Review: Rainbow Readiness Book

I had never heard of Rainbow Readiness until I was contacted and asked if I would like to review the product. I was initially confused as to what it was about but it is described as ‘the complete guide to getting your little ones ready for school’. As Bee is a September child, she will not be starting school until September 2017 and I have been looking at doing activities with her at home as she is constantly on the go and loves new things. I will be tired out by the time she starts school! So I was interested to learn more about Rainbow Readiness.

The pack contains:

A book
A stand
28 colourful activity cards
A pen

 

As described on their Facebook page:

• The Rainbow Readiness book is designed to give you, as parents, the insight and support you need to help your children develop key skills and abilities

And I certainly believe it does that!

The Rainbow Readiness pack comes as two sections which work together. Firstly you have a guide which discusses your childs development in detail; and then you have activity cards with activities to do with your child.

Development Guide:

This book talks in detail about child development but in an easy way to understand. It is ‘designed to give you, as parents, the insight and support you need to help your chiildren develop key skills and abilities that form a solid foundation for learning,’

Development areas covered are:

• Personal, Social and Emotional
• Language for Communication and Expression
• Physical Development
• Literacy Development
• Mathematics Development
• Understanding the World
• Creative Development

These sections are in line with the British National Curriculum Early Years Foundation Stage guidelines and each section in the book is represented by a colour of the rainbow which ties in with the activity cards.

Each section then has a detailed explanation of that particular area of development and how you can help your child develop. At the end of each section is a ‘record’; a list of things you child should be able to do or at least be working towards before going to school.

Activity Cards:

I have to say I love the activity cards. They are wipe clean so can be used over and over and won’t be damaged easily. A whiteboard marker is also sent with the cards and a handy stand is also part of the cards to make it easier to keep the cards together. All the cards are colour coded to coincide with the colour used in the book to describe the different developmental areas. For example, ‘understanding the world’ was in a purple section and the activity cards relating to understanding the world also have a purple border. However, most of the activities cover other development areas and these colours are incorporated into a ‘rainbow’ in the corner of the card. This makes it easier for the parent to know which development skill they are working on and helps them to find certain activities if they are focusing on one particular development skill at a time.

There are a number of different activities that can be done:

• Make and do
• My projects
• Out and about
• Ages and stages

What I particular like about the activity cards is that at the back of each card is a ‘How did I do’ record with 2 simple things to record:

The things I am brilliant at are…
The things I’ll have fun trying again are…

This allows the parents to keep a record of the things the child may still need to work on. It also does not put undue pressure on the child or the parent that the child MUST be able to do these things.

The 28 activities are all simple things that can be done and don’t take too much time. Activities such as splashing balloons, playing shop, outdoor art and making a mini garden. Even activities on day outs such as the zoo and aquarium are covered with activities to do when you get there.

In addition to this I love the way that the activities cards are designed for the children….not for the parents. The activity cards tell the child what to do rather than explaining to the parent what needs to be done, therefore making the child feel more in control and helping them with the confidence and independence. (Clearly the parents would need to read what the card says!)

I have to admit we haven’t done any of the activities yet before getting this review live, but looking through them all they are all doable and we are looking forward to starting work on them in the half term break and then over the next year until Bee starts school.

I think this is the perfect addition for any parent that would like to help get their child ready for school. Yes some of the activities are straightforward but the detail that has gone into the books, explaining development stages and linking them clearly to activities makes it worthwhile.

Rainbow Readiness is available in the UAE at the price of 85 AED. If you are abroad then delivery will need to be discussed with them.

Alternatively Rainbow Readiness is available as an eBook and eActivities. Have a search for them on your preferred eBook store.

The product can be posted to the UK at a cost of £32 including shipping. You can find out more on their facebook page Rainbow Readiness.

You can learn more about the product in a interview with one of the authors in my Saturday Spotlight Rainbow Readiness feature.

 

Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of Rainbow Readiness for the purposes of review. However all thoughts and opinions are my own.