Our CC community met for week 12 this week, which means that until the calendar says 2020, we’re in review mode. (And also in Memory Master mode, for those who’ve chosen to pursue that goal.)
Review can be one of those terribly boring, horrifically dry topics. It can also be one of the most engaging, fun parts of homeschooling. It all depends on how you approach it.
We’ve had good results and no groans from true stick in sand review— just me, my Foundations Guide, and a round robin quizzing session. My kids usually don’t mind forming teams or going solo to review orally. Sometimes I even sweeten the deal with small rewards. Who is going to argue over earning a single Skittle for every correct answer? Not my guys.
Some days, though, you need a little more to keep the reviewing from feeling like, well, you know… work. Here are some of the review methods in rotation at my house. No doubt you’ll recognize a few, but some (like the printable games I created for my own family) will be new!
Antiquated Notion’s Connect the Dots Review Game is a simple and fun game. Bonus, it’s is free! It can also be played solo or in teams, competitively or cooperatively. These kinds of flexible review games are my personal favorite! No disappointed players means everyone wins! Bingo is a biggie here, too, and at least one of my kids seem to ask for it every day. lovelifecelebrateblog’s Color Block Bingo is free and gets lots of use. It’s design allows me to focus on areas that need the most work. I have other versions I’ve printed from CC Connected that are in rotation as well. Homeschooling on a Dime has a Lego-based review game that is always popular here. Half a Hundred Acre Woods’ Branium Spinner (we play without the Cranium board game), and Wood Haven’s Roll5 Dice Game are especially popular right now, and since they don’t really require any set up and can be played in a spare 15-minutes of downtime, I’m ok with that! Finally, there’s Dissonant Symphony’s Rocket Review. I’ve seen a couple of versions of this, and use it in class as well as at home. This is fast-paced, and you can play several rounds in a short period. That translates (hopefully) to multiple winners per session, and that’s a huge confidence boost for all of the kids.
Since we’ve got a whole month for review, I wanted to beef up my repertoire. I created two games for my family’s personal use that I’m sharing, just in case anyone else wanted some added variety!
Review Race
The first is weeks 1-12 specific— Review Race. It can be played by any number of players. Print the game board and accompanying cards on heavy cardstock and laminate for repeated use. We’ve played it several times since I put this game together and guys, it’s thorough. “We’ve reviewed every week!” was my 9 year-old’s response and I’m pretty sure she’s not wrong.
Review Race is available for less than 50 cents right now via my daughter’s etsy shop. Click here to hop over and download it today!
Math Menagerie
The biggest hurdle my kids have facing them as they pursue Memory Master is… math. All of them struggle with the 13s, 14s, and 15s, squares, and cubes. Everything else is solid after three previous cycles of formulas and facts. But those five weeks are their soft spots. Knowing this, I made Math Menagerie, a game that focuses exclusively on math. I designed it to have minimal competition; honestly, math is one of the areas I want all of my kids to feel really, really good about going in to middle school. So often kids adopt the “I stink at math” attitude, and it hangs over their heads for the rest of their lives! My kids all still think they math is both easy, fun, and useful— and I want to preserve that! With that in mind, Math Managerie lets kids review all 24 weeks of math memory work while building their own “zoo” of animals on a printable sheet. It’s a super easy concept, but I can tell you that my kids haven’t tired of it yet!
Click here to download your FREE copy of Math Menagerie.
What are your favorite review games? What areas are your focus for review?