Wordly Wise 3000

Before our homeschool adventure began, I'd purchased a comprehensive 3rd grade curriculum to "try out" homeschooling my daughter over the summer between second and third grade. Turns out, I began using it sooner than I'd originally thought.

I can't really complain about the curriculum I purchased but when it came to the spelling/vocabulary words it provided as a comprehensive list for my child, it was *way* too easy for her. Even half way through second grade, it did nothing to challenge her.

Last night I was reading through another homeschool blog (http://www.fivejs.com/) where she mentioned using Wordly Wise 3000. I went off to check it out and discovered it might be a good fit for my child. I ordered the third grade workbook, key and test booklets on ebay for about $25 including shipping.

You can find out more about this program at http://intervention.schoolspecialty.com/products/details.cfm?series=2818M

I guess the parent company who makes this curriculum also makes Explode the Code. I've heard good things about that too - although I haven't investigated that yet. One thing I really like is that on the page I listed above, under downloads, you can find a word list by level of each word used in the program. In addition to that, you can visit http://www.wordlywise3000.com/ where you can go through each lesson with your child and then play games. Both of these options are free! Gotta love that.

Ashlee and I sat through the lesson on line for Book 2 lesson 1 today. It was short enough to hold her attention but long enough to go over 9 or 10 vocabulary words while requiring the child to repeat the word aloud and then answer a yes/no, true/false, a) or b) style question about each word covered. My four year old was also interested in the lesson which I thought was pretty cool.

I think I'm going to make some 3x5 cards with all the words from Book 2 and their definitions and play with that until my Book 3 gets here.

I love finding new quality material out there! I hope you find it useful too - even if you don't end up buying the books.

Cheers!