Literature Pockets

[Holly]

I see lots of threads with people talking about using Literature Pockets for the coming year, but no real reviews after using them for awhile!  I'm thinking of picking up a couple for my DDs.  Specifically Nursery Rhymes & Folk Tales for my 1st grader and Tall Tales & Caldecott Winner for my 4th grader.  I'm mostly concerned with how much time these take.  Ideally I'd like something they could do pretty much on their own (although I don't mind some prep ahead of time).  

 

Or...if there is something else they can do somewhat independently for language arts, I'd love suggestions there as well.  Something like ETC would be good too.  I need time to work with my older DC, and I'd like to find a few things they can do independently, besides just reading books.  The 6yo loves R&S preschool workbooks, but I think she'll have outgrown them by next year.

Edited March 4, 2016 by Holly

[MASHomeschooler]

My 1st grader did Folk Tales earlier this year, as a fun change of pace between WWE1 and WWE2. It worked well, she enjoyed it and it did have value for her. It was mostly independent, but there was sometimes some prep work and/or explaining what she needs to do before she got started. Things that called for writing sometimes had her interrupting to ask how to spell things, but otherwise it did keep her independently engaged while I worked with her siblings. She did one story per week, I'd say usually working on 3 separate days for about half an hour or a little more, and sometimes longer depending on the activities and her attitude/focus.

[ALB]

We've done Nursery Rhymes, and Folktales and Fairytales, both K-1, and 2-3.  My son really likes the cut/color/glue activities and the crafts but not the writing assignments.  We actually end up skipping those half the time.

It has not been very independent here, except for the time spent coloring and cutting.  I have to prepare quite a bit and help out as they go.  We only do them because my dc like them so much (my ds asked for one for Christmas a couple of years ago!?).

[Storygirl]

We used quite a few Literature Pockets. At our house they were not independent work, but I didn't intend for them to be used that way. We did love them, but they required a lot of prep work. A lot of photocopying, cutting little books to size, cutting construction paper to specified sizes, etc. I'm not kidding -- it's a lot.

 

It was worth it! But in later years when we used History Pockets, I skipped making the big construction paper folder that everything fits in and just had them keep their items in a binder with plastic page protector sleeves. My kids really loved doing these, and they still love getting out the completed pockets and looking through them years later.

 

The projects are cute and make good keepsakes. And they are fun. But they were not independent. That will depend on your child's reading and writing levels and their ability to follow crafty directions without help. We found that they were a good group activity.

[RootAnn]

I have Nursery Rhymes and Folk Tales and Fairy Tales. I bought them for dd#3 who loved her crafts and wanted to do more of them. We made it through most of Folk Tales and some of the Nursery Rhymes ones before I stopped prepping things for her. Once I stopped prepping, they stopped getting done. She liked them, but we didn't always do every little part of each one.

 

I used the Nursery Rhymes one again for ds#2 who ALSO loved his crafts and didn't like it when the stopped coming. We used them as part of memory work, too, as he memorized the rhymes as he did the crafts. Once again, once I stopped prepping everything for him, they stopped happening. I think we almost finished Nursery Rhymes.

 

I might pull out Folk Tales & Fairy Tales for next year. That would make a great addition to our line up. They really don't take much time, but depending on the age level of the kid, they might take supervision time. I'll probably put dd#3 in charge of helping ds#2 do them. (Dollars to donuts that ds#1 will want to do them, too.) 

 

I'll echo Storygirl. They are fun. They weren't independent in our house. They really weren't a big 'literature' addition -- just a craft outlet for someone who loves cutting/pasting & coloring. (They really wanted varied crafts & not just paper ones, but I don't organize such things. It was always better to just have them sent to us, ready to go!)

[Holly]

Thanks for the reviews...I can see these getting set aside, but I'd like to give it a try anyway!  They love anything crafty, and we don't usually get to "extras" like this.  I think I'll just start with one book for each girl and see how it goes.  I think the Nursery Rhymes would be a big hit for my 6yo.  She loves memorizing poems and nursery rhymes!  I imagine the older could help the younger quite a bit, so they probably wouldn't need much from me once I get it all printed out.  The Tall Tales seems like a lot of fun...maybe my 6yo could do some of the art projects along side my 9yo and skip the writing portions.

 

Root Ann, I keep checking out all those kits too, but they are sooo expensive!  I don't mind doing some prep work at the beginning of the year, but I dislike doing it on a daily basis.  I think if these are fairly ready-to-go, I'll be able to fit them in.

[RootAnn]

The prepackaged crafts that we used weren't expensive for what you got. The stuff out there now IS. That is why I (and my kids) we're so numbed when they went away.

 

Good luck with the Lit Pockets!