First Goal of 2011 for You and Me

Happy 2011! It has arrived and we should all be revved up and ready to jump in with new conviction to do those things that we want to do, or should I say should do, right? Well, we said that we would give you some good goals to get you going.

The first would be for you to make a reading progress chart for your child. If your child is in the "Imletteration" package, then there are all ready charts in those books. But, if your child is in the See abc's beginning reading part of the program, or has finished the program, you can make your own fun charts as seen in this youtube video below. (If you are using a different program, I would suggest using charts as well.)

You will see what a simple piece of paper, some cheap stickers and a small, inexpesive prize can do to motivate your child to want to reach his/her reading goals. And, you will want to help them to reach their goals in learning to read because, that is reaching one of your goals too! Now, enough talk of goals - go and watch this cute video and share it with others.

Oh, as for my goal; it was to be able to try to remember how to upload a video from my video camera, put it onto my computer and turn it into a youtube for you to see. And, with some frustration and a lot of time, I did it - all by myself! (pat, pat, pat myself on the back!) Hopefully it will be easier next time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLgKMEOQOfA

Doreese

See abc's® Wishes you a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We hope you all had a Very Merry Christmas and wish you a Happy New Year's Eve tonight and a great 2011. As 2010 is quickly slipping into the record books, we can welcome January as a time of renewal and a time for setting goals to help us and our children, or grandchildren to improve. We will be giving you some good goal tips to help your children in their journey of learning how to read.

We know that we need to sit down and set some clear goals for "See abc's LC" to help bring it out of obscurity and get people to know about it. We have a few ideas up our sleeves; we'll see if some of them turn out!

Again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Doreese and Sherry

Stocking Stuffer Stickers!

Here we are just four, I said FOUR days away from Christmas! And, if you are in a panic trying to think of those last minute little things you need to finish up, then I have one suggestion.

Fun stickers would be a great stocking stuffer. Children LOVE stickers! At this time of year, there are a lot of Christmas stickers around. Some of my students really are motivated to do their reading just so that they can put a sticker on their chart, moving them closer to getting a reward or prize. But, on the days they haven't done enough to put a sticker on their chart, I let them choose one to put wherever they want; usually it ends up on their clothes or arms or face!

Whether you are using See abc's or not, I suggest you make up some kind of chart for your child to encourage them in taking time to sit down and learn with you.

It will probably be after Christmas before I get time to blog again. I have a fun story to share about a child who just finished the See abc's reading program.

Have a very Merry Christmas filled with love and joy,

Doreese

Happy Holidays from See abc's®

As we kick off this holiday season, we would like you to hop on over to our website and check out the cute holiday banner there. If you got to this blog because you went to the website first, well then, you have all ready seen it!

The silly picture put an instant smile on my face and made me giggle right out loud! I'm sure it will bring a smile to your face too and hopefully it will be able to stay there throughout the holiday season. So, when you have waited in line for an hour to get that special gift and the person right before you got the last one (as happened to my daughter on black Fri.), or the kids are fighting and screaming about who knows what (it could be any and everything!), then recall this silly reindeer winking at you and just smile! Tis the season to be joyful!

Have you noticed how smiles are contagious? See how many you can give away this holiday season, and I'll bet you will receive a lot back as you do! You'd be amazed at how this can make a person's, you and I included, day brighter. Or, for December, we will say, "merrier!"

In your gift-giving this year, be sure you have at least one good book per child on your list. As the banner says, "Time spent with your children teaching them how to read," truly is the best gift you can give them! And, what about the gift of love you may ask. Well, can you see that it is all ready included when you take the time to sit down with your child and teach him/her the most valuable skill they will ever have? ;0)

Doreese

Thanksgiving and Gratitude

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the things we have received. We here at See abc's want to express our sincere gratitude for all the blessings we have been given this past year. Each of you are one of them, and we hope that See abc's has been able to bless your lives in some way. That is what we work so hard for; to try to help you to help your child or your student with the daunting task of learning how to read. Also, to help you as parents or teachers, by giving you new ideas to try.

We hope your Thanksgiving was both wonderful and delicious! As for us, Doreese was lucky enough to have two Thanksgiving dinners - one at her mother's with her side of the family, and one later in the day with her neice and her five little kids on her husband's side of the family. Sherry, had a cozy dinner at her house with over half of her children there.

We really can't believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone all ready! Though December is the busiest month of the year, try to squeeze in some reading time each day; knowing that you are going to miss some here and there. But, having set that goal will help.

Doreese and Sherry

Reading Rewards for Progress Made

Wow! I can't believe I'm blogging two days in a row. That's got to be some kind of record for me! But, if what I'm about to tell you is going to be of help right now, you need to know right now!

In your books, you have progress charts to provide incentives and motivation for your children/students. Along the way, they can earn rewards. One fun and different kind of reward would be to do something that is connected with upcoming holidays. They know they will need to hurry and earn that reward or the holiday, along with the reward that comes with it, will be over!

Halloween is around the corner and most communities have some type of fun Halloween activities going. Here in Cache Valley (Northern Utah), we have children's corn mazes and there is an annual "Pumpkin Walk". I recently went to a place near Salt Lake City called "Gardner Village" and this time of year, they have it all decorated with these huge witches doing all kinds of different things. (Ive posted some pictures of a few of them.) Many of these things are free.

If you choose one of these bigger events to be a reward, make sure that it is attainable for your child and work with them to achieve it. If you have other children that you want to take, set some type of goal for them to work on as well. Take some pictures and share with us!

Doreese

Report of UEA Convention

I shared a booth at UEA with a friend as a spur of the moment thing. I only used a 4th of the booth and mostly just was hoping to get some good exposure for "See abc's." My daughter, Joni, made a nice banner for me and a great poster. I took some samplers (I still need to blog about those!). I had free book marks and some "magic fingers" that people could buy separately from the program.

The turnout was quite disappointing compared to other years, but a lot of people took a book mark and many now know what a "magic finger" is! Also, I got to let people know that there is a way to change those hard-to-learn "sight words" into easy-to-learn "phonetic words" through the new invention of "Imletteration"!

Most companies just had the little paper banner that was provided. So, the larger, bright banner I had really caught the eye of those passing by. Hopefully it is registered in their sub-conscience somewhere so if they see it again, they will know they have seen it before!

Doreese

p.s. That black necklace I'm wearing was my big find at the convention. I've been wanting a long, black one, and it was only $5! There were a lot of fun, unique and discounted things there. (I also got my husband's Christmas present!)