Focus on Fives Kindergarten Curriculum

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

I love when we get to review materials that are geared toward early education. Learning with little ones is always such an exciting experience! Everything is a new adventure that is filled with endless possibilities. 

I often have people ask me what curriculum I use for kindergarten. Honestly, I am a big believer in learning through play and taking a more relaxed approach to education in the younger years. Hands-on play and learning by doing are vital, but it is also important to teach written skills. I was intrigued by the BJU Press Focus on Fives kindergarten curriculum from BJU Press Homeschool and couldn't wait to get started with my little one.

BJU press first started writing curriculum that is both biblically and academically sound in the early 1970s. Over the next few years, textbooks for all elementary grades and various secondary courses were completed. They became the first publisher to respond to the needs of home education in 1982 and have been "giving Christian educators the tools they need to teach from a biblical worldview and help young people be prepared to live a godly life" ever since.  

I personally used some BJU Press curriculum materials during my junior high and high school years. I was eager to see what they offered for the opposite end of the spectrum as I worked with my 5-year-old.   

The Focus on Fives curriculum set is designed to help kids develop the skills they need through age-appropriate introductions of science, social studies, handwriting, phonics, and reading. The program instills a multi-sensory approach as it incorporates visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic learning activities. Kids need to see, hear, touch, and move!

The full curriculum includes the following materials:

• Worktext
• Phonic Practice
• Phonics and Review Cards
• Phonics Flip Chart
• Reading Books
• Write Now! Handwriting
• Teaching Visuals Flip Chart
• Teacher's Edition

The Worktext contains over 400 pages of learning worksheets. The first two-third of the book has a page to accompany each lesson. There are exercises that involve writing letters of the alphabet, circling correct answers, drawing lines to matches, coloring, cutting and pasting, dot-to-dot, and more. Each unit begins with a letter to the parent explaining the scope, tips, and optional books and is separated by color-coded tabs at the bottom of the pages.

The end of the worktext contains supplemental materials including a kindergarten diploma, cutouts that are needed for specific lessons, and checkup pages (similar in format to a quiz) that correspond to the units and have the same color-coding at the bottom.

The Phonics Practice workbook is filled with pages that provide practice of phonic skills and word families. This book, like the Worktext, has an open spine to make it easier to remove the pages for the student and color-coded tabs to match each unit. This one follows similar fine-motor skills for the exercises, but varies in content. The phonics book focuses solely on words--reading, recognizing, writing--the worktext also relies on pictures and relationships such as differentiating between seasons, practicing size comparison, noting animal qualities, and more.

The Phonics and Review Cards are approximately 2.5" x 5.5" on glossy cardstock. These flashcards include the letters of the alphabet with multiple examples and high-frequency words. There is also a card for each of the mascot characters that are used throughout the lessons that can be cut out and glued to a craft stick.

The Phonics Flip Charts has nearly 125 pages of visuals used for teaching. Though the website lists a spiral-bound collection, my version consists of loose, glossy cardstock pages. Included are alphabet charts, high-frequency word cards, phonics characters, mascot characters, word family cards, phonics songs charts, handwriting wall charts, spelling cards, and phonics charts. The majority of the pages are double-sided with additional teaching information on the back. The pages are numbered in the bottom right side corner for easy organization. 

Teaching Visuals Flip Chart is a spiral-bound collection of visuals that are used in the lessons. The covers are sturdy cardboard while the pages are very thin. There are 46 pages that show students healthy habits, insect life cycles, nursery rhymes, musical instruments, landscapes, seasons, history, and more. The back of each page lists the lesson it's from along with teaching helps and information.

While I appreciate the notes on the back, it would be more beneficial to have them on the back of the previous page, so I can have access to that while my child can still see the picture.

There are 34 Reading Books included with the curriculum. Each book is a 9" x 6" paperback with full-color pictures that fill the pages. The books are numbered on the fronts and follow the same color-coded unit tabs of the other materials. The back of the books are colored to match the unit, as well.

The first two books have no words but rely on picture reading with discussion starter questions found in the teacher's book. The third book, which is read in lesson 15, introduces rebus reading where a picture represents a more complicated word. Starting with book 4, the students will be reading full sentences, beginning with one 2- or 3-word sentence on a page and progressing through full paragraphs on each page. The last page in each book lists trickier words to note along with a quick phonics review from the story.

