5 Essential and Engaging Learning-to-Read Books from Amazon


We are preparing for an amazing Christmas season by purchasing a few educational items for my little one. Here's a secret, we usually like to open one (or sometimes two) presents before Christmas to engage my little one when we are on a trip in November or December.

This post contains affiliate links to help you build your shopping list and travel list for your family. We are passionate about the product and the experiences listed in this post, but we also wanted to provide easy links you can click to purchase products for your busy lifestyle.

1 - Learn to Read with Tug the Pup and Friends! Box Set 2: Levels Included: C-E (My Very First I Can Read)
This seems like an amazing book to engage our preschooler in sight words and reading before she enters kindergarten!

 
Yes! There are 12 books in this pack and each of them are easy-to-read! I cannot wait to write a review after Christmas!

 

Oh, my little one loves Sophia and she will definitely love the learning-to-read process from the Disney Reading Adventures!


4 - Si llevas un ratón a la escuela (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie)
We love to incorporate Spanish for my little one's "learning at home" sessions each week! She will definitely love the Spanish version of "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"! This is a great easy tool for your children to learn Spanish!



5 - Movie Night Magic! (Shimmer and Shine) (Step into Reading) 
Oh, my little preschooler loves Shimmer and Shine! In fact, she sings the song almost every day! I like the fact that we can incorporate sight words with characters that she watches almost every day! This will be great for hotel nights away when our family travels throughout the year!


I cannot wait for these books to arrive! I plan to wrap them as soon as we receive them and place them under the tree (that I plan to trim as soon as possible). Surprise hubby! Have a great week and plan for the weekend!

Just in case you missed it, here's our "10 Ways to Read 1,000 Books a Year Before Kindergarten" infographic!


Remember, we will have posts each Monday at 9am CDT! Remember to come back and to subscribe to our YouTube Channel - Subscribe.

Have a great week and plan for the weekend!

Sincerely,

The @WeekendsCount Family!


About Weekends Count - Weekends Count Magazine is focused on helping people navigate travel, build their family business, and manage their money. We provide tips, printables, and easy-to-understand infographics to help people learn amazing ways to make their lives easier.

We are located in the Dallas-Fort Worth and East Texas areas. based in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas and the Shreveport Metroplex area.

Authors - Jennifer and Tony Edwards

Here's a link to our press kit/media kit - http://www.weekendscount.com/p/our-media-kit.html

Contact Information:
Weekends Count
Box 501
Beckville, TX 76048


weekendscount@gmail.com
(817) 382-8475
Send us an Email! We are PR friendly! - weekendscount@gmail.com

Our Social Media Channels:
Check Us Out on YouTube! - http://www.youtube.com/weekendscount/
Become a Fan of Facebook! - http://www.facebook.com/weekendscount/
Follow Us on Twitter! - http://www.twitter.com/weekendscount/
Look for Us on Instagram! - http://www.instagram.com/weekendscount/
Discover the Weekends Count Blog! - http://www.weekendscount.com

Remember to Purchase or Download Our Family Travel Book on Amazon! Family Travel Hacks and Tips for Any Budget!

Weekends Count Blog
m/p/email-newsletter-signup-form/ 

Reviewing the Geekey Multi-Tool: A Must-Have Travel Tool (TSA Compliant)


Last Christmas, we were fortunate to visit the Holiday Inn Resort in Tyler and I was EXCITED to have access to a kitchen. We purchased canned goods, fruits, and vegetables for our family and I was so prepared...or so I thought. Unfortunately, this kitchen did not have a can opener. So, this meant that I had to try to use a pocket knife from the Dollar Tree and that did not work either.


So, no canned goods for us. No black beans, no green beans, and no corn. I promised my family that I would be more prepared next time! That night, I searched on the internet for a travel can opener that is TSA compliant and I found several multi-key tools, but I never purchased one. A few months later, we were contacted by the Geekey company to review their product and I JUMPED at the opportunity.

You can check out the Geekey Multi-Tool here - https://amzn.to/3cbX4M7
*This is our Amazon Affiliate link.


