Chicken Soup for the Soul: Shaping the New You (Review & 2 giveaways)

Starting a new year, many people want to make changes in their life, and starting to eat better or start exercising is usually at the top of the list of changes.
Chicken Soup for the Soul came out with a new book called, "Shaping the New You."

101 Encouraging Stories about Dieting and Fitness... and Finding What Works for You

No one likes to diet, but the personal stories in this book will encourage and inspire readers with its positive, practical, and purposeful tales of dieting and fitness. Readers will find hope, help, and hints on getting fit and staying healthy in these 101 stories from those who have been there, done that, and maintained it. Stories about wake-up calls and realizations, moving more and eating better, self-esteem and support, and lifestyle changes, big and small, will motivate any reader looking to start fresh or needing a boost. This is a great book for anyone embarking on a healthier lifestyle.
Join Richard Simmons in the great adventure of Shaping the New You. Richard states, "These stories really resonate with me. There is no better inspiration than hearing someone else's story." You can read his personal story in this Chicken Soup for the Soul book.

There is nothing better than hearing the success stories from other people. A personal story makes the reality seem possible, because someone has already gone through it. It is fun to read the stories in this book, some you can relate to, or tried yourself, and you may get inspired to try something that worked for someone else. There are so many stories in this book about many topics like: regaining control, conquering the gym, learning to like yourself and your body, getting started, having an accountability partner, and more. Chicken Soup for the Soul books are great for inspiration and this one may be great for motivation.

***ENTER TO WIN!!!***
This contest is open to bloggers, and non-bloggers of the United States, and will end on February 28th. There will be two winners!

To enter: comment about something you would like to change for this new year, and if you made any new year resolutions.
**For extra chances you can: blog this contest, add my button to your site, subscribe to my blog, follow Sassyfrazz on twitter (if you tweet this contest use the hash tag #sassyfrazz), and/or become a fan on facebook, and/or visit everyday and comment on another one of my blog posts (leave a comment letting me know what you commented on). Lots of chances to win! Don't forget to put the extra comments for the "extra" work. Good luck!**

I will contact the winner by e-mail and they will have 3 days to claim their prize, and at that time...if no response, I will have the option to pick a new winner.

This review was provided from Chicken Soup for the Soul. I am sponsored to offer a giveaway for my readers through this review and two books were provided for the giveaway. I was given the product for my personal opinion and option to share with my readers. I was not compensated for my time or written review.

Now I'm Reading! ~fun way to teach reading (Review & Giveaway)

Being a home school mom, I try and keep my eyes open for great products that will be fun, educational, and inspiring. I love creative products that spark my kid's interests. I was recently sent the Now I'm Reading! Plays from Innovative Kids to review, and I love these sets! These sets are designed to help children learn to read, in a fun and playful way. I got the play set: Three Little Pigs. My kids love this story, and they are really excited to act out the story with facial masks and all...not only is it fun, they are learning, too!
The Level 1, Now I'm Reading!, Three Little Pigs (the play) set includes: a Storybook, 5 easy-to-read scripts including: Pig in Blue, Pig in Yellow, Pig in Red, the Big Bad Wolf, and the Narrator~~ Plus, the masks to go with the booklet. It is great to have the storybook, to introduce the story to the kids. Some children may not be familiar with the stories, so I found this to be a great way for them to know it. Reading the story a few times a day, will help them learn the story very well. I like that my son is in Kindergarten this year, and is showing signs of wanting to learn to read. I like to point out the words to him as I am reading.
After the kids get to know the story really well, you can show them the masks, and they can play the parts of the story out with their imagination. It is fun to see what they remember from the story that you shared with them. I think this is great for comprehension. With looking through their scripts, as they play the part of their character, they start to recognize words, and begin learning to read.

Caleb loves the wolf mask, and being the Big Bad Wolf. The pictures and words in each book is big, and really easy to read. Next to each reading part, there is a picture of the character who needs to read it. Each person only reads a sentence, so it is easy to read along and follow. Each booklet has 15 pages, and tells the complete story. The character that you are, or are playing, is in a white highlight, so you know when it is your turn. On the back inside cover, your character that you played tells you a nice compliment.

I love this set, and I am happy to have it apart of my home school curriculum! I recommend this to everyone, especially home educators! The Now I'm Reading Plays are great for family game night, and story times with friends over, as well.

The books are written by Nora Gaydos, and the Illustration is by Barbara Vagnozzi.

The Now I'm Reading! Plays are developed and designed from the creative team at innovativeKids.

From innovativeKids website:
innovativeKids creates award-winning books designed for everyday play and extraordinary learning, from birth to age 12 and beyond. More than just books, innovativeKids titles are also games, puzzles, and toys—because having fun is the best way to learn, and more fun means more learning. Our products inspire the potential in children around the world by encouraging a lifelong love of reading and learning. innovativeKids® books are distributed throughout the world, with co-editions published in a host of languages and countries.

