Brain Aerobics FUNNNNNNN!!!!

Wow!  Brain Aerobics!  Summer would not be the same without this little product!  Brain Aerobics is chock full of word games and puzzles that help to reinforce all the language arts skills your children learned throughout the last school year.  Each game or puzzle is presented in a fun and engaging way that keeps the interest of the child and makes them feel they are actually playing rather than “doing” a school activity.  The activities are printed on reproducible pages that you can print for a single student, multiple students or an entire classroom.  While I am using this product during the summer months with my son who is entering 5^th grade, I plan to continue to use this product throughout our next year too.  The activities stimulate reasoning skills and provide intriguing and creative ways to solve puzzles and word games all while using pertinent grammar concepts and even showcasing vocabulary!  It’s amazing how my son literally loves to work on his Brain Aerobics activities!  Some of the puzzles and word games are seen through magic squares, twisted words, palindromes, acrostics, rhymes, and jumbles.  What an awesome resource to have on hand in any homeschool or classroom alike!

Brand Ambassador Disclaimer:  I participate in the Brand Ambassador Program for Carson-Dellosa and have received this product for free to review.

It's THE BEST Yet!!!!

Oh!  I am so very excited to tell you about STEM Challenges!  This product is simply amazing.  STEM Challenges is chock-full of 30 different STEM challenging activities that require common household materials.  There is very low prepping to be done in order for the student/s to complete the activities.  In fact, the challenges can be done as a class or individually!  Thus, STEM Challenges is absolutely perfect for homeschool or classroom environments!  In addition, the product would be an amazing addition to an afterschool classroom!  Gosh! It would be totally perfect for that! 

 

The product is available in Seasonal Challenges or Year-round Challenges.  “STEM Challenges” covers physical, life, and earth and space science topics.  The student will be able to see exactly what they are attempting to prove or investigate through viewing the “challenge” section, and the items needed for the challenge are clearly defined with a visual list under the “Get Your Gear” section.  On the back of the activity card, there are three sections to get the child’s thinking skills to blossom!  There is a “Hint” section that will help facilitate the student in the right direction of completing the challenge.  Then, the student will take advantage of the “STEAM” section that gives the students various “digging deeper” questions based on the challenges.  There is also a “What’s Going On” section that expounds upon the challenge subject and provides a deeper explanation of exactly why and how the challenge is being achieved along with the science behind the activity  This is achieved all without giving any answers of how to actually perform to challenge activity.  In addition to the educational aspect of the product, every activity card is made from durable cardstock to last for years to come!

I truly believe all classrooms and homeschools should have at least one of STEM Challenges activity boxes!  I’m so glad I have BOTH!  Carson Dellosa has outdone themselves with this product!  Seriously, you must get a box and try it yourself!  They are super fun and a phenomenal way of engaging students in STEM!!!!

Brand Ambassador Disclaimer:  I participate in the Brand Ambassador Program for Carson-Dellosa and have received this product for free to review.

So CREATIVE!!!!

Wow!  So creative!

Ready to Go Guided Reading—Visualize: Grades 1-2 is an exceptionally creative addition to any classroom or homeschool.  The information focus within the text of the mini-readers is nothing short of interesting and thought-provoking to first and second-grade students.  I used this educational extender with a group of my students.  My students were immediately drawn to the bright colors and “firmness” of the cardstock material of the readers.  The students commented on the vivid stories, and we were able to discuss the vocabulary words that are highlighted within the context.  In addition, the children were able to extend their learned knowledge with activity application within the text that encouraged “out of the reader” activities.

The guided reading set contains three reading levels. This provided an incremental challenge to my students as they worked their way through the readers. A wonderful part of Ready to Go Guided Reading—Visualize: Grades 1-2 is that they are made from write-on and wipe off card stock.  My students loved being able to write and erase their answers to the questions on the discussion guides of each mini-reader they mastered.  