The Write Now! Handwriting book is the only black and white in the set. Almost every lesson is a half sheet and generally has places to write letters, then words, and eventually sentences and includes a small picture to color. There are also a handful of dot-to-dot pages that feature either lowercase or capital letters.

There are 6 parts to the Teacher's Edition. There is a spiral-bound book for each unit with a paperback cover on the front and a hard cover on the back. As expected, the book matches the unit color, keeping everything consistent and easy to use. The introduction of each teacher's book contains the same information: goals, learning center ideas, routines, assessments, tips, instructional materials, and more. There is also a lesson plan overview for the unit that lists the pages needed for each resource along with the objectives of each lessons.

The teacher's edition books are packed full of teaching information. When I taught first grade many years ago, I had a teacher's manual for each subject. With the Focus on Fives curriculum, all of the information for the day's lessons is kept in one place.  There are sections for each topic that list the needed materials along with bulleted notes of what to teach. The last page of each lesson gives suggestions for extended activities: story and rhyme time, arts and crafts, learning center, motor skills, science, heritage studies, show and tell, songs, Bible connection, language arts, and more. The back of each book contains additional teacher resources including instructional aids and reproducibles, creative writing prompts, songs, and more.

My little guy and I have been working through the curriculum 3 days a week. He's not officially in kindergarten until the fall, so we're taking a slower approach to formal education right now. The curriculum is written for a classroom setting with enough activities and learning to fill a kindergartner's school day. I love that there are so many options that make it easy to find what works for us.

He enjoys completing the Worktext and Phonics Practice pages, hearing the listening stories, in the teacher's book, and the hands-on and motor activities. His favorite part is the snack of the week which coordinates with the lessons, such as a graham cracker firetruck while learning about firemen, apple and marshmallow mouths to enhance the dentist lessons, chocolate turtles while learning about the pond, "dirt" cupcakes for learning about the garden, tropical fruit cups for Hawaii, and other yummy treats.

One thing that I'm excited about is starting the post office section next week. With all that is going on (or not going on, ha) with our stay-at-home order, we've been trying to reach out to people in other ways. Since we can't physically be with our friends, I've been having the kids send mail. These lessons are perfect as they teach about zip codes, how mail is sorted, how to write letters and thank you notes, the history of mail delivery, using stamps, how to send packages and letters, and more. There is even a suggestion to send a missionary a care package. Other activities include sorting letters of the alphabet written on envelopes into capital and lowercase mailboxes, making stamps out of carrots and marking mail, pretending to be mail carriers, explaining how many of the books of the New Testament are letters, and crafting a mail carrier hat.

Focus on Fives is a full curriculum that teaches much more than reading and writing. The 6 units for the year cover a vast amount of topics through supporting activities: All Around the Town (community helpers), Bookshelf Friends (books, hymns, nursery rhymes), Ants to Elephants (animals, insects, pond, farm), Mountains High to Oceans Deep (landscapes, sharing the Gospel, America), Blue Skies and Gray (seasons, weather), Garden Paths and Wandering Trails (places).

The curriculum begins with identifying letters and recognizing their sounds and teaches students the skills necessary to read full sentences such as "He sent His Son to die for men." It works on rhyming words, compound words, short and long vowel words, and consonant blends. It teaches writing skill such as forming letters and proper pencil hold, but also tracing, punctuation, and copywork. It also teaches valuable motor and life skills, too--all while making learning an enjoyable experience.

If teaching all the components seems overwhelming, BJU Pres Homeschool will be offering online learning course videos beginning this summer. The videos are an hour long and incorporate a variety of learning activities for your little one. You can preview sample videos to determine if they're right for your family.

The BJU Press Focus on Fives curriculum is packed full of resources, activities, and ideas that are sure to help your child be prepared for first grade. There are many options for each lesson to ensure that you find the perfect balance for your growing learner.

You can connect with BJU Press Homeschool on the following social media sites:

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You can see how other homeschool families used this curriculum by reading the reviews on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

Learning Dynamics Review

One of my favorite things about homeschooling is seeing something "click" in the brains of my kids. That first realization of understanding is so exciting to witness! And being the one to help them to that point is extra special.

At the top of my list of favorite things to teach is reading. Knowing letters and their sounds, learning to blend, making words, and then reading full sentences--it's a thrilling experience for both student and teacher. The road to get there is not always an easy journey though. The path can be filled with frustrations--for everyone involved. That's why Learning Dynamics has created a kit to hinder those aggravations and make the learning process simple and enjoyable. The Learning Dynamics Reading Program is designed to help both student and teacher during this exciting milestone.

