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The Critical Thinking Co. Books...worth it?


warriormom
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My son will be entering 1st grade next year. I would really like for him to be apart of Target (the gifted program) at our local public school. His kindergarten teacher ( at his classical Christian school) said she would suggest that he be part of any advanced programs in 1 st grade. He is smart but I really do not think he would be considered gifted.

 

I am considering getting the Cogat bundle from Critical Thinking Co. to prepare him for the test in September. Here are the contents in the bundle:

 

Mind Benders® Book 2

Can You Find Me? K-1

Building Thinking Skills® Primary

Mathematical Reasoning™ Level B

Math Analogies Beginning

Thinking Skills for Tests Workbook

Thinking Skills for Tests Guide

 

Any experience with these books? Are they worth the time? I figure it is worth a try. If he does not get accepted to Target, he will at least get some good practice with critical thinking. I know that moms have strong feeling about prep for tests like this....please don't throw any rocks. :leaving:

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My son will be entering 1st grade next year. I would really like for him to be apart of Target (the gifted program) at our local public school. His kindergarten teacher ( at his classical Christian school) said she would suggest that he be part of any advanced programs in 1 st grade. He is smart but I really do not think he would be considered gifted.

 

I am considering getting the Cogat bundle from Critical Thinking Co. to prepare him for the test in September. Here are the contents in the bundle:

 

Mind Benders® Book 2

Can You Find Me? K-1

Building Thinking Skills® Primary

Mathematical Reasoningâ„¢ Level B

Math Analogies Beginning

Thinking Skills for Tests Workbook

Thinking Skills for Tests Guide

 

Any experience with these books? Are they worth the time? I figure it is worth a try. If he does not get accepted to Target, he will at least get some good practice with critical thinking. I know that moms have strong feeling about prep for tests like this....please don't throw any rocks. :leaving:

 

I would never throw stones. I would have to throw them at myself.

 

I think that those books you chose are wonderful. However, this is what I would recommend. Before you purchase these books, look into Dandeylion Logic. They have logic books and critical thinking books that are much cheaper than Critical Thinking Company. I used to think that Critical Thinking Company was the only logic company out there. The reason why I say this is Critical Thinking Company is very expensive for what your child can do. I bought the Mindbenders books for $9.99. They completed the A levels in a week. That's expensive for how much time your child will spend on it. If you want more bang for your buck with this company, get Building Thinking Skills and work through that series. It is expensive!! However, I broke up the program into two years so I was not spending as much as I did.

 

Just my $.02.

 

Blessings to you in your homeschooling journey!

 

Sincerely,

Karen

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

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Thanks! Can you send me a link to the dandelion logic books? Which would you suggest?

 

Any equivalent books that can be recommended with dandelion books or prufrock? Would the Developing the Early Learner books work for any of this?

 

The critical thinking co. = Less expensive alternative

 

-Mind Benders® Book 2....

-Can You Find Me? K-1......

-Building Thinking Skills® Primary"..........

-Mathematical Reasoning™ Level B"..........

-Math Analogies Beginning..................

-Thinking Skills for Tests Workbook.....

-Thinking Skills for Tests Guide............

Edited by cabreban
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My suggestion with CTC is to get the Think-A-Minutes books and work through them first, and then buy whatever books your child needs more practice in. The Think-a-Minutes are a collection of activities from other books, and each page will say "for more like this, try X". I also wouldn't buy more than one book at a grade level at first-if it turns out 1st grade is too easy, you don't want 10 books at that level that will take your DS a week or less to do.

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My suggestion with CTC is to get the Think-A-Minutes books and work through them first, and then buy whatever books your child needs more practice in. The Think-a-Minutes are a collection of activities from other books, and each page will say "for more like this, try X". I also wouldn't buy more than one book at a grade level at first-if it turns out 1st grade is too easy, you don't want 10 books at that level that will take your DS a week or less to do.

 

Would think-a- minutes a-1 be too hard for a rising first grader? The book states that it is for 2nd-3rd graders.:confused:

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I think that those books you chose are wonderful. However, this is what I would recommend. Before you purchase these books, look into Dandeylion Logic.

 

I am curious about this option, but I am not having any luck googling. :confused: Do you have a link?

 

TIA!

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Would think-a- minutes a-1 be too hard for a rising first grader? The book states that it is for 2nd-3rd graders.:confused:

 

They don't have much reading required, so I wouldn't think so, but it would depend on the child. My DD did them at about that age, but she's atypical in her development in a lot of ways.

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I know that Rainbow carries a bunch of their products.

