By MaryEllen
(NC)
Kindergarten Complete Visitor Review:
Pros:
All-inclusive:
As someone who is easily overwhelmed, and all-inclusive curriculum is a HUGE plus in my book. All the lesson plans and worksheets are in one big book. The lesson plans for each day are written out with step-by-step instructions so there is no guesswork or lengthy planning sessions involved for mom. The only thing I have to plan ahead for is gathering up the day’s materials, which are written out in a list each day.
Interesting and exciting for students:
Each unit is based on the current holiday or season or on a specific theme like Weather, Creation, or Safety. All the subjects center around that theme, which means the student learns not only about weather, but he learns math, reading, and character development at the same time.
Permission to copy workbook pages:
If you have multiple children and want to re-use the workbook pages in the future, you have permission to copy them. That is a valuable asset to a curriculum! (You also have the option to just purchase a book of additional workbook pages at a very reasonable price.)
Academically sound:
The curriculum covers reading, writing, communication skills, mathematics, social studies, science, physical development, fine art, and character development/Bible. While it was too easy for my 5-year-old, I will give the disclaimer that she has been “doing school” with her older brother for several years, so she is very, very ahead. As far as kindergarten curriculum goes, I felt like it was quite sound academically, and will do a thorough job of preparing a kindergartener for first grade.
No busywork:
One of the downfalls of other curriculum I have seen is that there are SO MANY papers to complete. Children at this age generally learn best by hands-on activities, and there are plenty of great suggestions for those while keeping the busywork to a minimum.
Cons:
There were just a couple things that I didn’t like about the curriculum.
Must borrow books from the library;
Since one of the reasons I prefer an all-inclusive curriculum is that I am easily overwhelmed, I would love to see the reading materials included as well. There are phonics lessons included, but the actual reading books are suggested books that must be borrowed from the library. Some people may actually like that approach since they enjoy going to the library and introducing their child to classic literature, So it wouldn’t be a problem in that case.
Not 100% in line doctrinally with what I believe:
There were several places I found that I was not in agreement with doctrinally. Of course, it is easy to skip over those parts and teach the Bible and character development parts from your own standpoint.
(Disclosure: I did receive a copy of this free from the publisher, but I was not required to post this review and all the opinions are my own.)