The Learning Dynamics program was written to help children develop language and comprehension skills in a way that is great for little ones. It is appropriate for all learning styles as it combines visual, auditory, and kinesthetic activities for a multi-sensory approach. This phonics-based program has been used in classrooms for over 15 years for preschool through second grade students. It has been thoroughly researched by the University of Oregon and was proven to improve literacy.

The full program comes with everything you need to teach your child to read. All the components come in a study, cardboard box which makes it perfect for storing and organizing.

• Lesson Manual -- gives a brief synopsis of each lesson along with the step-by-step details; also lists optional activities and tips
• Alphabet Music CD -- 34 original songs teaching letter sounds, vowels, and the alphabet; MP3 download is also included
• Flashcards -- 3 sets of cards for teaching: letter cards with both capital and lowercase, lowercase letters with characters, and letter blends or "special sounds"
• Student Activity Workbook -- a simple one-page activity is included with each lesson; coloring, drawing, and writing skills are covered  
• Letter Rewards -- character punch-outs to reward the student for each letter learned
• Books -- over 50 full-color, mini books; divided into 4 reading levels and color-coded  

The program is designed to be taught in 15 minutes a day 3 days a week. Each simple lesson follows the same format: introduction of the letter using a flashcard, short story highlighting the letter and introducing the character, letter song from the CD, worksheet in the student workbook, letter song again, final check using the flashcard, optional activity to reinforce the letter sound and have fun, and blending letters starting in lesson 5.

Most phonics programs teach letter sounds out of order, and this one is no different. Learning Dynamics starts with the letter M since that is one of the first sounds children make (think mama and variations of it in other languages). From there, you introduce vowels and consonants that work together. The goal is to get the child to blend the sounds and make words in the early stages of learning.

I'm in a bittersweet phase of homeschooling as I am teaching my last child to read. Part of me wants to keep him a baby forever, but the other part gets excited every time he masters a new skill. When I first opened the box, my boy was ecstatic. Books and cards and lots of fun! The lessons are short and keep his attention. His favorite part of lesson 1 was earning an M&M for every word beginning with the letter M that he found around the house (my older kids loved giving him hints!) Even though the curriculum suggests completing a lesson every other day, I was thrilled when he wanted to learn his letters every day for a week.

Then he hit a wall. He started getting confused by all the sounds and in turn frustrated when I wanted him to review instead of continuing with the next letter. (That shows you how much he loves the lessons though!) His stubborn streak shined through and he would not cooperate.

He is only 4-years-old and has over a year before he begins kindergarten, so I'm following his lead using this program. I've had an excited reader at 3 and a reluctant reader at 6 along with everything in between with my other kids. I've learned it's easiest to teach when the child is interested.

I decided to take some time off of lessons. I would gently review by pointing out letters we saw in books or signs and reiterate their sounds. After a week or so, he was eager to learn more. We are taking it slower now, but still having fun. His favorite part of the lessons is the songs. We listen to the alphabet song (different version which says the sounds along with the letters) at the beginning of each lesson and then a specific letter song twice during the lesson. The songs have sweet, children's melodies. I've heard other children's music use popular tunes to make it more appealing to the adults, but I much prefer this style. My little guy loves music and is often heard singing while playing. Now, I hear him singing phrases like "twist, and twirl, and tumble" and "d, d, d, d, Let's sing words that start with D." My favorite though is when he shouts out, "Go sweat!" because the end of the alphabet song is "No sweat!" and he doesn't realize he's singing it wrong. The handful of melodies are reused for multiple letters which makes it familiar and easier for the child to sing along. I even find myself humming the catchy tunes throughout the day!

The flashcards come in 2 sizes and can be used in a variety of ways. The letter cards have the capital on one side and the lowercase on the back. The blend cards or special sounds cards have the blend on the front and multiple words that contain it on the back. The larger cards have a lowercase letter with the character which match the smaller reward cards with the pronunciation and character name on the back. My boy loves to pull out the letter rewards that he's earned and play with the characters. He also likes to use them to help him look for that letter around the house. We keep his in a little plastic container so he can easily grab them to review and to make it special.

