Cards received at no cost to me and I was compensated for my time to review.

Affiliate links included in post.  All opinions are my own.

Throughout our homeschool journey — going on year 12 now! — I’ve been a BIG fan of collecting the ‘extras’.

You know…the completely cool tools and games which may not be core to your curriculum, but are definitely nice to have around.  I’ve found these everywhere over time: at yard sales, thrift shops, Amazon deals and even for free.

So when Silver Dolphin Books wanted to send my boys their Everything You Need to Know fact cards, I gladly accepted!

To be perfectly honest, excitement was on our radar.  It had been some time since a homeschool order had come to our door.

Learning Materials in our Homeschool

Kids are often (or always) asking questions about the world around them.  My almost six-year-old entering Kindergarten and 9-year-old rising 4th grader are no different, and I want to pique and help satisfy their natural curiosity.

In our homeschool, I am also a big fan of strewing.

Put simply, this means to lay out various learning materials for our children to find and engage on their own.  On bookcases, shelves, in the kitchen or family room, and even outside at times, there are several items of interest.

I rarely have to encourage the kids to read or play with these materials.

Often, they will take note on their own and dive into some independent learning (not always the kindergartner, but definitely the older children).  Especially when something NEW is discovered in an area of our house!

Strewing was my exact approach when our Silver Dolphin fact cards came in — open the box, place on a table and wait.

I was not disappointed. 🙂

Everything You Need to Know Fact Cards

We received a set of fact cards for K-1st grade and also 2nd-3rd grade.  I noticed a 4th-5th grade fact card set on Amazon as well.

Developed in collaboration with Smithsonian Institute, Silver Dolphin’s cards are a wonderful ‘extra’ for your homeschool:

• 275 card stock quality cards per set
• beautiful color photographs and illustrations
• all cards housed in a sturdy box with flip lid (stays attached!)
• large variety of topic areas such as animal homes, holidays, the 5 senses, transportation (K-1st) or US Presidents, the world of plants, feathered friends and world wonders (2nd-3rd).

My favorite part of these cards are the photos — so large and clear.

K-1 on left; 2nd-3rd on right

Using Fact Cards for Homeschool

There are numerous ways these cards could be used!

• memorize the short facts on cards
• enhance core history or science curriculum with pictures
• fill time as a child waits on Mom (don’t we all need those 5-10 minutes fillers!?)
• use as basis to create a unit study
• play games such as Jeopardy after child has memorized some facts on the cards
• keep in the car for on-the-go learning or road trips
• compare and contrast information on cards with other information found in books, online, curriculum, etc. Create a Venn diagram of findings
• use cards to engage conversation about the natural world
• ask child to test YOUR knowledge of certain facts
• and MUCH more!

Giveaway of Silver Dolphin Fact Cards

Be sure to follow Silver Dolphin on social media for news and information: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.  Check out their blog as well!

Silver Dolphin is giving away 10 card sets to readers; winners may choose K-1st or 2nd-3rd grade.  Cards only shipped to US addresses.  Giveaway ends 6/30/15.