Sunday, November 26, 2017

Smiling Faces

 Life is busy with these three.  I am a very blessed girl who needs to work on her thankfulness.  Genuine smiling faces born out of joy and silliness are something to be so very grateful for.  




(J/7, Z/4, R/7 months)

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Forbrain: A Sound for Life LTD Review

Forbrain Sound for Life LTD
If growing up in this world was ever simple, it certainly isn't anymore.  From stranger danger and violence to health problems and learning difficulties, our children face so many mountains every day and rarely is there a clear cut solution without a wounding side effect.  Today's review is over something that makes me so thankful to be a member of the crew and glad to have such a huge educational resource through my relationship with it.  Forbrain from A Sound for Life LTD is a headset that uses your voice to enhance your brain.  Using Bone Conduction, it transmits the sound of your voice faster and clearer.  Then a dynamic filter enhances specific frequencies of speech and constantly surprises the brain.  It is has been used for things such as auditory processing, sensory integration, speech issues, and short-term memory help.  When you are in the business of educating young minds, it is likely that you have at least one student that could benefit in one or more of these areas.

Forbrain Sound for Life LTD

In recent months, my brother and sister-in-law had been investigating ADD and various methods for addressing related issues for my nephew.  When this product came up for review, I immediately thought of them because all of the skills Forbrain is advertised to help with can be traced back to ADD issues.  They had recently started a new regiment of dietary changes and various exercises designed to help balance certain things in the brain.  Trying Forbrain fell right in step with the new things they were trying.  The one disadvantage of that is that some of the progress they've experienced is hard to trace back to a single change they've made, like the use of Forbrain, but they did make some interesting discoveries anyway.

The main user was to be a 7 year old suffers from focus and attention issues.  They found it to be easy for him to use by himself on a daily basis.  He would read books aloud to himself for 15-20 minutes at a time.  They also had him count aloud alternating from a soft to loud voice for each number.  They have seen some improvements in some of his problem areas, but again it is difficult to say what has made the most impact.  More time with the product may produce more specific results.  One frustration is the size isn't adjustable so it feels large on a child's head.  That may be necessary for it to work properly, but it takes some getting used to.  Still, the kids enjoy using it and making silly sounds! 



Forbrain Sound for Life LTD

Because little sisters always want to do what their big brothers are doing, another user was a 3 year old.  At her age, her language and clarity is still developing so Forbrain made a very clear difference immediately even though she only used it a few times.  Each time she used it she would talk more slowly and deliberately, correcting herself when she would hear a word spoken incorrectly. It quickly helped her to say her ‘L’ sounds more correctly.  


Based on this limited experience, Forbrain is a high-quality resource certainly for anyone with language or speaking difficulties.  Those difficulties certainly impact other issues so it makes sense that this tool could have farther reaching effects with long-term use.  When learning challenges come with our children, one of the most life-giving things is just knowing about different resources that might could help.  This gives us hope for growth and improvement!  




Stay Up to Date with Forbrain on Social Media: 

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/forbrainLTD
Twitter : https://twitter.com/forbrainheadset
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/forbrain---retrain-the-way-you-process-information


Our experience was limited to our family's needs and challenges.  Follow this link to read how other people used this product and what types of results they had.

Forbrain {Sound For Life Ltd Review}

Crew Disclaimer

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Happy 7th Birthday J!

At every stage your children go through, there is a moment or a series of moments when you know that this is when it matters.  Rocking that baby that just wanted Mommy.  Teaching that toddler to pray.  There's a lot of stuff that matters, but then there are those things that you know you won't get back.  The moments that shape their hearts towards God and their expectations of other relationships.  J turned 7 over the weekend and we celebrated until we couldn't anymore!  As we should.  His birth was a beautiful accomplishment for me and his 7 years of life have been such a blessing.  As he's asleep in his bed under a brand new comforter in a relatively new bunk bed and I roll around the concept that he's 7, I'm struck with another moment.  He's on his way to 10 and whatever strength of character I hope to shine through in adolescence needs to be formed immediately.  I know it isn't absolute, but it feels almost like cement is being poured into his heart and I need to shape it before it dries.  

He came home tonight and finished a new Lego set he had gotten for his birthday all by himself.  That's a new thing for him because usually he either requires help or just really wants a partner for relationship sake.  Tonight though he made it very clear he wanted to prove to himself and his family that he could finish the whole thing by himself in one day!  I was so proud of him.  I've known for a while that there are certain things that he needs as a male that I either can't understand or won't always recognize readily on my own.  This is a great example.  Proving himself is important to both genders of course, but I think it can be especially important for boys to do so in areas having nothing to do with their mothers.  His focus of energy and motivation was so neat to watch, while a little overwhelming how much this little person has developed into a boy looking ahead to adolescence.  I love it and it terrifies me all at the same time.

I'm deeply dreading the reality of his heart needing to belong to another, but I'm so thankful it has been mine for another year.  Happy 7th Birthday J!

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Thin Stix Creativity Pack from The Pencil Grip, Inc. - A Review

The Pencil Grip, Inc.
I haven't been reviewing products for all that long (about to close out year 2), but I love getting to see a product develop and flourish over time.  The Pencil Grip, Inc. is back with more colors and a bigger collection in the form of the Thin Stix Creativity Pack.  Every time we review for The Pencil Grip, Inc. it's like we get a creativity shot in the arm.  The kids start doing one thing, but then end up with more ideas as time goes along.  This review is no different. Miss Z started with a picture of her dad putting her in a headlock with very colorful furniture and then suddenly we were all making Pilgrim hats and Squanto headbands!




