Mommin' It Up!

February 21, 2012February 21, 2012

Giving (P)in

I held out as long as I could. But, now I’m pinning. Pinterest has me in it’s clutches!

I finally capitulated for the good of the blog. I wanted to join before but I was SKEERED! Scared because all over facebook I’d read statuses like “Well I just lost two hours of my life to Pinterest.” and “Pinterest is so addicting!” The only addictions I currently have time for in my life are Mountain Dew and Downton Abbey (SHH!!! I HAVE NOT HAD TIME TO WATCH THE FINALE YET! It’s waiting for me on my DVR!). I was afraid I’d end up like this:

But, amazingly, I have found that one CAN use Pinterest and NOT let every other responsibility in life go by the wayside! I have discovered that you can be on if for just a few minutes at a time instead of what I thought was a two-hour minimum. So, I am actually really loving it! I’ve just gotten started pinning things such as my favorite Lands’ End clothes that I ~~want~~ need, yummy food, things to make with the kids, and apps and games to play for learning and overcoming developmental delays.

SO, I am loving pinning! I hope you’ll follow my pins! And while you’re at it, follow Emily too. Let me know where you’re at on Pinterest and I’d love to follow you too.

Pin it to win it, baby!

February 20, 2012

Happy Presidents’ Day

I randomly came across this video and had to share – what better way to commemorate the Presidents of the United States than with the Animaniacs?

My sister and I had this memorized during high school. It was a neat party trick. And possibly explains why we weren’t invited to many parties.

Be back tomorrow!

February 17, 2012February 16, 2012

Speech Therapy App: Rainbow Sentences

I absolutely love all the speech therapy apps I’ve used by Mobile Education Store, and their newest one, Rainbow Sentences, is no less impressive. This iPad app is great for speech therapy, but I’d say it’s really a grammar app – great for any student who is just having trouble in English class with the who, what, when, where, and why of sentences.

Rainbow Sentences has 165 fun photos to create sentences from. The words of a corresponding sentence are below the photo. The words are color-coded b those that go together; the blanks that the words go in are color-coded as well, but you can turn these color hints on and off to change the level of complexity and make the activity easier or harder for your kiddo. As a matter of fact, there are six different levels you can work on or progress to.n I adore the fact that it is so customizable for use with lots of different students, and easy to change when a child is ready to move up a level of difficulty. As just a parent, not a teacher or therapist, this app is very easy to use and facilitate, which I love! The tutorials are quick & helpful.

Another fun thing I love about this app is that after you get so many correct responses, you get to unlock a puzzle piece on a picture – great motivation to get lots of answers right so you can figure out what the mystery picture is!

I have Sophie look at the picture and tell me what’ s happening in the picture before she starts putting the words in the correct order to form a sentence. Then, she goes for it. After she’s done, she can record the sentence and play it back to hear herself. I love this feature! Helps work on her articulation, and she’s hearing herself say a sentence the way it was meant to be said.

Here’s a short video of Sophie playing on her own:

I highly recommend this app for speech, grammar help, or homeschool! I bet it’s helpful for learning English as a second language, too, although since I have no experience with that, that’s just an “educated guess”.

Go buy it on iTunes or the app store! It’s well worth the $7.99.

Thanks, Mobile Education Store, for letting Sophie and I review this app. Great work once again!