The Tessy & Tab Fan Club

Liam loves mail and numbers...

From Liam's dad, Steve:

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!

Tommy Loves Bedtime with Tessy & Tab

From Robin, Tommy's mom:

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.

Harrison's Vocabulary Takes Off...

From Harrison's mom Nanette:
 

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.

 

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:

Tony is proud to display the money he saved!

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

Thank you Tessy & Tab for a WONDERFUL product!

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

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!

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!

 

 

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!

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!

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.)

 

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!

Who's happy now?

From Corie, Carson's mom:

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.

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

From Carrie, Madeline's mom:

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!!

'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. 

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.

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. 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.

 

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!

"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!

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...

Kids help spread the word about Tessy & Tab...

From Nancy, Maren's grandmother:

When I was in Portland in April with my daughter-in-law and her 2 children, two year old Riley (Darcy’s daughter) was excitedly showing two year old Maren (my granddaughter) all her Tessy and Tab books.  I read them all to them both (MANY TIMES) and could see that there was something special about getting your own mail and looking for Peek-a-bug, etc. 

I gladly purchased a gift subscription and now Maren gets her own copy here in Connecticut. I think reading is the most important thing you can do with a child, so this is right up my alley!  Maren feels very special when her copy arrives and can’t wait to tell me about the latest one when she comes to visit.  Two and a half is a tough age in many ways, but sitting still for a story is one of the wonderful milestones.

I've included a photo of Maren showing her little brother Jack her new tote bag from Tessy and Tab complete with a story about the beach. She called me (her grandmother) to tell me how excited she was about receiving her latest book and especially, the bag where she can store the latest copies of Tessy and Tab. 

Thank you so much. Keep up the good work. I know this is a good thing.

Special request from a 3-year old...

                  ***** Staff Favorite *****

From Eva's mom, Carmi:

First, I want to tell you that Eva (almost 4 now) loves getting mail and she LOVES her growing collection of magazines. I told her I would write to you with a request: she's noticed that her name on the address label doesn't end in an 'a'.  Well, it does end in an 'a', but not one she recognizes.  Is there any way you could use a different font for the addresses so that the lower case 'a' is the style that young kids recognize? I suppose this will be an even bigger issue for her little brother, Isaac!

By the way, we love the magazine -- you've done a great job with it. We tell everyone about it.

From Judy Johnston, CEO and Publisher of Tessy & Tab:

Thanks for writing! Your story confirms something we've felt to be true since we began publishing in 2002 - very young children really care about what their name looks like. It's the main reason that we brought all of our data management in-house and online. We found that data entry people in big fulfillment houses are not careful enough. Plus, we go the extra step to have the addresses printed in larger than typical letters so that it's easier for a young child to recognize their own name.

Two years ago we arranged to have a new "a" created for the typeface we use inside the magazine for exactly the reason you've outlined. We had not looked into the specifics of the font for our address labels but with Eva's concern as our motivation, we spoke with our vendor who prints the labels. They did a little research and found a font that uses the "one-story a" that Eva will recognize and the font change will be made on our next issue.

Please be sure and tell Eva "thank you" for bringing this to our attention -- you have helped us solve a problem that likely is noticed by lots of kids!

We checked back with Carmi after a couple of issues with the new address font were mailed:

Yes, Eva noticed the change immediately.  In fact, that was the first thing she said, "Look mom, they spelled my name right!"  Thank you so much for making the effort to make that change.  It was clearly very important to Eva.

I snapped a photo of Eva the last time Tessy & Tab arrived.  It's a little fuzzy but this is pretty much her expression EVERY time a Tessy & Tab arrives.

 

 

D-O-O-R, just like my Tessy & Tab

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From Adam's mom, Andra:

When I got the last Grown-Up Guide email, I told Adam that his new Tessy and Tab was on its way and that it was about puddles.  Everyday since he has asked "Can we check the mail to see if my Tessy and Tab is here?"  "They are playing in puddles with their boots and playing with boats in the water". 

It really is amazing how much he loves these books! He can already read one of the books all by himself (with a little help on the big words) and he's only 3.5!  I am truly amazed at what a great product these books are.  He is also recognizing words other places from his books.  The other day he was getting out of the car and there is the little child lock button on the inside of the car door and it was labeled "child door lock" and he pointed at the word door and said "D-O-O-R, just like in my Tessy and Tab book".  Sorry to have rambled on, I just wanted you to know how much he loves his books.

A little encouragement from Tessy & Tab

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From Sarah's mom, Missy:

I just had to write!  We ordered a subscription for our daughter Sarah, age 2.  At first I thought she might be a bit young, but wow has she fallen in love with Tessy and Tab.  First, she loves getting "Sarah" mail and second, the pictures are clear and easy for her to understand. She is even starting to talk about big letters and little letters which I did not expect at her age. 

I was raised on the Highlights magazine and loved it and thought Sarah would love it too. Turns out that she has NO INTEREST at all in Highlights but Tessy and Tab are her friends!  I also love the size of the magazine and the quality of the paper, as it can get roughed around a bit and still look great!

I also had to share this quick story with you: Sarah has always LOVED bath time until a few months ago when she had an accident in the tub. Ever since then she would say NO BATH!!! But Tessy and Tab took a bath a few weeks ago and now Sarah loves bath time again. What perfect timing! After this experience, I'm going to see what back issues are available to see if there are other things Tessy and Tab have done that might provide a little encouragement for Sarah!

In this picture Sarah is kissing the peek-a-bug, she LOVES him and kisses him each time she see's him.

Would the program be everything it said?

From Blake's mom, Tiffany:

I was a little bit afraid that the program wouldn't be everything it said it was, but it is just perfect! My son Blake loves his Tessy and Tab magazine for many reasons, however, the best reason is that he gets it in the mail with his name on it. I am very impressed with the magazine myself. Thank you so much for coming up with a magazine just for young people.

Rock Star Readers

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From Stacey, Kaityn and Colin's mom:

Kaitlyn and Colin are 26 months old and received their Super Starter pack yesterday in the mail and were so excited! We read all four books right away and they each took two of them and carried their books around with them everywhere they went for the entire night.  Then the first thing they asked for in the morning were their Tessy and Tab books.  My husband and I could not believe how much they could bend and mangle their Tessy and Tab books in only 24 hours.

Kaitlyn and Colin enjoy reading the silly things that Tessy and Tab do in the stories and were laughing and talking about them during our dinner conversation that night. Their favorite book so far is when Tessy and Tab go to the grocery store. When we went to the store they asked my husband and I to put bananas on our head just like Tessy did because they thought it was so silly! Thanks for creating such a great book series!  Both my husband and I are in the field of education and we feel that these books are very educational for children and we look forward to Kaitlyn and Colin building their collection of Tessy and Tab books!!!

Here they are reading their books! They think they are Super Star Readers as you can tell by the picture of them with the sunglasses:)