Mead Early Learning Workbooks, Flashcards, and Other Learning Tools

Finding good educational supplies for smaller children is difficult, so Mead has come out with a new line of products especially for children in preschool through third grade. The Mead Early Learning products help children build foundations that will help them to succeed all through their school careers. These products are both fun and innovative and help to equip parents and educators with the tools they need to set children up for success. As a homeschooling mom, I was thrilled to try out their new line for Quinn, my nearly 6 year old son.

Mead’s new line of dry erase boards and products are great for home, school, and even on the go. These reusable boards come in several varieties and we were sent the Dry Erase 2-Sided Board and the Dry Erase Activity board. The 2-Sided Board has one side that is plain for math, drawing, games, etc. and the other is printed with kindergarten-2nd grade appropriate lines. This is perfect for children to practice their writing and drawing with the included dry erase marker but easily erase any mistakes and keeps from wasting tons of paper while they practice. The Dry Erase Activity board includes three super-sized, double-sided pages that are spiral bound and include activities for practicing writing upper and lower case, numbers, shapes and more. Each of the 6 activity pages is very colorful and fun and helps teach children the appropriate way to write letters with their guides. This one comes with a marker as well and it is easy to write on and wipe off when he’s done.

File folder games are a great way to teach children a variety of things in a new and different way and Mead’s answer to making them is buying their pre-prepared educational folder activities packs. We got Colors, Shapes, and Numbers and Math Basics. Each package comes with 3 vinyl folders and perforated glossy cardstock pieces that complete the games inside and a handy storage pocket on the front so they store away neatly. The Math Basics set has over 40 pieces and each folder teaches either patterning, sequencing, or addition/subtraction. The Colors, Shapes, and Numbers set helps children learn to match various items on the colorful folders. Both sets are engaging and fun and help to teach while making it like a game.

Flash cards are always a great teaching tool, and Mead’s flashcards are appropriate for several ages and really help to build foundations for the rest of their lives. We got Colors, Shapes, & Numbers, Addition, Alphabet, and Multiplication flashcards which come in sets of 55 double-sided cards. All are full-color cards that teach their subject very nicely with an attractive yet simplistic layout, which helps keep children from being distracted by too many extras. All are well made from thick cardstock and perfect for teaching children from preschool on up.

The Mead preschool workbook we received was a little below Quinn’s level, but would be a great workbook for someone in that age group. With 320 pages that teach colors, letters, early math, science, and more plus stickers to reinforce diligent work, this workbook is sure to help any budding scholar begin their education. The Primary Journal (for grades K-2) is one of my favorite products and I’ve already purchased another for Quinn to use for another subject. This journal has kindergarten ruled paper on bottom and a large space for illustrating up top. This is perfect for little journalists because it allows them to draw their stories first and then offers just enough writing space so they can fill it up without it being too overwhelming.

Shape Builders (pre-k through 1st grade) is a learn to draw workbook that teaches pre-writing shapes. Children follow the correct sequence for the shapes and other simple drawings which help them to develop their artistic skills as well as prep them for writing letters. Quinn loves this book because he’s so artistic. He doesn’t realize how much he’s learning while he’s drawing in this, and I love that. The Problem Solving workbook features logic-based activities for children in 2nd grade and above. This workbook helps them to develop critical thinking skills and strengthen day-to-day logic. I use this book for both my kids because their logic skills are seriously lacking and I love the way these simple yet thought-provoking pages help build where they are deficient.

Finally, and my personal favorite of the lot, the 4-in-1 Learn to Letter with Guidelines workbook. This unique and extremely helpful workbook teaches children the proper way to write with their useful guides but this workbook goes a step further and features “raised ruling”: indented imprints where the letters should go. This amazing and highly successful tool really has improved Quinn’s writing. The indents help his pencil stay where it’s supposed to and he can actually feel where he should be writing. This genius little workbook is a must for any child learning to write, but especially for ones that struggle like Quinn does. I cannot say enough for how much this has ended our writing struggles.

Because I received 13 products, it is very hard to do justice to the products we received in one review. This was very broad, but I can assure you, the Mead products did not disappoint and have helped us so much with our home education and improved Quinn’s writing skills in particular. Whether you are a home educator like me or you are looking to supplement your child’s schooling, these Mead Early Learning products are sure to have something that you can use. For more information about this new line, visit www.meadonline.com. You can purchase these and all Mead products at most retail stores where office/school supplies are sold, such as Walmart.


