Pea of Sweetness

Ooka Island {Review}

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Ooka Island
We had the chance to review Ooka Island, which is a fun Pre-K (starting as young as age 3) to 2nd Grade learn-to-read program for PC and Mac. It features a Home Edition, School Edition, and Homeschool Edition. It is a fun way for kids to learn phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Their goal is to teach children to learn to read fluently and well through online instruction that is fun and interesting.
Since we have three kids in the target age range for Ooka Island, it has been particularly fun for our family because they are able to learn together. As a homeschooling mom, I often try to use the “one room schoolhouse” approach as much as possible particularly because our oldest two children (ages 7 and 5) are on the same academic level, and our 3 year old is just a couple of years younger. So, when there is a program like Ooka Island where they can actually work together that is really exciting for me! The best part is, they worked WELL together! They were taking turns, helping each other, and having fun! Of course, they were learning along the way as well!
Check out the video introduction to Ooka Island:

It looks fun, right? Our kids LOVE it! Although they are learning as they go, they really enjoy their time on Ooka Island. Many times I have to insist it is time to do other things. I love that Ooka Island uses a positive approach to teaching. They get rewarded with the bonus games, stickers, and a lot of positive reinforcement along the way. The whole story line of Ooka Island makes every child a hero!
Reading has been a challenging subject for our oldest in particular who is on the Autism spectrum, so positive reinforcement and a lot of praise really does a lot to encourage him. He also gets extra encouragement knowing he is helping his little brother learn letters and letter sounds, too! He feels really special.
Ooka Island also offers offline components as well such as: downloadable book paths, reward certificates, and downloadable books. They also have ebooks and workbooks to complement them.
*Update! 10/4/2013* After our initial review Ooka Island graciously offered us the opportunity to review it further with each child having their own hero. The kids were thrilled! The older two did still help our preschooler once in a while because they both tend to be the ever watchful older siblings, but overall, they really enjoyed exploring Ooka Island on their own as well. It was a big incentive to encourage further learning!
This also allowed me learn more about the Ooka Lighthouse, which is the parent dashboard. I was able to track the progress of each child as well as send them messages of encouragement! It is really neat! I love that they offer a Homeschool Edition and that they understand our needs. Their membership options include a monthly and yearly price for an individual child as well as a monthly and yearly price for up to four children! So often memberships offer discounts for additional students, but they are still rather high. Plus the discounted rate is still PER CHILD! So one rate for up to four children is wonderful!
Ooka Island is both fun and educational, and they really offer so many options!

For More Information:

Visit the Ooka Island Website
Connect with Ooka Island on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube

*Educents Special!!* {ended July 2013}

Right now Ooka Island is on special on Educents for 50% off a 6 month subscription! The deal only lasts a few days, so be sure to take advantage now and get your kids started on their Ooka Island Adventure!
 
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Goody Ouchless Ribbon Elastics Review

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Disclosure: I received the Goody Ouchless Riboon Elastics complimentary influenster in my SunKissed VoxBox. All opinions are my own.
hair bands
The Goody Ouchless Ribbon Elastics have such a unique look from a traditional hair band. Because I often wear my hair up I love to mix up the look, so I was really excited to see hair elastics with such a unique look! How have I not seen them before?
I love the various colors of these hair elastics as well as the style because I can also wear them on my wrist comfortably. It not only looks cute on my wrist, but I then have a hair elastic with me any time I need one. Because it gets so hot and humid here there are many times I go without having my hair up but quickly change my mind, so this has definitely come in handy!
Mostly, though, I have been using them for a standard ponytail. I know it’s boring, but as I mentioned – it’s HOT! I do everything I can to keep my hair up and off my neck and shoulders particularly when I’m outside or working around the house. I tried to do a loose low ponytail to really take advantage of the cute style of these elastics, but unfortunately, my shortest layers are still too short. So they would fall out, and it ended up not looking very cute at all! So, a regular old ponytail would have to suffice!
Goody Elastics
Let’s set style aside and talk function! These Ribbon Elastics really do their job! I have thick hair, and I have a hard time particularly with hair bands. I need something that won’t slip or get stretched out. The Goody Ouchless Ribbon Elastics have held up well! The elasticity is strong, they haven’t fallen out or gotten loose, they don’t pull my hair when I’m taking them out, and they haven’t gotten stretched out.
Overall, I’m happy with both their style and function! Goody has delivered once again! Check out a couple of other Goody products I have reviewed:
The Goody QuikStyle Half-Round Styler Brush (which I love so much I bought the paddle brush as well!)
and The Goody Simple Styles Spin Pin

