One 2 Believe

One2Believe has done it again. You may remember that I reviewed the nativity set by the same company a few months ago. We loved that but I think that this "Tales of Glory Noah's Ark set" takes the cake. We opened the box and my 4 and 6 year olds asked if we could get it all out. They could not wait to get their hands on the set.

There are animals two by two as well as Noah himself. Everything you see in the picture above fits inside the ark for easy storage including the ramp. My youngest son has now decided that Noah is his favorite Bible character and he can't wait to go to heaven to meet him.

I love how this and the other set that we recieved from One2Believe have fostered discussions about the different characters they hear about in Sunday school and at home. This set has become even more of a favorite because it works very well in the bathtub. How cool is that for a Noah set? It even floats in the right amount of water with most of the animals inside. It is so great for the younger ones to learn through play and this is a great set for that.

The set is good quality and at $29.95 I believe it is a great value for a large set like this. One2Believe is known for encouraging learning through play and we are not disappointed with this set. I know that it will have many, many more hours of play in it's future.

SpellQuizzer

If you are struggling to have spelling be a part of your routine or would like a new way to facilitate spelling practice then this program may be for you. Spellquizzer is an online program where you create your own spelling lists and make a sound recording of each word as you enter it in. The software corrects the misspelled words and also offers to retest the student the words on the ones they missed.

This program is a fun way to give spelling tests each week and can be an entertaining way to do spelling. It also frees up the parent to work with another child while the computer gives the list to your student.

This program is simple to execute and easy for the kids to use. You are able to choose different sound effects when your child gets a word wrong which can be a fun way to keeps things exciting and different. I also love that I can use the program tailored to what we are doing. Our spelling lists can be custom made to what we are studying right now such as science lessons or a book we are reading. That provides great reinforement for the comprehension of the material.

The program is available for $29.95 but Dan Hite has a try before you buy program. You can try it out for a 30 day trial and if it works for your family you can then purchase the software, which is downloadable.

Heads Up!

I love, love, love this company called Heads Up! and I would like to tell you about them. If you have a special needs kiddo with any need be it ADD, sensory processing, getting distracted easily, staying focused etc, this company may be for you. They have many learning tools to make learning an easier, more enjoyable experience for your child.

I received an envelope from them and in it was the reading frames that you see pictured above. I was a little confused about what they were for so I read the information that was sent along with them. They are great! I have two kids who get a little overwhelmed by too many things on one page and they spend time trying to find where they left off. These frames are perfect for them. You place the colored frame over the area you are working on and as you do your work you never lose your place. The frames are available in many colors. I was interested to find out the reason for all of the colors is that each person will see differently through various colors. I tried this out and it's true! I much rather would use the blue frame over the other colors.

Also in the envelope were these reading strips that you see below. They are also available in several colors as well as clear. I do believe that I love these the best. When I got them I wanted my son to try them out. It was then that he told me for the first time that reading has not been so enjoyable to him because he is always skipping lines and losing his place. He then has to start the passage over again. These readers are the perfect solution to that problem.

The last thing we received was this reader strip you see below. It is a color in the middle with two strips of grey, one on top and one below. This strip makes it very easy to keep your place while reading and works double time as a bookmark between reading sessions. At $1 each for the frames and reading strips they are all affordable and a great value.

Heads Up! has so many learning tools and their catalog is on my shelf as one of my favorites. Whatever learning challenges you may have, click no the link and see if Heads Up! might have something to help you overcome those challenges.

Critical Thinking

Have you noticed that in the times we live in today common sense seems to be disappearing? I attribute some of the loss to the amount of media we spend our time in front of. When things are fed to us we don't exercise the part of the brain that reasons and figures our for ourselves.

We were blessed to receive 2 different levels of books from The Critical Thinking Company. I have looked at their books for some time now but I had not made the investment yet. I am going to be very open and honest here. Two of my kids, our oldest twins, were born in Africa and an issue they have at times is critical thinking. This didn't come from huge amounts of media time for them. It more had to do with environment and malnurishment.

We were given Level 1 for grades 2-3 and Level 2 for grades 4-6. I am beyond impressed. The exercises on each page are short and easy to follow. They can read the instructions themselves and know what to do with very little help from me. Often times when I am not quite ready to start school yet, the twins have gone out to the school room and retrieved their critical thinking books to get started. At $29.99 they were a little on the high on the price side but when I actually got the books in my own hands I changed my tune. The books are very thick and will last my kids quite awhile making this a worthwhile investment.

I think they secretly like doing the activities and I am enjoying the increase in reasoning skills. The Critical Thinking Company has a large amount of activities, puzzles etc. I love looking at all they have to offer and after trying out these workbooks I will be investing in more of what they have to offer. Click on the links in this post to check them out for yourself.