***ENTER TO WIN!!!***
This contest is open to bloggers, and non-bloggers of the United States, and will end on November 20th.

To enter, visit innovativeKids.com and find another product that your kids would love (other than the Now I'm Reading Series). Then, comment on it. For an extra entry, like innovativeKids on Facebook, Nora Gaydos on Facebook, or you could subscribe to Gaydos' blog. To get credit for the extra entries, just make sure you leave a comment on the facebook pages/blog that you heard about them on my blog.

**For extra chances you can: blog this contest, add my button to your site, subscribe to my blog, follow Sassyfrazz on twitter and/or become a fan on facebook, and/or visit everyday and comment on another one of my blog posts (leave a comment letting me know what you commented on). Visit Trivial Pursuit on Facebook, "like" them, and comment that you are entering my contest to win @sassyfrazz.blogspot.com. Lots of chances to win! Don't forget to put the extra comments for the "extra" work. Good luck!**

I will contact the winner by e-mail and they will have 3 days to claim their prize, and at that time...if no response, I will have the option to pick a new winner.

This review was provided from innovativeKids.com. They have provided me with a Now I'm Reading! Plays to review and information to share with my readers. I am sponsored to offer a giveaways for my readers through this review. I was given the product for my personal opinion and option to share with my readers. I was not compensated for my time or written review.

Alphabotz Flash Cards (great for education): Review and Giveaway!

Being a home educator, I am always trying to find great products to encourage learning, is fun and creative for teaching/learning, and my kids will enjoy it. I was sent a box of Alphabotz flashcards to review, and I found these cards colorful, creative, fun, FULL of learning opportunities, and ways to teach (that is fun, not boring).
The Alphabotz flashcards have a robot character on the top of each card. On top of the robot's head is a picture of an item. The picture of the robot is to install a memory trigger for your children to help them remember a certain sound or letter. With 26 letters of the alphabet, there are 46 cards to the Alphabotz cards. Not only do the Alphabotz flash cards introduce the alphabet, there are also different phonetic sounds displayed.

These flash cards are perfect for me, considering Caleb is currently a "pre-schooler," and Madelyn isn't too far behind. They are learning together, essentially, with being home. They love playing with the cards and saying what is on them. Caleb is really liking to sound out his letters, know what letter makes which words, and so on. So the Alphabot Flash cards are a hit, and they are working to help him learn. He will eventually put together that the letters/sounds will belong to the words he is speaking...therefore promoting reading. That is the intent of these cards.
Caleb is learning how to spell and write his name, and we have been "finding the letters" of his name in the Alphabotz cards.
The Alphabotz Superphonic Decoder Cards were just named to Dr. Toy's 100 Best Children's Products of 2009 list! I think that this award is well deserved. I recommend these flashcards for your younger child/preschooler. Older kids can have fun with these cards, too...(included in the box is a list of games to play).

Enter to win!

The company has offered to sponsor a giveaway for my readers! This giveaway is open to residents of the USA (bloggers/non-bloggers), and will end on November 25th, 2009. TO ENTER: go to the website and find out something you find interesting about the cards or company. For an additional entry, you can "become a friend of Alphabotz on Facebook". You can come back once each day throughout the contest and enter again by just leaving a friendly comment relevant to the contest, but you MUST do the first entry.

**For extra chances you can: blog this contest, add my button to your site, subscribe to my blog, twitter this contest, and/or visit everyday and add another friendly comment. Lots of chances to win! Don't forget to put the extra comments for the "extra" work. Good luck!**

This review was sponsored by Alphabotz Superphonic Decoder Cards. They have supplied me with a free product to keep for my personal opinion and option to share with my readers. I was not compensated for my time or written review. They have offered to sponsor a giveaway for a prize for my readers.

Books to bring in spring!

Easter and Spring are soon upon us, and kids are very much ready to be outdoors playing! Candlewick Press has two great books to celebrate Spring life! These two books would make a great gift in the basket this weekend, or to just give to your child.The Little Chick is a great little story about a little chick and her Auntie. My kids
were so into this book as the story of Little Chick unfolded. Little Chick really wants a few things to happen: her carrot to grow big, her kite to fly high, and to reach a star. I love how this book illustrates to keep trying for what you want and to be patient in the waiting times. I also think that this story is precious how the Little Chick gets help and advice from her wise Old Auntie. author: Amy Hest
illustrator: Anita Jeram
Available for purchase now, online or in book stores with a suggested retail price of $17.99.
Did you ever lose one of your children, or at least, thought you did? Valeri Gorbachev wrote a fun little tale of The Missing Chick who really wasn't missing, just couldn't be found right away. This engaging story is a great expression of community help, Everyone is on a mission to find the hen's missing chick. My kids had a great time guessing where that little chick was, and was surprised to find out where the little peep ended up!
The Missing Chick was just released this April and has a suggested retail price of $15.99. This book can also be found in bookstores or online.