For More Information:

Visit the Goody Website
Connect with Goody on Facebook and Twitter

Kids iPad Case Review

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Disclosure: I received one or more of the products mentioned for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers and opinions are 100% my own.
Kids iPad Case
When kids use an iPad (especially younger kids) the case usually takes a pretty good beating, doesn’t it? No matter how sturdy it was we were still replacing the case for our kids’ iPad at least twice a year. Paying for an expensive case knowing it still wouldn’t even last a full year really didn’t seem like a good idea anymore. I must not be the only one who had thought of this! There is a kids iPad case that offers a great solution! The Kids iPad cases are not only kid-friendly, but can be purchased in a set of three for only $16.99! So if we do still have to replace the case twice a year we would only have to pay $16.99 and still have one case left!
Even if your children don’t have an iPad for themselves they may use yours, and you definitely don’t want them getting food or other things on YOUR case! The kids iPad case offers an extremely affordable alternative! When they use your iPad simply put it in one of the kids iPad cases, and you don’t have to worry about ruining your own case and know that the iPad is protected as well!
For our review we received both a white case and brown case. One feature I really love is that they are made in the USA. That is always a bonus! I also love that they are recyclable! So when it’s time to switch to a new one we can just recycle the previous one! If you have kids that love to draw they could even decorate it! They definitely gave me a flash-back moment when I used to cover my school books and draw on the cover. I loved doing that, and kids could definitely do that (or I guess we could, too!) with these covers! We haven’t yet, and I’m honestly not sure why! I think it’s because the boys have been using it more than the girls lately!

Ipad Case

I admit I was concerned the cases wouldn’t be very durable, but I am happy to say they are! In fact, we have used just one of the cases, and it has held up better than the last expensive case we had on it so far! I find myself getting far less worried over smudges on the case and nagging them about being careful with the case. It seems silly to want to protect the product that you purchase to protect the important part, right? I am so glad to not have to stress over it anymore!
Overall, I am very happy to have discovered the Kids iPad Case. They are durable, recyclable, extremely affordable, customizable (by you!), made in the USA, and extremely kid-friendly! For us, it is a much better alternative than purchasing an expensive case every few months!

For More Information:

Visit Apple Pie online and check out all the great American Brands while you are there!
Connect with Apple Pie on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

The Soothing Company Fountain Review

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Disclosure: I received the product mentioned to facilitate my review. Regardless, all opinions are my own.
soothing
The Soothing Company offers hundreds of soothing products for your home or garden. They even have a website, Soothing Walls, that offers a large selection of outdoor water fountains.
For my review I received the Stacked River Rock Tabletop Fountain. When we received it we assembled it right away. It was very easy to assemble and get started. It is very light and has a unique look and textures. There are many features I enjoy:

  • Not only is it a steady and soothing stream, but the water also doesn’t splash everywhere as I have experienced with other fountains in the past.
  • There is an underwater LED light in the middle of the fountain that gives it a beautiful, subtle glow. It actually resembles fire. It is very unique.
  • It plugs into an outlet, so we don’t have to worry about replacing a lot of batteries.

Fountain
I have a hard time relaxing and sleeping, so I love soothing sounds. I usually sleep with a fan on, but no matter the season I usually get a stuffy nose. I moved the Stacked River Rock Tabletop Fountain into my room so I can listen to it while I am relaxing and winding down for the night. It has helped me to keep all those thoughts from bothering me because I can just focus on the soothing sound. If I need to relax during the day I can easily move it to whatever room I am in since it is so light weight and easy to move.
Not only is it soothing for my husband and myself at night, but I have also found that during the day if the kids are a little too out of sorts I can bring it out to one of the main areas and turn it on and they will watch it or sit near it. It helps to calm them down. It also adds a great background sound while we are doing our homeschooling!
I am very pleased with the Stacked River Rock Tabletop Fountain, and I love the variety of products The Soothing Company has to offer.

For More Information

Connect with The Soothing Company on Facebook