ABCmouse.com Review and Giveaway

I was recently contacted by ABCmouse.com and offered a generous ONE YEAR subscription for one of my lucky readers. I don't have any young children at home so I asked my daughter, Cindy Phelps Thomas, to try this site with my granddaughter for one month.

Cindy is my guest blogger today and tells you about her experience with ABCmouse.com.

ABCmouse.com is a computer-based learning program for young children, ages 3-kindergarten. My daughter is 18 months, but I decided to try this program. The program is personalized, it is set up to your specified age group and even says hello with your child’s name at the beginning of each session.

There is a classroom setting to start. From there you can enjoy the variety of activities they have available, including games, songs, personalizing your classroom, and learning geared toward your child’s age group.

There are multiple themes that you can choose including the beach, the farm, the seashore, etc. In each of these settings there are courses that include learning through puzzles, electronic coloring sheets, songs, math, and more. There are lesson builders available also, if you want to design a particular lesson for your child. As you finish each activity there is a reward of tickets that your child can cash in for prizes.

Although my daughter was a little young for the program, she thoroughly enjoyed learning about zoo animals and listening to the songs. We were able to learn about the specific zoo animals and listen to the sounds that they make. The songs had various settings to listen and sing along with the words. We decided to choose the bouncing ball to guide us along in the song; my daughter was able to point to the ball as it went.

I highly recommend this program to parents of children in these age groups. ABCmouse.com is a great resource for parents to use with their children to encourage the learning process and prepare them for future grade levels. Parents can track the process on this program too. The best part is that the program is not expensive! I will definitely continue to work with my daughter through ABCmouse.com!

How To Win An Annual Subscription to ABCmouse.com
One lucky reader of this blog will win a subscription code for 1 year free use of the ABCmouse.com educational service.

I will conduct a random drawing at 12:00 noon on Thursday, August 29.

To enter the drawing for a chance to win, just leave a comment on this blog post. All you have to say is "I want to win ABCmouse.com!"

Please leave an email address with your comment. I will email the lucky winner on August 29 with the 1 year subscription code. I will annouce the winner on this blog the following week. Good luck to everyone!

Children's Book Review: Attack of the Chicken Nugget Man by Kumar Sathy

Attack of the Chicken Nugget Man: A National Test Prep Adventure

Author: Kumar R. Sathy

Publisher: Student Solutions, Inc.

Date: May 16, 2011



About The Author
Kumar Sathy is an experienced educator and school administrator. He joined Teach for America after receiving an undergraduate degree in Biology and Psychology from Earlham College in Richmond, IN. Kumar taught in K-5 classrooms in Atlanta, GA, where he often used his own stories and unpublished children's novels for reading instruction. He received his teaching certification from Georgia State University and a Masters in School Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Test Prep Can Be Fun
This book is an entertaining and educational book driven by the Common Core State Standards developed by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices. The book focuses on second through fourth grade concepts and can be used as a remediation tool for fifth graders.

The story tells about the Chris Robb, a frustrated third-grader, who was trying to pass a standardized test. Chris had all kinds of crazy experiences in his chaotic classroom.

Chris thought the name of his teacher was the silliest name he had ever heard. Chris always seemed to forget how to say it right. One time, he called his teacher Ms. Bubblegum instead of Ms. Bubblebrain. Her name was not the only silly thing about Ms. Bubblebrain. She also shouted the names of really gross foods when she was mad or surprised. Ms. Bubblebrain would yell things like "hairy cricket biscuits" and "soggy salmon salami".

Chris was terrorized at school by the dreaded Chicken Nugget Man. This was a creature that ate children and caused all kinds of frightening experiences for the kids.
Chris learned that the children with the highest scores on their standardized tests would be in charge of the Anti-Chicken-Nugget Task Force. Chris decided it was time to turn his life around and try harder in school.

My Thoughts
I really like the concept of providing educators with a resource that makes learning fun. This book is absolutely loaded with questions and exercises that will reinforce both language and math educational standards.

I think kids will recognize and enjoy the humor and satire in this book. Here is an example of a clever play on words;
"Preston stole a kindergartener's yellow Captain Stinkypants Thermos and drank out of it."
Most kids will immediately remember the popular "Captain Underpants" books and smile at the similarity.

The only problem I have with the book is sometimes the humor was a bit extreme and OVER THE TOP for my taste. I know that I am not a child but I think the humor could be toned down to be more appropriate for classroom use. Here is one example:

"The room was silent. Ms. Bubblebrain stared at Chris. Her mouth opened so wide that a family of flying gorillas could have flown inside. Her jaw dropped to the floor. Then she said it, one word at a time. It was the longest, grossest food she had ever named. 'Holy peanut-butter-and-donkey-lasagna-covered, spinach pretzel-filled, beef-and-boxer-shorts donuts with brown sugar skeletons and banana-covered battery frosting! Chris, you actually remembered something!'" 

This book fills a need for kid-friendly test prep material.  Mr. Sathy has produced a resource that can be used by both teachers and parents to improve their student's test scores.

My Rating: 4 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ I received a complimentary digital copy of this book to read and review from NetGalley.


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Book Review: You Can Write A Short Story! by Geoff Hoff

You Can Write a Short Story!

Author: Geoff Hoff

Publisher: Geoff Hoff Online

Date: December 1, 2012




About The Author
Geoff Hoff has been a creative writer, an actor, an acting teacher, a standup comic and a popular blogger. He studies and writes about the process of creativity and the process of marketing and teaches creative writing and marketing courses on the Internet.

A Simple, Practical, Fun System to Write Short Stories
Do you want to write but don't know where to start?

Geoff Hoff presents a no-frills system to go from no idea to completed short story in six easy steps;

• The Idea
• Beginning, Middle and End
• Setting
• Character
• The First Draft
• Conclusions and Responses

The author uses three short stories as reference points for the lessons that he teaches in this ebook. These stories can be downloaded from the author's site and reviewed before reading this book.

My Thoughts
This short ebook provides a wealth of information in a very concise and well-organized manner. I read the book in about an hour and truly enjoyed it. The author includes "free tips", exercises, lesson summaries and assignments. The book is very interactive and it seemed like Mr. Hoff was looking over my shoulder as I was jotting down some notes that might be my inspiration for a future short story.

When I was working as an elementary school librarian, I attended several creative writing workshops that were designed to help teachers instruct students in writing skills. I felt like some of these courses made writing much more difficult than it really is.

"You Can Write A Short Story!" is an excellent resource for beginning writers, teachers and students of all ages. If you complete each assignment in this ebook, I promise you will have a completed short story to share with your friends or even publish on Amazon! Highly recommended for all ages.

My Rating: 5 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ I received this ebook as a free download during a special promotion on Amazon.Com. Please check the current price before ordering.

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Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.