It's the Most Wonderful Time..... to Buy Books!

Not only is this the most wonderful time of the year, as the song goes, but it is also the most wonderful time to buy books. Tis the season of giving and what greater gift than the gift of reading. I think many of us think books make a great gift. But, don't overlook the great seasonal books that are out right now. I've noticed in the ads I've been getting that stores have been using Christmas books, including wonderful children's Christmas books as a teaser to get people into their stores. So, treat yourself and your children to a pre-Christmas gift. For all the running around you do this time of year, all the gift wrapping, all the goodie making, etc., etc., you deserve it.

Here are a few of my favorite titles that I've gotten this year. For preschoolers: What Santa Can't Do. It says that one of the things Santa can't do is drive a car (that would hurt the reindeer's feelings). It's a very cute book. There is also a fun musical board book for Up on the Housetop. My grandkids love it! For a little bit older children, I got a child's version of It's a Wonderful Life. What a classic story. The lead character is the son of George Bailey, Tommy. It has a similar theme as the original. Then, I got the board book version of Christmas Oranges. I've wanted to get this one for a few years now, and I just kept passing it up. But, with the great teaser price, I couldn't resist this year. I plan to read it to my family Chrismas Eve.

Christmas books just add to the anticipation and excitement for your little ones. Enjoy their sweetness and innocence this holiday season. They are, after all, the most precious gift we have been given.

Doreese

Won't My Child Be Bored???

Hi, Doreese here. I often get asked, "Won't my child get bored in school if he/she learns to read before Kindergarten?" Of all the children that I know of that have done the program before school, I have never heard that any of them have gotten bored. I just hear things about how high their self-esteem is because they feel so smart, are at the top of their class and put in the highest reading groups, and how much they are enjoying reading any book they want to. I asked a mother to write down for me her feelings about this, having had two children go through the program. This is what she had to say:

"I have two daughters that had the opportunity to learn to read using the See ABC's reading program before entering Kindergarten. I am so thankful that they were able to have this head start. I believe it gave them the confidence and self-esteem they needed to be successful in school. Their Kindergarten teachers were wonderful to keep them challenged and excited about learning. My girls were always given the opportunity to move ahead on a higher learning level to reach their potential.

After my girls completed the Imletteration part of the program, they knew that they could pick of any book and read it if they wanted to. I feel that the See abc's reading program is a wonderful gift to give a child...the gift of the love of reading."

- Monae Murray

Headline News!

I have headline news this week! My granddaughter that just turned four this last September is reading!!! Yup, she has moved on to the Chop and Blend book where she is now sounding out words. It is SUPER exciting to see how quickly she learned to read! She is sooo proud of herself and of course her parents are thrilled! I feel blessed to have a few of my grandchildren living close enough to me that I can teach them how to read. I LOVE our product! Carry on friends, reading success is at your fingertips with the See abc's Reading Program.

Multiple Sensory Explained

When we say that See abc’s is a multiple sensory reading program, it means that it uses the three senses necessary in order to learn; visual, auditory (hearing) and tactile (hands on). So, it reaches all types of learners. It has a strong visual connection by seeing the picture clue right in the letter shape itself. This has been a very powerful way to teach. It is auditory because children listen and repeat. And we use three tactile steps to teach each letter. This tactile component is a big reason why it is so successful. For my purposes, I broaden the term tactile beyond just touch. I include anything you do with your hands; actions as well as touch. These tactile steps are also what keeps children focused. When you combine all three of these senses, the results are amazing!

Doreese

New Look, New Video, New Youtube!

A lot has happened since our last post. We have been really busy revamping our site and making an instructional reading workshop video.

