Your little one's thinking abilities and other cognitive skills develop at full speed during their preschool years. And with the current pandemic and online schooling, parents have become even more involved in their child's school life and development. That means buying various kindergarten workbooks as well as educational tools and toys. However, finding the best supplemental workbooks and materials for your kindergartener isn't as easy as people think.
So if you need help in finding the best kindergarten workbook, this article has everything you need! Not only do we have a list of the best workbooks, but we also have a buying guide with comments from early childhood educator, Och Gonzalez, on how you can choose the right workbook for your child.
Quick List - Top Workbooks for Kindergarten
Megan Hewes Butler, Taryn Johnson & Odd Dot
An Interactive Workbook for Your Budding Science Enthusiast
Duyan Books
Filipino Workbook to Prepare Kids for Independent Learning
Och Gonzalez has been an early childhood educator in Manila for over 20 years. As a preschool teacher and grade school academic coach, she has worked with young children and their families to achieve learning goals and address developmental concerns. She has created reading programs that aim to develop literacy skills and a love for reading in young children. She holds an MA in Education from the Ateneo de Manila University and is also the author of the children’s book, “Every Sunday.”
Our recommendation articles are carefully researched and crafted by the mybest Philippines team of writers and editors. To stay true to our company’s mission and vision to help users’ selection process easier, we also collaborate with experts from various fields to ensure that our content stays factual and useful.
The expert oversees the Buying Guide only, and does not determine the products and services featured.
Table of Contents
Here are some key points to consider:
For more detailed information, read through our buying guide below.
The starting age for kindergarten can be anywhere between the ages of four to six years old. So whether you're preparing your child for kindergarten or are just looking for fun, pick an age-appropriate workbook that will cater to your child's developmental needs.
Just like how there are toys appropriate for specific age groups, the same goes with workbooks. Choosing a workbook that is too advanced for your kindergartener may cause them to become frustrated and irritable. As a result, they may opt to do other things instead and not want to use the workbook you bought for them.
So before purchasing a workbook for your child, check if the book is appropriate for your child's age, cognitive skills, and speech and language skills to promote a healthy learning atmosphere and prevent burnout.
Kindergarten is not just about making sure that kids understand academic concepts. Rather, the key skills targeted are those related to personal responsibility and self-direction. Age-appropriate workbooks and activities build confidence in young children and train them to be independent.
If the goals you set for them are reachable with just a bit of guidance, you can keep the activity challenging yet fun. Choosing a workbook suitable for your child’s age and developmental level sets them up for success.
Nobody knows their child as well as a parent does. That is why, when choosing a workbook for your kindergartener, select the one that you think will pique their interest the most. Take a look at their interests now and the kind of things they love to do, like coloring or tracing activities.
Choosing a workbook that complements your child's interests will keep them engaged and excited at the prospect of learning new things. So if they like solving puzzles or animals or superheroes, try to look for kindergarten workbooks that center around those themes and activities.
A workbook based on your child’s interests opens up a wealth of other learning opportunities. Aside from helping them get enthusiastic about accomplishing the exercises, you can also extend the activity beyond the workbook. For instance, if the exercise features animals, you can warm up with a fun background knowledge check about animals or sing an animal song. That way, you can also develop communication skills and get them excited about the task.
Gone are the days of the one size fits all concept in learning. A child, or any student, has a specific learning style, and the acronym VARK describes the four student learning styles—visual, auditory, reading & writing, and kinesthetic. So before settling on a workbook to purchase, keep in mind your child's learning style.
If you notice that your kindergartener becomes enthusiastic and processes information best when there are photos and illustrations involved, the chances are that your child is a visual learner.
Visual learners respond well to arrows, charts, diagrams, and other visualizations of information hierarchy. So look for workbooks that aren't heavy on words and have a good amount of charts and pictures to keep your child engaged long enough for at least a 15-minute study session.
Visual learners typically find doing workbooks easier than other tasks because workbooks contain illustrations. They stay even more engaged when the pictures are colorful and child-friendly, so if you can find workbooks with colored illustrations, that would be a better choice.
Doing “show me,” when encountering a new idea can also be done. If you’re introducing a new lesson, you could model it first and do the first exercise so your visual learner can grasp the concept better.
