miniLUK Starter Pack

Challenging but not frustrating

I got this(miniLUK Starter Pack) for my 5 1/2 year old who will be starting kindergarten at home this year, and she LOVES it. We haven’t even officially started school yet and she’s done half the puzzles. I was concerned they would be too frustrating for her, but she enjoys them very much and is always excited to see the pattern match up. The one thing I think is a bit misleading is that they count each tile moved as one exercise–I didn’t read it carefully and so thought there were 168 total puzzles that came with it. There are 168 tile moves, but only 14 puzzles. That aside, it just means I need to buy more books because she is going through it so quickly!

Bethany

Posted on July 27, 2011 in Homeschool 1st Grade, Homeschool Kindergarten, Homeschool Thinking Skills, Product reviews Leave a comment

Hide and Seek Safari

Andrea

Get ready for fun!

This (Hide and Seek Safari) is our family’s first foray into these types of puzzles and I LOVE this one! Question is, who is going to love it more, kids or parents?! My husband and I put the kids to bed and then sat and played with this game for an hour or more! Deceptively easy. The colors are bright and engaging, tiles easy to put in place, my littles (2 & 3) enjoy trying to hide different animals. The older two kids (7 & 5) are just in love with it. A family winner! A bonus is how portable it is – the top piece slides back to reveal a hidden compartment that the booklet and pieces fit in…Amazing! Another great Timber product.

Andrea

Lake Village, IN

Posted on July 15, 2011 in homeschool games, Homeschool Puzzles, Homeschool Thinking Skills, Product reviews Leave a comment

Titanic – Game

Challenging and fun

I bought this logic game (Titanic) with my 13 year-old in mind, but sadly, it never made it that far … my 9 year-old snagged it, and hasn’t let his sister get hold of it yet! This is a challenging, thought-provoking game that uses a neat historical tie-in to spur interest even in kids who don’t normally “go for” logic puzzles. The card challenges progress in difficulty, and many at the upper levels have left our older family members stumped. Definitely a winner!

Heather

Sultan, WA

Posted on June 16, 2011 in homeschool games, Homeschool Thinking Skills, Homeschool Toys, Product reviews Leave a comment

Mind Benders Beginning Book 1

My 5 year old loves to complete these logic problems. For the first five or six problems I read the clues and helped to guide her through the deduction process. Now all I do is read the clues to her and she is able to solve the problems on her own. I appreciate that the problems slowly get harder and that the order or content of the clues are not predictable. Through this my 5 year old has started to grasp other concepts, such as the oldest child may not have the biggest dog – something she would have previously assumed.

Danae Huck

from United States

Posted on May 6, 2011 in Homeschool Kindergarten, Homeschool Preschool, Homeschool Thinking Skills, Product reviews Leave a comment

SepToys Design Blocks 32 Piece Set

I saw this (SepToys Design Blocks) in the Timberdoodle catalog and decided to add it to our repertoire of thinking skilly activivities. Smart choice! Our oldest (17) has some challenges with visual-spatial skills and this is proving helpful I have this assigned to each of our children 1-2 times per week. To them, it’s not “school”, but a fun diversion from the books. They delight in showing me their newest creation and I’m thrilled in knowing that they’re developing critical skills!

Lisa W.

from Mountain Home, AR

Posted on March 15, 2011 in Homeschool Preschool, Homeschool Thinking Skills Leave a comment

Peppermint Scented Smart Smencils

My boys both love these pencils. When I asked them why they liked them so much I was surprised by their response. They both liked that they saved trees. Right behind that is the yummy smell. I like the feel of the pencil- it’s a bit heavier than your normal pencil and feels nice in my hand. I love the aroma!! Refreshing!

Danene

Covington, WA

Posted on January 4, 2011 in Homeschool Art Supplies, Homeschool Thinking Skills, Product reviews Leave a comment

Thinking Putty – A favorite at our house!

Heat Sensitive Thinking Putty

We have 5 Thinking Puttys. They are very loved. I was amazed at how long the kids would sit and the table and entertain themselves with this. They really used their creativity! They have made all sorts of things. The littler one love to pinch little pieces off until the have a bunch of pieces and then they smash them all together. Others love to stretch and stretch it. I do have to watch out that they don’t mix the colors, plus you don’t want this in your carpet! With 4 girls, there is always some hair getting caught in the putty. It is pretty easy to get them out, though.

Misty

Buckeye, AZ

Posted on October 12, 2010 in Homeschool Thinking Skills, Homeschool Toys Leave a comment

Building Thinking Skills Beginning

Wow, this (Building Thinking Skills Beginning) book is full of wonderful exercises for even the youngest children. My daughter just turned 3 and she can’t wait till schooltime so she can do “her school” which is this book. I was amazed at how much she could comprehend at such a young age. The exercises are worthwhile and will lay a foundation for learning. A definite worthwhile purchase, I was skeptical with the price tag significantly higher than the Kumon Books, but it’s been worth the difference.

Laureen E from N. Huntingdon, PA

View Building Thinking Skills Beginning and many more Critical Thinking books at www.timberdoodle.com.

Posted on August 24, 2010 in Homeschool Preschool, Homeschool Thinking Skills, Product reviews Leave a comment

The Fallacy Detective

Adds a zing of fun to our school day!!

Each year we find one favorite supplement to our core curriculum that adds a zing of fun to our school day. This year we discovered The Fallacy Detective. The thirty-six short (short!) lessons in recognizing bad reasoning require no preparation, cover all the basics of logical thought without being “teachy,” and keep us laughing. Now, when I find a commercial or news article that contains a fallacy, I don’t have to explain it to my daughter while she stares at me with glassy eyes. I hand it to her and see if she can find the logic error. Fallacies have become this year’s game. The lessons in this book will serve my children well in their lifetime interpersonal relationships as well as in becoming logical thinkers in a world of tricks and sound-bytes. It’s also the perfect introductory book to future unit studies on advertising, the media, relational aggression, psychology, and current events. My favorite thing about the book? Hearing, “Just one more chapter, please?”!

Hjordes CA

Posted on August 11, 2010 in Homeschool 7th Grade, Homeschool 8th Grade, Homeschool Thinking Skills, Product reviews Leave a comment

Rolit Junior

This game (Rolit Junior) has become a favorite because of its wide age appeal. While challenging enough to keep older children constantly strategizing, it is simple enough to captivate the little players, too. Highly recommended!

Anna

Washington

Posted on June 25, 2010 in homeschool games, Homeschool Thinking Skills, Product reviews Leave a comment

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