Fun-Schooling Workbooks by Sarah Janisse Brown

Overview

As a homeschool parent of two, I cannot tell you how many of these notebooks I’ve purchased. Kid #1 has enjoyed several math books, most recently the Minecraft one pictured above, but it’s mostly Kid #2 who flourishes with these open-ended, wonderfully illustrated books. She’s run through at least four. Her latest, pictured above, is the most lined + obviously crafted for a child whose imagination needs lots of space for embellishments. Author and illustrator Sarah Janisse Brown sells playful + imaginative notebooks by grade level or by subject under the title: Fun-Schooling. We use ours most on road trips, where there’s a constant need for busy hands while we play audiobooks or music throughout the car, and also as filler for downtime during another kiddo’s 30-minute class.

Most of the books I’ve seen, all of nine now, are nonlinear + built for browsing. Like a typical activity book, the user can stop to do a page as they like, then move on as desired. The skills built may or may not build on each other, depending on your subject, but the creative ideas, games + drawing activities offer different ways to engage with the material that seem to spark each user differently. Our first Fun-Schooling notebooks were two of a kind, simple journals with some cute animal drawings for ages 5-7. My kids completely filled them out, but entirely differently. I loved how they were able to choose a page + approach as they liked. There’s really no way to go wrong with these. If your child simply wants to color across the journal, it’s fine! If they want to practice cursive + make each letter beautiful, there’s room for that too.

This year’s Minecraft book hasn’t been written in because the kids have taken the challenges literally. They create a Minecraft world + then build according to the posted rules. But now that it’s car ride season, I know the mazes will be done first + I’ll bet some of the cube drawing challenges will also be undertaken on our summer adventures. Because one of my kids enjoys workbooks, I have continued to buy a few of these ones each year + they never go to waste! I highly recommend them as an open-ended material to keep in the car.

Who is this book written for?

Homeschooling kiddos with particular interests will likely find a Fun-Schooling notebook that’s fulfills their quirky needs. Parents who wish to inspire a love of writing + art will also enjoy perusing these books + buying them for lucky kiddos – or even filling them out themselves!