Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten!

Summer break is over and it’s back to school time. For some 5, 6, & 7 year olds it’s time to Get Ready for Kindergarten & First Grade! Whether your little one is starting this year or next, as a parent, you need to make sure they are ready. With the help of two great books co-authored by Stacey Kannenberg of Cedar Valley Publishing, Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten! and Let’s Get Ready for First Grade! your little one can develop all of the skills they will need to start that first day of Kindergarten or First Grade!

Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten! and Let’s Get Ready for First Grade! are parent-loving, award-winning, state-approved books that are used inside homes and schools across the nation. They have sold over 60,000 copies and are used in over 400 school districts, libraries, head start programs, daycare and early learning centers. Parents and kids love them because they are not just storybooks or workbooks, they are books meant to be read over and over, that cover the curriculum for Kindergarten and First Grade.

We had the pleasure of reviewing Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten! in an English version and in a Spanish/English version, plus Let’s Get Ready for First Grade!. Since our Blogger Mommy Jennifer’s daughter “G” is about to turn 5 years old and will be starting Kindergarten next year, we thought she would be the perfect person to review these two books for us. You will also hear from a guest reviewer, my older daughter Jessie, who is a 2nd grade teacher in Southeast Arizona. She will give us a review from a teacher’s point of view.

Jennifer and daughter “G’s” thoughts…

Let's Get Ready For Kindergarten! is a great book if you have a child who is getting ready for pre-k or kindergarten. This book is fun, brightly designed with colorful reusable dry erase pages. The book starts off with meeting a classroom called the “Cedar Valley Kids" taught by a teacher named Mrs. Good. It covers numerous skills and subjects such as the alphabet, numbers, shapes, colors, knowing your own phone number and ad
dress and so much more.

My daughter "G" is 4-1/2 years old and absolutely loves this book. She especially likes the dry erase pages and how she can practice over and over again. She also likes how Mrs. Good is giving tips at the bottom of every page with a different look.

I have purchased other pre-k workbooks for my daughter before but she was never really interested in them and became easily overwhelmed. I really like how this book has easy to understand activities and directions and also covers all of the early-learning basics. I also like that at the end of the book, there are tips for parents and caregivers on what they should be doing to help their children learn successfully.

Let's Get Ready For First Grade! is very similar to Let's Ge
t Ready For Kindergarten!. There is a new teacher named Mrs. Best and of course a new set of subjects and skills. Both of these books come at a great price. They are very sturdy and durable and can be used over and over again or for other children. These are both great learning tools and I highly recommend them to any parent or caregiver who has a child getting ready for pre-k, kindergarten or who is in kindergarten now and preparing for the first grade.


Jessie’s thoughts, from a Teacher’s point of view…

Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten! (Spanish/English Edition) by Stacey Kannenberg is full of great information to help get your little ones ready for their first day of school. The inside covers are filled with great tips for parents on getting your child ready for learning, homework, and even skill levels. Of these, my favorite was the stages of writing. Many parents are concerned in the early years of school about where their child is in their development and where they think their child should be. But, Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten! lays it out great.


As you move into the book, you will find numbers, letters, words, and more for your child to identify. It can be a little overwhelming for you and your child to take all of this in at once; but as it says in the book, "This information will take time to understand. Keep reading it over and over again." This book was not meant to be completely learned by day one of kindergarten. It is a good start and meant to be referred to again and again throughout the year as practice. I would recommend taking on a page or two at a time. There is a lot of information that if done all in one sitting could stress out a 4 or 5 year old, which means stressing you out too. Also, I wouldn't recommend handing it to a child without guidance. Depending on your state's standards for kindergarten, this book could go beyond what your child is supposed to learn in kindergarten and even start to get him/her ready for first grade. Having both English and Spanish throughout the book does seem to clutter the pages. If this is a problem, see the English only version.

Having children who have come into my class speaking not a word of English, I would use this particular edition with children to help them in their English development skills, even outside of kindergarten. Everything in this book is in English and
Spanish which would be great for the ELL (English language learner) student.

The book itself has thick laminated pages. Some pages call for writing directly in the book with a dry erase marker (great for using it over and over and with multiple children). It also has a strong binding to prevent pages from being easily torn out.


Do you want to get your little one ready for Kindergarten or First Grade?

Stacey Kannenberg & Cedar Valley Publishing is giving away 1 Free copy of “Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten” (English only or English/Spanish) and 1 Free copy of “Let’s Get Ready for First Grade” to two of our lucky readers! She is also offering a 20% Discount to any of our readers who purchase any of the books in this series from the Cedar Valley Publishing website by entering the Coupon Code “CEDAR” (in all caps) in the coupon box at check out.

