My only complaint about Keyboarding
for the Christian School is that the book
itself is sort of clunky, for lack of a better
term. Unless you have an adequate book
stand and the space in which to use it, you
would likely find it easier to use pages
copied out of the book and pinched into a
document holder attached to the computer
screen. As there was no copyright statement printed in the book to address
copying within a family or homeschool or
an extension of the copyright to the owner
of the book, I attempted to contact the
author via her publishing house in an effort
to obtain permission to copy pages for my
eldest to use in the manner described
above. I did not receive a reply.
I found this book to be solid in format,
instruction, and material used as samples.
My son isn’t fully convinced of the need
for good form in keyboarding, but he’s
getting there as we’ve revisited some of the
concepts he learned. I recommend
Keyboarding for the Christian School.
Product review by Carrie Wilbur
Itchy’s Alphabet Reading
Program
Brenda Larson
ABB Creations Ltd.
www.itchysalphabet.com
1-877-368-7890
Of all the many phonics and early reading
programs that I have seen, Itchy’s Alphabet
is by far the most thorough one. The
Starter Set for Homeschoolers that I
received for review includes a Teacher’s
Guide, Game Cards, Alphabet Book,
Alphabet Songs, Blackline Masters of
outline letters and printing practice,
Individual Sticker Set, Desk Strip, and a
stuffed “Itchy.”
The Teacher’s Guide is the most important element of this program, as it ties the
entire line of Itchy products together. Each
letter is introduced individually, and the
program is based on a visual learning style,
in that each letter is shown in the form of a
drawing of something that a child will
identify with that letter. For example, the
letter C is the first one introduced and is
drawn in the shape of a cookie (with a bite
out of it). The objective of each lesson is
for the student to remember the name of
the letter, the sound it makes, a picture cue
to associate with the letter, and formation
of the letter. Each lesson includes a recommended read-aloud, along with alternate
read-aloud titles (many of these are
familiar and will be available through any
homeschool catalog and your local
library), step-by-step instructions for introducing the letter, follow-up activities (this
is where you will make use of the blackline
masters), words to read/spell, and read-aloud activities (these are similar to a unit
study in that they recommend ways to
introduce the letter via other subjects).
The remainder of the Starter Set for
Homeschoolers is filled with ways to
enhance the lessons taught in the teacher’s
guide. The Game Cards portion is a
twenty-six-piece set of picture cards and a
twenty-six-piece set of alphabet cards;
these will be used for reinforcement of
sounds through games and flashcard drills.
The Alphabet Book is in the style of a flip
chart and will stand up on its cardboard, A-frame stand; as you flip the pages forward,
you first see the picture cue (along with the
letter and a description of the sound it
makes), followed by a transparent overlay
with the letter on it in black to show the
connection between the picture cue and the
