Fun Ways to Prepare Kids for School #win

Have you seen those cool wipe-off books for kids? They use dry erase markers with them as they practice letters, shapes and other school-preparedness exercises? Well, I just learned that Mead has started making them, along with other fun activity books that kids are sure to love – without knowing they are LEARNING. How can I be so positive? Because I brought a set of these books along with us on vacation to a beach house. When we weren’t at the beach or pool … or playing with LEGOS… they were edu-taining themselves with the following Mead activity books:

1. Dry Erase Activity Board: This activity board includes three double-sized, activity-driven dry erase boards spiral bound together for easy storage. Activities include capital and lowercase letter formation, number development, shape formation, simple addition and a draw-and-write space to spark creative writing and illustration. Both my 2 and 4 year old LOVED this. They did EVERY ACTIVITY. It came with a dry erase pen in black, but I bought a set of colored ones to go with it, too. It is HUGE for little kids. One of my favorite Mead activity books.

2. Write-On, Wipe-Off Letters: For use with dry erase markers or erasable crayons, these reusable workbooks offer a fun and rewarding way to practice lowercase letter formation. Specific patterns for each letter are reinforced with pictures, colored steps and directional cues. This one did not come with an erasable marker or crayon, so once again it is a good idea to buy a pack. The boys enjoyed this activity book, too. It’s smaller in size than the Dry Erase Activity Book and not as “board-like”, more flexible instead. But I like its focus on letter development.

3. Path Quest: Here’s a fun way to introduce the visual and eye-hand coordination tasks necessary for successful reading, writing, math and organizational skills. The child starts by choosing a “quest” — sea, space, jungle or the arctic — and then an adventure, including picture searches and associations, connection games, mazes and more. I was a little confused on how to play at first and some of the puzzles even puzzled me – but the boys had a blast with a different activity on each page. They went through the three adventures (multiple puzzles per adventure) so quickly, that I really wish it was an erasable wipe-off board like the books above. But erasable or not, it was one they still tried to solve over and over again.

4. Shape Builders: By following simple, numbered steps, children can practice forming pre-writing shapes while learning the proper pencil control and sequencing needed for letter, word and sentence formation. Each activity includes a numbered step-by-step illustration, along with sections to trace the drawing, draw it and color it independently. This book was great, although once again I really wish it was a wipe-off book! Just because the boys loved it so much, they really zoomed through it. My 4 year old is just really getting into drawing “things”, and my 2 year old already loves drawing objects – so this book was great as it led them step by step on using shapes they know to make ice cream cones, trucks, ladybugs and more.

5. Snip-It: This booklet of snipping and cutting activities not only helps children master the use of scissors, but results in colorful, creative art projects with little mess. Easy-to-follow cut lines on colored paper make snips go quickly. Projects get progressively more challenging by adding shapes to pictures and then following a model. Once again, sometimes I just don’t feel bright enough. I was confused what was supposed to be colored, what was supposed to be snipped and what was supposed to be stuck where. But you have to look at it through the eyes of a 2 and 4 year old – they LOVED it. They colored, pulled, tore and made awesome creations with little parent supervision (because I was lost). I let them go for it and it was an activity that kept them busy and using fine motor skills.

6. 4-in-1 Learn to Letter with Guidelines: This workbook features four sections that build upon one another. Debossed capital and lowercase letter pages offer kids numbered steps and See & Feel™ grooves to master printing. A raised ruling section helps students learn to stay inside the lines. Finally, the plain primary ruled pages feature bold lines for accurate letter placement. I wanted to pull this aside for when my 4 year old starts pre-k, but my 2 year old absolutely would have none of that as he easily used the debossed letter guides to form his letters. He is more of the letter/number kid than my four year old who preferred the activities in PathQuest. But if your child needs extra letter practicing, the 4-in-1 Learn to Letter with Guidelines will give them the confidence to go for it.

Mead Early Learning products, like the ones above, were developed in conjunction with a pediatric occupational therapist who specializes in handwriting. The line is divided into four stages based on age and developmental skills. It begins with cutting activities, dot-to-dot projects and coloring exercises that begin eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills. Subsequent products/stages then focus on formal handwriting instruction, including letter formation through tracing and writing practice on paper with raised lines. You can see more Mead Early Learning Products, for grades pre-k to 4th, here: Mead Early Learning. Writing Fundamentals are available nationwide at Walmart, Target and Staples. Prices range from $3.99-$6.99.

One winner will receive 5-7 products of their choice from the following list:
o Path Quest
o Snip It
o Shape Builders Learn to Draw
o Dry Erase Activity Board
o Capital Letter Stories
o Write-On, Wipe-Off Lowercase Letters
o 4-in-1 Learn to Letter
o Idea Builders
o Primary Journal
o Write-on, Wipe-off Cursive Letters