*~* This Giveaway is Open to All Entrants Globally!!! *~*

To WIN one of these great books here is what you need to do:

FIRST, you must complete the Mandatory Entry by commenting below to tell us which book you would like to Win. Be sure to include your email address in the comment so I can contact you if you win. To prevent bots from picking up your email address and sending you spam, please enter your email address as: "BloggerMommies at gmail dot com"

After completing the mandatory entry above, you can get additional entries by doing any or all of these tasks: (you must leave each entry in a separate comment in order for them to each count.)

~ Become a Follower this blog. (then post in the comment box to say you are now a follower of this blog.)

~ Follow us on Twitter. (then post your Twitter Name in the comment box)

~ Tweet about this Prize & Giveaway on Twitter, you must include the following in your tweet: Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten & First Grade @BloggerMommies http://tinyurl.com/nmze8m (Copy & Paste as it is, to prevent errors in your tweet.) You may tweet this up to 3 times per day, no more often than every 4 hours. Be sure to post a comment here immediately after each time you tweet and include your Twitter ID in the comment box (I will reject any comments that say "tweeted yesterday, or earlier this morning", comments must be submitted within the hour of when tweet posted).

~ Become a Fan of BloggerMommies on Facebook. (then come back here and post your facebook name in the comment box.)

~ Become a Twitter Follower of @StaceyKann (then come back here and comment that you now follow @StaceyKann, include your twitter ID also.)

~ Link to Us: Grab our 'Button' in the right-hand column and post it somewhere on your blog or website. Then copy the exact page address from your browser window and post that in the comment box.

~ Subscribe to our Posts or Comment feeds. (Then comment about that too)

If you do not see the Comment Box, click on the 'comments' link below.
*NOTE: Your comments will not immediately appear because they have to be verified & approved first.


This Giveaway will end on Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 at 12:01pm (Mountain Time). Two random comments (one for each book) will be chosen at that time. The winners will be contacted by email and will have 48 hours to reply with their name and shipping address. If a response is not received within 48 hours that winner will forfeit the prize and a new winner will be selected. Sorry, no exceptions.
[04285]

Good Luck to Everyone!
Be sure to take alook at our other Reviews, you could win more great stuff too!

WE HAVE TWO WINNERS!!
Details will be posted on our Winners Page once the winner replies to their confirmation email.

56 comments:

HW said...

My little lady LOVES books and Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten would be perfect for her!

haeliwalters at yahoo dot com

HW said...

following this blog now!

haeliwalters at yahoo dot com

Nancy said...

I would like to have Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten

nancy at 513ventures dot com

Nancy said...

blog follower

Nancy said...

following on twitter: @nanceattack

Nancy said...

tweeted http://twitter.com/nanceattack/statuses/3588319216

Nancy said...

Facebook Fan: Nancy Wenzel Swain

Nancy said...

following @staceykann on Twitter: @nanceattack

Nancy said...

have your button on my blog: www.diapersanddimples.com

Hazel Nut said...

Those look like great homeschool books too!

I have 5 kids, 3 of whom are 3 & under, so either book would be wonderful to have, but I guess I would use the Kindergarten before using the First grade one.

~Lisa

blogs.journals[at]yahoo[dot]com

Hazel Nut said...

Tweet Tweet!

~Lisa
blogs.journals[at]yahoo[dot]com

justicecw said...

I would love either for my son. He will be in 5K this year and 1st grade next. These look like great books, thanks for the chance! justicecw@hotmail.com

justicecw said...

I follow you on twitter - username is justicecw
justicecw@hotmail.com

justicecw said...

Tweeted at http://twitter.com/justicecw/status/3681110104
justicecw@hotmail.com

justicecw said...

I am a blog follower
justicecw@hotmail.com

justicecw said...

Now following StacyKann on twitter - username is justicecw
justicecw@hotmail.com

justicecw said...

I am a google reader subscriber
justicecw@hotmail.com

justicecw said...

9/1 tweet #1 at http://twitter.com/justicecw/status/3689881721
justicecw@hotmail.com

justicecw said...

9/2 tweet at http://twitter.com/justicecw/status/3711529273
justicecw@hotmail.com

Grace Matthews said...

I am a blog follower memoirsofafatchick at yahoo dot com

Grace Matthews said...

Follow you on Twitter @FatChicksRSexy

Grace Matthews said...

Tweeted @FatChicksRSexy

Grace Matthews said...

I would like Let's Get Ready For First Grade

Grace Matthews said...

