iTrace iPad App Review

 Now that Noah is in school he has to write a lot more. His handwriting isn't the best but it is legible.  He is only six but handwriting is something he needs to practice. He knows all of his letters and how to read but he hasn't mastered how tall to make a lowercase t. Sometimes he forgets how long the lowercase p is. He needs to have a way to practice more. I have him write it on paper. If he does it wrong I ask him to try again.  He is always in a hurry so I think that has something to do with it.  I am having him slow down and make sure he is making the letters the proper size. 

He loves to spend time using technology. I think that with the educational apps that in moderation he can use them as a learning tool.  It doesn't replace traditional learning but it can supplement it. A great app called iTrace came out yesterday. It is definitely the answer for us. It teaches Noah about letters and how big they are supposed to be. I am sure it will help him and let him have fun at the same time. I used to teach at a Montessori school  and I know that when a child learns letters they trace them a couple times. They also write them in sand a couple times. It is kind of the same concept but a lot less messy. 

Here is some information about iTrace from the developer:

iTrace Features
- 600+ different rewards
- 50 animated objects
- Supports multiple players
- Saves the entire history of each child's progress
- Supports multiple methods of writing the same letters
- A simple switch adjusts the entire system for left-handed kids
 

Not only does iTrace teach your child how to write letters. It also teaches your child to write words. There is a really cool option where your child can write their name and include their picture. You could do this for other members of your family. It would be a great tool to teach your child how to spell and write different names. iTrace also teaches your child how to write sentences. They do it a few times in a row to help them remember. I love that there is a left handed system. I am left handed and I know how much trouble lefty kids can have in a right hand world.  Practice makes perfect. It also has great graphics  and teaching tools so your child will learn maybe without realizing it. 

I am confident that with iTrace and some practice that Noah will improve his handwriting skills a lot. 

iTrace is available on the iPad for $3.99. You can find it in iTunes here.

For more information please visit the iTrace website.

Fiction or Nonfiction?

Noah doesn't like fiction books. He prefers nonfiction and knows the difference. When I was young I loved fairy tales and fictional things. Noah prefers books about fish, science, and space to name a few. When we go to the library, he always looks for nonfiction books. Of course there are some fiction books he likes but if he had a choice it would be nonfiction books. He loves to learn about new things. He also doesn't like when fish or animals have smiles. He knows that fish do not smile so that would make them fiction. I used to draw happy faces on everything, especially the sun. He doesn't mind if people have smiles. He thankfully likes to watch shows that are fiction like Octonauts and Doc McStuffins but also loves to watch NASA and fishing shows.

Kindergarten Update

Noah is half way through Kindergarten. Where has all the time gone? It seems like only yesterday he was a newborn in my arms. Time flies when you are having fun. I wanted to talk about how he's doing in school. I really like his teachers a lot and I couldn't have asked for better teachers for him. I am so happy that he is in the class he is in. The kids in his class are all really awesome too. He is blessed that he has such a great class. He is doing great in school. He reads at a second grade level. He is really good at math, very advanced and loves to learn. He is an awesome kid and I am so proud of him. He is full of questions and loves space and sea life and is really great. I feel blessed and lucky that he is my son.

I Took The Jeopardy Online Test

I love trivia and I love game shows and since I watch Jeopardy all the time, I decided to take the online test. I am pretty good at answering questions so I thought I would give it a shot. I did it just for fun because I knew the chance I would be able to audition would be slim to none. I just wanted to try.  I told my mom that it would be funny if I had questions about the order of presidents. When I was in 6th grade we sang The President Song that sings them in order. I used to always say that it will come in handy when I am on a game show. I had to wait until 11 pm to take the test after registering. I had a headache and was tired but I was determined to take the test. I had 15 seconds to answer each question.  So singing my song wouldn't have worked but there was a question about presidential order. Thankfully it was one of the easiest ones. The 22 and 24th president was Grover Cleveland which happens to be my favorite part of the song. So I got that one right. I also got The Bible question right and I didn't put a S on revelation. The Jeopardy online test was really hard. Partly because you only had 15 seconds and Alex Trebek didn't read you the question. You are asked fifty questions from fifty categories.  Some of them I had no clue and didn't even have time to answer. Some I just guessed. There was a question about who plays a guy in Les Miserables and I guessed for some reason Christian Bale. Of course that was incorrect, but Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale are the same right? They both played comic book characters. I know that I probably didn't pass and that is fine. They don't tell you your score. They take the people who pass and do a random drawing for the auditions. I am proud that I did it though. I would be more suited for Wheel of Fortune or Pyramid. I never did get to go on Supermarket Sweep as I dreamed of as a kid.

