Sing, Spell, Read, and Write
Pre-Kindergarten
by Sue Dickson
Reviewed by Martha Robinson
Purchase details: Sing, Spell, Read, and Write Pre-Kindergarten by Sue Dickson. $106. Published by Pearson Learning. Please support HomeschoolChristian.com by buying this program from our Amazon affiliate link.
With "over 300 pre-K readiness activities for little learners," Sing, Spell, Read, and Write Pre-Kindergarten was designed for classroom use, but can easily be adapted to a homeschool situation. The child's learning excitement begins with the colorful box and continues with the playful, yet serious, educational materials inside. The program includes puzzles, manipulatives, music, worksheets, "sing-along and point" papers, and a teacher's manual.
Activities for Sing, Spell, Read, and Write Pre-Kindergarten are divided into several groups with progress being traced on the child's "trolley car" placemat. The majority of the activities are in the "Readiness Lane" section that includes shapes, colors, matching, opposites, left/right, "directional concepts" (next to, through, between, etc.), classification, sequencing, seasons, and dressing skills (using the shoe tying manipulative.) Songs have the children marching and singing, "I'm marching in a circle," for example. The second largest section is "Alphabet Lane." Children sing alphabet and phonics songs while pointing to the letters. "Alph-O Puzzles" and cards let the child match letters to pictures with the phonetic sound. The "Math Readiness" section begins with a song entitled, "Why Do We Have to Learn About Numbers?" A scripted story about the "invention" of numbers by cavemen suggests that the teacher should use included the wooden craft sticks and string to create the shapes of each number from one to five using that number of sticks. Another song about counting backwards from ten is used with a "sing-along and point" number strip. The clock manipulative is also introduced. The math section finishes with the "Zero Song," that explains the concept of zero meaning nothing. All of the sections have suggested read aloud literature to go along with the topic.
The teacher's manual offers many suggestions from bulletin boards and displays to games and manipulatives to enhance the learning experience. Miniatures of the worksheets are shown next to the appropriate activities, and the lyrics of all the songs are listed in the back.
Both cassette tape format and CD format audios are included in the package. The cassettes generally have one or two songs per side of the five tapes so that it will be easy to find the needed song. All fifteen songs are on the CD with each having a track of its own. The songs, sung by children, have a simple tune, lots of repetition, and a reasonable tempo for children this age.
Fourteen award stickers that are associated with particular activities are also included in the kit.
An additional student pack is available and includes the "sing-along and point" placemat and number/alphabet line and the worksheet pack. It does not include an additional set of reward stickers.
Recommendation: If you have been looking for something fun to do for your pre-schooler, Sing, Spell, Read, and Write Pre-Kindergarten would be a great choice. The teacher's manual is straightforward and easy to follow, and the activities are interesting, but brief enough for small attention spans. You could do all of these activities on your own, but if your budget can handle the price, this set will provide your child with all the basics in a format that will make learning fun for parent and child.
HomeschoolChristian.com resources related to this review:
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