Best Learning Workbooks for Pre-K and Elementary Students
by Iva-Marie Palmer
Workbooks for kids are no longer limited to the versions available only to educators. Now, parents and caregivers can find an array of workbooks covering a variety of subjects and skills to use at home. From honing reading skills to learning how to code, workbooks can be a great way to help stave off summer break skills loss or to supplement homeschooling lessons and virtual education. In addition to being appealing to kids – with their colorful pages and catchy activities – these workbooks have also been vetted by educators to meet curriculum standards at each grade.
Whether you’re a parent or caregiver looking to prevent learning loss or simply trying to fill in the time that would usually be taken up by other activities, here are some of the best learning workbooks for kids in preschool and elementary school.
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Numbers, Letters, and More! (PAW Patrol)
Available from:Kids who love the hit Nickelodeon show PAW Patrol will love learning their letters and numbers right alongside these furry friends. A full-color activity book with sticks, little learners can trace, color, count, solve puzzles, and practice problem-solving with Chase and the gang.
(Grade Levels: Pre-K – 2)Also available from: -
Dr. Seuss Workbook: Kindergarten
Available from:It’s a workbook — Seuss style! Each page features your child’s favorite Dr. Seuss characters, problems to complete, and puzzles to solve. With exercises in every subject, this kindergarten workbook is an excellent way to reinforce what your child learns at school. For preschoolers, check out Dr. Seuss Workbook: Preschool.
(Grade Levels: Pre-K – 3)Also available from:
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Complete Kindergarten Math Workbook
Available from:This official Brightly book is filled with games, activities, challenges, and puzzles, all designed to strengthen your little one’s math skills, all while having fun in the process. This excellent resource–perfect for the classroom and at home– is a great way to help build your child’s confidence in math!
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Step Ahead Series
Available from:These teacher-approved workbooks are a great way to reinforce what kids learn in the classroom while at home. From colors and shapes to spelling and multiplication, parents can feel confident in using these workbooks to supplement their child's education year after year.
(Grade Levels: Pre-K – 2)Also available from:
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Sylvan Language Arts Workbooks Series
Available from:Sylvan Language Arts workbooks focus on skill sets important to each grade level. Kindergarteners can build their sight words and beginning reading skills, while workbooks for upper grades cover reading comprehension and spelling. With vibrant, colorful pages full of games and puzzles, this workbook series will help your child catch up, keep up, and get ahead of the curve — all while having a lot of fun!
(Grade Levels: Pre-K – 5)Also available from:
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Sylvan Math Workbooks Series
Available from:Math is a common enemy for many kids. Whether your child struggles with math or could simply use some extra practice, the range of Sylvan Learning Center’s Math workbooks can help them both build and reinforce their skills. The colorful presentation and engaging activities will draw in kids and the easy-to-follow explanations and examples will keep them hooked. Using one of these over the summer break can help prevent skill loss for kids. If your child excels at math, a workbook at the next grade level could prepare them for the coming school year.
(Grade Levels: Pre-K – 5)Also available from:
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Sylvan Language Arts Jumbo Workbooks Series
Available from:These Jumbo workbooks are just like Sylvan's standard workbooks, but with three times the fun! Combining three of their most popular curriculum-based activity books into one, these workbooks are designed to help kids become familiar with and master basic language arts and reading skills.
(Grade Levels: Pre-K – 5)Also available from:
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Sylvan Math Jumbo Workbooks Series
Available from:The math here is simple – three books in one equals three times the fun! These super-sized workbooks are packed with kid-friendly, educator-approved math activities to help kids learn basic math skills for every grade level. Answer keys make it easy for kids to check their own work, helping them to gain confidence in their skills.
(Grade Levels: Pre-K – 5)Also available from:
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DK Workbooks: Geography
Available from:Whether it’s to reinforce what your child is learning in school or to satisfy the curiosity of a child interested in the world around them, DK’s geography workbooks are excellent tools for nurturing interests in both the academic and personal spheres. Each grade level offers curriculum appropriate activities, including identifying landforms, understanding basic directions, and learning about informational maps at lower grade levels, and increasing understanding of each continent and the earth’s physical features at upper grade levels.
(Grade Levels: Pre-K – 6)Also available from:
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Kindergarten Thinking and Reasoning
Available from:Highlights is well-known by kids and parents for its magazines that are laden with fun puzzles and games. The company’s workbook philosophy centers on the same make-it-fun approach. This thinking and reasoning workbook for kindergarteners features colorful pages of pattern, logic, and sequencing exercises. (Additional workbooks can be found in the Highlights Learning Fun Workbooks series.)
(Grade Levels: K – 1)Also available from: -
Kindergarten Hands-On STEAM Learning Fun Workbook
Available from:With a growing emphasis on a well-rounded STEAM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Art-Math) education, if you’re a parent or caregiver seeking ways to integrate those subject areas into your child’s learning, look no further. This workbook – another from Highlights – features both on-the-page activities and ideas for experiments, as well as projects that kindergarteners and their parents can try with common household materials.
(Grade Levels: K – 1)Also available from: -
Sylvan Summer Smart Workbook Series
Available from:Designed to be used over summer break between grade levels, each volume of this Sylvan workbook collection covers both math and reading skills. Activities are designed to prevent the summer slide, as research shows kids can lose up to 2.5 months of knowledge from the previous grade while on their summer break.
(Grade Levels: K – 5)Also available from:
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Mad Libs Workbooks
Available from:Everyone knows Mad Libs as a laugh-out-loud sleepover or party game. These Mad Libs workbooks feature the same fun vibe, making them especially great for reluctant learners. Each book features language arts activities that align with Common Core standards and offers a blend of lessons around phonics, reading comprehension, and vocabulary followed by fill-in-the-blank word games in the Mad Libs tradition.
(Grade Levels: 1 – 2)Also available from:
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DK Workbooks: Coding with Scratch Workbook
Available from:Any young kid who wants to learn to code can get a lot out of this DK workbook (or any of the other DK workbooks devoted to learning code). This particular workbook is a great start for kids ages six to nine years old who want to program using Scratch (available to use for free at scratch.mit.edu). Activities include making basic animations and simple games, and lessons feature written quizzes to test kids’ knowledge.
(Grade Levels: 1 – 4)Also available from:
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DK Workbooks: Handwriting: Cursive, Third Grade
Available from:Sure, kids are used to tapping away at keyboards and screens to communicate, but penmanship still matters. Little kids can check out a DK workbook to practice printing skills, while older kids can work on cursive writing – which may not be taught in some schools, but is still said to spur brain activity in a way that typing does not.
(Grade Levels: 2 – 4)Also available from: -
Mrs Wordsmith Series
Available from:The folks at Mrs. Wordsmith understand that for a generation accustomed to fast-paced, bite-sized content at their fingertips, one of the best ways to help today’s kids learn is through play. Created in partnership with the world’s most influential childhood literacy experts, their curriculum and teacher-approved books and games aim to foster a love of reading and help kids 4-13 learn language through beautiful illustrations, humor, relatable characters, and gameplay that makes learning fun.
(Grade Levels: Pre-K – 6)Also available from:
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DK Eyewitness Workbook Series
Available from:Meant to accompany DK’s iconic Eyewitness Books series for kids, these workbooks are filled with top-notch guides and activities. Each book is divided up into sections with fast facts and practical activities — drawing, fill-in-the-black exercises, true or false questions, and hands-on activities — that make learning fun.
(Grade Levels: 5 – 8)Also available from:
