Bookshark Reading with History A Makes the Transition to Kindergarten Fun

If you love using a literature-based curriculum with hands-on activities, BookShark Reading with History homeschool curriculum is one you’ll want to check out.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for BookShark. I received free product and was compensated for my time. I am not required to give a positive review and all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. See my full disclosure for more information.

In our house, we choose to begin formal homeschool lessons around kindergarten or first grade.

Now, that’s not to say that we don’t have any learning happening in the preschool years. Our homeschool preschool is just more play-based and child-led.

Because of this, I want the transition from this play-based preschool learning to more formal kindergarten lessons to be a smooth one. I want kindergarten curriculum that is hands-on and includes wonderful literature that my little one and I can snuggle up on the couch and read together.

BookShark Reading with History curriculum has helped keep our transition into kindergarten easy and fun. My kindergartener absolutely loves learning and looks forward to each homeschool day.

What is BookShark Reading with History?

BookShark Reading with History is a literature-based history curriculum. It includes history books, leveled readers, and read alouds. My son is really enjoying Level A Intro to the World: Cultures. The program covers 36 weeks of lessons four days each week. The detailed Instructor’s Guide makes it easy to know which book to read each day. Everything you need for teaching history is included in this curriculum.

Since we enjoy hands-on learning so much, we’re also using the optional Hands-On History: World Cultures Kit. This kit contains supplies for nine projects and a full-color instruction booklet stored in a conveniently-sized box. I put the box on the bookshelf with my kindergartener’s work so that I can easily grab the project we need. Each project is in its own labeled bag. This convenience makes it so simple to actually complete the projects. Plus the projects chosen are such fun, including making a catapult, log cabin, and even a volcano.

Why BookShark Reading with History A Makes Homeschooling Kindergarten Easier

First of all, when you’re a busy homeschool parent, you need curriculum that has everything ready for you. Lesson plans that are open and go, all books needed for the year included, and materials for hands-on activities in one place. This is especially true when you are homeschooling multiple children who each have materials and books for their subjects.

Additionally, BookShark’s literature-based curriculum makes it easy to snuggle up with your kindergartener to read through history and read alouds. Little ones especially love being read to, so this makes for a smooth transition into Kindergarten. Leveled readers are included for your kindergartener to practice reading to you. Hands-on activities are also perfect for kindergarten. BookShark offers these through mapwork, the optional hands-on history kit, and through developmental activities as described in the Instructor’s Guide.

Planning is also easier with BookShark. The Instructor’s Guide has a weekly schedule listing all of the pages to read for each book on the day it’s read. Any additional materials needed, such as the timeline or map, are also on this weekly schedule. That makes it so easy to see at a glance what you’ll need to pull out each day. If you choose to include the Hands-On History kit, you’ll also find when to add those on your weekly schedule. The Instructor’s Guide is perfect for busy homeschool parents who just want to teach their kids instead of spending lots of time planning.

BookShark Virtual

An optional add-on to your BookShark curriculum is BookShark Virtual. This is especially helpful for families who school on the go and families with older children. The Instructor’s Guide is here, making it easy to access when you’re not at home. You’ll also find assessments which your students can do in their account and submit.

My kindergartener and I enjoyed the Story Map Tour in our Virtual Seat. On the days that have these, we can see pictures of the places we’re reading about in history. It’s a great way for kids to visualize what they are learning about. This is especially helpful for my little guy as he’s learning about world cultures, starting with Ancient Egypt, so he doesn’t have much background knowledge of what these places look like.

Our Favorite Aspects of BookShark Reading with History

My kindergartener and I have really enjoyed BookShark Reading with History A: Intro to World Cultures. It’s amazing how simple and easy the lessons are, yet how much he’s learning! He loves starting his homeschool day snuggled up on the couch with me. We read just a couple of pages from one of the main history books and then spend time discussing what I read or the pictures on the page. He is so intrigued by what he’s learning, and I’m amazed at how much information he’s retaining.

My little guy loves finding areas we’re studying on the included large fold-out and smaller detailed maps. He also looks forward to the days we include a project from the Hands-On History kit. The projects go wonderfully with the curriculum and they are so fun. The first project my son made was an obelisk when learning about Ancient Egypt. Even weeks later he still loves to carry it around and show others what he made.

The curriculum includes even more hands-on activities than those available in the Hands-On History kit. Each week the Instructor’s Guide shares developmental activities for kindergarteners, including cutting, painting with string, and potato stamping. Additionally, the mapwork allows for hands-on learning as my little one finds the areas we read about in the history lesson and marks them.

We enjoy ending our days with the read aloud. I love that sitting and listening, sometimes with quiet activities to keep him busy, is helping him develop a longer attention span. The books are fun for him to listen to and enjoyable for me to read as well. He also loves to try to read to me with the leveled readers in the curriculum.

Benefits of BookShark Reading with History

• Full year curriculum covers 36 weeks, with lessons four days a week.
• Detailed Instructor’s Guide shows the weekly schedule at a glance, followed by lesson plans, questions to ask, and materials needed.
• Lovely literature that shares world cultures in a fun, engaging way for your kindergartener.
• Age-appropriate lesson plans that are short enough for kindergarten attention spans.
• Lesson plans include developmental activities perfect for kindergarten, such as cutting and painting.
• Optional Hands-On History: World Cultures Kit gives your kindergartener more opportunities for hands-on learning to deepen understanding of the literature read.
• Optional BookShark Virtual helps homeschool parents take learning on the go with digital lesson plans, along with a story book tour that has pictures of places read about in the history books.

Kindergarten is a great age for reading to your kids. Using a literature-based curriculum is a perfect fit to read aloud to your kindergartener while learning about history and geography. BookShark’s program has been a wonderful first homeschool experience for my son. I’m so glad I decided to use it for kindergarten. He looks forward to school each day, and I love to see him so excited about learning! Check out BookShark Reading with History for more information.