Basic Shapes for Beginners Book Review!

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I don't know why the thought of teaching my youngest to write is so scary but it is.  Like shaking in my boots scary.  Perhaps it is because he is a boy or that he seems to favor his left hand.  Maybe it is because I remember the tears from my oldest who has a similar personality.  Or maybe it is the fact that his motor skills (like all my boys) are not super wonderful.  That is why when I read about Basic Shapes for Beginners: A Hands-On Approach to Pre-writing Strokes for Preschoolers (Digital Download) - I knew I wanted in on the launch!

About:

Heather Greutman is the author of  Basic Shapes for Beginners: A Hands-On Approach to Pre-writing Strokes for Preschoolers.  She is a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant and currently writes at goldenreflectionsblog.com.  In her new book she gives practical advice for teaching pre-writing skills.  Terminology and activities make this book a shining star. 

highlights:

• printables
• 6 weeks of activities
• 30+ activities

My Thoughts:

I have completed the first week of activities for this book with my three year old.  He is a funny guy and he took to the somewhat structured play.  That is the the thing - it feels like play but you are giving them the tools for later on in their school career.  We worked on vertical and horizontal lines with a variety of different activities.  J was so proud to tell Daddy which lines were horizontal and which were vertical.  I liked that Greutman gives guide to us (the parents) on how to define each line so that later on when we are actually writing it will all come together. 

I was not familiar with Montessori style learning - aside from really hearing the name but this course has that flair.  It was very easy to implement with task trays and sensory bin style things.  I was actually excited to learn a bit about it (implementing) because my little guy is very hands on and this was the perfect beginning curriculum for him.

Another thing that impressed me was that I know he is working on his motor skills which is a big concern.  From my experience most boys are naturally behind girls in this area.  Both my older boys had trouble with holding a pencil or crayon appropriately in the beginning of kindergarten.  They had to work harder to get up to level.  They were in private school and now with J we are going to be homeschooling.  I want to lay the proper foundation so neither of us will struggle.

Week 1 Day 2- thoughts:

The second day of learning we made playdoh worms.  This was enjoyable by both child and mommy!  J asked for the printable from day one so that he could line the worms up like he did in day one's activity.  I love that!  I think I will bust out the laminator so that the printable will stay sturdy in case he wants to use it again.  I have a feeling that as we progress we will circle back around again and again and again.  So even thought the book is designed for only 6 weeks of activities they can be repeated as desired.

All in all I enjoyed the activities - I had enough of the suggested supplies on hand that it was no big deal to jump right in.  That is a definite plus as well.

You can purchase your copy of  Basic Shapes for Beginners: A Hands-On Approach to Pre-writing Strokes for Preschoolers (Digital Download) for the introductory price of $4.99 BUT if you use the code: LAUNCH50 you can get it for just only $2.50!! This Promo Code is available March 24-April 6th, 2014!

WIN WIN WIN

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