The Guided Reading set also contains additional reproducible graphic organizers that help to guide the students to get to the heart of visualizing the material contained within the context of the reading material.  Ready to Go Guided Reading—Visualize: Grades 1-2 contains six copies of each reader.  Through the captivating leveled reading material, the awesome discussion guides, the write-on/wipe-off surfaces, and additional mini-readers, Carson-Dellosa has made this curriculum addition a perfect accessory for the single student or a group setting of classroom students or for a homeschool co-op group.

Check out more information about Carson-Dellosa on their FaceBook page!

Brand Ambassador Disclaimer:  I participate in the Brand Ambassador Program for Carson-Dellosa and have received this product for free to review.

Perfect Addition to Educational Setting

Ready to Go Guided Reading—Determine Importance: Grades 1-2 is a phenomenal educational extender for any classroom or homeschool.  The information contained within the text of the mini-readers is nothing short of engaging and relevant for first and second-grade students.  I used this educational extender with one of my students.  He was instantly drawn to the bright colors of the readers.  Upon beginning to dig into the reading material, he clung to the intriguing context.  While the reading level is for grades 1-2, I feel if your student/s are not proficient readers, they might have a bit of trouble reading the readers alone.  However, it is a great opportunity for an assisted reading time.

The guided reading set contains three reading levels. This provided an incremental challenge to my son as he worked his way through the curriculum. A wonderful aspect of Ready to Go Guided Reading—Determine Importance: Grades 1-2 is that it is made from write-on and wipe off card stock.  My student loved writing and erasing answers to the questions on the discussion guides of each mini-reader he mastered.  

The curriculum also contains additional reproducible graphic organizers meant to facilitate and guide the student to determine the importance of varying information within the context of the reading material.  Ready to Go Guided Reading—Determine Importance: Grades 1-2 contains six copies of each reader.  With the appealing leveled reading material, the awesome discussion guides, the write-on/wipe-off surfaces, and additional mini-readers, Carson-Dellosa has made this educational extender the perfect addition for the single student or a group setting of classroom students or for a homeschool co-op group.

Check out more information about Carson-Dellosa on their FaceBook page!

Brand Ambassador Disclaimer:  I participate in the Brand Ambassador Program for Carson-Dellosa and have received this product for free to review.

Amazing addition to our homeschool!

Oh!  My goodness!  Second Grade Essentials is by far one of my favorite publications! This consumable workbook is perfect for the homeschool classroom.  It boasts with 256 pages with full color and provides pertinent topics of reading and writing practice, math practice, critical thinking activities, mazes, puzzles…and tons of other activities!  This workbook is so much fun that my child literally forgot that he was doing school!  I am floored at the ease of use and the high-interest activities presented in the Second-grade Essentials workbook.  While the text is aligned for second-grade level, it could easily be used for reinforcement of skills in higher grade levels. For children who thrive on colorized workbooks, this is the one for them!  The cross-curricular approach gives me a peace of mind knowing my child is being able to review concepts taught in our daily lessons with a fun and creative presentation.  I can promise you that you will not be disappointed with this workbook.  It is nothing short of amazing!

Brand Ambassador Disclaimer:  I participate in the Brand Ambassador Program for Carson-Dellosa and have received this product for free to review.

Great Classroom Tool

I had the opportunity to review Interactive Notebooks Grade 2 Word Study workbook.  This reproducible workbook tool helps teachers—both homeschool and classroom teachers—to reinforce phonics, high-frequency words, syllabication patterns, and word parts concepts taught in daily learning activities.  Interactive Notebook Grade 2 Word Study workbook provides the teacher a plethora of tools to select from to help students organize a word study notebook in a fun and creative manner.  The publisher gives several suggestions for the personalization usage of the materials.  Through utilizing the Interactive Notebooks Grade 2 Word Study workbook, each student will be able to become actively engaged in notetaking skills for extra reinforcement of word study concepts by creating pages within the notebook that will have a personalized touch thereby allowing each student to focus on concepts related to their specific needs and goals.  I used Interactive Notebooks Grade 2 Word Study workbook in my homeschool. I found this classroom tool to be very useful with reinforcement of spelling strategies taught in lessons during the week. My student was provided a table of contents that we are working towards throughout the next six weeks.  He will add to his Word Study notebook each week.  This tool will be a keepsake for him throughout the year.