Candlewick Press Books~ PLUS a GIVEAWAY!

My children love books, and a great place to find great books for your kids is Candlewick Press! We got some books from Candlewick Press for Christmas time, and I was so excited to get some books for Nathaniel's age! Nathaniel is an avid reader and loves to keep his nose in the books. It can be a challenge to find books that really spark his interest, and I was excited to see his joy when he picked up the 'Where's Waldo? The Complete Collection', and the 'Moon Landing' books!
'Where's Waldo? The Complete Collection,' is a collection of 5 books...the complete series of Where's Waldo? These books are filled with pictures overloading the pages with eye stimulus, and the reader needs to find and pick out Waldo. The Where is Waldo? books are like I spy, but you need to find Waldo. My kids and I like to tryand find other things/people in the pictures after we conquered finding Waldo! The Complete Collection of Where is Waldo? can be purchased for $45.00 found at many book stores, and is geared toward ages 5-12 years. Moon Landing is a book my son really dazzled over, not only is this book fun to look at with the pop-outs and special effects, but it is filled with great information and facts. Wanting to be an astronaut himself, Nathaniel was wide-eyed over 'Moon Landing'! Richard Platt is a great author, and his book features traveling to the moon, the race to conquer space, the technology needed to reach the moon and sustain the astronauts in space, and the moon landing itself. The pop-ups display a rocket, the lunar module, a spaceship, and a spectacular spherical moon. There are even booklets and flaps which are filled with facts. *Published in anticipation of the fortieth anniversary of the first moon landing on July 20, 1969*Features official NASA photographs, two mini-books, and fun informational flaps. At $29.99, I think this book is a great value of educational information! This book is geared toward ages 8 and up.
Some other great books Candlewick Press has are Let's Play in the Snow (from the Guess how much I love you series). Little Nutbrown Hare plays I Spy with Big Nutbrown Hare, and finds out what is Big Nutbrown Hare's favorite thing is that he spys. Maisy's Christmas Day is a story about Maisy and her friends seeing what gifts they get. The pictures are colorful and bright, easy for smaller children to look at. A story of sacrifice and meaning is portrayed in The Gift of the Magi. Della and her husband, Jim, have made great sacrifices for each other just to get the gift long sought for. Coming to realize that Christmas isn't about the price of a gift, but that the gift is in each other and what they share. I love the watercolor pictures in this book, and the meaning behind the story.Another fun pop up book for your kids (and you) to enjoy is A Present for Santa Claus! My kids had a great time watching the pop-ups come to life in this colorful and entertaining book. It is a story about a little boy who would like to give Santa a gift. What would Santa want? At the end of the book, there is a sneak peak of Santa's cottage that kids can get a 3-D look to see inside.
Candlewick Press has books for all ages, and their books are of high quality! Since Candlewick Press first opened their doors in 1991, they’ve received more than 1500 accolades and honors, and have been named "the fastest growing children’s publisher in the U.S." by Publishers Weekly. One thing I find rather fascinating is: Candlewick Press is 100 percent owned and operated by their employees, making them one of the largest independent publishing companies, not just in the country, but in the world!!
Candlewick Press is graciously offering to sponsor a giveaway to you lucky readers! There will be three winners! Here is what you can do to enter: This contest is open to all readers living in the Continental United States. To get your first entry, check out the books at Candlewick Press, find one that interests you (besides the ones I mentioned) and comment about it. Please let me know what book you would like to win of those that I mentioned, too! If you do not do the first required entry, you will be disqualified. You may come back each day and enter (again) after you do the first rule, just tweet about this giveaway and leave the url in your comment. Click here to see how you can earn extra credits to win, and click here to see guidelines and the official rules. Contest will end on January 6, 2009 at 11:59PM CST. GOOD LUCK!

Reading is so great!

