Now I'm reading....

Well, not me, Ebi-kun. He has been working with the Starfall books and the online books for a couple of weeks and doing really well so I wanted to get him some easy readers. I considered the Bob books for a while, someone had recommended them on another blog somewhere but when I started looking at the reviews they seemed to have as many negative ones as positive. So after some more research I settled on these, Clever Critters.

As soon as they arrived, (they come in a handy little pack, 10 books and a parent guide), Ebi-kun opened them up, took at the first book and read it all by himself, he was so chuffed!

The books have a mix of phonics and sight words and get more difficult. They use simple repetitive text and is written in a building block pattern, each story starts with 2 words and builds up to phrases, short sentences and long sentences. At the end of the story there are some comprehension questions for you to ask the child and reward stickers. Plus at the back of each book there is a list of phonic sounds and which sight words are introduced in that book. That means you can prep your child if you feel it necessary.

The stories are silly, which is good, kids like silly and Ebi-kun likes the illustrations too.

So, if you have kids getting to that starting to read stage, these books get a big thumbs up from me!

On a completely different note, I have finished most of my presents that have to me mailed out, I just have to wrap them and post them! I also started Ebi-kun's advent calendar, I didn't get round to it last year. I have made 24 felt stocking and now I am working on the numbers and trying to figure out where and how to hang them.

I also had a bit of a panic because I completely forgot about a little friends birthday, we are going to have a birthday tea here today but I didn't have a present - so I rustled up a dinosaur apron and a puzzle block with pictures of the birthday boy, Ebi-kun and two other good friends. He will leave for Malaysia in the near future so I thought it would be a fun keepsake.

Right, I have to get myself organised, I am off for a coffee/lunch date with a friend I haven't seen for ages, we have a lot to catch up with, like her wedding in Bali for starters. Then we are rushing back for the birthday tea.

For those who celebrate Thanksgiving, hope you have a lovely few days!