October 04, 2008

Liam loves mail and numbers...

From Liam's dad, Steve:

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As you can see, my son Liam (age 3) is so happy when a trip to the mailbox unveils a new Tessy & Tab.  In addition to the magazines, he LOVES the Moonjar bank and passbook from his Money Manager Kit.  (We’ve almost filled up the passbook already.)  It really keys into his love of numbers and has become a fun (and educational) part of our regular bedtime ritual.  He was really excited to save up and make his first purchase: an ice cream sundae.   Thanks so much and keep up the great work!

September 21, 2008

Tommy Loves Bedtime with Tessy & Tab

From Robin, Tommy's mom:

Tommy_3 My son Tommy loves his Tessy & Tab books! He looks forward to them all day, and it makes bedtime a more enjoyable experience for both of us!

Plus, it's great because your books combine math and reading in a fun way.

September 12, 2008

Harrison's Vocabulary Takes Off...

From Harrison's mom Nanette:
 

Harrison_270 Harrison loves Tessy & Tab and was so happy to read about their trip on the airplane! He is so excited to learn and tells people we see all of the time about the pilot who flies the plane from the cockpit!  We are so impressed that he is expanding his vocabulary with the help of T&T and using such big words like "disembark".  Thank you for making learning fun.

 

September 01, 2008

Money Manager Really Works...

From Tony's mom, Naomi:

I have to share that it's been amazing to watch the Money Manager progress in our house with our son Tony (4 ½ years old). First the excitement of getting something new in the mail followed by the fun of putting together the Moonjar bank. We love the fantastic charts that outline the daily chores and those "family responsibilities". In fact, all of the reading material was very informative and easy for both Tony and I to understand.


Tony has COMPLETELY embraced this project -- he even wakes up in the morning (most mornings) and asks if I have clothes for him to put away!


Another huge benefit is the change in our shopping experience. Since my husband and I committed to no longer purchase any 'discretionary' items for Tony, he's been an angel when we're in a store. No more do we have the whining, crying and begging -- instead a simple "you haven't saved up enough money yet" suffices! Out the door we go with only the things purchased that were on the list.  AND, the other day at Kohl’s, he said "Momma, can I go to the toy section to just look and see if there's something I might want to save for?"  He looked around, asked me to add some things to his 'list' and we left - no tears!


Tony is just days away from having enough money saved up for his first purchase. We can't wait to count that cash and go to the store. Camera in hand, this momma is going to be proud to watch her little guy march up to the cashier and hand over his loot... and here is what happened:

First, Tony took his Moonjar bank to the machine that counts all your change in order to exchange it for cash:

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Tony is proud to display the money he saved!

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But, the real joy comes from purchasing a toy that he picked out and paid for himself!

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Thank you Tessy & Tab for a WONDERFUL product!

P.S. I'm secretly hoping you will create a Money Manager kit for adults too!

August 23, 2008

Tessy & Tab on Vacation in Wisconsin...

From Renee, Bailey's mom:

Below is a picture of my daughter Bailey who is 3 years old.  It was taken on our summer vacation at Lake Lawn Lodge in Wisconsin a few weeks back.

Her Tessy and Tab books accompany us wherever we go.  Keep up the good work!

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August 12, 2008

First love...

From Matthew's dad, Michael:

Matthew *loves* getting his T&T books. I'm surprised to see that he actually looks forward to them arriving in the mail. ;-)!

 

Please let everyone at Blue Lake know how much we (and that includes Matthew) love Tessy & Tab!

Mathew

 
 

July 30, 2008

Stay Cool at the Pool like Tessy & Tab...

From Jake and Jenna's mom, Sara:

Jake is a true fan and so we wanted to submit a picture doing what Tessy & Tab like to do: Stay Cool at the Pool!


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Jake will be 4 in October.  He loves playing at the pool with his sister, Jenna (now 7 months).
Jake can't wait to receive his mail every couple of weeks!  We certainly enjoy this magazine.  It has helped his reading skills develop in a remarkable way!  Thanks so much for such a quality magazine for kids!

July 28, 2008

Nicky *NEEDS* a tote bag...

From Iris, Nichole's grandmother:

Nicky is 4 and she loves your books. She is always carrying around a stack of them so we will read to her. She looks forward to getting them in the mail. I want to thank whoever came up with the idea for these books. Nicky loves to have them read to her over and over again. She has saved all of them since I started the subscription.

 

I know Nicky would LOVE to have her own Tessy and Tab tote bag. When she tries to carry about 20 Tessy and Tab books at one time, she is always dropping them along the way. A special tote bag for her special books would be perfect! Thanks again and keep up the good work!

July 17, 2008

She's clapping for the new Syllable activity...

