Review of PandaParents

If you are looking for preschool learning opportunities, you have to check out PandaParents! One of the saddest things about all of my children being teenagers is that I won't ever again use cute programs like this one (hmmm - there's always grandchildren...someday!), but one of the happiest things about being on the Homeschool Review Crew is that I can still check them out! PandaParents' program MESSYLEARNING FOR PRESCHOOLERS AND KINDERGARTNERS is a month-to-month program, each month of which includes, for now, a pdf book, online videos, and a pdf workbook. By December, 2018, PandaParents plans to release a physical version of this program.

This program is just the kind of thing that is perfect for littles to "do school." The story books are adorable, with each focusing on a letter or a theme. My favorite was "Scotty Skunk Hears a Scary Sound," probably because I have a thing for alliteration, but another month's story focuses on mommies and babies, while still another addresses the letter M and emotions with "Muffin on the Bench." Workbooks accompany the storybooks and reinforce the learning in the stories. For example, in Scotty Skunk month, the workbook continues the emphasis on the letter "s."

The activities in the workbook are age-appropriate for 3-6 year-olds, including hands-on projects, and I know that my kids would have loved them at those ages! The books are bright and cheerful, and while reading them off the screen is not my preference, it's not like it's a deal breaker, either. And with the advent of physical books on the horizon, if it is a deal breaker for you, all you have to do is wait a few months.

Of course, MESSY is capitalized for a reason; it's an acronym. It stands for:

M - Mixed subjects and activities for integrative learning

E - Engaging activities that challenge minds

S - Simple 1-2-3 steps - read, learn, create

S - Smart designs for creative learning

Y - Yeah - a new way to promote preschool STEM and early brain growth

If all of that sounds exciting to you, be assured that the bright, colorful books and videos will be exciting to your preschooler/kindergartner, too. I promise, it doesn't look like learning. There are memory games, matching games, sorting games, writing, coloring, and tracing, and more. You won't have to go to a bunch of different sites to print off a bunch of different things, and everything will be thematically connected every single month. Again, it's something I really would have enjoyed when my four were little!

There are many ways to connect with PandaParents on social media:

• Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/PandaParentsABC/    
• Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Panda_Parents     
• Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/pandaparents/         

Fortunately, many Crew who reviewed this program *did* have littles test driving PandaParents, so be sure to click the banner below to read their reviews of this program!