word wall words for second grade (a review)

i have always said that it would never work for me to homeschool zoe (age 7). she doesn't believe anything i tell her unless it is confirmed by an outside source. this doesn't exactly make for a good learning environment.

that being said, i am always on the lookout for good teaching/learning materials that let her get in some extra learning at home without requiring too much hands-on teaching on my part. word wall words for second grade seems to fit the bill.  in the package ($19.95 from MRM Classroom Connections, LLC) is a number of high frequency words for second graders all surrounded with a mosaic type of pattern.  they can be colored in by your child and then used for a variety of different activities (the package comes with a wide variety of suggestions).

the word wall words are available for first and second graders. some of the ideas for the finished pages are to make a book, hang them from a clothes line to make a banner or to put them on the wall. i thought it would be neat to use them as flashcards to practice reading, recognition and spelling.  words wall words is a 2008 iParenting Media Best Product of the Year Award winner and Mom's Choice Award winner.

zoe and tessa (age 4) both were very excited when the package came.  they love to get anything new.  as soon as they saw the words, they wanted to get out the markers and start coloring.  i think that this product is great if your kids are looking for a coloring project to work on in their own time.  it lets them be creative and artistic while they interact with words that are hard for them to learn in any other way.

the girls enjoy coloring and picking colors to make the words stand out.  but there are a LOT of words in this package, and it takes a long time to color each one.  we haven't gotten very far into the pile, yet their enthusiasm has waned quite a bit. i was disappointed that the words are printed on regular printer paper. for the amount of coloring involved and the different projects that are suggested, i think some form of cardstock would be a better choice.

to be honest, i don't think we are going to be using this product in the way it is intended.  to me it just looks like a lot of busy work.  i was surprised because i thought one of the main reasons to homeschool is to avoid the busy work that can be so prevalent in the public school system.  it takes so long for the girls to completely color one word that i certainly don't think they could do more than one a day.  i'm not sure that this is the best way to practice and learn the high frequency sight words.

if you need to offer your child something to work on while you focus on another child, this might possibly be an option.  otherwise, i think there are other options to make better use of your child's time.

i received a free package of word wall words for second grade to review and try out with my kids.  i was not in any other way compensated for this review.