Today was another busy day, lots of end of semester parties at Timothy followed by a long 5 hour dress rehearsal.
Looking forward to tomorrow's performances after a good night's rest!
And my parting shot ... today's RACK ... we purchased a small Altoid Tin and left it for one of the receptionists at our church along with a note.
We love Advent ... the anticipation of the celebration of Jesus' coming to earth. Each year I pick a fun study for us to do during the season.
So, today was our first day, we decided to buy a box of donuts and deliver them to our local police officers for a morning treat. We tied a red bow around the box and taped one of our RACK cards to the top. The police officer who greeted us did not look like she was having a good day but, if you could see the huge smile on her face once she realized we were there with a gift it was absolutely priceless. My kids left feeling they had shared Jesus with her. {I decided I won't be taking along my big camera to snap pics - many times I want our acts to truly be random and my camera is just too heavy to carry around all the time. So pics will be from my iPhone instead.}
Also, this is the book I have chosen to use this year for our Advent Study. A study every day leading up to Christmas along with discussion questions.
It is here ... the Christmas season is upon us. Last night I enjoyed a wonderful time with some of my good friends. I hosted a table at our church's women's Christmas Celebration program - the program was so good {though I know I say that every year}, the food was amazing, and it was so nice spending time with some of my dearest friends.
Today was the Lottie Moon Bake sale at church ... the girls made 48 cookies {2 dozen white chocolate peppermint cookies and 2 dozen six layer cookies}.
Lexi continues with her Cindy Lou practices {pictured below the two Cindy Lou's} ... this Saturday is the big performance. Ava Mae and Lexi are both so excited about "How the Grinch Found Christmas".
Yes, the Christmas season is upon us ... we are enjoying each exciting day - even if our calendar is completely full until Christmas. Tomorrow I will post about our new way of celebrating Advent this year.
My children love games so when I can combine that with teaching phonics it is a huge plus!! 
The game comes with 180 memory cards and six fun storybooks. Each storybook has 30 memory cards that go along with it. What I loved is that when Ava Mae had memorized the first 30 memory cards she was able to read the first storybook. I have found one of the biggest motivators when teaching reading is the ability for a child to be able to read a book by themselves. Ava Mae was so excited when she read her first book "Skunk". I found it really nice that the memory card game is played in six sets of five words. The smaller sets allow for your child to learn the words more quickly without being overwhelmed. 
My son and daughter both enjoyed playing the role of "reading buddy" for Ava Mae. It is a game easily paired with an older sibling - another plus in our homeschool. I think this game would make a great Christmas gift for a new reader and a wonderful addition to any reading/phonics curriculum. It can be purchased directly from The Reading Game for just $24.95.From The Reading Game website:
Frequent exposure through play hard-wires these words into long-term memory. The card game requires two players, the student and a tutor. When used in classrooms and reading centers, parent volunteers or student “reading buddies” can easily be shown how to play the matching card game. By transforming rote learning into a fast paced game where there is a winner every few seconds, learning to read becomes fun.
After completing stage six of the first game, the student has a reading vocabulary of thirty words.
The first story is told using just those thirty words. It tells of a skunk without a stripe who is rejected for being different but finds acceptance among a group of cats and becomes their defender. Each subsequent game in the series adds a further thirty words for a reading vocabulary of 180 words by the time the complete series is finished. Of the twenty-five most commonly used English words, twenty-two are on that list; of the forty most commonly used English words –thirty. The multi-sensory teaching approach – through the card game play and the storybooks - works well for retention and student enjoyment.
This year, instead of a thankful tree, we made a thankful chain. Each morning, at the school table, I had the kids get a slip of paper that I had hand-stamped, Counting my Blessings, and write something they were thankful for.
We loved watching our chain grow and grow! We have so much to be thankful for {God, a roof over our head, food on the table, nice clothes to wear, friends, each other, our pets, gifts and talents that God has given us}!!
"Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name." Psalm 100:4
Recently I had the opportunity to review a product called One Minute Reader from the company Read Naturally.
These are the principles that make One Minute Reader so effective. Students read each story several times, following a specific series of steps designed to make sure they learn to read correctly, read faster, and understand what they read.We got the One Minute Reader Starter Kit Level 1 and the Level 3 Disasters Book and CD. We began with the Level 3 book because, of my son's reading level. Devin loved all of the stories in this book. We started each story by having him record his cold score after reading through the story once. He also underlined any words he did not know. Devin then practiced reading the story out loud with the CD, then by himself, and then with me. Each time he read the story by himself he would record the score. He loved seeing how quickly his speed went up with each run through the story.Read Along
Students read the story aloud while listening to an audio CD of the story. This teaches them how to pronounce new words and reviews and reinforces words they already know.
Read Alone
After reading along, students read alone several times. By practicing the story, they master the story and many of the words in it.
Raise Your Score
Students time themselves before and after they read along and read alone. A graph of their growth motivates them to keep improving
There is a place to chart your scores in each book ... allowing the child to see progress. Also, each story has a Quick Quiz which the child can take to see their comprehension level.
