GrammarPlanet is a new website which focuses on teaching your student Grammar online. Developed by Erin Karl of Analytical Grammar, Inc and Jerry Bailey of Dynamic Literacy, LLC the program is designed to develop a better understanding of Grammar using the online program provided. The program is in development so there are still some quirks but overall it seems to be a great program to use!

I set Miss Emmalee up for this review and though we did have some challenges originally, in the end she’s enjoyed using it and will continue even after this review. As they work through the development of the program, I fully expect this to be a popular website for home educators. The program is completely online – no workbooks or papers to keep up with – and best of all it is FREE! You can purchase a paid subscription which is AD free for a small fee but really the free version with ADs is pretty great, too.

Your student can easily log-in with the username and password that you create for them. You can add several students if you wish and you can set up the program as a teacher so that you can keep up with the progress of the students you place into your group. You can set up several groups as well if you are using this for a co-op or other program, then place that student in the appropriate group.

In the student account, your student will work through each unit. There are prompts to follow. Each unit contains a video, and a worksheet about what you are learning. You will find a little orange book in the lower left hand corner that you can click on which will open a PDF file of the accompanying lesson sheet about the topic. This is printable and a great review item for your student as they work through lessons in the program.

Videos are fairly short – around 5 minutes or so. They are also interactive. At certain points in the video you will find a short quiz about what’s being covered. These are not documented in the parent/teacher lessons though, they are only to ensure the student is paying attention for review purpose. If the student answers wrong, the student is then encouraged to repeat that part of the lesson video but is not forced to do so.

After the video, the student can click to Start Practice which will take you through practice exercises for the program. Here your student will see sentences where they can choose different Parts of Speech as directed in the program. As they click they can choose the word that is correct for each Part of Speech. Once they are done making choices, they then click to see if they are correct and the program will show the right and wrong answers. At the end of this section they will be taken to a quiz where they will see if they can pass the unit to move on to the next unit in the program.

If the student does not pass, the program locks the unit and the student cannot move forward until a parent unlocks that portion of the program for the student or resets the unit for the student to repeat the lesson in the program – whatever the parent or teacher chooses to do.

There are 13 units to the program at this time. Each builds upon the last unit until your students covers all the lessons. The program is very thorough and pretty easy to follow.

GrammarPlanet is available as a FREE online subscription.

You can find GrammarPlanet online at:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/analyticalgrammar
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/analyticalgram
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/analyticalgram

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Disclaimer:

Reading Eggs is an online program for reading and math that has been around for a few years now. We’ve reviewed the program before and have loved using it each time we do. It’s a great interactive online program that my kids really enjoy using.

We were also gifted a copy of the new Reading Eggs Workbook 200 Essential Reading Skills for Kindergarten. It’s a great way to expand lessons off the computer and bring them in to real life. This helps make the lessons even more fun! You can find more Workbooks here: https://www.readingeggsshop.com/workbooks/

Reading Eggs has expanded their program to provide lessons for children ages 2-13, which would be for grade levels of Pre-K to around 8th. The program includes well over 100 lessons for your children to learn with. They’ve also expanded and added a Math section for student to learn with as well with an added subscription. Reading Eggs provides learning for comprehension, writing, spelling and so much more!

There is a placement test provided for you to use with your child in order to find the correct placement for them in the program so that they can begin learning at their personal level of the program and you don’t waste time by reteaching skills your child is already proficient in. This helps to encourage your child to continue learning and discourage boredom and frustration with learning.

The program is completely online and it does have different available packages for purchasing. It is a thorough reading program that really helps you teach your child important skills for reading. There are 4 programs now: Reading Eggs, Reading Eggs Junior, Reading Eggspress and Mathseeds. Reading Eggs is the original program. Reading Eggs Junior is designed for younger students to use as an introductory to reading. Reading Eggspress is developed for students who have some reading skills but need extra help developing better readings skills. Mathseeds is the math portion of the Reading Eggs program and helps students with basic math skills and memorization. All of the programs are wonderful to help your student learn and develop skills they need for reading and math learning.

There are different available packages for purchase and once you choose a program, you will create a log-in for your students so they can get started immediately. You can use the placement test for your child so that you can place them correctly and they can work through the program following the prompts fairly easily without a lot of help from you. The program is interactive and animated to help encourage your child’s love of learning. It covers all the important skills based on grade level and development of your child’s personal reading levels.

