We’ve been attempting to get ready for first grade in a myriad of ways lately, but our emphasis has been primarily towards location rather than academics. The Cat definitely has academic strengths, but there are some topics that he needs to learn more about so that he is comfortable entering his new school (wherever that might be!)

And so, I was glad that the Parentbloggers Network sent me a free-for-review copy of Let’s Get Ready for First Grade! from Cedar Valley Publishing (also available on Amazon.com.)

This thin, easily portable book is laminated so the child can write on it using a China marker. This also makes it less susceptible to spills and damage from active younger siblings. Its size is handy, but also psychologically fantastic given that it isn’t inches worth of material. Instead, pertinent facts and fun exercises are included in a concise, manageable way.

I feel as though I can use this book well, rather than being bogged down by larger workbooks filled with busy-work. The Cat can scan it on his own, or I can quiz him and describe things he may not understand yet. At the bottom of each page, little factoids are available for parents to read to their child to reinforce the lesson or spark discussion.

From vowels and consonants to basic anatomy; from the solar system to using subtrahends, this book has got many topics covered. (And I admit, I don’t recall ever learning the terms "minuend" and "subtrahend" as a child although I was pretty darn good at math!)

I know the Cat has been learning sight words, vowel sounds, and word families in Kindergarten, but the definitions of "prefix" and "suffix" and some other ways of manipulating words haven’t yet been covered, such as contractions and compound words. Similarly, the mathematics section included concepts that haven’t yet been introduced; however, the Cat is such a math whiz that he picked up the different ways in which numbers can be used, such as measuring, money, graphs, and fractions.

My favorite teaching tool in this book is color. For example, the two page spread about vowels and consonants colors each vowel green and each consonant blue. This is particularly useful for explaining how "y" can be a vowel or a consonant. "why" and "happy" color "y" green, but for "yes," the "y" is blue. Similarly, in a different section of the book, "even" and "odd" numbers are colored differently to visually drive home the difference.

The bottom-of-the-page quips cement in the concepts as well: "Can you point to a contraction? You’re smart!" and "What do we call a long word made up of two or more words? How extraordinary!"

For such a thin book, Let’s Get Ready for First Grade! has a tremendous amount of information. I expect that we will bring it out again and again well before first grade begins!

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If YOU think you need this book, head on over to the Parent Bloggers Network campaign-launch post (or mid-campaign round-up, to be posted 4/18) and leave a comment telling us why you think you need the Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten! and Let’s Get Ready for First Grade! books. One lucky commenter will be chosen at random at campaign-end to receive both books!