LitWits (A Homeschool Review Crew)

I'm about to share with you a product I have had my eye on for YEARS. In fact, my son (who is a senior in High School) isn't even in the age range for this product, but I begged to review it.

What is it?

The incredibly creative LitWits Kits from LitWits. Today I'm going to focus on the LitWits Kit for Treasure Island. I do have a few others (equally delicious) I'm going to talk about.
LitWits is a company that provides hands-on ideas, academic activities and much, much more for a number of great books. They started holding "immersive" literature workshops for kids in California and it grew into passing these wonderful ideas on to us.

This is a web-based product. You aren't going to get an actual kit in the mail. I'll show you more in a minute. The kits we received were mostly intended for ages 8-12, but you will see that they can be modified for a wider group of ages.

Our homeschool has always been focused on Literature. We read living books on about everything we study. I had the hardest time deciding which LitWits Kit I wanted to request. That being said, you don't have to be especially "bookish" to get the most our of the Kits. In fact, the team at LitWits has done all the heavy lifting for you.

I got to pick out four Kits. Yay! I wanted all of them. I wanted all of the Kits.

I received...

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

In this Kit, students will paint red roses (using the illustrations as inspiration), make a bossy refreshment,  discuss conflict using a fun interactive project, create poetry and much more.

The Tempest 

Students tackle Shakespeare with this fun, theatrical kit. Shakespeare can be kind of daunting for the homeschool family and this Kit is perfect for all of us who are hesitant to tackle The Bard. Students create masks, perform to their heart's content and try local dishes of the day.

The Secret Garden

I had to get this one. Students help things grow, talk about "neglected things, create a beautiful collage and even talk about healthy bodies. They also explore the Yorkshire Moore. It's all just lovely.

All Kits encourage the creation of a focal point...complete with props. In the Kit, Treasure Island, we are encouraged to decorate with maps, a treasure chest and plenty of loot.

The students also learn about cartography. One thing I love about LitWits (among the thousands of things) is that they also provide so many wonderful links and resources to outside sources. There are links for some pirate shanty singing to enjoy while creating maps.

We talked about real treasure and the treasure the pirates searched for.  I also purchased a tiny treasure chest to be painted as we talked about that real treasure.

We enjoyed raisins and apples and a wedge of parmesan cheese. We also watched someone tie knots (as opposed to the proposed actually tying of knots).

One aspect of the Kit I utilized the most (simply because of time and necessity) were the academic handouts. These were so handy. They weren't overly exhausting to work through and still focused on important aspects of literature.

I can tell you that these Kits are priceless. They are also reasonably priced. The literature that is featured is easy to find and worth every minute of precious school hours. The web pages are also easy to navigate. You are able to print a PDF of any section. I also loved the real-life examples of the literature workshops. You will too.

So now. You must immediately go check them out. Post haste. There are lots and lots of wonderful options. Look at your school year's booklist or better yet, ignore the booklist and go find a kit at you think you kids will enjoy first. And then move on to the next one.

You will not be disappointed.

You can read more reviews by clicking on the banner below.