Summer Squash Stuffed Burger Recipe #goodcookkitchenexprt Review

I recently received an awesome kit from Good Cook with all the things necessary to create an awesome stuffed burger(well except for the food) to review and show you guys how creative I can be!  Okay so we know I'm not the most creative, but I do like to cook and we all love food!

So I decided to create a yummy little burger using things we had lying around from our non existent garden.  Okay so things that friends had given us from their overflowing gardens and a few things I had to buy.

Ingredients needed:
hamburger--I buy local ground beef.  It's around an 80/20 blend I believe
onion--diced
bell pepper--diced
summer squash-- grated
tomatoes---diced
cheese---mozzarella was used here (since we're dairy free Daiya mozzarella shredded cheese works too)
garlic---extremely finely minced

Items needed:
stuffed burger press (burger stuffer)
cutting board
chef's knife
cast iron grill pan
turner(my kids call mine the pancake turner)
grater

Okay here we go!

Assemble your ingredients and tools and do your prep work!  While you're prepping put your grill pan on the stove and heat it up!  Grate up that squash and cheese if needed.  Dice up the tomatoes, peppers, onions, and garlic!  Oh and make sure to notice my awesome cutting board, stuffed burger press(red thing in the background three piece set), and chef knife.  Totally in love with the knife. . . . . and yes it is very sharp.  Must be careful with that one!  Cutting board has the non stick on the bottom which is awesome!  First one I've had and it works wonderfully without scooting around on me.

Okay got everything ready?  Now you need to place a chunk of hamburger in the press and push down hard with the plunger.  Make a good sized dent in your meat so you can fill it in with all kinds of goodies!!!

In your dent you now place your stuffings.  I used different things in different ones depending on who was going to eat it.  Basically it's all about what you like.  Mine had a bit of everything!  So lets go with that one.  Place in a small handful of each ingredient(or less depending on how big the well is and how big you want your burger to be).  I used peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, summer squash, and a hint of cheese.

Now the fun part.  Once you put your stuffings in you have to seal it with the top.  So place another chunk of hamburger on top.  I liked to flatten mine out just a little to help make sure it covered all of my fillings.  Now press down on the burger with the flat part of the press.  This will help seal it all up.  A word to the wise, the tomatoes I used were very juice which tended to not let the meat seal together the way it should so you might want to dry out your fillings a little bit.

Alright, now you're ready to cook!  Place the burger on your preheated(you should have already done this) cast iron grill on your stovetop.  Make sure to let it cook evenly and don't do a lot of extra flipping.  That tends to make it start to fall apart and we don't want that!

Oooooh don't those look good!  Yum making me hungry all over again!  We had ours with a spinach salad.  Lots of veggie eating goes on in this house.  We had friends over for supper this night because I couldn't wait to show off my lovely new kitchen toys(come on I know I'm not the only one that loves new toys to play with in the kitchen).  She happens to be a photographer and had fun taking pictures while I slaved over making supper. . . .okay so I was having equal amounts of fun creating yummy stuffed burgers!  You caught me. . . .

Okay now let's talk about how you can get to try out this great stuffed burger kit for yourself.  Good Cook is sponsoring a contest among all of us bloggers that got to review the kit.  What you do is go to their site and vote on your favorite burgers.  Each time you vote you get entered to win one of 10 stuffed burger press kits.  You can vote up to 3 times per day.  Voting begins on September 3rd and ends September 17th.  

Can't wait to win one?  Good Cook is totally awesome and is offering 25% off if you use the code BurgerLovers talk about nice!!

Now I have to say please vote for my burger!!  Please please!  Winning blogger gets a prize too and I'd love more kitchen toys to share with you!