What game show would you want to go on? Have you ever been on one?

Spider Attack!

It was purple and black and totally adorable.  Noah thinks its funny to scare me by checking out books about snakes and talking about snakes which I am very scared of. I tell him that it's not nice and he wouldn't like it if I showed him Sammy Terry videos on YouTube. He of course agreed with me. I wouldn't do that obviously because its not nice. So, he thought he would put a spider in my bed this morning. Oh the joys of having a six year old son. At least he isn't putting real things in my bed or near me or I would have to go all Miss Nelson on him and buy either a green wig and become the green haired lady or a red hooded cape and green face paint and become Sammy Terry.....,

I Have No Interest in Awards Shows

I know that we are in awards shows season and Facebook and Twitter are buzzing with awards talk and who is wearing what. As much as I love movies, which is a lot, I have no interest. I am not really big in to fashion and I couldn't really tell you who's purse is who's. I am not up to date on shoes or clothes so the whole red carpet thing to me is just like whatever. I also think that if a movie wins an award doesn't make it a good movie. There have been great movies that have never won an award or even been nominated.

I did used to love watching The Kid's Choice Awards on Nickelodeon when I was younger. I used to get really excited to watch it and I would be glued to my TV with snacks. My sister and I would watch it together and of course kids were talking about it at school. Other than that I just can't get in to award shows. I wouldn't watch something because it won an award, I would watch it because it looks good. So, during the awards I will be watching something else. They would put me to sleep because I find it boring.

Do you watch awards shows? Why or why not?

Noah's Lego Pathfinder

Noah loves to build things with Legos. He also loves NASA. He watches the NASA channel more than any other channel. He likes to make different vehicles out of Legos. He recently made The Pathfinder and asked me to Tweet it to the NASA Twitter handles. He gave me suggestions of people to follow on Twitter one day including the International Space Station. I wanted to honor his request of taking a picture of The Pathfinder he made and tweeted it to NASA and NASA Langley. I checked my mentions and sure enough, NASA Langley not only Retweeted Noah's picture but tweeted me too.

That was pretty freaking cool and Noah was ecstatic. I wonder if Kevin Ford saw his Pathfinder. Yes we know the commander of the International Space Station's name and that he went to Notre Dame. We love NASA and the fact that they connected with us!

Dot to Dot Zoo App Review

When I was younger my favorite thing to do in activity books was the dot to dot puzzles. Now that I am a mom I share my love of dot to dot puzzles with my son. He really likes them and always smiles and gets excited when he finds out what the pictures are. They are great for counting and for fine motor skills. So, when I had the opportunity to review the Dot to Dot App from Rouxbee I was really excited.  I am a sucker for educational apps.  There are so many out there that I am glad that some will actually teach my son something. I love that not only can he do the dot to dot puzzles but also learn about animals. He really likes this app. He loves to play it on my tablet because it is a lot bigger than my iPhone which would be really hard for him. 

Here is more information from the developer:

Dot to Dot: Zoo is designed to encourage exploration of the natural world by collecting and learning about the animals for your child’s zoo. Collecting animals is accomplished through two types of Dot to Dot gameplay: Animals and Letters.

Animal gameplay uses the classic connect the dots experience to teach your child basic number iteration and counting to complete the puzzle. Letter gameplay uses the traditional letter tracing technique to teach your child basic letter formation and handwriting skills to complete the puzzles. This type of learning is the foundation for advancements in overall writing and reading comprehension.

Depending on your child’s age, the game is easy enough for them to play on their own, but is also designed for co-exploration together with your child.