Auditory learners understand information better when spoken to them rather than reading about it on a piece of paper. These kinds of learners also make for great listeners, so if you believe that your child is an auditory learner, we suggest investing in an audio workbook.
But audio workbooks, especially for kindergarteners, tend to be more expensive because of their added features and aren't easy to come by. So, if you are having trouble getting an audio workbook for your child, you can engage them in a discussion and read the materials to them instead.
It can be tricky to get auditory learners interested in doing workbook exercises. To get them enthusiastic, you could do warm-ups like a silly song or some chanting rhymes related to the exercise. You could also help them focus better by playing soft music or white noise in the background.
Do allow them some leeway when they talk out loud while working; auditory learners often need to hear their thoughts to process them better. Just remind them to speak softly, so that they don’t disturb the people around them.
Children who love to read & write and have a strong learning preference for the written word are probably reading and writing learners. These learners are like the opposite of auditory learners and prefer their learning materials to be word-heavy.
So if your kindergartener is a reading & writing learner, we suggest investing in workbooks that have activities that involve letter recognition, spelling, and writing— all of which are present in a phonics-type workbook.
A workbook is a great way to teach read/write learners new concepts because it is something that already comes naturally to them. However, take care not to limit your child’s activities to just workbooks; make sure they still get a variety of activities for a more well-rounded learning experience.
Kinesthetic learners are students that have high energy and thrive in a learning environment that is hands-on. Kinesthetic learners find it difficult to stand still and focus on one thing but flourish in skill-based tests and other interactive activities.
If your child sounds like the abovementioned, we suggest purchasing workbooks that come with flashcards or puzzles to create an environment that is both holistic and interactive. Having a workbook like this will keep your child entertained and attentive, making study time feel like playtime.
Sitting still for a long period of time can be difficult for kinesthetic learners. Before starting the task, you could do a few exercises like jumping jacks, marching in place, or arm circles to help them release energy before sitting down to do the workbook. Don’t forget to schedule breaks in between tasks so that they don’t get restless.
Several workbooks on the market cover every subject from English to maths. And though this may seem like a good thing and a way to save money since it has everything you need, having a workbook dedicated to just one subject will help keep your child focused on the task at hand.
Jumping from one topic to another can cause your child to become confused, especially if they didn't completely grasp the ideas of one topic before moving forward to another. So if you will opt to buy a workbook containing every subject, go at a slow and easy pace to give your child ample time to absorb the material.
While an integrated curriculum is preferable to support the whole child, it is also good to zero in on specific skills that you would like to focus on through workbooks. You could set a schedule for each subject with breaks in between to allow your child to reset and shift gears.
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lisa Trumbauer Brain Quest Workbook: Kindergarten | ![]() | The Ultimate Workbook for Your Kindergartener | |
2 | Megan Hewes Butler, Taryn Johnson & Odd Dot TinkerActive Workbooks: Kindergarten Science | ![]() | An Interactive Workbook for Your Budding Science Enthusiast | |
3 | Duyan Books Duyan Learning Workbook 1: Kindergarten | ![]() | Filipino Workbook to Prepare Kids for Independent Learning | |
4 | Highlights Learning Kindergarten Big Fun Workbook | ![]() | Keep Kiddos Engaged With Matching Games and More | |
5 | WS Pacific Publications Basic Skills: Reasoning Workbook | ![]() | Introduce Simple Concepts and Logical Reasoning | |
6 | WS Pacific Publications Ang Bagong Filipino (Kinder) | ![]() | Prepares Kindergarteners for Primary School | |
7 | WS Pacific Publications My Beginner Maths Workbook | ![]() | Develop Your Child’s Math Skills With Number Puzzles | |
8 | WS Pacific Publications My Beginner English Workbook | ![]() | Reinforce Your Kindergartener’s Basic English Skills | |
9 | Whiz Kidsz Dreamland Phonics Alphabet Sounds (A to Z) | ![]() | Expand Your Kid's Comprehension and Vocabulary | |
10 | Duyan Books Perry & Winkle: Alphabet Writing Workbook Trade | ![]() | Alphabet Workbook for Honing Writing Skills |
Teaching a child new topics is challenging work. But if you ever needed a workbook to help you navigate through steep learning curves— Lisa Trumbauer's Brain Quest Workbook for kindergarteners has everything you are looking for and then some!