Linked up to From House to Home, Weekend Brew, Domestically Divine Tuesdays, Teach Me Tuesdays, Wise Woman Link Up, Welcome Home Wednesdays, Homemaking Party, Make Bake Create, Hearts for Home, Proverbs 31 Thursday, 

Aurorae Yoga Towel Review and Giveaway #pitchlist ends 9/13

I recently got the chance to review a microterry towel from Aurorae for yoga.  I'm not a huge lover of yoga, I might do some yoga stretching once or twice a month, but this towel is great for any workout really!

I have a yoga mat that I use to work out on because the hard wood floor kills me!  I have joint tenderness due to health issues which makes working out a bit more difficult for me.  The mat helps that.  But, when you sweat and the sweat gets on the mat(yeah I know not a lovely thought) you slip and slide and that is not safe and not fun. Solution: simply put the yoga towel down on top of the mat!  Super easy to do and tada all better, well at least for me.

This works for not only yoga but pilates as well.  I also tend to do all my exercises on my mat so anytime I get the mat out I get the towel out too and it's a win win situation for me.

The towel I received was a gorgeous purple color.  I actually had to hide it because my daughter loves purple and told me it was the perfect size to cover her pillow when her hair was wet after a shower.  She thinks she needs one  now for that specific purpose.

Aurorae's towel is made of microfiber to wick away moisture.  It's lightweight, soft, easy to fold and go as well.  It can be used over a yoga mat or alone, making it very versatile for when you want to exercise away from home but don't want to take a yoga mat with you.  It can be machine washed and dried in the dryer which is wonderful.  So many exercise towels contain fibers that you can't do a convenient wash with.

I am now sold on this little towel and think every household should have at least one.  Not only can you use it for exercising, but think of the possibilities!  Swim towel, shower towel, when it gets older and a bit ratty cleaning towel!  Yes I'm big on repurposing things until there is absolutely nothing else you can do with them!

Now if you think like me that this towel is awesome simply enter to win one of your own!  5 winners will each win a towel from Aurorae yoga so this could be your lucky day!  Use the rafflecopter form below to enter and share with your friends.  I am not responsible for choosing the winners or shipping the prize, but winners will be emailed once the giveaway ends on 9-13.


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Forever 21 Giveaway ends 9/6 open to US only

Welcome to the Forever 21 Giveaway! One lucky reader will win a fabulous Forever  21 prize pack including a gift card to get your Forever 21 fix!

Prize: Railroad Striped Holdall ($25 ARV) + $25 Forever 21 Gift Card

Sponsors: Jade and Oak, Luv Saving Money, For Him and My Family, Sunshine and Sippy Cups, Fabulous Awesomeness, This Mama Loves, Oh My Gosh Beck!

Rules: Use the Rafflecopter form to enter daily. Besides the mandatory entry, all others are optional. Oh My Gosh Beck! is responsible for prize fulfillment. Giveaway ends 9/6 and is open to the US only.

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Pattern for Romance by Carla Gade -Review CFBA

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Pattern for Romance Abingdon Press (August 20, 2013) by Carla Gade

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Carla Olson Gade has been imaging stories most of her life. Her love for writing and eras gone by turned her attention to writing Inspirational Historical Romance. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, American Christian Writers, and the Maine Fellowship of Christian Writers. She is represented by Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary.

Her publishing credits also include a variety of newspaper articles, newsletters, and web content. She also enjoys developing discipleship materials for women. She has been a book judge for the Inspirational Reader's Choice Contest (RWA), and ACFW's Genesis Contest.

In addition to writing, Carla is a freelance website designer and webhost and an advocate for adult literacy. An experienced event and program planner/promoter, Carla designs marketing materials for her writing group, women's ministry, and other functions. Carla has also spoken at several women's events and facilitated many workshops and classes through the years.