Available On

-          Android

-          iOS

-          Windows Phone

-          Kindle Fire (Available this December)

This app has two versions. There is a free version and a paid version.  I recommend the paid one with maximum features and more puzzles.

Both versions are available in the iTunes App Store and the Google Play Store and Windows Phone

Free or Trial Versions of the app: 

Dot to Dot Zoo for iOS 

Dot to Dot Zoo for Android

Dot to Dot Zoo for Windows Phone

Paid Version of the app:

 Dot to Dot Zoo for Android 

Dot to Dot for iOS

Dot to Dot Zoo for Windows Phone

Coming soon to Kindle Fire and iPad

For more information visit RouxBee Apps website

You can also follow RouxBee on Twitter  

Like the RouxBee Facebook Page

Do you like to do dot to dot puzzles?

Do you like Angel Mints?

When I was younger my Grandma Rose was in the hospital on a few occasions. We would go and visit her of course. I used to like to go to the gift shop and look around. That is where I learned about Angel Mints. They are kind of like the pastel mints that are sometimes called Dinner Mints or Dainty Mints, but they are huge.  They kind of melt in your mouth, and they are so good.  They were something I always looked for when I was in candy stores, or gift shops.  They became harder to find.  So, I turned to my trusty assistant Google, and found out where I can get some. I don’t know what is with me and liking things that are really hard to find.  I found out that their factory is in Clearwater Florida. We were actually planning a trip to the Clearwater area at the time. Fate? I think so! When we came down to Florida for Noah’s first trip we went to the Angel Factory. I just wanted to buy some Angel Mints. I wasn’t really interested in taking a tour or anything. I am not even sure they offered one.  I was so excited when I was able to buy massive amounts of Angel Mints to have whenever I wanted.  I bought a big box. Of course that was five years ago, so those Angel Mints are long since gone. I still look for them on occasion. I was able to find them at a candy store in Tarpon Springs. I was so excited after looking for a while. Of course I could always just go to the Angel Mint Factory again, since it’s fairly close to me now. 

Every time I pop an Angel Mint in my mouth, I think of my Grandma Rose. She always had mints for me when I visited.  They weren’t Angel Mints but they were just as good.  It’s little things like that which remind me of my g-ma.

The Importance of Security Systems

Your home is your castle and you have to be able to protect it. You have spent your hard earned money on buying things for your home and you don’t want anyone to break in and steal your stuff.  In this day and age home security is really important. When I was younger it was safe to leave your doors unlocked or your garage door open when you were not home and you didn’t even think twice. Of course we lived in a safe community. Now, you wouldn’t dream of doing that. Thieves are now going to those once quiet neighborhoods and looking for unlocked doors and open garages to help themselves. Especially now that we are so technology advanced with our smart phones, iPads, and 3DTV’s.  Unfortunately we are not sure about our safety when we leave our homes or go to sleep.   Thankfully there are the most up to date home security systems that will protect our homes from theft, fire, carbon monoxide, flooding and leaks. They also have sensors that will go off if your pipes burst. That would be great for when you go away during the holidays and you live in a cold climate.  It is like having someone home while you are away. I remember when I was young I had a friend with a security system and it was really sensitive and would go off if we shut her bedroom door too hard, which was all the time. We would get in trouble for that.  Now security systems are pet friendly so, now your crazy dog won’t set off the alarm if there is a bug or a ball they want to play with in your home.

Days of waiting for the alarm system guy to install are over. I hate having people in my home installing things. If I can do it myself that makes me happy, they now have alarm systems you can install yourself. You can get a wireless home security system. You don’t have to be an electrician to install it.  You don’t have to worry about all kinds of wires or holes in your walls to wire it.  You can actually take the system with you when you move, so it is really a great investment.  You don’t have to worry about moving in to a home where there is already a system and wonder if the previous owner gave it out to people or go through the trouble of changing it and being put on hold like you once did. Forget learning a new alarm system. You are already familiar with it and in the habit of turning it on.   You can have all of this protection for less than fifty cents a day.

I hope no one experiences a break-in or a fire and everyone stays safe in the New Year and always.