This school year, we have our sixth preschooler. While I don’t like to use a structured curriculum for young ones, they do need something to do. Making messes and climbing bookshelves don’t count! I think that little ones learn best through play, through this they are building skills. When they think they are just playing with something but we see the educational and skill building value in it, then you have found a great thing! This line of products by fundanoodle (a division of Carolina Pad) I think fits that classification.
The various items are grouped by age/ability and labeled with a color. The things we received, I Can Do Fun Activities (Floor Pad) ($11.99) and I Can Doodle (Floor Pad) ($9.99) are both from the Orange group. Orange is Level 1, for those 3 and up — preschool age. Blue is Level 2 for Pre-K to K abilities. Green is Level 3 for K – 1st graders. Purple is Level 4 for 1st – 2nd graders.
The I Can Do Fun Activities! pad is a large 18″ x 18″. Just as the name indicates, there are fun activities found on the 40 pages. Activities that involve using a crayon (or other writing utensil) to build fine motor skills. My youngest and I (or a big sister) were following mazes, drawing houses – complete with doors and windows) and more. There is a sheet of reward stickers found in the back. These are tied to specific sheets, but can be used as you and your child wish. When we deemed a page finished, he chose a sticker to place on it. There is a circle at the bottom of the page with indicating to place the sticker there. Nice, right? Unless you are a strong-willed three year old who will put it wherever he wants.
My boy wasn’t just busy with crayon on paper. He would often start narrating little stories to accompany the page. He has just started sharing this part of his imagination and I love it! He would often make noises (everything is a gun or blaster, right?) but is now adding dialogue and setting scenes. This is either a coincidence or is sparked by his experience with these pages. I don’t care, we are just enjoying it.
For open-ended options, we have an even larger floor pad 18″ x 24″ that is completely blank. Not only is it blank to use however you wish, but the top is sticky on the back (like the smaller re-positionable note pads most of us are familiar with). I have one that has a permanent home in a hallway with a sideways figure eight on it. This is great for doing exercises often recommended for struggling learners. Tracing that figure eight promotes midline stability and integrating both sides of the brain. Of course, the preschooler loves any opportunity to fill a page, too. This floor pad may be labelled for preschoolers, but all of my children have enjoyed this large blank canvas.
Not all of the products in the fundanoodle line are paper based. There are kits of all types for hands-on learning fun. We have reviews of (nearly) everything available, so be sure to check them all out!