An autodidact, creative thinker, and avid reader, Carla also enjoys genealogy, web design, and photography. A native New Englander, she lives in beautiful rural Maine with her "hero" husband and two young adult sons, and a new grandson.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Honour Metcalf’s quilting needlework is admired by a wealthy customer of the Boston Mantua-maker for whom she works. In need of increasing her earnings, she agrees to create an elaborate white work bridal quilt for the dowager’s niece. A beautiful design emerges as she carefully stitches the intricate patterns and she begins to dream of fashioning a wedding quilt of her own. When Honour is falsely accused of thievery and finds herself in a perilous position, merchant tailor Joshua Sutton comes to her aid. As he risks his relationships, reputation, and livelihood to prove her innocence, the two discover a grander plan—a design for love.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Pattern for Romance, go HERE.

My thoughts:  My thoughts coming soon after I receive the book to review!

Tuesday's Good Eatin' Recipe Hop 8/27 #GoodEatinPL

 

Welcome to the Good Eatin' Recipe Hop

hosted by

The 'Pitch List' Bloggers

Every Tuesday you can join us to share great recipes.........

There are no specific themes. 
Add your recipe of choice to the linky.

No Giveaways Please...all giveaways will be removed.

We Love Comments! Please Share!

Dolphins, Porpoises, and Whales Study by In The Hands of a Child -TOS Review #hsreviews

I recently received a PDF of a unit study/lapbook entitled Dolphins, Porpoises, and Whales for ages K-4th grade.  This was provided by In The Hands of a Child.

The regular price of our study is $12.00 but as of right now it is on special sale for $5.00!  That is quite a sale at over 50% off!!  Now to clarify a little bit.  If you go online you will find that the recommended grades for this lapbook are grades 3 and 4 but it does say that it works for grades K-4.  I used it with my 1st and 2nd graders.  There were quite a few words and such in the reading that they didn't know so I read it aloud to them.  They were able to grasp the concepts and do the activities though.  I do feel that it is geared more towards the top grades and not the lower ones though.  I don't think my kindergarteners would be able to get much out of this.

The Lapbook study came to us in a downloadable PDF form.  It was easy to print and fairly self explanatory on how to put it together correctly.  Everything you will need is there.  Well except for the glue and paper, etc you need for the activities and putting your book together!

Included in your unit study is a 7 day planning guide.  Due to the number of children I have we made this into a 14 day unit study.  It worked out really well for us!  My kids of course wanted to do more each day, but this helped keep it at a manageable level for us since I do have so many young kids to work with!  I did read everything aloud to them and we had to substitutes smaller words in for some of the larger ones that we didn't know.

Also included are 20 activities!  My kiddos loved doing the activities.  I'm not sure that we always did them like they were supposed to be done as they did not have clear cut step by step instructions to follow. If my kids had just been turned loose with the activity, I don't believe they would have been able to get it done correctly.

The sheer amount of information about the animals was amazing!!  I learned so much reading through this with my kids.  I'm sure in a few years we'll do it again and we'll all learn new things that we didn't get this time.  That is the wonderful thing with homeschooling, you never stop learning!  Someone went to a lot of effort to discover all the interesting facts that were put together here.

This is only the 2nd lapbook that we've ever done, but my kids loved it!  I do have to say that I definitely am going to have to buy stock in glue and majorly stockpile it!  My kids really love to make sure everything is super sticky.

So our thoughts:  We loved it!  We recommend it!  We would definitely try other lapbooks/unit studies from them.  My kids gave it all thumbs up(well sticky thumbs so maybe thumbs and fingers glued together).  Which of course means they enjoyed themselves!

Make sure to pop over to the Main Crew Blog Post to check out the other reviews from crew members.  There was quite a variety of studies that we were allowed to choose from  so lots of fun reading!

Huge Lilla Rose Special Sale and a Mystery Hostess Party!!

Lilla Rose is having an awesome 72 hour sale in honor of back to school!  Today through Saturday you can order two discontinued flexi's of the month as well as get 20% off loads of flexis that may be getting discontinued soon!  Make sure to take advantage of these sales so that you don't miss out!

