Mood:  a-ok

It's time for another deep dark secret. When I was in middle school, I had to go to remedial  reading. It was a grand place. I loved it. It was way upstairs in our old school building. The teacher had stations set up all over the room. You would rotate between the different stations. It was so much fun.

I really think one of the reasons it was so much fun was because of the different things that you learned and read about. It wasn't the same old boring thing, it was something new all of the time. The Reluctant Reader Solution reading program really reminded me of those days.

Reluctant Reader Solution by Kidscoop is actually two programs in one. The first is a fantastic set of 59 downloadable thematic units that range in topic from Constitution Day to Solar Snacks to Butterflies to Hockey. Really they have everything. Each unit has 5-7 pages of information and fun puzzles that keep your child's interest and, therefore, he or she will want to read. 

Each unit starts out with a short article about the topic then continues with fun pages that include puzzles, a writing page, and other pages that integrate math, science and other subjects into the topic. I love the way that it is put together to keep the child excited about reading, and Joshua loves it as well. He hardly realizes that he is reading and learning.

The second part of the Reluctant Reader Solution is the Kid Scoop News. Do you remember the weekly small newspapers that you used to get when you were in elementary school? They were always so neat to get and to read. Well, the Kid Scoop News is those newspapers on steroids. I am really impressed with it. The two that I have looked at are both packed twenty (yes I said 20 - twenty) page downloads. They are published monthly, but have so many articles, puzzles, and activities that it will take you the whole month to get through it all! 

Do you want to learn about Nellie Bly, the first woman to circle the globe? How about how pencils are made? Or, better yet, about a cool sculptor who carves tiny statues on the tips of pencils? What about finding out all about the stock market? These are all things that are included in the February edition of Kid Scoop News.

Okay, do you want to learn a really cool thing yourself? Both the Reluctant Reader Solution thematic units and Kid Scoop News are for kids of all ages. Kid Scoop News has a special page for young readers in every edition. Do have more than one child that would be interested in the puzzles? Remember, these are downloadable so you can save it and print just the pages that you want for a certain day. I am really impressed with both the thematic units and Kid Scoop News newspaper and so is Joshua.

So, how much does all of this cost? Well, I have seen reading programs that cost in the in the 100's of dollars that don't do what this program does but for just $97 you get 12 editions of Kid Scoop News and all 59 thematic units. You can learn more about Kid Scoop from their fantastic website. They even have a place where you can sign up to get 30 daily email tips on how to "Make Reading Fun". Just click here on on any one of the hi-lighted links above. To find out what some of the other TOS Homeschool Crew reviewers thought about Kid Scoop click here. Happy Home Educating!

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I was given a free download of the 59 Reluctant Reader Solutions thematic unit and a free edition of Kid Scoop News to use and review on my blog.

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Mood:  a-ok

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Mood:  not sure

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Mood:  a-ok

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Mood:  a-ok

After the events of the last couple of weeks, I've decided it's time to try to get back to some normalcy in my life. I know that there are folks that have been reading this blog and praying for my family and the different situations. I really appreciate all of your prayers. But, it's time to try to get back into a routine. I need to write more about outside things and stop focusing on myself.

What better way to get your focus off of yourself than to think about others that are far less fortunate. And, is there a better organization to do that than Compassion International?

Here's a short video that talks about an aspect of Compassion International that most folks don't know about - their Leadership Development Program (LDP). Compassion takes the brightest students that have gone through their program and invites them to apply for the LDP program in which Compassion will help pay the LDP students way through college. College is something that would be unheard of for most kids that come from the areas where Compassion works but not with the kids that Compassion works with. Take a look at this video done by the 1000th student to graduate through the LDP program. If you wish to know more about Compassion International or the LDP program just click on one of the hi-lighted links above.

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