Nathaniel is an avid reader, and lately, the bigger the book the better. He just loves keeping his nose in the books! I am so thankful that reading is one of his passions. Not all kids are into reading especially since our world is so overpowered from media overload. Many parents struggle with getting kids interested in reading when the video games are calling their names. Reading just may not seem "fun" to kids of today.
According to the 2008 Kids and Family Reading Report by Yankelovich and Scholastic, despite 80% of parents wanting their kids to read for fun, most kids claim there aren’t enough really good books for their age group. James Patterson , a father himself, knows that one of the main obstacles for young readers is a lack of books kids can truly connect with. We can all remember the joy of a great book from our own childhood; begging to stay up ten more minutes to finish a chapter, then hiding under the covers with a flashlight to read “just one more.” Patterson has made it his mission to give this experience to children everywhere and instill in them a love of reading. James Patterson has started a wonderful site called Read Kiddo Read. The site covers picture books that you are still reading to your baby/toddler to advanced reader books. Each featured book, hand-selected by Patterson, includes a synopsis, related themes, quotes from critics, links to find the book in any number of locations (including local libraries), and even similar suggested reads. In addition, the website provides resources for finding book discounts and promotions, features interviews and contributions from authors and celebrities, and even allows members to connect with each other via a Ning community. Providing kids with a love of and appreciation for books gives them something that will remain with them throughout their lives, and this resource helps make that possible.
Having visited the site, I saw the wide variety of books for recommendations. It makes it kind of fun for kids to see the books that may interest them. What a fun site to check out with your son or daughter. I recommend giving ReadKiddoRead a try, and maybe your child's interest in reading will grow.
Thank you MotherTalk for this review opportunity!

Poingo Interactive Book review and Giveaway

My kids love books! They love being read to, and love trying to "read" to me. I think kids learn so much with being read to and reading books. The interactive books are great, too, because they get children to interact with the stories. Poingo is the all-new interactive book, from the makers of Story Reader, that helps kids find special items on the pages of the books. The magical "pen" included in the set, has an infrared scanner that "reads" the images in the book. The Poingo pen reads, plays music and sounds through the speaker. There are two levels of sound. Poingo comes with two interactive books, Disney's Pixar The World of Cars, and Finding Nemo...two of my son's favorites. Each additional book is $9.99, and the programs are already loaded into the Poingo's memory. All you have to do is purchase the book and you’re ready to go. Content for additional books can be downloaded (for free) when you register the Poingo. As a special bonus, you can connect Poingo to your PC or Mac to receive bonus content, free music and more! My son loves working the Poingo and figuring out the answers to the questions it asks. Not only is he having fun with reading and controlling the pen, he is learning, too. One of the really great features of this new product is, it works right out of the box! No batteries, downloads or charging to wait for...just pull out the plastic piece and your child is happy. How ingenious!
Poingo is a great gift to give any child! It is geared toward ages 3+ and I would recommend this to all families! Looking for a Christmas gift? I would like to suggest looking for Poingo!Systems may be purchased at Amazon.com or your local Target store for $38.00. Guess What? I have a Poingo to giveaway!
Enter for your chance to win a Poingo! This contest is open to all readers living in the Continental United States. Leave a comment about who you would like to give this to if you won. You may come back each day and enter again, just leave a comment about what is your child's favorite book currently. Click here to see how you can earn extra credits to win, and click here to see guidelines and the official rules. Contest will end on December 9th, at 7:00 PM CST. GOOD LUCK!

See Me Read: A Review

With looking into products to get Caleb ready for home school, I have come across a great website called See Me Read! I really like the concepts behind this company to help promote early reading.
The See Me Read Early Childhood Literacy Program helps introduce young children to the concept of language and encourages early reading. See Me Read uses personal photos of your child interacting with familiar items so that whole-words are reinforced visually. Your child's photos in our one-of-a-kind personalized labels, reading cards, books and writing pads will make learning fun.
Because not all children learn to read the same way or at the same rate, See Me Read helps them get the best of both learning methods as they develop early literacy.
See Me Read encourages early reading through the physical labeling of familiar items, people and animals in a child’s world and supports these labels with reading cards and books using the same words and visuals. The key element involves using personal photos of the child interacting with the familiar item on the labels, reading cards, books, and writing pad so the words are reinforced visually. For a child, recognizing a specific item (his ball, her doll) will quickly and clearly attach the specific word to the object. The See Me Read products are different than currently available books and flashcards, which often have pictures that are hard to interpret and don't allow a child to easily connect a familiar item with the word that describes it.

There are different Kits you can put together through the See Me Read site: The See Me Read™ Kit - #1: $49.99 (personalized Labels, Reading Cards and a Level One Book, all of which include photos of your child interacting with his or her favorite objects, people or animals).

The See Me Read™ Kit - #2: $34.99 (a Level Two Book and a Writing Pad, both of which include photos of your child interacting with his or her favorite objects, people or animals).

Lori Abert Luke, is the talented woman who created the See Me Read program based on learning tools and techniques she developed for her own son, Carson, when he showed signs of wanting to learn how to read at a very early age. Lori partnered with two of her friends, Lynette Frenette and Donna McDermott, who have been instrumental in getting See Me Read up and running.
I am excited to put together a set for Caleb. I am hoping to get the whole set. I really like this product line, and I know Caleb is ready for learning!
To make/create your own kit, Click HERE! Lori, the founder of See Me Read, has offered to give a special discount to all Sassyfrazz readers! You can use code SSSY2008 during checkout and get 20% off your order!
Thank you Lori!