This tool is life changing for our family. It is heavy duty and it can perform the following functions:

Bike Spoke Key
Multi-Fit Driver
Wire (Refiner). ;)
Open Wrench
Ruler
Bit Driver
Scoring Tip (great for opening boxes - instead of using a key)
Bottle Opener
Closed Wrench
Serrated Edge
Can Opener
File
Wire Bender
Multi-Head Fit
and Lanyard Hole

We will definitely keep this around, because we are always opening Amazon boxes, fixing items around the house with a Phillips head screwdriver, opening cans, and using a can opener!

Remember to add this item to your holiday gift and birthday list!

Sincerely,

The Weekends Count Family

Follow Us!
Instagram/Twitter - @WeekendsCount

Here's Our Address: Box 501; Beckville, TX 75631

We cannot wait to hear from you!

Our La Madeleine Express Taste Test - La Madeleine Express at Walmart in Granbury, Texas


Guess What? La Madeleine Express JUST ARRIVED in Granbury, Texas. We were SO excited to see this located in Walmart on Highway 377 and to try several NEW foods. You definitely need to check out this review video.

These dishes were delicious! In our review, we sampled the following:

- Chicken Penne Pasta

 - Chicken Parisien
https://order.lamadeleine.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=item&item-id=1750&restrictByDayPart=false#product_264

- Baguette

- Pasta Salade

- Caesar Salade

You have to watch this video to determine our FAVORITE dishes!




La Madeleine are even planning a holiday menu for Thanksgiving. This is especially exciting for busy moms and dads. Here's their menu:

Oven Roasted Turkey Breast
Red Skinned Mashed Potatoes
Sourdough Breadsticks
Wild Mushroom Sauce
Cranberry Apple Stuffing
Green Beans Almondine
Cranberry Chutney

https://lamadeleine.com/holiday-feast

They also deliver via GrubHub, Uber Eats, and Door Dash!


Send us an Email! We are PR friendly! - weekendscount@gmail.com

Follow Us!
Instagram/Twitter - @WeekendsCount
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/weekendscount/
Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/weekendscount/
Blog - http://www.weekendscount.comSincerely,

The Weekends Count Family

Follow Us!
Instagram/Twitter - @WeekendsCount

Here's Our Address: Box 501; Beckville, TX 75631

We cannot wait to hear from you!

Let's Explore La Madeleine Express at Walmart in Granbury, Texas!


We love traveling and discovering different types of food along the way. However, it is great to walk along a street and to see a sign letting you know that your favorite restaurant is up ahead. This is the RUSH that I feel when I see the La Madeleine sign. Especially, now that the restaurant is in our town - Granbury, Texas!

@WeekendsCount

This is ONE MORE option for visitors who are discovering our town to experience - the food that they know and love. They can grab a cup of coffee and head to our city's walking trail. Or they can grab a soup and have a fun afternoon in the park! I am excited that I can drive a mile to my favorite restaurant to experience the Tomato Basil Soup! This is going to be especially important since it is officially soup weather!




La Madeleine in Granbury, Texas!
We love La Madeleine and we would travel to Fort Worth FREQUENTLY to experience the amazing baguettes and delectable soup. This was UNTIL I discovered La Madeleine expanded to our local Walmart store with their La Madeleine Express locations. I was SO excited to track the days until they opened. 

@WeekendsCount

Just in case you were wondering, here's their menu! It featured breakfast items, sandwiches, salads, soups, and my daughter's favorite pizza and pasta!


Which one would you choose? We are a fan of the soups and the salads! Yes, it sounds simple, but these items are OH SO GOOD!

@WeekendsCount

Recently, we explored their location in Granbury, Texas. Yes, it was an amazing experience! From the baguettes and sandwiches to the classic Chicken Penne Pasta to the amazing coffee selection, this was an experience unlike any other in Granbury. We have the chance to experience food from an amazing restaurant without traveling 40 miles to the DFW area! I was beyond excited!

@WeekendsCount

Holiday Dinner to Go!
They are even planning a holiday menu for Thanksgiving. This is especially exciting for busy moms and dads. Here's their menu:

Oven Roasted Turkey Breast
Red Skinned Mashed Potatoes
Sourdough Breadsticks
Wild Mushroom Sauce
Cranberry Apple Stuffing
Green Beans Almondine
Cranberry Chutney


They also deliver via GrubHub, Uber Eats, and Door Dash!

Our family is planning to visit once (if not twice a week). I am a definite fan of their menu and the prices are super affordable! Try them today!