From Marisa, Haley's mom:

I wanted to write to tell you that my daughter, Haley (4yrs), just loves the new syllable section! Her dad caught her pulling out all her back issues of Tessy & Tab and looking through to see which ones had syllable pages. She caught on to the "syllable clapping" concept incredibly quickly, and it's now one of her favorite things to do.  (That's what she's doing in the photo below.)


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And I'm so happy to report that she's now able to read the Tessy & Tab issues herself (largely due to Tessy & Tab!), though she still prefers us to read them to her.

 

Thanks so much, and keep up the great work!

July 06, 2008

Who's happy now?

From Corie, Carson's mom:

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I thought you would like to see a picture of Carson with her Tessy & Tab tote bag.

She LOVES it!   

 

It's her new "go-to" bag! She likes how it fits her Tessy & Tab books perfectly.

June 25, 2008

Getting the mail on her "tippy toes"...

From Carrie, Madeline's mom:

Mad_tippytoes_450_2 Our daughter, Madeline (age 3 1/2) just LOVES receiving Tessy & Tab.  Every day when we check the mail, Madeline asks if any mail has come for her.  We always leave the new issue in the mailbox, so she can stand on her tippy toes and reach in and grab it. She absolutely loves to get her own mail and rips open the envelope as quick as she can.  We usually don't make it back into the house to check out the new issue....she sits right down on the front steps and starts "reading". Madeline has recently started sharing her Tessy & Tab magazines with her baby brother Carter.....too cute!!


Thank you for making the concepts of receiving personal mail and reading together such a great experience....we love Tessy & Tab!! Below is a photo of Madeline in front of our mailbox. She had to show great restraint not to rip this open before I snapped the photo!!


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June 23, 2008

'Earn Allowance' Works...

From Grace, Keith's mom:

After Keith finished his first reading of "Earn Allowance" yesterday afternoon, he requested I create a job chart for him using the computer. We sat down and talked about what he can do himself and what he can do to help Mom and Dad. Right now, we have 11 tasks (like feed himself, read book to his little brother who is just 6 months old, etc.) and he can earn 5 cents for each task. He really did everything on the chart yesterday! So he earned $0.55. He even asked me to give him some magnets so that he can put the chart on the refrigerator door, just like Tessy and Tab! I hope it works for him (not just for a few days)!! I will let you know how he is doing with his job chart 1 month later.

One month later:

We have been using the weekly job chart for nearly 1 month now. 

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On Father's Day, we went cherry picking. He spent $5, for the admission from his allowance.  He was so proud!  We keep his old job chart as keepsake.


For sure, I will keep recommending Tessy and Tab to everyone I know! Below is a photo of Keith with some of his collection spread out on the floor.


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June 17, 2008

Cute shoes, Peek-a-Bug, and a happy ending!

From Kathrin, Trevor's mom:

I just wanted to say thank you so much for Tessy and Tab. My 2 ½ -year old son, Trevor, loves his “Tessy Tab”.  He looks forward to receiving every issue when they arrive. He actually opens the package himself and says, “Mommy, my ‘Tessy Tab’ is here.” Every night before we go to bed, Trevor takes his “Tessy Tabs” out of my night stand drawer so I can read them to him. He loves looking for Peek-A-Bug and always asks me, “Why is Peek-A-Bug hiding behind there, Mommy?”. 

 

Recently, Trevor did not receive his Fire Station issue of “Tessy Tab”, so I sent an email stating what had happened. I attached a picture of Trevor wearing an interesting pair of shoes. Trevor_in_robeez_450 Well, Judy responded stating that she would send a copy of the Fire Station issue and include an issue of “Tessy and Tab Shop For Shoes” because she liked the shoes Trevor was wearing.  When latest issues arrived, Trevor was so excited. I told him that we needed to take picture with all  of his “Tessy Tabs” and send it to you. He gathered all of them and placed them on his bed so that I could take the picture seen here.

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I am so glad I discovered this important learning resource for my son. He not only learns his numbers, letters, and colors, but also comprehends the meaning of the stories. I like the paper quality and the size. The bright colors are cool also. I recommended Tessy and Tab to my coworker and she purchased a subscription for her son. He loves it too!

 

Thanks again!

June 10, 2008

"Reading" to her bear...

From Stacy, Gwendolyn's mom:

My daughter Gwendolyn will be 4 in September. She has been a Tessy and Tab subscriber for about 6 months. Several times each week she asks if she has any mail, which she never used to do before Tessy and Tab. She can spot the envelope through all the other mail and has a special spot near our front door where she opens her book. She will not do it anywhere else and mom and dad are not allowed to peek. She also absolutely loves the online portion. We cannot turn the computer on around her without promising to play Tessy and Tab.


