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

ThinkFun Knot So Fast Game

We bought this (ThinkFun Knot So Fast Game) for a birthday gift for a friend. At first it didn’t look too exciting, but once it was opened and looked at some, we discovered that kids of all ages (both girls and boys) could like this game. It is nice that there are both easy and hard knots to complete. The father of the birthday boy was excited about this gift because he was wanting to teach his son how to tie many of these knots, and this will make it easy and fun. We also noticed that the cards would give examples of when and where that type of knot could be used, we felt that was a nice touch. The one thing we weren’t too thrilled with was that the case it came in is very thin and tears very easily. In fact, the first game we bought the case was broken, but Timberdoodle fixed that right away for us. Overall, we are pleased and the birthday boy was happy.

Posted on January 13, 2011 in homeschool games, Product reviews 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

miniLUK Starter Pack

I ordered the 1st grade curriculum and when I saw that it came with the MiniLUK I honestly didn’t know what to think. What I did think was that my son was going to have trouble with it and probably not like it. Boy, was I wrong. I had opened it up to figure it out and he starts playing with it. He spent the whole evening playing with the MiniLUK. My husband had to drag my son away from it so he could go to bed. I am excited about buying more books for this game. This is defiantly worth the money!

Jill K.

Mount Pleasant, PA

Timberdoodle carries many additional miniLuk and BambinoLuk sets.

Posted on June 18, 2010 in Homeschool 1st Grade, Homeschool Kindergarten, Homeschool Thinking Skills, Product reviews Leave a comment

Color Shifting Illusions Thinking Putty

I ordered Thinking Putty for myself. I have A.D.D and wanted to see how well it might help me center. I LOVE it. I’ve noticed that I WANT to use it (unlike many other fidgets) and that I can do enough things to keep it from getting boring. As a fidget it is wonderful. I focus more when I am working on stuff, everything from reading to watching my son play.

Besides everything I’ve done with it I discovered there are “experiments” on the Crazy Aaron page. Things like smacking it with a hammer, and stretching it from the ceiling. They discuss the science behind it.

The absolutely ONLY serious downside in my mind is the price. BUT you get a very generous amount. It almost hurts my hands to use it all at once.

The ONLY other, and a minor thing is the color. The picture makes it appear like several colors, and I thought that while messing with it I might see color combos that would inspire some of my artwork. Really it is just a fancy gray.

Alicia

Crofton, MD

Posted on June 14, 2010 in Homeschool Thinking Skills, Product reviews Leave a comment

ZooLogic

A wonderful teaching aid for introducing your child to logic

Simple rules, fun pieces, good quality! I enjoyed the puzzles along with five of my children. This kind of ‘school’ is easy to look forward to! It was so much fun that we wanted more puzzles! Also, so appealing that guests would pick it up and play too!

Jessica

Montana

I’m so thankful that I’m teaching my children (7) at home! It is a wonderful adventure!

Posted on June 2, 2010 in Homeschool Puzzles, Homeschool Thinking Skills, Product reviews Leave a comment

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