Following @StacyKann on Twitter @FatChicksRSexy

justicecw said...

9/3 tweet at http://twitter.com/justicecw/status/3734019608
justicecw@hotmail.com

Nancy said...

daily tweet #1 http://twitter.com/nanceattack/statuses/3741460698

justicecw said...

9/3 tweet #2 at http://twitter.com/justicecw/status/3742102907
justicecw@hotmail.com

Nancy said...

daily tweet #1 http://twitter.com/nanceattack/statuses/3758430536

justicecw said...

9/4 tweet at http://twitter.com/justicecw/status/3759459447
justicecw@hotmail.com

Nancy said...

tweet http://twitter.com/nanceattack/statuses/3762020804

Nancy said...

tweeted http://twitter.com/nanceattack/statuses/3765497642

justicecw said...

9/5 tweet at http://twitter.com/justicecw/status/3782301153
justicecw@hotmail.com

Nancy said...

tweeted http://twitter.com/nanceattack/statuses/3783111405

justicecw said...

9/6 tweet at http://twitter.com/justicecw/status/3797352965
justicecw@hotmail.com

Hula Hooping Mom said...

I would choose let's get ready for kindergarten

hulahoopingmom at yahoo dot com

Hula Hooping Mom said...

I follow you on twitter ;) hula_hoopin_mom

justicecw said...

9/7 tweet at http://twitter.com/justicecw/status/3824019046
justicecw@hotmail.com

CaseyDeuce said...

I'd have to get the "Lets get ready for kindergarten" for my daughter who starts kindy on Wednesday! She finally fessed up today that she's nervous... awhhh...

caseyscouch at yahoo

justicecw said...

9/8 tweet at http://twitter.com/justicecw/status/3842654398
justicecw@hotmail.com

Nancy said...

tweeted http://twitter.com/nanceattack/status/3844932327

whippetmom said...

I'd love Let's get ready for Kindergarten!
embehm at gmail dot com
I follow as @whippetmom (and through google with above email address)
I'm also following stacy and a fan on facebook (Liz Garner Behm)

whippetmom said...

I follow as @whippetmom

whippetmom said...

And I'm a fan on facebook Liz Garner Behm

alwayshopeful said...

dont think my first entry went thru..

i would like the kindergarten in english please.my little Kolby will start next year! thank you
alwaysatryin at gmail.com

alwayshopeful said...

nannato5Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten & First Grade @BloggerMommies http://tinyurl.com/nmze8m

just twittered
alwaysatryin at gmail.com

alwayshopeful said...

i follow u on twitter nannato5
alwaysatryin at gmail.com

alwayshopeful said...

i follow you publically alwayshopeful
alwaysatryin at gmail.com

alwayshopeful said...

i Became a Twitter Follower of @StaceyKann nannato5
alwaystryin at gmail.com

Island Girl said...

I'd love to win the Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten for my daughter! Thanks for the chance!

mainlandmama at gmail dot com

Island Girl said...

I follow on twitter at lovemykeiki

mainlandmama at gmail dot com

Island Girl said...

tweet
http://twitter.com/lovemykeiki/status/3864523565

Island Girl said...

I became a fan on FB

mainlandmama at gmail dot com

Island Girl said...

I subscribe.

mainlandmama at gmail dot com

Island Girl said...

I follow your blog.
mainlandmama at gmail dot com

justicecw said...

9/9 tweet at http://twitter.com/justicecw/status/3865592738
justicecw@hotmail.com

Nancy said...

tweeted http://twitter.com/nanceattack/status/3867750524

Anna D (Admin)
Mother of two grown daughters, my youngest is one of our blogger mommies. I have two grandbabies, my granddaughter is almost 3 years old and my grandson just turned 1 year old. I am also the owner of The Baby Store Plus and creator of the Mommy Focus Group which evolved into this group of ladies that I affectionately call my 'Blogger Mommies'.
Jennifer
I am the mother of three children, my son "M" is 8 years old, my daughter "G" is 4 years old, and another daughter, baby "B" just born in February of this year. I am a stay-at-home mom & in-home child care provider.
Katy
I am the mother of two children, my daughter "K" will be 2 years old in January and my sweet baby boy "T" was just born in April of this year. I am a stay-at-home mom.
Whitney
I am the mother of two children, my daughter "S" turned two in February and my son "R" was born in December of 08. I work full-time, however, I am fortunate that I get to take my kids to work with me at The Baby Store Plus, where work with my mom.
Guest Reviewer
Unfortunately, one of our expectant mommies could not remain in our group due to conflicting events in her life. Until we fill this position permanently, we will have guest reviewers for any maternity products.