Brand Ambassador Disclaimer:  I participate in the Brand Ambassador Program for Carson-Dellosa and have received this product for free to review.

Ohhh! Classroom Data Tracking! Love it!

The Language Arts Instant Assessments for Data Tracking Grade 4 is simply an amazing addition to any teacher’s grab-bag of useful tools.  This publication is chocked full of reproducible formative, interim, and summative assessments that help to provide the teacher with the knowledge of his or her students’ mastery of various learned concepts throughout the year.  The tools and assessments within this publication will help the teacher to be able to better plan for future lessons and teaching strategies to help each of his or her students succeed. 

Within the Language Arts Instant Assessments for Data Tracking publication, six different assessment formats are provided.  Each format enables the teacher to gather succinct assessments throughout the school year. The teacher incorporates the assessments based on his or her lesson needs and implements the correlating instant assessment that fits the concept being taught. 

Below is a brief explanation of each of the six provided instant assessments.

1.  Exit Tickets:

            Exit Tickets provide an easy and fun way of reviewing the day’s lessons or activities. The Exit Tickets can be used for bulletin board additions with lesson or unit review information or can be laminated to be used in the language arts center of the classroom for further reinforcement options.  With the Exit Tickets, there is a whole gamete of ways assessments can be continued throughout the classroom.

2.  Show What You Know:

            Show What You Know entails two literature based assessments that can be used for pre and post testing purposes. Each assessment mimics the other with similarly formatted questions for each of the stories.  The children read the stories and then answer various questions relating to specific units of the literature presented and of language usage. Through utilizing these two assessments, teachers can monitor the growth and progress of the students.

3.  Word Lists:

            Each Word List is gathered using grade-appropriate assessment words.  The word lists follow the areas of sight words, spelling patterns, and words with differing affixes.  The word lists are not exhaustive but rather provide the teacher a simpler means of assessing the students through various avenues of implementation such as vocabulary units, decoding tests, spelling tests and so on throughout the year.

4.  Cards:

            The Cards are writing prompts that can be used in a plethora of ways.  Teachers can utilize the prompts throughout the school year and monitor which prompt each student has completed by making note of the “lettering” system at the bottom of each card.  In addition, in a group setting, the Cards can be printed and laminated for quick and durable use within the classroom such as being placed in the language arts center and used for task card activities.  No matter how the Cards are used, they are sure to gain the attention of the student and provide the teacher with a host of ideas for assessment strategies.

5.  Assessment Pages:

            The reproducible Assessment Pages are truly a gift for the teacher.  The Assessment Pages are designed to be a standard test of skill mastery.  Teachers can couple this assessment with other assessments provided in the Language Arts Instant Assessments for Data Tracking publication to gain a comprehensive outlook of the student’s mastery of various concepts learned. 

6.  Fluency Pages:

            The Fluency Pages are a vital element in assessing the student’s reading fluency with repeated attempts.  The material provides the student (s) a copy of the reading material.  The teacher is also provided a copy of the reading material and is given the word count at the end of each line.  The teacher can total and score the student’s fluency level.  In addition, the Fluency Pages can be combined with the correlating reading comprehension reproducible to measure the complete understanding of the child’s comprehension of the material read. 

The Language Arts Instant Assessments for Data Tracking is a wonderful assessment tool for the classroom teacher.  Each assessment tool provides multiple venues of implementation and helps the teacher to gain an understanding of the concept level of each student in his or her care. In addition, the Language Arts Instant Assessments for Data Tracking helps the teacher to identify gaps in the students’ learning and can help the teacher better plan for future lessons and activities based on the needs of the students.

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Brand Ambassador Disclaimer:  I participate in the Brand Ambassador Program for Carson-Dellosa and have received this product for free to review.