Can Do Cubes

This review goes hand-in-hand with the jollyliteracy.com and just2ducks LLC Jolly Phonics and Grammar review that I posted earlier this week. Like I said before, I loved teaching my first grade students in the classroom to read many years ago, and I love even more teaching my own kids at home now. To me, it's one of the most rewarding privileges of homeschooling the early years. Words are everywhere--books, signs, stores, mail, directions, recipes, letters. Whether it's for entertainment purposes or to increase knowledge, reading is an every-day skill. Literature is the foundation of our schooling, so reading well is vital in our family.

I taught my first 3 kids to read without the use of any curricula. My philosophy for little ones is that they learn best through play. I teach letters through manipulatives, puzzles, games, and typical conversations (saying things like, "Do you see that M on that sign?" and "Look! There's a T just like your name.") Once letters and sounds have been learned, we move to blending into words, using the same methods, adding in writing the words on paper or dry erase board. Any time you can get a little one involved in sensory learning, the lesson is fun, inviting, and productive. These Can Do Cubes are perfect for our style of learning.  

The Can Do Cubes set is used to teach synthetic phonics. The approach, as I described above, begins by teaching simple phonemes (sounds), blending them to make words, teaching complex phonemes, and blending those. The set contains many components to complement any synthetic phonics program.

• Stage 1 Cubes -- 27 1-inch cubes showing one spelling for each of the 44+ sounds that make up the simple alphabetic code.
• Stage 2 Cubes -- 30 individual 1-inch cubes along with 2 cubes connected with a string (to represent split digraph sounds) showing the spellings for the 175+ sounds of the complex alphabetic code.
• Handbook for Stage 1 -- Small spiral-bound book filled with information about reading, such as pre-reading activities, explanation of the alphabetic code, encoding, pronunciation chart, notes, and much more.
• Handbook for Stage 2 -- An identical book to the other, but filled with helpful instruction of the complex alphabetic code cubes, capital letters and punctuation, reading and spelling activities, phonemes charts, and more.
• Teaching Learning and "Sounding Out" DVD -- An interactive demonstration of pronunciation and sounding out of words presented by Debbie Hepplewhite, synthetics phonics consultant and creator of the Can Do Cubes set.
• Phonics Chart -- A large chart that explains phonemes, graphemes, and teaching points for each.
• Word Charts -- Two large charts that list by cube number the words that can be made.   
• Teacher's Guide and Template Book CD -- Includes online templates and worksheets in PDF for easy printing.

The cubes themselves are made of hardwood and laser-engraved. The Stage 1 cubes each have a small number at the bottom, indicating its placement of learning.  There are 8 different cubes: 6 of number 1 and 3 of numbers 2-8.  Each number cube is the same and contains all of the sounds for the number. For example, all 6 number 1 cubes have the letters s, a, t, i, p, n.

The Stage 2 cubes show the spelling variations for the 44 sounds. For example, one cube shows the different long a sounds: ai, ay, a, ey, eigh, ea. There are also cube for capital letters, punctuation, double letters, and split vowel digraphs. Each cube type is arranged in a way to make it easy to find.

The Can Do Cubes are listed in the order of the Jolly Phonics curriculum, so it made it easy for us to use the two resources together. My 4-year-old is at the beginning stages of reading and is just learning to blend sounds to make words. While he does enjoy sitting at the table and reading simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words, he much prefers to "play" with his blocks. The multi-sensory approach works very well for him.

There are many ways in which we use these cubes:

• I make a sound and he finds the matching letter.
• I say a word and he finds the letters to make it.
• I make a word and he reads it.
• I make a word and he finds the letters to copy it.
• I put 2 letters and leave a space for another. I say a word and he finds the missing letter.
• I make a word and he finds all the possible rhyming words.

The possibilities of learning with these cubes are really endless. You can say a word, have the student make it with the cubes, and then write it on paper. Or for even younger kids, you can have them find all the matching letters on the cubes. You could use them in a hangman type game or the child makes a word for you to read. If it involves letters, sounds, or reading, you can use these cubes to do it.

The materials are well-made and fit in the main box, making it easy to keep track of it all. The trays have pull tabs on the sides so you can easily get them out. Even my older kids have enjoyed the cubes, both by themselves and helping their learning-to-reading little brother. I love that the trays list which cubes belong where, especially for those times when the toddler like to dump everything out at once, ha.

