Skip to main content

Crypto Mind Benders (a review!)

So, our family recently got to try a new educational book by The Critical Thinking Co., one of our all-time favorite publishers of workbooks! We were super excited and waited impatiently for the postman to deliver the goods. The first book we received was Crypto Mind Benders, which is a bunch of puzzles to help a child develop and use mathematical reasoning and critical thinking skills. We especially like these types of books because the children do not realize they are learning anything or even doing any sort of school - they are puzzles!

We received the Classic Jokes version of the Crypto Mind Benders books, but there is also a Famous Quotations book. The books are suited for children from third grade and up, so my third-grade son and my sixth-grade daughter both got to use this book. Mostly, they worked together on it, but the sixth-grader definitely needed to do some on her own a few times - just to have the honor of completing a joke/puzzle all by her self!

The jokes are cute and funny, the puzzle pages are well-organized, and the solutions are in the back. They thought of everything! My favorite part, though, was the instructions and example included in the front of the book - you do not have to have great reasoning skills yourself to let your child use this (and you can actually learn something, too!) because there is a little tutorial right there at the beginning of the workbook to teach you how to solve the puzzles. Fantastic!!

Overall, these are my favorite way to sneak thinking into my kids' day. We are always excited about a new Critical Thinking Co. book, and Crypto Mind Benders was still a happy surprise with the puzzles my kids couldn't wait to solve and the jokes they couldn't wait to tell to their friends. {smile}

You can find this and other great resources at The Critical Thinking Company's website: www.CriticalThinking.com

* Note: the above-mentioned book was provided to me at no cost for the purposes of an honest review; a positive review was not expected, just deserved, and no other compensation has been received.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Field Trip to the Nashville Zoo!

Did anyone watch the weather for Middle Tennessee today? No? Well, let me tell you about our field trip to the zoo! We arrived to discover that almost every other school group of pre-kindergarten through second grade children decided to go to the zoo today! Our first view of the zoo was of the PACKED parking lot, to the side of which we saw two things: more than a dozen big, yellow school buses; and so many groups of children gathering before the entrance that the entryway was concealed from view! After delving into the fray, we parked our minivan and headed up to find our group. (Let me interject here that my children and I had created matching shirts to help us stay together and identify each other should we become lost. This was more wise than even we knew when we decided to make them! Luckily, no other school group had quite our shade of sunshine yellow, so we were good to go!!) Okay, into the zoo we go! The kids are excited! The animals are awesome! And, the rain is begin
3 comments
Read more

Weary of Winter

Last summer, we began a tedious journey through a difficult season in our lives: family trials coupled with unprecedented numbers of illnesses in our home have just about driven me batty.  So, after a frayed rotator cuff in my right arm (why i don't blog as often anymore), the discovery of a couple of possible learning disabilities in my kiddos (not covered by our insurance, naturally, so we're on our own), two stomach viruses (TWO!!), possible RSV that led to pneumonia (myself and the Littlest Princess), bronchitis (hubby), and an ear infection (the Man-Child)... i was deeply touched to be sent the " Stylish Blogger Award " by a friend from my reviewing days on The Old Schoolhouse Magazine's Homeschool Crew !  Wow! I needed that reminder that there is life out there and i used to be a part of it!! Thank you, Heather!! :^) Check out her awesome site at http://faithfamilyandfun.com/ I don't know how she does it, but there is always something new and inspirin
3 comments
Read more

Perimenopause: What to Expect that You are NOT Expecting

Perimenopause: What to expect that you're NOT expecting. Chapter 1: The Hot (Fire) Flash (Surge) The fan must be on. In every room. And you are now Mr. Rogers. You have a sweater for every outfit. However, you live in tanks and short-sleeved shirts underneath because nakedness is frowned upon in public places and you must disrobe in haste, frequently. The socially-encouraged bondage device, a.k.a. the bra, is more despised than ever. Fuzzy socks are your friend, because your circulation is poor and your skin is dry. You will end up with a pair in every room because you inevitably needed them off for extended periods and wandered away from them, only to need them again in another room. Winter weather is both bone-chillingly cold and a delight to overheated skin. Sometimes simultaneously. Summer is intolerable. Do not get me started on having a fever while experiencing a hot flash. 😳 And while we're mentioning it.... "Hot Flash" is not an adequate phrase for the rush o
Post a Comment
Read more