Harcourt Flash Kids Review

############ When I first decided to homeschool Laura, I made a went to a Christian bookstore to look for curriculum. What I saw was used, and I didn't want to order new stuff sight unseen. So, I went to Barnes and Noble. There, they had quite a selection of Spectrum and Harcourt Flash Kids workbooks.

I picked up the Harcourt Flash Kids workbooks for Language Arts, Reading Skills, Cursive Writing, and Writing Skills. They also have Spelling but I am using a Modern Curriculum Press.

I like some of these books. They are colorful and my daughter, for the most part, picks up on the instructions easily. However, they don't seem to be a complete curriculum. I know Harcourt Flash Kids sells complete Curriculum books that are really affordable. But I feel I have to supplement. I just recently picked up Wordly Wise, and am looking at more comprehensive Language Arts programs.

The Language Arts book is comprehensive in that it covers all the necessary skills. However, I sometimes use the worksheets in the 'Learn At Home grade 3' book to complement whatever skill is being taught in the Flash Kids book. Plus, Laura is learning about different Grammar skills, but I wonder if there is enough practice with those skills. For instance, she was learning about commas today. She would re-write a sentence using commas, but there wasn't much else for practice. And, once we are done with commas, there isn't any review later to make sure she understands the principals.

The Reading Skills book is pretty simple for Laura. However, Laura is a good reader. I like the book. It's good practice for things like Main Idea, Context, and Sequence. However, we do a lot of other reading, including many Sonlight literature selections and A Beka readers.

The Cursive Writer is fine to begin cursive writing with, but I think we need something else for more complete writing practice.

I don't like the Writing Skills book. I think the explanations are too confusing for an eight year old.

I haven't used the other workbooks offered.

Basically, the Harcourt Flash Kids workbooks are just that...workbooks. They are great for supplementing or using to prepare for Standardized Tests. But if you use them, please have other materials to work from also.