Using Workbooks as Homeschool Resources
One theme that runs throughout all of these homeschool resources for primary grades is FUN! These colorful workbooks for older kindergarten age kids through second grade are not typical “busy work” books. These resources are excellent time savers for homeschooling moms of kids who are ready for some independent work.
In our homeschool, my kids have always had a basket of books that they can start on independently each day. This ensures that they have something to do first thing in the morning, or if we need to be out and about for the day.
Although we have always used a “living books” approach to schooling, high quality workbooks do come in handy for extra practice and reinforcement of skills. The most important things to consider when choosing workbooks are the quality and relevance of the activities inside. I do not advocate busywork!
Gaining Reading Comprehension Skills
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The lightbulb moment when reading clicks and becomes more than just words on the page is exciting! It means kids are ready to do more with stories. Reading comprehension is the next stage to gaining skills of reading analysis. Finding quality resources that teach reading comprehension in an engaging way is a challenge for parents and educators.
The Big Book of Reading Comprehension Activities, Grade 2: 120 Activities for After-School and Summer Reading Fun
Progressive Reading Comprension Skills
Through stories like “Diego Stays Cool”, “How Crayons are Made”, “The Gingerbread Man”, “The Great Wall of China”, and “Trees in the Fall”, children learn how to:
- identify a story’s message
- retell stories
- describe characters, settings, & events
- describe key details
- use text features
- activate prior knowledge
- make connections to self & the world
- describe how word choice gives meaning to text
- compare and contrast
- identify the author’s point
- ask questions to clarify meaning
- make connections between plot, structure, setting, & characters
The best part about The Big Book of Reading Comprehension Activities is how easy it lends itself to extension activities. Parents and educators can easily go beyond the provided activities and expand on each reading passage. As kids learn more reading stragegies, they can be challenged to apply them to what they read.
Cross-Curricular Activities
My First Grade Workbook: 101 Games and Activities to Support First Grade Skills is another of these fun homeschool resources for easing into first grade learning. This educational book of activities like crosswords and secret code puzzles covers reading, writing, math, science, social studies, and critical thinking skills.
Perfect for morning basket time, My First Grade Workbook gets the day off to a fun start, and keeps kiddos occupied. Because of the cross-curricular content in this book, you can skip around to do different activities from each section. It is geared toward ages 6 to 7, and would work well for advanced kindergartners.
My First Grade Workbook includes:
- Games and activities galore―You can be sure the fun and learning lasts with 101 amazing activities to keep your young one entertained.
- Educational and fun―Watch your child light up as they explore pages that transform games they love into lots of learning.
- Made for first graders―Continue your child’s education with activities specially designed to build on what they’ve been learning in school.
I love the depth of the content included in this workbook. It is not just busywork! Children learn to identify nouns and adjective, skip counting, reading comprehension, seasons, weather, and much more.
Mastering High Frequency Words
The My Sight Words Workbook is:
- Colorful and illustrated―Pictures, examples, and a little monkey helper make this book friendly and encouraging.
- Ready to read―This book is ready to use exactly as it is, and the pages can be easily reproduced for a whole classroom.
- Studded with stars―Kids can color in a star for every word they master and see their progress in real time.
A great feature of My Sight Words Workbook is the variety of activities that will appeal to hands-on learners, but that can easily be adapted for simplicity. (This book is also good for ESL learners!) While colorful and cute, this homeschool resource is not babyish, and beginning readers of any age will benefit from this fun way to memorize high frequency words.
Handwriting Practice
The Print Handwriting Workbook for Kids: Laugh, Learn, and Practice Print with Jokes and Riddles
The cute pictures and theme of each riddle teach the phonics sounds of each letter as well. The author includes tips for parents who wish to use this book to teach their preschoolers.
The Print Handwriting Workbook includes:
- THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO PRINTING―Help your child master print handwriting with lessons on letters, words, and sentences.
- FUN AND FUNNY―Colorful illustrations and silly riddles make it enjoyable for kids to practice their printing.
- HANDWRITING FOR BEGINNERS―Easy-to-follow guides feature numbered arrows that show stroke order and direction.
Once kids practice letters, they can copy words and phrases and work on more advanced handwriting skills. What a cute way to make learning fun!
The publisher provided review copies of these workbooks for homechool resources.
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