Discover 5 Evan-Moor workbooks that help students develop critical thinking skills through engaging daily activities & meaningful learning.
As homeschool moms, we all share the same ultimate goal: raising and nurturing children who are curious, capable thinkers with strong reasoning skills, who can navigate the world with both confidence and competence.
However, in this digital age, we often find our little scholars engrossed in mindless activities.
Lost in the abyss of video games. Endlessly scrolling through social media feeds. Binge-watching shows that offer entertainment but lack any real intellectual engagement.
But here’s the silver lining: as parents, particularly as homeschool parents, we have a unique opportunity to change that narrative.
We possess the power to guide our children away from passive consumption and toward active learning.
One empowering tool in our arsenal is the use of educational workbooks that foster critical thinking skills!
I received this product free of charge for review purposes and was compensated for my time. All opinions expressed in this post are my own and I was not required to post a positive review of the product.
Choosing the Right Educational Workbooks
The key to using workbooks successfully in your homeschool is choosing the right workbooks!
I’ve found that when the right materials are placed in front of children, learning becomes something they genuinely look forward to rather than something they simply complete and move on from.
And in all my years of homeschooling, I’ve found that the best workbooks are by Evan-Moor!
Why? Because they strike the perfect balance between being engaging and educational, which is an important combination for creating a learning environment where curiosity and understanding can truly flourish.
These educational books are used by students around the world and are thoughtfully designed to nurture children’s hearts and minds while building essential academic skills.
Teachers and homeschool families alike rely on Evan-Moor educational resources to support meaningful learning and steady academic growth.
For more than 45 years, parents and educators have trusted Evan-Moor to create high-quality learning materials for students in grades PreK–8.
Their resources are aligned with current educational standards and reflect proven teaching practices, making them easy to integrate into any homeschool routine.
Why Evan-Moor Workbooks Are Powerful Educational Resources
Evan-Moor workbooks make it easy to add meaningful learning activities to your homeschool routine. These educational resources help children strengthen reading skills, build critical thinking abilities, and develop confidence in their learning.
What I appreciate most about Evan-Moor educational resources is that they combine skill-building with curiosity and creativity.
Instead of simply assigning repetitive exercises, many of these educational books challenge students to analyze information, solve puzzles, and make connections between ideas. That kind of thinking is exactly what we want to encourage in our homeschool.
These resources are designed to help children:
- strengthen critical thinking skills
- develop confidence in problem solving
- practice reading comprehension and language development
- build consistent daily learning habits
Because the activities are short and focused, they also work beautifully for families who prefer quick daily lessons that still deliver meaningful educational teaching.
Developing Critical Thinking Skills with Evan-Moor Workbooks
Now that you know which educational workbooks I believe are the best, here are five Evan-Moor workbooks I’ve hand-selected that are specifically designed to help develop those much needed critical thinking skills:
1. Critical & Creative Thinking Activities
This workbook includes loads of fun, imaginative activities designed to motivate students as they practice thinking in multiple ways about a variety of subjects and theme-based topics.
Students are encouraged to examine information carefully and think both critically and creatively. Working through puzzles, comparisons, reasoning exercises, and more, students will stretch their minds while having fun at the same time.
Read more about Critical & Creative Thinking Activities.
2. Daily Higher-Order Thinking
This resource provides short daily activities that challenge students to analyze information, evaluate ideas, and apply logic. Students receive ample practice with analyzing, predicting, modeling, composing, organizing, evaluating options, designing, critiquing, problem solving, and more!
With opportunity to incorporate these skills across multiple curriculum areas, students engage in visual puzzles, spatial brainteasers, creative writing, picture comparisons, wordplay, “what if” questions, and more. The bite-sized lessons make it easy to fit into a busy homeschool schedule.
Read more about Daily Higher-Order Thinking.
3. A Word a Day
Vocabulary plays an important role in reading comprehension and communication, both aiding in the ability to think critically.
