Friday, April 26, 2013

Winner of the Joy Cowley Classroom Giveaway Big Book!!!


Congrats to:




Melissa Mize
mizemelissa@gmail.com

The winner of a Joy Cowley Big Book.  


I will be sending you an email shortly to get the information needed so you will receive the big book.

Thank you to everyone who checked out the Joy Cowley Giveaway.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Joy Cowley Classroom Giveaway!!!

Recently we used the book "Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Farm" by Joy Cowley for our "5 Day Read".  You can view that post here.  I loved using that book and my preschoolers loved using that book.  You can still here them in their dramatic play saying, "wishy-washy, wishy-washy" as they are cleaning something or referring to the story in some way.

I was sent two books from Hameray Publishing for review.  Both titles involve Mrs. Wishy-Washy.  I can't say how wonderful both titles were!

The first title I reviewed was Mrs. Wishy-Washy and the Big Wash.  Children are often fascinated or completely afraid of a car wash.  It's almost like the roller coaster ride for the little one without a height requirement! This book presents a problem and a solution in how to get the animals clean when there is no water at the farm.  And we know that with Mrs. Wishy-Washy around the duck, cow, and pig need to be cleaned.  But where can they go to get clean?  Where can they find water?

The second title I reviewed was Wishy-Washy Clothes.  This is another book I feel my children would love.  It is simple, funny, and has an easy story line for little children.  This book talks about how Mrs. Wishy-Washy washes her clothes and hangs them out to dry.  What will pig, duck and cow do when they see Mrs. Wishy-Washy's clothes hanging on the line?


I have big plans for both of these books and will be creating material to go along with them... so keep an eye out for them!


The best part in reviewing these books is I get to announce the 
Joy Cowley Classroom Giveaway
Teachers, parents, friends, relatives and anyone else who wants to nominate a classroom to possibly win 90 new titles for The Joy Cowley Collection and The Joy Cowley Early Birds Collection by the beloved author and Mrs. Wishy-Washy creator, Joy Cowley this is your opportunity.  The collections of leveled readers, for Kindergarten to 2nd grade classrooms, are developed for shared, guided, and independent reading.  And if that isn't wonderful already... the winner will also receive finger puppets and 3 audio CDs which is a value greater than $400!

So you may be asking how do you nominate someone... click on Mrs. Wishy-Washy below and it will take you directly to the giveaway.

You can find out more about Hameray Publishing, Mrs. Wishy-Washy, and other fun activities at:

And that's not it...
I am hosting a bonus giveaway!!!

One lucky reader will receive a free Joy Cowley big book
All you have to do is leave a comment on this post with a working email address so that I can contact you. You may recieve an extra entry for liking me on Facebook (please note in the comments that you liked me on Facebook to receive the extra entry). This contest is only valid for readers living in the United States or Canada (no PO Boxes, please).  This contest will end on April 25 and the winner will be announced on April 26.  So good luck to all of you.



All of my readers will get a 20% discount that expires on 6/30/13 by using the code:  ZJCC13



Hameray Publishing Group is dedicated to publishing innovative literacy materials for Pre-K to Grade 8 students. Combining research-based methods with cutting-edge content, Hameray develops titles for striving readers, English Language Learners, and children requiring reading intervention, as well as those children reading at grade level.

Hameray offers informational text and fiction for early readers, high interest books with low vocabulary for older students, and wordless books to stimulate oral language development. We aim to keep reading fun for children of all skill levels by presenting them with engaging storybooks and fun facts about the world around them.
For more information, please visit www.HamerayPublishing.com

 “Disclosure: I received complimentary products for review.  All opinions are my own and this is not a compensated post.”

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Time 4 Learning Review


We signed up to do a free month with Time 4 Learning.  I used it with my 2 preschool daycare girls and my son who is in the 5th grade.

For daycare we used it as a supplement to our regular curriculum.  The girls loved the activities they tried and looked forward to computer time each day.  It was nice to have something that was actually reinforcing what we were already doing during our learning time.  I'm not sure at the preschool level if I would use it as the sole curriculum though as I feel children of that age need actual hands-on experiences with the ability to express themselves and what they are doing/discovering vs. sitting at a computer.

My 5th grader goes to a full time public school so this program was hard for him to do a lot with as he has a lot of homework and needs time to be a child.  I really could see the value in using this site in a home school situation and am strongly considering using it as our summer supplement for him.  I also assign some form of reading/math homework daily during the summer to keep skills up and this would work as a wonderful alternative to what we have been doing.  I was impressed with all the topics and level of work he could do with this program.

You can get your free month trial here.

***Disclosure:  I was able to obtain a free month of "Time 4 Learning" in return for a review of the product. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for this post.***