This curriculum-based workbook has tons of exercises covering basic logical reasoning to math, science, and language. And in all its 320-pages, this workbook also features fun games to keep your little one engaged and committed to the learning experience.
Brain Quest's Kindergarten workbook comes with a Brain Quest mini-deck, more than 150 stickers, a fold-out poster, and an award certificate. The workbook is also highly organized, so you and your child should have no problem navigating through it despite the many topics it covers.
TinkerActive workbooks aren't like the usual workbooks on the market. This book, written by Megan Hewes Butler, Taryn Johnson, and Odd Dot, helps put what your child has learned in theory into practice by providing tinkering, making, and engineering activities using common household materials.
This TinkerActive workbook also includes interactive exercises covering science and problem-solving skills for your budding science enthusiast and is ideal for kinesthetic and visual learners. It even comes with fun stickers and a merit badge to be awarded once your kindergartener has gone through the whole book!
Teaching isn't as easy as people imagine— especially if your student is your child and at an age where curiosity blooms but focus falters. So for parents looking for help in navigating through the challenges of online distance learning, Duyan Books offers you a solution with their Duyan Learning Workbook 1.
This academically aligned workbook, crafted by only the highest-trained educators, contains 48 pages of exciting writing, drawing, and coloring exercises, all in the Filipino language. It is also best for visual and reading & writing learners and aims to prepare all schoolchildren for studying both in and outside the classroom setting.
Build up your kindergartener's skill and confidence with Highlights Learning's Kindergarten Big Fun Workbook! This 250-page workbook has content for all learning styles, all while covering topics like language arts, phonics, reasoning, and more.
This book has everything from poems to puzzles and conventional workbook practice exercises to keep your child engaged in learning new concepts and inspired to cultivate ideas. The Kindergarten Big Fun Workbook is best for ages 5 to 6 and comes with a complementary achievement certificate you could award to your child.
Exposing your child early to simple exercises involving logical reasoning will not only enhance their cognitive skills but influence the way they approach problems, think of ideas, and solve issues. So if you're on the market for a workbook to fine-tune your child's cognitive skills, The Basic Skills: Reasoning Workbook has everything you need.
The Basic Skills: Reasoning Workbook will keep your kindergartener busy as it comes packed with several number sequencing, shapes, and pattern activities, as well as colorful illustrations to keep your child interested. This workbook introduces simple topics and is best for visual learners aged 5 to 7.
Right after kindergarten comes primary school, commonly known here in the Philippines as grade school. So for parents looking for workbooks that will help make that shift from preschool to grade school as trouble-free as possible for their child, the Ang Bagong Filipino Workbook has everything you need and more.
Ang Bagong Filipino Workbook focuses on developing the reading and language skills of your child. This workbook is also compliant with the K-12 curriculum and comes with an answer key. It includes activities about the human body, vowels & consonants, and more. This book is best for visual and reading & writing learners.
Spark your child's imagination and interest in mathematics with WS Pacific Publications' 192-page beginner maths workbook. This workbook comes with exciting illustrated exercises like sudoku, number puzzles, tracing, and simple counting activities to keep your kindergartener hooked.
This workbook is ideal for parents who struggle to get their child interested in learning new topics regarding maths, patterns, and sequencing. The My Beginner Maths Workbook is also appropriate for children between the ages of 4 to 6. And will work amazingly with little ones who excel in learning when exposed to visuals.
Improve and develop your child's understanding of language arts with the My Beginner English Workbook from WS Pacific Publications. This 192-page workbook is best for visual and reading & writing learners and features over a hundred eye-catching illustrated activities that will surely keep your child engaged.
So if you've noticed that your child is fond of writing or reading, your blooming bookworm will love the My Beginner English Workbook, which introduces new words, phonics, and wordplay. It even has matching activities and mazes that you could do together with your child as a fun learning opportunity to reinforce their language skills!
What makes this book a cut above the rest on our list is that it can be used repeatedly as you or your child can wipe clean the pages after answering! This is a great workbook for kids to have all-around learning about the alphabet as they are not only presented with the alphabet but they are also given different words to help them expand their vocabulary.
This workbook comes packed with several colorful illustrations, matching, and tracing-type activities. This workbook provides a kind of flow that parents could use to develop their little one's appreciation for language, and serve as a bonding opportunity to create a holistic home learning environment for your child.
