Have you ever wondered if your child was understanding and comprehending what they were reading? My oldest son was a late bloomer when it came to reading and I wanted to make sure he understood the books that I chose for him. I came across a wonderful website called Fortunately For You Books.
Fortunately For You Books carries a variety of hands on ways of teaching reading comprehension with your child’s favorite stories. Our first visit to their site brought us to their Magic Treehouse Pockets of Time Series. These books were popular with my son but I wanted to make sure he was really reading and understanding them. We loved this approach so much we have used almost every type of product they have in their store.
My son now loves to read, he now understands what he has read, and enjoys doing his schoolwork. All with the help of Fortunately For You Books.
Fortunately For You Books has several products which include the following.
Pockets of Time-
Pockets of Time takes your child’s storybook and turns it into a hands on learning experience. For every chapter in the story, there is a set of cards with the chapter’s main storyline on them. Your child colors each card as described and puts them in order of the events in the chapter. Each chapter cards are placed in there own individual pockets and stored in a folder of your choice.
Some titles include- Magic Treehouse series, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, Little House series, The Little’s, Sarah, Plain & Tall series and much more.
Pockets of Time- Magic Treehouse- Tonight on the Titanic
Little Pockets of Time-
Little Pockets of Time is designed for preschool aged children. Basic skills from the story are taken and reinforced through matching activities. They then place it into a pocket.
Some titles include- Eric Carle books, Peter Rabbit’s Halloween
Remember Me Pockets-
Remember Me Pockets is similar to the pockets of time in that it uses a pocket to store the activities. This has special remembrances all through the month. The activities consist of fun, historical and reflective information.
Each month consists of the following pockets:
Author birthdays
Remember Me Monthly
Remember Me Weekly
Remember Me Daily
If you have a child who has a birthday that month there is a special pocket for them too.
For instance, you will learn about holidays, special events, special people, and daily events that happen in that particular month. What a great way to add a little extra to your curriculum without having to do the research for it. It goes along each month’s calendar and can be added easily to what you’re already studying.
Sticker Studies-
Sticker Studies is another way for your child to learn with literature without the boring drills or writing. With each study you print off the sheets which go along with the pages in the story. You print off the answers onto a sticker sheet or colored paper and glue. As you read the story you answer the questions in the study by placing the correct stickers in the boxes next to the questions.
My family has found this to be so much fun. They are excited about finding the correct answer and putting the sticker on the appropriate question.
Picture of P is for Pilgrim Sticker Study
Books in this study are:
P is for Pilgrim, I is for Idea, S is for Star, and D is for Democracy
Lines of Time-
Lines of Time is similar to the Pockets of Time but instead of a pocket, a timeline template is given. The story is represented by boxes and graphics which are placed almost like a board game. You then have extra graphics or words to place in the appropriate spot to put the story in sequential order. You then can see if your child has read and understood the story. You can connect them and place on a wall or in a binder or folder.
Picture of Lines of Time- Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving
Some titles in this series are:
Tuck Everlasting, Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving, Twas the Night Before Christmas, A Wrinkle in Time and more.
Also included are Little Lines of Time for your preschooler. Titles include:
Happy Thanksgiving, Biscuit, Dream Snow and Corduroy’s Best Halloween Ever!
Tags of Time-
Tags of time have the similar concept as the Pockets of Time, but use tags instead of pockets. Each tag comes with a chapter number clipart and picture to glue where ever they would like on the tag and then they color each main idea strip and glue them in order of the events in that chapter. This is great for the older elementary children who are ready for chapter books.
Some titles in this series include:
Nim’s Island, The Secret Garden, Little House Series, The Courage of Sarah Noble.
Pockets of Copywork-
Pockets of Copywork is four weeks of copywork put into a pocket. Each month is themed with lyrics, poems, bible verses and quotes. Some themes include, freedom, change, hope, thanks, joy, fall, summer, heritage, knowledge, service, love, plenty, and spring.
Grammar By The Book:
Grammar By The Book is a perfect way to reinforce grammar with any book your child would like to read. It’s not restricted to grammar books or worksheets but allows you to teach the grammar rules through everyday reading. Your child can see the grammar rules being used and applied as they read each story. This is a great way to teach the rules without using stuffy worksheets and drills. You can use it with every book and grade level in your home.
Check out what Fortunately For You Books has to offer. They have something for all ages from preschool to high school. Each month they feature a free product of the month and also offer a Dollar Menu. You can visit their website @ www.fortunatelyforyoubooks.com.
Written by Lynn Pitts, mom of 3, from Big Sky Country Montana. You can read more about our life at Learning by Living.
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