 

Cathy Duffy says that Dandy Lion press is now a part of Prufrock Press.

 

FWIW, I totally agree that Critical Thinking Press products are very overpriced for what you get. You can easily get comparable products at a better value.

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Check samples carefully on those books.

 

The "Can you Find Me" series I think is overstated on the age range. My pre-K/K'er in the fall can do the one you listed without problems. Building Thinking Skills Primary is IMHO more K work. It was too easy for my 1st grader this year, and he is my "average" student, not my more advanced one. He did enjoy working with his cubes, etc., just because he loves manipulatives. Mathematical Reasoning A we also do pretty much at pre-K level, though there are a couple of more K concepts in there.

 

These are hyped pretty hard on some boards, but this was a series where my expectations were a bit high apparently for what they were. Just look at samples very carefully and see if they suit your needs.

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Thanks! Can you send me a link to the dandelion logic books? Which would you suggest?

 

Any equivalent books that can be recommended with dandelion books or prufrock? Would the Developing the Early Learner books work for any of this?

 

The critical thinking co. = Less expensive alternative

 

-Mind Benders® Book 2....

-Can You Find Me? K-1......

-Building Thinking Skills® Primary"..........

-Mathematical Reasoningâ„¢ Level B"..........

-Math Analogies Beginning..................

-Thinking Skills for Tests Workbook.....

-Thinking Skills for Tests Guide............

 

Yes, I am sorry I spelled it wrong it is from Dandy Lion publications. Their logic problems are a little cheaper than Critical Thinking company. It starts with Safari and moves its way up. You can find these books through Rainbow Resources. I found the Safari Logic at Amazon.com. You can click here to see the first in a few books.

 

I was looking at them and they have gone up in price since I last used them. They are a little cheaper than Mindbenders. The company name is Dandy Lion.

 

Also, I used Perplexors with my son when he was younger. It is the same price as Critical Thinking Company. It does help to develop good test taking skills because it teaches that process of elimination idea. I have the link to that also, but I got the books from Educational Warehouse which is near where I live.

 

Blessings,

Karen

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

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Other options are Prufrock Press (who puts out the Dandy Lion and Logic Liftoff series---www.prufrock.com) and Tin Man Press https://www.tinmanpress.com/. I really like the look of the TMP materials, but my daughter was a bit old for them by the time I found them.

 

I've used the Logic Lift-Off (by the same author as Dandy Lion) and liked it better than Critical Thinking. That said, Critical Thinking does have some good stuff, but I try to find it used because I think most of it is overpriced new, especially for early elementary.

Edited by KarenNC
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I just got an email from CTC with a code for $5 off several core items. Then I read this thread, and went to Amazon and searched Prufrock Press. Oh, my! Whatever you do, don't make the same mistake that I made. There are too many things there that look good to me! So I guess that my weekend will be spent making choices between the two, and trying not to spend too much money.

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My kids really enjoy these books. Mathematical reasoning is a fun supplement that my k'er loved. We also do the mind benders, we do one a week with. Y older kids. Think a minutes is another great option that we use.

 

All that being said, they are expensive. I found mine at half.com and amazon's used listings. Good luck and have fun with first grade!

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I :001_wub: both CTC and Prufrock. We love the Word Roots & Reading Detective software/books. The kids also love Word Benders and Mind Benders. We just ordered Spider Island Logic, so I can't tell you if the kids like it yet or not. Even my 4yo likes to play Memory Challenge :) Honestly, everything has been a hit for my kids so far, so I just keep getting the software for "free time play"... much more worthwhile computer time than webkinz or other things :)

 

You can find them cheaper on Amazon/WTM Sale Board/eBay... so I'd encourage you to look there first. Here is a referral link for free shipping at CTC if you decide to order directly: http://criticalthinking.extole.com/a/clk/30KPy (It earns me credit too).

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I've been thinking about getting the Building Thinking Skills from CTC, but I'm torn b/c I'm also thinking about getting some Lollipop Logic and the Analogies books from Prufrock. IMO, the price is about the same b/c you're getting more in some of the CTC books. That Building Thinking Skills book is $30 something, but it's huge and is meant to be used in both K and 1st. I'd need to buy a few of the Lollipop Logic books in order to get about the same amount of work. It would end up costing about the same. That's just my two cents.

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I'm not familiar with the Target test, but for those looking to improve CogAT scores, I would recommend the analogies books from CTC and Prufrock. I wasn't intending to do CogAT prep for my kids when I bought these, but they turned out to be very similar to the problems on that test.

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