Thinking Tree Review: Dyslexia Games

Hello again! I’m just really really enjoying our homeschool materials this year, so I thought I’d share more about what we are using!

We began adding some Thinking Tree journals for this year, and already I’m seeing great results! Read more about the journals HERE and our first week of using them HERE!

Dyslexia Games

Dyslexia Games is published by the same author that publishes the Thinking Tree Journals. These are not just for dyslexic kids! It’s a series of logic and art puzzles that get kids thinking about and noticing subtle differences in our written language! But they don’t even know they are learning! And I really think that’s the best part. These improve their thinking and reading skills without the drill and kill method of traditional schooling.

Last week while big brother was in his Japanese class, I had the younger set try these out, and at first, my son was so disappointed that I had brought school activities for them to do. But I told him they were brain games and he got that mischief sort of grin and I never heard another complaint. I told them all they only had to try one page and they just kept going. In the end, I was the one who had to get them to stop.

In fact, little brother was jealous that I didn’t bring his journal too. I love that!

This week, they dove in without complaint (except for my oldest daughter who didn’t sleep well the night before so she laid her head down on the table) After awhile, I noticed my middle son had begun doing his own thing on the facing page:

This is my son who hates drawing and coloring, and has NEVER drawn anything but stick figures! He was SO PROUD of his work. He discussed with me how he made sure to draw all the details of what he saw around his sister as she napped. And as he noticed more, he added more. Even down to some cables hanging from the ceiling behind her and the poster saying Just Go (an advert seeking more missionaries). This is after using Dyslexia Games for less than two weeks!

Soon, my daughter perked up and joined in. She has taken her time and very carefully filled in her pages. I love her attention to detail.

My youngest daughter is my little firecracker. If there is something everyone wants to do (a fun activity or not) she automatically wants to do something else. We once told her she was so contrary to which she replied, “I am NOT!” Ha! So she is the reluctant one when it comes to just about everything.  She needs more encouragement than the rest but I think it’s because she craves the one-on-one attention. And I’m okay with that!

My kids began this series as if it were just another workbook. But this week they looked forward to it as something they “got” to do. That’s a huge deal for us, especially having gone through previous years where I felt like I was dragging them kicking and screaming through their work.

You can get Dyslexia Games on their website or on Amazon. But on their website, you have the option of purchasing the print version or a downloadable version to print it out yourself. Since I have a couple kids going through the same series, I chose to download so I could print as many as I needed.

We are using Series A and B so far and I’m thinking about getting Series C for my oldest.

Series A is for ages 5-8 and is for new readers and non-readers. It comes with 6 books:

• Art First
• Puzzling Patterns
• Draw & Spell
• Letter Challenge
• Word Hunt 1
• Practice Pages

 

Series B is for ages 8-12 and is for struggling readers. It comes with 8 books (two not shown here):

• Brain Food
• I,Q. Challenge
• Animal Art
• Animal Talk
• Silly Animal Rhymes
• Word Hunt 2
• Practice Pages 2
• Creative Copywork

 

If you end up giving these books a try, I’d really like to know what you think! I was very surprised at how much my kids enjoyed them!

(I am not receiving compensation for my review. I just really like these books!)

~Jamie