Carson-Dellosa Spectrum Readers

I have the pleasure of working with a great company called Carson-Dellosa. My experiences with them began when I won a blog giveaway that included a variety of their Guinness World Records Reading Resource Books. After that I began getting some great products to review. We recently received the Spectrum Readers: AWESOME! Snakes (Level 1), CREEPY! Crawlers (Level 2), and MYSTERIOUS! Outer Space (Level 3).

 

Our daughter, Riley, really enjoyed the bright colors detailed pictures. As a homeschooling mom, I like the fact that these readers aren't like many of the readers that we have used. These are non-fiction and can be used for unit studies. The level one books are good, but seem to be a little above the level one books that are offered by other distributors, but that is because they are geared for  "children who are beginning to read high-frequency words and simple sentences with the help of strong picture clues" according to the level guide on the back of the books. The most notable difference between level 1 and level 2 is the size of the font and the length of the sentences. The level guide states that level 2 books are "for children who are progressing in their reading skills with slightly longer sentences and a greater range of vocabulary." My favorite of the samples that we received is the level 3 book. It had paragraphs and really seems to get more information in on each page. The level 3 books are for kids that are able to read alone and understand multi syllable words and complex sentences.

 

If you are looking for a great selection of readers that are not make-believe/fiction then these are definitely the books for you. At only $1.99 a book (via the Carson-Dellosa website), they are well worth the price!

 

 

*I was not paid for my opinion, I simply received the products and reviewed them*

 



Riley's Art

Riley has been participating in an art class with other home-schooled kids nearby. A Korean lady, who owns a gallery, is teaching them. So far they have don't two watercolor pieces, an acrylic piece and a collage. I thought it would be good to show off some of her artwork. Please keep in mind that I help her draw out the picture and then she paints it. I think she's done a great job so far. What do you think?

Watercolor #1 - Leaves (inspired by the photo below the painting)

Acrylic - Hearts (inspired by the photo below the painting)

Watercolor #2 - Butterfly (inspired by the photo beside the painting)

I didn't get a picture of the collage... which got stuck to her sketchpad and we had to tear it off of the paper above it... oops!



On another note, Riley's girl scout troop went for a visit to see the working dogs (a part of security forces). I got a great shot of the group of them...

 

Being a stay at home mommy

What do I do in a day, you ask? EVERYTHING!

We have chosen to home school our kiddos so a few hours of my day goes to teaching. We are using a curriculum from Alpha and Omega Publishing called Lifepacs. Riley is taking Math, Science, History/Geography, Bible, and Language Arts from this curriculum. Here is more information about that part of her curriculum. She is also taking Horizon's Health, Horizon's Penmanship, and Horizon's Spelling and Vocabulary. To give her some other electives, she is taking piano lessons from her dad (they are using Alfred's Basic Piano Course Level A (theory book, lesson book and solo book), ballet lessons at the youth center, and art classes through our home school co-op. To add even more fun into the mix, she participates in Awana's every Wednesday (3rd year) and is also a Girl Scout Daisy (2nd year). Throw in a few field trip with the home school co-op and you have one busy schedule for a six year old!

I am also taking classes through American Military University. I am working on my Associates Degree is Computer Applications, which I should finish up this coming year and then I am re-enrolling and going for my Bachelor's Degree in Accounting. That's a tall order for someone that has been out of 'normal' school/college since 2004, but I am really excited about it. Right now I am in week 15 out of 16 in two classes, Anatomy and Physiology as well as Spanish (at AMU via Rosetta Stone). If you want more information about AMU go here.

As you know, by all of my previous posts, I am up to my elbows cleaning and organizing our home. We have so much stuff that needs to be purged and I am determined to get through everything before we leave here in January.

Oh and just in case I have some free time... we are on an exercise kick. We spend a lot of our exercising time at the parent child gym that we have here on base, but we also have an elliptical at home that holds me over until we can make it back to the gym. We're hoping to get a nice set of weights so that we can do even more at home.

I know you're wondering... what do I do with all the 'free time' in my day... hahahahahaha.... I don't really have much of that with two kiddos home all the time. But when I do... We take time to enjoy the playground, I'm getting ready to start a great quilt that has a book to go along with it, I read in my kindle (sometimes this happens at the playground), I make freezer meals, and I spend as much time as possible with my hubby (who is also taking classes).

Oh and we have a new toy to introduce Elijah to... MILITARY MEN!!!!

 

Happy Saturday!

What have I been doing, you ask? Cleaning and organizing and cooking and I FINISHED WORKING OUTSIDE THE HOME!!!! Woohoo!! I'm a full-time stay at home mom now! This past week I accomplished a few things. I re-organized Elijah's room and vaccumed/cleaned. I re-organzed Riley's closet which meant FINALLY getting rid of the rickety dresser that she has had since she was a baby. (It came in a set with the crib and changing table, both of which have been long gone!) I still need to cleanout the rest of her room. Enjoy the photos of my week!

Elijah's nice clean room:

 

Riley's organized closet:

 

A sneek peek of our homeschooling space that is currently getting put together:

 

 



Children's Grand Park



We headed out for a fun field trip last Friday to the Children's Grand Park up in Seoul. We try to get out of the house a few times a month and explore this crazy country called South Korea. They have lots of animals and some interesting man-made "sculptures" and a botanical garden. Enjoy the photo walk through...