Review of the Month
Nothing brings things home for the kinesthetic learner like -- you guessed it, crafts! This month, we share another great resource for your homeschool: The Craftsy Classroom.
No matter what learning style your child eventually develops, in the early grades, every child thrives with hands-on learning. Crafts provide an opportunity to break away from the books and spend fun "together time" with your child.
Finding a low-prep craft project is relatively easy. There are hundreds of ideas on Pinterest, Google, and Teachers Pay Teachers. But, finding a one-stop-shop for coordinated curriculum that fosters creativity, art, and craftwork -- while building core academic objectives -- can be more challenging.
Finding a low-prep craft project is relatively easy. There are hundreds of ideas on Pinterest, Google, and Teachers Pay Teachers. But, finding a one-stop-shop for coordinated curriculum that fosters creativity, art, and craftwork -- while building core academic objectives -- can be more challenging.
I'm not sure how I stumbled upon The Craftsy Classroom. The first resource I bought was their Bible ABC pack more than five years ago. At that time, I wasn't looking for crafts - I was looking for quick, but fun alphabet practice for my then-preschooler. Since then I have found myself going back again and again to sample their other lesson resources.
The Craftsy Classroom is an online digital store owned by author and mom, Valerie McClintick. Over the past five years, she has built her website store into a vast offering of craft ideas, Bible activities, and core subject units for grades P-5. Topics range from Spelling and Geography to holiday themes and pattern blocks. Her study units are grade-flexible, visually pleasing, no-prep, and generally stand-alone.
Probably what draws me most to the Craftsy Classroom is the way McClintick blends a clean visual layout and games with clear-cut academic learning objectives. You can expect to find cut-and-paste crafts, coloring pages, Bingo, search puzzles, mazes, and hand-coordination exercises in addition to the standard phonetic, language, and math objectives.
In McClintick's units, there are no droll pages filled with empty lines for copying spelling words. Instead you get a spinner game where your student can compete to fill her lists with correctly-spelled words. And instead of a plain line-outline of Florida, you find a fine-motor-skill maze contoured in the shape of the Sunshine State. Alphabet Bingo, paper crowns, and Spinner Addition are the rule of the day. There are no boring lessons in the Craftsy library.
Because the Craftsy resources are generally adapted to multiple ability levels, don't think of these products as a year-after-year comprehensive curriculum. With the huge number of pages in each pack (731 pages in her Pattern Blocks bundle, for example), you have enough worksheets to supplement your regular curriculum year after year; or to strengthen your student's skills with a fun deep-dive into a single subject area.
So, take a break from the regular books this winter -- and, go craft!
Note: All pictures included on this post are from products I purchased and used.
At Connie's Corner, we're walking this journey together! If I see an outstanding resource, I'll feature it here for you. And since my reviews are unpaid, you can be sure they're 100% honest.
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