For first-time learners, writing is a skill that does not come easy. That is why when teaching kindergarteners, parents or teachers should facilitate and guide children to the best of their abilities. Luckily, there are workbooks such as Duyan Books' Perry & Winkle: Alphabet Writing Workbook to help.
With its colorful cover, this writing workbook hopes to catch the attention of your little ones and inspire them to practice writing the alphabet. This workbook is ideal for kindergarteners who are still figuring out how to hold a pencil right and for reading & writing learners aged 8 years old and below.
For information and tips on how you can create a more conducive learning space for your child, read below as Och Gonzalez gives us some of her insights!
When introducing your child to a workbook, you could first try to turn it into a game. You could take turns answering the questions. Another alternative is to set it up like a race – parents can have their own duplicate sheets to answer as the child does his or hers, and then see who finishes first and gets a prize.
However, take care not to fall into the habit of rewarding your child with stickers and stamps for finishing an exercise. While this does make working more fun, it has the drawback of training your child to work for external rewards.
The better thing to do is to shift their mindset from “working” to “learning,” so that their motivation becomes internal. When you frame doing workbooks as the reward in itself (e.g. “You get to learn new things and become independent!), it stops looking like a boring job to do. This develops a love for learning, which is the intrinsic motivation that you should be aiming for to prepare your child to be a lifelong learner.
First things firstーmake sure they are not sleepy or hungry. During summer vacations or when there’s no school, the best time to do workbooks is in the morning because they are still alert, and also because it teaches them that studying is a priority. Study areas should be well-lit and uncluttered, and all the materials they need should be within reach. Ideally, the chair and table they work on should be child-sized for maximum comfort.
Get your child ready with fun warm-up activities like songs, stories, and fine motor activities. Just before starting on each exercise, make sure to explain the instructions carefully so that they can proceed with minimal supervision.
This depends on the children’s individual personalities and behavior. But generally, it’s better for them to do their work together because it fosters companionship and reinforces the concept of study time.
It’s also a good opportunity to teach them appropriate study behavior, like how to work quietly around other people and how to respect other people’s spaces. Older siblings can coach younger siblings, which promotes bonding.
Remember that your role is to guide, not to hover. Over-guidance can make your child even more dependent on you, which defeats the purpose of the workbook. Try not to get stressed when your child doesn’t get it right; keep in mind that the main goal at the kindergarten level is to develop independence and a positive attitude towards learning. Keep your eye on progress, not perfection!
Another note - don’t get stuck in the learning styles mode. While learning styles are helpful, they can sometimes lead to pigeonholing children into categories. It should not be the end-all and be-all of teaching. The emphasis must be on the whole child, so the best approach would be to plan a variety of activities that engage your child in all areas of development.
Curious about which workbooks Och Gonzalez recommends? See some of them below and know why they are her top picks!
Workbooks aren't the only thing that can help develop your child's cognitive and thinking abilities. So if you need help looking for the best supplementary materials for your little one's education, we've got you covered! Take a look at the following articles below, and you might find just what you need.
10 Best Kindergarten Activity Books in the Philippines 2022 | Buying Guide Reviewed by Early Childhood Educator
10 Best Worksheets for Kindergarten in the Philippines 2022 | Buying Guide Reviewed by Early Childhood Educator
10 Best Cloth Books in the Philippines 2022 | Buying Guide Reviewed by Pediatrician
Author: Mariah Hannah Beatrice G. Caga
Reviewed By: Early Childhood Educator, Och Gonzalez
Our buying guide was carefully researched and crafted by the mybest team of writers and editors, in collaboration with the expert featured in this article. We used the buying guide as a basis for choosing and ranking the product recommendations, and we looked at reviews and ratings from different E-commerce sites like Lazada, Shopee, and more.
No. 1: Lisa Trumbauer|Brain Quest Workbook: Kindergarten
No. 2: Megan Hewes Butler, Taryn Johnson & Odd Dot|TinkerActive Workbooks: Kindergarten Science
No. 3: Duyan Books|Duyan Learning Workbook 1: Kindergarten
No. 4: Highlights Learning|Kindergarten Big Fun Workbook
No. 5: WS Pacific Publications|Basic Skills: Reasoning Workbook
View Full RankingThe descriptions of each product are referenced from content available on manufacturer, brand, and e-commerce sites.
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