Review – Type Kids – Lesson Plans

Guest Review By Shellie Wilson & Arabella.

When my daughter and I were invited to review Typekids.com touch typing course for kids we were very excited as Miss Arabella had been using several different programs but would never stick to one. I as an adult loved Typekids.com it was very engaging and it also sent reports so I could see how she was doing without standing over her shoulder. Which meant I could cook dinner or do homework with the other child.

Why does your child need to learn typing? Here is what Typekids.com had to say about touch typing “Touch typing is the skill to type with all ten fingers and the ability to find all keys blindly, without having to look at the keyboard. After completing the 30 lessons of this online course, your kid’s typing speed will increase up to 5 times. This means that typing text that would have taken 30 minutes before the course will take less than half the time afterwards.”

Miss Arabella had this to write about Typekids.com from the mouth of babes well a 7 year old babe – “Type kids is a great program for youngsters that are learning to type as well as oldies that like to have some fun. It’s better than dance mat typing which we use at school because it’s a lot more fun. On this typing program, you get to win cool arrr-cade games”

Did you like her little pirate talk at the end there? Too cute.

Price – $89.99 for 30 lessons but you can start with the free trial first to make sure your kids are into it.

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Summer Reading Printables and Tips for Parents

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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