Additionally, Reading Eggs also now offers workbooks by grade level which you can use with your student as they work with the program at home! This is a great addition that’s been added recently. Workbooks go up to grade 5 for Reading and grade 3 for Math. They cost around $20 for each book.

200 Essential Reading Skills for Kindergarten workbook contains over 60 lessons covering over 200 skills for reading. Skills like comprehension, writing, spelling, phonics, phonemic awareness, high-frequency sight words, and more. The workbook is full color which we love. A yearly planner is included inside. Lessons include 4 worksheets each which can be used as you wish to or as directed in the lesson plan section. There are also 10 quizzes included.

Generally, you are expected to do one page a day for lessons and use the quiz as you follow along in the book. We just worked through the workbook pages as we went, allowing my child to do more or less as needed. The workbook is very adaptable for this.

This is a physical workbook. It is pre-printed and shipped to your door for your student to use. It contains 278 pages that are all in color. It features the same characters as the online program for reading. There is an adorable alphabet chart provided in the front of the book which is great for review for your child. The workbooks are not the same as the worksheets that are provided by the online program and provide completely different content than those lessons, though they do go along with the online lessons provided in the program itself. There is an award certificate in the back of the workbook to be used at the completion of the workbook.

Y’all this workbook is seriously adorable with beautifully designed pages throughout. I love it! I cannot express enough how well-designed and colorful it truly is. The ink used is vibrant and eye catching. The characters are wonderful. The first page is a handwriting warm up with fun squiggles to get your student enticed to write and then you jump right in with letter writing, words and concepts. It’s just a lot of fun!

The Kindergarten level is pretty simple. Nothing too hard for your child to complete. The pages are not long at all but they do pack in a lot of learning. The only thing I dislike is that I don’t believe the pages are perforated for removing them from the workbook and it is not a lay-flat design which can make it hard to use for little kids to use. You could have the binding cut off and use it that way if needed though.

Jack isn’t quite ready for handwriting formation but he did well trying. We will continue to work on this with the workbook and other methods, especially in holding his pencil correctly. But he loved the imagery and loved trying to do the required work with the workbook.

Reading Eggs and their 200 Essential Reading Skills workbooks are available online.

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Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/readingeggs/

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Disclaimer:

Last week, Jack turned six. He is thrilled to have finally reached this age and he’s already looking forward to seven next year. My baby is growing up so so fast.

This year was the first in a while that we could really give him a great birthday. When he turned 3, we were moving. When he turned 4, money was tight. When he turned 5, we were moving again. This year we are settled in our house, in our beautiful neighborhood here in the mountains and we wanted him to have a wonderful day with those he loves!

Jack’s God-mother and Auntie came from SC to see him. That in itself was extra special. She drove over the twisty-winding mountain just to make Jack’s weekend the best and we love her so much for that! He has the best Auntie ever!

T-Rex, Jackson’s absolute favorite dinosaur, sent him a pretty awesome birthday card. It was so unique, designed by T-Rex himself, just for Jack. Jackson LOVED it! We cannot thank T-Rex enough for that special present just for Jackson. It was such a special memory that he will never forget. Thanks for making his day the BEST!

Mrs. P, our neighbor also gave Jack a lovely card and he took her a piece of cake as a thank you for recognizing him on his special day!

Jackson wanted NY style pizza for his birthday. Daddy has taught him it’s the BEST so we grabbed him his favorite pie from our local pizzeria. He could eat a whole pizza from this place by himself. I can’t wait until we can someday take him to NY to eat it there but for now our buddy from Brooklyn always hooks Jack up with the best pizza’s ever!

Jack asked us for a TON of things, like most kids do, but Don and I found him things we really felt he would play with and enjoy the most. He got several dinosaurs, some Jurassic Park cars for playing with his Dinosaurs, a T-Rex that moves on it’s own, some dino playdough playsets, a Dino stick horse (perfect for Jack!), Sissy traced his hand as her gift, a Noah’s Ark balancing set, and Skylanders to share with his siblings because he’s really into that game right now and it was on a pretty amazing clearance! He loves it ALL and we love that he’s happy!

His party theme was Dinosaurs which he picked out a few months ago. They are life right now. He absorbs info about every dino he discovers and there is a new one almost daily.

