Back in 2002, I dreaded opening a big thick textbook for any school subject. There’s something heavy about knowing you have 200+ pages of any program to get through, delivered all at once, to be parsed out correctly over ten months.
I had been using Family Fun magazine as my primary schooling inspiration in the 1990s, and loved it! Each month came fresh. Felt like a surprise package of good new ideas!
It dawned on me that we could do something similar for writing and education at home.
- What if we picked one read aloud per month for the whole family?
- What if all the language arts activities and practices were included in one package?
- What if the practices could be modified up or down for a variety of ages and skills?
The Arrow was born—one book to read aloud, one family to listen, four copywork/dictation passages to adapt to all levels + notes in conversational English, one literary element explored, one writing activity to try. The Arrow spread like wildfire. I think you all felt relieved, just like I did. One month at a time.
I must have tapped into something because the Arrow quickly became our best-selling product (still is). We expanded to create similar products for other levels (the Boomerang is the higher level). And we’ve expanded the contents to include discussion questions and book club party ideas.
Today, the monthly Arrow and Boomerang run some 40 pages! We don’t leave you to figure out how to use them either. We provide detailed, user-friendly guidelines, too.
What’s cool is we’ve been at it for 18 years so we have a slew of single issues for a wide variety of titles. You can pick a book you want to read and buy an Arrow or Boomerang to go with it.
For under $12.00 (!), you will purchase a month’s worth of reading, writing, and language arts for multiple ages of kids, complete with guidance for how to grow your writers.
Check out the Single Issues of the Arrow and Boomerang in our store.
We have free samples (click on single issues pages) for you as well. All products are digital and can be printed at home or via any print shop if you prefer.
