Learn with Homer {Review & Giveaway}

I am a mother to a pre-reading little girl and an elementary school teacher (I've taught almost every grade from pre-K to 5th grade) and I am constantly on the look out for some great literacy apps for my home and school iPads. 

Recently, I had the opportunity to spend some time using the Learn with Homer app with Jenna.  She loves it and so do I.  It is a FREE app (available on 2nd generation and above iPads only), developed by literacy experts, and targets kids ages 3-6.  It incorporates drawing, voice recording, stories, songs, and more, along with more traditional phonics exercises to teach kids how to read. 
Jenna has been using it for a couple of weeks and specifically asks to play on "Mommy's work iPad" just to use this app.  The graphics are great and the content is perfect for pre-readers and ELLs. 

Amazing graphics

Here are some of the basic Learn with Homer features:

Learn to Read teaches your child to read with phonics lessons and games.

Story Time unlocks the joy of reading with original and classic stories, poems, and rhymes. 

Discover the World builds knowledge and vocabulary with science, history, and related fiction. For example, children might study peacocks and then read a Peacock fable.

Homer’s Clubhouse allows children to draw and record their reactions, ideas, and dreams.

Parents can even track children’s learning and share their creations on the companion website www.learnwithhomer.com/parents.

The app is free to download, and includes one level of Learn to Read and one Discover the World pack, plus access to the Clubhouse and parent tools. Additional content is available through in-app purchase.

Jenna has been enjoying it (especially the voice recording part) and I can definitely see how teachers can use this in their classrooms.  The part I think is great for teachers is that children can navigate the app on their own, but you can still keep track of their progress!

This is my first real review on my blog and I would only put something on here that I believe has real merit.  Definitely check out Learn with Homer if you have a young reader at home or a class full of kids who want to learn to read in a fun way!

GIVEAWAY: I am giving away a $25 credit to the Learn with Homer Society6 shop to one lucky reader. The winner can choose from the gallery of original illustrations featured on the app! To enter, just leave a comment below. 

A winner will be randomly selected on Tuesday, August 20.

{All opinions stated are my own. I was provided with a gift card to make in-app purchases to facilitate my review.}

Book Review: Little Bee

I just finished reading Little Bee by Chris Cleave.
Check out my review at Katie's Bookcase



 
You can also see many of my older reviews at Good Reads by clicking here
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Book Review

I'll be posting all of my book reviews over at Katie's Bookcase from now on!

Click on over to check out my latest review and leave us some comments!




What are you reading this summer? What should I put on my fall reading list (besides 3rd grade books!)??

Book Review - Let the Great World Spin

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I liked this book. I think. It's the first time in a while where I'm not really sure how I felt about a book. It was engaging, the characters were definitely interesting and the interweaving of the stories was done in a really beautiful way. But something was missing for me. But I can't put my finger on it.

It takes place in NY and centers around the man who walked across the twin towers on a tightrope. (An amazing story and I've actually seen a foreign film based on his life) It follows some interesting story line - mothers who lost their sons in Vietnam, prostitutes who 'work' in the Bronx projects, Irish immigrant brothers,local artists, among others.

I liked the book, it kept my attention but I wasn't sad when it ended. And I think it would be a better movie...



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Book Review

Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is one of those multi-generational, epic novels which follows the women in the family from early 1900's Europe to post WWII America. It was good - it kept my attention - I read it fast. The relationships in the story were relatable and I found myself wanting things for different characters. I like it when I feel like I "really" know the characters in the book and I had that with Her Mother's Hope. BUT...it was a little soap-opera-y for me. And I didn't realize that this is part of a two-book series, so for the me the ending kind of left me hanging. (I'm not sure if the second book is out yet and not even sure if I would read it)

Would I recommend this book? Yeah it's definitely a good story and a page turner

Do I think it was amazing? No



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Guest Blogging @ Katie's Bookcase

I am super excited to be kicking off Katie's Summer Reading Month series over at Katie's Bookcase.

I wrote up a list of my top 10 books that changed my life (or my thinking).  I take my reading pretty seriously and I hope you like my list.  Please comment over here or over there with your recommendations and thoughts!

Go check out the site!
http://katiesbookcase.wordpress.com/

If you're interested in books, check out some of my recent reviews here.

Like what you're reading, then can you give a friend a click over here? Thanks!