This is wonderful in and of itself, but I've decided to make it even bigger by having a mystery hostess party!  That's right, you can simply place an order and possibly be named the hostess to get all the goodies!  Before I became a consultant for Lilla Rose I won a mystery hostess party and got all kinds of free flexi's!  And the hostess flexi is absolutely gorgeous!

You can access the party by CLICKING HERE.  Simply register as my customer and start shopping.  You do not have to place a large order to get a chance to win, simply order one item and you're entered to be the mystery hostess with all the goodies!

Not just flexi's but U pins, bobby pins, hairsticks, and headbands too!

Below are pictures with the mini's and x-smalls that are on sale!  Keep in mind this may be one of your last chances to order several of these.

Mini Size on Sale Flexi's

X-Small Size Flexi's on Sale

Small Size Flexi's on sale!

Medium Size Flexi's on Sale now!

X-Large sized clips on sale

This post contains affiliate links to my Lilla Rose website and the newly opened Mystery Hostess Party.

Sparkly Soul Giveaway #giveaway ends 8/31

Welcome to the Sparkly Soul Giveaway! We’re giving away 3 Sparkly Soul headbands and the lucky winners will be able to choose the width and color of their headband! How cool is that?

ABOUT SPARKLY SOUL

Sparkly Soul headbands are nonslip and no headache - they are the comfortable solution for all athletic fashionistas. Sparkly Soul are ENTIRELY elastic all the way around – 360 degrees of continuous elastic with no black elastic piece in the back! 

Sparkly Soul is the #1 headband that fits EVERY headshape! The mission of Sparkly Soul is to celebrate women who find their strength and soul while pushing themselves to their limits. Sparkly Soul has become all the rage - it is functional and fashionable - they are an accessory must-have from tiny sparkly tots to stylish college students to sophisticated business fierce females to fab marathon runners. Two thin headbands are often paired together to show school/team spirit - sports players and sports fans alike wear their colors to show support. 

Sparkly Soul headbands come in a wide variety of sparkly colors and satin colors and in two widths - Thin Headband (retail price $15) and Wide Headband (Retail Price $17).Sparkly Soul headbands are available online at www.sparklysoul.com. 

PROMO CODE

Sparkly Soul has set up a special coupon code for all our lovely readers. Just use promo code SPARKLE from now through 8/28 to save 15% off at checkout!

GIVEAWAY

Enter for your chance to win 1 of 3 Sparkly Soul headbands of your choice using the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway ends August 31st and is open to the US only. Sparkly Soul is responsible for prize fulfillment. Good luck!

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Aquasana 3 Stage Water Filter System Giveaway #giveaway ends 9/3

Gluten Free for Jen and Aquasana (sponsor) are excited to offer one lucky reader a chance to win this 3 Stage Under the Counter Filter System!

From Gluten Free for Jen:
"The Under the Counter Filter was really quick and easy for my husband to install. It fits under our old 60's counters perfectly. I like how the water goes through 3 stages:

• First it goes through a 20 micro pre filter: this helps catch rust, sediment, and silt to help prevent clogging. 
• The second filter is Activated Carbon: It will reduce organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, herbicidesm pesticides, and MTBE among a few other things. 
• Last but not least is the Sub Micron (.5) mechanical filter: this will reduce chlorine resistant cysts like cryptosporidium and giardia. It will also reduce mercury and lead and other heavy metals. 

The cartridges are eco friendly and easy to change. They are NSF Certified to standards 42 & 53 (to reduce 97% of chlorine, chloramines, and reducing over 60 contaminates). The filter can handle 600 gallons, or 6 months before needing changed out. "

You can read her complete review HERE. 

This Prize is valued at $249! The giveaway is open to US Residents only and will end on 9/3!  Enter using the form below! 

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Into the Whirlwind by Elizabeth Camden -CFBA Review

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Into the Whirlwind Baker Publishing Group (August 15, 2013) by Elizabeth Camden

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A research librarian and associate professor, Elizabeth Camden has a master’s in history from the University of Virginia and a master’s in library science from Indiana University. She has published several articles for academic publications and is the author of four nonfiction history books. Her ongoing fascination with history and love of literature have led her to write inspirational fiction. Elizabeth lives with her husband in central Florida.




