Ever See A Purple Dinosaur Count To Twenty?

As I have mentioned in several review, my boys are all homeschooled and so far it’s been one of the best decisions I have made concerning their education. There are so many different resources out there for parents that choose to teach their children that it can make your head spin. When picking out books for early learning it is important to keep it fun so that kids will stay interested but not so entertaining that they get distracted. One of the books I picked up a few years ago was the Easy Wipe Off Addition book from the Dalmatian Press series called Home Learning Tools. I reviewed another book in the series called Easy Wipe-Off Printing that I think makes the perfect companion to this addition workbook.

Easy Wipe Off Addition

Suitable for children that are in preschool or first grade, this book teaches the basics of addition from single digits to double digits where the largest sum is twenty. For the most part the book focuses on single digit addition using small guides such as eggs, raindrops, hearts and stars to help a child work the problems. They can use the counting guides to add the two numbers together on the first part of the page then do the second part without the guide. If they get stumped they can look back at the same problems for a little bit of help. The first part of the book uses the lower numbers to build confidence and establish basic skills and the second part of the book uses less of the guides and more of the standard addition problems. The last two pages of the book are where you will find the double-digit problems like 10 + 7. The largest sum of any of the problems in the book is twenty so if your child can count to this number then I highly suggest this book.

The back page of the book features an addition grid that helps kids add to twenty using the numbers at the top and left hand side of the page. This concept might not come easy to smaller kids that have never used a grid to do addition but after a little bit of explanation and a few examples, they should catch on to it quick. Having the grid there will help them if they get stuck on a certain problem or are doing activities in other workbooks. This page is glossy so kids can write on it when trying to add the numbers together so make sure you check this area when you are wiping clean the pages that he or she has done so they can have a fresh start during their next lesson.

The lay out of the book is very easy to read and the numbers and answer blocks are large so even younger kids will be able to use this with no trouble. The pages are all colorful and have a very playful feel to them and dinosaurs are on almost every single page. The illustrations are very nice – in a cartoonish kind of way and will really appeal to kids that have a liking for the prehistoric critters. There isn’t an answer key provided for the pages in this book so you won’t have to worry about a child finding it and copying the answers. I highly suggest that you let your child explore the book and use the addition grid on the back page so they can find the answer to problems that they don’t immediately know the answers to.

The book is made with the ‘wipe off’ glossy pages that can be used over and over again. This makes it great if you have several children that are learning the same things at the same time since you can wipe off the answers and pass it along to another little one. Wiping them clean takes a little bit of elbow grease so if you have hand troubles this might not be the best pick. I suggest using a sturdy paper towel to wipe the pages clean and using crayons such as the Crayola brand for the best results. The pages are thick and sturdy and will hold up to a lot of use. I’ve had this one for several years now and once my youngest tore through it I almost donated it to the homeschooling depot [where other homeschoolers swap materials they no longer need]. As luck would have it my neighbor’s daughter is now benefiting from this book [and others in the series]. At first she didn’t like them at all, then she fell in love with them, now she’s back to not really caring for them too much. It’s a hit or miss thing with these books, some kids like them and others don’t care for them because you need to press hard to get the answers to show up clearly.

Things To Know

As I mentioned above, this book makes a great companion to the Easy Wipe-Off Printing book that retails for $2.67 at Wal-Mart, $2.99 at other stores. It’s best to try and get two or three pages in during a learning session so that a child will feel like her or she accomplished something but not so overwhelmed that it becomes a chore. This also gives your arm a break when it comes time to wipe the pages clean. If your child is feeling full of spunk and wants to do a few more pages then by all mean allow them to continue on but don’t force them to do a set number of pages. I would usually say “lets try for four pages today” or “lets see how many we can get done without any mistakes” and that was usually all my son needed to go crazy with the crayons.

I suggest using Crayola crayons for this book since they produce the best colors and don’t smudge when you touch other parts of the page. I’ve only tried a few wipe off markers on the back pages and wasn’t all that impressed with how they looked or how they wiped off – one of them left a faint ghost image of the doodle that I drew so I was glad I tested it out before I let my son use it on the pages. Don’t use any type of spray cleaner to try and remove the crayon – this could mar the surface and make future attempts at removal almost impossible. Aside from that, the pages will retain the smell of the cleaner and might irritate a small childs skin. Don’t use any type of Kleenex to remove the crayon or you will end up with lint everywhere and don’t even think about touching the pages with a Kleenex product that has a lotion or moisturizer in it – that is the kiss of death to these books. Stick with a dry paper towel and you should be set to wipe the pages clean.

The Bottom Line

This book has held up to my sons heavy hand as well as my neighbors daughters rough play and shows no signs of wear. You may want to keep an eye on the metal staples that hold the book together and check them from time to time to make sure that they are pressed flat so they won’t catch on skin or clothing – but other than that – this is a 100% kid friendly book. The entire series of “wipe off” books allows a child to learn from repetition which is something that I personally feel is essential when learning the basics like the alphabet, penmanship, basic words and math. If you have a child that knows his or her numbers and loves to write them over and over, I highly suggest checking out this book to give them a head start with the basics of addition. Don’t let the “first grade” label on this book scare you out of trying it. It starts of slowly and progresses at a moderate rate so children of all ages can benefit from it. One of the best things about this book [and all the others in the series] is that if a child makes a mistake he or she can wipe it off and give it another try.

Stats

Name: Easy Wipe Off Addition
Published By: Home Learning Tools, Dalmatian Press
Pages: 16
ISBN: 1-57759-138-0
UPC 00639 92019
Price: $ 2.67 / $2.99


As always, thanks for the visit…

^V^ Freak ^V^

© 2003 Freak369


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