When Ranya first purchased the book, her daughter was not kicking and screaming. Instead, it was a very smooth transition to the workbook. She was pretty impressed by the Lumos Summer HeadStart Workbook, especially after using other workbooks like Summer Bridge Activities. Compared to other workbooks, she believes Lumos is geared towards independent learners. She expressed her thoughts on Lumos’ level is “vigorous and harger,” for her own child and other students at the same grade level. The “workbook has a smaller font and has longer reading passages compared to other brands.” Ranya would only recommend the workbook to ⅓ of her students in school. The other ⅔ of her students, she would recommend a less challenging book. The workbook can be improved by adding constructive response writing (question and answer), which will enhance students’ thinking.

Princess is a full-time mother and student. She found out about Lumos Learning when a friend sent her a list of recommended books. She searched us on Amazon and ended up purchasing three of our workbooks. Her sixth-grade son exceeds academically at a magnet school. However, because of the pandemic, her son’s school closed two months earlier than scheduled. He “lost all extra learning for those two months,” Princess states. The Summer Learning HeadStart workbook was a great assignment for him to do over the summer to keep his academic skills fresh and ready for the next school year. She loves that many of the skills and activities in the workbook are similar to the work he was learning in school. The sign language portion stuck out to her since she believes that knowing how to sign is a basic skill that can be used for the rest of his life. Overall, Princess’s expectations were met and she planned to continue to use the summer workbooks.

Erin, an Agile Scrum Master from Virginia, manages IT projects that modify payroll and personnel for the US Navy. She came across the summer workbook when she was to find a book to help her son academically when learning transitioned from school to online. Her expectations were exceeded since she bought a higher level book for her son. She felt it was a kick start to a conversation for something new to learn. The book was in a good price range, especially since many kids do not want to do schoolwork during the summer. Most of the material in the book was relevant to her son’s academic curriculum. She suggested transitions in the workbook, making it easier for students to follow the lesson. Instead of going straight to questions every day, the workbook should provide a quick lesson, giving students an introduction to the assignment for the day.

She had a good experience with the workbook. The book was in a good price range, especially since many kids do not want to do schoolwork during the summer.

“We love the Lumos Learning book because it’s easy to follow, and has been a great supplement while Liani has been out of school. I can check her progress and see what she needs help with.”

Alex heard about us in the educational field and decided to give Lumos at try after reading all the Amazon reviews. While using the workbook, she liked that ”it was short with daily lessons and not 5 page lessons”, making it not extensive. It only took 15 minutes for her child to finish the daily task assigned, leaving room for her child to do other activities during the summer. Her daughter’s favorite part of the book is the journal where she can reflect on her day and express her thoughts. When asked if her expectations were met, she stated, “It gives my child just enough learning to keep the regression from happening and also keeps us entertained with the end of the week activities”. Her daughter was excited to see the fun activity on sign language since Alexandria works for a deaf school. Alexandria also likes the fact that she could input online goals, IEP, recommendations, and accommodations on the online parent portal.

Sara Glenn is from Indiana. She first heard about Lumos through her daughter’s school friend. The book has been effective for Sara because the workbook includes concepts from the school year, allowing her child to continue to work on the skills during the summer. “It focuses on vocabulary, reading comprehension, which is very in line with what she has been learning in class,” stated Sara. Her daughter’s favorite part is the journal. It “allows for creativity – she can write whatever she wants. She doesn’t normally journal on her own, so it’s something different. It gives an opportunity for her to talk about her day,” Sara stated. With the workbook, she felt that her daughter was able to look at how much progress she has made, giving her more control of her work and learning how to self-manage. Sara has had a great experience with the workbook, stating, “please with it, I would do it moving forward and would try again in the next year 4th-5th and continue to use book based on her academic status”.

“I wanted my son, who just finished the 8th grade, to practice his math and language arts skills over the summer to help him be prepared for high school in the fall. So, I purchased the Lumos Learning Summer Learning Headstart workbook. It has math and language arts practice and a lot more! It even has an online component where he can practice vocabulary and additional language arts skills. The workbook has the answers in the back, along with explanations as to why they are the correct answers. That is very helpful for kids who struggle with reading comprehension. I am so glad I found this workbook for my son!”

Cynthia Keogh has been using other review books for the past three years, like Sylvan, Scholastics, and Barrons. She decided to try the Lumos Learning Summer Workbook when she felt the other books were not what she was looking for. The Lumos workbook “has been the least painful workbook my child has worked, maybe even the most successful review book” because her child doesn’t complain, throw fits, or self-defeats himself. The workbook has helped build her son’s confidence as a whole, which “is huge and worth every penny.” She believes that the book has a good formula; “nailing the amount of work, the presentation, and choice of passages that have been struggling in the school system.”