First of all, Sherry's daughter and her husband have redesigned our entire website. Hasn't she done a great job! We hope you enjoy it. Our website is: www.seeabcs.com We've added a couple of videos to it. One of them is a clip from when the TV show "Studio 5" featured it. It is on our "Testimonials" page. Then, Sherry and I, with the help of the "Bridgerland Applied Technology College" made an instructional reading workshop video. We are teaching a group of mothers and their children how to use our reading program. So, you can go to our home page and see everything that is in our program and how to use it. I'm really excited about this because now you can know right away what our program does. You can see how multiple senses (visual, auditory and tactile) help your child learn quickly and easily. You even get to hear a little of the alphabet song. And, most exciting, you will see how Imletteration eliminates the need to memorize sight words (rule breakers). You will learn an entire reading system in only a half hour! Plus hear what moms are saying about it. Watch it and see what the fun reward for finishing the program is. Hint: It is the Gumfounded books.

And surprise! We have our very first youtube video. It is a segment of our instructional video. It is the section about Imletteration and a couple of moms with their kids who used the program. If you want to skip ahead and go directly to this part and see what Imletteration is, you can just click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3TjasMO3Kg If you want to email this link to someone and ask them to pass it on, that would be great with us! We would appreciate any positive comments.

Doreese

Reading Time Is Playing Time

This is my 2 1/2-year old granddaughter. She enjoys "playing" with the letters too in "ABC's See What They Say". She can do all three of the tactile steps just fine. Now, her attention span? Well, that's a lot different than her 4-year old sister's. Sometimes she can do several letters and sometimes just two. But, that's okay. Just always start where you leave off the next time you "play" with the book. She really loves singing the song, "Learning Is So Fun", which is helping her learn the letter names, and which picture clue they go with.

My 1-year old grandson will sit on my lap while I go through the entire book - just talking about the pictures and "chopping" off the beginning sound (which with him, we just do 2 times, instead of 3). I take his little hand and chop with him. He really likes to do that.

Enjoy playing with both "ABC's See What They Say", and "123 What Do You See?"

Doreese

On Cloud Nine!

Hi everyone,

I have been teaching my little 4-year old granddaughter her alphabet names and sounds over the past several months. Four days ago I started her in "ABC's See How to Chop and Blend" and we worked on the exercise to stretch out each sound. Then today, I taught her how to blend sounds together to make a word. She had no problem at all! She read five words! It is the most thrilling moment for me when going through the teaching reading process. Up til now it's all been fun and games learning letter sounds and their fun picture clues. But when they realize that blending those sounds together makes a word and that they just read it, it is one of the most powerful moments in all of their learning life! All of the sudden, the written word comes to life! And that is why I am on cloud nine.

And my granddaughter was bursting with excitement when she realized what she could do. She won't go to Kindergarten next year, but the year after that.

I would love to hear your cloud nine stories. Please share them with us.

Doreese

A New Twist on Story Time

We all know we are suppose to read aloud to our children every day. But sometimes you may want to do more than just read through the book. Ask thought-provoking questions to get your children's minds and imaginations working. You could ask them to predict what they think will happen next. Also, after reading the story, ask questions about things that took place in the story and what certain character's names were. This will help their memory skills. If they can't think of the answer, go ahead and tell it to them before they become frustrated. This is to be a fun time.

Using books this way makes them become interactive, almost like playing a game. In fact, you could call it that. You could say, "With this book, let's play, 'Guess who does what?'" When kids know they will have an active role at reading time, you might be surprised at how much better they pay attention! This activity isn't just for new books. You can do it with old favorites. Your children will probably know exactly what is going to happen and that is just fine. They will feel all the smarter when it turns our just as they predicted!

Doreese

Quote Of The Day

Have you ever gone for a brisk morning walk or an early morning bike ride? Maybe you have pushed your baby in her stroller to the park on a sunny afternoon. Could it be that you got the kids on the bus and sent them on there way to school then turned on the T.V. to your favorite morning show and watched it while walking on your treadmill? It is so refreshing to our bodies to exercise them.

Let me share a quote by Sir Richard Steele with you, he said, "Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." I LOVE that!!! Just as exercise fine tunes our bodies, reading fine tunes our minds. Both build and strengthen us in their own ways. Reading will not only teach you and keep you well informed, it will better your concentration and memory. Let's make sure we read for at least a few minutes every day to help keep our mind in shape!

Hugs!
Sherry