ABOUT THE BOOK

After her father's death, Mollie Knox takes over his watchmaking company and uses her head for business to solidify the good name of the 57th Illinois Watch Company. Her future looks bright until the night her beloved city is destroyed in the legendary Great Chicago Fire. With her world crumbling around her, Molly must do whatever it takes to save her company in the aftermath of the devastating fire.

Zack Kazmarek is an influential attorney with powerful ties to the political, mercantile, and ethnic roots of Chicago. His only weakness is Mollie Knox, a woman who has always been just beyond his reach. However, all bets are off after the fire destroys Chicago, and Mollie is in desperate need of assistance. Just as Zack finally begins to pursue the woman he loves, competition arises in the form of a hero from her past who can provide the help she needs to rise from the ashes.

While Mollie struggles to rebuild, the two men battle for her heart. One has always loved her, but the other has the power to save her. In the race to rebuild the city, can she survive with her business and her heart intact?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Into the Whirlwind, go HERE.

My thoughts will be added after I receive the book to review.

Keurig Brew Over Ice Review and Giveaway #LoveBrewOverIce #giveaway ends 8-30

If you're like me you love coffee.  Well and tea on a hot summers day.  I happy to not really like sweet tea, but love flavored teas!  I was really excited to receive a package from Keurig to review as part of their Brew Over Ice program!  Yeah!  Make sure to show them how much you love them on their facebook and twitter!  They enjoy seeing your photos and hearing what drinks are your favorite.

I received to review an ice bucket with tongs(so cute and my kids have loved playing with it in non ice ways), 3 brew over ice samples(including my favorite peach tea), 4 coasters, a tumbler with lid and two different colored straws.

I'm part of a blogging group that you probably have seen and heard of called The Pitch List, well we've all been having fun with our tumblers this summer!  My tumbler was transformed by my children into Tumbler Annie.  Inspired of course from the great Annie Oakley.  Our tumbler got a pretty pink bandana from the older girls, a belt from my 2 year old, and a little gun from the boys.  Because of course you can't be Annie Oakley without some kind of gun!

Now on to the review.  First of course I took some pictures to show what I received because pictures help so much more than just words!

The first drink I tried was the peach tea because well, I LOVE peach tea and wanted to make sure I got to drink that one before anyone else could see it and use it!   Yeap selfish moment from this mommy!  And of course it did not disappoint.  Just enough peach flavor you can taste it but not too much to be overwhelming.
Now that left me with an iced coffee and another flavored drink.

The next thing I tried was the Vitamin Burst strawberry pomegranate.  I had never even heard of these before so wasn't sure what to expect.  Oh my goodness!  Yes this was extremely yummy and wonderful for a summer day.  Again not overpoweringly sweet.  I hate things that are too sweet.  Just can't stand things that taste like syrup so this was perfect as it gave you a hint of the flavors combined together to refresh and satiate you thirst.  Definitely a win win in my book.  Oh and definitely one that I'd try again(and again and again).

Lastly I tried the sweet and creamy regular iced coffee kcup from Donut Shop.  I'm really not a huge iced coffee fan which is strange considering how much I absolutely love coffee.  I did like this coffee but added just a touch of caramel extract to give it a bit of a caramel latte flavor.  The ice cubes I used were frozen almond milk. . . Wait is that a recipe!?  What yes of course it is.  But wait until I perfect the amount of caramel because I'll definitely be posting it for you then!

Now make sure to pop on over and enter my giveaway for a Brew Over Ice prize pack as well as visit Keurig for their Brew Over Ice Sweepstakes!!  Oh and print off some great coupons here!

