Monday, November 26, 2012

And The Winner Is.......

The winner of the the Signing Time Story Time DVD is ...Julie Anderson!  Julie was the first person to sign up at the craft fair and also got another entry for liking the ABC Signing Kids facebook page.  Not sure which one won it for her, but it never hurts to have your name in more than once.  Congratulations Julie!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Signing Time DVD Giveaway

We are so thankful our little Ben has received so many benefits from the Signing Time program. To read more about how Ben first stared reading at age 2, click here.   Ben was recently tested on his sight reading list as school and was found to be reading at the first grade level.   Not bad for a 4 year old.   We would like to celebrate this achievement and the holiday weekend  by sharing the gift of sign with someone else.

We are proud to announce that....

ABC Signing Kids  will be giving away a 
Story Time DVD this weekend.  
This is a great DVD to add to your collection if you already love Signing Time,  and if you are new to Signing Time, it is a great DVD to use to introduce sign language to young children. 

How can you enter?   

There are a couple different ways.
1.  Like the ABC Signing Kids facebook page.
2.  Comment on this post about you or your child's favorite sign to use,  or what sign you would like to learn.
3.  If you are in Southeast Nebraska this weekend. come to the ABC Signing Kids booth at the Holiday Extravaganza Craft Fair, located at Josoff's Social Hall in Elmwood, NE on Saturday September 24, from 9-4, to enter the drawing in person.

Good Luck !

*Maximum of 3 entries per person.  Entry deadline 4:00 pm on Saturday November 24, 2012.  Winner will be announced on Monday, September 26, 2012.  Must live in the continental United States to win.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Can't Fool This Kid

One of the things I love about the iPad is that it helps kids get motivated to learn.  It is also a ton of fun and slightly addictive  I have read more books on my Kindle app this year alone than I read in the last 10 years combined.

The games can be addictive too.

My personal favorite is Bejeweled Blitz.

 Ben's favorite is Tiger Woods Golf.

The problem with Ben's favorite, is that it happens to be his Dad's game.  The way these games work, you do tournaments to increase your average and skill, etc.  Randy had his player in pretty good shape.

Until Ben found the game that was hidden in the folder.

He was sitting quietly in the stroller at one of his brother's many games completely engrossed in the iPad.  I asked him a couple times what he was playing.   I finally got up and looked.  Randy's  player was at 70 over par.  Not good when you have your player just where you want them.

So they created a player just for Ben.

 You see he does not care if he is in first or last.  He just wants to play.   I just love that about him.  Every time the big boys try to get him to change how he doing something so he can win, I remind them too.

Ben just wants to play.  He is having fun.  Let him have fun.

But back to the iPad......Every now and then I move the golf game on the iPad, so that Ben will spend more time with his learning apps, and less time playing golf.

This morning was one of those days.

After burying the golf game deep in one of my photo app folders, I gave the iPad back to Ben.

Next thing I hear is "Looks like you are going to need a pitching wedge from this distance".  The little stinker found it, in less than 10 minutes.  Looks like I need to employ a more devious tactic next time. 

But part of me is proud of him.  What a great problem solving skill this little game of ours has taught him. There are so many great things he learns from the iPad, like matching, math, reading, and having fun.   In general the iPad has been nothing but a wonderful tool for Ben.