His cake turned out beautifully. He requested a homemade chocolate cake with Dino’s on top made by Mommy, Daddy and Grandma and so we worked together to make his dream come true. He loved it, too!

It was just the best birthday weekend he’s had in quite a while and I’m so totally thankful! Jack is so special and he deserves the best every day.

Happy Sixth Birthday to our sweet, Jackson!

About the Book

Book Title: The Gift of Prophetic Encouragement

Author: Debbie Kitterman

Genre: Non-fiction, spiritual growth, charasmatic

Release date: August 21, 2018

Deepen your relationship with God and embrace a life of encouragement by sharing God’s words with others.

When people think of prophecy, they often think of individuals in the Old Testament or certain personality-driven ministries today. They may think more about the prophet than the message.

But Jesus showed us God’s intention for prophecy by living in two-way communication with the Father and by embracing a lifestyle of encouraging others, changing lives in the process. We can do the same.

Clearing away the confusion about the prophetic gift today, pastor and ministry leader Debbie Kitterman reveals the good news about the gift of prophecy in this practical, powerful book: We are all prophetic because we all have direct access to God. Prophecy is an ordinary part of the Christian life. In fact, it is God’s way for us to encourage and strengthen the Body of Christ.

So open your ears to hear God and break out of your comfort zone to deliver His messages to those who need them most. Act now—His words can’t wait!

Click here to purchase your copy!

About the Author

Debbie Kitterman is an author, a speaker, and the founder of Dare 2 Hear, a ministry that trains individuals to hear the voice of God. She travels to churches internationally and is the founder and teacher of d2htraining.com, an online course designed to equip the believer in releasing God’s heart. She is also an ordained Foursquare pastor, currently serving with her husband, John, as senior pastor of Restoration Church in Lacey, Washington. Learn more at www.debbiekitterman.com.

Guest Post from Debbie

If you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer never wavered. As far back as I can remember, I wanted to be a wife, a mother, and a writer. As a young elementary age girl, I always had my head in the clouds dreaming up different stories. In fact, every Sunday afternoon after church I would be found with my notebook writing creative short stories and poetry while pretending to watch old westerns or kung-fu movies with my dad.

I always dreamed I would write historical fiction stories with a splash of romance thrown in. I love historical fiction and it blends the two subjects in school that I loved, history and creative writing. However, through life’s circumstances and disappointments in college, I gave up on the writing dream. I let the dreams of one day being a writer slip away. I figured it must have been a little girl dream so I set it aside and moved forward through life.

However, when God has a plan, there is no running from Him. I felt a stirring in my heart to write again after taking a trip to Wyoming and meeting a well-known fiction author. I came home from that trip and started writing only to hit a wall … the dreaded writers block and an uncertainty of what to do. Then the busyness of life took over and I again shelved the dream of writing.

God let me go only so far, and then He began to stir me again. This time, He had other people confirm that yes, indeed it was time I stop running and start writing. I love how God is relentless and patient all at the same time. Never in a million years did I think that I would be an author of non-fiction books. The book “The Gift of Prophetic Encouragement: Hearing the Words of God for Others,” shares my journey of faith leading me to a deeper relationship with God. God not only longs to have His children speak to Him, but He longs to speak to us. Real relationships entail two-way conversation.

God longs for His people to use all the gifts He has given them. This gift of prophetic encouragement is for everyone. It is simply sharing Holy Spirit-inspired words of edification, exhortation, and comfort to people as we go about our day-to-day life. Every Christ follower needs to follow the example of Jesus and operate in this profoundly encouraging gift. The Gift of prophetic encouragement breathes life, love and hope into the dry places of our lives.

I invite you to join me on an adventure as we go deeper in our relationships with Jesus and discover how God will use us as a gift of encouragement.

May we all rise to the challenge and dare to hear God today, so we can be a gift of encouragement to others.

