So I was talking with a friend of mine a few minutes ago, and she was lamenting to me about how she’s having difficulty finding a good educational activity book for her 4 year old. Just basic stuff like the ABC’s and counting for now. She’s been to a few stores but can’t find anything she likes. So I thought maybe some of the other parents on the SDMB might be able to help.
For those of you who have kids in that age range, what educational activity books do you give them and where can I direct her to find them?
My daughter liked the “Ultimate Skills Builder” book (comes in preschool, K, and 1), which I think I got at Office Depot of all places. We’ve also used some little workbooks that you get at the teacher store, they’re red. OK, that’s not helpful.
One nice tip I got from a friend: when you get a good handwriting/number practice book, take out the pages and put them in plastic page protectors. Use a white-board marker, and voila, a reuseable–and glamorous–book.
What do you mean by “educational activity”? I don’t think a four-year-old has the fine motor skills needed for penmanship; at that age, your only choices are primarily counting, phonics, and letter recognition IMO.
My 4 year old loves it, as does her 6 year old brother. She will play on this thing for ages, and learned a LOT of basics–far more than I would have expected.
It’s well worth the initial expense, and comes with a couple of good books already installed. I’d check eBay, or local stores–I got ours on sale for aboug $30.
We’ve also had a couple of Leapfrog systems, but had a lot of trouble with them–I blame the pens, so I prefer the Powertouch, which is pen-free.