This new creativity set we received includes 24 Thin Stix - 12 Classic colors, 6 Neon colors and 6 Metalix colors.  This collection of colors is a well-rounded assortment that facilitates just about anything you can think of.  And there is something about having a lot of color options that is exciting!  When this set came in the mail, I never once had to offer it up as a suggestion for something the kids could/should do.  It was a go-to activity all on its own for a couple of weeks.

Thin Stix Creativity Pack

The fantastic quality of this product that I first fell in love with is the tempera paint effect without a mess.  This makes parents happy! Of course my kids are a fan because they are allowed to run wild with it, so to speak.  With the introduction of the Thin Stix - that feel in the hand more like a marker or highlighter - adults are more comfortable using them.  One of my favorite creative activities besides writing is painting.  As a stress reliever, as a creativity enhancer, painting for process is very freeing to me.  I know I'm not skilled at actually creating life forms so it is 100% play.  And as we all know, play is far more important than we give it credit for - even in adults!  By now maybe you already own a set of Kwik Stix, but I'm thinking these would be a easy, cheap gift for your favorite college student, crafty adult, or stressed out friend in need of a stress-reliever!


Did I mention how much of a mess is NOT made when we use these?  One of the kids used a brown clipboard to hold their paper and when they were finished there was paint all over it.  The said child went and got a wet rag to clean it up.  With almost no scrubbing, the clipboard looked good as new!  This is mess-free painting at it's best! 

Thin Stix Creativity Pack
Thin Stix Creativity Pack
Thin Stix Creativity Pack


Keep Up With Social Media Links for The Pencil Grip:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepencilgrip/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thepencilgrip @thepencilgrip
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/thepencilgrip/

The Thin Stix Creativity Pack, like all of their other Kwik Stix products, is so versatile that the possibilities of uses are endless.  Check out all the other projects these were used on through the link below:

Thin Stix Creativity Pack {The Pencil Grip, Inc. Reviews}

Crew Disclaimer

Sunday, November 5, 2017

This Beautiful and Wounding Life of Motherhood

As I'm navigating this child life for the third time,  there is so much beautiful and wounding at the same time.  On a daily basis you're hit with a reality wave that reminds you how this is not how you planned it exactly and yet it is everything!  My sister-in-law put it right in her newest song.




If you like it and would like to support more music coming from Hannah, go vote for her at the link below:

Vote for I've Got It Good by Hannah Elise

Saturday, November 4, 2017

The Magic Stories: A Reading Program Review

The Magic Stories {Allsaid & Dunn, LLC. Reviews}
One time someone asked me if being a member of the Review Crew and my kids starting various educational programs, but not necessarily finishing them was detrimental to their learning.  Honestly, I had never thought about it that way, but I've after having thought about it I'm sure the answer is no.  For one thing, sometimes we do either finish a program in the review period or continue using it afterwards.  Still, even in the cases where we might not, the educational exposure is more opportunities to learn and exercise mentally.  Our latest review is a good example of this.  The Magic Stories from Allsaid & Dunn, LLC, publishers of The Reading Game and authors of the Wordly Wise series was completely unfamiliar to me and something we started on in the middle of other curriculum already in progress.  And yet, for the first time ever, I walked by J as he was reading The Magic Hole and he was laughing.  He loves reading, don't get me wrong, but I don't think I've ever caught him laughing at something he's read unless it was Calvin & Hobbes! Needless to say, new venues for learning are always welcome here.

The Magic Stories {Allsaid & Dunn, LLC. Reviews}

The latest venue, The Magic Stories is a digital product intended for 2nd and 3rd graders that includes 6 stories approximately 20 pages long, corresponding vocabulary cards and exercises for each story, and pre and post sight word assessment worksheets for each story.  The student is expected to take a pre-assessment, read the story, work through the exercises and then take the post-assessment.  Hopefully, the student will have improved.  The vocabulary in each story increases in difficulty so reading them in order is recommended, but the assessment worksheets are great for determining your child's level of readiness for the individual stories.  The exercises and worksheets are designed to be used with the stories, of course, but the vocabulary cards can be used long after you've finished with The Magic Stories program for review and refreshing.


The Magic Stories {Allsaid & Dunn, LLC. Reviews}
The Magic Stories {Allsaid & Dunn, LLC. Reviews}













While my avid reader loves to consume just about anything, he is definitely ready to work on comprehension.  The Exercises included with each story are great for digging into content.  Each story includes The Maze, Finish the Sentence, Imagine, and Finish the Story. My favorite is the Maze.  It presents true or false statements that, if answered correctly, will lead you successfully to the finish.  I thought it was a really fun take on the maze concept!  J loves reading, but slowing down to comprehend isn't always his favorite thing to do.  Having different kinds of exercises available covering the same content really does make it more palatable for him. 


There are also some helpful free resources on the website like instructions, the assessment worksheets I already mentioned, Running Record Sheets that assess reading fluency and a running record sheet for a classroom or group of students.  If this sounds like something your reader could use, my readers will receive 25% off by using the coupon code raisingreaders at checkout.   For the amount of content and exercises you receive, $16.95 is a great price! Getting 25% off makes it even better.



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The Magic Stories {Allsaid & Dunn, LLC. Reviews}
Crew Disclaimer

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