Wordly Wise 3000 (2nd edition) for grades K-1 is a bright, colorful, and fun way to cover vocabulary with your kindergartener and first grader. The Teacher's Resource Packet is required, and it includes a Teacher's Resource Book, concept cards, and picture cards. The Teacher's Resource Book includes lesson plans, stories, and instructions that are needed to use the student workbook. The concept cards and pictures cards are used in the lessons to teach the vocabulary words. You will need a consumable student workbook for each child.

Book K has 12 lessons, and Book 1 has 15 lessons. Since each lesson is scheduled to be completed over two weeks, Book K will take 24 weeks, and Book 1 will take 30 weeks. The first week for each lesson is scheduled for three days, and the second week for each lesson is scheduled for four days. I found the daily lessons to take about 15-25 minutes.

Each lesson teaches ten vocabulary words. Every vocabulary word is introduced with a fun and colorful picture card to show the child what the word means. A large, colorful concept card is used to introduce the week's theme. The lessons center on a story that is read aloud, allowing the child to hear the words used in context. In addition to the story, there is a poem that ties into the theme of the lesson. In the back of the Teacher's Resource Book, there are reproducible pages for each poem. Each reproducible page lists the week's vocabulary words and has a picture to color. Each lesson also includes "extend and challenge" words that are presented at the end, adding exposure to more difficult words.

The colorful and inviting student books include pictures for the read-aloud story, along with various other age appropriate activities to reinforce learning of the vocabulary words (mostly in the form of mazes, circling, and coloring). There isn't any handwriting in Book K and only minimal handwriting in Book 1. Every lesson also includes story sequencing with pictures. In Book K, the child cuts out three pictures and glues them to the page in order; in Book 1 the child labels the pictures with a 1, 2, or 3.

I used the kindergarten book with my 5-year-old son and Book 1 with my 6-year-old son. We all love this program. As soon as they saw the workbooks, picture cards, and concept cards, the boys could not wait to begin. The stories, poems, picture cards, and concept cards do a great job of introducing the vocabulary and holding the child's attention. My boys enjoyed the workbook activities and had fun while learning vocabulary. Because the lesson plans are laid out in the Teacher's Resource Book, this program required no preplanning on my part. The only downfall with this program is the price. The student workbooks are affordable at $10.15 each, but the Teacher's Resource Packet is priced on the EPS website at $69.95. However, all the items included the Teacher's Resource Packet are reusable, so you can use this portion with more than one child. My boys and I love this program. So despite the high price tag, I would still highly recommend it if you're looking for a vocabulary program for your 4 to 7-year-old.

Product review by Courtney Larson, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, May 2009