I love researching and creating my own curriculum for use in our studies, but sometimes I really could use some help. Recently I had the opportunity to review The Remarkable Rainforest written by Toni Albert. I found the help that I needed!

The Remarkable Rainforest was written for more advanced rainforest studies for students in grades 3 – 8. This is being exactly what I was looking for since sometimes it is hard to find habitat material for this age range. I can usually find plenty of material for younger kids, but our kids aren’t little anymore. They want to learn more about the rainforest than the names of the layers and the animals that live there. I want them to learn more. The Remarkable Rainforest was able to provide that information, and no extra work from me.

This 68-page reproducible workbook is packed full of information on the many different animals that live in the rainforest, including leaf-cutter ants, poison-arrow frog and even sloths. It also includes facts on the ecosystem and how everything works together in harmony and what could happen to our planet if we lose the rainforest. But it’s not all reading, because mixed throughout the pages of information and questions are several games and crafts. Students are introduced to more advanced experiments including learning to use specific senses so they know what it is like to be certain animals that live in the rainforest.

Throughout The Remarkable Rainforest, Toni Albert has a rainforest journal that your child can read through every time they start a new assignment. These excerpts are located at the top of almost all the pages, and they help to bring to life what a journey would be like. Students can close their eyes and imagine what is happening and drifting down the river in a canoe.

The girls and I have been enjoying going through The Remarkable Rainforest. We are learning so much more about the most important habitat in our world. We started out using this along with our geography studies, but I can also count a lot of science study in this book as we go along. The Remarkable Rainforest could be used with a bit of many daily subjects, including language arts.

As you play Save the Rainforest you can have a wonderful discussion with your student about the materials you may use every day that come from the rainforest. Learn about the medicines that we do use and that we may never know about due to rainforest destruction. The Remarkable Rainforest is a wonderful balance of education and reinforcement activities. I am so glad that we had the opportunity to use it in our studies and we cannot wait to see what her next habitat study will be. We have already started taking advantage of the EcoJournals that Toni Albert has also written. So if you need a little break from the same old textbooks, give The Remarkable Rainforest a try. You won’t be disappointed.

-Product review by Renita Kuehner, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, October 2017