This workbook introduces four new words each week, helping students strengthen their language skills while expanding their vocabulary knowledge through the use of graphic organizers, critical attribution prompts, and personal connection.
4. Daily Fundamentals
Daily Fundamentals reinforces core language, math and reading skills. These short daily activities help build strong learning habits while reinforcing important concepts.
The daily practice activities helps sharpen student skills and often include open-ended questions that require higher-order thinking skills, which are great for discussions that foster critical thinking skills.
Read more about Daily Fundamentals.
5. Top Student
Top Student offers a variety of practice activities in core subject areas with opportunities for critical thinking and creativity throughout.
The activities are designed to strengthen the most important grade-level skills including grammar, spelling, vocabulary, reading, writing, math, and thinking skills. Additional subjects include STEM, science, computer science, social studies, and more!
This workbook is an excellent all-around educational book that supports well-rounded academic development.
How to Make Learning FUN… with Workbooks!
When I first began my homeschooling journey, I quickly realized how important it was to keep learning fun and engaging.
But when most think of workbooks, fun is not what comes to mind.
Not only do you have to choose the right workbook, but you also need to know how to effectively integrate it into your homeschool routine without losing the fun of learning and discovery.
The key lies in creativity and flexibility. While these educational books can easily complement your existing curriculum, they can also be introduced as playful games rather than just general assignments.
Integrating these thoughtfully designed workbooks into your daily homeschool rhythm can be lots of fun! Let me show you how!
Critical Thinking with Evan-Moor Workbooks in our Homeschool
In our homeschool, we began using Evan-Moor workbooks as daily challenges. My kids are naturally competitive, so presenting each page as a challenge made the experience exciting instead of routine.
Some days we worked together to solve the problems. Other days the kids raced to see who could complete the challenge first.
We discovered new words. And solved puzzles and problems that required both critical and creative thinking.
We typically spent about twenty minutes each day working through activities. Those short sessions added up over time, and I noticed my kids becoming more confident problem solvers.
The puzzles, vocabulary activities, and reasoning exercises helped them think more carefully and approach problems with creativity.
Most importantly, the workbooks helped build a love of learning that continued to shape our homeschool for many years.
I framed the daily task or activity as a quest and watched as the mundane became magical. In case you can’t tell, I love seeing kids excited about learning!
Essentially my workbook goal was for my kiddos to become thinkers! And have fun at the same time!
And it worked! Through the use of the Evan-Moor workbooks they improved their ability to think critically each and every day!
To me, that trumps video games and mindless scrolling any day of the week!
More Ways to Use Evan-Moor Workbooks in Your Homeschool
Now that you know how we used Evan-Moor workbooks in our homeschool. Here are some additional ways to utilize them in your homeschool:
- Morning warm-up
- Independent work time
- Critical thinking challenges
- Vocabulary practice
- Quick review lessons
Promote Critical Thinking with Evan-Moor Workbooks
I encourage you to view these workbooks not as an additional burden, but as opportunities for connection, growth, and fun learning!
Challenge your kids daily to uncover new words, solve the puzzles, and complete the daily tasks.
Integrating these thoughtfully designed workbooks into your homeschooling toolkit can actively promote critical thinking, creativity, and a love for learning.
Because, in the quest to encourage our kids to transcend the confines of mindless screen time, every effort counts.
So, what are you waiting for? Let’s begin changing the narrative today!
Where to Find Evan-Moor Workbooks
If you’re looking for educational resources that encourage curiosity and critical thinking, I highly recommend exploring Evan-Moor workbooks.
These workbooks make it easy to add short, meaningful learning activities to your homeschool routine while helping your children develop strong critical thinking skills.
You can check out the full Evan-Moor range on Carson Dellosa to see all of the available educational books and teaching resources for grades PreK–8.
Plus, right now you can use coupon code 15OFF to save 15% off your order!
This post was originally published on March 17, 2026.
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