Water Please!

 

The youngest group of chicks are growing up so fast and they are such characters!  Every night when I go to remove their water they come running out from under/around mama and demand to have one last drink.  Little stinkers!  It is so comical.  They are so big now they don't really fit "under" mom anymore.  They mostly just huddle around her and under her wings.  She has been so good to them.  I have really enjoyed this batch of chicks and am so sad that most of them seem to be cockerels.  I sure hope I am wrong.  I do know that the two Barred Rock mixes are both cockerels for sure.  Buddy and Dolly continue to be my best buddies.  I can't seem to keep Dolly off my back.  She is constantly trying to jump on me.  She's a sweetie.  Time will tell how many pullets and how many cockerels.  May the rest of your week be blessed.

Channie's Visual Handwriting REVIEW

I don't know what it is but both of my kids struggle with their handwriting.  My oldest is actually dysgraphic and my youngest won't slow down enough to get her spacing correct.  I was more than glad to have a chance to review Channie's Visual Handwriting & Math Workbooks.  I have reviewed for Channie's before and I loved the product.  This time I was blessed to be able to choose two products, Channie's Dry Erase Flashcard For Alphabet & Numbers and Channie's Dry Erase Flashcard for Sight Words.  Little Bug is a little old for both (she is in 1st grade and reads fluently) but she really needs the handwriting practice and I just LOVE dry erase! 

Practicing lower case letters (blue)

Praticing writing numbers (orange)

The flashcards are made of heavy-duty, thick card stock and of coarse coated for use with dry erase markers.  I used to use dry erase markers extensively when my oldest was younger but have not used them as much with Little Bug.  It seemed the perfect medium for her to practice and easy enough to clean up afterward.  These cards are nice and compact (about 4" x 5") and easy to tote around if you need to do some practice/school on the go.  They are recommended on the box for ages 3+ and the website lists them for Pre-K to 1st grade.

 

Practicing sight words

If you are not familiar with Channie's system you will quickly see the difference from the typical lined paper for teaching writing.  Instead of a top and bottom line with a dashed middle line, Channie's uses 3 section columns with the middle section shaded in green.  I think it is easier for younger students to form their letters using this system.  The sections allow for better formation of lower case letters that flow "below" the line like p's or j's.  It also allows for proper spacing between the letters.  The fact that these are dry erase is wonderful!  Easy to write (markers flow nicely) and clean off in a breeze (no water necessary since dry erase, just use a dry paper towel and you are good to go).

Channie's Dry Erase Flashcard for Alphabet & Numbers are great for practicing your letters and numbers (26 alphabet cards and 5 number cards).  It includes cards for all 26 letters of the alphabet printed on the front and back of each card.  Capital letters are on one side and lower case on the other.  A word and picture for each letter are also on both sides.  The number cards include numbers from 0 to 9.  They are also printed on front and back and include pictures of fish that match the number on the card.  Handwriting and counting all in one!  The cards are color-coordinated with capital letters in green, lower case letters in blue, and numbers in orange.

Channie's Dry Erase Flashcard for Sight Words includes 50 sight word cards with different words on both sides (total of 100 sight words).  There are also 2 blank cards for you to fill in with an additional 4 words or use the dry erase to change those words out.  The cards are in different colors but there is no designation to the color.

Little Bug is having fun using these cards and they are perfect for daily quick review.  I just give her a couple letter cards and sight word cards each day for her to practice her writing.  She is fluently reading and knows her sight words but needs handwriting practice.  It is a quick fun thing she gets to do daily.  She just loves wiping the boards clean!  The bright colors and pictures are nice on the eyes too and would be great for the younger ones.  We give Channie's Dry Erase Flashcard For Alphabet & Numbers and Channie's Dry Erase Flashcard for Sight Words two thumbs up.

You can connect with  Channie's Visual Handwriting & Math Workbooks on FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM.  There is also an app I believe in the beta test phase that we did not use so be sure to check out the reviews of my fellow Crew members by clicking on the graphic link below to see what they have to say about these and other products by Channie's and what they thought about the app.

