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Meet the Sight Words Review

August 19, 2008 By

When Ryan started Kindergarten, I remember being surprised the first week when the first spelling list came home. The spelling sheet explained that these were words that Kindergartners were going to be taught to recognize ‘on sight’. I had assumed schools used phonics to teach kids to sound words out, but that was not the case for Kindergarten, at least not in our school district. Think about a word like “said”. If you sound it out phonetically, it would be “Sa-eye-d”. Instead of trying to explain the completely baffling rules that make up pronouncing words in the English language to five year olds, the “sight word” concept just gets them understanding how the whole word is pronounced.

Meet the Sight Words, from Preschool Prep Company, makes learning common pre-K and Kindergarten level sight words easier and more fun by animating the words and reinforcing their pronounciation through repetition. A LOT of repetition, which might drive you a little crazy, but if my two and a half year old is any indication, kids don’t mind the repetition of the word because they are watching fun animation at the same time. When each word is shown on the screen, it’s “brought to life”. Some of the actions go along with the word, and some take the shape of the word itself and turn it into an object. For example, “the” is turned into a helicopter with the propellor on the top of the “h” and the “e” turned into the pilot.

Kaitlyn calls Meet the Sight Words “the word movie”, and she LOVES it. Even her older brothers who are 11 and 9 admit that it’s cute and that they find some of the animation clever, which is pretty high praise coming from them. As the three of them were watching, I wrote down some of the words and animations that they exclaimed over the most:

“In” I is holding open a door inside the letter n, and letting animals IN

“To” T is a basketball player, O is the ball, T is going “to” the basket

“Said”-cupcake assembly line! “d” is the oven, the space inside the “d” is the door. The door opens, “i” takes the cupcake out, puts it on the “a” conveyor belt for a plop of white frosting, then it moves to the “s” conveyor belt for some sprinkles. So cute!

There are three DVDs in the Meet the Sight Words series, I’ll definitely be picking up the second and third DVDs. Preschool Prep Company also makes Meet the Letters, Meet the Numbers, Meet the Colors, and Meet the Shapes. Kaitlyn already knows colors and shapes, but I’d like to get her the Letters and Numbers DVDs to help her start learning visual recognition. There are also sturdy board books to go along with them. Watching these DVDs doesn’t replace reading books to your child and pointing out letters and words, of course, but it’s sure a fun way to reinforce reading and help them gain reading confidence by being able to start Kindergarten already knowing some words by sight!

Read more reviews of Meet the Sight Words at Parent Bloggers Network.

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Hanes Kids-Comfortable & Wedgie Free!

August 11, 2008 By

My kids are always so excited when a package comes in the mail because they know that most likely, it contains some cool product that we are going to review. At least one of the three is always standing right over me, especially if it’s a big box. “What is it? What is it?” Sometimes it’s a cool toy or game or a new snack food, but this time?

Underwear. And Socks. “But look!”, I said, “this is COOL underwear! Boxer shorts with a fly that won’t gap! Tagless underpants, panties for Kaitlyn with the no-wedgie promise! Soft, cushy socks!”

They were skeptical. I was thrilled! These were Hanes Kids socks and undies, with Comfort-Fit Waistbands and Comfort-Fit Promises and No-Roll Waistbands! Guess that makes me a Mom for sure, being excited about underwear :)

I was really hoping that the soft “big-girl” panties would get Kaitlyn excited about potty training, and although they fit her really well and stayed up thanks to the no-roll waistband, they were not impervious to her refusal to use the potty rather than just pee on the floor. Sigh. I do like the fact that the panties don’t have characters on them which should appeal to people who don’t want to purchase licensed merchandise for their children.

Nathan put a pair of the boxers on at bedtime, and true to the label, the fly didn’t gap open, even when he sat on the floor. I asked him for a few words for this review and he volunteered this:

“They are really comfortable, and they are great to sleep in.”

Thanks, Nathan! I really appreciate Parent Bloggers Network sending me these products for review; I was already a Hanes fan, especially for t-shirts for my husband. OH, speaking of which though, my husband asked me to say this about the Tagless t-shirts for men (which were not part of this review but he wanted to contribute which is a big deal for him):

“I like the fact that there’s no tag, except that it makes it hard to put the t-shirt on in the dark.”

Good point, honey. So, hey, want to win some Hanes for yourself? Parent Bloggers Network will be having a Blog Blast on August 22nd, so watch the site for more info on that!

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How MomReviews Manages Morning Mayhem

June 15, 2008 By

It was great timing that Parent Bloggers Network teamed up with Kraft Bagel-Fuls for this Blog Blast this weekend, because I just got two boxes of them and wanted to tell you how much I like them anyway!

Kraft Bagel-Fuls are the first bagel and Philadelphia cream cheese all in one. You know those mornings when you would really like to have some breakfast, but you’ve got a baby on your shoulder and a toddler purposely dumping Cheerios off of their highchair tray onto the floor for the dog to eat, and as much as you’d like to toast a bagel and spread some cream cheese on it, you just don’t have a free hand? Well, with Bagel-Fuls, it’s all rolled up into one!

But first, Parent Bloggers Network wants to know how I manage getting everyone fed in the morning. One thing that makes it really easy for me is the fact that my oldest son, who is 11.5, gets himself up in the morning and makes his own breakfast. School just got out for the year, but because his bus came at 6:45 AM, Ryan was actually out of the house before I even got up in the morning! So all I had to do was drag Nathan’s slow-to-wake-up heiney into the kitchen, put a bowl of cereal or some toast and milk in front of him, and then get Kaitlyn up and into her highchair for her own breakfast. So for me, mornings are generally mayhem-free, fortunately.

To give you an idea of size, here’s a Bagel-Ful sitting on a lunch-sized plate. It’s a good thing I have a wide-slot toaster, although I still had to push it down into the slot and it stuck up at the top.

Here’s the inside-it kind of looks like a Twinkie, doesn’t it? We’ve tried the original with plain cream cheese and the original with strawberry cream cheese, and both are delicious! It really does taste just like a bagel smeared with cream cheese, great job, Kraft! I plan to keep buying these for sure.

Now, what I’m really hoping and crossing my fingers for is that I get picked by Parent Bloggers Network to be one of the two winners of the Blog Blast “morning saver” prizes, each featuring coupons for free Bagel-Fuls, a Bagel-Fuls branded wide slot toaster, a Tassimo hot beverage system, commuter coffee cups and more. A toaster that specifically holds the Bagel-Fuls PLUS a Tassimo which makes coffee, lattes, and hot chocolate? Oooh, pick me!

So remember, don’t let mornings turn into mayhem in the kitchen! If you like eating bagels with cream cheese for breakfast, keep a box or two of Kraft Bagel-Fuls in your fridge for a quick meal or snack! This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as part of a contest sponsored by KRAFT BAGEL-FULS.

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