Blessings,

Debbie Kitterman

Blog Stops

Blog Stops
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, August 30

Artistic Nobody, August 31

Luv’N Lambert Life, September 1

Mary Hake, September 2

Reading is my Super Power, September 2 (Interview)

proud to be an autism mom, September 3

Texas Book-aholic, September 4

Genesis 5020, September 5

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, September 6

Just the Write Escape, September 6

Janices book reviews, September 7

Bibliophile Reviews, September 8

Jeanette’s Thoughts, September 9

Carpe Diem, September 10

A Baker’s Perspective, September 11

Bigreadersite, September 12

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Debbie is giving away

Grand Prize: $50 Amazon card plus a book and an INTENT bracelet inscribed with the words, “Be the Gift”, access to online training

1st place: An INTENT bracelet with the words “Be the Gift” plus book plus access to on line training

2nd place: Book plus access to on line training!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/d19f/the-gift-of-prophetic-encouragement-celebration-tour-giveaway

My Review:
It’s been a long weekend celebrating my sweet little one’s birthday so I am just now getting to this part of our post for Celebrate Lit!

The Gift of Prophetic Encouragement was written by Debbie Kitterman who is such an amazing encouragement to others who she reaches out to. Her words are written with such care and with a real depth for what she believes. She brings forth a love of God that brings joy to your spirit as you read through the book.

This book discusses prophecy which not all Christians believe in. Prophecy is a gift that is given by God to be able to see things that are unknown. It is a direct connection with Christ that brings forth a knowledge of things that only God could know.

Through this book you will learn how to embrace this gift. You are shown how to build upon this gift for greater good and how to use this gift to give Glory to God through your prophetic ways. The gift of prophecy should bring you Glory and others as well.

About the Book

Book Title: Chasing Embers (Heart Ranch, Book 2)

Author: Rachel Skatvold

Genre: Christian Romance / Contemporary Western

Release date: August 20, 2018

ANNABELLE HART thought owning the family ranch would be everything she ever dreamed of and more. The Montana wilderness has always flowed like blood through her veins, but she can’t understand why her heart feels so empty inside.

Three years after leaving Montana to become a wild land firefighter, COLTON BROOKS still dreams about the girl he left behind at Hart Ranch. He prays for her happiness, believing she deserves someone better than him, but doubts he will ever love again.

When their paths intersect again, will the embers of their past romance be rekindled, or will an unexpected disaster change life as they know it forever?

Click here to purchase your copy!

About the Author

Rachel Skatvold is a Christian author and stay-at-home mom from the Midwest. She enjoys writing inspirational romance and encouraging blogs. Rachel completed her first series, the Riley Family Legacy Novellas in 2014 and is now working on the second book in her new Hart Ranch Series. She is also a contributing author in the Whispers in Wyoming Series. Other than writing, some of her hobbies include singing, reading and camping in the great outdoors with her husband and two young sons.

Guest Post from Rachel

Chasing Embers is a sequel I have been excited to write since the release of Escaping Reality over two years ago. To be honest, while writing book one, I thought it would just be a standalone story and not part of a series. However, Logan’s strong-willed little sister, Belle, was determined to have her own story and I’m thrilled that she is finally getting one!

One of the theme verses from Chasing Embers is Ephesians 3:20, which says, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” In the story, the characters go through some trials that seem impossible to overcome. In order to keep their loved ones and the ranch safe, the Hart family must cling tightly to their faith and trust that God always keeps his promises. The events of the story also serve as a reminder that God can do mighty things through us if we allow him to.

Chasing Embers is a heartwarming tale of lost love, second chances and choosing to love even when it is difficult. Be prepared to laugh, cry and rejoice with Belle and Colton as you read their love story. To find out more about Chasing Embers by Rachel Skatvold, read the summary above.

Blog Stops

Blog Stops
Reading Is My SuperPower, August 23

Among the Reads, August 23

Christian Author, J.E.Grace, August 24

The Christian Fiction Girl, August 25

Blossoms and Blessings, August 25

Bibliophile Reviews, August 26

Janices book reviews, August 27

Kat’s Corner Books, August 28

Daysong Reflections, August 28

Luv’N Lambert Life, August 29

Remembrancy, August 29

Ashley’s Bookshelf, August 30

proud to be an autism mom, August 31

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 31

Texas Book-aholic, September 1

Carpe Diem, September 2

A Baker’s Perspective, September 3

Jeanette’s Thoughts, September 4

Bigreadersite, September 4

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Rachel is giving away a grand prize of a $30 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/d1f3/chasing-emberscelebration-tour-giveaway

My Review:
When you bring a beautiful rancher and a hot fireman together you’re bound to find a flame. Belle (my husband calls me that) is a tough cookie who enjoys spending time on her family ranch naming all the chickens. She’s spent years preparing to own this lovely paradise and nothing is going to stand in her way now. Not even her love for Colton.