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Annie Crow Knoll: Sunrise Book Tour ends 9-9

Annie Crow Knoll-Sunrise is the story of a place where people come to restore their spirits, heal their pain and reclaim their lives. Annie is a determined young woman who is left to run her family's property after the death of her parents. Managing fourteen summer cottages with only the help of a family friend, she struggles to survive on her own. When she meets Drew, a young college professor, Annie thinks she's finally found a love she can trust. But years of conflict and pain destroy their bond and leave Annie alone again, unless she can find lasting peace and passion in the most unlikely arms. In this family saga, love, loss and history twine together the people whose lives are changed by Annie's determination and the magic of her knoll nestled along the head-waters of the Chesapeake Bay.   Purchase - AMAZON/BN/SMASHWORDS

 

 Gail Priest lives in New Jersey and summers in Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay with her husband and their cockatiel. In addition to writing novels, plays and screenplays, she teaches and directs in a high school performing arts program. She loves theatre, reading, birding and being out in nature Follow Gail Priest on Facebook / Blog / Literary Addicts / Goodreads   Follow the Tour We are giving away 5 swag packs (water bottles, key-chains, and bookmarks)

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Tuesday's Good Eatin' Recipe Hop 8/20 #GoodEatinPL

 

Welcome to the Good Eatin' Recipe Hop

hosted by

The 'Pitch List' Bloggers

Every Tuesday you can join us to share great recipes.........

There are no specific themes. 
Add your recipe of choice to the linky.

No Giveaways Please...all giveaways will be removed.

We Love Comments! Please Share!

Family Hope Center DVD Understanding Child Brain Development Review -TOS Crew #hsreviews

I recently reviewed a dvd from Family Hope Center entitled Understanding Child Brain Development as part of the TOS Crew.  This DVD is primarily focused towards children with developmental delays and special needs.

The DVD is created by the Newells(Matthew and Carol) who are internationally renowned speakers and child brain developmentalists.  The video is about 2 hours long, but luckily it has this broken up into chapters for easier viewing.  It's a lot to digest watching all at once so the menu of chapters is wonderful!

The DVD can be purchased for $19.00 by either ordering it from Institute for Excellence in Writing or by calling the following number of 610-397-1737.

About The Family Hope Center from The Team at The Family Hope Cent on Vimeo.


The belief and purpose of Understanding Child Brain Development is to help children(and thus their parents) with special needs to overcome and possibly correct their brain dysfunctions and disabilities.  The Newells have used this process with their own daughter and now are sharing it with everyone in hopes of bringing hope and healing to all.  Both of the Newells have been certified in craniosacral and myofascial release therapy.  For 30 years they have been working on their program and individualizing it for children who are in need of special help.

One of their main principles is that in order to treat the child we must first treat the part of the brain that the behavior or problem is originating from.  In essence, treating the body from the inside out which is what holistic healthy professionals have been saying for quite some time and was a premise of treatment in the beginning of our time.  They do not believe in using medications to treat what our society believes to be diseases but rather to go back and repair the body and the brain of the child by allowing them to go back to a point in time where it might have originated.  This may require them to go back to creeping/crawling or such.

They make many point throughout the dvd, too many for me to talk on each an every one, but some that stood out to me were that you shouldn't use microwaves(we don't), you should limit television, computer, video games,etc(which is something we do), and that you should make sure your child eats a balanced healthy diet as well as drinks lots of water.  These are all things that I agree wholeheartedly with, not just for a child with special needs, but for any child!  In our household these are things that we hold strictly to for all of our children.  Not necessarily because they have special needs, but because it does make them a healthier and most generally a more well rounded individual.

Make sure to check out the Main Crew Blog Post to see what other crew members thought of the dvd.

In my personal opinion, this is a dvd worth watching.  You may not agree with each and every point that they make, but everyone is sure to get something from it.  You do not have to have children with special needs to watch the video or to learn something.  The secret is to watch it with an open mind, digest it, and then go back and review sections.  As a nurse, I do have to say that I have seen instances where a child will benefit from this type of "treatment" and instances where they don't. I have seen children who really and truly need medicine as well.  To me it should be a case by case basis and each child is unique.