The books (along with the lesson manual and student workbook) are approximately 7x7 inches. The first few books have only 4 pages and only a word or two on each one. After that, there are a few more pages per book and complete sentences. Level one which covers short vowel sounds has 23 books; the other levels each have 10 books.

This curriculum is extremely easy to use. There is practically no set up work involved for the parent. The activities vary slightly as they suggest things like taking a walk with an umbrella for letter U, playing with a yo-yo for letter Y, slithering like a snake to S words, find D words with a dinosaur detector, and more.

There are a few typos throughout the lesson manual, but nothing that would hinder you from understanding the meaning. However, in lessons 34-38, the second time the letter song is played, it instructs to sing the M song (first lesson) instead of the current letter and point to the pictures on the back of the page instead of the opposing page. It's not a big deal, but something to note.

Learning Dynamics is a full reading program. By the end of the curriculum, a student will have learned not only letters and sounds and reading short vowel words, but also long vowels and many pesky special sounds that are found in the English language, like sh, ch, scr, soft c, and more. For now though, we're still trying not to get confused by p, b, and d.

One thing that I would love to see added to the kit is an alphabet sheet. We listen to the song with each lesson, but there is no visual to look at, which makes it difficult for someone just learning the letters to follow along. I printed off two sheets--one uppercase and one lowercase--and alternate which one we use. This way, my son can not only follow along, but also associate both versions of each letter with the sound. Pointing to the letters as we sing them helps to cement them in his mind.

My little guy is loving using the Learning Dynamics Reading Program. He's not quite reading yet, but he likes sounding out the words in his books with me and thoroughly enjoys completing his lessons.

I'm excited to see how his literacy skills improve as we continue through the program.

You can connect with Learning Dynamics on the following social media sites:

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Be sure to read more reviews of this reading program on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

Reading Eggs

My two oldest kids used Reading Eggs years ago and loved it. Naturally, I was excited to review it again with my next two kiddos. We're a techie family, so anytime they get extra electronic time, they're happy. And when I tell them they get to play games on the computer for school? They're really excited.  

Reading Eggs is an online program that teaches kids to read. The engaging games and activities make learning fun while still teaching important skills. This program from Blake eLearning was created by an experienced team of teachers, educational writers, animators, and web developers. It focuses on a core reading skills and strategies that encourage reading success. They're so confident in their program, that they're offering a free 4-week trial.

When you sign into your Reading Eggs account, you'll be taken to your family dashboard. From there, you can choose which child (if more than one is signed up) is using the program. The dashboard also gives important stats, like the student's approximate reading level, how many phonics skills and sight words he knows, his progress, which stories he has read, and other recent events he's completed. Because the program is designed for ages 3-7 and reading skills can vary greatly during those years, there is a placement test for the student as soon as he starts.

The lessons are divided into maps. Each map shows a scene from an outdoor playground and includes 10 lessons. Level 1 Starting Out is for absolute beginning readers and covers lessons 1-40, level 2 Beginning to Read is for emerging readers and consists of lessons 41-80, and level 3 Building Confidence is for early readers and covers lessons 81-120. Zac (7) was placed at lesson 111, the first lesson of map 12 (the last map) and Tyler started at lesson 61, the first lesson of map 7.

The lessons are animated and incorporate a variety of options for teaching. There are songs, books, videos, and many games. The games can be so silly: adding hair to monsters, squirting sauce on eggs, catching frogs on lilypads, hopping penguins to ice chunks, adding stamps to letters, and so much more. Reading Eggs uses the synthetic phonic method to teach reading. The lessons teach the student to decode words by sounds and by showing them how to make connections between written text and spoken language. Students are taught graphemes (letters) and phonemes (smallest unit of sound) and then incorporate sight words.

As the students progress through the lessons, they earn golden eggs that can be used to purchase various items. They also unlock places such as My House, Puzzle Park, and Driving Tests. The places and items add a fun element to the program. For instance, the kids can use their eggs to buy furniture for their house, accessories for their avatar, or to play a game. 

There are also printable activity sheets that correspond to each lesson. The students practice tracing and writing the letters, matching the letter sounds to words, coloring pictures, reading sentences and matching them to the appropriate pictures, and much more. The tactile aspect is a good reinforcement which many kids greatly benefit from. My kids have really enjoyed this hands-on part as well.

Last week, Reading Eggs released a brand new set of program guides that specifically support homeschoolers. The guides are free and can be downloaded from the parent dashboard under Bonus Material.