 
     

Excelerate SPANISH REVIEW

 

Little Bug so wants to learn to speak Spanish.  We have used several different resources to do this and they have all been good.  The challenge is that at her age and her personality, it is difficult to keep her focused.  I am always up for trying new options so when I had the chance to review Excelerate SPANISH Streaming from Excelerate SPANISH  I signed up!  I really like that this is a streaming video program.  Little Bug is a visual learner and this is a good option for her.  I received a one-year streaming membership with access to BOTH levels 1 and 2.  You will need internet access and something to watch it on like a smartphone, tablet, or computer.

 

Both Levels 1 and 2 each consist of 24 video lessons (total of 48 lessons) that run from about 30 minutes to almost an hour.  So far the only challenge for Little Bug is the length of the lessons.  They are interesting and engaging but VERY content filled so it is just too much for one sitting.  Our goal is to complete 1 lesson per week.  We are slightly behind and she was viewing lesson 4 today.  It works better to break the video up into 2 or three parts for viewing and then review as necessary.  Once you log on you have access to the streaming videos and can easily locate and access them from the menu on the right of your screen.

Screen once you log in

You can click on links to the right and access either Spanish 1 or Spanish 2

Once Spanish 1 is selected you can now access the individual lessons

Little Bug enjoying one of her lessons

This is more of a conversational type program. It uses the magic of storytelling to teach you the language.  It works more practically and it is easier to learn and remember.  You are not just learning a bunch of words but how you can put those words together to communicate effectively about real-life everyday subjects.  The lessons are all based on a subject like taking a bus, going fishing, going out into a storm, at the skating rink, the animals in the zoo, etc. The teacher, Caryn Hommel, moves fairly quickly through the material but also engages the students for better memory retention.  She uses repetition and visual cues for students to remember the words. Once she teaches the vocabulary she uses the words to string together sentences that create a story based on the subject of the lesson.  Having taken 4 years of French MANY, MANY years ago in high school I think this is a wonderful way to learn a foreign language and I am really enjoying the lessons.

 

Student participation in videos

There is an introductory video where Caryn explains how to engage with the program.  She recommends you participate with the class in the videos.  Stand when they do, do the motions, and answer questions like they do.  There is a workbook available for sale that goes with the program, but there are also FREE resources available from a Quizlet link we were given.  I am LOVING the Quizlet resources.  The Quizlet resources include:

• Flashcards
• Learn (like quizzing)
• Write
• Spell (like a spelling test, hear and write)
• Test
• Games (Match and Gravity)

Quizlet link to one of the lessons

Flashcards

 

Learn

 

Write

 

Spell

Test

Gravity Game

Match Game

As far as I can tell, Quizlet has resources for every Excelerate SPANISH Streaming lesson.  Each lesson even has a list of the vocabulary words and audio so you can hear them properly pronounced!  This has been an invaluable resource for us.  I REALLY like the flashcards.  I haven't tried to print them out yet, but I think that is an option.  If I can get it to work then I can laminate them for longevity and she can use them for more practice.  In our case repetition, repetition, repetition will be the key.

I looked ahead to view a few of the Spanish 2 lessons and they appear to be very similar.  Most of them appear to be longer in length (more 40-50 min videos) and with more classroom participation.  With a total of 48 lessons, I don't see us completing or possibly even getting into Spanish 2 very far so I am anticipating that we will probably continue with this program next year.  I only have access for 1 year, but at this time I feel that Excelerate SPANISH Streaming is a wonderful program that helps you excel in Spanish and plan to continue our subscription.  We give this program 2 thumbs up and highly recommend you check it out if you are looking for a foreign language option and want to learn Spanish fast.

You can connect with Excelerate SPANISH on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, and PINTEREST.  Also, be sure to click the graphic link below to see what my fellow Crew members have to say about this wonderful foreign language resource.