My love of reading to my children has developed over many years.  During that time, we have read so many books together that I began a search for more than just a love of reading for my children, and increase in comprehension and vocabulary, but a search for stories that would influence their lives.  Stories that would get them to, “think” about cause and effect and how that applies to their lives. In...

  I love this cook book!  This ’MAKE-A-MIX’ cook book is the second edition that I have owned, and there are still more recent editions available.  Unlike other cookbooks, this book contains 67 easy to make basic  mix recipes that you can use to make innumerable dishes. Just mix together the basic brownie mix and use that to make, Chewy Chocolate Cookies, Best Brownies, Texas Sheet Cake,...

Before I review any more children’s books, I thought I would let you know where I found my information on how to organize the extensive collection (over 30 years worth) that I have.  Coming from a less than organized family, and marrying into a very organized family gave me room for improvement.  A wise sister-in-law saw my need and gave me her copy of the book, “Confessions of an Organized Homemaker”...

No Spoilers – Don’t worry Stephenie Meyer’s ability to captivate an audience and encourage speedy reading shines through in her first adult novel, The Host. While still aimed at a teenage or young adult audience, The Host is an entertaining novel for anyone who enjoyed the Twilight Series. At her first attempt away from the vampire love series, Stephenie Meyers has succeeded in creating a new...

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer has probably been one of the most anticipated novels of this year. By young adults at the very least. From the first novel, The Twilight series captivated it’s teenage audience. But this fourth installment in the saga has turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment. I must say that Breaking Dawn is an interesting read. If you’ve read the other 3 novels it is definitely...

The experiences I have had while reading to, and with my children have been some of the most rewarding.  The dividends have been innumerable.  All eight of my children have consistently scored in the 90th per-centile on their standardized tests in reading.  The skill of reading supports all other educational endeavors. I suggest obtaining a copy of the book, “The Read Aloud Handbook”, by Jim Trelease,...