Reading Kingdom Online Reading Course Review -TOS #hsreviews

Reading Kingdom is an online reading course available for use in schools or at home to help teach children to read and help them learn to read better.  It is designed for children ages 4-10 or grades preschool through third grade as well as struggling readers who would read at one of these levels.  In our home it has been used primarily by our oldest who is 8 years old and in 2nd grade this fall.  As part of the review we received a full year subscription for up to three children in our house.  The other two who I've decided get to use Reading Kingdom are in 1st grade this fall ages 8 and 7.

This program teaches reading and writing including working on sequencing, motor skills, sounds, meaning, grammar, and comprehension.  The thing that sets this program apart from other online programs is that it is customized for each child, individually.  The customization and how it allows the child to work on something until they master it are my favorite things of the program.  Oh and that the computer has more patience than me! Somedays I'd just say okay we're done for the day even though they hadn't grasped the concept because I didn't want to lose  my patience with my children.  The computer never does that!

Created by Dr. Marion Blank, this program is affordable.  You can sign up for a 30 day free trial, and after that it is only $19.99 per month or $199.99 per year for the first child with each child after costing an additional $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year.  Though not required, you can purchase other materials to use with the program on their site as well.  These include Early Reader story books, Story Smarts for Reading Comprehension, handwriting help, phonics help, the Reading Remedy book by Dr. Blank, and Steps to Stories for children on the Autism spectrum.

There are also several free online resources that you can take advantage of.  You will find extra worksheets and sample pages as well as activities, apps, books, games, and learning tips.  This is an intensive program which requires your child to work at their own pace but to do so on a regular basis.  It is recommended that they work on this daily for 4-5 days a week so that they can continue to progress.  Reading Kingdom also helps parents as well as students by providing progress reports including strengths and weaknesses.  This shows their improvement through the course.  Your child, through the individualization, will receive extra help in areas that they were weaker in while not having to repeat and work on areas that they are strong in.  They give an example of skipping over words that your child can already read and spell so as not to bore the child.

 

The "struggling" reader in our house is an 8 year old girl who is slowly working her way along her academic route.  She has a few things limiting her growth and has trouble comprehending and learning at times.  This made me think that the program would be wonderful for her and really help her to grasp and hopefully progress faster.  We have not used a lot of online resources for her but had been going the paper and pencil route. So, this was her first computer program.  She was very excited to get started and get to use the computer.  Right now we are a one computer family so we had to be a bit creative in what times of the day she could work on her reading.

I have tried several phonics programs with her and she can sound out things wonderfully, except for those dreaded words that don't follow the rules.  She has troubles with them.  This program has really helped her with the rule breakers.

Now I have to admit I wasn't too sold on this at the beginning.  It seemed like I had to help her a lot and I thought everyone always raved about computer classes like this being so great for independence.  To this I have to say, stick with it because at the beginning it is definitely not independent work, or at least it wasn't in our house.  But now, after using it for several weeks she is blossoming and emerging onto new areas that she hasn't been able to do before and really starting to show progress!

Stop back next week if you wonder what taking a week off of the reading program will do to their progress.  I'm not sure I want to know but with the death of my grandmother(the children's great grandmother) we are taking the week off so I can help with funeral arrangements and to attend the funeral.  I'm not sure that I can handle teaching them this week, nor am I sure they could handle the stress of school this week.

We did get 3 spots for a full year with this review, but so far have only used one.  With how intense and how long it took our oldest in the beginning I didn't want to start any of the others yet.  I am prepared to start two other girls who struggle with reading next week when we start back after our little hiatus.  One really struggles more than the other.  She can sound out the word but can't put the sounds together into a word.  I'm interested to see how she does with the program.

If you would like to hear and see how others responded to the program and what they thought make sure to check out the Main Crew Blog Post and look around!