November 16, 2013

StudyDog: Learn to Read Online for Kids

Dominique Parenting and Kids, Reviews Reading Website

The StudyDog Website

Looking for a way to make learning to read more interesting and interactive? Now you can with the help of Study Dog.

Aimed at Pre-K to Grade 2 children, this website provides a structured and scaffolded approach to the five areas of reading- Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary and Comprehension.

I tried out this website with my 6yr old who is currently in Primary 1 (Grade 1)

Doggie boy has been working through the different lessons and scenarios since a month back. He has made steady progress and has earned quite a bit of gold from completing the various lessons. He enjoys helping StudyDog as he goes through the different tasks given. Everyday when Doggie boy returns from school he would request to go on the PC to do the next lesson of StudyDog.

The scenario at the start of the lesson

Each lesson starts with a short clip introducing the scenario before the series of activities start.

Screenshot of the lesson

In this particular lesson Doggie boy had to look out for the word always and suck up the mouse which was carrying the card that says “always” pressing the button on the tube in the center of the screen. After the mice is suck through the tube the card that it was carrying would be deposited into the basket if it was the correct card.

Screenshot from an earlier lesson

As you can see from the screenshot above of a previous lesson, each lesson that has been completed successfully would see a medal appear in the bar below. There is about 15 exercises in each lesson which Doggie boy has to go through to complete the whole lesson.

Reading Progress Chart

Over at the Parents Center I can monitor Doggie boy’s progress by looking at the different reports that are generated every lesson which Doggie boy completes. The report also tells me his level of proficiency for each level.

The skill chart

There is also a skill chart shown which allows me to know which are his weak areas and were to give him extra practice. As you can see from the chart above Doggie boy needs help in improving his oral comprehension.

My Thoughts

I found this a really cool website to help strengthen Doggie boy’s reading ability. He is able to navigate this website by himself without much difficulty and really enjoys going through the different lessons.

Do consider getting a subscription for your child as it is less then $72/yr when paid in full. There are also month by month subscription options making it affordable for most. A subscription would certainly make a great Christmas gift this year.

Disclaimer: I received a free one year account of StudyDog for review purposes. Opinions are 100% my own.

November 15, 2013

Healthy Cooking with Philips Avance XL Airfryer

Dominique Advertorials, Thoughts Avance XL Airfryer, Philips

The Philips Avance XL Airfryer

Are you looking for an alternative way to deep frying? How about trying Air frying? It is certainly healthier as you use the rapid air technology to make your food to make it crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. Cooking meals with up to 80% less fat then a conventional fryer it makes whipping up tasty meals a breeze.

There is no need for smelly kitchens and messy clean up with an Air fryer. The gadget is easy to clean, safe and economical for daily use making it really suitable for my two little junior chefs to operate.

The newly launched (2100W) Philips Avance XL Airfryer has made cooking a breeze for me. With a 1.2 kg capacity it is 50% bigger then the previous model. It is 5X the size of the old model and is capable to feed up to 5 people which is just nice for our family of 5. You can even put a 7 inch cake tin inside to bake a cake!! ( More on that in the next post)

Available in black or white this nifty kitchen gadget is capable of the following.

– Fast cooking speed ( It only takes 18 minutes to cook 750g of fries which is 30% faster then traditional cooking methods)

– It has a touch sensitive full digital timer and control screen.

– Smart preset and easy glide drawer

– it allows you to bake, roast, grill and gratinate

Doesn’t it look neat? There is no need for so many different kitchen gadgets which will clutter up your counter top. This is certainly a PLUS in our modern homes where space is a constrain. At $539 b/f discount it is certainly a gadget which one should consider getting for the kitchen.

The kids were really excited to try out this new kitchen gadget and decided to make some carrot chips with the Airfryer as we had lots of carrots in the fridge that day.

The ingredients used

Carrot Chips

Ingredients

– carrots

– Salt

– olive oil

– pepper

– paprika

Instructions

1) slice the carrot into strips

2) add olive oil,paprika, salt and pepper in a bowl

3) coat the carrot strips with the mixture

4) place the marinated carrot strips in the Airfryer at 200 degrees for 15 minutes.

It’s that simple!!

Air fried Carrot Chips

Here is how the chips turned out after baking it. I placed a sheet of baking paper under the carrot strips to prevent the marinate from flowing from the basket to the bottom of the drawer during the cooking process. This makes it easier to clean up after cooking.

The Chips

Yummy , yummy chips which tastes as good as those made out of potato. The kids cleared the plate within minutes!!

If you are thinking of what to cook with an Air fryer don’t fret. The Air fryer comes with a really neat international recipe book which has a wide selection of recipes from culinary experts which showcase the versatility of the appliance so that you can grill, bake and even roast food more healthily, quickly and conveniently.

Just for the Singapore readers of my blog!

Cook with Air today! Quote [Dominique’s Desk] and buy Viva Digital Airfryer at $399 + $50 shopping voucher (Usual price: $459) and Avance XL Airfryer at $479 + $50 shopping voucher (Usual price: $539) at the PHILIPS EXPERIENCE SHOWROOM.

This promotion is valid from 1st December till 31st January 2014.

The Viva Digital Airfryer and Avance XL Airfryer are also available at regular price in leading electronics stores, departmental stores and supermarkets island-wide.

*Limited to 1 Airfryer per person (IC must be produced).

PHILIPS EXPERIENCE SHOWROOM

Address: 620A Lorong 1 Toa Payoh Building TP4 Level 1 S(319762)

Tel: 6882 5800

Opening Hours: Monday to Friday: 9.00 am – 7.00 pm Saturday: 9.00 am – 1.00 pm.

Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays.

Disclosure: All opinions are 100% my own.This post has a compensation level of 13. For more information visit our disclosure page.