Book Review

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri



My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I haven't read short stories since high school and I forgot how much I enjoyed them. Lahiri is a great storyteller (both of her novels are must-reads as well) and what's great is that since the stories are short, it feels like you're moving through them quickly. I couldn't put this book down. The first set of short stories are independent of each other and the last three are tied together. I like that she doesn't always do the "happily ever after" kind of endings. They feel more real this way.



I've definitely been on a pretty good run lately with books - I just requested a few from the library that friends have recommended to me - I hope I stay on this run.



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The New Face of Gift Registries

So here's the truth...my friend's friend has a business and I really wish it was around when I was getting married and having my baby because it just seems like the best way to do a registry.
I don't know about you guys, but for my wedding I registered at two places (making sure that all the out of town people were near a store) and for baby I only registered at one (and got lots of gifts I couldn't use because that one store was not close to lots of family and friends) so basically it's hard to get the whole registry-thing right...

But Deposit a Gift seems like the right way to go...basically it's a cash registry - guests "deposit" money into your account and you can use that money to buy anything you need at whatever store you want! You make a list of items that you want and guests contribute to your account so you can buy these gifts (or any other items you may need/want -shhh we won't tell them).

This would've been great for us - when were got engaged we were living in a 500 square foot apartment and believe me when I tell you that our engagement gifts TOOK OVER our apartment - would've been easier to get the 'cash' in an acocunt and spend it later when we finally moved and had more space.  Come to think of it, it would've been great when we had Jenna too because I registered for stuff that I never ended up using (and couldn't return) - it would've been better to have the cash and use it as we saw what we actually needed. 

Oh and super-cool thing...you can create your own wedding website like this or baby website like this.

So if you're thinking about putting a registry together (for any reason) check this site out!

Check out Deposit a Gift on:
Twitter http://twitter.com/DepositaGift
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/DepositaGift
Feedburner http://feeds.feedburner.com/DepositAGift

Book Review

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson



My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is totally not my typical read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was face-paced, and kept my interest. It took me about 100 pages to get all the characters sraight, but once I did I was hooked. At points, I was even scared, like had to have Mike check the apartment one night, scared. I get very "into" books and this was a book that was fun to get into. I'm probably not going to read the next two books in the series very soon. But at least I know they're there when I need a good quick read. Perfect for the beach!



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Book Review

Just finished reading The Help...Here's my review

The Help by Kathryn Stockett


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved.this.book
It's long and hardcover but I couldn't put it down. I thought the themes in the book are just as relevant now as they were in the 60's when this book takes place. I felt like I knew the characters and loved and hated them like they were real people.
read this book
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Please comment if you have any book recommendations...I just started The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo...

Book Review

I've been on a bit of a reading kick these past few weeks...(maybe that's why I haven't been posting as much here).  Anyway, here's my new review...

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher



My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I don't remember why I put this book on my list originally - maybe I saw it in Barnes and Noble or read a review somewhere...it was ok - I actually think it's a book for young adults or something - kind of a 'coming of age' novel. It's about a teenager who commits suicide and the 13 reasons why she does it...not exactly uplifting but a quick read.



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Book Review

I stayed up late to finish this book - it was that good...


Secrets of Eden: A Novel by Chris Bohjalian



My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Chris Bouhjalian is one of my favorite authors. He writes page-turners that have a lot of depth. His characters are believable and relatable. This book deals with relationships, small town living, and domestic abuse. It's told from the perspective of several of the characters and after reading the last page I want to go back and reread the book to see what I missed. This book was great...Read this and some of his others if you can.



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Book Review

Recent Read

Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult

Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult



My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh Jodi...you consistently write books that I don't want to like and then I end up not being able to put them down...Here's a story about a family with a disabled child - parts are heart wrenching and as a new mom makes you ask the question, "what would i do?" Good page turner



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Book Review

I am a reader...literally...I read everything I can get my hands on - books, magazines (my subscription list is over 10), newspapers, blogs...And for the past year or so I have been chronicling my books on a great website - GoodReads.  Although reading has become quite the luxury these days with a little one, I still try to find time to fit it in because I really love it...You'll see that the books I read really run the gamut - please send me recommendations and be my friend on Good Reads!

My recent read...

Commencement: A Novel by J. Courtney Sullivan



My rating: 4 of 5 stars

this was the perfect book for me right now - quick read, page turner, no brainer! interesting enough to stick with and the characters were relatable...



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