line that is normally used and seen in early handwriting paper.  There is just something about the shaded portion that seems to work better and make more sense.  I think because it is easily visible as opposed to just having a bunch of lines on a page.  The shaded portion stands out and is easy to see as your child forms their letters and helps them on proper placement of letters.  There are also vertical lines to help them in letter spacing.  This is so huge!  This is what my 8th grader continues to have problems with.  He just can't get the spacing down for some reason.

I like that she gets to practice writing her name on each sheet
(she got a little creative with this one LOL)

I like the style of the pages where the first two pages of every letter have the upper and lower case letters with tracing lines and the third page of each letter has just blank, shaded lines for them to practice more on without the help of the tracing lines.  At the end of the workbook, there is also one page of numbers 1-9 for number practice.

First two pages of every letter have tracing lines to practice

Third page of every letter has blank shaded lines for further practice

I also really like the other workbooks they offer.  It was a hard decision to choose between Easy Peasy Alphabet and My First Letters workbook.  The First Letters workbook also has pictures to color and in hindsight might have been a better choice for my creative wonder!  Either way, we really like these workbooks and we will continue to use these in her writing practice.  I recommend Easy Peasy Alphabet over the traditional color dotted line papers used for writing practice.  I believe the way these are set up with the shading and vertical lines better shows the kids how to keep their writing even and neat.

You can connect with Channie's Visual Handwriting & Math Workbooks on FACEBOOK.  I recommend you check out the other workbooks they offer for Pre-K through 3rd grade (listed as ages 3-10 on the website).  Make sure you also check their shop out on their website for many more workbook and handwriting help options including dry erase and magnetic boards. You can get more information and reviews on each of them by checking out the other reviews by my fellow Review Crew members below.

Super Teacher Worksheets Individual Membership REVIEW

As a homeschool mom/teacher, how often do you wish you had just the right worksheet for the subject you are working on?  We recently found out that our Individual Membership to Super Teacher Worksheets was more than helpful in so many of our subject areas.  It mainly covers pre-K through 8th grade (some also just say 6th grade and above) with most of the focus on 1st through 5th grades. It is an online subscription and worksheets are available as downloadable PDF documents.

Super Teacher Worksheets Homepage

She LOVES her new ABC coloring book!

Mini Books

I have to admit that I am having just a little too much fun on this site.  My kids are rolling their eyes and running at this point!  It is so nice to be able to look up a subject we are working on and see what this site has to offer.  Subjects covered include: 

• Math
• Reading & Writing
• Phonics & Early Literacy
• Handwriting
• Grammar
• Spelling Lists
• Chapter Books
• Science
• Social Studies
• Holidays
• Puzzles & Brain Teasers
• Teacher Helpers
• Pre-K & Kindergarten
• Worksheet Generator

Worksheets and activities

One of the subjects we are currently working on is Geography.  I have found so many helpful worksheets for us that actually match our day's lesson plans.  We are learning about North America right now and there are several helpful worksheets that we have used that have helped my kids with their retention of the topics covered.  Many of the worksheets are aligned to the common core standards (I personally do not like common core but have found no problems with the worksheets I have used) and they are noted as such with a CC symbol.

Common Core Aligned worksheets marked with CC

Need a worksheet in Spanish?  No problem!  They have a pretty good assortment of worksheets in Spanish also. Worksheets in Spanish are designated with a LANG symbol.

There seems to be an endless supply of worksheets for my K4 student and 1st through 5th grades but I am also finding that I have great use for many worksheets in several different areas for my 7th and 8th-grade students.  Some of the worksheets are designated for a lower grade but they are helping to fill in some gaps and reinforce some other subject areas we are working on.  Our geography is a perfect example.  We are using an in-depth geography curriculum right now and the worksheets are helping to reinforce what they are learning. We had previously studied Canada and just finished studying Hawaii and there are maps and fact sheets available for just that!  There is also quiz type (fill in the blank) worksheets available.

I REALLY liked the worksheet generator!  I used it to generate word search puzzles for my 7th and 8th grader spelling lists.  What a wonderful tool! You can generate crossword puzzles, multiple choice, and fill-in-the-blank worksheets.  There is a fairly large assortment of worksheets that can be created with the generator tool (see a few examples in screenshots below).

I think the worksheet generator will be heavily used before the end of this school year is over!  Another wonderful feature of the site is the ability to save worksheets you find into your "My File Cabinet" folder for easier future access.  All your generated worksheets are stored here and any others that you choose to save.

Our next project to start, a weather chart.  I will have her color it and then I will laminate it and put velcro sticky on the back of each weather designation to place on chart

I am looking forward to using the Chapter Books area.  We do a lot of read-alouds and there is a pretty good selection of books that they offer worksheets and activities for.  Pictured below are just a few of the examples.

If you think it just can't get any better, well think again.  There is also a Teacher Helpers area that covers items such as:

• certificates
• lined paper
• planner books
• grade books
• calendars
• printable awards
• homework agendas
• weather charts

Just to name a few.

The site is very organized and easily navigated.  I didn't have any trouble finding what I needed quickly.  Not to mention there is a search box that you can type anything in to and find out if they have a worksheet on that topic or subject. You just really can't beat this resource.  It is available for both Individuals and Schools.  The Individual Membership is only $19.95 per year and I just don't know how you can pass it up for that price.  It will more than make up for itself in time saved and is just a great all-around resource.

You can connect with Super Teacher Worksheets on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, PINTEREST, and INSTAGRAM.

Take a moment to also check out the other reviews on this product through the link below.