Thank you to Mead for providing complimentary product samples for us to base this review upon and for providing a prize pack for our contest prize.

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Kindergartner-in-Training: Curious George Multimedia Workbooks for Preschoolers

We just had our parent-teacher conferences for our twin preschoolers earlier this week.  Although one twin needs more practice with recognizing and writing the alphabet than the other, both could benefit from more ABC learning activities.

In September, Curious George turned 70!  He sure looks good for his age and is as lovable as ever.  We have a mini library of Curious George books and try to catch his show on PBS whenever we can.  When The Learning Company introduced their new Learning with Curious George reading and math workbooks for preschoolers and kindergartners, I was excited.  Why? . . . Well, because our children learn better when they are interested in the theme at hand and Curious George definitely qualifies as such.

The first half of this particular workbook Learning with Curious George Preschool Reading focuses on the order of the alphabet.  The second half focuses on early writing skills.  Although our daughter tends to master things more easily than her twin brother, she was challenged by these activities and happily rose to that challenge.  Our son, who usually feels defeated fairly quickly was able to complete the same activities as his twin sister, although it took a bit more time and patience.  He had to first figure out that he needs to follow an order from top to bottom and left to right as a general rule.  Once he figured that out, he was able to complete the activities.

I am pleased to say that the content in this reading workbook compliments what the twins are learning in preschool, which is actually a kindergarten curriculum.  If we need further reinforcement of these concepts, The Learning Company offers Curious George online activities that practice the same skills as learned in the workbook.  These activities offer our children an opportunity to practice what they have learned, but in a fun entertaining way.

The Learning Company website offers free printable PDF workbooks.  Parents can also print out certificates of achievement to give their children some well-deserved recognition.

You can learn more about these multimedia Curious George workbooks by visiting www.TheLearningCompany.com.  These workbooks retail for $5.99 and can be found at major book retailers, such as Amazon.com.


Thank you to The Learning Company for providing complimentary product samples for us to base this review upon.

Review: Summer Bridge Activities Workbooks

Anyone who has been a long time reader of my blog knows that I am an avid believer that children should engage in educational activities outside of school. I even started my Kindergartner-in-Training series last summer to make sure my son was well-prepared to start elementary school. This summer, I did not have a clear plan about what skills my son should be working on. I know he was already doing some 1st grade work in kindergarten, so I wanted him to continue on that path.

When I had the chance to try out the Summer Bridge Activities books, I was excited. I usually think up my own activities, so it would be nice to have some that are created by experts.

These workbooks are designed to be a "bridge" between the end of one school year and the beginning of the next. It is set up so that your child does 2 pages per day for 60 days and it is estimated that it would take your child 15 minutes to complete those two pages.

Well, I have quickly come to the conclusion that these books are only a good fit for children who are a little behind or right where they should be in reading, writing, and math. If your child is a little ahead, then these books may be far too easy. In the Grade K-1 book, my son can do 8 pages in 10 minutes. He has not completed the entire workbook yet, but looking ahead, there is nothing in it that he will find challenging until the very last few days in the entire workbook.

Since not all children are the same, I want you to be able to judge whether this book would be right for your child. This book covers the following:

• Single digit addition and subtraction
• Writing upper and lowercase alphabet
• Sounding out parts of words (beginning sounds, vowel sounds, etc . . .)
• Telling time
• Sequences
• Counting by 2s, 5s, etc . . .
• Counting money
• Counting to 100
• Reading comprehension
• Following instructions
• Rhyming

There are probably a few more things, but this list should give you the general idea. There is something unexpected and fun I found in this workbook, which is the "Fitness Flash". At intervals, there are instructions for your child to do something physical. It could be something as simple as 10 shoulder shrugs or something like imagining you are an animal stretching, acting it out, and asking your parent to guess what animal you are pretending to be.

Overall, I think these workbooks would be useful as long as they match your child's skill levels.

You can find Summer Bridge Activities Workbooks on SummerBridgeActivities.org and other retailers of educational books, such as CarsonDellosa.com .

Thank you to Summer Bridge Activities for sending us a sample workbook free of charge to base this review upon.