The advantages of the Big Words for Little Kids program:
"There are many vocabulary books that use funny stories or selection of new and interesting words in place of a systematic vocabulary approach. When developing the Big Words for Little Kids program, we took a proven vocabulary learning approach and adjusted it to the level of a younger child.....
.....Children using the Big Words for Little Kids program will learn a systematic approach to learning roots and families of words. After becoming comfortable with breaking the familiar words into their parts - prefixes, suffixes, and roots - students will be able to transfer the meaning of these parts to new words.
...The program teaches the Greek and Latin roots, prefixes and suffixes of words. Each new root your child learns will enable him or her to learn the meaning of other related words. The combination of generative vocabulary building technique with developmentally appropriate and gradually progressing sets of words makes the Big Words for Little Kids program an ideal teaching tool for young readers."
Though written for ages 8-11, I decided to tweak it to use for the entire family.
For example, using Lesson 1 from the curriculum:
On Monday we write the "word" and define it.
Tuesday we share a 'Tidbit' of information from the book and complete a verbal sentence with the correct word.
Wednesday we choose the correct definition for a sentence given verbally.
Thursday we make a sentence with each of the new words.
Friday we take the Dictionary Challenge looking up a small list of new words.
Leaving our work up on the board throughout the week helps reinforce the new words and their meanings.
Although I do disagree with the authors' statement that exposing children to interesting books is not the best way to build vocabulary, we did enjoy using this book.
Disclaimer:
I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review. This post written and property of Homeschool Circus and can be found at: www.upatdawnreadytowork.com.