My boys, just like their older siblings, love Reading Eggs! Because the teaching is disguised as fun, the kids don't even realize how much they're learning. They will sit and play for hours if I let them, so we have to set some boundaries so other school work will be accomplished. There are other branches of the program, too: Reading Eggs Junior (ages 2-4), Reading Eggspress (ages 7-13), and Mathseeds (ages 3-9).  There really is so much involved with this program that it would take forever for me to try to explain it all. If you'd like to see how it works in more specific detail, you can try a sample lesson for free.

Truly though, if you have a child who is learning to read or needs a little boost in language arts, set up a 4-week free trial and see what all Reading Eggs has to offer. 


You can connect with Reading Eggs on the following social media sites:
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You can read more reviews of Reading Eggs on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

Phonics Museum App

Our family loves the Veritas Press Bible programs, so when we had the opportunity to review for the company again, I was excited. They offer materials for much more than Bible classes though, and this time, we we've been learning with their new Phonics Museum App.

Veritas Press was created by Marlin and Laurie Detweiler as a way to give their own children a classical education. After their curricula worked so well for their family, they wanted to make it available to other like-minded parents, as well. Since then, the company has grown to offer full curriculum, a publishing company, an online classical Christian academy, and two classical Christian schools. 

   

The Phonics Museum App is a multi-sensory program that teaches kids to read in a fun, engaging way. The student joins William and Wendy on an adventure through an art museum. Percival, a walking-talking suit of armor guides and encourages them as they look at the paintings, learn their letters, and discover that art can be exciting. They are then introduced to Miss Biddle, the quirky museum curator, as she leads the lessons. She's animated during some of the games and activities, but "comes to life" as she teaches the lessons to the student. Like the other materials from Veritas Press, this app follows the Classical Approach of learning, and not only teaches letters and sounds, but includes bit of information about artists and their works, inventions, history, nature, and more. 

The app was designed for early-readers in the 3-7 year age range, so it contains over 900 games, videos, interactions, real teaching, and memory songs to keep little ones engaged. A typical lesson has around 11 stages.  It always starts and ends with a video and has other activities throughout. For example, it might follow this format: video, song, video, game, video, game, video, game, video, game, video. A student must complete each stage of the lesson before he can move to the next, and he can see what each lesson contains by looking at the numbered easels with the appropriate icons. Sometimes the videos are simply Miss Biddle announcing the next activity, but mostly they are filled with teaching and silliness.  

The Phonics Museum believes in "edutainment," meaning games and learning collide and children don't even realize it. That's why there are 22 games that not only will the student enjoy, but also will learn to read while playing them. The games reinforce the learning by encouraging the student to recognize the individual letters--both upper and lower case along with both printed and written versions--and their sounds. The games are simple, but cute. There is a chipmunk that eats nuts, a frog that catches flies with his tongue, birds that happily splash in a bird bath, a catapult that launches paintballs that decorate the castle, and many more.  

One thing that I appreciate about the teaching is that for the games that focus on the sounds, there is a slight emphasis on the specific letter that is being reviewed. For example, during an M game, the student is supposed to touch the sarcophagus when Miss Biddle says the words that begin with the M sound. Mmustache. Boy. Penny. Mmoose. There is that slight emphasis on the /m/ to trigger the sound for the student. It is not overly done and the student himself might not even recognize it, but subtly it helps.   

My kindergartner is learning to read, so this app came at the perfect time. He loves watching the videos, playing the games, and reading the simple books. He adores Miss Biddle. Seriously, she must be the cutest teacher ever with her bold dress covered in letters, ribbons in her hair, her quirkiness, and her charming personality. She's a bit like Miss Frizzle from The Magic School Bus, but not quite as eccentric and without the transforming bus. Many times I catch even my older kids watching the videos and laughing at the silliness. 

The museum contains 10 floors of interactive fun. The paintings come alive, the characters are silly, and the whole experience is fun. Most importantly though, it helps kids learn their letters and sounds--and ultimately how to put those together to make words--with a solid phonics-based program. I'm excited to watch my little one learn and explore with the Phonics Museum.  

The Phonics Museum App is available through iTunes. It is a complete curriculum on its own, but since it is a spin-off of the physical version, it can also be used as a complimentary aid. If you'd like to see the app in action, there is an informational video on the website.

You can connect with Veritas Press on the following social media sites:

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You can read more reviews of this app on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

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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