Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten! and Let’s Get Ready for First Grade! are two educational activity books for young children published by Cedar Valley Publishing. Developed by Mom of two, Stacy Kannenberg; these workbooks are printed on heavy duty “plasticized” paper that is designed for use with dry erase markers. The books are a small size for children, and are very rugged and stand up well to repeated use from small children. My daughters (5 and 2) put both books through their paces and are quite delighted with them. They are designed for parents to work through with their children in preparation for the stated school grade, either Kindergarten or First Grade. Both books cover core required academic subjects for the grade that the child will be entering, because of this they also make an excellent core curriculum for the early grades that homeschoolers can supplement with additional practice activitities, read alouds, Bible and other options. They can also be used for remedial work for children who are having a difficult time mastering core academic concepts in their current grade, or the grade they have just completed.

These books are already award-winners; both Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten! and Let’s Get Ready for First Grade! books won the Adding Wisdom Award from Parent-to Parent.  Both books are also winners of the 2008 Best You Can Be Award for Books in Education.  The books are also approved for purchase by a variety of State educational purchasing departments for use within public schools.

Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten!  appeals to a wide variety of pre-schoolers and those just starting their educational journey (recommended ages 2 - 6). My two year old likes to watch while her older sister and I go through the practice activities together. She also loves the dry erase feature, and grabs the markers and draws/colours in the workbooks. This is my 5 year old’s favourite summer time learning book - it is compact and easy to take for travel while covering a wide variety of topics and skills. We currently have it with us as we wait in the city at my grandparents home for our new baby to arrive. K and I have gone through the book a few times together, and this morning she was working on it with her Grandma. It is simple for adults to understand how to work through the practice activities with their children, just open it up, grab a marker and you are ready to go, no preparation required.

For us it is a wonderful combination of skill levels and subjects - 30 pages of bright and colourful educational activities for youngsters.  K knows enough of the material to feel confident in her abilities, but there is enough new and advanced material to challenge her, without her feeling threatened. The illustrations are bright and engaging and feature a multi-cultural cast of children, as well as the teacher. Note for Canadians - there is a section that involves American currency, but it is fairly easy to pull out your change purse to show your children Canadian money during this portion of the book.  Two lists, Early Childhood Skills and Parent and Caregiver Tips provide parents with a firm understanding of the academic and “soft” skills required for a successful year of Kindergarten.

Let’s Get Ready for First Grade! shares the same design and features of Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten! while covering core academic subjects at a more advanced level (recommended ages 5 - 8).  Much of the material presented in this title is too advanced for my oldest at age 5, but there are sections that she really enjoys (anything to do with the solar system is a big hit for her!).  There are again some sections that are written particularly for the US audience, including the section on money and government, but again, it is simple to substitute Canadian content while working through the book. 40 pages of rich educational content presented in the same bright and interactive style as the first title.  The sample story given does include the tooth fairy, which I was disappointed to see as our family doesn’t participate in this myth.  Aside from this, this title is an excellent academic foundation, building more advanced reading, beginner writing skills, simple math etc. on which to build the foundation for a first grade curriculum if so desired.  It can also be used for preparatory work over the summer, or review work as well.

Both titles are engaging for young children, and they find it hard to resist the hands-on interactivity paired with the bright and lively illustrations.

The most affordable place to order these titles is from the publisher directly.  You can click here to order from Cedar Valley.

They are also available from Amazon if you are already purchasing from their site:

Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten!

Let’s Get Ready for First Grade!

10% of the profits of both books will be donated to literacy programs.