La La Logic -- the name just sounds fun, right? That's what I thought when we first had the opportunity to review the program. But then, when I started looking at it in more detail, I realized that it was more than just a cute name. I found that the Preschool Curriculum would be a good way to fill a need in our homeschool.
When we do school each day, my older kids (ages 9, 7, 5) are busy with their learning while the baby naps through much of it. That leaves Tyler, my energetic, bouncing-off-the-walls, always-into-something 3-year-old. While I do work on educational stuff with him, it's more play-based than structured. Meaning, once I get distracted with helping the others understand difficult concepts, he's left to throw rice from the sensory bin across the house. Or scatter foam letters throughout the house. Or dump every puzzle in the house. You get the idea. I knew it was time to focus on a more structured period of learning each day.
The curriculum is broken down into 100 weeks of learning with options of schooling either 4 or 5 days. There are both online and printable exercises, which makes a good variety of activities. The skill level gradually increases as you progress through the program.
The activities are broken into 3 categories.
- Brain Challenge -- This is the online portion. These short games, that strengthen cognitive skills, help the child process information skillfully and and make connections to other material more easily. There are 5 games each week.
- Worksheets -- These printable pages are more than just an assignment involving writing on a piece of paper. They cover a variety of skills: problem solving, critical thinking, and fine motor, to name a few.
- Extension Activities (Enrichment) -- This is the hands-on part of the program and where that play-based learning that young children relate to so well comes into effect. It incorporates short stories and poems, science experiments, physical activities, word exercises, and more into fun learning games.
La La Logic will take roughly 10-20 minutes a day.
Monday
- Brain Challenge (with assistance)
- Extra Practice (optional)
- Enrichment Set
- Brain Challenge (independently)
- Wroksheet
- Enrichment Set
- Brain Challenge (optional)
- Family Fun (fill in)
So, what did Tyler (3) think of his new school work? Well, he completed the Brain Challenge 5 times the first day! And then went on to the extra practice section, where he could choose his own exercises from the challenges. His smiles and excitement got the attention of his siblings, and soon all the kids were gathered around the computer. Since this curriculum is good for ages 3-6, I wanted to use it with Zac (5) too. The two of them actually choose to do the Brain Challenges 5 days a week and beg to be the first one to do it each day. Tyler tells me, "I have 'chool work too!" He loves being involved with the big kids. He can't quite maneuver the mouse yet and the touchscreen monitor doesn't work very well for the drag and drop portions, so he prefers to use the iPad, whereas Zac chooses the laptop. Even Alyssa (7) asks to join in on most days.
We've been having a lot of fun with the Enrichment parts, too. We've done things like remembering the order of objects while someone else rearranged them, tosses a ball as we counted, discussed short stories, and more. The kids ask all the time, "What are we doing today?" Six weeks into the curriculum and they are definitely not bored with it.
Tyler's favorite part is the Brain Challenge, Alyssa's is the enrichment, and Zac's is all of it. To say that we are enjoying this program is an understatement.
We will be using La La Logic for a very long time.
If my review doesn't convince you that this is a fun, engaging curriculum, perfect for little learners, then maybe this smile will.
If you like to see how other families used this program, you can read more reviews on the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.
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