Regardless of whether you homeschool or your child is educated in a private or public school, there will be times you need to reinforce and review what they’ve learned. One great way to do this is with activity books! I have three ways you can use activity books to reinforce learning, but first, let me tell you about the workbooks we are using. Be sure to read all the way through because there is a giveaway…and a discount code at the bottom!!
(In full disclosure, I did receive these books for free and was compensated for my time, but as always, all thoughts are my own…and I review it as I see it!)
One of our favorite publishers of coloring and activity books is Dover Publications. I’ve long been a fan, and we’ve utilized their books in our homeschool curriculum in many ways. They’ve recently added a line of elementary education workbooks from Education.com, and when I was given the opportunity to review them, I knew I wanted to pick the 2nd grade activity books for my daughter Hannah.
Ever since finishing God’s Little Explorers with her, I’ve just used curriculum I already had on hand. It’s been working fine, but I knew she would love to do something a little different to reinforce what she’s been learning. I knew she would love “something of her own.”
Our 2nd Grade Activity Book Set
For math review, we are using Number Round-Up from the 2nd grade set of activity books. You can see Hannah enjoyed these “Math Mosaics” in the picture above. This particular book has been an excellent way for her to review math concepts. It includes:
- Math Practice
- Nifty Number Lines
- Base Ten Bonanza
- Rounding and Estimation
Every activity book also includes an award once you finish a chapter. Those will be great motivators for my girl…but we haven’t quite made it that far yet!
We studied American history last year, so the History and Me book has been an excellent way to review–and even learn more. We’ve also done a little bit in the Wonderful Words and Fun with Nature activity books.
Three Ways to Reinforce Learning with Activity Books
Here are a few ways you can use activity books to help your child review:
1) Make it special
Instead of allowing access to the activity books all the time, keep them set apart and only pull them out once each week. One idea I’ve used in the past is to have a box for each day of the week and include a different activity book (along with other special learning toys or games) in it. Familiarity breeds contempt, right?!! When you only allow the box to be opened one day each week, it keeps interest alive!
2) Incentivize
I know…some people are against incentives, but there are many things I do on a daily basis because of an incentive (cooking so I can eat, exercising so I feel better, working so I can pay the bills, etc.)!! Keep review using an activity book fun by offering an incentive when they finish a section. The certificate of completion is already in the Dover Publications books, so that may be enough…or you may have something like a “date with mom” or play-date with a friend once they finish a section.
3) Carschool, Officeschool, Whereverschool
Activity books work well to keep in the car in a bag to be used whenever you have a chance. Maybe you have to wait for an appointment. Maybe you are waiting for a sibling’s soccer practice to finish. Maybe you have a little extra time riding in the car. Activity books are a great way to review on-the-go!
If you are interested in Dover Publications books, be sure to follow them to find out about deals, freebies, and special offers over on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Google Plus. They also have some free samples over on their site–just be sure to look on the left-hand sidebar where it has a picture that says FREE Samples.
You can currently save 25% sitewide with the code WHBH through 10.31.15. That will make the Education.com workbooks right around $6. Of course, the code is good on any of the Dover Publications books!
Giveaway Info
Through 10.8.15, you can enter to win a set of activity books from Dover Publications. Enter using the Giveaway Tools form below!
Do you have a favorite activity book from Dover Publications I should check out?!!
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