ClaireDe
- Reviewed on Saturday, January 02, 2010
- Grades Used: Pre-K
- Dates used: 2009-2010
I am an in-home child care provider and care for many small children in addition to my 4 year old dd. I do plenty of read-alouds, creative art activities, gross motor activities, etc. throughout the day with all of the children but I was a little concerned that my dd needed a little extra to be prepared for k next year. After reading the reviews and pricing these books, I decided to give them a try and am VERY pleased. I ordered them online and they arrived very quickly. We have been doing 3 pages per day plus a "b" book (bible study) page every couple of days as well. My daughter enjoys the "b" book so much, if she could she would do a page daily (the program is just not designed this way.)
I would not call this a complete curriculum but it is a wonderful supplement to the activities we were already doing. The books develop skills through short, meaningful activities. They are able to keep my daughter engaged without frustrating her, which has been a very fine line for her (she has a very short attention span, even for a 4-year-old.) The "A" book covers a lot of basics (colors, shapes, etc.) so it would be possible to start with a young 4 (my daughter being closer to 5) and work your way up.
I have never been much for "workbook" style curriculum with young children but all of the pages in these books are so developmentally appropriate that I think it is a great start to doing "school." Right now my main focus is to train her to sit and work through the pages diligently without constantly being reminded to stay focused, and it is going very well. As she is able to focus for longer periods of time I may encourge/allow her to do more than 3 pages per day. Right now I do not allow her to do more, even if she asks to (which she does quite often,) because I want her to continue to look forward to it as opposed to becoming bored. This may not be a concern for all children but as I said, mine has a super short attention span.
I would encourage anyone (especially those on a budget such as myself) to give it a try!
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theretohere
- Reviewed on Wednesday, October 01, 2008
- Grades Used: Pre-K
- Dates used: 2008
We purchased these books for our 4 year old daughter. She loves them and I have noticed a real improvement in her coloring, cutting, and pasting.
I really liked the simplicity of the illustrations. I also like the diversity of the activities.
We will use these again with our younger children!
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Chrissie
- Reviewed on Friday, July 25, 2008
- Grades Used: Pre-k -1
- Dates used: 2005-2008
My family just loves this set of books! I've used it twice already and am getting ready to use it again this year with my third boy. My first two boys used it at ages 4/5, as a preschool curriculum, but my third will start it at 3 1/2 -he's been watching his older brothers and is just about ready for it. I do think it is generally better for a 4/5 year old. Like so many others have already said, this series of books is simple, gentle, and fun. We haven't gotten tired of it after three years, and whenever I pull out one of the books, my older boys beg me to make copies for them to work on.
Even more wonderful, Rod and Staff have added on to the series! I'm looking forward to using their newest books, G-I (although G is the only one completed as of July '08).
And, if your 3/4 year old is not quite ready, R & S offers the Before 4 series, which is just 4 simple books that work on motor skills and basic beginning activities like cutting, coloring, and gluing.
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amyw33
- Reviewed on Thursday, November 29, 2007
- Grades Used: PRE-K
- Dates used: 2007
These workbooks are well worth the $20 for a child who likes workbooks. My daughter loves them, particularly the cut and past activities. Her cutting skills have greatly improved with these exercises. I find most workbooks at this age to be very tedious and to not really be "teaching anything", but these teach solid pre-k skills without being overwhelming to a child. These workbooks are a great foundation to any pre-k program. Just add read alouds, art projects etc.
Other kids may pick up "pre-k" skills in a different way, but my 4 year old daughter thrives on workbooks and structure.
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