If you have a student who is learning to read, struggling with spelling, or just needs a multi-sensory approach, we recommend the Can Do Cubes. 


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You can see how other homeschool families used these cubes by reading the reviews on the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

Jolly Literacy Review

As a mom, I get to teach my kids all sorts of things. One of my favorite things though is teaching my little ones to read. It was exciting when I taught first grade years ago in a private school and I got to help those students learn to read; how much more exciting it is now being able to help my own children. Hearing them sound out the letters, watching as they recognize the word, seeing their faces light up as they realize they are reading--I love it all!

Not everyone is as enthusiastic as I am about the reading process though. That's why it's important to find a phonics program that works for you. I didn't use any curricula to teach my first 3 kids, but instead used my own methods. My number 4 is now 4-years-old and is ready to begin learning. Since we had the opportunity to review Jolly Phonics and Jolly Grammar from jollyliteracy.com and just2ducks LLC, I thought it would be interesting to teach him from the beginning with this curriculum.

The Jolly curriculum is meant to be just that--jolly. Happy, cheerful, fun. It was designed with young children in mind and uses a multi-sensory approach. The set includes the following materials:

• Jolly Phonics Teacher's Book in print letters
• Jolly Phonics Student Book 1, 2, and 3
• Jolly Grammar 1 Teacher's Book in print letters
• Jolly Grammar 1 Student Book
• Jolly Songs in print letters

The Phonics Teacher's Book is an all-in-one guide book for the three student phonics books. It's filled with tips, how-tos, and the daily lesson plans. Each day's tasks are marked by bullet points with a brief explanation. A word-for-word script is not given, allowing for plenty of flexibility and encouraging your own personality to lead. The book is divided in four sections (comprehensive introduction & explanation of teaching method and lesson guides for students books 1, 2, and 3). Each section is conveniently color-coded on the edges, making it simple to find what you need. 

The Phonics Student Books are the individual workbooks for the student. Book 1 focuses on teaching the main 42 sounds of the English language. They learn to recognize, write, and read. Book 2 provides the student with numerous opportunities to practice reading and writing the sounds they just learned. It also introduces common alternative spellings for sounds, explains capital letters, and teaches some tricky words. Book 3 builds upon the reading and writing skills taught in the first two books. The students gain a greater understanding of alternative letter-sound spellings, teaches more tricky words, and encourages writing independence. All the books are filled with pictures, colors, and many activities to keep the student's interest.

The Grammar Teacher's Book is divided into two parts: introduction to the curriculum & explanation of teaching method and a thorough, structured lesson plan for the course. The curriculum builds on and reinforces the skills taught in the phonics books. It is designed to introduce grammar, teach spelling, improve vocabulary and comprehension skills, and extend phonic knowledge. The format of the lesson plans is the same as in the phonic teacher's book.

The Grammar Student Book is an 80-page student workbook. The pages are thick, colorful, and bursting with grammar activities. It carries over the action exercises from the phonics books and encourages fun with learning. There are pages for coloring, tracing, matching, drawing, dictionary use, dictation, and more.

The Songs Book has 40 original songs that teach the most common sounds in the English language. Each song is set to a familiar children's tune, like Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star; The Farmer in the Dell;Old MacDonald, and Skip to My Lou. Motions are given to help the child remember the words and make it fun. A CD is also included. 

Since my little guy is just starting out, the very beginning of the lessons was the perfect place for him. The lessons are short, which works out well with his short attention span. Each lesson teaches a new sound through a short story, letter formation, recognition of sound through pictures, and sound practice. By the third lesson, the student is forming his first word. My son knows his letters and sounds, but since this book isn't solely about teaching only the 26 letters of the alphabet, he's already learning about "special sounds" like or, th, oo, and sh.

Although he does know the basic sounds of letters, I hadn't worked on blending those sounds to make words before this point. When we got to lesson 3, he had to combine the sounds he had learned. I was shocked when he simply read at and sat! Allowing simple reading in the beginning of the book was encouraging to both him and me. From then on, he has begged daily to do his books.

We're only about halfway through book 1, but this has been working very well for us. He enjoys the lessons, likes the stories, and has fun acting out the songs. I appreciate the short lessons and the quality of the materials. I am excited about the later books as they really branch out in terms of variety. I think the materials from jollyliteracy.com is helping me add another strong reader to our family.  


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You can read more reviews of jollyliteracy.com on the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.