HSMom2One Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I am currently still using my second edition copy of the TWTM. I just recently decided that I need to go back to re-read the book in parts and bone up on sections that I had not read in depth the first time. One of these sections is on the Logic Stage. Now that my dd is in 5th grade it has occurred to me that she's moving beyond the grammar stage. :glare: On page 240 of the second edition, SWB recommends doing logic puzzles and "then moving on to study critical thinking directly." She goes on to state that the best logic puzzles they've found are in the Mind Benders books. She also recommends supplementing with A Case of Red Herrings mystery series by the Critical Thinking Co. So here's my question: In the revised edition of TWTM is the recommendation the same? If not, what does she recommend? Another question: What have you personally used for 5-6th grade pre-logic preparation? I am definitely "Logically Challenged" when it comes to formal training. :) Thanks for any input you may have. Blessings, Lucinda P.S. At some point I should probably update to the newer edition of TWTM, but for now I'm happy to have the lovely volume I bought brand new just a little over two years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMom2One Posted October 9, 2009 Author Share Posted October 9, 2009 I have no idea where to start. Dd is 10 yo and at 5th grade level, never had anything like this before and I am as green as green can be. Is anyone from the Hive willing to give some guidance here? :lol: Blessings, Lucinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I'm pretty sure that recommendation hasn't changed. We used and had grand success with Mind Benders. Red Herring was a flop with my ds. If he had another sibling close to his skill level to do it with him it may have been a success. I'm not one for letting a kid drop a curriculum just because they don't like it, but I let him off the hook with this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMom2One Posted October 9, 2009 Author Share Posted October 9, 2009 I'm pretty sure that recommendation hasn't changed. We used and had grand success with Mind Benders. Which of the Mind Benders books did you use? If one followed the three hours per week that SWB recommends, how many of the books would it take during a typical school year? Thanks for your input, SilverMooon. Blessings, Lucinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 The first Mind Bender he used was the older beginning book. I think it's called beginning book 2? From there he went to the A series, followed by B and C. He didn't do all four in each series, because the local store didn't always have the next one in stock when we went shopping. The occasional skipping never bothered him. I didn't measure these by time. In the beginning book he did at least two puzzles on each logic day, sometimes up to four. In the other books he only did one or two at a time. Past the beginning book there are less puzzles in each book, so it balanced out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMom2One Posted October 10, 2009 Author Share Posted October 10, 2009 The first Mind Bender he used was the older beginning book. I think it's called beginning book 2? From there he went to the A series, followed by B and C. He didn't do all four in each series, because the local store didn't always have the next one in stock when we went shopping. The occasional skipping never bothered him. I didn't measure these by time. In the beginning book he did at least two puzzles on each logic day, sometimes up to four. In the other books he only did one or two at a time. Past the beginning book there are less puzzles in each book, so it balanced out. How old was your son when he started this? Would you suggest I start with those same books for my 5th grader who has never done these before? Thanks so much! Lucinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 How old was your son when he started this? Would you suggest I start with those same books for my 5th grader who has never done these before? Thanks so much! Lucinda I would start him in the advanced beginning book, just to get his brain wrapped around how they work. The first several puzzles in that book may insult him (if he operates anything like my ds that is), but the book on the whole is worth going through in my opinion. My ds started the beginning book in the middle of fourth grade. He was/is a precocious kid and always a bit ahead of schedule. You're more than welcome. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 We used the Mindbender Beginning book, and then when we got to the next ones we realized there were a tiny fraction of the puzzles in them for the same price (like only 14). We switched to Grid Perplexors from Mindware, which are the exact same kind of puzzle, except there are 50 puzzles per book. Much better bang for the buck. Oh, and I hate Red Herrings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Ds did the Mind Bender Warm Ups book, then the A books in 5th grade. They didn't take nearly 3 hours per week. But he learned to think through the puzzles, instead of just guessing. This year in 6th he is using Critical Thinking Books 1 and 2 (all of these I am mentioning are mentioned in WTM 2nd edition). We are really enjoying using these two books this year, and I can see now how they will prepare him for a formal logic course next year. For CT, we are doing about 10 pages per week, and it takes about an hour or a bit more per week to do these pages. We do them orally, and have some good talks about the info. and problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMom2One Posted October 10, 2009 Author Share Posted October 10, 2009 We used the Mindbender Beginning book, and then when we got to the next ones we realized there were a tiny fraction of the puzzles in them for the same price (like only 14). We switched to Grid Perplexors from Mindware, which are the exact same kind of puzzle, except there are 50 puzzles per book. Much better bang for the buck. Oh, and I hate Red Herrings. Wow! Thank you for the tip! What level in this series would you start a 5th grader who, like I said earlier, has no background in critical thinking exercises? And BTW, does anyone know for sure if the recommendation is still the same (or not) in the newer edition of TWTM? Silvermoon seemed to think so, but wasn't stating it for a fact. Thanks everyone! Blessings, Lucinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Thanks everyone! You're Welcome! :lol: I couldn't resist! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 I don't remember what, if any changes there were from one edition to the next. We used Mind Benders last year because I'd used them before and they were good. I didn't like Red Herrings, so didn't use them again. They are really created for a classroom group to brainstorm together. If you don't happen to know the parameters for a particular exercise, then you can't really play (for example, one I can recall was all the designations in the military, like private, corporal, sergeant, etc.). I guess you could stop and go look the info up in a book or online, but we were usually trying to do them over lunch out somewhere and it was just aggrevating for us. The first time around, my older son did Introductory Logic by Nance in sixth grade. This time, I'm doing Thinking Toolbox and Fallacy Detective with my younger son first, then he'll do Intro Logic next year, in seventh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 *flipping through the most recent TWTM edition* Mind Benders or Building Thinking Skills for grade five, both from Critical Thinking Press. I didn't see any mention of Red Herring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 My oldest worked through the MindBenders Beginning Books 1 & 2 and then I switched her to the DandyLion "Logic Safari" series. They are very similar to the MB series but a better value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMom2One Posted October 10, 2009 Author Share Posted October 10, 2009 *flipping through the most recent TWTM edition* Mind Benders or Building Thinking Skills for grade five, both from Critical Thinking Press. I didn't see any mention of Red Herring. Well, there you go! Thank you again SilverMoon. I guess the Red Herring suggestion ended up smelling bad in the long run - LOL! Blessings, Lucinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Wow! Thank you for the tip! What level in this series would you start a 5th grader who, like I said earlier, has no background in critical thinking exercises? I'm guessing he'd be fine with level B? You could always back him up if they were too hard. Here's a link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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