Colton has a burning desire to be the best firefighter he can. But his flame is overridden by a burning desire for a young ranch-loving Montana girl as well. Can he quench his longing and let go of this beautiful girl he used to love deeply? Or will the sparks from a love long ago set his soul on fire in a way he can never stop?

Chasing Embers is a great Christian romance that brings forth love and doubt and all the great things you enjoy reading in a novel. Grab a copy today!

I received a message from a reader this weekend and it reminded me of my purpose. I live a drama-free life. I stick to myself mostly. If you’ve made it into my circle, you’re pretty special and you know that.

My kids come first. Stress is something that is limited around them as much as possible. All their needs are met and they want for nothing.

The reader, and others before her, wanted to tell me that I am appreciated, that this blog is appreciated. It has given her comfort. It has provided her insight to how her own Mother may feel about her life with Epilepsy.

I am thankful to each of you who read the posts I share and come away with something positive from it.

Unless you’ve experienced it, it’s hard to understand. Unless you’ve seen your child breathless, with barely a heartbeat, you cannot relate to us who have been there. Unless your morning or afternoon has been interrupted by your child falling to the ground, convulsing or even just staring off blankly appearing in a daze, you don’t know what I live and have lived with my children.

I have Epilepsy. I have had it for 39 years of my life. My Mother found me hanging by my neck in a crib in 1979 (complete accident) and my seizures began the same day.

For 15 years, I’ve been a mother to a child with Epilepsy – I am now a mother to THREE children who have seizures. (My oldest child – number one- does not have seizures- he has ADHD.) I fight every day for their healthcare. This isn’t just a game for us, a competition to see who’s got worse health than us… this is REAL LIFE.

And the truth is that at any moment, because my children HAVE Epilepsy, one simple seizure, one traumatic fall, any trauma or even stress could cause a seizure that may end their life.

My third child has Benign Rolandic Epilepsy – her last “official diagnoses”. It has since been expanded to be a broader spectrum than that but is still her diagnoses. Her last EEG showed a definite seizure pattern even on medication. This means that my child, my baby girl is still having seizures even while taking medicine to stop them. Yet, we are attempting to wean her from these medications that cause her to have no hunger for food, and have no energy and have no normal life in an attempt to give her a normal life.

My daughter is gorgeous. Her smile lights up a room. I never want to imagine my life without her in it. But honestly, I don’t know if she will make it through the night. That’s how REAL Epilepsy is and how quickly a seizure could take her away.

I do NOT have time for drama in my life… or stress… or to deal with any one else’s mental issues or financial insecurities. (Dave Ramsey is a great person to learn about ending debt.) I have a daughter to save. Her ADHD is the LEAST of my daily worries and it’s often aggravated by her medication, making her much worse. She cannot focus. She has trouble retaining information. Her learning suffers from the malfunctions in her brain and the medication that is also affecting her.

We travel hours for health care. I spend tons of money on those trips, purchasing food and gas. And I never ask for anything from anyone else because it’s my place as her Mother to make sure she’s got all she needs. (Her father does not pay me support and I am okay with that because in the end of things, money does not matter – her life does.)

I deal with this daily. I’m the ONLY one who makes their medical decisions. I have a Mother and a husband but in the end I am the ONLY ONE who deals with the choices in their care. I make sure they are provided for and have all of their needs met and I depend on no one to help me do that. After all, tomorrow doesn’t promise that they will be there.

This week, my son turns 6. Our Facebook memories show the haunting days of his struggle with Involuntary Breath Holding Spells that Trigger Epileptic Seizure which is his “official diagnoses”. I’m thankful those days are passed though he could have a spell at any time still even at 6. His are the seizures you will see that I have shared online to help others who have gone through and are going through the same things we have.

I can be petty… and I can be a total bitch (just ask my exes)… but in the end, all that matters to me are these kids that I was gifted to love and raise. And I share our life, our story with you so that those of you who read this don’t feel alone. I am thankful to know that it helps… I know what it’s like to feel alone in this battle and I strive to ease that feeling for others who are like us. You are not alone… I see you.

Until Next Time…
Dana