Still, families often want to know what’s available for math, writing, reading, history, science and all the other academic  subjects. I still hold to the above theory of living and a library card being enough, but there are companies that contact us with their products. Wizardspell.com recently wrote and offered me a membership so that I could sign in and explore their site.  They offer word lists, homophone tips, testing and reports for spelling.  I don’t have any children around to test it, but I played with  it and found it held my interest.  Again, I suggest before purchasing any product, it is good to explore it and see if it might be a good fit.  Wizard Spell is online and they charge a small monthly fee, so it would be an easy and inexpensive spelling program to experiment with.

WizardSpell

Here is a quick shot of what it looks like:
They also offer a free downloadable holiday spelling lists here.

If you want to give this program a try, visit Spellquizzer and download the free trial.

If you or your child would like to share some verses, click on Ryo’s Message to find out how.

Children’s Haiku Garden

—Mary Nix

Literacy Connections

Finger Spelling

HearthSong – Toys You’ll Feel Good About Giving

Barbara Kane founded HearthSong in 1983 because of a growing conviction that, “..too often, in our culture, children are pushed to grow up too fast. I started HearthSong to make a statement reinforcing what parents themselves know is true, right and healthy–that childhood is a very special time.” Children need time to be children.

A catalyst for Kane was a major national news magazine’s cover story on “superbabies.” This article, and her own observations, made her more aware of how our society pressures parents to teach their children more and more facts, at earlier and earlier ages. In Kane’s view, “Earlier is not necessarily better. It’s important that children learn basic skills, but at the right developmental age. Most of all, children need time for creative, imaginative play. In fact, it is through play that children learn most readily.”

Kane chose the company’s name to reflect her values: the hearth, a traditional symbol for the center of the home, and song to symbolize the family spirit, the joy that parents and children can experience together.

Kane felt strongly that childhood is a unique period in the life of an individual, that the consciousness of a child is completely different from that of an adult, that there is a specific purpose and a specific pattern to childhood and to the development of a child’s consciousness, and that adults can help or hinder the accomplishment of that purpose and pattern.

With a love for children, a reverence for life, and a desire to support you in your task of parenting, we offer you our service and our products: toys you’ll feel good about giving.

Free full color catalog upon request.