Sincerely,

The @WeekendsCount Family!


We Found SO MANY New Gluten Free Foods at the Nourished Festival


Over the summer, we began traveling again. We booked airline tickets and jumped on the plane to visit Washington, DC and then Atlanta, GA (which is one of our favorite locations). We LOVE public transportation and we absolutely love the fact that you can jump on the Metro (from the airport) to almost every location in Atlanta.

While traveling during COVID19, we learned that our FAVORITE hotel feature, the lounges, were not typically open during breakfast and dinner. We rely on this for a reliable hot meal (with eggs and other proteins) and we had to pack a few items for our packable pantry. Why do we have a packable pantry you ask? Well, I am gluten free, my husband relies on protein rich meals, and my daughter...well, she likes snacks! 

I began our packable pantry journey when I began traveling for business years ago and I became gluten free. I had to pack everything - from breakfast to lunch to dinner (and snacks). I started to rely on shelf stable (and low sodium meals) and this approach SAVED me so many times.

So, this week, I was invited to attend the Nourished Festival - "The Gluten-Free Expo" in a virtual format and I was EXCITED to do so. Usually, I attended this expo in Dallas and my daughter referred to it as "snack world". She sampled EVERYONE and we had the opportunity to try many different foods from companies we met at expo. 

This year included the following brands and I cannot wait to interact with them (and to try their products). I have a work trip coming up and it would be great to sample these on-to-go. Also, Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up soon and it would be great to try these products before purchasing them for Thanksgiving. Also, many of these companies offer the opportunity to order the items and to have them shipped to your door. This is GREAT for rural, gluten free individuals and families. 


  • COCINA 54 - I cannot WAIT to try these. Gluten free empanadas! VERY exciting!
I cannot wait to check out these companies! Join me in connecting with these amazing Nourished Festival Vendors.

Book Review - Look, See the Farm! - Teach Your Kids about Nature Through Reading!


We were very excited about reviewing the "Look, See the Farm" book written by Bill Wilson and Katie  Fallon. Our daughter LOVES reading books and we encourage her to reflect on the books she read by "telling us about the book" though a video or by drawing something from the book.

This time, mom and dad had a chance to ask the authors some questions. Here we go!



Why is it important to teach kids about nature?
I have two young children, and they love being outside — they turn over rocks, wade in streams, look for birds, and are curious about everything. In addition to allowing kids to investigate and explore their world, being outdoors in nature promotes healthy physical activity. It helps them realize that they’re a part of a big world, where everything fits together and every piece is important.

Where can people get more information from you?
My colleagues Bill Wilson and Leigh Anne Carter and myself have another children’s book called Look, See the Bird! that was published by Hatherleigh Press last year. It’s a book about the kids in North and Central America who are connected by migratory birds. I’ve also written two nonfiction books for adults, Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Birds(2017) and Cerulean Blues: A Personal Search for a Vanishing Songbird (2011). My website is www.katiefallon.com.

This post contains affiliate links to help you build your shopping list and travel list for your family. We are passionate about the product and the experiences listed in this post, but we also wanted to provide easy links you can click to purchase products for your busy lifestyle.

This week,

Have a great week and plan for the weekend!

Sincerely,

The @WeekendsCount Family!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
About Weekends Count - Weekends Count is a Millennial Family Travel, Fun, Food and Activities blog based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas. We review hotels, travel and household items, and millennial family experiences!

Authors - Jennifer and Tony Edwards

Here's a link to our press kit/media kit - http://www.weekendscount.com/p/our-media-kit.html

Mailing Address: 1030 East Highway 377 Suite 110; Box #145; Granbury TX 76048
Phone Number - 817-382-8475

Did You Watch Our Videos on YouTube, Yet? Remember to Subscribe! - http://www.youtube.com/weekendscount/
Did You Become a Fan of Facebook? - http://www.facebook.com/weekendscount/
Did You Follow Us on Twitter? - http://www.twitter.com/weekendscount/
Did You Look for Us on Instagram? - http://www.instagram.com/weekendscount/
Did You Discover the Weekends Count Blog? - http://www.weekendscount.com
Send us an Email! We are PR friendly! - weekendscount@gmail.com

Remember to Check Out Our Book - Family Travel Hacks and Tips for Any Budget!