Review: Crafty Classroom

We have three "littles" in our homeschooling community. Eoin who is 6, Hannah who is 5.5, and Genevieve who is 5. I decided to try out the R.E.A.D Curriculum Notebook Gr. 1 program from Crafty Classroom with my little Hannah. 

Hannah is just entering Kindergarten, however, she is an old Kindergartener (missing the cut-off by just a few weeks) so I thought she might be ready for the first grade Notebook. In the end, I think she is probably right smack in the middle of Kindergarten and first-grade level. Some pages in this were a little too advanced for her, but many were right-on. 

(As a quick side note, my fellow reviewers reviewed a ton of other products from Crafty Classroom so at the end of this review, please take a moment to check out some of the others. This includes a Kindergarten level of this same product. 

For $50, you get access to a 942-page document. I didn't mistype that number. It is 942 pages!!! The program is designed to be completed in about 4 days a week over a 36-week period. However, one of the things I loved about this program was that outside of this downloadable and printable document, there are basically ZERO additionally required materials. You need two manila file folders, a composition notebook and a small bag or storage container for flashcards. That's it!

The first thing you do when you receive the electronic download of your project is read the introductory guide as pictured below:

This guide encourages you to first assemble the weekly reference folder and the daily writing notebook. Here is a picture of the weekly reference folder: 

And here is a picture of the daily writing notebook: 

I did not use the writing notebook with Hannah. The reason is that she was a little too young for this particular part of the program. However, for kids that are ready, here are three steps for this writing notebook:

1. Step 1: Choose a story strip from the pocket.
2. Step 2: Think about how you will answer the questions or finish the story.
3. Step 3: Skip a line from the previous entry and write the date on the left margin.
4. Step 4: WRITE!

There are 144 story starters for K-2 students! I can't wait for Hannah to be ready for this part of the program. 

After that, it is time to print out the pages and jump into the Notebook. It's really that simple. Print, put it in a binder, and GO! There is no pre-planning, no "getting your materials together." All this involves is me asking her to get her green folder and her jumping in! Here's Hannah's Notebook: 

Here are some photos of Hannah working through her Notebook:

She's got some cupcake on her face. Wonder where she got that from?

Please take a moment to check out the reviews from my fellow crew members by clicking on the link below: 

You can also read more about Crafty Classroom by clicking on any of the following links as well:

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I am giving this program my full recommendation, and here are my top reasons why: 

1. Low-cost!
2. Next-to-no-prep!
3. All-inclusive! Everything for a year of literature/reading/writing is here!
4. Next-to-no additional materials required!
5. Fun!
6. Colorful (but not too colorful! Ink requirements were kept to a minimum!)
7. Fun!

It's a great "all-inclusive" literature/reading program. For $50, you have everything you need to jump right in and get started today.