Each night we have Gwendi and Mommy time. I lay down in bed with her and we read 3 to 5 stories of her choice. Just recently, she has started 'reading' Tessy and Tab to her Tommy Bear after I leave the room. When I heard her the first night, I thought she was playing and I was getting ready to go in and tell her it's time to go to sleep. But, when I saw her 'reading' the books to her Tommy Bear, I let her be and just watched. She was describing what was in all the pictures to her Tommy Bear. It was adorable. (And by the way, she was soooo excited that in the most recent issue, Tab gets to read 3 books at night like she does and Tessy sleeps with a teddy like she does.)


Last night I took this photo just after she fell asleep. Thanks for such a wonderful tool. Young minds are so full imagination and so eager to absorb new information. It is great to find something that encourages both.


Thanks again!


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June 05, 2008

The gift that keeps on giving...

From Bonnie, Maci's mom:

My 2.5yr old daughter, Maci, loves Tessy & Tab. She has been receiving them for over a year (it was a gift from a family friend).  We read them so much that she can actually read some of the books to me (memorizing them of course). It is really cute. We have saved all of the books and she piles them up in her room. When it is time for bed she picks out a couple for my husband and me to read her.  When I get the mail she always asks me if there is a Tessy & Tab for her.

 

Thank you for providing such a wonderful experience for our family.

May 30, 2008

The Great Big Coloring Page...

From Kariane, Grace's mom:

My daughter Grace, 3, has loved getting her Tessy and Tab in the mail.  One of her favorite things to do is color the back page.  After she rips open the envelope, we sit down and read it right away.  As soon as we are done, she gets her crayons out of her art drawer and colors the coloring page.  When the new issue came with the new format, she was a little confused.  But after I explained the new way to get coloring pages online she was very excited to have such a great big coloring page that was separate from the story.  She colored and cut it until it was “perfect”. Thank you for giving us so many new and fun options to learn and create!  Tessy and Tab are here to stay in our house! I've included a photo of Grace's first "big" coloring page project...

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May 26, 2008

From a former English teacher...

From Kathleen, Reagan's mom:

Each day, no matter if we've just received our latest issue or if it's been over a week, Reagan joins us at the mail box and says, "Maybe my Tessy and Tab has arrived?"  She's really taken to this magazine much more so than the Highlights High Five magazine (the new version that's made for 2-5 year olds.)  She is 3 1/2 and LOVES to 'read'....and thanks to your booklet, is truly finding success in word identification!  As a former English teacher, I've enjoyed having something meaningful and useful to share with Reagan as we teach her to read and write!

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May 21, 2008

Raising a reader on Tessy & Tab...

From Robin, Autumn's mom:

Autumn has been receiving Tessy and Tab since before she was able to read and it has remained among her favorites.  She just turned 5 in April and began reading on her own earlier in the year so it is an exciting time for her and Tessy and Tab magazines/books are wonderful.  We just put them right on the bookshelf and keep them all, so it adds to our at-home library and Autumn gets to read them again and again.  Recently, she pulled out one of the issues where Tessy and Tab make masks and decided to do it herself too.  It was fun.

Her favorite thing, lately, has been to recreate Tessy and Tab adventures with her own animals and figurines.  She usually begins with a story line from one of the issues and then weaves in her own details and ideas and ends up with quite an adventure and attentively playing for 20-30 minutes. 

To say that we enjoy Tessy and Tab and find them useful and valuable, especially now that Autumn is a beginning reader, is an understatement and the excitement goes well beyond Autumn enjoying getting her own mail.  We were delighted to send a gift subscription to one of our nieces for her birthday in February and hear that she's enjoying them too.

Oh, and I think we'll enjoy the questions more than the coloring page.  Autumn never wanted to color hers because she views them as books rather than magazines so I think it was a good and value added move that will benefit all the young minds who enjoy Tessy and Tab.

May 13, 2008

From a very satisfied and grateful Momma...

From Macki's mom, Randi:

My 2 year old daughter, Mackenzie who we call Macki, received a subscription to Tessy and Tab for her 2nd birthday in February from her Uncle Andy and Aunt Sissy. Since she received her very 1st issue, every time we check the mail she asks, "Mail Momma? Mail for Macki? Mine Tetty n Tab, yes, please?!" She LOVES her "Tetty n Tab" so much and is very excited to find "Pik-a-bee" in each issue!

When we go to the doctor or to church or somewhere shes going to need to sit still and quiet for a while I pack her little backpack with snacks and some quiet things to do. First on the list, after her 2 lovies of course, is at least 5 or 6 of her Tessy and Tab books. So not only is Macki a huge fan, but so am I!

Thank you so much for your wonderful Tessy and Tab books!

Josh Loves to Share with his friends...

From Josh's mommy, Laurie:

I wanted to let you know that I love the new outline of your magazine. I think it will be a lot more educational for my son and we look forward to it coming in the mail every 2 weeks. Thank you for the magazine.

I've attached a picture of my 3 1/2 year old son Josh sharing his book with one of our neighbors who could be a future subscriber!!! He loves his Tessy and Tab books and loves to share them with his friends. Thank you again for this great treat.

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