I was a very poor student. If there was one comment I could count on seeing
on every single report card it was this: "Steve doesn't work up to his ability."

Why? Because school wasn't interesting. It was boring, structured, mindless
and frankly- pointless. I was bored senseless beginning in about first grade.
The ONLY thing I remember finding interesting was learning to read. Beyond that school was mindless repetition.There were only a handful of truly great learning moments- days when the light bulb of learning clicked on. Invariably those were
days when I was turned loose with some basic tools and an open-ended learning objective. Suddenly the juices began to flow and I became lost in a world of creative learning, self-directed learning, spontaneous learning. I can still remember each
of those days and the projects, discovery and knowledge that emerged from the
fog of classroom boredom. I think those moments have been captured in a
Five in a FOLD&LEARN™.

Each FOLD&LEARN™ provides your students with a treasure box filled with knowledge that a child can take out, explore and put together in 1000 different
ways. The truly great toys--the ones children never outgrow are the ones that
can be assembled in unlimited ways: Legos, Lincoln Logs, Constructix, Play-Doh, etc. These toys can become whatever the child wants them to become.

While every FOLD&LEARN™ is different--there are certain common denominators
in every download. You'll find relevant resources that help explore this week's
story or subject more deeply. There are games to play, artwork to look at, puppets
to tell stories and much, much more. There are pages and pages of resources
which your child can cut, fold, glue, paste, sort, stack, read, handle, talk about
and share. HOW they put these resources together is up to them. There isn't a right or wrong answer.

Some people have said, "How do I do a FOLD&LEARN?"

That's like asking, "How do I do a painting of a barn?" or "How do I make a model of
an airplane?" or "How do I write a story about two girls on a train ride to Chicago?"
There are as many answers as there are painters or builders or writers.

True learning takes place most effectively when you combine simple resources and tools with the creative mind of a child. That's an unbeatable combination. But the truth is that most of us simply don't have the time to gather the resources and tools that a child needs and so we settle for something far less inspiring.

Each Five in a Row FOLD&LEARN™ provides the tools and resources that you
and your child need to take each week's Five in a Row lessons from your manual
and combine them with creativity to find new and unexpected learning treasures.

Jane would spend hours and hours gathering related resources for our children
when she homeschooled. She would find every imaginable resource: artwork, articles, games, puppet shows, craft projects and so much more. But most of
us simply aren't Jane. So she's gathered the learning ideas and concepts for you in Five in a Row and we've gathered the follow-up resources for you in each related FOLD&LEARN™. Together it's a combination that can transform a child's education.

Because you can print out each FOLD&LEARN™ again and again... you can use
it with each child and you can also let one child use it in several different ways.
They can make a lapbook out of one set. You can help guide some directed learning activities with another set. And don't be afraid to print out one or more sets and just hand them to your child (or children) on a project table along with glue, crayons, scissors, popsickle sticks, manila folders, typing paper, cardboard, etc. Let THEM figure out what THEY want to do with the resources. You'll be AMAZED!! And then... after they've gone to bed, print out one more set for YOU to play with and explore.

That's the beauty of Five in a Row FOLD&LEARNS™. Unlike a book, you can use them over and over and over in 1000 different ways. You can pull them out with each of the next 4 children. You can combine them with one another in new and unexpected ways. You can use them in a structured way or you can let the children discover the joy of finding a stick that's been buried under the snow for five months and learning that the stick still works!

Don't expect to hand a child a Five in a Row FOLD&LEARN™ for the first time and necessarily see the magic take place. Children need several opportunities and they need permission from you to explore. The first time or two they're waiting for the catch: What is it she expects me to do with this thing?!? Only after several encounters will they discover that you don't necessarily expect anything of them. They really ARE free to learn on their own!

I challenge you to add the Fold&Learn™ experience to your weekly Five in a Row unit and watch as your childrens love of learning ratchets up several notches.