Just this morning, I asked the people that follow the Kelley's Break Room Facebook page what good teachers gifts would be and would not be. I directed this question to people that are teachers, to people that were teachers and to people that know how to spell "teachers". I got lots of great responses. It seems that the overwhelming majority said gift cards were great and candles/cups/pencil holders were not. Every teacher is different. Some teachers may actually love an all-in-one candle/cup/pencil holder, but, if you get this for your child's teacher, please warn her that it is not safe to drink the wax pieces that may break off.
Teachers like gifts. Teachers need gifts. Teachers appreciate good gifts. That was my whole point in asking that question. It helped me realize that the containers of Morton Salt and empty egg cartons that I had always gotten my kids' teachers in the past probably weren't hitting the spot.
We all know that teachers deserve something really great, but you REALLY realize they deserve something great when you try to teach your own child something. Some of you may be excellent at that and may even be homeschool teachers. That is awesome. I am not the best at it. It was only recently that I convinced my 8-year-old that getting his homework done as soon as possible in the early afternoon would make the rest of his day better. (And mine. Most definitely mine. The later it gets, the more cranky he gets, the more cranky I get and the more likely it is that I will want to sleep snuggled up to my chimney on top of the roof.)
When we sit down to do my 8-year-old's homework, my 5-year-old wants to do something homeworky. He is not in Kindergarten yet, but is all ready to learn. When I received an e-mail from Alpha-Phonics regarding their reading program, I got all excited. I would love for my child to be reading really well when he hits Kindergarten and I loved that there was a reading program out there to help me do that. Also, I loved that my 5-year-old would have something new to do while I tried to explain carrying one over in double-digit addition and whatever other math fact my 8-year-old was tackling at school that day.
They mailed this workbook to me along with a CD-Rom, that is basically the workbook but on a disk.
The only thing you need to watch out for are older siblings who think it is their job to grade your younger child's work. They tend to mark up the pages a bit too much.
To be honest, my 5-year-old and I spent a lot of time on this first lesson. (He just turned 5 a couple of weeks ago.) We spent probably too much time on this first lesson. He knows the alphabet, of course. Each time we would move on to the next lesson that was a bit more challenging, he'd suggest that we go back to the ABC page and review that again. I was like, "Child, you already know that. We aren't going to go over that again. We need to go over this page now." Yet...his little hand would flip the page back to the ABC page. I guess all of this exposure will help in some way down the line. I was just hoping he would be able to read dishwasher manuals and things like that by now.
We are getting there. The dishwasher manual will be mastered soon. I have no doubt in my mind.
You can see more of the book and of the CD-Rom in this video:
The website is great, too. There is a video of a woman who learned to read at 3 by using this Alpha-Phonics program (it has been around since the early 80s) and is now using it to teach her own child.
I also love that it is a family business. There are some cute pictures of children, grandchildren, etc. in the Alpha-Phonics office and at a family picnic. Love it!
If you have any questions, you can take a look at their "Frequently Asked Questions" video. It shows the owners of the The Paradigm Company, Peter and June Watt, answering questions in front of a roaring fire. I love that big time.
This Alpha-Phonics workbook and CD-Rom is $34.95 and can be purchased here. I think you will be very happy with the materials! But, of course, thanks to the generosity of The Paradigm Company, I am giving away a copy of it, too, to one of you guys.
If you are interested in receiving a free copy of the program, enter using the Rafflecopter below. If you haven't used it before and want some help, please ask me. Thank you!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
*I am required to dislose that I received compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.*
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