in math and language arts this is a nice series to use during the summer break.
It may be best to buy the books a grade level or two ahead. My son worked the K-1 book prior to beginning Kindergarten. At that time, he knew most of the material in the 1-2 book; however, we liked the K-1 book better because the pages were more inviting (i.e. color).
The activities are short and simple, so they keep the information fresh in your child's mind without requiring much work. Also, higher level material is presented as your child progresses through the workbook. However, this higher level material builds on what has already been learned/reviewed so it's not perceived as being harder.
There is a contract preceeding each section where you and your child establish expectations and potential rewards. There is also a reading list which includes books available in the public library. My son enjoyed marking his progress on the contract and counting the days till his next reward.
The K-1 book is good. It is in color, and it includes a certificate that you can give your child when s/he completes the workbook. The 1-2 book is almost as good as the K-1 book, but the version that we had was not in color. Summer Bridge Activities: Kindergarten to 1st Grade
Engaging for the child. Early math, shapes, sound matching, simple reading and other language activities of different types, styles, and complexities. Tasks get progressively harder toward the new school year. A good general purpose review and prep to keep skills fresh and build a few new ones before schools starts in August. Pretty well-illustrated.Encourages independent reading (though what kids at this age can read is still fairly limited)and offers a suggested reading list. In choosing books for independant reading the key is for the child to enjoy reading challenging materials--let your child choose what interests them as much as possible.
I didn't want our son to forget what he had learned in Kindergarten over the summer, so I decided to challenge him for the 3 months he was off. This book was EXCELLENT! It breaks up the months and the activities so it's not all of the same thing until they get sick of it. The reward system worked great and if we missed a day, our son knew exactly how many pages he had to make up. I will definitely buy the 1 to 2nd grade book in June next year!
As a third grade teacher, I have found this series to be an excellent summer review program. It takes my own children about 15 minutes to do their pages each day, while providing critical review in reading, grammar, and math. I will recommend this book to all of my students' parents next year. Even the highest students can benefit from a short review during the summer.
I have three daughters - ages 9, 6 & 3. My 9 year old will be entering 4th grade this year and the 6 year old will be entering 1st. My 9 year old struggled at the start of 2nd grade. It took her almost a whole month to get back into the swing of things. So, last summer I bought a Summer Bridge Activities book for her. She sailed right into 3rd grade. Her teacher agreed that it made a difference. This summer, I'm having both the 6 year old and the 9 year old use their Summer Bridge Activities books as well as read as time allows. I can already see it helping keep them fresh on what they've already learned in school and I'm sure they will be ready to go in September!
One side note - I bought a similar book at KMart called "Summer Activities" published by Cookie Jar Publishing for $4.99. Guess what....it is almost the same book as Summer Bridge....I mean the same exact pages/activities!!! The only difference is that Summer Bridge has a few extra pages/activities. I wasn't very happy when I discovered this!
I recently purchased this for my son. My daughter and I have been using Summer Bridge since Kindergarten. She definately enjoys the books. She asks me to purchase her one each summer! She is now finishing 4th grade and is eager to start her Summer Bridge book.
The book becomes part of our summer routine. Everyday she does her Summer Bridge page and reads for one hour. After she completes those activities, she is free to play or we all go to the pool.
The activities are fun. The each page (front and back) takes 15 minutes to 30 minutes to complete. The activities in the first two sections are designed to review the material learned during the previous school year. The last section begins to expose the student to material they will learn in the upcoming school year. The first section is 15 days, the second is 20 days and the third is 15 days. Each day the student completes one page. When the student completes each section the receive a "reward" or "treat" that their parent has agreed to in advance. I try to limit the reward to about $5 (unless they want to go somewhere educational like the zoo). In the past our rewards have included a trip to the used book store, going to Dairy Queen, or a trip to the local zoo.'
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